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Minnesota Vikings -------- Carlolina Panthers
3rd, NFC North Standing 3rd, NFC South
313.2 ypg (22nd) Offense 305.3 ypg (23rd)
228.7 ypg (11th) Passing 215.8 ypg (15th)
84.5 ypg (26th) Rushing 89.5 ypg (24th)
346.5 ypg (25th) Defense 320.5 ypg (19th)
Won 1 Streaks Won 3
Amazing that the spread on the game is 8!!!!!!!!!
that is very true. this game is going to be alot closer than many people think.
Holy.. Nice stats there man! Way to break that down.. I thought thier stats would crush ours!
Carolina is 3rd against the run on defense. We are VERY far from that !!!
Also, let's look at statistics that really matter: turnovers, penalties, and third down conversion success. The other stats don't mean that much, in my opinion.
Stats are also interrelated. For example, imagine a team that is tearing through another team by just passing all over them. The end result might be that that team wins big and then is ranked nr. 1 passing, but nr. 32 rushing, because they didn't need to run at all. Overall, they might be ranked nr. 16 on offense, but that doesn't tell the whole story.
The real stats that matter:
1. Turnovers to takeaway ratio
2. Penalties - how many
3. Third down conversion %
I don't think the Vikings stack up well with many teams on those.
A lot of people probaly think that the Panthers are a good team and we only won because we played a bad team with injuries but they will find out the truth this Sunday.
[size=18px]Panthers living up to the hype[/size]
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=knight-_WWW_SPRT_13015878&prov=knight&type=lgns
BY DON SEEHOLZER, Pioneer Press
October 28, 2005
Like the Vikings, the Carolina Panthers were a trendy preseason pick to reach the Super Bowl.
Unlike the Purple, the Panthers are 4-2.
But Carolina has been anything but dominant. The Panthers have won their past three games by a total of eight points, and their traditionally strong running game ranks 24th in the NFL. Still, their status is much more solid than that of the Vikings (2-4), who play at Charlotte, N.C., on Sunday.
All things considered, Carolina coach John Fox will take it.
"I don't think you are ever totally satisfied," Fox said. "I'd much prefer being 6-0 than 4-2, but when you've been in this business as long as most of us have, you don't really go by what the media says. We're never as bad as any media says, and we're never as good as they say we are. You just try to be the same team."
The Panthers have been good enough to win four of five games since a stunning 23-20 home loss to the New Orleans Saints in the season opener.
Except for a 27-17 victory over New England, all four games went down to the wire. Fox disputes the notion that his team has played to the level of the competition.
"I think the reality is the competition is good on both sides," he said. "I think when you look across the league, every once in a while, people play giveaway and turn the ball over five times, but if you play good football, most of these games come down to the end. … I think it's just the nature of our league."
Defensive end Mike Rucker concedes that the Panthers have yet to play their best football.
"I think there have been times when we have been up and down," he said. "I don't think that we have been on all cylinders. Either the offense has been on and we've been a little bit shaky, or special teams have been a little shaky, or the offense has been shaky. I think we haven't put a complete game together, but we've been fortunate enough that two phases of the game have been on enough to keep us in the ballgame."
To some observers, Carolina simply isn't playing John Fox football, which typically features a strong defense and ground game.
This year's Panthers rank 27th in the NFL in pass defense - 18 spots lower than during their Super Bowl season of 2003 - allowing 242.8 yards a game.
Then there's the running game, where Stephen Davis, coming back from a knee injury that kept him out of all but two games last season, has rushed for 318 yards but is averaging just 3.1 yards a carry.
"I've told our local media that the defense practices, too, and they can dictate a little bit of that by how many people they put in the box," Fox said of his rushing offense. "We have to get better at it. Like everything, I don't think you ever sit in one of these chairs and think, 'Boy, we've arrived.' I know I don't, and I'm sure nobody else does. We've got a lot of areas that we've got to improve in, and that's one of them."
For the Panthers to win their division, improvement is probably necessary.
Unlike the Vikings, who play in the feeble NFC North, Rucker knows Carolina will have to be at the top of its game to overtake Tampa Bay (5-1) and Atlanta (5-2) in the rugged NFC South.
"It's very competitive," he said. "There is no room for slack. Each Sunday counts, especially when you are in your division or your conference."
A year ago, injuries derailed the Panthers, who stumbled to a 1-7 start, then won six of their next seven games before a season-ending, 21-18 loss to New Orleans that kept them from the playoffs.
That strong finish led Sports Illustrated, among others, to make Carolina its preseason pick to reach the Super Bowl, but Fox said some things must occur for that to happen.
"I think the first thing is to stay healthy," he said. "We've lost a couple of guys. Last year we lost 14, so you've got to avoid that, and you've just got to have some good fortune and play smart and tough. I think if you do that through 16 games, you win your share, and then once you get into that other tournament, you've got to be on."
The trick, as the Panthers learned last season, is getting there first.
Unless Antoine Winfield gets his acceleration back, this game will be a 'Who can stop 85?' deal.
I think it's pretty clear. If Daunte can find himself and work up a little momentum and have a unmistakeable game, then the Vikings are definitely capable of winning this game. Of couse though, as history precedes us, it's difficult to predict how we'll play.
VIKINGS - 21
PANTHERS- 16
Culpepper- 2 TD's
Moore- 101 yds. 1 TD
Delhomme- 2 fumbles (1 lost)
27th in pass defense.....Wow....Definitely should beat this team when you are weak against the pass it is not something you can fix right away. Daunte should get ready to have a good day, a very good day. I think it's more of can we stop them......I think there will be a lot of points put up on both sides but we should win.