Since I got home from work after midnight last night, I got up this morning and watched the end of last night's Timberwolves-Jazz game and to my great shock they rebounded, didn't break down on defense under pressure, weathered their usual third quarter reversal of fortune and hung on for a win. I couldn't help but feel this creeping sense of dread as the Scandinavian blood in my veins insisted that it would be too much to ask to see two Minnesota wins in one day, especially after seeing the suddenly lucky Wolves tied their longest winning streak of the season (that would be one game).
The funny thing is my tivo tried to warn me, crashing during the first half and taking forever to reboot, like it secretly hoped I'd look for another distraction and get lost in Lego Indiana Jones 2. But like Tyr with his hand in the Iron Wolf's mouth, even knowing that the agony to come will rob you of a part of yourself that you'll never get back, you just have to smile and embrace the pain. I hope that crumpling at the first division leader they've met this season isn't a sign of things to come, and I hope the Vikings are better prepared for a potential rematch in the Metrodome (at this point I'd expect the Cowboys or Cardinals to come calling, followed by a trip to New Orleans). So what was so painful?
1. No pass rush. It takes a while for the Vikings D-line to make their presence felt, but once they do it's like opening a floodgate, as sack leads to sack leads to panic. Tonight it took until the fourth quarter, and after three quarters of weird zone blitzes and a calm, undisturbed Warner able to pinpoint the timing of his passes it was too late.
2. No outside linebackers. Seriously, I think they played nine guys out there tonight. Maybe it was the weird yet completely ineffective blitzing scheme, but other than Henderson's tackles in the backfield (nice) and his exit from the game on a golf cart (ouch) there were too many tackles in the secondary and the line was chasing down too many guys from behind.
3. Everybody got hurt at once. Our middle linebacker left the field on a cart, our starting corners are both out, it's just bad. The D-line better go ugly early and make something happen or the play-offs will be short and brutal. On offense our catching tight end went out clutching his ribs, and half-man, half-tractor Phil Loadholt went out early, which really didn't help the running game.
4. No running game. I can't even begin to fathom how the Vikings couldn't run on a team that seemed to camp out 5-6 guys in the passing lanes and keep a linebacker deep, and ran complicated blitz packages that had guys running all the way across the field. Just baffling.
5. Favre crazied out on us. The way the Vikings used to beat Favre was to take advantage when he got over-excited and started throwing everything as hard as he could, bouncing balls off of his receivers, trying to thread the needle and whip something through two linebackers and a safety, or just throwing the ball into the stands. So he started throwing picks tonight including one that I swear was intended for a Cardinals defender. Intentionally making mistakes is nothing new for Favre... he spent a whole game running naked bootlegs in front of Michael Strahan and holding the ball to help his buddy set the sack record. (Admittedly, I have no theory as to why he would throw a game to the Cardinals.)
During all of this as my chest tightened and the sense of doom crept over me, I couldn't help but think back to first aid training and the fact that both are warning signs of a heart attack. If the Vikings don't come back to town pissed off and try to play like this against Cincy, I may be chewing aspirin in the stands by half-time.
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