Behind Enemy Lines: Minnesota Vikings
Oct 18, 2012, 5:11 PM | Updated: Oct 19, 2012, 3:12 pm
Once sitting atop the league with a 4-0 record, the Arizona Cardinals now find themselves caught in a downward spiral. Now standing at 4-2, the Cardinals are coming off a disappointing overtime loss to the Buffalo Bills.
They will look to bounce back in a tough road matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, a team that has defeated the Cardinals in each of the last two seasons.
The Vikings are coming off a 38-26 loss to the Washington Redskins in which their defense was carved up by rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III.
Both teams enter the game with a 4-2 record and are looking to prove that they are true playoff contenders.
Friday, October 19
Peterson not getting into end zone lately (Minnesota Star Tribune)
The All-Pro running back hasn’t scored in a career-high five games, a big reason for the Vikings’ red zone issues.
Vikings punter Chris Kluwe was backup plan with kicker Blair Walsh ill (Twincities.com)
Rookie place-kicker Blair Walsh was sick to his stomach and got very little sleep the night before he went 4 for 4 on field-goal attempts in the Vikings’ 38-26 loss to the Washington Redskins on Sunday, Oct. 14.
The backup plan if Walsh couldn’t kick? Punter Chris Kluwe.
Antoine Winfield key to Minnesota Vikings success (NFL.com)
Players that are 35 years old aren’t supposed to be playing cornerback in the NFL, much less at a high level. Winfield has only been healthy enough to play 11 games in the last two seasons, so the Vikings didn’t know what they were going to get out of him. They have received perhaps the best play of Winfield’s underrated career.
The Minnesota Vikings held Adrian Peterson and Jared Allen out of practice Thursday as a precaution because of minor injuries, but expect to have both available against Arizona on Sunday.
Thursday, October 18
NFL Rumors: Should The Minnesota Vikings Trade For Dwayne Bowe? (Rant Sports)
The Minnesota Vikings have seemingly lacked a consistently dynamic deep threat since trading Randy Moss to the Oakland Raiders prior to the 2005 season, with a string of free agent signings and draft picks that have failed to pan out due to injuries and just general underachievement. So any available wide receiver with any sort of name recognition or production of note automatically stands to peak the interest of fans and media.
Vikings ‘tapping’ ex-Card for knowledge (Fox Sports North)
“I got questions from all the coaches,” Jefferson said. “They want to know about the defensive guys. They want to know what I think about the receivers. Special teams coaches want to know what I think about their players there. I try to give them my best scouting report and they can run with it.”
Minnesota Vikings Focus On Fixing Red Zone Offense (CBS Minnesota)
“When you get thwarted like we did in the red zone, you look at everything – what we’re calling, the plays that we’re running, how we’re calling those plays,” Frazier said. “We really stressed not kicking field goals and trying to get touchdowns.”
Mistral Raymond returns to practice, Jared Allen limited (Minnesota Star Tribune)
Vikings safety Mistral Raymond returned to practice Wednesday, participating on a limited basis 24 days after he dislocated his ankle during the first quarter of a Week 3 win over San Francisco.
Minnesota Vikings Work at Second Harvest Heartland (Golden Valley Patch)
On Sunday, Oct. 21, 150 volunteers from UnitedHealthcare will participate in a Vikings Food & Fund Drive from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. prior to the Vikings game at Mall of America Field, collecting nonperishable food items and donations for Second Harvest Heartland.
Wednesday, October 17
Vikings punter Chris Kluwe poses in gay magazine to support same-sex marriage (Yahoo!)
“To me, this fight is about equality and human rights,” Kluwe recently told CNN. “The fact is, there are Americans who pay taxes and serve in our military — who defend this country — who do not receive the same legal protections as the rest of us. To me, that’s flat-out discrimination. That’s the same as segregation or suffrage.”
Vikings set for London game in 2013 (Minnesota Star Tribune)
Details for the Vikings’ 2013 trip to London were announced Tuesday following the NFL’s fall owners meetings in Chicago. The Vikings will play the Pittsburgh Steelers at Wembley Stadium on Sept. 29, a Week 4 contest that will be followed by a Week 5 bye.
Adrian Peterson will sit out practice Wednesday as a precaution (Minnesota Star Tribune)
Vikings running back Adrian Peterson will not practice this afternoon as he continues to deal with some tenderness in his left ankle. Peterson hurt the ankle early during the Vikings’ Week 5 game with Tennessee and is still dealing with some soreness, particularly after a 24-touch, 129-yard day in Sunday’s loss at Washington.
Vikings: Erin Henderson can’t wait for Cardinals’ ‘conventional’ offense (Pioneer Press)
Vikings linebacker Erin Henderson says he’s happy to put the Washington Redskins’ option-style offense behind him and get back to facing a more typical attack when Minnesota plays host to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Oct. 21.
Vikings Chad Greenway leading NFL in tackles (Examiner.com)
Greenway is having yet another quiet but stellar season as a starting linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings. He currently leads the NFL in tackles with 61 (39 solo, 22 combined), yet for some reason he’s a stand out that hardly stands out.
Poor footwork disrupting accuracy Vikings QB Christian Ponder says (1500 ESPN)
“The biggest thing was footwork,” Ponder said on Wednesday. “The one that I threw short to Kyle (Rudolph), I flipped my feet around. I should have just did it on the run and threw off balance. I had a missed throw to John Carlson on a little corner route that I didn’t really set my feet. It’s all footwork.”
Tuesday, October 16
Simpson not eager to sit again (Star Tribune)
As energetic and hyper as Jerome Simpson usually is, the Vikings receiver wasn’t in the mood for small talk Monday, a day after being declared inactive against Washington.
Threes are no charm for Vikings (Star Tribune)
The Vikings were frustrated by picking up field goals rather than touchdowns on their early trips inside the 20-yard line.
Shooter Now: It’s Vikings vs. Minnesota wide receivers (TwinCities.com)
One, of course, is Larry Fitzgerald Jr., the six-time Pro Bowl player who graduated from Holy Angels in Minneapolis. The other is rookie Michael Floyd, a Cretin-Derham Hall grad from St. Paul.
Percy Harvin has big numbers, lots of little pains (TwinCities.com)
“This is the best I have felt in a while,” he said Monday, Oct. 15. “Nah, I’m a little sore. But no sorer than anybody else. I’ve got two days off. I’ll be ready to go Wednesday.”
Expect rotation with Schwartz to continue (MinnesotaVikings.com)
When the Vikings signed Geoff Schwartz this past offseason, the thinking was he could perhaps compete for a starting position at right guard while also providing depth on each side of the offensive line as a swing tackle. An injury slowed his progression during training camp, though, so the Vikings didn’t get a great look at the free agent signing before the season started.
One of the main takeaways from the Vikings 38-26 loss to the Washington Redskins on Sunday was how different the game could’ve been had the Vikings been able to convert more of their red zone opportunities into touchdowns rather than field goals, particularly three drives in the 1st quarter that all resulted in field goals of 27 yards or less.
No reason to panic at quarterback in Minnesota (Daily Norseman)
In 2011, the Vikings drafted Christian Ponder with the 12th overall pick, and while they had Ponder and Webb ready to compete for the quarterback job, new coach Leslie Frazier decided that he needed a veteran. Enter. . .Donovan McNabb. We all know what happened with McNabb, and after hogging all the first-team snaps during an abbreviated training camp and the first six weeks of the regular season, Frazier pulled the trigger and made Ponder his starter the rest of the way.
Monday, October 15
Minnesota Vikings: Carrying offense is starting to wear on Percy Harvin (TwinCities.com)
Undersized wide receiver Percy Harvin has been the go to guy for the Minnesota Vikings. The pounds speedster is the only big-play threat in the Vikings passing game and also does most of the team’s kick returning. With such a small NFL body, it seems unlikely that he will be able to hold up.
Vikings Report Card: Offense, defense take step backwards in loss (CBS Sports)
After a dominating 30-7 victory over the Tennessee Titans in Week 5, their recent loss to the Washington Redskins was nothing but disappointing. Aside from special teams, the Vikings had a rough day across the board.
Minnesota Vikings’ Adrian Peterson: ‘Should have been more aggressive’ (TwinCities.com)
Star running back Adrian Peterson is taking a lot of the blame for his team’s loss to the Redskins. He said that he was not as aggressive as he would have liked and vowed to never allow it to happen again.
