Typical

[Tark]

Add this loss to the long list of choke jobs. I love this team

[RandyMoss84]

It is not surprising but I want Zimmer fired

[Rhodes Closed]

The refs #### us over big time.

[VikingPaul73]

Silver lining -
1. At least we can stop the talk about PLAYOFFS!!!
2. Maybe zimmer gets fired ????

[Maelstrom88]

31 points to Andy Dalton led Cowboys... huh.

[RandyMoss84]

31 points to Andy Dalton led Cowboys... huh.

The defense is pathetic tonight and Boyd, Danztler, and Kendricks dropped game saving interceptions

[VikingLord]

Defense struggled tonight. Of course, the offense didn't do a great job with turnovers, but the defense really struggled to limit the Cowboys run game on downs 1 and 2 and didn't generate much pressure on Dalton. The play that stood out to me was the Pollard TD run where Jones didn't even attempt the tackle. I don't know if Jones is injured or what, but that was awful. It wasn't the only awful, though. Harrison Smith choosing to break off assigned coverage twice (at least) left wide open receivers. One almost caught a TD to end the first half after yet another untimely turnover, while the other did result in a wide open receiver to score the winning TD. Not sure why Smith is gambling in those situations. I'd expect the rookie DBs to make mistakes like that but not Smith.

Offense wasn't great either. Lots of penalties. Run game couldn't get untracked against a pretty poor run defense. I was shocked to see the inability of the Vikings blockers to establish any running lanes or get much push. There were many plays where Vikings OL ended up shoved well into the backfield on several runs. There were at least two plays where Bradbury was going backwards after the snap. That shouldn't be happening. Not against the Cowboy interior.

Cook did what he could to compensate. He took a lot of hard shots though.

I thought the Vikings pass blocking was pretty good overall. Obviously they got to Cousins on the strip sack, which sucked, but Cousins mostly had time to find receivers and they completed some nice passes. Thielen did well, as did Jefferson, the TEs, and even Cook. But still, when the Vikings most needed a simple completion to keep their last drive and hope alive, Jefferson dropped the ball. It was just that kind of game.

Special teams continued to be special. At least they didn't give up another return for a TD, but that fake punt that was nullified by a penalty was another reminder of how incompetent the unit is.

I don't know how this loss falls on Zimmer. If I had to sum up why the Vikings lost today, it would be a combination of the Cowboys being more energetic and the Vikings making unforced errors in all three phases of the game. I don't think the overall gameplan was bad, nor did I see anything Zimmer did or failed to do that put the Vikings in a bad situation. I think he designed a solid plan that just wasn't executed well, and while the Cowboys are a very flawed team, they have enough talent to take advantage of the Vikings giving Christmas spirit when it came to turnovers, penalties and failed execution.

The Vikings are not a terrible team. The loss is frustrating on a variety of levels, but par for the 2020 season course for the most part.

[RandyMoss84]

Defense struggled tonight. Of course, the offense didn't do a great job with turnovers, but the defense really struggled to limit the Cowboys run game on downs 1 and 2 and didn't generate much pressure on Dalton. The play that stood out to me was the Pollard TD run where Jones didn't even attempt the tackle. I don't know if Jones is injured or what, but that was awful. It wasn't the only awful, though. Harrison Smith choosing to break off assigned coverage twice (at least) left wide open receivers. One almost caught a TD to end the first half after yet another untimely turnover, while the other did result in a wide open receiver to score the winning TD. Not sure why Smith is gambling in those situations. I'd expect the rookie DBs to make mistakes like that but not Smith.

Offense wasn't great either. Lots of penalties. Run game couldn't get untracked against a pretty poor run defense. I was shocked to see the inability of the Vikings blockers to establish any running lanes or get much push. There were many plays where Vikings OL ended up shoved well into the backfield on several runs. There were at least two plays where Bradbury was going backwards after the snap. That shouldn't be happening. Not against the Cowboy interior.

Cook did what he could to compensate. He took a lot of hard shots though.

I thought the Vikings pass blocking was pretty good overall. Obviously they got to Cousins on the strip sack, which sucked, but Cousins mostly had time to find receivers and they completed some nice passes. Thielen did well, as did Jefferson, the TEs, and even Cook. But still, when the Vikings most needed a simple completion to keep their last drive and hope alive, Jefferson dropped the ball. It was just that kind of game.

Special teams continued to be special. At least they didn't give up another return for a TD, but that fake punt that was nullified by a penalty was another reminder of how incompetent the unit is.

I don't know how this loss falls on Zimmer. If I had to sum up why the Vikings lost today, it would be a combination of the Cowboys being more energetic and the Vikings making unforced errors in all three phases of the game. I don't think the overall gameplan was bad, nor did I see anything Zimmer did or failed to do that put the Vikings in a bad situation. I think he designed a solid plan that just wasn't executed well, and while the Cowboys are a very flawed team, they have enough talent to take advantage of the Vikings giving Christmas spirit when it came to turnovers, penalties and failed execution.

The Vikings are not a terrible team. The loss is frustrating on a variety of levels, but par for the 2020 season course for the most part.

Harrison had his worst game since the Vikings-Eagles NFC Championship game

[chicagopurple]

These Vikes ARE a terrible team. They struggle to beat horrible teams like Bears, fail to beat another terrible team with scrub players like the Cowgurls, the fans are left so frustrated that they are blaming the refs ( the ultimate sign of lameness), Your coach was hired as a defensive "genius"...NOT!......
This organization is an insult to past generations of Vikings and their fans. We celebrate the rare weeks of minimal competency....like last week.....beggars for a crust of bread. Lame Lame Lame.

[VikingLord]

These Vikes ARE a terrible team. They struggle to beat horrible teams like Bears, fail to beat another terrible team with scrub players like the Cowgurls, the fans are left so frustrated that they are blaming the refs ( the ultimate sign of lameness), Your coach was hired as a defensive "genius"...NOT!......
This organization is an insult to past generations of Vikings and their fans. We celebrate the rare weeks of minimal competency....like last week.....beggars for a crust of bread. Lame Lame Lame.

The Vikings are a flawed, but improving, team.

A few weeks ago I would have agreed with you that they were terrible. I thought they were a 3-5 win team before they came out of their bye.

Now, I think they're about an 8-9 win team. Even after yesterday's loss to the Cowboys. I think this because I see indications of improvement in the areas I thought they were weakest, and they do have talent on the team. The OL has played much better since the break, although they might have taken a step back yesterday. Who knows, maybe Ezra Cleveland makes that big of a difference?

Defensively, the main issues yesterday were they failed to limit the Dallas run game on the early downs, which put Dallas into favorable 3rd down-and-distance situations for most of the game. Andy Dalton is going to convert those opportunities most of the time. He's not a flashy QB, but he's steady and he's smart. The other major issue on defense yesterday was the same issue that cost them the game against Atlanta, which was poor secondary play due to broken coverages and lack of consistent tackling. The Harrison Smith leaving his assigned man to jump a short route near the end of the first half was emblematic of this failure, as was Chris Jone's failing to even attempt to tackle Pollard on his long TD run in the 2nd half. Those kinds of mistakes are killers.

I know Dallas has a crappy record. They lost their starting QB for the season and haven't performed well. I personally hate the Cowboys almost as much as any team in the NFL. But Dallas is not a bad team. They've got a lot of firepower on offense (man, that TD catch by Lamb was unreal). They have been plagued by turnovers and poor execution, but make no mistake they can move the ball and put up points and nearly beat the undefeated Steelers heading into their game against the Vikings. Add on top of that the fact that they were coming off a bye and were fully rested, and it should be no surprise that they beat the Vikings yesterday. That doesn't make the Vikings a crappy team, nor should it negate the obvious progress the 2020 Vikings have made to this point.

The Vikings are going to win more games yet this year. They might not make the playoffs, but they're going to bounce back and put in some more gritty performances and maybe even beat some teams nobody expects them to beat. They'll probably finish 8-8, maybe 9-7, but by the time this season ends most of us on this board will be much more optimistic about their future.

[Pondering Her Percy]

These Vikes ARE a terrible team. They struggle to beat horrible teams like Bears, fail to beat another terrible team with scrub players like the Cowgurls, the fans are left so frustrated that they are blaming the refs ( the ultimate sign of lameness), Your coach was hired as a defensive "genius"...NOT!......
This organization is an insult to past generations of Vikings and their fans. We celebrate the rare weeks of minimal competency....like last week.....beggars for a crust of bread. Lame Lame Lame.

Man did someone take a leak in your Cheerios this morning or what? The Vikings are not a "terrible team". You dont just win 3 division games in a row (2 being on the road) if you're a "terrible team". That would be the Jets. The Vikings are not even remotely close to being that bad.

Also, the Bears are also not a horrible team. Offensive, yeah. But defensively they are still one of the better defense in the NFL and it's a big reason they have 5 wins. As for the Cowboys, they've underachieved this year (partly due to injuries) but I'm pretty sure Elliott, Pollard, Cooper, Lamb, Gallup, VanderEsch, Smith, and Lawrence are not "scrub players". The Cowboys had arguably one of the most talented rosters in the NFL heading into this season.

As for the fans blaming the refs, let me ask you, did you think the refs called a fair game last night? If you cant flat out say "yes they did" to that, then dont even bother going there.

Either way, if you want to be frustrated, be frustrated. If you want to vent then vent but at least get your facts straight when doing it.

[J. Kapp 11]

These Vikes ARE a terrible team. They struggle to beat horrible teams like Bears, fail to beat another terrible team with scrub players like the Cowgurls, the fans are left so frustrated that they are blaming the refs ( the ultimate sign of lameness), Your coach was hired as a defensive "genius"...NOT!......
This organization is an insult to past generations of Vikings and their fans. We celebrate the rare weeks of minimal competency....like last week.....beggars for a crust of bread. Lame Lame Lame.

The Vikings are a flawed, but improving, team.

A few weeks ago I would have agreed with you that they were terrible. I thought they were a 3-5 win team before they came out of their bye.

Now, I think they're about an 8-9 win team. Even after yesterday's loss to the Cowboys. I think this because I see indications of improvement in the areas I thought they were weakest, and they do have talent on the team. The OL has played much better since the break, although they might have taken a step back yesterday. Who knows, maybe Ezra Cleveland makes that big of a difference?

Defensively, the main issues yesterday were they failed to limit the Dallas run game on the early downs, which put Dallas into favorable 3rd down-and-distance situations for most of the game. Andy Dalton is going to convert those opportunities most of the time. He's not a flashy QB, but he's steady and he's smart. The other major issue on defense yesterday was the same issue that cost them the game against Atlanta, which was poor secondary play due to broken coverages and lack of consistent tackling. The Harrison Smith leaving his assigned man to jump a short route near the end of the first half was emblematic of this failure, as was Chris Jone's failing to even attempt to tackle Pollard on his long TD run in the 2nd half. Those kinds of mistakes are killers.

I know Dallas has a crappy record. They lost their starting QB for the season and haven't performed well. I personally hate the Cowboys almost as much as any team in the NFL. But Dallas is not a bad team. They've got a lot of firepower on offense (man, that TD catch by Lamb was unreal). They have been plagued by turnovers and poor execution, but make no mistake they can move the ball and put up points and nearly beat the undefeated Steelers heading into their game against the Vikings. Add on top of that the fact that they were coming off a bye and were fully rested, and it should be no surprise that they beat the Vikings yesterday. That doesn't make the Vikings a crappy team, nor should it negate the obvious progress the 2020 Vikings have made to this point.

The Vikings are going to win more games yet this year. They might not make the playoffs, but they're going to bounce back and put in some more gritty performances and maybe even beat some teams nobody expects them to beat. They'll probably finish 8-8, maybe 9-7, but by the time this season ends most of us on this board will be much more optimistic about their future.

"Flawed but improving" is a great way to describe this year's version of the Minnesota Vikings.

Some of those flaws can't be helped. Nobody knew Covid would still be a thing when the Vikings signed Michael Pierce, or that he would opt out of the season because of it. That hurt us in the run game.

Nobody knew that Anthony Barr and more importantly Danielle Hunter would sustain season-ending injuries. One of our biggest issues defensively has been the lack of a consistent pass rush, especially when we don't blitz. Hunter would have solved a lot of those issues. And while we've argued about the true value of Anthony Barr, there's one way we can think of the situation surrounding him ... if Barr were active right now, Troy Dye would never see the field. Not dissing Troy Dye. But the fact that we're starting a fourth-round rookie at linebacker tells you where our depth is.

And the fact that you even mention the name Chris Jones gives us an indication of where our talent lies at corner.

You're also correct about Dallas. This is a team that has underachieved horribly, and teams like that can suddenly get hot. They have so many weapons at the skill positions. Our front four couldn't get pressure on Dalton yesterday, and Zimmer couldn't blitz because we're playing Chris Jones and Cameron Dantzler at corner against guys like Cooper, Lamb and Gallup.

The Vikings are decidedly better than three of the teams remaining on our schedule — Jacksonville, Detroit and Chicago. I can't say they're decidedly better than Carolina. The Panthers have played some really good football and simply haven't won close games. We can beat them, but it's far from a given. Tampa and New Orleans are better than us, period.

So yeah, I could see 7-8 wins. We'd need an upset for 9.

Next year, it would appear we'd be better, but the salary cap situation has me worried. If it drops to $160 million to $180 million, as many are projecting, then Kirk Cousins' $31 million salary becomes a huge issue. But if they cut him, it costs us $41 million against the cap, and we'd have to start over at quarterback. No matter what they do with Cousins, more big decisions will have to be made. The easy ones are guys like Rudy and Reiff. But Hunter could be an even bigger problem, as his 15th-higest salary for edge rushers is not likely going to sit well with him.

So while I'm optimistic about the growth of our young players, I'm less optimistic about our future than I would be if the salary cap were still in the $200 million range.

[Tark]

Cold here in Wyoming but I'm wearing a short sleeve shirt ala Bud Grant

[S197]

I think we're in the down part of the cycle that has been part of the Zimmer/Spielman regime from day 1. Like clockwork, this team has been below average in even years and above average in odd years. Up, down, up, down, up down. There's no inertia, there's no building on progress. It's a constant barrage of excuses as to why management can't consistently perform.

We'll end the season at or slightly below .500, as usual. Take a defensive player in the 1st round, as usual. Keep overpaying our QB, as usual. Finish next season a wildcard team and spend the off season optimistic, only to have another down year.

It's like the Malvina Reynolds song:

Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

Blue, green, yellow, at the end of the day, it's all the same. A team stuck in a perpetual state of shoddy (ticky tacky) management. And so it's no surprise that no matter what happens, it always ends the same.

Meanwhile we watch guys like Tomlin, and Billick, and perhaps Stefanski walk out the door because we're content with our little boxes of mediocrity. And a GM that can't manage his cap space, gave a ridiculous contract to an average QB, and hasn't built a halfway decent O-line in a decade.

People say the Vikings not winning the Super Bowl is due to a curse. It's not a curse. It's complacency.

[chicagopurple]

I dont think Ziggy is complacent, I just think he is out of touch with reality. He has put his money where his mouth is...he just is trusting Spielman to make good use of that cash...which is a fools errand.
If I was the owner I would be pretty well fed up with the decisions made by speilman. This is his coach, his QB, his OL.....and it doesnt work.
We have a beautiful stadium.....but under Spielman we will never see a championship banner hangining in it....
I dont live in MN, so I dont get the coverage I would like so I have aquestion for locals.......
Since the stadium has been completd has Ziggy made ANY public appearances or statements? I havent seen him in a loooong time. I wonder if he is well, if he is still lucid......