FanHouse CedricGriffin

It was 21-0 before an eye was even blinked.

The Arizona Cardinals, fresh off clinching their first division title in ages, had the chance to prove they belonged in the playoffs as more than the beneficiary of a pathetic division. They failed miserably. In fact, they embarrassed themselves in the first quarter.

Offensively, they just couldn't get anything going until it was too late. They still only ended up scoring one offensive touchdown against a normally vulnerable Minnesota secondary. Kurt Warner ended up throwing for 270 yards, but an early interception and generally looking awful in the first half pretty much eliminated his chances at an MVP season.

The implications of this game for Arizona aren't huge on the surface, but their confidence surely has to be shaken. The only quality team they've defeated all season is the Dallas Cowboys, who aren't near as strong as they were once thought to be.

For the Vikings, this was a huge victory for them, as they now have a commanding grasp on the NFC North. Because of advantageous tiebreakers over the Bears, they'd have to lose their last two games while the Bears won their two in order to not make the playoffs.

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet The ...

Best running team in football. If anything they'll be better at running the ball this season. The Vikes have committed to a better balance between passing and running, which will (hopefully) prevent teams from stacking the box against the run -- opening more running lanes. Tarvaris Jackson has experience under his belt and is unchallenged as the starter, not to mention they signed Bernard Berrian in the off-season to give him a legitimate NFL wideout. Adrian Peterson has a year of NFL experience, and Chester Taylor is an able-bodied complement to Peterson. Expect the same, if not better, numbers as last season from the ground game.

The Breakout

He's not going to be a pro-bowler or even a fantasy starter, but "breakout" is defined as someone whose eventual value exceeds the value he held on draft day. Tarvaris Jackson is going to be avoided in nearly all drafts, or possibly taken as a third string fantasy QB with the hopes of upside. By the end of the year, he'll pick his spots well enough to be worthy of a backup fantasy QB for bye-week replacement or injury replacement purposes. He'll get rushing yards -- which is such a huge bonus for QBs -- avoid the interception quite well, and throw for 150-200 yards a week with a passing TD per game.

The Vikings run game might be the league's best, and quarterback Tarvaris Jackson may have all of a sudden figured out how to throw an accurate pass, but maybe one of the best signs of the future success for the Vikings is the team's pass defense's improvement.

Even with Antoine Winfield, the team's best cornerback, sidelined with a hamstring injury, the Vikings secondary has shown steady improvement in recent weeks. They're still giving up plenty of yards (over 250 in each of the past two weeks), but very few points. And they've been doing it with a pair of second-year corners and a rookie.

Second-year starter Cedric Griffin has been consistent, while second-year undrafted free agent Charles Gordon and rookie Marcus McCauley have shown steady improvement this season.

"I feel really pleased that the guys really stepped up their games and really concentrated and responded to the things we were trying to get across," defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said. "Now, we just need to keep it going and make sure that we don't have a letdown."

Cedric Griffin made national news in April when he was arrested for fighting after bouncers kept him from entering a night club because they said his saggy pants didn't meet the dress code. Griffin has managed to get the case cleared up without a trial--he agreed to pay the court costs and get a continuance. If he doesn't get in trouble over the next year then the case will be dismissed without any finding of guilt or innocence. He also agreed to stay away from the Spin nightclub--whether he's wearing saggy pants or not.

While he may have worked out a way to keep the case from going to trial, Griffin's attorney David Valenti seemed disappointed in some ways that the case didn't go before a jury. He wanted to prove that Griffin's pants were hanging that low after all.

Said Valentini: "He went down to this club with two bankers and the [police] report indicated his pants were really low. That is contrary to what the evidence would have been in the case."

Because there was no finding of guilt, it's hard to believe that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell would suspend Griffin, but the commissioner seems to hold all the cards when it comes to disciplining players, so the Vikings will have to keep their fingers crossed for at least a little while longer that it won't affect Griffin's playing time--he's expect to be a starting cornerback.

Vikings head coach Brad Childress doesn't look like a guy who reads poetry for fun. He looks more like a guy who watches game film for fun, or blasts his face repeatedly into a concrete tackling dummy.

But if you're looking for him at noon on Thursday, you can find him at the Minneapolis Central Library, reading Will Allen Dromgoole's The Bridge Builder. Childress is taking party in the Minneapolis Public Library's Favorite Poem Celebrity Reading Program, or as I call it, the MPLFPCRP (pronounced "mipplefupkirk").

Kudos to Bad Childress for embracing his inner poet. It can't help but have a positive effect on the Minnesota Vikings. Childress should expand upon this idea and assign all Vikings players to write their own poems. In fact, I've taken the liberty of contacting Cedric Griffin and asking him to write a poem. Here's what he sent.

My pants are too low, and the bouncers don't like it
If Matt Birk wore pants this low, he wouldn't be able to hike it
My pants are too low, said this club called Spin
But they can go straight to hell, because I'm Ced Griffin

My pants are too low, and that's the way they'll stay
The ladies love Ced's sag, they'll give it up like it's Valentine's Day
My pants are too low, and I will fight to keep them down
I'll fight ten bouncers if need be, to show off my chocolate mound

My pants are too low, and now I'm hassled by cops
But my fashion sense is in tact, and for that, I deserve some props
My pants are too low, and I'm going to get my ass whipped
But Ced Griffin cares not, and next week, I show up unzipped