Vikings keep opponents guessing

There have been many examples of the evolution of the Vikings offense from a one-dimensional attack into a well-rounded unit.

A prime one came in the fourth quarter of a 27-10 victory over Detroit on Sunday.

Facing second-and-8 from his own 25-yard line, quarterback Brett Favre saw the Lions were in an alignment to defend the pass. A pass had been called, but Favre had the freedom to check to a run play that would have put the ball into Chester Taylor's hands.

Despite the fact the Vikings have considered the run their bread and butter, Favre decided against an audible.

"By rule you would have thought, 'Hey, let's go to the run,'" Favre said. "I said, 'Hey, give Percy [Harvin] a chance.'"

Harvin caught a 5-yard pass, moved back toward the middle of the field, bounced off Lions linebacker DeAndre Levy and took off for a 40-yard gain. That set up a 35-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell.

Earlier this season, Favre might have elected to turn the play into a run. But as he has gained a better knowledge of his teammates -- he already was familiar with the West Coast system -- and helped receivers Sidney Rice and Harvin become instrumental parts of the offense, the Vikings (8-1) are no longer as reliant on the run.

After piling up a season-high 492 yards Sunday, the Vikings were ranked seventh in the NFL in total offense (369.1 yards per game). They were 10th in rushing (122.4) and 12th in passing (246.7). That is a major improvement in balance; last season, the Vikings were fifth in rushing (146.1) and 25th in passing (184.8). Two years ago, in Adrian Peterson's rookie season, the Vikings were first in rushing (164.6) and a dismal 28th in passing (171.6).

This doesn't diminish the value of Peterson, who is second in the NFL in rushing with 917 yards, but it does eliminate predictability. At times opponents will play for the pass -- and at times that could cost them if Favre switches to a run.

"If you're one-dimensional in any area, people can gang up on you," coach Brad Childress said. "That's the thing, if you're not sure, you have to play it a little closer to the vest. You can run blitz or you can pass blitz and some are better than others if you're wrong. ...

"It's nice to be able to swing one way should it be necessary. You don't want to be like the old Oklahoma wishbone teams and say, 'OK, we are down 21 points and here we go. We are going to jump back in the wishbone and run some more wishbone at you.' And that is just from a behind standpoint. Sometimes there are games where you come out and you like to throw 10 passes in a row, just to kind of back people away. It's just nice to be able to be adept at both of those."

Through nine games last year, the Vikings' run-pass ratio was virtually even (286 rushes, 287 passes). This year, they have run 260 times and passed 293 times.

"[Being multidimensional is] real big, especially for the receivers," said Rice, whose 786 receiving yards leads the NFC. "The past couple of years, all the talk has been about the receivers, how we weren't able to produce and things like that. We just took it upon ourselves to do the extra work to get better as receivers and make this team a more balanced team."

That balance also has translated into more explosive passing plays. The Vikings consider an explosive play to be a pass of 16 or more yards and a run of 12 or more. In their 27-13 victory over the Lions in Week 2, the Vikings had no explosive pass plays. On Sunday, the passing game accounted for seven, including Harvin's catch-and-run and throws of 43, 43 and 56 yards to Rice, who finished with seven catches for 201 yards.

Afterward, Rice made it clear that although the offense is playing well, there is definitely room for improvement. On Monday, Childress agreed.

"I think [the offense] is just continuing to evolve," he said. "Everybody every play, there are things that stick with you. That's why there are position coaches, that is why there are different phases. I just think we can continue to hammer out some better execution ... [be] more consistent more often."