VikingLord wrote:On a sidenote, the Jags are not a bad team based on what I saw. They probably should be 1-0 right now, quite frankly, and Gabbert looked the part of a legit NFL QB to me. Might not be a great team record-wise this season, but the future looks about as bright for them as it does for the Vikings if one is inclined to believe the future in Minny is bright.
I agree. Gabbert has a lot of zip on the ball and looks to have a good future. Like the Vikings, the Jags have to keep rebuilding.
80 PurplePride 84 wrote:Vikings have always been a bad road team but I think they squeak this one out 17-14.
Yes, the road game part of facing Indy has more impact than I think most realize.
Bottom line, can the Vikings win on the road? And I don't care if the Colts are a good or bad team. The Vikings have proven in the past that they can lose on the road to any team, regardless their record.
Vikings win the game. AD puts up over 100 yards on the ground and 1 td. Ponder throws for 300 yards 2 tds (1 to Harvin 1 to Rudolph) and 1 int. Our defense racks up 5 sacks and 2 pics. We go into Indy and win the game 27 to 20.
Good to be back, so I'll put up my prediction right now.
Peterson has a field day, showing us that he's really back and ready to take on anything. He puts up over 100 yds and 2 tds again. If the 2nd Half Ponder shows up for the whole game, he scores us 3 TDs. If the Defense keeps the pressure on Luck, I could see this being a bit of a Massacre.
35 to 14. Vikings.
If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score?
Vince Lombardi We are inclined to think that if we watch a football game or a baseball game, we have taken part in it.
John F. Kennedy
1. colby fleener will have a complete field day out there. he will abuse our LBs.,, which will be a common thread of many teams this year. We do not have the system or LBs to cover todays TEs
2. Look for a lot of short and intermediate routes to test our D in coverage. Bend don't break does not put rookie QBs on edge so I hope we take a different approach
3. I think they will ride AD in this game and it will work
4. I think this will be another close game.
I think our O line proves itself again this week... so many question marks on our D though. Definitely scared. Should be a fun game to watch
I would love to see a 2-0 start but honestly, IMO it wont happen. I see a repeat of the Jax game but with out the comeback.
Its an away game, Indy has a solid Q/B (much better than Gabbert) and their W/R's will once again (like last week) make our secondary look lost and confused.
Indy scores with their last possession to win a close game 27-23.
radar55 wrote:I would love to see a 2-0 start but honestly, IMO it wont happen. I see a repeat of the Jax game but with out the comeback.
Its an away game, Indy has a solid Q/B (much better than Gabbert) and their W/R's will once again (like last week) make our secondary look lost and confused.
Indy scores with their last possession to win a close game 27-23.
Why do you think Luck is better than Gabbert? That might end up being true but it's not the case after week 1. Luck completed 51% of his passes, threw 3 INTs, lost a fumble, was sacked 3 times, and had a passer rating of 52.3.
Indy might have a solid QB in the future. Right now what they have is a turnover machine who is completing passes at about the same rate as Tim Tebow from last season.
I think it all depends on our pass rush. Allen needs to show up and really get Luck flustered. If we disrupt the rookie's rhythm consistently, we will win. The other key is for the offense to come out flying--as they did in the second half vs. Jags. Get Percy and AD involved early and often. Let Ponder get confident.
Jared Allen got held sackless on Sunday. I have a strong suspicion that will not be allowed to turn into a trend against a rookie QB with below average protection. I do not see their defense as being able to adequately contain AP. That will should give us an edge in achieving the win. I think we’ll win, no idea what the score will be. Biggest concern is this is a bit of a trap game. Indy has all the looks of a pushover and the 49ers are looming the following week, which will be a true test of where our youth movement is at. Hopefully guys can stay focused on week 2.
My big concerns right now are the defensive backfield against empty backfield sets and the ability of the middle defense to make the tackle against the run. I expect to see more empty backfield plays to test our secondary on Sunday, it worked well for the Jags. Two questions for our defense to answer: Can Brinkley stuff the interior rushing attack and can the secondary get the job done against spread out WR? Until the answer to both questions is yes, we should expect to keep seeing these types of plays called against us.
As an aside, I do not see the need for so much Debbie Downer stuff after the W on Sunday. We won the game, and our Offense showed guts. It is week 1 and all teams showed some degree of rust with the exception of the 49ers. The bigger question is how we are going to look going into week 5 and again going into week 9. Are we going to be a team that starts peaking at week 9 and generates momentum into January or are we going to just squeak out some easy Ws, but be middle of the road and lose the big games? I don’t have an answer, but I do know that sloppy play is the norm in the first 4 weeks of the season. The question I have is if our guys were making sloppy mistakes or if they are just unable to get the job done. At this stage, I’m still willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Winning is not a sometime thing it is an all of the time thing - Vince Lombardi
Bob Kravitz @bkravitz
I'm hearing through the grapevine Freeney has a high ankle, out a couple of weeks. We'll get confirmation from Pagano in a few minutes.
