J. Kapp 11 wrote:Is it bad that I don't even care to predict the outcome of this game?
All I want is progress, especially on the offensive side of the ball. The defense is moving in the right direction, but the offense is making me depressed.
And let's call it like it is, like everybody on this board has been saying for a long time. The line needs to play like professionals for once.
As a fan, I find it demoralizing that our line can't protect its quarterback. I get tired of worrying whether our latest franchise quarterback-hopeful can withstand the psychological beating that comes with constant pummeling. Christian Ponder couldn't handle it. Teddy Bridgewater looked like a world-beater when he had protection -- without it, he looks a lot like Ponder. I'm tired of that. We've been forced to watch it for the better part of five years, and it's just getting old. Don't throw 2012 at me. That year's success was completely due to the superhuman efforts of Adrian Peterson, a man who has masked the overall offensive ineptitude of this franchise that has existed for every year of his career except for 2009.
Just get better. Do that, and it will feel like a win.
Great post. I agree one hundred percent.
Fact is, I'll take a loss if the Vikings look as if they're actually in the freakin' ball game. That means some competent work from the OL so that Bridgewater has time to get the ball to the receivers, including Patterson. And no, Patterson's route running is not the sole reason why his production is down. Not by a long shot. At least not from what I saw when watching the coaches tape in slow motion. I saw at least two potentially big plays get taken from Bridgewater/Patterson last week because of porous pass blocking.
One last thought, I don't want to see the D cave in during the final moments of the game either. It's time that they finish the job in the fourth quarter after they've played well throughout the first three quarters.
Laserman wrote:I don't see us winning another game this season,
you say that after every single loss, and it gets old. If you don't think they will win for the rest of the season, does that mean you won't watch them anymore? It would save you frustration and stress, I'm sure.
The Devil whispered in the Viking's ear, "There's a storm coming." The Viking replied, "I am the storm." #SKOL2018
PurpleMustReign wrote:
you say that after every single loss, and it gets old. If you don't think they will win for the rest of the season, does that mean you won't watch them anymore? It would save you frustration and stress, I'm sure.
The saddest thing in life is wasted talent and the choices you make will shape your life forever.
-Chazz Palminteri
I already predicted 31-17 for the Vikes in the Frazier reunion thread so I'll have to stick with that and give some analysis on why I think the Vikes have a good matchup here.
1. The Bucs have just 9 sacks on the year, putting them in 25th place. The Atlanta Falcons only have 7 sacks and we handled them pretty well. Teddy had time and looked great. This is a big advantage for our offense going up against a tampa 2 that can't get pressure. I've said before if you can't get pressure with just the front 4 in this scheme you're in big trouble and it's pretty easy to see why the Bucs defense is dead last in the league, giving up 204 points already and 34 points per game.
2. Let's compare the Bucs to the lions and billls, our last 2 opponents. The lions are 4th in the league with 21 sacks which is more than twice as much as the Bucs get. The bills are actually #1 in the league at sacking the QB, with 24 sacks. It's easy to see why our offensive line would be so over matched against these two teams who have a lot of talent on the D-line while having a better performance against Tampa.
3. The bucs are also giving up 128.3 YPG to running backs. Even without Adrian Peterson, running the football is still a strength of this team imo and I think Mckinnon + Asiata will have similar success to the game in Atlanta, although maybe not THAT much because that was pretty insane, but still a good amount. The bucs are very undisciplined and miss their gap assignments a lot so there should be some opportunities for big plays in the run game.
All in all, I think our offense matches up very well against their defense.
Defense
1. Their offense is pretty shaky and Mike Glennon is still a young guy we can take advantage of. He's actually performed better than Mccown but that's not saying much. They're 26th in points and 30th in yards so we've seen better.
Not really much else to say here, their offensive line doesn't look particularly weak, they're right in the middle as far as sacks given up. Their 2 big receivers are a bit of a concern but not overly so. Will they have time for Glennon to get them the ball?
Overall
They have a -2 turnover ratio, of course we're currently sitting on a -3 turnover ratio, one of the key factors for determining the outcome of this game will undoubtedly come down to who takes care of the football better and who can force more mistakes out of their opponent. If the bucs can't get pressure on Bridgewater I think he will take care of the football better and we can come out on the positive side of this one.
The cover2 defense will allow Patterson to get open. Looking for WR screens and him to take one to the house.
Teddy can have a decent stat line when all done.
I think 33-27 in OT
