Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings Defense Carry Team To Win...Get Used To It

AP Rushed For Over 160 Yards Vs Lions

  The Vikings finally turned over a new leaf on Sunday, collecting their first victory of the season.



It started out rocky, as Brett Favre threw an early interception that led to a Detroit Lions touchdown. Favre didn't look terrible, but again looked fairly rusty facing a poor Lions pass defense.



Favre mustered just 201 yards on 34 attempts with a touchdown and two interceptions. He continues to look his age in 2010.



Granted, Favre was a slow starter last season and can obviously still play at a high level. But we can't expect 2009 from him. It's not going to happen.



Sunday was the beginning of a pattern we can expect for the rest of the season: Adrian Peterson and the stout Vikings defense will carry this team.



Peterson continues to run with tenacity while protecting the football. He has zero fumbles through three games to go with 392 yards, three touchdowns, and a Peterson-of-old 5.6 yards per carry.



In reality, the run blocking has not really been better than last year, it has been merely adequate.



However, Peterson has run like the best running back in football. No disrespect to Chris Johnson, who had a solid day on Sunday, but Peterson looks unstoppable right now.





He cannot be tackled.



On Peterson's 80-yard touchdown run, he weaved through traffic, delivered a ferocious stiff arm, then simply outran the Lions secondary.



On multiple occasions through the first three games, Peterson has delivered impossible broken tackles, jukes, and bursts of speed. He simply will not go down without at least three defenders getting a lick in.



Not to mention, on Sunday, Peterson faced eight men in the box nearly all game long. Something Peterson saw less and less of last year with Favre and Sidney Rice connecting on deep passes.



Hats off to Peterson, who obviously put in a lot of hard work this offseason to get better. It will take a whole season to show it, but he looks like the best running back in football right now.



Another hats off to the Vikings defense. This unit looks much better than anticipated before the season.



Even when the offense falters, the defense is picking up the slack.



While they delivered just one sack, the Vikings hit quarterback Shaun Hill six times. They also forced two interceptions while giving up just 237 yards through the air. This despite the Lions attempting 43 passes.





The Vikings also gave up just 63 yards on the ground, despite a 21-yard reverse play by the Lions.



Overall, the Vikings secondary looks vastly improved. The front four have not produced a consistently nagging pass rush like last year, but coverage downfield has been excellent.



Rookie cornerback Chris Cook did a great job in his first major action and Cedric Griffin looked healthy after returning from a torn ACL.



A first-year starter at safety, Hussain Abdullah looked significantly improved over his first two games. He was on-time to the ball for the most part and made a couple big plays.



Overall, the Vikings defense did a great job on Sunday, as they have through each game this season.



Granted, this first victory came against the lowly Lions. There is no reason to immediately start dreaming of the Super Bowl, but there is hope.



Despite losing their first three games, the Lions played close with the 2-0 Chicago Bears and the 3-0 Philadelphia Eagles. This is a significantly improved Lions team. Beating the Lions in 2010 means more than beating them in 2009.



However, the Vikings need to show they can beat a legitimate contender. They'll have that chance in weeks five through eight.





The Vikings will face difficult tasks when they meet up with the New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, and New England Patriots in consecutive weeks.



Three of those games are on the road as well.



To win those games, the Vikings need to take note of Sunday's game against the Lions:



Rely on the defense and Adrian Peterson to win football games. Hope for the occasional Favre-to-Harvin or Favre-to-Shiancoe hook-up, but above all, rely on Peterson and the defense.



The defense is certainly good enough to hold up against any team in football. They showed that when they held Drew Brees and the Saints to just 14 points.



The Vikings can win their next few games, but they will have to play their best football and avoid costly turnovers. Favre needs to protect the ball better and quit making risky throws.



If the Vikings can get away from relying on Favre to win every game, dish the rock to Peterson, and hit opponents in the mouth on both sides of the ball, they will have success. Just like they did on Sunday.

Vikings Need Convincing Win To Forestall Panic

C'mon Seriously.......Let's Win

Vikings Need To Pummel The Lions

An 0-2 start by the Vikings is no reason to panic. However, a calamity against the Detroit Lions today at the Metrodome and card-carrying members of Purple Nation would be fully justified in jumping off the IDS Tower, throwing themselves on the tracks at the nearest light rail station and/or watching several hours of prime-time network television. The latter, death by boredom, might be the most horrible of all.







First, let's define calamity. Obviously, a loss qualifies. But a squeaker of a victory in which the Vikings luck out? Calamity. A come-from-behind last-minute rally for a victory? Calamity. Anything other than an impressive show of muscle on offense? Calamity.







It won't be enough for the Vikings simply to beat the Lions. They need to look good doing it. They need to look in sync.







"We could care less about looking like we're in sync," guard Anthony Herrera said. "Football isn't about looking pretty. It's about winning."







But Anthony, there's a panic brewing. Vikings fans are the new Red Sox fans, anyway. They are convinced that terrible events are inevitable. There is fatalism at work here. The locals believe in predetermined misery. It's as if free will has become a nonfactor. Am I getting too technical?







Put it this way, the overriding feeling appears to be: "What will be, will be. And it will be bad." An impressive, sharp-looking victory at least might put a smile on people's faces for a little while.







"We aren't here to please anybody," Herrera said. "We're here to win. People think that stuff's got to be pretty. That's Pop Warner. It's about winning football games."



He's right, of course. But so am I. If the Vikings look lousy against Detroit, win or lose, just imagine how interminably long the upcoming bye week will seem.







Obviously, it's all about the offense. Specifically, it's all about the passing game. Adrian Peterson ran hard and gained 145 yards against the Dolphins. Unfortunately, it was the one yard he didn't get — on fourth and goal from the 1 — that was the most important. Still, he's not the problem. What we have to figure out is if the wide receiver corps is underachieving or under-talented.







Big difference there. Under-talented can't do it. Underachievers might do it.







I'm undecided as to the answer. Bernard Berrian is playing like he's never been a primary target in his life. He's like a hockey player who suddenly is skating against the other team's top checkers. Or a mop-up relief pitcher who suddenly has been called on in a close, important game.







Greg Camarillo simply hasn't been used. Either he's running the wrong routes or not getting open. One of his primary strengths always has been his route running. And he never really gets open. At least, not wide open. He has made a career out of hanging on to the ball in traffic. So I don't know what the deal is.







Greg Lewis always seems like an afterthought. Once in a great while, a ball will be thrown in his general direction and we'll all say: "Oh, Greg Lewis. I forgot about him." Other than his last-second catch against San Francisco early last season, he's done virtually nothing.







Percy Harvin can't get healthy enough to be a factor. Normally, getting the ball in his hands is a very good thing. Right now, though, he's struggling and is as out of sync with Brett Favre as anybody.







Newcomer Hank Baskett at least can run fast downfield. Maybe he will be a significant upgrade to the receiving corps. What we do know for sure is that the wives' section of the Metrodome received an upgrade with the arrival of Baskett's wife, former Playboy model Kendra Wilkinson.







I just don't know what to make of that group. Two (Baskett and Camarillo) are newcomers, one (Harvin) is banged up, one (Lewis) is an afterthought and the other (Berrian) simply isn't getting the job done. Somebody needs to step up and be a hero.







The Detroit game is the perfect opportunity. The Lions are 0-2 — they're always 0-2 — and aren't going anywhere. They perhaps are better than in recent years but remain a team the Vikings should steamroll. This ought to be the game in which the receivers build their confidence. It should be the game that puts the Vikings back on track.







Most likely, it will be. Because if it isn't, well, the alternative is too depressing to think about.