The Vikings Playoff Hunt Thread

[Maelstrom88]

Lotta dreaming in this thread. More likely Packers are in the championship and we are around .500 sitting at home sticking with Zim.

[Maelstrom88]

@ San Francisco-Loss
@ Detroit-Win
Pittsburgh-Win
@Chicago-Loss
Los Angeles Rams-Win
@Green Bay-Loss
Chicago-Win

9-8

That is my guess so Vikings might make it in the playoffs

San Fran- Loss
Detroit-Win
Pitt- Loss
2 Chi wins
Rams- Loss
GB- Loss

8-9 and they stick with Zim because you can't expect a guy to win in the Covid atmosphere.

[S197]

So here’s something to think about.

The Packers are banged up. That’s an understatement. They’ve got several key players out. Despite their stats, their secondary is suspect. With Sharon Rodgers, they’re never out of any game, but now he’s got an ailment hat he calls “worse than turf toe.” Now they just lost their best offensive lineman. Bottom line: They’re a tough out in every game, but their vulnerable. Now they play the Rams.

Let’s say the Rams go into Laimblow and get the job done. Pack falls to 8-4 going into their bye week.

Now let’s say the Vikings get the job done in San Francisco. Week 13 is against Detroit on the road, which we should win.

All of a sudden, Green Bay is 8-4 going into Week 14, and the Vikings are just one game back at 7-5. And the two teams face each other on January 2.

Along with San Fran, the toughest game the Vikings have until that Jan. 2 matchup with the Pukers is the game Dec. 26 against the Rams. And that game is at home. If the Vikings win their next 5, the game on January 2 could take on huge importance. In fact, it could be for first place in the division.

Here’s the take (at the risk of being labeled a Koolaid Drinker) … the Minnesota Vikings can still win the NFC North.

Thoughts? Unrealistic?

They certainly can. Another year where down the stretch the Vikings control their own destiny. Hopefully the story ends a little better this time around but I'm not optimistic given how this has played out over and over again.

[808vikingsfan]

Unlikely, but certainly possible.

The truth is that if the Rams beat Green Bay this Sunday, then the Vikings’ fate is in their own hands.

I don’t know if a lot of people have thought of it in that way.

Here’s something else. Green Bay is in this position largely because the “immunized” Aaron Rodgers got COVID, which sidelined him against Kansas City and allowed the Chiefs to beat them. How fitting would it be if they lost the division as a result?

Sad part is this can still happen to the Vikings because their bonehead QB, WR, RB also refuses to get vaccinated.

[J. Kapp 11]

The truth is that if the Rams beat Green Bay this Sunday, then the Vikings’ fate is in their own hands.

I don’t know if a lot of people have thought of it in that way.

Here’s something else. Green Bay is in this position largely because the “immunized” Aaron Rodgers got COVID, which sidelined him against Kansas City and allowed the Chiefs to beat them. How fitting would it be if they lost the division as a result?

Sad part is this can still happen to the Vikings because their bonehead QB, WR, RB also refuses to get vaccinated.

Shoot.

You killed my buzz, man.

Thanks.

[CharVike]

I don't think we can win the division but we have a wildcard shot. If we go 4-3 for a 9-8 record I think we make it.

[Lash Man]

My two cents says the Vikings will sneak in with 9-8 or 10-7 just with their talent on the roster but be one and done because flawed game planning and coaching . I would be more than happy to be proven wrong though .

[Maelstrom88]

Guys, we have the same record as the Falcons

[CharVike]

Guys, we have the same record as the Falcons

And the Saints who don't have a QB. The wildcard will flip back and forth. None of the wildcard teams will be able to handle the big dogs anyway. Brady last minute drive for the win. The Rams didn't even show up. They don't care. Looks like it will come down to the master QBs again in the NFC. Our D gave up 200 yards rushing again. That's getting destroyed beyond belief. It was a good try.

[40for60]

Hmm, no niners post-game thread? Is apathy setting in?

[Foreman44]

They will do good enough to save Zimmers job. What a shame.

Another year of the same old crap. Yippee.

[Maelstrom88]

They will do good enough to save Zimmers job. What a shame.

Another year of the same old crap. Yippee.

Yep. The whole crew will be back next year
Exciting isn't it?

[StumpHunter]

They will do good enough to save Zimmers job. What a shame.

Another year of the same old crap. Yippee.

I disagree. This defense is going to continue to give up a lot of points with the lack of talent we have on that side of the ball due to injuries and poor drafting and at the end of the season Zimmer will have lost more games than he won and will have a bottom 10 defense to boot.

He will be the sacrificial lamb given up to save Spielman his job, and the team will go with an offensive minded head coach, who will fail because he has no talent on D and the offense doesn't have enough talent to win the shootouts required to win with a bottom ten defense.

At that point, Rick will also be fired, but not until after the 2022 season where the GM will have stolen a ton of cap from 2023 and 2024 in an attempt to save his job. This will make the next GM's job even harder, but too many fans don't want to accept the fact this team lacks talent because of the GM, is being coached by this coach because of the GM, and is in the cap situation next year because of this GM and there isn't a big enough push from the fanbase to fire Rick.

[Maelstrom88]

They will do good enough to save Zimmers job. What a shame.

Another year of the same old crap. Yippee.

I disagree. This defense is going to continue to give up a lot of points with the lack of talent we have on that side of the ball due to injuries and poor drafting and at the end of the season Zimmer will have lost more games than he won and will have a bottom 10 defense to boot.

He will be the sacrificial lamb given up to save Spielman his job, and the team will go with an offensive minded head coach, who will fail because he has no talent on D and the offense doesn't have enough talent to win the shootouts required to win with a bottom ten defense.

At that point, Rick will also be fired, but not until after the 2022 season where the GM will have stolen a ton of cap from 2023 and 2024 in an attempt to save his job. This will make the next GM's job even harder, but too many fans don't want to accept the fact this team lacks talent because of the GM, is being coached by this coach because of the GM, and is in the cap situation next year because of this GM and there isn't a big enough push from the fanbase to fire Rick.

I doubt the Wilf family ever fires Rick.

[VikingLord]

They will do good enough to save Zimmers job. What a shame.

Another year of the same old crap. Yippee.

I disagree. This defense is going to continue to give up a lot of points with the lack of talent we have on that side of the ball due to injuries and poor drafting and at the end of the season Zimmer will have lost more games than he won and will have a bottom 10 defense to boot.

He will be the sacrificial lamb given up to save Spielman his job, and the team will go with an offensive minded head coach, who will fail because he has no talent on D and the offense doesn't have enough talent to win the shootouts required to win with a bottom ten defense.

At that point, Rick will also be fired, but not until after the 2022 season where the GM will have stolen a ton of cap from 2023 and 2024 in an attempt to save his job. This will make the next GM's job even harder, but too many fans don't want to accept the fact this team lacks talent because of the GM, is being coached by this coach because of the GM, and is in the cap situation next year because of this GM and there isn't a big enough push from the fanbase to fire Rick.

I blame Udoh for Cook's injury yesterday. Udoh, yet again, consistently gave up pressures and allowed penetration deep into the backfield. He was called for holding at least once and could have been called more than that as he just can't keep his pad level low enough to maintain leverage as an interior blocker. This has been happening all year, too, and after so many years the utter failure to address the interior OL effectively is a huge indictment of Spielman's philosophy for drafting at those positions. This whole "athletic" OL philosophy has been an utter failure for the most part. Bradbury can't hold up in the middle because he's not substantial enough, Mason Cole isn't much better, Cleveland struggles for much of the same reason at LG, Udoh is a right tackle playing RG and is way too tall to effectively man the position they have him playing, O'Neill is their best OL at RT and yet even he is marginal for the most part, and Darrisaw might be the answer at LT although he hasn't been on the field long enough to tell. His backup Hill is a disaster as a starter. Maybe as a backup he's serviceable but even there I think it could be better.

Overall, the "zone blocking" OL approach has been an utter failure by any measure IMHO. Maybe if the Vikings had the "right" OL at every spot to play that effectively it could work, but it's pretty clear they don't and even if they did, it seems like pretty much everything has to go right with that approach for it to be effective game-in and game-out.

The "old school" style of bigger, more powerful and substantial OL might not be as flashy, but man, when you need the hard yards or you need to wear down a smaller, more aggressive DL, that is the ticket every time. Obviously, the bigger guys up front still need to be able to move their feet and hands effectively, so you can't just go on pure size, but where the rubber meets the road you can't beat having five Mack trucks up front.

Udoh directly cost Cook on that play. No way around it. Spielman cost the team by not finding a suitable RG during the offseason and forcing the Vikes to use Udoh at that position.

Spielman needs to go. He's had way more time than most GMs to field a competitive team. This team, despite it's penchant for churning out a lot of moral victories despite adversity, is not a truly competitive team, at least not in the sense that it is competitive for Superbowls. It is, as currently constructed, at best competitive for making the wildcard round. That shouldn't be acceptable for the Wilfs at this point. Spielman has had more than enough time to get this team where it needs to be, and he's failed by any objective measure.