Vikings Message Board.Com

The reason I think the Rams are more of a threat than the Eagles, Todd Gurley. Vikings need to contain him (rushing and receiving) to stay in this game.

Looks like Griffen will be 100% for this game (heard it was his decision to sit out of the Redskins game). Gonna need him to disrupt the Rams screen game.

Big test for the defense. Big test for the OL. Should be a fun game to watch.



Good article to get the discussion going.

Forget the QBs, Rams-Vikings is a battle of the defenses

Sendejo missing practice with a groin.

Remmers, Sirles, Griffen are back.

Sendejo will miss two weeks.

Sent from my LG-H872 using Tapatalk

Hmmm. . Anthony Harris limited with a hamstring. He's been Sendejo's understudy. Not good. Kearse would be a steeper downgrade.

Rams are definitely a tall order this year. Solid all-around team that scores a lot, doesn't give up many points, and can run and pass effectively on offense. The main chink in their armor, if they have a weakness, might be their run defense. Vikes have been effective running the ball this year, so that might be a way to keep the pace down a bit if the Rams come out hot.

If the Vikes want that beautiful new stadium to host as many postseason games as possible this year, this is a game they have to win.

dead_poet wrote:Hmmm. . Anthony Harris limited with a hamstring. He's been Sendejo's understudy. Not good. Kearse would be a steeper downgrade.

Concerning, especially with the vertical threat of the Rams. Who else we got ? Maybe Newman again?

Another analysis of the game.

McVay’s Offense, Zimmer’s Defense, and Everything You Need to Know About the Rams-Vikings Showdown

Jared Goff has progressed tremendously in Year Two, but he remains a work in progress when throwing with defenders in his face. Goff still must fight his natural tendency to back up against interior pressure. Zimmer does not employ his trademark double-A-gap blitzes as much as he used to, but it would make sense to bring them in this game. Not only can that get Goff playing hastily, it also ensures one-on-one blocking against Minnesota’s edge rushers. On the left side, Rams tackle Andrew Whitworth has been outstanding when he wins on initial contact, but when he’s in reactionary mode, his 35 years of age show. Griffen’s low-to-the-ground bull rush could pose problems for the 6' 7" veteran.

The risk of going double-A-gap is you’re weak on the edges. That’s a problem against Todd Gurley, who has killed defenses by turning the corner in the zone running game and catching balls in the flat. There’s also Tavon Austin, whose jet sweep action is a big part of Los Angeles’s attack.

808vikingsfan wrote: Concerning, especially with the vertical threat of the Rams. Who else we got ? Maybe Newman again?

He'd get my vote over Kearse.

Who was Brock and Newman replacing in the Skins game?

If it wouldn't be for Sendejo being injured we would be in pretty good shape.

halfgiz wrote:

If it wouldn't be for Sendejo being injured we would be in pretty good shape.

I agree with you, although I have to file the above statement under the header of “Things I never thought I’d say.”

Just Me wrote: I agree with you, although I have to file the above statement under the header of “Things I never thought I’d say.”

You're right, and even more jarring is the fact that it didn't register as odd to me until you pointed it out.

The Squatch Take: TLDR Rams are a classic case of a 4th place team feasting on a soft schedule

Details:

The Rams have played 2 strong defensive teams this year. They are 1-1 in those games. Goff's numbers:

The game they won:
Vs. Jax 11-21 124yd, 1 TD, 0 INT 86.2 Rating (They won this game on two Special Teams TDs)
vs. SEA 22-47 288yd, 0 TD 2 INT, 48.9 Rating (They lost this game)

The only other OK-ish defensive team they have played is WSH
vs. WSH 14-24 219yd, 1 TD 1 INT, 85.2 Rating (They lost this game also)

Now you might say I'm cherry picking the bad games, and you are right I am, but this is because the Ram's schedule has been pathetic. They've played the following teams: IND, WAS, SF, DAL, SEA, JAX, ARI, NYG, HOU. Of those teams, the best 4 are WAS, DAL, SEA, and JAX. Every other team is a dumpster fire. (They played HOU last week, well after they were competitive.) Of the four non "mess" teams, they went 2-2. They beat JAX on Return TDs (AKA Luck) and DAL was a clean win, but DAL has a porous pass defense, something not true of the other three teams.

What about Todd Gurley? Same three games:

WSH: 16 ATT 88 Yards 1 TD. (OK performance)
SEA: 14 ATT 43 Yards 0 TD (Worst game of the season)
JAX 23 ATT 116 Yards 0 TD

The JAX game is interesting, Gurley had his 2nd highest yardage of season, a solid performance, but the rams were unable to get him in the endzone and thus he was unable to bail out his struggling QB. They won that game on Return TDs which statistically are not normal. (As we saw with the 2016 Vikings.) My sense is if they play that game 5 times, the Rams probably lose it at least 3 of those times.

Gurley is a more consistent offensive threat in terms of yardage, however 4 of his 7 TDs were split between SF and NYG, two of the three worst teams in the NFL. IMO, there seems to be a red zone issue for the RAMs against better defensive opposition. He only managed one TD against the worst defense of the three. This would point towards the Vikings being able to keep them out of the endzone, limiting points.

IMO, the Vikings Defense will need to pay attention to Gurley, but they have experience having played him in 2015. I'm not sold on Goff, his stats against elite defenses are pedestrian. They are what you'd expect from an average to below average NFL starter. There is no reason to expect that the Vikings will not be able to put him on a similarly poor game, especially considering we are playing at home.

This game will come down to limiting Turnovers and the defense returning to 2017 form.

I pick the Vikings to win this one. If the offense plays like it did last week (sans two plays) this game could run away from the Rams. 27-17 Vikings.

I like your take Mansquatch

Hey all. I was creeping on this board to see what you guys are talking about and remembered I may have joined here a few years ago...awesome.

Great match up Sunday, and who would have thought? Well....maybe you guys, but definitely not me.

Rams fans (or at least this one) are still in shock. Going from where we've been to this year, weak schedule or not, is like going from having no car to driving a Ferrari. Shock.

I don't really know how to view this game: on the one hand, the Vikings defense is scary. As a poster pointed out above, Goff hasn't done so well against defenses like the Vikings. For that reason, win or lose, I'll be watching Goff and the passing game very closely hoping to see progress.

On the other hand...Case Keenum. He's played very, very well this year - he had a game or two like that with the Rams, but we know his shortcomings all too well. The Rams offense has taken the spotlight away from the defense, but the D has been amazing over the past 5 games. We're right there with the Vikings in some categories.

As someone else pointed out above, you'll want to run the ball on us. Even though Thielen and Diggs are amazing, our pass defense is not really what you want to test. We'll give up some chunk yards when a team has established the run, but you definitely want to run the ball - straight at us. We're incredibly undersized up the middle, with no true nose tackle and undersized LBs manning the middle.

Special teams have gotten some love because we're winning - having arguably the best kicker to go along with the best punter in the NFL, a good return man and good coverage units seems like an embarrassment of riches to add onto a team with a top offense and defense. If the offense struggles, it's going to be really tough to get a win. Defense will have to come to play and limit the Vikings offense.

I've gone back and forth about this game. I've said 32-23 Rams (6 FGs, 2 TDs for the Rams, half of which would come from field position created by defense and special teams), to thinking it could be 24-17 Vikings. Two teams that are pretty evenly matched, it seems like this game will come down to turn overs. The Rams are 5-0 in games played outside of LA, so the team will have a ton of confidence - but the Vikings stadium will probably be the loudest we've played in this year.

Here's to a great game.