The Mediocrity that is Minnesota

Sorry new posts haven't shown up for a while. I was trying to emulate the Vikings offense.

It's frusterating. Every season I look at the Vikings roster, and I make myself believe that greatness lies therein. And every year I am blown away by mediocrity. There's always some good things (at the moment it's our defense holding teams below 20 points consistently). There's always something bad - offense. Okay, maybe it's not bad. But after watching Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning consistently destroy defenses, I don't feel so wrong using the word "bad."

Okay, I leave the depression behind me. There. It's gone. Let's move on.

Week 9 - Washington Redskins

This is a must-win.

As in...it's absolutely vital. It's not one of those games that we call must-wins and then next week say was actually more of a should-win. It's a MUST win, as in if we lose we might as well pack our bags, might as well start watching the Timberwolves, might as well take a nap on Sunday afternoons kind of must win.

When the season began, I predicted we would be 4-4, on our way to a 9-7 season. At 3-5, we are only one game behind that, but it could make all the difference. A 9-7 post-season ticket is very plausible. 8-8 is much less likely.

Facing the 3-5 Redskins team from Washington will be no picnic as they come off an exciting win in Dallas. That being said, it's also an extremely winable game.

Thoughts and Predictions

Thought 1: The Vikings need to thrive in two areas - quarterback pressure and special teams. With our offense struggling like it is, we need to win the game of field position. And  we need to keep RGIII on his back.

Thought 2: A win puts the Vikings at 4-5 going into their bye. With some key losses in the NFC, this could place the Vikings well within wild-card position going into their final 7 games - 5 of which are definitely winable.

Prediction:
In an evenly-matched game, the Vikings defense comes away with three turnovers, leading the way to a 24-20 victory.