Not So Super in the Superdome

Behold as the Packer fan tries to park his schadenfreude to objectively describe his thoughts concerning yesterday's game in New Orleans.

• You always hear football people talk about "reps," which is short for repetition. I know that Brett Favre hates training camp, but the real reason it's important has changed from the days when football players used to come back from their off-season jobs as sales reps or whatever. You need practice time and reps so that players know what their teammates are likely to do in game situations. It looked to me like Favre wasn't seeing what he might expect to see on pass plays. Indecision is the one thing you can't have when 300 lb. dudes are flying at you at a high rate of speed.
• The Vikings defense looked very good, almost surprisingly so. I thought that the Saints would be able to move the ball at will against an inexperienced secondary, but that really didn't happen. However, they gave the rest of the league a template for how to run the ball against the Vikings, especially in the second half when they actually tried to run. You get those big Williams guys on the move and they aren't always able to change direction that quickly. When it mattered at the end of the game, the Williams Wall appeared to be on casters.
• Jared Allen was at the game, I think, but I can't be sure.
• I don't know the extent of Bryant McKinnie's injury, but the Vikes had better hope he's not out for an extended period of time. Phil Loadholt is a good right tackle in the classic road grader style, but he was getting his butt kicked on every pass play when he moved to the left side.
• The Vikings miss Chester Taylor more than they'll admit. There were a number of 3rd down plays that would have been, ahem, tailor-made for Taylor, but apparently Favre doesn't trust Albert Young, Taylor's replacement, yet. Toby Gerhart might as well have been on a milk carton yesterday.
• Brad Childress still doesn't understand when to throw the challenge flag, either. It probably wouldn't have made a difference, but losing a timeout on a play that wasn't really that close was a big mistake.
• My beloved Packers take the field on Sunday. We'll see if they look like a team that can win the division then. I certainly wouldn't assume they've closed the gap yet.