Week 1: Captain Kirk (Cousins) Steers the Good Ship Skol!

It all begins again. 

In Week One, the Vikings embark on a long journey toward that glitzy new stadium in Atlanta, GA; and the team might very well be good enough to get there barring another year like 2016.

2017 saw the Vikings lose Sam Bradford and dynamic rookie Dalvin Cook by the fourth week of the season.  Other than them, the team stayed relatively healthy.  The end result was Stefon Diggs performing a miracle to exorcise the long-standing Bountygate demon and give the Vikings their first playoff win since then.  We won’t talk about the next week, though.

Indeed, the Vikings were unable to “bring it home,” but many people have suggested they could bring it to Atlanta.  After years of being mediocre, does anyone else enjoy the respect the Vikings get now from the sports media?  For a long time, I joked that the national perspective was “the Vikings are Adrian Peterson and no one else,” which was true, for the most part, except for the brief Favre era.  It is great that the Vikes actually get props and the conversation isn’t “well, the Packers are going to win the North, there’s no debate.” 

If the Vikings are supposed to be a Super Bowl contender, they have to come out and play like it in their home stadium, where they won 7 of 8 games in 2017.  I would go so far to say you can’t lose your home opener if you want to play in Atlanta in February.  I’m not ready to crown Jimmy Garoppolo king based off of a few wins last year.  If he gets the 49ers off to a 6-0 start or something like that, then maybe.

My prediction is that the Vikings make the playoffs again this year, and the only way they miss the playoffs is if 2016 repeats itself.  With the initial Kirk Cousins deal, we’ve got three years to make this Super Bowl thing happen.

Finally this week, there was a lot of talk after the Minneapolis Miracle that whatever “curse” had plagued the Vikings for decades, Stefon Diggs had stomped a mudhole in it.  If that’s true, than the Philly loss was “just a bad game.”  I said myself a couple of years ago that I thought the “curse” would end after 50 years.  Considering it started with the misplacing of the 1969 league championship trophy (Minnesota’s lone championship to date), that means…2019, when Super Bowl 53 is played.  Time to see if that prediction rings true.

Skol Vikes.    

Divisional: The Exorcist Edition!

The Vikings have been running a "bring it home" campaign detailing everyone for whom they want to win the Super Bowl.  With this weekend's opponent, I think a certain quarterback should be added to that list.  Yeah, you know the guy.  The guy Bountygate hurt the most; Brett Favre.

But enough about the past.  Today is about exorcising some demons.  Neither Atlanta or Philadelphia should have struck fear into the heart of either team playing this afternoon at USBank Stadium.  Therefore, it's my prediction that the winner of today's game will go on to beat the Eagles next week and represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

It's a pretty simple task, beat the Saints and go on to play a severely weakened Eagles team.  It has been eight years since the Vikings beat the Cowboys in the divisional round, and they haven't won a playoff game since (thanks, Blair Walsh).

But, it's also the Vikings, a team that is 17-28 all-time in playoff games.  I'd say it's time to turn things around.

Week 13: 9-2 and, uh-oh, here comes that old familiar pain...

The Vikings are having a really good season.  With a win against the Lions on Thanksgiving ten days ago, the division lead is three games.  A victory against Atlanta today would basically clinch a playoff spot.  Everything is going well…and it’s quiet on the drama front concerning this team.  Too quiet.

That old familiar feeling is beginning to creep up on us again.  It’s a feeling that is all too familiar to Vikings fans and a question we have all asked from time to time; how will the Vikes let us down this year?  We lost Sam Bradford after one game (Bears game doesn’t really count) because his knee decided to break down.  We lost Dalvin Cook in week four to an ACL injury.  And yet the team is 9-2, in second place in the entire NFC with only those red-hot Eagles who never lose ahead of them.

I feel like this is the position all of us wanted to be in, but we all secretly dreaded it at the same time because the other shoe always drops on this team.  You need look no further than the heyday of the Vikings.  This team made it to four Super Bowls in the 70s and I don’t need to remind you what happened in those games.  This year, Minneapolis hosts it.  I have not personally even entertained the thought of the Vikings actually playing in their own Super Bowl for good reason.

The best option is to continue taking things one game at a time.  At this point, Vikings fans should just be happy the Packers aren’t leading the division.  Let the media make the comparisons to 2009 and, much to our chagrin, bring up Gary Anderson, Blair Walsh, and Brett Favre throwing across his body in the Bountygate game.  Unfortunately, until we win a Super Bowl, those three things are the legacy of the Vikings. 

Thankfully, we have five games left of regular season football to just sit back and enjoy a 9-2 season that could turn into something more.  Let’s go get those dirty birds today.

Week 1: Villainizing the Saints, or, Cooking Up Trouble in Prime Time!

I promised myself that I would not go off the rails and predict a Vikings Super Bowl win in the one we host next February.  If the Vikings have a good year, we will hear enough steam on the subject from other people.

With that said, Monday’s season-opening game against the Saints was a lot of fun to watch.  At long last, the Vikings got some measure of revenge on the team that Bountygated the crap out of Brett Favre seven years ago.  Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs shredded admittedly one of the worst defenses in the NFL.  The really important part was that the Vikings kept one of the best offenses in the league from scoring the usual boatload of points they are known for.  Seriously, if the Saints had a defense that could rival a small college, watch out.  Considering they allegedly cheated to get their one and only Super Bowl, the fact that they have languished since 2014 despite an embarrassment of riches on offense is probably karma.

Many people would tell Vikings fans to slow their roll because playing such a horrendous defense is part of the reason 1-0 came surprisingly easy.  However, I say just enjoy the moment.  The Vikings are not known as the team that does the butt-kicking in prime time games, though they are 5-3 in such games since the loss to Arizona on Thursday Night Football in 2015.  Plus, for those who now hate Adrian Peterson, Monday’s game had to be especially satisfying as a certain rookie completely showed him up.

The true test comes against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, who will have a much better defense chasing after Sam Bradford, Dalvin Cook, and the previously mentioned Thielen and Diggs.  Minnesota should know where its beloved warriors stand after Week 2.  All in all, if the offensive line can actually block all season, this offense should be fine. 

Week 16: Hello Mr. Vikings fan, Merry bleeping Christmas!

Being a Vikings fan is absolutely maddening.  I know, breaking news, right?

The only thing more maddening than watching this team fizzle out in the clutch every single year is wondering how it happens so consistently.  Sports are a cycle.  Sure, some teams remain good for years by making the correct decisions, but even teams considered bad change something whether ownership or front office personnel or simply players and become good for a time.  

The Pittsburgh Steelers began their history as an awful, awful team, but things shifted for them around the 1970s and Franco Harris’s “Immaculate Reception” started a wave of success that continues to the present day, as the Steelers currently possess the most Super Bowl victories in the league.

A rich team history…the Vikings have that, but without the hardware to show for it. 

It’s not like the team does things any differently from any other team.  The Vikes build through the draft, having constructed a strong defense that should have been able to propel the team into the playoffs as division champions again.  The Vikings sign key free agents to provide veteran leadership and depth.  They drafted a franchise quarterback in Teddy Bridgewater in 2014 and got Adrian Peterson in 2007.

So why does this team continue to fold like a cheap suit when it gets anywhere near success?  The Vikings’ last trip to the Super Bowl predates every Star Wars movie ever made.  The team has only had four real chances to go back since (1987, 1998, 2000, 2009), and most of you reading this know how those turned out.

With the way sports tend to cycle from year to year, one figures the Vikings have to have their turn at some point.  Some of the most historically awful NFL teams (Buccaneers, Saints) put together good years and won it all.  No amount of embarrassment over a number of years could keep them from their one shining moment. 

My fellow Vikings fans must feel tortured at this moment because they can look around the NFL and see the exact same things their front office does working for other teams.  The Dallas Cowboys drafted Ezekiel Elliot, who looks like the next-generation Adrian Peterson and they are 12-2, best record in the NFC; something to which the Vikings also laid claim at one point in 2016.  Meanwhile, the Vikings wasted the prime of the actual Adrian Peterson.

The most egregious example of “they have everything and we have nothing” (despite the fact that both teams do things virtually the same way) arrives this week in the form of a Green Bay Packers team that, in a twist surely no one saw coming (/sarcasm), righted the ship after some horrible losses of their own.  Just in time for Christmas.  Oh joy.  Two teams going in completely different directions.

The Packers, of course, need no introduction to Vikings fans.  As the haughtier of Packer fans consistently remind the fans of “little brother,” they have the most combined old-school NFL Championships and Super Bowls of any team.  Titletown USA, they call it.

The Packers have a quarterback who has made a career out of roasting the Vikings defense like chestnuts on an open fire.  They drafted him the same year the Vikings drafted Troy (bleeping) Williamson, though in the Vikes’ defense, Daunte Culpepper was coming off of a career year.  Before Rodgers, there was Favre; a man we all loved to hate, but he would have been our favorite player ever if only he didn't play for that team.

On the other side, the Vikings’ record at drafting QBs is spotty at best.  Fran Tarkenton is a legend and Tommy Kramer, along with Culpepper, was pretty good.  But Tavaris Jackson sucked.  Finally, they got Teddy Bridgewater, only for his leg to practically fall off as he suffered the fluke injury to end all fluke injuries, putting his future in limbo.

In closing, being a Vikings fan is like watching your friend get the hot new toy for Christmas.  It looks awesome and you beg your parents to buy you one…only for yours to wind up being a defective pile of fecal matter that breaks in ten seconds.  Except in this case, no matter how many times your parents get it replaced, it just keeps happening and happening.  It’s like you aren’t allowed to have this one specific toy.

Just like the Vikings seemingly aren’t allowed to have the same kind of success as other teams by copying their model.

Vikings-Packers at Lambeau.  Christmas Eve at noon.  Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst.

(In the improbable event of a Vikings win, potentially taking Green Bay down with them, here is a link that will brag for you!)

Ohhohohohohohohohoho, Delicious!

Week 12: Back in the saddle again? Can we keep it this time?

Did someone hit the reset button or something?

I distinctly remember being disappointed at having squandered a chance to open up a lead in the division last week.  Now, as we head into a showdown with the Falcons, suddenly we’re in first again with a chance to keep it, if only for another week?

I’m not sure if I should be ecstatic the Vikings got help from the Bears this week, or even more upset that they pulled one off against the Packers when we couldn’t. 

But, that’s okay.  All will be forgiven and forgotten, much like Brett Favre’s return to Green Bay (which made it even funnier when the Packers lost on the ultimate Packers night) if the Vikings can claim first with a win against the Atlanta Falcons.

There are warts on both sides.  Atlanta’s ultimate touchdown vulture Devonta Freeman is out with an injury on their side, but the Vikings might have the worst of it because we are missing our hitman; the best safety this team has got.  Antone Exum will apparently start in his place.  I’m excited for Antone to get his opportunity, but I’m prepared for the worst.

It goes without saying that if the Vikings want to be taken seriously as a playoff contender, they need to bounce back this week and get a win.  At 7-3, the Vikings lead the division, but they would currently have a game on the rest of the wild card teams if Green Bay had won to go to 8-3.  If the Packers want to continue melting down against every team that’s not the Vikings, that’s fine by me.  But, assuming the Packers find their late-season form again, the Vikings will definitely want to own the tiebreakers over the teams chasing them if they should happen to lose a couple down the stretch like they usually do.

A win Sunday might, dare I say it, put the Vikes in the driver’s seat for a wild card berth.  The remaining schedule is tough, but if the Vikings win half of their remaining games, that’s 10.  With how weak the NFC Wild Card hunt currently looks, 10 might be the magic number.  As for which three I’d pick the Vikings to win…uh, get back to me on that one. 

After all, anything can happen in the NFL. 

Here’s to a bounce-back win this time.

End of the ("Cupcake") Line: The Quest for 5-0

It’s finally here…the end of the five game “cupcake” portion of the schedule.

Though, let’s be honest here…none of these four prior games felt like cupcakes.  A six point win over the Chiefs the week after their best player went down with an ACL injury.  A nine-point win over the Lions where the Vikings couldn’t score much in the red zone and had to overcome an early 14-3 deficit.  The other two games left us to rely on formerly-much-maligned kicker Blair Walsh to claim victory. 

Yes, in theory, the Vikings needed to win at least four of these five to show improvement and stand any kind of chance against Green Bay in the division race.  As it stands, that’s exactly what this team has done.  

As of this writing (somewhere between the Packers game and the Vikings game), the Vikings and Packers are tied for the NFC North’s best record.  The Vikings actually have fewer points against, if that’s important to you.

Which is why, with “America’s Game of the Week” showdown with the Packers approaching, it goes without saying that it is in the best interests of the Vikings and their fans to go into next week tied atop the division as well.  The Packers get the easy route, as they take on the Lions at home, where they haven’t lost to Detroit in four straight presidential administrations.  For those keeping score, that’s before Brett Favre fell into their lap and made them good again.  So they’ll be 7-2.

The Vikings have a tougher road.  Ever since a few weeks ago, I have gotten more nervous about this game.  Carr is no slouch; he appears to be the real deal.  Some are discussing him as a sneaky MVP candidate.  The Raiders might be only 4-4, but they look like a much better 4-4 team then the Rams were.

The Vikings need to make the Raiders a one-dimensional offense like they’ve done with most of their opponents this season.  The defense will really have to get after Carr or he will carve them up.  They have done just fine over the past four weeks.  The question mark, once again, is the offense.  Adrian should get his yards, but can Teddy deliver in a game where he’ll certainly need to do so?

Oakland’s defense is not a strength like the Minnesota D.  They just got shredded by Pittsburgh last week.  If Teddy can have a big game and take care of the football, the Vikings should be able to go 5-0 to finish off the “easy” part of the schedule.  They need it, because everything ramps up after this week.

Week 9: Gurley vs Peterson; a tough one to call

I’ve been forced to re-think some things.

The Vikings are 5-2, on a three-game win streak, and conclude a favorable schedule run against the Rams and the Raiders; two teams that have had a recent history of being terrible (as have the Vikings).

The catch here is that these two teams seem to be coming out of that period along with the Vikes.  The Raiders will be a featured subject next week, but I’ve got plenty to talk about regarding this week’s opponent.

The Vikings have a long history with the Rams.  It’s been a fairly successful run, but they threw the biggest haymaker when they beat us in the 1999/2000 playoffs on the way to a very memorable Super Bowl win against the Titans. 

Lately, the series has been all Vikings. Brett Favre rolled to a 5-0 start in his good year with the team, a 38-10 blowout in 2009. Three years ago, Adrian Peterson ran for 212 yards near the tail end of his MVP season while Christian Ponder rode along just trying not to screw up anything. The Vikings held on for a 36-22 win.

Last year, the Vikings crushed the Rams 34-6; a victory that should have been a sign of great things to come for the purple and gold.  Instead, it wound up being one of just a handful of highlights from what we can really call a lost year.  Last season, Matt Cassel led the Vikings.  Some people thought Teddy Bridgewater should have started from the word “go” in 2014.

This year, Teddy gets his chance.  He has Adrian Peterson.  He has Charles Johnson back, which is good with Stefon Diggs limping along a bit.  But, this game will be no walk in the park.  The Vikings offense has struggled to close victories over lesser teams than St. Louis.  When I thought the Vikings might roll to non-nail-biting wins against the hapless Chiefs and Lions, they ended up having to grind and made all of Vikings territory (see what I did there?) squirm.

Last week, it looked like another loss to Chicago before Teddy turned back into Teddy after spending the game looking like someone else.  Resiliency has been a theme for this team all season.  They’ll need it against Todd Gurley, who has been a stud this season since being cleared for NFL action.

In fact, this Vikings-Rams game resembles the famous Chargers-Vikings game from 2007.  A comparison Branden and I have thrown around quite a bit this season is that the Rams heavily resemble the 2007 Vikings. Solid defense, stud halfback, but Nick Foles is a better quarterback than Tavaris Jackson was.

Overall, the Vikings look better on paper, but this team has been unable to score touchdowns in the red zone.  They’ve struggled to beat teams whose seasons are turning pear-shaped.  St. Louis is proving that solid defense + running game = better chance at victory.  The Vikings should win, but the cupcake portion of the schedule has ended prematurely.  

Oakland will be no picnic either.  Derek Carr is blossoming into a star quarterback before our eyes.