The pregame might go down as one of the neatest I have ever been part of as my wife and I were part of the card stunt which turned out beautifully. On Veteran’s day, what a way to pay tribute to all who have and are serving their country as fans held their cards to make a beautiful sight across the stadium.
The crowd was the biggest of the year with an announced 64,057 which was almost 3,000 more than any game this season. The Arizona game had 61,068. It was so nice to have a big crowd and this was the first game my wife had anyone next to her and our usually 30-40 empty seats around us were filled.
The game could not have started out better offensively than when Ponder scrambled forward let the ball fly and find Jarius Wright. It was right down in front of our end zone. The fans went crazy as it was great medicine for fans who have been just waiting for the offense to finally look better. Jarius Wright first activation of the year and how does hew respond, catches a 54 yard pass and a touchdown a couple plays later. Could this be the spark this team has needed so badly?
The defense who has been getting ripped the last 4 games finally came up big. It was the Vikings defense I had seen the first part of the season. The team hustle was back along with team tackling. The Vikes defense came to play and I appreciate it.
Lions quarterback. Matthew Stafford had some big passing numbers, but I really think that is deceiving. The pass rush did not have the big sack numbers however I really liked the effort the defense did make Stafford unable to get comfortable. The amount of times Jared Allen was within a fingertip of getting to Stafford was unreal. I did see one pass rush where Allen’s jersey was grabbed and twisted but no penalty was called. I know it is hard for the referee to see everything but in this case I thought Allen clearly had the right to complain. The way this guy works his butt off you just want him to get rewarded with a sack.
It was at least for this Sunday a day the passing finally supported the running game. The booing I feared if Ponder and the offense would go 3 and out just did not materialize. There was a little boing after one drive but that was it.
The running of Adrian Peterson who broke the 1000 yard barrier Sunday will be fun to talk about all week. The 4 game streak of 100 yards is so impressive and even more 3 games in a row with a 60 yard run with 64 (Tampa Bay), 74 (Seattle) and Sunday a 61 (Lions).
Ponder in the last 2 games had a quarterback rating of 74.8 against Tamp Bay and 37.3 vs Seattle had a great number Sunday with a rating of 114.2. He had a career high with finding 10 different receivers.
The want I have been wanting finally happened as Tight End Kyle Rudolph finally was involved. John Carlson also contributing was a nice sight. The one player who did not have big stats but had an awfully big catch was Devin Aromashodu. I thought when Ponder threw the ball it seemed high but Devin made a heck of a catch and even better run. I was disappointed the catch did not put Devin in the end zone but still a great effort.
The kicking of Blair Walsh seems to be a repetitive subject but it is unreal what he is doing. His 6 touchbacks now put him in the record books and replaces Mitch Berger’s old record. What a way to start his NFL career with the accuracy and leg strength. This is one area the teams should be set for quite some time.
In the end a great day for Adrian Peterson, the passing game and defense in stepping up and stopping a Detroit’s running came who had been getting better. A great day in the dome.
On a side note, I did get on field pre game pass and was down on the Lions side. I had a great chance to see just how big Lions receiver Calvin Johnson. I am telling you he is a monster and to see what he did with 200 yards of receiving is not surprising. It makes the win even more special when a team has a 200 yard receiver and they lose.
Great Sunday in Minnesota
Thanks for reading
Next up: The new stadium architect comes to Rochester
Purplestick
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