Interesting post and stats. I didn't realize those numbers about Zimmer. Some people say it's actually harder to play coming off the bye. They say it takes time to get back to game intensity and speed, especially given all the CBA restrictions on practice.akvikingsfan wrote: ↑Tue Nov 13, 2018 1:28 pm Since Zimmer was hired the Vikings are:
- 2-2 after the bye
- 1-2 after the bye on the road
- 2-2 at Chicago
- 6-2 against Chicago
- 0-1 at Chicago after the bye (didn't realize that we had played at Chicago after the bye until I looked these numbers up)
- 7-7 prime time games
- 3-5 prime time games on the road
- 1-1 prime time games against Chicago
My thoughts:
- who makes the Vikings schedule 3 out of 4 games after the bye are on the road? and this year will make it 4 out of 5. ridiculous (I wonder what these numbers look like for other teams, 80% road games after a bye just seems high)
- seems like a toss up when they play at Chicago (but its been that way for years)
- Losing record in prime time on the road isn't encouraging.
- .500 in prime time games is better than I thought (I didn't include Thanksgiving games)
- all of these records likely mean nothing. I thought there would be a higher correlation and more conclusions I could draw, but it appears that Zimmer is about .500 in all aspects (which is odd since he has a .610 [44-28-1] win percentage)
I believe this will be the game that determines the season. The winner will likely win the NFC North and the loser will probably miss the playoffs.
Here's where I disagree. I don't think the loser of this game is going to miss the playoffs -- not necessarily, anyway. The reason is that one of the wild card teams will come out of the NFC North. The Panthers have a leg up in the south for a wild card, but the Falcons are too far out of it. Meanwhile, except for the division leaders, there's nobody in the east or the west even threatening the playoffs. That leaves the other wild card to come out of the north.
The Packers have just as many tough games remaining as we do, with games at Seattle, Minnesota and Chicago, as well as a home game against the Falcons. The Bears also have four tough games remaining, with the Vikings twice, the Rams, and the Packers.
If I had to handicap it, I'd agree with you that the winner of Vikings-Bears this Sunday has a definite leg up in the division. But the other could still make the playoffs, and I'd still consider that team as the favorite over Green Bay. Something's off in The Land of Cheese, and I couldn't be happier about it. Look at their game Sunday against Miami. I watched that game, and Green Bay was not good. Any team with a quarterback not named Brock Osweiler would have beaten them. I think there's a good chance they get their butts handed to them on a platter this week in Seattle.