Archive for the ‘Minnesota’ Category

Tarvaris Jackson’s progress in Minnesota

Wednesday, July 25th, 2007

Second year Minnesota quarterback Tarvaris Jackson apparently has a unique ability to wrap his head and his mouth around the very complex west coast offense he’s been in under head coach Brad Childress.

“Sometimes we have calls that are 15 or 16 words long in the huddle,” Rogers said. “When he got here last year, during his rookie minicamp, he was able to spit them out almost immediately. He put it all together pretty quickly. Now, you just give him a play and he can give you a formation for every occasion. That was probably the most pleasant surprise I had with him: how bright he is.”

As the article points out, now it comes down to decision making with the young quarterback. He can obviously get the team in and out of the huddle, but the Vikes need Jackson to protect the football better than he did in his two starts as a rookie last season.

NFL | 2006 | Week 10 - Minnesota Vikings

Thursday, November 16th, 2006

17-23 vs GB

The Vikings have proven they are one of the best run stopping teams in the league. Pat and Kevin Williams inside are monsters. If you get a chance to watch Minnesota play, keep an eye on what #94 does inside there. He is the cog that makes this defense as good as it is. That said, there are all kinds of problems with this defense, their secondary, and their unhappiness with the production of the offense.

Brad Johnson is turning the ball over an uncharacteristically high amount of times. He started 9 games last year and ended up with just 4 INTs on the season. This year, after nine game, Johnson has thrown 9 INTs and has fumbled 8 times, losing for of them.

I linked on Monday the note about Troy Williamson’s decline in Minnesota. It looks like Billy McMullen, a former Eagle with Brad Childress, has stepped into a key role for the Vikings. McMullen is a tall, lanky, 4 year NFL veteran who has proven to be a reliable option for the WR-starved Vikings. He’s a stop gap, but will probably get looks as long as Marcus Robinson is injured - maybe even after the way he’s playing. Bethel Johnson is also making some big plays with his time on the field. Johnson returned the second half kickoff for a touchdown, but it was called back on an illegal block penalty. He’s got such elite speed, the Vikings are finding ways to use him. And he hasn’t drop as many passes as Williamson has.

On 2nd and 7, late in the third quarter, Brad Johnson completed a pass to McMullen just short of the first down. So on third and one, the Vikings come out with a bunch-left formation and Williamson ends up wide open for the first down. But he read the zone late and moved out of his area at the last moment, leading to Johnson throwing the pass behind Williamson and incomplete. It was the first possession after the Packers went up 20-14 and the Vikings ended up having to punt. Somehow, I think McMullen runs that route properly and makes that catch.

2006 | Week 2 - Minnesota Vikings

Thursday, September 21st, 2006

16-13 vs CAR

Targets stats only this week.

CATCHES / TARGETS:
Williamson - 6/7
Taylor - 3/7
Moore - 3/4
Wiggins - 2/4
Taylor - 3/3
Robinson - 0/3
McMullen - 1/1
Owens - 1/1
Kleinsasser - 1/1

Week 12 - Minnesota Vikings

Tuesday, November 29th, 2005

24-12 vs Cleveland

I’m really interested in this report about Antoine Winfield’s comments following the Vikings’ loss to Carolina. Minnesota’s offense since then has been very much the system I thought they’d show this entire 2005 season. I don’t know if it’s a lack of trust in Daunte Culpepper, or perhaps an overconfidence in him, but the Vikings’ coaches have finally put together an offensive and defensive philosophy that can win games. They surprised me by winning two in row on the road a couple weeks ago and in this game against the Browns, they played solid football for 60 minutes. There are still holes here, the Oline isn’t the force it once was and Brad Johnson’s accuracy beyond 30 yards in very poor, but for the first time in at least 5 seasons, the Vikings have a team that can win a close, hard fought game. They stop the run, have a balanced offense, and usually benefit from good field position with an new found aggressiveness on defense and an excellent kick return unit.

TARGETS(catches):
Taylor- 7(5)
Wiggins- 7(5)
KRobinson- 6(4)
MRobinson- 3(3)
Moore- 3(2)
Burleson- 2(0)

Thursday Football (II)

Thursday, November 10th, 2005

Detroit - Minnesota | Houston - Jacksonville

Detroit Lions:
Minnesota has been solid against the run lately, so the 58 yards Detroit gained in this game was a combination of them losing Kevin Jones, their offensive line struggling, and Minnesota stopping them. That said, having Arizona come into Ford Field this week may be the best thing the Lions could get. Things were so bad in week nine that Joey Harrington was the team’s leading rusher.

The only thing good I can say about the Lions at the mid-way point is at least they’re not taking a lot of penalties. After their week 10 game against the Cardinals, there is a very good chance the Lions will not win another game this season.
TARGETS(catches):
Vines- 15(9)
MWilliams- 9(4)
Pollard- 7(4)
Bryson- 6(6)
Pinner- 3(2)
Schlesinger- 3(2)
Fitzsimmons- 1(0)
Jones- 1(1)


Minnesota Vikings:
It’s amazing what something as wild as running the ball, using a smart and controlled passing game, and a good run defense can do for a team. So not after losing Scott Linehan, not after losing Randy Moss, not after losing Matt Birk, but finally, after losing Daunte Culpepper, the Vikings decided it was time they needed to change the way they call plays. What took you so long?

Brad Johnson makes this a better team simply because he gives them a different identity; one I’ve been saying they’ve needed since the season opening loss to Tampa Bay. Johnson uses his short and intermediate routes better than Culpepper and the former Super Bowl champ gets the ball out of his hands quickly. And the Vikings are 1-0 with him as a starter.

Holy cow Michael Bennett was fired up to play this game. I haven’t seen him run like that in years. I won’t get too excited, however, because Bennett is still a guy who’s going to lose two yards on every third carry.

Nate Burleson looks healthy again and he made a nice effort on his touchdown catch.

As for the mid-season stats, throw them out. I’m looking for this team to redefine itself. They have to. Or they’ll be gone.
TARGETS(catches):
Williamson- 6(3)
Taylor- 4(4)
Burleson- 3(2)
MRobinson- 2(1)
KRobinson- 2(1)
Kleinsasser- 2(1)
Wiggins- 1(1)
Moore- 1(1)
Bennett- 1(1)



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Houston Texans:
Jonathan Wells showed in this game versatility than I thought he had. Wells was solid in all aspects of the game, but he did not excel in any. He’s still a stop gap. The Texans as a team used more short pass plays and quicker drops. The results weren’t great, but they were better. And right now for Houston, that’s the best they can do.

The Texans rank in the bottom third of the league in nearly every statistical category on both offense and defense. In fact, the only thing they are doing well right after eight games in returning and covering kicks.
TARGETS(catches):
Johnson- 11(9)
Bradford- 7(5)
Wells- 5(5)
Morency- 3(1)
Gaffney- 2(1)
Armstrong- 1(1)
Rivers- 1(0)


Jacksonville Jaguars:
With Fred Taylor out again, I am pleasantly surprised to see that Jacksonsville is giving Greg Jones a majority of the team’s carries. I like Jones and I don’t think the move to fullback was the best idea for him. Jones can really move for a guy that big and strong; as he showed on his game-winning 12 yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter against Houston. The Jags put in Alvin Pearman on passing downs, and he does a good job there too. Pearman could probably produce on every down, but putting with a guy like Jones back there makes opposing teams take notice of his presence on the field.

While Jimmy Smith was missing for the first three quarters, Ernest Wilford continued to impress. He’s easily the #2 receiver on this team now and ever since the Jags came off their bye week two games ago, Wilford has received the more passes than any other Jaguar.

Jacksonville’s offense isn’t putting up any stats that are better than they were last year, but new offensive coordinator Carl Smith is doing a good job of drawing up clever plays when he needs them. The Jags have gotten points in every one of their 16 trips to the red zone this year, and they are tied for 5th in the league in red zone TD percentage (62.5%). On third downs, the Jacksonville is ranked 10th. Defensively, the Jags are around the top 5 in every category except against the run. They are 24th in rushing yards per game and 22nd in rushing yards per attempt. That is a concern.
TARGETS(catches):
Wilford- 7(4)
Smith- 5(4)
Pearman- 5(5)
MJones- 4(3)
Wrighster- 2(1)
Taylor- 2(2)

Wednesday Football

Wednesday, October 26th, 2005

Watching a lot of hockey and game four of the series tonight, so only two games to add this evening:

Buffalo Bills
Here’s what the Bills have done on their opening drives this season:
10 plays, 65 yards, FG
3 plays, 5 yards, punt
13 plays, 50 yards, FG
10 plays, 75 yards, TD
8 plays, 67 yards, TD
10 plays, 60 yards, TD
14 plays, 77 yards, TD

Okay, so Buffalo has scored 112 total points this year, 34 of them (30%) have come on their opening drives. An interesting stat, and one that probably means that the Bills offense is a well prepared group that doesn’t execute as well as they are coached to.

Buffalo’s coaches did made a key mistake in this game, and one that too many teams still do too often. Down by 14 with plenty of time left in the third quarter, the Bills came out trying to throw the ball on every down and they ended up falling further into a hole. Why do teams panic so much with their play calling when there is so much time left?

I remember the playoff game that Kelly Holcomb played against Pittsburgh a couple of years ago. He was more of a gunslinger back then, but with the Bills now, it’s like they’ve asked him to be just a game manager and it’s not suiting him.
TARGETS(catches):
Moulds- 6(4)
Evans- 5(3)
Reed- 4(4)
campbell- 3(2)
McGahee- 3(3)
Smith- 2(1)
Williams- 1(1)
Shelton- 1(1)

Oakland Raiders
Having an injured Randy Moss may be the best thing to happen to this offense all year. Turner used to be the kind of coach that would run his RB into the ground, but Jordan hasn’t been getting consistent carries this season. Hopefully, they’ve realized that Lamont is a 25-30 carry guy who can also carry a team.

It looked like Moss was used mostly near the 30 yard line and in- much like how he was played last year when he had that ankle problem.

To start this game, the Raiders defensive line went back to standing straight up on the snap of the ball. They certainly do take a lot of plays off. And they definitely took the whole first series off. Oakland did have a nice goalline stand halfway through the second quarter, but I attribute that more on the Bills calling two awful goalline plays on thrid and fourth down. They seem to be able to play good D when they want to, but now that they’ve lost SS Gibson and FS/CB Woodson, their young secondary will surely be tested. Oakland does not have a good pass rush to help either.
TARGETS(catches):
Gabriel- 7(5)
Moss- 6(3)
Porter- 6(4)
Jordan- 4(4)
Foschi- 2(2)
Whitted- 1(0)
Crockett- 1(1)



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Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings’ offense was so bad in the first half, the best play they ran was the hail mary on the last play. The only thing they are doing well right now is completing the short stuff, but they’re not doing nearly enough of that. The running game is going well enough to keep them balanced, if they had a passing attack. The Vikings just have to learn to be more patient and finish their drives for touchdowns. It looks like Troy Williamson is getting to do more on offense and he’s doing a great job at returning kicks.

It’s almost like Michael Bennett has a polar force attracting him consistently into the nearest defensive lineman.

Minnesota’s defense is finally improving. They came out fired up after halftime and held GB to just 3 points. Pat Williams was a force for all 60 minutes.
TARGETS(catches):
Wiggins- 7(6)
Moore- 6(4)
MRobinson- 5(3)
Taylor- 3(3)
Burleson- 3(3)
Williamson- 2(1)
KRobinson- 2(2)
Kleinsasser- 2(1)

Green Bay Packers
This team had just no rhythm in the second half. Losing Green and Ferguson definitely hurt them. But they did put something together to tie the game 20-20 inside two minutes. Still, down to their third RB and fourth WR, things are not getting any better in Green Bay.

Robert Ferguson’s injury was a turf casualty. This new rubber stuff still doesn’t give enough and Ferguson hyperextended his knee by just landing on his left leg while it was extended.

I wouldn’t expect much from Tony Fisher. Antonio Chatman, however, will benefit from the increase in playing time.
TARGETS(catches):
Driver- 11(8)
Chatman- 7(5)
Martin- 3(2)
Franks- 3(3)
Lee- 3(3)
Green- 3(2)
Ferguson- 2(2)
Henderson- 2(2)
Fisher- 2(2)

Thursday Football

Thursday, October 20th, 2005

The Week 7 Mirl Picks are out. I have a feeling that Houston pick from last week is going to cost me big time.

I’d like to also call out all these people who keep picking double digit favorites as their best bets. Guys, try picking someone besides the Colts and/or whoever is playing the Texans/49ers. So far this year, I’ve gone with KC, PIT, IND, JAX (loser), GB, and CAR as my best bets. And this week I reluctantly like Atlanta at home on Monday night (I’d rather pick a team that wasn’t such a favorite, but I’m still the lone Atlanta best better- not all the picks have been posted yet though). I was tempted to go with the Steelers, but Ben Burger’s health left me with some doubt. That’s going to be one heck of a game.

Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons need to be worried about their run defense. Maybe they’re missing Hartwell’s presence in the middle, but for the second week in a row they were gashed by an opponents’ ground game. Lucky for them, they get to face a banged up Jets team this week on Monday night before going into their bye week. Were it not for their fantastic special teams, the Falcons would have probably been blown out in this game.
TARGETS(catches):
Crumpler- 7(4)
DWhite- 4(0)
Jenkins- 3(2)
Dunn- 2(2)
Griffith- 2(2)
Finneran- 1(0)
RWhite- 1(1)
Blakley- 1(0)
Duckett- 1(0)

New Orleans Saints
The Saints always seem to play the Falcons tough and they also seem to playing well in their adopted home of San Antonio.

I didn’t get a chance to mention last week my thoughts about the McAllister injury. But as I wrote here in the Swamp the day after Duece’s injury, the Saints have two decent runners in Stecker and Smith, but more importantly, McAllister wasn’t really tearing things up anyhow. To me he looked a step or two slow in the Saints’ first three games, then improved a little in week four against Buffalo, only to then fell apart in Green Bay. And as this game against Atlanta showed, New Orleans probably isn’t going to miss McAllister too much this year. It’s kind of like they were already missing him.

The Saints do need to get Joe Horn back and 100%. He’s a guy they can’t afford to keep missing.
TARGETS(catches):
Hakim- 9(6)
Stallworth- 8(7)
Henderson- 8(4)
Stecker- 3(2)
Horn- 1(0)
Poole- 1(1)
Hilton- 1(1)
Karney- 1(1)



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Minnesota Vikings
How did this game get so out of hand? The Bears had 31 total yards of offense in the first quarter and the score was tied 0-0 with the Vikings driving into Chicago territory. The Vikes had already botched one field goal attempt when Edinger shanked a 52 yard try to start the second quarter. Minnesota then recovered a Bears’ fumble at mid-field, drive the ball down to the 2 yard line, and then had to kick a 23 yard field goal. After surrendering 28 unanswered points, nothing that happened during their bye week kept them from sucking.

The Vikings began three of their first eight drives at the 50 yard line and all they did with the ball was find different ways to not score. Looking back, I don’t know why I picked them to win this week against Green Bay.

Jerome Wiggins is essentially a wide receiver who was asked a long time ago to weigh 30 pounds more than he ever should.
TARGETS(catches):
Wiggins- 15(10)
Williamson- 12(4)
Moore- 9(5)
MRobinson- 6(4)
Taylor- 4(2)
KRobinson- 1(1)
Kleinsasser- 1(0)
Williams- 1(0)

Chicago Bears
The Bears didn’t do anything on offense in the first half until Bobby Wade set them up at mid-field with a 49 yard punt return. Chicago ended up leading 7-3 at the half, even though they could have easily been down 21-7. They have played so much better at home over the last few years, probably because they are eternally led by some kind of young quarterback. Orton again played well enough to keep the Bears in the game, but as I mentioned above, Minnesota had plenty of chances to take a commanding lead. This game was only 14-3 going into the fourth quarter. Yet still I picked them to win this week because they host a team that is almost a mirror image of themselves (Ravens). Key on the word ‘host.’
TARGETS(catches):
Muhammad- 12(5)
Clark- 4(4)
Bradley- 3(1)
Edwards- 2(2)
Wade- 1(1)
Reid- 1(1)
TJones- 1(1)
Peterson- 1(1)



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Carolina Panthers
Ugly, lucky, and with a bye this week.
TARGETS(catches):
Smith- 9(6)
Proehl- 9(5)
Gardner- 5(4)
Colbert- 3(3)
Goings- 3(2)
Mangum- 1(0)
Seidman- 1(0)
Robertson- 1(0)

Detroit Lions
The Lions defense played aggressive and fast in this game. They deserved a better fate but when it came down to it they were responsible for keeping Carolina out of the end zone on the game’s final drive and they couldn’t come through.

The Lions have a good chance to defeat each of their next four opponents; starting this week in Cleveland. With the defense playing as well as they are, a change at quarterback may be all they need to kick start a 4-0 run. And it is indeed time for a change. Harrington just is not a play maker at the position and that Garcia is. After facing the Browns this week, the Lions are at home against the Bears, then at Minnesota, and home vs the Cardinals. They need to be 6-3 when facing Atlanta in week 11, cause they also still have the Steelers and the Bengals on their schedule.
TARGETS(catches):
KJohnson- 6(4)
Pollard- 5(3)
KJones- 3(2)
Martinez- 3(0)
MWilliams- 2(0) Vines- 2(1)
Fitzsimmons- 2(1)
Bryson- 2(2)
Pinner- 2(1)
Smith- 1(1)



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New York Giants
The Giants were a +3 in turnovers during the first half but they were held to a total of just 6 points because they could not contain a strong Dallas pass rush.

I have no doubt that the sun/shade spots on the field- caused by the late start time- causes problems for both passing games. There were numerous occasions where receivers could not track the ball in or out of the sun/shawows. Plaxico Burress in particular had noticeable trouble picking up the football.

The Giants host Denver this week, and NY has scored 42 and 44 points at home so far this year. Their struggles on offense against Dallas began and ended with their inability to give Manning time to throw. Eli did improve in the fourth quarter by looking more for the underneath passess and towards Shockey.

I wouldn’t completely blame Brandon Jacobs for his late goal line fumble. Derrick Ward served as Tiki Barber’s running back for all of the game until that play just inside two minutes. Why would the Giants’ coaches put a guy in a position like that who’s been standing on the sidelines for the last three hours. TARGETS(catches):
Burress- 11(5)
Shockey- 10(5)
Toomer- 3(2)
Carter- 3(1)
Barber- 1(1)

Dallas Cowboys:
With Julius Jones sitting out, the Giants had little reason to fear the Cowboys running game going into this match and Dallas did very little to change New York’s mind. Despite being one of the deepest teams in the NFL at the RB position, Dallas came out throwing and did little to establish a rhythm or balance on offense. If Jones misses more time, Tyson Thompson is really the teams best run option on first and second downs, with Barber coming on a third down.

This was a real sloppy game on both sides; one that featured 8 turnovers. Through the end of regulation time, Dallas held the ball for 36:59, compared to NY’s 23:01.
TARGETS(catches):
Johnson- 14(8)
Glenn- 8(6)
Witten- 5(5)
Crayton- 4(4)
Barber- 3(2)
Campbell- 1(1)
Thomas- 1(0)



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Houston Texans:
I really did think the Texans had a chance here. They ran the ball well against the Titans last week and Seattle has a tough time getting pressure on the quarterback with just their front four. With Engram and Jackson still out, and following a big win against the Rams, I really thought this was a game that Seattle might sleep on. I guess not, and I guess the Texans are destined for one of those awful 1-15 type seasons. Good thing they get to face the Colts this week.
TARGETS(catches):
Gaffney- 13(10)
Bradford- 9(4)
Davis- 3(2)
Wells- 2(1)
Armstrong- 1(1)
Rivers- 1(1)

Seattle Seahawks:
How many touchdowns does Shaun Alexander have in prime time now? TARGETS(catches):
Jurevicius- 5(3)
Warrick- 5(3)
Strong- 4(3)
Urban- 2(2)
Stevens- 2(2)
Alexander- 2(1)



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Three more games to cover tomorrow or Saturday morning.

Wednesday Football

Wednesday, October 5th, 2005

A friend of the Beach, DVR, pointed me to a couple of places that offer free target stats (one and two). Thanks for that.

STL- The Rams came out throwing and never stopped. Of the 10 carries Steven Jackson did get, most were designed draws or delays, He was used, however, inside the red zone a total of 4 times and giving him 11 on the season. The Giants defense played a lot of the game with their corners 10 yards off the line and St Louis threw a lot of quick stops and slants to take advantage. New York’s secondary has a lot of injuries and they seemed resigned to give those plays to the Rams. So yes, Marc Bulger threw 62 times but in Martz’s partial defense, the Giants were really giving him 4 free yards through the air on most downs.

St Louis has the kind of offense where they are vulnerable against opposing defenses who can provide pressure on the quarterback by just rushing their front four linemen. And the Giants did a good job in this game of doing just that.

At half time, the Rams had 234 yards on offense and not a single one was gained on the ground (after accounting for yards lost by sacks). And while both the final score and the pace of the game were dominated by the Giants, St Louis really could have made this a game. Right before the half and down by 10, the Rams missed a 48 field goal. After the break, St Louis took the kickoff and drove 13 plays down to the six yard line before running some ridiculous reverse. Right there are 10 points they could have tied this game up with.

So despite throwing 62 times and only rushing 15, St Louis held the ball for 32:04 (compared to NYG’s 27:56). Yet it seemed that the more they threw, the more the Giants defense got comfortable defending against St Louis. All three of Bulger’s INTs came in the second half.

With Issac Bruce out, Dane Looker saw plenty of action as the fourth WR and played well. It was hard to tell if Kevin Curtis was the #2 WR out there or if it was Shaun McDonald. Most likely, they alternated. TARGETS(catches): Holt- 14(7), McDonald- 13(9), Looker- 11(8) ,Curtis- 7(6), Jackson- 8(5), Faulk- 5(3), Williams- 1(1), Hedgecock- 1(0), Robinson- 1(0).

NYG- I was very interested to see how Burress picked up his 10 catches and after watching the game, I was impressed. Burress was used on all kinds of patterns. He’s not just been someone Eli Manning can rely on, Burress has been a playmaker. Adam Archuleta misplayed the ball on Burress’ first touchdown, but it was Plaxico’s size that allowed him to shield off the Rams’ safety. Burress only made one catch in the second half. He was thrown to 6 times, catching one pass, having another called back on offensive interference, and then drawing defensive interference on another play. While it looked like the Rams were making an effort to contain Burress a little better in the second half, he still was made a few plays that didn’t show up in the box score. This was the second straight shootout the Giants have been in. If they ever get this defense sorted out, New York is going to make some big time noise.

Amani Toomer took in a red zone score, and Jeremy Shockey beat Archuleta in single coverage for his 31 yard TD. Burress picked up 4 RZ looks, but Barber was the team leader with 8. TARGETS(catches): Burress- 17(10), Shockey 10(4), Barber- 4(2), Toomer- 3(3), Shiancoe- 1

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BUF- The Bills came out and put together a decent enough touchdown drive to start the game. They went 75 yards on 10 plays. McGahee ran well and Losman did his best Michael Vick impression and the Bills were up 7-0. For the rest of the game, Buffalo gained a total of 101 yards. Losman continues to look terrible. He’s showed little rhythm in making his reads, missing throws everywhere, and he runs running out of the pocket at the first sign of pressure- and sometimes even when there is no pressure.

Losman’s first INT was another case of him having just absolutely zero feel for his deep throws. Like I mentioned last week, J.P. just sort of wings it out there hoping his guy runs under it. It didn’t help that Buffalo faced third and long all game. After that opening drive, the Saints defense would put 8 in the box on first down, play base on second, and then blitz on third. McGahee had just 50 yards after the first drive, and the Saints just let Losman do the rest.

Still, down by just three, Ryan Lindell missed a 45 yard field goal with less than two minutes left in the half. The Saints took the ball and kicked a field goal on their own. And with just seconds remaining, Terrance McGee returned the kickoff 82 exciting yards all the way to the four yard line just before tripped and fell with time expired.

Kelly Holcomb came in a couple of minutes into the 4th quarter but it didn’t do anything to help the Bills. I don’t think there should be a QB controversy here. Losman hasn’t shown much, and Buffalo needs to find out if this guy is their future. Their defense is soft without Pat Williams and now Takeo Spikes and their season is over. So they might as well find out what they have with Losman. TARGETS(catches): Moulds- 6(2), Evans- 3(2), Smith- 3(0), McGahee -3(2), Shelton- 2(0), Reed- 1(1), Williams- 1(1), Campbell- 1(0), Neufield- 1(0)

NO- Aaron Brooks played a real smart game against Buffalo. He ran with the ball when it helped the team, and stayed in the pocket at times when he needed to. The Saints had zero turnovers, and Brooks was in control of the offense for the entire game. Donte Stallworth had a big game, but I don’t think he can be the team’s #1 guy for the long run. Stallworth is a perimeter guy and while he did catch a couple of balls over the middle, he was wide open for both against spread out zone coverage. Duece McAllister looked much better than he did last week, carrying the ball 27 times. He also got 9 red zone chances.

A good home crowd really helped here too. The Bills picked up multiple penalties aided on by the noise. With 11:14 left in a 7-13 game, the Saints defense stopped Buffalo on third and 1 and again on fourth and 1 at midfield. But with 5 minutes left in the 4th when the Saints had a chance to put the game away, they had to settle instead for a 20 yard field goal. The New Orleans defense played well and with McAllister had his best runs of the game on the team’s last drive. TARGETS(catches): Stallworth- 11(8), Henderson- 3(1), Conwell- 3(1), McAllister- 3(2), Karney- 1(1), Smith- 1(1), Hall- 1(1)

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MIN- Not much to say here. Minnesota did the same thing last week but this time they were playing a much better defense. When you look at these numbers, consider that the first catch made by a WR came almost five minutes into the second half. The Vikings have a bye this week. Troy Williamson has 7 catches and 2 TDs over the last two games. TARGETS(catches): Taylor- 8(5), Moore- 8(6), Williamson- 5(4), Robinson- 4(1), Wiggins- 3(3), Kleinsasser- 2(2), Bennett- 2(2)

ATL- Up 7-0, with third down and 9 to go from the Vikings’ 25 yard line, the Falcons ran Dunn on a shotgun draw. Dunn took the exchange but then fumbled as he stiffed armed past a lineman. He had so much room around him, however, that he was able to calmly gather the football and run just enough of the nine yards he needed to get the first down. And that pretty much summed up the rest of the game Atlanta had against the Vikings. The Falcons just showed up, ran their offense and went home with a victory. This game looked like the equivalent of a starting pitcher throwing a complete game by just throwing his fastaball the entire time.

I’m sure Vick would have played more had this game been a real contest. Also, Dunn’s 36 yard touchdown run was just sick. The Vikings brought a blitz on first down into the right side of the Falcons’ offense (and the wrong side if you’re playing against Michael Vick). The play had Dunn running to the left, so already he had three Vikings beaten. He got into the second level easily and then undressed Corey Chavous with a double move 10 yards away from the line of scrimmage. Good down field blocking by his receivers allowed Dunn enough room to just squeeze into the end zone. TARGETS(catches): Crumpler- 8(3), Finneran- 5(3), White- 4(2), Jenkins- 1(1), Griffith- 1(0), Dunn- 1(1), Blakely- 1(1)

Thursday Football

Thursday, September 29th, 2005

NO- This game was a battle of quarterbacks who don’t know how to throw the ball on time. Devery Henderson took advantage of the Vikings’ lack of depth at corner for 6 catches on 7 targets and 137 yards. Joe Horn had a hard time against Antoine Winfield. Horn had just 1 catch on 6 targets. Donte Stallworth was covered up pretty well too. He didn’t catch any one of the four passes thrown his way. Stallworth did have a punt return TD called back on an illegal block. Ernie Conwell is still the most consistent receiver on this team. Aaron Brooks clearly trusts his tight end. Conwell picked up 8 more targets, but he dropped a few and ended up with just 3 catches. Also, Duece McCallister doesn’t look as quick as I remember him being.

MIN- Don’t be fooled. The Vikings are not back yet. Daunte Culpepper is having problems in the pocket. He’s playing like a first year QB, at times running with the ball way too much and at other times holding on to it too long. And I don’t think it’s so much that he can’t read the defense during the play, but maybe he just doesn’t have confidence in either the offense’s design or his receivers or both. Bottom line, he’s not confortable. The Vikings need to give him more check down options. A couple times they used Mewelde Moore as a swing out option, like how Norv Turner does in Oakland, and they need to do more of that. Mewelde isn’t the best blocker anyhow, so they’re better off getting him to chip on someone before flaring out as a safety valve. With the way the Saints were turning the ball over in their own territory, if Minnesota’s offense was truly fixed, the Vikings would have made this game 28-0 after the first quarter.

What big plays Minnesota did have were just as much at the fault of the Saints as they were to the credit of the Vikings. Minnesota’s first and third touchdowns were simply a case of the receiver beating a corner in man coverage without much help from a safety. Dwight Smith, in particular, had a terrible day against the Vikings.

Still, there are some areas where a little optimism isn’t misguided. Moore looked like he can make a difference out there as this team’s featured back, as long as he can stay healthy. The OLine did a good job blocking for him and despite the seven sacks the stat book shows, they weren’t awful in pass protection. A lot of those should be put on Culpepper.

Also, the Vikings’ defense did a good job forcing the Saints into third and longs, and then brought a myriad of blitzes on third down.

With Atlanta coming up for the Vikes, I’m not too confident that this team has turned the corner on their problems. They easily left around 20 points on the field in week three. They also threw for just 30 yards in the second half, and this wasn’t a blow out either. At one point, the Saints were down by just 8.

As for the targets, Jermaine Wiggins led the team with 7, with Travis Taylor right behind him with 6. Troy Williamson did some good with the four passes thrown his way, but Marcus Robinson was a non-factor, except for one long play down the sideline that Dwight Smith left him wide open for. This team has too many perimeter receivers and will miss Nate Burleson dearly for as long as he’s out. And the bottom line is that Culpepper doesn’t have too much confidence in anyone right now. He’ll throw to them if they’re running free, as they were against the Saints. But against the Falcons, I think they’re going to continue to struggle.

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ARZ- Anquan Boldin led the team with 12 targets, and he has 30 on the year. Larry Fitzgerald had only 6 passes thrown his way, as he’s clearly the guy opposing defenses want to stop first. Adam Bergen is the starting TE for this team right now, but his chances have been limited. Marcell Ship had another good game running the ball, but his playing time was again limited. This game was 10-9 Seahawks at the half and then 24-9 Seahawks 5 minutes into the third and 31-12 Seahawks after three quarters. The Cardinals defense is very vulnerable up the middle and the only thing they do well (rush the passer) can be partially negated when they play a team like Seattle who uses mostly three and five step drops. Kurt Warner’s groin injury is a serious one, so look for Josh McCown to start more than just this week. I think the Cards are better off with him in there anyway. Arizona has been terrible inside their opponents thirty yard line this year.

SEA- As I mentioned above, Seattle’s strengths on offense really played well into Arizona’s problems on defense. Bobby Engram again had a fine game, catching 5 balls on 8 targets. Darrell Jackson was the team leader with 13, as Arizona played their DBs 10 yards off the line for much of the game. Jerramy Stevens getting chances as the lone TE threat. He picked up 3 catches on 4 targets (including one in the red zone to set up a Alexander TD). Seneca Wallace and Peter Warrick hooked up on a nice 42 yard pass play. It was the first ball thrown to Warrick all season. PDub did a nice job returning punts as well.

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KC- Tony Gonzalez had a tough time against the Broncos’ linebackers. He did get a season high 9 targets, but caught just 5 of them for a lowly 29 yards. As I expected, he is way behind last year’s pace. Eddie Kennison is still the receiver leader. He picked up 8 catches on 11 targets. The Chiefs tried to get the ball to Sammy Parker too. He got 9 passes, but caught just two of them. KC gets the Eagles at home this week.

DEN- With 17-0 first quarter lead, the Broncos ran the ball for much of the game. They are still a two WR team though, and Rod Smith led the team with 8 targets. After a couple of poor outings, the tight end has temporarily disappeared from this offense. Jeb Putzier did not get one pass his way and Stephen Alexander got only one. The Broncos’ schedule doesn’t get any easier on their short week. They travel to Jacksonville and I hope they saved some real good plays for the Jags. Actually, I’ll be picking against them. So I hope the didn’t.

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NYG- Depsite missing the first quarter, Plaxico Burress led the team in targets for the third straight week. He had 5 catches on 11 passes. David Tyree was active as well, with 5 catches on 6 targets. Amani Toomer had his biggest game of the year, with 8 targets, but clearly he’s Eli Manning’s third favorite receiver on this team. Jeremy Shockey went 6 for 9, but he didn’t get any red zone chances. Those went to back up Visanthe Shiancoe (two).

SD- The Chargers got back to doing what worked for them last year. Antonio Gates caught six more passes on six targets. And LT picked up 7 targets to go with his 21 carries and 1 pass attempt. Keenan McCardell saw his targets fall to just 4, but he made the most of them, catching each for a total of 80 yards and two scores.

Wednesday Football

Thursday, September 22nd, 2005

Well, the football guys locked the door to the targets stats they left open last week. Here’s the NFC notes:

ARZ- The Cards really struggled against a Rams defense they should have performed better against. Arizona failed to score a touchdown on four different drives inside the 30. Kurt Warner, despite throwing for 327 yards, had a tough time finding targets when it mattered most. After getting 15 throws in week one, Larry Fitzgerald only got 5 against the Rams. Anquan Boldin led the team with 9 in week two, including three looks inside the red zone. Poor Bryan Johnson has just 4 catches on 18 targets through two weeks.

Marcel Shipp had a solid game, but he was underused with just 12 carries. He did catch five of the six passes thrown his way. With J.J. Arrington struggling (he’s not a good fit for this offense), I’ve expected Shipp to take over the running duties for the Cardinals.

And just on a side note, there’s not a better home field kicker in the NFL right now than Neil Rackers.

ATL- Rising star Michael Jenkins had another strong game, he led the Falcons with 6 targets. But inside the twenty, Vick looked to Brian Finneran three times. Since there’s a good chance that Matt Schaub is starting this weekend against Buffalo, I expect Finneran to have another good week- especially if he gets matched up against the 5′9 Terrance McGee near the goalline.

CHI- Mushin Muhammad is going to led the way as long as he’s healthy, and the former Panther got 9 passes thrown to him on Sunday. But inside the 20, with a rookie QB, the Bears are a running team. On the season, Thomas Jones has 6 redzone carries and Cedric Benson has 1, while Orton has thrown just three passes (all against the Redskins).

DAL- Jason Witten picked up 6 targets on Monday night after just getting one pass thrown his way in week one. Terry Glenn was the Cowboys’ leader against Washington, with 9 targets, 6 catches, 157 yards (long of 70) and a score.

DET- Joey Harrington is still staring down his receivers and against the Bears, he focused on Roy Williams 13 times. Kevin Johnson tied Charles Rogers for second on the team with 9, and it looks like Harrington has a lot of confidence in Johnson- leaving rookie Mike Williams with very little playing time. Detroit threw the ball way to much against Chicago. What success they had last year, they did by running Kevin Jones 25-30 times and not the 8 he got in Chicago.

GB- With Javon Walker out, Terrance Murphy picked up 6 targets. Donald Driver was the team leader for the second week in a row, this time with 8. Also for the second week in a row, Favre threw to his backs heavily, giving them 13 passes (17 last week). Favre has thrown 44 passes in each of the first two games of the season. It’s going to be a long year. The Packers host 2-0 Tampa Bay this week.

MIN- Daunte Culpepper showed me a side of him I haven’t seen in years, as he threw 5 interceptions to the Bengals. Most of those came late in the game, and after they got down 14-0 early, I can only describe Culpepper as being on Tilt. I don’t know if he’s frustrated with the playcalling, but I sure would be. Losing Randy Moss didn’t have to be a big deal if the Vikings took the off-season to refocus their strategy towards the current strengths of the roster. That seems to have not happened. It’s like they’re still running the same exact offensive system.

Up until the very end of the third quarter, Minnesota’s plays were as unimaginative as they were unproductive. There were few or no slants, hitches, screens, draws, and traps called. Instead, it looked like: run, go deep, go deep, punt. But then towards the fourth quarter, things started to open up. The Vikings started throwing those shorter slants and quick hitches. They mixed in a few runs on pass looks, and they looked to exploit the first 15 yards from scrimmage more than the second. At home against the Saints this week, I expect this offense to finally produce.

That said, I just don’t see how Michael Bennett can be this team’s starting running back. He doesn’t catch the ball exceptionally well. He doesn’t run with exceptional power. He doesn’t really do anything really well except run fast. Bennett did start the Bengals game with a couple of great runs on the edge, but then he fumbled going up the middle and then fumbled again a few minutes later twice and it was all over from there for him and for Minnesota.

And I don’t know if Mewelde Moore is the answer for this season either. The Vikings really need more of a playmaker at that position They need someone like Lamont Jordan. So keep an eye on Ciatrick Fason.

Travis Taylor took in 12 targets against the Bengals, and he caught 7 of them. With Minnesota down 27-0 at halftime, rookie Troy Williamson got some action in the second half. He took in 2 passes on 4 targets.

NO- For as long Aaron Brooks in the Saints’ QB, Joe Horn is as steady a target as they come. After getting 13 targets on Monday night, Horn has had one game since the start of 2004 with fewer than 7 passes thrown his way. I’m also impressed with Donte Stallworth this year. He pulled in 8 passes on 12 targets against the Giants. For the year, Donte has 12 catched on 17 throws. For the second straight week, Ernie Conwell had two red zone targets and he has 10 anywhere targets on the season. Conwell is a big part of this offense.

NYG- Eli seems to really enjoy throwing to the 6′5 Plaxico Burress. After giving him 11 passes in week one, Manning threw 10 more Burress’ way on Monday night. But Burress has just 10 catches on those 21 targets so far this season. Jeremy Shockey went 5 for 6 and is now 7 for 8 on the year.

PHI- After relying to much on TO and BW last week (29 of McNabb’s 45 passes), with a big lead the Eagles were able to spread it around against the 49ers. Greg Lewis was clearly the #2 WR on Sunday, getting 7 targets over the entire game. Rookie Reggie Brown picked up 3, all in the second half. TO had 7, but the team leader LJ Smith broke out with 9 catches on 9 targets, 119 yards and a touchdown. Smith is still the only viable TE on this team and this kind of game won’t be out of the ordinary for the tight end. The Eagles’ offensive line did a real nice job protecting McNabb in the face of a very good SF pass rush.

SEA- Bobby Engram is still going strong, with 8 more targets on Sunday. Darrell Jackson was the team leader with 11, but Jerramy Stevens was again well featured, with 5 targets.

SF- Not much doing for the 49ers against Philly, but Arnez Battle is indeed the best receiver on this team. With 6 targets last week and 7 more this past Sunday, Battle has 9 catches on the year for 103 yards. Alex Smith did come in and run three plays before going off for a punt.

STL- Marc Bulger only had to throw 29 times against the Cardinals. Holt and Bruce are still the top pair, with Holt getting 7 targets and Bruce 8. Kevin Curtis has an ankle injury, and he was limited against Arizona, but he still got 4 passes. The Rams should look to strike through the air this week, as they host the Titans.

TB- With an early lead at home, the Bucs didn’t have to throw much. Joey Galloway’s numbers fell hard, with just 2 targets. Michael Clayton got 8, however, and with the 7 he got in week one, he’s Griese’s top threat.

WAS- Of course Santana Moss caught the two big ones, but he also pulled in three other of the 7 total passes thrown his way against Dallas. David Patten got 5 targets, but the production just hasn’t been there so far. There were no trips to the red zone this week, but Robert Royal still got 4 passes thrown to him and Chris Cooley got 3.

AFC and Carolina tomorrow.