MINNEAPOLIS -- One week after Dwight Smith opened a Laugh Factory on the Lambeau Field sideline during one of the worst losses in franchise history, the Minnesota Vikings were the ones cracking the jokes.
Brad Childress did a spot-on impersonation of former coach and announcer Frank Broyles -- one of the five funniest moments of Childress' tenure, along with four funny moments to be named later.
Matt Birk noted that he graduated from high school the same year as Raiders coach Lane Kiffin, "and now he's coaching in the NFL, and my wife still picks my clothes out for me in the morning."
The most amusing aspect of the Vikings' 29-22 victory, though, was that Chester Taylor took more abuse from his own chinstrap than Oakland's softer-than-tapioca run defense.
Taylor showed up in the postgame interview room looking like he had just run into Kid Rock in a Waffle House. The Vikings offensive line was so dominant, Taylor was only occasionally caressed while rushing 22 times for 164 yards and three touchdowns in his second-best day as a Viking, but his lip looked like it had just been attacked by collagen-bearing wasps.
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"Man, my chinstrap was loose, so every time I sweated, it would slide and it was punching me," Taylor said. "My chinstrap beat me up today."
Maybe he forgot how to buckle one, after all the time he spent watching Adrian Peterson break records. Last year, Taylor rushed for 1,216 yards. This year, Peterson became the entree and Taylor the dessert.
While some of us wonder why the Vikings' two best skill position players can't coexist in the same huddle, this much is true: Taylor is an ideal backup.
His big day means he has more rushing yards in his first two seasons with the Vikings than anyone in franchise history other than Michael Bennett. Bennett had 1,978; Taylor has 1,684 with six games to go.
Taylor might even fit Childress' style better than Peterson. Peterson tends to score really quickly. Taylor knows how to run the clock.
Peterson might have rushed for 300 yards against the Raiders, but Taylor did his job when called upon, and without whining about his new role.
"He understands that Adrian is a talented guy," Childress said. "They pull for each other. He didn't like it (Peterson starting), but he accepted it and he didn't step back and sulk. He just continued to press on, and we sure appreciated that."
Given Sidney Rice's passing touch and Taylor's big day, Childress might want to consider a new offensive alignment: Rice taking the snap, with Tony Richardson at the point of a wishbone formation featuring Taylor and Peterson. That would really free up Jeff Dugan for some big plays.
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What's most remarkable about the Vikings' persistent offensive struggles is their line's capability of manhandling half the teams in the NFL. The blocking was so dominant Sunday, Taylor's fourth-quarter touchdown run came close to satire.
Taylor took a handoff from the Oakland 6-yard line and leaped into the air -- only to land on his feet at the 4, check his iPod for a song suitable for the moment, and push into the end zone like a last-minute Christmas shopper elbowing toward the clearance bin.
"That's by design," Birk said with a straight face.
Taylor maintained an understanding expression during Peterson's ascendance, and reaped the rewards of patience on Sunday. "It's good to be back," Taylor said.
It's good to be just about any back when the Vikings blockers find defensive linemen they can turn into crepes.
-- Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune
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