Vikings @ Lions Game Day Discussion Thread -- Week 1

[PacificNorseWest]

Admitting you are a contrarian sounds somewhat anti-contrarienish(?) in itself. Kaepernick is a stud pocket QB. He audibles when necessary, goes through his progressions, and throws darts to the open receivers. As of now, his game has no flaws in my opinion.

Rushing to judgement. He looked VERY good yesterday, but that doesn't mean he's the finished product that some suggest.

[yezzir]

PacificNorseWest,

Please define "finished product".

[Eli]

Meaning he's only going to get better.

[Eli]

For as good as Harrison Smith played, Jamarca Sanford played horribly. The missed tackles were the worst of it.

[John_Viveiros]

John_V might of just had one of the worst takes ever. Kaepernick throws lasers that are pin point accurate and maybe rushed for 25 yards yesterday? This kid can throw.

I picked him up on my fantasy team last year, so I was watching him with more than a "passing" interest. And when the playoffs started, the 49ers were one of the least bad options out there. So I was more or less cheering him on most of last year.

I saw maddeningly inaccurate passes. They happened, and in between the laser darts, it was kind of a "where the heck did that come from" moment. He certainly looked great for a first year starter to me. But there was room for improvement - you have to agree with that. And some of those guys just never get better. Rick Mirer IIRC set some rookie passing record, and then never got better.

I won my fantasy league on Kaepernick's Monday Night, week 16, last gasp TD pass in a blowout 42-13 loss against Seattle on 4th and 17 (in otherwords, he produced two FG's in the first 58 minutes). I'm guessing if you watched that game, you wouldn't have quite the same "can't miss" view of Kaepernick.

But you may be right, and Kaepernick may turn out to be the best of Wilson, Luck, or Griffin. My money is on Wilson.

[BGM]

For as good as Harrison Smith played, Jamarca Sanford played horribly. The missed tackles were the worst of it.

And he was completely turned around and out of position on Reggie Bush's big run, IIRC.

[Demi]

Blanton should have got a better look. But it's clear they value experience in the defense more than anything. They neglected this defense for a while now and it's going to suffer for it. safety and linebacker being huge spots they made virtually no investment in and we've got undrafted/free agent types starting...they're starting to but holes are opening faster then they can plug them.

[mondry]

And he was completely turned around and out of position on Reggie Bush's big run, IIRC.

Yeah, I think we'll be telling ourselves after all it's still a rebuilding project we're going through. We got a lot of big talent now but there are still quite a few areas with crap starters. QB and OG on the offense and one of the S and both line backer spots.

[Mothman]

From an article by Brian Murphy of the Pioneer Press:

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_240 ... -need-more

Ponder's play is always subject to scrutiny, but the offensive line was supposed to be worry-free. The unit returned five healthy starters who played every game last season, creating holes for Peterson's 2,097-yard season.

But a series of mistakes has raised questions about the line's effectiveness and cohesiveness. Against the Lions, every lineman except left guard Charlie Johnson allowed multiple pressures on Ponder, according to Pro Football Focus.

First, the irony that Johnson is the only player on the line who didn't allow multiple pressures is amusing. Second... if anybody thought the offensive line was worry-free, were they delusional? There's been way too much denial about the quality of this line.

[mansquatch]

I think the line will play better next week. Sunday was probably one of the three worst games this group of OL have played including last season. I agree they could be better, but I think they'll improve. They definitely need to add some talent at OG though.

[dead_poet]

Frankly, I'm concerned about Kalil too. I don't know why, but he seems to be struggling.

[mondry]

From an article by Brian Murphy of the Pioneer Press:

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_240 ... -need-more
First, the irony that Johnson is the only player on the line who didn't allow multiple pressures is amusing. Second... if anybody thought the offensive line was worry-free they were delusional? There's been way too much denial about the quality of this line.

Well like I've said in the Musgrave thread, it's hard to pass protect when you got 9-10 guys within 5 yards of the LoS and you know there's the 4 d-linemen but 2 extra are coming on every play just about. Which two? who knows, run blitz to stop Peterson, if he doesn't get the ball you're officially pass blitzing. One tactic shuts down our run and passing game since Musgrave relies on Adrian going 78 yards multiple times a game.

[King James]

Frankly, I'm concerned about Kalil too. I don't know why, but he seems to be struggling.

Sophomore Slump!!!!

[Texas Vike]

Frankly, I'm concerned about Kalil too. I don't know why, but he seems to be struggling.

Me too. His preseason was poor and he didn't dispel any doubts on Sunday either. Did he have a lazy off-season? Did Loadholt getting paid reduce some of the hunger and drive on the line too? They looked horrible. Granted, Detroit has a hell of a front four, but still...

[dead_poet]

Opener shows the Vikings have plenty of blame to share
Christian Ponder certainly struggled against the Lions, but his line’s play and coaching decisions didn’t help, either.

Left tackle Matt Kalil, in particular, has played below the standard he set as a rookie. Frazier cited Kalil’s fundamentals in critiquing his play.

“Just some basic things that he did so well a year ago that we’ve got to get him back to doing on a repeated basis,” Frazier said. “We’re going to have to do some technique and fundamental work to really get him back to a good foundation because we need him to play well every snap.”

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... um=twitter