Lions-Vikings Game Day

[RandyMoss84]

Well nobody else has done it so I guess I will..... Bears sign Kyle Sloter.
In the words of Ozzy at the beginning of concerts...
LET THE MADNESS BEGIN!!!!!

Dang it! I wanted Sloter! Well, I did... At one point.

Sloter is not even starting so stop worrying

[VikingLord]

You guys wondering if the improvement on the O-line is real need to watch this.

Baldy's Breakdowns.

Anybody who's ever watched a Baldy's Breakdown knows his analysis is solid. This breakdown tells you a lot.

Now granted, the Bears' defense is way better than the Lions. But I think the evidence is there of real improvement.

I'm like the donkey character in Shrek where I'm not supposed to look down, but I feel like I'm about to look down.

I think Monday night, away against the Bears is THE perfect time and place to discover if the 2020 Vikings are turning the proverbial corner or if they are the same inconsistent team we've watched over much of the Zimmer era. I have no doubt the Vikings defense can step up to the plate against the Bear offense. Both units have some huge question marks yet. Both can play well in stretches but equally struggle in others. So I think when those units go against each other we are likely to see some large swings where the Bears look good at times while the Vikings look good at other times.

But the game will be won or lost when the Vikings are on offense and more specifically, won or lost by the ability of the Vikings offensive line to dictate at the point of attack as they've done against both the Packers and Lions (and even against the Seahawks). If they can do that against a better front 7, on the road and under the bright lights of Monday Night Football where they have seemed to struggle under Zimmer, then I'm on board that the OL has turned the corner.

I'm SO looking forward to watching Cook gash the Bears, though. I don't need Cousins or Thielen or Jefferson or Rudy or Irv Smith to gash them. I want Cook to do it like he did against Dallas last year. There is something strangely satisfying about watching a team just run up, down and through another team, and that feeling is greatly enhanced when it is against a team I don't particularly like for a variety of reasons. So yeah, I hope I get to watch that happen on Monday night and I hope at the end of that game the national media starts to talk about how much the Vikings OL has improved.

[J. Kapp 11]

You guys wondering if the improvement on the O-line is real need to watch this.

Baldy's Breakdowns.

Anybody who's ever watched a Baldy's Breakdown knows his analysis is solid. This breakdown tells you a lot.

Now granted, the Bears' defense is way better than the Lions. But I think the evidence is there of real improvement.

I'm like the donkey character in Shrek where I'm not supposed to look down, but I feel like I'm about to look down.

I think Monday night, away against the Bears is THE perfect time and place to discover if the 2020 Vikings are turning the proverbial corner or if they are the same inconsistent team we've watched over much of the Zimmer era. I have no doubt the Vikings defense can step up to the plate against the Bear offense. Both units have some huge question marks yet. Both can play well in stretches but equally struggle in others. So I think when those units go against each other we are likely to see some large swings where the Bears look good at times while the Vikings look good at other times.

But the game will be won or lost when the Vikings are on offense and more specifically, won or lost by the ability of the Vikings offensive line to dictate at the point of attack as they've done against both the Packers and Lions (and even against the Seahawks). If they can do that against a better front 7, on the road and under the bright lights of Monday Night Football where they have seemed to struggle under Zimmer, then I'm on board that the OL has turned the corner.

I'm SO looking forward to watching Cook gash the Bears, though. I don't need Cousins or Thielen or Jefferson or Rudy or Irv Smith to gash them. I want Cook to do it like he did against Dallas last year. There is something strangely satisfying about watching a team just run up, down and through another team, and that feeling is greatly enhanced when it is against a team I don't particularly like for a variety of reasons. So yeah, I hope I get to watch that happen on Monday night and I hope at the end of that game the national media starts to talk about how much the Vikings OL has improved.

I'm with ya, man.

Those of you who have been on this board for awhile know that I have an unholy, inexplicable hatred for the Bears. I don't know why. I just can't stand them ... the way they play, their fans, their stupid stupid stadium. Just can't stand them. Almost worse than Green Bay. Probably a tie. So nothing would give me more pleasure that to see Dalvin Cook destroy this team the way AP did back in 2007, when he busted them up for 254.

This version of Baldy's Breakdowns really shows me some things, most notably that our interior O-line has improved by leaps and bounds in the run game. Bradbury's improvement is obvious and off the charts. And man, Ezra Cleveland is taking to his new role as a guard like he's played it his whole life. I know this is a name nobody wants to hear, but Pat Elflein is eligible to return off of IR this week. I swear to God, if the Vikings start him over Cleveland or Dozier, I will disown this team. Dozier isn't as athletic as the rest of the line, but he's a road grader, and he did a good job of pulling on a couple of plays. But man, that Cleveland ... guy can get out of his stance and pull. We got ourselves a good one. And Reiff ... so solid this year. Doing his job quietly. Same with O'Neill.

Honestly, though, I think my favorite play in this entire breakdown was Alexander Mattison powering through 360-pound Danny Shelton for Detroit on his way to a 20-yard gain. Our running backs aren't the biggest in the league, but they are bad dudes. And don't look now, but Mattison had the 5th-most yards rushing in the NFL last week. There's not a lot of drop-off when he gives Dalvin a rest.

Man, let's do this to the stupid Bears. Drive them right out of the playoff picture. Get their coach to bench Foles and give the keys back to Mitchll Trubiscuits and Gravy. Send 'em on their way to 5-11. Watch Nagy get fired. All the good things.

[Thaumaturgist]

Dang it! I wanted Sloter! Well, I did... At one point.

Sloter is not even starting so stop worrying

Not worried. That point where I wanted him is way in the past somewhere.

[VikingPaul73]

I agree with what several others have said....I am cautiously optimistic about the improved OL play, but will remain somewhat skeptical until I see how they perform against the Bears on Monday.