It’s been a while since my last post, but I’m back now. The timing couldn’t be better. The Vikings won yesterday in a way I have been longing for all season. They won a game they should have one. They beat a team that they outplayed. They didn’t require the other team making stupid mistakes, the ref blowing a call, or even dumb luck to squeak away with a win in the final seconds.

I thought the offense looked good. The offensive line played well (for the second game in a row). The receivers caught the ball when they should have. Gus did well minus the one interception (hey, it happens to everyone). Peterson did his thing and Taylor did his. The play calling was decent and they set up some nice plays down the stretch as the game went on. You have to love what Bernard Berrian was able to do in the game. He is really starting to make some plays.

Perhaps the best thing in this game was the special teams. Kluwe had some great punts. Longwell was consistent like he always is. There were no miffed punts, blocked kicks, botched punt returns, etc. Everyone played solid football on the special teams side of the ball. Even the coverage units did a solid job.

The defense was what ultimately put this game away for the Vikes. Jared Allen recorded a couple more sacks to officially put this one in the books. Houston found only marginal running room. They did throw for a lot of yards though – which is definitely an area the Vikings will look to improve. Normally you hear offenses preaching about taking what the defense gives you. I felt that the defense did a good job of taking what the offense gave them. They played good solid defense – keeping the ball in front of them each play. Houston was forced to make good plays with smart, accurate throws to move the ball because the Vikings were never really caught out of position. The times when the ball wasn’t as on target as it needed to be or they tried to throw when they should have just let the play pass, the Vikings were able to capitalize.

Probably the best thing to take from this game is that there are things to take a look at and things to fix, but overall the Vikes played a solid football game. Hopefully they can continue that for next week against Green Bay…

Side notes:

There has been talk about Jared Allen’s sack total being too low. I wish people would forget the stupid stats. He is a great player and regardless what his sack total at the end of the year, he was worth what we gave up for him. He makes plays, forces fumbles, and just disrupts offenses. Not only does he play the pass well, but he’s an asset in the run game too.

In the football world, the thing that makes me the happiest is to see the Vikings win. However, second to that is watching the Packers lose. Both happened this weekend so it was a great weekend for me. Hopefully the same will happen next weekend too.

Cincinnati got their first win. This leaves Detroit as the only team without a win. Don’t you just feel bad for Detroit? If you sign with Detroit, you must REALLY want the money – or perhaps you want a chance to start? The way they go through personnel it seems everyone in Motown gets a shot at playing at some point or another.