Its been 9 years since the Minnesota Vikings made it to the NFC Championship game. The last time the Vikings played in the Championship game it was on the road against the New York Giants in 2001. The game ended up 0-41 for the Vikings, a total embarrassment. With all of the talent the Vikings had with Culpepper, Moss, Cris Carter, and Robert Smith, the Vikings didn’t score a point. In a lot of ways this was the Vikings window closing. With all of their talent they couldn’t get past the NFC Championship game, losing only two years earlier to the Atlanta Falcons. After the devastating loss to the Giants the next couple of years the Vikings were forced to go into a rebuilding mode: Robert Smith retired, Cris Carter moved on, Kory Stringer passed away, and Dennis Green was fired. The Vikings did not return to the playoffs until January of 2005 and really have not accomplished much since their last NFC Championship game season.

So it is 2010 and there are but two teams remaining in the NFC, Saints and Vikings. The winner will go to the big game, the loser goes home. Again the Vikings are going to be playing on the road as they did against the New York Giants. The New Orleans Saints are the team that stands in the way of the Vikings making their 5th Super Bowl appearance. The Saints have shown to be a very explosive team on offense and strive on defense by the way of making turnovers. If the game was being played at home for the Vikings they would be favored to win this game. Again this week the Vikings are the underdog. However, there are a number of things that the Vikings can do to improve their chances of winning this game.

1. Do not turn the ball over. This is the most important thing that the Vikings can do to help their chances to pull off the upset. The Saints live and die off of turnovers. The Vikings must take care of the ball.

2. Get an early lead. With the noise in the dome at the loudest the Vikings must score early to take away some of the crowd noise. If the Vikings can weather the storm of the Saints offensive attack in the first few series their chances of winning increase.

3. Put pressure on Drew Brees. With the game being played in New Orleans do not expect the Viking defensive line to be as strong as last week. However, it is imperative that the Vikings put consistent pressure on Drew Brees. The New Orleans Saints lead the league offensively with most points scored and most yards gained per game. The Saints passing game is too good and the Vikings secondary is too weak to allow Drew Brees the time to makes his reads. If Brees is given time to throw play after play the Vikings will lose this game.

4. Do not allow the big play. The Saints last week were full of big touchdown plays. They had the Reggie Bush punt return, the Reggie Bush rushing touchdown, and the flea-flicker touchdown pass. The Vikings must stop the big play. The Saints are going to take their shots downfield and the Vikings must be ready for them.

So here we are 9 years later. The window has reopened and the Minnesota Vikings are loaded with talent, as are the Saints. This is another big game for the Minnesota Vikings and a big challenge against a very talented New Orleans Saints team. The Vikings can win this game and have a great opportunity to do so. What this game comes down to is “who wants it more?”

Paul Gantner

Its “Go Time” for the Minnesota Vikings. After a week off they meet a strong Cowboy team who appears to be peaking. So do the Vikings have a chance to beat the Cowboys? Not according to the national media and the sports writers. Although the Vikings are favored by 2 ½, due to home field advantage, they are looked at as the underdog. And they should be looked at as the underdog. The Cowboys are a hot team right now and have definitely played better football in the last month in comparison to the Vikings. However, the Vikings still have a good chance to win the game. There are several things that the Vikings can do in order to improve there chances at getting a victory.

1.) The Vikings need to get an early lead. The Vikings have shown late in the year that they do not do well when playing from behind. This is evident by the late year losses against the Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals, and the Chicago Bears. Minnesota started slow in each of these games and did not appear to be comfortable in comeback mode. On the other side of this the Vikings have been a good frontrunner.

2.) The Vikings cannot afford to turn the ball over. Brett Favre has only had 7 interceptions this year. In 3 of their 4 losses Favre
had a total of 4 interceptions. This goes back to the first point that if the Vikings get an early lead Favre is less likely to throw an
interception. Adrian Peterson must hold on to the ball. Peterson has a terrible history of fumbling the ball.

3.) The Vikings must get to Tony Romo. A key to this is to stop the Cowboys running game and make them one dimensional. Tony Romo has been playing sensational as of late and has shown to be very elusive. The combination of Romo’s skills and a weak Vikings secondary can spell disaster for the Vikings if Romo is given time to throw. The Vikings must mix up their blitzes and put consistent pressure on Tony Romo. If not, Romo could end up with 4 touchdown passes or more.

4.) The Vikings must protect Brett Favre. The old football cliche is “it all starts up front”. Of course this cliche could apply for any football game. A good offensive line provides lanes to run through and also allows time for the quaterback to pass. A good defensive line shuts down the run and puts prerssure on the quarterback on passing downs. In Viking losses this year the offensive line struggled to protect Favre. If Favre isn’t protected and the the Vikings get behind, this game could possibly be over by halftime.

5.) Shutdown or limit Jason Witten. Witten has 94 receptions this year and is Tony Romo’s favorite receiver. With EJ Henderson out this presents a big problem for the Viking defense. Witten is the primary receiver for Romo in a lot of plays. With the combination of covering Witten and applying pressure on Romo, this could result in a “win, win” scenario for the Vikings. The Vikings cannot expect Jasper Brinkly to cover Jason Witten without any additional help.

The Minnesota Vikings haven’t won a playoff game since the 2004 season. The Vikings lost last year in the opening round of the playoffs and brought in Brett Favre this year with high expectations of at least going deep into the playoffs. This is a big game. Although the majority of the media favor the Cowboys, the Vikings still have a very good chance at winning this game. And if the Arizona Cardinals play as good as they did last week the Vikings have a chance of hosting the NFC Championship game next week. But enough with the talk and predictions, its “Go Time” for the Minnesota Vikings.

Paul Gantner