The Vikings first drive went well, up to a point, which was about the Falcons 40 yard line, but I didn't care that the offense didn't score early because some things really sparkled. The Tardis was looking sharp under pressure all day, getting blitzed and still making plays... on his touchdown toss to Adrian Peterson in the 4th quarter, the Tardis jumped to toss the ball over an oncoming lineman. I was really excited when the Vikings drafted the Tardis, because I liked his attitude and his game, and for the first time I felt like I was seeing that come together in a pro game, and it was strangely beautiful. When he fought off a tackler and pulled himself up far enough to heave the ball to the sideline as he was dragged down, there were shades of Daunte Culpepper's physical game, only without the second half fade and paralytic decision-making. He takes chances in a big way, but he throws the ball so hard he avoided one interception by bouncing the ball off a d-back's hands like skipping a rock, but then nearly gave up a couple because his passes that get deflected sail for about 20 yards. A couple of the receivers and tight ends came through early to show the Tardis has a lot more options than in the last couple years when the receiving corps couldn't beat single coverage, so this year's passing game should be a lot less frustrating to watch.
I wasn't wild about drafting Adrian Peterson, but he had me sold on him after the first quarter, by showing how much more consistent a running game the Vikings had with him as the biggest change. The (Falcons) found tackling Adrian Peterson to be like dubbing Nicholas Cage into Cantonese, because somebody would hit Peterson and I'd see a body hit the ground and take a look at the hash marks to see how many yards he'd gained, then realize Peterson had just tossed off a tackler and was still up and running. He had a 100-yard rushing game in his debut and a 60-yard touchdown reception on a screen pass, and this guy is absolutely the real deal. On top of all of that, the defense took the early lead when Joey Harrington hit defensive tackle Kevin Williams in the numbers. The athletic Williams was dropping back on a zone blitz, and looked positively startled when the ball hit him in the chest but managed to slap his hands onto it before running it back 54 yards for a touchdown, after looking around for a minute like he didn't know if he should down it, lateral it, or run. Antoine Winfield iced the game with another touchdown return in the final minutes, the defense sacked Harrington six times, the (Falcons) running game was stifled, and in a big change from last year's tentative Tampa-2 defense the Vikings weren't afraid to blitz today to get some pressure on Harrington, and still kept Dunn from punishing them for it on the run.
However, I had to get a little worried when the Vikings offense didn't score in the entire first half. The story of the last few years has been an improved defense that got pressure and forced turnovers early, but wore down after staying on the field the whole game when the offense couldn't put up any yards or points. Early Peterson and the Tardis were getting yards, but after coming through late the offense still got outscored by the defense 14-10. The defense gave up three huge third downs, twice with the (Falcons) pinned against their own end zone on third and long, the first time just missing a shot at sacking Harrington for a safety and letting him come up with a big passing play. There are still weaknesses in the pass defense, where too many times (Falcons) receivers were able to find miles of open space where the linebackers and safeties didn't pick them up, and that could be lethal against a better opponent. The (Falcons) helped them keep the lead by missing a field goal and by generally being one of the weakest teams in the league, but you can't play Joey Harrington and his Georgia Puppykillers every week. Well, with the Lions, Chefs, Packers, and the bye week coming up, I guess they won't play anybody that much better than the (Falcons) until week six when they go to Chicago where they still have the mercurial Sexy Rexy ready to screw things up, so who knows what will happen.
At least the Vikings were a lot more entertaining to watch than they have been, and at first glance the schedule really doesn't look so tough. I doubt they'll be a play-off team, and certainly not a contender, but I just really care that they be at least watchable at home (no repeat of that Patriots debacle last year). And all's well for the undefeated NFC North leading Vikings for the next week at least.
On the other hand, my fantasy football team the Brussels Sprouts are trailing by about 30, but I have the Ravens defense and some 49ers receiver I've never heard of yet to play tomorrow night, so I could use some good vibes, because ironically enough my opponent is called "Vicks Dog Pound". You can tell I let the computer draft my team when I have a 9er on the roster, although he's only been there a couple months so maybe he can still eat garlic and tolerate the presence of a cross, unlike a certain 9ers fan I used to date who produced no reflection in a mirror and moved to a city with no natural sunlight. (Ever wonder why Carmen Policy went from the 49ers to the Browns? It's because according to Buffy the Vampire Slayer there's another Hellmouth in Cleveland.)
*-If you don't know you what that means, you may not want to
**-For an explanation of the parentheses around the (Atlanta Falcons) see Simpsons 10.12 "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday". Technically it should be the (Atlanta Falcons) and their quarterback (Joey Harrington), since I doubt he'll be long for the NFL. "Also in attendance today are President (Clinton) and his wife (Hillary)..."
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