Vikings Week 4: Shooting Thy Self In Thee Foot Hurts!

In my week 3 analysis I mentioned that this week's game will be very competitive and the Vikes will have a chance to win the game down in humid Nashville. That is exactly what happened on Sunday. With that said I believe the Vikes blew a huge opportunity on Sunday to even their record and go 2-2. Instead we are still in a stinky situation at 1-3. The NFC North hasn't exactly been stellar here in the early going and the Vikings remain 1 game back in the division. I listened to this game live while driving and reviewed it on my DVR when returning home. The following is my analysis that at times is painful to think about again.

Positives - you kind of have to look hard here, but I have some

• Maurice Hicks - the return of our kick return specialist did show some hope for some big plays the rest of the year. It actually was nice starting drives at the 32 yd. line oppossed to the 18-20 yard line. Hicks averaged around 28 yds. per return which was in my opinion an improvement.
  
• Bobby Wade - Wade is quietly establishing himself as a very good possession receiver that can move the chains. Wade caught 7 balls for 75 yards on Sunday against his former team.
• Chad Greenway - Greenway had 11 tackles and in my opinion was a leader for the defense during E.J.'s up and down afternoon.

Negatives - Straight Pain Writing This

• Turnovers and more Turnovers. The Vikings turned the ball over 4 times. There was absolutely no excuse for this many. Maybe one or two, but 4! The Titans turned the ball over 1 time. To put this in perspective think about the fact that the Vikings outgained the Titans in total yardage (333 to 275) against a stingy D. The Vikings gained more yards through the passing game (253 to 199) and the running game (80 to 76). The Time of Possession was relatively even with the Vikings holding the ball for roughly 29 minutes and the Titans holding it for 31 minutes.
  
• Penalties - I have decided after last week's analysis of too many penalties (9 for 100 yards) that this weeks poor showing in this department has to be blamed on COACHING. The Vikes had 7 penalties for 50 yards on Sunday. Initially, this may seem like not too many, but the timing and boneheadedness of most of them was too much to handle. Note: Bobby Wade's holding call on a 12 yard run by AP was bogus. Why do I say coaching. Coaching is also about discipline and teaching. Clearly this is not happening like it should. Marcus Johnson came in for 1 play for Artis Hicks and basically tackled Kyle Vandenbosh for a terrible holding penalty. Jared Allen's first half offsides call was huge as the Vikes held on a 3rd and 8. The Titans then converted on the following 3rd and 3 play and went on to score a TD and grab a 10-0 lead. This all followed a terrible fumble by Tahi.
• LET'S ESCAPE DELAY OF GAME - What a great game within a game that the Vikings had with trying to escape Delay of Game calls. This I believe can also be blamed on COACHING. On two separate occassions the Vikes came out to start drives (1 of them after a long TV timeout) and proceeded to waste timeouts to escape Delay of Game penalties. We even wasted a timeout when a delay of game would've cost a whole 1 yd. in the fourth quarter. There actually is no excuse for this. What is going on on the sidelines that we can't get to huddle, proceed to the line, snap the ball, and play football?
• Big Play - B Berrian! - Bernard you need to catch that ball in the second quarter. Gus put it right on his fingertips and what a beautiful double move - that would've been a TD and could've turned around the game. Berrian did make up for it with a spectacular one handed catch in the fourth, but with the kind of cash Zygi is dishing out - that ball needs to be caught.
• T Jack showed that he should and can continue to handle warming the bench. He came in and hit B. Wade for 8 yards. He then proceeded to be sacked badly 2 times...and turned 2nd and 2 into 4th and 13 very quickly. On 2nd and 2 he proceeded to miss a wide open Visanthe Shiancoe who was open for a first down and a gain of about 6-8 yards. Instead T Jack pulled the ball back and tried to scramble....which lead to something I've seen before.
  

Next week we travel to New Orleans for a Monday Night Showdown with the Saints. We need E.J. to come back and be effective. I think this game will actually be a Vikings win. Our backs are pretty much up against the wall. If we lose this game, I think the Childress era may be in danger. I will be watching MNF from another country in Canada....so I will try to get analysis done ASAP next week.