The Minnesota Vikings (7-6) travel to St. Louis Rams (6-6-1) on Sunday December 16th for a playoff type game. The fact that both these teams are even mentioned as a maybe playoff team is incredible after last year’s seasons failures by both teams.
The odds are slim but hey at least it is a chance to talk about the possibility, slim or not. In referring to the playoffs I made a trip to St. Louis on January 16, 2000 to watch the Vikings led by quarterback Jeff George lose to the Rams 49-37. That was the year the Rams won the Super Bowl with a team known as the fastest team on turf. Who can forget Kurt Warner, Marshall Falk, Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce just to name a few?
That was 12 years ago and now is a different circumstance and different rosters. In more recent time the last time Minnesota played the Rams in St. Louis was in 2009. The Vikes won 38-10.
The Vikings hold the series lead with 23-16-2 but on the road against the Rams the team is 9-13.
The 2 teams are lead by head coaches Leslie Frazier and Rams Jeff Fisher both who have a connection but it came as players with the Bears. The two of them came to the Bears in the same year 1981 as well as Vikings assistant coach Mike Singletary and the three of them played through the 1985 season which also included being part of the Bears Super Bowl win although Frazier was hurt and did not play in that game.
It is the time of week I like to look at numbers coming into the week and with that said we must start with Adrian Peterson numbers. It seems each week he piles up so many yards that he keeps passing up other NFL team totals. Peterson now has more yards than 23 other teams’ totals. He is number 1 in the NFC and number 2 in the NFL with 265 carries. Adrian is also number 1 in the NFL with total yards from scrimmage that is 1811 yards. In a final stat Adrian is number 2 in the NFL with 10 touchdowns.
The game Sunday features 2 of the 3 top active rushers with the Rams’ Steven Jackson first with 9929 yards and number 3 is Adrian Peterson with 8352 for their careers.
This season has not only been awesome for the Vikings rushing attack but here is something to think about. The same 5 guys have started all 13 games for the season. The line has just not had any injury problems that make someone sit out which is huge in learning to work together.
The Vikings had a record last weeks against Chicago when 5 rookies started the game. They were Matt Kalil, Josh Robinson, Harrison Smith, Jarius Wright and Rhett Ellison. It is the first time in Vikings history that this has occurred.
There is some Minnesota connection in the game in regards to the Rams. James Laurinaitis is from Plymouth, Minnesota and went to Wayzata High School. His senior year they won the Class 5A Championship at the dome.
Rams’s safety Craig Dahl is from Madison Lake, Minnesota and attended Mankato East High School.
The college connection we find 2 former high first round picks that played together at the University of Oklahoma. Rams’ quarterback Sam Bradford and the Viking’s Adrian Peterson were teammates along with Viking’s Phil Loadholt played there as well.
The 2 offenses this weekend are not particularly high scoring with the Vikes at 21.8 and the Rams are at 18.2
The Rams have the edge in team sacks with 39 to the Vikings 31.
The Vikings 2012 schedule based off the 2011 opponent’s records tied Minnesota with the 8th toughest schedule. The Rams were tied with the 4th toughest schedule.
There is so much on the line this weekend. The saying one game at a time is no more ever true than Sunday.
Thanks for reading
Purplestick
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