Evaluating Lindsey's Vikings Predictions and Making More

The prediction was that Shiancoe would be named to the Pro Bowl as his touchdowns, receiving yards and catches would dramatically improve this season.

In 2008, Shiancoe had 42 catches, 596 receiving yards and scored 6 touchdowns.

While Shiancoe has already found the end zone 6 times matching his touchdown total from last year he has only 22 catches and 203 receiving yards.

Difficult to see Shiancoe’s number of catches and receiving yards dramatically increasing given the number of weapons on the Vikings offense and Brett Favre’s tendency to spread the wealth.

Shiancoe’s competition for Hawaii is also very strong. Brent Celek of Philadelphia is having a great year (37 catches, 447 yards and 3 TDs). Jeremy Shockey, New Orleans (31 catches, 376 yards and 3 TDs), and Tony Gonzalez (33 catches, 393 yards and 3 TDs) are also having solid seasons.

Three solid candidates before you consider last year’s Pro Bowl players Jason Witten and Chris Cooley who also are both having solid seasons.

Shiancoe however will stay in the mix as a Pro Bowl candidate if he scores 4 more touchdowns and the Vikings finish the season with the best or second best record in the NFL regardless of his other numbers.

Both are likely given that Shiancoe is a great option in the red zone and the Vikings have a favorable schedule.

While, Shiancoe is not a lock for the Pro Bowl as the competition is fierce he is definitely having a season worthy of serious consideration.

The preseason prediction wat that Brett Favre would turn in his gun-slinging holster.

The rationale was that Favre playing for the Vikings this year would experience déjà vu and recall that when he won a Super Bowl with Reggie White and crew that he did not have to win the game all by himself.

Favre would limit his passing attempts and not pass more than 40 times in a game and that he would use short passes to move the chains.

Favre has indeed found “religion” and is no longer a gunslinger.

Favre has primarily relied on a steady diet of short passes this season in leading the Vikings to a 7-1 record. The deep ball has been used intelligently when defenses have given the offense good situations to go for a knockout.

The recipe is clear, a well balanced attack with Peterson wearing down the opponent with runs while Favre patiently takes the passes made available by the defense leads to wins.

Favre is arguably having his best season with 16 touchdowns to only 3 interceptions and 1,925 passing yards.

Need further confirmation that less is more? Favre has thrown the ball more than 40 times twice season. Favre threw 46 passes in the miraculous last second win against San Francisco and tossed 50 passes in the loss against Pittsburgh.

Favre, much to the chagrin of his former teammates, recently called his current Viking teammates the best team that he has ever played on. Is that Déjà vu plus?

The preseason prediction wat that Brett Favre would turn in his gun-slinging holster. The rationale was that Favre playing for the Vikings this year would experience déjà vu and recall that when he won a Super Bowl with Reggie White and crew that he did not have to win the game all by himself. Favre would limit his passing attempts and not pass more than 40 times in a game and that he would use short passes to move the chains.

Favre has indeed found “religion” and is no longer a gunslinger.

Favre has primarily relied on a steady diet of short passes this season in leading the Vikings to a 7-1 record. The deep ball has been used intelligently when defenses have given the offense good situations to go for a knockout. The recipe is clear, a well balanced attack with Peterson wearing down the opponent with runs while Favre patiently takes the passes made available by the defense leads to wins.

Favre is arguably having his best season with 16 touchdowns to only 3 interceptions and 1,925 passing yards.

Need further confirmation that less is more? Favre has thrown the ball more than 40 times twice season. Favre threw 46 passes in the miraculous last second win against San Francisco and tossed 50 passes in the loss against Pittsburgh.

Favre, much to the chagrin of his former teammates, recently called his current Viking teammates the best team that he has ever played on. Is that Déjà vu plus?

The prediction was that Adrian Peterson would rush for more than 2,000 yards and that he would have at least one game in which he ran for more than 200 yards.

The rationale was that Peterson would ascend to the top of the running back world with a 2,000 yard season given the fuel provided by LaDanian Tomlinson that Peterson was not the top running back in the league.

Peterson would want to put an undeniable stamp on the game by joining the elite club of 2,000 yard runners.

Adrian is having his typical outstanding season running the ball rushing for 784 yards on 163 carries for a respectable 4.8 yards per carry average.

Peterson, however, will not rush for 2,000 yards as the Vikings are limiting the number of his carries.

Do you need proof? Let’s assume that Peterson gains 214 yards on 20 carries against Detroit in the first game after the bye week.

Peterson’s rushing average per carry would increase to 5.46 yards. Peterson would then need to maintain his 5.46 rushing average and then average carrying the ball 26 times a game for the rest of the season to reach 2,000 yards.

Peterson has not carried the ball 26 times once this season.

It is also safe to assume that the Vikings rest him at the end of season if they clinch the playoffs early which is a very real possibility. It is abundantly clear that Peterson will not get enough carries to reach 2000 yards.

Peterson however has raised the level of his game by improving his pass catching ability out of the backfield this season.

Compare Adrian’s 2008 statistics of 21 catches, 125 yards and a measly 6.0 yards per catch average with his 2009 statistics of 19 catches, 189 yards and 9.9 yards per catch average and the improvement is clear.

While Peterson will not rush for 2000 yards this season he has clearly taken another stop toward becoming one of the best to play the game as he has become more of a pass catching threat.

The prediction was that Defensive End Jared Allen would get 20 sacks this year. As a result, Vikings fans would adopt his trademark mullet hairstyle of business in the front and party in the back.

Allen has definitely stepped up his pass rushing game from last year. Allen had a very good season last year tallying 14.5 sacks in 2008.

Jared is ahead of his pace from last year in that he already has 10.5 sacks.

The schedule for Allen to get an additional 9.5 sacks before the end of the season is favorable.

The Vikings final eight games against the season are against the Lions, Seahawks, Bears (twice), Cardinals, Bengals, Panthers and Giants.

Allen for the rest of the season will therefore have a favorable match up on the line or he will be chasing a hobbled quarterback that he can run down.

Allen could get 20 sacks but he is going to need at least 3 games in which he gets multiple sacks.

Fortunately for Allen, the Vikings should get early leads in the first three games after the bye which will force opponents to pass often and allow him to target the opposing quarterback.

Allen’s chances of getting to 20 sacks would be assured however if he had a chance to face the Green Bay Packers two more times this season as Allen has collected 7.5 sacks on Aaron Rodgers.

Rumors are swirling in Eden Prairie that Allen is going to make Rodgers an honorary member of his Mullet Hair Club for Men.

Allen appears to get his motor running in rivalry games. The Vikings have two games left against the Bears. If Jay Cutler becomes the second honorary member of the Mullet Hair Club for Men, Allen will get 20 sacks.

The prediction was that the Vikings would win the NFC North because the Bears and Packers are not as deep as Minnesota.

The Vikings have all but eliminated Green Bay from the NFC North as they have a 2.5 game lead and hold the head-to-head tie breaker over the Packers having vanquished them twice this season.

Difficult to imagine Green Bay picking up 3 games on the Vikings given that Minnesota plays Detroit and Seattle right after the Vikings bye week.

The Lions are who I thought they were standing with only one win.

The Chicago Bears are therefore the lone remaining team standing in the way of the Vikings winning the NFC North as they can still beat the Vikings twice.

The Bears have a signature win this season when they beat the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers 17-14 in week 2. The Bears also destroyed the Cleveland Browns 30-6 last week.

Can the Bears take the division from the Vikings?

No. The win against the Steelers is tainted because of the absence of Troy Palmolu and the Browns win is tainted because well . . . they are the Browns.

While the Bears are not as bad as their 45-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals two weeks ago would suggest, they are much closer to that team than the team that beat the Steelers in week 2.

The Vikings eliminate the Bears from the title chase on November 29th in the Metrodome when they beat the Bears to up their record to 10-1.

The Bears with the loss to the Vikings will be at best 6-5 but most likely 5-6; the Bears have games against the Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles prior to their Nov. 29 game with Minnesota.

The NFL Rookie of the Year Award after eight weeks now appears to be a two player race between Wide Receiver Hakeem Nicks of the New York Giants and Percy Harvin.

Nicks has emerged as a real deep threat for the New York Giants. Nicks has already amassed 20 catches, 368 receiving yards and 18.4 yards per catch average. Nicks has also hauled in four touchdowns.

Nicks numbers however might decline as Giants QB Eli Manning struggles to get healthy and the Giants will face better pass defenses over the remainder of the season.

Harvin’s receiving numbers after 8 games: 28 catches, 369 receiving yards, 13.18 yards per catch average and three touchdowns are comparable to Nicks. Harvin will benefit from a healthy Favre as he appears to be a receiver the quarterback trusts on third down.

What separates Harvin from Nicks however is his value as a kick returner. Harvin has returned 28 kicks for 860 return yards, a 30.7 return average and two touchdowns. Both touchdowns were electrifying and highlighted how quick he is and how difficult it is to tackle him.

Coach Childress is in the third year of his five year contract with the Vikings.

After the Vikings got off to a 5-0 start, many commentators speculated whether ownership should sign Childress to a contract extension before the end of the season.

There are several good reasons to extend his contract. First, after Childress’ first year as coach, the Vikings have improved their win loss record in each subsequent year.

Second, the decisions by Childress to personally visit Favre to coax him into playing for the Vikings and aggressively pursue Jared Allen appear to be genius.

Finally, the Vikings have been consistent in their play and effort since Childress took over as coach.

The reason that Childress will not get a contract extension before the end of the season however is not directly related to what has or is occurring on the field.

Coach Childress will not get a contract extension because he is not popular among Viking fans/voters.

The Vikings are in the process of lining up their lobbying efforts with the Minnesota Legislature to secure a new stadium. If Childress is signed to an early contract extension, the positive early lobbying efforts of the team may be undermined.

Given the tenuous position to secure stadium financing, the Vikings are unlikely to jeopardize their initial efforts with the Legislature by signing Childress to an extension before the end of the season.

Of course, if the Vikings represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, Childress may not only get a contract extension but he will also likely get a raise as well.

Before the season began, Former Minnesota Viking Quarterback legend Fran Tarketon said about Favre's coming to the Vikings:

"I think it’s despicable. What he put the Packers through last year was not good. Here’s an organization that was loyal to him for 17, 18 years, provided stability of organization, provided players. It just wasn’t about Brett Favre. In this day and time, we have glorified the Brett Favre’s of the world so much, they think it’s about them.

"He goes to New York and bombs. He’s 39 years old. How would you like Ray Nitschke in his last year (playing for) the Vikings, or I retire, and go play for the Packers? I kind of hope it happens, so he can fail..."

Of course, once the Vikings started to win, Sir Francis was more forgiving. On Tarkenton's Oct. 6 blog entry he wrote,

"Brett Favre looked like a 21-year-old Brett Favre. He played an absolute great game. He made throws like I’ve never seen him make before. He’s got a great powerful arm and the ability to make all the throws. He made all the throws. He made great decisions. He played an absolute sensational game in the 30-23 victory over his old team, the Packers."

I expect at the end of the year that Tarkenton will be sending Favre "That's Incredible" memorabilia to make amends. Favre will likely reciprocate by sending some Wrangler jeans.

As long as Hollywood does not green light a movie about two old quarterbacks and their wacky off-field adventures we should all be ok.