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Week 2 Game Recap: Minnesota Vikings 27, Detroit Lions 13
Minnesota Vikings
| QB Brett Favre, Pass: 23 - 27 - 155 - 2 TD / 0 INT |
Once again, Favre spent most of the game looking for Adrian Peterson. Either with a hand off or a short dump-off pass, Peterson is the clear focal point of this team or even when the Vikings were losing 10-0, they still ran the ball. Favre looked sharp when he had time, and picked the Lions apart in the second half with his short, accurate passes. The only time he seemed to struggle was when the Lions got pressure on him and he threw two or three bad passes that could have easily been picked off. For the game, Favre did exactly what the Vikings wanted him to do. He was calm and collected. Took the hard sacks that came his way and bounced right back. There were several times when he faced unblocked LBs blitzing from the outside and he stood tall to complete the pass. His passes were sharp and hit their targets. You always had the feeling that he was in control the whole time. He never locked on to one guy and spread the ball around pretty evenly to the open person. A solid performance from a guy who isn't being asked to throw the ball down field. Short accurate passes is the name of Favre's new game and he executed it almost perfectly.
| QB Tarvaris Jackson, Pass: 1 - 1 - 14 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - -3 - 0 |
Brett Favre's clipboard holder kept the clock running in the 4th quarter after the Vikings had the game wrapped up. Once the Lions were out of time-outs, Jackson took a knee and the game ended. They one interesting part of Jackson's performance was early in the game when he lined up as the short man on the first punt formation. He didn't touch the ball and the Vikings kicked it away. Jackson wasn't on the field again until the end.
| RB Adrian Peterson, Rush: 15 - 92 - 1, Rec: 4 - 24 - 0 (4 targets) |
Saying that Adrian Peterson is the heart and soul of the Minnesota offense almost seems like a waste of letters. Yet unless you really see the kid in action, you cannot truly appreciate the value that anyone with pick 1.01 in a fantasy draft really has. This kid is the real deal, and you wonder why he doesn't touch the ball on every play. The Vikings opened the game with four consecutive plays to Peterson: two runs and two passes. He's a safety valve when Favre gets into trouble and the go-to guy when they need a big play. Early in the 3rd quarter after the Lions turned over the ball, Peterson took the first play from scrimmage into the pile, bounced back and literally out-ran everyone into the end zone. It broke the backs of the Lions and they never covered. He frequently made people miss and it often took two or three guys to bring him down. He's not afraid to lower he head and take on defensive guys for the extra yards. Early in the 4th quarter he had a great play where he ran up the middle, hit the pile and bounced outside, and ran for a solid six yards. When Anthony Henry went to tackle him, he lowered his shoulders and banged ahead for another two yards rather than go out of bounds. It was classic AD.
| RB Chester Taylor, Rush: 4 - 8 - 0, Rec: 3 - 20 - 0 (3 targets) |
Taylor is seeing less and less action as the Vikings were using Adrian Peterson on 3rd down as well. He only had one 3rd down reception in the first half and fumbled his only carry (although he did recover it). He saw most of his action in the 4th quarter when the Vikings had the game put away. He was less effective than Peterson in all respects and was a non factor in the game.
| WR Percy Harvin, Rush: 2 - 14 - 0, Rec: 5 - 41 - 1 (5 targets) |
On any other team, Percy Harvin would be considered a must start. He attacks the defense when he has the ball, and is a great special teams player. He's the primary kick returner and had a couple nice returns after the Lions had scored to put the Vikings in a good position to try and recapture the lead. He was also the QB of the one wildcat formation that the Vikings ran, but gave away the play by motioning to Peterson before the snap and it was stuffed. In the fourth quarter, Brett Favre went to Harvin on several short passes and he was also used on an end around. Whenever Harvin touched the ball, he was difficult to bring down. On the end around, it took several players to tackle him and he fought for several more yards, twisting and turning after contact. He caught the ball outside of the end-zone and fought his way in on his 4th quarter TD as well, on the same play that resulted in a TD for Harvin in week 1.
| WR Bernard Berrian, Rec: 6 - 46 - 0 (6 targets) |
Bernard Berrian showed a solid performance after a weak game against Cleveland. While Favre spread the ball around a lot, Berrian was his favorite target. Berrian caught several short passes and broke them for longer gains, and in general was never far from the action. Early in the game Berrian was the target of a pass where Favre was facing an unblocked rusher. Favre stood tall, took the hit and completed the pass. Early in the 4th quarter, Favre found Berrian on a short roll-out. He also looked for Berrian immediately after Stafford threw his second interception. He had a very solid game, but did not reach the end zone.
| WR Sidney Rice, Rec: 3 - 29 - 0 (5 targets) |
Rice had another quiet game with only three receptions and nothing of significance. His receptions were short to medium passes when Favre was starting to pick apart the defense. While under pressure, Favre chucked a weak-looking pass into Rice's direction but it was almost picked off. In the second quarter Rice caught a nice slant pass to foil a big run blitz from the Lions. He nearly reached the end zone on his reception in the second quarter but was tackled before he could get there. He had a solid performance but very limited opportunities.
| TE Visanthe Shiancoe, Rec: 1 - 1 - 1 (3 targets) |
When Brett Favre looked for a TE, Visanthe Shiancoe was the guy he was targeting. On the Vikings first TD, Favre rolled out and found Shiancoe who had cut back toward the middle. It was a great play and Favre executed it perfectly. Shiancoe was also the target of a weak Favre lob when he was under pressure later in the game, but the ball was not very close. Shiancoe was held though and the penalty gave the Vikings a key first down. It led to the FG that tied the game up. Aside from that, Shiancoe was a non-factor.
Detroit Lions
| QB Matthew Stafford, Pass: 18 - 30 - 152 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 1 - 7 - 0 |
For the young QB, it was almost like there were two different games. In the first half, Stafford looked poised and in control. He made solid throws and led the Lions on several solid drives. He missed Calvin Johnson in the end zone early, but in general was solid and in control. He had a nice run after being flushed from the pocket in the second quarter where he stretched and almost got the first down. His interception in the second quarter was a rookie mistake where he rolled out and tried to force the ball in rather than throw it away. He had a similar play later in the game and threw the ball out of bounds, proving he learns from his mistakes. In the second half, Stafford was clearly out of sync with his team. He had several bad throws and missed a wide open Bryant Johnson late in the 4th quarter that could have gotten the Lions back in the game. His second interception was a bad throw when he tried to force the ball into Brandon Pettigrew after being pressured. Another rookie mistake. In the second half, Stafford did have some solid throws, but he was not nearly as sharp as he was in the first half and the quick scores by the Vikings after the turnovers clearly upset him.
| RB Kevin Smith, Rush: 24 - 83 - 0, Rec: 2 - 10 - 0 (3 targets) |
The Lions were clearly not impressed with the #1 rushing defense in the league as they looked to Kevin Smith early and often. Smith was certainly stopped by the tough Vikings front, but frequently ripped off five and six yard carries as well. In the second quarter he ripped off two 12+ yard gains in a row on two different type of runs: one off tackle and one a run around the end. He was also used in the short passing game where he was very effective in running a screen and acting as the safety valve for Stafford when he was in trouble. Even down by 10 points in the fourth quarter, the Lions went to Smith and kept the ball on the ground. He lost a couple carries to Maurice Morris after the two long runs and Aaron Brown ran a couple draw plays and delays on longer downs. In general, Smith had a solid game, even if he didn't reach the end zone.
| RB Aaron Brown, Rush: 4 - 10 - 0, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (2 targets) |
The rookie from Texas Christian had a big impact on special teams and the primary kick returner for the Lions. He averaged 16 yards per return, and could easily have broken a long run if the Lions had better protection. He came into the game as a change of pace back in the 2nd and 4th quarters and had nice runs on delays and draw plays. He broke a long run late in the second quarter but it was called back because of a holding penalty. He was also the target of a few short passes from Stafford later in the game. He is clearly the change of pace back for the Lions.
| RB Maurice Morris, Rush: 2 - 15 - 0 |
Morris only had two touches in the game. It was early in the second quarter after Kevin Smith had just burned the Vikings for two 12+ yard gains. Smith took a breather and Morris came in to pound the ball up the middle, making two nice runs of seven and eight yards before giving up the field to Smith again. He did not see any action after that.
| WR Calvin Johnson, Rush: 2 - 16 - 0, Rec: 5 - 51 - 1 (7 targets) |
Early in the game, the Lions looked to Johnson often. He was the target of several short and medium passes, and used in end around rushes and as a decoy for Smith who was able to break a longer gain as the defense keyed on him. He was open in the first quarter but Stafford narrowly missed the pass to him. If the ball would have been thrown better, the Lions would have been up 7-0 instead of settling for a FG. He caught a TD pass later in the game and was solid whenever he had the ball. The problem for the Lions was that they were focused on establishing their running game and Johnson did not touch the ball nearly as much as he should have. Kevin Smith had a solid game against a tough defense, but it was at the expense of Calvin Johnson. When they went back to him later in the game, he continued to produce results but it was a little too late at that point.
| WR Dennis Northcutt, Rec: 2 - 15 - 0 (6 targets) |
Northcutt was the #2 WR for the Lions in this game. Unfortunately, that only resulted in only two receptions for minimal gain. He was also the main punt returner but had only one ball that he did not 'fair catch'. He missed a perfect pass from Stafford late in the fourth quarter and the Lions had to settle for a field goal instead of getting closer to a TD as they tried to get back into the game. His impact for the Lions was minimal, but at least he had a better game than Bryant Johnson.
| WR Bryant Johnson (1 targets) |
Bryant Johnson proves that a being first round draft pick doesn't mean anything. Anyone thinking that Johnson would have a solid impact for the Lions this season should have watched this game. Johnson was a complete non-participant. The one time his name was called, Johnson had broken away from the Viking secondary and was wide open down the left side of the field. Stafford's excitement got the better of him and he overthrew Johnson by a mile. He was never targeted again.
| TE Brandon Pettigrew, Rec: 4 - 40 - 0 (5 targets) |
The rookie TE for the Lions had a solid performance in this game. He was a frequent target of Stafford on both designed and 'check-down' plays, and Pettigrew took several solid shots and bounced right back up and returned to action. He had another long gain late in the 4th quarter but it was called back on a penalty. Pettigrew was fully engaged in this game and even recovered a Stafford fumble early in the 3rd quarter. He was the clear #2 choice for Stafford when Calvin Johnson was not open.
| TE Will Heller, Rec: 2 - 10 - 0 (3 targets) |
Heller was more of a blocker than a pass catcher for this game. He frequently helped spring Kevin Smith for longer gains and kept Stafford from being mauled by a vicious Viking defensive line. He had a couple solid catches and missed on a long pass that was well over his head late in 3rd quarter.