NFC NORTH CHAMPS

CONGRATS!

I'd also like to send a congrats to AP for his rushing title! 1760 yards!


AP looking at the jumbotron for would be tacklers

We won the game,
we won the division,
we are hosting PHILLY

and now for something completely different

People who don't like CHILLY still complain to me. WTF?! Ticky tack- about how we wasted 15 seconds at the end of the game or the QB draw play on 4th and 1. People who hate T JACK will say he threw that un-timely interception.... and? your point ? ( I liked the draw play, TUCK just made a good hustle play)

Like I always say, I am just glad the players AND coaches don't get so freaked out and down every time a mistake or miscue happens or we never would have kept fighting all those games this year, showing resolve and pluck, and winning the division.

I'd also like to point out to the rubes that we don't always know why things happen on the field, maybe T JACK freaked out and burned that final time out because he needed a second, maybe the head set malfunctioned, maybe he noticed he didn't have the right players on the field. No coach would intentionally do that, obvious no?! I noticed us try to hike the ball and get them on a penalty for too many men or offsides which was cheeky and would have gotten us 5 yards closer... but annoyingly the refs wouldn't let us it seemed.

HOW CAN PEOPLE COMPLAIN ABOUT CLOCK MANAGEMENT WHEN WE HAVE HAD SO MANY COME BACKS AND GAME WINNERS? SO WINNING THE GAME AS TIME EXPIRED ISN'T PERFECT CLOCK MANAGEMENT?

You can't convince people to stop being negative or seeing things as half full when they only see them as empty- and I won't try. I will just say that I feel sorry for those people.

Here we have "good coaches" with arguably more talent then our team, Dallas and Tampa Bay, choking big time, you also have the Patriots not making the playoffs as well!!! Those two teams were picked to win it all this year! And people are STILL down about Chilly. (Dumb asses)

Hey assholes- we are the 3rd seed in the NFC, after starting out 1 and 3!

And all the players who made plays today, guess who brought them in as free agents.. go ahead. Take a wild guess.

Berrian's TD, AP's, SHANKS catches, WADE's... ALL free agents CHILLY signed.
(Not to mention Jared Allen, Chester Taylor, HUTCH etc.)

-NEXT WEEK-

We need to force some turnovers for pete's sake! Where have our interceptions and forced fumbles been hiding?? I am not so worried yet as we just played two really really good ball control bang and bruise running teams but still..

We need to GET to the QB next week... our blitzes looked like blintzes!

And one last thing. TAVARIS please stop doing this!

Please put your balls away when you are being hugged

MY DADDY ALWAYS SAID...

You know there has been some useless speculation going around about if so and so's mishandling was a "muff" or "fumble."  In our game, in the PACK game...

I think all this could be cleared up if you just listen to what my daddy used to say.

"Son, I don't care if it's a muff or a fumble you dive on it either way!"

Memo to VIKES-

 if it's loose! dive on it

Open Letter to A.P.

Hi...

So we all love you. You're purple Jesus after all. We love how you "finish runs" but we are all getting worried about your fumbles etc. Like they said on TV last night. You seem to be "trying to hard."

I watched the guy from Carolina run, he ran for 20 yards down the sideline, saw 2 DBs coming and just walked out of bounds. If you already have the first and the only thing bending, twisting, spinning, reaching out or hurdling will get you is another .74 yards, please don't do it. Just cover up the ball and "keep the drive alive."

Not only will this reduce your league leading fumble ratio, but it will also reduce the chances of you getting hurt. (Or hurting someone from the opposing team)

Adrian Peterson... Purple Jesus... you're the "one"

PSALM #28

Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.

JOB #28

Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold [where] they fine [it]...He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots.

Remember the "5 points of pressure rule." I am not sure what it means, but I have a feeling it has to do with two hands while holding it into your body. Look at rugby players, they lateral the ball hundreds of times, no problems. So why can't you be as proficient?

Thanks and good luck. 

THE GREAT NEGATORS

IT'S not an extinct crocodile dinosaur. It's what our scary looking red colored commentator* man referred to as fumbles. Say no more. Let's skip ahead, for now, to the really annoying non call at the end. We won't talk about T-JACK's insane performance, SHANKS crazy handles or BERRIAN AND PURPLE JESUITS fumbles... not today... Here for all of you to peruse is the proof that it was indeed interference by the DIRTY BIRDS #24.

(special thanks to Xander Man for his quick photoshop efforts)

Sidney Rice gives D. Foxworth a congratulatory hand shake for making the playoffs

I am too annoyed and pissed off right now to expound on the game. I am proud of our guys though. They showed a lot of heart and fight. If we make the playoffs I'd be real scared going into the dome. I don't think we will keep gifting wins for teams like we did today or against the COLTS or TITANS - two division winning teams we went toe to toe with early in the season.

Add this English transplant to my list of least favorite ATLANTA athletes. He's right up there with Jamal Anderson and Mark Lemke. Congrats domonique with an "O"! You're a wanker as they say in your hometown of OXFORD, ENGLAND.

WANKER!

CONGRATULATIONS SHANKS! You get my game ball, leading the league in receiving yards this week!

* Brian Baldinger the scary looking commentator

Let's get a Stadium!

Dear Vikings Fan:

As the Vikings push toward an NFC North title and the NFL playoffs, we are asking you to join our team to help secure a new home for Vikings football.

While the State of Minnesota steps up to face current economic challenges, the Vikings stadium project will deliver thousands of jobs when an economic boost is desperately needed.

It is our expectation that the Vikings will move forward in 2009 with a discussion at the State Legislature about resolving the stadium issue. With only 30 home games left until the Metrodome lease expires in 2011, we need to rally Vikings fans and supporters to ensure that our voices are heard as state leaders tackle this important issue.

Please click here to join our team and be part of the stadium solution. Being part of Minnesota Momentum will keep you updated on important stadium developments and let you know how you can help resolve this issue.

Please visit MinnesotaMomentum.com to find out more. Thank you for your time and consideration, and thank you for joining our team.

Sincerely,

Bud Grant
Vikings Hall of Fame Coach
Co-Chair, Minnesota Momentum

Larry Spooner
Vikings Fan
Co-Chair, Minnesota Momentum

Since AP has set the club record for yards in a season...

Here is a list of my all time favorite and least favorite Viking RBs  (In Order)

Favorites ( I never saw Chuck Foreman play really much so...)

• Adrian Peterson
• Terry Allen
• Chester Taylor
• Robert Smith
• Rick Finney
• Leroy Hoard

Least Favorites

• Darrin Nelson
• D.J Dozier
• Herschel Walker
• Ontario Smith
• Alfred Anderson (just never liked him)

Here is proof that I am cured of VIKINGS NEGATIVITY SYNDROME

I sent this to a blogger on the VIKES site just before the bye week.  It's fun to look back at the week of doubt knowing what we know now.  So many fans were fed up and losing hope.  At the same time you had teams like Buffalo and the SKINS and Dallas dominating. Ha!  

In my humble opinion it's a team that is on the verge of getting it all together. we have yet to have a "solid game" we always have some dumb turnovers, penalties, some bad call or some un-characteristic weird play (see punt drop)

you have to believe that we will "nip that shit in the bud" regardless of chilly and his gang (my take on chilly is very neutral, i think they get too much credit and too much blame, as do quarterbacks) and their efforts.  these guys are all evolving as one group.. like 11 dingo's that are hunting a gazelle and they have to work together and if one of them messes up, well, they all starve. I think our team is hungry! i really do, and I am not being a homer... I am just using common sense.

Sure we all had big expectations, so have the dallas fans. they have no excuse, at least we have excuses =p

Keep your head up.. I think the bye is perfect timing and the vikes will come back with some new wrinkles to give us a few more three and outs on the defensive side.. a few more looks on offense.. a little more flair.

very quietly berrian is on pace for 1000 yards. shankoe is on pace to have a solid year.. AP is on pace for like 1500 yards.. our defense is slowly climbing the charts.. im not big on stats but it's indicative of our aptitude and skill set.

We have a team that could easily beat any other team. so remember the shitty giants we killed last year, remember the wild card steelers who ran rough shot to the super bowl, remember the 87 vikes who beat the 13 and 2 niners and 12 and 3 saints  etc.

"it's too early to call!"

It's not over yet.. but I can smell the Post Season and it smells like astroturf and Grain Belt Premium.

Vikings - Cardinals (week 15)

Well, what a great game.. almost "nerves-free" aside from the blocked field goal that could have spelled a comeback if we didn't buckle down and score again. That was a huge 10 point swing and made me nervous. Our next possession we made some plays and finished them off with that beautiful "pump and go" route by WADE. The announcers mentioned how CHILLY said "We could get HOOD (their CB) on a double move" and they did. I just wanted to mention that as it has 100 percent to do with scouting, preparation and execution. Something the CHILLY haters should acknowledge. (Though there are fewer and fewer grumbles these days) This is how the end of that play and drive felt inside all of us.

"Get Some" was heard shouted from a rabid Vikes fan in the upper deck

I won't touch on all the obvious points, the huge Vikings crowd, the almost perfect play by Tavaris Jackson, Jared Allen's continues rampage etc. It's hard to write a blog after such a good win, without just regurgitating what is already in the papers.

The term "ran roughshot" comes to mind... all you box score fanatics can see how we dominated. I think the most beautiful thing about the game was that we finally looked like the team we were all envisioning before the season started. I can't think of a player who did not contribute to the win. Everyone did their job, very well at that, so we had a comfortable win over an extremely pass happy team.

I though they'd pass for 400 yards on us easily... get 2 or three touchdowns and 3 field goals. I think the rest o the league is starting to get scared because look at what we did to their passing game. We nullified it. Sure, they had that one big play, when we blitzed, then missed 3 tackles. Good individual run by urban, all those yards were "after the catch." Other then that, we didn't allow any deep balls and we had great pressure on Warner. Probably the best pass rush of the season actually. Keep in mind Warner is known for his savvy decision making and quick release yet we caused all the disruption. We forced him to make a lot of those 2, 4 and 8 yard routes, forced a lot of third downs, and we hit hard as soon as the catches were made. We did a really good job of mixing up the blitzes, four man rush and the zones. It was the best game plan all year. I hope we do it more often. We looked real good with our nickel and dime packages. Which is a huge relief.

And now for the obvious... How nice was that fly route TD to BERRIAN? What a great throw. And the punt return was lovely too. So many exciting plays we looked scary. I liked the TD pass to TAYLOR as well. Executed perfectly.

I am confident about next weeks game against the Falcons. There is no way they will be able to rush TURNER 32 times against us and be effective. I anticipate we will test MATT RYAN like he's never been tested in his career and cause some turnovers. ( Though Tamp Bay only managed one sack yesterday) Then on our side of the ball we will give them the usual teasing of AP and CHESTER and throw in the odd deep ball. On paper we match up really well and we always play solid at home if it's not against the Lions.

Chicago will have their hands full with Green Bay. Hopefully the PACK will do us a favor and clinch the division for us... but a five or six game winning streak sure would be nice right now! We could finish 11-5. Who knew.

IT'S OFFICIAL ALL YOU FANTASY STAT ADDICTS. WE ARE TWICE AS BITTER AS THE REST OF THE NFL FANS!

I pasted this from a RANDBALL blog on the Trib web page.

According to the popular but unscientific ESPN.com coach ratings, Brad Childress’ approval rating continues to languish at 37 percent. Every other team that is a sole leader or co-leader of a division — Denver, Tennessee, Pittsburgh, the Jets, Miami, New England, Arizona, Carolina and the Giants — has a coach with an approval ranking of at least 64 percent (and that low mark belongs to the Patriots’ Bill Belichick, which is absurd. All other coaches are 75 percent or higher, thus making them all double Childress’ number).

So there we have it... I would think the only people who have "choked" more then us in the past 20 years are obviously the BILLS. Yet even they seem to be "over it." I know we had a terrible owner, some underachieving years with MOSS and PEP with no defense and 35 million free to spend which we didn't... though TICE took some blame, most people were smart enough to blame McCombs. I guess we never recovered from those seasons? I never liked DENNIS GREEN, i thought he always got out coached in the playoffs and never built a solid defensive unit after DUNGY left.

It will be interesting to see how this year finishes and if us winning the division translates into an extension for CHILLY. I just want some consistency and I feel like every year we get closer and closer to being an "elite" team and most of our studs are in their prime or young. (Besides BIRK and HUTCH) Each year we improved under CHILLY's boring but stern guidance.

So... interesting nugget that was. Just thought i'd share. Any thoughts why even though we are in first place, have some great skill players, are 8 - 3 in our last 11 games and may clinch the division as early as this weekend why there is still so much angst and disgust out there towards CHILLY? He will never be a colorful fan favorite like Herm Edwards , Chuckie, Cowher or Tomlin but he is doing a lot of positive stuff... all the while showing no insecurity or care towards the lack of fan support which, to me, is a sign of a quiet, confident leader.

Holmgren reluctantly congratulates CHILLY on his dominance in low approval ratings.

I guess your awful season just isn't good enough Holmgren!

Duante and fumbles and Lions, Oh my! (week 14)

Purple Jesus Saves (franchises)

Good Win.

Instead of doing a re-cap of the obvious... I'd like to say a couple things about the Childress Regime. Today he had that questionable decision to take a penalty making it 3rd and 25 instead of 4th and 10. Other then that, he coached (and the coordinators) a solid game plan. I liked the play calls, a few in particular that still stand out are the swing pass to AP for 15 in the 4th as well as the screen to Taylor on a key 3rd down. Not to mention T Jacks TD pass, where SHANKS faked a run block, got up and ran a route. It was a designed play action roll-out and it worked this week as opposed to last week when on the same play FREROTTE took a sack for a loss of ten. The wrinkle they put in it as well as T JACKS ability to buy a half second more time with his feet made it more effective I think.

T-Jack did a great job, he did what he was supposed to and made plays. I didn't see much of a change in the offense play calling when he was in though we did experience more success running. No logical reason explains that, i think it was just execution by the players.

Sharper led the team in tackles, he had 8. He also got his obligatory TORCHING by a deep route and gave up a TD. I will reiterate, i'd rather have a young guy with speed going on reactions then a "safety" who's lost his step anticipating a throw but not being able to break it up. (or at least stop the TD!) Not a good sign when your top tacklers are in the secondary but at the end of the day, we held them pretty good. We had 2 turnovers giving them a short field, could have had 6 and we didn't let them get into the end zone a couple times... we even had 2 fourth down stands.

Dumb people would blame their coach for the loss, for going for it on 4th down etc had it been our team, but i think it was the right thing to do. If PEP can't take his 280 lb body half a yard then they don't deserve a first down. I always see other coaches make more controversial decisions then ours has and no one says anything. I'm convinced that even if we went to the super bowl people would be asking us to fire Childress, and even though T Jack proved he has the ability when he plays within himself to be a good QB, people will say "he sucks" I honestly think these people lack the ability to admit when they're being irrational or biased and or proud to the point where they will never change their stubborn minds even when the football being played on the field contradicts it so clearly that a 5th grader would see it.

I was shocked at how much negativity i got today during the game. Sure, it wasn't pretty and it was too close for comfort, but what did people expect? A Blowout? why? what evidence is there to support that outcome? They almost beat us at our house, they're desperate for a win, and they have a few playmakers (who made plays i.e Calvin Johnson from PEP) so I wasn't shocked at all... i was relieved!

We did "what we were supposed to do" We did not let them back in it, we did not go 3 and out in the 4th and most importantly we over came our mistakes from the first half.

Shanks had a good game, and Jared Allen gets my game ball. It's hard NOT to take AP for granted the way he seemingly gets 100 at will every game but he sure needs some new gloves or something. (memo to santa)

Casual fans will look at the box score and judge us, call us lucky... say we don't have killer instinct etc but I see it differently. I think we showed poise and perseverance as we finally broke ahead and held on to the lead despite losing Allen for a few series and our starting QB.

I was expecting the LIONS to do a fake FG or PUNT here or there, or an onsides kick, but they didn't. I think it was an odd mind set, if you're gonna go for it on 4th down a couple times then why not do an onsides kick or fake fg? I bet Chilly would have. (haha)

I like our team, we can play with anyone and beat anyone when we bring our "A game". I do not know what is going to happen at the QB situation or with our Williams brothers but i will go on record here saying even if we lose them and T Jack starts we can still finish 10-6 etc and win the division.

There is not a team in the NFC that isn't afraid of us.

My props...

1. Longwell went 2 for 2 including a long one (important)
2. Our WRs all caught a couple first downs each!
3. T-Jack showed poise and didn't throw a pick
4. Jared Allen had 2 huge sacks
5. Duante PEP showed he still has shake. He did a Garcia-esque job against us today
6. Offensive line only allowed 2 sacks and gave AP/Taylor good holes
7. We had a record 5 offsides/encroachments! good job.

Childress points out to the haters that we are 8-5

Why our record IS impressive

Simply put - strength of schedule.

We lost to 3 clear play off / division leaders and two "solid" teams.

They have a combined 39 and 21 record.

None of the games were "blow outs" and in each loss we "lost the game" more then we got beat.. The Tamp Bay game was the soundest defeat, even though it was close score wise, then the Tennessee game. (where we had 4 turnovers)

I'd also like to point out the we BEAT the saints on the road, and Jacksonville.

Having said that... Sure I wish we had a prettier record right now but I am happy over all. Let's keep it going and beat Detroit to get to that aesthetically pleasing 8 and 5.

From there we can fantasize about 11-5 or 10-6

Which is pretty hot after starting out 1-3 !!

WILLIAMS BROTHERS SUSPENDED EFFECTIVE TODAY

The four-game suspensions for Vikings defensive tackles Pat and Kevin Williams have been upheld. NFL confirmed the Williams will be suspended without pay for four games. League spokesman Greg Aiello sent an e-mail saying,

“The players violated a long-standing provision of the policy relating to the use of diuretics and water pills, which serve as masking agents for steroids and are potentially dangerous to the health of players.” Also suspended were three New Orleans Saints players, Charles Grant, Deuce McAllister and Will Smith. Bryan Pittman of Houston was also suspended. If the Vikings qualify for the playoffs, the Williamses would be reinstated on Dec. 29.

IM NOT AS WORRIED AS MOST PEOPLE. PATS BACK UP IS A SIMILAR BIG MAN...

he isnt as agile etc but he is huge and can plug holes. it also means we will tweek our coverages and blitzes and stunts etc. there is a drop off obviously but it's not like we're putting two pee wee hermans in. i think it could be a blessing in disguise, imagine if/when we make the playoffs.. they come back well rested and eat people up!

ENJOY YOUR VACATION WILLIAMS BROS! AT LEAST WE STILL HAVE MADEU

Vikes - Bears (week 13)

Ah... another nice comfortable finish. It's a great feeling.

I won't expound too much on the obvious stuff today - just a few quick interesting factoids.

Then some fun trash talking and philosophy, all in the family of course- with my favorite chilly hater(s)(ss)(ssssss).

Oh hell, let's start with the fun stuff. But first, something to get their blood boiling.

lets do a pic of him "smiling" since we WON!

Now, as a reminder, I am not a huge blind , loyal supporter of Chilly, he is human, he makes mistakes.. but I am a loyal hater of all the rubes out there who hate on him ticky tack and blame him for everything.. who week after week carry this grudge to the point where now, even at 7-5 and in first place, they have the nerve to send me texts complaining about things even a 5th grader would disagree with. What am i talking about, who?

My boy Ol' Skirty. I'd like to preface to him "you started it."

He texted first. He said CHILLY made some bad play calls on our first possession inside our own 5 yard line. Here's my recap

• first down - hand off to AP to the right, he didn't hit the designed hole, tried to bounce it out, lost 2 yards. no worries... that's AP
  
• second down - (and 12 to go) Play action, dump off to AP in the middle, he dropped it. Would have been at least 5 if not more assuming he broke the next 3 tackles. it happens
• third down- draw play- gain of 5 yards, got us enough room for Klewe to punt. (SMART move me thinks)

So not but a few minutes later we are in the same situation.. now in fairness, i had just told my friend "what do you expect a 98 yard play or drive?" about the three and out we had. But i felt the players didnt execute the offense.. and "every coach in the league doesn't take chances when you're pinned on your own 2" i reiterated. I even told him not to hold his breath for a long pass play as we have had troubles throwing it deep and Frerotte's arm seems shaky.

Well, we all know what happened, we got Frerotte enough time to throw and he saw Berrian in single coverage and threw it to him.. sure, Tillman made a wrong move but even so, single coverage and we "took a shot." If they bat it down or fall over, not our problem, our problem is making the play call, the protection, the throw and the catch. and we did all that.

Naturally i texted him "there's your 98 yard play, beeotch" and he had the nerve to say "their DB messed up, NOT a good play call" and that's when i made a mental note to bring this to my tribune of 7 loyal Crom readers.. (you guys)

for real? wtf? huh?

AHEM!

On first-and-10 from the 1, Vikings quarterback Gus Frerotte dropped back to pass and found Berrian way ahead of Tillman, who had dipped inside and left Berrian wide open. Frerotte hit him in stride as the duo combined to tie the longest offensive scoring play in NFL history.

The Bears sat stunned on the bench, with Tillman shaking his head in disgust.

Corey Graham, playing the other cornerback spot, described the play from his view.

"They pumped one way and came back to [Berrian] on the backside," he said. "Just a good scheme by them ... a good play. They knew that we cheat over. It's just a good call.

My take ---->the point is that we even had a WR running a fly route in the first place, instead of blocking a potential CB blitz.. the point is we took a little chance calling a pass in the first place.. and you know what? Just having Tillman out on that island with Berrian might have been all we needed.. one guy choked, the other made the play. and according to my friend Ol Skirty, it all starts with play calling. so why, in this case, where we have two of the exact same situations, does CHILLY not get credit if you're gonna blame him for the previous possession inside our 5? Doesn't this count as a "controlled experiment" in a 5th grade science class?? It got my bunsen burners bubbling!

(this is what trainers use to repair AP when he gets dinged up)

I am just putting this in print to see if he, at a later date, will rescind his illogical rants and show me he has any amount of objectivity left. He even went out of his way to quote a fellow patron at the Vikes Bar ( Bar None on 3rd and 12th NYC) as saying "the players outplayed CHILLYs coaching.." As if he was hindering them not setting them up for success. (along with the other coaches of course)

That really shows how dumb the avg. fan is, even my fellow viking fans. If you, like MY FRIEND OL SKIRTY, couldn't stop yourselves from spouting negative rants at the first sign of adversity, well.. you're a rube! You go on calling for Chillys firing.. I am gonna keep my level head clear and enjoy the ride. Shit happens.. tips, bad calls, no calls, make up calls, fumbles.. bad play calls, great play calls. You have to know when to give credit and when not to. The bears made some great plays today, we made more. I bet my friend Ol Skirty thought that screen we ran was a bad play call, even though we completed it and had 3 blockers and real estate EXCEPT Urlacher beat two of them and made a great play and kept it to no gain. THAT happens...

Im not one to say I told you so, i do't get any satisfaction out of it.. i just get saddened at people who carry grudges and negativity like the CHILLY haters. I could go on and on, hell, look at LOVIE smith's decisions today.. look at "MANGENIUS's" decisions today... look at the zen master Homlgren. (if you don't have a weak stomach) Pssh! stop playing fantasy football and learn that the NFL is more then points and yards.

With that said, boy didn't we score some points and make some yards!

Interesting factoids.

• 177 yards rushing. (168 after the first hit i think, don't quote me though)
• 34 to 26 time of possession
• jared allen - 3 sacks
• Chester Taylor - 3 spin moves.. he sure loves that circle button
• AP had three different blood types on his jersey. (none matched his) good job!
• darren duller, i mean, sharper, got an interception! wow. Yippy! Hooray, the drought is over! He made a play, sure it was thrown right to him but still.. he made a good read. HOWEVER I will be writing a "blow up his spot blog" tomorrow about how he messed up twice big time and is too old i feel. If the NFL had a designated hitter position maybe he could do it.. well, behind Winfield and Griffin of course but.. i digress. (bench him.. did you see everyone get all excited for him after the play like he just made his first interception of his career and not JUST the season)

That's it.

We won! first place.

WE HAVE TO BEAT DETROIT.. it's a huge game momentum wise and "gut check" wise.

Tune in for my anti-sharper blog soon... put that negativity towards a player who deserves it.. not a coach who drafted AP...

The current playoff teams Tampa Bay, Washington and Arizona all drafted before we took AP at 7th. Can you name who they took? If AP was such a "sure thing" then why didn't he go before 2 lineman, a receiver and a DB? We also drafted Greenway... got chester, hutch, jared allen, madeu williams, Berrian all on CHILLYs watch. Stop hating