The man we have to stop (hint, it ain't Peterson)

[AmericasTeam31]

+1. That dude is flat out dangerous.




With all due respect, Fuzzy, even though Peterson wasn't MVP worthy this season his 1,383 yards and 18 TDs is absolutely nothing to scoff at. We haven't had a running back that "overrated" in a very, very long time. Sleeping on Peterson would be a major no no.

Instead we have a three headed monster that racked up almost 2,000 yds and 13TD's

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

If you don't stop Peterson, you might as well purchase your vacation plane tickets for the day after the game.

Well, dude, the point is to not ignore Peterson. The point is to focus on Favre. It would be nice to "stop" Peterson but as history has shown, few teams can stop him and I doubt we can stop him, just contain him to some extent.

 

[Doomsday101]

Well, dude, the point is to not ignore Peterson. The point is to focus on Favre. It would be nice to "stop" Peterson but as history has shown, few teams can stop him and I doubt we can stop him, just contain him to some extent.

Cards held him to 19 yards on 13 carries and Cards are not the most dominate defense in the NFL. Stopping Peterson is what will allow Dallas to pin their ears back and get after Brett. If they are having success running it will be much harder because Dallas will have to show more respect for their running game.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Cards held him to 19 yards on 13 carries and Cards are not the most dominate defense in the NFL. Stopping Peterson is what will allow Dallas to pin their ears back and get after Brett. If they are having success running it will be much harder because Dallas will have to show more respect for their running game.

As you have pointed out, there are exceptions to the rule.
But pls. don't settle in on this game with the backdrop that we might hold Peterson to 19 yards like the Cards.

That is not realistic and you know it, I know it and Bob Dole knows it.

So, again, if we stop Brett and contain peterson we will be on the road to the NFC championship game. If not, it will be a hard climb to the top in enemy territory and Brett slicing and dicing us in the midrange secondary.

Nice to disagree with you, ya rube.

 

[Doomsday101]

As you have pointed out, there are exceptions to the rule.
But pls. don't settle in on this game with the backdrop that we might hold Peterson to 19 yards like the Cards.

That is not realistic and you know it, I know it and Bob Dole knows it.

So, again, if we stop Brett and contain peterson we will be on the road to the NFC championship game. If not, it will be a hard climb to the top in enemy territory and Brett slicing and dicing us in the midrange secondary.

Nice to disagree with you, ya rube.

I think unless Dallas hold Peterson down it will be hard to get after Brett. If Peterson is running then Dallas must respect the playaction. Do I expect Dallas to hold Peterson to 19 yards? No I do think Dallas can hold Peterson to minimal gains and keep Minn in 2nd/3rd and long and be able to get after Brett. If not then the game becomes much more difficult. Brett no doubt can sling the ball he however does not run like he once did and with Dallas ability to bring pressure off the edges and up the middle I think Brett is a dead man unless the Vikes can slow down the pass rush and you do that with the run.

 

[kramskoi]

Their running game is so overrated its disgusting. They are mediocre to bad in every statistic yet people keep touting Petersen, Petersen, Petersen as if that changes the reality of the situation.

They are not a very good running team.

Their is no way they are going to be able to single block our linemen and Kleinsasser is not going to handle Ware or Spencer. Were a top 10 run defense, 8th in YPC.

Over the course of the season, our pass defense has been a mediocre 16th at 83.5. They have had the best passer rating in the NFL this year at 107. Thats what we need to worry about but as we showed in Philly and New Orleans as of late our pass defense has improved.

On offense i think our interior lineman can block Wiliams x2 better than anyone else in the league and Columbo and Adams outweigh Allen and that other DE by 50 lbs. Ill take the matchup of our TEs and FB over their depleted LB corps any day of the week.

They don't have the horses to keep up Austin and Witten in the passing game and they know it. Winfield is their only notable player in the secondary and hes been bad lately. They are going to have to give safety help.

Realistically if we don't get killed in the turnover battle, I just don't see us losing.

...lip service my friend...lip service...anyone that has studied the Vikings down the stretch knows that the Vikings o-line has'nt been run-blocking particulary well...maybe they were wearing down as the year went on but they looked particularly bad versus Arizona and Carolina...bad, bad games...a week off could rejuvenate them a little but this is the best front seven they will have seen since Pittsburgh...

...i like that the Cowboys have rolled out the phantom/flanker screen game as an answer to all the A gap blitzing, it will serve them well if the Vikings try to bring heat...the offense gives me more confidence than the defense right now...i know it's counter-intuitive but if Dallas can continue to start as fast as they have been then that puts tremendous pressure on an opposing team to keep up and frees up the front seven to get after the quarterback...they've been pretty lethal over the last four weeks...that said, i do believe in Ware, Spencer and Ratliff being the key to the game...if they can wreck the Vikings o-line then the Dallas offense won't need to be great, just efficient...

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Honestly, I think it's Sidney Rice that we have to stop. I have nightmares of what Brandon Marshall did at the end of the game in Denver.

We've contained TE's reasonably well all season, and Harvin is the kind of receiver we fare well against.

But Rice...

I could see Favre taking shots downfield just throwing it up for grabs to Rice. I guess that's what Rivers tried with Vincent Jackson, and we held up except for one play - the one that preceded Gates' touchdown. Hopefully we can do it again.

Exactly. That's my big fear, that Favre just throws it up to Rice -- or even zips it in there when he's covered -- and he makes the catch. If Favre is on fire with his accuracy and gets his confidence going, it almost won't matter how well Rice is covered. In some of these games, Rice has the DB all over him and he makes the catch anyway. That's the hard part of this game.

And I won't lie, I'm very worried about PI calls on our DBs from Walt Anderson.

Maybe our O can keep up with them.