It’s been more than a year since the Minnesota Vikings won consecutive games. In October of last year the Vikings had back-to-back wins over Detroit and Seattle. Since then the Vikings have lost 13 games and won five, including last Sunday’s upset of San Diego.
Former Vikings’ assistant coach Dean Dalton told Sports Headliners earlier this week that next Sunday’s game in Green Bay against the Packers is “extremely important” for establishing momentum toward better results in the second half of the season. At 3-5, the Vikings now have eight more regular season games and while playoff thoughts shouldn’t be pre-occupying anyone’s mind, Minnesota can target moving toward a .500 record with wins in the next two weeks against the Packers (7-1) and at home versus Oakland (2-6).
“They (the Vikings) need to win this game to get positive momentum,” Dalton said. He also said the Vikings aren’t going to win the NFC North with the Packers and Detroit (6-2) so far ahead, but a couple of wins could allow Minnesota to more realistically think there is a chance of making the playoffs.
Dalton, now a pro football media analyst, said if the Vikings are to win Sunday they need to continue with their “formula.” That formula includes plenty of opportunities for Adrian Peterson to run the ball behind an improving and more confident offensive line. Dalton said it’s imperative, too, that the quarterback, either Brooks Bollinger or Tarvaris Jackson, take three step drops to pass, not five. That measure, along with play action, helps negate the pass protection challenges of the offensive line.
The “formula” also demands that the Vikings’ offense control the ball enough to avoid a game day script that has the defense on the field too long. In late October against Philadelphia the defense was on the field for about 30 minutes. Last Sunday against San Diego the Vikings defense, assisted by an offense experiencing its best day of the season, played about 26 minutes. That game was only the second this season that a Vikings’ opponent didn’t have possession for 30 minutes or more.
Dalton suggests that the Vikings use a variety of defensive tactics against the Packers offense, similar to the blitzes and other looks Minnesota used effectively to keep Chargers’ quarterback Phillip Rivers off balance. The strategy, that can also include man-to-man pass coverage, will limit yardage but also make the Vikings susceptible to big gains.
The Vikings’ defense is No. 2 in the NFL against the rush, limiting opponents to 70.4 yards per game, and if that wasn’t formidable enough, Dalton said that because of injuries this season the Packers are “running out of running backs.” Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre completed 32-45 passes for 344 yards and two touchdowns in the Packers’ 23-16 win here in September. He doesn’t figure to throw any less Sunday than he did in Minneapolis. The Packers rank second in the NFL in passing yards per game at 290.1. Vikings coach Brad Childress wants better performance out of both his pass defense (31st in the NFL giving up 275.6 yards per game) and his pass offense (30th in the league at 151.5 yards per game).
Vikings linebacker Ben Leber was direct when asked about the importance of Sunday’s game. He described it as “huge” because the Vikings are coming off a win and playing a division leader. “It’s a big game for us,” he said. “We have to prove to ourselves that…we can get on a roll, continue to play consistent. …”
The good feelings about Sunday’s win against the talented Chargers and the positive plays that made it possible haven’t made Leber too giddy. “Obviously you feel good about the win,” he said. “You feel good about the way we executed, but we’re still 3-5. We have a lot of work to do. I think our crutch and our Achilles heel has been the fact that we are inconsistent. We can play good one series, bad the next. Play good one game, bad the next game. …It’s going to be important that we don’t get too high on our selves. Yeah, we played well but we need to play better next week.”