No Moss, no problem for Vikes WRs

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Vikings passing game was supposed to crumble without Randy Moss.

With no deep threat to stretch the field and draw an extra defender away from the middle of the field, everyone wondered how the Vikings' nondescript receivers would be able to get open.

Sure they had Percy Harvin, the reigning offensive rookie of the year. But Harvin was hobbled by an ankle injury, leaving them with Bernard Berrian, Greg Lewis, Greg Camarillo and Hank Baskett as the only healthy receivers on the roster.

Who?

In their first game since Moss was abruptly released, the Vikings receivers not only survived without their enigmatic star, but flourished in a 27-24 overtime victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

"We were written off as far as our passing game and maybe some guys in that locker room were like, 'Now where do we go?'" Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre said.

Harvin had a career-high nine catches for 126 yards, Berrian added nine grabs for 89 yards and Favre threw for more yards than he ever had in his 20-year career. In all, four receivers had at least four catches in Favre's 446-yard day.

"This team has way too much talent to be struggling on offense the way we were," Harvin said. "You see what we did in the no huddle and two-minute drill and Brett was able to sling the ball wherever he wanted and picked up 400-something yards. This team has talent. The talent has been here. Hopefully, we can go back and look at this tape and see a lot of good things we did."

Camarillo had four catches for 66 yards and Lewis had four catches for 30 yards. Tight end Visanthe Shiancoe added four catches for 66 yards and running back Adrian Peterson had four catches for 63 yards.

"I said this during the week I know our guys Greg Lewis, Greg Camarillo, Hank Baskett were going to get opportunities and they were excited about it," Favre said. "Can they stretch the field like Randy Moss? No one can. But I knew we were going to get great effort from those guys and that was ultimately the deciding factor."

The biggest surprise probably was Berrian, who only had nine catches in the previous seven games. His 22-yarder on an improvised play from Favre in overtime set up Ryan Longwell's game-winning field goal.

Even though the performance came against the Cardinals, it was still validation for a group that was rocked by the surprising release of Moss last Monday. Moss didn't put up big numbers in his four games with the Vikings, but the prevailing opinion was that his mere presence took the defense's focus away from Harvin and the rest of the receiving corps.

"It's a sticky situation trying to answer those questions," Berrian said, referring to questions about Moss and Childress' job security. "I know you guys want answers and the fans want answers but it's really kind of hard because you get backed into a corner and you don't really know how to answer those questions."

Harvin had six catches for 104 yards against the Packers the previous week and quickly formed a friendship with Moss off the field. He may have been the player most upset by coach Brad Childress' decision to cut Moss and had a heated argument with the coach during practice on Friday.

Both parties said the argument was about an MRI exam, and both said after the game that they had cleared the air.

"It was a little dispute, but we settled it," Harvin said. "Me and coach are fine."

It appears the passing game is just fine, too. The Vikings (3-5) play at division rival Chicago (5-3) on Sunday and are holding out hope that Pro Bowler Sidney Rice can play for the first time this season. Rice was activated from the physically unable to perform list last week and is working his way back from hip surgery in August.

"Those are great, great team guys," Childress said of his receivers. "They can all play multiple positions. They can all play across the board. Valuable guys. It's great to see them contribute to a win."