Chiefs post game

[Dames]

One could effectively argue that Cousins has had 1 bad game this year (Bears).

The game against the Chiefs that was definitely a mixed bag, but he still threw 3 TD with 0 turnovers.

Two. The Packers game was by far his worst game of the season as there was really no excuse for him playing poorly in that game.

I guess so. My selective memory thought he has a better game than that. The INT in the endzone I remember all too well.
14 for 32 with 2 int. Yeah, not very good.

[J. Kapp 11]

But the journey ... that matters a lot to me. I mean, I remember when Thielen broke off that big TD reception against the Rams. I don't think I've ever been happier as a Vikings fan. This year, tell me the Detroit game wasn't fun. Tell me the bombs against Philly weren't fun.

That's what I live for. If all I ever thought about was winning the Super Bowl, I'd have given up a long time ago. I've been through too much in 51 years of being a fan. For me, it's about looking forward to the good times.

The journey is great sometimes, heart-wrenching at other times. Always memorable.

But...

Fans of almost every other team in the NFL have watched their team win at least one Superbowl. They've gotten the journey along with the ultimate payoff too.

Why can't we Vikings fans have both too?

The way I look at it, and I know this isn't healthy, but at this point, I don't care anymore - this team *owes* us now. The long-suffering fans of this team, the ones who keep filling that stadium, chanting SKOL, the ones who braved the frigid confines of the old Met, the sterile confines of the Metrodome, the ones who sit dutifully on their couches or on a bar stool every Sunday watching this team and supporting it. Those people, like you and me, *deserve* a Superbowl win. Not an appearance. A WIN.

I want so much to be optimistic, and to be completely honest I don't get as upset as I used to when they lose. But what upsets me now is this team is supposed to be good. They're supposed to be stacked. They're supposed to be in the Superbowl conversation. And they're not. You watch any of the cable sports shows and the Vikings simply are not mentioned as contenders, at least not with any seriousness. The 49ers are. The Seahawks get mentioned. The Packers of course. Not the Vikings. Not really. It's like everyone who follows football who isn't a fan of the team just inherently understands they don't have what it takes. Not at QB. Not defensively. Not on the coaching staff. I want to believe in them, but watching the game yesterday, as much as I want to keep my eyes closed to what everyone who is not a Vikings fan sees, if I'm honest I see the same fatal flaws that keep Zimmer's Vikings from being taken seriously. They'll be underdogs in every game they have remaining against an opponent with a winning record. And they should be as they've earned that level of respect.

So yeah, enjoying the ride is important. Enjoying the great moments and building some character from the not-so-great moments is important. But there is nothing saying we have to perpetually eat the scraps that fall to the floor while the fans of virtually every other team in the league have gotten to eat sitting at the table.

I want a Superbowl before I die. They owe us that.

I get it. Really do. I hate the losses, especially the gut-wrenchers like many have mentioned. And you're right ... nobody in the media takes us seriously. Colin Cowherd did his Top 10 today. No Vikings, of course. But then he mentioned all the teams he likes, who he feels could make noise in the playoffs ... again, no Vikings. When he finally mentioned us, he said, "There's Minnesota, but I don't like them. They're fool's gold." Pissed me off ... but at the same time, I get it.

The reason for my lengthy explanation is that you wondered how somebody could be optimistic and a Vikings fan. I was just explaining it. I suppose it's my way of dealing with all the heartache ... I just focus on having fun during the games. Also, I'm an optimist by nature. So many things in my life, people say, "You can't do that," and I always say, "Why not?" Are there disappointments? Sure. But there are also incredible highs when things get achieved. A lot of my friends live the "low expectations" lifestyle. Not me.

As for the Vikings owing me anything, I don't know how I feel about that. Honestly, I don't pay much. I'm not a season ticket holder. I go to one game per year, and I've purchased exactly one jersey in my entire life. Here's what I will say. I would hope they feel a certain sort of indebtedness to those of us who have hung in there all these years. And I hope that every one of them -- players, coaches, front office, ownership -- wants the same thing we do, just as badly as we do.

[J. Kapp 11]

Why?

Why should anybody bother to prove you wrong?

News flash. Nobody cares.

Not saying anyone does, just looking for Cousins to "prove me wrong" by bucking a trend and winning some games under certain circumstances, that is all. Calm yourself....

My bad. I was in a mood. Apologies.

I guess I just hate the expression "prove me wrong." But that's my deal. Thanks for not flaming, even though I deserved it.

[Bowhunting Viking]

This all boils down to one thing.
MANY of us here are die hard, purple blooded hard core fans who all just really want to see OUR team FINALLY win the Super Bowl. We just all have different personalities and temperaments.
But I like all you guys and I hope we ALL get rejoice and someday say Yep.. my Vikes won the Super Bowl.
It's that simple when ya boil it down

[TSonn]

I've seen this point made too much, but you know what... Moore has been a really good backup, and KC has a TON of talent, so it's not like we were playing against Haskins and the Giants out there. This was not even remotely close to a typical back-up QB situation. KC is vastly better than most offenses, even with a backup.

Moore can actually hit his deep passes consistently too. That's a big difference between him and Cousins.

I actually turned to my son yesterday after watching yet another ball sail out of the reach of Diggs' outstretched arms and wondered out loud if maybe the Vikings just need faster wide receivers...

Isn't Kirk like top 3 in deep throw (20+ yards) percentage?

[Cliff]

Rhodes played poorly in that game?

Seemed to me that Hughes, Mac and Waynes were targeted the entire game and Rhodes had 1, possibly 2 completions on him(with the big one requiring a 1 handed spectacular catch) and had a pass breakup.

Moore is a backup QB, but he didn't play like one in this game. He didn't make mistakes and got rid of the ball very quickly, limiting our pass rush. The guy put 3 or 4 passes downfield that were just perfect placement, a couple as he was being hit. Better coverage on some of those passes would certainly have helped, and Waynes was pretty bad Sunday, but there was also an element of a great throw and catch that can be un-defendable at times.

I am with you on how the rest of the season will go. Do you think 10-6 and one and done is a good thing for this team or would you prefer 9-7, 8-8? Seems like an obvious answer, but 10-6 probably results in no changes, while missing the playoffs might light a fire under Ziggy.

It wasn't Rhodes this game but if it's not him it's one or both of the others. It seems like there isn't consistency there. The defense looks great statistically but whenever they play a team with a decent passing game it seems like they can't get it together.

Yeah, I predicted in another thread they'd be 10-6. I think they'll lose to DAL, SEA, and GB (needing a win against GB to seal the playoffs) and then beat CHI the next week to actually make the playoffs where they'll lose in the first round.

I want them to try their best and if that's one and done in the playoffs so be it. Just because I don't think they can do it doesn't mean they shouldn't try. Hopefully my expectations aren't theirs!

[Purple Domination]

I read that Dalvin had zero yards before contact in this game. I credit the Chiefs for an excellent game plan to stop Dalvin. Unfortunately for us, it came on a day that Cousins was off just enough that he couldn’t carry us to victory. I also credit Dalvin for having 70+ yards after contact!

[Dames]

I read that Dalvin had zero yards before contact in this game. I credit the Chiefs for an excellent game plan to stop Dalvin. Unfortunately for us, it came on a day that Cousins was off just enough that he couldn’t carry us to victory. I also credit Dalvin for having 70+ yards after contact!

Yep, I read that too. I also read that the past 3 games for the Chiefs have actually been great vs the run. I guess maybe they got something figured out, and we couldn't execute enough to beat them in other ways.

[Svt40]

This all boils down to one thing.
MANY of us here are die hard, purple blooded hard core fans who all just really want to see OUR team FINALLY win the Super Bowl. We just all have different personalities and temperaments.
But I like all you guys and I hope we ALL get rejoice and someday say Yep.. my Vikes won the Super Bowl.
It's that simple when ya boil it down

...and as Vikings fans we'll probably #### about how we won the SB.

[VikingLord]

Moore can actually hit his deep passes consistently too. That's a big difference between him and Cousins.

I actually turned to my son yesterday after watching yet another ball sail out of the reach of Diggs' outstretched arms and wondered out loud if maybe the Vikings just need faster wide receivers...

Isn't Kirk like top 3 in deep throw (20+ yards) percentage?

I don't know. I know I've watched him sail a lot of deep passes over the outstretched hands of otherwise wide open receivers this year.

[Purple Domination]

Isn't Kirk like top 3 in deep throw (20+ yards) percentage?

I don't know. I know I've watched him sail a lot of deep passes over the outstretched hands of otherwise wide open receivers this year.

That's been a consistent factor in each of our three losses. I distinctly remember overthrows that would have resulted in TDs in Green Bay, Chicago, and in KC last week. To be fair, he hits them a lot too and that has been a consistent factor in our wins.

[VikingLord]

I don't know. I know I've watched him sail a lot of deep passes over the outstretched hands of otherwise wide open receivers this year.

That's been a consistent factor in each of our three losses. I distinctly remember overthrows that would have resulted in TDs in Green Bay, Chicago, and in KC last week. To be fair, he hits them a lot too and that has been a consistent factor in our wins.

For me, the disturbing overthrows are the ones on the short routes. I can understand to some degree the deep overthrows as those take more timing and might be affected by the conditions, but on the short routes?

Cousins is going to be back under the microscope bigtime if he doesn't clean at least that up against the Cowboys, especially considering his penchant for checking into the safe throw. Fine, make the safe throw, but *make* it. Sailing those too is just not acceptable.

[Tark]

Not saying anyone does, just looking for Cousins to "prove me wrong" by bucking a trend and winning some games under certain circumstances, that is all. Calm yourself....

My bad. I was in a mood. Apologies.

I guess I just hate the expression "prove me wrong." But that's my deal. Thanks for not flaming, even though I deserved it.

No problem, got it, I've been in a mood since male menopause.

[J. Kapp 11]

Isn't Kirk like top 3 in deep throw (20+ yards) percentage?

I don't know. I know I've watched him sail a lot of deep passes over the outstretched hands of otherwise wide open receivers this year.

To be fair, that's where gut feel falls short of statistics. Coming into the Chiefs game, Cousins was indeed near the top of the NFL in almost all deep ball stats.

And if we're going off recall, there was the bomb to Diggs against GB, the two bombs to Diggs against Philly, the deep ball from his own end zone to Diggs against Washington, two 30-ish-yard-TDs to Thielen off play action, etc. Along with any misses, there are plenty of connections and great throws.

[VikingLord]

I don't know. I know I've watched him sail a lot of deep passes over the outstretched hands of otherwise wide open receivers this year.

To be fair, that's where gut feel falls short of statistics. Coming into the Chiefs game, Cousins was indeed near the top of the NFL in almost all deep ball stats.

And if we're going off recall, there was the bomb to Diggs against GB, the two bombs to Diggs against Philly, the deep ball from his own end zone to Diggs against Washington, two 30-ish-yard-TDs to Thielen off play action, etc. Along with any misses, there are plenty of connections and great throws.

Yeah, he's hit some for sure.

Almost every one of his misses is an overthrow too. Not sure if that is mechanics, he's too hyped, receivers aren't fast enough, etc.