If your looking for more coverage of the Adrian Peterson saga I must stop you right here, as this articles sole purpose is to break down the on the field matchup of these two teams by dissecting the Xs and Os. Its hard to believe the struggles both these teams have had thus far this season and for completely different reasons.
As mentioned above the Vikings deactivated Peterson due to an ongoing investigation regarding child abuse against his four-year old son, and the teams offensive struggles were not surprising after losing the centerpiece of their game plan for the past nine seasons. With Peterson scheduled to be out of action for at least multiple weeks, Norv Turner must find a way to fill that giant void with the playmakers at hand, including Corderrelle Patterson and Kyle Rudolph.
Meanwhile, the Saints are off to a head scratching 0-2 start to the season after stunning last second losses to the Atlanta Falcons and Cleveland Browns. While Drew Brees hasn’t displayed that monster performance that we all expect to see on a week-to-week basis, it was the defense that once again let the Saints down, despite a plethora of new talent infused with youth. Rob Ryan surly has stressed the basics to his defense this week, getting back to fundamental tackling and knowing their scheme and coverage inside-and-out, arguably the two biggest reasons the Saints defense has struggled.
Game Preview
With or without Adrian Peterson the Vikings had no shot against the New England Patriots after quarterback Matt Cassel threw four-interceptions in front of his home crowd. Bill Belicheck clearly remembered the days of grooming the former Patriot fresh out of USC, and dusted off his old scouting report to attack Cassel’s weaknesses.
Consistent pressure will rattle any quarterback, but Belicheck got in Cassel’s head early and often in week two and he never was able to regain him composure. The Patriots only needed a few drives on defense to rattle his cage and from there Cassel showed off his happy feet and desire to bolt out of the pocket, even when no pressure was around. Scrambling out of the pocket, Cassel took his eyes off his down field targets, missing numerous wide open receivers that likely would have equated to first downs and longer sustaining drives. To make matters worse, Cassel displayed the noodle that is known as his deep ball, and came up short on the majority of them, resulting in pass deflections and interceptions despite his targets being open, deflating his teams hopes time and time again.
Of course its easy to blame the quarterback in these situations but with a non existent running game, and another poor performance by the left side of his offensive line, Cassel isn’t the only one at fault for the Vikings. After garnishing a pro bowl ballet his rookie season, left tackle Matt Kalil has seemed to regress more and more every week. Against the Patriots, Chandler Jones got the best of him right out the gate, and clearly had him guessing for the entire 60 minutes. Later in the game, Kalil was a main component of a blocked field goal attempt by Blair Walsh after he completely whiffed on his block, resulting in a scoop and score for the Patriots with just seconds remaining before halftime.
Xavier Rhodes was another head scratcher for the Vikings. After a promising rookie season Rhodes was taken under Mike Zimmer’s wing and was supposed to be their “shut down” cornerback. Last week however, Rhodes gave up four catches and was flagged three times, clearly decimating his confidence as the game went on. Things will only get harder for him this week as he will likely shadow Marcus Colston who is still one of the leagues best. Glimmers of hope opposite of Rhodes, their has been a lone bright spot as Josh Robinson (who was on the verge of being released due to poor play last season) has been lights out. According to Pro Football Focus Robinson ranked 99th at his position in 2013 after he posted a grade of -8.6. After two weeks thus far though Robinson is the fourth best graded cornerback with a +3.7 grade, giving up just one catch for seven yards.
The bigger question regarding match ups comes from the inside, as Rhodes and Robinson man the outside it will be Anthony Barr and Harrison Smith taking on the tall task of shutting down the leagues best tight end Jimmy Graham. To no ones surprise Graham has the top grade for his position in the league posting a +6.7 overall, including a +1.5 in the blocking department. After watching the Browns throw everything in the book at Graham last week from linebackers, to safeties, to pro bowler Joe Haden and still failing, the Vikings know just how hard of a test that will be.
As if it wasn’t hard enough on any given Sunday to go into the Saints stadium and go to war with one of the leagues best quarterback/coach combinations in Drew Brees and Sean Payton, the Vikings will get a team and fan base starved for a victory in their home opener. Brees did enough to come away with wins in both games, but were done in by turnovers and sloppy defense. Rob Ryan has vowed to turn things around on his end by tightening up the screws. No team added more talent to their once depleted defense like the Saints the past two off seasons, bringing in top-tier talent like Jarius Byrd too add to a solid foundation of Cameron Jordan, Curtis Lofton, and Kenny Vaccaro.
Of the bunch its Jordan who could swing this game in the Saints direction after posting 10 quarterback hurries and three batted balls, good enough for a +6.0 grade from PFF, and putting him third on the list of all 4-3 defensive ends. With Matt Kalil struggling Jordan could be in for a huge day, and in turn help his teammates around him get their first win.
Fantasy Outlook
Brandon Cooks, Wide Receiver, New Orleans Saints
The top choice for rookie of the year honors before the season began, Cooks has lived up to the hype thus far. With bigger names like Jimmy Graham and Marcus Colston commanding the defenses attention, Cooks is in a prime situation in the slot as he catches balls from one of the best. Cooks has taken his 14 targets and caught ten balls for 94 yards and a touchdown. This week he will see a lot of cornerback Captain Munnerlyn who was one of the Vikings top free agent signees. However, last week Munnerlyn struggled against Julian Edelman giving up six catches and a touchdown.
Jerick McKinnon, Running Back, Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings will be desperate to get their running game going Sunday, and if last week is any indication Matt Asiata could be in line for a lot less touches as he has yet to impress anyone. The only thing the Vikings have used on McKinnon so far is a third-round pick, but they will be ready to open him up to the offensive game plan much more this week. McKinnon is an explosive athlete that can be a weapon on the ground, through the air, and in special teams. Don’t be surprised to see Norv Turner use McKinnon in a variety of ways as the Saints defense focuses on taking Patterson out of the game.
Final Prediction
Sean Payton and the Saints are desperate for their first victory of the season and will do just about anything to get it. Although their team has played well enough to win both games its been sloppy turnovers and lack of fundamentals on defense that have been their downfall. However, playing in front of their home crowd for the first time should swing that momentum in the opposite direction. Its difficult enough for anyone to steal a win from the Saints during their home opener, let alone the Vikings who looked lost last week without the face of their franchise.
How rookie head coach Mike Zimmer bounces his team back from all of this weeks distractions is what many fans will be eager to see. If he can avoid a blowout on the road against Payton and Brees considering what his team has gone through, you would have to consider that a moral victory.
Vikings 17 Saints 34