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Vikes Go 8-8 According to Vegas

Posted: Wed May 10, 2017 12:22 pm
by SidestreamFB Pete
http://www.espn.com/chalk/story/_/id/19 ... ings-games

Early spreads have us favoured in 8 games and dogs in the other 8.

I tend to agree with most of these spreads, save the Falcons and Panthers. I believe we should be favoured over Panthers and it should be closer with Falcons.

The Panthers' offensive line got worse, and we did really bad things to Cam Newton last year. Granted, their at the tail end of a three game road stretch, but I don't think there is very much talent on that team and that we match up very well against them.

The loss of Kyle Shanahan (previous OC for Falcons) is going to have a bigger impact than people think. They can't just replicate last years plays, as they are all on tape at this point, and the creator of the unique scheme is gone. Their roster is not as loaded as their 2016 success would suggest. They still have holes all over the defense, no viable TE (our weakness), and Sanu/Gabriel were products of the scheme.

I think we have a chance to come out of the season 10-6.

What do you guys think?

Re: Vikes Go 8-8 According to Vegas

Posted: Wed May 10, 2017 1:08 pm
by mansquatch
I’ll nibble:

Saints: Should be a win. Saint have no defense to speak of and AP is typically poor in the first 4 games of any season as he doesn’t play pre-season games. That could change.
Steelers: This will be a tough game, but we’ll be catching their offense in week 2 before it is in full mid-season form. This being on the road makes it a challenge though. Probably a loss.
Bucs @ Vikings: Bucs are worse than their record indicates. They have two quality wins against ATL and SEA last year, everything else was against garbage teams and they lost games to teams worse than ATL and SEA. Winston does not have much experience playing a defense of the quality he’ll play against in MIN
Lions: On paper we should win both games. The Lions statistically over achieved last year including 2 games against us when our offense was utterly pathetic. If our OL improvements “stick” then we should take these games.
Bears: Could be push overs against this year, but they are very well coached and most of their defense was injured last year. Might not be as easy, but their QB situation is a disaster and their WR situation is worse. Should be two wins, but always hard to play in CHI. Probably a spit.
Packers: We should split with them. Their offense has gotten worse on paper. So has their defense, but hard to take 2 from Rogers in a given season. As usual, the schedule maker favors the Pack by giving them the December game vs. us at Lambeau.
Ravens: This team seems to be moving in the wrong direction right now. That could change. Maybe a push, but it at home so odds favor Vikings.
Browns: unless a miracle turnaround happens we are beating CLE.
Redskins: We lost to them last year, but the team is in turmoil. Will Cousins even be back? Push, but have to slightly favor WSH since it is a road game.
Falcons: Probably a loss, but we could pull off the upset.
Panthers: I think we’ll win this. Their OL is worse than last year’s unit and their defense still has no replacement for Josh Norman. Another team that is going backwards.
Bengals: This is another team that moved backwards last year, are they going to turn it around? Game could have playoff implications for both squads. Hard not to like Vikings since it is at home.


I think likely record is somewhere between 10-6 and 13-3, entirely depending on staying healthy and the additions at Tackle being league average. There is a lot that can go wrong at this point injury wise. The best defense on this schedule by a long ways is ours. It is statistically likely that at least one team on the schedule turns itself around and will be playing with positive momentum when we face them, thus shifting the odds. Of course, we could be that team also.

All of the elite teams we face this season are built around offense which favors our defensive strength.

Re: Vikes Go 8-8 According to Vegas

Posted: Wed May 10, 2017 1:21 pm
by chicagopurple
2017 We are blessed with a weak schedule. Moreover, our conference is also getting weaker. The Bears continue to be incompetent, the Lions fail to draft their needs and will waste the QB's career ala AP, and GB is just plain aging out. Its really a Prime Time for the Vikes to declare supremacy but I am not convinced that the Front Office has realized the urgency and made the moves that time demands. Its kind of sad because this window will close. We should be able to take our division but we are no where near competing with the real quality teams in the rest of the league.

Re: Vikes Go 8-8 According to Vegas

Posted: Fri May 12, 2017 3:50 pm
by PurpleKoolaid
This is exactly what I bet, and the end of Rick's Era. So we start new, all over again.

Re: Vikes Go 8-8 According to Vegas

Posted: Fri May 12, 2017 5:45 pm
by Mothman
PurpleKoolaid wrote:This is exactly what I bet, and the end of Rick's Era. So we start new, all over again.
I think it will take more than another 8-8 season to send Slick Rick packin'. He has more lives than a cat.

Re: Vikes Go 8-8 According to Vegas

Posted: Sat May 13, 2017 10:19 am
by losperros
Mothman wrote: I think it will take more than another 8-8 season to send Slick Rick packin'. He has more lives than a cat.
If the Vikings go 8-8 again, then maybe more than Slick Rick should take the blame.

Re: Vikes Go 8-8 According to Vegas

Posted: Sat May 13, 2017 11:09 am
by PurpleMustReign
losperros wrote: If the Vikings go 8-8 again, then maybe more than Slick Rick should take the blame.
I agree but he should be part of it.

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Re: Vikes Go 8-8 According to Vegas

Posted: Sat May 13, 2017 11:53 am
by Mothman
I'm at the point where another 8-8 or 9-7 season from this Vikings team might as well be a 5 or 6 win season. It's obviously better to win 9 games than 5 but the mediocrity needs to end and I don't mean "end" in the sense of an occasional season with double digit wins and a "one and done" playoff appearance. I mean it in the sense of becoming a team that makes the playoffs years in a row and is an actual threat to win it all, not just a "we have faith in our coach/GM/favorite player and if everything goes just right once we might be able to accomplish the improbable" sense.

Green Bay has had 16 double-digit win seasons since 1995. That's 16 in 22 years. They've played in 3 Super bowls in that time span, winning 2 of them. That's not luck at work. That's evidence of a well-run franchise.

In that same time span the Vikings have managed double-digit winning seasons just 7 times and we all know how many Super Bowls they've appeared in during that span. Our team's biggest rival has radically out-performed them over the last 20+ years and it's increasingly frustrating that the Vikes just can't get their act together and become a team like that instead of living in the shadow of their biggest rival. It's painful, especially since most of us probably can't stand the Packers. I know I cant...

Sorry, I just needed to vent but I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling this frustration.

Re: Vikes Go 8-8 According to Vegas

Posted: Sat May 13, 2017 12:13 pm
by PurpleMustReign
Mothman wrote:I'm at the point where another 8-8 or 9-7 season from this Vikings team might as well be a 5 or 6 win season. It's obviously better to win 9 games than 5 but the mediocrity needs to end and I don't mean "end" in the sense of an occasional season with double digit wins and a "one and done" playoff appearance. I mean it in the sense of becoming a team that makes the playoffs years in a row and is an actual threat to win it all, not just a "we have faith in our coach/GM/favorite player and if everything goes just right once we might be able to accomplish the improbable".

Green Bay has had 16 double-digit win seasons since 1995. That's 16 in 22 years. They've played in 3 Super bowls in that time span, winning 2 of them. That's not luck at work. That's evidence of a well-run franchise.

In that same time span the Vikings have managed double-digit winning seasons just 7 times and we all know how many Super Bowls they've appeared in during that span. Our team's biggest rival has radically out-performed them over the last 20+ years and it's increasingly frustrating that the Vikes just can't get their act together and become a team like that instead of living in the shadow of their biggest rival. It's painful, especially since most of us probably can't stand the Packers. I know I cant...

Sorry, I just needed to vent but I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling this frustration.
Booyah. Jim gets the prize for the day. [emoji106]

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Re: Vikes Go 8-8 According to Vegas

Posted: Sat May 13, 2017 4:39 pm
by Nunin
I got nothing against the Packers. It's a well run franchise with a roster full of decent dudes...except for Rodgers.
It's Packer fans that make me wanna throw up.
-
If the Vikes don't win the North this year, I will disappoint.
If they go 8-8 or worse and Spielman doesn't get whacked, I'll lol, cause I think ownership is the problem...as it was with McCombs.
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I don't see that there is evidence of an implementable (is that a word?) vision for this team. Consistantly mismatched talent vs scheme and/or coaching.
They seemed to have it figured out on defense...but this is the absolute worst Viking offense I can remember watching. Yes, there was a crapton of o-line injuries last season. There has also been far less than adequate talent there for 10years...made up for by AD mostly and perhaps the best statistical season of Favre's career.
-
Cuttng McKinnie with no replacement was a stupid move. Relying on Loadholt, Sullivan and an obviously strugglng oft injured Kalil to anchor the line was even dumber....and many regular fans called it before hand....which makes me wonder what the hell goes on in talent/scheme discussions.
Meanwhile, Musgrave (yeah that guy lol) and Tice are tearing it up in Oakland. What will they do with CP?
Mike Wallace is thriving as a Raven.
And Adrian Peterson finally has a QB.
Speaking of which, the Vikes don't have a QB(to speak of) under contract past this season.
Yeah, it's frustrating lol, but we all know that by now.
If Remmers and Rieff can have decent seasons, ths team can make a splash IMO..but for now, I need to see it to believe it.

Re: Vikes Go 8-8 According to Vegas

Posted: Sun May 14, 2017 1:37 pm
by losperros
Mothman wrote:I'm at the point where another 8-8 or 9-7 season from this Vikings team might as well be a 5 or 6 win season. It's obviously better to win 9 games than 5 but the mediocrity needs to end and I don't mean "end" in the sense of an occasional season with double digit wins and a "one and done" playoff appearance. I mean it in the sense of becoming a team that makes the playoffs years in a row and is an actual threat to win it all, not just a "we have faith in our coach/GM/favorite player and if everything goes just right once we might be able to accomplish the improbable" sense.

Green Bay has had 16 double-digit win seasons since 1995. That's 16 in 22 years. They've played in 3 Super bowls in that time span, winning 2 of them. That's not luck at work. That's evidence of a well-run franchise.

In that same time span the Vikings have managed double-digit winning seasons just 7 times and we all know how many Super Bowls they've appeared in during that span. Our team's biggest rival has radically out-performed them over the last 20+ years and it's increasingly frustrating that the Vikes just can't get their act together and become a team like that instead of living in the shadow of their biggest rival. It's painful, especially since most of us probably can't stand the Packers. I know I cant...

Sorry, I just needed to vent but I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling this frustration.
Great rant, Jim. I'll just add how extremely tired I am of the Vikings fielding half a team. They've done this even during some of their good seasons. You know what I mean. A good defense but a struggling offense, or an explosive offense with a porous defense. Even the units play halfway ball. The offence can run but it can't pass. Or the defense can defend against the pass but can't stop the run, or vice versa. It's frustrating.

Some of us, including myself, have taken shots at Spielman and/or the coaching. Some criticism should be reserved for the ownership too, given how they've handled the team on occasion. That includes the hiring of egomaniac Brad Childress and perhaps even Mike Zimmer, who is a genius with defense but became the head coach without any discernible vision for the offense.

Re: Vikes Go 8-8 According to Vegas

Posted: Sun May 14, 2017 3:40 pm
by SidestreamFB Pete
Aaron Rogers would have made Brad Childress look good. I don't think the Packers are best example for top class organization, they've just had 2 HOF QBs for the last 25-30 years. Granted they made two good decisions on acquiring those guys, but just because they roster a million of their own draft picks doesn't make the players good. Rogers makes the players good.

Based on the tone of this thread, I know most won't agree haha, but I have Zimmer (8) > McCarthy (9). As far as head coaches go, SSF Top 10 Head Coaches. Mainly because I'm not sure what McCarthy's function is. Rogers play better when he deviates from the game plan and their defense is traditionally mediocre; last year they were rancid because they dealt with a few injuries.

Re: Vikes Go 8-8 According to Vegas

Posted: Sun May 14, 2017 4:58 pm
by Mothman
SidestreamFB Pete wrote:Aaron Rogers would have made Brad Childress look good. I don't think the Packers are best example for top class organization, they've just had 2 HOF QBs for the last 25-30 years. Granted they made two good decisions on acquiring those guys, but just because they roster a million of their own draft picks doesn't make the players good. Rogers makes the players good.
As you pointed out, they acquired those two terrific QBs. Favre and Rodgers didn't just wander in off the street on a couple of lucky days. Identifying and developing great QBs is something top NFL organizations do and after getting Favre and Rodgers, GB developed them, built Super Bowl-capable teams around them and won championships. I don't like the Packers but there's really no doubt they've been one of the NFL's top organizations over the past 20-30 years.
Based on the tone of this thread, I know most won't agree haha, but I have Zimmer (8) > McCarthy (9). As far as head coaches go, SSF Top 10 Head Coaches. Mainly because I'm not sure what McCarthy's function is.
:confused: His function is obviously to coach the football team and since he has a 114-61-1 record (plus a winning record in the postseason and a Super Bowl victory), with one losing season in 11 years, I'd say he's done a pretty good job of it. I've certainly seen better head coaches but thus far, Zimmer isn't among them. I wish the last 11 years for the Vikings had been as successful as McCarthy's tenure in GB. Unfortunately, it's not even close. :( As Craig said above, ownership has had something to do with that but the Wilfs will remain the owners for the foreseeable future so we have to hope they continue to learn, grow and improve in their role.

I just hope we don't see another mediocre season this year. If so, no change should be off the table.

Re: Vikes Go 8-8 According to Vegas

Posted: Sun May 14, 2017 9:54 pm
by CbusVikesFan
Mothman wrote:I'm at the point where another 8-8 or 9-7 season from this Vikings team might as well be a 5 or 6 win season. It's obviously better to win 9 games than 5 but the mediocrity needs to end and I don't mean "end" in the sense of an occasional season with double digit wins and a "one and done" playoff appearance. I mean it in the sense of becoming a team that makes the playoffs years in a row and is an actual threat to win it all, not just a "we have faith in our coach/GM/favorite player and if everything goes just right once we might be able to accomplish the improbable" sense.

Green Bay has had 16 double-digit win seasons since 1995. That's 16 in 22 years. They've played in 3 Super bowls in that time span, winning 2 of them. That's not luck at work. That's evidence of a well-run franchise.

In that same time span the Vikings have managed double-digit winning seasons just 7 times and we all know how many Super Bowls they've appeared in during that span. Our team's biggest rival has radically out-performed them over the last 20+ years and it's increasingly frustrating that the Vikes just can't get their act together and become a team like that instead of living in the shadow of their biggest rival. It's painful, especially since most of us probably can't stand the Packers. I know I cant...

Sorry, I just needed to vent but I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling this frustration.
PREACH ON BROTHER JIM! !! Talking about QB'S, if qb's were the Vikings butt, Rick couldn't find it with both hands. I'm as tired of the gross mismanagement of the team as you are. One and dones, mediocre drafts, pat hwork signings, projects, the list seems endless. Yet here I sit talking about them.
I guess it's supposed to get better, "we're on the right track", "we have complete confidence. .", blah blah blah! I've heard enough. I want BETTER results than the past quarter century. QUARTER CENTURY? ?? Y'ALL FEEL ME? CRAPOLA!

Re: Vikes Go 8-8 According to Vegas

Posted: Sun May 14, 2017 10:19 pm
by PurpleMustReign
It seems like all Minnesota teams take so long to develop into a winning team. Everson Griffen is going into his 8th or 9th year. Look at the Wild with their aging roster. By the time one part of the team catches up with the other, they have about one, maybe two, good seasons and then it is rebuild again.

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