Domination at The Dome Part Deux:The Purple Juggernaut Rolls On

So much for divisional games being tough huh?  For the second week in a row the Vikings started out a bit slow in the first quarter and the game looked like it might be a dog fight.  Turns out it just takes a quarter to get the juggernaut rolling.

Even going into halftime the game wasn't a blowout, it was just a 10 point advantage for the Vikes, 17-7.  After halftime however the Vikings came out and massacred the Bears like the real Vikings of old raiding a European city.  Seriously it was massacre, the only word to describe it.  Last week the Vikings held the Seahawks to 4 yards rushing and didn't let them get past the 50 yard line until deep into the third quarter.

This week we held the Bears to 12 plays for TWO YARDS in the second half.  Two yards?  That's a straight embarrassment for the Bears.  The Bears defense wilted faster than France going against the Nazi machine.  The Bears were held under 200 total yards and Jay Cutler threw two interceptions.  (By the way, from now on I am going to refer to any game in which a quarterback throws for multiple interceptions as "throwing a Cutler."  E.G. Man, Peyton Manning threw for 3 touchdowns and a Cutler yesterday.) 

Jared Allen got 2 more sacks to throw on his resume bringing his season total to 12.5.  The Vikings as a whole got 4 sacks and two interceptions.  It was great to see Jared Allen get in on the pick action.  Cedric Griffin made a great play in the second quarter to snatch an underthrown Jay Cutler pass out of the air.  I also actually witnessed with my own eyes the Vikings safeties making tackles.  That may be the most astonishing development to come out of yesterday.  Antoine Winfield was noticeably absent again by the way.  I think we are keeping him on ice until we need him, which we may need him next week against the Cardinals.  He kind of reminds me of Il Duce from the Boondock Saints.  He just kind of sits there until a situation gets out of hand and the mob calls on him again.

Now we need to address the offense.  For awhile there I thought I was back in 1998 again.  The offense was Explosive. (Notice the capital "E", yeah it was that serious)  We moved the ball essentially at will.  We put up 36 (should have been 37 if not for a botched extra point on our last touchdown) and we had 532 yards of offense.  Don't adjust your glasses, that was 532 yards of total offense.  That wasn't from Florida playing FIU either, that was the Vikings destroying the Bears.  You hear that scream?  That's sound of defensive coordinators having nightmares about putting together a gameplan to stop this Purple Juggernaut.  Brett Favre was 32 for 48 for 392 yards (just 10 short of a career high) for 3 more touchdowns.  That brings his season total to 24 compared to just 3 picks.  That's an 8 to 1 TD to INT rate by the way.  The record for one season is 6.3 to 1 set by Tom Brady in 2007 just to put Favre's performance thus far in perspective.  Favre didn't throw an interception in the month of November and leads the league in QB rating with a rating in excess of 112.  The Vikings held the ball for over 41 minutes.  The running combo of Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor (hey even Percy Harvin got in the mix) looked good as well. 

A few down spots showed up in this game however.  For one the penalty problem we've acquired recently needs to go away.  It is extremely frustrating to watch big plays called back because of an illegal shift change.  Why do we always get call for that?  Which brings me to another point, how come the refs are so nit picky this year?  It seems as though refs call everything these days.  What happened to letting the players play just a little bit?  There is nothing worse than watching a game full of zebras.  Also, yesterday was one of the worst called games I have watched in a while.  It was almost as bad as the Pittsburgh game.  I can't count how many times I saw a flag fly and Troy Aikmen ask why they threw it.  That "holding" call on Bernard Berrian was a simply atrocious call.  That "facemask" call against AP, yeah maybe that 60 year old referee should have looked closer and seen that AP got his face mask yanked too!

The second problem with yesterday is Adrian Peterson continues to be plagued by fumblitis.  In the interest of fairness I have to refer to any player with multiple fumbles in a game as "pulling an AP/AD/All Day."  It's only fair, and I am nothing if not fair.  I don't know what it is with Peterson but he needs to fix it quick.  I mean honestly we can't just continue to let AP skate by without consequence.  I mean how about if he fumbles sit him for a quarter or something.  I mean someone needs to try something new with him because he's fumbling way too much.

I would also prefer to see Favre not throw so much with his 40 year old shoulder.  I understand that the Bears were stacking the line to stop AP.  But did Favre really need to be in there halfway through the 4th?  It is awesome to watch him work though.  We've seen the evolution of him go from game manager to focal point.  Teams still (foolishly) try and stack the box against AP but Favre is in total command of this offense and this team.  He is the leader of the offense and the face of the franchise.  AP is the long term face of the team but Favre is the face of the state of Minnesota at this point.  I mean he might as well be Governor.

This win makes the Vikings a perfect 5-0 against the NFC North and it officially eliminates the Bears from contention.  They also have all but been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention as well.  So much for being Super Bowl bound as so many "experts" had them in the offseason.  Not to mention the magic number for the division is down to 2.  If we win our next two we clinch no matter what.  If we win next week and the Packers lose we clinch as well.  I was hoping to be the first team to clinch their division but alas, the Texans couldn't work me, not even once.

As hard as I am on Culter I have to admit at times he flashes his potential and it's wow worthy.  That touchdown pass he had to Johnny Knox was a thing of beauty.  I mean perfect placement.  I just don't get a sense that the guy is a winner.  I don't read it in his demeanor, in his body language, his attitude or in the way he "leads" (or lack thereof) the team.  If my the chips are down, and I am forced to go all in, Cutler doesn't seem like the type of guy I would want leading my team in a fourth quarter.  He doesn't seem to inspire greatness from his teams.

Now onto my new segment.  I will award an Offensive and Defensive player of the game award.  These awards are for Vikings games only.  They don't necessarily have to be Vikings, but it helps because I am a Viking fan and this is going into the Vikings section after all. 

The Offensive Player of the Game is...Brett Favre.  Come on I had too.  I really thought about Percy Harvin.  I can't say enough about this kid he is A M A Z I N G.  He can do everything.  He is the master of all trades.  He can catch, run with speed, run with power, he juke and jive, spin.  He can do it all.  He has the heart of a warrior and will jump up in triple coverage to snag balls out of the air. 

All of that said, come on.  Favre had 392 yards and 3 touchdowns.  It had to be Favre, there was no other choice.  Favre is the maestro of the orchestra afterall.

Defensive Player of the Game is...Jared Allen.  The mullet was rocking.  He had two sacks and interception.  He was wreaking havoc on the leftside and was applying steady constant pressure like he was trying to close up a wound.  Cutler could never quite get comfortable in the pocket because Allen was destroying Orlando Pace. (and later his replacement)

Now on we go to my weekly Gunslinger award.  This was one that I really thought about giving to the Gunlinger.  However there was someone else who pulled off a real Gunslinger-y performance this week.  Without further delay:

This week's Gunslinger Award goes to...

Tim Tebow, quarterback University of Florida.  Not only did he have the stats, 5 touchdowns (two running, three passing) and 311 total yards, but he had something more important going for him.  Something truly Gunslinger-esque.  He had the sentimental/emotional angle working for him.  You see, Tebow's a senior, it was senior day, it was his last game at the Swamp and his last regular season game in college.  He had tears in his eyes to start the game, and then he went on to shred a hated rival, just like the Gunslinger would.  I mean what athlete thrived under emotional and sentimental stress better than Favre?  None, that's the answer.  Tebow captured that aspect of the Gunslinger beautifully.  Way to go Tim, you Gunslinger.

I'll be back in the middle of the week to breakdown next week's game at Arizona.  This will be the first Vikings game of the season I have to miss fellow gunslingers.  I will be at work, unfortunately.  So I apologize in advance if my recap next week isn't up to par.

Oh and for tonight, and tonight only I wholeheartedly say: Go Patriots.  Yes, we need the Saints to finally lose one.  Hopefully former Norseman Randy Moss can step up and do his old team a solid. 

So until next time, stay classy planet Earth.

Skol Vikings.