The Vikings had a poor showing last night against the Buccaneers in a 36-17 loss in which rookie running back, Doug Martin, ran all over the defense and the offense couldn't get any consistent spark. What didn't help were two fumbles, one by Jerome Simpson and the other by Adiran Peterson, along with one interception thrown by Ponder. The game started out poor, Ponder throwing 0/5 in the first two series and going 3 and out in both. That's when things started to get ugly. I'm not going to do a quarter by quarter analysis, but will toss out some numbers. Ponder ended the day 19/35 for 251 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. Peterson had another great showing with 15 touches for 123 yards, including a 64 yard rush that gave the team their 2nd TD. The First TD came from an 18 yard pass from Ponder to Harvin. That was one of the best throws of the year so far. Harvin ended with 7 receptions for 90 yards with that TD and a beautiful 32 yard bubble screen. Jenkins had 4 catches for 78 yards, Simpson 2 for 37, Gerhart 2 for 20, Rudolph 2 for 17, Ellison 1 for 5 and Peterson 1 for 4. It was nice seeing Ponder throw for more than 58 yards this week and to spread the ball around the way he did. But once again, poor play calling left the offense coming up short. There were also some noticeable lack of execution on the offensive side of the ball and more poor decisions by Ponder. It is clear that Ponder is not a QB that can play from behind. At least not at this point. More to come on that later.
As far as the defense goes, they struggled getting to the quarterback, with Jared Allen getting the only sack, which came one play after a very intriguing fight between him and Bucs LT Penn. The defense also struggled against the run allowing Doug Martin to rack up over 100 yards in the 1st half, ending the game with 135 yards. The pass defense had one of their worst game of the year, allowing 3 passing TDs. It didn't help that Cook left with a broken wrist and Jefferson was burned on a deep pass the next play. The defense has shown they can defend against some of the best, but last night was not one of those nights. The defense flat out got their asses handed to them last night.
But, the biggest problem. The fact that they can't play from behind. Harvin is the only viable receiver the Vikings have. Rudolph has been silenced the past few games, catching only 2 passes in the past 2 games. Carlson has fallen so far short and flat on his face of the expectations that the team had when signing him, I'm surprised he's not on IR for a broken nose (And wondering why he's still around considering Ellison's production thus far). And Jerome Simpson has yet to show that he can be the guy that would allow Ponder to air it out. Clearly, the Vikings have been winning by snatching and early lead and letting the defense close it out. But two games have shown that it is clear we can't rely on that. The Vikings got behind in the Redskins game and again last night, which exposed the lack of explosiveness on the offense to get a quick score. This raises a significant question, if Dwayne Bowe wants out of Kansas City so bad, should the Vikings entertain the notion of trading for him? Bowe has had his struggles, including multiple drops in his 2nd season that cost the Chiefs games, but over his career, he has been a very productive member of their offense. Could he be the consistent number 2 that we were hoping to get when we brought in Jenkins last year or signed Simpson this off season? I, for one, would not be against this trade if the Vikings were able to get the right price. But there's a lot of competition out there, including the Dolphins who have two 2nd Round picks in next years draft to dangle in front of the Chiefs. I understand that Spielman is hoping to build a young team that can grow together over the next couple of seasons, but Bowe is only 28. I'd encourage you to leave comments with your opinions on this subject.
The Vikings are now 5-3 with a long week before traveling to Seattle. As always, SKOL VIKIGNS!!!!!
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