Sunday, October 21, 2012

Vikings top Cardinals, move to 5-2

Well after a poor showing against the Redskins last week, the Vikings came through to show how well they care, despite their two losses. Both the Cardinals and Vikings were 4-2 entering into this weeks game, and the Cardinals have a very good defense but are missing QB Kolb. So notes to make from this game:

Peterson continues to dominate. He had 23 rushes today for 153 yards and 1 TD. He looked like a beast. However, when looking at some of the tackles that he should have broken, you can see how the knee injury and current ankle injury are affecting him. Had he broken those tackles, he would have had many more yards. He also had 2 receptions for a total of 6 yards. Despite the past knee injury and ankle injury, he is still a nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators.

The defense that showed up for only one quarter last week showed up for all 4 quarters today. The defense dominated, totalling 7 sacks. 3 by Robinson, 2 by Allen, 1 by Winfield and Williams each. Williams' and Winfield's sacks resulting in a turnover on 4th down plays. One of Robinson's sacks also caused a forced fumble, and it was recovered by Williams. Those were fun to watch from sitting live at the game!! Winfield also led the team in tackling with 10 solo tackles and 1 assist. At 7 was Robinson and then 3 tied at 5, Brinkley, Greenway and Sanford. Sanford is showing up to be a good fit in place of Raymond. Smith also had 4 tackles but more impressive was his INT and TD! Was nice to see the Vikings' defense finally pull up with a pick 6. Smith continues to be a beast on the defense, getting mentioned in each game in a great way!! What a great 1st Round pick!!

Aside from Peterson, the offense was pretty pedestrian. Ponder again looked poor, completing only 8 of 17 for 58 yards. 4 of those completions were to Harvin, who had 37 yards receiving and the only TD that Ponder threw. Ponder also threw 2 interceptions on a poor throw to Rudolph and a poor decision to throw the ball instead of throwing it away. Most important to note, Ponder was 7/10 after the 1st half with 1 TD and 2 INT's and 54 yards. 2nd half had 1 completion out of 8 for 4 yards. I don't know if it was Musgrave or Frazier that cut down on the passes in the 2nd half, which wasn't too horrible because of how well Peterson was doing, but regardless, the offense shut down in the 2nd half. The other passes were 2 to Peterson for 8 yards, 1 to Simpson for 8 yards and 1 to Jenkins for 7 yards.

As I mentioned, the defense played amazing today. They stood up when the Offense crept into a hole in the 2nd half. This raises the question is when will the entire team play the full game? Granted, Ponder threw 2 interceptions in the first half, and Peterson was running good, but the offense failed to score any points in the 2nd half. Thankfully the Cardinals weren't able to catch up, despite a good effort to do so. The defense just wasn't going to let that happen! I don't know if it continues to be Musgrave with poor play selection or what but the fact that we are 5-2 is a big surprise in the NFL, considering the lack of offense in so many of the games. I, for one, am hoping this changes quickly!

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