Vikings at Packers

[40for60]

There’s plenty to improve on in this game, and I feel mostly on the coaches. However, the Vikings won and are 4-0 with wins against 3 very good teams. Most Vikings fans would be happy with 2-2 with this schedule. But the expectations will ramp up. Now I will be disappointed if they lose to the Jets, but I think they will enter the bye 5-0!

[VikingBolt]

It seems to me, that more times than not, when we have a pretty good lead, that they kinda let down/relax and take their foot off the pedal.

[cogitator]

Colin Cowherd and John Middlekauff talk about the Vikings. Very complimentary of the coaching staff. It's right at the start, so you don't have to scroll through any of it.

[VikingLord]

In his post-game presser KOC said they didn't actually take their foot off the gas, but rather just failed to adjust to the adjustments that the Packers had made. While that makes me feel a little better in one respect, it makes me worried in another because whatever the Packers did differently, we can be sure every other team in the league will try to do the same thing(s), whatever those were.

Bottom line is the Vikings did enough to win and realistically I don't think the Packers ever really had a chance to win the game. At best they had an outside chance to claw their way back to try to tie it up, and while I wish the Vikings had blown them out, any away win against a divisional opponent is a good win.

[psjordan]

Happy with the win and will just comment on one aspect:

How different this game is (and the season is) with Darnold vs. Cousins at QB.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never really been a Cousins basher. But this is different. KOC seems to COMPLETELY trust Darnold, for good or bad. And I think this is helping Darnold immensely.

Cases in point from this game - and you can guess what I think Cousins would have come up with in these scenarios:

Early in 1st, 3rd and 14. We pass for 27.
Early in 2nd, 1st and 15 in our territory, pass for 23 (right around the time Kirk was throwing a pick for ATL).
3rd quarter, 3rd and 10 from our own 18, pass for 25.
And the biggies:
4th quarter as the game got closer and closer:
1st and 10, pass for 17
2nd and 2, pass for 27
1st and 10, pass for 8
3rd and 12, pass for 13 (the toe dragger)
1st and 10, pass for 18.

That’s about 6-7 plays that change the game as they happen. And my spidey sense says that our prior QB would have hit on less than half of those. IF our HC even called those plays - I don’t think he trusted Cousins enough to fully go there.

So all in all not only do I like what we are doing for the most part, I’m really impressed with the continued confidence the staff has in Darnold to make the right throw under pressure. Not to mention the faith they have in the OL to help make that happen. I think this opens up the entire game plan, every game and at every point within the games.

Onward. No idea what version of the Jets we’ll get, but IMO looks positive for us on paper.

[Cliff]

Happy with the win and will just comment on one aspect:

How different this game is (and the season is) with Darnold vs. Cousins at QB.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never really been a Cousins basher. But this is different. KOC seems to COMPLETELY trust Darnold, for good or bad. And I think this is helping Darnold immensely.

Cases in point from this game - and you can guess what I think Cousins would have come up with in these scenarios:

Early in 1st, 3rd and 14. We pass for 27.
Early in 2nd, 1st and 15 in our territory, pass for 23 (right around the time Kirk was throwing a pick for ATL).
3rd quarter, 3rd and 10 from our own 18, pass for 25.
And the biggies:
4th quarter as the game got closer and closer:
1st and 10, pass for 17
2nd and 2, pass for 27
1st and 10, pass for 8
3rd and 12, pass for 13 (the toe dragger)
1st and 10, pass for 18.

That’s about 6-7 plays that change the game as they happen. And my spidey sense says that our prior QB would have hit on less than half of those. IF our HC even called those plays - I don’t think he trusted Cousins enough to fully go there.

So all in all not only do I like what we are doing for the most part, I’m really impressed with the continued confidence the staff has in Darnold to make the right throw under pressure. Not to mention the faith they have in the OL to help make that happen. I think this opens up the entire game plan, every game and at every point within the games.

Onward. No idea what version of the Jets we’ll get, but IMO looks positive for us on paper.

Good observations.

I don't know if KOC trusts him more or if Darnold trusts himself more than Cousins does. Those 3rd and longer situations especially. Those are the kinds of downs I was used to Cousins checking down and trying to depend on the player to get YAC. It seems that Darnold has more faith in his arm, for better or worse.

I don't think Darnold would have made this decision, for example:

[StanM]

Happy with the win and will just comment on one aspect:

How different this game is (and the season is) with Darnold vs. Cousins at QB.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never really been a Cousins basher. But this is different. KOC seems to COMPLETELY trust Darnold, for good or bad. And I think this is helping Darnold immensely.

Cases in point from this game - and you can guess what I think Cousins would have come up with in these scenarios:

Early in 1st, 3rd and 14. We pass for 27.
Early in 2nd, 1st and 15 in our territory, pass for 23 (right around the time Kirk was throwing a pick for ATL).
3rd quarter, 3rd and 10 from our own 18, pass for 25.
And the biggies:
4th quarter as the game got closer and closer:
1st and 10, pass for 17
2nd and 2, pass for 27
1st and 10, pass for 8
3rd and 12, pass for 13 (the toe dragger)
1st and 10, pass for 18.

That’s about 6-7 plays that change the game as they happen. And my spidey sense says that our prior QB would have hit on less than half of those. IF our HC even called those plays - I don’t think he trusted Cousins enough to fully go there.

So all in all not only do I like what we are doing for the most part, I’m really impressed with the continued confidence the staff has in Darnold to make the right throw under pressure. Not to mention the faith they have in the OL to help make that happen. I think this opens up the entire game plan, every game and at every point within the games.

Onward. No idea what version of the Jets we’ll get, but IMO looks positive for us on paper.

Great post. I believe that our O linemen have to love Sam’s mobility and how he extends the plays. Receivers must love him as well as he’s accurate and spreads the ball around. The commitment to the running game is working better than expected due to Sam’s ability to sustain drives. Sam is still good for a couple “wtf was he thinking” kind of throws per game but they have been able to overcome those as a team.

If Sam can keep this up all season the Vikings have some tough choices and it’s a win win for Sam. Either get an offer from the Vikings or a big contract somewhere else. Fans win because it’s easy to stay engaged with a winning team. There are a lot of weeks left and teams will figure us out but we won’t be standing still and will figure them out as well. There are so many moving parts as there are some tough games coming up. Regardless of how things turn out we will have had a great time following them.

[makila]

It's a win in GB. I'll take it any day of the week, any season.

Botched punt absolutely shifted momentum and we did. And did a bad job trying to regather ourselves afterwards.

I also think Wright is gonna screw us as a punter sooner rather than later. He had another one yesterday that made me shake my head.

Defensively, our rush three and fall into coverage doesn't work. We get ZERO pressure. This either needs to stop or be reevaluated on how it can more more effective.

Can't wait until we get Hock back. Still haven't seen a full strength passing game yet. Addition fits so well with JJ. Love Darnold being able to move around in the pocket too. Refreshing.

4-0. Won at GB. Onto the next!

[CharVike]

Happy with the win and will just comment on one aspect:

How different this game is (and the season is) with Darnold vs. Cousins at QB.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never really been a Cousins basher. But this is different. KOC seems to COMPLETELY trust Darnold, for good or bad. And I think this is helping Darnold immensely.

Cases in point from this game - and you can guess what I think Cousins would have come up with in these scenarios:

Early in 1st, 3rd and 14. We pass for 27.
Early in 2nd, 1st and 15 in our territory, pass for 23 (right around the time Kirk was throwing a pick for ATL).
3rd quarter, 3rd and 10 from our own 18, pass for 25.
And the biggies:
4th quarter as the game got closer and closer:
1st and 10, pass for 17
2nd and 2, pass for 27
1st and 10, pass for 8
3rd and 12, pass for 13 (the toe dragger)
1st and 10, pass for 18.

That’s about 6-7 plays that change the game as they happen. And my spidey sense says that our prior QB would have hit on less than half of those. IF our HC even called those plays - I don’t think he trusted Cousins enough to fully go there.

So all in all not only do I like what we are doing for the most part, I’m really impressed with the continued confidence the staff has in Darnold to make the right throw under pressure. Not to mention the faith they have in the OL to help make that happen. I think this opens up the entire game plan, every game and at every point within the games.

Onward. No idea what version of the Jets we’ll get, but IMO looks positive for us on paper.

Darnold has played great compared to what he has been his entire career. It's only 4 games and like a typical win most of the good things like penalties went our way. Our O didn't do much after half time. There was some incomplete passes thrown that stopped the clock when I felt they should have ripped the time off the clock which I lay on bad coaching. Of course you never should go into a shell but you also have to recognize the game conditions. The strip sack and I don't blame Sammy was a terrible play call. Own territory up by 14 with only 10:42 left. That was 2nd and 8. If we run it twice and had to punt the clock will be running. Let's see how Sammy deals when we are behind late in a game. That will happen at some point. In the NFL the QB gets all the credit or blame unless your SB winner Dilfer. I don't think we missed a FG all year. They hit the post and are good. The Packers missed some yesterday.
The Vikings scored touchdowns on their first three drives, the Packers missed two field goals and threw two interceptions on their first four drives, and the second INT was turned into a quick touchdown for a 28-0 margin with 5½ minutes left in the first half. If it could go wrong, it did.
Comparing QBs is strange. Keenum lead us to a Champ game embarrassment. He fell apart when the D fell apart.

[psjordan]

Love these quotes in excerpt from https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/415 ... in-packers


… The play stopped the clock, but Darnold followed it with an 18-yard pass down the middle to Jordan Addison and ultimately forced the Packers to use their final timeout. Jefferson said it felt "great" just to get the opportunity to preserve the possession. Jones said it "means everything" that O'Connell kept pushing.
"It was definitely demonstrating we're going to put the game in you guys' hands," Jones said. "That, 'I trust you guys that much to go out and execute.' I think that says a lot about Coach, and the trust that he has in us, and the trust that we have in him as well."
"I love playing for Kevin. He's been everything to me. He's helped me so much in my short time here. I'm glad I made the decision to come here. He's definitely a special coach."