Steelers week

[Maelstrom88]

I don't expect a win. The Steelers are pretty good on defense and I would expect TJ Watt to bring the heat.

[Dmizzle0]

There's my input until Zim gets Zammed

[VikingLord]

I don't expect a win or a loss.

I expect a game that resembles pretty much every game we've watched this season. Unnecessarily close with the Vikings going into "protect-the-lead" mode on offense should they get an early one and playing good defense for stretches only to concede relatively easy points over other stretches.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the game come down to another late field goal attempt by Joseph, nor would I be surprised to see him miss it.

What will happen regardless of the outcome is Zimmer will be talking about how he likes his team's fighting spirit and how they have to get ready for their next opponent.

In other words, more of the same. I guess I'm glad the game is finally on national TV and I can watch it.

[YikesVikes]

I expect a loss.
Team with a capable RB, WR, and an under the radar star at TE will give us fits.

[J. Kapp 11]

I can see two things working big-time against the Vikings this Thursday.

1. T.J. Watt is in the running for MVP and is on pace to break Michael Strahan's sack record. If he lines up against Oli Udoh ... let's just say Kirk might be wise to take on some extra insurance.

2. Big Ben has been truly terrible this year. Jared Goff has been truly terrible this year. Goff beat the Vikings, and he's not going to the Hall of Fame. We have this incredible ability to make every quarterback look like the second coming of Dan Marino. I suspect more of the same Thursday.

2a. It's prime time.

The Vikings will probably lose. I probably won't care.

[808vikingsfan]

A win only hurts this team.

They should see if Mond can flash any potential

[CharVike]

A win only hurts this team.

They should see if Mond can flash any potential

He already flashed it and that's why he's 3rd string. People need to forget that stiff. He was never a very good prospect to begin with. The only guy that was picking him before round 5 was trader down Rick.

[VikingLord]

A win only hurts this team.

They should see if Mond can flash any potential

He already flashed it and that's why he's 3rd string. People need to forget that stiff. He was never a very good prospect to begin with. The only guy that was picking him before round 5 was trader down Rick.

That's a bit premature and also not entirely accurate about his expected draft position, especially given how QBs are normally drafted higher than their college stats would suggest.

For context, Walterfootball had Mond as it's 8th best QB prospect before last year's draft: https://www.walterfootball.com/draft2021QB.php

For further context, Walterfootball had your boy Mac Jones as it's 5th best QB prospect, although it also had his estimated draft rounds as 1-2 while Mond's were 2-4.

Bottom line, I don't think Mond was drafted too early. I think he went just about where he should have gone.

As for whether he has what it takes to become a good or even great NFL QB, we haven't seen enough of him to know yet. The limited reps he got during the preseason suggest he has some nice attributes like a tight wind up and he gets the ball out quick, but his recognition and overall awareness didn't look special. Still, that could develop. Can't call him a bust just because he didn't immediately unseat the $27 million dollar man.

[soflavike]

I predict a close game and we lose because Zimmer went for 2 pts twice and failed on both. A missed extra point is always a possibility, too.

[CharVike]

I expect TJ Watt to have a field day against holder Udoh. Can't imagine Kirk holding the ball too long. He'll be skitish right from the start and I don't blame him. Many check downs so Ham will be back into the mix. That will get the home crowd excited. Big Ben is running on fumes at this point in the season and with a short week it will be tough for him to launch anything deep. His OL sucks but with no Hunter or Griff he should be safe. Zim will look to get on the board quickly and then try and run the clock out. Based on that picture of his girlfriend he wants to get home as quickly as possible. This game isn't his primary focus at this point. Bigger fish to fry. Neither team is a risk to any team looking for the trophy and I highly doubt too many players give a rats a$$. Biggest concern is avoiding injury. On our side we should be looking at some young players but that would take some effort from Zim and his crack pot staff. The same sh't different day approach is what we have here.

[VikingLord]

I expect TJ Watt to have a field day against holder Udoh. Can't imagine Kirk holding the ball too long. He'll be skitish right from the start and I don't blame him. Many check downs so Ham will be back into the mix. That will get the home crowd excited. Big Ben is running on fumes at this point in the season and with a short week it will be tough for him to launch anything deep. His OL sucks but with no Hunter or Griff he should be safe. Zim will look to get on the board quickly and then try and run the clock out. Based on that picture of his girlfriend he wants to get home as quickly as possible. This game isn't his primary focus at this point. Bigger fish to fry. Neither team is a risk to any team looking for the trophy and I highly doubt too many players give a rats a$$. Biggest concern is avoiding injury. On our side we should be looking at some young players but that would take some effort from Zim and his crack pot staff. The same sh't different day approach is what we have here.

If Udoh is starting at LT again that might be the best OL the Vikings can put out there. He's a much better OT than he is a guard, plus he can actually get some movement as a run blocker, which is something Hill struggled to do.

What will be most frustrating about this upcoming game is most likely how it will remain close. The Vikings offense might come out gangbusters, moving it seemingly at will, but if they do manage to put up early points in bunches, I would bet my bottom dollar that they'll curl up later and try to "protect" that lead. Defensively we'll likely see some stretches where they look almost good, only to later wonder how it is possible that the Steelers managed to score 10 points in the time it took to get up and go get a drink.

It's been that kind of year for the whole team. Inconsistent and close. While that might normally equate to "exciting", for most of us its just way old now. Either be bad or be good. The Vikings and their fans are in some sort of football purgatory where up and down flip on a whim and every game seems the same no matter the venue, opposition, or what is at stake. Cousins is great! Cousins sucks! Cook is awesome! Cook is injured! The kicker made the winning field goal! The kicker missed the winning field goal!

Its just some special version of h3ll we're all stuck in. Not sure what we did to deserve this.

[Cliff]

Basically every game the Vikings play is close and they've had a chance to be in all of them. With a good kicker we'd feel a lot different about this team.

They'll be in this game like all the rest and it might go either way. Maybe they'll beat the Chargers or Packers, maybe they'll lose to the Lions. One thing about the 2021 Vikings is they've mostly kept it interesting until the end.

[psjordan]

... Big Ben is running on fumes at this point in the season and with a short week it will be tough for him to launch anything deep....

Don't know about that, this (dropped) pass a few days ago went 45 yards in the air and looks pretty accurate to me:
https://youtu.be/Jsps1bO4X-g

I have no idea what to expect in the game. Zimmer says no worries, got defensive players coming back for this game. He has a lot more faith in Peterson than I do I guess.

I see more of the same - we'll have opportunities that we will squander one way or the other. Maybe we still come out on top, maybe not.

[PurpleTeam]

I think Vikings will win but I want a loss for a better draft pick and Zimmer and Speilman gone at the end of the season

[CharVike]

He already flashed it and that's why he's 3rd string. People need to forget that stiff. He was never a very good prospect to begin with. The only guy that was picking him before round 5 was trader down Rick.

That's a bit premature and also not entirely accurate about his expected draft position, especially given how QBs are normally drafted higher than their college stats would suggest.

For context, Walterfootball had Mond as it's 8th best QB prospect before last year's draft: https://www.walterfootball.com/draft2021QB.php

For further context, Walterfootball had your boy Mac Jones as it's 5th best QB prospect, although it also had his estimated draft rounds as 1-2 while Mond's were 2-4.

Bottom line, I don't think Mond was drafted too early. I think he went just about where he should have gone.

As for whether he has what it takes to become a good or even great NFL QB, we haven't seen enough of him to know yet. The limited reps he got during the preseason suggest he has some nice attributes like a tight wind up and he gets the ball out quick, but his recognition and overall awareness didn't look special. Still, that could develop. Can't call him a bust just because he didn't immediately unseat the $27 million dollar man.

I never thought he should start. But when you can't beat out a total stiff for the backup spot doesn't that say anything? It's only my thought and I could be wrong. I have missed judged many more than I have judged right. Your right about the awareness which isn't there. That all goes back to the type of offense he played throughout his amateur life. He also tries to stare his primary guy open. That will never work at the NFL level. I just feel he is many years away from taking over.