Vikings Message Board.Com

J. Kapp 11 wrote: Don't go off the Jets game. Some people may laugh at this, but our defense, including our DBs, is better. "What?" you say. "Better than Revis and Cromartie?" Well, yes ... when you look at all things defensive backs need to do. Every Vikings DB who takes the field, starter or reserve, can tackle. Revis and Cromartie cover well, probably better than our guys, but they're not even close to our guys as tacklers. The name of the game on defense is to get the guy down, and the Vikings are among the best in the NFL at it.

I would say the Vikings have faced some good offenses, but not many BALANCED offenses. That's bad for opponents -- we destroy one-dimensional teams. Fortunately for you guys, the Raiders are the most balanced offense the Vikings have faced thus far.

We absolutely mutilated San Diego and Philip Rivers, but they can't run the ball. We've owned Detroit's offense, which used to be dangerous but has never been able to run the ball. The Bears are probably the most balanced offensive team we've faced, but we knocked Matt Forte out of the game, and they floundered after that. The Rams can run the ball, but Nick Foles is worse than God-awful, and we mostly shut down their running game. Denver did very little against us offensively but did benefit from a rare big play, and their defense was just a little too tough for Teddy and the gang. We don't talk about San Francisco.

The thing I'd say about our defense is that Mike Zimmer seems to find a way to stop whatever the Vikings need to stop. If you're a passing team, he slows you down. If you're a running team, he clogs it up. I can say this ... you won't face a FASTER defense than Minnesota's all season, especially if Barr and Kendricks are able to suit up, and that includes Denver. These really guys get to the football. They're the best tackling team in the NFL -- ALL our corners are good tacklers, which is a huge help -- and they're the least penalized. They're just a good, sound, fast, disciplined defense that doesn't beat itself. That's not to say they can't be beaten, but they don't beat themselves, and they rarely give up big plays. And don't even try to run a wide-receiver screen on this team. You're likely to lose yardage.

The Raiders feature the kind of balanced offense that can give the Vikings' defense the most trouble. You guys can run and throw with excellent efficiency. However, I'd say this ... you'd best get out to an early lead because Mike Zimmer is one of the best in the NFL at making adjustments. Once he's tweaked the D, it's extremely hard to score on the Vikings. And you can't go into this game expecting a lot of big plays. You're going to have to put some drives together.

This is going to be an extremely good game that I'm very excited about. I believe we'll win, but what else would I say?

MarineRaider wrote:Thats a sound take and yes I would expect you to say you win. Your guys tackle well, but do they cover well, I can tell you now if Coop is open he will make guys miss, he is dangerous with the ball. Should be an excellent game.

akvikingsfan wrote:About 80% of the "expert" game pickers have picked the Raiders to win.

dead_poet wrote:Raiders beat guy says Raiders starting center (Hudson) not on the field for practice. Linval Joseph licking his chops...

MarineRaider wrote:
Yeah not looking good but he could still play

dead_poet wrote: That'd be dumb. He should sit out and recover.

MarineRaider wrote:Don't they have JaMarcus Webb playing at Guard too? Sharrif and Linval (and Zimmer blitzes) could pose real problems if they are playing backups on the interior.

Webb is RG but has been playing well. Del Rio just said Hudson has been getting better everyday and could play on Sunday so we shall see.

MarineRaider wrote:Yeah I wasn't big on the signing but he has been solid all year

dead_poet wrote: According to PFF, he has not been good (39.6 grade) entering week 9.

Vikings beat guys saying that Murray/Cooper expected to play but Hudson (listed as doubtful) is not. Joseph + Floyd vs. Webb/Bergstrom. I like it. Too bad Gabe Jackson (89.1) is well above average.