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Posts Tagged ‘Minnesota Vikings’

December 19th, 2010 By Andrew "Mr. Multi-Task" Ryan - Cappersinfo Contributor

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The door has swung wide open for the Chicago Bears, who have a fantastic shot to put a vice grip on the NFC North in all likelihood on Monday Night Football. They take on the Minnesota Vikings, who are playing at their new home away from home for at least one week, and they are doing so with third string quarterback in tote. The NFL odds are high in this one though, so be sure to read this pro football pick first to sort out all of the action.

Matchup: Chicago Bears @ Minnesota Vikings
Date: Monday, December 19th, 8:30 ET
Location: TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN
Game Line: Minnesota +9
Over/Under 33.5

Bears Notes: This is the second time this season in which the Bears have faced a team playing with its third string quarterback, and Head Coach Lovie Smith can take some real motivation from his team's 16-0 win at the Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night Football several weeks ago. Chicago has a fantastic defense that usually just does not relent, though last week's loss to the New England Patriots proved to be a tremendous exception to this rule. In fact, over the course of the last three weeks, Chicago has conceded 82 points, If you go back over the course of the previous six games, the Bears only allowed 78 points. The team's scoring average is still a healthy 17.5 points per game, and teams are just having no success running the football against these guys at 87.9 yards per game, tops in the NFC. The real problems come on offense, where QB Jay Cutler has to be wondering if he is going to have a job next year unless he finds a way to improve in a hurry or wins the Super Bowl. Cutler is leading an offense that has more turnovers this year than touchdowns, and is averaging less than 300 yards per game. The former University of Vanderbilt star isn't quite having as bad of a season as he did last year, but throwing for just 2,697 yards and 17 scores against 12 picks in a dozen starts is nothing to write home about. There won't be a 1,000 yard receiver this year to work with, though WR Johnny Knox has had a great year with 45 catches, 790 yards, and a pair of TDs. On the ground, there won't be a 1,000 yard rusher either, though we are happy to see that RB Matt Forte is at 4.2 yards per carry now, marking the first time in two seasons that he has averaged in the fours in this category. He has 773 yards and five TDs, while his backup, RB Chester Taylor, has found pay dirt three times.

Vikings Notes: The Vikings just have to be rooting for this season to end. Everything conceivable just continues to go wrong. For the second straight week, Mall of America Field isn't accessible, which forces the team to look elsewhere for its "home games." At least playing at the University of Minnesota is better than relocating to Ford Field, but this certainly isn't going to feel like home for a team that is used to playing in a dome. Now, to make matters worse, QB Brett Favre has seen his ironman streak come to an end at 297 games, and he is about to see his consecutive games inactive streak stretched to a whopping two games with his shoulder and other various ailments. QB Tarvaris Jackson suffered turf toe last week as well in the second half, which has really just left rookie QB Joe Webb with the opportunity of a lifetime to start on Monday Night Football. Should Webb fail, QB Patrick Ramsey will have to come in off the bench having had just five days of preparation to learn this new offense. Now, to put the icing on this very bitter cake, RB Adrian Peterson might not play either, as his knee is acting up once again this season, and playing in the snow in a game that quite frankly means nothing, probably isn't the greatest of ideas. If there is anything to fall back on for the Vikes, it is that their defense ranks No. 7 in the NFL at 313.6 yards per game, and though this unit has struggled at times, the overall body of work is rock solid and deserves some recognition even though the team has massively underachieved as a whole this year.

The Final Word: Having already seen this script once before, it's really hard to back the Bears. Minnesota was crippled last week by the New York Giants in tremendous fashion, and we just don't see Webb being able to really get anything going offensively either. This should be one of the ugliest Monday Night Football duels of the year for sure, but the Bears should be able to figure out how to get out of town with a tenth win on the season.

Free Pro Football Picks: Chicago -9
Prediction: Chicago 16 – Minnesota 3

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October 24th, 2010 By Andrew "Mr. Multi-Task" Ryan - Cappersinfo Contributor
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Here at Cappers Info, we are taking a weekly look at the teams that could be ones ripe to pull off some major upsets! Check out the potentially ugly dogs that could come up and bite you in the butt in you aren't careful for NFL Week 7 for pro football betting action!

Underdog Pick #1: Miami Dolphins (+130 at Diamond Sportsbook) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, 1:00 ET: We just love the Fins on Sunday afternoon. Miami badly needs to find a way to win a game at home this year against someone after two very tough losses, and though the Steelers might ultimately be the best of the three teams that it has taken on this year, we aren't so sure that this might not be the best matchup of the bunch. The Dolphins aren't just a running team anymore now that they have WR Brandon Marshall. Pittsburgh is at least remotely penetrable via the passing game. On top of that, this is the toughest defense that QB Ben Roethlisberger has seen all season long (all two games of it), and he might have a bit of a big head after tearing apart the lowly Cleveland Browns. They're the Browns. Not the Dolphins. QB Colt McCoy had at least a modest level of success, and if QB Chad Henne has that same type of success, the upset could really be in the cards on Sunday afternoon.

Underdog Pick #2: Washington Redskins (+130 at Diamond Sportsbook) @ Chicago Bears, Sunday 1:00 ET: Where would you like to start with this one? Would you like to start with the fact that the Bears have the worst third down conversion rate in the game at under 20 percent going against a defense that ranks No. 4 in the NFC in that category on the other side of the ball? Or would you rather pick on a pass defense that ranks No. 18 in the NFL in spite of the fact that it really has played just two legitimate passing games on the season? Or would you rather just laugh at QB Jay Cutler for starting to revert back to the Jay Cutler that we all grew to learn and love last season? Or what about the fact that this is clearly the worst 4-2 team in the league because at some point, there are just going to be fewer turnovers forced and special teams touchdowns scored? Or would you rather mention that RB Matt Forte has ripped off three runs of at least 60 yards this season, yet he is still averaging less than four yards per carry? Or what about the fact that QB Donovan McNabb is coming back to his hometown? Hmm? Any of those? How about all of those? Chicago doesn't stand a chance unless things drastically change.

Underdog Pick #3: Arizona Cardinals (+230 at Diamond Sportsbook) @ Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, 4:05 ET: Remember two weeks ago when we said that QB Max Hall was going to find a way to guide the Redbirds to a win over the New Orleans Saints? Look at what happened! The Seahawks are going to be full of themselves thanks to that win over the self-destructing Chicago Bears last week in the Windy City, but we're not buying one moment of it. Arizona is legitimate. This is the best team in the NFC West in spite of the fact that a ton of the key cogs from last year's team and the one that went to the Super Bowl just two years ago are gone. HC Ken Whisenhunt knows what it is going to take to go on the road and win this one, especially in one of the most hostile territories in the NFL. Many will forget that the Birds were good enough to beat the defending champs. No one will forget about last week's win for Seattle. If this game were played last week, we'd only be getting +160 or so. We'll take those extra 70 cents and fly with the Cardinals on Sunday.

Underdog Pick #4: Minnesota Vikings (+130 at Diamond Sportsbook) @ Green Bay Packers, Sunday, 8:20 ET: We really feel as though we're betting on Satan in this game, but as much as we'd love to think that the Packers would love to beat down their prodigal son, QB Brett Favre, it isn't going to happen. One of the NFL's biggest bad boys has a load of bullets in his gun right now, as he knows that WR Randy Moss loves the limelight just as much as he does. WR Percy Harvin and TE Visanthe Shiancoe aren't screwing around either. Being able to turn around and hand the ball to RB Adrian Peterson isn't such a bad option either. Unfortunately for the Packers, you have QB Aaron Rodgers, WR Greg Jennings, WR Donald Driver, and… what else on offense? That unit struggled at times mightily last week against the Miami Dolphins, and it doesn't seem very likely that all of a sudden, someone is going to emerge in the rushing game. The defense for Green Bay is banged up as well, as all four of its projected starting linebackers from the start of this season are on the injury list at this point. Most will play, but even if they do, this unit isn't nearly at 100%. At 100% last year, Favre threw four TD passes and the Vikes dropped 38 points. We just don't think that No. 4 is going to be losing a game at Lambeau Field no matter how badly everyone there would want to see it.

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October 10th, 2010 By Andrew "Mr. Multi-Task" Ryan - Cappersinfo Contributor

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The New York Jets will take their relatively new look offense into battle on Monday Night Football against the Vikes and their new offensive toys fresh off of a bye week.

Matchup: Minnesota Vikings @ New York Jets
Date: Monday, October 11th, 8:30 ET
Location: New Meadowlands Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
Game Line: New York -4
Over/Under 39

Vikings Notes: Randy's back! The future Hall of Famer, WR Randy Moss is going to be back wearing his trademarked No. 84 jersey for the men in purple and gold on Monday Night Football. He only had nine catches in four games with the New England Patriots and became very disgruntled. The trade made perfect sense for both sides, as the Pats stockpiled yet another draft choice, while the Vikes got the receiver they badly needed to bring in to help QB Brett Favre get his butt in gear once again. Favre really doesn't look like a viable option at quarterback right now. He is leading the game's 24th ranked passing attack at just 185.0 yards per game, and he has only tossed two TD passes against six picks on the year. To put that in comparison, he had seven INTs in 2009… for the entire 16 game regular season… RB Adrian Peterson's shoulders must hurt trying to carry this offense, but he is doing so as best as he can, rushing for 392 yards and three scores and averaging 5.6 yards per carry. Defensively, the Vikes have had no troubles this year. No one has scored more than 14 points against these guys all season long, and they rank No. 4 in the NFL in total defense at 276.3 yards per game. The only issue is that no one has more than one sack or one forced turnover on the season, something that is probably going to have to change soon if the men in purple are going to be heading back to the postseason. Depending on what happens in NFL betting action on Sunday afternoon, this game could either draw the Vikes back level in the loss column in the NFC North or leave them 2.5 games back with just three quarters of the season to play.

Jets Notes: When you think about the Jets, you clearly think about a team that plays devastating defense and runs the heck out of the football, right? Sure, we know that RB Shonn Greene (52 carries, 223 yards in 2010) and RB LaDainian Tomlinson (341 yards, 3 TDs in 2010) are both coming off of 100+ yard rushing games last week, and we know that they can both really blow up both as rushers and as receivers, but man, have the Jets looked great throwing the football this year! QB Mark Sanchez might actually be proving that he is the real deal. His completion percentage is still an awfully low 58.3 percent, but he has thrown for 711 yards and eight TDs on the season. Most importantly: No picks. If the Jets aren't turning the ball over, they are a dangerous force to be reckoned with. The receiving game already has an emerging star in TE Dustin Keller, who has 19 catches, 254 yards, and five scores on the season, but he is suddenly going to be joined by yet another potential star in WR Santonio Holmes this week. Holmes, who was traded from the Pittsburgh Steelers in the offseason, was suspended for the first four games of the year for violation of the league's personal conduct policy. Now, he'll be joining WR Braylon Edwards and WR Jerricho Cotchery to make up one of the best sets of receivers in the game. Parlay all of that with a defense that once again ranks very highly with just 15.2 points per game allowed, and this New York squad has the makings of one that might be running to the Super Bowl this season.

The Final Word: Geez, do the Jets look good on paper… It's really hard to make NFL picks in this one against the Jets, knowing that they have such a dynamic offense and a defense that can put Favre on his back. This was the recipe for success for the New Orleans Saints last year in the NFC Championship Game against the Vikes, and New York clearly has a significantly better defense that the Saints did. Favre might be lucky to leave this game standing up, let alone trying to escape the Meadowlands with a victory. Fly with the Jets on MNF.

Free Pro Football Picks: New York -4

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September 8th, 2010 By Andrew "Mr. Multi-Task" Ryan - Cappersinfo Contributor

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In our first of a series of NFL picks for the year here at Cappers Info, we are set to dissect the duel between the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings, which will kick off the NFL betting season on Thursday night in the Bayou.

Minnesota Vikings @ New Orleans Saints (-5)
Thursday, September 9th
8:30 ET, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA

Vikings Notes: Injuries are really starting to mount on the Vikings in a hurry. We already know that WR Sidney Rice is going to miss the first half of the season with a hip injury, and there is still a big time question whether or not WR Percy Harvin is going to be able to suit or not with his migraine problem that helped ruin his preseason. DB Cedric Griffin and DT Jimmy Kennedy are considered doubtful, while RB Toby Gerhart has a sprained knee and is questionable. If all of these players can't suit up, there is going to be a boatload of pressure on QB Brett Favre and RB Adrian Peterson. "All Day" was virtually abused last year, and he could be in for another season of having to carry the load for the men in purple. He rushed for 1,383 yards and 18 TDs on a whopping 314 carries. If you add that to his 43 receptions, Peterson averaged getting 22.3 touches per game in the regular season. Favre played like an MVP last season, completing 68.2 percent of his passes for 4,202 yards and a 33-7 TD-INT ratio, but that doesn't mean that he is going to be capable of pulling this off again. Favre was knocked around incredibly hard by the Saints last year in the NFC Championship Game, and though he ultimately fought through it, he has shown signs of rust as well in the preseason. With a newly cut and pasted together receiving corps, Favre could be in some trouble, especially at the ripe age of 40.

Saints Notes: Playing in New Orleans isn't a fun thing whatsoever. The Saints dominated both the Houston Texans and San Diego Chargers in the Superdome this preseason, winning by a combined score of 74-41. They've only lost one game of any real consequence there since October 2008, which ironically came against these Vikings. New Orleans has very few injury woes to worry about, though the man that was arguably the heart and soul of the defense, SS Darren Sharper won't be suiting in this one. QB Drew Brees is locked and loaded with basically the exact same crop of receivers that he had last year, a significantly different story from the one in Minneapolis. Though Brees didn't nearly hit the 600+ pass attempt mark like he did two seasons ago, he did throw for 4,388 yards and 34 TDs in 2009, making it one of the best seasons in his career. Losing RB Mike Bell is going to hurt quite a bit, as Bell was the second leading rusher on the team a year ago with 654. That only got compounded with the losses of RBs Lynell Hamilton and PJ Hill to season ending injuries in the preseason. Still, expect to see the combination of WR Marques Colston, WR Devery Henderson, WR Robert Meachem, and TE Jeremy Shockey catching a ton of balls for the black and gold this year.

The Final Word: Minnesota has dominated this series in the past, going 4-1 SU and 5-0 ATS over the L/5 duels against the Saints. However, New Orleans won the war last time around with a 31-28 overtime victory in which the spread didn't matter to a single soul in the Bayou. All five have gone 'over' the 'total' as well. Still, we are leaning towards the Saints busting that trend on Thursday night, as they are going to be hyped up, especially with that fancy Super Bowl XLIV banner being raised before the game.

Prediction: Saints 37 – Vikings 20

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August 22nd, 2010 By Andrew "Mr. Multi-Task" Ryan - Cappersinfo Contributor

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After a tumultuous offseason, the Minnesota Vikings have their starting quarterback situation worked out. The ageless wonder, QB Brett Favre, is going to be leading the team onto the field in an NFL preseason betting affair against the San Francisco 49ers.

Minnesota Vikings @ San Francisco 49ers (-3)
Sunday, August 22nd
8:00 ET, Monster Park, San Francisco, CA

Vikings Notes: Where else could we start than with return of No. 4? Favre ended all of the controversy about his return to the Vikings this week when he left the small town life from his ranch in Mississippi and headed up to Minneapolis to rejoin his teammates in the second week of the preseason. Even though he has been away from the game since the NFC Championship Game, Favre is expected to start on Sunday night. His role should be limited, as head coach Brad Childress expects him to take either approximately ten snaps or run two drives. Favre should be reunited with RB Adrian Peterson, who sat out last week's win against the St. Louis Rams. Instead, the man that was sparkling was QB Sage Rosenfels, who suddenly went from battling for the starting QB job to battling to keep his position on the team. Rosenfels completed 23-of-34 passes for 310 yards and three TDs without throwing a pick. Without a doubt, the former Houston Texan was the most impressive QB that the Vikes had in the 28-7 victory. QB Tarvaris Jackson and QB Joe Webb only combined to throw ten passes. Webb threw for a TD and ran for 24 yards on three carries. The defense for Minnesota was the most impressive of any unit in the first week of the preseason, as it held the Rams to just 150 total yards. The only score came via a special teams gaffe. The test should get much more difficult this week, though.

49ers Notes: The 49ers put up the second most points of the preseason in their 37-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts last weekend. However, head coach Mike Singletary has to be a bit concerned with his starting offense. Though the offensive line gave QB Alex Smith plenty of time to throw the ball, the former No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft only went 3-of-9 for 37 yards with an INT in limited action. None of the major receiving options for San Fran got in on the act at all, some due to being held out of the lineup, others of which were just ineffective thanks to Smith. However, the good news for Singletary is that his reserves played fantastic football during the final three quarters in spite of the fact that they were given a 10-0 deficit to try to overcome after one quarter of play. QBs David Carr and Nate Davis both performed admirably, combining to go 14-of-17 for 182 yards. Carr also threw a touchdown pass. The focus last week was on the running game though, and that should be a trend that continues this week for the Niners in their home opener. Running back Anthony Dixon, the team's sixth round draft pick out of Mississippi State last season, rushed the ball 21 times for 103 yards and a TD in his professional debut. Dixon is part of a trio of backs trying to replace the suddenly retired Glen Coffee to be starting RB Frank Gore's backup.

The Final Word: However sharp can Favre really be in this game? Asking for No. 4 to lead the starters on a touchdown drive in this one is going to be difficult, especially considering the fact that there is some controversy going on between him and Childress. We tend to believe that the united 49ers are going to put a better product on the field, particularly considering the fact that this is the preseason, and the end result is going to be a relatively comfortable two score 'W'.

Prediction: 49ers 20 – Vikings 10

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