Happy Birthday, Eli

By MikeBullock  |   Monday, January 04, 2010  |  Comments( 0 )

Minnesota Vikings
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The words “crushed” and “blowout” get tossed out too often in pro sports by commentators and journalists looking to add some flair to a somewhat flair-less game. But when one team is up 31-0 at halftime, then pulls their starting quarterback in the third, only to go on to win 44-7, the use of those terms is mitigated.

When Eli Manning looked at the schedule for this season and saw his first pro game to fall on his birthday was against the Minnesota Vikings, he had to have winced in pain, but probably didn’t use the word “crushed” when he spoke of it. Having lost to the Vikings every time he’s faced them, including the 41-17 blowout on November 25th, 2007 when Eli tossed four picks and looked completely helpless against the Vikings defense, Eli had to have, at least subconsciously, let a bit of worry creep into his heart. However, it’s hard to imagine Eli expected it to be the worst loss to Minnesota of his career.

Regardless of whether or not Eli saw it coming, the Vikings took the wood to New York in every facet of the game and finally came together to pull off their “perfect” outing for the 2009 season finale.

New York’s defense gave up 70 rushing yards, 271 passing yards, seven 15+ yard plays and 20 first downs, and that was just the halftime stats. Brett Favre looked like a master playing with novices, seemingly throwing touchdowns at will before leaving the game midway through the third quarter. The “Silver Fox”, as teammate Jared Allen calls him, finished the game 25 of 31 for 316 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and a quarterback rating of 148.7.

While Favre has been criticized all year, especially for his comments about the 2009 Vikings being a better team than the 1996 Green Bay Packers, it’s hard to argue the stats.

In 1996, Favre ended the year 325 of 543 for 3,899 yards, 39 touchdowns, 13 interceptions and a 95.8 rating. In 2009, the ‘Fox went 363 of 531 for 4,202 yards, 33 touchdowns, 7 interceptions and a rating of 107.2.

Maybe, what Favre meant was that he was far better in 2009 than he was in 1996.

Either way, a meeting with the New York Giants was just what the doctor prescribed for a Vikings team in danger of sliding into the playoffs on a three game losing streak. Thankfully, for Vikings’ fans, the skid ended with two losses and one huge win. If you add in the second half of last week’s loss to Chicago, you can argue the Vikings have really turned things around in the nick of time and learned to play flawless football at just the right moment.

With a week off to prepare to meet whoever the highest seeded team to survive next weekend’s Wild Card Round, the Vikings need to keep the fires stoked in Eden Prairie.

First Downs:
- Adrian Peterson seemed to acknowledge the fact that it’s okay to hold the ball with two hands when you’re getting tackled.
- Jared Allen turned the afterburners back on, nailing a sack and a forced fumble, which he recovered, then tried to advance – while keeping two hands on the ball.
- The Vikings run stuffing defense returned as well, holding the Giants leading rusher to just 22 yards and the Giants as a whole to 181 total yards.
- Leslie Frazier took his boot off the Giant’s neck long enough for Eli to drive them down to score in the first possession of the fourth quarter, once again proving prevent is no defense at all.

Based on the possible opponents, it’s seems the Vikings have a solid shot at the NFC Championship game, since either Dallas, Philadelphia, Green Bay or Arizona will have to come to Minnesota in the divisional round. While all four have the potential to be tough opponents on any given Sunday, the smart money goes on the Vikings extending their perfect 8-0 home game record this season and either hosting the NFC Championship game, or traveling to New Orleans and seeing if they can hand Drew Brees and company a loss in their dome.

No matter what’s coming their way, if all 53 men, and the handful of coaches in Minnesota can string together three more flawless performances, the fans in the Norselands will be very happy come Monday, February 8th. Either way, January should prove to be dramatic for Vikings fans, and the Silver Fox. Stay tuned.


For more Vikings news and discussions, check out http://www.purplepride.org
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