Vikings

It's weird this year. I'm actually enjoying sports again. I know a lot of it has to do with the Twins, Vikings, and Wolves WINNING, but it's more than that.

For the most part, they are making the right MOVES to win. Take the Twins for example. Their only real mis-step  this season was starting Santana in their playoff game with the Yankees. Granted, it was a HUGE mistake, but every Twins fan understood WHY the decision was made. I kind of like to think that the Twins might have surprised everyone this year if Gibson had been the starter of that game instead.

My point? If my teams are generally making the right moves consistently, I can't be as critical as I usually am. That allows me to settle back and enjoy the games rather than seeing everything they are doing wrong.

The Vikings? They have a real chance to win it all this year. They have the right quarterback and good receivers. They have the right running game (two good running backs alternating carries and styles rather than one huge back that you rely on too much.) They have a great defense.

My only worry is that they'll rely too much on the running game on first and second down early in the game, like they've been doing lately, and that pattern will continue through the playoffs. ALL head coaches fall into that trap eventually, and Keenum is good enough NOT to let the team be trapped by that if they allow him to throw more often before third down. I don't want to see the Brad Childress years repeated. They can't become complacent even with a good running game. We saw what Chicago and their defense did with our running game this past weekend. Mixing it up, being less predictable, is the key to winning against good teams in the playoffs.

We have the offensive weapons. We must use them all throughout each game. I'm not talking 50-yard bombs. I'm taking 6-8 yard possession throws to  Rudolf and both wide outs. We have a guy who can throw. We have guys who can catch AND hold onto to those passes.

Let's use them early.

Skol Vikings!

I'm glad we have a bye week, but I can't wait for the next game.