Friday, September 10, 2010

Week 1 Recap: Vikings @ Saints

We're in year two of the Favre era...but, the second year starts exactly how the first year ended...a loss to the Saints at the Superdome. Here's some of my perspective on the game and festivities of last night:

* Last year I could just tell that Chester Taylor was going to bolt after the season during free agency. I can't put my finger on it, but it just seemed like his body language on the sidelines seemed like he was bored with the situation. Well, after watching the opening of the game last night...the players seem to confirm with their solidarity act that there will be a work stoppage next year...so either a whole year will be lost, or an abbreviated season will take place next year. Here's a solution...fix the outrageous rookie pay scale, give more benefits to former players after they are done playing and take the safety precautions of the current players more seriously. They're squabbling over millions in a multi-billion dollar business that has a stranglehold on the market. And they're doing it at a time when we have troops overseas, a struggling economy and Simon leaving American Idol.

* New Orleans first drive started out with two big pass plays down the middle. Damn the NFL is harsh...E.J. Henderson makes a valiant recovery off a gruesome femur injury last year and they go right at him right away. E.J. did look a lot better as the game wore on, especially on the run game.

* I heard a lot of complaining about the play-calling (abandoning the run in the 2nd half). However, the Vikings dug themselves holes on plenty of possessions where penalties virtually put them into passing situations on every down. It just wasn't a sharp game offensively all around.

* Bryant McKinnie leaves the game with a "finger injury". Are you serious...?? I don't expect McKinnie to pull a Ronnie Lott and cut his finger off to get back in the game...but, you're 6'8"...300 plus pounds and we're worried about a finger...??

* New Orleans' kicker shanks two field goals yesterday, but makes the clincher last year in the NFC Championship Game in overtime...this kind of irony only happens to the Vikings.

* Leslie Frazier deserves a head coaching job in the NFL. He adjusts his defense on the fly and makes proper adjustments throughout the game better than anyone that we've had for awhile (Dungy was probably the last good defensive coordinator we had/Tomlin was a great motivator, but didn't exactly adjust within the game). The game looked like it could have been a stinker after the Saints first drive...but, credit Frazier and the defensive players for putting the team in position for the offense to steal a game.

SBG

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