Official Packers vs. Vikings Gameday Thread

[mraynrand]

Looks like All-Day kicked our ass, but wasn't enough on his own.

There were a lot of rookies/redshirt freshmen out there who had never tried to tackle Peterman before. At least some of the yardage can be attributed to that. It's a jarring experience!

[mraynrand]

He needs help from the Queens fans:

http://fox6now.com/2012/12/03/minnes...svikings-game/

Haven't we seen enough of this? When will the madness end? When will fists finally be outlawed in this country?

[Cheesehead Craig]

Yes...we saw what Ray Rice did last week (Ravens @ Bolts) just coming out of the backfield to lend a short passing option for Joe Flacco when his reads downfield spelled nothing. Ponder's arm isn't good. Give him a short pass option to the best RB in the NFL. I felt that AP should have been used even more, given the importance of this game to the Vikings. Then there's this:

http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Zulgad_Adrian_Peterson_attempts_to_shoulder_some_of_the_blame_for_loss120212

Updated: December 2nd, 2012 5:37pm

Adrian Peterson attempts to shoulder some of the blame for loss

Peterson isn't an every down back like Ray Rice is. They are different types of backs. AP is the best runner hands down in the league but as was pointed out earlier, he's poor at pass blocking and he is not a good route runner nor can he catch very well. That's why he's on the bench on passing downs. Whereas Rice is fantastic in the pass game both with blocking and receiving.

[woodbuck27]

Peterson isn't an every down back like Ray Rice is. They are different types of backs. AP is the best runner hands down in the league but as was pointed out earlier, he's poor at pass blocking and he is not a good route runner nor can he catch very well. That's why he's on the bench on passing downs. Whereas Rice is fantastic in the pass game both with blocking and receiving.

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nfl/stats/byposition?pos=RB&conference=NFL&year=season_2012&timeframe=ToDate&sort=610&old_category=RB

AP isn't horrible receiving the ball and has made 36 receptions so far this season. That places him among the top ten RB's for receptions made and near the top twelve in total yards receiving among all RB's.

I'm not going to get into any argument on his ability or not to block on passing down as he's too valuable as a rusher to use blocking in passing situations. He's a running back...the best in the NFL and not a WR. Does he need to be an excellent passing route runner?

[Cheesehead Craig]

Actually, he's 23rd in RB rec yards. His receiving abilities, pass blocking and route running have been his Achilles heel since he came into the league, it's no secret. He'll have more targets and rec this year because of the pathetic QB the Vikes have and that he can only do dump down passes.

While I agree that the Vikes should be keeping him in all the time, there are some valid issues with why he's not.

[mraynrand]

Actually, he's 23rd in RB rec yards. His receiving abilities, pass blocking and route running have been his Achilles heel since he came into the league, it's no secret. He'll have more targets and rec this year because of the pathetic QB the Vikes have and that he can only do dump down passes.

It's not completely on Ponder - Vikings have no WRs other than Harvin. Jenkins was done two years ago. Ruvell Martin would be a stand out in the crew.

[Zool]

It's not completely on Ponder - Vikings have no WRs other than Harvin. Jenkins was done two years ago. Ruvell Martin would be a stand out in the crew.

Agreed. He and Rudolph had a good thing going in the first half. Once the Packers closed that loop, he had not much else to work with on that WR core.

[Joemailman]

Percy Harvin out for the year.

Bad news is Bears won't have to face him this week.

Good news is Packers won't have to face him Dec. 30.

[mraynrand]

Percy Harvin out for the year..

injury prone!

[Cheesehead Craig]

Plus it's rumored that Percy is very unhappy in MN. So their only legit WR may very well pout his way out of town or leave after next season when he's an UFA.

And I would say that the majority of the offense woes is on Ponder. He not only can't make the throws to open players but often doesn't even see them in the first place.

[KYPack]

Plus it's rumored that Percy is very unhappy in MN. So their only legit WR may very well pout his way out of town or leave after next season when he's an UFA.

And I would say that the majority of the offense woes is on Ponder. He not only can't make the throws to open players but often doesn't even see them in the first place.

Ponder looked like he might develop, but man, he's in a death spiral (he can't throw a spiral) right now.

[woodbuck27]

Ponder looked like he might develop, but man, he's in a death spiral (he can't throw a spiral) right now.

Yup. Christian Ponder is sure struggling. Is it the famous 'sophomore JINX'?

Here's a story on this 2nd year QB and that related to Percy Harvins health this season:

http://nfl.si.com/2012/12/06/does-percy-harvins-absence-buy-christian-ponder-more-time/

and this:

Christian Ponder enters the week ranked 25th with a 79.4 passer rating. Considering that his ratings were 105.5, 114.6 and 94.7 in the first three games, you can see just how bad things have got for Ponder.

[Lurker64]

Actually, he's 23rd in RB rec yards. His receiving abilities, pass blocking and route running have been his Achilles heel since he came into the league, it's no secret. He'll have more targets and rec this year because of the pathetic QB the Vikes have and that he can only do dump down passes.

Peterson's receiving yards statistic is inflated by the fact that he can take run a 2 yard pattern and receive an easy-to-catch pass and then run for like 40 yards because he's hard to tackle.

[Cheesehead Craig]

Peterson's receiving yards statistic is inflated by the fact that he can take run a 2 yard pattern and receive an easy-to-catch pass and then run for like 40 yards because he's hard to tackle.

What's interesting though is that even though he's like 10th in RB rec, he's 23rd in yds for RBs. His ypc is surprisingly lower than most other RBs which means he's not breaking tackles on his catches. It's odd as one would figure that he's got to just beat one guy and he's a runaway freight train. But why can't he? IMO, that's indictative of his poor route running. He's not getting separation from the LBs and gets dropped right away.

[mraynrand]

I've watched about 4 or 5 vikings games on that NFL Dish 'shortcuts' deal. It's remarkable how that offense is completely horizontal. Passes in the flat to Peterman, WR screens or quick tosses to Percy Farvin, short dumps to the TE over the middle. Absolutely no deep game at all. Even when the Vikes got down by two scores against other teams, they kept running the ball and throwing the screens and dump offs. The reason is they have no other options. I really thought the game with the Pack would be a total laugher, except that the Packers did enough to keep it close. I don't imagine all their rookies and redshirt rookies will have as hard a time tackling Peterman in the dome. I give it about equal odds that one of Chad Johnson, T.O. or Braying Jackass will be in a Vikings uniform for the Dec 30 rematch. But it won't help.