Vikings must improve further to defeat the Falcons

By Darrell Laurant  |   Saturday, October 01, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

Minnesota Vikings
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Maybe the Minnesota Vikings slept through their wakeup call. Maybe it didn't seem like football weather in the upper Midwest yet. Or maybe Daunte Culpepper kept waiting for Randy Moss to get open.

Whatever the reason, Culpepper and the Vikings started their 2005 season two weeks late. Culpepper threw eight interceptions in opening losses to Tampa Bay and Cincinnati, the running game was non-existent and the offensive line was porous. But after turning things around with a 33-16 rout of New Orleans last week, Mike Tice's NFC North favorites will travel to the Georgia Dome Sunday (4:15 p.m., EDT) with a little more self-esteem when the face off against the Atlanta Falcons.

It would be hard to say that the offensive line rebounded last week, since the Saints sacked Culpepper seven times. But in between peeling himself off the turf, the Vikings' QB threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns, despite the absence of his No. 1 2004 target (Moss, who signed with Oakland during the off-season) and new first option Nate Burleson (out with an injury). His current batterymates are Koren Robinson, Travis Taylor and rookie Troy Williamson.

The last time Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Vick faced Minnesota, he rushed for 173 yards in 120 carries, a record for NFL quarterbacks. With the emergence of 2nd year wideout Michael Jenkins and the continued improvement of running backs Warrick Dunn and T.J. Duckett, the Falcon flash has enough weapons to make him even more dangerous --especially to a Viking defense which might be missing DE Kenechi Udeze (knee injury) and DB Darren Sharper.

The Atlanta Falcons handed Philadelphia its only loss in their opener, then dropped a 21-18 decision to Seattle before rebounding against Buffalo last week (Vick, supposedly battling a bad hamstring, threw for 167 yards and scrambled for 64). Counting the playoffs, Atlanta has won nine of its last 10 games at the Georgia Dome. But the Minnesota Vikings, already standing in a hole, can't afford to make it 10 of 11.
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