Week 1 Win!: Falcons Post-Game Discussion

[ERIK the PURPLE]

Watching the game from my couch in Indiana, I have to agree with the earlier post about the team being ready to play. Atmosphere was electric from the start.
I never noticed the lack of passing until it was pointed out later in the broadcast because the offense seemed so efficient. Reminded me of Bob Griese in the early 70’s when he would go 8/9 or 11/13 and they beat you with Csonka and Morris.
The offsides penalties were perplexing and why is it we ALWAYS have those hands to the face penalties?
Hopefully, we bring the same intensity next week. No such thing as a letdown when we’re facing the Pack.

[dead_poet]

Great game, obviously. As others have pointed out, the team had more energy than at any time last year. I attribute that to two things: 1) the crowd and 2) Everson Griffen.

Dalvin + Kubiak = Magic. Also, Mattison is good, guys.

Harris = stud. We probably have the best safety duo in the league.

Irv had a few nice blocks.

Kline was ok but Bradbury and especially Elflein were pretty bad. I continue to have significant worry about the interior offensive line. Especially against the Bears and now Packers(?) On days Kirk has to throw it more than 10(!) times (most games) this will be the main difference maker. I really have no confidence in the interior in pass protection. It's going to be the main issue in 2019 and the biggest hurdle to overcome.

Corner depth just got very, very real with Mac out for awhile. Really wish Hill wasn't an idiot. Rhodes was good in this one but he really needs injected with Super Serum because if he goes down at this point we're f-ed.

Could our special teams be fixed? And...ok? That can't be right.

Bring on the Packers. I can't wait for Hunter/Griffen to put Rodgers on his ####. Maybe Joseph, too. And Barr. F Aaron Rodgers.

I asked this in the chat but the jet motion with AT was interesting. I wonder if that will be a staple going forward.

[Pondering Her Percy]

Anthony Harris is exactly what we've needed on defense since Zimmer got here. Hitman is a top safety and Rhodes is a top corner, but neither are really ball hawks. Harris seems to make turnovers happen - I think back to his first significant game time against the Rams in 2017 and he forced a crucial fumble right when the Rams were about to score. The dude knows how to get turnovers. Now we've got a stifling defense and a dude who can create turnovers. I love it.

Yeah I remember being excited when we signed Harris as an UDFA. I'm pretty sure he had like 8 INTs his junior year at Virginia and was known as a ball hawk. But yeah you make a very good point TSonn. Definitely great to see

[Svt40]

My only complaint is the same as it has been for years. Zim has no killer instinct. No urge to just put the other team out of their misery. He will happily go to prevent once we get a lead. It's bitten us in the butt against better teams. I just want to see the last 15 mins played to the same level as the first 15mins. Make a statement so to speak.

I also wish they showed more Vikings games down here in Texas!!

[Pondering Her Percy]

My only complaint is the same as it has been for years. Zim has no killer instinct. No urge to just put the other team out of their misery. He will happily go to prevent once we get a lead. It's bitten us in the butt against better teams. I just want to see the last 15 mins played to the same level as the first 15mins. Make a statement so to speak.

I also wish they showed more Vikings games down here in Texas!!

I hear ya there. Granted, by continuing the run the ball up by 20+ is just continuing to run the clock but that Falcon team was beat from the start. He started to go into prevent D too and it's what eventually led to them scoring a couple. If he stayed aggressive enough I think we near shut them out yesterday. But at the same time, the guy knows a lot more than we do so who knows. Let them nickel and dime down the field, let the clock run, when we get the ball we will run and kill clock, game is over, etc.

[Pondering Her Percy]

So is anyone else a little worried about the constant "under-center" snaps we're taking?? Or is it just me. I havent heard many opinions on that yet.

I just get worried that in passing situations, we're still going under center, and it's taking some time for Kirk to get to a 5-7 step drop (as it would any QB), and our OL cant hold up as long. I would feel much more comfortable in shotgun there. And I'd like to see them run out of shotgun a little more too so it doesnt seem so predictable.

[VikingLord]

My only complaint is the same as it has been for years. Zim has no killer instinct. No urge to just put the other team out of their misery. He will happily go to prevent once we get a lead. It's bitten us in the butt against better teams. I just want to see the last 15 mins played to the same level as the first 15mins. Make a statement so to speak.

I also wish they showed more Vikings games down here in Texas!!

I hear ya there. Granted, by continuing the run the ball up by 20+ is just continuing to run the clock but that Falcon team was beat from the start. He started to go into prevent D too and it's what eventually led to them scoring a couple. If he stayed aggressive enough I think we near shut them out yesterday. But at the same time, the guy knows a lot more than we do so who knows. Let them nickel and dime down the field, let the clock run, when we get the ball we will run and kill clock, game is over, etc.

I don't know - first Falcons score was on a 4th-and-5 pass that Waynes had excellent coverage on. When the ball was on its way down I thought Waynes was going to pick it. Not sure what happened there, but Ryan had no business throwing that, much less getting a TD on it. He got lucky, and then the Vikes snuffed the 2 point conversion attempt.

Second Falcons TD was set up by a bogus PI call against Waynes IMHO. Again, tight coverage. The WR was not open and Ryan had no business throwing it. Waynes broke it up but got flagged, giving the Falcons 1st-and-goal. And again, Vikes snuffed the 2 point conversion.

So yeah, the defense softened a bit, although I thought the pass rush and rush defense stayed solid overall, and Ryan found a few gifts in the passing game, but overall I never felt like the Falcons could seriously threaten. And anytime a team goes into the 4th quarter at home up 28-0, odds are pretty good they don't need to keep the pedal to the metal to win that game, so I don't have a big problem with the Falcons getting a few meaningless scores late.

The defense overall played well. Pass rush looked good, run defense looked good, coverage looked good overall with a few notable lapses, tackling was solid. The guys looked hyped up and enthusiastic and like they were enjoying themselves and playing as a team. It was great to see. My main concern with the defense was the penalties. They were a bit too enthusiastic and got pulled offsides on 3rd down too often. Have to get that buttoned up and make the offense earn those 1st downs, but other than that, I loved what I saw for the most part. They look like a top defense again.

[Rhodes Closed]

So is anyone else a little worried about the constant "under-center" snaps we're taking?? Or is it just me. I havent heard many opinions on that yet.

I just get worried that in passing situations, we're still going under center, and it's taking some time for Kirk to get to a 5-7 step drop (as it would any QB), and our OL cant hold up as long. I would feel much more comfortable in shotgun there. And I'd like to see them run out of shotgun a little more too so it doesnt seem so predictable.

Kirk statically and consistently is better when Under Center and when the Play Action is in play. That's why you're seeing so little Shotgun formations lately. Furthermore, the Zone Blocking scheme is designed to force the defenders into an untenable position, allowing Cousins to step up in the pocket like you saw in the first passing play.

[Eliot]

Team looked very well rounded. Biggest complaint was the 3 false start 1st downs we allowed. Can't let that happen against a better team. Now its time for us to kick some Packer #### and it will reach 1,000 days since the packers last beat the vikings

[Pondering Her Percy]

I hear ya there. Granted, by continuing the run the ball up by 20+ is just continuing to run the clock but that Falcon team was beat from the start. He started to go into prevent D too and it's what eventually led to them scoring a couple. If he stayed aggressive enough I think we near shut them out yesterday. But at the same time, the guy knows a lot more than we do so who knows. Let them nickel and dime down the field, let the clock run, when we get the ball we will run and kill clock, game is over, etc.

I don't know - first Falcons score was on a 4th-and-5 pass that Waynes had excellent coverage on. When the ball was on its way down I thought Waynes was going to pick it. Not sure what happened there, but Ryan had no business throwing that, much less getting a TD on it. He got lucky, and then the Vikes snuffed the 2 point conversion attempt.

Second Falcons TD was set up by a bogus PI call against Waynes IMHO. Again, tight coverage. The WR was not open and Ryan had no business throwing it. Waynes broke it up but got flagged, giving the Falcons 1st-and-goal. And again, Vikes snuffed the 2 point conversion.

So yeah, the defense softened a bit, although I thought the pass rush and rush defense stayed solid overall, and Ryan found a few gifts in the passing game, but overall I never felt like the Falcons could seriously threaten. And anytime a team goes into the 4th quarter at home up 28-0, odds are pretty good they don't need to keep the pedal to the metal to win that game, so I don't have a big problem with the Falcons getting a few meaningless scores late.

The defense overall played well. Pass rush looked good, run defense looked good, coverage looked good overall with a few notable lapses, tackling was solid. The guys looked hyped up and enthusiastic and like they were enjoying themselves and playing as a team. It was great to see. My main concern with the defense was the penalties. They were a bit too enthusiastic and got pulled offsides on 3rd down too often. Have to get that buttoned up and make the offense earn those 1st downs, but other than that, I loved what I saw for the most part. They look like a top defense again.

I agree I mean it's hard to really complain about anything regarding this team yesterday. I thought Waynes played excellent as well and had good coverage on both plays. I think that first TD was just a perfectly thrown ball by Ryan. I just thought we had a legit shot for a shutout. The blitzing seemed to be toned down towards the end too. But again, keep everything in front of you and let the clock tick isnt a horrible strategy either.

I agree though, definitely looks like a top defense again. I'm excited about this team!

[Pondering Her Percy]

So is anyone else a little worried about the constant "under-center" snaps we're taking?? Or is it just me. I havent heard many opinions on that yet.

I just get worried that in passing situations, we're still going under center, and it's taking some time for Kirk to get to a 5-7 step drop (as it would any QB), and our OL cant hold up as long. I would feel much more comfortable in shotgun there. And I'd like to see them run out of shotgun a little more too so it doesnt seem so predictable.

Kirk statically and consistently is better when Under Center and when the Play Action is in play. That's why you're seeing so little Shotgun formations lately. Furthermore, the Zone Blocking scheme is designed to force the defenders into an untenable position, allowing Cousins to step up in the pocket like you saw in the first passing play.

Yeah that's true. I know the play action is his strong suit. I was just biting my nails watching him take 7 steps drops from under center. He got killed a few times and that makes me nervous going against a team like Chicago.

[Bowhunting Viking]

I personally am very PUMPED about yesterday. How cool is it to NOT talk about special teams problems??? Pretty awesome to me.
Cook... what a STUD. Please Lord let him stay healthy.

The only issues I am concerned about were the neutral zone infractions that gave the Falcons the free 1st downs, but it is wk 1 and adrenaline is high.

Mostly, and it pains me as a Buckeye, but seeing Elf playing so poorly. Hate to say it but he was owned on so many plays.

Other than that, it was a great start to the season

[mansquatch]

Very strong start. Let's pummel the pack next week and then we are off to the races!

I recall two of the Elflien pressures looking like blown assignments more than Elf getting beat. In one case he doubled up with Bradbury on the guy Bradbury was blocking, leaving the guy he should have had to run free. That is correctable and not the same as his man beating him. Not fun to watch, but let's face it, that was the only bad thing about yesterdays game.

[S197]

So is anyone else a little worried about the constant "under-center" snaps we're taking?? Or is it just me. I havent heard many opinions on that yet.

I just get worried that in passing situations, we're still going under center, and it's taking some time for Kirk to get to a 5-7 step drop (as it would any QB), and our OL cant hold up as long. I would feel much more comfortable in shotgun there. And I'd like to see them run out of shotgun a little more too so it doesnt seem so predictable.

I'm more concerned about Elflein but that does play into the 5-7 step drops. I think they'll utilize play action a lot more to help, they really didn't need it much this game. I'm thinking similar to McVey's offense.

Cook looked great but if I had to pick one area to be critical, he needs to run with lower pad level when initiating contact. There were a number of plays where he got stood straight up and pancaked. It's very picky for a great performance but something he needs to work on to get to the next level.

[VikingLord]

I just watched the game highlights, and I have to say, that 1st TD run by Dalvin Cook was just amazing.

For reference, here is video of the play:

https://www.vikings.com/video/cook-flie ... -touchdown

When Cook takes the handoff, it looks like the play is designed to go left of the center, and the Vikings OL gets a good push in that direction, but while the Falcons ceded a few yards after the snap, they're not conceding any holes. If Cook tries to take it where the play appears designed to go, he's going to pick up maybe 2-3 yards before the Falcon defensive tackle or linebacker on the play side makes the stop.

There is a cutback lane that opens up in the area where Jones pulls to the left, but this is rapidly filled by an aggressive Falcons defender. Had Cook not sensed this, he might very well have tried to cut back into this area, only to be tackled quickly or seriously slowed down.

But Cook senses the pressure, both immediately in front of him as well as back to his right and makes a really amazing cut sharply to his left. This cut is so sharp and effective that in the blink of an eye any Falcons defender near the LOS and in a position to make a play on him is literally removed from consideration as a tackler. The aggressive rusher coming from the area vacated by the pulling Jones? Not a factor. The Falcon DT who is eating up that interior space on the play side? Please. The free Falcon linebacker on the play side? He's coming up to supplement the interior tackle, which would have been the right decision except Cook's cut is so sudden and decisive to the outside that the Falcon LB can't recover from his false step and gets caught up in trash. He got shaked and the baked.

Cook's vision in this situation is remarkable. I can't remember the last Vikings RB who could have, and most importantly, *would have*, made that same decision in that situation (maybe AP). I think the majority of NFL running backs would have either plowed it forward play side to take what they could get, or maybe cut it back against the grain, which in this case would have most likely resulted in even less yardage. But to cut it sharply outside to the play side like Cook did literally caught every Falcon near the LOS flat footed. They never had a chance.

I really hope Dalvin stays healthy all year. He's a special player and it's been a long time since we Vikings fans have had the chance to watch a special RB with the ability to alter the flow of games like that.