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Quick thoughts: I'm excited to see how Xavier Rhodes and Julio Jones matchup. That could be a really fun battle.

I expect this defense in general to come out battling. They just gave up a season high point total and I think they want to make up for that.

What a weird Atlanta rushing defense. They're number one in yards but number 30 in TDs. How is Adrian going to fare against that?

SKOL!

This is a winnable game, need to see how team can bounce back on the road. I think a lot of emotion went into yesterday, so up to Zim to get them refocused.

mansquatch wrote:This is a winnable game, need to see how team can bounce back on the road. I think a lot of emotion went into yesterday, so up to Zim to get them refocused.

You may be right.....perhaps too much emotion. Could have been emotion overload. Need to right the ship vs Atlanta.

with our current Ol...we could easily lose to anyone. I hope Teddy doesnt get seriously injured this week.

Atlanta has a lot of horse power but doesn't seem to have the handling or grip to make use of it consistently. Matt Ryan has been really bad this year and their defense still isn't completely fixed. If Devante Freeman is out that'll be a big boost as he's an absolute beast. Tevin Coleman should be a serviceable replacement but lacks the home run power and game breaking ability Freeman has.

Biggest thing here is if we can stop the run with the front 7 so we can pretty much just lock rhodes and smith on jones the entire game. Hankerson and Tamme aren't anything special and roddy white has completely fallen out of grace. Matt Ryan is a not a QB who can get deep into his progressions so it's pretty much #1 Julio #2 panic mode and our pass rush should speed that process up.

Atlanta is dead last in the league in sacks so it's a good match up for our pathetic o-line. Of course they're bad enough to still give up 4+ on any given sunday so we'll see.

All in all it'll come down to controlling julio jones, he'll still get his, we just can't let him go totally ape #### and it should be another win for our vikes.

I'm not sold on Freeman as of yet. He's had a few easy matchups, and he's not even in the same talent pool as Gurley, and we contained him very well.
I reckon we bounce back here pretty well. Atlanta complements our strengths and weaknesses nicely.
Their run D is pretty average. If Adrian doesnt go well against these boys, i'd be very surprised. The Run D stats are very flattering, in fact their secondary is the most talented part of their defense. Although their pass rush is pathetic. Hopefully, we can give teddy a bit more time this week.
Offence, Freeman is talented, but nothing we've already seen so far. Julio's the best in the NFL for me at WR, but we've contained top WR's pretty well all season. Xavier hopefully will blanket him, and keep him under 100.
On our side, i see the inevitable rocket that Zimmer put up the players backsides, will get them back on track. I expect a dominant Defensive performance, and our Offense putting in a much improved effort against an average Atlanta Defense. Led by some impressive numbers by AD.
Vikings win 31-17

We lose, and i'd say we're right up against it.

DK Sweets wrote:Quick thoughts: I'm excited to see how Xavier Rhodes and Julio Jones matchup. That could be a really fun battle.

I expect this defense in general to come out battling. They just gave up a season high point total and I think they want to make up for that.

What a weird Atlanta rushing defense. They're number one in yards but number 30 in TDs. How is Adrian going to fare against that?

SKOL!

Excited to see Rhodes vs Jones? lol I am quite scared, Rhodes has looked bellow average (at best) all year and Jones is on pace to break a few records. If anything I see us losing this game by letting Jones score a touchdown or a few big plays to quickly make this a 14-0 10-0 type of game which at that point for multiple reasons plays against our teams strengths. After a surprisingly good season I find myself shocked to be so down on my team after one loss, however the lovely pukers and officiating seem to have brought the best out in me. I believe the Falcons have enough weapons on offence to move the ball on our defence and put up points, and also believe they have a good enough defence (#1 in rush) to put this game on Bridgewaters shoulders and at that point I just have no faith in our offensive line, OC, or QB. 24-16

allday1991 wrote: Excited to see Rhodes vs Jones? lol I am quite scared, Rhodes has looked bellow average (at best) all year and Jones is on pace to break a few records. If anything I see us losing this game by letting Jones score a touchdown or a few big plays to quickly make this a 14-0 10-0 type of game which at that point for multiple reasons plays against our teams strengths. After a surprisingly good season I find myself shocked to be so down on my team after one loss, however the lovely pukers and officiating seem to have brought the best out in me. I believe the Falcons have enough weapons on offence to move the ball on our defence and put up points, and also believe they have a good enough defence (#1 in rush) to put this game on Bridgewaters shoulders and at that point I just have no faith in our offensive line, OC, or QB. 24-16

Rhodes has been absolutely torched by legit #1 WR types this year (calvin johnson, alshon jeffery types) and is rated near the bottom in PFF grades for CB's. I'm hoping we can scheme against them though with Harrison Smith dedicated to helping Rhodes. Our pass rush will need to bring their A game as well, if they can speed matt ryan up he will make some mistakes.

The Vikings can beat Atlanta and most teams if only they would finish drives and start scoring more points. Given their dysfunctional offense, I don't see much of a chance of that happening. Then consider that it's a road game against another team looking to bounce back from a losing streak.

At this point, I see the Vikings losing to the Falcons. Man, I hope I'm wrong.

losperros wrote:The Vikings can beat Atlanta and most teams if only they would finish drives and start scoring more points.

This same statement should be posted in the Atlanta Falcons lockerroom and pounded into their heads. We have the exact same issue. We rack up the yards but then when it comes time to put points on the board we stall, have a turnover or miss the FG.

losperros wrote:The Vikings can beat Atlanta and most teams if only they would finish drives and start scoring more points. Given their dysfunctional offense, I don't see much of a chance of that happening. Then consider that it's a road game against another team looking to bounce back from a losing streak.

At this point, I see the Vikings losing to the Falcons. Man, I hope I'm wrong.

Well, if they have to lose a game or two, losing to the Falcons is better than losing to Seattle, Arizona or the Bears. It is one of two games that has the least effect on tiebreakers if we get to that point with Green Bay.

Winning would be nice.

Glad this game is indoors as I expect it to come down to field position and FGs.
I think the D will keep the Falcons from running up any kind of big score but I think we will have the same situation on offense...unless AD goes big, which is always possible.
I'll say who ever wins the turnover battle wins the game by single digits.
Hold on to the ball Adrian~

FYI we may not face Freeman on Sunday. He's still in phase 1 of the concussion protocol.

dead_poet wrote:FYI we may not face Freeman on Sunday. He's still in phase 1 of the concussion protocol.

Phase 1:

Mothman wrote: Phase 1:

According to Disney (Walt) Phase 2: is if you still are feeling Goofy