Next up, Minnesota

[WhackThePack]

Make some noise up there you bunch of bastids, will ya?

Scream til your lungs puncture and your guts burst. This a huge game, not that they all aren't if the goal is playoffs. Make it so the Vikes can't hear themselves think.

Interesting comments on this post, including the Pack Whacker. Did not see any of Vikes-Bucs game but read of Matt Birk opting for surgery after management wouldn't guarantee his contract for next year.

I know last year when the Bengals lost Richie Braham (doesn't sound like much to outsiders) the whole O-line seemed to turn to pus. Just wondering if Birk is that much of a hit for the Vikes.

The loss of Birk is huge. He's big and fast, and is one of the best pull blockers in the league, definately the best center in the NFC (with Bears Olin Kreutz a close second). His backup, Cory Withrow is good but he's no four-time Pro Bowler.

In response to that injury post, if Rod Davis starts in place of Sam Cowart that will not be good for us at all...Moore's injury doesn't bother me, he's been injured before. As for McKinnie...well he's a great run-blocker but he struggles with faster defensive ends in pass protection and did a poor job protecting Daunte's blind side yesterday. Goldberg is versatile and should fill in nicely. He will have to against Geathers.

I'm not at all confident about this game...no doubt the Cincy crowd will be in it which means the Vikings MUST score on their opening possession which will hopefully be the first possession of the game. For the Vikings to win confidently they will need to keep a safe lead throughout most of the game...a close game, with either team leading, will only whet the crowd's appetite.

[volcom69]

Heres the thing that scared me the pass def we let Dilfer throw for 260 some yards and Dilfer is no Daunte lol. They need a pass rush like crazy the bucs got pressure all day and he couldnt stand it and threw all his pics that way. Im still not sold on the pass defense, and Hobson saying this is our best backfield yet i sure hope he is right cause on Sunday i didnt see it yet. So i hope it all gels and comes toghter cause i dont wanna see Daunte throw for like 400 yards on us.

[semiotter]

I thought the defense played pretty good sunday. 1st game of the year and on the road and their biggest rival. Way to go "D". Keep up the good work... :player:

[HoosierCat]

In response to that injury post, if Rod Davis starts in place of Sam Cowart that will not be good for us at all...

I was a Rod Davis pimp back when he was up in the draft, but honestly haven't heard boo about him since.

As for the game, NY Daily News has us opening as 3 point favs. Just home field...but nice to see.

[Stripes]

In response to that injury post, if Rod Davis starts in place of Sam Cowart that will not be good for us at all...

I was a Rod Davis pimp back when he was up in the draft, but honestly haven't heard boo about him since.

As for the game, NY Daily News has us opening as 3 point favs. Just home field...but nice to see.

I'm surprised. I figured we'd open up even or as underdogs, but maybe Paul Brown Stadium is getting some respect. Good to see.

[Mike Tice]

I think my team will come in prepared and ready to play.

Our defense looked very good and we can build on that and get ourselves in a position where our offense can take over the game.

The only team that can beat us is ourselves.

Bengals? DEAD!

Palmer? DEAD!

Johnson and Johnson? DEAD!

T.J. Wha-husa-whats-its? DEAD!

No name defense? DEAD!

They're all DEAD!

Nothin's gonna stop us now!

[Stripes]

I think my team will come in prepared and ready to play.

Our defense looked very good and we can build on that and get ourselves in a position where our offense can take over the game.

The only team that can beat us is ourselves.

Bengals? DEAD!

Palmer? DEAD!

Johnson and Johnson? DEAD!

T.J. Wha-husa-whats-its? DEAD!

No name defense? DEAD!

They're all DEAD!

Nothin's gonna stop us now!

Your defense gave up 24 points to the Bucs, whom have a crappy offense. You guys haven't played well on the road in recent seasons, and the Bengals have been good at home.

It should be a close game, and a good one. By no means will our team be dead.

[Mike Tice]

Your defense gave up 24 points to the Bucs, whom have a crappy offense. You guys haven't played well on the road in recent seasons, and the Bengals have been good at home.

It should be a close game, and a good one. By no means will our team be dead.

And yours gave up 278 passing yards to Trent Dilfer.

TRENT. DILFER.

The defense for my team had held Tampa to 17 point off of 4 Culpepper turnovers. Let's see your team win if the offense turns the ball over 5 times in a game.

The beauty of it is, no one in their right mind would think that Culpepper will do that 2 games in a row.

And the majority of our defense played all their games outside with their respective teams last year so instead of adjusting to "playing outdoors", they're more than ready to do so.

Your team is going down...

[Stripes]

Your defense gave up 24 points to the Bucs, whom have a crappy offense.  You guys haven't played well on the road in recent seasons, and the Bengals have been good at home.

It should be a close game, and a good one.  By no means will our team be dead.

And yours gave up 278 passing yards to Trent Dilfer.

TRENT. DILFER.

The defense for my team had held Tampa to 17 point off of 4 Culpepper turnovers. Let's see your team win if the offense turns the ball over 5 times in a game.

The beauty of it is, no one in their right mind would think that Culpepper will do that 2 games in a row.

And the majority of our defense played all their games outside with their respective teams last year so instead of adjusting to "playing outdoors", they're more than ready to do so.

Your team is going down...

There's no doubt Culpepper will come to play this week after that abyssmal home loss, but so will the Bengals. Our franchise hasn't had this much excitement surrounding it in a long while, and the team is bent on getting off to a fast start.

The stadium will be as loud as any after the 1-0 start, and you're missing some key players to injury. Our secondary matches up favorably against your receiving corps. It will be tough to hold Burleson down, but I think we can shut down the rest of the offense.

Your running game isn't much to worry about, so we'll be able to focus on pass rush, and Culpepper has been known to make mistakes when under pressure. Early in the year without Matt Birk, we should have a decent pass rush to keep him in check.

As for your defense, it's really hard to tell, but I will say that we aren't the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We have an excellent offense at all positions except tight end, and I think we match up favorably.

Yes, our defense gave up a big game to Dilfer, but we didn't apply any pressure to him, as we were focusing on shutting down Droughns and Green in the running game. You may have seen our defensive ends and their lack of pass rush moves...no spinning or anything. They were out there stopping the run.

[Mike Tice]

I would consider Koren Robinson, much less the rest of my teams recievers as an upgrade over anything the Browns have and AGAIN you gave up 278 yards to a team quarterbacked by Trent Dilfer.

Your team's defense is diseased.

Our Defense had more one and out's last game then they did the entire season last year. We are so in Shut-down mode.

Vikes 27- Bengals 13

[Stripes]

I would consider Koren Robinson, much less the rest of my teams recievers as an upgrade over anything the Browns have and AGAIN you gave up 278 yards to a team quarterbacked by Trent Dilfer.

Your team's defense is diseased.

Our Defense had more one and out's last game then they did the entire season last year. We are so in Shut-down mode.

Vikes 27- Bengals 13

The Browns have three receivers better than Koren Robinson. Antonio Bryant, Dennis Northcutt, and Braylon Edwards. We gave up the big game to Dilfer because our defensive line was focuse on run stopping and clogging gaps rather than any real pass rush.

The Vikings have a weak running game, and a weak offensive line, so we'll be better able to put the pressure on Culpepper than we were on Dilfer.

[Bengalbob]

Hold it a minute Purple People Eater . . . looking at the stats, your Vikes 3 (or less) and outed more than the Bucs did (7 to 6), and did way more than we did (3) against the Clowns! You got 3 and outed seven times against a team that had the #5 pick in the draft? You're calling our defense diseased?

Now seriously, let's have the beef. From the stat line it doesn't look like any of your receivers jumped out of the pack and did anything special (Koren Robinson? Give me a break). Is this a great balancing act by Culpepper, or just no one stepping up?

[ShulaSteakhouse]

So rookie Caddy Williams puts up 148 and a TD against you in his debut, and Griese has over 200 and 2 TD's, on your home field, and you're laughing at our defense?

The Vikes will score points, but will they score enough...?

[Ox]

Homerism isn't limited to just bengal fans I see.

[jamesbrooks21]

Yeah Culpepper having a bad game just means he is going to be pissed and wanting to come back strong, BUT Rudi and our offense will be all over that defense judging by the Tampa game in a loud and wild PBS.

[schweinhart]

The loss of Birk is huge. He's big and fast, and is one of the best pull blockers in the league, definately the best center in the NFC (with Bears Olin Kreutz a close second). His backup, Cory Withrow is good but he's no four-time Pro Bowler.

In response to that injury post, if Rod Davis starts in place of Sam Cowart that will not be good for us at all...Moore's injury doesn't bother me, he's been injured before. As for McKinnie...well he's a great run-blocker but he struggles with faster defensive ends in pass protection and did a poor job protecting Daunte's blind side yesterday. Goldberg is versatile and should fill in nicely. He will have to against Geathers.

The loss of Braham last year was huge for the Bengals and a big reason for their 1-4 start. Braham is a tough old nut who won't be confused w/ Kevin Mawae but he refuses to give up the ghost and has command of block calls at the line.

I would expect the loss of Birk to cause problems for the Vikes for awhile up front, but if it gets too bad they can always do what the Bengals did last year and give Jerry Fontenot a jingle. He's only 39 yrs old this year.

As for the other injuries, the ideal is for the Vikes to have all their guns so the game is as good as it can be.

The Bengals got a dose of Cowart last year before he got hurt early in the season and Vilma wouldn't let him back in. My guess would be whoever is there had better ready to cover the TE down the seam as much as try to hit the gaps to get at Rudi off the Bengals right side.

LT wise, the Bengals may have problems of their own. LT Levi Jones pretty much limped off the field at the end of last week's game and has had recurring problems ever since getting scoped late in 2003 and coming back too soon. As for the Vikes LT, I hope whoever is there gets a steady dose of David Pollack as much as Jumpy Jr. (ie Geathers). Pollack brings some wicked quicks to the table off the edge.

In the little bit of Vikes pre-season I caught, I thought Ciatrick Fason looked like he's got the tools to fill in if needed, especially now that Whizzinator Smith is out.

[NYBengalfan]

As far as Mike Tice saying that the Bengals are dead and our defense is diseaed i can say f**k that.

"Mr. Tice", this is not the david klingler bengals, this is the new bengals, the most exciting team in football.

And by the way if our defense is diseased, yours must already be dead and buried.

See you sunday. I hope u will watch our high powered offense and our so called,"diseased d" kick your purple and gold ass, cause i know ill be watching ( Direct tv ch.710)

[derekshank]

I don't think the Vikings are the team we saw Sunday. They will not make a habit of turning the ball over 5 times a game.

That said, I hold firm in my belief that Randy Moss gave Culpepper inflated stats, as he has done with every QB from Cunningham to Moon to Culpepper, and now Kerry Collins.

I also think that the Vikings, although a decent team, are not suited well against the Bengals. A team with a strong defense and smash mouth running game is a team suited to beat the Bengals.

The Vikings defense will not be able to shut down our Offense, and their offense, though not bad... has a poor running game, and unproven recievers. They will be unable to exploit our defense the way other teams can.

Not to mention, this is our home opener, and the Vikings underacheive on the road.. we should win this game... beat Chicago (man they're awful), and then pound the Texans at home. 4-0 heading to Jacksonville sounds pretty groovy to me.

[Stripes]

4-0 heading to Jacksonville sounds pretty groovy to me.

Thinking about that possibility makes me feel all funny down below.

If we can handle our business against the Vikings, then wow. The Bears are tough at home, but no good team would allow themselves to lose that game. The Texans are just lesser versions of the Bengals...

National TV... ESPN... Undefeated... It sounds like heaven. :player:

[WhackThePack]

The Vikings defense will not be able to shut down our Offense, and their offense, though not bad... has a poor running game, and unproven recievers. They will be unable to exploit our defense the way other teams can.

Well I wouldn't call Nate Burleson, Marcus Robinson, Travis Taylor, and TE Jermaine Wiggins "unproven receivers". Troy Williamson is the only unproven receiver on our team right now. As I said before this Bucs game was a fluke. Pep will not turn the ball over that often, and getting pressure on him the way the Bucs did will be difficult for the Bengals, although with the possible loss of an o-lineman on Daunte's blind side it could be different. Robert Geathers will be the main factor along the trenches in this game for the Vikings to deal with. I don't know much about your defense but I do think he's one of the better DEs, if people actually watch him play instead of looking at his sack totals alone.

[Stripes]

The Vikings defense will not be able to shut down our Offense, and their offense, though not bad... has a poor running game, and unproven recievers. They will be unable to exploit our defense the way other teams can.

Well I wouldn't call Nate Burleson, Marcus Robinson, Travis Taylor, and TE Jermaine Wiggins "unproven receivers". Troy Williamson is the only unproven receiver on our team right now. As I said before this Bucs game was a fluke. Pep will not turn the ball over that often, and getting pressure on him the way the Bucs did will be difficult for the Bengals, although with the possible loss of an o-lineman on Daunte's blind side it could be different. Robert Geathers will be the main factor along the trenches in this game for the Vikings to deal with. I don't know much about your defense but I do think he's one of the better DEs, if people actually watch him play instead of looking at his sack totals alone.

It's understandable to not know much about our defense, but wow, I'm impressed you've even heard of Robert Geathers. He's a second year player, first year starter (4th round pick), so I'd figure he'd go unnoticed outside of Bengaldom.

Good stuff.

[WhackThePack]

The loss of Birk is huge.  He's big and fast, and is one of the best pull blockers in the league, definately the best center in the NFC (with Bears Olin Kreutz a close second).  His backup, Cory Withrow is good but he's no four-time Pro Bowler. 

In response to that injury post, if Rod Davis starts in place of Sam Cowart that will not be good for us at all...Moore's injury doesn't bother me, he's been injured before.  As for McKinnie...well he's a great run-blocker but he struggles with faster defensive ends in pass protection and did a poor job protecting Daunte's blind side yesterday.  Goldberg is versatile and should fill in nicely.  He will have to against Geathers.

The loss of Braham last year was huge for the Bengals and a big reason for their 1-4 start. Braham is a tough old nut who won't be confused w/ Kevin Mawae but he refuses to give up the ghost and has command of block calls at the line.

I would expect the loss of Birk to cause problems for the Vikes for awhile up front, but if it gets too bad they can always do what the Bengals did last year and give Jerry Fontenot a jingle. He's only 39 yrs old this year.

As for the other injuries, the ideal is for the Vikes to have all their guns so the game is as good as it can be.

The Bengals got a dose of Cowart last year before he got hurt early in the season and Vilma wouldn't let him back in. My guess would be whoever is there had better ready to cover the TE down the seam as much as try to hit the gaps to get at Rudi off the Bengals right side.

LT wise, the Bengals may have problems of their own. LT Levi Jones pretty much limped off the field at the end of last week's game and has had recurring problems ever since getting scoped late in 2003 and coming back too soon. As for the Vikes LT, I hope whoever is there gets a steady dose of David Pollack as much as Jumpy Jr. (ie Geathers). Pollack brings some wicked quicks to the table off the edge.

In the little bit of Vikes pre-season I caught, I thought Ciatrick Fason looked like he's got the tools to fill in if needed, especially now that Whizzinator Smith is out.

Ideally every team would be at full health for every game and if so a lot of games would probably turn out different. But if the Vikings are missing a couple starters and lose a game I rarely blame it on injuries alone. If a guy is good enough to be playing professionally even 2nd or 3rd string for an NFL team, he ought to be able to get the job done.

I probably exaggerated about Rod Davis, I saw him in preseason and he looked alright. It's just that MLB is the hardest position to play on defense and Cowart is tough to replace.

Robert Geathers, I said it somewhere else but I saw him play at Georgia and in a couple Bengals games and he is a stud. He does everything you could ask a DE to do. I think he'll be a major factor in this game especially at Daunte's blind side.

Fason was a good pickup...we're just desperate for a RB that can stay clean AND healthy.

[HairOnFire]

I think it's funny that you guys are actually debating football with a guy named Mike Tice...mostly because if it's the Vikings head coach you'll probably be able to teach him a few things.

[shatan]

every one is worried about our pass defence? the only reason the browns had any success in the pass is we stacked the box with anticipation of a heavy dose of run, which the vikes just don't have. that means we will be focused on the pass for minn.

also i predict fumblepepper will turn the ball over at least 3 times.

[Kazkal]

I would consider Koren Robinson, much less the rest of my teams recievers as an upgrade over anything the Browns have and AGAIN you gave up 278 yards to a team quarterbacked by Trent Dilfer.

Your team's defense is diseased.

Our Defense had more one and out's last game then they did the entire season last year. We are so in Shut-down mode.

Vikes 27- Bengals 13

Yo stat whore our team gave up alot of yards but how many points did we give?