Despite Win, Issues Still Exist

Does The Minnesota Vikings  Offensive Line Have Problems?

I tried to keep it fairly positive around here following the Vikings three point victory against the Cowboys, but there is no doubt that there are still some issues, negative in nature, that plague this team.



The Vikings made some unusual moves when deciding who would be active for the game. They had Fahu Tahi inactive and instead Albert Young suited up. The idea seemed to suggest that the Vikings would protect Favre to the max with multiple tight end sets and having Young in there to pick up blitzes and take some third down duties.



Additionally, Jon Cooper became the third different center to start for this team this year.



I can’t honestly say that despite the effort in shaping the active roster, the pass protection did not seem to improve and the run blocking may have declined.



Favre was hit many times, especially early in the game, and the Vikings gave up three sacks. Anytime Favre tried to extend the play by holding onto the ball, it seemingly ended in disaster, which is why the longest pass play of the day was a 20-yarder to Jimmy Kleinsasser of all people. On a number of occasions, the Cowboys defense was daring Favre to go deep but even if his injured arm could chuck it down the field, he never had the chance to show it.



Peterson, on the other hand, was given his biggest opportunity of the year to be “featured” with 24 carries. It seemed like Peterson was constantly hitting a wall on his way to 73 yards, a three yard average per carry.



Peterson was able to break a fifteen yarder, but it seemed like every other time he broke a long run, it was negated by a penalty along the offensive line.



The Vikings only ended up having five penalties for 45 yards, but they all seemed to come at inopportune times (as if there is ever a good time for a penalty).



To make Peterson’s day even rougher, he came up limping after one play and was the self-proclaimed culprit of the bad exchange that resulted in the Vikings only turnover, despite Favre being credited with the fumble. Peterson’s only catch went for negative two yards.



Presuming Favre’s arm is hurting him, and considering the leaky offensive line, he did a decent job of not throwing the game away. He was pretty darn accurate as he went 14 of 19, but the type of game played is shown by the fact that he only gained 118 yards on those 14 completions. Seeing Favre manage the game was a positive, but seeing him so utterly ineffective only furthers the already existing worries that he is declining rapidly this season.



However, with every week that goes by, Favre can really only develop better chemistry with his receivers and guys like Sidney Rice are only going to get healthier. Speaking of injured pass catchers, Visanthe Shiancoe (hamstring) was once again nearly invisible, and his name was only really called on a penalty that negated an Adrian Peterson run.



In the end, the Vikings offense only managed 188 total yards, and it seems that most of the problems begin and end with the offensive line play.



It is kind of difficult to be too picky about this defense, as they played really well overall, yet again. They held the Cowboys potent running game in check, and Romo’s 220 yards passing was his lowest of the season so far.



Despite the victory and solid performance, there are always areas which can be improved on. The pass rush was better this week, in my opinion, despite the absence of any sacks. Jared Allen and Kevin Williams were able to be disruptive enough to cause at least one turnover, and Romo seldom was able to set up a long pass to his main playmaker Miles Austin who was held to 12 yards.



Perhaps Austin’s lack of production can be explained by the fact that he was never lined up against Lito Sheppard. Sheppard was a nightmare after playing somewhat solidly this season. All three touchdowns, two from Roy Williams and one from Dez Bryant, were the result of poor play from Lito Sheppard.



Asher Allen was almost the victim of a long touchdown caught by Austin Miles. The play was negated by offensive pass interference. By all appearances, however, Allen may have gotten lucky as the contact was quite minimal and the Cowboys may have had good reason to be upset about the call. Allen also got picked on a few times, and when it came time to end the game with an easy interception, he let it go right through his hands.



Husain Abdullah left early in the game with a concussion and was replaced with Jamarca Sanford at the strong safety position. There was no real notable drop off, and solid tackling all around for the Vikings made up for other shortcomings.



While there are always things to improve on, and the Vikings have their share, Sunday was a day to be celebrated. After all, the Vikings (who we love) beat the Cowboys (who we hate), and were the only team from the NFC North to win on Sunday.