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January 17, 2010

Time to look at positives, not the negatives

By Chad Courrier Free Press Staff Writer

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Vikings’ first home win of the regular season ended with a miraculous touchdown pass from Brett Favre to Greg Lewis in the final seconds of a 27-24 victory over San Francisco. On Sunday, the final home game, the outcome was far less stressful as the Vikings dominated Dallas 34-3 in the NFC semifinals.

In between, it’s been quite a Metrodome advantage this season, punctuated by loud, towel-waving fans that dredged up the kind of homefield advantage that was key to Minnesota Twins’ World Series victories in 1987 and 1991.

Last season, with Tarvaris Jackson quarterbacking the team, the Vikings made the playoffs but were eliminated in the first round, which is about as satisfying as not making the playoffs at all.

This season, quarterback Brett Favre provided the spark for regular-season success and hope for a Super Bowl trip in February. The first 16 games turned into another NFC North championship, but this season will be judged by how long it lasts. And this isn’t long enough to call it successful.

On Sunday, the sell-out crowd was loud, creating a home-field advantage that was a factor on stopping the Cowboys on key plays. The fans were hyped early, including the guy in the polar-bear suit with a purple No. 4 spray-painted on his back or the fan, most likely male, in the skin-tight, purple body suit covering head to toe, accented nicely by bright gold shoes and a cape.

Once play started, Dallas looked to have the advantage, but by the second quarter, the defense had figured out the Cowboys and the offense was loading up for an upcoming barrage of Favre-to-Sidney Rice touchdown passes.

It was a performance that had to exhilarate even the most fatalistic Vikings fans, whom it seems would rather see a loss than gave any credit to coach Brad Childress. It’s hard to say if the fans are excited by another week of Super Bowl hope or scared that fully jumping onto the bandwagon will hurt more if the ride gets stopped at New Orleans on Sunday.

This victory was complete, starting with the kickoff and punt coverage. The defense was dominant, much more so than the heavily hyped Dallas defenders, and with six sacks and three turnovers, the Vikings allowed the Cowboys to cross the 20-yard line only once.

While the offense didn’t run up and down the field at will, Favre struck when he could and handed off to Adrian Peterson when that was appropriate. Peterson finished with only 63 yards, but the Vikings didn’t give up on the ground game, with Peterson getting 26 carries. Sidney Rice continued his season of emergence, and the offensive line played its best game in the last two months.

And it’s better to have a kicker like Ryan Longwell than Steve Suisham, who probably would have been playing his final game in a Cowboys’ uniform even had the Cowboys won.

The Vikings’ only hiccups this season have come on the road, and next week’s game at New Orleans is the toughest challenge so far. But this is not the time to look at negatives, not after watching the Vikings dominate a game that many thought they had little chance to win.



Chad Courrier is a Free Press staff writer. To contact him, call 507-344-6353 or by e-mail.

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