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Coming off of two straight victories, the Vikings head to Chicago to take on a tough Bears team. This match up could go in a few different directions.
If the Vikings want to have any chance at winning, their run defense, which is usually sterling, needs to be at its best. Last week, against a pretty bad Detroit offense, the Vikings allowed 100 yards on 22 carries, or 4.5 yards per carry. This stat is somewhat misleading because 50 of those yards came on one carry, when Kevin Smith broke through.
If the Vikings can keep Matt Forte out of this game, and continue to get a solid pass rush from Kevin Williams and Jared Allen, they should have no issues on defense.
The offense is a whole different ball game.
The passing game has been much improved since Gus Frerotte took over for Tarvaris Jackson at QB, but it is still an inexact science. Frerotte has been able to find Bernard Berrian for some key plays, having Berrian receive for over 100 yards in each of the last two games.
Unfortunately, an average Gus Frerotte game will not suffice against Chicago's secondary, especially if the running game is being shut down.
The running game needs to be what it was last season. Adrian Peterson rushed for over 100 yards again last week, but seldom was able to find holes and explode into the open field. Something tells me that Peterson is still being nagged by his ankle injury, but is too proud to speak up.
If the Vikings struggle to run the ball, it may be time for Chester Taylor to get the carries he got last season. Giving Peterson a ton of carries isn't going to help them in the short-term or the long-term. Taylor was a viable option last season and needs to be a bigger part of the Vikings' offense than he has been thus far. If the Vikings can successfully run the football the way they did last season, the passing game will open up and it will be smooth sailing.
The facts are the facts. The Vikings need to win this game to stay in the race for the division. They are extremely lucky to not only be 3-3, but extremely lucky to be tied for the division lead.
Last week, they should have murdered the Lions. If not for a rookie QB running out of the end zone and an albeit awful passing interference call in the fourth quarter, the Vikings are 2-4 and prime-time losers.
Brad Childress needs to blank out all the harsh commentary and focus on the little things that will enable the Vikings to win football games.
The first thing that needs addressing is the penalty issue. There is absolutely no reason why a professional football team should have an issue with penalties, especially false starts. Messing up a snap count is like forgetting your middle name; it just should not happen.
The other thing is the secondary. They looked a little bit better last week, but part of that is because they were dealing with a rookie QB and young, inexperienced wide outs.
All in all, the Vikings need a whole basket full of things to go right to win this game. A lot of people, or at least one person's job depends on it.
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