Minnesota Vikings 9 @ New Orleans Saints 14: The View from Section 140

I agree – it’s great to have him back.

I too was wondering why Roman Harper was part of the victory formation at the end. I guess it was because of his tackling ability in case of a bobbled snap where the Vikes D tries to run it back and win.

I agree with Jeff that Carl Nicks should be in the poll too. He was manhandling Pat Williams all night. Dude was a beast.

I’m anxious to read this week how Hartley is fixing whatever caused him to horribly miss those kicks last night. He reminded me of Mare and Grammatica, and that’s not a good thing.

Did it seem like there were more than a few low snaps last night? And I think Harper was part of the victory formation Incase of a bad snap or he is just that cool

Pretty sure Harper was getting that game ball; props for a job well done when asked to step up on Shank.

Can’t help but notice that the running game (at least in the second half when we finally remembered we had one) looked improved with Evans back. Really pleased that he’s there, as is Pierre Thomas, I reckon.

Childress.

They did do the Whodat chant? It wasn’t televised and it pissed me off.

I’m wondering if we can afford to keep Harper on TE’s if our opponent actually has 3 good WRs. I think PRob could help us out come middle of the season. I’m loving the versatility we are seeming to grow in our defense.

I’m quick to react because I’m passionate, but I’m usually back to a cooler head the following day.

Offense: I did not like the play calling in the first half. Only three run plays were called in the first half. The second half featured a more balanced attack. The offense still only managed two touchdowns. What does this mean? Unless we see what the Vikings defense does for the rest of the season, for now, it doesn’t mean anything. What is of a concern are two critical dropped passes that prematurely ended drives. The Moore drop probably was a completion, but Payton decided not to challenge it. Meachem’s drop in the end zone was more severe because that was an easy touchdown. There were other dropped passes, but these two stood out. A few less dropped passes and this game isn’t even close. You know they’re capable, but let’s hope this isn’t a bad omen.

Defense: They were absolutely solid in the second half. The first half issues were the result of poor offensive series and the need for adjustments. Silly penalties did not help either. But they held the Vikings to only nine points.

Special Teams: I don’t have many complaints outside of the field goal kicking. The blocked PAT was a solid play. Hartley’s misses appear to be a mechanics issue. We’ve also seen what he is capable of doing after one bad game. It’s a bit too soon to hit the panic button on Hartley right now.

Evans and Nicks should be co-mvp. The way they pushed the Williams wall all over the field made the difference in the game.

I could look at that World Championship banner all day long.

absent were the banners for jackson, finks, dave dixon, archie, pistol, etc.

Were P-Rob and AA in the game last night?

It brings up pics from the SB and from preseason. None from last nights game

Was absolutely destroying the Vikings’ right side. He submarined a number of running plays — I was very impressed in that regard.

the saints also had a penalty on the play though, so they offset. i was impressed by brown.

was nonexistent and another blogger said he was destroying the right side. Which is it?
 I forgot to tape the game being so caught in the moment so I cant go back and watch the game again…
So how did Brown and Wilkerson fare? We need production from the right side this year.

but where are the game pictures, Dave?

I see where you guys said Payton was only testing their secondary in the first half.

Is this probably something only years of football experience would tell you? How would someone inexperienced with football know it was “part of the plan” (besides the fact that Payton is one smart mutha) and not just bad playcalling/making adjustments at half time? Did he want to make it seem like that wasn’t what he was doing or is it something Childress would pick up on right away?

Sorry to bother you, just want to understand this! I had no idea, obviously, and it seems like several people here did not realize it either.

and if that snap should go crazy wrong, he’s there to take the guy with the ball out before he scores. I like all the points. They didn’t show the Who Dat chant led by Brees on TV. I was kinda pissed about that. I was doing my own chant to make me feel better. I think the play calling was crap. We didn’t get great success through the air really in the first half. There was just the opening drive that succeeded. I wouldve liked a much more balanced gameplan throughout the game. I understand we pass to set up the run but to have only 3 running plays in the first half period isn’t a good idea. I think it showed up in the scoreboard too. Only 7 points. In the 2nd half I liked the playcalling on the first drive and I understand it after that(mostly running) because you’re trying to run out the clock. I think a more balanced attack wouldve helped us alot. Also, I think he worked PT too much in the 2nd half. Yeah I know he was the hot hand but the thing is, what’re we going to do if PT goes down in week 1? Ivory isn’t going to shoulder the load and if Reggie gets 75% of the carries he’s going to get dinged up too. Ivory didn’t even get into the game either that I saw. I think Payton doesn’t trust him yet to perform in the game against a #1 defense. Just trying to point out that 19 carries is alot for a runner that is used to maybe 10 carries a game last year.