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When: Sun. 10/9
1:00 pm ET in Minnesota
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Televised: Sun.
10/9 1:00 pm ET (DirecTV Sunday Ticket Channel TBD;
NYC - FOX Channel 5)
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Satellite Radio: Sun.
10/9 1:00 pm ET (SIRIUS Radio - Channel TBD)
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Setup
Overview
Vikings' Last Game
Meet the
Vikings
Cardinals Roster
Vikings vs. Cardinals Matchups
Setup:
Cards are reeling from 3 straight
gut-wrenching losses,. The Vikings are even more desperate at 0 &
4, having lost to the unimpressive Chiefs a week ago 22 to 17. Both teams
will be hungry and eager to get the 800 lb gorillas off their
respective backs. Both teams are operating with new QB's this year
- the Cards with youthful Kevin Kolb and the Vikes with AARP
newcomer Donovan McNabb (an AZ resident who at one point was
rumored to be a candidate for Cardinal starting QB).
Overview
I'm working with Pro Football Focus (PFF)
rating numbers. Any
postitive rating of more than +2.0 is pretty good. Anything less
than a minus-2.0 rating is not-so-hot. Anything more than plus or
minus 1.0 is enough of a departure from average to be worth
noting.
Vikings Last Game
They lost to KC 22 - 17.
Game summary:
First Quarter
Vikes returned the opening kickoff to their
own 20 and went 3 & out. Chiefs got the ball back on their own 43
and were able to get as far as the Minny 20, where their drive
stalled and Succup kicked a 40-yarder. Chiefs 3 - Vikes 0.
KO went through the end zone, McNabb moved his team from his own
20 to the KC 34 in 8 plays before McNabb hit Aromashodu for a TD.
Challenge was overruled.
Vikes 7 Chiefs 3.
Kickoff went for a touchback. KC ran 4 plays and reached their own
34 as the quarter endedl. 1st Quarter Score:
Vikes 7 Chiefs 3.
Second Quarter
KC drive
stalled at their own 40. Punt was fair-cought at the Minnesota 19.
McNabb used 10 plays to reach the KC 20, but his pass intended for
Gerhart was intercepted by Carr and KC got the ball back on their
own 35. They managed to move to the Viking 6, where the MInnesota
defense stiffened and Succop kicked a 24-yarder.
Vikes 7 Chiefs 6.
5:15 left. Touchback. Vikes couldn't get past their own 42 and
punted. Touchback. 2:22 left til halftime. KC used 12 plays and
drained all 2:22 off the clock beofore Succop kicked his 3rd FG
(this one from 51-yards) and the half ended with the Chiefs
leading the Vikes 9 - 7. Halftime Score -
Chiefs 9 Vikes 7 .
Third Quarter
Kickoff went thru the end zone, KC was held
to 3 & out. A penallty on the punt gave Minnesota
the ball on the KC46. Their drive stalled at the 16, where
Longwell kicked a 33 yard FG. Vikes
10 Chiefs 9.
A penalty on the KO pushed the Chiefs back to their own 7. They
managed to get to the Minnesota 36, where Succop kicked a
54-yarder.
Chiefs 12 Vikes 10.
Vikes started from their own 20, but a penalty helped force them
into a 3 & out. A 20-yard punt-return put the ball on the Minny
45. KC managed to get to the Vike 5, but they couldn't cross the
goal line and Succop had to kick a 22-yarder.
Chiefs 15 Vikes 10.
The ensuing KO went thru the end zone for a touchback. Peterson's
4 yard run up the middle moved the the ball to the Viking 24 as
the quarter ended.
3rd Quarter Score: Chiefs
15 Vikes 10.
Fourth Quarter
Vikes continued a 3 & out. A delay of game
flag on 4th down made Kluwe punt from his own 19. Two plays later,
Cassel hit Bowie for a 52 yard TD (Griffin covering). Chiefs
22 Vikes 10.
Starting from their own 30, Harvin's 23 yard
scamper around left end put the Vikes on the KC 47. McNabb's
passing and Peterson's running then took them to the KC1, where
McNabb hit Jenkins for a one-yard TD. Drive took 13 plays and used
8:01 of clock time.
Chiefs 22 Vikes 17.
5:50 left. KC returned the KO to their own 17, and were held to 3
& out. Punt was downed at the Viking 15. 4:07 left to go. McNabb
threw 4 straight incompletions, and KC took over on their own 41
with 1:38 left to go. Three runs. A knee, Game over.
Final Score:
Chiefs 22 Vikes 17.
Meet the Vikings
On paper, the Vikings are a lot better than 0 & 4. We're not sure
what's caused the wheels to come off the wagon, but then again,
the Cardinals are following a similar hard-to-fathom pattern.
Quarterbacks
05 McNabb, Donovan QB 6-2 240 34 13
Syracuse
248 Snaps. Overall: #17 of 33. Passing:
#19. Rush: #6. QB Rating: 80.9
07 Ponder, Christian QB 6-2 229 23
0 Florida State
14 Webb, Joe QB 6-4 220 24 2 UAB
5 Snaps
Evaluation
McNabb has been first -rate over the years, but there
have been questions about his age and conditioning. Ponder was the
surprise high rookie pick. Though Webb is listed lower on the
depth chart, he's been in for 5 snaps/Ponder none.
Running Backs
28 Peterson, Adrian
RB 6-1 217 26 5 Oklahoma 211 Snaps.
Overall: #26 of 53. Receiving: #50. Rushing: #3.
32 Gerhart, Toby RB 6-0 231
24 2 Stanford 27 Snaps.
27 Booker, Lorenzo RB 5-10 201 27 4 Florida State:
1 Snap.
Evaluation
Peterson is rated 3rd
best runner in the NFL. He's gained 376 yards on 81 carries (4.6
YPC) and 3 TD's. Vikings don't have a
traditional FB (although they sometimes use a TE - Kleinsasser and Gerhart could certainly fill that role).
Still, a RB/FB corps of only 3 players seems a trifle thin.
Wide Receivers
87 Berrian,
Bernard WR 6-1 185 30 8 Fresno State
182 Snaps. Overall:
#93 of 104. Receiving: #99. Run Blocking: #48.
19 Aromashodu,
Devin WR 6-2 201 27 4 Auburn 36 Snaps.
12
Harvin, Percy WR 5-11 184 23 3 Florida
141 Snaps.
Overall: #20 of 104.
Receiving: #29. Running: #2. Run Blocking: #89.
84 Jenkins,
Michael WR 6-4 214 29 8 Ohio State 175 Snaps.
Overall: #26. Receiving: #16. Run Blocking: #55.
85 Camarillo, Greg WR 6-2
200 29 6 Stanford
Evaluation
Berrian has been having (what for him is) a
lousy year thus far; but the 6-4 Jenkings (ranked 16th best
receiver) has been a positive surprise. Harvin (when his migraines aren't bothering him)
is a
game-breaker who can also beat you on running plays.
Tight
Ends
81 Shiancoe, Visanthe
TE 6-4 240 31 9 Morgan State 212
Snaps. Overall: #30 of 52. Receiving: #12. Pass Blocking: #31. Run
Blocking: #39.
40 Kleinsasser, Jim
TE/FB 6-3 272 34 13 North Dakota.
120 Snaps. Overall: 13 of 53 TE's. Rated minus-2.5 as a pass
blocker and +2.7 as a run blocker.
82 Rudolph, Kyle TE
6-6 259 21 0 Notre Dame 121 Snaps.
Overall: #10 of 53 TE's. Receiving: #21. Pass Block: #6. Run
Block: #5.
89 Reisner, Allen TE 6-3 248 23 0 Iowa
Evaluation
A well-stocked larder. Vikes keep 4 TE's (the extra one probably
because of the absence of a traditional FB). Shiancoe and Rudolph
are good receivers. Rudolph ranks #5 among all NFL tight ends as
a run blocker.
Offensive Line
74
Johnson, Charlie LT 6-4 305 27 6 Oklahoma State
Total Snaps: 248. Overall: #65 of 70 OT's.
Pass Blocking: #60. Run Blocking: #45.
75
Love, DeMarcus T 6-4 315 23 0 Arkansas
76 Hutchinson,
Steve LG 6-5 313 33 11 Michigan
Total Snaps: 248. Overall: #28 of 67 OG's. Pass Blocking: #25. Run
Blocking: #41. Screens: #12.
65 Sullivan, John C 6-4 301 26
4 Notre Dame Total Snaps: 246.
Overall: #7 of 34 OC's. Pass Blocking: #22. Run Blocking: #5.
Screens: #2
63 Fusco, Brandon OL 6-4 306 21 0
Slippery Rock
61 Berger, Joe C 6-5 315 29 7
Michigan Tech Total Snaps: 2.
64 Herrera, Anthony RG 6-2 315 31 8
Tennessee Total Snaps: 248. Overall:
#54 of 67 OG's. Pass Blocking: #63. Run Blocking: #50. Screens:
#4.
71 Loadholt, Phil RT 6-8 343 25 3
Oklahoma Total Snaps: 248.
Overall: #51 of 70 OT's. Pass Blocking: #69. Run Blocking: #3.
79 Brown, Patrick T 6-5 310 24 2 Central
Florida
Evaluation
:
Spotty overall. Some guys
are good run blockers but fair pass blockers and vice versa.
Overall, the unit is better at
run blocking and screens than in pass pro, with the interior
better than the 2 tackles. Weakest link appears to be at LT (where
Johnson ranks #63 among all NFL tackles as a pass protector and
#45 as a run blocker). His opposite bookend (Loadholt) is also
week in pass pro, but a lights-out run blocker. Hutchison was (& still might be) the best OG
in pro football. Loadholt came into the NFL a few years ago as a
raw run-blocking specialist and is now considered 3rd best
run-blocking tackle in the NFL. (Unfortunately, he ranks #69 as a
pass blocker). Hutchison, Sullivan and Herrera are excellent
screen blockers. It's a durable unit (all five starters have
been together for all but 2 snaps). Love and
Fusco are rooks.
Defensive Line
96 Robison, Brian LDE
6-3 259 28 5 Texas Total Snaps: 241.
Overall: #2 of 59 DE's. Run Def.: #12. Pass Rush: #8.Coverage:
#12.
91
Reed, D'Aundre DE 6-4 261 23 0 Arizona
92 Ayodele, Remi NT 6-2 318 28 5 Oklahoma
Total Snaps: 76. Overall: #66 of 76 DT's.
Run Def. #68. Pass Rush: #48.
90 Evans, Fred NT 6-4 305
27 6 Texas State
Total Snaps: 80.
Overall: #70 of #76. Run Def.: #30. Pass
Rush: #68.
93 Williams, Kevin DT 6-5 311 31 9 Oklahoma
State
Total Snaps: 118. Overall: #12 of 76 DT's.
Run Def: #2. Pass Rush: #42.
98 Guion, Letroy
DT 6-4 303 24 4 Florida State
Total Snaps 180. Overall: #16 of 76 DT's.
Run Def.: #18. Pass Rush: #19. Coverage: #4 .
99 Ballard,
Christian DT 6-4 283 22 0 Iowa
Total Snaps: 76. Overall: #65 of 76 DT's.
Run Def: #63. Pass Rush: #53.
69 Allen, Jared RDE 6-6
270 29 8 Idaho State
Total Snaps: 271. Overall: #6 of 59 DE's.
Run Def: #18. Pass Rush: #12. Coverage: #1.
97 Griffen,
Everson DE 6-3 273 23 2 USC
Evaluation
:
May be the best D-line in all of football. The 4 starters rank
#2, #16, #12 and #6 overall at their respective positions. Allen
is considered by some to be the best DE/pass rusher in pro
football. He's racked up 7 sacks, 3 QB hits and 10 pressures. His
opposite bookend (Robison) is credited with 3 sacks, 3 hits and
18 -pressures. However, this unit's production falls off
dramatically after the top four. - so if you can keep them on the
field a lot, you can wear them down and force them into going
deeper into rotation.
Linebacker
52 Greenway, Chad SLB 6-2 242 28 6 Iowa
Total Snaps: 280. Overall: #40 of 45 OLB's. Run Def: #14. Pass Rush:
#2. Coverage: #45 .
51
Dean, Larry LB 6-0 226 23 0 Valdosta State
56
Henderson, E.J. LB 6-1 245 31 9 Maryland
Total Snaps: 258.
Overall: 25 of 45 MLBs. Run Def: #6 . Pass Rush: #42. Coverage:
#43.
57 Adibi,
Xavier LB 6-2 242 26 4 Virginia Tech
50
Henderson, Erin WLB 6-3 244 25 4 Maryland
Total Snaps: 154.
Overall #7 of 45 OLB's. Run Def: #5. Pass Rush: #31.
Coverage: #16.
55 Onatolu,
Kenny LB 6-2 225 28 3 Nebraska-Omaha
Evaluation
Greenway is a deluxe blitzer, and both Hendersons (when healthy) are Pro Bowl-caliber
LB's. Ironically, this unit's pass rush is weakest coming
off the weakside edge (where many teams position their best
blitzers).
Secondary
26 Winfield, Antoine CB 5-9 180 34 13 Ohio
State. Total Snaps: 280. Overall: #1
of 90 CB's. Run Def: #1. Pass Rush: #87. Coverage: #7.
31 Cook, Chris LCB 6-2 212 24 2 Virginia.
total Snaps: 121. Overall: #59 of 90 CB's. Run Def:#31 . Pass
Rush: #16. Coverage: #48.
35 Sherels, Marcus CB 5-10 175 24 1 Minnesota
23 Griffin, Cedric RCB 6-0 203 28 6 Texas
Total Snaps: 281. Overall: 34 of 90 CB's.
Run Def: #16. Pass Rush: #73. Coverage: #7.
21 Allen,
Asher CB 5-9 194 23 3 Georgia
36 Burton,
Brandon CB 5-11 190 22 0 Utah
33
Sanford, Jamarca SS 5-10 200 26 3 Mississippi.
Total Snaps: 216. Overall: #48 of 83
safeties. Run Def: #16. Pass Rush: #64. Coverage: #71.
25 Johnson, Tyrell S 6-0 207 26 4 Arkansas State
39 Abdullah,
Husain S 6-0 204 26 4 Washington State
Total Snaps: 281. Overall: #32 of 83
safeties. Run Def. #19. Pass Rush: #68. Coverage: #51.
37 Frampton, Eric FS 5-11 205 27 5 Washington State
41 Raymond, Mistral S
6-1 202 23 0 South Florida
Evaluation:
The two corners (Winfield and Griffin) are good at all aspects of
the position - tied for 7th among all CB's in PFF ratings, with
Winfield rated #1 vs. the run and Griffin #16th.
The two safeties (Sanford and Abdullah) are also solid against the
run - ranking #16 and #19 respectively; but both tail off
badly in coverage.
Special Teams
08 Longwell,
Ryan K 6-0 200 37 15 California
04 Kluwe, Chris P/H 6-4 215 29
7 UCLA
46 Loeffler, Cullen LS 6-5 241 30 8
Texas
12 Harvin, Percy KR/WR 5-11 184 23
3 Florida
35 Sherels, Marcus PR/CB 5-10 175 24 1 Minnesota
Evaluation:
Longwell and Kluwe are seasoned vets. Harvin is the Devon
Hester/Darren Sproles of this unit.
Coaches
Leslie
Frazier Head Coach
Bill Musgrave Offensive Coordinator
Fred Pagac Defensive Coordinator
Mike
Priefer Special Teams Coordinator
Evaluation:
Frazier's a new HC who's in Minnesota in the aftermath of the
Brett Favre saga. He's brought in Mike Singletary as assistant HC
working with the LB's. Musgrave is a former QB who's highly
regarded as an OC.
Cardinal Roster
PFFW hadn't provided updated Week 4
stats as we post this preview, which means the rating info will be
"one week stale."
QB - 4 Kolb, 19 Skelton, 02 Bartel
Kolb (Overall Rating of +5.8 and Passer
Rating of 5.0) has more than met his coaches'
expectations in the short time he's been a Cardinal. He's picked
up most of the offense and looks poised and accurate. We also like
his balll handling off play-action - he runs the misdirection
waggle and naked boot better than anyone I can remember - even
Josh McCown or Jake. Already one notable major change in our
passing game are the number of long-gainers (both on deep balls
and RAC yardage from open receivers underneath).
Last week (vs.
Giants), Kolb was 24 for 34 and 237 yards, one pick and no TD's.
Those aren't horrible numbers, but it seemed to us he couldn't
make things happen when the really had to - whether it be in the
red zone or on crucial 3rd down conversions at key points in the
game. One way to look at it is: Manning was able to make big plays
when he had to. Kolb wasn't. Result: Manning put 14-points on the
board to overcome a 10-point deficit. Kolb - who had 2:15 to work
with - couldn't mount an effective closing drive. (Note - It might
not be entirely on Kolb - our O-line hasn't been exactly
air-tight).
Skelton has
a world of athletic talent and just needs more work, but his
development has been hampered by a high ankle sprain. Surprise of
preseason was Bartel (who proved extremely accurate and
shares Kolb's poise in the pocket.
Some concern about Bartel's tendency to lose
concentration and make one or two major miscues per game that
costs his team points or field position.
RB - 26, Wells,
36
Stephens-Howling (KR/PR),
29 C Taylor, 46 A. Smith
Last week vs. the Giants, the Cardinals
mounted their first "grown-up looking" running attack, with a
banged up Beanie Wells rushing for 138 yards on 27 carries against
a very good run-defense. Wells also scored three
short-yardage TD's.
Wells looks more comfortable this season and is
running with authority and lower pad level more consistently. (He's rated 4.2 as a
rusher, but - at minus-1.6 - is a potential liability in the
passing game and as a run blocker). LSH (who was injured two weeks
ago) plays the role of
passing-down scatback. Newly acquired Chester Taylor is an
experienced receiver and receiver out of the backfield whose
running yards production fell off a cliff under Mike Martz's new
system a year ago.
FB - 35 Sherman
A rookie who was good enough to win a roster
battle over Mau'ia. Main role figures to be as lead blocker, but
Kolb and Bartel like to spread the ball around, and they did
complete 2 passes to him vs. the Gints. He's currently in
negative-terriitory overall (-1.2) in his primary MOS (run blocking) with a
rating of minus-1.6 (not a good sign)..
WR -
85 Doucet , 12
Roberts, 17 Stuckey,
WR -11 Fitzgerald, 14 S Williams,
89 Sampson
Fitzgerald continues to be
amazing (when he can get open and Kolb can throw him the ball),
but when he can't get open, the Cards are not nearly as effective throwing
to their other options (Doucet, Roberts and/or Stuckey). It's not
that our receivers are terrible, but for some reason, they haven't been
getting enough separation out of their breaks.
Last week
vs. the Giants, Fitz caught 8 passes for 102 yards, but,
under tight coverage on a key 4th down, couldn't hang onto the
ball on a short pass in tight coverage at crunch time late in the game. Doucet had 3
grabs. Roberts had zippo.
Fitzgerald (as expected)
enjoys a +3.2 rating overall and a receiving rating of +2.4. But
both Roberts and Stuckey remain deep in negative rating territory (both
overall and as receivers). Doucet has a +1.4 receiving rating, but
comes up a bit short blocking for the run. The entire unit is
picking up too many penalties. WIlliams and Sampson
are both tall wide-outs who are still a bit raw, but who figure to
be phased in to play specific roles in certain game situations.
Fitzgerald (who signed a long term contract) is considered by some
to be the best WR in the NFL.
TE - 86
Heap,
87 King,
84 Housler, 81
Dray
Totally revamped position. Heap is one of
the best all-around TE's in football. He enjoys a + 4.2 overall
rating/+1.3 as a receiver and 3.0 as a run blocker. Former Panther King
has suprised as a receiver (with a +1.8 rating) but has
disappointed as both a run blocker (-1.2) and in pass pro (-1.6). Housler has sub 4.6 speed, great hands
and can stretch the field but has only been in for 8 snaps. Cards liked Dray enough to cut Spach
and still go with 4 TE's on their Final 53 roster.
Heap caught 4 against the Giants,
and Housler had one catch (his first)?
LT- 75 L Brown, 73 Bridges
LG-
71 Colledge,
OC- 63Sendlein
RG-
70 Hadnot (C), 76
Lutui
RT
72 Keith,
74 Batiste
This unit is killing us. We've got
huge problems at tackle - most assuredly with
pass blocking but also run blocking output from our RT (a position
(where you expect to put your most dominant master-blaster). Keith
(the main culprit) hurt his knee vs. the Giants and was replaced
by Bridges. Brown ranks #62 (out of 65 OT's) as a pass blocker.
Keith ranks dead-last at #65. Keith ranks #57 as a run blocker
while Levi only ranks #35. Keith ranks #66 and Brown 64 in number
of QB pressures allowed.
Our two
guards grade out
a bit better. Hadnot ranks #3 overall (out of 72 guards) and #2 as
a pass blocker. He's tied for #7 as a run blocker. Colledge also
ranks tied for #7 as a run blocker, has disappointed in pass pro
(ranked #59).
Although Sendlein ranks #11 (of 35 centers)
overall, he's near the bottom in pass protection (ranking #30))
and 2nd to last in allowing QB pressures. He is 4th best among run
blocklers, however.
To their credit, last week, the
running attack did pick up 156 yards on 32 carries (4.9 YPC)
against a tough Giant run defense, but they also allowed Kolb to
be sacked 4 times and forced him to repeatedly throw the ball away
after flushing him out of the pocket.
DE - 93 Campbell,
98
Eason
NT -
92 D Williams, 79 Carter
DT - 90 Dockett,
91 Holliday
Campbell (3.3 overall) and Dockett (3.2) are
dominant bookends, but best at rushing the passer and just "OK" at
stopping the run. Although Williams is rated near average at NT,
his two backups (Carter and Eason) have negative-1.1 and
negative-3.0 ratings respectively overall. The surprise of this
unit has been Holliday (+1.8 overall; +1.8 as a pass rusher). Only
Eason (-2.5) is in negative territory vs. the run. campbell is at
his best when he gets his hands up into the QB's face and in the
passing lanes. (Dockett too for that matter).
One thing the stats
don't tell you about 3-4 defensive linemen is how well they occupy
blockers so that the LB's and safeties can step up and make the tackle.
This is an area of concern, although we saw considerable
improvement vs. the run against the Giants.
Campbell and Dockett played well last Sunday (Campbell had 6
tackles. Dockett had 4), but couldn't get
to Manning. (However, Carter was able to). A quick trip inside the statistics
suggests that the Cardinals were focusing on stopping the run
(holding Giant runners to a combined 54 yards on 24 carries),
suggesting that perhaps "lane discipline" was a higher priority than
getting to Manning).
If true, this strategy was instrumental in keeping the Giant
offense at bay for 3½ quarters but staying with this strategy too
long may have been responsible for
our downfall by giving Eli too much time to hit his receivers late in
thegame
WLB - 55 Porter,
50 Schofield
ILB
51
Lenon,
52 Bradley
ILB-
558 D Washington,
56 Walker,
SLB
-
53
Haggans, 94 Acho
This unit has to do better within Horton's
scheme. Lenon (who we concede has been injured) is minus-1.2
overall, minus-3.2 vs. the run and minus-1.8 rushing the passer.
(He is, however, a nifty plus-4.5 covering passes. Our designated
pass-rusher (Porter) has a negative-4.1 rating rushing the passer,
a negative-1.2 in coverage and a negative-4.1 overall. (Ughh)!
Thank goodness for Haggans (+5.3 overall), Washington (+4.2) and
Bradley (+1.6). Haggans and Porter have notable run-defense
ratings. Haggans and Washington are rated well as pass rushers.
Lenon and Washington do a good job of dropping into coverage. But
all in all, performance is kind of spotty, with enough holes for
opposing OC's to pick us apart.
In the Giant game, they performed similar to the
Cardinal Front 3 in that they swarmed to the ball carrier and
prevented Bradshaw and Jacobs from gashing us or blacktopping us.
(Washington and Lenon - along with Campbell - had 6 tackles
apiece). But none of our LB's came close to getting to Manning.
RCB -
21 Peterson,
31
Marshall
LCB-
20 Jefferson,
27 Adams,
32 Lindsay
SS- 24 Wilson,
41 Abdullah,
40
Tillman
FS- 25 Rhodes,
49
Rash Johnson
The Cardinal secondary continues to be a "work in progress."
Among 101 NFL corners rated by PFF, Jefferson ranks a decent
#17th, overall, but Peterson ranks #75 and Marshall #90. In pass
coverage, Jefferson ranks #33, Peterson #89 and Marshall #78. In
run support, Jefferson is (woo hoo!) tied for 7th and Peterson is
tied for #21, but Marshall is near the bottom, ranking 95th.
Shall I go on? Let's look at % of passes completed against a
corner: Jefferson ranks #58, Peterson #92 and Marshall tied for
#57. In terms of QB Ratings for passes thrown at that corner:
Jefferson ranks #53, Peterson #42 and Marshall (who usually covers
the #3 receiver) a decent #20.
Our safeties aren't in Pro Bowl vicinity quite yet. Out of 85 NFL
safeties - Wilson ranks #24 overall, 60th as a pass rusher, #30 in
coverage and tied for 8th in run support. He's tied for #15 in %
completions of passes thrown his way and #42 in QB ratings when
thrown-against. Rhodes is ranked 69th overall; 66th in coverage;
30th in run support; 29th in percent of passes completed against
him and 70th in opposing QB ratings. Wilson and Rhodes are dismal
deep - tied for #82 in average yards per pass thrown against them.
Last week against the Giants, the Cardinal secondary continued
their pattern of giving up big plays deep - this time twice
late in the game; erasing a 10-point lead and costing us the game.
I'm not sure whether the problem is due to (a) Horton's defensive schemes
themselves, (b) the inability of our players to effectively
execute those schemes, (c) our
safeties being required to help out our young CB's or (d) just plain poor play at
safety. Peterson (who
continues to earn the title of "Most Picked On") led the team in
tackles with 7. Jefferson wasn't that far behind with 4. A-Dub (2 tackles) and Rhodes (4 tackles) haven't been exactly
"on-fire" either.
K-04
Feely
P- 05 Graham 09 Zastudil
H -
05 Graham
09
Zastudil
LS-
82 Leach
KR -
37Stephens-Howling, 20 Jefferson
PR -
21
Peterson
Feely had an
uncharacteristic "bad hair day" in Seattle, missing 2 FG's (albeit
in tough windy circumstances). He's just 1 for 4 in FG's thus far
and has a minus-0.6 rating as a field goal kicker and +0.4
on KO's (Just 4 of his 12 KO's have been for touchbacks). Zastudil
has a minus-0.1 rating as a punter. (35.7 net yards per punt; max
hang-time 4.90).
Feely seemed to regain his mojo vs.
the Giants, Zastudil's "flat" 40-yard punt cost us field position
late in the game. Graham is back ("due to a Zastudil leg injury").
He's a better directional "inside the 15" punter, but lacks the
leg strength needed to boom punts from deep in our own territory.
Regardless - I'm glad he's back.
Vikings
vs. Cardinals Matchups
Viking Passing Attack
vs. Cardinal
Pass Defense
McNabb may be slowly turning gray, but he still can
effectively manage games, move around outside the pocket and
is completing 58% of his passes. He has an 80.6 QB Rating. His
targets: Jenkins (a big receiver), Harvin (an explosive home run hitter)
and Berrian (more of a possession-type having a down-year). He has
two good TE targets in Schianco and Rudolph along with Peterson
out of the backfield. Our LB's and DB's will have their hands
full.
But in pass pro, the Vikes have liabilities at
both tackles - a target rich environment for Campbell and Dockett.
However,their interior (Herrera, Sullivan and Hutchison are superb
screen blockers and Sullivan and Loadholt block well on running
plays.
Expect the Vikes to effectively use screens and
the threat of Peterson to hold Cardinal pass rushers at bay so
that McNabb and his receivers can exploit a shaky Cardinal
secondary. How well our secondary responds will depend on how well
(& how quickly) our young CB's continue to learn from their
mistakes.
It will be up to our Front 7 (especially Lenon,
Washington and Bradley to contain Minnesota screens and bottle up
Peterson. Because each Viking lineman has his own specific set of
weaknesses (i.e Loadholt is a devestating run blocker but a poor
pass blocker and Johnson is rated near the bottom of all NFL
tackles as a pass blocker), Ray Horton will have to find ways to
exploit those weaknesses without leaving the Cardinals vulnerable
to screens, draws and scrambles.
Viking Running Attack vs.
Cardinal Run Defense
Peterson is
usually considered the #1 or #2 best RB in the NFL(behind Chris Johnson). He's the whole package - a tough, explosive runner who
can catch out of the backfield and is deadly on screens. His
run-blockers (especially Loadholt at RT) are exceptional.
Cardinal run defenders will have their hands full -
because Viking TE's require attention in the receiving game, which in turn means "less
attention to Peterson." Vikes like to line up the explosive Harvin
deep or use him on end-arounds.
This makes lane-discipline all the more
important when facing the Vikings
Cardinal Passing Attack
vs. Viking Pass Defense
Vikes have two corners (Winfield and
Griffin) both ranked #7 in coverage by PFF. You can expect Leslie
Frazier to attempt to take away Fitz with one corner and force Kolb
to locate Doucet or Roberts (who figure to be tightly covered by
the other corner). Therefore - since both Viking safeties and 2 of
the 3 LB's are considered vulnerable in coverage (the exception
being Erin Henderson at WLB) - expect the Cardinal passing attack
to focus on hitting a #3 receiver (like Roberts) or one of the
TE's (Heap, King or Housler).
I'm still very concerned that Kolb seems unable
to locate or hit an open receiver on obvious passing downs at
critical points during each game. My guess is that either (a)
Kevin still doesn't know his receivers well enough (or the offense well
enough) to hit the right receiver on-time without thinking or (b) our #2
and #3 receivers aren't exploding out of their breaks quickly or
sharply enough to gain separation. (There are times when your
QB simply has to make a play even though the other team knows what's
coming but simply can't stop it. The good QBs can do this. Kolb is not
there yet).
Cardinal Running Attack
vs. Viking Run Defense
The Vikings
are equally as good against the run as the Giants (maybe even better).
Allen, Williams and Robinson are ranked by PFF #18 against
the run or better. (Williams ranks #2 and, of the starters on the
D-line, only Ayodele rates badly at #68). 2 of their 3 starting
LB's (Greenway and EJ Henderson rank within the top 14. Both
safeties are better tacklers than cover guys.
Last week, the Cardinals finally mounted their
first legitimate "big boy" running attack, with Beanie Wells
gaining 138 yards on 27 carries and scoring 3 TD's from inside the
2. He did this against a very good NYG run-defense; which begs the
question: "Despite Minnesota's ability to stop the run, should we ignore the stats and continue to run Beanie
early & often? Or should we respect the Viking run defense and go
more toward "airing it out" as we have in earlier
games?"
At the very least, we should "run enough to
make the Viking defense wary of being gashed for a long gain and
keep their pass rushers honest. (And of course, if it
should turn out that Beanie is on his way toward repeating last
week's production, we should continue to hand him the rock).
One thing that would help both the running
attack and neutralize some of the pass pressure would be better
execiution of the screen-game. Our inability to execute screens
better either (1) wastes the down when we run it or (2
removes a potentially valuable play-calling option when we're
afraid tot run it.
Special Teams
Longwell and Kluwe are solid. Harvin is one of the most
dangerous returners in football. Feely seems to be back in the
saddle. It looks like Graham will sub for Zastudil (who injured a
leg). Whatever his
shortcomings, Graham at least occasionally would pin the other
team back deep in its own territory - which in turn was at least
good for morale. (I never saw Zastudil do anything like that and, in fact, there were a couple of times where his inability to
get off a good punt hurt our field position). LSH and Peterson are
dangerous returners - LSH is also valuable as a gunner.
I hope everyone on the roster commits himself to
making sure that we don't let another game slip away
from us because we let their fast guy (Harvin) "hit a home run."
Final Word|
The Vikings may be 0 & 4 but they're a lot better than that "on
paper." Along similar lines, the Cardinals feel they are better
than 1 & 3. Both teams are hungry and desperate. No doubt, the
outcome will be a function of (a) breaks and (b) execution. (Example: Cards
were penalized 11 times last week for 118 yards - quite a
headwind). The game is in
noisy Minnesota. Both
teams no doubt "want it." If the breaks are distributed
equally, the winner of this game will be the team who executes better for
the entire
60-minutes. Fair or unfair, I view this game as a defining
moment
for our coaching staff.
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