Author Archive
Vikings-Ravens: Pass the Defense, Please; and Other Observations
Posted: 19th October 2009 by Marino Eccher in NFL
An embarrassing final period. An epic near-collapse. A defensive meltdown worse than any other in the Brad Childress era. With wins like this, who needs a loss? Minnesota should take many emotions away from SundayÆs escape from disasterùshock, confusion, chagrinùbut relief isnÆt one of them. To be sure, thereÆs nothing wrong with a close victory over a quality opponent like Baltimore. ThereÆs nothing wrong with another stellar ...
Vikings-Rams: After Two Heart-Pounding Weeks, Minnesota Is Due for a Break
Posted: 8th October 2009 by Marino Eccher in NFL
Whenever the Bears come to Minnesota to play the Vikings, my priest likes to tell a story about Goldilocks and the Three Bears.After the events of the fairy tale, the Three Bears ran into some marital troubles (evidently, Papa Bear doesnÆt cope well when you mess with his porridge). Things went from bad to worse, Mama and Papa decided it was time for a divorce (a terrible shame, as my ...
Vikings-Packers: A Homer and a Hater Debate Minnesota’s Win
Posted: 6th October 2009 by Marino Eccher in NFL
Four hours after watching the Vikings put away the Packers in the latest, greatest edition of the Aaron Rodgers whack-a-thon (nee: The Brett Favre Bowl), I still have no idea what I just saw.I donÆt know if I saw a juggernaut in action, or a team that canÆt close to save its soul.I donÆt know if I saw three quarters of heart-stopping football, or one quarter of mind-numbing timidity.And I ...
The Greatest Minnesota Vikings-Green Bay Packers Games of the Past Decade
Posted: 4th October 2009 by Marino Eccher in NFL
If youÆre an ESPN executive, the most exciting sentence in the English language right now probably goes a little something like this:Brett Favre takes on the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football.Combine a bitter rivalry with a hugely polarizing star, stick it in the most popular timeslot of the most popular sport in America, and what do you get?
One seriously popular product, thatÆs what. Dolphins-Colts drew nearly 15 million ...
Win and Pray: The Minnesota Twins and the Metrodome Make One Last Stand
Posted: 2nd October 2009 by Marino Eccher in MLB
In April 1982, the Minnesota Twins took the field at the Hubert H. Metrodome for the first time.
Their odds of a pennant were slim: The team had finished in last place in 1981, and was destined for a repeat performance.
This weekend, the Twins take the field at the Metrodome for the last time.Their odds of a pennant are slim: TheyÆre stuck two games back with three to play. They need ...
Catch Him If You Can: Brett Favre and His Receivers Still Have Issues
Posted: 1st October 2009 by Marino Eccher in NFL
If youÆre a defensive coordinator taking on the Vikings these days, your game plan isnÆt complicated: Take away Adrian Peterson, and make Brett Favre throw big to beat you. It didnÆt work for Cleveland or Detroit. Peterson rushed for 272 yards through MinnesotaÆs first two games, at a clip of 6.8 yards per carry. Favre was content to dink and dunk his way around the field to ...
Brett Favre’s $12 Million Buys a Storybook Ending and Nightmares for NFC North
Posted: 28th September 2009 by Marino Eccher in NFL
Eighty-nine seconds to play, eighty yards to go, no timeouts, and down by four.Does Sage Rosenfels get the job done in that situation? I donÆt know. Does Tarvaris Jackson dance away from the pass rush and throw a perfect strike to Greg Lewis in the back of the end zone? I have my doubts.But Brett Favre sure does. If you were wondering why the Vikings are paying Favre $12 million ...
In the Race for Quarterback Supremacy, the NFC Is Closing Fast
Posted: 24th September 2009 by Marino Eccher in NFL
Not so long ago, the gulf in quality between AFC and NFC quarterbacks was about as wide as Peyton Manning's forehead.
In the past decade, we've seen Super Bowls that pitted Manning against Rex Grossman, Rich Gannon against Brad Johnson, and John Elway against Chris Chandler. We've seen two AFC passers set the single-season touchdown record.
As recently as 2007, four of the top five passer ratings in the league belonged to ...
Something About These Vikings Still Makes Us a Little Nervous
Posted: 19th September 2009 by Marino Eccher in NFL
If the Vikings were any other Super Bowl contender, we wouldn't be having this conversation.
We wouldn't be getting antsy about taking the Lions seriously. We wouldn't flirt with the idea of putting our money on Detroit plus 10.5. And we certainly wouldn't be wondering why Peter King picked Minnesota to lose.
With any other contender, we'd be counting up Adrian Peterson's touchdowns in advance. We'd be debating whether Brett Favre qualifies ...
Booze, babes, Viagra, and football.If you ask me, that sounds like a heck of a party.
But if you ask one media watchdog group, the combination is making NFL telecasts unfit for family consumption.
Concerned parents want to keep sexed-up advertisements for beer away from their kids. Concerned congressmen want to relegate promotions for little blue "life enhancement" pills to nighttime programming.
Concerned league officials want to—well, they probably want to keep selling ...