The Minnesota Vikings host the New Orleans Saints today in the final game of the Division Round. To get to this game the Vikings had to wait through a first round bye. The Saints had to fend off division foe Carolina Panthers in the Wild Card Round. The Vikings wait to join the playoff fun has felt like an eternity
The Vikings lead the all-time series with the Saints: 21-11
They lead the postseason series: 2-1
-The lone Saints postseason win put them in the Super Bowl. That was the infamous 2009 NFC Championship game. The Saints went on to win the title.
-The Saints are 1-6 all-time on the road in the playoffs. In those seven road playoff games, they have 18 turnovers and just three takeaways. I like this playoff past.
The Vikings made news yesterday when they activated quarterback Sam Bradford off injured reserve. To make room for Bradford the team released tight end Kyle Carter. That leaves the Vikings with plenty of quarterbacks
Case Keenum
Teddy Bridgewater
Sam Bradford
Kyle Sloter
and a couple tight ends
Kyle Rudolph
David Morgan
Some of the talking heads have said that Bridgewater will remain the backup to Keenum. As the game creeps closer, most have said that Bradford is the backup. We'll see. I suppose that there's a chance that all three quarterbacks could be active but that would cut into the depth at another position.
As for the tight ends, having only two on the roster is a gamble. Especially when both have missed some game time in the past month. Rudolph's ankle injury was probably the Vikings injury that most needed the playoff bye week. Kyle Carter's release is a good indication that Rudolph and Morgan are ready to go. Fullback C.J. Ham could mix into some of the tight end responsibilities.
The roster juggling of the quarterbacks will no doubt get all of the attention. It's the nature of the position. The Vikings might also be doing some significant juggling of the offensive line. The juggling was triggered when left guard Nick Easton fractured his ankle in Week 16. Jeremiah Sirles replaced Easton in the game. Week 17 was musical chairs on the line when a shoulder injury forced rookie center Pat Elflein to miss the game. Sirles started in Easton's spot. Right guard Joe Berger moved to center. Right tackle Mike Remmers moved to right guard. Rashod Hill stepped in at right tackle. There's been rumblings that more position movement is in the works for the Saints playoff game. Remmers might be moving over to left guard. Elflein's back at center. Berger back to his right guard spot. Hill stays at right tackle. At first I was uneasy with all this movement. With further thought, I realized two things. 1) The Vikings are simply getting the five best available offensive linemen on the field. 2) There really isn't that much movement. Hill has started six games at right tackle and has played well. Some might say that his play has exceeded that of Remmers. The only move that's really being made is the one that puts Remmers at left guard. Placing him between the team's two best linemen, left tackle Riley Reiff and center Elflein, should help. Remmers has seen a lot in his six years in the league. That experience should help. He doesn't move as well as Easton but none of the interior linemen, other than Elflein, do. Easton's mobility has been important in screens and outside running plays. The coaches have been scheming with less mobile guards since Easton was lost in Week 16.
Now, we just need the game. The wait has been way to long. Bring It Home!
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