Vikings (1-0) at Eagles (1-0) MNF Week 2

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Vikings (1-0) at Eagles (1-0) MNF Week 2

Post by Crax »

Vikings come into week 2 vs the Eagles who beat Detroit in Week 1. Eagles put up 35 points with 216 yards rushing so it will be interesting to see how the run D looks in this game.

Likely a lot of week 1 overreactions going on, but here is how the two teams sit in the power rankings.
NFL - Vikings 7, Eagles 10
Sporting News - Eagles 6, Vikings 7
ESPN - Eagles 9, Vikings 10

I think we're better than the Eagles, but I feel like we're always playing them on the road. Including this game, 4 of the last 5 will have been at PHI.
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Re: Vikings (1-0) at Eagles (1-0) MNF Week 2

Post by Maelstrom88 »

Stop the run and win. If they can't stop the run I hope they sign Suh.
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Re: Vikings (1-0) at Eagles (1-0) MNF Week 2

Post by VikingsVictorious »

Maelstrom88 wrote: Tue Sep 13, 2022 1:44 pm Stop the run and win. If they can't stop the run I hope they sign Suh.
Is Suh good at stopping the run? Anyway Vikings 27 Iggles 20. Hard fought road win.
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Re: Vikings (1-0) at Eagles (1-0) MNF Week 2

Post by Maelstrom88 »

VikingsVictorious wrote: Tue Sep 13, 2022 2:17 pm
Maelstrom88 wrote: Tue Sep 13, 2022 1:44 pm Stop the run and win. If they can't stop the run I hope they sign Suh.
Is Suh good at stopping the run? Anyway Vikings 27 Iggles 20. Hard fought road win.
Yeah that's what he's known for. He was a huge part of the reason the BUCS have had elite run defense the past few years. He never gets hurt either.
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Re: Vikings (1-0) at Eagles (1-0) MNF Week 2

Post by StumpHunter »

Maelstrom88 wrote: Tue Sep 13, 2022 3:00 pm
VikingsVictorious wrote: Tue Sep 13, 2022 2:17 pm
Is Suh good at stopping the run? Anyway Vikings 27 Iggles 20. Hard fought road win.
Yeah that's what he's known for. He was a huge part of the reason the BUCS have had elite run defense the past few years. He never gets hurt either.
He WAS very good at stopping the run, but I am not sure he still is.

TB's run defense was 31st in 2018 prior to Suh joining the team per DVOA. In 2019 they jumped up to #1 and were #1 again in 2020.

2021 they dropped to #12, which just happens to coincide with his run defense grade plummeting.

His pass rushing is where I think he could help the Vikings most since Phillips and Tomlinson were supposed to be run stuffers and haven't really had much success going after the passer in the past. He had 43 pressures last year, which was almost as much as Phillips and Tomlinson had combined last season.

I also don't know that DI is the biggest issue against the run.
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Re: Vikings (1-0) at Eagles (1-0) MNF Week 2

Post by Maelstrom88 »

StumpHunter wrote: Tue Sep 13, 2022 3:33 pm
Maelstrom88 wrote: Tue Sep 13, 2022 3:00 pm

Yeah that's what he's known for. He was a huge part of the reason the BUCS have had elite run defense the past few years. He never gets hurt either.
He WAS very good at stopping the run, but I am not sure he still is.

TB's run defense was 31st in 2018 prior to Suh joining the team per DVOA. In 2019 they jumped up to #1 and were #1 again in 2020.

2021 they dropped to #12, which just happens to coincide with his run defense grade plummeting.

His pass rushing is where I think he could help the Vikings most since Phillips and Tomlinson were supposed to be run stuffers and haven't really had much success going after the passer in the past. He had 43 pressures last year, which was almost as much as Phillips and Tomlinson had combined last season.

I also don't know that DI is the biggest issue against the run.
Yeah I'm sure he's dropped off a little bit I'd still take him in the rotation
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Re: Vikings (1-0) at Eagles (1-0) MNF Week 2

Post by VikingLord »

StumpHunter wrote: Tue Sep 13, 2022 3:33 pm I also don't know that DI is the biggest issue against the run.
I agree. Most of the damage the Packers did against the Vikings defense was on the edge, both running and passing. The Vikings adjusted to it, but I'd expect Philly to try to replicate that approach. If they have similar success, that will be cause for worry.
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Re: Vikings (1-0) at Eagles (1-0) MNF Week 2

Post by VikingLord »

Philly ran the ball like crazy on the Lions, but also got run on like crazy. They piled up a 5.5 YPC average on 39(!) rushing attempts against the Lions. The Lions ran it 28 times against them for a 6.5 YPC average, though, so it seems Philly's apparent strength might also be their weakness.

Both Philly and the Lions were also good on 3rd downs against each other, with Philly converting on 10 of 17 chances while the Lions produced first downs on 9 of their 14 chances against Philly.

Just for reference, the Packers attempted 18 rushes against the Vikings for a 6.2 YPC average. While the YPC average is pretty bad for the Vikings defense, a lot of that yardage came on a few chunk runs, which skewed the average. Still, I expect the Vikings to see a lot more than 18 attempts by the Eagles, and they'll have to be better at eliminating the chunk runs.

The Vikings are also going to have to get better on 3rd downs on offense. The 3rd down defense for the Vikings wasn't terrible (they gave up 3 1st's on 9 tries), but the 3rd down offense continued what we saw from the team in the preseason, converting on 4 of 13 attempts. Not good. Not good enough to beat a team that will try to control TOP like the Eagles will.

I do think the Packer defense is a better defense than the Eagle defense. The Vikings offense should have some opportunities for big plays both in the air and on the ground, and I'm sold on the Vikings special teams being solid this year, so I'm not worried about field position being a big factor. The big factor is going to come down to whether Cousins and the offense can sustain drives and score and whether the Vikings defense can take away the Philly run game and limit their big plays.

For the offense to do that, Cousins has to spread the ball around a little more. JJ is a great player, but the Vikings have lots of other weapons. Cousins needs to utilize all of them. The Vikings OL also must be more consistent protecting him. They had times where Cousins had all day, and others where a Packer defender was on a free run.

For the defense to do what it needs to do, the edge defenders must be more disciplined. Hunter and Smith are supremely talented players and both are very experienced. I know both want to obliterate the offense and get to the QB, but the Packers took advantage of both of them when they got out of position trying to make splash plays. There is a time and place to go for the splash play, and a time and place to seal up the edge and contain. Both of them can do that better, and if they do, Philly will find the going hard.

The Vikings have a really good team this year, and I liked what I saw from them against the Packers. A primetime MNF game against a team getting a lot of hype like the Eagles is a perfect opportunity to showcase their talent and make a statement, and I'm optimistic that is what we'll see from them. They should come into the game healthy.

I'm going to predict:

Vikings - 28
Eagles - 10
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Re: Vikings (1-0) at Eagles (1-0) MNF Week 2

Post by VikingsVictorious »

VikingLord wrote: Tue Sep 13, 2022 3:59 pm Philly ran the ball like crazy on the Lions, but also got run on like crazy. They piled up a 5.5 YPC average on 39(!) rushing attempts against the Lions. The Lions ran it 28 times against them for a 6.5 YPC average, though, so it seems Philly's apparent strength might also be their weakness.

Both Philly and the Lions were also good on 3rd downs against each other, with Philly converting on 10 of 17 chances while the Lions produced first downs on 9 of their 14 chances against Philly.

Just for reference, the Packers attempted 18 rushes against the Vikings for a 6.2 YPC average. While the YPC average is pretty bad for the Vikings defense, a lot of that yardage came on a few chunk runs, which skewed the average. Still, I expect the Vikings to see a lot more than 18 attempts by the Eagles, and they'll have to be better at eliminating the chunk runs.

The Vikings are also going to have to get better on 3rd downs on offense. The 3rd down defense for the Vikings wasn't terrible (they gave up 3 1st's on 9 tries), but the 3rd down offense continued what we saw from the team in the preseason, converting on 4 of 13 attempts. Not good. Not good enough to beat a team that will try to control TOP like the Eagles will.

I do think the Packer defense is a better defense than the Eagle defense. The Vikings offense should have some opportunities for big plays both in the air and on the ground, and I'm sold on the Vikings special teams being solid this year, so I'm not worried about field position being a big factor. The big factor is going to come down to whether Cousins and the offense can sustain drives and score and whether the Vikings defense can take away the Philly run game and limit their big plays.

For the offense to do that, Cousins has to spread the ball around a little more. JJ is a great player, but the Vikings have lots of other weapons. Cousins needs to utilize all of them. The Vikings OL also must be more consistent protecting him. They had times where Cousins had all day, and others where a Packer defender was on a free run.

For the defense to do what it needs to do, the edge defenders must be more disciplined. Hunter and Smith are supremely talented players and both are very experienced. I know both want to obliterate the offense and get to the QB, but the Packers took advantage of both of them when they got out of position trying to make splash plays. There is a time and place to go for the splash play, and a time and place to seal up the edge and contain. Both of them can do that better, and if they do, Philly will find the going hard.

The Vikings have a really good team this year, and I liked what I saw from them against the Packers. A primetime MNF game against a team getting a lot of hype like the Eagles is a perfect opportunity to showcase their talent and make a statement, and I'm optimistic that is what we'll see from them. They should come into the game healthy.

I'm going to predict:

Vikings - 28
Eagles - 10
I'm not expecting an 18 point win, but I like the way you think.
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Re: Vikings (1-0) at Eagles (1-0) MNF Week 2

Post by JJBreaksRecords »

VikingLord wrote: Tue Sep 13, 2022 3:59 pm Philly ran the ball like crazy on the Lions, but also got run on like crazy. They piled up a 5.5 YPC average on 39(!) rushing attempts against the Lions. The Lions ran it 28 times against them for a 6.5 YPC average, though, so it seems Philly's apparent strength might also be their weakness.

Both Philly and the Lions were also good on 3rd downs against each other, with Philly converting on 10 of 17 chances while the Lions produced first downs on 9 of their 14 chances against Philly.

Just for reference, the Packers attempted 18 rushes against the Vikings for a 6.2 YPC average. While the YPC average is pretty bad for the Vikings defense, a lot of that yardage came on a few chunk runs, which skewed the average. Still, I expect the Vikings to see a lot more than 18 attempts by the Eagles, and they'll have to be better at eliminating the chunk runs.

The Vikings are also going to have to get better on 3rd downs on offense. The 3rd down defense for the Vikings wasn't terrible (they gave up 3 1st's on 9 tries), but the 3rd down offense continued what we saw from the team in the preseason, converting on 4 of 13 attempts. Not good. Not good enough to beat a team that will try to control TOP like the Eagles will.

I do think the Packer defense is a better defense than the Eagle defense. The Vikings offense should have some opportunities for big plays both in the air and on the ground, and I'm sold on the Vikings special teams being solid this year, so I'm not worried about field position being a big factor. The big factor is going to come down to whether Cousins and the offense can sustain drives and score and whether the Vikings defense can take away the Philly run game and limit their big plays.

For the offense to do that, Cousins has to spread the ball around a little more. JJ is a great player, but the Vikings have lots of other weapons. Cousins needs to utilize all of them. The Vikings OL also must be more consistent protecting him. They had times where Cousins had all day, and others where a Packer defender was on a free run.

For the defense to do what it needs to do, the edge defenders must be more disciplined. Hunter and Smith are supremely talented players and both are very experienced. I know both want to obliterate the offense and get to the QB, but the Packers took advantage of both of them when they got out of position trying to make splash plays. There is a time and place to go for the splash play, and a time and place to seal up the edge and contain. Both of them can do that better, and if they do, Philly will find the going hard.

The Vikings have a really good team this year, and I liked what I saw from them against the Packers. A primetime MNF game against a team getting a lot of hype like the Eagles is a perfect opportunity to showcase their talent and make a statement, and I'm optimistic that is what we'll see from them. They should come into the game healthy.

I'm going to predict:

Vikings - 28
Eagles - 10
Nice write up, and I love your optimism. I am going to predict:
Vikings-24
Eagles-21
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Re: Vikings (1-0) at Eagles (1-0) MNF Week 2

Post by TSonn »

I think the Vikings are the better team but I don't trust them playing in prime time in Philly.

I think Philly takes it but obviously hope I'm wrong.
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Re: Vikings (1-0) at Eagles (1-0) MNF Week 2

Post by CharVike »

The Eagles are a playoff team but they had a hard time beating good teams. They dominated the stiffs as shown below.
The Eagles went 0-6 vs playoff teams, the 2nd-worst record by any playoff team vs the playoff field since 1970. Their nine wins have come against teams 49-94-1, a 343 winning percentage. Looks like a Zim knock off as they pound the donkeys and then chase the stallions.
I don't even know what to make of this Eagle team. It looks like they try and run the ball down your throat and they did exactly that to the Lions with 216 yards. Basically a snooze fest attack. Their D don't look that good either. A plus for them is they are at home. I would like to see us mirror this Hurts with Cine who is faster than him and can tackle and hit. They can't let this guy run free and have these jail break plays. That's up to our D coordinator. I'm sure he's seen it before.
On our side if they do what the Packers did and let any CB cover JJ then Cousins needs to make them pay the price. I'm sure they will try and run Cook and he should have a good game. The Lions ran for 181 against them. That's getting abused.
We can't turn the ball over and give them the game. They had a pick 6 against the Lions.
I think we win this 27-17.
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Re: Vikings (1-0) at Eagles (1-0) MNF Week 2

Post by Crax »

Evidently, the Eagles have the best ranked OL according to PFF
https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-offensive- ... eek-1-2022

They've shown to be run heavy so far and the Vikings will have to be careful, but I'm hoping our newly retooled DL can get some more sacks this week and knock their OL down a few pegs.
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Re: Vikings (1-0) at Eagles (1-0) MNF Week 2

Post by JJBreaksRecords »

Hurts rushing ability might be the difference in this game. Maybe play Asamou in as LB a bit more, and spy Hurts. Rushing QB's have hurt the Vikings for as long as Ive been a Viking fan.
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Re: Vikings (1-0) at Eagles (1-0) MNF Week 2

Post by Pondering Her Percy »

JJBreaksRecords wrote: Wed Sep 14, 2022 12:41 pm Hurts rushing ability might be the difference in this game. Maybe play Asamou in as LB a bit more, and spy Hurts. Rushing QB's have hurt the Vikings for as long as Ive been a Viking fan.
Agreed here. I dont care about the other RBs, we just need to contain Hurts running the ball. He's not the greatest passer in the world. Keep him in the pocket and we win. Also, Cousins has always been really solid against the Eagles in Washington and here. I dont think we've lost to the Eagles under Cousins. We beat them handedly at home and on the road since 2018. I do find it funny that the Eagles are higher in every power ranking I see when they beat the Lions by 3 and we dominated the Packers. But once again, we'll go in as an underdog just like last week and once again, we'll snag the W. I love being the dog.

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Eagles- 17
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