Your 1st place Minnesota Vikings!

[fiestavike]

Tied for 1st in the division and currently have the #1 rusher in the league.

Starting to think this offensive line might be gelling. I'd LOVE to see them turn the corner in their run blocking and just get Peterson rolling.

[dead_poet]

Starting to think this offensive line might be gelling. I'd LOVE to see them turn the corner in their run blocking and just get Peterson rolling.

Fusco & Clemmings have been awful and were awful again on Sunday. Awfulness limited due to Turner's use of 3TE sets.

[chicagopurple]

an announcer in the game this weeks said that AP has only lead the league in Rushing for 2 seasons! This seems impossible. Is it the truth??

[akvikingsfan]

an announcer in the game this weeks said that AP has only lead the league in Rushing for 2 seasons! This seems impossible. Is it the truth??

Yes it is. According to Pro Football Reference he has only ended up winning the rushing title in 2008 and 2012.

Edit: here are the places he finished in, in each of the other years

Code: Select all

Year       Place
2007        2nd
2008        1st
2009        5th
2010        6th
2011        18th (injured and missed 4 games)
2012        1st
2013        5th
2014        ---- (no data due to only playing 1 game)

[chicagopurple]

WOW! given that most of his career he has been on a team with no real QB...ie Ponder, TJ, etc, thats pretty surprising. 2 years with Favre was the only time that justified not feeding him the ball most of the game...would have thought he piled up better numbers then that.

[dead_poet]

WOW! given that most of his career he has been on a team with no real QB...ie Ponder, TJ, etc, thats pretty surprising. 2 years with Favre was the only time that justified not feeding him the ball most of the game...would have thought he piled up better numbers then that.

For some perspective, if AD finishes with only 500 more rushing yards this season I believe that'll place him 13th overall rushing yards in NFL history. If he follows that up with, say, 1,000 yards next season, he'll be in eighth place all-time. He needs 2,737 more career rushing yards to surpass LaDainian Tomlinson at #5, which is doable IF he can stay healthy. However he's still a long ways away from Emmitt Smith (7,408 more yards). His "lost" 2014 really does hurt his chances of ever matching Smith (though that was a monumental task even before his 2014).

Addendum:

Here's how many yards Peterson was short in each year he didn't win the title:

2007: 133 (played two fewer games than LaDainian Tomlinson)
2009: 623 (Chris Johnson had 44 more attempts and AD was just 33 yards behind the runner-up that year)
2010: 318 (missed a game and Arian Foster had 44 more carries)
2011: Injured/missed multiple games
2013: 341 (missed two games)

[PurpleKoolaid]

The Oline plays better, AD looks better. So much depends on the Oline, and ours was crap for so long (hopefully a bit better now). Clemmings has to go though. He is Charlie Johnson bad.

[fiestavike]

The Oline plays better, AD looks better. So much depends on the Oline, and ours was crap for so long (hopefully a bit better now). Clemmings has to go though. He is Charlie Johnson bad.

These reps could pay off in a month, a year, etc. He has moments where he is decent.

[Pondering Her Percy]

These reps could pay off in a month, a year, etc. He has moments where he is decent.

I agree. Clemmings has been bad but I clearly remember that guys like Birk, Sully, Fusco, etc. were very bad when they first hit the field. This could be a blessing in disguise that he is starting his rookie year.

[fiestavike]

I agree. Clemmings has been bad but I clearly remember that guys like Birk, Sully, Fusco, etc. were very bad when they first hit the field. This could be a blessing in disguise that he is starting his rookie year.

especially if they can keep winning while he is learning.

[PurpleKoolaid]

I agree. Clemmings has been bad but I clearly remember that guys like Birk, Sully, Fusco, etc. were very bad when they first hit the field. This could be a blessing in disguise that he is starting his rookie year.

I like the optimism! They are young guys, without a lot of experience blocking for AD, who could be 10 yards down the field before they realize the play is over.

[yezzir]

Packers down 10-3 with 9 min remaining.

[Mothman]

Packers down 10-3 with 9 min remaining.

People are following that one in the Around the League thread:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=28820

[808vikingsfan]

No need for a tie breaker argument this week. 7-2 and in first place. A win next week would be huge.

[Mothman]

No need for a tie breaker argument this week. 7-2 and in first place. A win next week would be huge.

HUGE.

Think about this: a win next week puts the Vikes at 8-2 and drops GB to 6-4.

The 4-5 Bears host Denver. That's a difficult but arguably winnable game @ Chicago.

The following week, Chicago goes to Green Bay. Next week, a Bears win and a Packers loss would actually set up the possibility that the Bears could move into a tie for second place by beating GB.

I'm not saying it will all work out that way but that's not a scenario that even looked possible a few weeks ago. I'd love to see GB losing streak continue, especially within the division.