The Day After: A Few Vikings Notes
Some Monday notes...
The Vikings’ plan was to kick away from Bears PR Devin Hester, but P Chris Kluwe didn’t get his first punt out of bounds. Hester caught it at the 11-yard line and raced for an 89-yard return. Childress made clear that punt was supposed to go out of bounds. “Disappointed in that,” Childress said.
All right...I was wondering who should get the blame for that blunder. I'm glad to know that our coaching staff told Kluwe to boot it out of bounds...I'll admit that I was screaming at our coaches for not keeping the ball away from Hester on that return, so this report has restored a slight amount of my faith in Chilly and Company. It's surprising that Kluwe failed to punt it out of bounds, since he's usually such a good directional punter. Ah well.
Believe it or not, some props for Chilly:
Childress did acknowledge the team took extra care to keep track of Peterson’s touches Sunday to make sure they did not have a repeat of the Sept. 30 game against Green Bay. In that contest, Peterson made it onto the field for only 25 of the Vikings’ 65 plays. Against the Bears, Peterson was in for 34 of their 67 plays. RB Chester Taylor was on the field for 36 plays.
Good. I'm glad he's acknowledging the error of his ways in the Packers game, because his handling of Peterson in that game was inexcusable. If Chilly wants to keep his job and turn this season around, putting Peterson in the game for 34 plays is a good start...after all, you might win a few ballgames by giving AD the ball with some regularity. However, I find it troubling that our coach still considers Chester to be the starting running back...are you feeling ok, Chilly?
Just how dominant was Adrian against Da Bears? Check this out:
*Peterson’s 361 all-purpose yards Sunday against Chicago were the most in a single game by a rookie in NFL history. It’s the third-highest total all-time, behind Glyn Milburn (404 yards for Denver in 1995) and Billy Cannon (373 yards for Houston in 1961).*Peterson’s 224-yard rushing performance Sunday was the fifth-most by a rookie in NFL history. Denver’s Mike Anderson set the record of 251 yards in 2000.
If you're planning on buying an Adrian Peterson jersey, I'd suggest making that purchase in the very near future. Needless to say, those things are quickly becoming a must-have item.
