I'm not nearly as worried about Demarcus Ware against Matt Kalil. In no way am I suggesting that Ware is not a good player, but I think at this point in their careers, Ware is overvalued for his past performance while Kalil is undervalued based on the past two years. In reality, I think both players are above average and roughly equal, so while I don't think Ware is an easy task, I think it's one that Kalil can manage without having to alter the game plan extensively.
Demarcus Ware was the AFC Defensive Player of the Month in September. 11 QB hits in just three games (four more than anyone in the league).
Fortunately, we have the best RB in the league and they have a porous run defense.
Denver's D is giving up 3.5 yds per rushing attempt. Only four teams are better.
All joking aside. I don't see this being a back and forth affair. I think either we come out and somehow we have Manning's number all day and our Offense produces, we win the ToP battle by several minutes and we win by two scores OR we just look like the SF game 2.0 and we get man handled all day.
To me this doesn't really strike as a gritty statement win game (the Chiefs game does though for some reason). I see either us losing and dropping back down to "total rebuilding phase" in the eyes of everyone or us winning and it being more about "WTH happened to the Broncos?!" than anything we do.
IF we win and Bridgewater looks decent it will go a long way towards convincing me this is the staff and the core we need to potentially win it all.
IrishViking wrote:All joking aside. I don't see this being a back and forth affair. I think either we come out and somehow we have Manning's number all day and our Offense produces, we win the ToP battle by several minutes and we win by two scores OR we just look like the SF game 2.0 and we get man handled all day.
To me this doesn't really strike as a gritty statement win game (the Chiefs game does though for some reason). I see either us losing and dropping back down to "total rebuilding phase" in the eyes of everyone or us winning and it being more about "WTH happened to the Broncos?!" than anything we do.
IF we win and Bridgewater looks decent it will go a long way towards convincing me this is the staff and the core we need to potentially win it all.
So if the Vikings lose, on the road, to the top one or two teams in the league, then it is time for a "total rebuild". That seems ridiculous to me
Do not mistake KINDNESS for WEAKNESS!
Best to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool rather than open it and remove all doubt.
I think he was saying that most experts/non vikings fans/casual or fair weather fans will put us into the "tebuilding" group if we lose this game. And when we win this game those same people will not give us any recognition they will say "what is wrong with the donkeys" instead.
oncos rookie left tackle Ty Sambrailo will likely sit Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, as the former CSU Ram missed practice again on Friday with a shoulder injury he suffered during Denver's 24-12 win over the Lions.
While Sambrailo hasn't officially been ruled out, it's common to sit a player who hasn't practiced all week, and Sambrailo missed Wednesday and Thursday practice as well. The Broncos will release their injury report later Friday, and we'll provide an update with Sambrailo's status at that time.
Assuming Sambrailo doesn't go, look for new tackle Tyler Polumbus to merit serious consideration, while Michael Schofield and Ryan Harris also remain possibilities to start at left tackle (either Schofield or Polumbus would fit in at right tackle if Harris swung over to left).
“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.” --- Bill Shankly
DK Sweets wrote:Okay. I finally have time to do my prediction for this week.
Offensively, the Vikings have a tough task. Von Miller attacking TJ Clemmings is an obvious advantage for them. I'm not nearly as worried about Demarcus Ware against Matt Kalil. In no way am I suggesting that Ware is not a good player, but I think at this point in their careers, Ware is overvalued for his past performance while Kalil is undervalued based on the past two years. In reality, I think both players are above average and roughly equal, so while I don't think Ware is an easy task, I think it's one that Kalil can manage without having to alter the game plan extensively.
Their ILB tandem is very solid, but fortunately we have had solid guard play and Rudolph has likewise been productive. I wouldn't expect a big game out of Rudy, but I think their players will again be neutralized by ours.
Their Secondary is intimidating, but our offense hasn't moved based on the strength of our passing game, anyways. If our receivers seem to be uninvolved it will just be another day at the office...but if we end up falling behind early, this could end up being very, very bad for.
Fortunately, we have the best RB in the league and they have a porous run defense. Kansas City made the same mistake that we made against SF and took the ball away from the best player on the team trying to get cute. It obviously didn't work, and I don't expect Norv to make that same mistake again. If they can stop Peterson, we'll have to throw it (that's a scary proposition against this secondary) but I expect them to have to devote quite a bit of resources to do that. Hopefully, if they can stop Peterson, Teddy finds openings down the field. Even better: hopefully they can't stop Peterson.
Defensively I feel much more confident. Let's move straight to the main topic: Manning is not who he used to be. I strongly believe that to beat this team, you cover the short passes. Between the pass rush and Manning's noticeably weaker arm, the deep ball doesn't scare me like it did against the last two QBs we faced.
Granted, DT and Emmanuel Sanders are real threats, but I really like our chances of clamping Xavier down on one side, leaving Sandejo/Blanton on top, and taking our chances by playing half of the field with the rest of our coverage. I wouldn't be shocked if we see Trae Waynes come in and we play a lot of press coverage, because this pass rush is going to be humming and disrupting the timing of Manning's passes is going to be key. Plus, Xavier/Waynes/Harrison is a big height advantage to work against if Manning has to lob a pass under pressure.
The have a rookie LT, and two guards at less than 100%. If this doesn't excite you as a Vikings fan, I don't know what will. It doesn't bode well for their pass protection against our vicious front 7 and it doesn't bode well for their (thus far) anemic running game.
Honestly, the thing that scares me more than anything in this game is the altitude combined with our poor performance on the road.
I think that this is a really close matchup and I'm not going to pick a winner. I will say this: I expect it to be decided in the last 2 minutes of the game.
I always pick a "key" stat for the game that I think will decide the outcome, so here it is: If our defense holds The Broncos RBs to under 150 yards, the Vikings will enter the bye week at 3-1.
Their rush offense has looked horrible, I like our chances of doing that.
GO IRISH!
GO VIKES!
"When you're rich you don't write checks"- Randy Moss
Norv Zimmer wrote:I think he was saying that most experts/non vikings fans/casual or fair weather fans will put us into the "tebuilding" group if we lose this game. And when we win this game those same people will not give us any recognition they will say "what is wrong with the donkeys" instead.
Again, why would anyone put them into a "rebuilding group" losing to a top tier team on their home field, where they have only lost a game or two over the last several games. I am not buying that at all.
Do not mistake KINDNESS for WEAKNESS!
Best to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool rather than open it and remove all doubt.
Purple bruise wrote:
Again, why would anyone put them into a "rebuilding group" losing to a top tier team on their home field, where they have only lost a game or two over the last several games. I am not buying that at all.
The caveat is that the game plays out as I suspect it will: One team creaming the other rather than a hard fought close game. If we go to Denver and get creamed People will rightly say "creamed by a good team, lost to a terrible team, beat two subpar teams" that's nothing tbh. I don't AGREE that we will be in rebuilding mode (more like hunting for the final pieces mode) but from a distance after a bad loss it wouldn't be hard to come to the conclusion.
conversely if we go there and manage to beat the Broncos, again with the caveat being we beat them handily, I think most of the headlines will read along the lines of "Trouble in Denver?" as opposed to "Vikings for real?"
IrishViking wrote:
The caveat is that the game plays out as I suspect it will. One team creaming the other rather than a hard fought close game. If we go to Denver and get creamed People will rightly say "creamed by a good team, lost to a terrible team, beat two subpar teams" that's nothing tbh. I don't AGREE that we will be in rebuilding mode (more like hunting for the final pieces mode) but from a distance after a bad loss it wouldn't be hard to come to the conclusion.
conversely if we go there and manage to beat the Broncos, again with the caveat being we beat them handily, I think most of the headlines will read along the lines of "Trouble in Denver?" as opposed to "Vikings for real?"
Okay, now you added "creamed" to the equation, not just lose. That is a whole different matter. The Vikes will probably lose but I would be shocked if they got "creamed".
Do not mistake KINDNESS for WEAKNESS!
Best to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool rather than open it and remove all doubt.
Purple bruise wrote: Okay, now you added "creamed" to the equation, not just lose. That is a whole different matter. The Vikes will probably lose but I would be shocked if they got "creamed".
My mistake, I thought SF 2.0 would be enough to indicate creamage
