1) What an UGLY GAME!!!! You knew the Ol Gunslinger was probably going to have a little case of rust with him having missed training camp, but what the hell happened to last year's vaunted New Orleans Saints' offense? Aside from the 5 play, 77 yard opening drive that resulted in a 7-0 Saints Lead, last year's number one offense looked pretty average. For the remaining 27:56 of the first half, the Saints went scoreless and only managed 48 yards of total offense. Forget average!! Those are Oakland Raider type numbers.
2) If you had told me that this game was going to turn into a smash-mouth, run it down your throat, defensive slugfest, surely most people would have backed the Vikings right? I would have! Why wouldn't I take a team that ranked 2nd against the run last year and has the hardest power runner in the NFL in Adrian Peterson? Instead, Pierre Thomas and the Saint's front seven were able to impose their will and turn the tables. Not to say that I couldn't envision the defending champs winning their season opener at home against a team with a QB about to turn 41 years old, but the scenario playing out the way it did was about as likely as the Detroit Lions winning the Super Bowl this year.....(if there's a die hard Lions fan reading this, he's probably channeling Lloyd Christmas right about now: "SO YOU'RE SAYIN THERE'S A CHANCE")
3) So pretend you're Viking's head coach Brad Childress or Offensive Coordinator Darrell Bevell and it's the 4th quarter with 9:10 remaining in the game and you're down 14-9. The game has turned into a hard nosed, ball control, ground and pound, style football game. Option (a) go with a rusty QB and make our passing attack the focal point of our offense, minus a go to receiver, OR, option (b), go with the best power running back in the NFL who up to that point had averaged better than 4 and a half yards per carry? This isn't rocket science is it? With as much time as there is on the clock, we have to pound it with AP right? Well they went with option (a). Not only did they go with option (a), they almost completely forgot they had a running back because they didn't run the ball once in the 4th quarter!!! The only time Peterson touched the ball was on a broken down pass play that resulted in a three yard loss. I feel like tomorrow Zygi Wilf is going to call up the Viking's coaching office and re-enact a scene from the movie, "Midnight Run":
Zygi: "Hello is this Moron #1(Bevell)? Put Moron Number #2(Childress) on the phone...... I don't want to see either one of you two alive again until I see AP touch the ball a minimum of 6 times during the fourth quarter, you understand?"
4) The Preseason Number 1 rated kicker in fantasy football this Season? Garrett Hartley. Thursday night, his first FG attempt was from 46 yards out, which is by no means a chip shot, and he missed pretty badly. Not a big deal but one of those misses that could cost you in a close game. But then he gets a chance to essentially seal the game up in the 4th quarter and redeem himself from 32 yards, and he misses it even worse, inside a dome! This guy looked like the Rick Ankiel of football. Absolutely terrible. I'd be shocked if Sean Payton wasn't holding tryouts for a new field goal kicker by Friday.
Nevertheless, Thursday night served as an appetizer to my NFL regular season hunger. I'm sure I speak for most people when I say, "I can't wait for Sunday."
Thanks for reading everyone. Til next time, this is Jeff and Mike with the Sports JAM.
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