All the talk about the Vikings this week will be the play of youngin' Tarvaris Jackson against Da Bears on MNF. You are going to hear talk about picking up Philadelphia Eagles veteran Donovan McNabb who many think would look good in purple and reunite himself with former Eagles offensive coordinator and now Vikes head-coach Brad Childress.

I am not a member of that camp.

Sure, McNabb would be better able to handle the "Eight in a Box" defensive formula that every one is now employing against the Vikings running game. Sure, McNabb would not make poor choices throwing the ball in the red zone. And McNabb would be a mentor to the young Jackson and help him develop into an elite NFL quarterback.

And that's why I would be against it.

The only way McNabb comes to the Vikings is to play another two to three years as the starter. He isn't going to come to sit on the bench. He isn't going to come and carry a clipboard and mentor Jackson. And the Vikes aren't going to admit that they may have over-reached for Jackson in the 2006 NFL draft and sit a QB who is 8-2 as a starter in the NFL.

Jackson is still going through a process of learning an NFL offense. There will be growing pains. The game against the Bears was his first national appearance and his nervousness showed. I would be very surprised if he had the same type of performance this coming Sunday night against the Washington Redskins. The kid is a winner and his record shows it. And at this point, I'm comfortable staying the course with him.

Sure, the Vikes need to bring in a veteran quarterback next season but it should not be a McNabb. It should be a veteran that knows his role is to be the backup and mentor to Jackson. But you can have your own say using the poll below.

My main concern with the game is the running game. Why the sudden drop in production? I blame this man:

San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Greg Manusky has provided the blue-print to slowing down the Vikings running attack. And while the Bears didn't limit rookie Adrian Peterson to a mere 3-yards rushing, they did keep him from breaking any "would you look at him go!" runs that we've become used to this season.

When you get down to it, it is helmet-against-helmet. Mano-a-mano. Who is a man and who is a boy. With the offensive line, tight-ends, and Pro Bowl full-back this team has it shouldn't matter how many people opposing defenses put into the box. We should be knocking the defenders onto their rear-ends and Peterson and Chester Taylor should be running free.

I look for whatever is bugging the Vikings blocking scheme to be fixed by this Sunday. Whether it be communication as in "Who has Urlacher!?!?"....to just playing the smash-mouth football required for a long playoff run. WIth that many defenders in the box, the slants and other quick passing plays (recall those quickies to Cris Carter and Randy Moss in the late 90's?) should be wide open and will serve to loosen up the running game even more.

And who doesn't want to see Fred Smooooot get burned like a piece of breakfast toast Sunday night?

I was also quite pleased to see Childress bench the 2007 NFL Rookie of the Year in the game against the Bears. That sent a strong message that no one is untouchable. Peterson was benched a whole series after the fumbled exchange with Jackson early on in the game. We'll see a more focused Peterson this Sunday.

Think I Ain't?

So, at what point did you start to miss Mike "Super Star" Morris on Monday night? With Morris as long-snapper for the Vikes a fan never had to pay attention to whether or not Mitch Berger got a good ball to punt or Gary Anderson would get a good ball to kick.

Vikes current long snapper Cullen Loeffler had three poor snaps this past Monday, with one of the poor snaps leading to a missed extra point in the third quarter. So what was the deal?

Loeffler's pregnant wife had the audacity to go into labor Monday night!!! You marry someone and think you know them and then the spouse pulls something like this!

Loeffler admitted that his thoughts were with his wife all night long...and rightly so. Expect the new Daddy to be back at the top of his game this coming Sunday due to the extra mouth to feed. Improved performance usually goes hand-in-hand when a family starts to grow. As the Super Star would say, "Think it doesn't?"

Playoff Scenario Update

Minnesota can clinch a playoff berth in Week 16 with a win over Washington and a New Orleans loss or tie to the Eagles. This is based off the tiebreaker scenarios for the NFL playoffs. There was no head-to-head game this season between the Vikes and Saints so it goes to the second tiebreaker, which is conference record.

If the Saints were to win out, they would finish with a 9-7 record overall and a record of 8-4 against the NFC (as both of their remaining games are against NFC opponents...Phil and @ Chi). The best the Vikes can do is finish with a NFC record of 7-5 by virtue of beating the 'Skins.

So, outside of the Washington game the Saints need to lose 1 against either Philly or at Chicago combined with ONE Vikes victory to lock in a Wild Card.

Whine from the East

The Vikings current five game winning streak has the Packer fans upset. Example, working hard in my office this week I was interrupted by a Cheeshead who barged in and started flaying his arms around while saying, "Who have you beat? Huh? Tell Me! Who have you beat?" and then promptly left before I could ask him the same thing.

So I did some research and added up the combined records of the teams that the Vikings and Packers have beaten this season. Bottom line: The Vikes have won against a 0.402 combined won-loss record while the over-rated Packers have won against a 0.445 combined record.

Both teams have beat the Giants. Both have beaten San Diego. Both have lost to Dallas. Not much difference, I say. So if you are a Cheeser, who exactly HAVE YOU BEATEN?

It would appear that neither team will face a true playoff team until the playoffs start. So for now, both sides should just shut the Hell up and concentrate on finishing off the season.

Posted by maasx003 at December 19, 2007 1:38 AM