As I was watching the Super Bowl yesterday, which was a great one by the way, I really took notice one one main point the Cardinals and Steelers kept making to me, and I had one thought that kept coming back to me:

I thought, “Wow, so that’s what a great quarterback and a great receiver can do for a team.”

Former Minnesota Vikings ball boy turned acrobat slash wide receiver

Obviously, I hadn’t forgotten about Moss, Carter, Reed, and company, but seeing it on that main stage, where two great quarterbacks were chucking balls to receivers that ranged from competent to extraordinary really showed what the Vikings need to help them compete. The old adage of “running the ball” and “stopping the run” in the playoffs seems to have gone by the wayside, and you can’t really argue. In the Super Bowl, the teams combined for 91 yards rushing and passed for 633 yards. While both teams can say they stopped the run, those who watched know that neither team really committed to rushing the ball very much. Willie Parker had 19 attempts, and the Steelers as a whole had 26, but if you would have told me after the game that they rushed that much I would have said you were crazy. It did not seem like they ran that much. Arizona, as was expected, only attempted 12 rushes, so they were going to pass, and everyone knew it.

Despite that, the Cardinals walked through the playoffs, running the ball moreso than in the regular season, but still managed to make it to the Super Bowl in convincing fashion. It just makes me wonder what the Vikings would be like if we had a real, legitimate, superstar receiver like Fitzgerald and an accurate, intelligent quarterback to throw the ball around.

And let’s not count out Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes and his counterpart, Gentle Ben. The two of them, when the running game wasn’t working, simply went off. Holmes had the best game of his career, made a Cris Carter-like touchdown grab at the end of the game, and Ben tossed the ball in the exact spot where only he could get it. Unbelievable. Do you see Tarvaris Jackson making that pass? I sure don’t. Both teams had great QBs with great WRs. The Vikings, honestly, have a sub-par QB and an above average receiever in Bernard Berrian. Berrian is good, but he’s not the go-to 100% committed throw-it-up-and-he’ll-go-get-it type like Fitzgerald or Holmes, to a lesser degree. While I don’t think the Vikings need a seriously top flight wide out, they need a tall, fast guy who can go up and get it. Sidney Rice could be the tall guy, but he’s no burner.

Hopefully, the Vikings can address both of these issues. If they do, the NFL better watch out next year. As for now, we can only congratulate the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals for not only giving us an amazing game, but to show us exactly what our favorite team needs to really be a contender.

Pittsburgh 27, Arizona 23

Not the best football game I’ve ever seen, but this Super Bowl comes very close to the top of the list. Going into the game, I thought one of two things would happen: one, the Steelers win a defensive battle; or two, the Cardinals win in a shootout.

Turns out I was right… sort of.

In a combination of offense and defense, the Pittsburgh Steelers overcame a Cardinal comeback in the fourth quarter to finish as the best football team in the world. Here are three reasons the Steelers earned their sixth world championship:

1. The Last Play of the First Half

Talk about momentum changers. In case you weren’t watching, the Cardinals had the ball in Pittsburgh’s red zone with the first half winding down. The score was 10-7, and all signs were pointing towards the Cardinals at least tying the game before halftime. As you have most likely seen dozens of times by now, Warner threw a pick to James Harrison who ran back 100 yards to claim the longest play in Super Bowl history.

Major props to the Pittsburgh defensive coordinator for the play call on that down. The Steelers defense wasn’t all that impressive tonight, but that call – a fake blitz by Harrison – was perfect. Harrison isn’t the tallest linebacker, and Warner instinctively thought he had blitzed. Couldn’t have worked out better for Pittsburgh.

That play took the score from a 10-10 tie at worst at halftime, to a 17-7 two-possession game with huge Steeler momentum. (Although the super-long Super Bowl halftime show probably diminished that.)

2. Mr. Poise Roethlisberger

If Big Ben was nervous in his last Big Game appearance, he certainly wasn’t tonight. He stepped up and made the big plays when he needed to, and used his fantastic scrambling ability (also known as ducking and weaving) to avoid the dangerous Arizona defensive line.

Some of that credit goes to amazing catches by Pittsburgh.

3. The Santonio Holmes Touchdown

Every kid dreams of the opportunity to make the catch that Holmes did with just seconds remaining. In the right corner of the end zone Holmes killed his legs a la Cris Carter (who wasn’t inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. An amazing travesty, but another story).

It was a questionable call, but there obviously wasn’t enough evidence to overturn the touchdown call. His foot was tucked behind the other, and it wasn’t clear whether or not that one touched the turf. Only one camera view made me think twice – and the right call was obviously made.

Here are three reasons the Cardinals stuck close at the end:

1. The Last Play of the Second Half

Yes, I know. I have amazing creativity when it comes to naming the most important play of the 2008 NFL season. The inability of the Cardinal offense to tackle James Harrison on his run-back probably cost them the game.

The fact that Fitzgerald caught up with Harrison at the one-yard-line confuses me. Assuming he came from the other side of the field, I’m sure he had enough speed to catch Harrison before that point. Right? Maybe he was going directly at the goal-line just to be sure that he could reach Harrison.

Regardless, the Cardinals looked eerily similar to the Vikings’ special teams unit on that run back. They couldn’t buy a tackle.

2. Mr. Kurt Warner

Probably the biggest reason the Cardinals stayed within breathing distance of the Steelers was because of the veteran leadership of Warner. He made the biggest mistake of the game, but was very solid the rest. If the Vikings can somehow convince Warner and Co. to play next year in Minnesota (assuming he plays at all), I will be a very happy man.

Karlos Dansby

3. The Safety and Arizona’s Goal-line Defense

Everybody loves goal-line stands. One of the biggest momentum-changers in football is a safety. When a Pittsburgh offensive lineman was charged with holding in the endzone, Arizona had huge momentum and two points tacked onto the board. Not the biggest increase in points, but it led to additional Arizona points.

Clearly an entertaining football game. These two teams were very well matched against each other. If you didn’t get the chance to watch it, well… let’s just say that you have my pity. 

Please let us know what you thought of the 43rd edition of the Super Bowl in the comment section below. We’d love to hear what you thought.

While I realize it’s delayed, I know you’ve read it everywhere else, and it’s gonna be short, but I’ve had an insane Christmas week. My parents visited from my home state of Iowa, as did my fiance’s father, and they didn’t leave until Monday morning. Because of all that, it’s been a whirlwind of activity getting back to work. For that, I appoligize. I will have much more in depth analysis of the playoff game than I will for this Giants game. Suffice to say, I was pulling my hair out while I watched Childress mess up the final minute of the game, waiting for Longwell to hit a 50 yarder for the win. I was a wee bit nervous.

Regardless of that, the Minnesota Vikings have won their division for the first time since 2000. That’s eight years. Wow. I was 15 the last time the Vikings hosted the first playoff game. How insane is that?

The Minnesota Vikings are finally coming around. After the collapse against the Falcons, I just knew that everything would go the Bears’ way and they would find a way to win the North. Fortunately, things swung the Vikings way and they don’t even have to SHARE the title. The Bears lost, the Vikings won; life could not be better on Sunday.

Since I know you’ve read about it everywhere else, I’ll touch on a few other things instead of the game on Sunday.

The Vikings play the Eagles in the second game on Sunday. That means we have to watch three other games before the Purple People Eaters take the field. That’s unfortunate. On the plus side, that gives Big Pat Williams an extra day, heck, even extra hours to heal up his bum shoulder. Suddenly it doesn’t strike me as so bad. While Brian Westbrook is a threat to catch the pass out of the backfield, he won’t be running as much as he would should Pat Williams play. Pat himself has said he will be playing in this game. Who am I to disagree?

This game definitely hinges on two people: Donovan McNabb and Tarvaris Jackson. The Eagle are coming off an absolute demolition of the Cowboys, so people are saying they will be “hot.” Guess what-these Eagles also tied the Bengals. Not to say the Vikings haven’t had their ups and downs, but in almost every game the Vikings were “supposed” to win, they did. The Eagles can’t say the same. If we can fluster McNabb (which will be tough), the Vikings pass defense has a shot. Tarvaris just has to play consistent, mistake-free football. If he can do that, the Vikings have a great shot.

If you look at the teams representing the NFC in the playoffs, is there really any that have talent much better than the Vikings? We’ve beaten the Giants (some backups in, yes, I admit that), the Panthers,  and the Cardinals. The Vikes should have beaten the Falcons, but fumbled seven times and lost four, and are playing the Eagles for the first time. If we take out Philly, I could actually see the Vikings having a decent shot.

Provided Childress calls the games well and Tarvaris Jackson doesn’t make mistakes.

Everyone says: “You have to be able to run the ball and stop the run in December and January.” You know what? That just so happens to be the Vikings specialties.

I’m starting to believe.

I suggest you join in.

Sorry for the lack of updates; had some company in from out of town so it’s been a busy few days. My parents, as well as my fiance’s father drove down from Iowa, and the five of us went to the local Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Vikings implode against the Falcons. There was a great deal of swearing between the lot of us.

One statistic defines this game: seven fumbles.

You absolutely cannot put the ball on the ground seven times, lose four of them, and expect to win. Adrian Peterson decided to personally put the ball on the ground three times, though the botched handoff was actually credited to Tarvaris. Regardless, you can’t win a game committing that many turnovers.

A positive note on the game; the Vikings were in position to make a play for overtime. It’s unfortunate that it came down to it, but the Purple People Eaters got hosed on a bogus non-call on Sidney Rice. Rice had his arm held down when he was going up to make a play on it. But the Vikings turned the ball over four times and still had a chance to win. I would not want to play Minnesota in the playoffs; if they put together a full game, look out.

Shiancoe had one of the best games in tight end history

Again, a game should never come down to a ref making or not making a call, but come on; that’s what they’re around for. Make the dang call when the rules dictate. The whole stadium could not be wrong, could they? After all, the Vikings out gained the Cardinals handily, 350 to 222. If the Vikings hold on to two, even one of those fumbles, the game changes entirely. It’s unfortunate when Jackson and Shiancoe had incredible games. According to Football Outsiders, it was the second best performance by a tight end in NFL history. Pretty good, eh? Too bad it came in a loss. For those interested, Shiancoe had seven receptions for 136 yards and two touchdowns. It should be noted that every pass he caught resulted in a first down or a touchdown. Now if only Tarvaris could get a nice rapport with Bernard Berrian we’d be completely set.

Then Monday night, the entirity of the Viking nation was forced to cheer for the Green Bay Packers. Did anyone else feel really, really dirty about doing that? I kept telling myself we were using them, and that we were cheering for a Bears’ loss as opposed to a Packers’ win. Of course, the game ended horribly, my hopes once again crushed under the weight of irony. It’s my own fault for putting faith in a team and coach that are simply terrible. Thanks for crushing my hopes, Packers. Enjoy your couch watching the playoffs.

Of course, I can’t say that unless the Vikings actually make the playoffs. The “magic number” remains at one with one week left in the season. The Vikings get the Giants at home and the Bears play at the Texans.

Does anyone else have this horrifying sinking feeling in the pit of their stomach?

Matt Ryan - he should have died after the landing

The Giants won’t rest their starters; Coughlin didn’t do it last year and it worked out pretty well for the Giants. I don’t see him doing it this year, especially when his team already will get a week off because of the bye week. This is going to be a really, really tough game for the Vikings. Brandon Jacobs probably won’t play due to his knee, but Ward ran for 215 yards, and we don’t have Pat Williams. It could be an interesting day. I’m not real worried about the running game; after all, the Vikings held Michael Turner to 70 yards. That’s a very below average game for him. Eli will be the one we have to worry about.

The Bears, while not a good team, will beat the Texans. The Houston Texans are not a bad team at all; they just can’t play consistently. They beat the Titans, and then last week lost to the Raiders. They play well at home, but the Bears are not the Vikings; they will want to win and make the playoffs. I doubt they will commit four turnovers.

It all comes down to Sunday at noon for the Minnesota Vikings and the Viking faithful. Will it turn out well? We can only hope. The only thing I know for sure is that I’ll be there, every step of the way, cheering on the guys in purple.

As Andrew stated in his previous post, Tarvaris Jackson will be the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings this Sunday when the Falcons visit the Metrodome. If you read my analysis of the Cardinals/Vikings game, you know I support this move by Brad Childress after initial hesitation. Why?

A few reasons:

1.) Gus Frerotte has been playing less-than-stellar football lately.

Since coming off the bye week seven weeks ago, Gus has thrown seven touchdowns and eight interceptions. While not terrible, he’s been wildly inconsistent; here are his quarterback ratings in that same span: 111.6, 53.4, 105.8, 56.3, 87.1, and 50.0. A few really good games sprinkled in with some other mediocre and bad games thrown in. His yards per game dropped off significantly after the bye week as well. In his first five games, his lowest yardage total was 204 yards in the first game against the Carolina Panthers. His most? The debacle in Chicago where he threw for 298. Since the off week, he’s topped 200 one time versus the Bears where he hit 210 yards. Every other outing since then has been below 200 yards.

In all honesty, I don’t think Tarvaris could have matched those first half of the season numbers, but the second half? It’s hard to see him doing any worse. We don’t have a lot of information to go off of, but from what we’ve seen so far, I think we are doing no worseby going with Tarvaris.

Gus Frerotte is a warrior, but his time has ended

2.) Gus Frerotte is reaching the sunset of his career.

Gus Frerotte is not an old man by normal standards, but by football standards he’s practically elderly. That’s not a knock on him; far from it. He’s done some extraordinary things with this Vikings team and had an amazing career. He’s just getting to the twilight of his long NFL journey. We have seen exactly what Gus Frerotte is capable of.

Tarvaris, on the other hand, is still very young. He’s 25 and in his third year of the National Football League. He is, as all the columnists love to say, “a raw talent.” He has all the ability in the world, with a strong arm, quick feet, and a ton of potential. He’s still growing and learning. You can improve ability to read defenses and decision making. Frerotte, barring some medical miracle/steroid use, cannot improve his arm strength or his ability to take a hard hit from a defender. Tarvaris can improve; Gus cannot.

3.) Tarvaris Jackson is on fire.

It’s undeniable when you look at his stats since he took over as the Vikings’ starting QB: Tarvaris Jackson is playing with fire. The best part? He’s not letting it affect his decision making. Last game, he wasn’t asked to throw much, but when he did, the passes were right on the money. He’s being accurate, checking down when necessary, and not trying to force it deep without checking his outlets.

Gus Frerotte started out great, but after the bye week, his production just trailed off. He got progressively worse, and defensive backs kept finding ways to intercept his passes. He just couldn’t get his old fire back. After he fractured his back, Tarvaris came in and hasn’t made a mistake.

Tarvaris Jackson and his hot hand

4.) The Minnesota Vikings have no idea what they’re doing at the quarterback position next year.

The Minnesota Vikings really don’t know the plan for their QB situation for next year. Finishing out with Frerotte will tell us nothing about Tarvaris who likely would have played his last meaningful snap as a Viking in week two. Now, Tarvaris is playing for his professional life. If he doesn’t impress Childress now, he would be regulated to a backup role for the foreseeable future. Believe me, he does not want that.

Frerotte, while doing something astounding, is almost done. We don’t need to see what he can do. He would not be the starter next year in any way. After Tarvaris’ outing in Detroit, I was curious at his improvement despite my defense of Gus. We’ll get another real look at him come Sunday.

5.) Tarvaris Jackson gives the Vikings the best chance to win right now.

A kind of summation: Tarvaris is hot, healthy, and fighting for his career. Gus is waning, injured, and finishing out a journeyman career. Give the ball to the one who is most able to win you games.

Right now, that’s Tarvaris Jackson.