49ers at Vikings

[psjordan]

Oooh boy. After watching that thumping of the Jets I’m not exactly overflowing with confidence in this game.

Stats from the talking heads say Shanahan has had TEN undrafted running backs rush for 100+ yard games in his tenure there. Sheesh. So missing CMC might be a pretty soft blow to the 49ers.

Ayuik was likely embarrassed dropping what should have been a TD pass, so he’ll probably come out firing.

I keep waiting for Purdy’s horse drawn carriage to turn back into a pumpkin but so far there’s no sign of that.

I don’t love that in Darnold’s second game, which hopefully is one where his confidence grows, will be against one of the better D’s out there. I really really hope he gets off to a decent start - first or second series goes really well - and I almost guarantee that will make the rest of the game fun to watch. If we go to clunkersville on offense early, it could get ugly.

Have not heard anything yet, but I’m guessing Addison won’t play.

So, it doesn’t look great for the home town heroes …. except ….

I really like the energy our D played with last week. Don’t know if that’s a matter of a bunch of new pieces/players or what, but I really expect Turner and our LB crew to have good games. If our secondary is adequate, we can give them trouble.

I get the feeling Jefferson loves these kind of games. I am hoping the staff can free him up enough, and can convince Darnold to give him some 50/50 balls. As for the other WR’s, it seems McCardell always has the back ups ready to play, so if we can get some OL protection I think we’ll be able to pass adequately.

Wild card for me will be our running game. On paper it’s perfectly capable of meeting the challenge here, if not flourishing a bit. But who knows.

Add in the home crowd and I think we have a puncher’s chance.

[JJ2014]

If we hold the 49ers to under 17 points we should win the game. Defense needs to be really good for us to have a good shot at winning.

[VikingLord]

Oooh boy. After watching that thumping of the Jets I’m not exactly overflowing with confidence in this game.

Stats from the talking heads say Shanahan has had TEN undrafted running backs rush for 100+ yard games in his tenure there. Sheesh. So missing CMC might be a pretty soft blow to the 49ers.

Ayuik was likely embarrassed dropping what should have been a TD pass, so he’ll probably come out firing.

I keep waiting for Purdy’s horse drawn carriage to turn back into a pumpkin but so far there’s no sign of that.

I don’t love that in Darnold’s second game, which hopefully is one where his confidence grows, will be against one of the better D’s out there. I really really hope he gets off to a decent start - first or second series goes really well - and I almost guarantee that will make the rest of the game fun to watch. If we go to clunkersville on offense early, it could get ugly.

Have not heard anything yet, but I’m guessing Addison won’t play.

So, it doesn’t look great for the home town heroes …. except ….

I really like the energy our D played with last week. Don’t know if that’s a matter of a bunch of new pieces/players or what, but I really expect Turner and our LB crew to have good games. If our secondary is adequate, we can give them trouble.

I get the feeling Jefferson loves these kind of games. I am hoping the staff can free him up enough, and can convince Darnold to give him some 50/50 balls. As for the other WR’s, it seems McCardell always has the back ups ready to play, so if we can get some OL protection I think we’ll be able to pass adequately.

Wild card for me will be our running game. On paper it’s perfectly capable of meeting the challenge here, if not flourishing a bit. But who knows.

Add in the home crowd and I think we have a puncher’s chance.

Good take. I do wonder if the 49ers were just that good or the Jets were just that bad. It's hard to tell early in the season what is what and who is who. I know the 49ers are coming off a great season and all but that still isn't the same team from last year. It is more than possible they won't be as good.

I think two of your observations in particular interest me. The first is about Darnold. During the time Cousins was the starting QB he enjoyed a lot of success against average or lesser defenses while he struggled mightily against better defenses. In just not being Kirk Cousins, Sam Darnold can change what has almost become a given in the minds of many Vikings fans that got used to seeing Cousins struggle in games like these. Yeah, San Fran's defense is better than the Giants overall, but in terms of the front four and pass rush I don't think the 49ers present a bigger challenge than what the Vikings OL faced last week against the Giants. Lawrence is better than any single DL player the 49ers have and the Vikings did a good job on him, and Burns and Thibedoux (sp) are as good as the 49er ends IMHO. The Vikings handled them, and I expect the OL to do a good job against the 49er front as well on Sunday. That will be key because if Darnold has time we saw what he can do in the passing game and if the RBs get good blocking we saw what they can do in the run game.

The second observation about the Vikings defense is also a good one. The 49ers like to establish the run as it gives Purdy room to operate in the passing game. Can the Vikings limit that? The Jets sure couldn't even sans McCaffrey, and if the Vikings can't do better up front then it's going to be a long day on defense. But if they can I really like their chances.

We're going to learn a lot about how good the Vikings can be this season in this game.

[CharVike]

The 49ers are probably the top team in the NFC. They have a new DC this year who was their defensive passing game specialist/nickels last season. We are home dogs with the spread around 6. The 49ers have one of the best overall skill groups on O and they have one of the best OL's in the NFL. They present a much bigger challenge than the Giants did. We handed them a perfect chance to set the tone of the game with that 1st bumbling series and that can't happen this week. I thought Wright would be cut if he had a shank and he did have one but he's still here. I expect the 49ers to come out and play hard. We ripped them through the air last year without Jefferson so I'm sure they remember it and will make changes. The media is stating that Sammy knows the 49ers defense but the 49ers also know plenty about him also. We need to play mistake free ball and get the ground game working which we couldn't last year. I think we drop this one 24-17.

[JJ2014]

We need to be able to run the ball first. If the defense plays good we have a good chance to win!

[VikingsVictorious]

If we hold the 49ers to under 17 points we should win the game. Defense needs to be really good for us to have a good shot at winning.

If holding them to under 17 is the way to victory I give it a 5% chance of happening. 17 is about the minimum expectation for the 49ers to score. I think our better shot at winning is scoring 24 or more points which I give a 30 % chance of happening.

Overall I put our chances at 20%.

[VikingLord]

OK, prediction time for the matchup with the 49ers on Sunday.

The key for the Vikings on offense is to establish the line of scrimmage. It was key for them against the Giants and will be key all year. Darnold can escape pressure but he's not a magician, so solid pass blocking is essential. Jones and Chandler are good backs who can create their own yards, but effective run blocking and the ability to create favorable down-distance situations on 3rd down is going to be key to the Vikings ability to sustain drives. The 49ers have a solid front 7. One could credibly argue it is the best front 7 in the NFL, and so this is the sort of defining opportunity that the Vikings OL should personally crave. This is a chance to show everyone how good they are and can be. Whether they step up and meet this challenge I don't know, but based on what I saw against another very good front 7 last week on the road, I think they can. And if they do I think the Vikings can move the ball and score on the 49ers. Darnold is more than capable of using the receiving talent at his disposal to make plays all over the field. I also think the 49ers will be the rare defense this year that doesn't attempt to double JJ, at least not out of the gate. So we'll also get to see if JJ can take advantage of that and create some more splash plays. I generally like this matchup, although I admit there are substantial unknowns and it could go really well for the Vikings or not at all if the 49ers can rattle Darnold early and clamp down on the run.

The key for the Vikings on defense is containing the 49er run game. With or without McCaffrey the 49ers will base their attack around an effective ground game with Purdy taking advantage of the pressure that creates on defenses to scheme to stop it. Disruption at the point of attack is key to limiting that offense, which means the Vikings front 7 must be physical, aggressive and disciplined. In the secondary the key for the DBs is to limit YAC. Be aggressive, but make sure tackles and don't allow the 49er receivers to gain extra yards on short throws. I'm still not sold on Brock Purdy as a great QB. In my opinion he's a good QB who can make plays but also is prone to mistakes. The Vikings have to make him pay for those mistakes. In this area I'm far less enthused about the matchups, but I also admit the Vikings could surprise to the upside.

I'm very confident in the Vikings special teams despite the shanked punt last week. Not sure how good the 49er special teams is but I don't see this game coming down to a late field goal to win.

As much as I want to believe in the Vikings and need to shake the ghosts of Cousins Past out of my head in games like these I am afraid the 49er run game is just going to be too much for a lot of teams to handle, the Vikings included. While I think the Vikings offense will move the ball and put up some points, I think the 49ers will be able to control the clock and ultimately the game on the ground, mixing in enough passing to get a comfortable win in the end.

I'm going to go

Vikings - 17
49ers - 35

[cmoss84]

RUN CMC out again!!!

[Lash Man]

KOC needs to put JJ in motion so the Niners cant double team him every play

[ERIK the PURPLE]

I’m excited for this game. It’s early and the Vikes are playing with house money. My 2 cents:

1. To me, a RB who goes off for a 147 the prior week usually doesn’t duplicate that kind of production the following week. Especially, someone filling in for an injured player. So I expect Mason to average more like 4 yds/carry. As long as we limit Deebo from big runs, we should be fine.

2. My biggest gripe with O’Connell (Boy Wonder) is two fold. Way too often we have trouble getting the plays off on time. This has been an ongoing problem and is inexcusable! Also, when we are inside the 10 after a long drive, he tends to go for it on 4th down when I feel we should take the points. Last week it was 4th and 2 from the 3. We converted for the TD but to me I’d rather have the sure 10-3 lead on the road as opposed to giving some momentum to the home team if we fail.

My Prediction: Niners 27-23. A moral victory in defeat.

[psjordan]

I'm going out on a limb on this one. IF we eliminate the worst of early mistakes (fumble opening drive, bad defensive penalty on their first drive, etc.), we will have a real shot at being close/tied/ahead at halftime. And being close at halftime of a home game is a great thing.

I can't predict 2nd half, but I honestly have a lot of confidence in the 1st half, above exception noted.

So we'll see what the coaches and players are made of in this game.

[psjordan]

I'm going out on a limb on this one. IF we eliminate the worst of early mistakes (fumble opening drive, bad defensive penalty on their first drive, etc.), we will have a real shot at being close/tied/ahead at halftime. And being close at halftime of a home game is a great thing.

I can't predict 2nd half, but I honestly have a lot of confidence in the 1st half, above exception noted.

So we'll see what the coaches and players are made of in this game.

Hate to quote myself but it was great to see what these players and coaches are made of!

[Imac]

I was feeling the same. My son asked me how the game was going to go today. I told him I wasnt confident at all. He decided to go swimming with friends instead of watching with me. He came back as it was ending and said based on your mood I take it you were wrong about the game! Skol!!

[makila]

Great win. Regardless of cmc or not (mason fits just fine heh).

The defense is real. This group is going to be good. Jones is playing the best football of his career suddenly. Metellus played very well. Van Ginkel almost had a other pick. Cashman was all over the place.

Special teams had a big play with the punt block. Rookie kicker made fgs when called on.

Offensively the game looks very different without the Jones fumble. He and Chandler were getting yards in chunks. We can run. It's refreshing. JJ td was awesome. Nailor had some timely grabs. Darnold made mostly good decisions and some strong throws. Line was pretty good too.

JJ health is biggest takeaway. Not to be dramatic, we have to have him with Addison and Hock out.

[psjordan]

JJ health is biggest takeaway. Not to be dramatic, we have to have him with Addison and Hock out.

Per ESPN:
"I'm not seriously injured," Jefferson said. "So that's the main important thing. So it's just all about getting to the training room, making sure my body is right for next week, and I'll be ready to go next Sunday."