Month: September 2007

Posted on

Vikings Induct Chuck Foreman Into Ring Of Honor Today


Chuck Foreman
Originally uploaded by
vikingsfrenzy

Patrick Reusse wrote about two of my childhood sports heros, and .

The reason for the column, of course, is that today. The Ring of Honor is basically the Vikings’ own Hall of Fame.

Foreman came out of college as a wide receiver and a cornerback. His receiving skills would be on display his entire career because Tarkenton threw to him often. The Vikings would get him out in the flat, or underneath, or in the soft spots of zone coverage to get him in one-on-one situations, where he was virtually unstoppable. They even sent him deep like a wide receiver.

For three years during the mid-seventies, Foreman was the best running back in the NFL. In 1975, Foreman led the NFC in receptions (73), touchdowns (22!), and came in second to in rushing yards with 1,070, six yards short of the Triple Crown.

During the last game, at Buffalo, a fan threw a snowball at Foreman that hit him in the eye and he had to be pulled from the game as a result because he couldn’t see. That fan probably cost Foreman the rushing title that year.

I’ve been thinking a lot about Foreman recently and not solely because of his pending induction. I’ve been thinking about him because reminds me a lot of Foreman. Peterson appears to have the same combination of skills and attributes that Foreman had: Speed and quickness, but also the power to run over people and the moves to make people miss coupled with good hands.

.

Posted on

Saturday Play Of The Day

This was the Play Of the Day (POD) for our Saturday on September 22, 2007:

Ahk was lined up against a receiver significantly taller than himself. Seeing the "mismatch," the quarterback eyed his tall receiver. The receiver ran a fly down the sideline past Ahk. No matter. Ahk turned his back to the quarterback, ran to the spot, turned back to find the ball, got up and swatted the ball away.

Again!, he urged. The quarterback and receiver complied, this time on a shorter route. But Ahk was there, climbed the ladder, and knocked the ball to the ground.

Surely three times is a charm, the quarterback must’ve been thinking because he went back to the well for a third time but little did he know, the well had been dry all along. Ahk was there a third time to knock the ball down.

And for that series of dominating plays, Ahk earned the Play(s) of the Day.

Posted on

Saturday Play Of The Day

This was the Play Of the Day (POD) for our Saturday on September 15, 2007:

Gillian capped off a huge drive that she dominated. Throughout the day, she caught
more passes than anyone out there and had a 4 or 5 catch
drive and then a 10 foot TD catch to finish it up and win the final
game of the day.

Posted on

John Randle Taunted Kelly Holcomb…Mercilessly

Former defensive tackle was not kind to current Vikings backup quarterback back in 1997, :

Holcomb said he learned that lesson [of not being prepared] the hard way
in the final game of the 1997 season with the Indianapolis Colts when
starter got hurt during a 39-28 loss to the Vikings in the
Metrodome.

"I think I had 15, 16, 17 snaps (that game), and I turned it
over five times," Holcomb said. "That taught me a valuable lesson. It
doesn’t matter what your record is, you’d better be ready to play. It
was a hard lesson to learn."

Adding insult to ignominy, Holcomb said motor mouth Vikings
defensive tackle John Randle delivered a running commentary of abuse.

"I remember him running off the field saying, ‘Hey, Holcomb, if
you want to give it to us, we’ll take it,’ " Holcomb said. "He was
making me madder by the minute. At the end of the game, if I could have
been an ostrich and stuck my head in the sand, I would have."

Hee, hee! Even four years after he retired, Randle continues to entertain.

Posted on

Thursday Play Of The Day

This was the Play Of the Day (POD) for our Thursday on September 13, 2007:

Boon‘s team was facing fourth and goal from just beyond the 50 yard
line and they needed a score. His quarterback waited for his receivers
to get to the end zone, bought some more time with a fake, and heaved
the ball downfield. Boon went up in a crowd of three and grabbed the
ball at the same time as a defender. Both the defender and Boon had
possession as they fell to the ground but with a steely grip, Boon
ripped the ball away to gain sole possession of the rock and a needed
touchdown for his team.

Posted on

10 Things I Learned From Watching The Vikings Lose To The Lions

Well, that was ugly. Were it not for an unfortunate bounce on Ryan Lognwell‘s field goal attempt, the would have beat the Detriot Lions yesterday. Were it not for a Chad Greenway dropped interception that could very well have been returned for a score, the Vikings would have won yesterday. Were it not for some very ill-advised passes that turned into interceptions, the Vikiings may have pulled out a victory yesterday.

  1. Tarvaris Jackson obviously has no feel for the deep pass.
  2. Tarvaris Jackson needs to learn how to throw the ball away.
  3. I’ve been saying all pre-season that the Vikings offense only needs to be a little better for the team to win a lot more games. They’re still not a little better and won’t be until Jackson can prove he can beat teams through the air.
  4. It looks like Tarvaris Jackson might not be very tough.
  5. Brooks Bollinger has confirmed that he is a third string quarterback.
  6. Kenechi Udeze has no business being on the field during passing situations.
  7. Brian Robison should take most of the snaps at left end.
  8. Kevin Williams is clearly rebounding from two consecutive mediocre years
  9. The coaches clearly don’t yet trust Adrian Peterson to pass block.
  10. Ryan Cook needs to concentrate.
Posted on

Minnesota Vikings At Detroit Lions Preview

This week’s matchup pits the Vikings against a Detroit Lions team that has a competent quarterback in Jon Kitna, this year’s number one pick Calvin Johnson, a proven big-play wide receiver in Roy Williams, and no-slouches-themselves receivers Mike Furrey and Shaun McDonald, and pass-first offensive coordinator Mike Martz.

Vikings Defense vs. Lions Offense

The Lions like to employ four- and five-receiver sets.

We’re are going to find out how just much the Vikings’ pass defense has improved, particularly our pass rush.

Cornerbacks Marcus McCauley and Charles Gorden look to see a lot of action and will probably be targeted by Kita and company because of their inexperience.

The Lions rushing attack will feature Tatum Bell because both Kevin Jones and T.J. Duckett are injured. And though Bell ran for 87 yards against the Raiders last week, don’t expect a repeat performance against the Vikings. The Vikings run defense is better and Martz will prefer to pass against the Vikings anyway.

For the Vikings to be successful against the Lions’ offense they’ll need to shut down the run, done, and then, ideally, bring enough pressure with the front four that they make Kitna uncomfortable in the pocket.

The nice thing about four- and five-receiver sets is that there are fewer people to pass block on the line. That means no double-teaming the Williamses, leaving Udeze, Edwards, Scott and Robison to bring pressure off the edge. I’d expect to see a lot of rookie Brian Robison at left end if Udeze can’t bring sufficient pressure. Look for Spencer Johnson to get a lot of work, as well.

The cornerbacks will have to be physical at the line by jamming and rerouting their receivers to disrupt the quick passes and allow the D-line enough time to get to Kitna. Ideally, this would allow Leslie Fraizer the freedom to use the linebackers primarily in coverage rather than blitzing.

Kitna is definitely rattleable. Last week he threw two picks and last year he had 22 interceptions against 21 touchdowns. If the Vikes can get to Kitna, there might be some scoring opportunities on picks. If Kitna goes down, the Lions are in serious trouble because, with backup QB Dan Orlovsky injured, they’d have to rely on third string quarterback, former Viking, J.T. O’Sullivan.

Vikings Offense vs. Lions Defense

The Vikings will want to play ball control offense by running the ball as much as they can and creating long, time-consuming drives to keep the Lions offense off the field. In a game they should have won, they Raiders had success running against Detroit, with LaMont Jordon gaining 70 yards and a touchdown on just 15 carries for a 4.6 yard average.

It will help the Vikings cause a great deal if Chester Taylor is healthy enough to play to keep the Lions guessing as to who will get the rock. If Taylor’s healthy, I’d expect to see a lot of him and Adrian Peterson in the backfield at the same time.

If the Lions are successful against the run, then obviously we’ll need Tarvaris Jackson to make them pay with the passing game.  He will have an additional weapon at his disposal this week, with receiver Robert Ferguson expected to be active this week.

I hate to say it, but keeping the Lions honest might depend on Jackson connecting deep with Troy Williamson.

Regardless, the Lions have a horrible record against us so they’ve got to prove to me that this group is different from any other Lions team we’ve face. I expect the Vikings to win a close one.

NFL.com’s Video Preview

Posted on

Saturday Play Of The Day

This was the Play Of the Day (POD) for our Saturday on September 8, 2007:

Ben was a machine last week, making catches on stop routes, crossing routes, post routes, and deep fly routes. 

It was on one of those fly routes that he made the Play of the Day. With a defender running stride for stride with him all the way down the field, the quarterback threw to Ben even though he looked to be absolutely covered. But Ben didn’t give anything away as he approached the end zone and the ball. It was only at the last second that he turned to the ball, brought up his hands, and plucked it from the air, giving his defender no hint that the ball was near.

Posted on

Thursday Play Of The Day

This was the Play Of the Day (POD) for our Thursday on September 6, 2007:

One reason Ned can make amazing plays is his vast wingspan. He’s known as The Hand because he puts that wingspan to such good use by getting The Hand consistently on the ball, be it offensively or defensively.

Ned put The Hand to superb use last Thursday when he was running a drag route. His quarterback led him the wrong way by throwing a horrible pass way behind Ned as he was crossing the field. The ball was heading directly to the waiting arms of a defender for an easy pick. You could see his eyes widen and his thoughts turn upfield as the ball spiraled toward him.

But the anticipation of a sure interception return for a score was rudely interrupted as Ned reached wwwwwaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy back behind him with The Hand and, impossibly, scooped the ball from the air and continued upfield for a good gain but a superb save.