Vikings-Packers Game Day

[Rhodes Closed]

https://twitter.com/christomasson/statu ... 8631855104

Mark Fields II punctured a lung and that's why he went out of the game. Luckily it was only minor so only a few weeks out, but we *desperately* need CB depth.

That said, this Vikings defense is starting to improve upon itself weekly. Even with the bottom of the barrel players we're bringing in, somehow they're doing okay for themselves.

Thoughts: We should start DJ Wonnum for now and see how he does for the next game. No disrespect to Jalyn Holmes, but I feel Wonnum has a *lot* of potential, especially after that great hit on Rodgers.

Another thing to note is the idea that we should maybe look into getting a linebacker in as a nickel. Experiment a little, we're already a lost cause this season, and if Zimmer wants to save his job, he should just spend the rest of the season trying out new stuff.

[Maelstrom88]

Heckuva day by the oline. Ezra is looking good.

https://twitter.com/BaldyNFL/status/132 ... 10848?s=20

[Texas Vike]

Zimmer finally defeats Lafleur.

On All Saints Day, Zimmer culled some metaphysical forces, willing the wind to blow 30 MPH and negate the passing game of GB, helping our sad patchwork quilt of a secondary, which became even sadder due to injury during the game, and allowed our superior ground game the perfect conditions to shine. The wind also allowed our tightly-wound, puckered up QB to step out of a central role.

What a great time for Dalvin to come back from injury. It reminded me of his return for the NO playoffs game last season. When he is not nicked up with injuries, the guy might well be the best RB in the league. I'll be interested to read from more knowledgeable viewers how much of that can be attributed to the performance of his OL, but my inexpert eye-test, relying on comparison with what Mattison was able to do yesterday, would give Dalvin the credit.

With a 14 point lead, playing our copyrighted style of sitting on a lead and trying to not lose, I was certain Rodgers would do his thing and make us all agonize the bitter existence of a Vikings fan, but our rookie Wonnum, second coming of Hunter and disciple of DL guru Andre Patterson, did the deed. So glad to see the image posted here. It was the most gratifying visual of the 2020 season thus far.

It was so liberating to watch the final drive with true indifference to the outcome. I was genuinely pleased to beat the Pack, but I wouldn't have cared too much to have gained another loss and preserved a top 5 pick.

Edit to add: The most pleasing thing to see was that the team's spirit is still in tact. They have not given up on the season. Kendricks was a beast yesterday, as he has been much of the season. The DL looked better yesterday, with guys we've had awhile (Jaleel Johnson) finally showing up. Nice to see.

[Texas Vike]

https://twitter.com/BaldyNFL/status/1323115606594510848

Here's one of those knowledgeable viewers I mentioned, highlighting Ezra's strong outing.

[FredJohnson22]

The Fackers were exposed as the pretenders they are. Good luck to them if they want to play at home in the playoffs (outdoor in Winter). Even with having their best ILB back on the field (Martin), they were EXPOSED! By the way...Kenny Clark looked pedestrian...he may be hurt.
Fack the Pack!

[J. Kapp 11]

Zimmer finally defeats Lafleur.

On All Saints Day, Zimmer culled some metaphysical forces, willing the wind to blow 30 MPH and negate the passing game of GB, helping our sad patchwork quilt of a secondary, which became even sadder due to injury during the game, and allowed our superior ground game the perfect conditions to shine. The wind also allowed our tightly-wound, puckered up QB to step out of a central role.

What a great time for Dalvin to come back from injury. It reminded me of his return for the NO playoffs game last season. When he is not nicked up with injuries, the guy might well be the best RB in the league. I'll be interested to read from more knowledgeable viewers how much of that can be attributed to the performance of his OL, but my inexpert eye-test, relying on comparison with what Mattison was able to do yesterday, would give Dalvin the credit.

With a 14 point lead, playing our copyrighted style of sitting on a lead and trying to not lose, I was certain Rodgers would do his thing and make us all agonize the bitter existence of a Vikings fan, but our rookie Wonnum, second coming of Hunter and disciple of DL guru Andre Patterson, did the deed. So glad to see the image posted here. It was the most gratifying visual of the 2020 season thus far.

It was so liberating to watch the final drive with true indifference to the outcome. I was genuinely pleased to beat the Pack, but I wouldn't have cared too much to have gained another loss and preserved a top 5 pick.

Edit to add: The most pleasing thing to see was that the team's spirit is still in tact. They have not given up on the season. Kendricks was a beast yesterday, as he has been much of the season. The DL looked better yesterday, with guys we've had awhile (Jaleel Johnson) finally showing up. Nice to see.

I'm not sure how much of what you just wrote was good analysis, but it was a very entertaining read!

(And I kid ... it's great analysis.)

[J. Kapp 11]

We’ll see but we don’t get to play in gale force winds every week with Dalvin going off for 200. I’m always happy to beat the Packers but I think this was probably an anomaly more than turning the corner.

It very much reminded me of the Cowboys prime time game. Dalvin carried the offense in that game too and the defense did just enough.

The "prove" was a bit tongue in cheek. It seemed like the Packers missed on opportunities while at the same time they couldn't stop Dalvin. Most of the time we lose that game.

Weird game, but divisional games can be like that. I really hope this doesn't mean we are in for a 7-9 season, which would be the worst possible outcome and keep Rick, Zimmer and Cousins employed for one more season.

It truly was weird.

We ran 48 plays for the game, a very low total. Dalvin Cook had a touch on 32 of them. That's 67% of our offense.

As promised, I won't trash the Vikings for signing Cook to a lucrative extension. Let's face it, that would be pretty stupid after a game like he just had. But I would like to reiterate that my comments regarding the extension were never directed at Cook. He's a great back, best in the league when healthy.

The thing is, what he did yesterday is not sustainable. He's not built for 32 touches per game, nor will he often see conditions like yesterday, where Rodgers had so much trouble throwing the ball because of the wind. My comments were always about the relative value of the position, not Dalvin. We'll see how it plays out over the life of his deal, and whether he can stay on the field long enough to make it worth the money. At a workload of 32 touches per game, I certainly have my doubts whether ANY any back could stay healthy.

Bottom line: We need better, more consistent play in the passing game ... so that we can keep Dalvin healthy.

All that being said, I'm seriously glad Dalvin is on our team. He's a great player, and seriously fun to watch.

[Tark]

OK, I was cautiously encouraged to be wrong on my prediction. Think about this: when the Vikings are achieving as their talent suggests, they are capable of beating anyone in the NFC. Seattle should have been a win and we just showed it by defeating Green Bay in Lamblow. Rams got handled by Miami and NO barely squeaked by Da Bears. I'm not saying we are making the play offs but I think there may be hope that that light at the end of the tunnel isn't an oncoming train. Or not, who knows with this team? 7-9 is still an optimistic prediction for their final record. That being said, if you haven't already done so, make sure to cast your vote tomorrow.

[VikingLord]

Cook was amazing yesterday. He's truly a beast when he's full-speed.

The offensive line did a fantastic job of controlling the point of attack. A game like yesterday's leaves me scratching my head. In the first meeting, and in the last meeting last year, the Packer defense dominated the LOS and dictated every snap. The Vikings offensive line was overwhelmed in both games. Yesterday, it was the opposite. While I'm impressed that the Vikings OL showed up and played so well, I'm more confused as to what happened to the formerly dominant Packer defensive front? They were just outplayed. Badly. How does a team's front seven regress so quickly? Sure, the Vikings OL has improved, but not that much. Was it the result of being rested from the bye? The Packers just had a bye not too long ago. They shouldn't exactly be tired.

I thought the Vikings defense has done a good job of scheming against some of the better QBs they've faced. Not against all of them, but I thought they looked pretty decent against Russell Wilson and then again yesterday I thought they did a good job of confusing Rodgers. Or maybe it was the wind. It does seem like the scheme has changed and they've become less predictable in terms of their post-snap shifts and breaking into unexpected coverages. I thought Rodgers would just sit back and play some sandlot ball on them, but he seemed genuinely confused at times.

Vikings also seemed to be more consistent limiting the Packer run game, especially on early downs. It wasn't domination, but it was noticeable compared to the first game. Maybe not having Jones makes that big of a difference, but it does seem like the Vikings front 7 all played more consistently than in the first game. They didn't generate a ton of pressure on Rodgers, but they didn't let him get comfortable, either.

With this team its hard to say if they have turned a corner. I doubt they have, but the glimmers of improvement are starting to shine through the darkness that has been this season. They are clearly not mailing it in. You could see that when the camera focused on Harrison Smith's eyes. The dude looked p1ssed even when the Vikings were ahead. That is nice to see. It's the kind of on-field leadership I thought they lacked at times last year, and in a season like this one, it's unexpected to see it. But there it is, and if the team is going to turn it around, it will be largely because of players like Smith stepping up and leading them out of the darkness.

We'll see where it goes from here. Hard to get too optimistic about this team, but it sure does feel good to finally see them thump the Packers.

[StumpHunter]

The "prove" was a bit tongue in cheek. It seemed like the Packers missed on opportunities while at the same time they couldn't stop Dalvin. Most of the time we lose that game.

Weird game, but divisional games can be like that. I really hope this doesn't mean we are in for a 7-9 season, which would be the worst possible outcome and keep Rick, Zimmer and Cousins employed for one more season.

It truly was weird.

We ran 48 plays for the game, a very low total. Dalvin Cook had a touch on 32 of them. That's 67% of our offense.

As promised, I won't trash the Vikings for signing Cook to a lucrative extension. Let's face it, that would be pretty stupid after a game like he just had. But I would like to reiterate that my comments regarding the extension were never directed at Cook. He's a great back, best in the league when healthy.

The thing is, what he did yesterday is not sustainable. He's not built for 32 touches per game, nor will he often see conditions like yesterday, where Rodgers had so much trouble throwing the ball because of the wind. My comments were always about the relative value of the position, not Dalvin. We'll see how it plays out over the life of his deal, and whether he can stay on the field long enough to make it worth the money. At a workload of 32 touches per game, I certainly have my doubts whether ANY any back could stay healthy.

Bottom line: We need better, more consistent play in the passing game ... so that we can keep Dalvin healthy.

All that being said, I'm seriously glad Dalvin is on our team. He's a great player, and seriously fun to watch.

It sure isn't maintainable, but it is nice that the possibility this can happen exists.

Just saw that the longest air yard completion was 9 yards yesterday for the Vikings. That is how Ponder would win games with AP in 2012. I think it is possible with how Cook is running to win 5 more games with a similar effort from the QB and defense, but does that mean we go into 2021 with the same GM, HC and QB like we did in 2013 after it was clear it was just a herculean effort by the RB that was hiding obvious flaws on the team? Something that is almost impossible to repeat in back to back years and tends to end up like 2013, with a RB who is banged up from all the hits he took carrying the offense and who loses a step because of those hits.

[VikingsVictorious]

Coming out of semi retirement to say YES. We beat the freaking Puke. This partially salvages the season.

[J. Kapp 11]

Cook was amazing yesterday. He's truly a beast when he's full-speed.

The offensive line did a fantastic job of controlling the point of attack. A game like yesterday's leaves me scratching my head. In the first meeting, and in the last meeting last year, the Packer defense dominated the LOS and dictated every snap. The Vikings offensive line was overwhelmed in both games. Yesterday, it was the opposite. While I'm impressed that the Vikings OL showed up and played so well, I'm more confused as to what happened to the formerly dominant Packer defensive front? They were just outplayed. Badly. How does a team's front seven regress so quickly? Sure, the Vikings OL has improved, but not that much. Was it the result of being rested from the bye? The Packers just had a bye not too long ago. They shouldn't exactly be tired.

I believe there's been some real improvement on our O-line. I recently saw that Bradbury is now ranked in the top 10 for centers by PFF. There were a number of plays yesterday where he was really good (I'm thinking the screen to Cook for the long TD, and the short TD run by Cook, where all three of the interior linemen got push). Cleveland looked pretty bad against Atlanta, but he was solid yesterday against the Pack. He's a talented player, so that's not as big a surprise. Reiff is having his best year as a pro, and O'Neill is playing reasonably well, although his penalties are up. Dozier ... I don't notice him that much except on running plays to the left. He and Reiff are pretty good together in the run game. The O-line may simply be starting to come together.

I thought the Vikings defense has done a good job of scheming against some of the better QBs they've faced. Not against all of them, but I thought they looked pretty decent against Russell Wilson and then again yesterday I thought they did a good job of confusing Rodgers. Or maybe it was the wind. It does seem like the scheme has changed and they've become less predictable in terms of their post-snap shifts and breaking into unexpected coverages. I thought Rodgers would just sit back and play some sandlot ball on them, but he seemed genuinely confused at times.

I saw a breakdown somewhere about why Xavier Rhodes is having a bounce-back year with the Colts. The reason is pretty simple. Zimmer played him in man coverage against the other team's best receiver, then played everybody else in zone. That worked in, say, 2017. But Rhodes lost a step, yet Zimmer stubbornly kept putting him on an island. With the Colts, Rhodes is playing a lot more zone, and he's thriving. I think Zimmer is realizing that with the inexperience at corner, he's got to play a lot more Cover 2. Also, Tampa Bay exposed Green Bay by playing a lot of Cover 2 and keeping the Packers from going deep. It's a copycat league, plus it works for our corners, as well as Kendricks, who has the athleticism and talent to cover that third receiver.

Vikings also seemed to be more consistent limiting the Packer run game, especially on early downs. It wasn't domination, but it was noticeable compared to the first game. Maybe not having Jones makes that big of a difference, but it does seem like the Vikings front 7 all played more consistently than in the first game. They didn't generate a ton of pressure on Rodgers, but they didn't let him get comfortable, either.

Here's where NOT having Yannick Ngakoue helps the Vikings. He is not a good run defender. Holmes is much better against the run, as is Odenigbo. Our DTs just plain balled yesterday. I don't have any idea where that came from.

With this team its hard to say if they have turned a corner. I doubt they have, but the glimmers of improvement are starting to shine through the darkness that has been this season. They are clearly not mailing it in. You could see that when the camera focused on Harrison Smith's eyes. The dude looked p1ssed even when the Vikings were ahead. That is nice to see. It's the kind of on-field leadership I thought they lacked at times last year, and in a season like this one, it's unexpected to see it. But there it is, and if the team is going to turn it around, it will be largely because of players like Smith stepping up and leading them out of the darkness.

I'm going to drift into eternal optimist mode again, but the Vikings' record could easily be reversed right now.

We got our a$$es handed to us by Green Bay and Indianapolis. No winning those games. But we lost to Tennessee and Seattle by a grand total of two points. And no matter how ugly the Atlanta game was, if we'd have played like we did yesterday, we'd have won that game. Their defense is terrible, but Cousins played like a high school sophomore. Plus we didn't have Dalvin.

I think what has made many of us believe this team is terrible (me included) is the way we lost the first two games. After the next four, my thought was "better, but still finding ways to lose." So in that regard, yesterday could have been the turn of a corner. The jury's still out for me. Detroit at home is a winnable game. If we lay an egg, then the Green Bay win seems like more of an anomaly than a corner being turned.

We'll see where it goes from here. Hard to get too optimistic about this team, but it sure does feel good to finally see them thump the Packers.

Amen to that!

[VikeFanInEagleLand]

I don't think my mind can be changed that the Vikings can never reach the ultimate goal as long as Zimmer and Cousins are involved. But they are plenty capable of leading a team to the playoffs....probably just not this year. I think we all deep down knew that this team shouldn't have been 1-5. Like Kapp said, that start included two losses by a point to two pretty good teams. I see the Atlanta game as more of a mental letdown coming off of the Seattle game. Yes, the first two games were ugly, but even in those two losses there is a variable to consider. Covid. Teams just couldn't prepare as they normally did for the season and the Vikings looked completely rusty and unprepared. Also, I believe that the empty stadiums effect some teams much more than others, especially teams that rely more on defense. Also, on an individual level I think that some players draw energy from the crowd more than others. I think that explains why the baseball season had so many proven players having their worse year this year.

They dug themselves a major hole. I don't see enough experience, coaching aptness, or caliber at the QB position to dig themselves out of it this year.

[VikingPaul73]

we will see, but I just see this game as more of anomaly than anything else. Vikes were rested after a bye week, and the 30 mph winds played to the Vikings favor. I do think the OL is improving, but this Defense is terrible and Cousins is Cousins.

[VikingLord]

I think what has made many of us believe this team is terrible (me included) is the way we lost the first two games. After the next four, my thought was "better, but still finding ways to lose." So in that regard, yesterday could have been the turn of a corner. The jury's still out for me. Detroit at home is a winnable game. If we lay an egg, then the Green Bay win seems like more of an anomaly than a corner being turned.

Its interesting how quickly sentiment can change. In the back of my mind I was surprised yesterday, but if I step back and look at why, it's mainly because I assume the Packers are one of the best teams in the league.

That might not be true. If it's not, and in fact they are more average than good, then yesterday wasn't nearly as impressive.

Hard to get excited about them given my lingering internal doubts, but...

They have 5 losses. If they were to win out somehow, they'd easily make the playoffs.

Of course, these are the Minnesota Vikings we're talking about. If this team were to start dominating, finish 11-5, barnstorm through the NFC on its way to its first Superbowl since the mid-70's, we can all rest assured the Superbowl would be canceled due to COVID, asteroid strike or something similar. The NFL would postpone the game, of course, but by then the Vikings have cooled off. Having several weeks or months to sit and reflect on their unlikely success, they would inevitably have time to look down and realize they are walking on water instead of land and get blown out.

But it's always great to beat the Packers. If nothing else, we'll always have that to remember from this season.