Vikings Defense Epitomizing Consistency Early In 2010 Season

EJ Henderson

Antoine Winfield



Ray Edwards



Jared Allen

Williams Wall

With so many different variables leading to ebbs and flows in the Vikings aerial attack along with other personnel finding a rhythm early in the regular season, the Purple are welcoming the bye week to rest and gain extra preparation for a Week 5 Monday night matchup against the New York Jets at the New Meadowlands Stadium.



Yes, the Vikings have shown irregularities throughout the first 3 weeks. But one factor that’s been a consistent force is the play of the defense. Through 3 weeks the Vikings defense ranks in the top 5 in points (3rd-12.5 PPG) and yards allowed (5th-276.3 YPG) and also boasts an 8th-ranked passing (189.0 YPG) and rushing (87.3 YPG) defense.



The Purple have prided themselves on a dominant run defense ever since Vikings Head Coach Brad Childress’ arrival in 2006. The Lions were the latest team to face this staunch unit, as they were held to a season-low 63 yards rushing in last Sunday’s contest – nearly 100 yards less than Vikings RB Adrian Peterson’s total for the game (160).



As the run defense continues its stout performance, so has the pass rush.



Obtaining such a balanced defense is one of many reasons the Vikings have yet to allow more than 14 points a game this season. Even with CBs Chris Cook and Cedric Griffin out for the first 2 weeks, the Vikings pass defense allowed only 237 yards against the pass-heavy Saints team in Week 1 and a dismal 114 yards in Week 2 against the Dolphins.



During the Vikings 24-10 victory over the Lions on Sunday at Mall of America Field, the Vikings secondary welcomed back both Cook and Griffin in route to allowing 237 passing yards. After Lions star rookie RB Jahvid Best left the game with a toe injury, Detroit turned one-dimensional with its aerial attack and the Vikings quickly adjusted. Lions QB Shaun Hill was held to a 69.6 passer rating and was intercepted by LB Ben Leber and CB Antoine Winfield late in the game, putting a halt to any sort of comeback.



As the Vikings defense continues to show its consistency in both the run and pass rush, it’s well known that everyone needs to stay confident in their specific role with 4 straight games against talented offenses – at New York, home against the Dallas Cowboys and then 2 road games against the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots.



“Going into the bye week you need to get more confidence going,” Vikings LB Chad Greenway told reporters after Sunday’s victory over the Lions. “Whatever injuries we do have, the bye week will take care of them and now we know the stretch we have coming out of the bye so we need to get at least mentally healthy.”

Bud Grant Sees A Bit of George Blanda In Vikings' Brett Favre

Remembering 20 Years Of Brett Favre

Brett Favre Throwing Touchdown

     Vikings' Brett Favre at the Metrodome on September 26, 2010. (Pioneer Press: John Doman)Pro Football Hall of Fame former Minnesota Vikings coach Bud Grant equates George Blanda, in terms of durability, with Vikings quarterback Brett Favre.



"The main thing he had is, he played every week, and he played effectively," Grant, 83, said of Blanda, who died this week at age 83 and played in the NFL until almost his 49th birthday.



Favre has started 288 straight NFL games, a record for a non-kicker.



"In order to be great, you have to have durability, and he had that durability," Grant said of Blanda, a hall of fame former quarterback-kicker. "And when he was done (starting) and was a backup, he'd go in there when you needed him and he could still handle the ball."



Blanda played 26 seasons in the NFL. Favre is in his 20th NFL season.



"If Favre could kick," Grant said, "he could play another 10 years."



Grant, meanwhile, continues to hunt and fish. He just returned from Saskatchewan, where he hunted ducks and geese, and today is headed to his lake home in Wisconsin in pursuit of grouse.



On Friday, Grant will travel to North Dakota for Saturday's opening of duck season.



Like Blanda and Favre, Grant still has durability.



"I still can go," he said.

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.

Adrian Peterson Leads Vikings To 24-10 Win Over Lions

AP Has Another Big Day W/ 160 Yards Rus

 

   RECAP: Adrian Peterson continued his re-emergence as the Vikings' most valuable player with a dazzling 160-yard, two-touchdown performance to lead Minnesota to its first victory of 2010 against the always forgiving Lions (0-3). Brett Favre (23 of 34, 201 yards) was pressured plenty by Detroit's staunch defensive line and threw a pair of interceptions. But he connected with nine different receivers trying to establish some type of rhythm. His 24-yard touchdown strike to Percy Harvin tied the game 7-7 in the first quarter before the Vikings handed over the offense to Peterson.



MEANING: Favre and the passing game remain mostly inefficient but there is no mystery to Minnesota's offensive identity -- hand the ball to Peterson and let him pound the ball up field. The Vikings improve to 1-2 and salvage some dignity entering the bye week, with a brutal stretch of games looming against perennial playoff teams. They are off until Oct. 11, when they travel to New York for a Monday night matchup against reality show darlings the Jets at New Meadowlands Stadium.



PLAY OF THE GAME: First-and-10 at the Detroit 20 with 3:14 remaining in the third quarter and leading 17-10, Peterson hits the line of scrimmage, stiff arms C.C. Brown and out runs the Lions' safety for an 80-yard touchdown to put the game in a vise. It was Peterson's longest career run and the fourth-longest in team history.



ETC.: Linebackers Ben Leber and Chad Greenway recovered key Lions turnovers. Greenway



recovered Stefan Logan's muffed punt to set up Harvin's touchdown while Leber intercepted former Viking Shaun Hill's pass at the goal line as the Lions were driving for a score late in the fourth quarter. Antoine Winfield later intercepted Hill in the end zone with 58 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

UP NEXT: Vikings at New York Jets, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 11, ESPN, KFAN-AM 1130

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.

Chris Cook Says He's Ready; Cedric Griffin Getting Closer



Chris Cook Vikings Rookie CB



Cedric Griffin

Rookie cornerback Chris Cook appears set to make his NFL debut Sunday against the Detroit Lions after being sidelined since the Vikings' third preseason game because of a knee injury.

Cook, who had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, said he worked with the first-team defense this week in the nickel package and also rotated in with the first-team base defense. Cook said that rotation also included cornerback Cedric Griffin, who is working to return after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last January in the NFC title game.



Both Cook and Griffin are listed as questionable on the injury report, meaning there is a 50-50 chance they will play.



"I feel pretty good," Cook said Friday. "I had three good days of practice. I feel like my movements are good and I'm just waiting for the green light. ... I feel like I'm game-ready and I feel like I can do anything that the coaches ask me to do as far as our defensive calls. I'm just waiting on somebody to tell me what the word is."



Cook said his workload in practice this week was considerably more than last week.



"I'm doing way more," he said. "Last week I wasn't taking reps with the defense. This week I took reps. That was pretty successful because I felt pretty good running around out there."



Griffin, who has been practicing for three weeks, said he's getting increased reps, too. He was listed as "limited" in all practices this week.



"I feel really comfortable right now," he said. "My confidence is high. I feel good with my legs, my wind is great right now. I think I'll get in the game one of these weeks and see how it goes from there."



Refresher Course :

Veteran wide receiver Hank Baskett started his career with the Vikings and has experience in the West Coast system so he said learning the offense this week hasn't been too difficult. Baskett, who signed with the team on Wednesday, said the coaching staff gave him the entire Lions game plan.

Minnesota Prepares For Detroit

Brett Better Come Looking To Go Big Early

Childress Better Call Some Passing Plays In The Redzone!

Allen Could Use A Game Like Last Game

Peterson Needs To Keep On Trucking

The Vikings will spend this week telling everyone within earshot that they aren’t taking the Detroit Lions lightly. They will talk about how their games against the Lions are always hard fought and that winning in the NFC North is never easy.





It will be in their best interest if they listen to the lip service they deliver to the media.



After losing to New Orleans and Miami, the Vikings can ill afford to give anything less than a full effort on Sunday when they play host to Detroit. The Vikings have dominated this series—they haven’t lost to the Lions at home since 1997 - but given the struggles of this offense to score points nothing is an automatic.




That could be especially true because the Lions seem to be gaining confidence.




Detroit is 0-2 but has played close games against Chicago (19-14) and Philadelphia (35-32). The additions of defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch(notes), defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh(notes) and running back Jahvid Best(notes) among others has improved the roster of a team that hasn’t won on the road in 21 games.





The Vikings, meanwhile, are a team that started this season as one of the favorites in the NFC after losing in overtime to the Saints in the conference championship game last season.





The issue is that so far the Vikings have only 19 points and after a magical season in 2009, Brett Favre(notes) has thrown four interceptions and only one touchdown.





The feeling among many Vikings observers is the soon-to-be 41-year-old isn’t having as much fun as he did a year ago—Favre’s birthday is Oct. 10—and one big reason is the absence of wide receiver Sidney Rice(notes) for at least half the season.





Rice, who presented Favre with a 6-foot-4 target, had hip surgery in August. Bernard Berrian(notes) was expected to pick up much of the slack in Rice’s absence but that hasn’t been the case.





Berrian, who is 6-foot-1 and known more for his speed than his physical play, has only three receptions for 27 yards in two games. Two passes thrown his way Sunday ended up being intercepted.





The Vikings have explored trading for suspended San Diego wide receiver Vincent Jackson(notes) but that fell through. They did make a move to sign 6-foot-4 Hank Baskett(notes) on Wednesday after he was released by Philadelphia.





“I think Bernard’s heart is in the right place,” Favre said of Berrian. “I believe in my mind he did all he could do. If I felt otherwise, I wouldn’t throw it to him. We go to bat with who we’ve got, me included. That’s the way it is. I’m not going to look out to my left or look out to my right and say, ‘I’m not going to throw it over there.’ I’m not going to play that way.”





Coach Brad Childress and Berrian both swear the receiver is on the same page with Favre and that chemistry isn’t an issue. If that is the case, Favre, Berrian and several of their teammates are going to need to take a big step forward on Sunday and prove they have solved some of their issues.





The Vikings will have a bye week following that game, so a failure to right the ship could make for a miserable off week in Minnesota.





Series History: 98th meeting. Vikings lead regular-season series, 65-30-2, and are 18-2 in the past 20 games against Detroit. The Vikings have won the past 12 games against the Lions at the Metrodome. Minnesota is 14-3 in its last 17 regular-season home games. Vikings coach Brad Childress is 7-1 against the Lions.





NOTES, QUOTES



• DE Jared Allen(notes) has 30 sacks with Minnesota, a team record for the most in the first three seasons as a Viking.





• QB Brett Favre needs two touchdown passes to become the first player in NFL history to throw for 500 and 275 yards passing to become the first to throw for 70,000 yards.





• Favre broke the NFL record for most consecutive starts in his first game against Detroit as a member of the Vikings on Sept. 20, 2009. Favre threw two touchdown passes and had a 115.3 passer rating in a 27-13 victory.





• RB Adrian Peterson ran for 133 yards against the Lions on Nov. 15, 2009, making him the seventh Viking to reach 4,000 rushing yards in a career. That set a team record and tied for fourth in NFL history for fewest games needed to reach 4,000.





• DT Kevin Williams(notes) had a career-high four sacks against Detroit on Oct. 12, 2008, which tied for the most in a single game in 2008 and ranks tied for second in franchise history.





• LB Chad Greenway(notes) intercepted two passes off Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford(notes) and returned them for a combined 49 yards when the Vikings played the Lions on Sept. 20, 2009. That performance earned Greenway NFC Player of the Week honors.





• The Vikings have swept the Lions eight times since 2000 and Detroit hasn’t scored a rushing touchdown on the Vikings in the past six meetings, dating to Oct. 8, 2006.





• The Vikings have an all-time record of 165-123-5 against the NFC North and are 91-54-1 in home games against the division.





By The Numbers: 65—Victories by the Vikings over the Lions, their most against any opponent.





Quote To Note: “Have I seen improvement from Game 1 to Game 2? I did. Just want to keep being incremental. There’s always something we can get better on and those guys take it to heart in there, and I know they will.”—Coach Brad Childress talking about the Vikings’ offense and if he saw improvement from the first game to the second.





STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL



The Vikings attempted to add San Diego holdout wide receiver Vincent Jackson in a trade but were unable to work an agreement by the 4 p.m. deadline on Wednesday.





The 6-5 Jackson, who would have been eligible to play for the Vikings on Oct. 17, would have provided Brett Favre with the exact type of big target he is missing in Sidney Rice. Rice is expected to miss half the season after having hip surgery last month.





The Vikings did add a big receiver, signing 6-4 Hank Baskett. Baskett was released by the Philadelphia Eagles on Tuesday.





Baskett is far from Jackson’s equal in terms of ability but the fifth-year player will present another option and also provides some insurance. Percy Harvin(notes) has been slowed by a strained right hip and also is battling another round of migraine headaches. Bernard Berrian also landed on the injury report Wednesday because of a knee issue.





That means the Vikings’ healthy receivers are Baskett, Greg Camarillo(notes) and Greg Lewis(notes).





Player Notes





• WR Bernard Berrian was limited in practice Wednesday because of a knee injury.





• CB Chris Cook(notes), who is recovering from a torn meniscus in his right knee, was able to take part in all of practice Wednesday and might be able to make his NFL debut Sunday.





• CB Cedric Griffin(notes), who is recovering from surgery to repair a torn left anterior cruciate ligament suffered in last season’s NFC title game, is doing limited work in practice but probably will sit out again Sunday against Detroit. Griffin, like Cook, should return after the bye.





• WR Percy Harvin aggravated a hip strain last Sunday against the Dolphins and also has had another recurrence of migraine headaches. He did not practice Wednesday.





• DT Jimmy Kennedy(notes) (knee) is back practicing for the second consecutive week and took part in all drills Wednesday. Kennedy hasn’t played in the first two games.





• LB Ben Leber(notes) was limited Wednesday because of a back injury but said he will be good to go on Sunday.





• OT Bryant McKinnie(notes) (dislocated finger) did not miss any of practice Wednesday and played in last Sunday’s game despite the injury.





• QB Brett Favre continues to be listed on the injury report because of soreness in his surgically repaired ankle but he hasn’t missed any practice time.





• C John Sullivan(notes) (calf) did not miss any practice time Wednesday.





Game Plan: The Vikings will look to get their offense on track against a Lions defense that has given up 54 points in its first two games, including 35 in a loss last Sunday to Philadelphia.





The Vikings offensive line figures to have its hands full with rookie defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and end Kyle Vanden Bosch putting pressure on Brett Favre. Minnesota’s greatest success so far has come on the ground, as Pro Bowl running back Adrian Peterson is off to a good start.





The Lions are giving up an average of 131.5 yards per game on the ground—27th in the NFL—and Peterson has rushed for 232 yards in two games, putting him third in the league.





Minnesota needs to get quarterback Brett Favre on track. He has thrown only one touchdown and four interceptions and hasn’t developed a rhythm with any of his wide receivers.





This includes Bernard Berrian, who was expected to be Minnesota’s go-to receiver with Sidney Rice sidelined. Berrian has only three receptions for 27 yards.





The Lions defense has given up 304.5 passing yards per game, putting them near the bottom of the league in that category as well.





Defensively, the Vikings surrendered 120 rushing yards to the Dolphins on Sunday. That’s a rarity for one of the better run defense in the NFL. Shaun Hill(notes) is expected to start at quarterback for the Lions in place of the injured Matthew Stafford.





The Vikings defense is going to have to be aware of rookie running back Jahvid Best at all times because of his play-making ability. If wide receiver Nate Burleson(notes) (ankle) is unavailable for the Lions that will take a weapon from a passing attack that also features Calvin Johnson(notes) and Brandon Pettigrew(notes).





Matchups To Watch: Vikings CB Lito Sheppard(notes), who is playing the left corner in the nickel package, vs. Lions WR Calvin Johnson, who has caught eight passes for 95 yards and a touchdown this season. The Miami Dolphins had immediate success against the Vikings nickel package last Sunday by going right at Sheppard on the Dolphins’ first play from scrimmage. The result was a 46-yard pass completion from Chad Henne(notes) to 6-foot-4 Brandon Marshall(notes) that set up a touchdown. You think the Lions aren’t going to notice that? Johnson is 6-5 and stands to create trouble for Sheppard or Asher Allen(notes), who is starting at left corner. Sheppard is only 5-10 and Allen is 5-9. Antoine Winfield(notes), the starter at right corner who moves inside in the nickel, also is 5-9 but he is the Vikings’ best cornerback. If Chris Cook (6-2) and Cedric Griffin (6-0) remain out, look for Johnson to be a primary target. Cook could provide some much-needed size against Johnson if he can play.





Vikings LT Bryant McKinnie, who played last week despite a dislocated finger, vs. Lions DE Kyle Vanden Bosch, who has 1.5 sacks this season after being signed to a four-year, $26 million free-agent deal this offseason. McKinnie has had issues at times with top-flight defensive ends and he now will be facing Vanden Bosch and Chicago’s Julius Peppers(notes) twice a season. This will be McKinnie’s first test. The key for McKinnie, who is in his ninth season, is simply showing consistency because he has the athletic ability to be a very good player. Vanden Bosch plays with a motor that never quits and will spend the afternoon using a variety of moves to try to get around the 6-8, 335-pound McKinnie.





Injury Impact: Cornerback Chris Cook could make his NFL regular-season debut, but it looks as if Cedric Griffin will remain out until after the bye week. Wide receiver Percy Harvin is dealing with a hip injury and migraines, meaning he could be a long shot to play. Wide receiver Bernard Berrian already is struggling and considering his game is based on speed the last thing he needs is a knee problem.