The Key to the Vikings' Offense

the winning strategy is to stop Peterson, flood the deep zones and pressure BF. I’ll say that if you get to play with 12 or 13 men on the field, your chances go way up.

Put Geer on Harvin and Porter on Rice give him help over the top if he needs it.
Bring alot of different blitz packages to pressure Brett.
And stuff the run
If we need to sell out to stuff it thats what we need to do.
And keep Jenkins on Chester Taylor
I know Jenkins is still a rookie but he has had playing time and Taylor is to fast for a Lb

you should get paid for this. You are giving more insight than 90% of the heads out there and you make more sense. WHO DAT brother.

the saints for the most part have been very good at stopping any team’s no. 1 threat. they do a great job of making sure the opposing offense’s gameplan is largely ineffective by going after their play makers. they’ll let some of the smaller, lesser known players look pretty good, but in the end, it’s not enough for the opposing offense to match brees and co point for point.

The reason Peterson’s average is down is because teams know they have to neutralize him to have a chance. He can take over a game. The man is due a big game and our run D is our weakest link.
The best case scenario for the Saints is to stuff the run early and get a lead (I know, easier said than done). With an early lead established, the Vikings will abandon the run, and Farve has a tendency to press and call his own number when he gets behind. When Farve presses, he makes mistakes. Pin our ears back and go after his old ass and he’ll deliver a gift right into Sharper’s hands. I like our chances with our starting DBs in coverage. With a lead, play balanced, ball control offense and keep our heel on their throat for 60 min.

The Vikings have every reason to come out looking to establish the run. Keeping the number one offense in football off the field, calming their own early game jitters playing in front of a hostile crowd, taking advantage of a suspect front seven (see Hightower’s gallop), possibly taking an early lead and, above all else, getting their biggest offensive advantage (individually speaking) involved while they’re able to. If you’re Gregg Williams, Peterson absolutely has to be first priority. It doesn’t really matter how the Vikings’ rushing offense stacks up against the Saints’ rushing offense, or any other offense in the league, for that matter. They’re facing the Saints’ defense, a unit that has struggled against the run for much of the season. That’s what they’re going to be looking to take advantage of. That’s what you’re going to have to be able to stop, in order to win this game.

insighthful comments by all. For whatever reasons, AP hasn’t had a 100 yd. rushing game since mid-season. On the one hand this is a good sign for the Saints. On the other, as pointed out above, it could just mean he’s overdue for a monster game (ala Reggie Bush). However, I think the biggest factor in this game defensively will be Super Dome field advantage. All four of the Vikings losses came on the road. If the game were in their dome, I’d be much more apprehensive of this game. But it’s not and that’s definately a good thing..

I think both sets of fans are forgetting a couple of people. I haven’t heard either mentioned so far at all, really. For the Vikes, Berrian, and for the Saints, Meachem. As has been stated a couple of times here in the comments, there are only so many defenders on the field. I kind of expect both players to have a couple big or at least meaningful plays. Both can quickly get behind a defense in single coverage if a blitz gets picked up.

when he was our number one receiver for most of the season. I guess that’s a good problem to have when your #1 receiver is now the fourth look.

I think it’ll be the Saints though of course. I’m going to just say that our starting two corners are lights out, limiting your #1 and #2 threats to mediocre gains when they do catch the ball and usually not alot of catches. After that, it’s gay and then Jenkins. Leaky there and i think that’s where the Vikings offense has an advantage. Also, our run D has been pourous at points. Looking forward to a great game!!

And that seems to be the way to beat Favre: pressure = turnovers. Against Arizona, he threw two interceptions. Against Pittsburgh, he threw an interception and lost a fumble—and both resulted immediately in Steeler scores. Against Carolina, he threw only one interception, but had statistically his second-worst performance of the year.

Interesting analysis. I feel I should tell you, though, that actually the worst pressure Favre had was inthe first few weeks of the season, when he had no picks, and second that the interception and fumble at Pittsburgh had nothing at all to do with pressure. The interception was due to a deflection off of Chester Taylor’s hands … just one of those things that happen, not something manufactured by Steeler pressure.

At Carolina, although Favre was definitely harassed incessantly by Peppers, and indeed ti was probably one of his worst games of the year — still that was not why the Vikings lost. There were lots of dropped passes & some poor tackling. And it really was not the pressure that caused Favre to throw the pick — it was Favre doing waht favre does, throwing the ball up when that’s teh only option left in a game they would lose otherwise. Look up the box score: that pick came on a no-huddle play in the final two minutes, with Carolina up by two scores.

So while I have no doubt that pressuring Favre will certainly be a key to the Saints winning the game, I think if the plan is that this is gonna magically make him start throwing picks, you need to brush up. that is not what the 2009-2010 edition of Brett Favre has been doing. Not at all. It’s weird, I know, but it’s true.

  Favre’s karma will bite him in the ass Sunday. You won’t see Brees tacking on a meaningless touchdown to pad his stats against a beaten team. It was the last hurrah of the Viking season and they knew. When the legend of this Saints team is passed down to the new generations, the two old farts they vanquished into retirement in the NFC playoffs will be just another part of the tale. Hell, Manning may decide on an acting career after Miami!

the bottom any more.

Great job, ME.

No worries, I know what your’e talking about, just didn’t know that’s what it did.

I start worrying. Did Booby McRay tick off another cop? Did Shockey try to move a building….again? Well, and this week, did Brett have a heart attacck?

I love it when something finally clicks. I’m thinking about that oh, so cool catch of Rice’s for the first touchdown. At a different point, when I was watching the game, I remember making the comment that Brett looked waaay too relieved or something about having made that score. And, someone else made the comment how, really, it was a horrible throw, if only the defender had happened to look around! Then, I’m reading Sharper’s interview about how he throws a rocket and most defenders are not used to that and can’t catch it and….bang, I don’t know, but somethow it hits. Duh! No wonder Brett looked so relieved, he realized it was a dangerous throw right away!

I do have to thank whoever it was that suggested the Z-key. The explanation of the z-key that comes up in that illtle window sucks. BUT, the key is GREAT! Omigod!!! That’s right. Be afraid, be very afraid: I MGIHT BE ABLE TO POST MORE!!!

Who can run on must run situations. When the defense knows you have to run, and you can still get first downs. Thats the team that wins. Team who has the lead in the fourth quarter and can kill 6 min off the clock with some running. I see Saints spreading the williams boys in the first half, and then running on the tired front in the second half. Superbowl here we come.