What happened?
October 31st, 2006 – 3:11 AM by Judd ZulgadThere was never any question the Vikings’ run defense was ahead of the pass defense. But what New England coach Bill Belichick did Monday night was provide teams with a blue print for how to draw up a game plan against the Vikings.
Essentially, Belichick proved it was OK to abandon the run against the Vikings. New England only ran the ball 15 times. The rest of the time the Patriots operated through the air. Tom Brady completed 29 of 43 passes for 372 yards and four touchdowns. In all, Brady completed passes to 10 different receivers in the Patriots’ 31-7 victory.
The key, of course, is that Brady is a special player and the Vikings don’t figure to face a guy like him again this season. “Brady is hands down the best in the league,” Vikings safety Darren Sharper said.
Still, Sharper had some concerns about what had just happened to the defense in front of a national television audience. “We were a lot off,” he said. “You let a guy throw for [nearly] 400 yards. I know it’s Tom Brady but still. We didn’t make enough plays and he just dissected us as a defense. We’re going to be back. We know we have a good team. You don’t face Tom Brady every week. Hopefully we see these guys at the end in the big dance, if we can get there, but we have a lot of things to improve on.”
Cornerback Antoine Winfield also praised Brady. “I’ve played against him a few times and I’ve never seen him do what he did to us tonight,” Winfield said. “We just have to go back to the drawing board and get ready for San Fran next week.”
While Winfield and Sharper talked, safety Dwight Smith continued to refuse to speak with the media after losses. Asked why he only talks after victories, Smith said he’s too emotional and might say something he would later regret.
You have to give the guy credit for having a reason for remaining silent.
– Will Hunter is on the Vikings’ roster mainly because of his ability to contribute on special teams. Thus, Hunter provided good perspective on the third-quarter sequence that saw Mewelde Moore return a punt 71 yards for a touchdown and then was followed by Laurence Maroney’s 77-yard kickoff return that set up a Patriots touchdown.
“We have to make a play, simple as that,” Hunter said. “We have to go out there and have some pride in what we do. We had a big return and we changed momentum we felt like. … Me personally, I take the blame for that [Maroney] return as a special teams guy. I think we put the dagger in ourselves on that play. We’re better than that.”
Hunter credited the Patriots with having a good strategy on the Maroney return. “It was a good call on their part,” Hunter said. “It’s like they set up a wall and a wedge. It was something we haven’t seen before but that shouldn’t stop you from being a football player and making a football play. They just had the right call at the right time.”
Asked about Moore’s return, Hunter said: “He found at least two holes that I can think of just from seeing it from my perspective. He found a couple.”
Moore, by the way, continues to see playing time on offense in third-down passing situations. This leaves him in a blocking or receiving role. Moore caught four passes of 91 yards on Monday and also carried twice for 9 yards. Both of those carries came in the final quarter with the game out of reach.
68 Responses to "What happened?"
The Pats showed how to beat the defense. Forget the run and just go up top. But where was the pass rush? The blitz and stunts? Where was the coverage? Was there coverage? Highly disappointing defensive effort.
Offense? Couldn’t block. Couldn’t run. Couldn’t protect. Couldn’t pass.
Childress and the coordinators definitely got schooled on schemes.
Ar ethe Pats that much better? Seems so.
And, as much as I like Johnson, defenses have absolutely no fear of his arm or any verticle threat. You cannot run only short passes and win, even in the west coast. You have to be able to go downfield and keep the defense honest.
Offense ineffective. Defense on the field too long. Special teams saved the skunk, but also made us quite aware that we would love to have Maroney in purple.
Really disappointing in front of a natioal audience. AGAIN.
This is the worst offense the Vikings have had in a long time!
Bring back Mike Tice as offensvie coordinator. At least they scored points under his helm and were more fun to watch.
The Vikings have no offense. Have’nt had any all year. Everybody says Johnson does’nt make mistakes. I can remember at least 4 interceptions that have been dropped by the opposing team this year. That would give him more interceptions then touchdowns. the guy can’t score. We had one good offensive game aganst seattle. You can’t rely on your defense and speical teams to win your games for you. The offense has to score. If it were Daunte people would be calling for his head. Brad Johnson is a lousy quarterback with no arm. We have no running game aganist good D, no passing game, this goes back to the Giants game last year which we would have lost if not for 3 touchdowns by D and special teams. OUR OFFENSE SUCKS!!!!
Well said.I still had my doubts after the big win at Seattle. Does anyone realize that Tom Bradyi in one night threw as many TD passes as Brad Johnson has thrown all year? The only QB with less mobility got benched Saturday night. As for the defense. THEY WERE TIRED!!! They were on the field ALLLLLLL night! I said it before I’ll say it again Brad Johnson is not a vyable NFL QB!!! Sure, I hear “He doesn’t make the big mistakes” (false, he threw a seeing eye int right in the end zone), “He won’t lose your games” (also false 31-0 I won’t count Mewelde Moore’s punt return, “He’s a class guy” (FALSE-I went to Buffalo-as poorly as he played I NEVER saw him talking to his young recievers, line, coaches OR the QB with the clipboard to try to effect some sort of change). My cousin is probably the biggest Viking fan in the world and he said it best when he said, “I don’t beat my wife, but then again, I’m not supposed to! Noone should get a QB in the NFL whose claim to fame is “he won’t cause you to lose!” 7 games 1 TD, 5 FG’s, 1 To on first drives-It just makes me sick.
The clear difference in these two teams is that one has a top quarterback and the other does not.
Johnson looks older than 38. I note his passing rating is now 24th in the league … three of the qb’s ahead of him in the ratings have already been benched. But, his job is probably safe since Bollinger doesn’t appear to be a viable alternative and Jackson missed a couple of weeks of practice.
In terms of pass rush, how is it that low draft choice and newly activated end Mitchell can get two sacks in his first extended playing time while Udeze has played the whole season as a fulltime starter and has yet to record a sack?
Spread ‘em out. Not many teams have the depth at WR that the Pats have, even after losing Deion Branch to Seattle. Add to that a QB in a system for a long time and a Viking defense built to stop the run and it’s bad news for the purple.
The AFC is where the NFC was 10 years ago, head and shoulders above the NFC. Indianapolis and the Patriots have been two of the top teams, let alone offenses in football over the last few years, this is no suprise.
What happens when a ball control offense cannot control the ball? 31-7. Johnson was slow with his reads (or the coverage was that much better than our receivers) taking too much time in the pocket. Marcus Johnson cannot stand up to good DE’s it seems and can anyone find out what happened to the middle of the field, it seems to have disappeared from our offensive scheming. It seems the Patriots owned it all night, on both sides of the ball.
On a positive note, Mewelde Moore seems to have taken his role as returner and 3rd down back VERY well. He has a shiftyness about him that is perfect for both roles.
I kept saying to myself as we struggled with spread offense ‘Man, I wish we had a DE that could get to the QB’. It seemed the Vikings had zero pressure on Brady rushing only the front four.
Rough game to watch.
More Cowbell–good comments, great name!
One question: Who would you rather give a chance to make a play against you? Tom Brady or their receivers? WHY DID WE CONSISTENTLY GIVE HIM ALL THAT TIME BACK THERE IN THE POCKET? Where were the blitzes? You simply can’t give him all day to sit back there and pick you apart (which he did…).
Bad night for Zebras:
Without meaning to excuse Johnson’s horrible red zone interception, Mewelde was clearly held by the linebacker as he attempted to get into his pass route.
On the bomb to Williamson, his right arm was clearly held and prevented him from fully attempting to catch the ball.
Had the Vikes gotten these two calls early in the game, the Vikes would not have been down 17-0 at the half, and the score could actually have been close.
Later in the game, the “was it a catch or a fumble” call on the third down play by Wiggins was absurd.
In the fourth quarter after it was all over, the Zebras had all the calls going in favor of the Vikes as if to even things up.
Ouch. To be honest, I was a little nervous about this game, after watching the Vikes last week, even if Alexander wasn’t playing. When will I learn that, with Brady at the helm and Belicheck’s schemes, the Pats could start the refrigerator from the Diet Pepsi commercial and have him be productive. It starts at the top, and Childress and Johnson just don’t have what it takes. It doesn’t matter how good your D is (unless you’re the ‘85 Bears or the ‘00 Ravens), you have to put up points to win. After this blow-out, and with it the realization that the Vikings are not among the elite of the NFC (let alone the AFC), I wonder if the boys will head back to Lake Minnetonka…they could sure use some distractions right about now.
That game was embarrassing!! It might of been better if the defense just stayed on the sideline. That way we could have an excuse. I think it’s time to put T Jackson in. We need a mobile QB.
In response to Eb, with the Pats spreading us out, we did nothing but drop into coverage for the most part with our LB’s. All the movement up front was for nothing, they consistantly dropped back, so you are right ‘Where were the blitzes?’
The Williams boys in the middle are great at stopping the run, but Kevin seems to have lost his ability to rush the middle as he did two years ago. With no really strong DE on the team, if we don’t bring LB’s or safeties on blitzes, most teams have a lot of time against us.
The Vikes played poorly all the way around and got schooled by a better team. The Vikes are a better team than they showed last night, they just picked the wrong time for everyone to have a bad night (in typical historic Viking fashion). One other issue that burns me though, the refs seemed like they wanted to make sure the Pats won the game. Several horrible calls, the Wiggins catch that was ruled incomplete (killed a drive), 2 or 3 very questionable pass interference calls that killed our drives or extended a Pats drive, etc. The Patriots probably would’ve still won, but the game could’ve been closer.
Yep, we’re in the easy part of our schedule now, November. But honestly, I’m afraid that if we don’t win every game in November we’re done. We do need a change. They’re obviously going to put Bollinger in before they put in T Jackson. That’s too bad, I thought Bollinger played just like Johnson when he was in, I didn’t see the substition and a few plays later realized it was not Johnson at QB.
Our defense was dissected and I don’t know how they couldn’t adjust. When Brady throws for 250 yards in the first half I think that something needs to change. The fact that Brady threw for that many yards, and Johnson probably throws for that many yards in 2 full games is just sad.
I thought we’d lose by a FG, maybe one touchdown, did not expect us to also abandon the run the ENTIRE game. Our running game was non existant. We were stopped a few times early, and just gave up and tried to play the passing game.
I couldn’t believe how many times Johnson heaved the long ball, it didn’t work once, when he threw into triple coverage I wasn’t hoping for a catch, I was hoping that it wouldn’t be a pick. Who throws into triple coverage?
Parcells had the courage to bench Bledsoe with an unproven youngster. Does Childress have the same? Now is the time for Jackson with the next four games against very weak teams. San Fran, Pack, and Cardinals all have defenses ranked at the bottom of the league … perfect time for an inexperienced youngster to get his feet wet.
The future is now!
Here’s some interesting stats from the game..
1) the Vikings had the ball longer than the Patroits…30:15 to 29:45
2)Both teams ran the same amount of plays 61 a peice.
3)Passing Attempts-42 to 43, Passing completions 26 to 29, 15 runs a peice.
4)Sacks 3 for 27yd, 4 for 22 yd
looking at those stats it’s a close game..these on the other hand prove why it’s not
1)turnovers 2 to 4
2)red Zone efficiency…0 for 3, 4 for 6
3)avg yd per play..4.7, 7.0
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/teamstats/NFL_20061030_NE@MIN
piss poor effort on the offense, plan and simple….they couldnt even handle the 3-4 defense….Birk was gettin manhandled almost the entire game by Wilfork…the same with Mckinnie..he said His nickname in the introductions was “Big Mac”, that looks like what he was eating before kickoff….who the hell is Banta-Cain…he too was running right by Mckinnie and M.Johnson….Yes the Referees Butt reamed the Vikes on some horrible calls…but they cant solely blame them for the lack of offense, and letting brady just tear the whole defense apart….they had no answer for him…..if not for the spectacular play of mewelde then we wouldve been shut down….Holy crap, im sittin in my living room just waiting for T-Jax to come in and give the crowd at the metrodome something to cheer about and in come Bollinger…..what a joke…i cant believe they sacked his sorry butt 3 times in a row……Man vikes, you really know how to let a guy down….especially on monday nite football….what a blowout!!! lets see if these “professional football players” can put it behind them and score 15 points on the weak 49ers at least
The good news is that the Pats exposed almost all the Vikings weaknesses, so if we have a smart coaching staff, they will learn from this game and correct the problems. It is better to find out were your weaknesses are early in the season and have a chance to correct them, then to have them exploited in a playoff game - remember the NY Giants playoff game?
Nothing new happened in this game that hasn’t happened the entire year - Johnson’s deep throws are usually well covered, the Vikings pass route schemes don’t attack the middle of the field and are not designed for more than 6-10 yard pick ups, the defensive line still can’t get pressure without the aid of a blitz, their zone coverage is way too soft and their special teams has 2 or 3 lapses in every game. So the only real difference this time is that the Pats turned the Vikings weaknesses into too many points.
So my hope is that this blow out will wake up the coaching staff and make the necessary changes.
For the D - you cant really blitz when they spread you out 5 wide. YOu almost have to sit back in a zone of some sort, and brady picked that apart. Our only hope was if the front 4 got pressure, which they did not:(
Not a bash on Greenway BUT how did we pass on the hometown kid…
ahhhh, we are what we are…we are an above average team, with an really decent D and a below average O. we are hurtin at qb and wr.. Troy missed another one that he *shoulda* caught.. He may turn out to be solid, but please, lets stop drafting players cuz they run a great 40…
BJ wasn’t throwing into triple coverage he had williamson open down the sideline, but his arm is like a small childs. It may be time to get TJ ready for next season. Even if this team makes the playoffs, they won’t go far. It’s obvious in how to beat this team. Make the game a shootout and the vikings offense can’t keep up. We need a QB that can make reads and then go up top on a late read. The only time BJ can go up top is when its called in the huddle. When he has a guy open deep on a late read he can’t get the ball out far enough. We won’t see the full potential of this offense with a weak armed QB.
Well,as might have been expected the Vikings played aboout like most Minnesota teams do when they get a good opponent. Defense “improved” time to show that is true if they expect to go anywhere. Then who really expected a Minnesota sports team to ever go anywhere….
I didn’t get to look over the game again, but it seemed to me like the vikings didn’t want to get out of there base D. We may have done a little better with more nickel an dime packages. I’d rather them get a few runs then pick us apart.
There are two young Vikings who could give this stagnant offense some immediate life - Tavaris Jackson and Jason Carter. Yeah, I know they’re NFL infants but I seem to remember a special season eight years ago when another NFL infant had the Vikes on the verge of a Super Bowl. GIVE THE KIDS A CHANCE………….
Did they get the guy that threw the beer bottle? Totally classless.
Is it me or does everyone have their career day against the Vikings? I am still sick to my stomach from this game. Is it me or does anyone else think that the Vikings receivers would have had that kind of a day playing on the Patriots? That team is coached so much better and disciplined better than most teams in the NFL. The Vikings blew it by not adjusting to what New England was doing on offense and we got away from our game plan way too early in the game. 10 rushes for Chester? This offense is about getting first downs and ball control. BJ just had a poor game, but getting out of the game plan put him in a position to fail.
Is it already next year territory? I think not, (just look at the Vikes upcoming schedule) but gaze into the crystal ball and consider the changes the Vikes will have made (I hope). Brad Johnson is the backup (if he doesn’t retire) and T-Jack has a new (and real) offensive co-ordinator. Vikings draft yet another defensive end with their first pick in order to finally find a pass rush. With this new found pass rush Smoot and Winfield can play up on their man and stop the catch rather than having to sit back and stop the run after catch because the QB has so much time to allow his receiver to get open.
The Vikes have a good core to this team, run D is great, running game can get some yards, even the receivers get open and just need a QB able to threaten the opposing defence with his arm or legs.
Also, did anyone see a NE receiver jammed at the line of scrimmage? I didn’t see a DB withing 5-10 yards of a receiver at the Line all night. I would have rather them going down making mistakes being aggressive than taking a beating sitting back.
As horrible as the VIKES looked, the officiating{if you want to call it that}was absolutly absurd. The hold on MEMO at the 5 yard line made BJ’s pass look bad. I could go on about other bad,bad calls but the one that sticks out is Wiggs catch and fumble. The refs called it a catch and fumble until Bellichec stepped on the field and told referee Larry Nemers that is was not. From that point on Nemers’ crew was scared to call anything that was not in favor of the Pats. At one point the VIKES had 3rd and 10, Pats were offsides, but Nemers was so excited about getting the VIKES off the field, he came running to the line of scrimmage signaling 4th down and didn’t even realize that there was a penalty. Later in the game when Wilfolk creamed BJ, Nemers was so nervous about making a call against the Pats that he almost could not get the call out right. I realize that coach Bellichec intimadating but should not be to the refs. Horribly called game as attested by the guys in the booth on MNF
Thanksgiving came early for Tom Brady who carved up the Vikings defense and left a picked over carcass on the metrodome turf for the whole world to see Monday night.
Observations:
Bill Belichek showed why he won three Super Bowls as head coach and should definitely be in the running for a forth this year. Quite simply the man is a gridiron genius and brought a fun, creative method for the Pats to absolutaly anihalate the Queens.
Brad Childress is a good coach not a great one. Completely overmatched in this game, we can only hope he is a great coach “in the making”.
Vikes De - RIP
The reason Brad Johnson looked so glum on the sideline was not because he got benched, it was because he just watched any chance for a contract extension (with any NFL team) go up in smoke after Mondays horrendous performance. He was a great player in his time, but his time is over.
The only way the Vikings will be able to beat a team of the Pats caliber is to put Tavarus jackson into the starting lineup and create complete and utter chaos for the opposing defense by getting out and running for first downs and then when the defense is forced to stay home unloading a 60 yard bomb to Marcus Robinson (who was sorely missed last night).
Prediction: Vikes finish 9-7 (miss playoffs)
FIN
This was an all around ‘take you behind the shed butt whooping’! It was so rediculous…I have always been a Johnson fan but he actually looked scared out there. Their play-calling is very disappointing, everyone talks about Childress and him being an offensive coach…huh…he is a pathetic playcaller…where are the 10 yard slants, screens, reverses, flea flickers, anything imaginative? He runs a very vanilla offense and I will be the first to admit that in the pre-season I was one that said “it is just pre-season thats why he is so vanilla”…boy was I wrong!
Childress was out-coached by a mastermind, Johnson was outplayed by a superior QB (damn I wish we had a guy like Brady), the Defense was spooked by the Pats…I know we have all praised Tomlin this year but after the first couple of drives you see they are not going to run and we just let Brady pick us apart. We rarely had a defender within a few yards of their WR’s…where is the adjustment to BLITZ..the FEW times we did blitz we actually made Brady throw it away. Why did we not adjust at all? Iwould rather get beat by blitzing Brady than letting him pick us apart…300 yards in the first half…how do you let that happen???
Our offense is really BAD…no continuity, no imagination…
It is hard to be a Viking today…they played uninspired ball last night, every single one of the players and coaches are to blame!
At this point, if they play that way again, I’m not so sure that we can beat the 49ers or Dolphins…this is a copycat league and from here on every team has the blue print to beat us…VERY DISAPPOINTING!!!
Hmmmm…I had planned my trip to Miami already. I guess it was a little too early, huh? Is there any room on the bandwagon this morning? Gotta be a lot of spots opened up after last nights national embarrassment. Oh, and can you all please stop blaming the ref’s? Just once I’d like to hear real Vikes fans be honest and admit this team simply isn’t good enough to go anywhere meaningful (MAYBE another playoff spot), and no matter how many calls the refs made or didn’t make, they were still out-played and out-coached. Period. Now it’s time for the 9er’s…that could be ugly, boys….
i’m a pats fan and i admit that many of those calls i really questioned. i was glad the game was a blowout, because if it had been close, the refs would have played a role.
the vikes looked bad, but every team looks bad when it loses, and every game has to have a loser. the same brady that looked incredible last night looked like a HS QB against the broncos earlier this year. even a bad loss, against the best team in the NFL the past 5 years, it’s not time to panic. but you got to get some offense.
take it all in stride.
on T-williamson: he made some decent plays last night, but how in the world does a ball hit him right square in the face and he doesn’t even attempt to catch it? I guess he has been listening to coach chilidog tell him to keep his eyes on the ball - literally.
Chilidog could have just as well been beli’s waterboy last night. and maybe he could even work his way up to doing the weekly injury report for him.
Man,
You Viking fans are rough on the home team. You didn’t actually expect to have a super bowl club with a first year coach and a 38 year old q.b. did you? Just remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day boys. The Vikings are a good NFL north club but are certainly not among the elite and weren’t expected to be. Consider this before you jump of the high bridge, Vegas had them at 25-1 pre season and only 20-1 prior to last nights game in spite of the 5-2 record.
I’d expect the Vikes to finish 9-7, maybe 10-6 with a possible playoff spot. Chill out and enjoy the ride. Minnesota is at least two years away form joining the ranks of New England, Indi and Chgo.
ugh - it is obvious we still have a problem with our secondary. Any high schooler could have thrown the ball as well as brady did!
THE RECEIVERS WERE WIDE OPEN!
I haven’t seen broken covereage like that since the Bucs were the Yucks and still wearing Orange!
The problem with Brad Johnson’s weak arm is not just the deep throws, it’s also the short throws. By the time the ball gets to the receiver, the defender is all over him. The difference was so clear watching Brady. He zips the ball in there, giving the receiver an extra second to make a move. They get some great runs after the catch. Our guys get hammered instantly. That said, I’d hate to see what would happen to this offense if Johnson gets hurt! That would get truly ugly.
I frankly think Childress has had this team pegged. They can’t have a passing game worth squat. The only way the Vikes win is with a smothering defense and a powerful running game. When neither is working it’s over.
Fortunately, most teams aren’t as good as the Pats. They continue to amaze.
‘it is obvious we still have a problem with our secondary’
The problem with our secondary is that our LineBackers cant drop back and play zone coverage. Our D looks good when we can be aggresive and blitz the backers, but man, those guys cant drop into a zone coverage to save their life.
Get ready, cause PBV is most certainly gonna find himself crawling out from under his rock to give us crap!
Did anyone else notice how horrible the officiating was in the game? It was as if we were playing in New England, for goodness sakes. Tom Brady is the “golden boy” in the official’s eyes too often. There were so many phantom penalties early, and that really kills a team’s confidence. It’s no wonder that the Vikes felt defeated already before halftime!
Here are just some of the blatently poor calls by the officials:
- Travis Taylor getting called for “offensive holding” when going for a reception (when there was clearly little or no contact between him and the defender)
- Wiggins somehow not making enough of a “football move” for his reception and fumble to be ruled as a reception (even though obviously he had, and the officials still didn’t get it right in slo-mo replay!)
- Tom Brady not getting called for intentional grounding (which would have given loss of down and yardage, and killed that last drive of the half instead of letting them extend it and score) of which there was obviously no receiver in the area (nor was the pass directed at any receiver…I still remember how loud the boos were after that play…basically set the tone for the rest of the game that “Golden Boy” Brady was allowed to have his way with the officials
- And there were a few others that I don’t recall off the top of my head…but I know there were more…
Also, I thought chop blocks were illegal in the NFL? I can count on two hands (i.e. more than six times) the number of chop blocks I saw the O-line of the Patriots execute on the Vikings defensive ends. Sick.
Of course, the loss was a combination effort (poor play by our offensive line and too much pressure on Brad Johnson, absolutely no pass rush on Brady so he had all the time in the world to throw, absolutely no man-on-man coverage by the Vikes) but the league still needs to look at that officiating crew. What I saw from the guys in stripes almost made me puke.
Another thing that bothered me was the continuance of Bill Belichick to keep on passing instead of settling down after being up by 24 points. Attempting to run up the score (thankfully they didn’t score anymore), or at least throwing downfield with only minutes to play and up by that much, doesn’t seem very respectful of the other NFL team. At least the Bears laid down after being up 41-0 at half versus the 49er’s.
On a final note, I support bringing in T-Jax. Brad Johnson is a good guy, but way too immobile for this league. He’s no threat to run, so linebackers can just sit back and either stop the run or defend the TE or slot receiver, and since Brad also cannot throw deep, that leaves double coverage on the wideouts. An immobile quarterback must have the ability to throw deep, while a mobile quarterback does not. Combining the worst of both worlds in Brad Johnson is not a good thing for this Vikings offense. If you have both skills (mobility and arm strength), like T-Jax, then you can become the next McNabb or Vick. It’s time for Childress to take the training wheels off the offense, put T-Jax in, and make us a real vertical threat with the so-called “West-coast offense” that he wants to run.
I still can’t believe how little we blitzed last night. If you look back at our successes, it was when we put pressure on the QB snap after snap. It looked almost as if Tomlin was afraid to blitz Brady. He was picking us apart anyway, so I don’t see where it could have hurt us any more.
I’m surprised PBV hasn’t shown up yet, but he probably knows they play the Pats in two weeks.
Yeah, and Belichick left Brady in when he should have been pulled out of the game (up 31 to 7, good grief!). I was kinda hoping that E.J. would get pushed again by another fullback (or lineman, since NE didn’t use any fullbacks since they didn’t need to run), right onto Brady’s ankle a la Hasselbeck. That would have showed Belichick that he’s not so smart after all…
But a frequent (40-50% of the time) and smart (not just running up the gut into the waiting o-lineman every time!) blitz would have been nice to see from the Vikes last night.
I cannot believe we were taken to the woodshed like that, it was purpley painful to watch. We were truly beaten like a rented mule. Thank the Gods we have the 49’s next week.
Williamson may be the worst #7 pick ever. He continues to drop balls that any junior college receiver can catch. Mike’s comment was right…a great 40 time doesn’t make him a fit in the NFL. As for the rest…from top to bottom, that was a completely inexcusable performance. Vking coaches and players should be hiding from the press this week.
Very disappointing loss but it is not the end of the world. At 4-3 and still only 1 loss in the conference we are still in the wildcard hunt especially with our schedule coming up. I think the biggest issues last night were adjusting to the 3-4 defense and the 5 WR sets. Let’s also keep in mind that NE D came in only giving up 13 pts a game and has not had anyone score more than 17 against them. In a 16 game season there are going to be games like this. The key is going to be how we respond going into SF next week. The pick down deep and giving up the KO after MeMo’s PR were both killers!
This was a total break down by a new coach. Did you all think we were going to the SB this year??? Frankly, I hope the VK’s don’t make the PO’s this year. That will give them a better draft. OK! which is your dominate hand, that means right or left. Now take that hand and slap yourself just as hard as you can. Feel better!!! The Vikings are rebuilding. Lets let them!
Hey Vikes Fans,
Hang in there. You have a good team. Here in Boston the hype was the Vikes. Work on Chicago, then G.B. You are one of the better NFC teams. Thanks for the Pats love. We’ll always keep on eye on(East Bostons’ own), WIGGINS. After all, he helped us win SB XXXVI. Good luck!!
Pats Fan In Boston!!
First of all, the Defense is not to blame. They did their job, got an interception when the game was 7-0 and gave our offense a short field to work with.
Bottom line: How many points did our offense score?
ZERO
Hard to win games with an offense that does that.
Here’s what makes me sick. The majority of you were JUST IN HERE last week talking about how excited you were that we finally have a good team…playoffs here we come…..blah blah blah. Then we get throttled by team who is better than us and you’re all in here sobbing about how we’ll never win with Brad Johnson at QB and how our linebackers are terrible in coverage, blah blah blah…..pathetic.
Brad Johnson sucks. He normally doesn’t make such bad decisions, true, but he doesn’t throw the ball well anymore. Bollinger just plain sucks. I really would have liked to se T-Jack come in if they were just gonna give up like that. And about that, I know we’re down by A LOT, and we hadn’t played well, but you can’t just give up with a full quarter of play left. Anything can happen. Our D has proven that. Our secondary looked like the worst in the league last night, they all got burnt. But the worst part of last nights game was the officiating. On that interception in the end zone, that looked like Defensive interference to me. The Wiggins catch was so obviosly a catch and fumble, that challenge made me sick. The offensive interference call where he turned and his hand kinda touched the D back, are you kidding me? I know I’m missing a lot too. I was so shocked when we got that fumble back, that I screamed WHAT? and my buddy said “man, we got the ball back” , and I said, “I know, I just can’t believe it.” Horrible, horrible officiating.
And I for one am not giving up. I still think Johnson is our best bet at QB this year, and I still think we can and should(Especially with our weak schedule) make the playoffs. But that doesn’t change how completely disappointing this game was. Sure the Patriots are a great team, and I’m not surprised they beat us, but come on, we can play better than that can’t we?
Truth is we did play a good team. Which has allowed us to guage this vikings team. In the playoffs you play good teams. The vikings just don’t have the firepower to beat teams that score more then 3 TD’s. The vikes were totally exposed for what they are. Our D is built for the run. Against the pass we stink, there were signs in previous games. Our offense is built to run the ball, and control the clock. The O just can’t win shootouts, nor can they consistently throw the ball down the field.
How would you like us to react to a complete, across the board failure by the Team?
“Way to go Vikes?” “Keep up the Great Work?”
“Don’t worry Vikes, we still love you?”
Which one, Bucky? Take your pick.
Every aspect of the game last night was awful and the coaching staff appeared to be so intimidated by Bellichek/Brady that they had zero abilit to repsond.
These guys are professionals. Their job is to entertain us — the fans. When they suck at their jobs, it’s AOK for us to bitch about it.
Not that the loss was his fault, but how in the hell was Troy Williamson a first-round pick…and to be a top 10 pick is ridiculous. This guy cannot catch anything. That bomb hit him in his face! His face!
It is just so disheartening to see the Vikes actually taske a shot deep; have Brad actually have time to throw the ball deep; have Brad actually make a good deep throw…only to be dropped by our “deep threat”. He is only a threat if there is a chance that he will catch the ball once he is behind the defenders.
It’s too bad that when I “tooned” in to the game last night I got an episode of the “Twilight Zone” instead. You all make good points and I know this sounds like a cliche but sometimes you have to take a step back to go two steps forward. I think this team will come out next week, and the rest of the season for that matter, with eyes a blazing. Let’s see if someone duplicates what we saw last night and let them try, because I’m telling you all, it ain’t gonna happen.
Now to the present. Brad Johnson is all we got right now. We are gonna all have to ride this wave out for this year. T-Jack is not coming in. Brooks will make a good back-up. That is all.
The defence had a bad day like we all have bad days sometimes. We should all pat them on the back like Jake said.
We played the New England frickin Patriots last night, not the Cardinals.
So let’s all take a deep breath, excercise some amnesia like BJ said, and move on the next game.
VIKINGS NO KA OI !!!!!!!!
I agree with Jake. If the offense fails to score a single point the entire game, we as fans have the right to express to the team that looked absolutely terrible.
It’s just like us at our jobs. If we fail to do our job and don’t do what expected of us, then our boss has the right to yell at you let you know that you’re doing an absolutely terrible job.
The pats completely manhandled the Vikes last night and I am not saying the refs cost them the game.
HOWEVER, let’s review some of the horrendously one-sided bad calls:
1. On Brad’s first interception, the one in the endzone, Mewelde Moore is completely held on his route, resulting in the interception. No call. The idiots on ESPN didn’t even pick it up.
Result: NO points for vikes, turnover.
2. The Wiggins CATCH, which Bellicheck somehow negotiated into a non-catch call forcing the Vikes to use a challenge and which was then ABSOLUTELY INEXPLICABLY still ruled an incompletion after review.
Result: Killed Drive.
3. Travis Taylor is called for pushing off when he obvioulsy barely even touched the defender.
Result: Killed Drive.
4. Darren Sharper is called for illegal contact for barely touching a receiver on a pass that ultimately sailed about 10 yard over the guys head and out of bounds. (I understand that “uncatchable” has nothing to do with this call — the call itself was B.S.).
Result: Automatic First Down for New England.
5. Despite the fact that Vikes are getting called for barely touching the Pats receivers, there is NO CALL when Troy Williamson’s right arm is held on that long pass that bounced of his helmet.
Result: Killed Drive; robbed of massive gain.
The referreeing was horribly lopsided last night.
I don’t think the Vikes would have won anyway, but all of these calls definitely impacted the game.
Oops. I forgot one of my favorite non-calls.
In one of very few Vike’s blitzes, Brady is chased straight back about 12 yards (i.e., within the tackle box) then throws the ball into the dirt behind the O-Line. Somehow, this is not grounding.
oh and how about all the unsportsmanlike conduct by dillon for throwing the ball at the vikings bench and then the very next play spiking the ball on like an 8 yard run….
bench brad and bring in the rookie to get him some practice for next year. kidding yourselves anyways if you think we are going deep into the playoffs this year. brad has been a poor qb at best this year. culpeppers rating is higher for christs sake!
I agree with Jake. The refs were totally BIASED in favor of New England (even though the Vike would still not have won).
It was painfully obvious they wanted NE to be 6-1 going into next week’s showdown with the Colts.
I stopped being a fan of the NBA because that league is FIXED.
I sure hope the NFL doesn’t go down this same dark path…
I Definitely agree with the referee calls last night, but don’t know if they would of made a difference in who won or lost.
The simple fact that the offense hasn’t shown us the ability to keep up with higher scoring teams. Shows me that we will not go far in the playoffs(if we make it). If the vikes don’t keep the score close, they will not win the game. Until this offense shows me they can put up points after falling behind late in the game. I cetainly won’t buy into this idea of a “good team”.
the problem with complaining about refs is that it’s always horribly one-sided and short-sighted. out of ~165 plays, give or take, you look at 6 plays and find 6 errors, all against your team. what about the other ~159 plays? let’s not forget that the Pats had 50% more penalties for 120% more yards. in no way am i defending any given call, but are you saying there was not a single hold against the Vikes not called? there was no push, no contact, no bad spot that in any way favored the Vikes at any point during the game? and what about the last game? or the one before that? we have to hope that bad calls average out over a season such that no team’s final record or playoff push is helped or hindered by refs. complaining about one game but ignoring others with possible pro-Vike bias is like the Pats complaining about one non-call in the 4th quarter while omitting all the gifts they received earlier in the game. if an objective expert reviews the calls in Vikes games over the entire season and finds an NFL bias against the Vikes, then i’d be concerned (and surprised). until then, it comes down statistical insignificance and the law of averages.
“I Definitely agree with the referee calls last night, but don’t know if they would of made a difference in who won or lost.”
Yeah, but sitting in the stands paying that much money to see professionals (both stripes and jerseys) do their thing - it is very frustrating - doesn’t matter what side of the ball you are on, it was just plain bad.
Our offense can’t even keep up with our Defense scoring…our O is absolutley, unequivocally PATHETIC…no flow, NO continuity, no imagination…it is BAD! We have been disguising it in the first part of our season with a dominating D over weaker teams but our entire team and coaches looked DAZED AND CONFUSED last night against a quality opponent.
Someone stated earlier that we got beat by a good team…we didn’t get beat - we got pummelled…we weren’t even in the game. I think if we were at least competitive last night not many would be totally pissed…but we were UGLY last night. Yes the bad calls hurt us but our offense stinks (and we have an offensive minded head coach…that shouldn’t be the case).
One of two things will happen, this loss will carry over and we will lose to the lowly 49ers on Sunday OR we will come out mad as hell and dominate with a game of offense that we haven’t seen yet.
At this point, I’m not sure which team will show up next week!
Which reminds me… did anyone else remember reading earlier last week that because of the Monday night game, Childress and staff started working on a game plan for the 49ers PRIOR to our game with the Pats???? Could that be why we looked pathetic??? Here’s a tip Childress, the Pats needed your attention NOT the lowly 49ers!
Oh the pain of it all! Chili got peppered, Johnson looked myopic and our vaunted D got sliced, diced and Ticed. How much longer must we suffer up here in the Attic of the Artic?
Well the truth is boys, it takes a good coach a couple years to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. And this sow’s ear might have been closer to the tail. Assuming he learns how to evaluate potential draft picks, direct his coaching staff and adjust his offense and defense while the game is underway Chili just might be able to hang with coaches the caliber of Bellichek someday. We never had that chance with Mike Tice because he never learned how to do anything except scalp tickets and make excuses for Moss and Future Boy (you remember him-Daunte Culpepper?). So anytime you feel like cashing in your chips and moving to Omaha, remember we at least have a chance for improvement with Chili and Brad Johnson. We’ve gone from hopeless to hope. That alone is almost worth the price of admission.
the referree’s last night are satanists, and are out committing a human sacrafice tonite.
Open both eyes, Homers. Yes there were a couple of big calls against the Vikings, but the Pats were penalized 9 times for 85 yards, and I seem to recall some of those resulted in long gains being called back. If your conspiracy theories were correct, the refs would have ignored those penalties and the score would have been 45-7. Either way Vikings suck.
Tony Hawk Retire
Interesting - because that is the same thing I found out last Thursday.
Panic Attack Rushing In Ear
I have to say, that I could not agree with you in 100%, but it’s just my opinion, which could be wrong.
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