Vikings-Ravens
I apologize for the lack of activity on the ole' blog of late. But things have been busy here Down Under at the World Masters Games. However, it wraps up tomorrow for me and maybe I'll have more time to post after that. They even have a Fox sports channel here that shows live NFL games (along with a lot of Aussie and New Zealand rugby games), so maybe I'll be able to catch the Vikings-Ravens game live, which would be a bonus.
I haven't thought a great deal about the game this week. But after watching Baltimore play a couple of times in previous weeks, some things have struck me about them.
1. This isn't last year's Baltimore Ravens - a team that wins with defence, turnovers and an offence that tries not to get in the way. Quarterback Joe Flacco looks vastly improved from his rookie year and is being asked to make throws he wasn't last year. He's also completing a lot of those throws. If you were expecting him to be the weak link the Vikings can harrass and exploit, you may be disappointed.
2. And the running combo of Willis McGahee and Ray Rice is formidable. It will test a Vikings run defence that doesn't look quite as dominating as it has the past three years. Actually, the Baltimore offence may provide a stiffer test for the Vikings D than the Packers did. The Ravens seem like a more balanced unit so far.
Of course, this isn't last year's (or the 2007 or the 2006) Vikings either. A game like this would have frightened me last year because you knew the Vikes could not throw the ball against a team like Baltimore. Or if it did try to throw the ball, Gus Frerotte would be throwing up at least a couple of pick-sixes.
Not so this season. The addition of Brett Favre has changed everything for the Vikings offence. It's no longer so simple for opposing defences to just focus on stopping Adrian Peterson to stop the Vikings offence. And what I'm liking thus far is how Favre is using multiple targets to move the ball down the field via the pass. It's not just one guy doing the damage, it's several guys. Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice, Percy Harvin, Chester Taylor, Visanthe Shiancoe - they are all contributing in the passing game. That's tough for a defence to defend.
The Ravens have played a tougher schedule than the Vikings to this point, but I don't know how much that will help them here. The Vikings appear to be very good as well. They should be confident playing at home in the Metrodome and I'm sure they'll relish the challenge of playing a solid football team like the Ravens. It should bring out the best in them, as opposed to what playing a St. Louis or a Cleveland does to a team.
I expect this one to be close, but as long as Peterson holds onto the ball and Favre doesn't throw to the wrong jerseys, the Vikings will move the ball well enough and stop the Ravens offence enough to win a squeaker. It will be a win that erases our concerns - at least for one week - about how the Vikings stack up against the "elite" of the NFL. We may even conclude with a win that the Vikings are part of that exclusive club.
Vikings 24 - Ravens 21
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4 comments:
I was feeling awfully good at the beginning of the 4th quarter. Ignoring the epic collapse for a moment, the 17 point lead in the 4th is encouraging. The Vikings have the ability to dominate against a good team. For whatever reason (coaching is a popular target), they lack the ability to put teams away convincingly. I hope that's correctable.
Looks like another week of hearing about how over-rated the Vikings are. (sigh)
I blame the whole thing on Childress' conservative playcalling. I was on the road, so I listened to the game on radio and later watched the game on my DVR.
Championship teams trust their QB, and don't get into run down the clock mode in the first quarter. Childress took the ball out of Favre's hands once they went up 14-0. This allowed the Ravens defense to build up confidence and regain some swagger and momentum. Childress was acting like we still had T. Jack out there and was trying to sneak out with a win after two quick touchdowns.
Whatever sport your in, sitting on the ball usually ends up hurting you in the end. When you shut your players down, they get out of sync, they lose their edge and the team loses it's momentum. You take the crowd out of the game on your home field. Childress always does this, and it drives me nuts. He's not a "play to win" guy, he's a "play not to lose" guy. He modeled his "piece of clay" T Jack in the same image... and you see where that got him.
Guys like Favre are winners, gamers and sportsmen... and letting up to wind down the clock doesn't enter their heads until they're taking knees after the two minute warning.
I have no doubt in my mind if the game plan wasn't changed because of the early lead, we would have gone on to crush them by three touchdowns.
I have no beef with the defense or any other player/unit that played on the field on Sunday. Childress lulled his squad to sleep yesterday, and he's the only guy to blame (besides Bevell).
We're 6-0 and I'm already set to bring up the FIRE CHILDRESS talk.
Hey guys:
I'll be back in North America on Wednesday and will be posting regularly upon my return.
Having not watched the game, I was ready to blame the defensive unit for this, not coaching or play-calling. Seems to me the Vikings are morphing into a 1998 version of themselves.
That team was explosive offensively and had a defence that created turnovers and made big plays, but the D also gave up a lot of yardage and gave up a fair bit of points to good offences. That cost them when the played a good offensive team like Atlanta in the NFC Championship game.
This defence has more talent than the '98 unit had, so I'm dismayed by their performance thus far in the season. They'll have to improve if they want to beat the Saints, who look like the team to beat so far in this young season.
I hope you'll talk a bit about your time in Australia in one of your upcoming posts. Welcome back to North America!
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