Ask Gonzo from The Daily Norseman - Playoffs Edition!

15-10 =15-20
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I’m not exactly sure what the deal is up there, to be honest. I’m sure that some fans were anticipating the standard Viking flameout and were cautious about buying post-season tickets before knowing whether or not there would actually BE a post-season.

I’m a bit discouraged that there are so many tickets readily available for the Vikings’ first home playoff game since the 2000 divisional round. If I didn’t have to work next week, I’d hop a flight from GPT to Minneapolis without thinking twice.

Our strengths are running the football and stopping the run. For the third consecutive season, the Vikings finished #1 in rushing yards allowed, and that was with Pat Williams missing the last two games of the year against the #1 and #2 rushing offenses in the NFL. Now, we’re hoping that Phat Pat will be back for the post-season, but 2 weeks is the absolute minimum for healing time for the injury he sustained (broken scapula), and it usually takes closer to 6 weeks. Then again, Andy Reid seems to have some kind of allergy to running the football sometimes, and maybe he’ll have it again this Sunday.

The offensive strength is Adrian Peterson, Chester Taylor, and the road graders on the offensive line. Not a whole lot that needs to be said there.

As far as the weakness, the pass defense still isn’t great in terms of yardage, but as far as one of your guys already pointed out in another FanPost, DVOA-wise they’re way better than they have been. They do very well against #1 and #2 receivers. . .they tend to have problems with backs and TEs, and that’s why Brian Westbrook, quite frankly, scares the hell out of me.

The pass offense is a bit weak, too, but I’ll address that more in a question I see down the track on Tarvaris Jackson.

not as well as everyone else has this year lol

Here’s what I’d do.

I’d make the nickel set my base set all game (particularly if Pat Williams is back), go with Greenway and Leber at LB (one of whom, probably Greenway, would hang with the TE), stick S Madieu Williams on Westbrook or Buckhalter all game, and let the rest of the secondary fight it out with Philly’s receivers.

That’s just me. . .there’s probably a reason I’m not an NFL defensive coordinator. (-: But I don’t want a LB on Westbrook all game, and unless you’re going to go ultra crazy and put Antoine Winfield on Westbrook all game or something like that, Madieu Williams is probably the best alternative.

Jackson looks like a totally different quarterback than he did in the first two starts of the year. He looked almost completely lost and frazzled in his starts against Green Bay and Indianapolis. He looks more relaxed and confident in the pocket, he’s finally not afraid to make plays with his legs when he has to, taking advantage of his outstanding mobility (an attribute I’m afraid he’s going to need a LOT this weekend), and it looks like the game is finally starting to “slow down” for him.

Tarvaris Jackson probably needed two full seasons on the bench to get the hang of things. People like to compare him to Donovan McNabb for some reason, but while McNabb played in more of a pro-style offense in college (and granted, Syracuse isn’t exactly a football factory, but still). . .Tarvaris Jackson played at I-AA Alabama State, and ran more of a spread type of attack. Quite frankly, benching him earlier on this season might have been the best thing that could possibly have happened to him.

And he’s gotten some time on the sidelines to watch a veteran run the offense, and get more of a feel for the game. He’s always, from all accounts, one of the last guys to leave the Vikings’ team facility after practices, always watching extra film and stuff like that.

However, the biggest obstacle he had to overcome was probably off the field, as his young son Tarvaris (who is now 15 months old) had a pacemaker put in back in May, and got sick again in October. He won’t come out and say that it affected him on the field. . .but seeing how he’s performed since young T.J. got a clean bill of health compared to what he did earlier on in the season, I think it’s kind of obvious that it did.

So, here’s to young Tarvaris, and here’s to his daddy continuing the progress he’s shown over the last month or so.

Because both of these teams are a bit inconsistent.

Are we going to see the Vikings that blew out the Bears and the Cardinals? Or are we going to see the Vikings that struggled twice against the Detroit Lions?

Are we going to see the Eagles that beat the Giants in New York and destroyed the Cowboys? Or are we going to see the Eagles that scored 3 points against Washington and played that ugly tie against Cincinnati?

Now, with this being the playoffs, I don’t expect the “bad” Eagles to show up, and I don’t anticipate the “bad” Vikings showing up at home. . .though I think the latter is more likely than the former.

But if I had to pick one right this very second. . .I’m afraid I’d have to give into my inherent bias and take the Vikings on a last-second Ryan Longwell field goal.

That was a different thread that had the predictions on it. Oh well. Let’s increase it to Eagles 34, Vikings 14.

classless … I don’t go over to other blogs it’s just not what I do. That said I was never more tempted to then when I read Lovehates insane posts, not only is he a jackass he is probably the biggest hypocrite ever … not even the idiot Giants/Cowboys fans are that dumb. I might venture over there before tomorrow … right now I’m nursing a hangover, Happy New Year to all.

…at which I criticize them for starting this post but then not answering the questions. You know, like they do.

I couldn’t tell you. There’s only one person’s posts that I have control over.