Monday Night Football Live-Blog: Bears-Vikings Pregame/1st Half

Monday, December 17, 2007

I was thinking about it and the only game I've seen this year involving Purple Jesus was the preseason game where he ran all over the New York Jets. Well that'll change tonight. Hope you can join in the fun!

I'll be throwing some of the pregame quotes in this spot before getting into the game a little after 8pm.

SPREAD: Vikings -10.5, O/U 43.5

Wow Sal Pal is still leading the group in the Dome. Seriously Stu....I hope you're recovering okay. Never want to see anyone that sick. Isn't that a Month now?

"Plus you go back to Terrell Owens and my situation last week, and you go out and have a bad game. And you look at Jessica Simpson."- Keyshawn Johnson

I was wondering how long it would take Keyshawn to take credit for T.O.'s bad game.

"Do you think the Cowboys could beat in the Championship game Green Bay in Green Bay?"- Tom Jackson
"It's an interesting question if it comes up."- Chris Berman

Umm....it just did come up Chris. Way to change the subject.

"The Bears will drop 8 in the box."- Emmitt Smith

Don't you have to "add" people into the box, and not drop people from it to stop the run? And he wishes his wife Happy B-day. That was nice.

Ooh Breaking News from Mort. Roy Williams suspended one-game for the Horse Collar tackle on McNabb. Couldn't they make that two so he'd be out for Week 17 against the Skins?

"You don't watch the cheerleaders when you're on the sidelines. You pay attention to the game."- Steve Young on Kyle Orton's role as a backup.

Call me crazy, but I didn't see Trent Green in the Pregame. Oh well.
_______________________________

We're about to kick this thing off, but first John C. Reilly sings is in with "Block Hard". Wow....that was special. Bears ball and Hester gets it out to the 40. Kyle Orton leads them out.

"The Bears Peterson a Journeyman Running Back."- Mike Tirico

Is it possible to be a journeyman if you've played for the same team your entire career? (Via Matt)

Screen to the other Adrian Peterson picks up 5. Orton throws to AP on an out again but that gets sniffed out by pothead Dwight Smith. Devin Hester on the reverse! He can't get away from Winfield. Great tackle. Bears punt.....

Wade fair catches it at the five. P.Jesus picks up a good gain of 6 on first down, and an offsides on the Bears gives the Vikes a first. Jackson throws to Ferguson....

PICKED OFF! Urlacher grabs it out of the air after the Ferguson drop. First down for the Bears at the Vikings 13....

Make that 18. False start on the Bears. Orton to G-Reg Olsen in the endzone! Incomplete. 2nd and 15.....another false start! 2nd and 20. A couple of short passes and Robbie Gould comes out for the FG.....

GOOD! 3-0 Bears.

"The two franchises could be passing like ships in the night."- Steve Young

... I was waiting for the next guy to say, 'except the Vikings ship is full of strippers.' I'm still disappointed no one was on top of that. (Via Chase)

Allison tries to mount a return, but he goes nowhere....Vikings ball at their 12. Jackson is nailed by Urlacher but he hits Wade for five. Peterson then picks up the first down.

As a sidenote, your earlier post was right. "Duel" is a horrible, horrible show. (Via Chase)

Good to know. I may check it out tomorrow.

Jackson to Wade nets another first down, and they run Peterson on for a yard. 2nd and 9.....Taylor runs for a few and makes it 3rd and 4. Screen pass to Peterson for 16 yards....nice play and Peterson loses his shoe. First down Vikings....

Jackson to Wade again and that was too easy for Tavaris. Another first down at the 22.

FUMBLE!!!! Jackson and Peterson fumble the exchange.....Urlacher gets the recovery.

Bears ball at their 22. Orton hits Peterson for about five and that looks to be the only receiver he's looking for tonight. Peterson on the draw and it'll be 3rd and short. Play action but Orton has to throw it away.....Clark was held and couldn't get out in the flat. Bears punt.

Wade gets it at the 35 and is taken down there. Taylor gets 5 and a half and there's some extra shoving after the play. Taylor makes it 3rd and short, but there's a hold on Wade that will bring that back. 2nd and 15....Jackson hits the FB Richardson for 9 and it'll be 3rd and six....Incomplete. Vikings punt.....Hester back to return.

Hester takes it out from the endzone on the angled punt and fakes a reverse....FUMBLES! It rolls about 20 yards and right out of bounds. Bears ball at their own three. The most exciting thing all game.

Wolfe gets the carry up the middle and that's not going anywhere. Back to the one. Why would you run a tiny back up the middle that close to the endzone? Play action and Orton throws it to nobody. Peterson picks up one yard and the Bears will punt it from their own endzone.

Wade brings it out past the 50, but a block in the back penalty brings it back into Vikings territory. 1st and 10 from 38.

Purple Jesus gets knocked down for a loss and that's the end of an exciting 1st quarter.....3-0 Bears. Random shot of Grossman in there and what the hell is he doing? He's talking to some guy and dancing around. Weird.

Peterson again for nothing and it'll be 3rd and long. Jacskon hits Taylor but he's a yard short. 4th down and the Vikings punt (this seems to be a theme)....Hester doesn't get a shot at this one as they punt it out of bounds at the 13.

Orton almost throws a pick on first down and a pitch to Wolfe that gets only two makes it 3rd and Long.

"Did I see Will Ferrell's name in there?"- Tony Kornheiser on all of the Bears QBs since Jim McMahon

Hester gets a pass from Orton on the sidelines and he is judged to be pushed out. No....incomplete. He didn't have it to the ground. Bears punt...

Play action and Jackson tries to hit his TE....incomplete. Tirico says it was a good throw, but it wasn't good at all. Jackson gets nailed late, but completes the ball anyway. Lance "Ferrari" Briggs just roughed him up. The Viking get a 1st down all the way at the Bears 29.

Peterson goes nowhere on first and Jackson follow that up with a pass to Richardson for 4. 3rd and about 5....Incomplete. Jackson had Sidney Rice, but he had his arm hit when he threw. Longwell for a 42 yard FG....

GOOD. 3-3....we've got a barn burner.

The Vikings squib away from Hester and Davis instead takes it into Vikings territory. 33 yard return. Bears ball at the 44. 1st down......ANOTHER PENALTY. Good lord. No first downs for the Bears. Screen to Hester and he runs about 40 yards to pick up 11. Crazy run. Orton to Peterson makes it 3rd and short....

Orton tries to sneak it and he is nowhere near the first. It'll be 4th and a yard. Bears go for it.....

Orton sneaks and it'll be close. Nope he's got it. First down Bears....their first of the night! Orton hits Hester on the slant for nine and the Bears go no huddle. pitch to Peterson and he gets nailed by Winfield....he's everywhere tonight. 3rd and 1......Orton misses Hester on the slant and that was behind him on that one.

4th and 1 and the Bears are going again. Wait.....another penalty. 12-men breaking the huddle.....they'll try a 47 yarder....

Gould nails it! 6-3 Bears.

"He is Gold."- Ron Jaworski
"Who's your writer? Who said there's a writer's strike?- Mike Tirico

Allison on the return and he looked like he wanted to throw a lateral, but he hangs on to it. Peterson gets zippy on first down and he just can't get it going, and just as I say that he picks up seven. 3rd and 4...complete. Jackson to Ferguson on the slant...first down.

Play action on first down and Jackson hits the TE Kleinsasser for 26 yards up the middle. First down at the Bears 44. Timeout Vikings. Reverse to Allison but Vasher is having none of that. 2nd and 10.....Jackson to Dugans and it'll be 3rd and 7 from the Chicago 41. Jackson throws behind Taylor on the screen and Minnesota is punting.....again....

Out of bounds at the nine. Another nice punt from the Vikes. Orton hits Berrian for seven on first down and it looks like the Bears are going to try and do something with this. Or they'll just fumble the snap. Orton recovers and that's the 2 minute warning. 3rd and 5 and Orton hits Peterson for the first.

Mark Bradley gets the screen on first down and picks up 14....no huddle. Screen to Peterson and Ced Griffin wraps him up for a small gain. Timeout Bears. 2nd and 6 and Orton is going deep to Berrian! Incomplete....nowhere near him. Vikings blitz and Orton throws high and the pass is dropped. Bears punt.....into the endzone.

That should probably do it for the half. Vikings come out throwing though, but Jackson's pass is batted down. Jackson looks deep over the middle....

PICKED OFF BY VASHER! He takes it all the way back to the 12....43 seconds left. Horrible decision from Tavaris Jackson there.

"On Vasher.....On Prancer!"- Mike Tirico

TOUCHDOWN BEARS! Orton to Muhammad on the slant. Beautiful throw. Hold up....there's a challenge. He might have been down at the one. Overturned. 1st and Goal from the half yard line.

TOUCHDOWN BEARS! McKie the Fullback up the middle. That one's not being challenged.....

13-3 Bears. 30 seconds left in the half.


Allison out to the 27 yard line. Incomplete on first down, and Jackson scrambles on 2nd down to pick up the first down. And a dumb late hit on Tillman brings the ball all the way to the Bears 41. Close call there. Sidney Rice catches it down to the 30 and the Vikings use their last timeout with 4 ticks left. FG Attempt for Longwell.....

GOOD! 13-6 at the half. Dumb penalty there...that makes it a one score game.

23 Comments:

Stu is gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2007, 7:29:00 PM  

Steve: The two franchises could be passing like ships in the night.

... I was waiting for the next guy to say, 'except the Vikings ship is full of strippers.' I'm still disappointed no one was on top of that.

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2007, 8:37:00 PM  

Kicking it out of bounds: 40 Yard Line
Squibing it to Devin Hester: 41 Yard Line

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2007, 8:41:00 PM  

they just called Chicago's Adrian Peterson a "journeyman". Is it possible to be a journeyman if you've played for the same team your entire career?

Idiots.

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2007, 8:44:00 PM  

are you so fast at updating this? You had that kick typed as GOOD nearly before it split the uprights.

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2007, 8:51:00 PM  

As a sidenote, your earlier post was right. "Duel" is a horrible, horrible show.

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2007, 8:54:00 PM  

Shaun Alexander....take notes.

TJX said...
Dec 17, 2007, 8:55:00 PM  

Human kind....take notes.

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2007, 8:57:00 PM  

Who's listenning to this game on NFL field pass or the vikings radio network thinking they'll get more out of it than listenning to kornheiser and trico?

Big fan of Paul Allen , he makes for a fun listen
Yann

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2007, 8:59:00 PM  

Totally agree with you on Paul Allen, love his call on Adrian "galloping into Vikings immortality"

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2007, 9:06:00 PM  

The call was right, devin let it go when he hit down, but the call on the field was a catch. hard to see how they can overturn that on appeal and not make childress challenge it.

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2007, 9:28:00 PM  

It gets said every time the Vikes are on TV, but holy smoking hell does Brad Childress look like a registered sex offender. Hide the kids!

Adam J said...
Dec 17, 2007, 9:46:00 PM  

Man, maybe this game will cool off the "Jackson isn't such a bad QB" buzz. Not that Brooks Bollinger or Kelly Holcomb are any better at this point.

Bodjo said...
Dec 17, 2007, 9:59:00 PM  

How can you expect any offense, what with all the snow and adverse weather cond...

...oh, Metrodome. Right.

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2007, 9:59:00 PM  

"On Vasher, on Prancer!"??? Jesus Christ, Tirico.

Bodjo said...
Dec 17, 2007, 10:00:00 PM  

dammit. looks down to me.

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2007, 10:03:00 PM  

Jason McKie (sp?) punches it in. The Redskins and Saints must be watching this one closely...anyone know the tiebreaker scenarios?

Bodjo said...
Dec 17, 2007, 10:05:00 PM  

Fucking. Bullshit. Call.

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2007, 10:09:00 PM  

Record against conference opponents, which the Saints currently hold.

It doesn't really matter; can we just use the BCS method and skip to the NFC championship game?

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2007, 10:09:00 PM  

TIVO says harris and tillman contacted jackson with both of his feet still inbounds, but childress got right in the ear of the official and the flag came out.

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2007, 10:12:00 PM  

i hope the asshole with the 'jaws for prez' sign doesn't actually vote

BackBergtt said...
Dec 17, 2007, 10:15:00 PM  

It was kind of a sketchy call...Harris seemed to hit Jackson while the Vikes' QB was still in bounds, and Tillman pushes Jackson--who is already falling--when he's already out of bounds. I say "pushes" because he barely touched the guy.

Bodjo said...
Dec 17, 2007, 10:17:00 PM  

NHZ- Saints have it on the Skins and Vikings. Whoever wins the Skins-Vikes game next week would have it.

Dec 17, 2007, 10:23:00 PM  

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