http://www.vikings.com/news/article-1/St...243caca848

Quote:The Vikings defense responded to a game-tying touchdown with 12:24
remaining by not allowing another first down by the Bears and limiting
Chicago to 13 net yards in the rest of the game. 
Minnesota’s
offense helped with three drives that totaled 9:59 and flipped field
position. Chicago never made it past its own 28-yard line the rest of
the game.

Quote:Pro Football Focus also noted the respect factor by the Bears toward Xavier Rhodes,
who was not targeted a single time for the first time in 64 career
games. PFF calculated that Rhodes was targeted 24 times in the first
four games of the season and allowed 12 receptions for 126 yards.

That was a weird game to watch.   My feeling swung between "of course we will win this game" to "something unexpected is going to happen to allow the Bears to win."  And the Bears had three unexpected things happen that almost allowed them to win: the successful fake punt, the tipped pass TD and the dazzling two point conversion.   Here are my miscellaneous thoughts for the week:

• Bradford.  The obvious point is that physically he just didn't have it.  Couldn't move well, his mechanics were off, etc.  But the thing that concerned me most was that mentally he was off.  He threw into a lot of double coverage.  It was kind of lucky that his mechanics were off and the ball was sailing because he was throwing the ball to well covered receivers.  I was really surprised by the amount of mental rust he accumulated.  This is also shown by the safety -- he held the ball way too long.   My last thought about Bradford is whether we have seen him in a Vikings uniform for the last time.  When Bridgewater comes back, I could see the Vikings shutting down Bradford for the rest of the season.
• Keenum.  In terms of quarterbacks, I think one of the bright dividing lines between good and great QBs is an arrogant confidence.  When you have an arrogant confidence, even if you make 5 bad throws or reads in a row, you know the next one will be perfect -- your confidence never gets rattled.  Think Aaron Rodgers.  For someone like Case Keenum, I think his confidence can wane based on early game results.  I see Rodgers as a Kobe Bryant type-player who always thinks that he can make a player better than any of his teammates.  Case is more like a JR Smith, if he gets hot, he can be damn good but a missed shot/pass and the necessary confidence to compete at the highest level can drain away.
• Middle of the Oline.  I give the Bears credit, I think they put a great game plan in for Bradford at QB.  They pressured right up the middle repeatedly trying to make him move.  They also exposed the middle of our Oline a bit; our guards and centers were overpowered on a number of plays.  I also missed Cooks blitz pickup ability on a couple of plays.  Once Bradford went out, the Vikings were able to do some more things to hide the Bears strength up the middle.
• Brock.  I have to wonder about his football IQ with the stupid penalties.
• 7 Wide Receivers.  You have to wonder whether the Vikes are playing some sort of cat and mouse game with the Giants right now.  The Giants are so hurting at WR right now, everyone is sending in their resume (http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/ode...w56smbex5k)  I 100% believe that if the Vikes try to waive either Coley or Adams, they won't make it past the Giants.  I am also not sure whether the Giants would look to trade for a WR given the current state of the team -- why trade picks when you are not going to make the playoffs regardless?  This WR game between the Vikes and Giants will be interesting to watch.
• Game Sideshows.  Okay, I am going to say it, the Duck, Duck, Goose celebration was the stupidest celebration I have ever seen.  To think that these players actually devised that celebration, actually put time into it, well, it is embarrassing.   Now, on the other hand, go back to the 10:20 mark during the third quarter and watch Thielen on the ground.  This is the type of insight you read my posts for....  Thielen is on the ground and extends his hand to a Bears player to help him up.  The Bears player just walks past him.  Then another Bears player helps him up and Thielen get up and looks over at the first Bears player and you can see him gesture to that player like "what gives, why didn't you give me some help up?'  I thought that was really funny.
• Vikings PEE.  McKinnon.  Clearly, McKinnon wants to be the top back and cash a big check during free agent signing period.  Good for him and good for the team.  I also want to call out Quigley  -- I would have picked him for last week's PEE.  Isn't it nice to have a punter that you never think about?

For a late round pick, just announced.

Link to story

Personally, I really like the signing.  The front office gave up on the team, but Molly kept the guys playing hard until the end.  Glad he's staying.

How good has Case Keenum been filling in for an injured Sam Bradford?
Only Drew Brees and Alex Smith have thrown more passes without a pick this season.
***Courtesy of ESPN***

We're essentially back @ QB to where we were before Teddy was drafted. Questions at the most important position in sports. 

I would be hesitant to give either Bridgewater or Sam any type of guaranteed $15mm/year contract right now. 

Enjoy every win we get with what we got. It's the Viking way until we get that position settled - and that might not happen with our current QB roster.

Adrian Peterson - RB - Cardinals

Cardinals acquired Adrian Peterson from the Saints in exchange for a conditional draft pick.

It is something of a surprise after the Saints RBs coach talked up Peterson during the bye week, but the move makes sense on both sides. Peterson was never a fit in New Orleans, and his departure opens up touches for both Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara. The Cardinals need to find a way to jump-start the running game, and Peterson is a good fit in their power scheme. That said, it is not a given Peterson has any more success than Chris Johnson behind a bad offensive line, and Arizona is likely to remain a pass-heavy attack. Peterson is now worth rostering in all leagues, but Jerick McKinnon and Aaron Jones are better adds.

Related: Saints

Guess that Southern Hospitality was short lived

The Bears are horrible, and a decent team would have blown them out. We kept them in the game with stupid penalties and mistakes like Sendejo tipping a pass up for a Bears TD. The Vikings hardly deserved to win.

Why the hell did the coaches have Bradford on the field?? He looked drugged. As a fan, I hoped he would play and perform like he did in week 1 - but I don't watch him in practice every day and hear his medical reports, like they do. Now his knee is probably aggravated. Did Zimmer just pull his macho, "You should toughen up and play through pain" act because he was so desperate to beat one of the worst teams in the league?? 

Find 5 more wins on the Vikings' schedule. Seriously - I'm not sure if there are 3. We can likely beat the Bears in the week 17 game for 3rd place NFCNorth, and should be favored against the Browns (though London games are unpredictable). Bengals at USB in week 15: Maybe, but Cincinatti has awakened from their bad start. Maybe the Rams cool down and we handle them. Beyond that? Not if we play like we have for the last 16 games and damn sure not if we play like last night.

Unsung heroes of sorts...