Postgame Reports

Contents

PLAYOFFS

Minnesota at Atlanta

Looked like it was going to be a repeat of the playoff game. Very little offense from Minnesota -- running or passing -- but they did just enough on the last drive. The defense did a great job shutting down Jamal Anderson, but they did not pressure the QB enough. Ramos McDonald & Anthony Bass will have to play better. The Vikings were very lucky to win that game. Despite what Ray Sherman says, the Viking offense did not do enough to win that game (0 points in the second half) -- the Falcons screwed up just enough (turnovers, missed FGs) to lose the game.

I'd rather play bad and win than play great and lose, but if the Vikes don't improve, we could end up playing bad AND losing.

Oakland at Minnesota

The Vikes moved the ball very well offensively in the first half, but couldn't translate that into points. The 2nd half was a totally different game. The offense went into hibernation and the defense wore down. The offensive line needs to do a better job of run blocking; when teams gear up to stop the pass, we've got to take advantage by running the ball effectively.

On defense, there were occasional signs of a pass rush, but that's when Gannon's mobility killed us. The rest of the time he had all day to throw. I won't even talk about our field goal team - that was pathetic.

Although this was a game we shoulda coulda won, at least the offense showed signs of life in the first half.

Minnesota at Green Bay

Ouch! A tough road game that would've been a great win. It's easy to second guess after the fact, but it sure seems like Hitchcock didn't need to bite so hard on the pump fake at the end. The Packers were out of time outs and out of time - just keep them out of the endzone. I know it's a whole different matter in the heat of the moment , but as I was watching Green Bay set up for that last play, I couldn't help but think of that fake spike which ended up being a touchdown pass for the Dolphins a few years back. Minnesota should've been prepared for a shot at the endzone.

Now that I've got that off my chest…. I think the defense played a great game overall. Duane Clemons showed signs that he may finally be developing into the player we hoped he'd be, and the return of Chris Doleman paid dividends quicker than I expected.

Tampa Bay at Minnesota

The offense MUST become more consistent (in a good way). Randy Moss's first touchdown was because the Bucs were dumb enough to give him single coverage. His second touchdown was a result of lining him up in the slot and having a linebacker covering him. Tony Dungy's defense quickly adjusted after just one quarter and our offense disappeared again. There is absolutely no excuse for not finishing off a team when you have them down early like that. The offense has to help out the defense by playing 4 quarters of solid football. After 4 games, we've been outscored 43-17 in the 2nd half, including 19-3 in the 3rd quarter alone. (So much for halftime adjustments, coach Sherman.)

Don't get too excited about our offense just yet. That 21-0 performance in the first quarter is definitely another step in the right direction, but unless they can sustain that for an entire game we don't know that it wasn't just a fluke.

Chicago at Minnesota

Pathetic. Randall Cunningham and Jimmy Kleinsasser screwed up just enough between them to cost us a much-needed win in our division. Not a lot of people wanted to say it, but most people were thinking it: maybe we'd be better off with Jeff George at QB. Now a lot of people are going to be talking about it. I understand and accept the fact that Kleinsasser is a rookie and will make mistakes (although I wouldn't have given him the opportunity to make so many), but there's no excuse for the numerous mistakes made by Cunningham in this game.

Minnesota's defense certainly could've played better. (I expected more from the Viking pass rush and our DB's seem to be a couple steps away from the receivers on every play.) However, ALL of Chicago's points were the result of Minnesota turnovers and that can be blamed on the offense. I don't think I've ever seen a team look so inept trying to run a simple screen play. Every time the Vikings executed the screen, it was a disaster - fumbles, no blockers, throwing to a man who wasn't open, etc.

Obviously, there is plenty of blame to go around, but expect most of it to fall on Cunningham and Ray Sherman. Expect to see Jeff George next week too, if Cunningham doesn't play like gangbusters.

Minnesota at Detroit

If you listened to Chris Collinsworth at halftime on FOX, he said it all. The Vikings showed no heart, no pride, no motivation. For such an important game, it almost seemed like they didn't care. Whatever was said at halftime by the players and Coach Green might have had an effect, but I doubt it. If they were so upset about their poor play, why did they wait until halftime to get fired up? (If they had responded sooner, they would've won the game.)

I personally feel the team had lost confidence in Randall Cunningham's ability to run the team without Brian Billick and Brad Johnson to help him along. Cunningham has not been able to read most blitzes and he hasn't been going to his secondary and third receivers enough when his first option is covered. This isn't entirely Randall's fault though, the offensive line has played poorly for the majority of the season and the running game hasn't been there either. This puts more pressure on the QB.

When Jeff George came in and moved the team and, more importantly, SCORED TOUCHDOWNS, the team got their confidence back. THAT'S why the Vikings were so fired up in the second half. Based on the Viking team I saw in the first half, I would've predicted the Vikings would finish the season with a losing record. However, even though the coaches got conservative again at the end by running the ball to use up Detroit's time outs (instead of throwing the ball to get a first down and a touchdown that probably would've won the game), the Viking team I saw in the second half has their confidence back and I expect them to rebound and play like the Viking juggernaut of last year.

San Francisco at Minnesota

A solid win - just what we needed. Now the team knows they're capable of repeating last year's performance. While the 49ers may not be juggernauts, this was a giant step in the right direction. The pass rush was actually fairly effective throughout the game and the offensive line had their best day so far this season.

However, the Vikings dropped two GIFT-WRAPPED interceptions and that can not continue. For a team that has been struggling for INTs as much as us, there is no excuse for dropping all these potential picks. I know the Vikings used to practice making interceptions when Tony Dungy was still here. If they stopped doing that, they'd better start again, because when you cover as loose as we've been this season, you can't afford to have hands of stone when you have a chance to pick one off.

Minnesota at Denver

A hard-fought victory that may do more for the team than a blowout would have. Still, it's hard to believe that we struggled so much against a Denver team without John Elway, Terrell Davis, & Shannon Sharpe for the entire game, and without Ed McCaffrey, Derek Loville, and Alfred Williams for a large portion of the game. This game helped bring the team together; both the offense and defense played poorly at times, but both contributed with big plays at crucial points in the game. Hopefully, this serves as a wakeup call for the Vikings not to get too overconfident - switching from Randall Cunningham to Jeff George has definitely helped, but the entire team has to play it's best each week if we're going to have a good year.

Dallas at Minnesota

Not the inspired, prime-time performance I expected for a nationally televised game at home. There is no excuse for the sloppy, lackluster performance. The thing that upset me most is that they looked like they didn't even care. While everyone at home was yelling and screaming at their TVs in anger during the first half, the Vikings were just going through the motions and waited until halftime to regroup. I've got news for you: if you play that bad on a regular basis and wait until halftime to do something about it, it's usually going to be too late. The Vikings were EXTREMELY fortunate that they were able to come back and win this game. The coaches and/or players should've been mad. They should've been yelling at each other - not to blame them, but to rally them and to get them fired up. And they shouldn't have waited until halftime to do it.

Minnesota at Chicago

It has become painfully obvious that the Vikings are a mediocre team. The poor play by all units seems to indicate a lack of discipline and emotion. Does anyone else think that Leroy Hoard should be chewed out big time for nearly fumbling away the game at the end of regulation? (Actually, I thought it was a fumble.) Forget the fact that Anderson missed the field goal anyway. There's no way you should even come close to fumbling in that situation. Unfortunately, I think the only thing the Vikes are thinking about right now is that they're back in first place. What they should really be concentrating on is improving the caliber of their play, or they won't stay in first place very long. I commend the Vikings for hanging in their each game and finding a way to somehow pull out a victory from the jaws of defeat. However, if the Vikings don't start relying on talent instead of luck, they may not even finish the season with a winning record.

San Diego at Minnesota

This team has to learn how to play for an entire game instead of just in spurts. The defense does little to help out the offense, but the offense goes into the tank at times too. Minnesota had an opportunity to blow this team away, but instead made the game much closer than it should've been. If the Vikings were a potential Super Bowl champion, this game would've been over by halftime. 400+ yards passing to Jim Miller & Jim Harbaugh!? Expect a shakeup in the defensive coaching staff this offseason if things don't improve.

Minnesota at Tampa Bay

Pathetic yet again. Bad passes by Jeff George all night long; dropped passes by Chris Carter & Randy Moss all night long; mental breakdowns by the offensive line all night long; shotgun snaps on the ground by Jeff Christy all night long; no pass rush by the defense all night long; shaky performance in EVERY aspect of special teams all night long. The Vikings are not out of the playoff hunt by any means, but they certainly don't deserve to be there. Minnesota has played like a .500 team because that's exactly what they are.

Minnesota at Kansas City

At least the Vikings of the glory years played well in big games during the regular season and playoffs - it wasn't until the Super Bowl that they fell apart. This Vikings squad has played absolutely terrible EVERY SINGLE TIME they've been on national TV this season. I keep waiting for players like Randy Moss and Todd Steussie to atone for their sub-par performances, but instead they continue to make mistakes. The comebacks Minnesota has made have been fantastic, but they haven't always been enough. It doesn't take a genius to know that you can't afford to spot your opponent 21 points at the onset of a big game on the road. Randy Moss is an awesome player, but he dropped two key passes that he should have caught easily and he also had two killer fumbles. He is far from the only player on the team whose play has been inconsistent, but great teams can't have players making those types of mistakes. That's why Minnesota is not a great team this year.

Green Bay at Minnesota

A slight improvement over their poor showings on national TV so far this season, but still far from a stellar performance. The defense had several missed opportunities, including 3 Viking players failing to recover a Green Bay fumble that was right in their laps. Randy Moss sometimes makes it look easy (ala Robert Smith), but sometimes it looks easy because he's too lackadaisical; that's when he gets into trouble. (See fumbled punt return for 2^nd week in a row.) Robert Tate did an excellent job stepping in at CB and he's finally starting to show the big play kick return ability he displayed in the preseason during his rookie year.

This was a big win for Minnesota, but they can't relax at all. The defense put pressure on Favre early, then settled back into their usual "no QB pressure, no WR coverage" defense and let Green Bay waltz up and down the field. If this team can't keep it together for a whole game, how can we expect them to win it all?

One final note: I am a Robert Griffith fan, but he took a huge risk batting that last pass up in the air to try and make the interception. He was extremely lucky that Robert Tate made a heads up play by laying out the WR after the initial contact. Otherwise, we could be griping about another game we let slip away. Next time bat the ball down!!

Minnesota at N.Y. Giants

The best overall performance by the Vikings all season. They even managed to throw to the tight end a few times! The offense was able to cut down its mistakes; the special teams made a huge contribution; even the defense picked it up a little more. Having said that, I think the Vikings would have been in trouble if not for the inspiring performance of an injured Chris Carter. Carter got the Vikings started after they fell behind to the Giants. Ray Sherman's play call on the Moss to Carter TD pass caught everyone by surprise and should silence any remaining critics he might have had.

On defense, if Robert Tate continues to improve upon his quality performance at CB, he may end up starting in the secondary next season. The defensive line had their best day of the season, partly because Duane Clemons, who is naturally a right DE, was able to play effectively at the left end spot. This allowed John Randle to move back inside next to an effective Chris Doleman. IF the Vikings can continue to build on this performance, a Super Bowl title is entirely possible this season.

Detroit at Minnesota

A bit of a letdown after the impressive showing against the Giants. Minnesota did what they had to do to win the game, but they were unable to make a statement that they are in top form. The defensive line managed to shut down the Lions running game and they got to the QB a lot, but somehow the Lions still managed to move the ball. The offense will have to step it up when the playoffs start next week and the pass defense will need to continue to play better. If that happens, the Vikings can still go all the way. Otherwise Minnesota could be out after two games.

Playoffs:

Dallas at Minnesota (NFC Wildcard Game)

The Vikes got off to another slow start, which is not acceptable in the playoffs. Fortunately, they were able to recover and pull away. Robert Smith led the Vikings this time with a spirited performance, showing why he is so valuable to the team. The defense played pretty well for the most part, but the defensive line will have to put a lot more pressure on Kurt Warner next week than they did against Troy Aikman. Jimmy Hitchcock has been exposed as the weakest link in our defensive backfield, even though he's supposed to be the best cornerback we have. Hopefully he'll play over his head next week.