Brad Johnson

[PierBridge]

Bad anology, but I would still take Johnson.

Did anyone see the field goal attemt I have never seen anything like it.

If the Vikings were the Niners I believe they would have been the first team in NFL history to finish a game with minus yards for a game.....

[Bobby Bass]

18-30 196 yds 13 rushing yds-5 sacks-1 int 1 fumble-3RD STRAIGHT WIN another team win.. they are finding ways..

[Mudcutter]

I could ramble on and on about Brad Johnson, Super Bowl Champ,, wahsed up, weak arm etc,,, but what he does due is pick def apart which Culpepper is not doing. The pass to K.Robinson with 36 sec left was a pick apart the def type of pass. Good for the Vikes that K.ROb didn't not score. AS far as cutting Edinger,,, are you nuts!!!!???? The guy has 3 game winners this year. Missed some in the 1st Q, but it's crunch time that counts. With the bears rough schedule, I see the DIV going down to the last game of the year and Vikes making the playoffs as DIV champs.

Doesn't matter, becasue any team playing the Colts in a controlled enviro is done. I do believe FOrd Field has a retractable roof, right?? I can't believe a Super Bowl being played in a northern city in JAN without a controlled environment. But who knows???

[2dalake]

You guys are right about Johnson. He can't through the deep ball like Culpepper. He isn't a runner like Culpepper. He doesn't fumble the ball like Culpepper. He doesn't panic when they get behind like Culpepper. He has thrown what, one interception in his starts? I'm not exactly sure. With an improved defense they have at least a chance to win if they don't turn the ball over. He's getting sacked way too often, and Duante would have dropped the ball from at three of those sacks.

If we're gonna gripe about the Vikes, there are much bigger problems.

[Corey Bechtold]

I don't think we can gripe about the Vikes. Just look at the Packers. Favre is still an amazing quarterback but the rest of his team isn't doing their jobs right now.

The only bad thing about our record now is that winning is just knocking us out of the good draft pics. Looks time the Packers will get the better shot at some good picks.

Oh well,

Corey Bechtold

[Bobby Bass]

I have a problem with this draft mentality. Always believe that you play the game to win. How can winning be a bad thing? I don't want to spend my money let alone my time to watch a game hoping that they will lose so I might be able to move up a few rounds in the draft and might get a player that might help me down the road a few years. I want to see a win now and if not I want to watch an entertaining game that they are trying to win. I would also hope that my drafting team is going to come through with a good draft picks no matter where they are drafting from. Does anyone really want to watch a team give up half way through the year so they can get a better draft pick? I'll get down from my peach crate now.

[Corey Bechtold]

"Does anyone really want to watch a team give up half way through the year so they can get a better draft pick?"

Looks like Packer fans get to do just that. Can't say I like that way of thinking but the last few seasons watching a underachieving team play is pretty frustrating. I guess that's why I usually put the TV down and get the boat out on a lake. They aren't really worth wasting my time watching.

Better luck fishing,

Corey Bechtold

[Fishin Beast]

Everyone who was calling for Brad Johnson got their wish, and I was one of them. Because all we needed was a qb that used his head on the tougher plays. It was obvoius the line was giving up alot of sacks no matter who was back there, but yet Johnson is holding onto the ball better than Culpepper. Alot less interceptions thrown. Culpepper has the talent but will never be that great QB. They were pretty padded stats last year with a good line protecting him and having the receivers. O and by the way they had a running game last year which will make it easy on alot of QB's. All the props to Brad because they few people calling for him knew he was smarter than the average qb. Maybe not the most talented. Maybe Culpepper should take a few pages out of the veterans.

[Bobby Bass]

Until the Vikings lose I a going to beat Brad Johnson to death... I to was one calling for him to get a chance and guess what they win AGAIN no it is not all Brad the D is playing well and the line is also playing better Tice is a coach again or maybe he always has been. I still think he is going to lose his job but... 19-28 207 yds 2 sacks 1 INT 3TDS a passing rating of 110 and 4th win in a row. Pays to have a good backup

[milnortech]

four weeks four wins. What do you say now.12 int 7 games 1 int 4 games. old bull young bull. getting the picture.defense less time on the field less tired.

[river rat316]

I think you guys better take a deeper look at this than just a QB change, the defense isn't giving up 3 TD's in the first quarter, the vikes are not behind in the games anymore, this is the major difference! DC is a great QB, however out of all the great QB's I can't think of very many that can come back from 3 touchdown Deficits every game! 9 out of the 14 picks came after being down by 14 points or more, I think only 2 came when we were down by 2 points or less, DC pushed way to hard when we got down and that was his mistakes, Brad wouldn't have won those games either. And as far as over inflated stats go (from last year), take DC out of the running stats and they were a horrible rushing team last year, he didnt have Moss for 6 games and he still had unbelievable numbers.

Im not saying Brads not a smart Qb or anything like that, but at this stage in his career I would still rahter see DC out there!

[nofishfisherman]

Quote:

---

Culpepper has the talent but will never be that great QB. They were pretty padded stats last year with a good line protecting him and having the receivers. O and by the way they had a running game last year which will make it easy on alot of QB's.

---

This statement really isn't true at all. The vikes running game ranked 18th in the league last year with an average of 113 ypg. But if you took away Culpepper who was your second leading rusher the average drops to only 88 ypg which is a pretty pathetic total.

The offense is not winning games the defense is. Early in the year the only way we would win a game was if the offense could put up 30 points so Culpepper started to force some stuff. If Culpepper played the last 4 games we would still be 4-0 in those games and we probably would have won them by a wider margin.

[CodyDawg]

The fact is that Culpepper is well under .500 as a starting QB. Frerotte was 3-0 and Johnson is now 4-0. Hmmmm. The reason that the Vikes were behind early in some of those games is because of mistakes DC made. I remember a lot of people saying BJ would get killed behind that Oline. Didnt happen. Why? There is way more to playing QB than scrambling ability and throwing a pretty deep ball. Brad sticks in the pocket and gets rid of it to the CORRECT read vs happy feet DC running out of there.

[TNFL]

I agree, DC forced our DEF into many bad positions early in the year. He also had a lot of 3 n'outs, which forced the D to be on the field way to much. The FACT is Brad is getting it done and DC was not. Brad is giving the defense a chance to succeed with ball control and punts instead of turnovers w/a short field. Last year DC was throwing the ball away when it wasn't there, this year he was terrible...even worse than Favre.

[96trigger]

I've been following this post since Brad Johnson became the new quarterback. No he is not as good as an athlete as DC. But he brings 3 big things to the table:

He is a better leader than DC

He can find the open recievers better than DC

He makes very few mistakes, compared to DC.

Will he take us to the SuperBowl, no, has he helped salvage a season? Definitely.

Where are all the Brad Johnson critics now?

[Bobby Bass]

I would like to add what I think is the biggest thing that he brings to the Vikes and that is a Chance to win. I said it in an earlier post from Pop Warner to the pros 10 yards gets ya a first down. 60 yd TD's are fun to watch but your D is right back out on the field afterwards and with DC it is everything or nothing. I kind of like watching 80 yard drives that eat the clock and make the other team in a hurry to score when they get on the field which in the last few weeks has meant turn overs and a short field for the Vikes and 4 wins. The big trouble for the Vikes is Brad is not the answer. To plug a hole for this year yes, As a starting QB for next season Hmmmm and who really thinks DC is going to be ready to go. Might be a tuff haul for fans for the next two years. What will the draft bring? But for now Go Brad go...

[Fishin Beast]

With our potential on offense and with a better feel for next year with our improved defense I dont think we will have a problem bringing in a qb and having them be productive. We saw what Dante can do when things get tough and he isn't the qb that will take us anywhere soon. We need to figure out a qb that plays like a Brad Johnson or a Gus Ferotte but younger. We will see how the Vikes take the draft this coming year, it will be exciting to see who they pick up and draft.

You guys were correct if you take Culpepper out of the running equation but yet the running backs were getting a good average carry, they just didn't get enough plays to run. Just look up the averages. But point is C-Pepp stunk horribly this year, and even a old washed up qb in Brad can win 4 straight.

[buzzsaw]

Some reading from ESPN:

Looking for reasons to assign to the Minnesota Vikings' turnaround, a stretch in which the laughingstock franchise has turned the jokes on nearly everyone else on the schedule, winning five of six contests, including four straight? How has the dysfunctional "Love Boat" gang righted the ship, you wonder, battled back into fringe playoff contention and perhaps (gasp) provided first-year owner Zygi Wilf reason to reconsider the employment status of head coach Mike Tice at the end of the campaign?

Here are a few reasons why: A mature Brad Johnson, who is 4-0 since replacing the injured Daunte Culpepper as the starting quarterback, has managed very nicely an offense that is more fundamentally sound and not as reliant on the big play. Mewelde Moore, while still inconsistent, has added at least a hint of stability at the tailback position. Minnesota is getting timely plays on both sides of the ball. And it doesn't hurt that, during the four-game winning streak, the Vikings faced only one quality team, the New York Giants, and saw that emerging young club self-destruct on special teams.

But in scrutinizing how the Vikings have remarkably reversed course -- and now at 6-5 have drawn to within one game of an NFC wild-card berth with five games remaining -- one also has to look back at the New York Jets of 2002. And in so doing, in a rather convoluted fashion, you find that it's sort of déja vu all over again for Vikings defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell, who was also the boss of the Jets' defense in 2002.

While improving in virtually every crucial statistical category over the past month, the Minnesota defense has conjured up recollections of the Jets' defense led by Cottrell in 2002. Some readers might recall that, back in the spring, ESPN.com asked Cottrell what he had learned from the '02 Jets, a team that incorporated six new starters to begin that season and took five weeks to coalesce into a workable unit. Facing a similar extreme makeover with Minnesota this season, with at least five new starters projected on a unit that statistically ranked No. 28 last season, Cottrell said he wanted to give the defense more snaps together in training camp.

Nice plan, but judging from the early results, it didn't exactly work. In the first seven games this season, the Vikings surrendered averages of 27.6 points, 20.0 first downs, 361.6 yards and 3.3 touchdowns while notching only 1.3 takeaways. In just one of those first seven games did the Vikings hold an opponent under 20 points. In all but one of those contests, Minnesota surrendered 290 yards or more, and it allowed 340 yards or more five times (and 400-plus yards on two occasions). The Vikings had no takeaways in four of the seven games.

But look at the averages during Minnesota's four-game winning streak: 16.0 points allowed, 19.5 first downs, 298.0 yards, 1.8 touchdowns and 3.8 takeaways. In the last four games, the Vikings haven't permitted an opponent more than 21 points, and they've held three teams to 17 points or less. Minnesota didn't give up more than two touchdowns in any of those outings. The Vikings have had at least two takeaways every week during the streak and twice registered five.

The defensive improvement isn't quite as compelling as what Cottrell did with the Jets in 2002. That team permitted 32.4 points its first five games and then just 15.8 points in its final 11 contests. It surrendered 28 points to each of its first five foes and then held eight of its final 11 opponents to 17 points or less. It was 31st versus the run and 32nd in overall defense in the first five games, then surrendered the third-fewest yards on the ground the final 11 outings. The Jets' unit shut out Indianapolis and flustered Peyton Manning in a first-round playoff victory, limiting the Colts to 176 yards.

The statistical ranking of the 2005 Minnesota defense hasn't made such a quantum leap -- the Vikings were rated 27th in the league after seven games and entered this week 28th -- and the playoffs remain a long shot, even with the recent surge. But there seems little doubt that, even if it took several weeks longer than planned, the Minnesota defense has finally melded its new parts into a viable unit. And that's without some key players, such as cornerback Fred Smoot, out with a shoulder injury. Still, the likeable Cottrell started four players Sunday who weren't with the Vikings a year ago, and he has had to shuffle rookies such as lineman Erasmus James and C.J. Mosley into the mix to compensate for absences due to injuries.

Arguably, the veteran newcomer who has made the biggest impact on the recent defensive upgrade is free safety Darren Sharper. Released by Green Bay last spring, following an injury-plagued 2004 campaign in which he was rumored to have lost a step, the nine-year veteran has seven interceptions, including six in the last four games and two in Sunday's victory over the Cleveland Browns. Sharper is again making big, game-altering plays -- and his seven pickoffs are the most he's had since 2002 (and are tied for his second-highest season total in a career that includes four Pro Bowl invitations). If you're looking for comeback-player-of-the-year candidates, consider putting Sharper on the short list, because he deserves it.

If you're looking for comeback coaches, well, think about Cottrell, who's performed this kind of reversal before. And who might just help the once-beleaguered Tice keep his job, as unfathomable as that seemed only a month ago.

[floating minnow]

Without a doubt the defense is the reason why the Vikings are where they are.They have been giving the offense great field position with the turnovers and defensive stops and while Brad has not made many mistakes,overall he has looked average at best.The defense has made it so 1 offensive drive per game has been enough.

[Stratosman]

Yeah, can't believe I would ever say the the defense is winning games for us!

[buzzsaw]

Yup.... Millard, Doleman, Doug Martin, Hank Thomas, Carl Lee, Joey Browner, Carl lee, Studwell, Soloman and the boyz are looking good.

[Fishin Beast]

Very goot pts Buzz.

To me it all comes down to how long your out on the field though. With C-pepp he would go 3 n out or 1 n turnover almost every drive. Brad will go 7-8 minutes on a drive and get a field goal. Or even if it is a punt he still has the ball for 4-5-6 minutes which is giving the defense time to get a game plan ready for their next series. They still wouldn't have been this good at the start because all teams need to gel. But all we really needed was a qb that could take up some time and get whatever pts we could on the board. Now the other teams defense is on the field all game long and they are making mistakes.

[nofishfisherman]

the reason Culpepper needed to make things happen was the team was down 14-0 in the first quarter.

If the vikes ever get down by 2 scores now you can stick a fork in them.

Johnson has only led 4 td scoring drives in 4 games and 3 of those came this week. One td a game isn't enough if your defense isn't playing outstanding. Luckily thats the case right now.

I think those of you saying Johnson is better then Culpepper are mistaken. Johnson is getting the benefit of having the rest of the team play much much better.

THe o line is also helping him out. So far McKinne is the only lineman that hasn't been bench for crappy play. Thats never a good sign when 4 out of 5 guys is replaced during the year.

[Quackaddict9]

well... they are winning aren't they?? But yeah we need to score more TD's from the Offense.

[Bobby Bass]

All you need is one point more then the other guy. Team is playing better maybe because they are playing as a team.. Moss is gone and so is the Randy ratio. It's not do or die with DC and Moss. O Moss is a good player but he is not lighting it up with Oakland is he.. DC is a good player or he was with Moss they were a couple of bookends that worked well together but now that they are apart neither one is or ws putting up the same numbers. Johnson is not DC and you know what DC is not Johnson. Does not have that 14 years of experience. Just as everyone was second guessing DC when he was losing now everyone is second guessing Johnson because...he is winning? The O line is coming together Tice has said all along he was looking for some Attitude from them, them seem to have gotten it the last few weeks. About time when some 300#+ guys started to kick some *ss. No matter what anyone says Tice can coach the O line, he might not be head coach material but he does know how to get a line together, It takes time.. Got to remember this is not sand lot football takes time and the guys on the other side of the line are pros to. That's why we are fans and not players. So Go Brad go, you might not throw that 60 yard bomb, you might not be able to do a rolling arm across the field but I sure like the looks of more points then the other guy when that final gun goes off..