Vikings @ Lions Game Day Discussion Thread -- Week 15

[mosscarter]

musgrave's offensive approach at the end of last season is much better than turner's this entire year. this guy is supposed to be a guru and i'm simply not seeing it at all.

[John_Viveiros]

I dont really know why I'm so upset, but I am.

I didn't think they stood a chance of winning at all. Instead, they were essentially the better team, outside of the FG squad. It's a game they deserved to win, especially based on the incredible play of the defense. That's why we're all upset.

Let's see if this loss (which means nothing for the playoffs, of course) gives them a better draft pick in the spring. Instead of having to trade up four slots to get our guy, we'll already be right there!

[John_Viveiros]

14 points doesn't win many games. His best performance was probably last week. I don't know how throwing 2 picks in a close game is considered good. He did good and bad today, to say this was his best performance is a stretch. I could agree with him showing signs of being a good qb though. The things he did right on the first 2 scoring drives was impressive, he does things like a Peyton Manning might, beats the defense pre snap.

Well, I thought he was good for essentially 20 points. He can't be blamed for Walsh missing two FG's in his range. That's a nice outing against the Lions D!

[John_Viveiros]

He struggled with accuracy at times today. Obviously, the two INTs were poorly thrown balls, but there were a few others that sailed on him. Namely, the miss to wright on the last possession (I think it was) where he was wide open with room to run. He was wiiiiide open and it sailed 5 feet over his head. Not trying to pick on him because I like him, but I wouldn't say this was his best performance.

Wow. I'm wondering what type of accuracy would satisfy you. He was 31-41 for 315 yards against the #2 (?) defense in the league. I think I saw two bad passes - the Wright pass and the second interception. That's pretty good to me. Pretty good against a mediocre defense - fabulous against a team that can get after the passer and pick off passes the way the Lions can. And doing it on the road too.

[Megatron]

Good game by you guys, I must admit I was worried for a minute there. I think you guys have a real shot at being a contender next season. A couple of our key guys on D and Stafford suffered with the flu last week, and our HC cut some practices short to help keep it from spreading further, we really didn't play our best game. Kudos for having the heart to keep fighting though, your coaching really has your team going in the right direction.

[Megatron]

Wow. I'm wondering what type of accuracy would satisfy you. He was 31-41 for 315 yards against the #2 (?) defense in the league. I think I saw two bad passes - the Wright pass and the second interception. That's pretty good to me. Pretty good against a mediocre defense - fabulous against a team that can get after the passer and pick off passes the way the Lions can. And doing it on the road too.

Bridgewater is a baller, you guys really have yourselves a good QB. His arm could be a big stronger, but there's been a lot of great QBs that didn't have the strongest arm.

[Boon]

The last couple of games, they went blow for blow with GB, beat two teams they should have beaten, and went toe to toe with the division leader and the nfl's #1 defense. All jokes aside i'm hoping adrian is a viking next year because that right there could be the difference in solidifying this team as a contender. Defense is starting to gel. Draft a #1 for teddy and wing the rest for all I care. I really have hopes for this team.

[Purple Reign]

Think so?

Even with his misses last year and this year (prior to today's game) I still thought of him as a tick or so above average.

But isn't a tick or so above average pretty much the definition of fairly pedestrian?

[Mothman]

Disappointing to lose that game. Utter dominance for the first 20 or so minutes. The first INT was the most devastating because the vikings were driving and could possibly have gone up THREE scores late in the half and were receiving the kickoff. Things with teddy looked to come off the rails, especially after the 2nd INT.

Vikings left 6 points on the field with the missed FGs and had a drive of over ten minutes that resulted in zero points. That was the real difference in the game. End of game execution on the final two drives was abysmal. There was confusion and too much time was wasted. If that delay of game penalty hadn't occurred, it's completely conceivable that that final FG try would have been much more reasonable.

I still like where the team is headed. Need a few more pieces. However, we still haven't beaten a team with a winning record all season. Can't overlook that fact and allow yourself to be too excited.

They haven't won a division game either and they only have one opportunity left to do that.

[Mothman]

Wow. I'm wondering what type of accuracy would satisfy you. He was 31-41 for 315 yards against the #2 (?) defense in the league. I think I saw two bad passes - the Wright pass and the second interception. That's pretty good to me. Pretty good against a mediocre defense - fabulous against a team that can get after the passer and pick off passes the way the Lions can. And doing it on the road too.

Both INTs were bad throws and Jennings' great sideline catch definitely came on an inaccurate pass. It's amazing that ended up being a completion. Teddy was throwing some passes high in the second half too.

I'm not trying to rip him because he made some excellent throws too and overall, he played a pretty good game. However, he did have some accuracy issues today.

[Mothman]

Good game by you guys, I must admit I was worried for a minute there. I think you guys have a real shot at being a contender next season. A couple of our key guys on D and Stafford suffered with the flu last week, and our HC cut some practices short to help keep it from spreading further, we really didn't play our best game. Kudos for having the heart to keep fighting though, your coaching really has your team going in the right direction.

Thanks! Good luck to your Lions the rest of the way.

[PacificNorseWest]

But isn't a tick or so above average pretty much the definition of fairly pedestrian?

No clue. It's. Pretty subjective. I'm not too worried about him right now though.

[John_Viveiros]

They haven't won a division game either and they only have one opportunity left to do that.

Yes. That's annoying. Thanks a lot for reminding us.

On the other hand, the Vikes are 0-5 against teams with 10-4 or 11-3 records, and 6-3 against the rest.

That's feeling like a rough schedule, especially in a year where we are playing our 2nd QB and 3rd RB, and 40% of our OL. This is the first year in memory when our DB's have held up for most of the year. I notice that our defensive performance is quite a lot better, while the offense is in the bottom fifth of the league. Funny how that injury thing works.

[Demi]

Hope Lions make playoffs.
Hope we finish last, that weak schedule seems to be worth 2~ wins every year. Could be the difference between playoffs and no playoffs. Along with draft positioning!

Kalil, and now Walsh. Locke nothing to write home about. Talk about some crash and burns from usually safe picks.

Frustrating game to watch. Defense is clearly improved but man watching another QB throw away a game.

At least he has the ability to keep us in/competitive overall. Future hasn't looked brighter in a decade or more. (minus Favre year)

[tmscr]

Yes. That's annoying. Thanks a lot for reminding us.

On the other hand, the Vikes are 0-5 against teams with 10-4 or 11-3 records, and 6-3 against the rest.

That's feeling like a rough schedule, especially in a year where we are playing our 2nd QB and 3rd RB, and 40% of our OL. This is the first year in memory when our DB's have held up for most of the year. I notice that our defensive performance is quite a lot better, while the offense is in the bottom fifth of the league. Funny how that injury thing works.

The concerning thing is that while they have had games against the top teams of the league, they did struggle in almost every one of their wins against bottom feeders. They VERY easily could have lost to the jets and bucs. Heck, the redskins had a shot late too. Those are 3 of the worst teams in the league that (barely) accounted for half their wins. The falcons game was a tight one too. You have to beat at least a few quality teams before we get overly excited.