ReFo: Vikings @ Rams, Week 1

[PurpleKoolaid]

Jay Busbee on shutdown corner

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutd ... 15768.html
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutd ... 15768.html F him

Wonder if he's a betting man...

[J. Kapp 11]

That and a slew of new starters on defense.

But not a slew of new players.

Griffen, Robinson and Blanton were on the team last year. Gerald Hodges was the nickel linebacker yesterday and played well. Jasper Brinkley was on the team the year before. The only "new" starters are Joseph and Barr. Kind of amazing how a guy like Josh Robinson can actually STAR in a game when he had trouble covering anybody last year.

Not sure if you've watched the game yet, but if not, you need to. This defense doesn't even remotely resemble last year's, even though the majority of players were on last year's roster.

[Mothman]

But not a slew of new players.

Griffen, Robinson and Blanton were on the team last year. Gerald Hodges was the nickel linebacker yesterday and played well. Jasper Brinkley was on the team the year before. The only "new" starters are Joseph and Barr.

... and Munnerlyn, who addresses perhaps the biggest weakness on the defense last year. By the way, when Brinkley was on the team in 2012, the defense was pretty effective. He wasn't on the team last year so he IS a new starter and maybe he'll turn out to be a player who makes more of a difference than he was previously credited with making.

Kind of amazing how a guy like Josh Robinson can actually STAR in a game when he had trouble covering anybody last year.

He's back to playing in a more familiar, natural position for him and personally, by the time he went down with an injury last year, I thought he was actually playing pretty good football. He certainly showed signs of progress and I'm glad to see that continuing. His current coaches should only help with that.

Not sure if you've watched the game yet, but if not, you need to. This defense doesn't even remotely resemble last year's, even though the majority of players were on last year's roster.

I've only seen part of it but I would expect a defense being run and called by Mike Zimmer to look much different from an Alan Williams defense. I expect it to be better, especially because 3 of the new starters represent major talent acquisitions and address three of the defense's more serious shortcomings. I think last year's defense would probably have looked better with Jospeh, Munnerlyn and Barr on the roster.

I'm not discounting the contribution of the coaching staff but one game is a very small sample size. The Rams had a weak offense in 2013 and they have serious issues at QB. When the team's third stringer comes in to play in his first meaningful NFL game, the defense had better shine!

The Vikes beat the Rams 34-6. yesterday. The last time they played them in St. Louis was in 2012 and they beat them 36-22. In that game, as in this one, the Vikings defense scored. Well into the second half, the score was similar too (33-7). The Rams had Bradford for that game but even with him, most of their points came in the 4th quarter, after the Vikes had built a huge lead. It's nice that they maintained it this time but there are some pretty obvious similarities between how the two games went which is another reason I'm a little reluctant to start declaring a huge difference in results based on coaching alone. I think we need more than one game to get a feel for this team and this staff and to see just how much of a difference there will really be in terms of results. I'm hoping the difference will be significant. I like this staff so far and I want the Vikes to WIN.

[mondry]

Where's the beef? Did anyone else notice the lack of deep shots? I thought that Norv was going to open it up? I thought they needed to loosen up the opposing defense to let AD get something going. Might have been the game plan to offset the very good D-line and it turns out that we really didn't need it. Norv keeping some of the offense under wraps for the Pats?

Yeah basically the last thing you want to do against a very potent pass rush is dial up the deep passes that force your QB to hold onto the ball longer to let the routes develop.

[Funkytown]

I've only seen part of it...

Doesn't it suck to watch the games way later, especially after knowing the results? I don't think I could do that.

ESPN: "The Vikings lost today. They lost big. It was ugly out there."

Moth 3 days later: "Ooooh, I can't wait to watch this game."

How do you do it?!? Especially in recent years. Yikes.

[Mothman]

Doesn't it suck to watch the games way later, especially after knowing the results?

yes, but I don't have DirectTV and I can't afford to go to a bar and spend $30 every week.

ESPN: "The Vikings lost today. They lost big. It was ugly out there."

Moth 3 days later: "Ooooh, I can't wait to watch this game."

How do you do it?!? Especially in recent years. Yikes.

It wasn't easy last year but I do live in an NFC North city so I usually get quite a few Vikings games on local TV here.

If the NFL offered an affordable way other than Direct TV for me to get the games live, I'd be more than happy to pay for them!

[J. Kapp 11]

You're right. Forgot Munnerlyn. My bad.

Still, there is no comparison in my mind between this defense and last year's, or even the defense of 2012. This team plays fast and aggressive, and they rally to the ball. Moreover, they CHALLENGE the ball when it's thrown. They don't sit back and allow the catch. Zimmer has his DBs playing at a very high level, and he trusts them to play a lot of press coverage. I know you think highly of Leslie Frazier, but we just didn't see that when he was in charge.

Here's a definite positive -- Everson Griffen is poised to be a star in this league. I was incredibly impressed with him yesterday. For the most part, he simply abused a good left tackle in Jake Long. He "only" had two sacks in the game, but he was causing problems all game long. And take a look at him on Smith's pick-six. He runs step-for-step with Harrison Smith and makes a key block near the end. This is one big, fast man.

Harrison Smith is also going to thrive in this defense. Its aggressiveness plays to Harrison's nature as a football player. Watch for him when you look at the replay. He looks better than ever! Josh Robinson also played exceptionally well when he came into the game for nickel situations. His interception near the end of the half was one of the more impressive plays I've seen out of a Vikings DB in quite a long time.

As you watch the game, don't look so much at results, or that the Rams QB situation isn't good. Look at how OUR defensive line -- not that Rams' vaunted line -- dominated this game against a pretty good Rams O-line. Watch how our DBs covered, and how everyone flew to the ball. It's pretty impressive, and gives us lots of reason for optimism.

[Funkytown]

I won't quote them all, but excellent posts in this thread, J. Kapp 11.

[Mothman]

You're right. Forgot Munnerlyn. My bad.

Still, there is no comparison in my mind between this defense and last year's, or even the defense of 2012. This team plays fast and aggressive, and they rally to the ball. Moreover, they CHALLENGE the ball when it's thrown. They don't sit back and allow the catch. Zimmer has his DBs playing at a very high level, and he trusts them to play a lot of press coverage. I know you think highly of Leslie Frazier, but we just didn't see that when he was in charge.

Different philosophies, different looks but ultimately, I'm most concerned with results. I definitely prefer Zimmer's style and I'm hoping in the end, his teams will accomplish much, much more than Frazier's.

Here's a definite positive -- Everson Griffen is poised to be a star in this league. I was incredibly impressed with him yesterday. For the most part, he simply abused a good left tackle in Jake Long. He "only" had two sacks in the game, but he was causing problems all game long. And take a look at him on Smith's pick-six. He runs step-for-step with Harrison Smith and makes a key block near the end. This is one big, fast man.

Harrison Smith is also going to thrive in this defense. Its aggressiveness plays to Harrison's nature as a football player. Watch for him when you look at the replay. He looks better than ever! Josh Robinson also played exceptionally well when he came into the game for nickel situations. His interception near the end of the half was one of the more impressive plays I've seen out of a Vikings DB in quite a long time.

I was able to see that play and it was a beauty.

I agree with you about Smith and we know Griffen has star potential so I hope you're right. I'd would love to see him become a superstar at DE for the Vikes.

As you watch the game, don't look so much at results, or that the Rams QB situation isn't good. Look at how OUR defensive line -- not that Rams' vaunted line -- dominated this game against a pretty good Rams O-line. Watch how our DBs covered, and how everyone flew to the ball. It's pretty impressive, and gives us lots of reason for optimism.

Will do! Thanks for the tips.

See, Ms. Funk? There are some advantages to watching a game late.

[Funkytown]

See, Ms. Funk? There are some advantages to watching a game late.

Or you can watch live and the replay. It seems that some posters here do that. It comes off that way to me, anyway.

Maybe you could start a little Vikings fund. See, throughout the year, save money here or there. When football season comes along, you'll have a little extra cash to go to BWWs to watch the games when needed.

...just an idea. lol.

[PurpleMustReign]

Or you can watch live and the replay. It seems that some posters here do that. It comes off that way to me, anyway.

Maybe you could start a little Vikings fund. See, throughout the year, save money here or there. When football season comes along, you'll have a little extra cash to go to BWWs to watch the games when needed.

...just an idea. lol.

Too bad Jim is so far away... we could have a VMB party at BWWs!! But, as usual, Jim ruins it...

[purplereign1]

I thought the secondary as a whole was outstanding yesterday. With the exception of tight end Jared Cook, nobody consistently got separation. Obviously this wasn't an elite receiving corps, but the fact remains that we blanketed them with essentially the same personnel as last year.

Speaking of that, can we finally put to rest this idea that great coaching doesn't make that big a difference in the NFL? Yes, the players need to execute, but these guys are playing at a different level, and the only real difference is coaching.

A different scheme and d line pressure also make a huge difference which my be what you mean when you say coaching.

[purplereign1]

Revis didn't look that great against Mike Wallace yesterday. He allowed a TD. Maybe Revis island will return, but how much of his reputation is based on his past and how much of it is based on his current play? The guy has been injured quite a bit the past few years. Maybe the Jets let him go for a reason?

Yeah, his huge contract and I believe a first round pick.

[purplereign1]

But not a slew of new players.

Griffen, Robinson and Blanton were on the team last year. Gerald Hodges was the nickel linebacker yesterday and played well. Jasper Brinkley was on the team the year before. The only "new" starters are Joseph and Barr. Kind of amazing how a guy like Josh Robinson can actually STAR in a game when he had trouble covering anybody last year.

Not sure if you've watched the game yet, but if not, you need to. This defense doesn't even remotely resemble last year's, even though the majority of players were on last year's roster.

Don't forget about the Captain.

[John_Viveiros]

Or you can watch live and the replay. It seems that some posters here do that. It comes off that way to me, anyway.

Guilty as charged. I am out of the country, so I get the NFL game pass. I can watch the games any time (any game back to 2009) - I was late by 15 minutes for this game, but I just started it up from the beginning rather than live, skipped the commercial breaks, and caught up in the 2nd quarter. And a day or two later I watch the games again. The Lions game is pretty boring - may fire up the Vikes game now...

Often times, just the condensed version (only the action of the plays - about 30 minutes long) unless there is a lot of commentary I'd like to hear. Imagine AD's 296 yard game. You really want to hear them gush about Adrian for the full 3 hours.