For Vikings fans, that went about as well as we could have hoped. Sunday’s victory over the Atlanta Falcons showcased several positive things that were all-too-uncertain heading into the regular season premiere.
Anybody who reads this column with any level of regularity knows there were three issues that frustrated me last year that I pegged as primary reasons the lack of success: the lack of output by the receiving corps, the defensive line not putting enough pressure on opposing quarterbacks and poor special teams play. By and large, the Vikings enjoyed some level of success in each of these areas.
The most positive from yesterday: the pass rush. In 2006 the Vikings defensive line combined for 18 sacks. That’s right…in total, all players who saw time on the line totaled less than 20. Last year Shawne Merriman had 17 sacks in 12 games. On Sunday against the Falcons the defense notched six, including four by the line. Rookie Brian Robison had two, Spencer Johnson and Kenchi Udeze (who was shut out last year) had one apiece, and E.J. Henderson—who played one of the most impressive games of his career—knocked out two more. As the FOX crew said in the pregame show, “Joey Harrington is Joey Harrington.” The secret to beating a team being quarterbacked by the former Oregon Duck is to get to him early and get to him often. Even when the Vikings were unable to pressure him before he threw the ball, they were making him toss it before he was ready. The interception by Kevin Williams was due in large part to Harrington being rushed throwing the ball.
On special teams, the Vikings avoided giving up the big play—something that haunted them far too often last year. Adam Jennings, the Atlanta return man, had five kickoff returns for 98 yards—an average of less than 20 per return. Chris Kluwe did a fantastic job punting the football. While only averaging 38 yards on five punts, he downed all of them inside the 20 and Jennings amassed a total of one yard on the two he was able to attempt a return on. I would take results like this any day of the week.
The Vikings did not have a player catch more than two balls; however, Tarvaris Jackson (as clichéd as this is) played within himself all day long. In what was his third professional start, Jackson utilized nine different receivers in completing 13 of his 23 passes. The highlight, of course, was the 60-yard throw-and-run to Adrian Peterson for the fourth-quarter touchdown. This followed a Matt Prater 45-yard field goal that pulled Atlanta within seven on the previous drive. Any momentum the Falcons had tried to mount was squashed by the young duo’s scoring play.
Atlanta was ripe for the picking. They came into the game with a roster in a sort of disarray, their quarterback situation looking far graver than they thought it would be only a couple of months earlier and a couple key components coming back from injuries that had to get back up to game speed. The Vikings could have played far too close of a game and played to the level of their competition. Instead, they came in and put an exclamation point on a few areas of their game and left this fan impressed and feeling far better about his favorite squad than he was prior to kickoff.
I’m still waiting as patiently as I can for Erasmus James to return to the starting lineup. I really believe he is a double-digit sack kind of guy…My Game Ball goes to Peterson with an honorable mention to Henderson and Kluwe…much like last season’s Terrell Owens drama, I would be just fine if I never heard Michael Vick’s name again…another game, another (make it two more) defensive score…on Thursday night Fox Sports Net covered the St. Cloud Tech/Sartell high school football game. It was great to see my alma mater, the Sartell Sabres, on a prime time stage and central Minnesota football getting some TV time…speaking of that broadcast, Anthony LaPanta, Ron Johnson, and Tom Linnemann do a great job with the high school broadcasts on FSN. If you’re not going to head out and watch a live game every Friday night, I suggest you tune in…not that I went out on a limb in doing so, but my pick of a New England/Dallas Super Bowl looks even better now than it did prior to Week One…I wonder what percentage of Americans participate in some type of fantasy football, survivor league, or Monday Night Football pick ‘em contest. It has to push 70%...Jackson, Peterson, and Sidney Rice form an awfully fun trio of young players to watch develop…the Merriman/Steven Jackson Nike commercial is awesome.
The Vikings head to Detroit, Kansas City, and then host Green Bay over the next three weeks prior to their Week Five bye. This schedule gives our team every opportunity to be in a good spot heading into their off week. They must capitalize early in the season because the schedule gets increasingly tougher as the season progresses. Until next time, it’s been a pleasure…