Week 17 Reaction Thread

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MrPurplenGold
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Re: Week 17 Reaction Thread

Post by MrPurplenGold »

While Case hasn't played bad, his decline in play over the last few weeks has to be concerning heading into the playoffs. With the injuries to the O line, their play isn't going to be what it was when he was setting the league on fire. I'm not sure we can say it's the play calling, because we don't know the play, all we see is the result. His inability to connect on the deep ball in recent weeks is particularly concerning. Teams are going to start playing the short and intermediate routes
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Re: Week 17 Reaction Thread

Post by S197 »

Brian Robison got his 60th sack today

Joe "retirement" Berger is the only lineman to have started all 16 games

Quigley finished the season with 0 touchbacks. Only second punter to accomplish this since stat has been tracked (1991)
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Re: Week 17 Reaction Thread

Post by YikesVikes »

I'm most concerned about our offense. I feel like we may run into a team that this defense will hold to 18 points and we would still lose. Offense needs to step up. We won't always be playing GB and Chi. Way to many at the 50 that stall out into punts today. That won't cut it against ATL and Saints.
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Re: Week 17 Reaction Thread

Post by Crax »

Seahawks were already eliminated but Blair Walsh missed a fg for the win against AZ

Happy about the regular season, but nervous as heck for the playoffs. NO scares me even though they lost to the bucs
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Re: Week 17 Reaction Thread

Post by PurpleMustReign »

Crax wrote:Seahawks were already eliminated but Blair Walsh missed a fg for the win against AZ

Happy about the regular season, but nervous as heck for the playoffs. NO scares me even though they lost to the bucs
Lol at Walsh. NO scares me more since they lost to TB. I don't want to face them in the playoffs.

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Re: Week 17 Reaction Thread

Post by J. Kapp 11 »

MrPurplenGold wrote:While Case hasn't played bad, his decline in play over the last few weeks has to be concerning heading into the playoffs. With the injuries to the O line, their play isn't going to be what it was when he was setting the league on fire. I'm not sure we can say it's the play calling, because we don't know the play, all we see is the result. His inability to connect on the deep ball in recent weeks is particularly concerning. Teams are going to start playing the short and intermediate routes
So a 101.1 rating worries you?

Look guys, except for Favre in 2009, we've had very little good quarterback play in the past 20 years. Daunte Culpepper in 2004, Favre in 2009, and maybe Randall Cunningham in 1998 are the only quarterbacks in that time to have better seasons than Case Keenum had this year.

So when Keenum was making those spectacular plays earlier this season, we all fell in love with it. But the real strength of Keenum's game has been taking care of the football. Just seven interceptions and ONE fumble in 15 games played. That's simply outstanding. The deep balls have waned recently, but that's not what the Minnesota Vikings do best. What sets the Vikings apart offensively is their ability to go on long, clock-eating drives. Looking at today's game, we had a 10-minute time-of-possession advantage -- even though it wasn't a great performance offensively. That keeps our ferocious defense fresh and turns field position in our favor consistently. Keenum's good decision making is a big reason we dominate the clock so much. When we lose yardage on first down, he doesn't panic and try to get it all back at once. That puts us A LOT in third-and-manageable. We're also the best in the NFL at converting third and 6-to-9. Again, that's good decision making.

Let's remember, the starting offensive line has been together for a whole 15 plays since October. Before all the injuries, you guys may recall that Keenum was being sacked at a historically low rate. He's been under more pressure lately, and while he's good under pressure, that will always affect the downfield passing game.

I'm looking forward to the offensive line being ready to go (minus Easton, of course) for the Divisional round. That's going to help a lot. Hopefully Rudolph will be back to full strength, which will also help. I think we're going to be fine. I believe it's going to take 23 or more points to beat us in the playoffs. All I can say to opponents is "good luck with that." We've given up 12.5 points per game at home. The most any opponent has scored at USB was the 19 points the Saints put up on opening night, and that game was 29-12 until the Saints got a meaningless TD in the last two minutes of garbage time.

Case needs to take care of the football, make plays when they're there, and let the defense dominate. It's not sexy, but guys ... we're 13-3, and (I believe) the best team in the NFC. I'll take it.
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Re: Week 17 Reaction Thread

Post by PacificNorseWest »

S197 wrote:Brian Robison got his 60th sack today

Joe "retirement" Berger is the only lineman to have started all 16 games

Quigley finished the season with 0 touchbacks. Only second punter to accomplish this since stat has been tracked (1991)

Very cool stat for Quigley there.
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Re: Week 17 Reaction Thread

Post by PurpleMustReign »

The gripe I have about the offense is how they stopped going down field with the ball. That isn't their style, but it worked. It seems like they have gjne into a shell the last few weeks and it is a bit concerning.
With that said, I will take this 13-3 team over the 15-1 1998 team any day.

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Re: Week 17 Reaction Thread

Post by Just Me »

J. Kapp 11 wrote: Case needs to take care of the football, make plays when they're there, and let the defense dominate. It's not sexy, but guys ... we're 13-3, and (I believe) the best team in the NFC. I'll take it.
I agree Kapp. I dont care how "sexy" it looks getting there. Just hoist that trophy!
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Re: Week 17 Reaction Thread

Post by PacificNorseWest »

PurpleMustReign wrote:The gripe I have about the offense is how they stopped going down field with the ball. That isn't their style, but it worked. It seems like they have gjne into a shell the last few weeks and it is a bit concerning.
With that said, I will take this 13-3 team over the 15-1 1998 team any day.

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Noticed the same. I was actually pretty disappointed in their performance against GB last week. I'm giving the O and Shurmur the benefit of the doubt because they probably had a more, get in and get out game plan these last two games.
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Re: Week 17 Reaction Thread

Post by J. Kapp 11 »

PurpleMustReign wrote:With that said, I will take this 13-3 team over the 15-1 1998 team any day.

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I love this team. I can't think of a team I've enjoyed more, at least not since the Bud Grant days.

Actually, they remind me of Bud's teams. Their motto was "40 for 60," which was 40 guys playing for each other for 60 minutes. That's what I see with these Vikings. They play for each other. It's a far cry from the days of the "Randy Ratio" and the KAO.
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Re: Week 17 Reaction Thread

Post by MrPurplenGold »

J. Kapp 11 wrote: So a 101.1 rating worries you?
While a 101.1 passer rating sounds impressive, it doesn't tell the whole story. He has averaged less than 200 yards per game the last 3 games against 3 teams with nothing to play for. We will all watch the game differently, but he hasn't looked very impressive to me recently. The Easton injury will be felt because no QB likes pressure up the middle and I'm not sure sirles is am adequate replacement. If we have to play the rams again, I would be concerned about the match up with Aaron Donald. A lot of people might not remember the rams were without their top CBs when we played them and it was 7-7 going into the 4th quarter. In order for the Vikings to win a championship, Case is going to have to play better.
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Re: Week 17 Reaction Thread

Post by PurpleKoolaid »

MrPurplenGold wrote: While a 101.1 passer rating sounds impressive, it doesn't tell the whole story. He has averaged less than 200 yards per game the last 3 games against 3 teams with nothing to play for. We will all watch the game differently, but he hasn't looked very impressive to me recently. The Easton injury will be felt because no QB likes pressure up the middle and I'm not sure sirles is am adequate replacement. If we have to play the rams again, I would be concerned about the match up with Aaron Donald. A lot of people might not remember the rams were without their top CBs when we played them and it was 7-7 going into the 4th quarter. In order for the Vikings to win a championship, Case is going to have to play better.
This is the same way I feel. Case was not all that good the last 2 games. I know the play calling was as conservative as can be, but Case is too afraid to throwing the ball to the wrong team, instead of focusing on hitting the receivers in full stride sometimes. Teddy played that way too. You have to trust in yourself, like Brady does, and make those throws. I trust Case. I know he doesnt have a strong arm, but its stronger then he has shown the last 14 days. And again, i do NOT want to see Sam in any of these games unless Case is hurt. I trust if some of Cases's passes and reads that he misses an open receiver, will be fixed. I have zero trust in Sam. Hated that trade.
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Re: Week 17 Reaction Thread

Post by VikingLord »

From what I've seen, the offense has struggled to pass protect, at least consistently, the last few weeks. Injuries, or their after-effects, likely have something to do with that. But penalties have also hurt the team. Lots of holding calls after positive plays, for example, or false starts at home. And then there were a lot of batted passes this last game. So they need to clean up the execution part of the offense because that has hurt them.

I also think a big part of it is the willingness to be aggressive and go down the field. Case does take some shots, but I think he has also missed some opportunities to hurt defenses deeper down the field. Maybe he is just trying to avoid making mistakes that hurt the team, and I can understand why he might not be as aggressive, but I think he's going to have to stay aggressive if the Vikings are going to win it all.
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Re: Week 17 Reaction Thread

Post by NCViking »

MrPurplenGold wrote: While a 101.1 passer rating sounds impressive, it doesn't tell the whole story. He has averaged less than 200 yards per game the last 3 games against 3 teams with nothing to play for. We will all watch the game differently, but he hasn't looked very impressive to me recently. The Easton injury will be felt because no QB likes pressure up the middle and I'm not sure sirles is am adequate replacement. If we have to play the rams again, I would be concerned about the match up with Aaron Donald. A lot of people might not remember the rams were without their top CBs when we played them and it was 7-7 going into the 4th quarter. In order for the Vikings to win a championship, Case is going to have to play better.
In his defense, the low yardage in the Cincinnati game was due to a low number of passes. He was averaging 10+ yards per attempt which is very high. For the Green Bay game, I'm willing to cut him some slack because of how damn cold it was outside, which almost always results in poor performances from quarterbacks. However, yesterday's game was a little more concerning to me since it was in the dome, but it may have just been intentionally playing conservative as we don't exactly need him to be a gunslinger in order to beat the Bears.
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