The Vikings just didn’t play a good football game against the Packers on Sunday.  Kelly Holcomb completed 21 of 39 passes for 258 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception but most of his yards came at garbage time.  Adrian Peterson was outstanding again as he carried the football 12 times for 112 yards (9.3 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 6 yards.  The Vikings also put him back on kickoffs and he returned 3 kicks for 98 yards (32.7 avg).  Chester Taylor pitched in with 8 carries for 40 yards.  WRs Bobby Wade (5 rec, 83 yards) and Sidney Rice (6 rec, 75 yards, TD) both had their best games of the season so far.  Visanthe Shiancoe also pitched in with 4 catches for 38 yards (9.5 avg).  The Vikings finished up with 155 yards on 22 carries (7.0 ypc) and they completed 21 of 39 passes for 227 yards.

The defense was led by Antoine Winfield (10 tackles) and E.J. Henderson (9 tackles).  The Packers finished up with 46 yards on 20 carries (2.3 ypc) and they completed 32 of 45 passes for 338 yards.

The Vikings had to be a little bit worried when starting running back Chester Taylor got hurt at the end of the pre-season.  But, they have no worries now as rookie Adrian Peterson is proving to be the real deal!  He has carried the ball 64 times for 271 yards (4.2 ypc) with 1 TD run and he has also caught 8 passes for 160 yards (20.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Peterson has all of the skills to be a dominating running back for a long, long time.  He can score from anywhere on the field and he’s not afraid to put his shoulder down when he has to.  Mewelde Moore is an outstanding backup running back for the Vikings.  He has carried the ball 10 times for 71 yards (7.1 ypc) and he has also caught 6 passes for 46 yards (7.7 avg).  Moore could start for a lot of NFL teams but in Minnesota he’s usually third in line for carries.  When Chester Taylor gets back the backfield will be even stronger behind the QB.

The Vikings wasted another good defensive effort yesterday in the loss against the Chiefs.  QB Kelly Holcomb got his first start with the Vikings and he completed 14 of 28 passes for 165 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 interceptions.  Adrian Peterson was outstanding again with 25 carries for 102 yards (4.1 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 3 passes for 48 yards (16.0 avg).  Mewelde Moore pitched in with 4 carries for 21 yards (5.3 ypc).  TE Visanthe Shiancoe finally showed some life with 3 catches for 51 yards (17.0 avg) and WR Bobby Wade pitched in with 4 grabs for 35 yards (8.8 avg).  The Vikings finished up with 123 yards rushing on 29 carries (4.2 ypc) and they completed 14 of 29 passes for 129 yards.

The defense was great against the run but they made some errors against the pass that cost them this game.  Linebackers Ben Leber and Chad Greenway both made 8 tackles to lead the way for the defense.  The Chiefs only rushed for 50 yards on 31 carries (1.6 ypc) but they completed 20 of 29 passes for 201 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270923012 

The 1-1 Minnesota Vikings will be visiting Arrowhead Stadium where the desperate 0-2 Kansas City Chiefs call home.  The Vikings are likely to start Kelly Holcomb at QB and he will give the offense a new dimension as he has been a good passer in his NFL career.  Look for the Vikings to open up the offense a little bit this week against the tough Chiefs defense that is only allowing 277.0 yards per game this season.  Still, the Vikings won’t abandon a running game that is averaging 131.0 yards rushing per game.  Rookie running back Adrian Peterson (169 yards rushing, 112 yards receiving) will be the main man on offense for the Vikings so linebackers Donnie Edwards, Napoleon Harris and Derrick Johnson better be up to the challenge.  Kelly Holcomb is really good at play action passing so if the Vikings get the running game going the Vikings should have their best game throwing the ball all season.  With that in mind the young safeties of the Chiefs better keep their eyes on the football.

This is the week that the Chiefs better open up the offense.  The Vikings only allow 76.0 yards rushing per game and 3.1 ypc so far this season and they have one of the best defensive lines in all of football.  Herman Edwards better not be a hard head and feed the ball to Larry Johnson (26 car, 98 yards) because he could have a hard time finding running room.  The offensive line also better protect Damon Huard well as the Vikings already have 10 sacks this season.  That means the Chiefs should run short pass routes which would play well for rookie WR Dwyane Bowe and TE Tony Gonzalez.

PREDICTION:  If the Vikings do indeed start Kelly Holcomb I think they will win the game and Holcomb will remain the starting QB for a while.  If Tavaris Jackson or Brooks Bollinger start Sunday I like the Chiefs to win their first game of the season.

Tavaris Jackson hurt his groin last week against the Vikings and he had to leave the game.  Coach Childress has stated that Jackson will start this week if he’s deemed healthy enough to give it a go.  If not the Vikings will bypass Brooks Bollinger and start veteran Kelly Holcomb.  Jackson has been pretty awful so far this season as he has completed 30 of 56 passes (53.6%) for 329 yards with 1 TD pass and 5 interceptions (40.0 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 7 times for 26 yards (3.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Brooks Bollinger replaced the injured Jackson last week and he completed 3 of 4 passes for 26 yards but he lost a fumble in overtime that directly led to the Vikings losing against the Lions.  That fumble has likely gotten Bollinger a spot in the god house.  The bottom line is that Kelly Holcomb gives the Vikings the best shot to win so he should be playing.

It’s hard to pin a loss like this on one player, but Tavaris Jackson looked like a deer in headlights at Ford Field.  He completed 17 of 33 passes for 166 yards and he didn’t throw a TD pass but he threw 4 interceptions!  He also carried the ball 5 times for 16 yards (3.2 ypc) with 1 TD run.  The Vikings replaced him for a little bit as Brooks Bollinger completed 3 of 4 passes for 26 yards.  Rookie RB Adrian Peterson found the Lions defense pretty tough to run against.  He carried the football 20 times for 66 yards (3.3 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 52 yards (13.0 avg).  Mewelde Moore got his first action of the seasonand he looked good as usual with 6 carries for 50 yards (8.3 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 36 yards (9.0 avg).  Bobby Wade was the leading receiver for the Vikings with 5 catches for 34 yards (6.8 avg).  The Vikings finished up with 123 yards rushing on 33 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 37 passes for 190 yards.

The Vikings defense got torched for a lot of yards passing in this game but they did pick off three passes and stuffed the Lions running game.  Safety Darren Sharper (8 tackles, 2 interceptions) and Antoine Winfield (9 tackles, fumble recovery) were pests for the Lions in the secondary.  DE Ray Edwards also had a big game with 2 tackles, 1.5 sacks and he also recovered a fumble and returned it 9 yards for a TD.  The Vikings held the Lions to 56 yards rushing on 21 carries (2.7 ypc).  But, the Lions completed 35 of 56 passes for 359 yards on the Vikings defense.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270916008

JAY’S PLAYS
All information is for news matter only
All games are graded on a scale of 1-4 stars

PRO FOOTBALL — September 16

MINNESOTA (+3) at DETROIT (Total 43) — The Vikings carry quite a streak into this one, having beaten Detroit ten straight times. But the dynamic may be a bit different this time around. True, the presence of talented rookie Adrian Peterson (103 yds. vs. Atlanta) tests a Lion defensive front that wasn’t sufficiently challenged against Oakland in Week 1. But Minnesota is breaking in a quarterback (Tarvaris Jackson) who may not be completely ready for the NFL. That cuts down offensive options. Detroit QB Jon Kitna is going to throw some away (two INT’s last week, 22 last year) but he’s going to make some plays too. In Oakland, Roy Williams and rookie Calvin Johnson caught TD’s, and backup Shaun McDonald gained 90 yards through the air with a score. Like Minny, the Lions can throw more than one running back at its opponents too; Kevin Jones was out last week (and likely here too) but Tatum Bell steps in, with T.J. Duckett in reserve. One has to remember that while the Vikes are double-tough defending against the run, there are holes in the secondary, as the team tied for last in the league in passing yards surrendered in ’06.

JAY’S PLAY:  DETROIT **

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The Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions are going to duke it out for first place in the NFC North at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday.  Both teams are coming off impressive victories over pathetic football teams.  The Lions beat the Raiders 36-21 in Oakland and the Vikings punished the Falcons 24-3 at home.  The Vikings won’t likely change anything this Sunday as they will try to run the football and play defense.  The Vikings will give the rock to Adrian Peterson until the Lions prove they can stop him.  Peterson rushed for 103 yards (5.4 ypc) and he caught a 60-yard TD pass in a dazzling NFL debut last week.  The Lions defense will have their hands full with him.  QB Tavaris Jackson can also run the ball and he didn’t get sacked at all last week as his line did a good job blocking for him.  Look for the Vikings to run some play action after they establish the run and take a few shots down the field to Troy Williamson and Sidney Rice. 

The Lions will try to attack the Vikings defense down the field to take them out of their running game.  The Lions must do a good job blocking for Jon Kitna who is prone to make mistakes when pressured and the Vikings sacked the QB six times and they returned 2 interceptions for a TD last week against the Falcons.  Still, look for the Lions to spread the field with Calvin Johnson, Roy Williams, Mike Furrey and Shaun McDonald all on the field at one time.  The Vikings have a great run defense but they better keep an eye on Tatum Bell who rushed for 87 yards (5.8 ypc) and a TD last week against the Raiders.

PREDICTION:  The Vikings have history on their side as they have beaten the Lions 10 straight times, outscoring them 270-200.  They also pushed them around last season outscoring them 56-37 in the sweep.  This game could go either way but I have a hunch that the Vikings are in the Lions heads and will beat them by a field goal.

The Vikings completed dominated the Falcons in this football game.  They did it by running the football and playing defense.  QB Tavaris Jackson ran the offense efficiently as he completed 13 of 23 passes for 163 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  He also carried the football 2 times for 10 yards (5.0 ypc).  Rookie Adrian Peterson was outstanding in his NFL debut as he carried the ball 19 times for 103 yards (5.4 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 60 yards and it was a TD!  The Vikings ran the ball 27 times for 139 yards (5.1 ypc) and they completed 13 of 23 passes for 163 yards.

The defense was outstanding as they intercepted 2 passes from Joey Harrington and returned them for TDs!  DT Kevin Williams was solid inside with 4 tackles and he also intercepted a pass and returned it 54 yards for a TD.  CB Antoine Winfield also had a solid game with 6 tackles and an interception that he returned 14 yards for a TD.  LBs Chad Greenway (10 tackles) and E.J. Henderson (8 tackles, 2 sacks) were also outstanding against the Falcons.  The Vikings held the Falcons to 96 yards rushing on 28 carries (3.4 ypc).  The Falcons also completed 23 of 32 passes for 169 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270909016