Panthers vs. Vikings: Blogger Q&A

I managed to trade 5 Questions with SBN Vikings blogger Gonzo over at the Daily Norseman.For your pre-game reading here's his answers.

1. I have to say I'm surprised to see the Vikings sitting at 0-2. Granted the've played two good teams but is there a common thread in the Vikings performance seen in the two losses? What do they need to correct this week?

The common thread of both the Vikings' losses to this point has been coach Brad Childress calling a game plan so conservative that it's been attacked by Democrats in campaign ads.  (That's not my line. . .I have to give credit to Luft Krigare from Vikings Valhalla.)  The coach, for whatever reason, just seems to be completely unwilling to open up the offense in any measurable way.  The Vikings can run the ball, and everybody knows that already.  But Tarvaris Jackson was asked to throw 7 passes in the first half of the opener against Green Bay, and 9 passes in the first half against Indianapolis.  There's no way that a quarterback can get any sort of rhythm established when the offense is run that way.

2.  What changes can we expect to the Vikings offense now that Gus Frerotte has been named the starter?

Sadly, the Vikings' offense might open up a little bit more.  The fact that they're opening it up isn't sad, mind you. . .the fact that they had to go to the backup QB to potentially open it up is the sad thing.  Adrian Peterson is now a game-time decision with a sore hamstring, and if that's the case, the Vikings might have no choice but to throw more. . .or to ram Chester Taylor into the line so many times that his legs fall off.  It wouldn't surprise me if Childress preferred that scenario to actually opening the offense up.

3. The Vikings will be seeing Steve Smith's first live action of the season. How do you think the Vikings will game plan for a jacked-up Steve Smith?

Well, hopefully they'll devote more than one body to him.  I still have nightmares of Fred Smoot trying to cover Smith one-on-one in Carolina a couple of years back and getting abused incredibly badly.  I believe that Ike Turner called Steve Smith and said, "Man, you should have laid off him a little bit."  I would like to think that the Minnesota front seven is good enough to contain, or at least slow down, the Carolina running game, and we can keep more than one guy on Smith without completely ignoring anybody else.  I just hope we can keep him in check. . .people tend to forget that the last time the Panthers and Vikings got together, Steve Smith was out with an injury, and the Vikings still had a heck of a time beating a Carolina team that, frankly, wasn't as good as this year's version is.

4. I had the Vikings defense rated pretty high in my fantasy draft preparation. So far their looking a little over-rated, particularly against the pass. Agree or disagree?

Well, they're still as good as they ever were against the run, in my opinion.  Against the pass, however, they've been a bit disappointing, I'll agree there.  They got no pressure in the season opener, largely because they basically refused to blitz Aaron Rodgers, and last week. . .well, they got Manning-ed last week.  The performance that Peyton put on in the second half was nothing short of spectacular, given the fact that the Colts were practically pulling people out of the stands to play offensive line.  Part of the issue has also been having a rookie starting at safety instead of Madieu Williams, who the Vikings brought in during the off-season.  Unfortunately, Williams won't be playing this Sunday, either, so Tyrell Johnson is going to have to step up his game.  We'll see how things go against a pretty good Panther offensive line this week.

5. Can you give me some insight on game planning? What will the Panthers need to do right on both sides of the ball to beat the Vikings? Game Prediction?

In order to win, the Panthers will probably try to do what every other team tries to do to Minnesota. . .make them a one-dimensional offense.  They might get some assistance on that front with the injury to Peterson, but that might be balanced out with the playbook getting opened up a bit more with Gus Frerotte playing quarterback.  I'm actually quite intrigued to see what's going to happen to the Minnesota offense now with all these factors coming into play.  Also, the Vikings still won't have Bryant McKinnie back, and I'm guessing that that's going to lead to Julius Peppers just stomping on whoever the Vikings start at left tackle.  On offense, the Panthers will have to keep Jake Delhomme away from Jared Allen, and attempt to at least establish a little bit of a run game.  Steve Smith's return SHOULD open things up a little bit for the running game, but as I stated earlier, I think the Minnesota front seven can handle it.  As sad as it sounds, the Vikings really haven't given me any indicator that they have the ability to win this football game.  I'm guessing that they'll keep it close, but it wouldn't surprise me to see Carolina win another game by a field goal or so.

I big thanks to Gonzo (Christopher Gates) over at the Daily Norseman. Thanks for your insight.

Go Panthers!