Make or Break...in Week THREE?!

We’re two weeks in to the 2011 NFL season and the Vikings are already facing their “make or break” game of the season. Let’s not pretend that an 0-3 Vikings team (especially this Vikings team) will be able to recover from a loss on Sunday. What makes it worse: The Detroit Lions would be 3-0…THE…DETROIT…LIONS. If that’s not alarming enough, the Vikings have some pretty big issues to figure out if they plan on sniffing eight wins this year.

I’m not going to sit here and write about all the negatives because it’s only week three. But one thing that is driving me crazy, is how everyone thinks we should be some “pass happy” team because the league is shifting that way. That’s crap. Why? Because the Jets, Ravens, Steelers, Falcons, Giants and Texans (to name a few)…don’t “air it out”. Sure, they have better weapons than we do…but they all rely on establishing the run. Running the EFFECTIVELY creates better chances at controlling the game and limiting turnovers. It also limits offenses to forcing the ball to try and get first downs. Therein lies the problem…

The Vikings don’t have any play makers on offense outside of Adrian Peterson. Percy Harvin you say? No…he’s not a monster threat unless he has a compliment number one receiver lining up on the other side of the field. He’s a great possession receiver, he’s tough as nails…and I love that. But he’s not going to catch 10 balls a game, not even if Peyton Manning was our quarterback.

This offense got thrown together and is still being “Childressed out”. The garbage is being disposed of and Fraizer’s gang is trying to mold this thing in to a respectable system. It won’t happen overnight…and it clearly won’t happen in two weeks. Remember how sloppy the Vikings offense was when Favre came in? We were lucky to be playing Cleveland, Detroit and San Francisco that year. San Diego is tough, Tampa Bay is beatable and even Detroit is beatable (the Lions haven’t beaten anyone spectacular this year). The Vikings should be 2-0...or 1-1 at the very least. We have an easy schedule this whole season outside of our division. Do I expect us to win 10 games? No…but I think we’ll be in more games than people think.

I’d like to address the Ponder vs McNabb topic: No. The answer is easy…no way. There is NO reason to play Ponder when you have a McNabb. Ponder won’t win us any more games than McNabb…simple as that. Now, if it’s week 8 and the Vikings are 2-6, then it’s a different discussion. The final 8 games would be plenty of work for Ponder to get a taste of the NFL.  For now…we need to sit back and see if Fraizer can steer this thing in the right direction…he deserves more than two weeks before people jump off the ship!

Until the Lions beat the Vikings at the Metrodome, they’re still the Lions to me. Do I think that will happen this week? Possibly…but Kevin William’s return and some adjustments to the offense will make this game a lot closer than people think.

Vikings win 27-26

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