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Re: That's a wrap on the 2016 Vikings season

Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2017 11:26 pm
by J. Kapp 11
halfgiz wrote: Very well thought out post!
Thanks. I try.
halfgiz wrote:A big decision needs to be made about Shurmur because the draft will be focused on bringing in players to fit his scheme. I have no faith in RS to find the right players, but I'm not convinced that Shurmur's system is nothing more than a vanilla version of the WCO. I was looking for signs that his offense was developing, I saw a stubbornness of trying to run the ball on first and second downs setting up third and longs, only to have Bradford throw short of the sticks and expect his receivers to run 7 yards to a first down. Some of Shurmur biggest problems were failures on third down, lack of aggressiveness and red zone struggles. The Vikings were predictable and easy to defend. Will it be enough with this coaching staff's offensive schemes to make that next step?
Gotta take exception here. What you're saying just isn't backed by the record.

Against Green Bay, the Vikings passed on 16 of the first 22 plays. Bradford had completions of 20, 11, 17, 32, 21, and 71 yards among those 16 pass plays. Only one of those was thrown short. On their second drive, the Vikings had four consecutive pass plays that all resulted in first downs. Keep in mind, I'm not citing plays in the fourth quarter, when the game was out of reach. This was the first half. For the game, the Vikings had 446 total yards. Yes, we got waxed, but the offense was not the problem.

Against the Bears, the Vikings moved the ball almost at will, especially in the first half. The pass-run ratio wasn't as high, but it didn't have to be. The Vikings actually rushed for more than 120 yards. And against Jacksonville, Bradford had four completions of 40+ yards.

The Indy game was just an abomination from the beginning. The team wasn't ready to play, and with Peterson's return, they were trying to force feed him the ball early (which makes you correct for the early part of that game -- and is the main reason I don't want them to keep AP).

I've been saying it for more than a month now ... over the final four weeks, the dink-and-dunk stuff evolved to more downfield attempts, and the Vikings had plenty of success. Sam Bradford averaged 305 yards per game over the last four, and he averaged 7.64 YPA, which any of us would take for a season. Adam Thielen had games of 86, 101, and 202 yards. Kyle Rudolph had two big games. The passing offense may not have reminded anyone of 1998, but it was definitely trending in the right direction. The numbers don't lie.

But I do thank you for giving me an excuse to study this ... my instincts told me the Vikings passed downfield with more success in the last quarter of the season, and the numbers bear it out.

Re: That's a wrap on the 2016 Vikings season

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 6:34 am
by Mothman
I had intended to write a long assessment of the season, individual players, etc. but others have covered some of that quite well and honestly, I'm still too frustrated to delve into it. What I will say about the 2016 Vikings is that I firmly believe coaching/management issues had as much to do with this disappointing season and team collapse as injuries did. That's the primary source of my frustration and I know it's not a popular or widely shared opinion. It gives me concern for the future of this team. That said, I've always believed people can grow and learn in their professions and I sincerely hope we'll see better decisions, an improved Vikings team and a return to the playoffs next season.

Re: That's a wrap on the 2016 Vikings season

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 6:54 am
by IrishViking
Mothman wrote:I had intended to write a long assessment of the season, individual players, etc. but others have covered some of that quite well and honestly, I'm still too frustrated to delve into it. What I will say about the 2016 Vikings is that I firmly believe coaching/management issues had as much to do with this disappointing season and team collapse as injuries did. That's the primary source of my frustration and I know it's not a popular or widely shared opinion. It gives me concern for the future of this team. That said, I've always believed people can grow and learn in their professions and I sincerely hope we'll see better decisions, an improved Vikings team and a return to the playoffs next season.

I agree, outside of Our Oline I would say we have the talent on the field. Its about management and getting the last few pieces and getting them right.

Re: That's a wrap on the 2016 Vikings season

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 7:58 am
by Texas Vike
IrishViking wrote:
I agree, outside of Our Oline I would say we have the talent on the field. Its about management and getting the last few pieces and getting them right.

Just to clarify, you think we have the required talent "on the field" (even at the OL position) to win the SB?

Re: That's a wrap on the 2016 Vikings season

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 12:34 pm
by halfgiz
Kapp another good post!
I done some looking around and come up with these stats.

Team Stats
3rd down conversions 18th in the NFL converting 38 %
4th down conversions 20th

Redzone 28th 46%
We were better in the RZ than I thought.

points per game I found 2 different stats - 20.4 23th 17.8 27th

Yards per carry last part of the season.
Cards 3.0
Lions 5.1
Dallas 4.6
Jags 2.9
Colts 3.8
Pack 2.7
Bears 4.4

Re: That's a wrap on the 2016 Vikings season

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 12:50 pm
by Mothman
Texas Vike wrote:
Just to clarify, you think we have the required talent "on the field" (even at the OL position) to win the SB?

I may be wrong but I interpreted his comment to mean he thinks they have enough talent except on the OL.

Re: That's a wrap on the 2016 Vikings season

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 1:22 pm
by mansquatch
Here are the issues as I see them:

Each of the past two season we've seen winnable games slip away because the team crawls into a shell defensively. Last year we had 3 or 4 of them, this year three that standout are first game vs. CHI, 2nd game vs. GB and IND. That needs to stop. To me this is purely a coaching issue, primarily one with Zimmer.

RB: We need more production from this spot. I'm not convinced AP is the guy, but I'm not sold on McKinnon/Asiata either.

And most obvious for last: OL

First and foremost, this team cannot compete if TJ Clemmings is playing tackle. That cannot happen. Whatever they need to do, they have to be better than the last two seasons. How they get there is an interesting topic, but one for a different thread.

Re: That's a wrap on the 2016 Vikings season

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 2:09 pm
by Texas Vike
Mothman wrote:
I may be wrong but I interpreted his comment to mean he thinks they have enough talent except on the OL.

You're much too cordial, Jim! :lol:

There's no way you were wrong... I just misread it. I am on day 8 of a wicked head cold, not seeing things clearly.

Re: That's a wrap on the 2016 Vikings season

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 2:32 pm
by Mothman
Texas Vike wrote:You're much too cordial, Jim! :lol:
I try be cautious about speaking for others. :)
There's no way you were wrong... I just misread it. I am on day 8 of a wicked head cold, not seeing things clearly.
Yikes. I hope you feel better soon!

Re: That's a wrap on the 2016 Vikings season

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 2:56 pm
by autobon7
tmscr wrote: Dallas
I was screaming why not a fair catch?????? That still gets my goose.

Re: That's a wrap on the 2016 Vikings season

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 3:38 pm
by tmscr
Mothman wrote:I had intended to write a long assessment of the season, individual players, etc. but others have covered some of that quite well and honestly, I'm still too frustrated to delve into it. What I will say about the 2016 Vikings is that I firmly believe coaching/management issues had as much to do with this disappointing season and team collapse as injuries did. That's the primary source of my frustration and I know it's not a popular or widely shared opinion. It gives me concern for the future of this team. That said, I've always believed people can grow and learn in their professions and I sincerely hope we'll see better decisions, an improved Vikings team and a return to the playoffs next season.
This, too, is my concern. Something happened with the chemistry inside that locker room when the losses started to pile up. Not sure we'll ever get the full, true story about just what went down, but it's my opinion that something was stinky. The effort was flat out not there in at least (by my count) 3 games (Chicago, Indy, first part of the skins game). You don't get absolutely drubbed by a mediocre team like the colts, at home, with the season on the line, by giving poor effort without there being an issue. The defense (Zimmer's baby) suddenly becoming pedestrian and remaining so for at least half the season without suffering major injury is concerning. Throw in the bizarre circumstances surrounding the last packers game plus the departure of a longtime coach before things got really bad and it doesn't sit well with me. Hope I'm wrong. I was ready to commission a statue of Zimmer back in October. WHY CAN'T WE HAVE NICE THINGS?!