Vikings @ Lions Game Day Discussion Thread -- Week 15

[808vikingsfan]

Walsh almost cost the Vikings the game last week and you could argue he was the difference in this week's loss. Was Locke the holder last year?

[Mothman]

Positives:
-Teddy looked better than we expected against a strong Lions Defense. Actually, the whole offense performed better than expected with this beat up O-line.
-CP finally seemed to get a bit of rhythm at the end of the game.
-Rhodes, Smith, and Griffen were themselves. Hodges keeps impressing. Robison had one of his better games of the year.

Negatives:
-Dammit, Blair.

I can't bring myself to be too tough on him. 50+ yard FGs are dicey at best. Nobody hits them every time. The blocked kick was a great play by the Lions. Maybe the trajectory was low. I'll have to see it again. I'm not willing to take Souhan's word for it!

-Those two INTs at the end of the first half were huge momentum swings. Even if we hadn't scored any points off of those possessions, it's likely the field position changes

They changed the complexion of the entire game.

The Lions were the better team. If we had won, it would have been encouraging, but mostly surprising. It is what it is

Agreed... valiant effort, tough loss.

The defense played great but I was disappointed that they once again gave up a somewhat time-consuming drive late in the 4th quarter when they could least afford it (and a scoring drive at that). Overall, I think the Vikes just played hard and lost to a better team today. I'm impressed that they played as well as they did, especially considering that they are really banged up.

[mmvikes]

The first interception the receiver was being mauled also. He wasn't allowed to come out of his break and was being held while the pass was in the air. No call. No replay.

I don't think that's what happened. Initially, I thought it was interference but I re-wound my DVR, watched it again and it didn't look like he was held. The defender just jumped behind him but I don't think there was any PI or holding on the play. That pass appeared badly overthrown anyway.

Teddy had a pretty good game but his two INTs really hurt.[/quote]

Yeah the picks changed the momentum. When I saw the play It looked like Teddy was throwing to a spot for the receiver and he was unable to get to the spot. Didn't have the opportunity to rewind. Defense is looking fantastic. Hope Rhodes isn't hurt too bad.

[Texas Vike]

Great start, disappointing after being up 14-0 and with the ball. What a complete 180 they pulled. Detroit didn't really WIN that game so much as we gave it away. Silver lining: the Lions overtake the Pack with this win.

[S197]

Walsh almost cost the Vikings the game last week and you could argue he was the difference in this week's loss. Was Locke the holder last year?

Yup, holder ever since Kluwe was axed.

[Mothman]

I'm worried about CP, he's effectively fallen to the bottom of the depth chart. If you watch the redzone formations, even Thielen was in ahead of him and when they went five wide, they used Asiata. It wasn't until Wright was injured that he saw the field. You would think a big body like Patterson would be used in the redzone at very least.

He looked effective when they started going to him late, just as he did against Tampa. Maybe Norv needs to be a little less determined to keep him in the doghouse. Norv has a reputation of doing that...

Overall, it looked like a young team that still makes costly mistakes but at least there's progression. Rookie QB, no AD, and 60% of your line injured and you lose by 2 isn't all that bad all things considered.

Not bad at all... just frustrating.

[Mothman]

Yeah the picks changed the momentum. When I saw the play It looked like Teddy was throwing to a spot for the receiver and he was unable to get to the spot. Didn't have the opportunity to rewind. Defense is looking fantastic. Hope Rhodes isn't hurt too bad.

I hope not. That would be a big loss. The way he was doubled over, I wondered if maybe he took a shot to the yarbles.

[yezzir]

Did Teddy waste one of our timeouts with 2:01 left?

[Mothman]

Did Teddy waste one of our timeouts with 2:01 left?

He had to use one but I'm not sure if it was his fault. I don't know what happened there. There was a lot of confusion and Zimmer looked pissed.

[Pondering Her Percy]

I can't bring myself to be too tough on him. 50+ yard FGs are dicey at best. Nobody hits them every time. The blocked kick was a great play by the Lions. Maybe the trajectory was low. I'll have to see it again. I'm not willing to take Souhan's word for it!

I agree Jim. He's been one of the best kickers in the league since coming into the NFL. He's had a couple rough games lately but it doesn't worry me

[halfgiz]

TB
31 - 41 315yds. TD and 2 picks
Not bad if he wouldn't have had the picks.

[halfgiz]

He had to use one but I'm not sure if it was his fault. I don't know what happened there. There was a lot of confusion and Zimmer looked pissed.

A few of them plays I thought they was going to get delays. In fact the one play I thought they should have got flagged for a delay and didn't . TB looked confused on some of those plays.

[Pondering Her Percy]

I just want a fresh start so bad with the way this team has been maturing. The 2015 season needs to get here!!! I have to imagine we are one of the most banged up teams in the NFL right now. If you look at the start of the season, today we were missing 3 starting offensive lineman (2 of them being the better ones out of the bunch), our best player in AP and you could even say McKinnon as well, Shariff Floyd, Anthony Barr, and Robert Blanton (I won't count Cassel since Teddy's has already proven he is better). The only loss I'm not really upset about is Charlie Johnson. Outside of that, losing all those guys is rough

[808vikingsfan]

He had to use one but I'm not sure if it was his fault. I don't know what happened there. There was a lot of confusion and Zimmer looked pissed.

It looked like they were having headset problems again.

[TSonn]

Today's game from Teddy is a game that we actually can compare to the rookie games of guys like Manning and Aikman. We've done it a little prematurely in the past when Teddy or CP threw a bunch of interceptions in a game and said... "yeah, well those other guys threw a lot of INTs, too, he'll learn from it", but today's game is worth the comparison.

Aside from the two picks, Teddy looked on today. He showed that he can move the offense (with a battered line and hardly any running game) all on his own by making a ton of different throws on the road against a top 5 defense. The picks were rough, but even with those picks, he still moved the offense to get into field goal range two extra times, which was enough to make up for the picks and win the game.

This game looked like Teddy's best game yet (eye test). Even my Lions fan friends were discussing if they'd rather have Teddy at this stage of his career or Stafford.