Vikings @ Packers Game Day Discussion Thread -- Week 5

[Mothman]

Guys, I will be watching this game from Portland. I am here for work, I hope we win, but I'm not that confident. I will be screaming at my TV set in the hotel though. SKOL!!

Enjoy it! I remember watching a Vikes/Packers game from a hotel room in vegas back in the '90s, when I was there on business.

[MikethePurple]

Guys, I will be watching this game from Portland. I am here for work, I hope we win, but I'm not that confident. I will be screaming at my TV set in the hotel though. SKOL!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That makes two of us however I will be screaming at my home tv:) Enjoy Portland, its an awesome town and you lucked out with some great weather while you're here! Let me know if you are looking for any recommendations for anything.

[Leafman]

I'm not exactly an optimist with Ponder in at QB, but the rain very well may save us, I haven't seen any word on the weather since a couple days ago.

It's actually been dry for a couple hours and will stay that way through the first part of the game. Doesn't look like thunderstorms and rain until the second half.

LEAFMAN THE PURPLE FAN

[MikethePurple]

I'm sure he would play had this been a Sunday or Monday game.

I would agree. I'm glad they are taking a cautious approach with him given the conditions, the short week and his inexperience. I would have much rather seen Teddy play but I wouldn't want to risk further injury if that's what the medical staff is advising. There's a time for "playing through the pain" and there are times for looking further to the bigger picture. I'm glad the Vikings are taking the latter if that's what the recommendations are.

[mosscarter]

trust me the weather is irrelevant; nothing can help ponder. rodgers will throw lights out he can play in any condition.

[Purpnation]

It's actually been dry for a couple hours and will stay that way through the first part of the game. Doesn't look like thunderstorms and rain until the second half.

LEAFMAN THE PURPLE FAN

Ah, thanks for the info!

[Purple Reign]

So much for the smoke and mirrors theory (just didn't add up IMO). Zimmer appears to be a straight forward no nonsense type of guy and not the type of person who would play that game (but I could be wrong). Kudos to Zimmer to not risk further injury to Teddy and realize that it isn't worth the risk for an early regular season game, even if it is against a big rival.

[J. Kapp 11]

trust me the weather is irrelevant; nothing can help ponder. rodgers will throw lights out he can play in any condition.

Oh, OK. I guess there's no point in watching.

I'll save the DVR space and watch Biggest Loser instead.

[mosscarter]

j. kapp i believe you are exactly right. i don't think there is any reason to watch, but like everyone else on here i will. i'll still have on my bridgewater jersey while watching ponder go 3 and out every drive. i don't understand how people all of the sudden think we have a great running game just because we had 1 good week rushing. and that was because teddy opened up the field with his passing. tonight all they need to do is stack the box, which i'm sure they will.

[Leafman]

rodgers will throw lights out he can play in any condition.

This is definitely true, and the big reason why Vegas has had the Pack as an 8-10 point favorite all week, and why every single national sports pundit I've seen has picked the Pack. Rodgers is as dangerous a weapon as there is in the league.

That said, we've beat him before. With Ponder at QB. The defense is better than it was when we beat him then, as is the offensive scheme (my opinion ... I think Turner is a superior OC to Musgrave). Ponder says he likes the system better. And our running game matches up really well against their defense, especially when the OLine blocks like it did last week. So there are reasons to be optimistic.

Either way, the next two weeks will tell us what this team is all about this year ... I think we need to at least split our first two division games and be competitive in both if we hope to compete for the division.

LEAFMAN THE PURPLE FAN

[frosted]

That makes two of us however I will be screaming at my home tv:) Enjoy Portland, its an awesome town and you lucked out with some great weather while you're here! Let me know if you are looking for any recommendations for anything.

It's super dope from what I have seen so far! At a sports bar called Sidelines right now. Beautiful weather so far you are right!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[frosted]

Enjoy it! I remember watching a Vikes/Packers game from a hotel room in vegas back in the '90s, when I was there on business.

Jim, you are withholding important details, did we win that game?!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Purpnation]

NFL Network pregame shows heavy storms approaching Green Bay, this bodes well for us.

[J. Kapp 11]

j. kapp i believe you are exactly right. i don't think there is any reason to watch, but like everyone else on here i will. i'll still have on my bridgewater jersey while watching ponder go 3 and out every drive. i don't understand how people all of the sudden think we have a great running game just because we had 1 good week rushing. and that was because teddy opened up the field with his passing. tonight all they need to do is stack the box, which i'm sure they will.

I'm actually being facetious.

Look, I won't lie -- I'd be MUCH more hopeful if Teddy Bridgewater were playing this game.

But I'm not going to stop rooting for my Vikings just because Christian Ponder is under center.

And it's not a guarantee he'll suck, for a couple of reasons. 1. Ponder has had some success against Green Bay. 2. He's had about seven months of Norv Turner, which can't hurt. 3. And the offense that Teddy ran last week, while spectacular in some ways, was pretty simplified in others ... maybe Ponder can handle it.

No matter what, let's just watch and see what happens. Hopefully, we won't have to come back here tomorrow and say "mosscarter was right." I'm pretty sure you'd be OK with being wrong, wouldn't you? I mean, it's not going to send Teddy permanently to the bench if Ponder throws for 300.

[Cliff]

No reason to be down on Ponder. He's probably the best 3rd string QB in the NFL ... in other words, considering the injuries at QB and the fact they would have happened with or without Ponder ... can you think of a better 3rd string QB?