Thread: Good thing Vikings rely on passing, not running game

"VikingNed" wrote:

"FedjeViking" wrote:

I've been saying all along that the running game sucks. This is no surprise, we need a good RB.

Fedje,





Try to relax, we do have a good running back, just wait for the real games to start, we will all be smileling in the end....Trust Me.. ;D

Are you sure Ned? I usually see some kind of run that let's me know there is hope. I have seen none so far! There was only (1) 9 yd run last game that I can remember. There also was no consistency of the length/yardage of the runs.

"Articnv" wrote:

it me not seme liek the
runnign game is there but
we are
simple doign vanila
regualr season si were the game plan will coem put and the runnign
game should be tons better

Does that make any sense??

"Braddock" wrote:

"Articnv" wrote:

it me not seme liek the
runnign game is there but

we are
simple doign vanila
regualr season si were the game plan will coem put and the runnign
game should be tons better

Does that make any sense??

LOL! I think it may be Swahili.Here's a translation guide for you.

http://research.yale.edu/cgi-bin/swahili/main.cgi?right_frame_src=http%3A//research.yale.edu/swahili/serve_pages/pronunciation.php

"Braddock" wrote:

"Articnv" wrote:

it me not seme liek the
runnign game is there but

we are
simple doign vanila
regualr season si were the game plan will coem put and the runnign
game should be tons better

Does that make any sense??

"boognish" wrote:

LOL! I think it may be Swahili.Here's a translation guide for you.

http://research.yale.edu/cgi-bin/swahili/main.cgi?right_frame_src=http%3A//research.yale.edu/swahili/serve_pages/pronunciation.php

It makes perfect sense to me. Leave Articnv's spelling & grammer alone. You know nothing about him & you should not critisize him.

Attacks on a persons spelling or grammer is against the "Golden Rule".

I believe you boys owe Arcticnv an apology.

It's still preseason. It seems like preseason is worse than the offseason here, b/c everyone gets hyped up over things 10x what they do during offseason... I will worry about things when we start losing real games...Much simpler that way.

"singersp" wrote:

"Braddock" wrote:

"Articnv" wrote:

it me not seme liek the
runnign game is there but

we are
simple doign vanila
regualr season si were the game plan will coem put and the runnign
game should be tons better

Does that make any sense??

"boognish" wrote:

LOL! I think it may be Swahili.Here's a translation guide for you.

http://research.yale.edu/cgi-bin/swahili/main.cgi?right_frame_src=http%3A//research.yale.edu/swahili/serve_pages/pronunciation.php

It makes perfect sense to me. Leave Articnv's spelling & grammer alone. You know nothing about him & you should not critisize him.

I believe you boys owe Arcticnv an apology.

Sorry Dad, and Arc. I never criticise people for spelling and most gramatical mistakes, but c'mon this makes no sense..."si were the game plan will coem put and the runnign
game"

I can only hope that this being preseason is the reason for the Vikes lack of production in the running game. At this point I cannot decide what is a bigger surprise, the utter lack of meaningful gains in the rushing department, or the new found tenacity on defense! I might be wrong but I don't think run production is something you can turn on and off like a light switch. Maybe the O-line needs more time to gel? I know the talent is there on paper,.........but isn't that an eerily familiar feeling to all Vikings fans everywhere! I don't want to make this sound like a typical KFAN total negative post,....but I am truely worried, if we can't run the ball effectively, the year is lost, and BJ will not survive if opposing D's know that all we got is dink and dunk and the occasional deep ball,.......someone please convince me that I am worried over nothing. Tell me that it takes time for the talent we have on that line to gel together and become an effective unit. Going into the preseason I was convinced we were going to be blowing open holes big enough to drive a truck through,..... I have yet to see anything resembling a dominent O-line,.......and dare I say it,....... not even as good as last years!! HELP ME!!! Mix up a fresh batch of Purple Kool-Aid!! Head back to Mankato,.....call Steve Loney,.......AGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
Honestly,,.......convince me I'm wrong!!!

"boognish" wrote:

"singersp" wrote:

"Braddock" wrote:

"Articnv" wrote:

it me not seme liek the
runnign game is there but

we are
simple doign vanila
regualr season si were the game plan will coem put and the runnign
game should be tons better

Does that make any sense??

"boognish" wrote:

LOL! I think it may be Swahili.Here's a translation guide for you.

http://research.yale.edu/cgi-bin/swahili/main.cgi?right_frame_src=http%3A//research.yale.edu/swahili/serve_pages/pronunciation.php

It makes perfect sense to me. Leave Articnv's spelling & grammer alone. You know nothing about him & you should not critisize him.

I believe you boys owe Arcticnv an apology.

Sorry Dad, and Arc. I never criticise people for spelling and most gramatical mistakes, but c'mon this makes no sense..."si were the game plan will coem put and the runnign
game"

I'm not sure how long you have been around.
Articnv is dyslectic. So in other words cut him some slack.

"Del" wrote:

"boognish" wrote:

"singersp" wrote:

"Braddock" wrote:

"Articnv" wrote:

it me not seme liek the
runnign game is there but

we are
simple doign vanila
regualr season si were the game plan will coem put and the runnign
game should be tons better

Does that make any sense??

"boognish" wrote:

LOL! I think it may be Swahili.Here's a translation guide for you.

http://research.yale.edu/cgi-bin/swahili/main.cgi?right_frame_src=http%3A//research.yale.edu/swahili/serve_pages/pronunciation.php

It makes perfect sense to me. Leave Articnv's spelling & grammer alone. You know nothing about him & you should not critisize him.

I believe you boys owe Arcticnv an apology.

Sorry Dad, and Arc. I never criticise people for spelling and most gramatical mistakes, but c'mon this makes no sense..."si were the game plan will coem put and the runnign
game"

I'm not sure how long you have been around.
Articnv is dyslectic. So in other words cut him some slack.

I think Boognish is young and from his posts I have read I don't think he is big enough to apologize.

[size=10pt]Vikings' running game is stuck in a rut[/size]

http://www.startribune.com/510/story/641619.html

In case you haven't noticed, it hasn't been a stellar preseason for the Vikings' brand new running game. Only one tailback is averaging better than 2.9 yards per carry, and it isn't undisputed starter Chester Taylor or former fourth-round draft picks Mewelde Moore or Ciatrick Fason.
It's Wendell Mathis, an undrafted rookie from Fresno State. He's averaging 4.3 yards per carry, 26.2 yards per kickoff return and, better yet, his health has held up for three consecutive games.

"I've always been durable," Mathis said Friday, after injuries to Moore, Fason and kick returner Kevin Kasper enabled him to touch the ball a team-high 12 times in a 30-7 preseason victory over Baltimore.

If Moore could say the same thing of his brief career, the Vikings probably would be set at backup running back. But he has missed the past two preseason games because of a knee injury. He might play in Thursday's preseason finale at Dallas, but even if he does, his lack of dependability will no doubt make the Vikings at least consider keeping an extra running back.

"Mewelde makes it tough on a coaching staff," said former Vikings running backs coach Dean Dalton. "It's frustrating because when he has played, he's been great. But he's also been fragile."

'I catch the ball and run with it'

One man's injury -- or in this case injuries to three men -- has been a perfect opportunity for Mathis. He has latched onto it, even if it meant returning kickoffs for the first time in a game.

"Before this, I could have counted the number of kickoffs I've caught in my life on one hand," Mathis said. "But I'm a running back. I catch the ball and I run with it. It's like second nature."

Kasper, who is sidelined because of an ankle injury, leads the Vikings in kickoff return average at 35.5. He might play Thursday. Then again, he might not, in which case Mathis should get another look.

Fason was supposed to get a long look in the backfield on Friday. But he injured his left shoulder early in the game and didn't return. He returned to practice Sunday, but the injury might have been another red flag for the new coaching staff.

Mathis stepped in for Fason and had a game-high 41 yards rushing on 10 carries. It was his second consecutive game-high total, and it included a 5-yard run with the first team when Taylor missed a play because he was poked in the eye.

"I like his energy and enthusiasm," Dalton said of Mathis. "He's got the guts to run it up in there hard. And you can tell that system at Fresno State taught him how to pass protect."

Except for elite players, most rookie running backs sit simply because they can't protect franchise quarterbacks. Mathis picked up several blitzes Friday night, although coach Brad Childress did mention one miss that led to Mike McMahon being sacked.

Mathis rushed for 2,300 yards in two seasons after transferring to Fresno State from UCLA. He had 1,313 yards and 15 touchdowns last season.

Yet the draft came and went without Mathis being selected.

"That surprises me, but then again it doesn't," said Vikings third-year back Adimchinobe Echemandu, a seventh-round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2004. "They say running backs and wide receivers come a dime by the dozen. Look at Denver. They pick up any back and fit him into the system. Backs are expendable, so you find a lot of good ones who aren't drafted."

Taylor was a sixth-round draft pick of Baltimore's in 2002. A career backup until this year, he has averaged at least 4.2 yards per carry every year since his rookie season. This preseason, however, he's averaging only 2.8 yards per carry while playing with the first team.

"I'm not concerned," Taylor said. "We still have two weeks to work out some things."

Still getting used to one another

The Vikings want to be a physical running team. But that's hard to do when the backfield is new and no one on the line had played alongside the guy next to him before training camp opened. Altogether, the new backfield and offensive line have played about four quarters together this preseason.

"I was telling Chester, 'I'm new, you're new, hey, we're all new,' " fullback Tony Richardson said. "Running the ball is not an easy thing to do in the National Football League. But we do have the guys who can do it once we work it all out. You'll see."


Mark Craig • [email protected]