Deep threat is no sweat for Vikings

Long foul balls. Those are the three words Vikings coach Brad Childress uses to describe deep pass attempts gone awry. There was a time that phrase dripped off his tongue with a genuine disgust.

These days, however, Childress doesn't find himself burdened with having to broach the distasteful subject all that much. That's because as coach of the NFL's seventh-ranked passing offense, Childress isn't seeing quarterback Brett Favre miss on many opportunities for what the Vikings term explosive plays.

"It just goes back to the play-calling and executing," wide receiver Sidney Rice said Monday. "Brett goes through his reads and if he has somebody open down the field, he's going to take a shot no matter who it is -- tight end, wide receivers. He's going to get the ball down the field and we've just got to continue to make those big plays."

The Vikings' definition of an explosive pass is one completed for 16 yards or more. Favre completed nine such passes in a 36-10 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday, with the Vikings' record improving to 10-1.

That gives the Vikings 62 explosive pass completions this season. The NFC-leading Saints, who improved to 11-0 with their 38-17 victory over New England on Monday night and are the only team in the NFL with more points than the Vikings, have 69 explosive completions, including eight against the Patriots.

The Vikings' efficiency in this area Sunday occurred in part because of the ability of Childress and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell to adjust on the fly. In the first half, they decided to rely heavily on the pass when they saw the Bears crowding the line of scrimmage to stop Pro Bowl running back Adrian Peterson. This led to Chicago using single coverage on several occasions, with one safety up high.

In previous seasons, the Vikings might have been unable to make the Bears pay for this gamble. But with Favre running the show, he picked their defense apart with passes that went for significant gains.

This included completions of 31, 22 and 17 yards to wide receiver Percy Harvin; completions of 27 and 18 yards to wide receiver Bernard Berrian; and completions of 21 and 19 yards to tight end Visanthe Shiancoe. Favre also hit Rice for a 33-yard gain and running back Chester Taylor for a 16-yarder.

Favre, whose 392 passing yards marked the fourth-best single-game output of his 19-year career, had a chance to add big numbers to that total, but his first-quarter deep shot for Rice sailed 65 yards in the air and ended up about 5 yards beyond the receiver's fingertips.

"I think it's being aggressive," Childress said. "... We used to use the conventional wisdom that you've got to take a couple [deep] shots a quarter, but you can be looking for a shot and calling a shot and if it's not there, you have to be able to bring the ball to the next level, to the next level, to the next level.

"We've got some guys that are getting up the field. ... [Favre has] taken [his shots] where they're available, where there's good protection, where he's able to move and see. [Bevell] is doing a nice job of calling those things. Truth be known, most of those plays are built from the top down. You're looking high and bringing it back down."

Essentially, Childress is saying there are plenty of opportunities for explosive passes, but Favre must survey the field and decide if it's worth the risk.

The weekly book the Vikings distribute to the media charts pass completions of 20 or more yards. The Vikings have 39 such plays, including 36 from Favre, in 11 games this season. That is the same number they had for the entire 2008 regular season.

The Arizona Cardinals, who lead the NFC West with a 7-4 record, will try to slow the Vikings' success on significant completions on Sunday night, but that might not be easy. Arizona is 29th in the NFL in pass defense and 24th in total defense. The Vikings, meanwhile, have climbed to fifth in total offense, helped by their success with explosive passes.

"We have the personnel in every position" to be successful, Shiancoe said. "Of course, that orchestrator, No. 4 [Favre]. We practice it every day. We practiced those type of plays. You go out there on the field and you execute them. That's it."