Good: The run game was better, the offense moved the ball and Hunter destroyed Germain Ifedi.
Bad: The defense was gashed, the Vikings redzone offense is still trash and #### Blair Walsh.
I actually like Blair, the person, but he was feeling himself waaay too much. We'll see how it goes when he has pressure on him in a meaningful game again. Seattle, feel our pain!
I'll admit I put almost no weight in what I see during preseason. Coaches are looking at different players and situations, which can easily affect how the team plays.
Besides, how many times have we seen a team win its preseason games and bomb during the regular season? And vice versa. It happens frequently.
My biggest fear during preseason are injuries and their impact on the team during regular season.
The most fun I have during preseason games is watching the younger guys battling for starting and/or backup positions. I always find myself rooting for the rookies the Vikings draft to look impressive.
losperros wrote:I'll admit I put almost no weight in what I see during preseason. Coaches are looking at different players and situations, which can easily affect how the team plays.
Besides, how many times have we seen a team win its preseason games and bomb during the regular season? And vice versa. It happens frequently.
My biggest fear during preseason are injuries and their impact on the team during regular season.
The most fun I have during preseason games is watching the younger guys battling for starting and/or backup positions. I always find myself rooting for the rookies the Vikings draft to look impressive.
Completely agree regarding injuries and special attention on the rookies. I've enjoyed watching Jaleel Johnson, in particular. Cook, too. It was nice to see him reel off a few solid runs in a row on Friday. Heck, I even got excited for Bucky Hodges in the 4th quarter!
I'm ready for the games to count. I am a bit nervous to face New Orleans the first game, though. Especially AD with how poor our run D has looked.
losperros wrote:I'll admit I put almost no weight in what I see during preseason. Coaches are looking at different players and situations, which can easily affect how the team plays.
Besides, how many times have we seen a team win its preseason games and bomb during the regular season? And vice versa. It happens frequently.
My biggest fear during preseason are injuries and their impact on the team during regular season.
The most fun I have during preseason games is watching the younger guys battling for starting and/or backup positions. I always find myself rooting for the rookies the Vikings draft to look impressive.
Case in point ... Mike Zimmer is 12-2 in the preseason.
I really like Mike Zimmer and want more than anything for him to succeed. But 12-2 in preseason with 26-22 in the regular season (which isn't terrible, but isn't moving significantly forward) sort of proves your statement.
720pete wrote:2008 Lions went 4-0 in the preseason only to go 0-16 in the regular season. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_De ... ons_season
If we can lose the next two games we could be lining up for a 16-0 season.
Center Pat Elflein displayed the mean streak we saw on tape as a run blocker and pass protector. He is a fantastic blocker in the second level and drives through defenders until the whistle. In the clip below, Elflein barrels the defensive tackle out of the play and Dalvin Cook gets small at the line of scrimmage to push forward through defenders. Cook is very elusive and picks up yards after contact because of his vision/patience and strong cutbacks. He was very tough to bring down in this game and nearly knocked off several long runs.
“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.” --- Bill Shankly
Tell you what I also like about Cook. Even though he played well against Seattle, he said he was upset at himself that he didn't make the safeties miss. I mean, we're talking about Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas here.
I think we're going to see some really good things from this kid.
We'll see how it goes when he has pressure on him in a meaningful game again. Seattle, feel our pain!
