Vikings lose again, 34-31 to Green Bay

By: Larry Fitzgerald
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 9/15/2004
 

Things are as tight as they can get in the NFC North, thanks to a couple of things. First of all, apparently the Minnesota Vikings are not as good as advertised. A preseason Super Bowl pick by many, the Vikings have lost three straight games and allowed the Green Bay Packers, who started the season 1-4, to take possession of the division lead.

The Packers beat the Vikings 34-31 on Sunday, and by virtue of the win have taken control of the NFC North. Somebody said long ago it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. Last year, the Vikings started 6-0 and lost four in a row — seven of their last 10 — to miss the playoffs with a 9-7 record.

This year, the Vikings started 5-1, and have lost three straight — 34-13 to New York, 31-28 to Indianapolis, and 34-31 to Green Bay. Randy Moss has not caught a pass in four games and has not played in two weeks.

Moss’ serious high-right hamstring injury has turned the Vikings forecast from optimistic to pessimistic. He’s listed as questionable Sunday against Detroit. Nate Burleson is on fire; Monday night he returned a punt 91 yards for a touchdown, and had a career-best game Sunday with 11 catches for 141 yards and one touchdown.

“A loss is a loss. That’s the toughest part,” said Burleson. “Being without Randy is part of the game. He’s one of our key guys, and a very explosive player and a leader. It’s hard on us not having him. Regardless, we’ve got to be ready to play, and we can’t worry about certain guys not being able to play.”

After back-to-back road losses, the Vikings are at home the next two weeks playing Detroit and Jacksonville.

The Vikings are 3-1 at home; however, Detroit beat the Giants and Jacksonville beat Indianapolis.

Did Head Coach Mike Tice mishandle the situation by trying to play Moss against Tennessee and New York? Also, since Tice introduced President George Bush at the Target Center the night before the Giants game, handing him a No. 1 Vikings jersey two days before the election before 20,000 screaming Republicans, the Vikings are 0-3.

How good is this team?

The Vikings have not beaten a team with a winning record this year; three of their four losses have come to first-place teams — Philadelphia (8-1), Indianapolis (6-3), and Green Bay (5-4). In fact, the last time they beat a team with a winning record was last December against Kansas City.

Dallas is 3-6, Chicago is 4-5, Houston is 4-5, New Orleans is 4-5, and Tennessee is 3-6. Combined, they are 18-28.

I thought Republicans were supposed to be tough on defense. Minnesota has allowed 227 points in nine games. Moss does not play defense. Thirty-three points a game the last three weeks is far too much. Ted Cottrell’s defense is rated 28th in the league. That is not playoff caliber.

The Vikings defense has been torched by three previous MVP quarterbacks — Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning and Brett Favre. And they did a poor job of defending the run the last three weeks against three great running backs — Tiki Barber, Edgerrin James and Ahman Green. All three had their way against the Vikings defense.

The Packers ran at will for 206 yards and built a big lead. Just like against New York and Indianapolis, the Vikings were forced to play catch-up, and that is not their game.

Quarterback Daunte Culpepper has been sensational. Sunday, he threw four more TD passes for 363 yards. He is on pace to have one of the greatest seasons by a quarterback in league history.

Culpepper has thrown 25 touchdown passes for 2,712 yards. His QB rating is 120.0, and he is completing 72 percent of his passes. Both Culpepper and Peyton Manning of Indianapolis, who has thrown 31 TD passes, are on pace to smash the record of 48 touchdown passes in one season by Miami’s Dan Marino.