2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

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2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by Cliff »

In the wake of a beat down in the NFCC game it's easy to feel "let down" by the team but in reality, they exceeded every expectation compared to when the season started. The polling on this message board had them at 9-7 (and we're a bunch of homers!). Maybe a wildcard win or at least near loss. Before the season began 10-6 was a best case scenario and that was before Bradford went out ...

ESPN's Prediction
The Vikings will finish 2017 exactly how they finished 2016, by beating the Bears at home to end the year at .500. They've got a better roster than the Bears and they'll have enough veteran pride to finish without a losing record. Record: 8-8
CBS's Experts

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The Vikings weren't the best team in the NFL this year but they were much better than we thought and they deserve a lot of credit. Not only for the improvement from year to year but also for how they handled the adversity thrown their way.

I had fun following them all season.
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by soflavike »

I was expecting a little better than those "experts"... I had them at 9-7 or 10-6, fighting for a Wild Card.

One is left to wonder what would have happened with a healthy Bradford all season... and a healthy Dalvin Cook all season.
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by suncoastvike »

Yes they did. My expectations were 9 or 10 wins. 2nd place and hopefully a wild card shot. With this beat down still fresh in our minds many won't want to hear they had a great year. Yes in fact they did. Hopefully Cook returns and stays healthy. Need to settle on a QB. I hope it's Case. He's not perfect but he's a gamer and I like his attitude. We need to find a good OC to replace Pat. We have to focus on the positive. This team has finished with 11 or more wins in 2 of 4 years under Zimmer. With 2 different OC's . Lets believe we can do it again under another different offensive playcaller. Lets do something this team hasn't done since 2009. Lets make back to back playoff appearances. I believe we can.
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by J. Kapp 11 »

Cliff wrote:In the wake of a beat down in the NFCC game it's easy to feel "let down" by the team but in reality, they exceeded every expectation of this when the season started. The polling on this message board had them at 9-7 (and we're a bunch of homers!). Maybe a wildcard win or at least near loss. Before the season began 10-6 was a best case scenario and that was before Bradford went out ...

ESPN's Prediction
The Vikings will finish 2017 exactly how they finished 2016, by beating the Bears at home to end the year at .500. They've got a better roster than the Bears and they'll have enough veteran pride to finish without a losing record. Record: 8-8
CBS's Experts

Image

The Vikings weren't the best team in the NFL this year but they were much better than we thought and they deserve a lot of credit. Not only for the improvement from year to year but also for how they handled the adversity thrown their way.

I had fun following them all season.
That's what I want to take away from this, as well.

It's been the most fun I've had in a long, long time watching these guys. From the very first game -- Sean McDonough's "Bradford can't miss!" call, and watching Dalvin Cook bust loose for 127 yards. Picking off Jameis Winston 3 times. Keenum lighting up the Redskins. Thielen's long TD against the Rams. Holding Atlanta without a touchdown. Beating the Lions on Thanksgiving Day. Shutting out the Packers at Lambeau. And of course, The Miracle.

It's been such an amazing season. It sucks beyond measure that it ended the way it did, but the ending doesn't diminish the great memories. I've said it a number of times -- this is the most "together" a Vikings team I've seen since the "40 for 60" days of Bud Grant. This team made me proud. They exceeded the expectations of most people by a wide margin.

I know the M.O. of most Vikings fans is to expect the worst next year, but I'm the opposite. I think we're going to repeat in the North. I don't know who the quarterback is going to be, and I don't know how we're going to do it, but I believe we're going to host another playoff game next year. Call me crazy.
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by Mothman »

They definitely exceeded my expectations this season. It's a shame the season ended the way it did but they had a good year full of good stories.
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by Purple Domination »

It was a great season and a lot of fun. I am very proud of the entire Vikings organization.

What I didn't realize until it was over was how invested I was into this season. Yesterday's game felt like a surreal nightmare and I have honestly felt empty all day today. Needless to say, there are much more important things in life than a football game, but it does make me realize how emotionally invested I become.
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by J. Kapp 11 »

Purple Domination wrote:It was a great season and a lot of fun. I am very proud of the entire Vikings organization.

What I didn't realize until it was over was how invested I was into this season. Yesterday's game felt like a surreal nightmare and I have honestly felt empty all day today. Needless to say, there are much more important things in life than a football game, but it does make me realize how emotionally invested I become.
Don't you think part of it, too, is simply that the fun of the season is over?

Yes, we lost, and yes, we got embarrassed. But we lost 3 other games, and it didn't seem as empty.

We had a great season and won a playoff game. Now it's just suddenly over, and there's no more football until September. That's what sucks the most, at least to me. This year was a blast!
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by Purple Domination »

J. Kapp 11 wrote:Don't you think part of it, too, is simply that the fun of the season is over?

Yes, we lost, and yes, we got embarrassed. But we lost 3 other games, and it didn't seem as empty.

We had a great season and won a playoff game. Now it's just suddenly over, and there's no more football until September. That's what sucks the most, at least to me. This year was a blast!
You are a wise man, J Kapp. Now that you mention it, I realize that's exactly why I have been feeling this way I just couldn't put my finger on it. I just hope we won't have to wait a decade for another special season.
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by VikingLord »

I'm tired of moral victories at this point, especially given how it ended. It's one thing for them to go down to the wire swinging. Quite another to be put down like that and embarrassed.

So yeah, they had a great season and exceeded expectations, but the end result is the same old same old.
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by PurpleMustReign »

To me, the entire season is a failure because of the ending, just like 1998,2009, etc. Winning 13 games means nothing if you can't finish the season with a win.

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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by mike2mike »

PurpleMustReign wrote:To me, the entire season is a failure because of the ending, just like 1998,2009, etc. Winning 13 games means nothing if you can't finish the season with a win.

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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by Cliff »

PurpleMustReign wrote:To me, the entire season is a failure because of the ending, just like 1998,2009, etc.
This post isn't about whether or not you're happy the Vikings didn't make it to and win the super bowl. None of us are happy with the result. The real question here is; when the season started how did you feel about the team? If you expected them to win the super bowl then I understand your position.

If you thought they'd be a 9-7/10-6 slightly above average team that you just hoped to see some improvement from (like most did) then you can see the season as a success as it's a step in the right direction towards a super bowl. A pretty huge step compared to what most of us thought. In that regard, the season was a success.
Winning 13 games means nothing if you can't finish the season with a win.
If you're telling me in a month or two you're going to look back at the season and feel the same as a Browns fan who didn't get to experience a single moment of glory the entire season I think you're wrong. This is the most fun I've had in a season as a Vikings fan in nearly a decade. That means something to me - especially considering that I watch football to have fun.
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by admvp »

Cliff wrote:
PurpleMustReign wrote:To me, the entire season is a failure because of the ending, just like 1998,2009, etc.
This post isn't about whether or not you're happy the Vikings didn't make it to and win the super bowl. None of us are happy with the result. The real question here is; when the season started how did you feel about the team? If you expected them to win the super bowl then I understand your position.

If you thought they'd be a 9-7/10-6 slightly above average team that you just hoped to see some improvement from (like most did) then you can see the season as a success as it's a step in the right direction towards a super bowl. A pretty huge step compared to what most of us thought. In that regard, the season was a success.
Winning 13 games means nothing if you can't finish the season with a win.
If you're telling me in a month or two you're going to look back at the season and feel the same as a Browns fan who didn't get to experience a single moment of glory the entire season I think you're wrong. This is the most fun I've had in a season as a Vikings fan in nearly a decade. That means something to me - especially considering that I watch football to have fun.
It's all just so exhausting. I mean, I can see both sides. You can start a season with low expectations but then to get that close and have it end the way it did is pretty crushing.

If someone is happy we exceeded expectations and had a fun regular season and is able to look back on it fondly, I get that. Conversely, if the fun of the regular season was ruined by the manner in which we lost Sunday night, and one is unable to reflect positively.... Well, that I understand too.

I'm somewhere in the middle. I know in 2009 I couldn't (still can't) even go back and watch the Greg Lewis TD or anything from that season because EVERYTHING was soured by that Saints game (as well as the Bears game that cost us homefield). This year is slightly different for me, but I'm just exhausted. We have had a million chances at Super Bowls in this franchise's lifetime. A freaking million. And we've somehow squandered them all. I'm actually a younger fan, but knowing we lost 4 of 4 in the 70s is exhausting. Knowing we are 0-6 in conference title games since then, having lost them in ways ranging from unfathomable choke jobs to historic blowouts, is exhausting. Knowing we've been to the playoffs 29 times (5th most in the entire damn league) and never won the big one is exhausting.

Long story short, any regular season success we have kind of has an inevitable doom hanging over it, because we all know every year that we aren't going to win the Super Bowl. That was me this year. I enjoyed it all as it happened, but never allowed myself to truly believe we could win it all. So it still hurt when we lost to the Eagles, but I felt at least somewhat prepared for it. It's really a terrible way to be a fan, but alas.
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by allday1991 »

Cliff wrote:
PurpleMustReign wrote:To me, the entire season is a failure because of the ending, just like 1998,2009, etc.
This post isn't about whether or not you're happy the Vikings didn't make it to and win the super bowl. None of us are happy with the result. The real question here is; when the season started how did you feel about the team? If you expected them to win the super bowl then I understand your position.

If you thought they'd be a 9-7/10-6 slightly above average team that you just hoped to see some improvement from (like most did) then you can see the season as a success as it's a step in the right direction towards a super bowl. A pretty huge step compared to what most of us thought. In that regard, the season was a success.
Winning 13 games means nothing if you can't finish the season with a win.
If you're telling me in a month or two you're going to look back at the season and feel the same as a Browns fan who didn't get to experience a single moment of glory the entire season I think you're wrong. This is the most fun I've had in a season as a Vikings fan in nearly a decade. That means something to me - especially considering that I watch football to have fun.
When the vikings get that close, its superbowl or nothing to many "happy seasons" and no rings for me. I was happy with this season and remember my mother asking me before the game if id be upset after the game and my honest reply was "If they play a good game, dont get blown and prove to everyone there not the same old Vikings. I didn't need a win I just wanted a competitive team". The way this season ended leaves nothing but a bad taste about the season and this one to come. I thought this team never gave up and fought through advisary, totally wrong and not happy about it.
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by S197 »

I thought this was a playoff team, even more so after watching the first game. I think I mentioned the comparisons to the Falcons as both teams started out red hot (talking about 2016 Vikings/2015 Falcons) then basically fell on their face. Falcons made the Super Bowl the next year and I could see the Vikings doing the same.

Now when Bradford and Dalvin went down, my expectations lowered. From there it was a bit of a rollercoaster ride but for the most part, I felt they were a playoff team.

The window of opportunity is really small especially in the NFC. Look at prior NFCCG's:

2014: Seahawks/Packers -- neither made the playoffs this year
2015: Panthers/Cardinals -- Cards are pretty bad now and Panthers are a wild card team
2016: Falcons/Packers -- Falcons barely made the post-season. One loss and they wouldn't have made it. Packers obviously weren't close.

So maybe you're the Packers and can make it in 2 out of 4 years. Or you're the Cardinals and a one hit wonder. The point is opportunity is rare unless you're the Patriots. And it's downright impossible to get a SB at home. So yes, the Vikings exceeded expectations, throw another participation trophy in the closet. The goal is a championship and asking one, just ONE, isn't a lot. Sorry I can't get on the "enjoy the ride" train, I wish I could. Honestly I don't know how some of you do it but you're better than I am.

The stars were aligned and the team #### up. Hopefully we get another shot but based on history, probably not for a while.
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