Into the Bye - State of 2019 Campaign Assessment

[mansquatch]

We are heading into the bye 8-3. We are in the driver's seat for an NFC Wild Card birth and with a little luck a division championship and first round bye. We are mostly healthy with some key concerns (more on this later.) In a lot of ways the early season narrative has been flipped on it's head and going into the bye we have issues where if asked we probably wouldn't have expected them. (Secondary), but conversely, the Offense has really come together. So let's dive in.

Record: 8-3. Key remaining games: @ SEA and vs. GB.

In reality all of the last five games are key. The NFC is very competitive this season. SEA and SF are in a dog fight out west. We are in a dog fight with the Packers. NFCE and NFCS have clear front runners. LAR and DAL/PHI are on the outside looking in.

Biggest thing for us it to keep winning and hope SF can do us a solid and beat GB next Sunday night. From there the table will be set for the game vs. the Pack at US Bank Stadium for all the marbles. That is IF we beat SEA and win out. SEA game also important for Wild Card race, but really it is more about that playoff bye week. If GB wins out it won't matter since we have two divsion losses and even if we beat them, they'll only have one. We both finish 13-3 and they win the division on the tie beaker.

Injuries: We are in good shape. Thielen SHOULD be back after the bye which should help our offense get even better. The big one is Linval and his Miniscus (sp?) issue. I haven't heard any reports on his status other than his having surgery. Let us hope it was relatively minor and we can get him back. All in all this isn't the worst injury place to be.

Offense Report Card: B+/A- What started out as a massive question mark in a lot of areas has come together nicely. There are still issues with pass protection, but overall this unit has been the strength of the team, especially in the past 4 weeks. Getting Thielen back should be a nice boost. Cousins has been playing great.

Defense: Rush D has been solid. But the pass D is THE issue. What is going on? Rhodes is obviously not the same guy he was 2 years ago. The rest of them are OK. We are seeing offenses convert a lot of contested catches. We are also seeing mismatch issues such as Barr on TE. Zimmer needs to get this sorted during the bye week. We've had two weeks in a row where we've had major heartburn wins. That isn't going to get it done in the playoffs.

Feel free to pile on. Overall I'm happy with our trajectory. However, i think if Zimmer can't get his secondary issues sorted we will likely lose in the first two rounds of the playoffs depending on who we draw. If they can fix it, this roster has the potential to go all the way.

[TSonn]

Brett Kollmann is a guy a respect a ton so this is concerning:

https://twitter.com/BrettKollmann/statu ... 9561792512

"Someone's gonna have to Old Yeller Xavier Rhodes after the game today. It's time."

[mansquatch]

I agree. It really feels like either Zimmer just doesn't have it in him to bench Xavier or the people behind him on the bench are worse.

There is something going on schematically also. We are seeing teams exploit Barr in coverage way too often. I think they might benefit from trying to do something to get Kearse more involved against teams with strong TE given his height and coverage skills. Yesterday Fant burned Barr A LOT.

[StumpHunter]

Brett Kollman is a guy a respect a ton so this is concerning:

https://twitter.com/BrettKollmann/statu ... 9561792512

"Someone's gonna have to Old Yeller Xavier Rhodes after the game today. It's time."

Overreaction. He is not earning his pay check, but he is not playing as poorly as you all think he is. There is not a guy waiting on the bench or on the other side of the field who can come in and play better, which has been proven multiple times over the past couple of weeks. Waynes and Hughes on the other team's #1 have been torched just as much if not more.

[Dames]

Brett Kollman is a guy a respect a ton so this is concerning:

https://twitter.com/BrettKollmann/statu ... 9561792512

"Someone's gonna have to Old Yeller Xavier Rhodes after the game today. It's time."

Overreaction. He is not earning his pay check, but he is not playing as poorly as you all think he is. There is not a guy waiting on the bench or on the other side of the field who can come in and play better, which has been proven multiple times over the past couple of weeks. Waynes and Hughes on the other team's #1 have been torched just as much if not more.

I came to post this same thing. We all know that Rhodes is not the same, but there is literally nobody behind him that is playing better. I have a feeling he's still relying on his athletic ability too much, and needs to work on his technique a little more. The refs are focusing on the rules, and he can't get away with playing physical as much as he used to. I think that frustrates him and he makes dumb mistakes. But, he is what we have, and his mistakes are amplified because he's on an island. I just have to trust that the coaches will continue to work with him. He's okay, but maybe just not the guy who will shut down the other team's best WR anymore. We were spoiled by having that guy in the previous years.

[TSonn]

Overreaction. He is not earning his pay check, but he is not playing as poorly as you all think he is. There is not a guy waiting on the bench or on the other side of the field who can come in and play better, which has been proven multiple times over the past couple of weeks. Waynes and Hughes on the other team's #1 have been torched just as much if not more.

I came to post this same thing. We all know that Rhodes is not the same, but there is literally nobody behind him that is playing better. I have a feeling he's still relying on his athletic ability too much, and needs to work on his technique a little more. The refs are focusing on the rules, and he can't get away with playing physical as much as he used to. I think that frustrates him and he makes dumb mistakes. But, he is what we have, and his mistakes are amplified because he's on an island. I just have to trust that the coaches will continue to work with him. He's okay, but maybe just not the guy who will shut down the other team's best WR anymore. We were spoiled by having that guy in the previous years.

Yeah, overall I agree that we shouldn't just flat out cut him like Kollmann is suggesting. But I do wonder if Hill can take his spot once he gets back up to game speed from his suspension. Hill's not a guy to count on off the field but he showed flashes last year and those flashes were definitely better than what we're getting from Rhodes this season.

I'm also curious if Kollmann will do a video on Rhodes this season to really see what's going on. I'd love to see that.

[Dames]

I agree. It really feels like either Zimmer just doesn't have it in him to bench Xavier or the people behind him on the bench are worse.

There is something going on schematically also. We are seeing teams exploit Barr in coverage way too often. I think they might benefit from trying to do something to get Kearse more involved against teams with strong TE given his height and coverage skills. Yesterday Fant burned Barr A LOT.

Barr had a tough assignment trying to cover Fant. He's really athletic. I don't think this is a concern personally though. Maybe I'm not remembering, but I don't think he's struggled with coverage much this year. I would sometimes like to see them use Kendricks in that role, because he is a better cover LB. But that's likely outside the scheme of our D, and may cause other issues. Kearse may be an interesting twist though.

It seems there always a matchup or 2 per year where Barr is asked to win an impossible battle, but maybe there's no good way around it without exposing another area.

[Dames]

Yeah, overall I agree that we shouldn't just flat out cut him like Kollmann is suggesting. But I do wonder if Hill can take his spot once he gets back up to game speed from his suspension. Hill's not a guy to count on off the field but he showed flashes last year and those flashes were definitely better than what we're getting from Rhodes this season.

I'm also curious if Kollmann will do a video on Rhodes this season to really see what's going on. I'd love to see that.

I wish Hill was here all year, because I do agree he showed some flashes last year. Maybe he's getting up to speed still.

[StumpHunter]

I came to post this same thing. We all know that Rhodes is not the same, but there is literally nobody behind him that is playing better. I have a feeling he's still relying on his athletic ability too much, and needs to work on his technique a little more. The refs are focusing on the rules, and he can't get away with playing physical as much as he used to. I think that frustrates him and he makes dumb mistakes. But, he is what we have, and his mistakes are amplified because he's on an island. I just have to trust that the coaches will continue to work with him. He's okay, but maybe just not the guy who will shut down the other team's best WR anymore. We were spoiled by having that guy in the previous years.

Yeah, overall I agree that we shouldn't just flat out cut him like Kollmann is suggesting. But I do wonder if Hill can take his spot once he gets back up to game speed from his suspension. Hill's not a guy to count on off the field but he showed flashes last year and those flashes were definitely better than what we're getting from Rhodes this season.

I'm also curious if Kollmann will do a video on Rhodes this season to really see what's going on. I'd love to see that.

Coverage-wise, Rhodes is playing a lot better than Waynes while also facing better competition most of the time.From a run stopping standpoint, Waynes is better, but the run isn't what is beating us. If you are going to replace someone, replace Waynes who is gone next season anyway.

[VikingLord]

Biggest thing for us it to keep winning and hope SF can do us a solid and beat GB next Sunday night. From there the table will be set for the game vs. the Pack at US Bank Stadium for all the marbles. That is IF we beat SEA and win out. SEA game also important for Wild Card race, but really it is more about that playoff bye week. If GB wins out it won't matter since we have two divsion losses and even if we beat them, they'll only have one. We both finish 13-3 and they win the division on the tie beaker.

My hope is that somehow the Vikings find a way to get HFA yet throughout the playoffs. I don't know exactly the scenario that would make that happen. Obviously, some pretty good teams have to lose some games they should probably win, but it sure would be nice if the road to the Superbowl in the NFC went through Minnesota and it's SKOL chanting fans.

Defense: Rush D has been solid. But the pass D is THE issue. What is going on? Rhodes is obviously not the same guy he was 2 years ago. The rest of them are OK. We are seeing offenses convert a lot of contested catches. We are also seeing mismatch issues such as Barr on TE. Zimmer needs to get this sorted during the bye week. We've had two weeks in a row where we've had major heartburn wins. That isn't going to get it done in the playoffs.

DBs are in position for the most part but just not making the plays on some of the deep throws. Odds are, they'll start breaking more of those up, and maybe even start picking them.

Feel free to pile on. Overall I'm happy with our trajectory. However, i think if Zimmer can't get his secondary issues sorted we will likely lose in the first two rounds of the playoffs depending on who we draw. If they can fix it, this roster has the potential to go all the way.

I think the fundamentals are there. Coverage has been there. They're just not executing, but some of that seems to be just bad luck. I think there were 3 times yesterday when the defense should have gotten off the field and they got called for something. So it just comes down to better execution in those situations, but they're not getting badly victimized or anything.

These next 5 weeks will tell it. Lots of prime time games against solid opponents. 3 out of the last 4 at home, including all 3 divisional opponents. They should be rested, hopefully healthy, and ready to take it to the next level.

[VikingLord]

I agree. It really feels like either Zimmer just doesn't have it in him to bench Xavier or the people behind him on the bench are worse.

There is something going on schematically also. We are seeing teams exploit Barr in coverage way too often. I think they might benefit from trying to do something to get Kearse more involved against teams with strong TE given his height and coverage skills. Yesterday Fant burned Barr A LOT.

Barr had a tough assignment trying to cover Fant. He's really athletic. I don't think this is a concern personally though. Maybe I'm not remembering, but I don't think he's struggled with coverage much this year. I would sometimes like to see them use Kendricks in that role, because he is a better cover LB. But that's likely outside the scheme of our D, and may cause other issues. Kearse may be an interesting twist though.

It seems there always a matchup or 2 per year where Barr is asked to win an impossible battle, but maybe there's no good way around it without exposing another area.

On the one particular play where Barr got "burned", Fant got a clean release off the line and ran a short crossing route that was an easy dump play for the QB.

If that was happening all game, I'd be concerned. It didn't, so I'm not too worried about it. Sometimes the offensive players are just going to make the play, and there were a few examples of that yesterday, but while Barr has had some high profile balls completed on him, he's also made some nice plays, as has Kendricks. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the coverage ability of the Vikings LBs.

[CharVike]

8-3 is a good record at this point. I felt we caught some breaks and that we didn't take advantage of them. Facing backup QBs against the Bears and Chiefs was a break IMO. I realize they are professional players but they are backups for a reason. It will be hard for us to win the division unless the Packers lose a few and we win out. If playoffs is the goal then we are still active. You have to say it was good so far.

[VikeFanInEagleLand]

8-3 is a good record at this point. I felt we caught some breaks and that we didn't take advantage of them. Facing backup QBs against the Bears and Chiefs was a break IMO. I realize they are professional players but they are backups for a reason. It will be hard for us to win the division unless the Packers lose a few and we win out. If playoffs is the goal then we are still active. You have to say it was good so far.

The reason is because you only have one starter.

[PacificNorseWest]

Need SF to beat GB and then Vikings control their own destiny in the NFCN. They'd bypass Seattle by beating them on MNF and SF still has to play road games against Baltimore, New Orleans and Seattle. A good chance they lose a couple of those. Vikes just need to take care of business. If they beat Seattle, I think they win out.

[PacificNorseWest]

Need SF to beat GB and then Vikings control their own destiny in the NFCN. They'd bypass Seattle by beating on MNF and SF still has to play road games against Baltimore, New Orleans and Seattle. A good chance they lose a couple of those. Vikes just need to take care of business. If they beat Seattle, I think they win out.

Zimmer needs to figure out the pass coverage.