Vikings Win
By Tom Grout
September 22, 2008
-Well, the Vikings changed quarterbacks and they won a game, how about that. I have read some fans response in the Star Tribune and some are saying that Gus Frerotte didn’t do any better than T-Jack. I wonder if they were watching the same game as I was.
Frerotte may not have been perfect and maybe this quarterback rating system they have now says he wasn’t much better, but I, for one, think he was much better. He just has this air of confidence that a veteran quarterback has that T-Jack doesn’t have. The game is just a lot slower to Gus than Jackson. Because the game is slower Gus was able to find the open receiver when the primary one was covered. He did this more than a few times in the game. This is something Jackson struggled with a lot.
The offensive pay calling was different too. They came out and passed a lot more and they had just about as many pass plays as they did running plays. Now, that can be looked on as a good thing or a bad thing because the Vikings are a running team and they did get away from that a little bit. But the Vikings also need to show the league that they can actually have a passing game which, of course, should open up the run even more.
Do I think that Gus Frerotte will lead the team to a Super Bowl? Maybe, but the defense will have to stay strong all year. It would be nice to have a younger quarterback that could step in and take charge right now but the Vikings don’t have that. Frerotte is the best quarterback they have right now and this team has been put together to win right now so to say he will be the guy the rest of the year was the right thing to do.
Detractors can say the Viking defense just isn’t as dominate as they want it to be at this point. The way I see it is that they are doing just fine. They played more than good enough to win in all three games this year and they totally befuddled two very good quarterbacks in Peyton Manning and Jake Delhomme. E.J. Henderson is playing like a Hall of Famer at middle linebacker right now and I have found that Jared Allen does make players around him better. He hustles on every play and even if he doesn’t make a sack he is right there and the quarterbacks know it.
It’s hard to say this was a must win especially so early in the season but it was. To go 0-3 would have put the team in a real bind so this win was sweet.
-The Twins now head into the last week of the regular season. They have three big games with the White Sox and since the Twins are still 2.5 games back this will obviously be a big series. The Twins, however, do control their own destiny here because all they have to do is keep winning so it is up to them.
The starting pitching of late has been disturbing. Glen Perkins has not only crashed into a wall he is melding himself into it. I’m not sure what happened here, whether he has some mechanical things going wrong, he is getting tired out, or the fact that the teams are adjusting to him and he hasn’t been able to adjust back.
You can say the same things about Nick Blackburn too. I have said it here before that I think Blackburn’s success this year is just an apparition. It is just a feeling I have and how much he reminds me of Joe Mays. He may be an effective bullpen guy though with that sinker ball ready to come in and get that needed double play,
Have the Twins really missed Torii Hunter in centerfield this year? Carlos Gomez is all over the place out there. He has saved more runs by cutting balls off than I think Torii could have, Gomez is just that much faster at getting to some balls. Yes Gomez has made some mistakes, but with his athletic ability I can’t wait to watch him grow.
Adam Everett was in the starting lineup on Sunday. I wish we could see more of that.
Frerotte did a pretty fair job, not a huge jump over TJack but better. I don't consider Frerotte a first stringer but a step up. I still think if TJack can sit and watch for a couple years, he'll be fine. Romo never got on the field for three years, TJack was forced in too early. I do think the Vikes will be better off if Adrian doesn't run thirty times a game. I think last week was a good blue-print on how the Vikes will win games. I like the defense, they're not perfect but pretty darn good.
As for the Twins pitching, I think they are just plain tired. They've had a lot of innings under their belt. They're up 7-1 as I write so they are in the hunt!
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