Vikings vs Eagles , 28 Oct 2007
Pregame Analysis by Dave Stefano

VikingsValhalla.com 

I’m just going to put down some random thoughts about the Vikes-Eagles matchup.  Saturday the struggling Eagles make a flight west to the Twin Cities to try and get back into the race in the NFC East on Sunday.  There is one slight problem… They are running into a Vikings team trying to do the exact same thing and looking to do so in their house, the loud and rumbling field played under the Kevlar fabric roof.

The Vikings offense will try again to sustain some drives and get some points on the board.  It looks like Kelly Holcomb will be getting the start over Tarvaris Jackson and his broken finger.  Jackson suffered last week an avulsion fracture of the index finger on his right hand, his throwing hand.  This is where a chip of bone with the tendon attached pulls away.  It makes for a sore finger, but that is not what the coaching staff worries about, it is that the index finger is used to put the spiral on the ball needed for accuracy of the throw.  The Vikings’ receivers have had problems catching good passes, and add less accuracy to the mix and there is nothing but bad things that can happen.  That makes Holcomb a better choice.  Also, with Kelly Holcomb coming from the Eagles, he is familiar with the tendencies of the defenders that he used to practice against.  That can only be to our advantage.

The other Vikings injuries of note that might play directly into the games result may be Chester Taylor’s pulled groin.  Coach Childress has emphasized that it is minor and says he will play.  Asked about him being on the injury report, he said “You just have to list him.”  What this hopefully means is that Adrian Peterson will get a greater percentage of touches versus the 55% for Taylor and 45% for AP that seems to have been the case until now.  

Philadelphia on defense is only excelling in one general area, pass rushing, and that means that the Vikings can game plan to use that to our advantage and get Peterson through the line of scrimmage and further down field.  Look for screens and dump passes to yield significant yards, and know AP, he’ll bust one or two and take it to the house.

Speaking of that pass rush, the Eagles have generated 20 sacks so far this season, Bryant McKinnie and Ryan Cook will have to play well and not let anybody by.  Cook also needs to keep his head in the game and not commit mental errors like last week with the false start and then being late onto the field for the go ahead field goal attempt.  

We’ve been reading all week at how similar both of these teams are.  They each struggle a little on the passing defense, they each have struggling quarterbacks, they have a great running back, and they have the same system.  This game will not be a thing of beauty when it comes to error free football, but it could generate some exciting plays.  Those plays should come from both sides of the ball.  Look forward to our D focusing on Brian Westbrook and having Donovan McNabb try to beat us threw the air.  He isn’t that accurate so far this season, possibly due to the accumulation of his many injuries over the years.  He is not performing at his previous Pro Bowl level and with the drafting of Kevin Kolb, this is probably his last year at Philly.  What does that do for his attitude?  Hopefully against us, just lead to frustration.  

Trouble against a pass rush will apply to the Eagles as well, and with their Pro Bowl right tackle Jon Runyan suffering a tail bone injury and probably not being able to play, look for a successful pass rush from the Vikings defensive ends.  Udeze has 3 sacks so far this season but it has been “Salt and Pepper” making the biggest noise.  Tight ends coach Jimmie Johnson gets credit for creating the nicknames.  "We were chillin' before practice after the second game," Edwards said. "Coach Johnson saw us and said, 'You guys got to get yourself a slogan.'"  "I'm 'Pepper,' in case you didn't know," said Edwards.  "And I'm 'Salt,'" added Robison.  This is what now brackets the Williams Wall.  It is not quite “The Purple People Eaters” but it will do.

In case you were wondering, Brian Robison has 3½ sacks so far as only a part timer.  It looks like defensive line Coach Dunbar has the rotation working better and better.  Look forward to seeing Robison working his magic from either side more this week as they try to get him in on more and more of the action.

The series history is almost irrelevant with the Vikings owning and 11 to 8 edge during the regular season.  Andy Reid is 3–0 against the Vikes, but this week will face his own protégé in Brad Childress.  I expect Childress to be a little more involved in the defensive and offensive planning this week as he tries to turn that knowledge of Reid against him.  I predict success as the Vikings take another step at being the team we all know that they can be.

SKOL VIKINGS!