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Eyes in the Backfield

18 things to watch for in the Vikings/Colts game

The Vikings' mascot is some kind of hairy woman. Ok, that's pretty scary, I guess.

Week one couldn't have turned out worse for the Horse, and as a reward, the football gods have granted us a virtual rematch, only with a team that is slightly better than the one the Colts just turned into winners. Only this time we get to play them in THEIR loud dome. Bad things happen when you don't win at home! Here's what to watch for this week:

1. Watch for Saturday on Sunday . Jamey Richards blew a key block on 4^th down in the 4^th quarter of Sunday night’s game, and the line protection was screwy all night with several players missing assignments. Saturday has been practicing all week despite a knee injury that is supposed to keep him out up to 11 weeks. If he plays, it’s a sign of just how bad the line was on Sunday. He is currently listed as probable

2. Watch for the pitch vs. the stretch. The Colts added a new wrinkle as a concession to Manning’s sore knee. Instead of running stretch plays, they ran a nifty pitch left. The play was fairly successful, but lacks the play action possibilities that came with the classic stretch play. More stretch plays could signal that Manning’s knee is feeling better.

3. Watch for Tamme vs. Robinson at tight end. Dallas Clark hasn't practiced all week, and is supposed to be out for Sunday's game. Tamme did catch one pass last week, but Robinson saw most of the action as he is supposed to be the better blocker. He didn't show it last Sunday, failing on several plays (including the safety). The coaching staff may well just stick with Tamme figuring that if Robinson isn't going to block anyway, they might as well have someone who can catch out there. UPDATE: Tamme is out. Well...just watch Gijon Robinson waive at people as they run by him then. We may see Tom Santi on the field yet.

4. Watch for a buried lead. All week the talk around the internet has been that Manning moved poorly and looked old on Sunday night. To the contrary, he moved well, and stepped up to avoid sacks with little trouble. Instead of focusing on the real flaws with Indy last week (a piss poor O-line, and spastic wideouts), Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorff will invariably spend all afternoon critiquing Peyton.

5. Watch for Chester Taylor on 3rd and long draw plays . Despite all the focus on Adrian Peterson, the Vikings actually played better when he was hurt. Chester Taylor is a first rate running back who could destroy the Colts undersized defensive line. Don't let out a sigh of relief on downs when Peterson takes a breather. Now that Ed Johnson is gone, the D-line is thinner than ever. Remember though, it's the Colts linebackers who are the primary run stoppers in the Cover-2. If Peterson/Taylor go wild, it's likely because the backers didn't hold their gaps.

6. Watch for Ron Paul. Rumor has it that the embarrassed leadership of the RNC told him the wrong date of the national convention so as to avoid seeing him there. His entrance in the second quarter should prove awkward and a tad confusing.

7. Watch the Colts start inside the 20. With the dismissal of Courtney Roby, the Colts return game is even more unsettled than normal. As a variety of players take their shot, watch for the Colts to struggle all day with field position.

8. Watch Freeney on the hunt. Tavaris Jackson should provide a much different test for the recovering superstar. Freeney excelled in week one, picking up a gift sack, but several legit pressures. Jackson is more mobile than Orton, however, and the Vikings line is strong. Freeney's success continues to be the single most important long-term issue for the Horse.

9. Watch for sure hands. The wide receivers will have the spotlight on them after consistently coming up short last week. The Colts best chance of winning rests of these guys getting back in rhythm with #18. The odds of Marvin Harrison fumbling this week have to be 0.00000000000001%.

10. Watch for sheer panic. Both of these teams entered the seasons with Super Bowl aspirations. One will leave in a huge hole. This is as apocalyptic as week 2 will ever get. The Vikings are in slightly more trouble because they already lost a division game. The Colts would still have no conference losses, but clearly want to stay away from 0-2. The fan base of the losing team will have to be coaxed off window ledges come Sunday night.

11. Watch for a chess match. The Vikings Defensive coordinator is Leslie Frazier who spent two seasons as the Colts DB coach. It will be interesting to see how he chooses to attack Manning. The Vikings secondary is considered to be a serious weak link, but one that can be covered up for by a great pass rush. If the Colts line holds, Manning may carve up Leslie's boys.

12. Watch for 50 passes (again). The Vikings pride themselves on their tough run D, and the Colts likely won't have the horses to challenge their big D-line. Deciding when (and where) to run will be the key challenge for Manning and Moore. 45 passes a game tends to be a losing proposition for the Colts (and most teams).

13. Watch for Demond to come unglued. $%^# you, you $##@#@-#$%^!@# piece of #$%^* will be the order of the day. Seriously folks, I think he needs help.

14. Watch for the Tarvaris line. Football's version of the Mendoza line is a 50% completion rate. Jackson came up woefully short last week (16/35), but the Colts tend to give up a high percentage (though for short gains). Jackson will have open men, if he can't hit them even at short range, we'll all know the Vikings are very much not for real.

15. Watch for mistakes galore. These two teams forced nary a turnover in their openers. With Manning under pressure and Jackson being Jackson the odds are that will change in a hurry. The Vikings will try to keep Jackson from ever having to throw deep by pounding the ball with the run. The Colts may try to use the running backs on screens more effectively than they did in week one.

16. Watch for a short week. It's only week 2 and the Vikings probably won't be gassed, but they did have a short week having played on MNF. Okay, we're grasping at straws here, but it bears watching. It's tough to play an out of conference game on a short week after losing a tough division game.

17. Watch for a word from our sponsor Powdermilk Biscuits. Powder Milk Biscuits.: Buy them ready-made in the big blue box with the picture of the biscuit on the front, or in the brown bag with the dark stains that indicate freshness. Straight from Lake Wobegon to you.

18. Watch for the Apocalypse as we pick against Indy for the first time ever. The Colts will eventually be a top flight team in 2008, but deep problems on the O and D lines are not solvable without players coming back from injury. The Vikings win 24-20, and set up a must win game against Jacksonville in week 3.

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