Vikings Message Board.Com

It will be interesting to see if Audie Cole gets any playing time this weekend. I read that he should be on the active roster for this game.

S197 wrote: I'm sorry but this is a load of crap. Maybe if we were talking about Brandon Marshall or Calvin Johnson, or heck even Justin Blackmon. Our defense was beat in those critical situations by guys like Cecil Shorts and Donnie Avery, 5'11 - 6'0 200lb receivers.

They were beat by Reggie Wayne too and I think it's legit to consider him a matchup problem. Avery's not a physical matchup problem in terms of size but he is very fast and that can pose problems too. It probably also depends on who is matched up on who...

Execution is probably the bigger problem.

Mothman wrote: They were beat by Reggie Wayne too and I think it's legit to consider him a matchup problem. Avery's not a physical matchup problem in terms of size but he is very fast and that can pose problems too. It probably also depends on who is matched up on who...

Execution is probably the bigger problem.

I definitely wouldn't take anything away from Wayne, he's been one of the best for a long long time. I just don't see guys like Shorts and Avery as physically dominant. I'm not saying these types of receivers cannot be successful, obviously we need to look no further than Percy Harvin (or Steve Smith, Welker, etc.), but to me the author comes off as if our corners are getting bullied around by bigger Calvin Johnsonesque receivers and there's not much coaching or scheming that can be done to remedy the problem.

As I mentioned and you seem to agree, it's more about execution, not being physically overmatched.

S197 wrote:I definitely wouldn't take anything away from Wayne, he's been one of the best for a long long time. I just don't see guys like Shorts and Avery as physically dominant. I'm not saying these types of receivers cannot be successful, obviously we need to look no further than Percy Harvin (or Steve Smith, Welker, etc.), but to me the author comes off as if our corners are getting bullied around by bigger Calvin Johnsonesque receivers and there's not much coaching or scheming that can be done to remedy the problem.

It sounds like we simply interpreted the comment differently. I took "physically overmatched" to mean they were losing certain battles for physical reasons rather than mental reasons, which could mean they were out-matched by speed, size, agility... basically any physical quality (or combination of qualities). As you said, smaller receivers like Harvin and Welker can be successful and Harvin is definitely an example of a receiver who doesn't have the size to bully defenders but is a mismatch for many of them.

As I mentioned and you seem to agree, it's more about execution, not being physically overmatched.

We definitely agree on that but I do think quickness and speed can create mismatches just like the size, weight and leaping ability of someone like Calvin johnson. After all, if a defender can't keep up with a receiver, he's in just as much trouble as he would be if he was giving up 5 or 6 inches and 15-20 lbs to a receiver.

I also still don't understand why the Vikings were in zone late against the Colts. You are playing a rookie QB. Luck is probably not your average rookie QB, but he's still a rookie, and rookie QB's tend to make mistakes in pressure situations. They take bad sacks, for example, as Luck did.

If there was ever a situation for playing more man and press coverage to throw off routes and timing, late against the Colts was it. And yet there the Vikings were at the end in their soft zone and Luck picked it apart like he's been in the league 10 years.

As I said in another post, a failure of imagination on the part of the coaches, and a failure to understand situational football. You know they need yards, and you know they need them in a hurry and a lot of them. You lock up on their receivers, try to get a solid jam, and provide safety support over the top. You certainly don't find yourself in a situation where the ball is completed to a wide open receiver past 20 yards where there isn't a single defender in the picture, even if the QB did manage to buy time by rolling away from pressure.

I think Cook was the defender nearest the Colt receiver on that first completion on the Colts' last drive. He was also the guy covering the Jags receiver late when the Jags scored the go-ahead TD. Cook may be big and fast, but he stinks as a cover corner. Zero ball instincts from what I can see. Maybe if he can face the QB he's better, but then put him at safety where he has a chance to do that. Corners have to have better instincts than Cook appears to have, and no amount of coaching is going to fix that.