Vikings Banter

Where do you even begin? I have been delaying this post for two weeks thinking I could get an identity of the Minnesota Vikings. Here I am two weeks later and I still feel the same way I did then. First off, lets go over some thoughts from last nights game:

1. How does Childress not challenge the Quarless Touchdown??? Doesn't every NFL team have someone that watches every play to see if there is something that needs to be reviewed? Especially touchdowns and close plays? There is no excuse for what happened on that play.
2. The entire Visanthe Shiancoe play was unbelievable. I saw the replay and said, "there is no way they can reverse the TOUCHDOWN CALL ON THE FIELD." Then he comes out and says that, "the ground helped him catch the ball..." it was at this point that I lost it. If the ground helped him catch the ball that should in turn mean HE CAUGHT THE BALL! I have never, ever, in my short lifetime of watching football, heard the phrase that the ground helped a player catch the ball. It makes absolutely no sense. The ground can cause a fumble, it can cause a player to drop the ball, but helping him catch it?!?! Absolutely terrible officiating. On top of it all, what a terrible pass by Brett Favre. He is wide open running down the middle of the field, hit a receiver in stride, MY GOD.
3. The Vikings killed themselves with penalties, especially at the end of the game. AP gets a huge 25 yard pass and gets the Vikings down to the 15 ish yardline with under a minute left and we go false start followed by facemask to move us back to 1st and 30. Unlike Childress I'm not bitching about the facemask call, you would have to have been blind to not call it, but in that situation you have to try and push him by Favre, you CANNOT take the penalty.
4. I didn't think the officials cost us the game, unlike the rest of the state of MN. I saw no problems with the non-interference calls at the end of the game. It is tough to make that call in that situation. I don't believe it was offensive interference on Moss on his huge gain, but the live look made it look like it was. It looked like interference, so they are going to call it, not much you can do, that didn't lose us the game. Play smart at the end of the game! The way we were moving the ball, I think we would have gotten in had we not set ourselves back to 1st and 30.
5. I'm not worried about the Packers, they are injured and honestly didn't play that good last night. We lost 7 points on the Shiancoe call, we lost 7 more on the non-challenge, and Favre gift wrapped 14 points of two interceptions in the 3rd quarter. We play them again, and I think we will be ready, not to mention upset.
6. Do we have defensive line?

So now we sit here at 2-4 with the New England Patriots staring us in the face. Good Luck. I don't think that is a winnable game for our current team. Brady is arguably the best Quarterback in the league, especially with time. Our line can't get pressure, and our D-backs can't cover receivers all day long, I think that will equal a very very very long day for the Vikes.

The worst part is that we have basically beat ourselves in every single game. This is not a 2-4 team, this should be at worst a 4-2 team and honestly it should probably be better than that. The nice thing is that the NFC is a battle right now and no one is out of it. We are only one game back in the loss column to our division leaders, and we play them each later this year. The season is by no means over, but a few things need to change.

1. The D-Line needs to show up, the defense has played fine this year, but if the D-Line actually got some pressure, the defense could be elite.
2. AP needs to be used more in the offense. He is the best player in the NFL and we use him like an everyday running back. Throw him the ball, screen him the ball, sweep him the ball, get him the ball!
3. Stop turning the ball over - it is hard to win when you are turning it over time and time again.
4. Play smart - ESPECIALLY IN CRUCIAL POINTS OF THE GAME - stop killing ourselves with penalties...... PLEASE - YOU CAN ACTUALLY CONTROL THIS ONE!
5. It is time for a change of scenery at the QB position. Yeah, you read that correctly, in my mind the time has come. Favre has a broken ankle, and probably a lot more in his body that is broken. He is holding onto the ball too long, and he can't run for first downs. This is huge because with our system, there are many times when a scrambler can take 5-10 yards no problem. It makes the defense respect the run more. If it doesn't work out it doesn't work out, but we are 2-4, and it is time to go! Give Jackson a shot, he is fresh, maybe he will surprise us. Brett isn't exactly winning us games with his arm right now anyway. One could argue he is losing us games.

So that's where I'm at right now. Again, I think this team is destined for 2-5, an then hopefully we can go on a huge 8-1 run to end the year, I know it sounds crazy, but it's our only shot! This team has the talent to beat anyone, and they are starting to slowly bring it together, but it has to happen, and it has to happen soon.

Sports Briefs

Here are a few things I'd like to comment on in the sports world.

2010 Twins = Dead!

2010 - 2011 Timberwolves = Looking much improved and somehow gathering a little bit of excitement in this town???? Yeah - Go See It!

In my mind 2010 hockey is dead in this state. All levels. I hope I'm wrong, but for the first time in my life I'm ready for it to be the 2011 season opener for both of my favorite teams.

Head to Head collisions in the NFL - needs to result in suspensions - especially when there is no question it was intended. Injuries are crazy this year, players are faster and stronger every year.

2010 Twins = Still Dead!

Tim Brewster was fired over the weekend - I think this is unfortunate - he was only a few plays away from having an undefeated record as the Gophers head coach

Maturi - Who is probably one of the worst athletic directors in the country -Says he is looking for a big name guy, similar to what he did when he brought in Tubby Smith - My money is on Mike Leach -

As for Playoff Baseball

I'll take the Giants over the Phillies

I'll take the Rangers over the Yankees

Now to the fun post - Vikings...........

Playoff Baseball - Continued

Playoff Predictions

Figured I might as well throw them out.

I'll take Texas in 5

I'll take Braves in 5

I'll take....... Phillies in 4 - I really want the Reds to win but I can't honestly take them against the Phillies.

For the record I picked Texas to win that series before they won earlier today. Cliff Lee? Come on, how do you pick against him?

We'll see how this goes. GO TWINS!

Playoff Baseball - AKA Twins vs Yankees

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh yes, Fall has arrived and with it Playoff Baseball. The local team has once again made it to the postseason and once again will be squaring off against the much hated New York Yankees, who happen to be the defending World Champions. It is a bit different this year in that the Twins will be the team with home field advantage, as the Yankees enter the playoffs as a Wildcard team. Fun Fact - the Yankees have never gotten out of the first round as a Wildcard team. Regardless - it is still the Yankees, and we are still the Twins. Lets take a look at a few reasons why the Yankees will win and then a few reasons why the Twins will win. Then we'll make a bold prediction, like always!

Why the Yankees will win:

• We are 2-9 against them in the postseason the last three times we have played - including a painful sweep last season
• Derek Jeter is Mr. Playoff Baseball
• Alex Rodriguez is hitting over .900 against almost all of relief pitchers and hasn't not homered against Matt Guerrier
• They have a better Ace than us
• They have more power than us
• They have the swagger against us - until we actually beat them - why wouldn't they. I read the other day that our current manager is something like 15 - 58 against the Yankees since taking over in 2002. Seriously, look at that and think about it
• Our closers throw fastballs over the middle of the plate. While this is ideal for bad teams, it isn't for a team that hits for power
• The Twins are without Justin Morneau - a crucial piece of a playoff roster
• Because nothing good ever happens to teams I cheer for

Why the Twins will win:

• First year at Target Field
• We have better bats than we have had in the past
• Our starting pitching had been excellent toward the end of the year
• The whole team is pissed off that the New York fans are already wondering who they will play in the second round due to their EZ PASS in the Twins
• Joe Mauer will dominate and show the Yankees why he made the decision he did
• Delmon Young is on fire
• Jim Thome probably knows this is his last legit shot at a title, and damn it, he deserves it
• We are something like 82 -4 when leading after 7 innings this year
• THIS BASEBALL TEAM IS DUE FOR SOMETHING EPIC

This series gets underway Wednesday night at 7:30 Central Time. Liriano vs Sabathia in what I view as the series decider. I think the Twins HAVE to win Game 1 if they intend on winning the series. We will not beat the Yankees 3 out of 4 times including 2 on the road. I like our chances against Pettite in Game 2 and I love our chances in game three if Duensing can pitch like he has been. If the Twins win this series I think it will be in 3 games. No I'm not joking. If this goes any further I don't think we pull it out, the Yankees own us too much. They will come through, they will hit devastating home runs against our closers, they will beat us. The Twins need to come out strong and Liriano needs to post 6 or 7 solid innings. I think Mauer and Thome are going to be the pulse of this playoff team and they will need to be hot for us to move forward. If they are hot, they will take the pressure off Delmon and that will be when he thrives. I know a little bit about Delmon Young, and let me tell you, he is swinging the bat well right now. I expect big things from him in this series, but only if the big name veterans can take a little pressure off him. The Twins also need to play sound defense, but you already knew that. We can't give the Yankees more outs than they already have, they will make you pay. I guess we should get to the prediction now.

PREDICTION:

I'm just going to get out and say it. I think the Yankees win this series in 4 games. I don't think we will win game 1, and when that happens, it will be over essentially. We'll sneak out game 2 and lose 3 and 4 at New York. I've been a Twins fan since I can remember, and I've always thought they would win their first round series, even when we were huge underdogs, but I just can't do it anymore. The Yankees have our number, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. I'm sure we will lose some crazy demoralizing way, we always find some way to make it hurt more and be able to say, "we should have won." Should have won doesn't get you 27 World Championships, WINNING DOES. The Yankees know how to win, the Twins know how to contend. Don't worry, we'll be back next year, contending again, and probably winning the division. Maybe we will get lucky and not get matched up against the damn Yankees then.