Vikings QB Kellen Mond test positive for COVID; three QBs including Kirk Cousins expected to miss practice

[StumpHunter]

That could be, but if that were the case I'd expect at least one of them to say something like "I had the Vikings making the playoffs this year but..." or something along those lines.

There was no mention of them, even when when the Bears were listed as a wildcard team by one of them.

Even more maddening was the discussion about the NFC versus the AFC towards the end of the segment. Apparently in the eyes of all of the analysts the AFC is just stacked and the decisions about who will make the playoffs are much harder in that conference than in the NFC. They apparently see the AFC as more wide open and with more overall top-level parity, but what does that say about how they view the Vikings then? Apparently, in a weak conference with a lot of so-so teams the Vikings don't differentiate themselves at all. I find it hard to believe that is just the after-effects of the preseason talking, but it might be.

Otherwise, I can't explain it. The Vikings have a lot of top-level talent as you pointed out. Top-5 players at their positions that should provide plenty of punch. The Vikings don't have Rodgers at QB, but when I look at the talent on both teams I don't think the Packers are better overall than the Vikings. And it's not like Rodgers spent the offseason running on the beach with Apollo Creed while "Eye of the Tiger" played in the background. The dude spent the offseason hosting Jeopardy and threatening to bolt from his team. I mean, people get on Cousins for not being vaccinated in terms of his leadership role on the team, but at least Cousins shows up and wants to play. Rodgers, on the other hand, seems like he's doing everyone a big favor at this point.

Wonder how that attitude is going to rub off over the season...

Rodgers attitude could be positive. He basically told the GM to go F yourself and the GM didn't have the balls to pull the trigger with his man sitting there behind Rodgers. The GM put himself in this position but is scared to make the move. That's says plenty more about the GM than Rodgers.

How so?

Being an A hole to the team that gave you a chance, consistently puts an elite Oline in front of you and paid you millions says a lot more about Rodgers than it says about the GM who was forced to relent or trade away the MVP. Trade him away and still pay him like 40 million.

Rodgers had absolutely nothing to be reasonably upset about and it seemed his main grievance with management amounted to him being upset about the team cutting players to pay his massive contract.

Great WR, great RB, elite Oline, solid defense. There are maybe 5 QBs in a better spot than he was in 2020, maybe. Guys a ####.

[VikingLord]

Another theory then: The Vikings have become one of the most predictable teams in the NFL and are boring to talk about.

Since 2018 there hasn't been a team lose to playoff teams more consistently while simultaneously win against non-playoff teams just as consistently. These analysts know what the Vikings are and no further discussion is needed.

I can buy that as viable theory.

[VikingLord]

In all those years, I’ve learned one thing that, to me, is irrefutable — early season prognostications are worth exactly nothing.

Especially when they come from people who don’t actually cover teams, but sit around in a studio and get paid to share their useless opinions. I mean, what qualifies Kyle Brandt or Kay Adams as football experts? I’ll tell you what “qualifies” them. They’re pretty.

Nobody had the Vikings going anywhere in 2017 or 2019 either. Don’t worry about these fools.

Or if it helps, Jim Miller on NFL Network Radio, an ex-Bear, loves the Vikings’ roster and thinks they’re going to be the surprise team in the NFC. He actually KNOWS the Vikings’ roster. He can go down the depth chart and tell you about each player. He does his homework on every team. I’m pretty sure Peter Schrager only knows Kirk Cousins and maybe Dalvin Cook.

Forget these fools and enjoy the season. It’s finally here!

The only thing I can say is that while I agree early season prognostications mean nothing, it is interesting to see how those with no skin in the game view a team, because presumably they're looking at all teams and comparing and contrasting them against each other heading into the season. There is always the "homer" aspect of being a fan of a team, so comparing my personal assessment of the Vikings with those of others who at the very least follow pro football closely at some level is a small reality check when there is a big difference between what I see and what they see. I tried to make the same point about the debate regarding Cousins and his relative standing in the league. Some on here think highly of him while others don't, and while those differences for fans of the Vikings can be attributed to personal opinions, when you bring in the bulk of opinions from fans and analysts outside the team, that adds some context to the discussion and maybe tilts it one way or the other.

The other thing I'll add is that the GMFB analysts were very up-front about the criticism you levied against them. I think it was Gil Brandt who tried to counter that by saying that the predictions they make are backed up by data and comparative analysis and not just pulled out of a hat. Now, I don't necessarily take him at his word, but what he did say that alarmed me was how relatively flat the NFC is as a conference and the Vikings didn't stand out from that field despite how flat it is. The Vikings have too much high end talent on both sides of the ball to not jump out in a comparative analysis, much less against competition that is essentially unremarkable, so that bothers me. It tells me that my opinion of the Vikings talent level is possibly way off. We could explain it the way you did and just attribute the GMFB discussion to them knowing nothing substantial about the Vikings, or it could mean we Vikings fans are way off in our relative assessment of their overall talent and ceiling.

I'm going to enjoy the season, but I'm going into it much less optimistically at this point than I was before the pre-season started.

[VikingLord]

Rodgers attitude could be positive. He basically told the GM to go F yourself and the GM didn't have the balls to pull the trigger with his man sitting there behind Rodgers. The GM put himself in this position but is scared to make the move. That's says plenty more about the GM than Rodgers.

All Rodgers telling the GM to go F himself tells me is that he is looking out for Aaron Rodgers. In a team game where the QB is pretty much the de facto player leader, me-first isn't a great trait to have. Teammates observe that and respond accordingly.

The other relevant piece of this picture is the fact that the Packers have won 3 straight NFC North titles and been to 3 straight NFC Championship games. The Packers are pretty much universally picked to make it 4 years in a row in both categories again. That's pretty impressive by any measure.

While Rodgers might not like the personnel moves made by the GM, it's hard to argue with that success or that the Packer GM and coach aren't both doing their jobs well. I can't think of too many pro QBs who would be throwing a hissy like Rodgers is given that track record (unless, of course, in their minds they are the sole reason for that success...)

[VikingLord]

Back to the Cousins discussion...

Here's a ranking of QB's heading into this season:

https://www.nfl.com/news/qb-index-week- ... nfl-season

They've got Cousins ranked #15, which seems about right. The comments suggest it is Cousins' supporting cast that brings his ranking down a bit (questionable OL and the loss of his two TEs from last year in Rudolph via FA and now Irv Smith via injury).

[VikingsVictorious]

Back to the Cousins discussion...

Here's a ranking of QB's heading into this season:

https://www.nfl.com/news/qb-index-week- ... nfl-season

They've got Cousins ranked #15, which seems about right. The comments suggest it is Cousins' supporting cast that brings his ranking down a bit (questionable OL and the loss of his two TEs from last year in Rudolph via FA and now Irv Smith via injury).

Cousins had better stats without question then every QB they rated above him starting with Herbert at 7 and down to 14. Kyler Murray of course added a lot with his legs so comparing apples to oranges with him.

[StumpHunter]

Back to the Cousins discussion...

Here's a ranking of QB's heading into this season:

https://www.nfl.com/news/qb-index-week- ... nfl-season

They've got Cousins ranked #15, which seems about right. The comments suggest it is Cousins' supporting cast that brings his ranking down a bit (questionable OL and the loss of his two TEs from last year in Rudolph via FA and now Irv Smith via injury).

Cousins had better stats without question then every QB they rated above him starting with Herbert at 7 and down to 14. Kyler Murray of course added a lot with his legs so comparing apples to oranges with him.

You have to put the stats in context.

Are that QBs numbers leading to more points being scored? For instance, a QB can throw for 250 yards, 2 TDs, 0 ints and if the offense only scored 14 points because the 10 non-TD drives all stalled at the 50, that QB probably didn't have a good game despite having numbers that indicate otherwise.

Are that QBs numbers leading to more wins? A QB putting up huge numbers against bad teams while doing poorly against good teams and a QB who struggles late in the 4th when down will probably end up being a .500 QB. A QB who is more consistent and who might not do as well against bad teams but does much better against good teams and who doesn't fold like a cheap lawn chair when down late in the 4th, will win more games than they lose.

Are a good portion of that QB's numbers being accumulated in garbage time? Playing well against prevent defenses after sucking for most of a game doesn't typically lead to a QB helping his team win, but the 80 passing yards and passing TD gained on the final drive when a team was down 17 counts just as much towards the QB's stats as 80 yards, 1 TD when a team was down 5 on a final drive. One generated a win, the other did nothing but inflate a QB's stats.

So where does Kirk stand with all that context?

Since 2018, the VIkings have averaged being the 13th best real scoring offense with one of the top RBs in the NFL playing at a high level in the two years the Vikings were at their best. Considering how much Kirk benefits from his RB, 15th seems about right based on that bit of context.

Since 2018 Kirk is arguably statistically the worst QB in the NFL against top 10 pass defenses and the best QB against bottom 10 pass defenses. He dominates bad teams, plays poorly against good ones. He is one of the worst QBs in the NFL in GWD/Opportunity too, barely edging out Matt Ryan and Sam Darnold.

Since 2018 Kirk is #2 in yards and TDs gained in garbage time. Behind only Matt Ryan.

That is a lot of context that says Kirk isn't as good as the numbers say.

[VikingsVictorious]

Cousins had better stats without question then every QB they rated above him starting with Herbert at 7 and down to 14. Kyler Murray of course added a lot with his legs so comparing apples to oranges with him.

You have to put the stats in context.

Are that QBs numbers leading to more points being scored? For instance, a QB can throw for 250 yards, 2 TDs, 0 ints and if the offense only scored 14 points because the 10 non-TD drives all stalled at the 50, that QB probably didn't have a good game despite having numbers that indicate otherwise.

Are that QBs numbers leading to more wins? A QB putting up huge numbers against bad teams while doing poorly against good teams and a QB who struggles late in the 4th when down will probably end up being a .500 QB. A QB who is more consistent and who might not do as well against bad teams but does much better against good teams and who doesn't fold like a cheap lawn chair when down late in the 4th, will win more games than they lose.

Are a good portion of that QB's numbers being accumulated in garbage time? Playing well against prevent defenses after sucking for most of a game doesn't typically lead to a QB helping his team win, but the 80 passing yards and passing TD gained on the final drive when a team was down 17 counts just as much towards the QB's stats as 80 yards, 1 TD when a team was down 5 on a final drive. One generated a win, the other did nothing but inflate a QB's stats.

So where does Kirk stand with all that context?

Since 2018, the VIkings have averaged being the 13th best real scoring offense with one of the top RBs in the NFL playing at a high level in the two years the Vikings were at their best. Considering how much Kirk benefits from his RB, 15th seems about right based on that bit of context.

Since 2018 Kirk is arguably statistically the worst QB in the NFL against top 10 pass defenses and the best QB against bottom 10 pass defenses. He dominates bad teams, plays poorly against good ones. He is one of the worst QBs in the NFL in GWD/Opportunity too, barely edging out Matt Ryan and Sam Darnold.

Since 2018 Kirk is #2 in yards and TDs gained in garbage time. Behind only Matt Ryan.

That is a lot of context that says Kirk isn't as good as the numbers say.

Spin.

Here is my post from page 20. It turned out to be prophetic.

Stump is the Spin Doctor. He will take any information he finds and figure out some way to spin it as negative for Cousins. If he can't figure out how to spin it then he will ignore it or belittle it.

Congrats stump. I'm impressed at how you can find all those points of minutia. You couldn't stand me pointing out that Cousins had better stats then all those guys. Since the regular stats don't show what you want them to you dug deep and found a way to belittle them. That is the very definition of SPIN.

How does Cousins do on Blue Moons after his mother's birthday. Do you got those stats?

[Frozen Rope]

You have to put the stats in context.

Are that QBs numbers leading to more points being scored? For instance, a QB can throw for 250 yards, 2 TDs, 0 ints and if the offense only scored 14 points because the 10 non-TD drives all stalled at the 50, that QB probably didn't have a good game despite having numbers that indicate otherwise.

Are that QBs numbers leading to more wins? A QB putting up huge numbers against bad teams while doing poorly against good teams and a QB who struggles late in the 4th when down will probably end up being a .500 QB. A QB who is more consistent and who might not do as well against bad teams but does much better against good teams and who doesn't fold like a cheap lawn chair when down late in the 4th, will win more games than they lose.

Are a good portion of that QB's numbers being accumulated in garbage time? Playing well against prevent defenses after sucking for most of a game doesn't typically lead to a QB helping his team win, but the 80 passing yards and passing TD gained on the final drive when a team was down 17 counts just as much towards the QB's stats as 80 yards, 1 TD when a team was down 5 on a final drive. One generated a win, the other did nothing but inflate a QB's stats.

So where does Kirk stand with all that context?

Since 2018, the VIkings have averaged being the 13th best real scoring offense with one of the top RBs in the NFL playing at a high level in the two years the Vikings were at their best. Considering how much Kirk benefits from his RB, 15th seems about right based on that bit of context.

Since 2018 Kirk is arguably statistically the worst QB in the NFL against top 10 pass defenses and the best QB against bottom 10 pass defenses. He dominates bad teams, plays poorly against good ones. He is one of the worst QBs in the NFL in GWD/Opportunity too, barely edging out Matt Ryan and Sam Darnold.

Since 2018 Kirk is #2 in yards and TDs gained in garbage time. Behind only Matt Ryan.

That is a lot of context that says Kirk isn't as good as the numbers say.

Spin.

Here is my post from page 20. It turned out to be prophetic.

Stump is the Spin Doctor. He will take any information he finds and figure out some way to spin it as negative for Cousins. If he can't figure out how to spin it then he will ignore it or belittle it.

Congrats stump. I'm impressed at how you can find all those points of minutia. You couldn't stand me pointing out that Cousins had better stats then all those guys. Since the regular stats don't show what you want them to you dug deep and found a way to belittle them. That is the very definition of SPIN.

How does Cousins do on Blue Moons after his mother's birthday. Do you got those stats?

VV, the line that divides neurotic from normal is Stumps continued hypnotic fascination with Cousins and trying to bludgeon everyone into submission. I would suggest help for him but he’s too far gone.

[VikingsVictorious]

VV, the line that divides neurotic from normal is Stumps continued hypnotic fascination with Cousins and trying to bludgeon everyone into submission. I would suggest help for him but he’s too far gone.

[CharVike]

Cousins had better stats without question then every QB they rated above him starting with Herbert at 7 and down to 14. Kyler Murray of course added a lot with his legs so comparing apples to oranges with him.

You have to put the stats in context.

Are that QBs numbers leading to more points being scored? For instance, a QB can throw for 250 yards, 2 TDs, 0 ints and if the offense only scored 14 points because the 10 non-TD drives all stalled at the 50, that QB probably didn't have a good game despite having numbers that indicate otherwise.

Are that QBs numbers leading to more wins? A QB putting up huge numbers against bad teams while doing poorly against good teams and a QB who struggles late in the 4th when down will probably end up being a .500 QB. A QB who is more consistent and who might not do as well against bad teams but does much better against good teams and who doesn't fold like a cheap lawn chair when down late in the 4th, will win more games than they lose.

Are a good portion of that QB's numbers being accumulated in garbage time? Playing well against prevent defenses after sucking for most of a game doesn't typically lead to a QB helping his team win, but the 80 passing yards and passing TD gained on the final drive when a team was down 17 counts just as much towards the QB's stats as 80 yards, 1 TD when a team was down 5 on a final drive. One generated a win, the other did nothing but inflate a QB's stats.

So where does Kirk stand with all that context?

Since 2018, the VIkings have averaged being the 13th best real scoring offense with one of the top RBs in the NFL playing at a high level in the two years the Vikings were at their best. Considering how much Kirk benefits from his RB, 15th seems about right based on that bit of context.

Since 2018 Kirk is arguably statistically the worst QB in the NFL against top 10 pass defenses and the best QB against bottom 10 pass defenses. He dominates bad teams, plays poorly against good ones. He is one of the worst QBs in the NFL in GWD/Opportunity too, barely edging out Matt Ryan and Sam Darnold.

Since 2018 Kirk is #2 in yards and TDs gained in garbage time. Behind only Matt Ryan.

That is a lot of context that says Kirk isn't as good as the numbers say.

You already had the garbage time stats post up before and record against wining team . All the replies are there. Basically when Kirk lead us back against Rodgers with 22 points in the 4th qtr they were all garbage stats. Cook who I think is the best all around back we have ever had also has many garbage stats. Once down a team should give it up. Brady has a winning record against winning teams. He's a HOFer. Kirk isn't. Prescott who analyst rate far superior than Cousins also has a losing record against winning teams. Just lost last night against a winner. He'll get back on track once a bottom feeder team comes along. Every player puts up better stats against garbage teams.

[808vikingsfan]

Looks like D.Cook is vaccinated. This team won't go anywhere without him.

[J. Kapp 11]

In all those years, I’ve learned one thing that, to me, is irrefutable — early season prognostications are worth exactly nothing.

Especially when they come from people who don’t actually cover teams, but sit around in a studio and get paid to share their useless opinions. I mean, what qualifies Kyle Brandt or Kay Adams as football experts? I’ll tell you what “qualifies” them. They’re pretty.

Nobody had the Vikings going anywhere in 2017 or 2019 either. Don’t worry about these fools.

Or if it helps, Jim Miller on NFL Network Radio, an ex-Bear, loves the Vikings’ roster and thinks they’re going to be the surprise team in the NFC. He actually KNOWS the Vikings’ roster. He can go down the depth chart and tell you about each player. He does his homework on every team. I’m pretty sure Peter Schrager only knows Kirk Cousins and maybe Dalvin Cook.

Forget these fools and enjoy the season. It’s finally here!

The only thing I can say is that while I agree early season prognostications mean nothing, it is interesting to see how those with no skin in the game view a team, because presumably they're looking at all teams and comparing and contrasting them against each other heading into the season. There is always the "homer" aspect of being a fan of a team, so comparing my personal assessment of the Vikings with those of others who at the very least follow pro football closely at some level is a small reality check when there is a big difference between what I see and what they see. I tried to make the same point about the debate regarding Cousins and his relative standing in the league. Some on here think highly of him while others don't, and while those differences for fans of the Vikings can be attributed to personal opinions, when you bring in the bulk of opinions from fans and analysts outside the team, that adds some context to the discussion and maybe tilts it one way or the other.

The other thing I'll add is that the GMFB analysts were very up-front about the criticism you levied against them. I think it was Gil Brandt who tried to counter that by saying that the predictions they make are backed up by data and comparative analysis and not just pulled out of a hat. Now, I don't necessarily take him at his word, but what he did say that alarmed me was how relatively flat the NFC is as a conference and the Vikings didn't stand out from that field despite how flat it is. The Vikings have too much high end talent on both sides of the ball to not jump out in a comparative analysis, much less against competition that is essentially unremarkable, so that bothers me. It tells me that my opinion of the Vikings talent level is possibly way off. We could explain it the way you did and just attribute the GMFB discussion to them knowing nothing substantial about the Vikings, or it could mean we Vikings fans are way off in our relative assessment of their overall talent and ceiling.

I'm going to enjoy the season, but I'm going into it much less optimistically at this point than I was before the pre-season started.

I think you mean Kyle Brandt. If Gil Brandt were doing the analysis, I might take it seriously. Gil was VP of Player Personnel for the Cowboys during the Tom Landry years. Do you know what Kyle Brandt did to prepare himself to be an analyst? He played a character on Days of Our Lives. That’s right. He was an actor on a soap opera. Brandt has his job because he’s handsome.

These are the same people (one of them, anyway) who picked the Bears to make the playoffs. The freaking Bears! I’m here to tell you, if the Bears make the playoffs, I’ll wear the same pair of socks for a month and eat them for dinner. Data and comparative analysis my butt.

Don’t sell yourself short, VL. You know plenty.

[StumpHunter]

You have to put the stats in context.

Are that QBs numbers leading to more points being scored? For instance, a QB can throw for 250 yards, 2 TDs, 0 ints and if the offense only scored 14 points because the 10 non-TD drives all stalled at the 50, that QB probably didn't have a good game despite having numbers that indicate otherwise.

Are that QBs numbers leading to more wins? A QB putting up huge numbers against bad teams while doing poorly against good teams and a QB who struggles late in the 4th when down will probably end up being a .500 QB. A QB who is more consistent and who might not do as well against bad teams but does much better against good teams and who doesn't fold like a cheap lawn chair when down late in the 4th, will win more games than they lose.

Are a good portion of that QB's numbers being accumulated in garbage time? Playing well against prevent defenses after sucking for most of a game doesn't typically lead to a QB helping his team win, but the 80 passing yards and passing TD gained on the final drive when a team was down 17 counts just as much towards the QB's stats as 80 yards, 1 TD when a team was down 5 on a final drive. One generated a win, the other did nothing but inflate a QB's stats.

So where does Kirk stand with all that context?

Since 2018, the VIkings have averaged being the 13th best real scoring offense with one of the top RBs in the NFL playing at a high level in the two years the Vikings were at their best. Considering how much Kirk benefits from his RB, 15th seems about right based on that bit of context.

Since 2018 Kirk is arguably statistically the worst QB in the NFL against top 10 pass defenses and the best QB against bottom 10 pass defenses. He dominates bad teams, plays poorly against good ones. He is one of the worst QBs in the NFL in GWD/Opportunity too, barely edging out Matt Ryan and Sam Darnold.

Since 2018 Kirk is #2 in yards and TDs gained in garbage time. Behind only Matt Ryan.

That is a lot of context that says Kirk isn't as good as the numbers say.

Spin.

Here is my post from page 20. It turned out to be prophetic.

Stump is the Spin Doctor. He will take any information he finds and figure out some way to spin it as negative for Cousins. If he can't figure out how to spin it then he will ignore it or belittle it.

Congrats stump. I'm impressed at how you can find all those points of minutia. You couldn't stand me pointing out that Cousins had better stats then all those guys. Since the regular stats don't show what you want them to you dug deep and found a way to belittle them. That is the very definition of SPIN.

How does Cousins do on Blue Moons after his mother's birthday. Do you got those stats?

No, those are meaningless. Do you think how a QB does on the final drive, when down a score, matters to win totals? Do you think how a QB does against top teams matters to win totals?

[StumpHunter]

[/u][/i][/b]
Spin.

Here is my post from page 20. It turned out to be prophetic.

Stump is the Spin Doctor. He will take any information he finds and figure out some way to spin it as negative for Cousins. If he can't figure out how to spin it then he will ignore it or belittle it.

Congrats stump. I'm impressed at how you can find all those points of minutia. You couldn't stand me pointing out that Cousins had better stats then all those guys. Since the regular stats don't show what you want them to you dug deep and found a way to belittle them. That is the very definition of SPIN.

How does Cousins do on Blue Moons after his mother's birthday. Do you got those stats?

VV, the line that divides neurotic from normal is Stumps continued hypnotic fascination with Cousins and trying to bludgeon everyone into submission. I would suggest help for him but he’s too far gone.

My posts are in line with what everyone outside of MN thinks of Cousins. I am not the crazy one here, I am the one pointing out the reality that some just don't want to see.