Broncos Post Game Thread

[Dames]

For those of you upset about Allen throwing for under 250 yards, 1 TD and 1 Int, 6.2 YPA against our defense:
https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2019/11/15 ... ridgewater

Backups playing well for their first few games is now the norm.

Thanks for posting that. It should make us feel better. It's not like it used to be anymore. That's hard to reconcile for us old-timers here.

[psjordan]

I wade into this thread with some hesitation, as it’s hard to put every related thought into words in a “short” post.

Seemingly forgotten in all of the Cousins-this Cousins-that talk is that in the last three weeks, we lost a nail-biter to a very good KC team and then beat two ok-to-pretty-decent teams/defenses, all without Thielen. That’s a loss of a 113-catch receiver who has stayed relatively healthy up until now. For me, it’s a huge deal to still be successful as a QB when you’ve lost one of your “if I throw it up there, he gives me a 75% chance” receivers. Bisi is nowhere near that point, in fact to me it looked like he slowed/gave up on two 2nd half routes where Cousins ended up throwing him the ball. Kid has to learn that cannot happen in the NFL. In a game where you are furiously trying to come back and win, that further shortens the list of players the QB is comfortable throwing to.

Again, personally I find Cousins performance this year (well, last 8 games) REMARKABLE considering all the things going on with this team, including one OL who for the life of me I cannot figure out why he rates (IMO) an 8 of 10 on run blocking and a 1 of 10 on pass blocking. I have never seen anything like it in my 55 years of watching the NFL. Has to be maddening for everyone involved, but the team perseveres.

And I never find too much fault with a win in the NFL, no matter who it is against. Wins are hard enough to come by with a great game plan and all of your starters. Calling the opposing inexperienced QB who had success against us “a joke” is silly IMO. At some point, every single QB out there was inexperienced. They grow at different rates, and if an opposing QB “grows up” a bit against us, well, it happens. It’s not always us handing it to him – he’s a professional athlete at the NFL level for goodness sake. We still have to win the game, yes?

My only true disappointment in this game was the undisciplined play/penalties at the absolute worst times. To me that is a direct reflection of coaching, and that worries me a bit. I can live with unsuccessful gameplans for portions of a game (obviously great turn of events in second half), I can live with bend-don’t-break defenses (I don’t like it, but with a win I can live with it!). Worrisome that I have not seen a “shut down” individual on our defense in over a month, and the Smith injury to add to everything else. But it’s all a work-in-process and I won’t sell anyone, player or coach, short based on an incomplete season.

I’m optimistic for the remainder of the season, just slightly cautiously. I know we will have a bit of a clunker at some point but we will also have a game where we put all the pieces together and look fantastic. I mean, what team out there would you consider a healthy Vikings team having zero legit shot at beating at this point? Not too many positive scenarios jump to mind against the Ravens, and Seahawks will be a test, but anyone else? Maybe 3-4 teams where we hate our chances? I’ll take those odds as the season progresses.

All I can tell you is that I was born and bred in Boston and my family has Red Sox blood, and eventually the Sox broke the barrier. Multiply all your “rooting for the Vikes” heartache by seventy-hundred to get to where I was for 40 years of my sports-rooting life. But my beloved Sox eventually got there and I believe my beloved Vikes will as well. Prefer to get there before I need a walker with tennis-ball feet, but I’ll take what I can get.

[mansquatch]

This win was ugly as all get out, but it is a good sign IMO. This was the Zimmer Egg game of the year. (Hopefully the only one...) Offense bailed us out huge.

I have a lot of concerns about the pass defense. I want to think it is driving Zimmer nuts, but it is has been an issue all season in the case of Rhodes. Really interested to see how they could out of the bye on defense. That SEA game is going to tell us A LOT.

[VikingLord]

My observations on the game:

- One team yesterday was coming off its bye with a losing record and with nothing to lose and played like it. The other team was heading into its bye coming off an emotional, high profile road win and kind of banged up playing at home against a losing opponent. It was the classic letdown scenario, and as the first half unfolded it sure looked like that was exactly what would happen. Watching that first half was not really a surprise. The Broncos came out with a lot more energy, took a lot more chances that paid off, and generally seemed to be a step ahead.
- What was more of a surprise for me was how the Vikings battled back in the 2nd half. IMHO, the mark of a team with potential is its ability to answer under adversity and compose itself when things aren't going well. One of the biggest gripes I've had about the Vikings under Zimmer is the seeming lack of composure and player leadership when things weren't going well. They seemed to fold when they most needed some guys to step up and make something happen. Based on what I've seen in the last several games now, they are getting that leadership and stabilizing presence from multiple players. They could have easily folded yesterday against the Broncos, and easily against the Cowboys too, but in both games, players stepped up in all phases of the game. Yes, the coaches played a role too, but for me what is notable is the players themselves. Hard to call out even individuals - they all seem to be doing it, and that for me is by far the most encouraging thing to see.
- As far as the game itself went, I thought the Broncos got away with a lot of incredible luck in the 1st half. They were chucking balls down the field that they had no business throwing, much less completing, and despite that, they somehow managed to pull those in. Kudos to them. It's what a team with literally nothing to lose should probably do, but like 80% of their passing yardage came off 5 of those heaves, of which by my estimate 3 were legit pick balls that somehow went right past a well-positioned defender. While it was painful to watch, as in the Dallas game I'm not looking at it as a huge sign of concern. The Vikings had decent coverage for the most part - the DBs just have to make those plays. Odds are, they will at some point.
- The offense was really painful to watch in the first half. They were just off and Denver was fresh and active on defense. It was especially notable along the offensive line. I attribute that to the situation more than anything. While they never managed to get the run game going, the pass blocking in the 2nd half was pretty good. A real gut check performance from the offensive line.
- Great to see Cousins bounce back and keep firing it. That didn't happen against the Bears, but in this game he collected himself and made some really nice plays. More importantly, he figured out what he had to do against that defense and did it. Pressing the ball down the field more was huge. It didn't necessarily open up the run game, but it did take advantage of Denver's more aggressive approach and got the Vikings energized and back into the game. Watching Diggs excitement after his big plays was great.
- Tough day for Cook but he was still a factor and made some nice plays. I think the bye and some extra rest will be really good for him. He's carried a large part of the load on this team, and they're going to need him for the stretch.
- Defense struggled in the first half, but tightened in the 2nd. Untimely penalties really hurt them. Couple of times they could have gotten off the field and ended up handing the Broncos a 1st down that kept the drive going. Overall though, they gutted it out in the 2nd half and came up with the huge plays at the end. The Broncos had 3 shots at the endzone in the last 10 seconds and couldn't get it done. Kudos to a defense that was on the ropes late for the 2nd straight week and came up big. That has to give them some real confidence.

For me, the biggest outcome from this game is the confidence this has to inspire in the team. This was a game that could have easily gotten even worse in the 2nd half, but they came out focused with a sense of urgency and confidence. So refreshing to see that because that isn't something I'd seen from the Mike Zimmer Vikings, at least lately.

While these next 5 games will determine their season, I'm actually very optimistic about this team's chances. The Broncos aren't nearly as bad as their record would suggest. They've lost a lot of close games and been very competitive and they were fresh and prepared. The Vikings took those shots, stayed up, and kept punching back. It was like watching a Rocky movie yesterday with the Vikings being Rocky mounting the furious late comeback. Yes, the Broncos aren't Apollo Creed, but they played well yesterday.

This season has real potential to be special.

[Dames]

Nice post!

Seemingly forgotten in all of the Cousins-this Cousins-that talk is that in the last three weeks, we lost a nail-biter to a very good KC team and then beat two ok-to-pretty-decent teams/defenses, all without Thielen. That’s a loss of a 113-catch receiver who has stayed relatively healthy up until now. For me, it’s a huge deal to still be successful as a QB when you’ve lost one of your “if I throw it up there, he gives me a 75% chance” receivers. Bisi is nowhere near that point, in fact to me it looked like he slowed/gave up on two 2nd half routes where Cousins ended up throwing him the ball. Kid has to learn that cannot happen in the NFL. In a game where you are furiously trying to come back and win, that further shortens the list of players the QB is comfortable throwing to.

I noticed that play at the end of the 3rd quarter too and made a comment to my bro-in-law at the time. That is a play where Thielen is head and shoulders above Bisi. While I think Bisi has been very solid for us, that play showed why he's not quite ready to be more than a WR3 yet. I don't think there was any question he slowed up for some reason. Of course, I don't think deep routes are his strong suit. Getting Thielen back will be so nice for us, especially vs SEA and GB. We definitely have a better WR3 situation than last year, so we can be thankful for that.

And I never find too much fault with a win in the NFL, no matter who it is against. Wins are hard enough to come by with a great game plan and all of your starters. Calling the opposing inexperienced QB who had success against us “a joke” is silly IMO. At some point, every single QB out there was inexperienced. They grow at different rates, and if an opposing QB “grows up” a bit against us, well, it happens. It’s not always us handing it to him – he’s a professional athlete at the NFL level for goodness sake. We still have to win the game, yes?

This. Winning is hard in the NFL. You are playing against the cream of the crop athletes every week. Yes, some teams have better talent, but there are no NFL teams that are not full of talent still. These aren't high-school QBs we are playing against.

My only true disappointment in this game was the undisciplined play/penalties at the absolute worst times. To me that is a direct reflection of coaching, and that worries me a bit.

Penalties are an issue for us. Have been all year I think. It's frustrating for me too, because with this coach, it feels like it shouldn't be the case. We've been on the wrong end of some bad referring too, but that is far from the only problem. I kept looking for a penalty on us at the end. It's sad that I expect it now. Of course, I think it's a league wide issue, not just the Vikings.

I’m optimistic for the remainder of the season, just slightly cautiously. I know we will have a bit of a clunker at some point but we will also have a game where we put all the pieces together and look fantastic. I mean, what team out there would you consider a healthy Vikings team having zero legit shot at beating at this point? Not too many positive scenarios jump to mind against the Ravens, and Seahawks will be a test, but anyone else? Maybe 3-4 teams where we hate our chances? I’ll take those odds as the season progresses.

I'm optimistic. There is nobody we can't compete with. There are a few teams that will and should be favored, but there's nobody that we have no shot against. I still think Seattle will be an issue for us, but I'm hoping for the best. If we play Baltimore, that will be a massive challenge.... but that's a problem we'll talk about later.

[Pondering Her Percy]

Whats funny is that I went back to find the anti- Cousins post. No one bashed Cousins. People come in with their own agendas. I thought I saw one post questioning the play calling but no one came in to this thread with #### on Cousins. Yet, we have about 8 posts accusing people of doing just that.

YV, nobody “came in with their own agenda”. You call it “bashed”, I call it bit##ing and complaining. Guys were definitely doing that early on in this thread. That is what was initially talked about was mistakes cousins made, focused on his first half, not taking a shot on a free play, etc.

Do you really think Kapp, myself, negotiator, etc would just come on here to defend a player that’s not getting ragged on? And essentially make that up? No. I can’t entirely speak for them but I know they will probably agree with me in the sense that we all initially came on here following the game excited and wanted to discuss this awesome win with other members. But when we read this thread, it’s more complaining than it is praise. Guys were literally complaining after we did something 99 teams couldn’t do over the last 5 years. Cousins again proved all the haters wrong and it was a hell of a comeback. Something you don’t see the Vikings do often. But guys are calling out cousins because of his failure to take a shot on a free play? Or complaining that we crapped the bed against a bad team early basically implying this wasn’t even a good win (which on a side note: Denver has lost 3 games by 2 points and another one by 4 points) and so on. Like yeah sure we can discuss the first half but holy hell we made an insane comeback and showed a lot regarding the fight in this team. We could play the patriots or the dolphins, it’s tough to walk all over any team in this league.

In the end, I don’t get why we’re still seeing the constant complaining after wins. No matter who we beat or how we beat them, cousins is still complained about and this team in general is still complained about. And we’re 8-3 and 6-1 in our last 7 games. Just baffles me and by the looks of it, I’m not the only one that feels this way

[StumpHunter]

Whats funny is that I went back to find the anti- Cousins post. No one bashed Cousins. People come in with their own agendas. I thought I saw one post questioning the play calling but no one came in to this thread with #### on Cousins. Yet, we have about 8 posts accusing people of doing just that.

YV, nobody “came in with their own agenda”. You call it “bashed”, I call it bit##ing and complaining. Guys were definitely doing that early on in this thread. That is what was initially talked about was mistakes cousins made, focused on his first half, not taking a shot on a free play, etc.

Do you really think Kapp, myself, negotiator, etc would just come on here to defend a player that’s not getting ragged on? And essentially make that up? No. I can’t entirely speak for them but I know they will probably agree with me in the sense that we all initially came on here following the game excited and wanted to discuss this awesome win with other members. But when we read this thread, it’s more complaining than it is praise. Guys were literally complaining after we did something 99 teams couldn’t do over the last 5 years. Cousins again proved all the haters wrong and it was a hell of a comeback. Something you don’t see the Vikings do often. But guys are calling out cousins because of his failure to take a shot on a free play? Or complaining that we crapped the bed against a bad team early basically implying this wasn’t even a good win (which on a side note: Denver has lost 3 games by 2 points and another one by 4 points) and so on. Like yeah sure we can discuss the first half but holy hell we made an insane comeback and showed a lot regarding the fight in this team. We could play the patriots or the dolphins, it’s tough to walk all over any team in this league.

In the end, I don’t get why we’re still seeing the constant complaining after wins. No matter who we beat or how we beat them, cousins is still complained about and this team in general is still complained about. And we’re 8-3 and 6-1 in our last 7 games. Just baffles me and by the looks of it, I’m not the only one that feels this way

Where is all this complaining about Cousins? One guy, ONE, made this thread talking about him and the defense playing poorly when they WERE playing poorly. After that I am not reading the negativity about anything but the defense.

Outrage over imaginary outrage. This board is ridiculous.

[CharVike]

I wade into this thread with some hesitation, as it’s hard to put every related thought into words in a “short” post.

Seemingly forgotten in all of the Cousins-this Cousins-that talk is that in the last three weeks, we lost a nail-biter to a very good KC team and then beat two ok-to-pretty-decent teams/defenses, all without Thielen. That’s a loss of a 113-catch receiver who has stayed relatively healthy up until now. For me, it’s a huge deal to still be successful as a QB when you’ve lost one of your “if I throw it up there, he gives me a 75% chance” receivers. Bisi is nowhere near that point, in fact to me it looked like he slowed/gave up on two 2nd half routes where Cousins ended up throwing him the ball. Kid has to learn that cannot happen in the NFL. In a game where you are furiously trying to come back and win, that further shortens the list of players the QB is comfortable throwing to.

Again, personally I find Cousins performance this year (well, last 8 games) REMARKABLE considering all the things going on with this team, including one OL who for the life of me I cannot figure out why he rates (IMO) an 8 of 10 on run blocking and a 1 of 10 on pass blocking. I have never seen anything like it in my 55 years of watching the NFL. Has to be maddening for everyone involved, but the team perseveres.

And I never find too much fault with a win in the NFL, no matter who it is against. Wins are hard enough to come by with a great game plan and all of your starters. Calling the opposing inexperienced QB who had success against us “a joke” is silly IMO. At some point, every single QB out there was inexperienced. They grow at different rates, and if an opposing QB “grows up” a bit against us, well, it happens. It’s not always us handing it to him – he’s a professional athlete at the NFL level for goodness sake. We still have to win the game, yes?

My only true disappointment in this game was the undisciplined play/penalties at the absolute worst times. To me that is a direct reflection of coaching, and that worries me a bit. I can live with unsuccessful gameplans for portions of a game (obviously great turn of events in second half), I can live with bend-don’t-break defenses (I don’t like it, but with a win I can live with it!). Worrisome that I have not seen a “shut down” individual on our defense in over a month, and the Smith injury to add to everything else. But it’s all a work-in-process and I won’t sell anyone, player or coach, short based on an incomplete season.

I’m optimistic for the remainder of the season, just slightly cautiously. I know we will have a bit of a clunker at some point but we will also have a game where we put all the pieces together and look fantastic. I mean, what team out there would you consider a healthy Vikings team having zero legit shot at beating at this point? Not too many positive scenarios jump to mind against the Ravens, and Seahawks will be a test, but anyone else? Maybe 3-4 teams where we hate our chances? I’ll take those odds as the season progresses.

All I can tell you is that I was born and bred in Boston and my family has Red Sox blood, and eventually the Sox broke the barrier. Multiply all your “rooting for the Vikes” heartache by seventy-hundred to get to where I was for 40 years of my sports-rooting life. But my beloved Sox eventually got there and I believe my beloved Vikes will as well. Prefer to get there before I need a walker with tennis-ball feet, but I’ll take what I can get.

I wouldn't call Matt Moore inexperienced. He's been in the NFL for 12 seasons. He didn't grow up against us. He's done growing. I felt we caught a break against a very good KC team in that we faced there backup QB. And yes he is a joke at the NFL level. Certainly he's better than some guy sitting behind a desk that won't get a look. I won't deny that. But a team fighting for a Super Bowl can't get beat by a QB like him. Chase Daniel isn't inexperienced either. He's been in the NFL for 10 years. Teams know about him. He's not growing. You don't let him beat you. Of course a guy can have a great game and yes that did happen. To help your team make the show you need to take those breaks and win the game. I know it's not easy just like making the show isn't easy. But that's part of getting or not getting there.

[Dames]

We're all just a little too sensitive here lately. It's disappointing to read some of this thread after such a fun win. I don't expect all sunshine and roses, but damn... we are turning on each other for having a different opinion.

I'm drinking the kool aid. But, I understand why some aren't quite yet.

A lot of my relatives still haven't bought in. It's okay. They'll come around. I'm not going to disown them. If I get my hopes crushed again, well it's just another day at the office. I'm going to enjoy the ride fro now though dammit.

For those who aren't on board yet, there's room on the hope train when you are ready. It's not easy getting your hopes up when we've been burned so many times before. I'll be here to celebrate with you when you do.

[TSonn]

I may have started the "people are bashing Cousins" thought process in this thread with my comment about people nitpicking his first half instead of seeing that he nearly single-handedly mounted a comeback that hadn't been done in 5 years. Admittedly, though, my comment in this thread was more referencing the game chat and other websites, not this specific thread.

So if you're looking for nitpicking and Cousins bashing in this thread, I don't think you'll find it. But the sentiment was out there on this board and that's where my initial comment came from.

[StumpHunter]

I may have started the "people are bashing Cousins" thought process in this thread with my comment about people nitpicking his first half instead of seeing that he nearly single-handedly mounted a comeback that hadn't been done in 5 years. Admittedly, though, my comment in this thread was more referencing the game chat and other websites, not this specific thread.

So if you're looking for nitpicking and Cousins bashing in this thread, I don't think you'll find it. But the sentiment was out there on this board and that's where my initial comment came from.

When Cousins was playing poorly in the first half people were bashing him?

[TSonn]

I may have started the "people are bashing Cousins" thought process in this thread with my comment about people nitpicking his first half instead of seeing that he nearly single-handedly mounted a comeback that hadn't been done in 5 years. Admittedly, though, my comment in this thread was more referencing the game chat and other websites, not this specific thread.

So if you're looking for nitpicking and Cousins bashing in this thread, I don't think you'll find it. But the sentiment was out there on this board and that's where my initial comment came from.

When Cousins was playing poorly in the first half people were bashing him?

Well, yes, but people were also focused on the first half after he won us the game.

[Dames]

- One team yesterday was coming off its bye with a losing record and with nothing to lose and played like it. The other team was heading into its bye coming off an emotional, high profile road win and kind of banged up playing at home against a losing opponent. It was the classic letdown scenario, and as the first half unfolded it sure looked like that was exactly what would happen. Watching that first half was not really a surprise. The Broncos came out with a lot more energy, took a lot more chances that paid off, and generally seemed to be a step ahead.

This is an important factor. I think they caught us off guard. That's a little disappointing, but once the sleeping giant woke up, we were a force to be reckoned with. I agree with you, that feels different than what we've seen before. We did not lay down, and I love that about this team. The last few games we have fought the whole time. That's a great sign.

- As far as the game itself went, I thought the Broncos got away with a lot of incredible luck in the 1st half. They were chucking balls down the field that they had no business throwing, much less completing, and despite that, they somehow managed to pull those in. Kudos to them. It's what a team with literally nothing to lose should probably do, but like 80% of their passing yardage came off 5 of those heaves, of which by my estimate 3 were legit pick balls that somehow went right past a well-positioned defender. While it was painful to watch, as in the Dallas game I'm not looking at it as a huge sign of concern. The Vikings had decent coverage for the most part - the DBs just have to make those plays. Odds are, they will at some point.

Yeah, that was frustrating. Everything was working for the Broncos in the first half. You're right... they had nothing to lose and they went for it. You have to think things will start evening out. The last 2 games especially have just been brutal in that regard.

- The offense was really painful to watch in the first half. They were just off and Denver was fresh and active on defense. It was especially notable along the offensive line. I attribute that to the situation more than anything. While they never managed to get the run game going, the pass blocking in the 2nd half was pretty good. A real gut check performance from the offensive line.

I think a lot of that was the game plan that they came in with. I think they expected it to be like the Redskins game and they were caught with their pants down. They were ultra-conservative, and it almost cost them the win. It took an almost perfect 2nd half to win. I'm hoping they learn from that, but I think Zim really drives that style.

- Defense struggled in the first half, but tightened in the 2nd. Untimely penalties really hurt them. Couple of times they could have gotten off the field and ended up handing the Broncos a 1st down that kept the drive going. Overall though, they gutted it out in the 2nd half and came up with the huge plays at the end. The Broncos had 3 shots at the endzone in the last 10 seconds and couldn't get it done. Kudos to a defense that was on the ropes late for the 2nd straight week and came up big. That has to give them some real confidence.

Kearse, in particular, was a monster on that last drive. He stepped up big time. I just re-watched the condensed version. He made 4 or 5 really important plays on the last 3 minutes. The final 2 passes were in his direction. They went after him after Smith went out, and he responded. He was great. The 4th and 1 when Allen ran outside (Sendejo's jock is still laying on the turf), he damn near made it to the endzone. Kearse may have saved the game on the play alone.

While these next 5 games will determine their season, I'm actually very optimistic about this team's chances. The Broncos aren't nearly as bad as their record would suggest. They've lost a lot of close games and been very competitive and they were fresh and prepared. The Vikings took those shots, stayed up, and kept punching back. It was like watching a Rocky movie yesterday with the Vikings being Rocky mounting the furious late comeback. Yes, the Broncos aren't Apollo Creed, but they played well yesterday.

This season has real potential to be special.

All aboard the Skol Train! Choo Choo!

[StumpHunter]

When Cousins was playing poorly in the first half people were bashing him?

Well, yes, but people were also focused on the first half after he won us the game.

Much like how people focused, and continue to focus on a defense that held a team to 3 points in the second half and did enough to win us the game?

[Dames]

I can't stop laughing at this:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1196499631439372291

The head nod.