Preseason Game 01, Vikings Lose To Rams 13-10

The Wind Is A Pirate…

Sorry, wrong intro.

It’s been a long off season waiting for the Vikings to once again take the field. Tonight, the wait is over. Gone is quarterback Brad Johnson, who was blamed for the majority of the offensive woes of the team in 2006.

Gone is Mike Tomlin, the young tenacious defensive coordinator who took the defense from almost last ranked to the top ten. He is now the head honcho in Pittsburgh taking over for the retired Bill Cowher.

Gone is Marcus Robinson, Travis Taylor, Bethel Johnson, and Koren Robinson, receivers for the Vikings leaving the lone starter Troy Williamson to pick up the slack. Hopefully, Troy will see the light. And the damn football!

Gone is Fred Smoot, the high priced free agent cornerback who was supposed to solidify the defensive back position. He was a total bust. However, he did throw a great boat party.

Gone is Napoleon Harris, middle linebacker, part of the infamous Randy Moss trade. (Sorry, I mentioned Randy Moss again in an update) Harris, by the middle of the season was flourishing in the new Vikings defensive scheme.

Gone is Mike Rosenthal, O line, and a whole lot of false starts and holding penalties.

Gone is Jermaine Wiggins, Tight end, who just a year ago was an integral part of the offense. Now, just another tight end to fill the void.

Gone is the 6-10 losing season which started out with so much promise and also my Las Vegas bet for the Vikings to win the super bowl.

This year, Las Vegas odds are 50-1 for the Vikings to win the super bowl, and yes, my hard earned cash is once again riding on the Vikes to win it all. Tonight’s opening game loss 13-10 to the Rams has not moved the odds, which, isn’t a bad thing.

Noticed:
Noticed: Coach Brad Childress is bald. Who knew? What with him holding the offensive play card over his face every damn game.

Tarvaris Jackson. He slimmed down and appears to have digested the offense implemented by Childress. Noticed he looked very sharp under center as well. No bad decisions, no bad throws, no interceptions, no happy feet and apparently less happy meals.

Chester Taylor. Very limited action with one carry and one reception. This gave way to the prized rookie, (No, we’re not talking about CB McCauley yet) Adrian Peterson who saw action tonight. Taylor is coming off a bruised arm and appears OK but left out as a precautionary measure.

Adrian Peterson. Did anyone else think that Childress kept Peterson in the game in hopes he would break a long run. I know I was anticipating one from him. He did have a couple of good runs. Glad he didn’t get injured. (I admit I was nervous watching him run) 11 runs for 33 yards is not lighting it up, but the rookie jitters are now over and I expect positive things from Peterson in next week’s game.

Why isn’t Jason Carter’s name tossed around when wide receivers are brought up? Let’s see, we have Williamson, Wade, McMullen, Rice, Allison, Williams, Nance, and Carter. Carter is a valuable player, punt return, kick return, 3rd or 4th receiver. All he does is make plays when he’s on the field.

Noticed Chad Greenway played a game without a season ending injury. He’s good folks, just a little ribbing for Chad. Wonder if he has Alltel wireless plan?

Noticed that we have 6 safeties vying for 4 spots. Methinks we should keep all 6 offering Greg Blue a chance to be on special teams and play in the dime package. I remember Tank getting hurt and being out all season and Sharper, well, he’s 32 years old, and well, he won’t be around much longer.

Noticed Longwell missed a FG. Not a good omen. I do not want his nick name to be Damien.

Noticed Troy Williamson caught 3 passes for 30 plus yards. And no drops. He and Jackson seem to be on the same page, which is a good sign.

Noticed Ray Edwards, and how he will push for a starting DE spot. And Brian Robison. James and Udeze, I hope you noticed them as well. Perhaps a view from the bench.

Noticed rookie McCauly. I think he is the #3 corner.

Some things never change. Our special teams, again, not so special. We are terrible on coverage.

Final Thoughts:

I admit that I was impressed with T. Jacksons progress so far. He looked poised and I hope Childress plays him significantly in the final three preseason games. he needs the reps.

And speaking of reps, I would like to see Peterson get another 10-12 carries next week as well. The more he and Taylor work together, the better the offense. I predict big things from Peterson, over a 1000 yards rushing and double digit TD’s.

Until next week, SKOL VIKINGS!

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