Vikes-Packers week (pregame)

[dead_poet]

Let's go.

[dead_poet]

Just saw that Bakhtairi didn't practice today in front of the media a day after being limited with a back issue. That would be HUGE. I love Everson but Bakhtairi is a stud that seems to always stone him in their matchups. Like, every time.

I worry Kirk is going to be running for his life and will have one or two turnovers as a result. Hopefully we can overcome with Dalvin and some defensive magic again.

[Rhodes Closed]

I think the real test for this defense and Anthony Harris in particular is how he does against an "uber-accurate, take no chances, I'll find an opening" type QB in Aaron Rodgers. If Harris gets at least one interception off of Rodgers, I think we win this game. If the defense gets at least two sacks on Rodgers, I think we win this game. If a fumble happens and the Vikings defense recovers... we win.

This is all going to matter for the defense. For the offense, Dalvin Cook is actually a ridiculously overpowered reciever against the Packers. Last year in their two games against the Pack, Dalvin's line was:

20 Rushes, 67 Yards, 3.35 YPR

and

6 Receptions, 99 Yards, 1 TD, 16.5 YPC

He will carry the load this year, and as long as he gets more than 10 Carrie's this game, he will find a hole to exploit. He will find a lane to run through, and when he does... he will slaughter all in his path.


For Kirk Cousins, his CAREER (which includes his Washington stint, and only accounts for Regular Season) stats against the Pack are absolutely phenomenal:

2-0-1 Against Aaron Rodgers

85/116, 1142 Yards, 10 TDs/1 INT, 73.3% COMP, 129.3 QBR


So if the offensive line is indeed improved, expect Cousins and Cook to completely kill that defense, which I still feel hasn't actually "improved"

[Bowhunting Viking]

I don't wanna be any kind of jinx.. so I'm ridding my phone of all Cheesehead Puker Voodoo... Shamala Hamala SKOL A LA.... There the bad juju is gone.
With that said.. for once I will say that Rodgers doesn't really scare me that much anymore. I am seeing visions of Hunter, Griff and hopefully a few LB and DB sacks smacking down Erin.
My only real concern.. as stated , is the left side of our O line allowing Kirk to take a pounding. Let's hope for a big improvement over last week in that regard.
But I do believe Cook , the absolute stud he is, is gonna make a HUGE statement game and open up the passing game tremendously. Diggs and Theilen are gonna be big this wk. That my story and I'm sticking with it.
P.S. I HATE GB

[Purplepain2018]

This will be another tough game on the road in a hostile environment. Lest we forget that #12 will once again be leading the Pack. I still do not believe that the Packers defense is all that stout; however, it has improved and Jaire Alexander is turning out to be a really nice player for them. The offense for the Packers is not the same at this point. They have lost Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb over the last couple of years.

I really like the Vikings in this game. I know it is at Lambeau Field, but this game will really tell us a lot about our offensive line. This game Cousins will have to step up and make some throws. Another thing to look out for in this game is who will step up and be that third option in the passing game. Will it be Rudy, Beebe, Johnson, Irv?

Prediction: Vikings 24
Packers 20

[VikingsVictorious]

Just saw that Bakhtairi didn't practice today in front of the media a day after being limited with a back issue. That would be HUGE. I love Everson but Bakhtairi is a stud that seems to always stone him in their matchups. Like, every time.

I worry Kirk is going to be running for his life and will have one or two turnovers as a result. Hopefully we can overcome with Dalvin and some defensive magic again.

A QB on average has over a TO a game in the NFL. If Cousins has one TO I have no problem with it. As long as he doesn't have 2. I expect Rodgers to have 2. I expect Rodgers to be running for his life more than Cousins is running for his.

[VikingsVictorious]

I think the real test for this defense and Anthony Harris in particular is how he does against an "uber-accurate, take no chances, I'll find an opening" type QB in Aaron Rodgers. If Harris gets at least one interception off of Rodgers, I think we win this game. If the defense gets at least two sacks on Rodgers, I think we win this game. If a fumble happens and the Vikings defense recovers... we win.

This is all going to matter for the defense. For the offense, Dalvin Cook is actually a ridiculously overpowered reciever against the Packers. Last year in their two games against the Pack, Dalvin's line was:

20 Rushes, 67 Yards, 3.35 YPR

and

6 Receptions, 99 Yards, 1 TD, 16.5 YPC

He will carry the load this year, and as long as he gets more than 10 Carrie's this game, he will find a hole to exploit. He will find a lane to run through, and when he does... he will slaughter all in his path.


For Kirk Cousins, his CAREER (which includes his Washington stint, and only accounts for Regular Season) stats against the Pack are absolutely phenomenal:

2-0-1 Against Aaron Rodgers

85/116, 1142 Yards, 10 TDs/1 INT, 73.3% COMP, 129.3 QBR


So if the offensive line is indeed improved, expect Cousins and Cook to completely kill that defense, which I still feel hasn't actually "improved"

2 Sacks is the absolute minimum we get I'm expecting 4 or more. This game would be easy except playing at Pukers home they will get a lot of home cooking from the refs and that is hard to overcome. Vikings 27 Puke 10.

[VikingsVictorious]

What's the over/under on Vikings roughing the passer penalties? I'm guessing 2.

[CharVike]

We have the better overall team or so I think. But it's still early and as most have posted who knows at this point. I would like to see another pound the ball and play solid D and most important get TOs. With that it will be the complete opposite. But I would hate to see us get into a score for score type of game. If Cousins needs to throw over 30 times that could lead to some trouble. I'm not to confident in our pass blocking. Limited attempts last week and it didn't look to good. A QB can only take so many hits and one could end it. I'd like to see a 21 17 win with the Pack getting a mean nothing late TD so it looks close. It will probably be 38-37 with us screwing up on ST or some BS like that. Bottom line I have no idea and nothing would surprise me.

[mansquatch]

This defense has a lot of experience vs. Rogers. You know Rogers will put up some points, but it seems unlikely that he scores 30 given recent history. Unless Lafleur has some magic up his sleeve, but I do not see that happening. CHI held them to a pathetic 10 points. Yes, they won, but they won because of their defense. The offense basically had two good series in that game. I would say that the jury of LaFleur/Rogers is still out. If they only put up 10 vs. us, they are not going to win.

To me the more interesting questions are what happens on offense. How does the interior of the OL hold up vs. the Packer DL? I do not think the Packers interior DL is as strong as what ATL brought to the table last week, but that doesn't mean they are bad. Interoir OL for the Vikings needs to show up. The Secondary matchups are favor our WR, so that should help us.

Another question is how much the Packer DC sells out to stop Cook after what we did to ATL last week. I have a feeling he can only go so far without allowing Diggs and Thielen to eat him alive. Vikings offense is scary this year, it is a two headed monster. Hard to defend.

[CharVike]

This defense has a lot of experience vs. Rogers. You know Rogers will put up some points, but it seems unlikely that he scores 30 given recent history. Unless Lafleur has some magic up his sleeve, but I do not see that happening. CHI held them to a pathetic 10 points. Yes, they won, but they won because of their defense. The offense basically had two good series in that game. I would say that the jury of LaFleur/Rogers is still out. If they only put up 10 vs. us, they are not going to win.

To me the more interesting questions are what happens on offense. How does the interior of the OL hold up vs. the Packer DL? I do not think the Packers interior DL is as strong as what ATL brought to the table last week, but that doesn't mean they are bad. Interoir OL for the Vikings needs to show up. The Secondary matchups are favor our WR, so that should help us.

Another question is how much the Packer DC sells out to stop Cook after what we did to ATL last week. I have a feeling he can only go so far without allowing Diggs and Thielen to eat him alive. Vikings offense is scary this year, it is a two headed monster. Hard to defend.

You bring up some good points especially with Cook and how will they stop him. Matti too for that matter. They won't win with 10 that's for sure. Our offense can be scary. Every skill position is covered with good players. Again good points.

[fiestavike]

What's the over/under on Vikings roughing the passer penalties? I'm guessing 2.

I was happy to see some holding penalties called against GB...they've spent years blatantly holding and getting away with it. Perhaps the refs have finally picked up on their technique and adjusted? If so, GB is going to experience an offensive setback.

[StumpHunter]

I think the real test for this defense and Anthony Harris in particular is how he does against an "uber-accurate, take no chances, I'll find an opening" type QB in Aaron Rodgers. If Harris gets at least one interception off of Rodgers, I think we win this game. If the defense gets at least two sacks on Rodgers, I think we win this game. If a fumble happens and the Vikings defense recovers... we win.

This is all going to matter for the defense. For the offense, Dalvin Cook is actually a ridiculously overpowered reciever against the Packers. Last year in their two games against the Pack, Dalvin's line was:

20 Rushes, 67 Yards, 3.35 YPR

and

6 Receptions, 99 Yards, 1 TD, 16.5 YPC

He will carry the load this year, and as long as he gets more than 10 Carrie's this game, he will find a hole to exploit. He will find a lane to run through, and when he does... he will slaughter all in his path.


For Kirk Cousins, his CAREER (which includes his Washington stint, and only accounts for Regular Season) stats against the Pack are absolutely phenomenal:

2-0-1 Against Aaron Rodgers

85/116, 1142 Yards, 10 TDs/1 INT, 73.3% COMP, 129.3 QBR


So if the offensive line is indeed improved, expect Cousins and Cook to completely kill that defense, which I still feel hasn't actually "improved"

I am not worried about our defense stopping Rodgers. I don't remember the Packer's receiving corp being this depleted since 2015 when that offense really struggled to score.

Hopefully Laflur doesn't play the same trick on Stephanski that he played on Nagy last week and get him to never run the football.

The Packers are one of 5 winning teams Cousins has beaten, but they have a brand new everything on the defensive side this year.

[VikingLord]

When the Packers offense is on the field, I expect them to try to run it more than they did against the Bears for two reasons. First, they need to have more balance on offense than they did against the Bears, and second, they want and expect more production out of their running game than they got against the Bears. Since the Bears were the league's top run defense last year, the Packers will want to find out if their inability to run was specific to their last opponent, or if they have a larger issue on their hands. The Vikings should be pretty good against the run this year too, but the Packers need to try to establish that aspect of their offense, so I expect them to stick with it and focus on it more than they did against the Bears. This will work in the Vikings favor provided they are as successful stopping it as the Bears were. If not, well, it could be a long day for the Vikings defense as that will also open things up for Rodgers in the passing game.

As far as the Packers passing game is concerned, I think the Vikings match up very well against them. Zimmer has built his defense to be strong against pass-happy teams, and when they play tight and don't concede zones, they are usually tough to pass on. My main concern in this aspect of the game is Rodgers extending plays and finding something big down the field, either via a broken coverage or drawing a PI call. Rodgers beat the Bears with two big throws in the first game, the deep heave and the 50-50 TD pass. The Bears otherwise more or less shut him down. If it's a defensive contest where neither offense is moving the ball well or scoring, preventing those big passing plays is going to be key to winning.

As for the Vikings offense, everyone is talking about the run-pass ratio from the first game and whether the Vikings are a run-first team now, which I think is kind of funny because it was only the way the game against the Falcons evolved that allowed the Vikings to get away with that approach. It's not the 1970's and there is no way the Vikings are going to ask Kirk Cousins to attempt only 10 throws a game. Yes, the Vikings want to run it and run it successfully, and yes, if the game against the Packers evolves similarly to the game against the Falcons it's possible that same ratio could repeat itself, but it's so unlikely that I think we won't see another game like that in terms of run-pass ratio for a long time if we ever see it.

Far more likely, the Vikings will continue to use their zone run scheme primarily with Cook being spelled by Mattison and possibly Abdullah to keep the Packers off-balance and try to create some gash plays. The Packer defense looked improved against the Bears and did a nice job of shutting down the Bear running game. When I look at Atlanta's defensive talent, it seems to match or exceed what the Packers have up front and the Vikings were able to run successfully against that front, so I'd predict the Vikings to continue to have success with their run scheme against the Packers. Much will come down to how well the Vikings rushers run off those zone blocks and exploit the opportunities that are there. They were fantastic against the Falcons and very good throughout the preseason at this, and I expect that to continue against the Packers.

The Vikings pass offense is another story, specifically the pass blocking. The Packers appear vastly improved along the defensive line and secondary. Now, that improvement may be illusory as Mitchell Trubisky could just be that bad at actually playing QB, but I expect Cousins to come under some duress when he does drop back, and I expect the Packers secondary to be very aggressive. The Packers will blitz and do what they can to quickly disrupt Cousins. If the Vikings can protect Cousins, this could lead to some big plays through the air for the Vikings. If the Vikings can't protect Cousins, it could be a long day. Much depends on how successful the Vikings are running the ball, and whether they are scoring TDs.

I'm not worried about special teams and don't think either side's special teams will be the difference in the game.

This would be a HUGE win for the Vikings. Getting a W on the road in the NFC North, especially early in the season, would set the tone, especially with another big road game coming up against the Bears.

This is a game the Vikings can win. It does worry me that a lot of prognosticators are picking the Vikings to win based on the week one performances of both teams, but the Packers are going to be a tough out this year and I expect a much closer game than against the Falcons. Should the Vikings win convincingly again, I'll be pleasantly surprised.

[fiestavike]

When the Packers offense is on the field, I expect them to try to run it more than they did against the Bears for two reasons. First, they need to have more balance on offense than they did against the Bears, and second, they want and expect more production out of their running game than they got against the Bears. Since the Bears were the league's top run defense last year, the Packers will want to find out if their inability to run was specific to their last opponent, or if they have a larger issue on their hands. The Vikings should be pretty good against the run this year too, but the Packers need to try to establish that aspect of their offense, so I expect them to stick with it and focus on it more than they did against the Bears. This will work in the Vikings favor provided they are as successful stopping it as the Bears were. If not, well, it could be a long day for the Vikings defense as that will also open things up for Rodgers in the passing game.

As far as the Packers passing game is concerned, I think the Vikings match up very well against them. Zimmer has built his defense to be strong against pass-happy teams, and when they play tight and don't concede zones, they are usually tough to pass on. My main concern in this aspect of the game is Rodgers extending plays and finding something big down the field, either via a broken coverage or drawing a PI call. Rodgers beat the Bears with two big throws in the first game, the deep heave and the 50-50 TD pass. The Bears otherwise more or less shut him down. If it's a defensive contest where neither offense is moving the ball well or scoring, preventing those big passing plays is going to be key to winning.

As for the Vikings offense, everyone is talking about the run-pass ratio from the first game and whether the Vikings are a run-first team now, which I think is kind of funny because it was only the way the game against the Falcons evolved that allowed the Vikings to get away with that approach. It's not the 1970's and there is no way the Vikings are going to ask Kirk Cousins to attempt only 10 throws a game. Yes, the Vikings want to run it and run it successfully, and yes, if the game against the Packers evolves similarly to the game against the Falcons it's possible that same ratio could repeat itself, but it's so unlikely that I think we won't see another game like that in terms of run-pass ratio for a long time if we ever see it.

Far more likely, the Vikings will continue to use their zone run scheme primarily with Cook being spelled by Mattison and possibly Abdullah to keep the Packers off-balance and try to create some gash plays. The Packer defense looked improved against the Bears and did a nice job of shutting down the Bear running game. When I look at Atlanta's defensive talent, it seems to match or exceed what the Packers have up front and the Vikings were able to run successfully against that front, so I'd predict the Vikings to continue to have success with their run scheme against the Packers. Much will come down to how well the Vikings rushers run off those zone blocks and exploit the opportunities that are there. They were fantastic against the Falcons and very good throughout the preseason at this, and I expect that to continue against the Packers.

The Vikings pass offense is another story, specifically the pass blocking. The Packers appear vastly improved along the defensive line and secondary. Now, that improvement may be illusory as Mitchell Trubisky could just be that bad at actually playing QB, but I expect Cousins to come under some duress when he does drop back, and I expect the Packers secondary to be very aggressive. The Packers will blitz and do what they can to quickly disrupt Cousins. If the Vikings can protect Cousins, this could lead to some big plays through the air for the Vikings. If the Vikings can't protect Cousins, it could be a long day. Much depends on how successful the Vikings are running the ball, and whether they are scoring TDs.

I'm not worried about special teams and don't think either side's special teams will be the difference in the game.

This would be a HUGE win for the Vikings. Getting a W on the road in the NFC North, especially early in the season, would set the tone, especially with another big road game coming up against the Bears.

This is a game the Vikings can win. It does worry me that a lot of prognosticators are picking the Vikings to win based on the week one performances of both teams, but the Packers are going to be a tough out this year and I expect a much closer game than against the Falcons. Should the Vikings win convincingly again, I'll be pleasantly surprised.

I think the Vikings would be foolish to rely on their pass blocking in order to capitalize on opportunities through the air. They need to prioritize scheming to make those plays--play action, moving the pocket, bootlegs, quick reads, max protect--mix it up, but do not drop back to pass from the pocket 25 or 30 times. They need to do things to minimize the potential negatives on those plays. The team needs an identity, that identity needs to be suited to the roster, and the team needs to stick with that identity in order to make itself a tough out. If they go 'shootout' mode, I'll be somewhat disappointed even if they manage to win. If they emphasize run blocking, and defense, I'll be somewhat satisfied even if they lose. Its too early to put too much stock in outcome rather than process.

I'd also like to add, I believe Shamar Stephen is a big upgrade over Richardson, especially in the run game. I expect our front four to be a pretty difficult group to run on this year on 1st and 2nd down.