Vikes vs. Bears - Pregame Thread

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mansquatch
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Vikes vs. Bears - Pregame Thread

Post by mansquatch »

Soldier field, always a tough place for the Vikings to play.

My opinion is that this game will really test DeFelippo. I think the Vikings Defense is not going to lose to Mitchell Trubisky and the Bear's Offense. Or at least they shouldn't. The way we lose this game is if the offense makes big mistakes early and gives the Bears free points on short fields. So can DeFelippo be patient and allow the game to progress without committing the big error while at teh same time sustaining enough of a few drives early to create a lopsided TOP and wear out our defense?

I hope they are game planning in such a way as to help their OL against the Bears DL.

I think this is a winnable game. The Bears have been feasting on a soft schedule. This will be a statement win for them. We should remind them who is the NFC North Champion.
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Re: Vikes vs. Bears - Pregame Thread

Post by ChicagoViking »

My brother is flying in from Utah with his family for Thanksgiving and arriving on Saturday so we can all go to the game at Soldier Field Sunday evening. Looking forward to it. Hoping for a 35-10 shellacking by the Vikes. The way the D played against Detroit, I am keeping my fingers crossed that all of the early-season woes are behind us.
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Re: Vikes vs. Bears - Pregame Thread

Post by Rhodes Closed »

This is perhaps the most important game of the season for the Vikings. If they beat the Bears here, they make the playoffs. If they cannot beat the Bears here, they will miss the playoffs. If the beat the Bears, they will almost assuredly win the rest of the season.

Predictions if Vikings Win:

Packers: Win
Patriots: Win
Seahawks: Win
Dolphins: Win
Lions: Win
Bears: Win

This would end our season with 12-3-1 and likely the #3 Seed.

Predictions if the Vikings Lose:

Packers: Lose
Patriots: Lose
Seahawks: Win
Dolphins: Win
Lions: Win
Bears: Lose

Our season ends with 8-7-1 and we'll barely miss the Playoffs.
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Re: Vikes vs. Bears - Pregame Thread

Post by Dmizzle0 »

I think those are pretty far fetched predictions.

This is a big game and I would like to see our Defense step up, especially the line. I think Trubisky has gotten better but I've noticed likes to run around with in the pocket too much. If the D can put pressure on him, we can shut them down. The Defensive backs need to figure out how to stop the screens and the out routes. Cohen has been used heavily on those plays. As for the offense, we can't make mistakes and I'd like to see them get off to a fast start and not look back.

With that being said I feel like the game will be a grind untill the 4th quarter. The team that shoots themselves in the foot the least will win.
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Re: Vikes vs. Bears - Pregame Thread

Post by Texas Vike »

I agree with Dmizzle, we're likely to go 2-2 in the next four, with a season-end record somewhere between the two extremes that Rhodes Closed projects. My guess is about 10 wins.

I am very curious to see just how healthy and well-rested we come out of the bye: do we have Rhodes back? Barr? Diggs and Thielen 100%? Those contingencies will have a huge impact.

If we can field our normal WRs, I think we are the better team. If not, it'll be a grind and we'll have to play very solid D and have some unexpected playmakers on O step up. I hope DeFelipo is on his game and dials up some smart plays to deal with the Bears formidable pass rush. Screens and slants; get Cook catching passes out of the backfield.
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Re: Vikes vs. Bears - Pregame Thread

Post by J. Kapp 11 »

I've been a big fan of signing John DeFilippo, right from the very beginning. I think he's one of the really fresh offensive minds in the new breed of NFL coaches.

That being said, his tendency thus far has been to be really, really good on the first 15 scripted plays, but not as good at staying ahead of the other team once they adjust. There have been some notable deviations from that -- phenomenal 4th quarter against Green Bay, and a really good overall game against the Rams -- but in the majority of our games, we've started fast, then struggled some.

What we need against the Bears at Soldier Field is both -- a solid start in the first 15, with an early TD, and to find ways to continue scoring once the Bears adjust. That's not to say we have to put up 40 points and 500 yards. It's more about not losing momentum for long stretches.

A big key will be Stefon Diggs. Hopefully he's 100% and ready to go. It's clear that we are a much more dynamic offensive football team with BOTH Diggs and Thielen on the field. Add in a healthy Dalvin Cook, and we might finally get to see what this offense is capable of. Reiff and O'Neill are going to be vitally important, as well, because Khalil Mack can ruin an offense all by himself. We've got to find a way to slow him down. And Kirk Cousins must protect the ball when the pocket breaks down because Chicago, as always, is really good at taking it away. They're +13 in turnover margin, which is the biggest reason for their record.

I personally think the Bears' offense has been a paper tiger, feasting on bad defenses. If we take care of the ball, it takes away short fields, and I don't believe Mitchell Trubisky is good enough to sustain many long drives against our defense. Shoot, they scored 41 against Buffalo with less than 200 yards of offense. Where Trubisky can hurt us is outside the pocket. He's pretty mobile, and he's only been sacked 18 times. Gotta stay in our rush lanes.

Obviously this is far from a walk. The Bears are an early 3-point favorite. But that's simply based on betting action. I truly believe the Vikings are the better, more complete team. I just hope we show it Sunday.

As for the next four ... I believe we can win them all, but I think it's more likely we go 3-1. However, that probably won't happen if we lose to the Bears.
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Re: Vikes vs. Bears - Pregame Thread

Post by Rhodes Closed »

Here's my reasoning, I guess:

If we can't beat the Bears, what makes people think we should be able to beat the Patriots? Should we beat the Packers? Yes, but will we if we can't beat the Bears? No, we'll somehow lose it like usual. Same goes to the second Bears game. I don't have confidence in the team that we can beat them that time around.

If we win, the Packers are our biggest opponent and we should have the confidence to beat them, especially with a better defense this time around. The Patriots will then be the big challenge, but they also lost to the Titans. The Seahawks are no problem even with Russel Wilson. The Lions will be no problem as well. The Bears the second time will be at home, and depending on how much we beat them by, we should have no problem beating them again.

I genuinely hope I'm wrong though with my "if we lose" prediction, because we'd be in the playoffs then.
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Re: Vikes vs. Bears - Pregame Thread

Post by Cliff »

Very big game. Losing it won't be back breaking but it'll be a huge setback. I still think that on a good (and healthy) day this team can beat any team in the league.

Say what you want about which teams Mitchell Trubisky has been up against but at the end of the day he's got a 101.6 passer rating on the season against NFL teams. He has his ups and downs and I think the Vikings secondary can handle him (when healthy) but I don't think he should be taken lightly.

Re: If we lose this game we'll lose a bunch after. If that logic held true then we shouldn't beat anybody else and shouldn't have since we lost to the Browns.
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Re: Vikes vs. Bears - Pregame Thread

Post by akvikingsfan »

Cliff wrote: Tue Nov 13, 2018 10:19 am If that logic held true then we shouldn't beat anybody else and shouldn't have since we lost to the Browns .
Man we're that bad? :shock: Losing to teams we haven't even played this season? :lol: :wink:
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Re: Vikes vs. Bears - Pregame Thread

Post by Cliff »

akvikingsfan wrote: Tue Nov 13, 2018 11:15 am
Cliff wrote: Tue Nov 13, 2018 10:19 am If that logic held true then we shouldn't beat anybody else and shouldn't have since we lost to the Browns .
Man we're that bad? :shock: Losing to teams we haven't even played this season? :lol: :wink:
Ha!! In my mind they're basically interchangeable :tongue:
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Re: Vikes vs. Bears - Pregame Thread

Post by mansquatch »

This is a "prove it" stretch in the schedule. Last year when they got into the prove it stretch they went undefeated. I think they can win on Sunday, but it is going to be a battle. This game is probably the most important of the next five. We need to get Chicago under control within the division and this game will be a great opportunity to do so. It is possible that Chicago could have a better record than us by the end of the season. So if we can beat them in the division that will help us in the playoffs by guaranteeing a home playoff game. The importance of this can't be overstated.

GB at home should be a win. The Packers are not having a good year. Frankly, we should have beat them in GB.

Then it gets rough. At New England is a tough draw. The Patriots are showing vulnerability, but that will be a BIG game. At SEA shouldn't be taken lightly either, but it should be winnable. The Seahawks are not what they were defensively.

The Miami game should be an easy win. I think they will win at least 3 of these games and potentially all 5. I feel like this Sunday is the 2nd toughest of the stretch, so it should be a strong litmus test.
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Re: Vikes vs. Bears - Pregame Thread

Post by PurpleMustReign »

My thing with this game is if the bears win they are up by 1.5 in the division and have the tiebreaker. Their schedule is ridiculously easy this season and they really only have one tough game left (other than the two against us). I feel that whoever wins this game will win the division, and I'm not sure that the loser will be good enough at the end if the season to make the playoffs. One team will come out if the south so that leaves one spot left.
That Bills loss is just killer. Really, so is the tie.
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Re: Vikes vs. Bears - Pregame Thread

Post by akvikingsfan »

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.
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Re: Vikes vs. Bears - Pregame Thread

Post by StumpHunter »

Rhodes Closed wrote: Mon Nov 12, 2018 9:10 pm Here's my reasoning, I guess:

If we can't beat the Bears, what makes people think we should be able to beat the Patriots? Should we beat the Packers? Yes, but will we if we can't beat the Bears? No, we'll somehow lose it like usual. Same goes to the second Bears game. I don't have confidence in the team that we can beat them that time around.

If we win, the Packers are our biggest opponent and we should have the confidence to beat them, especially with a better defense this time around. The Patriots will then be the big challenge, but they also lost to the Titans. The Seahawks are no problem even with Russel Wilson. The Lions will be no problem as well. The Bears the second time will be at home, and depending on how much we beat them by, we should have no problem beating them again.

I genuinely hope I'm wrong though with my "if we lose" prediction, because we'd be in the playoffs then.
The Bears are a significantly better team than the Packers at every spot but QB. I think we can lose to them and still be okay versus GB.

Seattle actually scares me more than either of those two teams. We just do not play well against Pete Carroll and I think Trubiskey is going to struggle against our D so even if we beat the Bears, I believe we will still lose to the Seahawks.

We WILL sweep the Lions this year.
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Re: Vikes vs. Bears - Pregame Thread

Post by S197 »

There were a couple of teams (Eagles, Patriots, etc.) that came off their bye week, played on the road, and looked unprepared. Hopefully this won't be the case for the Vikings.
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