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Rule Changes
17 Game Season
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The Dierdorf Taunt and The Rag Doll 
"It is no secret that Adrian Peterson gets most of his yards in the second half", says handy Dan.  Hall of Fame Dan is not a Viking ... and never will be.  This was his way of taunting Childress, his crew, and the Viking Faithful.  "Imagine the numbers this guy could put up if they used Adrian for the entire game.  Imagine what he could do."  The taunt is to reach its crescendo very soon ... taunting us into making a very stupid mistake.  The reality is that patience is what will rule the day.  It all comes down to ... "When to unleash the fury".            

Our first pre-season game, was a work of art.  It is now apparent that our brain trust had taken the hard-look at themselves.  The ebb and flow or tendencies of last year were exposed and studied at length.  Acknowledging your mistakes exposes the truth ...  only then can you find the true direction, from which we can grow.  The difference between knowledge and wisdom is that wisdom is knowledge applied.  We're not talking about the rookie mistakes of our youthful players, which will happen due to inexperience.  What was unleashed on that day was the epitome of patience.  Message to league ... deal with it.  Our brain trust unleashed a masterpiece of deception.  Pederson never touched the ball, and went one way, where T-Jack spread it around liberally, and the rest of the team went the other way.  At one point, you could feel the building impatience of our defensive foes ... longing to know exactly when we were going to unleash Peterson.  The formula for success ... the definition of team ... this is not individualism.  

There is no shame in having AD carve up a team in the 3rd and 4th quarter ... a page from Dallas's prototypical Emitt Smith's and Tony Dorsett's saga.  Never have we been is such a position.  There are way to many blue-collar-lunch-pail-toting bruising athletes on this team to ignore.  Before going ashore ... you need to soften up the defense with your bruising big guns.   Chester is a god!

Defense Abounds!
Not so long ago, in a game versus the Packers, Cris Carter was asked to block the immortal Reggie White.  Maybe Cris thought that the many years since leaving Philadelphia had worked its magic where Reggie had forgiven Cris for hanging Buddy Ryan out to dry.  As it turns out, there are some things that can never be forgiven ... and it all hangs upon the word respect.  Cris was wrong.  Dead wrong.  In the annals of pro football there has never been such a play.  Reggie picked up Cris and threw him at Warren Moon's legs, sacking him from what seemed to be a body throw of about 10 yards further back into our backfield.  My jaw dropped.  Afterwards, Reggie was expressionless, as that was an involuntary response for damaging Ryan, one of the greatest defensive minds in the history of the game.  I'm sure Reggie may have pondered this eventuality of facing Cris, but the involuntary nature was evident, in a Reggie's response ... as if to say, you will never disrespect me.       

Not being a player, I've always pondered exactly why Kevin Williams was, and will always be, a perennial Pro Bowler.  You see, schemes can make players disappear, or seem to be lesser than who or what they really are.  Part of the answer to my question in regard to Kevin came in watching the Williams wall dominate in the 2007 Pro Bowl.  The final answer to this puzzle was witnessed last night.  Generally, Kevin appears to be a man of few words, and generally good natured with a warm natured glow about him.  That all changed in last nights pre-season game where Kevin Williams treated Ben Roethlisberger like he was nothing but a rag doll, involuntary chucking Ben, not on, but into the turf in a blind rage, a Bersker Rage, leaving only a heap of skin and bones behind.  Kevin's aura of rage, and steely stare, if only for an instant in time, leaped well beyond his helmet and uniform, hitting us between the eyes like a sledge hammer, just as Reggie did those many years ago.  In that moment, there was a rebirth of the past ... Kevin's placed himself in truly rarified air ... just a small peg, of many pegs, toward that wall of fame.  It was nothing personal.  Apparently, Kevin, and the Minnesota Viking defense is on a mission.  Maybe it was a message for snubbing truly deserving players like Jim Marshal, Randall McDaniel, Cris Carter, John Randle, and Chris Doleman, that are awaiting their call to the hall of fame.  These greats can no longer tally ... but Kevin and his mates have a message ... and they are not amused.  The booming message for all to see last night ... you better think twice before you disrespect Kevin Williams ... think twice before putting yourself between me and my mates on our quest for the NFL's ultimate prize.      

We have watched the up and coming teams, like the Cleveland Browns, which have two outstanding quarterbacks and some very talented players.  Last night, the whole league was watching the Viking Nation for a reason.  For the die-hard Viking fans, that have witnessed it all, there was one unmistakable and unavoidable sign.  Like dogs in a pack, the body language indicates and tells all, for us all to see.  Ben, and the rest of the league for that matter, was cowering before our eyes and laying at our feet ... the feet of the Beserker Nation.  Ben's body language was unmistakable and that was before Kevin's little body toss.  Facing genuine fear causes us all to do things that we have no control over ... an involuntary response.   

We cannot stop the hands of time, where the guard is in a perpetual state of change.  It is now time to carve our niche in Viking history for all time.  Let us not be afraid to reach for our destiny that lies before us.    

The Viking Ghost Writer
MyVikingBlood.com
Date: August 25, 2008