Vikes at Commanders....

[LeadCommander]

It's time to talk about it..Kirk comes back to DC I was really upset we let him walk he was the best QB we had in a long time,..But now i need my dline to assault him legally .This is a must win for my team we need it more then your vikes and I believe it will show Sunday afternoon..HOW do you Viking fan's feel about this game and be NICE?

[Frozen Rope]

It's time to talk about it..Kirk comes back to DC I was really upset we let him walk he was the best QB we had in a long time,..But now i need my dline to assault him legally .This is a must win for my team we need it more then your vikes and I believe it will show Sunday afternoon..HOW do you Viking fan's feel about this game and be NICE?

I’ll be nice. Did you guys settle on aa name yet? Last I heard, you guys were debating between the commies or the commodes. I personally like the commodes because it exemplifies who Snyder is. I check in once in awhile to Extreme Skins. You guys are hilarious…,.., some of your posters should be on stage. I’ve been to Fed Ex field several times to watch Kirk play when he was there.
Trent Williams was the best left tackle I’ve ever seen. Running game was not very good and some leaks in that O line. But man, watching Deshaun Jackson go deep was a treat, Pierre Garçon, with the great hands over the middle knowing he was going to get lit up, and finally a Jordan Red was unstoppable in the red zone with that crossover basketball move he developed playing basketball in high school. They didn’t have enough talent to compete, but they had some electric players. Kirk had a lot of friends there. And he had great respect for Kyle Shanahan. They are good friends yet today.
Other good memories we’re looking for the yellow jeep and meeting some of the posters at the tailgate party. Lots of great memories.
The a villain behind the scenes was a Bruce Allen. He thought he was so smart and always tried to get players on the cheap. Created a lot of hard feelings. Trent Williams and Kirk were prime casualties of that toxic culture.
And then there’s Snyder. I remember that thread on Bruce Allen was so nasty I think there were 1100 posts, if I remember right.
One thing we have here in Minnesota is a new
GM and a whole new coaching staff. KOC has brought a whole new culture which the players have bought into. I don’t ever remember seeing a culture this good in all my years of watching football. Where we’ll wind up, who knows, but it’s fun watching the Vikings. I think we’ll win but it’s going to be close. Glad you checked in. Fat Stupid Loser checks in once in awhile. Wish you a lotta luck except this game. It’s going to be interesting to see the kind of reception Kirk gets Sunday

[Maelstrom88]

Commanders is an awful name. If that's the best they could come up with they should have just left it as WFT. Also the W logo is horrible. You guys are down there with the Browns, Bears, and Packers at the bottom of the barrel.

[LeadCommander]

LOL...no football on the field talk huh?

[Maelstrom88]

LOL...no football on the field talk huh?

I mean it's hard to get past the logo but as far as on the field talk you're the worst team in the division. You should want to lose this game so you can ditch Rivera and secure a pick high enough to draft an actual QB. I could see you guys winning if your defense balls out and Heineken runs around on our soft zone. I like Terry your wide out. Wanted the Vikings to take him in that draft . Also, it's embarrassing that you had McDaniel, McVay, Shanahan, and O' Connell and you ended up with a dinosaur head coach. I want to see all of the emails released from your owner because Gruden wasn't the only one with skeletons in his closet.

[VikingsVictorious]

LOL...no football on the field talk huh?

First of all let me say I love LouieTee and if you don't know him shame on you as a commanders fan. 2nd of all the Commanders is a horrible name. I posted elsewhere that Washington Football Team was a better name. As for what to expect the Commanders are an OK team the Vikings are better. It's played at your place so the game could go either way. I predict a Vikings victory.

[LeadCommander]

LOL...no football on the field talk huh?

I mean it's hard to get past the logo but as far as on the field talk you're the worst team in the division. You should want to lose this game so you can ditch Rivera and secure a pick high enough to draft an actual QB. I could see you guys winning if your defense balls out and Heineken runs around on our soft zone. I like Terry your wide out. Wanted the Vikings to take him in that draft . Also, it's embarrassing that you had McDaniel, McVay, Shanahan, and O' Connell and you ended up with a dinosaur head coach. I want to see all of the emails released from your owner because Gruden wasn't the only one with skeletons in his closet.

Well Well alittle football talk and i agree with you that my commanders can get a win on sunday based on the reasons you stated plus we need the win more...No need to bring up off the field stuff cause I can't speak to any of it but i can debate with you guys about what you and me see on the field of the play...LET'S TALK FOOTBALL..

[LeadCommander]

LOL...no football on the field talk huh?

First of all let me say I love LouieTee and if you don't know him shame on you as a commanders fan. 2nd of all the Commanders is a horrible name. I posted elsewhere that Washington Football Team was a better name. As for what to expect the Commanders are an OK team the Vikings are better. It's played at your place so the game could go either way. I predict a Vikings victory.

well i do know louie tee and many other commanders content creators i listen to regularly and i agree as of now your vikes are the better team but that's why we play the games...

[J. Kapp 11]

OK, I’ll talk football.

We’ll win this game, I believe, for one simple reason: Your team struggles to score. That’s the bottom line. Only 17 ppg. The Vikings, other than one outlier game, have put points on the board with regularity. Not KC juggernaut, but about 28 PPG outside of Philly.

Defensively, we’re not the 85 Bears, but we’re top 6 in scoring defense. We are also 6th in the league in rush defense, while Washington is 25th in the league in YPA. You will struggle to run the ball, meaning you’ll have to pass to score. While the yards say our pass defense isn’t very good, yardage doesn’t tell the whole story. In every single one of our wins, we’ve broken out to an early lead, forcing the other team to throw a lot. Our defensive red zone percentage looks bad … problem is we don’t let teams into the red zone very often. Our defense is opportunistic, forcing a lot of turnovers. In addition, this defense is ascending, getting more and more comfortable in Ed Donatello’s scheme. The last two games especially, our pressure rate has been through the roof. Guys like Za’Daruis Smith and Danielle Hunter line up all over the place, inside or outside, and Donatell is getting good at finding and taking advantage of weakness along the opponent’s O-line. Taylor Heineke will have his hands full.

Offensively, everybody is talking like Dalvin Cook is over the hill. Truth is, he’s averaging 5 YPA and is on pace for nearly 1,400 yards. He’s also broken big runs each of the past two weeks. Alexander Mattison backs him up, and he would start for half the teams in the NFL. But the real story of the Minnesota offense is Justin Jefferson. Despite every team the Vikings play loading up to stop him, he still averages 107 YPG. He runs the best routes in the league, he wins contested catches, and he moves the chains. If you make the mistake of single covering him, he’ll burn you deep. He’s had big games against Jaime Alexander, Marshawn Lattimore and other top corners. He’s among the best 2 or 3 WRs in the league (we think he’s the best), but he’s not alone. Adam Thielen is as sure handed as they come, with zero drops in 50 targets. KJ Osborn is one of the best WR3s you’ll see, and very tough to bring down after the catch. You’re lucky TJ Hockenson will only have a week with his new team, but the good news for us is that we really haven’t gotten much out of the tight end position anyway.

Kirk Cousins is having the worst statistical year of his career — and in the eyes of many, he’s playing his best football. Three fourth-quarter comebacks without a fail. He’s calmer, more in control. His coach designs the offense around his strengths, and believes in him, perhaps the first coach in Cousins’ career who does.

Speaking of the coach, Kevin O’Connell might just be our greatest asset.

First, KOC is a brilliant offensive mind. He’s great at building on plays he’s run in the past, letting you think he’s running something you saw on film, then pulling the rug out from under you. He’s a master at “the illusion of complexity,” using shifts and motion and jet action to lure the wandering eyes of defenses and causing confusion. And he’s particularly creative in the red zone. After a slow start, the Vikings have scored TDs on 10 of their last 11 trips and now rank 3rd in the NFL.

O’Connell’s biggest asset, though, is his ability to build a cohesive team that plays for each other, not stats or accolades. This is the most cohesive Vikings team most of us have seen in years. You don’t see guys fighting on the sideline or whining about touches or any of that garbage. They’re well prepared, they know the why behind the game plan, they trust their coaches, and they trust each other. You say your team is somehow more motivated? I’m here to tell you respectfully — that’s impossible.

The biggest questions for most of us are simple: Why haven’t they won by more? Why do they keep letting teams back into games? When are they going to play a complete 60-minute game? We’re all waiting for it to happen. If it happens this week, I’ll be honest … I believe your team has no shot. And if it doesn’t? Well, there’s still a good chance the media will be asking if the 7-1 Vikings are for real. Because we’ve built a resume of winning games in every conceivable way.

Vegas has the Vikings as 3.5 point favorites. If the Vikes break out, that number is low.

[CharVike]

LOL...no football on the field talk huh?

I mean it's hard to get past the logo but as far as on the field talk you're the worst team in the division. You should want to lose this game so you can ditch Rivera and secure a pick high enough to draft an actual QB. I could see you guys winning if your defense balls out and Heineken runs around on our soft zone. I like Terry your wide out. Wanted the Vikings to take him in that draft . Also, it's embarrassing that you had McDaniel, McVay, Shanahan, and O' Connell and you ended up with a dinosaur head coach. I want to see all of the emails released from your owner because Gruden wasn't the only one with skeletons in his closet.

He asked for it and you gave it to him. Winning this game gives them nothing. If I was coaching them I would start Howell at QB and see what he has. It also gives the fans a reason to go watch them. They have a hard time getting people to show up.
Washington, fourth in average attendance in 2011 and 20th in 2019, are the only team in the NFL selling fewer than 80% of their tickets (Washington home games average 62.6% capacity, the next lowest rate in the league is the Lions' 80.7%).Nov 17, 2021
This might be more of a home game for us than them. I like WFT better than Commanders. Just use Skins unless that's also offensive.

[LeadCommander]

OK, I’ll talk football.

We’ll win this game, I believe, for one simple reason: Your team struggles to score. That’s the bottom line. Only 17 ppg. The Vikings, other than one outlier game, have put points on the board with regularity. Not KC juggernaut, but about 28 PPG outside of Philly.

Defensively, we’re not the 85 Bears, but we’re top 6 in scoring defense. We are also 6th in the league in rush defense, while Washington is 25th in the league in YPA. You will struggle to run the ball, meaning you’ll have to pass to score. While the yards say our pass defense isn’t very good, yardage doesn’t tell the whole story. In every single one of our wins, we’ve broken out to an early lead, forcing the other team to throw a lot. Our defensive red zone percentage looks bad … problem is we don’t let teams into the red zone very often. Our defense is opportunistic, forcing a lot of turnovers. In addition, this defense is ascending, getting more and more comfortable in Ed Donatello’s scheme. The last two games especially, our pressure rate has been through the roof. Guys like Za’Daruis Smith and Danielle Hunter line up all over the place, inside or outside, and Donatell is getting good at finding and taking advantage of weakness along the opponent’s O-line. Taylor Heineke will have his hands full.

Offensively, everybody is talking like Dalvin Cook is over the hill. Truth is, he’s averaging 5 YPA and is on pace for nearly 1,400 yards. He’s also broken big runs each of the past two weeks. Alexander Mattison backs him up, and he would start for half the teams in the NFL. But the real story of the Minnesota offense is Justin Jefferson. Despite every team the Vikings play loading up to stop him, he still averages 107 YPG. He runs the best routes in the league, he wins contested catches, and he moves the chains. If you make the mistake of single covering him, he’ll burn you deep. He’s had big games against Jaime Alexander, Marshawn Lattimore and other top corners. He’s among the best 2 or 3 WRs in the league (we think he’s the best), but he’s not alone. Adam Thielen is as sure handed as they come, with zero drops in 50 targets. KJ Osborn is one of the best WR3s you’ll see, and very tough to bring down after the catch. You’re lucky TJ Hockenson will only have a week with his new team, but the good news for us is that we really haven’t gotten much out of the tight end position anyway.

Kirk Cousins is having the worst statistical year of his career — and in the eyes of many, he’s playing his best football. Three fourth-quarter comebacks without a fail. He’s calmer, more in control. His coach designs the offense around his strengths, and believes in him, perhaps the first coach in Cousins’ career who does.

Speaking of the coach, Kevin O’Connell might just be our greatest asset.

First, KOC is a brilliant offensive mind. He’s great at building on plays he’s run in the past, letting you think he’s running something you saw on film, then pulling the rug out from under you. He’s a master at “the illusion of complexity,” using shifts and motion and jet action to lure the wandering eyes of defenses and causing confusion. And he’s particularly creative in the red zone. After a slow start, the Vikings have scored TDs on 10 of their last 11 trips and now rank 3rd in the NFL.

O’Connell’s biggest asset, though, is his ability to build a cohesive team that plays for each other, not stats or accolades. This is the most cohesive Vikings team most of us have seen in years. You don’t see guys fighting on the sideline or whining about touches or any of that garbage. They’re well prepared, they know the why behind the game plan, they trust their coaches, and they trust each other. You say your team is somehow more motivated? I’m here to tell you respectfully — that’s impossible.

The biggest questions for most of us are simple: Why haven’t they won by more? Why do they keep letting teams back into games? When are they going to play a complete 60-minute game? We’re all waiting for it to happen. If it happens this week, I’ll be honest … I believe your team has no shot. And if it doesn’t? Well, there’s still a good chance the media will be asking if the 7-1 Vikings are for real. Because we’ve built a resume of winning games in every conceivable way.

Vegas has the Vikings as 3.5 point favorites. If the Vikes break out, that number is low.

HELLUVA breakdown!!! Is this coach O'Connell? BUT check this there is a reason VEGAS has the line at 3.5 in favor of your Vikes they no something as they always do..Vegas smell's a upset VIKES beware...

[J. Kapp 11]

OK, I’ll talk football.

We’ll win this game, I believe, for one simple reason: Your team struggles to score. That’s the bottom line. Only 17 ppg. The Vikings, other than one outlier game, have put points on the board with regularity. Not KC juggernaut, but about 28 PPG outside of Philly.

Defensively, we’re not the 85 Bears, but we’re top 6 in scoring defense. We are also 6th in the league in rush defense, while Washington is 25th in the league in YPA. You will struggle to run the ball, meaning you’ll have to pass to score. While the yards say our pass defense isn’t very good, yardage doesn’t tell the whole story. In every single one of our wins, we’ve broken out to an early lead, forcing the other team to throw a lot. Our defensive red zone percentage looks bad … problem is we don’t let teams into the red zone very often. Our defense is opportunistic, forcing a lot of turnovers. In addition, this defense is ascending, getting more and more comfortable in Ed Donatello’s scheme. The last two games especially, our pressure rate has been through the roof. Guys like Za’Daruis Smith and Danielle Hunter line up all over the place, inside or outside, and Donatell is getting good at finding and taking advantage of weakness along the opponent’s O-line. Taylor Heineke will have his hands full.

Offensively, everybody is talking like Dalvin Cook is over the hill. Truth is, he’s averaging 5 YPA and is on pace for nearly 1,400 yards. He’s also broken big runs each of the past two weeks. Alexander Mattison backs him up, and he would start for half the teams in the NFL. But the real story of the Minnesota offense is Justin Jefferson. Despite every team the Vikings play loading up to stop him, he still averages 107 YPG. He runs the best routes in the league, he wins contested catches, and he moves the chains. If you make the mistake of single covering him, he’ll burn you deep. He’s had big games against Jaime Alexander, Marshawn Lattimore and other top corners. He’s among the best 2 or 3 WRs in the league (we think he’s the best), but he’s not alone. Adam Thielen is as sure handed as they come, with zero drops in 50 targets. KJ Osborn is one of the best WR3s you’ll see, and very tough to bring down after the catch. You’re lucky TJ Hockenson will only have a week with his new team, but the good news for us is that we really haven’t gotten much out of the tight end position anyway.

Kirk Cousins is having the worst statistical year of his career — and in the eyes of many, he’s playing his best football. Three fourth-quarter comebacks without a fail. He’s calmer, more in control. His coach designs the offense around his strengths, and believes in him, perhaps the first coach in Cousins’ career who does.

Speaking of the coach, Kevin O’Connell might just be our greatest asset.

First, KOC is a brilliant offensive mind. He’s great at building on plays he’s run in the past, letting you think he’s running something you saw on film, then pulling the rug out from under you. He’s a master at “the illusion of complexity,” using shifts and motion and jet action to lure the wandering eyes of defenses and causing confusion. And he’s particularly creative in the red zone. After a slow start, the Vikings have scored TDs on 10 of their last 11 trips and now rank 3rd in the NFL.

O’Connell’s biggest asset, though, is his ability to build a cohesive team that plays for each other, not stats or accolades. This is the most cohesive Vikings team most of us have seen in years. You don’t see guys fighting on the sideline or whining about touches or any of that garbage. They’re well prepared, they know the why behind the game plan, they trust their coaches, and they trust each other. You say your team is somehow more motivated? I’m here to tell you respectfully — that’s impossible.

The biggest questions for most of us are simple: Why haven’t they won by more? Why do they keep letting teams back into games? When are they going to play a complete 60-minute game? We’re all waiting for it to happen. If it happens this week, I’ll be honest … I believe your team has no shot. And if it doesn’t? Well, there’s still a good chance the media will be asking if the 7-1 Vikings are for real. Because we’ve built a resume of winning games in every conceivable way.

Vegas has the Vikings as 3.5 point favorites. If the Vikes break out, that number is low.

HELLUVA breakdown!!! Is this coach O'Connell? BUT check this there is a reason VEGAS has the line at 3.5 in favor of your Vikes they no something as they always do..Vegas smell's a upset VIKES beware...

The Vikings were underdogs to Philly and lost. They’ve been favored every other game and won.

So yes, Vegas knows something.

[VikingsVictorious]

First of all let me say I love LouieTee and if you don't know him shame on you as a commanders fan. 2nd of all the Commanders is a horrible name. I posted elsewhere that Washington Football Team was a better name. As for what to expect the Commanders are an OK team the Vikings are better. It's played at your place so the game could go either way. I predict a Vikings victory.

well i do know louie tee and many other commanders content creators i listen to regularly and i agree as of now your vikes are the better team but that's why we play the games...

I'm glad you you do know Louie Tee so you don't have to be ashamed. Why not acknowledge what a horrible name the team has. Get it out of the way. To show how I'm not just being a hater on an out of town team I also hate the name Minnesota Wild. Horrible name.

[VikingLord]

Kapp did a fantastic job of breaking things down, but I'll give another reason why I think the Vikings are going to win, and that reason actually relates to an earlier post by Kapp to me on a different thread after a different game. I was complaining about the low 3rd down conversion rate by the Vikings offense and their struggles on defense. Kapp responded to my post not by telling me I was wrong per se, but instead directed me to a video review session that KOC does with former Viking Pete Bercich over on Vikings.com for some perspective. I remember watching that review and a comment that KOC made that was something to the effect of it is going to take time for the offense to be able to quickly make adjustments on-the-fly in games even if they know what they want to do because it's a new system. He said, in essence, give it time and that process will smooth out a bit.

Sure enough, it seems to be smoothing out. The Vikings were much better on 3rd downs against the Cardinals. One game doesn't establish a trend, but that was an important game coming out of a bye against a defense that did everything previous defenses were trying to do to fluster Cousins and limit the Vikings running game. In addition, when the Vikings offense has gotten into the red zone in recent weeks, they're scoring TDs. I thought I saw a stat where they've scored TDs on their last 12 of 13 trips inside the red zone. And it's not hard to understand why that is if you watch their playcalling and execution in those situations. I can't follow where the ball is. There is tons of movement pre-snap and tons of options post-snap. It is hard to defend. Not impossible, but the combination of playcalling and execution by the offense is producing. We'll see if the Commanders have better luck defending in those situations.

Ultimately, I think this game will come down to whether the Commanders can alter the trajectory of the Vikings offense. I think the Vikings defense is also improving and I don't see them as the weakness I saw them as earlier in the season either. They can get pressure, can get stops when they need them and create turnovers. They are still a little sloppy at times and give up big plays and I won't be surprised to see that continue against the Commanders, but I also think they're getting closer to eliminating those types of plays and putting together a more complete game.

As far as what I know about the Commanders, I think they are probably benefiting from the QB change right now. Sometimes that sparks a team because the new QB changes things enough that defensive coordinators struggle to contain him. I also have a lot of respect for the Commander defense and the game is in Washington, which favors the home team. So I expect a hard fought contest, but ultimately, I think the Vikings come out on top.

May the best team win a clean, injury-free game.

[J. Kapp 11]

Kapp did a fantastic job of breaking things down, but I'll give another reason why I think the Vikings are going to win, and that reason actually relates to an earlier post by Kapp to me on a different thread after a different game. I was complaining about the low 3rd down conversion rate by the Vikings offense and their struggles on defense. Kapp responded to my post not by telling me I was wrong per se, but instead directed me to a video review session that KOC does with former Viking Pete Bercich over on Vikings.com for some perspective. I remember watching that review and a comment that KOC made that was something to the effect of it is going to take time for the offense to be able to quickly make adjustments on-the-fly in games even if they know what they want to do because it's a new system. He said, in essence, give it time and that process will smooth out a bit.

Sure enough, it seems to be smoothing out. The Vikings were much better on 3rd downs against the Cardinals. One game doesn't establish a trend, but that was an important game coming out of a bye against a defense that did everything previous defenses were trying to do to fluster Cousins and limit the Vikings running game. In addition, when the Vikings offense has gotten into the red zone in recent weeks, they're scoring TDs. I thought I saw a stat where they've scored TDs on their last 12 of 13 trips inside the red zone. And it's not hard to understand why that is if you watch their playcalling and execution in those situations. I can't follow where the ball is. There is tons of movement pre-snap and tons of options post-snap. It is hard to defend. Not impossible, but the combination of playcalling and execution by the offense is producing. We'll see if the Commanders have better luck defending in those situations.

Ultimately, I think this game will come down to whether the Commanders can alter the trajectory of the Vikings offense. I think the Vikings defense is also improving and I don't see them as the weakness I saw them as earlier in the season either. They can get pressure, can get stops when they need them and create turnovers. They are still a little sloppy at times and give up big plays and I won't be surprised to see that continue against the Commanders, but I also think they're getting closer to eliminating those types of plays and putting together a more complete game.

As far as what I know about the Commanders, I think they are probably benefiting from the QB change right now. Sometimes that sparks a team because the new QB changes things enough that defensive coordinators struggle to contain him. I also have a lot of respect for the Commander defense and the game is in Washington, which favors the home team. So I expect a hard fought contest, but ultimately, I think the Vikings come out on top.

May the best team win a clean, injury-free game.

Great rundown here, as well. Not much to add.

Bottom line, Washington's offense is anemic. No other way to put it. Like I said, the Vikings aren't the 85 Bears on defense, but they're 6th in scoring defense. If the Commanders can't score at least 24 points (and the number realistically is more like 28-30) then they are very likely to lose.