Vikings two step all over the Houston! (9-6)

AP got things going with a Conga Line!

What a game! A few tense moments but over all a solid victory.  We played virtually mistake free, exceptionally hard on defense and everyone did their job.  I give it an "A" overall.  So much has happened since Sunday with Christmas and all but here are a few things that stick out in my memory.  

• We owned time of possession  (35'-25')
• They were 1 for 11 on 3rd down!  NICE!
• We had 4 sacks, they had 1
• We doubled their first downs
• PONDER had 2X APs rushes per yard avg.  =D
• That "finishing" drive TOBY did his thing. Always falling forward... he powered into the end zone. That was sweet
• FOSTER was completely checked,  Andre Johnson did little.
• JJ Watt had his one moment, otherwise he was JJ Watteva 
• AP was held to only 3 yards a carry. I bet he was sore Monday!

Who's that dude that just plowed through us?!?

Here JJ, let me recap it for you.  It was 1st and goal from the 4 with 4:44 left in the 4th.  (Holy fours batman!)  Vikes were up 16-6.  Here's how they lined up!  

 HIKE!

Hand off to toby

 He hits the whole between the Johnson and Kalil

 He's met by THREE Texans

 Cute tackle attempts ensue

Touchdown!

THERE'S YOUR DAGGER! 

Too lazy to make the GIF, JJ. Sorry!  Here's full highlights!

Hey y'all, they did a good job keeping AP from going crazy. A definite hat tip their line and LBs. The wonderful thing is that OUR defense played way better then theirs. The two big plays for me were the fumble punch by Erin Henderson and the huge sack by Evans on 3rd and goal! 

EDIT - THE NFL.COM WEBSITE IS THE WORST WEBSITE FOR SEEING HIGHLIGHTS AND BOX SCORES! ITS SUCH A SHIT SHOW OF AUTO LOADED ADS AND FLASH FUCK UPS. I TRIED FOR TEN MINUTES JUST TO GET A STUPID LINK TO THE FRED EVANS SACK AND IT KEPT FUCKING UP. HONESTLY, FUCK THAT WEBSITE! I AM VERY COMPUTER LITERATE. IT'S THEIR FAULT YOU CAN'T SEE THE HIGHLIGHTS IN MY BLOG. THEY WANT IT LIKE THAT. COMPLETE ASSHOLES. THEM AND ESPN. 

SMDH!

JESUS, I need to exhale!

Shoop Shoop, bitches!

Ugh. OK, back to A.P!  Do you think he can still do it?  Can he break DICKERSON's record?  Take the poll up to the right! I think he has a "chip and a chair" as they say. I hope, unlike last time with Chilly when he was pushing 300, we don't take a knee three times to end the game.  That would be nice because it would mean we won but... I hated seeing AP being shelved with 296 yards and counting! I was really annoyed.  

I honestly have no clue if he will do it.  I know against the Chargers when he had 296 he didn't even have 100 at the half so... "Ain't no tellin!"  It's gonna come down to the O-LINE imposing their will. I can not wait to see this game!

SKOL! 

TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHT TO GO!

Hey JJ, We're not done making fun of you yet!

 Tee Hee!

 JJ Watt allowed PONDER 7 yards per carry

I can't think of a clever caption. Look at JJ ^^^^^ Bahahaha

Please stay tuned for my Packer Week Post... that will be up later tonight!

SKOL!

AP butts heads with Rams, Wins (8-6)

SKOLVIKINGS! This game started out tit for tat but we had a couple explosive plays that really changed the momentum early.  Some fella was nice enough to upload these to YouTube.  Have a look!  

Never get sick of seeing this guy gallop 

The great thing about being up 17 points so fast was that it ended up skewing their playbook.  S. Jackson only ended up with 13 carries for the whole game which is a pretty low number for the work horse that he is, though he have 70+ yards receiving.  (C.C to AP)  Similar to our only other road victory wining the turnover battle was huge for us this game. It will be key against the Texans as well.  This is what stood out for me Sunday.

• Blair Walsh = Pro Bowl: 5/5 FGs 3/3 XPs & 7/9 touchbacks
• Before they went into "catch up" mode our defense had great pressure. Four sacks at the end of the day + many knockdowns
• Every week someone new makes a big play for us 
• We gave up yards but held them to 4/16 efficiency on 3rd and 4th down. Props to our defense!
• Odd (poor) time management at the end of the half but we moved it enough to get the FG. Sure you'd like to "take some shots" at the end zone but I'm still pleased with that little 2 minute offense (after theirs failed)
• AP, again, ridiculous. A broken record breaking records
• Burton did something, Carlson too. Baby steps. 
• Ponder didn't choke. Nice scramble for the TD too!
• B ROB got hurt, but others stepped up. GRIFFEN!

In regards to Robison there's no official word yet on his return. He might miss this game.  We shall see... I bet he toughs it out!  

Yes you can can!

So, the Texans in their house? 

"Oh they have such a good run defense, and a great record, JJ Watt and Foster and Andre Johnson and and and..."  

Yup.  I see all that.  I can't front I really like their brand of football and their star players.  I can't say anything bad about their team actually.  They're a smash mouth team with great skill position players but they're still beatable.  It's just gonna take a really well played game from us with very few penalties, no costly turnovers and some big plays from somewhere.  Maybe it'll be Sherels returning one again or a WR will finally catch AND run or AP will just plug away until he gets one.  WHO KNOWS!  Any given Sunday.  Our defense has to play the game of the year.  I guarantee they're not taking us lightly!  Besides as we all know, there is a lot at stake this game.  Playoff seeds, milestones and records.  Texan's second ranked rush defense prolly has some motivation to stop AP... just a hunch. 

Dickerson had some help in 1984. AP? Not so much.

For those of you unfamiliar with just exactly how dominant Dickerson was.  He set the all time rushing record his second year in the league... in 1984... and went on to dominate for a while.  Have a look.

Fingers crossed for AP!

So the question everyone is wondering, will AP break 2,000 yards? Will he beat Dickerson's record of 2,105?  He needs 188 for 2,000 and 294 to BREAK the record... how far will he go?  NEW POLL! Top right, fill it out!

Oh, sad viking had this to say...

But GRIFFEN stepped up!

"WTF Adrian can't we rest for 2 minutes before you score again?!"

SKOL!

CUTLET STILL WINLESS AT THE ROLLERDOME! (7-6)

LOSER!

"Game over. Thanks for playing. Better luck next time, Mr. Cutler" said a hoarse Ragnar.

Well that was a walk in the park.  Maybe not a perfect one, more like the kind where it starts raining towards the end and you have to hurry home but still... we won semi comfortably!  All thanks to Rudy the soft handed giant. 

And then, finally,  every Viking fan in the world could relax.

During and after the game all the chatter was the same as before, two main topics, Purple Jesus & Christian Ponder.  AP obviously continues to be ridiculous and is universally regarded as the best back in the league.  Talk maybe even of MVP, player of the year, comeback player of the year etc.  He even won a charity award today, all much deserved.  He can do no wrong.

Ponder however, to a LOT of fans at least, can do no right.  Let's jump right into the plays that had Ponder Haters on blast within seconds.  The first one was when we were up 14-0, on our 20...

  Christian ponders taking a sack or throwing it away at someone's feet?

I personally was only worried about this play if the REFs gave CHI the ball & a TD.  It was never a fumble, the ball went forward, I don't know if there was a VIKING in the area to avoid an intentional grounding but, I get his thought pattern.  PONDER haters were all calling him an idiot for not just taking the sack.  I get that too!  Totally.  I'm on the fence here.  Ultimately, no harm, no foul.  No one bitches about the line though?  Moving on. 

The biggest play that pissed off the PONDER haters was the interception at the end of the half. 

Major Wright got 200 points for catching it before letting it bounce!

Now I don't have any problem with the play call, the read or the decision to throw.  (You can watch it here.)  Jarius Wright WAS wide open, by two or 3 steps.  Some people seemed to think it was a dumb idea to throw it per the result, not me.  These are the same people who usually bitch why "we never take a shot," to which the answer is "because no one is ever open."

I do agree with the criticism that the throw was late, behind and of poor mechanics.  It was... but come on!   Look at the play a few times, he didn't have time.  He HAD to step back, just to get room to throw because KALIL got bull rushed NINE YARDS behind the line of scrimmage.  That's not Ponders fault.  Ponder was flushed to his left because the center got pushed back 5 yards.  WTF?  How are you gonna "step into" any throw with the line doing that?  I'd like to add that there was only 32 seconds left, we weren't in scoring position and he lobbed it 50 yards off his back foot.  He doesn't have an arm?  I was fine with this unfortunate play, again, no harm no foul. 

This next play was more so just people taking a dig at PONDER, because it gave us all bad T Jack flash backs.

Ponder does his T Jack impression. I give him a B- because he actually completed it

I'm sure you guys on twitter and the blogs since Sunday have seen the eerie stat comparisons btwn Ponder and T Jack, but here is a nice graphic I saw for those of you unfamiliar. 

 (Via @Mattglions - twitter )

Whoa! So what do we think?  How do you compare the two?  Please fill out my new poll to the top right!  My take is pretty simple.  The stats are pretty identical, plus they both have played with out very good or even productive #1 WRs.  T Jack had Chester Taylor and Shanks, Ponder has Rudy and Harvin. Oh Boy! In the first 4 games with a healthy Harvin Ponder had 800 yards and 4 TDs, no INTs.  He CAN play.  He's just regressed.  IDK why.  The bad news for T Jack is he went on to Seattle, had a great core of WRs and still lost his job.  What will be of PONDER?  I don't know if he will be a bench player, starter or star yet...  but I don't think he'll be a "bust."   I am withholding judgement on him a little longer.  Again, please fill out my poll and let me know what YOU think! (top right)

How about our young fellas?  I know I always yap about our rookies this year but seriously, they were ballin' yesterday!  Kalil did a solid job. Walsh did too. Then there were these two HUGE plays that directly led to 14 of our 21 points!

And, at this moment, all the Chicago fans sighed "here we go again"

To which Harry Smith replied, "Oh we're not even done yet!"

Big ups to Robinson and Smith!  Here is the video of Harrison Smith's PICK SIX.  Mind you it was on a 3rd and ONE.  Hmmm?  You think VIKE fans go crazy about bad calls and throws, imagine the BEARs fans yesterday.  SKOL!

After the game Coach Frazier praised all his players and they heard from Wilf too.  I always laugh when I hear Ziggy talk.  Click here to see the post game locker room speech and who got the game ball.  My game ball definitely goes to the 12th man.  The VIKING fans gave CUTLET hell yesterday!  I'd like to also give FRAZIER props for finally beating the BEARS and give Jenkins a shout out too, he made some key 3rd down catches!  

(And retweeted me =)  Team Player!

"What?! Throw it to Darshull? To Landon? Who? Sampson Farshell? Oh fuck it. TIME OUT!"

You all should peep Paul Allen's Derby video for this game, always entertaining!  That's all I have right now.  We're seven and six and in the mix and that's all you can ask!  

Still reading?  Well here is a bonus for you, an old article from the Chicago Tribune about the good natured feud between Mike Lynn (former GM) and Mike Ditka in 1987.  Hence the title "roller dome."

OH, Sad Viking wanted to share this with you after the Pat's game tonight. They destroyed the Texans.  Looks like we won't get their B squad in 2 weeks after all.  Oh well.  Bring it!

SKOL !!

Packers, Ponder, Percy and other Purple Problems (6-6)

ACK!

So much has happened in the last few days, the PACK game, Charch's "I'm pissed"rant, Ponder's engagement and now Harvin on IR. You guys know I don't like to recap games, anyone can do that.  I might use a play to make a point etc. but I hate reading the same old stuff over and over.   I hate this too. (5 wins in a row WTF?!)

"You're a mean one... Mr Grinch"

Man, that Packer game.  

Classic VIKING fan flow- emotional low, emotional high, low, high, low, lower.   I never look for silver linings or moral victories but by the same token I never JUST judge on wins. For some reason this loss didn't sting as much as they usually do.  Prolly because of this guy. (Highlights Here)

Im calling the plays now. We're gonna do a play action w/me, then I am gonna run a fly route. 

My thoughts on the game.

• Ponder let me down, a lot.
• Loved seeing Harrison Smith pick off that flea flicker of sorts. Way to stay home!
• That offsides that led to a free play- a TD over our corner with good coverage was so so annoying! SMDH!
• Overall our defense played good considering.
• Not enough sacks and why let A-Rod roll out to the right EVERY time?  He killed us rolling out. 
• Adrian Peterson is the only reason I don't hate the NFL world right now. He owned them enough to keep my Packer friends humble. 

Don't get me wrong. I was real mad that we lost and how we lost.  Mad at PONDER's red zone INTs, mad at the coaches inability to adapt during the game, mad at not being able to get of the field on 3rd down. An 11 minute PACK drive spanning the 3rd and 4th quarter down by just 6?  ACK! Torture.  Ponder, WTF?

Here's my take on Ponder.  

First off, I am the patient "wait and see" kind of fan.  I don't always take stock in drafting college stars, nor follow the crowd when it comes to bringing in some help right away with FAs. (Right now people want Vick haha. Remember when we all wanted Derek Anderson from CLEVELAND - he got 26 million over 3 years.  Where is he know?)  Either way its usually a desperate move towards some hyped over valued player.  Very rarely do people live up to it.  I didn't hear anyone begging us to draft Seattle or Cinci's quarterbacks. 

I think Ponder should have been pulled in the 2nd half of the CHI game AND the GB game.  I don't know why he wasn't.  I know the stupid cliche argument is that it would upset his poor ego but I think that's pure BS.  Getting benched isn't the same as losing your job.  I know some people want to throw in the towel with this kid but I'm still on the fence.  

I hope you didn't go on twitter after the game, bro

I saw PONDER make the worst throw of his career, at the worst time, this last Sunday.  That INT was horrible.  I'm not blind and I am not a homer I just know this shit happens. It sucks but it happens.  You wish and hope it won't, at such a clutch time, but it does.  Then you start to "lose faith."  I am... shit.  I HOPE I am wrong about this kid.  I just figure we may as well play him some more and see what happens. (But PULL him if he isn't effective or throws badly)  We can make changes after the season.  That's my only point really- may as well wait until the off season.  Is he gonna rebound and make plays these last 4 games or be in a perpetual T Jack?  Hopefully he recreates the first 4 games of the season. Remember this?

One funny/scary thing I heard today on The Common Man show was that PONDER's career stats- total starts, yardage, TDs, INTs, rating and completion percentage is almost identical to T Jack's.  That made me shudder.  (because T JAck is a back up not franchise grade) Another parallel with T JACK is that he has no one to throw too, especially recently losing HARVIN.  All the other young QBs have one if not two legit targets.  He has only Rudolph.  That has to account for something when you evaluate him.  I'm not making excuses for him I'm just trying to be fair.   In summary, if you play him and he plays bad, pull him, and if you don't pull him, well that's the rope you hang yourselves with, Vikings brass.  I agree with Charch on all his points except two.  

1. The season is NOT lost.  I don't assume we'll play as bad and everyone else will play as good as we all have been. Still 4 games left.  Let's not call it yet.  I could care less about how hard our schedule is... we have two home games where we are 5-1 and no team is "unbeatable" this year.  Period.  
2. There's no point making coach/staffing changes right now and you know why?

Purple Problems

Do we have one assistant you'd even wanna promote at this point? They were all given jobs above their heads by our boy, Mr Interim, FRAZIER.  We all know that was a cheap hire for the Wilfs, because they still had to pay CHILLY some money.  What's up for next year?  We're off the hook for CHILLY? Can we get a real coach and staff in?  I know these guys are nice but week in and out they get beat by the same stuff.  What's worse is they offer no explanations or logic beyond cliches in the locker room and press conferences.  Yeah, FRAZIER, we know you can't have "turnovers on the road and expect to win ball games" but why do you phrase it like that, instead of saying "Ponder's two interceptions in the red zone really killed us..."  That would be obvious too but at least you'd be showing us that you're not a cliche robot.  I've said this before but I think Frazier is better suited to teach kindergarten. "Hey, no children died today.  I did my job."  

I think they're in over their heads.  You can't keep blaming it on "making plays" and  "turning over the ball."  We know why you lost, but why aren't you making the plays? Who isn't making plays? What have you done to change that? I mean you inherited a team with AP!  (Again, see CHARCHIAN's rant.. It'll be posted at the bottom)

Does anyone have any of Percy's migraine meds?

PERCY HARVIN

Well... now what the F_CK?  Is he "hurt hurt" or is he laying low because he doesn't want to rush back and hurt himself even worse seeing as his contract is up?  Time will tell.  It looked like a bad injury when it happened so I am not surprised if it's legit, maybe he needs surgery.  Maybe this is a Joe Mauer situation and they kept it under wraps to sell tickets or keep opponents guessing, who knows?  It's real stupid that they couldn't just give us the medical diagnosis.  Did he consult Culpepper on this one?  MRIs and X-rays maybe never happened?  Maybe Percy was avoiding them who knows? (is that even possible?)  

EDIT - this was released this morning, via Tom Pelissero

"It certainly is disappointing that I was not able to finish out this season with my teammates," Harvin said in the statement. "As a competitor I definitely wanted to get back out there on the field but my injury has just not allowed me to progress to the point where I can help our team. I appreciate the efforts of our medical staff and the support of our fans in helping me through this process and look forward to coming back stronger and better than ever."

All I know for sure regarding Percy is that I wish they would have extended his contract PRIOR to the season.  I don't know why they didn't. SO STUPID!

Speaking of stupid...

Is this the last thing PONDER will get cheered for?

Oh, yeah... Ponder got engaged.  I so don't care.  Not like he can play any worse right now.  For those of you that care this is semi-cute.  Semi.  

"...the Vikings QB reportedly popped the question with Christmas lights that read "Marry Me" and one giant sparkler"

I don't know,  I believe in love but... 3 months?  Is this another bad decision by PONDER?  Why make it public in mid-season?  It's just fuel for the haters, bro.  Hire some PR.  I guess I do care. ACK!  

Good lord I hope the 3 players who blew the game for us on Sunday win it for us next sunday.  Here's Charch's rant for those of you too lazy to click the link. 

And now some memes in case you missed them, 

from our boys at MN Vikings Memes.

So bad, where to even start? (6-5)

What a crap game.

We got owned!

I'm still pissed off and disappointed but I wanted to post a few thoughts while they were fresh.

Top five WTF! thoughts today

1. How can Jared Allen (et all) be so ineffective vs back ups?
2. How can we be so flat after a long break? (first Seattle now the Bears)
3. Carlson gets paid more then Percy Harvin and has 5 catches. Prolly as many drops
4. AP doe HIS job yet we still can't throw because...
5. Will our WRs ever be able to get open in single man coverage? How many drops today?

OK, so how do we fix this?  I don't think we can.  We need to make personnel moves for sure though and I am basing this off the last season and this one.  We have no legit WRs.  Week in and week out I see guys I have never heard make plays against us but we can't seem to make the simplest of plays. We had maybe one drive today that had a balanced attack and some slants, hitches etc.

In our FOUR losses vs TB, SEATTLE, CHI and WASH we gave up 132 points. (not counting close game in INDY) That isn't Ponder's fault. Or anyone else on offense. That's an avg of over 30 points. we simply DO NOT have the firepower to score that many on offense.  We never score on defense and returns don't happen that often.

I don't like FRAZIER and I never did but I wanted to give him a chance.  His assistants have proven to be too inexperienced and he himself reminds me of a substitute teacher. The guy has a real knack for spouting cliches and we all love his smile but he looks more bewildered the more down we are in a game.  His press conferences are that of someone in denial.  He is TOO NICE.

Frazier's infamous deer in head lights look. I prefer Chilly w/the clipboard

What the hell is up with our defense?

Look at these sad sad stats.

Time of possession CHI 38' MN 22'

First downs CHI 23, 13 from passing

3rd/4th down conversions CHI 12-20

We didn't give ONE play up over 20 yards but got nickled and dimed to death! 
Tampa, Wash, Seattle all did it to us too! More then a week to prep, 4 days to prep, night game, day, home, away doesn't matter!

HESTER didn't play

FORTE got hurt

THEIR LINEMAN got hurt

We STILL sucked.  This game was never even close in the 2nd half.

Really? A punter had more points then AP? SMH

They threw to Marshall at will the guy had 12 catches. He barely averaged more yards per catch then AP did running. (8 vs 6)

Why not just run the ball very play? In those horribly boring drives the bears would run or pass every down for like 3.5 yards then get a first on 3rd and 3. 

How can we be so good at giving AP holes and yet suck at giving Ponder time and or creating any kind of play action? I think our coaches are awful.  I really do.

We have lost three games by the same exact poison.  Turnovers, an inability to get off the damn field on 3rd down, and an inability to get open and make plays passing.  It's ultimately the coaches fault they signed off on these guys before the season started. We have an awful crop of WRs.

I am embarrassed but not surprised you'd hope the coaching staff would introduce new wrinkles or make in game adjustments but they've proven o er and over again they just aren't good enough to.

I know Ponder didn't have a good game but I'm not ready to throw him under the bus.  The kid needs help.  Are we still paying CHILDRESS?  Member where we played the day before he got fired?

YUP

Chin up, AP. You did what you could. 

El Blogado Skolgante '12 (bye week blowout)

It's that time of the year.  It was nice to get the win at home vs the Lions moving into our bye week.  Nothing to do today but reflect and hope for packer and bear losses. (Damn Packers Won)  I am glad we got a late bye our players are pretty dinged up... it's good for them to get some rest.  

What do you think of our chances the last 6 games? Playoffs? Division crown?  Fill out the poll. (top right)

Here is our remaining schedule... (click to enlarge)

Here is last years blogado skolgante! Fun to compare moods!

Without further adieu, please watch this highlight video. It's very well done and will remind you why our team is awesome. So much has happened this year it's hard to remember everything. From game winning FGs to APs first TD, Ponders AWESOME throws, (yes he had some!) kick returns, punt returns, nasty sacks. etc.  

^You better be watching this^

Ahhh. That was fun no?  Are you pumped up for the final six games?  I like how he put ALLEN as the last clip. THAT is our squad. Fighting. SKOL!!

An omen perhaps?

Let's take it down a notch now... deep breaths.

Ohhhhhhmmmmm  (the blue collar spelling)

Now, let's talk about Ponder.  To me he 's the new CHILLY. Polarizing, he either "sucks" or people still have faith and "aren't worried".   

Ponder's game is simple but effective. He CAN make passes

No one can argue he had a good first few games then shaky next few but all in all his stats are utterly avg.  Is it all his fault?  How do you rate our WR crew?  The only real positive is he completes a high percentage of passes (not including the one pictured above he's at 65%) but let's be honest, its from dink and dunk stuff.  My take on him is that he's a bona fide franchise starter and will serve us better for years to come. He'll be better then Brad Johnson ever was for example. I don't know if he'll ever have the weapons Daunte had (CC AND Moss) but hopefully he will know what it's like to have a legit #1 WR sooner then later. RG3, Dalton, Luck all have someone.  We have HARVIN who is awesome but he's a slot receiver/scat back, it's a weird combo.  

I say give Christian more time, we all know the WIN - LOSS record of Manning and Aikman etc. their first 16 games.  PONDER is around 8-12 so far I think. That's not awful.  RG3 and Cam Newton are a combined 6-14 this year. Whoop de doo.

Surprises this year?  Well hell. First and foremost I'd have to say our ROOKIE crop. Holy shit these guys are ballin. 

 You're allowed to deflect forward passes? Thanks for showing me Robinson 

 Rookie pick six? FINE! Reggie Rutland would be proud Mr. Smith.

Week 1- Walsh makes 50+ yard FGs in end of reg & OT to secure win 

Jarius' first TD reception. You are all Wright with me, son!

Blair Walsh should make the pro bowl.  Harrison and Robinson producing in the secondary, Jarius Wright got to play last week and repped hard. As an old school VIKEs fan I am just NOT used to rookies contributing. It happens like once every 5 years. Holy shit, I almost forgot about this guy.  We never hear his name which means he is doing his job.  He plays like a Vet! 

"Being an O lineman is so boring and easy, I wanna practice being a QB"

Serious, look at WALSH's stat line. I pick him and Janikowski for Pro Bowl. 

Let's talk about Adrian Peterson. He's number one. Simple as that. In our hearts he's first. In the stat lines he's first. On Defensive coordinators he's problem numero uno.  We all were worried about his return but he put those worries to bed fast. He may have tweeked his running style a little, more towards the power side, north south for now, but man he is having a CAREER season. I can't say enough about him.

I wanna see this ten more times. 

PERCY? Well shit he single handily won a couple games for us. He's a beast. I don't know where to start with him either. He's gonna finish top five in receptions and yards I bet.  He got slowed down with this ankle sprain.  I like how competitive he is.  That is contagious. 

He needs to touch the rock 15 times a game

Jared Allen, well it's hard to hate on him, he is on pace for 15 sacks and another pro bowl. We all know he is being chipped and double all the time.  I am glad that ROBISON has done what's expected of him.  I always knew he was a 4 down player.  The only thing that worries me is how sometimes our entire defense goes quiet.  Sometimes for 3 quarters in a game.  Those are the games we lost. More on this later.

69 and 96.  The ying yang brothers!

So here we sit at 6-4.  A very respectable mark with 4 division games yet to be played!  As part of my little retrospective I'd like to recap my pre-season predictions.  Man, it's pretty hard to mess with CROM when it comes to logical takes!  A few snippets I am proud of.  (And a big F.U to y'all saying we'd be 6-10.  SMDH )

• "We can make the playoffs.  We have the skill sets!"
• "If we can just MAKE SOME GOD DAMN PLAYS on defense we will be OK.  Rookies CAN make an impact.  It doesn't have to mean we will suck."
• "I would take 6-4 going into the last 6 games with two a piece VS the Bears and the Pack. Anything can happen by then...

What else...? Green Bay won, barely, and CHICAGO lost bearly. (In big fashion, see what I did there?) They re both 7-3 and one game ahead of us. Chicago has only beaten one team with a winning record.  I hate to say it but GB has most of the momentum in the division right now, but as we know too well, that can shift in a week! I bet 10-6 wins the division, maybe it'll be with a tie breaker but still.  That last game in the dome VS the Pack might be HUGE.  It could be PONDERs big game, who knows!? I know there isn't one player on our team that I don't like. Which I couldn't have said last year... there is one thing I don't like though, we lead the league in rushing but don't have an effective play action pass game?  Are our WRs that bad?  Honestly, time and time again no one gets open.  It's mind boggling.  I've seen PONDER do the check downs over and over, it's like we aren't allowed to do post routes, slants, anything in the air btwn 10-25 yards.  It kills me. 

This also bugs me...  Has this guy gotten one snap?  

I hate the whole "we can't pull Ponder for a play or series cuz it will hurt his ego" argument. Bullshit. Run an empty backfield hurry up shotgun with WEBB for no reason at all in the 2nd quarter, 3rd and 2? Put Webb in.  Who cares if it moves the football?!  Be creative. 

Ok, Ok, Crom. First Percy yells at me now you. I will make changes. Keep calm

Hurrumph!

It's so stupid.  I do not endorse our coaches or coordinators.  You can't take a bunch of assistants and expect them to all work out.  It seems like they never make adjustments.  You guys know I am the LAST person to bitch about play calling.  Usually I blame penalties, poor run blocking, pass protection or execution as the main reason our offense stalls.  But seriously... show some wrinkles... run some power tosses.  Do an option, wild cat, fake FG, anything!  Or just give it to AP every play, I don't care. DO something logical.  

What do you guys think? Have a "wait and see" attitude?  Feeling positive?  Did you take the new poll up top?  I think we'll make the playoffs... and, once in it, we can win a game or two.  Why not?!

SKOL!

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

Thought we'd be 6-10, eh?

I hope we bring our A game next wknd!

The fact that he "only missed one game" IS what is amazing about it! HELLO!

For you Chilly haters... I am glad he brought in the players STILL playing for us