Vikings talk the talk, don’t walk the walk in opener

By Eric Krupka  |   Tuesday, September 09, 2008  |  Comments( 6 )

Minnesota Vikings
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Last month, the Minnesota Vikings -- mainly defenders Pat Williams and Jared Allen -- had a lot to say about the NFC North rival Green Bay Packers. However, the teams' season-opening game on Monday, a 24-19 Packers victory, silenced the Vikings. It was Green Bay's fifth straight triumph over the Vikings, which is the longest winning streak in the rivalry since the early 1980s.

"I'm going to try to crush all of 'em," Williams, a defensive tackle, said in August. "That's been the focus of my whole summer -- the Green Bay Packers."

When asked about the summer's Brett Favre drama, Williams added, “Damn, that's their problem. They're going through all that as a team, trying to figure out if Favre or [Aaron] Rodgers was the man, while we've got the same team we had all offseason. I'm glad they got all that darn press, 'cause when we go down there it'll be the kid's first start and his first damn loss."

Vikings fans had to love the confidence of one of their team's stars. Unfortunately for Williams and his teammates, Monday didn’t unfold how they planned. As a result, Rodgers earned the first win of his career, while the Vikings took the "damn" loss and fell to 0-1.

Rodgers completed 81.8 percent of his passes, the second best of any quarterback making his first NFL start, threw for a touchdown and rushed for another.

Rodgers aside, Williams noted in the summer that Packers running back Ryan Grant was the only guy who broke the 100-yard mark on Minnesota last season. Brashly, Williams proclaimed it wouldn't happen Monday. He was right; nevertheless, Grant did rack up 92 yards on just 12 carries, including a key 57-yard scamper late in the fourth quarter that set up Rodgers' sneak into the end zone.

Meanwhile, Allen, the Vikings' big-money offseason acquisition, had plenty to say about the new rivalry he -- a former Kansas City Chief -- was entering into.

“Playing Green Bay on Monday night to start the season – that’s everything you want," the league's reigning sack king told Yahoo! Sports. "Hopefully, I can put my helmet square in the back of [Rodgers'] spine. If I can do that and knock the ball loose, it’ll be a good day.”

Well, things didn't go according to plan for Allen, whom Packers tackle Chad Clifton neutralized. Allen contributed by drawing two holding penalties, but he did nothing else.

Despite the defense's inability to back up its words, the Vikings could have won had their offense -- save for Adrian Peterson, who was excellent -- showed up in the first half. By halftime, the Vikings' offense had mustered just three points and -- to steal a word from ex-Saints and Colts coach Jim Mora -- a disgraceful 16 passing yards.

The Vikings showed second-half life, but their play-calling let them down at a crucial juncture: On a third-and-1 with just over eight minutes left in a 17-12 game, the Vikings oddly put the ball in Tarvaris Jackson's hands and attempted a pass. Why the team didn't opt for a Peterson carry was befuddling, especially considering the passing game's struggles. Not surprisingly, Jackson's intended pass to receiver Bobby Wade fell incomplete and the Vikings punted on the next play.

Still, Minnesota had one final chance to steal the game away. Its offense was nearing midfield with just over a minute to play when Jackson tossed an errant throw that was intercepted by the Packers' Atari Bigby, sealing a 1-0 record for Green Bay.

As a result of the loss, head coach Brad Childress fell to an unacceptable 0-5 against the Packers. He'll have to wait until Week 10, when the Pack visits Minnesota, to finally rack up a 'W' against his team's archrival.

-Eric Krupka is a senior writer for RealFootball365.com. He can be reached at .
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About Eric Krupka

Eric Krupka joined RealFootball365 as a Vikings columnist in November ...
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