Oh, those poor Minnesota Vikings.
They’ve become the NFL’s freak show.
Not only does their team, at 3-6, suck, but no one likes head coach Brad Childress, quarterback Brett Favre is now recognized more for sending photos of his cock to Jenn Sterger than anything he’s doing on the football field, and the team’s early-season trade for receiver Randy Moss completely backfired and the team released him.
All in all, things are looking pretty sweet from over here in Green Bay.
So what happened to this mighty team that was supposed to tear through the league, this season?
The Vikings’ seventh-ranked defense is still statistically one of the best in the NFL. Running back Adrian Peterson is still a bull, rushing for 908 yards, seven touchdowns and 4.6 yards per carry.
The problems on offense for the Vikings can pretty much be laid at the feet of The Lord Favre. His Highness had chucked a league-leading 16 interceptions and has lost five fumbles. In short, the guy kind of looks old.
Oh, wait. He is.
Favre’s fortunes haven’t been helped much by the Vikings’ offensive line. The unit has given up 18 sacks on the season and 51 QB hits. That’s a lot of time for a guy who’s 85 to be laying on the ground.
It also doesn’t help that the Vikings have no real receiving threat outside of Percy Harvin.
Harvin leads the team with 44 receptions and 583 yards.
The team’s second-leading receiver?
Adrian Peterson.
To say the Vikings miss Sidney Rice, who hasn’t played a game this season due to injury, is an understatement.
Rice had 83 catches for 1,312 yards last season and opened things up for players like Harvin and tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, who scored 11 times last season. Shiancoe has only hit pay dirt twice this season.
The cast of Bernard Berrian, Greg Lewis, and Greg Camirillo have done next to nothing. Combined, they have 41 receptions.
On defense, a lot of people like to point to the Vikings poor secondary play, but the unit is ranked a respectable ninth in pass defense. The real problem has been the pass rush.
The team is 24th in the league in sacks, with 14, after leading the league in the category last season.
Defensive end Jared Allen started the season slowly. He now has 5.5 sacks, but was a complete non-factor the first time the Vikings played the Packers and has been a similar non-threat in other games, as well. Ray Edwards, who starts opposite Allen, has 3.5 sacks.
No one else on the team has more than one sack. The Vikings defensive deficiencies can clearly be traced to the fact that they simply aren’t getting to the quarterback.
And so, it looks like Favre will ride off into the sunset a loser, Childress will probably get canned and Vikings will become one of the biggest disappointments in the league, while still being a complete soap opera for the rest of the year.
If you hear the sound of laughter, Minnesota, it’s coming from Green Bay.
[ad#totalpackers468x60]