Just last week I was writing that the Vikings got away with a win. Unfortunately, I have to write the same thing again this week. Childress has alluded to numerous times (and the players too) that any win is a good win. I couldn’t agree more over the course of the season. However, when you win two games back to back that both had questionable calls allowing you to win those games, it has to feel a bit underwhelming. In the end, I believe what the fans are looking for is a solid win. The defense doesn’t have to shut anybody out and the offense doesn’t need to score on every drive – just a solid win where both sides of the ball play consistent football for four quarters.

The defense has played well the last couple weeks. Some big numbers were given up to the Saints and some would say that the D gave up more than they should have against a backup quarterback with that little experience. However, there is some impressive talent for the wide outs in Detroit and the running backs aren’t bad. The only concern I have defensively is the loss of E.J. Henderson. There were a couple runs up the middle that went for 5-10 yards. The Williams do their thing week in and week out, but the middle linebacker is usually the most direct beneficiary of a pair of tackles like that. I think David Herron will be fine, but he was a little banged up in the game. E.J. will be hard to replace.

On a separate note, I don’t think Cedric Griffin is as bad as everyone seems to believe. He does reasonably well in coverage (yes, he does get beat from time to time, but what corner doesn’t?) and he tackles well most of the time. He will get picked on because he plays opposite Winfield, who has proven more this year than ever that he is a play waiting to happen.

Jared Allen is taking some criticism too I’ve heard. Everyone needs to calm down about the stats. Jared Allen forced the safety last week, which proved to be the difference in the game. He doesn’t have big sack numbers right now, but that’s not to say he’s not producing. Just hitting the quarterback, even after he has thrown the ball, will have an effect on the way the quarterback plays throughout the game. I believe the numbers will come for Jared. He plays hard every game and he’s bringing the pressure.

The offense is the object of most of the criticism. It’s also the reason that Childress is under fire. The offense has yet to throw for over 300 yards since Childress arrived. Now, in all fairness they did get close against Detroit with 296. It’s just crazy that you’re a vaunted offense guru and you have had two and half years and have yet to get a quarterback with over 300 yards passing!

Back to the Detroit game though, I don’t believe you can pin this on Childress. No one is going to blame Peterson for much of anything in Minnesota, but keep in mind he fumbled the ball two times and lost both of them. Childress wasn’t out there prying the ball out of his hands. In other words, that’s not coaching, that’s just mistakes. One of those fumbles was when the Vikings were putting together a very nice drive in the first half.

Another turnover was the interception by Gus. It was very uncharacteristic of Gus to throw a ball that was that easy for the pick and I wouldn’t expect that to be a new trend.

It was great to see Berrian make some plays. He played well and really helped win that game. His 131 yards receiving this week coupled with over 100 yards receiving last week finally helps his stats catch up to his title of #1 wide receiver . Hopefully he’s gaining more confidence in the system and better chemistry with Gus. The receivers as a whole are still dropping too many balls though.

It’s funny that Peterson was never really able to get going and still had 111 yards. Every fan in Minnesota was just waiting for Peterson to break the big one, which he never did, yet still comes away with over 100 yards rushing. That’s a good day for most backs. We’re spoiled in Minnesota. At this point it’s 300 yards on the ground or bust.

The biggest thing that needs to be realized about the Vikings offense in this game is that they did put up numbers. They had over 400 yards of total offense. That’s good offense. The problem and the reason Childress is in trouble, is because all those yards didn’t turn into very many points. Turnovers hurt, penalties hurt, and inconsistent blocking hurt. The Vikings offense did to the Lions defense exactly what it should have except put up the points.

Next up is the Bears. This will be an interesting game which should feature a lot of defense. Keep in mind though that Peterson had his coming out party against the Bears last season. If the offensively line can pull together better than they have the last couple weeks, we may see some big things from Peterson this weekend.

That’s all for me. I’ll be back later this week with my thoughts on the Bears/Vikes matchup.