Purple Progress

Lest anyone accuse me of only posting about my favorite football team when I've got something to complain about, I need to congratulate the Minnesota Vikings on their fine performance last night. The Vikings beat the Chicago Bears, 34-14, and they now lead the NFC North, sporting a 7-5 record with four games to go in the regular season.

The game turned on an incredible five-play sequence in the second quarter. After the Bears, then holding a 7-3 lead, reached the Vikings' 2 yard line, the Vikings' defense held for four straight plays, stuffing three consecutive running attempts. After the last one, the Vikings took over on downs, holding the Bears without any points, but were backed up at their one yard line.On their first offensive play, quarterback Gus Frerotte dropped back into his own end zone and heaved the ball deep down the left sideline, where he hit a wide-open Bernard Berrian in full stride. Berrian caught the ball at the Vikings' 45 yard line, then sprinted the rest of the way for a 99-yard, game-changing score. The Vikings had gone from potentially being on the short end of a 14-3 score to leading 10-7, in the span of about a minute. They never looked back from that point.

With the victory, the Vikings lead the NFC North division with a 7-5 record. The Bears are 6-6, while the Green Bay Packers are 5-7. However, there's still plenty of football left to be played, so anything could happen.

While the Vikings have played well since my last post, two weeks ago, there are still some trouble spots. For one thing, the play-calling remains suspect. The coaching staff seems determined to run the ball, even when the defense is clearly playing to stop the run. It seems as though the Vikings only pass the ball on 3rd down. I think that they need to pass more often on first down. For one thing, it will keep the defense honest, thereby opening things up for the running game. Secondly, with defenses attempting to stack things against the run on first and second down, that's when the Vikings will find it easier to find some receivers open down the field. In general, Gus Frerotte remains inconsistent; at this stage, he could just as easily lose a game for you as he can win it for you.

So, while the special teams coverage, the pass rush and the offensive line play have shown improvement, this is still a rather flawed team.

It should be an interesting December.