When I suggested in Part I of this article that the Vikings were on a decline, I got some strong disagreement from Vikings fans. Even if you bleed purple, losing after 6 straight victories is a step back at minimum, if not a decline. The Vikings have gone from winning 5 straight and then stumbled a little bit. They barely beat the Ravens, mostly thanks to a missed 44 yard field goal as time expired. That game may have been a Pyrrhic victory as they lost Pro Bowl cornerback Antoine Winfield (foot) for up to 6 weeks.After this nail-biting victory, the Vikings gave up their first loss to Pittsburgh Steelers in a hard fought game.
Losing Antoine Winfield is a huge loss for the Vikings. Anytime a team loses a Pro Bowl corner, it is a tough loss but it really opens things up for the Packers. Winfield was arguably the Vikings defensive player of the game in these teams’ first meeting. He had a team high 9 tackles, two passes defended and the Vikings’ sole interception, or 50% of Aaron Rodgers interceptions on the year. His replacement is Karl Paymah. Paymah, is good size for a corner, (6’0″, 195lbs,) fast, with a 4.36 second 40 yard dash at the combine but has problems playing the ball and finishing the play. The absence of Winfield also puts pressure on Minnesota’s safeties Tyrell Johnson and Madieu Williams. These two safeties are not superstars at coverage and were beaten for a lot of the Packers 342 passing yards in their last meeting. They also have given up big touchdown plays in the last two games.
The other changes in the Vikings between the last time the Packers played the Vikings is at wide receiver. The Vikings have lost Bernard Berrian for at least this week. Berrian is always a big-play threat and his absence will be felt by the Vikings. Also, since the Packers last meeting, it should be mentioned that Sidney Rice has become a go-to target for Brett Favre. He has had big games against both the Steelers and the Ravens.
Part III will discuss how these teams match up and why the Packers should win.
