The Players...

[Just Me]

In slow-mo, yes, it was PI, but the defender timed it really well which made it a tough call in real-time. He still should have caught it.

Yeah, I wasn't complaining about the non-call (I didn't think it overly obvious) but it was just one more thing that went wrong last night.

[Mothman]

Kapp's post pretty much sums up my feelings, so I won't restate them.

The one thing I will add (and I know I keep harping on this) but I think the OL has been wildly inconsistent this year.

From Jim Souhan:
I couldn't agree more.

Ditto. I'm completely disgusted by that unit's performance this season.

[Texas Vike]

Holy cow we made SO many mistakes in coverage last night it was dumfounding. Our secondary and LB's were looking at each other after several completions with the palms-to-the-sky-WTF-were-you-doing-covering-my-guy gesture.

Keeping with the intent of this thread, our D coaches all must be on suicide watch due to the players not being able to get where they are supposed to go.

The coaches have to be thinking we have the least-smart group of players on the defensive side of the ball in the entire NFL. It HAS to be maddening beyond belief.

Oh and I don't care if Sherels got lucky with one return. He is HORRIBLE on defense and athletically does not even belong on an NFL field.

That's a pretty specific hand gesture! Are you sure you aren't over-interpreting? I don't think these guys are so intelligent as to articulate those kinds of messages even w/ words much less hand gestures.

If the players are too stupid to figure out the schemes then it's time to replace their sorry back-sides. This is just a hugely incompetent, sorry bunch of losers.

The worst of it all is that the Giants were so bad on O that we could have won this game if our O hadn't been such a complete joke.

[Eli]

I have to wonder if Loadholt hasn't been asked to shade to the inside to help Fusco in pass blocking. Or maybe he's just aware of the hole to his left every time they go into pass protection.

[losperros]

I'm ready to use it. By this point in his career. He should be a much, much better player with many more starts than he's managed.

You guys might be right. What I don't understand is why was Cook better last year than this year? Heck, why was Robinson better last year than this year? Is it because the incompetency around them has affected them? Is it Winfield's absence? All the above?

Seriously, why the decline?

[CbusVikesFan]

If I could start a Viking expansion team from scratch there would not be but one defensive Viking player right now, on it. Marcus Sherels. Harrison is injured. Greenway maybe. KWill and JA when they were younger. But the horrific play by the whole unit is quite unimaginable.
The offense is almost as inept and futile. AD, Jennings, Patterson, Simpson, Rudolph, and Felton. The O-line can go to hell as far as I care and the QB's should be there waiting on them.
jk

[The Breeze]

Patterson is not PH, so we need to forget about the bubble screen or lateral pass that Harvin routinely made 11 yards off of. Patterson shakes tackles when he is moving by using sharp cuts; he is not capable of bursting through guys from a standstill like PH could.

This exactly what I saw from his college tape and was concerned that they would try to use him like Harvin rather than a Jerry Rice-type which is what his skill set reflects IMHO. CP84 is a guy you want to catch the ball on the run and watch him go from there. It speaks to the idiotic simplicity of this offensive (pun intended) game plan.

The weapons this offense now has is staggering and they should have a guy who can come in and put something together that is truly unique to attack defenses without mercy.

Or maybe we just need another TE for triple TE sets.

Nothing will change. That boy Rick sure loves his low round pick offensive lineman. There are reasons why guys like Fusco and Johnson last until round six. It is not because they are 'diamonds in the rough' either.

Ain't this the truth...and it's a crap way to do things for the most important aspect of the offense. All this desperate attention to the QB position and still no observable cohesion on the O-line. Instead it appears to be a steady regression. It has gone on for YEARS! and it's inexcusable. What kind of QB would want to play for an organization that consistently skimps (low draft picks, cast offs from other teams) on the group solely responsible for protecting said QB? It represents a poor investment.... They've brought in 5 legit WR prospects and FA in 2 seasons and 1 legit O-lineman.
....they don't seem to grasp that the guard position is not a throw away spot just because they emphasize the tackle spots so much. Or maybe they do but they are more concerned about acquiring weapons on offense that they have no idea how to deploy.
I don't care how good they graded out last season cause they weren't that good. When your running back has close 1000 yds after contact I don't see it as a symbol of strength in the O-line play.

[Eli]

The weapons this offense now has is staggering and they should have a guy who can come in and put something together that is truly unique to attack defenses without mercy.

You can have the greatest set of receivers on the planet, but with QBs like the Vikings have in house, they're useless.

Peterson doesn't look like himself. Sure, the run blocking has been terrible, but Peterson has had very little burst these past few games.

[dead_poet]

Peterson doesn't look like himself. Sure, the run blocking has been terrible, but Peterson has had very little burst these past few games.

Hamstring.

[Texas Vike]

You can have the greatest set of receivers on the planet, but with QBs like the Vikings have in house, they're useless.

Peterson doesn't look like himself. Sure, the run blocking has been terrible, but Peterson has had very little burst these past few games.

I hate to admit it, but I noticed it too on several runs last night. I thought he was brought down really easily. He's not the same guy as last year.

[The Breeze]

You can have the greatest set of receivers on the planet, but with QBs like the Vikings have in house, they're useless.

Peterson doesn't look like himself. Sure, the run blocking has been terrible, but Peterson has had very little burst these past few games.

True and a line to hold the fort. We have neither and an underwhelming game plan to boot.

[Eli]

Good thing Jared Allen is healthy this year.

[S197]

I thought the safeties played pretty well last night. Sendejo dropped an interception but otherwise their tackling was solid and for the most part pass protection was okay. I thought the dropoff with Smith out was going to be a lot larger than it was, but the majority of the time, it looked like the corners getting beat.

I don't know what's up with Loadholt, as I mentioned in the game thread it looked as if he was trying to pass block when he whiffed on the run play. He's terribly inconsistent and a penalty machine.

Felton seems to be another player who has also regressed. On one of Peterson's longer runs, he put a good lick on Beason but he didn't bring him down, resulting in Beason making the tackle about 9 yards down field. Old Felton probably takes him completely out of the play and AD makes a big run.

There were some other things here and there, Sherels with great and bad plays, Wright getting called out by Gruden, and Patterson looking good once again on returns.

[Funkytown]

Simpson had a terrible night. That dropped TD pass was a killer.

There was one that he just plain dropped? I only remember one that was knocked out. Sure, it's easy to say "that should have been caught", but when a defender hits the ball or your arms as you're still making the catch...makes it a little harder. It happens on a weekly basis for guys. I thought it was more of a good defensive play than a bad offensive play...if we're talking about the same one. We almost have to be, we weren't near that end zone much.

And why did Sharif Floyd even attempt to run with that kickoff. Drop and protect the ball, you're no return specialist!!

Yep. Ridiculous. I think for the rest of the year, we should all just make a and use it instead of cussing out the team and coaches. Make it heavy too, we'll be sure to be buff by January.

[PurpleKoolaid]

Good thing Jared Allen is healthy this year.

And AD isn't coming off knee surgery...