Bill Musgrave

It seems weird that on a day where our rookie kicker goes five for five on field goals (including THREE of fifty or more setting a season scoring record by a Viking rookie while tying the NFL record of 8 over fifty in a season) and our world-class running back got himself another 212 yards rushing that I'd put Bill Musgrave, our maligned offensive coordinator, in the headline.

Why did I do this? Because it was Musgrave that finally figured out HOW to use Christian Ponder effectively. He had Ponder throwing a variety of short passes all day long to wide-open, short-range receivers.

It was also Bill Musgrave who started the game with a quick pass to our tight end  instead of running it up the middle with Adrian Peterson.  The SECOND that happened I had a feeling that yesterday's game was going to be different.

And things like that kept happening. Early and close to the endzone we went for it on fourth and goal and instead of running it up the middle, we had Ponder fake the handoff and roll out and run for the first down himself.

That play only works if NOBODY is waiting for it. It also worked because we know that on fourth and short a quick run up the middle rarely if ever works for us. They FINALLY  acknowledged that and tried something different.

After TWO really disappointing runs up the middle on the next two plays,  Ponder stepped UP in the pocket to avoid pressure and then scrambled for his most beautiful touchdown as a Viking ever. Instead of rolling into a ball and lying down like a tiny middle school girl and taking the sack and settling for a field goal, he stepped up and saved that impressive first game changing drive.

The whole game, our whole season changed with that one play.

Let's face it, it was not Adrian Peterson who allowed us to get off to a good start in yesterday's game. It was Bill Musgrave and his play calling. It was the guts of Leslie Frazier for finally going for it on fourth down and it was Christian Ponder (dare I say confidently?) leading the charge. Adrian had a total of 8 carries for eight yards in that first quarter. He was stuffed on every run he tried up the middle. No it was Ponder and his effective short passes that got us started on the right foot,

I've never been one of those complainers who say the Vikings don't throw long often enough or that Ponder has no accuracy on the long bomb.  Frankly, I think the long pass is over-rated, and I think that's something that comes with time. What I hated about Ponder is that he had no accuracy on the short passes. Without THAT accuracy he will never be on the field long enough for anything else to happen.

Ponder was 17 for 24 with short passes yesterday, his yards weren't impressive but those passes kept drives alive while we waited for Peterson to kick it into a higher gear. those short passes also effectively got us into field goal range FIVE times so that our rookie with the golden leg could kick all of those record setting points. Remember last week that our offense (Ponder) was so horrible that we didn't get into field goal range even ONCE.

I'm not suddenly a Christian Ponder fan. He still throws stinky passes that could easily get intercepted. But yesterday he got his touch back on shorter passes, and Bill Musgrave worked up a game plan that kept him from going outside his comfort zone while still performing efficiently.

The whole team was disciplined yesterday. We had NO turnovers. We only had THREE penalties. If Loadholt hadn't got that stupid unsportmanlike conduct call against himself late we would only have had 15 yards of penalties the WHOLE day.

THAT is a reflection of the head caoch. I've said the same thing when we've had lots of penalties. It's possible that Frazier is finally teaching these guys what it means to have discipline. That this happened on a road game makes it even more impressive.

And it can't end this blog without mentioning Adrian Peterson. On the average running play, Adrian still makes too many cuts that cost himself simple yardage. But his never say die attitude with all the extra cuts is what also produces his most memorable plays. His 82 yard TD and his 50 yard scramble BOTH occurred after the regular play was already over. He just kep churning his feet and cutting until something opened up. He ran out of gas on that 50 yard run. Some were saying if Simpson could have thrown a proper block on the play Adrian MAY have turned that play into yet another 80 yard run, except Adrian more or less collapsed on the play rather than being tackled. He was REALLY TIRED at that point. He needed to stop running because he had nothing left to give.

I'm going to mention Emerson Griffen as well. When Robison left the game with a shoulder injury I cringed a little. Emerson isn't used all the time because he doen't really have the mindset of a defensive lineman. He's more  of a middle-linebacker trapped in a  defensive lineman's body. YESTERDAY he made the play of the day. His INT TD changed the game completely. Ponder's run set the tone, Griffen's INT was the first nail in the coffin. Peterson kept pounding those nails in the rest of the day.

It was the best game of the season for the Vikings. The San Fran game was good but the Niners dropped TWO potential INTs in that game that made Ponder look better than he really was. The Rams only dropped one potential INT yesterday and that was after the game was over and the Vikings were just waiting for the clock to run out.

I fully expect the Vikings to LOSE the next two weeks. The Texans and Packers both rapped up their divisions yesterday, They are great teams still playing for byes and and homefield advantage. But I don't think the Vikings are going to lose because of Christian Ponder now. They are going to lose because they are not better than the teams they are about to face,

YESTERDAY was MY playoff game. The game I got to celebrate. The game we had a chance to win if we played well. We played well and WE won. I'll take it.

That will last me until next season. IF we mange to somehow WIN the next two games, I'll be as excited as anybody. But I sure won't fault them for losing those next two games.

Our chance to win the division was lost with early season games that we lost and should have won. The games coming up are just chances for Adrian Peterson to shine. Let's hope Musgrave comes up with a way of showcasing Peterson two more games for about 150 yards a game. That record would be nice even for an 8-8 team.