The Minnesota Vikings suffered a devastating loss yesterday at the hands of the New Orleans Saints 31-28 in overtime in the NFC Championship. It would be easy to blame some very shaky officiating in overtime, but a closer look tells the story of a team that has nobody to blame but themselves…
The Vikings outplayed the Saints everywhere but on the scoreboard. They moved the ball up and dow
n on the field outgaining the Saints 475-257. The Vikes defense played more than well enough to get this team to the Superbowl. It was the miscues by the offense lead by Brett Favre that sealed their fate.
The Saints had more that a couple of “Home Town” calls in overtime. In particular was running back Pierre Thomas fourth and inches dive that appeared to be a certain first down. The officials went to replay. The replay showed that Thomas did not have control of the ball where the ball was spotted. It should have been spotted behind the first down marker giving the ball to the Vikings. Another big blown call was a catch by wideout Robert Meachem jut before the game winning field goal. Meachem’s catch was ruled a completion on the filed. The officials again reviewed the play that showed Meachem had trapped the ball. The Saints benefited again and Garret Hartley kicked a 40 yarder than sent them to the Super Bowl.The Vikings have reason to feel they were ripped off. If you going to rely on the instant replay, get the calls right. Everybody saw what I saw and it cost a team the right to play in the SuperBowl . WOW!
But as I said, this is only part of the story. If the Vikings protected the ball, it would of never have gotten to the point of overtime. Minnesota had five turnovers in all. Three fumbles and two interceptions. Percy Harvin fumbled deep in his own territory that lead to a Saints touchdown. Bernard Barrian also fumbled when the Vikes were on the move. But the biggest culprit was quarterback Brett Favre. Favre lost a fumble and had two picked off. The first two were drive killers and the last one sealed preventing them for ending the game at the end of regulation.
On third down and in field goal range, Favre made a decision that was reminiscent of a couple of years ago.Favre had room to run and a receiver right in front of him on the sideline that would of picked up very valuable yardage towards a game winning kick. But instead of seeing right in front of him, the gunslinger threw cross field that ended in a devastating interception. Green Bay fans will remember him doing that against the Giants a couple of years. Favre also had more viable options then but choked then as he did now. He will receive no sympathy form them. Favre ended up 28-46 for 310 yards, a touch and two picks. But it was his last pass, like Green Bay, that will be remembered by Viking fans. The Hall of Famer will have a long off season to think about a very poor decision.
The Vikings have lost five straight NFC Championship games. I have a little sympathy for them. I am a Eagles fan. They have lost four out of five. My advice for the fans of Minnesota is; Some things are not meant to be!
Tags: Bernard Barrian, brett favre, Garret Hartley, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, NFC Championship, Percy Harvin, philadelphia eagles, Pierre Thomas, Robert meachem, super bowl
The entire game is fixed. Watch basketball and wrestling. At one time wrestlers swore they were for real. All sports have become entertainment first and controlled for financial results. Don’t be chumps the writing is clear. Many, many games are fixed by the non holding calls that give one team an advantage over the other during certain drives. Watch the film and see it clearly. It happens all the time. I can’t wait till the truth finally comes out. I’m an insider and can tell you that all the multi-millionaire players know it’s true. They react to the ref’s as they change momentum by allowing certain holding and then not allowing it. In basketball it’s easier to see because the networks can’t simply edit out the blatant fouls. In football the blatant fouls aren’t shown in replay. The Saints held all game. Simply put, they had an insurmountable advantage. The Vikings defied the odds by still keeping the game close. P.S. Many of the comments disputing the truth are written by NFL operatives paid to challenge any semblance of argument or dissent. Notice that the story line is already being broadcast all over, it was the fumbles! Not the bad calls! There is no real thread of honesty in the system. I watch for the the entertainment value. It’s a shame they can’t disguise the fix a little better. I use to like the illusion of honesty that existed in my childhood.
“betting line”….you’re an idiot. The end.
As for the article, yes there were blown calls, but there always are. Always. As said, if the team would have played half as big as their ego’s, they wouldn’t be licking their wounds right now. The vikings have brought in a guy that is larger than life, and for that you pay the price over and over. Ask any Packer fan. Myself, I waited for it, living in WI, I knew it was a matter of time. Look back, Favre has blown nearly every big game since 2002. Now, he didn’t lose this game, but he did cost them their chance to win….arguable no doubt.
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