Vikings vs 49ers

[psjordan]

Good breakdown by O'sullivan of a lot of the stuff we did. Kirk had some great throws

Darrisaw has spent time in the weight room. He obliterates Bosa at the 24:58 mark. Man I hope our OL can keep on a roll, Kirk's a different QB when he has time to throw. And I'm not talking "excessive time to throw", just enough time to release the ball without getting hammered.

[CharVike]

The blocking was incredible last night against a very good front. Hockenson even had a good game blocking. Check out this breakdown:

I never saw this guy before. This is a great video and he provides an explanation. IMO Risner needs to stay in the lineup. He don't get pushed around. Ingram has strength. His pass blocking still needs work but it's only year 2. What I'm confused about is how they can look this good against this team and it didn't appear that they played close to this level against the Bears. We couldn't even run the ball. I have no idea. In the end you need to win the LOS battle and they did that. That gave everything else a chance. That first play hole was a thing of beauty. That's how you run the ball.

[JJBreaksRecords]

Hard to criticize this game at all.
Kirk played a great great, didnt let the early TO get to him. He was taking the hits, and NO SACKS, I couldnt believe that. Kirk evaded the rush just well enough to make them pay.
Oline was stellar. Risner was perfect, hope he stays in when Ezra is ready to play again.

The D was on its toes, Flores dialed up a good game.

TJ played a great game, was full of energy and it was infectious.

KO finally called a good game, had some good plays that worked. But his over diub=ng screen passes and throw to or behind the LOS has to stop, no one is falling for them. And dont run Mattison up the middle so much. It worked well for the first play of the game but that was about it.

Much better game than I expected.

[CharVike]

No wonder Purdy looked a little off towards the end of the game.
San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback Brock Purdy is unlikely to play in Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals due to being in concussion protocol, according to a report from ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter on Wednesday afternoon.Purdy, in his second NFL season, has thrown 11 touchdowns and three interceptions

[JJBreaksRecords]

Ahh, maybe thats why Cam got those INTs. Reguardless. Kirk and the Oline were in sync and it made for a great game.

[VikingLord]

I never saw this guy before. This is a great video and he provides an explanation. IMO Risner needs to stay in the lineup. He don't get pushed around. Ingram has strength. His pass blocking still needs work but it's only year 2. What I'm confused about is how they can look this good against this team and it didn't appear that they played close to this level against the Bears. We couldn't even run the ball. I have no idea. In the end you need to win the LOS battle and they did that. That gave everything else a chance. That first play hole was a thing of beauty. That's how you run the ball.

Risner really stood out on that first run play that Mattison almost broke. He got his right hand locked onto the upper shoulder of the defender and literally walked him back. He completely neutralized him and all the guy could do was try to stay with the play which, to his credit, he did, eventually helping to make the tackle. Still, the lower body and core strength Risner demonstrated on that play seems pretty rare from what I've seen, and I doubt Cleveland could sustain a block like that. Risner showed up well on the other plays that were reviewed, too. He plays fundamentally sound with good leverage, balance and control. He made a noticeable difference IMHO.

Ingram, OTOH, didn't impress me that much. Ingram does have power, but he relies on his initial punch landing, and if it doesn't land his arms seem to fly up in the air, which puts him at a tremendous disadvantage in terms of leverage that often has him chasing the defender if the defender can take advantage of that situation. Ingram just doesn't look as smooth in pass blocking as the other linemen. In run blocking where he can move forward and engage with his power he's more effective, but he also seems content to win the initial battle and eases off once he determines he's won. Because of this, the defender he's blocking can continue flowing to the play, which in turn allows that defender to get back into the play in situations where the play develops late or the running back changes direction. If Ingram stayed locked on until he hears a whistle and fully neutralized his blocking assignment, that could be the difference between a big play and a marginal gain. Not sure if this is a way he can conserve energy or a coaching thing or what, but that shows up on his tape repeatedly.

All in all, the OL has played well as a unit the last several games even before Risner went in and even with Ingram's relative weaknesses. Ingram has had enough time to clean up his technique, so what we're seeing with him is likely what we're going to get going forward. Risner seems to add some power at the point of attack that the line lacks with Cleveland in that spot. Darrisaw is playing very well overall and is showing why he was a 1st rounder at left tackle. Bradberry is playing as well as I've seen him play although he still gives up a lot against the larger interior tackles, and O'Neill is solid at RT. I think the Vikings have good blocking TEs as well as Ham at FB is doing a good job. They still lack consistency as a unit, but they showed very well against a good 49er front seven and I'm optimistic about their chances to lead a turnaround this season.

[makila]

I think what we saw from Risner, and what he brings, is some interior run power that is more inline with kocs offense.

Cleveland isn't a good fit in this scheme, and position.

[CharVike]

I never saw this guy before. This is a great video and he provides an explanation. IMO Risner needs to stay in the lineup. He don't get pushed around. Ingram has strength. His pass blocking still needs work but it's only year 2. What I'm confused about is how they can look this good against this team and it didn't appear that they played close to this level against the Bears. We couldn't even run the ball. I have no idea. In the end you need to win the LOS battle and they did that. That gave everything else a chance. That first play hole was a thing of beauty. That's how you run the ball.

Risner really stood out on that first run play that Mattison almost broke. He got his right hand locked onto the upper shoulder of the defender and literally walked him back. He completely neutralized him and all the guy could do was try to stay with the play which, to his credit, he did, eventually helping to make the tackle. Still, the lower body and core strength Risner demonstrated on that play seems pretty rare from what I've seen, and I doubt Cleveland could sustain a block like that. Risner showed up well on the other plays that were reviewed, too. He plays fundamentally sound with good leverage, balance and control. He made a noticeable difference IMHO.

Ingram, OTOH, didn't impress me that much. Ingram does have power, but he relies on his initial punch landing, and if it doesn't land his arms seem to fly up in the air, which puts him at a tremendous disadvantage in terms of leverage that often has him chasing the defender if the defender can take advantage of that situation. Ingram just doesn't look as smooth in pass blocking as the other linemen. In run blocking where he can move forward and engage with his power he's more effective, but he also seems content to win the initial battle and eases off once he determines he's won. Because of this, the defender he's blocking can continue flowing to the play, which in turn allows that defender to get back into the play in situations where the play develops late or the running back changes direction. If Ingram stayed locked on until he hears a whistle and fully neutralized his blocking assignment, that could be the difference between a big play and a marginal gain. Not sure if this is a way he can conserve energy or a coaching thing or what, but that shows up on his tape repeatedly.

All in all, the OL has played well as a unit the last several games even before Risner went in and even with Ingram's relative weaknesses. Ingram has had enough time to clean up his technique, so what we're seeing with him is likely what we're going to get going forward. Risner seems to add some power at the point of attack that the line lacks with Cleveland in that spot. Darrisaw is playing very well overall and is showing why he was a 1st rounder at left tackle. Bradberry is playing as well as I've seen him play although he still gives up a lot against the larger interior tackles, and O'Neill is solid at RT. I think the Vikings have good blocking TEs as well as Ham at FB is doing a good job. They still lack consistency as a unit, but they showed very well against a good 49er front seven and I'm optimistic about their chances to lead a turnaround this season.

Cleveland can't hold the point. He has a limited base. When we signed Davenport I looked up his highlights and the 1st one was against us during the game in Europe. He drove Cleveland past Cousins setup and pushed him on his back. Total domination. You can't have that. I noticed Ingrams arms also. They are all over the place. I have never seen that and have no idea what he is doing. He will get 4 years to figure it out because he was a draft pick. Bradberry is fine because he makes the calls ect... But he needs help. IMO we have good coaching on the OL. They have improved with the same players plus Ingram who is a work in progress so I think they will get the most out of what we have. You can't ask for more than that.

[VikingsVictorious]

Risner really stood out on that first run play that Mattison almost broke. He got his right hand locked onto the upper shoulder of the defender and literally walked him back. He completely neutralized him and all the guy could do was try to stay with the play which, to his credit, he did, eventually helping to make the tackle.

VL do you believe as I do that play was withing a millisecond or inch of going all the way? Might he have been caught from behind? I kind of don't think he would have as he had all the momentum. The defenders wouldn't have been able to get caught up.

[VikingLord]

Risner really stood out on that first run play that Mattison almost broke. He got his right hand locked onto the upper shoulder of the defender and literally walked him back. He completely neutralized him and all the guy could do was try to stay with the play which, to his credit, he did, eventually helping to make the tackle.

VL do you believe as I do that play was withing a millisecond or inch of going all the way? Might he have been caught from behind? I kind of don't think he would have as he had all the momentum. The defenders wouldn't have been able to get caught up.

Definitely was within a hair of going all the way. I think it was the DB who managed to close the gap and get a hand on Mattison, which slowed him just enough for the guy Risner was blocking to get involved. But it was super close to being a TD.

The best part of that play by far for me wasn't the blocking or the run but how Troy Aikman was just commenting on how the Vikings had struggled running the ball all year with the implication that the mighty 49er defense would probably shut them down all game. And then right off the bat the Vikings punched the 49ers right in the mouth with more to come.

Like eating a Snickers, that was truly satisfying...

[VikingsVictorious]

VL do you believe as I do that play was withing a millisecond or inch of going all the way? Might he have been caught from behind? I kind of don't think he would have as he had all the momentum. The defenders wouldn't have been able to get caught up.

Definitely was within a hair of going all the way. I think it was the DB who managed to close the gap and get a hand on Mattison, which slowed him just enough for the guy Risner was blocking to get involved. But it was super close to being a TD.

The best part of that play by far for me wasn't the blocking or the run but how Troy Aikman was just commenting on how the Vikings had struggled running the ball all year with the implication that the mighty 49er defense would probably shut them down all game. And then right off the bat the Vikings punched the 49ers right in the mouth with more to come.

Like eating a Snickers, that was truly satisfying...

Did the Vikings politely tell Aikmann to take his prediction and shove it?

[VikingLord]

Definitely was within a hair of going all the way. I think it was the DB who managed to close the gap and get a hand on Mattison, which slowed him just enough for the guy Risner was blocking to get involved. But it was super close to being a TD.

The best part of that play by far for me wasn't the blocking or the run but how Troy Aikman was just commenting on how the Vikings had struggled running the ball all year with the implication that the mighty 49er defense would probably shut them down all game. And then right off the bat the Vikings punched the 49ers right in the mouth with more to come.

Like eating a Snickers, that was truly satisfying...

Did the Vikings politely tell Aikmann to take his prediction and shove it?