Charlie Brown, Lucy, the Vikings and the Pack

I admit it. I fell for it again. Just like Charlie Brown believing that Lucy won’t pull that ball away when he tries to kick it, I was gulled into thinking that the Vikings were the real deal this year. A five game winning streak, AP back in rare form and a top ranked defense had me believing that this final year of watching outdoor NFL football in Minnesota would be something magical. But as usual me, Charlie Brown and the Vikings end up flat on our collective backs after Sunday’s horrendous effort against the Packers.

I know, it’s only one game and there are still six to go, but let’s face it…the Packers were the first legit contender that the Purple played this year and the Vikes laid a Lambeau sized egg. The offensive line couldn’t keep Teddy on his feet or open holes for AP. Blair Walsh shanked an extra point, followed by a low kick off that ended up in a big return by the Packers. Cordarrelle Patterson is just not smart.  Head butting a kicker, really?  Talk about your blockhead moves; and that was just one of eight Vikings penalties for over 100 yards.  And try as they might, the Vikings defensive line did not put enough pressure on Aaron Rodgers. He simply had way too much time to pick apart the Vikings secondary, even without Jordy Nelson and a receiving core that dropped balls and ran bad patterns.

No, this Vikings team seems to be like all too many of its recent predecessors; unable to beat the Packers and not ready for prime time. For the record, the Vikes are now 1-and-10 with one tie in their last 12 games against Green Bay. Not the stuff that champions are made of.

The one silver lining is that it looks like Teddy Bridgewater is starting to build some real chemistry with tight end Kyle Rudolph. But any good gets lost in the fact that the Vikings were pummeled 30-13 on their home field in a nationally televised game that could have put them in the driver’s seat in the NFC North.

As usual, there was an annoyingly large contingent of Packer nation that invaded TCF Bank Stadium on Sunday as Viking disbelievers sold off their tickets to friends and neighbors from Cheeseville. And as usual, the Cheddarheads leave Minneapolis with smiles on their faces. Now all we need is for those same Cheeseheads to come back here on Saturday wearing red to help the Badgers dismantle the Gophers post season hopes and we’ll know for sure that everything is status quo in Minnesota football-land.

Now if  she’ll just hold that ball like she said she would , I’ll run up and…..

Photo by Marilyn Indahl