The Vikings' season has gone down in flames.
What a ridiculous game. The Vikings looked disinterested, disheveled, disheartened and disengaged… until the last quarter, when they apparently found a little bit of pride left in the bottom of the barrel. It was too little, too late.
If this doesn’t prove to all of you people out there still defending Leslie Frazier that HE CANNOT coach or motivate this team, I don’t know what more it will take. 2 games this week and both times this team was not prepared and completely lacked any semblance of professionalism.
On the first play of the game, Charlie Johnson was called for a false start. And it was all downhill from there. Horrible tackling, lack of care with the ball and uninspiring performances by nearly every member of the squad. I think that Adrian Peterson would have had a very good day, but unfortunately, he was lost to us early in the second quarter.
Toby Gerhart is no Adrian Peterson. I think we can all agree on that.
The Good
Chad Greenway got Frazier's challenge. The rest of the defense took a nap.
Chad Greenway actually had a sack today, his first of the season and his first tackle for a loss of the season. He ended the day with 7 solo tackles, 8 assists and a sack.
3 personal fouls on the Raiders in the first quarter. That’s not really “good” but it kept our drive going.
Adrian Peterson got rushing TD #11, but didn’t make much headway in his quest to be the Vikings’ all-time leading rusher. He had 26 yards on the day, leaving him with 165 yards I believe before he breaks the record.
We actually blocked a field goal attempt for the first time since 2007! What kind of sad stat is that? We just aren’t very good at blocking punts or field goals – although the reverse happens to us fairly frequently.
Percy Harvin being used as a running back in the absence of Adrian Peterson. Perhaps he should be used more there. He had 5 carries for 21 yards rushing and 6 receptions for 76 yards. It was good to have him fully in the game.
The Bad
He can run. And has to a lot because our woe-line brings sadness & defeat.
Christian Ponder throwing an INT into double coverage in the red zone, setting up a TD scoring drive for the Raiders in the 1st quarter. Christian Ponder throwing another INT in 3rd quarter… setting up yet another Raiders TD. Christian Ponder throwing another red-zone INT that, due to a Michael Bush fumble, resulted in a Brian Robison recovery instead of another 7 points for the Raiders.
For the game, he went 19/33 for 211 yards with 2 TDs… and 3 INTs. Ponder made poor decisions out there today. I was hoping to see better decisions – not worse – with increased game time. The good news is that he takes full responsibility in his pressers.
The o-line had some of its worst play since the start of the season – and that’s saying a LOT given how crappy that line is to begin with. We need some serious upgrades along that o-line in the off-season. Since we’ll have high picks and all that – based on our travesty of a season.
Jared Allen’s 11 game streak with a sack was broken today. In his defense, he was held frequently and the Raiders were working the soft side with Robison quite a bit, taking the field of play away from him. Surprisingly, he ended the day with 0 solo tackles and just 2 assists.
Booker: Sometimes good. Usually not.
Lorenzo Booker fumbling on the 17 yard line when returning a kick and the Raiders recovering with less than 2 minutes in the 1st half, leading to another Raiders TD. Booker seems to have issues with holding onto the ball.
Penalties. 9 penalties for 50 yards. This team remains undisciplined. Of course, it could have been worse… we could be the Raiders with 12 for 117 yards. And if you’re thinking about that stat… that’s more than the length of the field, which theoretically would have led to some kind of advantage for us. But no, because it’s the Vikings and the team isn’t able to capitalize on those kind of mistakes. Much.
Leslie... Your coaching leaves me grimacing. And you can't motivate.
The Ugly
The FANS during the injury time out when Darrius Heyward-Bey was being strapped to a gurney with a potentially serious neck injury. You stupid people decided to do the WAVE???? This isn’t Chicago people. We’re not a bunch of classless ruffians. What is WRONG with you people attending that game? The team is embarrassing enough and now those of you doing the wave made the whole fan base look like a bunch of asses. Way to go.
Adrian Peterson’s ankle injury. It was ugly and he was carted off. He came back later in the game to hobble around on the sidelines, but he didn’t take the field again. Which was good – he needs to give that ankle some time.
The officiating! Phantom holding calls, miscalling of downs… what the heck was going on with them today? They were amateur at best.
Run stopping. Or rather, the lack thereof. Invisible pass defense. The defense looked anemic at nearly every position today. There was a Kevin Williams sighting. One. His first sack since 2009.
Special teams. All areas… kicking, punting, special teams coverage… Kick returns of 20, 36 and 46 yards allowed. Kluwe mishandling a snap on a field goal attempt. Sweet baby Odin… not good all around.
This was an incredibly painful game to watch across the board. These kinds of games suck the life right out of you. Or at least they suck the life right out of me. Leslie Frazier obviously can’t motivate this team. He & Musgrave cannot adjust and the whole team is flat.
I’ll end with this: I hope that Adrian Peterson & Darrius Heyward-Bey have speedy recoveries.
Skol Vikings Nation.
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