Published: Sunday, November 22, 2009
The Viking Age
Minnesota may be the best team the Seahawks have played this season
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Associated Press
Quarterback Brett Favre (4) and running back Adrian Peterson (28) have helped lead the Vikings to an 8-1 record.
MINNEAPOLIS — In a season full of bad news for the Seattle Seahawks, here comes some more.
The Minnesota Vikings, Seattle’s opponent today, could very well be the best team the Seahawks have faced this season. That’s right, better than the four other teams that have beaten Seattle by double digits — and in the case of Arizona, beaten the Seahawks by double digits twice.
“I believe so,” Seahawks head coach Jim Mora said when asked if Minnesota is the most complete team the Seahawks have faced. “They do not have an obvious weakness on their football team anywhere. Great returners, great up front on both sides of the ball, big, fast, physical receivers, playmaking secondary, linebackers who can run and hit, great running back, excellent tight ends, very good kicker and punter. ... Yeah, they’re darn good. There’s a reason they’re 8-1. They’ve been able to assemble a heck of a football team there.”
Gulp.
To Seattle, a 3-6 team that is reeling after losing three of its last four, the Vikings could end up being the Purple Pride Eaters today.
In that long list of impressive attributes, Mora just might have forgotten something. He wears No. 4, plays quarterback, occasionally has a hard time making up his mind.
As if having the game’s top running back (Adrian Peterson), one of the top defensive lines, and a stout offensive line that includes Pro Bowl left guard Steve Hutchinson wasn’t enough, the Vikings added some old guy named Brett Favre to its roster.
“He’s headed to Canton,” Mora said of the 40-year-old quarterback, “if he ever decides to retire.”
And this is not the same Brett Favre Seahawks fans remember from last season’s New York Jets game against the Seahawks at Qwest Field. That version of Favre looked every bit his age, and on that snowy day it was hard to imagine that the future Hall of Famer had anything left in the tank.
Yet one surgery and a change of scenery later, Favre has a league-best passer rating of 107.5, and has thrown 17 touchdown passes to just three interceptions. Favre has never thrown less than 13 interceptions in a season, yet he’s on pace to throw five or six this year.
“I know everybody talked about how he eroded and his play fell off after game eight (last season),” Vikings coach Brad Childress said. “Well, that’s after he had that ruptured tendon. That’s like a pitcher having an elbow injury; the guy’s play is going fall off. We followed that, and tracked that, and watched the rehab, and we went down to be able to watch him throw and (we brought) the trainer down there. If you’re going to make a significant investment, you want to know what you’re getting. I felt like he had a decent grasp of what the mental state was, and what our system was. He’s as advertised. He’s what you remember.”
One of the biggest reasons for Favre’s renaissance is his supporting cast. Peterson’s presence forces teams to put a lot of energy into stopping the run, making life easier in the passing game, and Favre has made life easier on Peterson too.
“I can’t remember my first two years feeling this fresh around this time,” Peterson said. “Not (having to) carry the load on my shoulders, it’s really balanced the offense out. It’s not just a (running) team when teams play us, they’ve really got to come in with a balanced defense, so that helps me out a lot.”
So just to be clear, that means Peterson feels better than he has in each of his first two seasons. You know, the years when he rushed for 3,101 yards and 22 touchdowns.
And on defense, the Vikings have perhaps the best defensive line in the NFL and lead the league with 34 sacks, including 10.5 from end Jared Allen.
“They are really good,” Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “They are really good up front. Their front seven is very good. . . . They are good at keeping you out of the end zone. Now, they have an offense to go with it. So you can see why they are so successful this year.”
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more Seahawks coverage, check out the Seahawks blog at heraldnet.com/seahawksblog
The Minnesota Vikings, Seattle’s opponent today, could very well be the best team the Seahawks have faced this season. That’s right, better than the four other teams that have beaten Seattle by double digits — and in the case of Arizona, beaten the Seahawks by double digits twice.
“I believe so,” Seahawks head coach Jim Mora said when asked if Minnesota is the most complete team the Seahawks have faced. “They do not have an obvious weakness on their football team anywhere. Great returners, great up front on both sides of the ball, big, fast, physical receivers, playmaking secondary, linebackers who can run and hit, great running back, excellent tight ends, very good kicker and punter. ... Yeah, they’re darn good. There’s a reason they’re 8-1. They’ve been able to assemble a heck of a football team there.”
Gulp.
To Seattle, a 3-6 team that is reeling after losing three of its last four, the Vikings could end up being the Purple Pride Eaters today.
In that long list of impressive attributes, Mora just might have forgotten something. He wears No. 4, plays quarterback, occasionally has a hard time making up his mind.
As if having the game’s top running back (Adrian Peterson), one of the top defensive lines, and a stout offensive line that includes Pro Bowl left guard Steve Hutchinson wasn’t enough, the Vikings added some old guy named Brett Favre to its roster.
“He’s headed to Canton,” Mora said of the 40-year-old quarterback, “if he ever decides to retire.”
And this is not the same Brett Favre Seahawks fans remember from last season’s New York Jets game against the Seahawks at Qwest Field. That version of Favre looked every bit his age, and on that snowy day it was hard to imagine that the future Hall of Famer had anything left in the tank.
Yet one surgery and a change of scenery later, Favre has a league-best passer rating of 107.5, and has thrown 17 touchdown passes to just three interceptions. Favre has never thrown less than 13 interceptions in a season, yet he’s on pace to throw five or six this year.
“I know everybody talked about how he eroded and his play fell off after game eight (last season),” Vikings coach Brad Childress said. “Well, that’s after he had that ruptured tendon. That’s like a pitcher having an elbow injury; the guy’s play is going fall off. We followed that, and tracked that, and watched the rehab, and we went down to be able to watch him throw and (we brought) the trainer down there. If you’re going to make a significant investment, you want to know what you’re getting. I felt like he had a decent grasp of what the mental state was, and what our system was. He’s as advertised. He’s what you remember.”
One of the biggest reasons for Favre’s renaissance is his supporting cast. Peterson’s presence forces teams to put a lot of energy into stopping the run, making life easier in the passing game, and Favre has made life easier on Peterson too.
“I can’t remember my first two years feeling this fresh around this time,” Peterson said. “Not (having to) carry the load on my shoulders, it’s really balanced the offense out. It’s not just a (running) team when teams play us, they’ve really got to come in with a balanced defense, so that helps me out a lot.”
So just to be clear, that means Peterson feels better than he has in each of his first two seasons. You know, the years when he rushed for 3,101 yards and 22 touchdowns.
And on defense, the Vikings have perhaps the best defensive line in the NFL and lead the league with 34 sacks, including 10.5 from end Jared Allen.
“They are really good,” Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “They are really good up front. Their front seven is very good. . . . They are good at keeping you out of the end zone. Now, they have an offense to go with it. So you can see why they are so successful this year.”
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more Seahawks coverage, check out the Seahawks blog at heraldnet.com/seahawksblog
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