Seahawks post-mortem

[StumpHunter]

Tough loss to a team that is just better than we are. Injuries were a big story line for this game, with Cook getting hurt (albeit when we were in a spot where the team needed to pass more than run), Reiff left the game with a concussion, and Theilen missing the entire game. The defense struggled to stop the run, and that killed us more than anything.

The Positives:
The Oline played solid
Treadwell and Rudy had huge plays

The Negatives:
Run defense
Rhodes looking lost on a 50 yard TD
Special Teams were a disaster

The below average:
The offense putting points on the board. 23 points is not good against a pretty bad Seahawks D.

This loss was the biggest of the season and puts us squarely in running to be the 6th seed which sets us up to lose to Seattle/SF/GB in the WC round.

[Cliff]

Inconsistent across the board. I loved and hated basically every part of this team at one point or another. The defense both allowed for Seattle to come back as well as the Vikings later on. Rhodes was terrible. The run defense was terrible. Special teams gave up a huge play.

Kirk played a great game overall. Diggs dropped something like 3 passes, one of which was intercepted. Thielen was out and of course the biggest loss by far - Dalvin Cook. There is no real Vikings offense without Cook and it showed after he went down. There's a lot of talk about how great the offensive play-calling has been and it has been much better but Cook has made something out of nothing more times than I can count. They have done great maximizing his abilities but his abilities carry the offense. No Cook, no effective runs to the outside, no effective screens, less big plays from check downs, no effective play-action (and so a much less effective Cousins).

Kirk has done a lot to change my mind about him overall. Despite the loss I am still up on Cousins. A team *can* definitely win with him but I don't think this Vikings team can. They need too much help. They need a QB that can come in and "make something happen" at the end of big games. More often than not, Kirk is not going to be that guy and especially if Cook is down.

This game did reinforce my main problem with Cousins; he wasn't the reason the team lost but he wasn't the reason they won either. He had an opportunity to lead a game changing drive at the end of an important game and it didn't happen. These kinds of close games happen against the better teams in the league (so in the playoffs) and when they do this version of the Vikings needs a QB that can carry them.

Of course a loss makes a person be "down" on a team or players but I honestly feel I'm not looking at it through that lens. Kirk really did play well most of the game especially with the odds stacked against him. I'm much more down on the supposed heart of the team - the defense. They can't afford to be that inconsistent if games are supposed to be won on their backs.

This team still has a chance but only if Cook can stay healthy. He is the heart of the offense and it can't live without him.

[TSonn]

Interesting tweet on our 4th and 3 play:

https://twitter.com/SeifertESPN/status/ ... 03008?s=19

Looks like the two best reads on this play were Mattison and Smith. Mattison would've had to break a few LB tackles to get the first down. With Smith, they just needed to complete the pass. Diggs was doubled and the right side of the field (Rudy and Treadwell) was blocked because of the linemen.

If that's me, I probably go to Mattison and hope he breaks a tackle - but then again, QBs get heavily criticized for throwing short of the sticks, especially on 4th down.

Wish we had enough faith in our line to run a different play there with some crossing routes between Diggs and Rudolph. Those are typically gold for us when needing 3-5 yards.

[VikingLord]

I think the two short fields the Vikings gifted the Seahawks along with allowing the conversion on the fake punt were the storylines in this game. The Vikings gifted the Seahawks easy scores ala what they did against the Packers earlier in the year and that dog won't hunt against good teams.

The defense of the Vikings has collapsed. I was hoping the rest of a bye week coupled with a return to fundamentals would get them back to their old selves. They are now a liability IMHO. The pass coverage remained atrocious, and they couldn't stop the run to save their lives as they got routinely pushed 2-3 yards downfield on seemingly every Seahawk run. The walk-in TDs by the Seahawks were embarrassing. So much conceded with so little resistance with so much on the line. Classic Mike Zimmer December defense.

Offensively, Cook repeatedly putting it on the ground should ring some alarm bells. There were no running lanes. The pass protection was pretty good, but that isn't saying much considering how relatively average the Seahawk front 7 has been this year. I can't blame Cousins for much. I thought he played well for the most part.

The most sickening aspect of this loss is that the Vikings will talk about how they battled back and yada yada yada. The fact is, they got their clocks cleaned and were fortunate to even be in the game. Had the Seahawks safety not started free lancing and treating Cousins and the Vikings passing game with contempt, leaving Treadwell wide open in the process, the Vikings would never have gotten close IMHO.

Don't look now, but the Vikings sit only 2 games in front of a Bears team that has about an easy of a finishing schedule as the Packers and has a chance to steal another game back from the Vikings in the rematch. It's FAR from a foregone conclusion that the Vikings even make the playoffs this year. Not saying they will finish 8-8, but the Bears will be nipping at their heels the whole way and that last game of the regular season could be deja vu ala what we saw against the Seahawks last night, except this time the Bears might actually need to win it instead of playing it out.

[Bowhunting Viking]

One more thing to remember is all the dropped passes from our receivers last night. Diggs dropped a few that he should have caught. Bisi dropped what, 3 or 4. Smith dropped 1 or 2. It just seemed like other than Rudy nobody was really finishing the receptions last night.
And that fake punt was a killer. TOTALLY gave the Seahawks suck a fire and momentum. That was just a few things. I keep running it thru my head and just want it to stop!

[Bowhunting Viking]

Last night before the game is Salters had to do that stupid report about how Cook has finally stayed healthy this year for the 1st time in his career. I looked at my wife and said OH NO.. she did it. She just put the jinx on him. He will get hurt before the game is over. She said what are u talking about.
So I explained that whenever they talk about a player staying healthy, a kicker not missing a kick, a QB not throwing an INT for a stretch, a player not fumbling in so many touches.. and the list goes on... that as soon as they do that it happens.
I remember Aikman earlier in the season talking about how O'Niel hadn't given up a sack. Next series.. he did.
Worst example ever, Gary Anderson lining up for the game sealing FG in the Championship game against Atlanta. Madden had to go on and on about how he was automatic, hadn't missed a FG or Xtra point all yr and would seal the win for us. Then we watched it sail left.
I HATE it when they do that.
She said you can't go on that just because she talked about him. When he got hurt and went to the locker room, I was already getting pissed at the game, she looked at me and said Ok I guess you were right. Why dont you go down and finish watching the game in your man cave. You're getting mad now and stressing.
That's why she doesnt watch games with me.
Just so happens I'm healing up from some elbow and hand surgery 12 days ago and am off work, so for some reason she decided to watch the game with me. She was enjoying it when we were up and I was happy. Then I started turning into the Well here we go letting the game go mode, and she took mercy on me... well more herself... and realized it was better to.let me go to the basement living room man cave and watch where I always do, so I could SCREAM and swear into my Frustration pillow and she didn't have to witness it.
Point is I just hate the reporter and commentators jinx they put on.players.
And I know many others here ha e referenced it before. It's a bad Omen.

[Bowhunting Viking]

Last night before the game is Salters had to do that stupid report about how Cook has finally stayed healthy this year for the 1st time in his career. I looked at my wife and said OH NO.. she did it. She just put the jinx on him. He will get hurt before the game is over. She said what are u talking about.
So I explained that whenever they talk about a player staying healthy, a kicker not missing a kick, a QB not throwing an INT for a stretch, a player not fumbling in so many touches.. and the list goes on... that as soon as they do that it happens.
I remember Aikman earlier in the season talking about how O'Niel hadn't given up a sack. Next series.. he did.
Worst example ever, Gary Anderson lining up for the game sealing FG in the Championship game against Atlanta. Madden had to go on and on about how he was automatic, hadn't missed a FG or Xtra point all yr and would seal the win for us. Then we watched it sail left.
I HATE it when they do that.
She said you can't go on that just because she talked about him. When he got hurt and went to the locker room, I was already getting pissed at the game, she looked at me and said Ok I guess you were right. Why dont you go down and finish watching the game in your man cave. You're getting mad now and stressing.
That's why she doesnt watch games with me.
Just so happens I'm healing up from some elbow and hand surgery 12 days ago and am off work, so for some reason she decided to watch the game with me. She was enjoying it when we were up and I was happy. Then I started turning into the Well here we go letting the game go mode, and she took mercy on me... well more herself... and realized it was better to.let me go to the basement living room man cave and watch where I always do, so I could SCREAM and swear into my Frustration pillow and she didn't have to witness it.
Point is I just hate the reporter and commentators jinx they put on.players.
And I know many others here ha e referenced it before. It's a bad Omen.

[Bowhunting Viking]

Last night before the game is Salters had to do that stupid report about how Cook has finally stayed healthy this year for the 1st time in his career. I looked at my wife and said OH NO.. she did it. She just put the jinx on him. He will get hurt before the game is over. She said what are u talking about.
So I explained that whenever they talk about a player staying healthy, a kicker not missing a kick, a QB not throwing an INT for a stretch, a player not fumbling in so many touches.. and the list goes on... that as soon as they do that it happens.
I remember Aikman earlier in the season talking about how O'Niel hadn't given up a sack. Next series.. he did.
Worst example ever, Gary Anderson lining up for the game sealing FG in the Championship game against Atlanta. Madden had to go on and on about how he was automatic, hadn't missed a FG or Xtra point all yr and would seal the win for us. Then we watched it sail left.
I HATE it when they do that.
She said you can't go on that just because she talked about him. When he got hurt and went to the locker room, I was already getting pissed at the game, she looked at me and said Ok I guess you were right. Why dont you go down and finish watching the game in your man cave. You're getting mad now and stressing.
That's why she doesnt watch games with me.
Just so happens I'm healing up from some elbow and hand surgery 12 days ago and am off work, so for some reason she decided to watch the game with me. She was enjoying it when we were up and I was happy. Then I started turning into the Well here we go letting the game go mode, and she took mercy on me... well more herself... and realized it was better to.let me go to the basement living room man cave and watch where I always do, so I could SCREAM and swear into my Frustration pillow and she didn't have to witness it.
Point is I just hate the reporter and commentators jinx they put on.players.
And I know many others here ha e referenced it before. It's a bad Omen.

[Bowhunting Viking]

Last night before the game is Salters had to do that stupid report about how Cook has finally stayed healthy this year for the 1st time in his career. I looked at my wife and said OH NO.. she did it. She just put the jinx on him. He will get hurt before the game is over. She said what are u talking about.
So I explained that whenever they talk about a player staying healthy, a kicker not missing a kick, a QB not throwing an INT for a stretch, a player not fumbling in so many touches.. and the list goes on... that as soon as they do that it happens.
I remember Aikman earlier in the season talking about how O'Niel hadn't given up a sack. Next series.. he did.
Worst example ever, Gary Anderson lining up for the game sealing FG in the Championship game against Atlanta. Madden had to go on and on about how he was automatic, hadn't missed a FG or Xtra point all yr and would seal the win for us. Then we watched it sail left.
I HATE it when they do that.
She said you can't go on that just because she talked about him. When he got hurt and went to the locker room, I was already getting pissed at the game, she looked at me and said Ok I guess you were right. Why dont you go down and finish watching the game in your man cave. You're getting mad now and stressing.
That's why she doesnt watch games with me.
Just so happens I'm healing up from some elbow and hand surgery 12 days ago and am off work, so for some reason she decided to watch the game with me. She was enjoying it when we were up and I was happy. Then I started turning into the Well here we go letting the game go mode, and she took mercy on me... well more herself... and realized it was better to.let me go to the basement living room man cave and watch where I always do, so I could SCREAM and swear into my Frustration pillow and she didn't have to witness it.
Point is I just hate the reporter and commentators jinx they put on.players.
And I know many others here ha e referenced it before. It's a bad Omen.

[Bowhunting Viking]

Sorry about that. My internet is acting up and froze up and next thing I knew it posted it 3 times. Tried to delete 2 of them but couldn't. Trying to do all this with left hand, and I'm right handed

[StumpHunter]

The most sickening aspect of this loss is that the Vikings will talk about how they battled back and yada yada yada. The fact is, they got their clocks cleaned and were fortunate to even be in the game. Had the Seahawks safety not started free lancing and treating Cousins and the Vikings passing game with contempt, leaving Treadwell wide open in the process, the Vikings would never have gotten close IMHO.

Not only that Treadwell play, but on the next TD drive the PI on a very poorly thrown pass on 3rd and 10 kept that drive alive as well. The corner turns his head on that throw and we are talking about how poorly the passing game was last night.

[TSonn]

The most sickening aspect of this loss is that the Vikings will talk about how they battled back and yada yada yada. The fact is, they got their clocks cleaned and were fortunate to even be in the game. Had the Seahawks safety not started free lancing and treating Cousins and the Vikings passing game with contempt, leaving Treadwell wide open in the process, the Vikings would never have gotten close IMHO.

Not only that Treadwell play, but on the next TD drive the PI on a very poorly thrown pass on 3rd and 10 kept that drive alive as well. The corner turns his head on that throw and we are talking about how poorly the passing game was last night.

Safety help over the top on Diggs on that play. An underthrow was probably what he was trying to do. Diggs made a great call going for the PI. When Rodgers does that he's a genius. When Kirk does it he's terrible.

Also, Treadwell was wide open in part because Kirk was looking like he was throwing underneath to Rudy and even pump-faked the throw to Rudy to guarantee Treadwell would be wide open. No pump fake means Treadwell probably gets caught from behind and no TD.

My goodness.

[mansquatch]

ST Fumbles are an issue, so was Fake Punt, and missed PAT. Bad day for ST IMO.

Turnovers by offense bad, but not sure on cause. I think Cook was injured on a previous play before the fumble. The pick to Diggs seemed like just a great defensive play vs an error by either Diggs or Cousins.

We miss Thielen a lot in the passing game. Very curious that they didn't suit him up for this game. Stupid Hamstrings...

However... biggest issues were again on defense.

Rhodes.... Guy has been a major liability all season. Not sure what is going on and why Zimmer has stuck with him. The personal foul call was a major turning point in the 3rd quarter. If he doesn't do that we get them off the field. Not sure if the big TD pass was on him or Smith, that looked like a blown coverage. Regardless of that, he was allowing completions... AGAIN.

As much as it is easy (and somewhat deserved) to scapegoat Rhodes, I was actually more annoyed with the fact that Zimmer had absolutely no answer for the SEA jumbo package of 6 OL. They ran that all game against us and we repeatedly got gashed in the run game. How come we couldn't answer this? You can bet we'll see it more in the coming weeks.

I get that statistically the defense is still strong, but it is giving up more points and it is losing way too much on first and second down. I know they are still great on 3rd down, but I wonder if we are seeing as many 3rd downs with all the yardage they are giving up. It's nice to see some more splash plays, but this unit is a still a problem. Especially when you consider how much salary cap is invested on this side of the ball.

[StumpHunter]

Not only that Treadwell play, but on the next TD drive the PI on a very poorly thrown pass on 3rd and 10 kept that drive alive as well. The corner turns his head on that throw and we are talking about how poorly the passing game was last night.

Safety help over the top on Diggs on that play. An underthrow was probably what he was trying to do. Diggs made a great call going for the PI. When Rodgers does that he's a genius. When Kirk does it he's terrible.

Also, Treadwell was wide open in part because Kirk was looking like he was throwing underneath to Rudy and even pump-faked the throw to Rudy to guarantee Treadwell would be wide open. No pump fake means Treadwell probably gets caught from behind and no TD.

My goodness.

There is zero chance the safety gets there in time if that throw is on target.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyBY-I37P9M

Bad throw, great play by the WR.

[TSonn]

Safety help over the top on Diggs on that play. An underthrow was probably what he was trying to do. Diggs made a great call going for the PI. When Rodgers does that he's a genius. When Kirk does it he's terrible.

Also, Treadwell was wide open in part because Kirk was looking like he was throwing underneath to Rudy and even pump-faked the throw to Rudy to guarantee Treadwell would be wide open. No pump fake means Treadwell probably gets caught from behind and no TD.

My goodness.

There is zero chance the safety gets there in time if that throw is on target.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyBY-I37P9M

Bad throw, great play by the WR.

Good call - I remembered the safety being over the top more. My bad. Still, underthrows are a part of a passing game and we haven't had many PI calls go our way this year - happy to see it. Keenum did it all the time (whether on purpose or not) and we mostly praised him for it.