While a win may be a win, there are still some issues that need to be ironed out in practice this week before the Vikings go to Tennessee. There were also some great performances on Sunday that deserve mention. I’m a good-news-first kind of guy, so here are the three champs first, followed by three chinks in the Minnesota armor.
Three Champs
Gus Frerotte
Gus-Gus showed us that the quarterback is the most important position on the field. You may have millions invested elsewhere, but a team won’t be successful without a decent quarterback. Frerotte proved himself worthy of the starting spot, even if he did get some help from those lost pages Childress discovered in his playbook. He stepped up and made some big plays, but thought he was a statue no fewer than three times in the pocket; resulting in three sacks.
Artis Hicks/Marcus Johnson
These two stepped up together in the absense of Bryant McKinnie and turned one of, if not the most feared Panther defender into little more than a non-factor. Julius Peppers is one of the best defensive ends in the league yet these little-used tackles held him to three tackles and one sack. The lone sack wasn’t even a result of Peppers’ bull-rushing ability, but more of Frerotte’s inability to scramble.
Ryan Longwell
Little praise has been given so far this season for kicker Longwell. He has only missed one field goal, which was over 40 yards, and has nailed every extra point. We need to be glad we have a consistent, albeit old and weak, kicker who can put us on the board when the offense is struggling. See: vs. Colts. Let’s just be glad we don’t have Shaun Suisham instead.
Three Chinks
Special Teams Coverage
The Panthers returned five kickoffs on Sunday for an average of 29.2 yards. That is ridiculously bad. While it is a good thing we have such a dominant defense, they would do a whole lot better if they weren’t forced to take the field when the other team is already near the 30-yard line.
Bernard Berrian
Berrian is either a washed-up receiver or his toe is still bothering him. Maybe both. He was thrown to only five times on Sunday, of which he caught three. He isn’t getting open against whichever corner is opposing him. This week the lucky soul was Panther corner Chris Gamble, who turned his Berrian assingment into an interception, which highlighted his dominating performance. Gamble is fast and lightfooted, but has almost no acceleration. I’m still holding out that Berrian will be better when fully healthy—and not a $43.4 million disappointment.
Aundre Allison
Allison is a punt-return man first and a receiver second, but that doesn’t excuse him from only having one catch against the Panthers on Sunday. He returned five punts, and had a total of zero return yards. The kicker is that he only fair caught three of those five. He muffed one and was stopped in his tracks for the other one. Minnesota either needs to find a better punt-return man or get better coverage.
