NFC Championship Reaction Thread

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Maelstrom88
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Re: NFC Championship Reaction Thread

Post by Maelstrom88 »

Bowhunting Viking wrote:Fellow Viking fans please allow me to present a different view on this situation. I'm a 53 yr old HARDCORE purple bleeding Vikings maniac from NW Ohio. If you were to ask the majority of footbal fans , or people in veneral, who the biggest Vikings fan they know is I will guarantee you my name would be given. On the Tuesday before the Saints game my mom was admitted into our local hospital for torn ligaments in her hip, but spent the next 3 days complaining of a horrible headache. On the Saturday morning before the game she was transferred to a larger much better hospital right across the border in Indiana. She was diagnosed with a severe brain bleed stroke in a very unusual place. As stated I am hardcore and I have a closet full of Viking clothing . The ending of the Saints game was a small ray of sunshine. My dad and I have been at the hospital from morning til night ever since and I've had Viking shirts and Jerseys and diff coats etc. It's been amazing because a therapist that came in to see her said Great shirt , I am a Minny native and we are Viking fans. I had sonmany ppl all wk telling my dad and I that they were pulling for us. Thursday evening my mom had a very bad seizure and went code blue. Fortunately mom was able to come around. We were told yest morning that she will be moved to a rehab unit and had a very long recovery ahead. As I said I am 53 and have been a rabid fan since i was knee high and have lived through so much heartbreak over this team. The loss to the Falcons caused me to spend the next day puking my guys out due to a bad stomach. Bountygate / Morreli crew screwing had me an angry powder keg for weeks. My dad MADE me to home last night to watch the game to get a break from the hospital. I really thought last night we would win and again give dad and I some happiness after a very sad and stressful few wks. Unfortunately it didn't happen. Did it hurt AGAIN.. well YES it did. . Alot. But after the game, well actually byb the 4th qtr, my wife said This is the 1st time I've ever seen you where the game isn't the most important thing at the time. Guys I wanted us to win and go play in our home and hopefully destroy the Pats and the trophy that I have coveted ever since i was a little boy. This morning a nurse on my mom's unit who has been admiring my rabid loyalty to the Vikings came up as soon as I got there and gave me a huge hug. She said young man I do not watch football, but last night I watched the game with my husband just to root for you and your team. She said I really hurt for you. I thanked her and said it really was a disappointment and really hurt. Then she said in sure it did, but I hope you realize that it was just a football game . She pointed at mom's room and said in that room is what really matters in this life. Your mom has been fighting to live and will now need to fight through therapy and frustration to get back to be the vibrant and energetic wife, mother and grandmother that she was a few wks ago. AND she isn't being paid millions of dollars to do it. She said so please realize what is really important in life. Before this I've always said all I need to die happy is a Vikings Super Bowl win. Suddenly I did realize... as hard core if a fan as I am and as BAD as always thought that I just HAD to see us win the SB, I've been humbled a little and realized that yes.. indeed.. it is still a game. Someday maybe I will see the dream happen, but as of now I just want my mom to get better.Suddenly i would trade a win in every SB from now on for that
Sorry to hear about what you and your family have been going through and I hope and pray your mom continues to get better. You are completely right. It is a nice distraction from life and can be great entertainment but there are many things that are way more important. God Bless.
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Re: NFC Championship Reaction Thread

Post by ATL_Viking »

Sucks to get crushed like that, but I'm fairly optimistic about the future, and not really worried about Zimmer. My notes on the game and future...

1) Oline play. Our offensively line was not able to handle Philly's elite d-line, and the pressure directly resulted in turnovers and points. Our oline improved a ton from '16 to '17, but we grade out at 'average' on our best days.
The Fix: This needs to be the primary focus in the offseason; bring in talent at G and T.

2) Poor offensive gameplan and adjustments. Maybe Shurmur took too many interviews last week, but the gameplan was failboat and adjustments were too little / too late. Short passing and exterior running are the way to attack that defense (Giants did well against them that way) because you defuse the pass rush and exploit the off-man coverage outside. Our interior running didn't steadily accomplish anything, and our intermediate routes forced the line to try to protect for longer than it was capable of doing.
The Fix: Zimmer seems to delegate his offense entirely to his OC, which means its vital we find a good one to replace the almost-certainly-departing Shurmur.

3) Ineffective pass rush. Our defensive line was not able to get home against the Philly oline with a 4man rush, so Foles had too much time to work in the pocket and our DBs had to cover for too long.
The Fix: We need some depth and youth on that defensive line, particularly at tackle. Also needed quicker adjustments in the scheme to send more pressure, realizing it took more than 4 to hurry Foles.

If Spielman can get some talent in the trenches on both sides of the ball in the offseason (very doable) and we can land a solid OC (maybe the bigger challenge, but its got to be an attractive job), I think we have every reason to be optimistic about being contenders for the next few years. Lots of young talent on the roster signed to multi year deals.

Yes, the QB situation is question-mark-ie. I'm optimistic that Bridgewater will be back to full strength next season and will be the guy, with Sloter as a project behind him. I'm guessing we will need to sign a veteran backup, and while that MAY be Bradford or Keenum, I'm doubtful either will be on the roster next season. I don't think either will be willing to take backup money, and I don't think we'd pay either of them starter money. Someone else will offer more cash or a virtual-lock on the starter job; too many teams out there need QBs.
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Re: NFC Championship Reaction Thread

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Pondering Her Percy wrote:
VikingPaul73 wrote: Zim has to go. I know this is tough because he’s a likeable guy and solid during the regular season but deep down everyone knows that I’m right
Completely disagree. Find me a better coach out there right now than Mike Zimmer. Not gonna happen. I can understand if we went 4-12 but we won the NFC North, went 13-3 and were one game away from the Super Bowl. To say he needs to go is asinine. He took this team from the bottom all the way up to legitimate contenders.
I've tried to stay out of this, but I have to respond. This is a message board and people have different ideas/opinions. But whenever you see a post that you don't agree with, you berate the poster and call their opinions asinine. You are entitled to your opinion, but so are others. I see the moderators have told you to tone it down, but you continue to do it. Why do you feel the need to berate others?
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Re: NFC Championship Reaction Thread

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Purple Reign wrote:
Pondering Her Percy wrote:
VikingPaul73 wrote: Zim has to go. I know this is tough because he’s a likeable guy and solid during the regular season but deep down everyone knows that I’m right
Completely disagree. Find me a better coach out there right now than Mike Zimmer. Not gonna happen. I can understand if we went 4-12 but we won the NFC North, went 13-3 and were one game away from the Super Bowl. To say he needs to go is asinine. He took this team from the bottom all the way up to legitimate contenders.
I've tried to stay out of this, but I have to respond. This is a message board and people have different ideas/opinions. But whenever you see a post that you don't agree with, you berate the poster and call their opinions asinine. You are entitled to your opinion, but so are others. I see the moderators have told you to tone it down, but you continue to do it. Why do you feel the need to berate others?
I don't want to say it's an every post thing but I do agree that you should calm it down a bit with that. Just because you fancied up the word "stupid" with the use of asinine doesn't make it less aggressive. I think most people around here are on edge so it's a particularly bad time for that kind of talk.
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Re: NFC Championship Reaction Thread

Post by Maelstrom88 »

ATL_Viking wrote:Sucks to get crushed like that, but I'm fairly optimistic about the future, and not really worried about Zimmer. My notes on the game and future...

1) Oline play. Our offensively line was not able to handle Philly's elite d-line, and the pressure directly resulted in turnovers and points. Our oline improved a ton from '16 to '17, but we grade out at 'average' on our best days.
The Fix: This needs to be the primary focus in the offseason; bring in talent at G and T.

2) Poor offensive gameplan and adjustments. Maybe Shurmur took too many interviews last week, but the gameplan was failboat and adjustments were too little / too late. Short passing and exterior running are the way to attack that defense (Giants did well against them that way) because you defuse the pass rush and exploit the off-man coverage outside. Our interior running didn't steadily accomplish anything, and our intermediate routes forced the line to try to protect for longer than it was capable of doing.
The Fix: Zimmer seems to delegate his offense entirely to his OC, which means its vital we find a good one to replace the almost-certainly-departing Shurmur.

3) Ineffective pass rush. Our defensive line was not able to get home against the Philly oline with a 4man rush, so Foles had too much time to work in the pocket and our DBs had to cover for too long.
The Fix: We need some depth and youth on that defensive line, particularly at tackle. Also needed quicker adjustments in the scheme to send more pressure, realizing it took more than 4 to hurry Foles.

If Spielman can get some talent in the trenches on both sides of the ball in the offseason (very doable) and we can land a solid OC (maybe the bigger challenge, but its got to be an attractive job), I think we have every reason to be optimistic about being contenders for the next few years. Lots of young talent on the roster signed to multi year deals.

Yes, the QB situation is question-mark-ie. I'm optimistic that Bridgewater will be back to full strength next season and will be the guy, with Sloter as a project behind him. I'm guessing we will need to sign a veteran backup, and while that MAY be Bradford or Keenum, I'm doubtful either will be on the roster next season. I don't think either will be willing to take backup money, and I don't think we'd pay either of them starter money. Someone else will offer more cash or a virtual-lock on the starter job; too many teams out there need QBs.
Great post. Agree on all points. The trenches got dominated last night but that still is no excuse for Keenum's pick 6. Shurmur called a terrible game imo. I think they need to continue to invest in the lines and Qb this off-season. I don't think the answer at Qb is on the roster. Zimmer has to realize when the dline isn't winning to blitz. He goes ulta conservative at the worst times on defense. I'd rather get beat with the pedal to the metal.
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Re: NFC Championship Reaction Thread

Post by Purple Reign »

J. Kapp 11 wrote:Guys, here's another thing. The last 6 teams in the NFL to win a playoff game with a walk-off touchdown have lost their next game.
Were all those other games overtime games? I thought we were the only team to win a playoff game on the last play of regulation with a touchdown.
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Re: NFC Championship Reaction Thread

Post by S197 »

Bowhunting Viking wrote:... and I am sorry that I ran all that together in one paragraph. I am typing this in a dark hospital room and am extremely exhausted right now, so grammar and sentence structure isn't really on my mind right now.
Very sorry to hear about your mom. Prayers to you and your family.
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Re: NFC Championship Reaction Thread

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S197 wrote:Came to reiterate this but glad you did it first as I don't really have the energy. I'm a supporter of Zimmer and he won't be fired obviously but his preparation and execution in the playoffs leaves much to be desired. There's simply no way a team should look that badly in a championship game. It was embarrassing and he needs to fix it. It's nice that we have a closet full of participation trophies but it isn't enough anymore.
Hard agree.

Mike Zimmer has 2 NFC North titles and an NFCCG appearance in 4 years as our coach. Anyone here who says that's not good enough is lying to themselves. We would ALL take a 4-year stretch like that, 100% of the time.

It is also important to note that we've had to battle through injuries to some of our most important players. If you ask me, we were still feeling the effects of the Teddy injury last night, because if he never gets hurt, he's playing instead of Case (I think healthy Teddy is better than Case, but that's a different debate for a different thread). Dalvin Cook was also a big injury, even though we filled his production well. Last season was almost entirely derailed by injuries to the offensive line and defense, and yet we still nearly made the playoffs. Mike Zimmer is not Marvin Lewis, and I hope he's our coach until he retires. I want to believe he'll learn from this and that next time, if there is a next time, we'll be better.

Now having said that, it's not unfair if concern is starting to creep in regarding our preparation, in-game adjustments and overall form in playoff games. For me, Zimmer has to shoulder the bulk of what happened last night. How we can come in so woefully unprepared is beyond me. I said all week I trusted us not to have a "hangover" because I trusted Mike Zimmer to have us ready.

You can't just sit and get lit up by a college offense. I thought surely some adjustments would come at halftime or even sooner, and we'd eventually slow them down even if our offense failed to bring us back. I mean........ it's Nick #### Foles for goodness sake. But, nothing. I get that Doug Pederson is a genius; it's still no excuse. There were also no noticeable adjustments made last week once the Saints offense got moving in the second half, although to be fair the Saints at least had short fields a few times.

Anyway, TL;DR any concerns with Mike Zimmer as a playoff coach are fair, but we should all still be glad he is our coach. Especially when you look at the other 31 head coaches. Zimmer is at absolute worst a top 10 NFL head coach. so be glad we have him because it gives us a quality shot at the playoffs every year. Let's hope he & the rest of the staff and players learn from this and come back better.
Last edited by admvp on Mon Jan 22, 2018 3:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: NFC Championship Reaction Thread

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Maelstrom88 wrote: Great post. Agree on all points. The trenches got dominated last night but that still is no excuse for Keenum's pick 6.
Not sure what you are implying here. Of course it was the excuse for the pick 6. The pass rusher didn't get blocked and that was the sole reason the pass was under thrown. Are you saying that was Keenum's fault?
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Re: NFC Championship Reaction Thread

Post by PurpleKoolaid »

Purple Reign wrote:
PurpleKoolaid wrote:
Dmizzle0 wrote:Our run game was weak, I think if Cook was playing, it would've been a different story.

Our D especially Rhodes was hurt and the Eagles took advantage of it.

Foles was a Pro Bowl QB with the eagles so IDK why people are surprised that he played decent.
Teddy was a pro bowl QB for us, and I dont really want him for us next year, other then a backup. We need a QB with a strong arm. I wonder how good Slotter is. Never hear a thing about him. I dont know if hes accurate or not. He seems to be a good size for a QB. But whoever plays, has to play behind a better Oline. They decided to suck about the same time as our Dline did.
I don't think you can compare Foles and Teddy just on the basis of getting to the Pro Bowl. You do realize the year Teddy went to the Pro Bowl was only because about 6 other qbs declined to go, don't you? Teddy's qb rating that year was 88.7 while Foles' qb rating the year he went to the Pro Bowl was 119.2. That's a more telling stat and it is a huge difference.
Yeah, my point was being a pro bowl QB doesnt really mean anything. If it did Smith would be in it this year, despite how he stunk up the place yesterday. Never thought I would say Smith stunk up the place, but he was just as bad, if not worse, then Waynes. Which makes me wonder if the coaches messed around with the coverage plans and it threw everyone off.
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Re: NFC Championship Reaction Thread

Post by Purple Reign »

I realize this is a bit off topic, but since Aikman was announcing the game it is somewhat related. Does anyone else think Aikman is having a problem understanding things lately? The biggest mistake I noticed last night was the Thielen td catch that was over turned. Aikman was saying since it was called a catch/td, then that was a break for the Eagles since they didn't have to challenge it then since all tds are automatically reviewed. WHAT?? Doesn't he realize that if it wasn't called a catch/td, then it would have been called an incomplete pass, so why would the Eagles challenge an incomplete pass?

Also earlier in the year in a game where it was like 4th and 15 right before the end of the half, Aikman is saying all they needed was about another 5-10 yards for a shot at a field goal. And he said that about 3 times. I think all those concussions have taken a toll on him.
Last edited by Purple Reign on Mon Jan 22, 2018 4:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: NFC Championship Reaction Thread

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Purple Reign wrote:I realize this is a bit off topic, but since Aikman was announcing the game it is somewhat related. Does anyone else think Aikman is having a problem understanding things lately? The biggest mistake I noticed last night was the Tielen td catch that was over turned. Aikman was saying since it was called a catch/td, then that was a break for the Eagles since they didn't have to challenge it then since all tds are automatically reviewed. WHAT?? Doesn't he realize that if it wasn't called a catch/td, then it would have been called an incomplete pass, so why would the Eagles challenge an incomplete pass?

Also earlier in the year in a game where it was like 4th and 15 right before the end of the half, Aikman is saying all they needed was about another 5-10 yards for a shot at a field goal. And he said that about 3 times. I think all those concussions have taken a toll on him.
Not sure about the second one but the first comment I get where he was trying to go with it, it didn't make sense in context of where the play occurred but I think he meant had it been ruled a catch outside of the endzone then the Eagles would have to use a challenge. So they were lucky the play happened in the endzone.

But yeah he's clearly on the downslope, especially when you hear guys like Romo calling games.
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Re: NFC Championship Reaction Thread

Post by mansquatch »

To add some clarity to my view on the defensive performance I do not feel like the Defense was "Cracked". I feel like it didn't show up to play with the same level of physicality and tenacity as it's opponent and it got punched in the face. Repeatedly. That isn't a scheme issue, it's a morale/emotion/motivation thing. I doubt it is something as simple as "they were just lazy this week" or anything like that. I think they wanted it, but I also think Philly shocked them in wanting it a lot more. Zimmer needs to figure out why this happened and how to correct it. And it won't be easy. This isn't some simple, guy X needs to be better. In that game #22 needed to be better and that isn't normal.

I think the OC hire is a REALLY big deal. Keenum/Shurmer gave this team a bit of an edge on offense that it hasn't had since 2009. I do not know who was more responsible for it, but I'm worried the new member of that marriage may not yield the same results in the face of what will likely be a much tougher schedule in 2018.
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Re: NFC Championship Reaction Thread

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S197 wrote: Not sure about the second one but the first comment I get where he was trying to go with it, it didn't make sense in context of where the play occurred but I think he meant had it been ruled a catch outside of the endzone then the Eagles would have to use a challenge. So they were lucky the play happened in the endzone.

But yeah he's clearly on the downslope, especially when you hear guys like Romo calling games.
But he specifically said the Eagles got a break because it was in the end zone. But even if it wasn't, the Eagles would have won the challenge since it was clear the ball hit the ground and they wouldn't have lost a timeout/challenge, and I don't see how the Eagles got a break. He just doesn't seem to make a lot of sense sometimes.
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Re: NFC Championship Reaction Thread

Post by mosscarter »

I can't believe what I'm reading on here. We got humiliated yesterday and I'm sorry that is a lack of preparation and all falls back on coaching. Does anyone really believe Philly is 30 plus points better, come on here.
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