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Vikings renaissance & other border club news

By Rob Longley

With wins in their past two games, suddenly a shot at the post-season isn’t looking so far-fetched for the Minnesota Vikings.

Of course, in the bizarre world that is the NFC North, all of that can change in a week. Or a quarter for that matter. And in the case of Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre, one shoulder-crushing play.

The Vikings, Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions have all taken turns at being very ordinary this season, allowing the upstart Packers to separate themselves from the rest.

That has left the other three lumped in the middle of a contentious NFC wildcard battle.

Which brings us to the Vikings (5-6) who play host to the Lions (6-5) this weekend riding a three wins in their past four streak.

Perhaps most impressive was the fact that they could win on the road against a team - the New York Giants - that was considered to be a force in the NFC.

Last week’s 41-17 blowout of the New York Giants, who at 7-4 are a frontrunner in the wildcard race, was impressive enough.

And better still, rookie running back and the NFL’s leading rusher, Adrian Peterson is expected to be back in the lineup for Sunday’s game against the Lions, after missing the past two games with a knee injury.

Predictably, the mini win streak and a schedule that is just soft enough the rest of the way has folks in the Twin Cities talking playoffs.

“We don’t want to think about (the playoffs) too much right now, but we definitely know that we have a team that’s good enough,” said safety Darren Sharper.

“We’ve played with everybody we’ve faced this year, so we knew we had a playoff-calibre team.”

The Vikings renaissance began after a brutal 34-0 loss to the Packers on Nov. 11. But apparently out of that humiliation at Lambeau came a positive.

“I think of disgust as being a great motivator,” said Vikings coach Brad Childress, whose team stumbled out of the gate with a 2-5 start to the season.

“Whether you’re in the gutter and you are disgusted with yourself or you’ve gained 60 pounds and you’re disgusted with yourself.

“I don’t think any of our guys would have wanted their football career to end after that Green Bay game. I think they just decided to rise up and do something about it.”

LIONS SLEEP:

Though the Lions are a game up on the Vikings in the standings, you wouldn’t know it by their form in recent weeks having lost their last three.

So what’s the problem?

“Just executing on offence, that’s all it is,” Lions receiver Roy Williams said. “Offensively we haven’t put together a good game in the last three weeks.

“But we’re excited. We bought into the one snap at a time, one game at a time thing.”

Williams said the struggles have led to some rather pointed commentary from coach Rod Marinelli.

“He’s (ticked),” Williams said. “He’s ticked because he knows that we’re a better football team than that.We played with a little chip on our shoulder when we were 6-2. We played like we had something to prove to not only ourselves but to the world and we’ve kind of slacked off on that. He’s asked to get our swagger back and we just have to respond to him this Sunday."

WHICH BACK TO BACK:

Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren isn’t tipping his hand just yet but all signs point to running back Shaun Alexander getting his job back this weekend despite the solid play of Mo Morris. Alexander, who missed the past two games with a knee injury, has practised this week and anxious to return.

“I’m like a kid in a candy store right now,’ Alexander said.

One player anxious to see the one-time rushing leader in the NFL return is quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.

“He was out there running fast, playing fast,” Hasselbeck said. “That’s obviously something that’s welcomed by everybody on this team. “It’s good to have him back and healthy. Hopefully he can step right in and be the same Shaun that we’ve always known.”

QUICK KICKS:

It’s bad enough that the Bills will be without running back Marshawn Lynch when they face the tough Washington defence on Sunday. But also out of the lineup is backup running back Anthony Thomas. That leaves Buffalo with two unproven running backs, Fred Jackson, who is likely to start, and rookie fourth-round draft pick Dwayne Wright. ... The Bills December 9 home game with Miami was looking to have special appeal for Toronto football fans wanting to see an ex Argo. That was until Ricky Williams’ comeback lasted all of six plays before being sidelined with a chest injury ... ... Perhaps shockingly, Seattle outscored the Eagles 80-0 in their past two trips to the City of Brotherly Love - 42-0 in 2005 and 38-0 in 1998 ... With a win this weekend and a Washington loss to Buffalo, ‘Hawks coach Holmgren can tie Redskins boss Joe Gibbs as become the winningest active coach in the league with 167 wins.