Last Time I Promise- A Vikings Franchise

[klo626]

nice preview

[hatisback]

Quote: Originally Posted by klo626

nice preview

Thanks man. Glad you liked it. Updated it with injuries since I didn't get to finish it because I had to go to sleep. Game up in a bit.

[hatisback]

Vikes Survive Scare, Win Opener

--Cleveland, Ohio

The Viking’s proved today that they can win without Adrian Peterson rushing the ball. The Browns proved that they need some help on D. Without Peterson having a big day, the Vikings overcame penalties and defensive mistakes, surviving the fourth quarter comeback of the Browns 31-24 Sunday afternoon.

Coach Brad Childress-”I think we have a lot of work left to do, but a win is a win and our team will take it.”

Brett Favre, playing in his first season game with the Vikings, threw for two touchdowns and didn’t throw a pick, while throwing for over 300 yards.

Brett Favre- ”The arm feels good. A little sore, but good. I think the guys did a great job today on the offensive side of the football. Guys were all over the field getting open, and when that happens, it makes it easier for me to run the huddle.”

The teams traded punts on their first possessions of the game, with Brown’s quarterback Brady Quinn missing his first four throws. Kick Returner Percy Harvin got the Viking’s into scoring range with a 32 yard punt return. Favre and the Vikes could not do anything with it and had to settle for a Ryan Longwell 36 yard field goal. Quinn and the Brown’s then came alive on their next possession. Quinn completed all six of his passes, ending the drive with an 8 yard touchdown pass to tight end Steve Heiden, who was wide open in the middle of the end zone, giving the Brown’s their one and only lead of the game.

In the second quarter, Favre answered right back. On a 2nd and 14, from the Cleveland 19, Favre threw a bullet to receiver Bernard Berrian who juked cornerback Eric Wright out of his shoes, and waltzed in to give Minnesota the lead back 10-7 going into halftime.

Minnesota extended the lead 13-7 after Ryan Longwell’s 38 yard field goal, and extended it even further when Favre connected with Adrian Peterson on a swing route on the first play of their next possession. Peterson caught the ball at the sideline and barreled over a defender on his way to the end zone for a 73 yarder. Favre then connected with rookie receiver Percy Harvin for the two point conversion and Minnesota was comfortably ahead 21-7 going into the final quarter.

Quinn then showed that he might have a future in the NFL still. Quinn hit Joshua Cribbs for a 27 yard touchdown, then on their next possession, drove the Browns into field goal range on the next one making it 24-17 with 5:06 remaining in the game. Chester Taylor quickly silenced the screaming fans at the Dawg Pound, breaking a tackle and hitting the left side of the field as he ran back a 93 yard kick return icing it for the Vikings.

Chester Taylor-”I just saw a whole where nobody was at, and I knew if I could get there without going down, it was gold. The guys held their blocks like they were supposed to, and the rest is history.”

The Vikings later took a 31-17 lead after Longwell made his third field goal of the day, but Quinn and the Brown’s offense made it interesting at the end. Quinn hit Massaqoui for a 6 yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to pull the game to one score. However, receiver Bobby Wade recovered the onside kick and secured the win.

(Left) Minnesota kept the pressure on Quinn all day.
(Right) Steve Heiden gives the Browns their only lead of the game.


(Left) Chester Taylor returns a kickoff all the way.
(Right) Bernard Berrian brakes Eric Wright's ankles.


(Left) Josh Cribbs scores on a long touchdown pass.
(Right) Safety Tyrell Johnson lays the wood on David Patten.

Stats

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PASSING
MIN QB Brett Favre- 17/21, 305 yards, 2 TD

CLE QB Brady Quinn- 26/44, 320 yards, 3 TD

RUSHING
MIN HB Adrian Peterson- 25 att, 74 yards, 2.9 avg
MIN HB Chester Taylor- 10 att, 28 yards, 2.8 avg
MIN QB Brett Favre- 2 att, -4 yards, -2.0 avg

CLE HB Jamal Lewis- 12 att, 27 yards, 2.2 avg
CLE HB Noah Herron- 2 att, 4 yards, 2.0 avg
CLE QB Brady Quinn- 1 att, 7 yards, 7.0 avg

RECEIVING
MIN WR Bernard Berrian- 5 rec, 76 yards, 15.2 avg, TD
MIN HB Adrian Peterson- 3 rec, 194 yards, 34.6 avg, TD
MIN WR Bobby Wade- 2 rec, 32 yards, 16.0 avg
MIN WR Sidney Rice- 2 rec, 37 yards, 18.5 avg
MIN TE Jim Kleinsasser- 2 rec, 12 yards, 6.0 avg
MIN TE Visanthe Shiancoe- 1 att, 19 yards, 19.0 avg
MIN FB Naufahu Tahi- 1 att, 9 yards, 9.0 avg
MIN HB Chester Taylor- 1 att, 16 yards, 16.0 avg

CLE WR Josh Cribbs- 5 rec, 70 yards, 14.0 avg, TD
CLE WR Brian Robiske- 5 rec, 77 yards, 15.4 avg
CLE WR Braylon Edwards- 5 rec, 68 yards, 13.6 avg
CLE FB Lawrence Vickers- 3 rec, 31 yards, 10.3 avg
CLE TE Steve Heiden- 2 rec, 15 yards, 7.5 avg, TD
CLE HB Noah Herron- 2 rec, 19 yards, 9.5 avg
CLE WR Mohamed Massaqoui- 2 rec, 24 yards, 12.0 avg, TD
CLE HB Jamal Lewis- 2 rec, 16 yards, 8.0 avg

DEFENSE

Leading Tackles
MIN LB Chad Greenway- 4 tack

CLE LB D'Qwell Jackson- 9 tack

Sacks
MIN LB E.J. Henderson- 1 sack

CLE DT Shaun Rogers- 1 sack
CLE LB Eric Barton- 1 sack

Interceptions
N/A

KICKING
MIN K Ryan Longwell- 3FGM/4FGA, 39 long, 2XPM/2XPA

CLE K Phil Dawson- 1FGM/1FGA, 30 Long, 3XPM/3XPA

PUNTING
MIN P Chris Kluwe- 4 att, 45.0 avg, 26.2 net, 3 TB, 50 long

CLE P Dave Zastudil- 6 att, 38.1 avg, 30.0 net, 1in20, 44 long

KICK RETURNING
MIN KR Chester Taylor- 4 KR, 41.0 avg, 93 long, TD
MIN KR Bobby Wade- 1 KR, 0.0 avg

CLE KR Josh Cribbs- 2 KR, 31.5 avg, 32 long
CLE KR Hank Poteat- 4 KR, 25.7 avg, 31 long
CLE KR Brandon McDonald- 1 KR, 22.0 avg, 22 long

PUNT RETURNING
MIN PR Percy Harvin- 5 PR, 10.2 avg, 32 long

CLE PR Josh Cribbs- 1 PR, 15.0 avg, 15 long 


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SCORING SUMMARY

---------1ST---------2ND---------3RD---------4TH---------TOT
MIN--------3-----------7----------11----------10----------31
CLE--------7-----------0-----------0----------17----------24

1ST QUARTER
MIN FG: Longwell 36 yards-5:56 left
CLE TD: Heiden 8 yard pass from Quinn (Dawson Kick)-1:17 left
2ND QUARTER
MIN TD: Berrian 19 yard pass from Favre (Longwell Kick)-10:40 left
3RD QUARTER
MIN FG: Longwell 38 yards-9:42 left
MIN TD: Peterson 73 yard pass from Favre (2PT Good)-7:56 left
4TH QUARTER
CLE TD: Cribbs 27 yards from Quinn (Dawson Kick)-12:27 left
CLE FG: Dawson 30 yards-5:05 left
MIN TD: Taylor 93 yard kickoff return (Longwell Kick)-4:53 left
MIN FG: Longwell 35 yards-1:49 left
CLE TD: Massaqoui 6 yards from Quinn (Dawson Kick)-0:28 left 


PHP Code:

Team Stats--------MIN----------CLE
Score--------------31-----------24
Tot Offense-------390----------358
Rush Offense-------98-----------38
Pass Offense------292----------320
First Downs--------15-----------16
PR Yards-----------51-----------15
KR Yards----------164----------188
Total Yards-------605----------605
Turnovers-----------0------------0
3rd Down---------4/12---------3/11
4th Down----------0/0----------0/1
2 Pt Conv---------1/1----------0/0
RZ Perc-----------4/4----------3/3
Penalties--------6/45---------4/25
TOP-------------37:04--------22:56 


[hatisback]

First game is complete. Thanks for reading.

[hatisback]

WEEK 1

17 - AT - 20
-3 - AT - 24
-7 - AT - 30
21 - AT - 31
17 - AT - 24
31 - AT - 34 OT
20 - AT - -9
16 - AT - 27
13 - AT - 28
21 - AT - 38
-7 - AT - 26
24 - AT - -3
22 - AT - 31
-7 - AT - 24
19 - AT - 24

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

IND QB Peyton Manning- 25/35, 379 yards, 3 TD
SF LB Patrick Willis- 8 tack, INT

SIGNIFCANT INJURIES

PIT RG Darnell Stapleton (Broken Collarbone) 10 Weeks
PIT LT Tony Hills (Meniscus Tear) 1 Week
SF CB Allen Rossum (Torn Bicep) 8 Weeks
CHI DT Anthony Davis (Torn Shoulder Labrum) 3 Weeks
OAK WR Javon Walker (Torn Quadricep) 4 Weeks

[hatisback]

MINNESOTA VIKINGS (1-0) DETROIT LIONS (0-1)

December 23, 2007. For any hardcore NFL fan or NFL trivia scholar this date is very important. Just so you do not have to spend a few minutes of your life looking it up, I am going to give you the answer. This is the last time the Detroit Lions have won a regular season game. After beating the Kansas City Chiefs 25-20 on this day, they have lost 18 straight. They will attempt to right the ship this Sunday when the Minnesota Vikings travel to Detroit.

Coach Jim Shwartz-"Listen, we as a team are not the Detroit Lions of 2008. This is a brand new football as far as I am concerned. We are just 0-1 and have as great of chance as anybody to make it to the postseason this time around. We have a good football team here."

Tell that to the Lions players who were on that team last year Coach. I wonder what they feel about it?

Center Dominic Raiola-"I am trying to put last season behind me. It was just bad all around. When we win our first game, it will be like lifting a huge amount of weight off of me."

Since the Lions have gone 0-16, the entire front office has been overhauled. General Manager Matt Millen was fired along with last year's coach Rod Marinelli. Jim Shwartz was hired and since then there has been a little upswagger in Detroit, if you can call it that. The basic building blocks are present, with the Lions drafting quarterback Matthew Stafford in the first round and signing veteran quarterback Donte Culpepper to show Stafford the ropes of playing in the NFL. The defense has been upgraded with the additions of linebackers Larry Foote and Julian Peterson along with cornerbacks Anthony Henry and Philip Buchanon. But the defensive line took a hit when defensive tackle Chuck Darby went down with injury and he will not play for the rest of the season. On top of that, defensive tackle Shaun Smith has a broken thumb and will not play this week.

They at least looked alot better last week in their loss to the New Orleans Saints. With Culpepper out with an injury, Stafford showed good poise, completing 59% of his passes while throwing for over 250 yards with a touchdown and a pick to go along with it. Culpepper should be back in the lineup this week, so expect more out of Calvin Johnson, who was held to 56 yards receiving.

On the other side of the spectrum, the Minnesota Vikings look like they have solved their quarterback issues. Brett Favre has an outstanding game against the Cleveland Browns last week, throwing for over 300 yards and two touchdowns. Even without Adrian Peterson having a good day on the ground, the Vikings were still able to rack up 31 points and the defense shut the Browns running game down. Even though their pass defense is a little suspect, expect the Vikes to clamp down on it and limit the big plays.

Cornerback Antoine Winfield-"Yea, we gave up some plays in the air last week. But we limited them to under 50 yards rushing. When you do that, you force them to pass alot more. We are not worried about it. Its not that big of deal."

INJURIES

MINNESOTA- RG #79 Artis Hicks (Partial MCL Tear) 1 Weeks; RG #64 Anthony Herrera (Herniated Disk) 8 Weeks

DETROIT- DT #71 Shaun Smith (Broken Thumb) 1 Week; #66 RG Stephen Peterman (Dislocated Hip) 4 Weeks; DT #91 Chuck Darby (Broken Ankle) Season

[Joshua1207]

You better not lose to the Lions.

[hatisback]

Quote: Originally Posted by Joshua1207

You better not lose to the Lions.

I hope not. I feel the pressure now. Id hate to be the first team to lose to them in real life. That'd be embarrassing. At least this is the virtual world, where you can just forget about it. LOL. Thanks for reading.