Suckage

[allday1991]

This is what a lot of posters believe but are afraid to say anything. We were lucky for most of the season. We aernt anymore.

Here we go with the “lucky” talk

Of course, you must realize by now we fall in the bottom half of the league in point differential, how many teams have ever posted a 12-4 record with a negative spread? how many of these teams have ever won playoffs games? If your sitting here and weighing the probabilities of if this team has gotten lucky or not all signs point to yes, dunno how this is even debatable.

Combined record of negative point differential teams in playoffs as of 2016, 25-37. 3 of those times they made it to a conference championship and only one ever made it to the Super Bowl being the giants, which is considered the fluke of all flukes. Again how could anyone ever think point differential doesn’t reflect something?

[VikingLord]

Some more comments and observations from yesterday's game:

- Does anyone else wonder where the supposed creativity has gone with this team? Consistent runs right up the middle out of bunched formations... Literally no deep attempts until later in games where the team is down or way down and literally has no other choice but to try to go deep... Inconsistent aggressiveness on playcalls - going for it on 4th-and-short on your own 30, but then not going for it on 4th from your opponent's 1 yard line early in a game... Late in the game when the Packers needed to kill clock the Vikings DBs are still playing well off the LOS as if they need to defend a possible deep ball instead of up close and jumping every route...

- The Vikings couldn't keep their footing, which might have been a big part of their overall struggles, while the Packers didn't have that problem. There were so many examples of Vikings players slipping and falling down on both sides of the ball, and maybe that also explained at least in part how the offensive and defensive lines got manhandled for most of the game. Question I have is why? KOC has coached in the pros. Donatell has too. Both have at least some experience, and I'm sure Cousins and other Vikings players also know what the field conditions in Green Bay might be like in early January. So why did this happen? I don't know if it cost them the game, but it sure cost them credibility as it looked like none of them were prepared for the conditions. I hope they don't make the same mistake again next week in Chicago.

- On the first TD pass Rodgers threw there was yet another Packer receiver running wide open on that same deep corner route that the Lions scored on with virtually the same coverage. I do not understand what Donatell is telling his defensive backs to do on those plays, but it is hard to believe the scheme allows receivers to just run uncovered. After seeing the same thing yet again, I'm beginning to wonder if he's just betting his rush will get to the QB before he can spot the uncovered deep route, and he's betting wrong. Whatever it is, this is yet another game in the long list of games this year where opposing receivers are left uncovered. I thought I heard the announcers say the Vikings defense is allowing over 400 yards per game on average this year. I haven't confirmed that but that is like WOW bad. How Donatell hasn't been fired yet is beyond me. Surely the Vikings must have someone on the defensive staff who could do a better job. The Vikings defense isn't stacked with talent, but with the talent they have they shouldn't be pulling up the league's rear in overall defense either.

- Last, but not least, what is going on again with the refs? Earlier in the year, Bradbury apparently got called for an unsportsmanlike taunting penalty for merely saying something that a ref thought merited the penalty. In yesterday's game, Alexander mocks JJ with the griddy right after he gets away with blatant PI to break up a pass, pushes JJ in the back well away from the play after it was clearly over, and 2 Packer defenders literally body-slammed Hockenson(?) into the turf, and none of that was called. Well, the body slam was called, but just like the blatant hit on JJ in the Colts game, nobody was ejected. It's crazy inconsistency from the refs. Had that body slam turned TJ's head more towards the ground when he hit he could have been seriously injured. But that is just 15 yards I guess, same as Bradbury making a comment about a defender's momma. Nice job NFL! Reminds me of that early scene from the movie Airplane! where dudes with rocket launchers strapped to their backs walk right through security while the security officers grab an old grandma who set off the alarm.

[CharVike]

Some more comments and observations from yesterday's game:

- Does anyone else wonder where the supposed creativity has gone with this team? Consistent runs right up the middle out of bunched formations... Literally no deep attempts until later in games where the team is down or way down and literally has no other choice but to try to go deep... Inconsistent aggressiveness on playcalls - going for it on 4th-and-short on your own 30, but then not going for it on 4th from your opponent's 1 yard line early in a game... Late in the game when the Packers needed to kill clock the Vikings DBs are still playing well off the LOS as if they need to defend a possible deep ball instead of up close and jumping every route...

- The Vikings couldn't keep their footing, which might have been a big part of their overall struggles, while the Packers didn't have that problem. There were so many examples of Vikings players slipping and falling down on both sides of the ball, and maybe that also explained at least in part how the offensive and defensive lines got manhandled for most of the game. Question I have is why? KOC has coached in the pros. Donatell has too. Both have at least some experience, and I'm sure Cousins and other Vikings players also know what the field conditions in Green Bay might be like in early January. So why did this happen? I don't know if it cost them the game, but it sure cost them credibility as it looked like none of them were prepared for the conditions. I hope they don't make the same mistake again next week in Chicago.

- On the first TD pass Rodgers threw there was yet another Packer receiver running wide open on that same deep corner route that the Lions scored on with virtually the same coverage. I do not understand what Donatell is telling his defensive backs to do on those plays, but it is hard to believe the scheme allows receivers to just run uncovered. After seeing the same thing yet again, I'm beginning to wonder if he's just betting his rush will get to the QB before he can spot the uncovered deep route, and he's betting wrong. Whatever it is, this is yet another game in the long list of games this year where opposing receivers are left uncovered. I thought I heard the announcers say the Vikings defense is allowing over 400 yards per game on average this year. I haven't confirmed that but that is like WOW bad. How Donatell hasn't been fired yet is beyond me. Surely the Vikings must have someone on the defensive staff who could do a better job. The Vikings defense isn't stacked with talent, but with the talent they have they shouldn't be pulling up the league's rear in overall defense either.

- Last, but not least, what is going on again with the refs? Earlier in the year, Bradbury apparently got called for an unsportsmanlike taunting penalty for merely saying something that a ref thought merited the penalty. In yesterday's game, Alexander mocks JJ with the griddy right after he gets away with blatant PI to break up a pass, pushes JJ in the back well away from the play after it was clearly over, and 2 Packer defenders literally body-slammed Hockenson(?) into the turf, and none of that was called. Well, the body slam was called, but just like the blatant hit on JJ in the Colts game, nobody was ejected. It's crazy inconsistency from the refs. Had that body slam turned TJ's head more towards the ground when he hit he could have been seriously injured. But that is just 15 yards I guess, same as Bradbury making a comment about a defender's momma. Nice job NFL! Reminds me of that early scene from the movie Airplane! where dudes with rocket launchers strapped to their backs walk right through security while the security officers grab an old grandma who set off the alarm.

Donatell needs to be the first head to roll once it ends. I firmly believe that we need to use this week as a bye week for our players. These guys have played wire to wire in basically every game. That takes a toll on a team. I would sit most of our guys. Let them get their legs back and bodies healed.

[Foreman44]

What surprised me was total yards. Pukers May have had 40-50 yards more total offense. I know mistakes killed us. Just thought total yardage would have been a lot bigger GB

[Texas Vike]

O'Neil is going to miss the game vs. the Bears (I'd have wanted him to sit anyways, and hope we sit most of our starters). KOC called the injury 'significant,' which likely indicates he's done with the season.

Right tackle Brian O'Neill, who suffered a "pretty significant" calf injury Sunday, coach Kevin O'Connell said Monday, and will miss the team's regular-season finale this weekend at the Chicago Bears. O'Connell did not rule out O'Neill for the playoffs but said he had been seeking additional information from outside doctors Monday morning. Veteran Oli Udoh will fill in for him this week and possibly beyond.

Things for Bradbury look somewhat bleak too:

Bradbury has missed four games because of a back injury and hasn't practiced at all since he was involved in a car accident Dec. 20. O'Connell said "there is hope" that Bradbury can return for the playoffs but said the first step is to "get him some real practice reps to see how that thing responds."

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/353 ... ries-mount

Can we even beat the Giants with our 3rd string Center and Oli Udoh as RT?

My expectations for the post season have shifted mightily. I expect us to lose in round one now. If we were to win, I'd be pleasantly surprised. The silver lining is that I now have two teams to root for: The Vikings and whoever plays the Packers.

[VikingLord]

What surprised me was total yards. Pukers May have had 40-50 yards more total offense. I know mistakes killed us. Just thought total yardage would have been a lot bigger GB

The turnovers created relatively short fields for the Packers on several of their drives, so they didn't have to go all that far for points.

The Packers were also able to control the clock using their run game. 33 rush attempts for 163 yards kept the chains moving for their offense and kept the Vikings offense on the sidelines, especially in the 3rd (although the Packers did plenty of damage on the ground in the first half as well). In many of their comebacks and close wins this year the Vikings defense was able to get off the field and get the ball back to the offense which was then able to control the pacing and get points. The combination of turnovers coupled with the Packers just grinding down the field killed that formula for the Vikings yesterday.

If there is good news it's this - that was an abomination of a game for the Vikings yesterday. 4 turnovers, including one that led directly to a TD for the Packers, and allowing a kick return for a TD is something that would be hard to duplicate for the Vikings in the playoffs. Not impossible, but difficult. Yes, the Packers played well, but in my view the Vikings failures in execution had a lot more to do with the outcome than the Packers simply dominating them. If the Packers did dominate, it was with their line play on both sides of the ball, but even there the Vikings were down to their 3rd string guard-turned-center and had their starting RT go out. On defense, there aren't as many excuses, but given how poorly the offense executed the defense also spent a lot of time on the field and wore down a bit as the game went on.

Needless to say, the Vikings have shown no real improvement in terms of consistency this season in any phase of the game. For most of the season I looked at the highs and lows of the team and thought they would start to put together more complete games as the season went on, expanding the highs and shrinking the lows. With a rookie head coach and some scheme changes it was natural to expect the team to struggle as they learned the nuances of the system and gained some experience. And yet here we are nearly at the end of the regular season and we're still seeing many of the same things (both positive and negative) that we've seen all year. The team is still wildly inconsistent in every phase. If they've been consistent in any way, it is that they barely win, often after digging themselves into deep holes and needing sometimes superhuman efforts to overcome them and get back into games, or they just flat-out get blown out. Their 4 losses have all been ugly, while 11 of their 12 wins have been scraped together by the tips of their fingers at times.

More than likely this team will be one-and-done in the playoffs, although with a home game to open and their penchant for miracles they might sneak past the first round.

Fun season though.

[VikingLord]

Donatell needs to be the first head to roll once it ends. I firmly believe that we need to use this week as a bye week for our players. These guys have played wire to wire in basically every game. That takes a toll on a team. I would sit most of our guys. Let them get their legs back and bodies healed.

I agree. If JJ had a shot at the record or the game meant something in terms of playoff position I'd want KOC to put the starters out there, but since neither is true anymore might as well sit them and hope the extra time off helps.

As for coaches, I hope there is an honest assessment of what went wrong and why the team struggled on defense especially. It might be that the Vikings struggled on defense because they lacked the talent to play differently. Harrison Smith is up there in years. Cam Bynum is pretty limited physically and with Cine suffering his season-ending injury early we never got a chance to see if he could earn more playing time and maybe make an impact. Dantzler is a soft corner. He's got some talent, but rarely makes plays on the ball and he also spent a lot of time on the sidelines with injuries. Booth seems like a total bust. Not only didn't he earn any playing time, but he was quickly injured when he did see the field. Chandon Sullivan is a stop-gap at best and a mediocre player. Not terrible, but not that good. Patrick Peterson and Duke Shelley are the best cover guys on the team. Peterson is at the end of his career no matter how it is sliced-and-diced, though, and while I love Duke's hard-nosed play and his ability, he's ideally a slot corner. Evans who knows? He could be good and played well at times but we didn't see enough of him due to the concussions.

Both Hicks and Kendricks aren't effective in pass defense anymore, either. Hicks was routinely scorched by RBs running go routes (happened again yesterday against the Packers, but Rodgers missed the RB on the deep attempt), and Kendricks just looks lost on most passing downs. Hard to say if Asamoah is the answer either. He's younger and has more speed, but he also lacks discipline as he commits too early to shooting gaps on run plays and got badly suckered by Rodgers on the pump fake, leaving his feet when he should have just kept going to get Rodgers on the roll. He's young and will likely develop and avoid these mistakes, but even if he does the Vikings still lack another young LB who can play beside him.

Donatell had to play the cards he was dealt, and while I think he could have at least tightened up to play more press man and tight coverages, it's equally possible he realized he lacked the players to do that without risking giving up even more big plays than his team has so far this year. That's a bit of a stretch as this year's Vikings defense has been exceptional at giving up big plays all year, but I suppose it could have been worse still. I'm not saying I think Donatell deserves another chance or should be retained. I don't think he should be, but he might also have done the best he could with what he had to work with.

[Pondering Her Percy]

Here we go with the “lucky” talk

Of course, you must realize by now we fall in the bottom half of the league in point differential, how many teams have ever posted a 12-4 record with a negative spread? how many of these teams have ever won playoffs games? If your sitting here and weighing the probabilities of if this team has gotten lucky or not all signs point to yes, dunno how this is even debatable.

Combined record of negative point differential teams in playoffs as of 2016, 25-37. 3 of those times they made it to a conference championship and only one ever made it to the Super Bowl being the giants, which is considered the fluke of all flukes. Again how could anyone ever think point differential doesn’t reflect something?

Everyone with this point differential talk makes me laugh. We lost 3 games by a combined score of 105-27. If you even cut those losses to 105-80 that gives us a +56 point differential. Those 3 losses DRASTICALLY skews any teams point differential. 3 of our losses have been blowouts. That’s a huge reason why there is a negative point differential for a 12-4 football team.

That’s not getting “lucky”. That’s getting blown out in your losses. We either win or get blown out here and there. It’s an odd season no doubt about that, but far from “lucky”.

I can sit here and say the packers were “lucky” last night because we ran 3 stupid plays from the 1, gave up a KO TD, had Crosby doink a FG in and have 2 balls get picked off by tipped passes (one being a pick 6). Dumb argument right?

I’m sorry but being “lucky” is just the dumbest argument out there. The “lucky” argument by so many fans out there are the ones that are just never satisfied with anything this team does. We’re 12-4 and playoffs haven’t even started yet and the “lucky” fans are doing nothing but complaining. I guess when the Vikings lost a boat load of one score games last year they were just….”Unlucky”.

[Pondering Her Percy]

Donatell needs to be the first head to roll once it ends. I firmly believe that we need to use this week as a bye week for our players. These guys have played wire to wire in basically every game. That takes a toll on a team. I would sit most of our guys. Let them get their legs back and bodies healed.

I agree. If JJ had a shot at the record or the game meant something in terms of playoff position I'd want KOC to put the starters out there, but since neither is true anymore might as well sit them and hope the extra time off helps.

As for coaches, I hope there is an honest assessment of what went wrong and why the team struggled on defense especially. It might be that the Vikings struggled on defense because they lacked the talent to play differently. Harrison Smith is up there in years. Cam Bynum is pretty limited physically and with Cine suffering his season-ending injury early we never got a chance to see if he could earn more playing time and maybe make an impact. Dantzler is a soft corner. He's got some talent, but rarely makes plays on the ball and he also spent a lot of time on the sidelines with injuries. Booth seems like a total bust. Not only didn't he earn any playing time, but he was quickly injured when he did see the field. Chandon Sullivan is a stop-gap at best and a mediocre player. Not terrible, but not that good. Patrick Peterson and Duke Shelley are the best cover guys on the team. Peterson is at the end of his career no matter how it is sliced-and-diced, though, and while I love Duke's hard-nosed play and his ability, he's ideally a slot corner. Evans who knows? He could be good and played well at times but we didn't see enough of him due to the concussions.

Both Hicks and Kendricks aren't effective in pass defense anymore, either. Hicks was routinely scorched by RBs running go routes (happened again yesterday against the Packers, but Rodgers missed the RB on the deep attempt), and Kendricks just looks lost on most passing downs. Hard to say if Asamoah is the answer either. He's younger and has more speed, but he also lacks discipline as he commits too early to shooting gaps on run plays and got badly suckered by Rodgers on the pump fake, leaving his feet when he should have just kept going to get Rodgers on the roll. He's young and will likely develop and avoid these mistakes, but even if he does the Vikings still lack another young LB who can play beside him.

Donatell had to play the cards he was dealt, and while I think he could have at least tightened up to play more press man and tight coverages, it's equally possible he realized he lacked the players to do that without risking giving up even more big plays than his team has so far this year. That's a bit of a stretch as this year's Vikings defense has been exceptional at giving up big plays all year, but I suppose it could have been worse still. I'm not saying I think Donatell deserves another chance or should be retained. I don't think he should be, but he might also have done the best he could with what he had to work with.

I’m not sure anyone can call a rookie a “bust”? That’s about as premature as it gets. Also criticizing Asamoah… again, he’s a rookie. Mistakes are going to happen. If booth was in his 3rd year and sitting the bench, yeah he’s probably a bust. If Asamoah is making the same mistakes in year 3, yeah probably a bust but hell, let the guys develop for goodness sake

[JJBreaksRecords]

I agree. If JJ had a shot at the record or the game meant something in terms of playoff position I'd want KOC to put the starters out there, but since neither is true anymore might as well sit them and hope the extra time off helps.

As for coaches, I hope there is an honest assessment of what went wrong and why the team struggled on defense especially. It might be that the Vikings struggled on defense because they lacked the talent to play differently. Harrison Smith is up there in years. Cam Bynum is pretty limited physically and with Cine suffering his season-ending injury early we never got a chance to see if he could earn more playing time and maybe make an impact. Dantzler is a soft corner. He's got some talent, but rarely makes plays on the ball and he also spent a lot of time on the sidelines with injuries. Booth seems like a total bust. Not only didn't he earn any playing time, but he was quickly injured when he did see the field. Chandon Sullivan is a stop-gap at best and a mediocre player. Not terrible, but not that good. Patrick Peterson and Duke Shelley are the best cover guys on the team. Peterson is at the end of his career no matter how it is sliced-and-diced, though, and while I love Duke's hard-nosed play and his ability, he's ideally a slot corner. Evans who knows? He could be good and played well at times but we didn't see enough of him due to the concussions.

Both Hicks and Kendricks aren't effective in pass defense anymore, either. Hicks was routinely scorched by RBs running go routes (happened again yesterday against the Packers, but Rodgers missed the RB on the deep attempt), and Kendricks just looks lost on most passing downs. Hard to say if Asamoah is the answer either. He's younger and has more speed, but he also lacks discipline as he commits too early to shooting gaps on run plays and got badly suckered by Rodgers on the pump fake, leaving his feet when he should have just kept going to get Rodgers on the roll. He's young and will likely develop and avoid these mistakes, but even if he does the Vikings still lack another young LB who can play beside him.

Donatell had to play the cards he was dealt, and while I think he could have at least tightened up to play more press man and tight coverages, it's equally possible he realized he lacked the players to do that without risking giving up even more big plays than his team has so far this year. That's a bit of a stretch as this year's Vikings defense has been exceptional at giving up big plays all year, but I suppose it could have been worse still. I'm not saying I think Donatell deserves another chance or should be retained. I don't think he should be, but he might also have done the best he could with what he had to work with.

I’m not sure anyone can call a rookie a “bust”? That’s about as premature as it gets. Also criticizing Asamoah… again, he’s a rookie. Mistakes are going to happen. If booth was in his 3rd year and sitting the bench, yeah he’s probably a bust. If Asamoah is making the same mistakes in year 3, yeah probably a bust but hell, let the guys develop for goodness sake

Ok, fair enough. How about saying none of KAM's draft picks have the slightest shot of making ROTY?

[JJBreaksRecords]

Donatell needs to be the first head to roll once it ends. I firmly believe that we need to use this week as a bye week for our players. These guys have played wire to wire in basically every game. That takes a toll on a team. I would sit most of our guys. Let them get their legs back and bodies healed.

I agree. If JJ had a shot at the record or the game meant something in terms of playoff position I'd want KOC to put the starters out there, but since neither is true anymore might as well sit them and hope the extra time off helps.

As for coaches, I hope there is an honest assessment of what went wrong and why the team struggled on defense especially. It might be that the Vikings struggled on defense because they lacked the talent to play differently. Harrison Smith is up there in years. Cam Bynum is pretty limited physically and with Cine suffering his season-ending injury early we never got a chance to see if he could earn more playing time and maybe make an impact. Dantzler is a soft corner. He's got some talent, but rarely makes plays on the ball and he also spent a lot of time on the sidelines with injuries. Booth seems like a total bust. Not only didn't he earn any playing time, but he was quickly injured when he did see the field. Chandon Sullivan is a stop-gap at best and a mediocre player. Not terrible, but not that good. Patrick Peterson and Duke Shelley are the best cover guys on the team. Peterson is at the end of his career no matter how it is sliced-and-diced, though, and while I love Duke's hard-nosed play and his ability, he's ideally a slot corner. Evans who knows? He could be good and played well at times but we didn't see enough of him due to the concussions.

Both Hicks and Kendricks aren't effective in pass defense anymore, either. Hicks was routinely scorched by RBs running go routes (happened again yesterday against the Packers, but Rodgers missed the RB on the deep attempt), and Kendricks just looks lost on most passing downs. Hard to say if Asamoah is the answer either. He's younger and has more speed, but he also lacks discipline as he commits too early to shooting gaps on run plays and got badly suckered by Rodgers on the pump fake, leaving his feet when he should have just kept going to get Rodgers on the roll. He's young and will likely develop and avoid these mistakes, but even if he does the Vikings still lack another young LB who can play beside him.

Donatell had to play the cards he was dealt, and while I think he could have at least tightened up to play more press man and tight coverages, it's equally possible he realized he lacked the players to do that without risking giving up even more big plays than his team has so far this year. That's a bit of a stretch as this year's Vikings defense has been exceptional at giving up big plays all year, but I suppose it could have been worse still. I'm not saying I think Donatell deserves another chance or should be retained. I don't think he should be, but he might also have done the best he could with what he had to work with.

Great post!

[Pondering Her Percy]

I’m not sure anyone can call a rookie a “bust”? That’s about as premature as it gets. Also criticizing Asamoah… again, he’s a rookie. Mistakes are going to happen. If booth was in his 3rd year and sitting the bench, yeah he’s probably a bust. If Asamoah is making the same mistakes in year 3, yeah probably a bust but hell, let the guys develop for goodness sake

Ok, fair enough. How about saying none of KAM's draft picks have the slightest shot of making ROTY?

Lol ok? I forgot your career is shot if you don’t become ROTY

[Pondering Her Percy]

Donatell needs to be the first head to roll once it ends. I firmly believe that we need to use this week as a bye week for our players. These guys have played wire to wire in basically every game. That takes a toll on a team. I would sit most of our guys. Let them get their legs back and bodies healed.

I agree. If JJ had a shot at the record or the game meant something in terms of playoff position I'd want KOC to put the starters out there, but since neither is true anymore might as well sit them and hope the extra time off helps.

As for coaches, I hope there is an honest assessment of what went wrong and why the team struggled on defense especially. It might be that the Vikings struggled on defense because they lacked the talent to play differently. Harrison Smith is up there in years. Cam Bynum is pretty limited physically and with Cine suffering his season-ending injury early we never got a chance to see if he could earn more playing time and maybe make an impact. Dantzler is a soft corner. He's got some talent, but rarely makes plays on the ball and he also spent a lot of time on the sidelines with injuries. Booth seems like a total bust. Not only didn't he earn any playing time, but he was quickly injured when he did see the field. Chandon Sullivan is a stop-gap at best and a mediocre player. Not terrible, but not that good. Patrick Peterson and Duke Shelley are the best cover guys on the team. Peterson is at the end of his career no matter how it is sliced-and-diced, though, and while I love Duke's hard-nosed play and his ability, he's ideally a slot corner. Evans who knows? He could be good and played well at times but we didn't see enough of him due to the concussions.

Both Hicks and Kendricks aren't effective in pass defense anymore, either. Hicks was routinely scorched by RBs running go routes (happened again yesterday against the Packers, but Rodgers missed the RB on the deep attempt), and Kendricks just looks lost on most passing downs. Hard to say if Asamoah is the answer either. He's younger and has more speed, but he also lacks discipline as he commits too early to shooting gaps on run plays and got badly suckered by Rodgers on the pump fake, leaving his feet when he should have just kept going to get Rodgers on the roll. He's young and will likely develop and avoid these mistakes, but even if he does the Vikings still lack another young LB who can play beside him.

Donatell had to play the cards he was dealt, and while I think he could have at least tightened up to play more press man and tight coverages, it's equally possible he realized he lacked the players to do that without risking giving up even more big plays than his team has so far this year. That's a bit of a stretch as this year's Vikings defense has been exceptional at giving up big plays all year, but I suppose it could have been worse still. I'm not saying I think Donatell deserves another chance or should be retained. I don't think he should be, but he might also have done the best he could with what he had to work with.

Also, the Vikings have or at least had the 32nd ranked defense in the nfl. If you can’t sit here and say they were also the 32nd least talented defense in the nfl, then I’m not sure how you can say Donatell might have done the best he could with what he had to work with. This isn’t the most talented defense in the nfl, but there are some very good players on this team. And there’s no way I can say this is the least talented defense in the nfl. And I don’t really think it’s close.

[ERIK the PURPLE]

Going into the season I was convinced we would be a top 10-15 defense. No way I thought they’d SUCK this bad.

Aside from that, for the life of me I don’t understand how there can be such a dramatic shift in ability going from starters to backups. With as many assistant coaches these teams have nowadays, why aren’t backups and practice squad players coached up enough to be serviceable. Especially by week 17.

[Cliff]

Despite the score, this wasn't a defensive loss. Special teams allowed a score and missed field goals. Offense kept putting the defense in bad positions and threw a pick 6. As soon as we were on 3rd string center it was over.

Every loss is just another opportunity for people that have been predicting losses since week 1 to scream "See, I was right! The Vikings do suck and are just lucky!"

The other teams aren't lucky when the Vikings have key injuries that change the game dramatically. Only the other way around.