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.

Road Warriors...or Legion of Doomed?

The Vikings seem to be finding an identity as a physical team.  Mike Zimmer wants this group to simply beat up whoever lines up as the signal caller across from his front seven.  One week later, I’m willing to bet Phillip Rivers is still feeling the sting from the Vikings-Chargers game.

I did not see a blowout coming.  San Diego is a solid team, and I think we’ll continue to see that throughout the rest of the season.  Of course, on the other hand, maybe this means the Vikings are a solid team, too. 

Do we dare buy into the hype?  I mean, it was only three short weeks ago that the Vikings lost 20-3 in the latest prime time game to forget.  Now, however, the Vikings look like a completely different team after a pair of solid victories at home.  The big test approaches; a late afternoon contest in Denver against one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.  Yes, Peyton Manning is several years older than the last time the Vikings faced him, but he is (to borrow a phrase) quarterback immortality.

I don’t expect the Vikings to win this game on the road, but if things continue to progress the way they have, look for Minnesota to play the Broncos close.  It will be interesting to see if either Peyton Manning, one of the best final-drive QBs in the history of this sport will get to lead one, or if the Broncos will leave too much time for Teddy.

Or, it could be an embarrassing beatdown for the Vikings, who will be thin at receiver.  But, I don’t like to think like that.  Here’s to a hopeful 3-1 start.  If the Vikings can beat Denver, I think it’s okay to get on the Skol Train. 

One and one...just as planned.

See? What did I say? 

Oh yeah, the Vikings will play much better once they escape the perils of prime time.

Told you so. 

I could just end the post right here, but I have other things to say.  A brief reality check: the Lions are still the Lions.  Teddy looked good, but we expect him to look good against Detroit.  Same goes for Adrian Peterson.  Speaking of AP, I’m a little nervous at his first serious case of Fumblitis (thank you Madden Football) in about five years.  He ran well, but I was having nightmares about a certain playoff game.

Take out the fumbles, however, and he gave the offense exactly what it needed.  Matt Asiata ran the ball well a year ago, but there is no replacing the freak of nature that Adrian Peterson is.  As mentioned earlier, Teddy Bridgewater looked like he’s supposed to look.  It feels good to say that with the quarterbacks we’ve stuck behind center the past several years. 

I find it interesting people are freaking out over one missed extra point.  Maybe they missed the part where Blair Walsh hit his next field goal try to put the Vikings up by 16.  I’m hoping he’ll be okay again soon, but it isn’t like he has cost the team any games yet.  The Vikings built a big enough lead and were able to sit on it for once and “hang on” to win by double digits.

Again, the Lions are still the Lions.  I’m not going to call the Vikings a playoff team because they beat Detroit.  The Vikings have to stand up and beat the Packers and Bears (preferably sweeps of both) before I would go that far.  But, anything can happen in the NFL.  That’s the beauty of watching every Sunday, Monday and Thursday. 

The Vikings play the Chargers Sunday for the first time since AP’s record-setting day in his rookie season.  It will be interesting to see what he can do eight years later for an encore performance.  Phillip Rivers has done well to start the season.  He’s tossed a couple of interceptions, but his completion percentage is ridiculous so far.  I’m nervous for this game because he is one of those quarterbacks who can hack and slash a defense that can’t get pressure on him.

I think the Vikings can play with the Chargers.  It will a fun, close game to watch, more fun if the Vikings pull out the win. 

Hopefully the Vikings come out and eat lightning and…well, you know the rest.