Chester Taylor

whole draft to get Jay Cutler.  They still don't have an elite receiver, but the additions of Chester Taylor and Julius Peppers let's you know that they don't plan on falling too far behind the Packers and the Vikings.  If you can get consistent effort out of Peppers, and a healthy Brian Urlacher, this could be one fo the most formidable front sevens in the game.  And if you can put more emphasis on the run and get a few big plays of of Cutler and Devin Hester then you've got a playoff calibur team on your hands.   

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ever, now with three years of hindsight, Brad Johnson throwing to Koren Robinson and handing off to Chester Taylor (the last year of the Tice regime) was just as productive as Tarvaris Jackson throwing to Bernard Berrian and giving to Adrian Peterson.  Essentially, what I'm trying to say is that Childress has come nowhere near delivering the "kick-ass" offense he promised a few seasons ago.  Sure, the defense has been incredible, but Chilly lucked out in that regard (and was likely helped by the presence of Mike Tomlin, now Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers), as the Wilfs had just doled out the money to Pat Williams, Antoine Winfield, and Darren Sharper, while Kevin Williams was becoming a major inside force.

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for ten total yards, which is unacceptable if the Vikes want to win a game.  I understand that Chester Taylor is much better at picking up the blitz and thus needs to be on the field for many third-and-long passing situations, but (at least to me) that doesn't excuse the strange non-usage of Peterson.

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nt Jackson as the newest old savior, consider the fact that he pretty much rode Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor for the entire second half.  Against the Lions that was acceptable, as the Vikes were not afraid in the least of Detroit's offense (in fact, Detroit having the ball played right into MN's hands).  So, even hanging on to a slim lead, the Vikes were content to pound the line and not try anything too crazy.

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, the Vikings tied the game (24-24) with 22 seconds left on the clock on a pile-jumping hurdle from Chester Taylor into the end zone.

Yet, in typical Vikings fashion, the Purple could not go into halftime on a high note.  With just 22 seconds on the clock, Kyle Orton led the Bears down the field (two passes to wide-open receivers) and set up Gould for a 57-yard field goal, which would have been the longest attempt of his career.  Of course, the Vikings promptly jumped off sides and moved the ball five yards closer, after which Gould punched it through to give the Bears a 27-24 halftime lead.  Another Purple folly that would come back to haunt them later.

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, the Vikings (like most teams in the NFL) rely heavily on runs (from Adrian Peterson and sometimes Chester Taylor) and short passes to set up the occasional deep strike.  Essentially, it is a West Coast offense.  When run to perfection, this type of offenses does two things: 1. It softens up the defense line by pounding the ball at them time and time again; and 2. Because of that pounding, the line is not strong enough to put pressure on the QB, who is then free to complete short passes (under ten yards) and look for the occasional man coverage on the outside to take a deep shot.  However, the Vikings lack one key component of that system: the ability to complete short passes.  Leaving Bernard Berrian out of the equation for the moment, the Vikings' other receivers (Bobby Wade, Aundrae Allison, and Robert Ferguson) are just not good enough to consistently get open and make the play required of them.  Allison is too inexperienced and penalty-prone, while Fergie and Wade are too old).  So, what ends up happening is that opposing defenses even leave the short-yardage receivers in loose coverage, instead choosing to stop-up Peterson, a strategy that has been quite successful in rendering the Purple impotent with the ball.  The end result is Peterson getting stuffed, and the receivers dropping enough passes (or just plain not getting open) to set up third and long situations, which a West Coast offense is not equipped to convert, as the defense can finally play a little looser knowing that a pass is almost surely coming.

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, the Vikings almost squandered the golden opportunity once again, this time needing a pass from RB Chester Taylor to TE Visanthe Shiancoe to get the TD (isn't the QB supposed to do that?!).

For the remainder of the second quarter, the Saints continued to give the Vikings the ball on a silver platter thanks to a fumble by Reggie Bush and a Brees interception (picked off by LB Ben Leber).  The Vikes turned all those opportunities into a "scintillating" three points, and went into the half with a 20-10 lead.  I don't think many people would have guessed that the Vikings would be leading by so much at the half, but the consensus (even from the broadcasters) was that the Saints were bound to come back and take charge of the game.  They did do exactly that later, although in a much different way than anyone thought they would...

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