NFL Picks: Hapless Minnesota Vikings Visit Pesky Washington Redskins
Friday, December 23, 2011
by Aengus Moorehead
Analysis:
The woeful Minnesota Vikings will try to avoid a franchise-record seventh straight loss Saturday on the road against the Redskins, who are wrapping up another disappointing season. Minnesota skipper Leslie Frazier went 3-3 down the stretch in 2010 to earn the full-time job, but he could be looking for work soon. Minnesota needs to win its final two games to avoid the worst season in the franchise’s 51-year history. Minnesota has won four of the last six meetings. Adrian Peterson and Toby Gerhart each ran for a touchdown in last season’s 17-13 victory in Washington.
Minnesota visits the Washington Redskins Saturday at FedEx Field in an effort to avoid ignominy.
The team's poorest 16-game record was 3-13 in 1984, while the 1961 Vikings were 2-11-1. This year's edition will end the 2011 season with a New Year's Day trip to Soldier Field in Chicago.
Frazier, who replaced Brad Childress 10 games into last season, is just 5-15 since taking over but remains upbeat about the future -- assuming he remains in charge.
Among the questions he or the next coach will need answered is what to do about the quarterback position, which has been in flux since the aforementioned Brett Favre miscue two Januarys ago.
Favre returned for an injury-riddled 2010 and made 13 starts with various bumps and bruises, stepping aside for three games started by Joe Webb (two) and Tarvaris Jackson (one).
Veteran Donovan McNabb was brought in as the next resume-packing savior this season, but that experiment ended when he was released after six largely ineffective outings. The subsequent starts have been taken by Webb and 2011 No. 12 overall pick Christian Ponder, leaving some to opine the team would be wise to pursue Stanford sensation Andrew Luck should their record end as the worst in the league.
Meanwhile in Washington, well-traveled gunslinger Rex Grossman is trying to make a case he's worthy of maintaining incumbent status into 2012.
The University of Florida alum, a free agent after this season, completed 15- of-24 passes for 185 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in a surprising 23-10 defeat of the New York Giants last week.
Grossman has thrown 18 interceptions in 11 games and his 71.4 passer rating is 29th in the league, in the neighborhood of Ponder's pedestrian 72.3. He was also benched for a three-game stretch in favor of John Beck at midseason.
Washington owns an 8-7 edge on the Vikings in regular-season play, but Minnesota has won four of the last six meetings in the series and was a 17-13 victor at FedEx Field during Week 12 of the 2010 campaign, a game that happened to be Frazier's debut as head coach.
The Vikings are 3-1 in their last four games as the visitor in this set, having also recorded a 19-16 triumph in Landover in 2006 as well as a 14-9 decision in 1993. The Redskins last bested Minnesota via a 33-21 result at the Metrodome late in the 2007 season, a win that helped Washington edge out the Vikings for the NFC's final Wild Card berth that year.
In addition to their regular-season advantage, the Redskins have a 3-2 lead in their all-time postseason series with Minnesota. The Vikings knocked Washington out of the NFC playoffs in 1973 and 1976, and the Redskins earned postseason wins over Minnesota in 1982, 1987, and 1992. The most memorable matchup between the teams is the 1987 NFC Championship, which Washington won by a 17-10 score en route to a Super Bowl title.
Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan has a 2-3 lifetime record against Minnesota, including a 2-2 mark while at the helm of the Denver Broncos from 1995-2008. Frazier won his only prior encounter with Washington and Shanahan as a head coach with last season's outcome.
Time & Venue:
- 1:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 24, 2011. FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland
Last Week's results:
- Minnesota Vikings (+6.5) loses to visiting New Orleans Saints 42-20.
- Washington Redskins (+6.5) beats host NY Giants 23-10.
Last week's ATS:
- Underdog Minnesota Vikings (2-12) loses and does not cover
- Underdog Washington Redskins (5-9) wins outright.
NFL Football Odds: Redskins -6.5, O/U 44
Next up:
- Minnesota home to Chicago Bears, Sunday, January 1
- Washington at Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, January 1
Minnesota was torched for an astonishing 573 yards, including 412 through the air, in a 42-20 loss to New Orleans last week. The Vikings are now allowing a league-worst 29 points per game and the third-most passing yards (260.4 ypg). Minnesota eased Peterson back into the game plan against the Saints after he missed three weeks with a high ankle sprain. Peterson ran for 60 yards on 10 carries and is 68 yards shy of his fifth straight 1,000-yard season. Ponder has regressed in recent weeks, but he has also been dealing with a hip pointer. Ponder was just 14 of 31 for just 120 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Washington is wrapping up a third straight losing season, but you wouldn’t know it by its performance the last two weeks. The Redskins nearly upset New England before rolling to a 23-10 victory over a New York Giants team that had everything to play for. Rex Grossman threw a 20-yard touchdown, Graham Gano kicked three field goals and the defense intercepted Eli Manning three times. The most telling stat of the Redskins' season: That was the first game in which they won the turnover battle. Washington's minus-14 turnover margin is the worst in the NFL.
The Vikings' output when defending the pass has been something less than stellar this season, which surely has to pique the interest of Shanahan and Grossman, who've been successful when slinging the ball and limiting the mistakes. Expect Washington to try to exploit the Minnesota secondary.
Always among the league's elite backs since arriving from the University of Oklahoma four years ago, Peterson has been nearly anonymous while slogging to another standout season for a subpar team. The Redskins are middle of the road in stopping the run, which may provide a breakout possibility.
Though they used a first-round pick to draft their rookie quarterback last April, the Vikings have to be considering the possibility of a chance at Stanford's Luck this time around. If he wants to solidify his place as the passer of the future, Ponder needs to end the year strong.
The Redskins have committed at least one turnover in 27 straight games – the longest streak in the NFL.
"We might be down and out of it, but we still got something to play for. We're building something that will last longer than just this season." – Redskins safety O.J. Atogwe.
The worst season in Vikings' history came in 1984, when Minnesota finished 3-13 in Les Steckel's only season as head coach.
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Washington's last 9 games when playing Minnesota
Washington is 1-4-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Washington is 3-6-1 ATS in its last 10 games
Minnesota is 4-9 SU in its last 13 games when playing Washington
Minnesota is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Minnesota is 1-4-1 ATS in its last 6 games
If it feels like nearly two months since Minnesota has won a game, that's only because it nearly has been. Whether by 45-7 blowout or 35-32 gut-wrencher, the Vikings have dropped six in a row since their bye week. Meanwhile, though they're just 2-5 over the same stretch, the Redskins have seemed pointed in a better direction, especially with RB Roy Helu emerging as a star. That trend should continue in a shootout.
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NFL Football Pick: Take Redskins.
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adrian peterson - chicago bears - christian ponder - donovan mcnabb - eli manning - fedex field - graham gano - joe webb - leslie frazier - mike shanahan
