Wolves Can't Finish

The Timberwolves have been a different team this year.The team is much more exciting to watch, and the fans of Minnesota think so too. Over the past few weeks Target Center has been looking like it did 7 years ago, the lower level is full and the upper level is 3/4 full. It is great for the Timberwolves who are exciting to watch and seem to have the talent to win, or be in every game. The only problem facing this team is that they seem to fold every time midway through the fourth quarter. The Wolves look to be getting a little better at the problem after winning 2 of their last three games, but the fourth quarter fold happened again last night against the Nuggets. The Wolves were winning throughout most of the game, and they were only down by 2 with 2 minutes to go in the game, but the Wolves were unable to get a stop. This young Wolves squad seems to be able to score almost at will, but last night it was Billups who was scoring at will when it counted most. The Wolves would always make a big three or play to take the lead or tie, and the next possession Billups would follow with a three of his own to take the momentum back. I am hoping these fourth quarter woes are a results from the inexperience of the team. Once the wolves can figure out how to properly close out a game they will be dangerous. I like the young core of guys this team has. Beasley and Love have stepped up and are sharing the role of Alpha Wolf. Wes Johnson seems to be getting more comfortable out on the floor, and Webster has shown he came help this team in the scoring and defensive departments.

The wolves seem to be on the right track, and i think the more this team plays together the better they will be. Remember this is the first time many of these young guys have ever played with each other. I have been extremely impressed with the emergence of Love. He has an outstanding motor on him, he will not be denied if he wants a rebound. Although he is a bit undersized he is still able to get his shot off and showed it again last night with a 26 point 14 rebound performance. You can almost chalk up Beasley getting 20+ points a game, and he has improved his team play of late getting 6 assists and 4 assists in his last 2 games. Ridnour has been playing well of late, but still seems to have some bad turnovers.

One disappointment the wolves star rookie of last year has not had the comeback most fans have hoped for. since his return he is only averaging 17 minutes a game. Last night against the Nuggets he only had 11 minutes. Being a big Jonny Flynn fan i am hoping he can get more time and look like the player he looked like last year.

Rumor Mill- there has been some rumors going around that the wolves are interested in trading for OJ Mayo, a player who seems to be under performing for the Grizzlies only averaging 13 points and 1.8 assists per game. The Wolves have came out and shot this rumor down. Flynn's name has and will continue to come up in trade rumors because the Wolves figure to have Rubio coming over next year and many teams have shown interest in Flynn. The Wolves covet Flynn and i dont expect them to trade him for nothing.

 Rambis postgame press conference

Webb Takes Flight on Tuesday Night

Joe Webb looked like the better of the two quarterbacks on the field, and one of the quarterbacks was MVP candidate Michael Vick. Webb looked solid  from start to finish and was able to lead the Vikings to a big win. Webb was able to lead the Vikings offense with his passing and with the use of his legs. Webb who ran a 4.4 in the forty yard dash coming out of college, Vick also ran a 4.4, had 6 rushes for 31 yards and one touchdown. This game was not all about Joe Webb though, the defense was able to keep constant pressure on Vick. The where able to force him to turn the ball over on three different occasions, 1 int and 2 fumbles. The Vikings also had two plays that should have been clear cut interceptions. The Vikings did a great job keeping Vick flustered and hitting him as often as he could. Winfield was able to come off the edge on a corner blitz and sack Vick on the second play of the game. After that hit Vick had a noticeable limp. He was
never the same for the rest of the game, he injured the leg that he has to plant and push off of every throw.
The game took a turn for the Vikings right before halftime. Winfield was able to come off the edge again on a corner blitz and sack Vick causing a fumble. He was able to pick the fumble up and ran it in for a touchdown. This was a much needed play for the Vikings. This gave the Vikings the momentum and the game was dominated by the Vikings ever since. The Second half started with a big 46 yard play down the field to Harvin. Harvin was able to make some key catches throughout the game and helped Webb to his first win as a starting NFL quarterback. The rest of the second half was all Vikings they were able to move the ball up and down the field with the help of Adrian Peterson running the ball for over 100 yards. Webb was the story of the night, and no pass was bigger than the 3rd and 11 pass to Harvin with 3 minutes left. With this pass The Vikings were able to keep possession and not give Vick and there potent offense a chance to come back. Webb will give the Vikings something to think about going into next season looking for there next quarterback. If he can play like this and keep improving he would fit in well with the Vikings.

Highlights of the Game.

Joe Webb- was able to lead the Vikings to a win in his first NFL start. He went 17 of 26 for 195 yards. He did not throw a touchdown, although one did get overturned, but he also did not have an interception. He had 6 rushes for 31 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown also was a big play in the game and gave the Vikings the edge from that point on.

Adrian Peterson- was able to run wild. The two extra days off, gave Peterson the extra time needed to heal his ankle. Peterson ran 22 times for 118 yards and looked like his old self. He also was able to get in for a short touchdown. Peterson did have his first fumble of the year. Peterson was able to do his part and run well to keep some of the pressure of the rookie Webb.

Antoine Winfield- played extremely well, he was able to get pressure on Vick and had that big play right before half that i mentioned earlier. He ended with 8 tackles on the night, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 1 touchdown.

Percy Harvin- seemed to make a big play every time he touched the ball whether it was a first down or a big 3rd down conversion Harvin made big plays throughout the game none bigger than the 46 yard bomb right out of halftime. he ended with 7 catches for 100 yards.

Eagles- the Eagles looked terrible, they did not look like the team that we have seen over the past months.

Videos
Highlights
Webb's postgame press conference

New Field Same Results

The biggest news of the day was not that the Vikings were going to be playing their first outdoor football game since the 80's, or that they were going to be playing at TCF Bank, or the fact the Peterson was not playing, but it was that Brett Favre was going to start for the Vikings. Favre got the Vikings rolling on their first drive with a TD pass to Percy Harvin. You could here the fans cheers echoing throughout campus. Soon Favre reverted back to his 2010 season form and threw a pick, and was eventually knocked out of the game.

Then Joe Webb came in, a player who i think many of us were excited to see. I wanted to see what he could do at the QB position. He looked to be a better runner than passer. He ended with an abysmal passer rating of 38.8 he completed 15 of 26 for 129 yards and had 2 ints to go along with it.He was able to move the ball with his feet as he had six rushes for 38 yards and one touchdown. He was just not able to make second read after the bears had his first read covered. Even though he did not play well statistically, he leaves fans excited. He is the type of player were he can create a big play at any moment. Michael Vick is the type of player we all wish Joe Webb could be, but at first glance he has a long way to go. The Vikings safeties did not play a very strong game, they were beaten many times in there basic cover 2 set. The Vikings need to address the safety position in the off season.

. In fact if you are like me you are probably wishing the Vikes would have taken a chance on Vick last year and had him learn under Favre for a year and then he could be doing the same things in Minnesota like he is doing for the Eagles. You cant tell me that Vick wouldn't look great in a  Vikings jersey

Our quarterback of the future problem would be solved and he would fit nicely with the pieces the Vikes have in place.

The outcome of the game might not be all bad for Vikings fans, the good news is the Packers cant win the division and there chances of making the playoffs are slowly fading away. If the Vikings don't make the playoffs at least we can hope that the Packers don't make them either. Also the Vikings improved there draft status.

Highlights of the game

Percy Harvin was able to catch 5 balls for 72 yards and one touchdown. It was good to see him back out on the field after he missed the last two weeks with a migraine. He has been a steady bright spot for the Vikings during this tough season.

Webb was able to run it in for his first NFL touchdown he looked good running the ball.

Vidoes
Webbs Press conference
Game Highlights

Vikes look Deflated like Dome

What a loss. The Vikings game at Ford Field was one to be forgotten. They had no flow to their game and it was quite frankly hard to watch. Jackson didnt look real impressive, but then again who did last night. Peterson sure didnt help out the young quarterback. Peterson was getting hit in the back field before he could even get a tight grip on the ball. The Vikings will look to rebound next week at home against the Bears. They might play outdoors at TCF Bank Stadium, if the Metrodome isnt ready to go.

I dont even want to think about the game last night because it was so forgettable. What were your thoughts?

As for what you should watch out for is the Timberwolves tonight at 9:30. They will be getting back to of there studs to go along with Beasley and Love. Flynn and Webster are going to be making their first appearances of the season tonight.

Jonny's Recovery

Vikes look to Prevail after Dome Fails

Wolves-Vikings Blog: Vikes look to Prevail after Dome Fails: "The nearly two feet of snow that fell in Minneapolis this weekend has left the Dome as doubtful on the injury report. The Metrodome collapse..."

Vikes look to Prevail after Dome Fails

The nearly two feet of snow that fell in Minneapolis this weekend has left the Dome as doubtful on the injury report. The Metrodome collapsed at about 5 in the morning, no one was hurt, and has left the vikings already postponed game, with even more changes. The Vikings will now face off against the Giants in Detroit at Ford Field at 6:20 Monday night. The game will be televised on Fox. The Dome's roof is held up by twenty 90 horse powered fans. This was not enough to withstand the 22 inches of snow that kept piling up on the top. The roof has three panels that have been torn and damaged. The Vikings have been contacting experts around the world trying to assess the situation. The Vikings had contacted the University of Minnesota, about playing at TCF Bank, but they said that the stadium has been shut down for the year. They said they could not get it ready by Monday night. 

Video of Dome Collapsing from inside
Another Video of Collapse

AS for what this means for the Vikings, this gives Favre one more day to recover from the sprained shoulder that has held him out of practice all week. Favre said he would not have been able to go if the game was today, but we will see what happens tomorrow. The Giants were stuck in Kansas City all night and now will have to go to Detroit. As for the game check back in after the game tomorrow night for blog about the game.

Wolves-Vikings Blog: Vikes Look Impressive with Jackson

Wolves-Vikings Blog: Vikes Look Impressive with Jackson: "The Vikes had there most productive half of the season with T Jack leading the charge. I went to the game and i was able to see the vikes we..."

Vikes Look Impressive with Jackson

The Vikes had there most productive half of the season with T Jack leading the charge. I went to the game and i was able to see the vikes were going to use Joe Webb as their kick returner. Since i have been saying they need to use an athlete of his caliber i was excited, he was also the 4th WR. The game started out ugly for the home team. Favre through a interception on his first pass. On that same play he was knocked out of the game with an injury to his throwing shoulder. After Favre went down it was T Jack time. I was expecting them to keep Jackson on a leash, but he came out throwing bullets. Sidney Rice helped Jackson's cause by making two great touchdowns. The Vikings were moving the ball with ease in the first half and posted 31 first half points. Jackson made one mistake early by under throwing a out route and Florence, from the Bills, read it the whole way and returned it for 6. After Favre went down Webb went back to his bench duties, since he was the only back up to Jackson. He did look impressive though on his first kick return getting it out to the 38 yard line.

The Vikings Defense looked like a different squad out their. They were playing with an attitude. I could realy see the corners looking like they were playing more aggressive. The vikings were able to do something that they never do, force turnovers. The Vikes recovered four fumbles, two by Robison, and had one interception by Winfield.

The second half the Vikes just coasted to a victory. Jackson took a few shots and through two more picks, but looked the part keeping the offense moving for the most part. The second half consisted of many run plays and fewer pass plays as the Vikes were trying to run the clock down. Adrian Peterson had only 16 carries on his gimpy ankle and was still able to gash the Bills defense racking up 107 yards, and three touchdowns. Gearhart has looked more like an NFL running back the more the season goes on.

Highlights-

Jackson's first TD to Rice was a catch that is routine for Rice, but is a incomplete for 90 % of the rest of the NFL. Rice caught it one handed will keeping his feet in bounds while fighting off to Bills defenders.

Winfield made his first interception of the year and was able to put the Vikes in great field position, returning it back to the 4 yard line.

Four fumble recoveries were a huge part of the Vikings success today. The defense was able to rally arounf the Bills ball carriers and force fumbles.

Peterson had three touchdowns on the day with a gimpy ankle. His third touchdown was the most impressive as he was able to break loose for a 43 yard run.

WEBB was able to play, I am just excited to see the Vikings trying to use one of their better athletes. He had a 30 yard kick return to start off the game. and played one play at WR, but was used as a decoy.

Full Vikes vs Bills Highlights