mansquatch wrote: ↑Mon Sep 16, 2019 10:11 am
In this particular circumstance the defense was reeling, having just giving up two consecutive TD drives. The offense gave them maybe a 20 second breather and then they are back out defending a short field with almost no time to make any needed adjustments to how the opposing offense was beating them. That might not equal 7 points but it isn't far from it. Once the offense actually put together a meaningful possession the defense had time to adjust and then Green Bay never found the scoreboard again, but the damage was done.
The defensive staff deserves blame for coming into this game so flat, there is no denying that. But the short field on the last TD they gave up wasn't just on them, the offense deserves a lot of credit on that one. Overall, that was probably the worst possible situation for them to find themselves at that point in the game. Don't get me wrong, I would argue that this was one of, if not the worst, 1st quarters we've ever seen a Zimmer team play, at least in recent memory. No excuse for it, not when you are going on the road against our biggest rival.
OK, so the logic here is that the Vikings offense put them in that spot with the turnover, but guess who created that turnover? The Packers defense did. The Packers defense not only created that short field, but they also stymied the Vikings 2nd drive to open the game and got the ball back quickly for their offense.
So if the Packer defense can do stuff like that early, why can't the vaunted Vikings defense be expected to, or or at least hold the Packers to a field goal there?
Football is a team game. Sometimes the offense needs to compensate for the defense, sometimes the defense for the offense, sometimes the special teams for, well, everyone else. Making excuses for the defense in a huge divisional game like this is just making excuses for them.
And honestly, I don't have a problem with that unless those making the excuses are turning around and holding someone else's or another unit's feet to the fire. That is the definition of hypocrisy.
If Cousin's sucked yesterday and blew it, then the defense did too. And if the fact that Cousins hit Diggs on a beautiful deep strike and had another legit TD called back by blind monkey refs along with watching the field goal unit miss 3 points doesn't absolve Cousins, then neither does the 21 points on 3 drives absolve the defense. Either both sucked, or both were otherwise incredible, or, more honestly, both had their moments interspersed with total failures that ultimately cost the team the game.
In my view, the Vikings defense under Zimmer is *exactly* like the offense under Cousins - if you need 5 yards, they'll get you 3. At least they're consistent in that.
