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Tee-Time with Tajen
The Minnesota Vikings stumbled through their first four games of the season
BY TAJEN STOCKDALE
statesman staff writer
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Chester Taylor and the Vikings have
struggled on offense so far this year.
Last Sunday, the Vikings fell to 1-3 for the season after losing to the Green Bay Packers, 23-16.
While the Vikings offense was in hiding throughout the first three quarters of the game, Brett Favre was carving up their defense enroute to becoming the all time leader in passing touchdowns.
However, the Vikings gave their fans hope that they may not finish in the gutter after pounding the Atlanta Falcons in week one. The Vikings pummeled the Falcons 24-3 by doing most of the scoring with their defense.
Kevin Williams and Antoine Winfield shined for the Vikes defense by returning two interceptions for touchdowns against Atlanta. The defense sacked Joey Harrington six times while giving up 96-yards on the ground.
After week one, the defense looked destined to stand amongst the leagues elite. Their rush defense is third in the NFL, and in week two, they held the Lions to just 56-yards on the ground.
In week three, they held superstar Larry Johnson to just 42-yards on 24 rushing attempts. The problem is, the rush defense can only take the Vikings so far.
The Vikings are counting on their defense way too much. Having a good rush defense means nothing if the opposing team can just pass it down the field play after play, the way Favre and the Lions' Jon Kitna have done. It doesn't take long for opposing teams to work around the Vikes strong defensive front. They know they can't pound the ball inside against the "Williams Wall." They then just look to their wide-outs.
Even when the pass defense plays decent like they did against the Kansas City Chiefs two weeks ago, they still don't score enough points to win. Their offense is amongst the worst in the NFL.
Coming into Sunday's game with the Green Bay Packers, the Vikings offense had scored the same amount of touchdowns as the defense (3).
Rookie Adrian Peterson has been the only source of offense for the Vikings through the first four weeks of the season. He showed Vikes fans right away that he was the real deal after a 60-yard touchdown reception against the Falcons while also racking up over 100-yards rushing.
Two weeks ago, Peterson scored his first career rushing touchdown against the Chiefs. Peterson rushed for over 100-yards again this last week against the Packers.
Unfortunately, nobody else is stepping up for the Vikings on offense. Second year quarterback Tarvaris Jackson has been injured for the last two weeks, but to be honest, he wasn't that valuable to begin with.
Chester Taylor rushed for over 1,100 yards with the Vikings last year, but he too was out until this past week. Wide receiver Bobby Wade leads the team in receptions with a whopping 15. There have been a few things to be happy about as a Vikings fan after this past week's loss to the Packers.
Sidney Rice showed that he can be a top option as a receiver. He hauled in the Vikings lone offensive touchdown in the fourth quarter with just two minutes left.
Rice has speed and the ability to jump above defenders to catch the ball in a dare-I-say-it, "Randy Moss like fashion." Also, Troy Williamson showed that he has learned how to catch the ball. There was one play in particular on Sunday where Williamson was cutting across the middle and caught the ball before being laid out by Packer Nick Barnett.
Last season, Williamson would have dropped the pass while worrying too much about the hit. Sure, the catch was for minimal yardage, but it showed that Williamson is maturing as a receiver.
The Vikings knew that if they were going to have any chance of competing this year, they would have to do good early on in the season.
Next week the Vikings have a bye. After that, the season gets very rough. They have to go to Chicago before facing the number one team in the NFC, the Dallas Cowboys the following week. Two weeks later, the San Diego Chargers come to town.
What Vikings fans need to do is accept the fact the Vikings will likely win no more than four games this year. Just expect four wins from them, that way anything more will be a nice bonus. It's obvious the team is nowhere near contending for a playoff spot so it may not be too early to start playing for the number one pick next year.
