ReFo: Vikings @ Rams, Week 1

[dead_poet]

Josh Robinson, CB: +3.2

Breakdown: Salvaging the career of the much-maligned Robinson is one of Mike Zimmer’s biggest challenges coming into the job. On this evidence at least he’s on the right track. Robinson was in close coverage all game long and even made plays on the football.

Signature Stat: Robinson was thrown at three times, yielding just one catch for 7 yards while breaking one up and picking another off. Throwing at him in this game yielded a passer rating of 2.8

(We'll see what that rating is vs. Tom Brady, but that's....um...encouraging).

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2 ... ms-week-1/

[J. Kapp 11]

I thought the secondary as a whole was outstanding yesterday. With the exception of tight end Jared Cook, nobody consistently got separation. Obviously this wasn't an elite receiving corps, but the fact remains that we blanketed them with essentially the same personnel as last year.

Speaking of that, can we finally put to rest this idea that great coaching doesn't make that big a difference in the NFL? Yes, the players need to execute, but these guys are playing at a different level, and the only real difference is coaching.

[Purple Domination]

I've never seen the Vikings tackle as well as they did yesterday.

[Raptorman]

I've never seen the Vikings tackle as well as they did yesterday.

Maybe they watched this video.

http://www.seahawks.com/videos-photos/v ... 558292b1a6

[J. Kapp 11]

I'd like to add this little nugget.

I loved Jared Allen in his heyday with the Vikings. But we did the right thing in letting him go. The difference between Allen and Everson Griffen yesterday was so stark, it's almost hard to believe. Griffen was such a disruptive force yesterday, consistently having his way with a very highly regarded left tackle in Jake Long. He had two sacks and a bucketful of pressures and hurries. Meanwhile, JA looked overmatched all day (I watched with great interest as the Bills were beating the Bears). He was out of position on running plays, slow off the ball, and generally handled with ease.

[Cliff]

I thought the secondary as a whole was outstanding yesterday. With the exception of tight end Jared Cook, nobody consistently got separation. Obviously this wasn't an elite receiving corps, but the fact remains that we blanketed them with essentially the same personnel as last year.

Speaking of that, can we finally put to rest this idea that great coaching doesn't make that big a difference in the NFL? Yes, the players need to execute, but these guys are playing at a different level, and the only real difference is coaching.

I think the coaching is improved ... but aren't there quite a few new starters on defense as well as a bunch of players with only one year under their belt?

[S197]

I think the coaching is improved ... but aren't there quite a few new starters on defense as well as a bunch of players with only one year under their belt?

I think Joseph is the biggest acquisition, they really needed a guy to eat up space again. There are also guys like Blanton and Hodges who saw more playing time yesterday (Blanton led the team in tackles). However, depth chart is a coaching decision and a number of people here questioned throughout the season why Blanton and Hodges were not seeing the field over players like Sendejo and Mitchell, respectively.

I think the addition of Joseph and Munnerlyn along with the maturation of younger players like Floyd and Rhodes makes a difference but it is largely the same personnel. Also, I think you need to take into account the subtractions (Williams & Allen) when considering the additions. I was very strongly in the camp that coaching was the biggest issue here but honestly how much emphasis each person wants to put the turnaround on the staff vs personnel doesn't really matter to me anymore. As long as the improvement continues, I'm happy whatever the case for it may be.

[Arma]

Still rocking JRob in my avatar for a reason. I think he was a product of a terrible coach in Frazier. If he gets Zimmers techniques down he can be a good #2 CB. He has the raw ability to reach a high level of play.

[Cliff]

I think the addition of Joseph and Munnerlyn along with the maturation of younger players like Floyd and Rhodes makes a difference but it is largely the same personnel. Also, I think you need to take into account the subtractions (Williams & Allen) when considering the additions. I was very strongly in the camp that coaching was the biggest issue here but honestly how much emphasis each person wants to put the turnaround on the staff vs personnel doesn't really matter to me anymore. As long as the improvement continues, I'm happy whatever the case for it may be.

No question it's just good to see improvements. The coaching in several areas seem to be better. I definitely prefer the aggressive defensive philosophy rather than the 'just let them catch the ball and make sure to tackle them properly' defense.

I also definitely noticed a difference in the offense. More screens, pitches, and a *lot* more misdirection.

[dkoby]

Great to get a win. Couple of things that stood out to me yesterday:

Penalties: It was worse in the first half, but still too many. It must be a factor of being a Viking fan, but, every time a penalty flag came out, I automatically assume it's against us. We were penalized almost exactly half of what the rams were. A chink in the Jeff Fisher armor?

Where's the beef? Did anyone else notice the lack of deep shots? I thought that Norv was going to open it up? I thought they needed to loosen up the opposing defense to let AD get something going. Might have been the game plan to offset the very good D-line and it turns out that we really didn't need it. Norv keeping some of the offense under wraps for the Pats?

Second half adjustments: It was a tale of two halves to be sure. Zim kinda addressed this in the post game conference by saying that he told his troops to settle down and go out and play. Nice to see a defensive back that actually jumps a route and intercepts a ball intended for a receiver. Yes it was a poorly thrown ball, but Smith read it all the way. He broke on the receiver from 10 yards away. Love the scheme and most importantly the mentality.
As the players get more accustomed to the schemes, they will play faster and even more aggressive.... Blitzing off the corner and overload blitzing? What a concept.

One more thing: What's up with AD? He is starting to look like he's overusing the juke. There were a couple of times that I wondered why he didn't just start running upfeild with the ball, but instead stutter stepped until the defenders had a bead on him. Maybe it was the Rams front seven is just that good......or maybe he's just protecting himself. I guess I'll have to watch for it in future games.

I read through the Rams threads after the game. I think we just played an organization on the downswing. One thing is how fast they pulled Hill, It just didn't make sense. I don't believe he's injured. And he didn't play that bad to be axed. I've always thought Fisher was a really good coach, but something is wrong with those guys. Tavon Austin looks like a bust.

The Pats now look beatable. The only way we do it is to harass Brady and get him off his spot. I can't wait.

[Mothman]

Speaking of that, can we finally put to rest this idea that great coaching doesn't make that big a difference in the NFL?

I'm not sure it needs to be put to rest. Has anyone here actually claimed that great coaching doesn't make a big difference?

Yes, the players need to execute, but these guys are playing at a different level, and the only real difference is coaching.

That and a slew of new starters on defense.

The Rams had one of the worst offenses in the league last year and look like they'll be one of the worst again this year. We all know (and I think we all agree) that Zimmer and Turner are good coaches, with impressive resumés on defense and offense (respectively), and I think it's clear they're having a positive impact but the Vikings blew the Rams out the last time they played them too. We've seen similar victories in recent years. Call me overly cautious but I'm reluctant to draw sweeping conclusions from one game. Much tougher tests lie ahead for the Vikes. They don't get to face QBs like those they played yesterday every week. I think they'll meet those tougher tests well and be competitive all year but the Rams turned out to be a very favorable matchup in week one.

[losperros]

Great to get a win. Couple of things that stood out to me yesterday:

Where's the beef? Did anyone else notice the lack of deep shots? I thought that Norv was going to open it up? I thought they needed to loosen up the opposing defense to let AD get something going. Might have been the game plan to offset the very good D-line and it turns out that we really didn't need it. Norv keeping some of the offense under wraps for the Pats?

One more thing: What's up with AD? He is starting to look like he's overusing the juke. There were a couple of times that I wondered why he didn't just start running upfeild with the ball, but instead stutter stepped until the defenders had a bead on him. Maybe it was the Rams front seven is just that good......or maybe he's just protecting himself. I guess I'll have to watch for it in future games.

After watching the game on NFL rewind and looking at the coaches film, I'm going to say the Vikings OL still needs work. They need to be more precise and they need to get off the snap better. I believe that this had something to do with Cassel not having time to throw deep and AD not having a monster game.

That's not to say that the Rams quick D didn't have something to do with both cases. They most certainly did.

[dead_poet]

Where's the beef? Did anyone else notice the lack of deep shots? I thought that Norv was going to open it up? I thought they needed to loosen up the opposing defense to let AD get something going. Might have been the game plan to offset the very good D-line and it turns out that we really didn't need it.

I think that was a large part of it. A good way to get a QB killed vs. a team very good at creating pressure is a lot of five-step drops. I was perfectly fine with the game plan (obviously, because it worked). The deep shots will come.

One more thing: What's up with AD? He is starting to look like he's overusing the juke. There were a couple of times that I wondered why he didn't just start running upfeild with the ball, but instead stutter stepped until the defenders had a bead on him. Maybe it was the Rams front seven is just that good......or maybe he's just protecting himself. I guess I'll have to watch for it in future games.

He's been guilty of this for much of his career, especially early on. I chalk it up to zero carries in the preseason and just chomping at the bit and wanting to hit the home run. He'll settle down.

And he didn't play that bad to be axed.

Some of it was our defense, but he wasn't very good. Coaches decision most likely.

The only way we do it is to harass Brady and get him off his spot. I can't wait.

Teams have been trying to do that for years. Usually he has very good blocking up front. We'll see how Zimmer dials up the pressure. I'm concerned about matching up with Gronk (even at less than 100%) and if Revis will be shadowing Patterson.

[mansquatch]

Revis didn't look that great against Mike Wallace yesterday. He allowed a TD. Maybe Revis island will return, but how much of his reputation is based on his past and how much of it is based on his current play? The guy has been injured quite a bit the past few years. Maybe the Jets let him go for a reason?

[mmvikes]

Jay Busbee on shutdown corner

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutd ... 15768.html

There's no way Brady is done. For starters, his next two games are against the Vikings and Raiders, and that's the schedule equivalent of leading a starving man to a Golden Corral buffet. He's got a decent receiving corps, a game-changing tight end, and the relentless mad genius of Bill Belichick still on his side.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutd ... 15768.html

Just to prove a point, Brady will probably hang 350 yards and four touchdowns on both Minnesota and Oakland.

F him