Vikings at Rams

[CharVike]

This has one and done written all over it. The biggest concern is the Rams spanked us good earlier in the season. We couldn't slow Stafford down and we gave him a dump off on most if not all pass plays with yardage in front. Bottom line he's seen it all and has proven he will stand in there and take a hit if it means a completion. The Rams have been through the playoff grind and rested the team last week. That's a big advantage. IMO the Lion game will carry over into this one and not in a good way. However I read this "Nothing like a good slap to the face before you walk into the postseason," said CBS Sports Analyst Emory Hunt. "So I think the slap in the face from the Detroit Lions to the Minnesota Vikings will help them recalibrate. I don't agree with that at all. We collapsed against the Lions in an almost must win game and that has to have everyone questioning what went wrong. If Darnold can't throw an accurate ball we are toast and will struggle to put points on the board. We need to come out and get a TD quickly to end the drought and get us rolling. Otherwise Sammy will have no chance but to force throws to covered players and see what happens. Not the best way to operate. I see it 34-16 them.

[VikingLord]

We collapsed against the Lions in an almost must win game and that has to have everyone questioning what went wrong. If Darnold can't throw an accurate ball we are toast and will struggle to put points on the board.

What went wrong against the Lions in that last game was Darnold wasn't able to hit the broad side of a barn when the team was inside the 5 yard line. He was late on reads and his throws were high and off target. He had open receivers just didn't execute. Had he executed as he did most of the season the Vikings would have had 28 points on the board by the end of the 3rd quarter.

The game was much closer than the final score would indicate. The defense played a great first half of football too.

We need to come out and get a TD quickly to end the drought and get us rolling. Otherwise Sammy will have no chance but to force throws to covered players and see what happens. Not the best way to operate. I see it 34-16 them.

I think KOC needs to get his QB into the flow, which means a healthy mix of effective running coupled with some quick, easy reads. KOC also needs to have an effective gameplan to counter the blitz. Option read routes where at least one guy can sit down short and get some yards or break off a route short.

And lastly, the TV needs to stop showing Darnold's lips when the Vikings are in the huddle. Did anyone else notice that? I can't recall ever seeing Goff's lips moving when the Lions were huddling, but the TV constantly showed Darnold's lips moving as he relayed the play call. And in retrospect it sure seemed like the Lions knew the plays. That was like the best man cover defense in history, and that came from a defensive secondary that was literally down to it's last man. If the TV is going to focus in on Darnold's lips like that and give the other team the possibility of stealing the offensive playcalls, KOC also have to have a plan to counter that.

The NFL should just not allow that period. The possibility it could lead to cheating is just way too high.

[CharVike]

We collapsed against the Lions in an almost must win game and that has to have everyone questioning what went wrong. If Darnold can't throw an accurate ball we are toast and will struggle to put points on the board.

What went wrong against the Lions in that last game was Darnold wasn't able to hit the broad side of a barn when the team was inside the 5 yard line. He was late on reads and his throws were high and off target. He had open receivers just didn't execute. Had he executed as he did most of the season the Vikings would have had 28 points on the board by the end of the 3rd quarter.

The game was much closer than the final score would indicate. The defense played a great first half of football too.

We need to come out and get a TD quickly to end the drought and get us rolling. Otherwise Sammy will have no chance but to force throws to covered players and see what happens. Not the best way to operate. I see it 34-16 them.

I think KOC needs to get his QB into the flow, which means a healthy mix of effective running coupled with some quick, easy reads. KOC also needs to have an effective gameplan to counter the blitz. Option read routes where at least one guy can sit down short and get some yards or break off a route short.

And lastly, the TV needs to stop showing Darnold's lips when the Vikings are in the huddle. Did anyone else notice that? I can't recall ever seeing Goff's lips moving when the Lions were huddling, but the TV constantly showed Darnold's lips moving as he relayed the play call. And in retrospect it sure seemed like the Lions knew the plays. That was like the best man cover defense in history, and that came from a defensive secondary that was literally down to it's last man. If the TV is going to focus in on Darnold's lips like that and give the other team the possibility of stealing the offensive playcalls, KOC also have to have a plan to counter that.

The NFL should just not allow that period. The possibility it could lead to cheating is just way too high.

You're right about the best man coverage in history. It sure looked like they knew what was coming. Hard to believe it took 18 weeks to figure it out. By the goal line I was expecting that TE drag. We'll see what happens tonight.

[J. Kapp 11]

I’ve just watched 20 minutes of pregame coverage. About 20 seconds of it talked about the Vikings.

I get it. The fires are devastating. But there IS a football game happening, and there ARE two teams playing in it.

[J. Kapp 11]

Last 7 quarters:

Opponents 70
Vikings 9

Sam Darnold is gone. He’s in full Jets mode. The JJ McCarthy era has begun. Can’t get here soon enough.

[VikingLord]

Well, that was a #### of a game if I've ever seen one. I guess it was a lot to expect a 14 win team to actually show up and play like a 14 win team for at least some of the game, but it started bad and just got worse. The stadium had a lot of Vikings fans. Maybe not half, but enough to make our presence felt. And there was Sam Darnold just completely shrinking from the moment. Off-target, sometimes wildly so. Holding the ball. Taking bad sack after bad sack. Turning the ball over. I've watched this team a long time and I can't recall a QB melting down as totally as Sam Darnold did over the last two games.

If there is a bright side here, it is that the talk of paying Darnold big money, or, for that matter, any vet QB big money to come in and be the savior for this team, can finally stop. The Vikings may bring Darnold back, but if they do it will be as the backup QB he is and always will be. Hopefully JJ McCarthy recovers fully and is ready to take the reins next year, and hopefully when he does the Vikings will finally have found their franchise QB and will be off the QB carousel they've been on since maybe Daunte Culpepper or even Tommy Kramer suited up for them.

[Tark]

I take full responsibility for jinxing the Vikings by purchasing some merch thinking they would finally win something this year. I must be getting senile. I guess it’s too late to return that crap now.

[CharVike]

They rolled us week 8 so this didn't surprise me. Sam was a bridge QB and played far beyond anything I thought he would. I give him credit for giving it all he had. I like his arm and toughness. The guy took a beating and kept coming back. Now well see what they drafted as the next man up. There's nothing wrong sitting a year but now it's time to go all the way in 25 or it's time to reload starting at the top first. Four years is plenty of time to build the roster you need. No sense in waiting another 4.

[J. Kapp 11]

They rolled us week 8 so this didn't surprise me. Sam was a bridge QB and played far beyond anything I thought he would. I give him credit for giving it all he had. I like his arm and toughness. The guy took a beating and kept coming back. Now well see what they drafted as the next man up. There's nothing wrong sitting a year but now it's time to go all the way in 25 or it's time to reload starting at the top first. Four years is plenty of time to build the roster you need. No sense in waiting another 4.

Both Kwesi and KOC are up for contract extensions, and they’ll both get them. You want to fire a coach who has been so good that other teams are rumored to be willing to trade for him? Come on.

Neither Kwesi nor KOC are going anywhere.

[chicagopurple]

Well, as I expected this post season run served one purpose. It clearly dispelled ANY hope that Darnold was a hidden franchise QB that KOC would "whisper" out of his cocoon and ride to the SB. Now we just pray that JJ IS that guy and is not a porcelain, coulda been bust like a few of our less recent QBs that were full of hope but blew their knees out.....remember them? I dont feel too bad about Darnold, I never expect anything out of him. KOC, on the other hand, I am VERY disappointed and concerned about. Coaches are NOT supposed to get spooked and freeze up when the season is on the line. He just had 2 games in a row where he clearly was out of his league. Poor clock management, poor play calling, failure to recognize what his players were best suited to do....it was all very concerning. As far as GM, this team is no different than all the other teams we have watched for 20 yrs....pockets of talent with no OL and that equals failure. The whole Ol is either undersized, under talented or injury prone. Kawesie needs to focus on the OL in the off season and do so intelligently. I doubt it will happen because...we are who they thought we were.....

I have never felt more like Charlie Brown getting repetitively screwed over by Lucy and whiffing the kick than this year, watching all the Vike fans get their hopes up over a team that spent all season barely beating other lesser teams for a bizzarely lucky season, and KNOWING that it was all going to end in embarrassment when we finally faced good teams in the crucible of post season. SO damn predictable.

[Tommy TarkenKapp]

.

[makila]

As much as that loss was on Darnold for playing poorly, coaching staff deserves blame too. Team was not prepared. The last two games they weren't prepared. They looked like the team that didn't want to be there.

KOC still is really stubborn as a play caller I think. Call some quick hitters for the love of god. Good thing is he can still change if he wants to imho. He deserves criticism though for this one. No adjustments. That's a trend with him. The run game and screens (both not being effective) is a multiple season occurrence now. The run game just got worse and worse as the season went on. And the rest of the NFL knew they didn't have to worry about it.

They need soooo many pieces. Both lines need interior help bad. I am worried about overall availability of Darrisaw. Secondary has to be rebuilt. Running game must be more consistent (ie be able to run when everyone knows it's coming). We've got cap space to address needs.

[makila]

I think the jury is still out on KAM though. I like what he did in free agency this past year. But, he throws away draft capital like he has an endless supply. But, if McCarthy pans out & Turner turns into the defensive stud everyone predicted...well, then he's a genius.

Yeah the JJM and Turner picks will be big factors in KAMs drafting ability imho. His first draft is absolute garbage. And he's sent off a lot of draft assets. Did they ever actually overhaul the old Rick scouting department? I know the first draft they kept the scouting department in tact, never heard if they hired new people after it. If so, that probably explains why we can't identify IOL to save our lives.

His free agent moves, and players he let go, last offseason were well done.

We've got the cap space now, we built to this off-season. Time to see what their plan was.

[CharVike]

They rolled us week 8 so this didn't surprise me. Sam was a bridge QB and played far beyond anything I thought he would. I give him credit for giving it all he had. I like his arm and toughness. The guy took a beating and kept coming back. Now well see what they drafted as the next man up. There's nothing wrong sitting a year but now it's time to go all the way in 25 or it's time to reload starting at the top first. Four years is plenty of time to build the roster you need. No sense in waiting another 4.

Both Kwesi and KOC are up for contract extensions, and they’ll both get them. You want to fire a coach who has been so good that other teams are rumored to be willing to trade for him? Come on.

Neither Kwesi nor KOC are going anywhere.

If they get it good for them. We have cap but Murphy and Bynum are FA and that's half our secondary. That will take some cap. Kwesi made some good FA signings but his list is very long since he came here. There's been plenty of misses also. The draft has been the killer in my eyes. It's hard to build a turnover roster when you don't draft well.

[makila]

Both Kwesi and KOC are up for contract extensions, and they’ll both get them. You want to fire a coach who has been so good that other teams are rumored to be willing to trade for him? Come on.

Neither Kwesi nor KOC are going anywhere.

If they get it good for them. We have cap but Murphy and Bynum are FA and that's half our secondary. That will take some cap. Kwesi made some good FA signings but his list is very long since he came here. There's been plenty of misses also. The draft has been the killer in my eyes. It's hard to build a turnover roster when you don't draft well.

Not just them. Gillmore and Griffin too. Both starting CBs. We have to rebuild the entire secondary. Think Metellus is the only one who played regular snaps this year under contract for next season.