Vikings: Pressing success

Sure, the NFC North standings are an inanimate object, incapable of verbalization and sitting on the agate page of the morning paper waiting for your perusal and not much more.

But at the moment, those standings state far more about how well things are going for the Vikings than coach Brad Childress and his players will say. While Childress and Co. continued to take a (yawn) one-game-at-a-time approach as the Vikings returned to work Monday following their bye week, the standings told a story of a team getting close to running away with its division.

The Vikings, already sitting at 7-1 entering Sunday, didn't even have to play to increase their lead to three games over Chicago (4-4) and Green Bay (4-4), which both lost. In reality, the Vikings have a four-game edge on the Packers because they swept the season series. The Vikings have a six-game lead on Sunday's opponent, the Detroit Lions (1-7), and that will be the first of three consecutive games at the Metrodome.

It's not unrealistic to think the Vikings have an excellent chance of being 10-1 coming out of a homestand that finishes with Seattle (3-5) and the Bears. Not surprisingly, Childress wasn't buying into any of this discussion.

"It's always good to get home and get in front of these fans here," he said. "It's an advantage. I don't know anything about three in a row. I know we've got one in a row here against an NFC North opponent and really a nameless, faceless opponent. We just need to worry about what we need to do to get ready for those guys in those different jersey numbers."

In reality, the main message being delivered from the Vikings locker room Monday wasn't so much about any particular opponent as it was about keeping the focus turned inward. The Vikings, who are looking to repeat as division champs for the first time since 1977-78, have a goal that goes well beyond just making a playoff appearance this year.

Continuing to play well in the second half wouldn't only mean potentially burying the Bears and Packers -- even if the Vikings win only three of their final eight, Chicago and Green Bay would need to go 7-1 -- it also could lead to a first-round bye in the postseason and potentially home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. New Orleans (8-0) currently has that advantage.

Veteran kicker Ryan Longwell has been a member of five teams that won their division, including four with Green Bay, and he likes the approach he has seen from his teammates on and off the field.

"It's very focused and I think the team's attitude in the locker room has been the same through all the wins and the Pittsburgh loss," he said. "It's that we can improve. Everybody comes in Monday, no one is patting themselves on the back and everybody is looking at the subtleties of how to improve week to week. That's rare. It's rare when you get a few guys who do that, much less a whole team, and those teams are the special teams.

"We have a special group, we have a great locker room and certainly we want to take advantage of it and we've done well in the first half, but now there's a lot of room that can be made up. You definitely don't want to coast in the second half. You want to put the accelerator down."

While the players had six days to rest during the bye week, the Vikings coaching staff spent some of their time trying to figure out the best way to apply that accelerator. Childress acknowledged he saw room for improvement during film study.

"Short of giving away the secrets of the kingdom, if there are any secrets because it's all on tape, [there are] a lot of things that we can refine and improve on," he said.

One thing Childress isn't going to have to worry about is this team's confidence. Whether it is because quarterback Brett Favre brings a certain swagger to the club or all the pieces have come together, there is an unspoken yet definite feeling that this team is capable of finishing what it started.

Left tackle Bryant McKinnie called this the most confident he has seen the Vikings in his eight seasons, and that includes a team that won its first six in 2003.

"When we went 6-0, we were winning but people weren't sure how we were winning," McKinnie said. "But here's it's like, I don't know, it's just a different swagger. Everybody expects to win. There's no, 'I hope we beat this team.' It's like, 'We'll beat this team.' Just a little more confident. Not arrogant or anything. Just have a little more confidence going out there."

Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kevin Williams said the mindset at Winter Park is very simple.

"Finish. We're in a good position right now. We have to keep stacking wins," Williams said. "For the most part, teams are remembered for what's done in November and December and not what's done in September and August. The last couple of seasons, we started kind of rocky and we end up finishing strong. That's the thing we have to do right now. The key is to keep stacking wins and finish strong."

DIFFERENT CHALLENGES