Do We Have A Good Chance Against Patriots At Home?

[Mothman]

Watched a good bit of the Bears' loss to Buffalo. Sorry to say, but Jared Allen was totally irrelevant in that game. He looked washed up and slow.

He was a non-factor most of the game but he's had a tendency to start slow for years and he barely played in the preseason. it will be interesting to see if he's playing at a higher level in a week or two. If not, the Bears are going to be pretty unhappy.

Sharif Floyd is looking great, Joseph is a real problem for opponents at the nose. Everson Griffen is like the Tasmanian devil. Robison is Robison. We've got good depth with Johnson and Wooten and Crighton, and we occasionally have Barr put his hand on the ground and rush from the DE position. It's definitely a strength of the team, and I think we'll see that it rivals Detroit's D-line for best in the division.

That would be nice. It was clearly the area of greatest emphasis this offseason so hopefully, the money, time and effort they've out into it will pay off big time.

[Purple bruise]

We will face a real offense next week that will test this defense. It's not the pats of old but they are still better than most. So I think next week is real test of this new defense. I just hope we haven't lost Floyd. Our offense is good and can beat the pats defense so I definitely think we have a legit chance to beat them next week.

I am not too worried. Brady barely completed half of his passes for less than 250 yards against Miami. They have no rushing attack to speak of and their wide outs are marginal at best. Gronk is a STUD but is coming of that knee injury.
The Vikes should/will win this game

[Mothman]

I am not too worried. Brady barely completed half of his passes for less than 250 yards against Miami. They have no rushing attack to speak of and their wide outs are marginal at best. Gronk is a STUD but is coming of that knee injury.
The Vikes should/will win this game

I have to disagree with you about their rushing attack. They've been a top 10 rushing team the past two years and even in a losing cause last week, they averaged about 4.5 yards per carry.

Pass protection was a big problem for them against Miami so I'm actually wondering if they'll try to place greater emphasis on the running game this week, try to loosen up the Vikes defense and take a little pressure off Brady.

It's going to be an interesting matchup. If the Vikes can stuff NE's running game and get pressure on Brady (especially up the middle) they should have an excellent chance to get their second win. I think they'll be able to put some points on NE's defense.

[Purple bruise]

I have to disagree with you about their rushing attack. They've been a top 10 rushing team the past two years and even in a losing cause last week, they averaged about 4.5 yards per carry.

Pass protection was a big problem for them against Miami so I'm actually wondering if they'll try to place greater emphasis on the running game this week, try to loosen up the Vikes defense and take a little pressure off Brady.

It's going to be an interesting matchup. If the Vikes can stuff NE's running game and get pressure on Brady (especially up the middle) they should have an excellent chance to get their second win. I think they'll be able to put some points on NE's defense.

Jim they had 89 total yds. rushing . As I said I am not concerned about that aspect of their game. Who are their backs again

[Mothman]

Jim they had 89 total yds. rushing . As I said I am not concerned about that aspect of their game. Who are their backs again

Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen. They had Blount last year too and may miss him.

I'm just saying, they've been one of the better running teams in the league the last two years so I'm not going to be quick to dismiss their running game based on last week's performance. Of course, if last week really was a good indication of what to expect from the Pats this year, they're running game isn't exactly scary and they have issues on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. That's something the Vikes should be able exploit.

They've won 12+ games in each of the last 4 years and they're always well-coached so I expect them to be a "tough out" for the Vikes.

[J. Kapp 11]

Understood haha I wasn't attacking your football knowledge. Just saying my wife could turn on the TV and say oh the Vikings won in a blow out and the Pats lost to Miami? Therefore Vikings will edge out the Patriots this week. You guys should know being Vikes fans that football is a week to week game and track records can't just be ignored. Yeah Robinson got a pick, things are changing so lets just ignore the past 10 years where our LBs can't cover RBs and Brady has been able to dissect our defense at will. Let's not forget Shaun Hill started 5/5 for against us today and people (myself included) were complaining. Not to take anything away from the W today at all though but next week is a new battle.

Sorry, but this argument makes no sense.

If every week is a new battle, and football is week-to-week, then why on earth do the past 10 years matter?

Ten years ago, Brady had totally different weapons, a different offensive line, a different defense playing with him. There isn't a single Viking on the team now who was on the team 10 years ago, nor is there a single coach. Heck, most of the team has turned over the past 5 years, and the Patriots have never been slaves to sentimentality -- they dump guys BEFORE they begin to decline.

All that really matters is what's going on THIS YEAR. But if you want to look back, how about last year, when Brady's Patriots put up exactly 6 points against Mike Zimmer's Bengal defense? Sure, the Bengals had better personnel than we have this year, but that's still a far more relevant comparison than what these two teams did in 2004.

[DK Sweets]

Our offense holds a big advantage over their defense this week. Rudolph is the player they matchup best with on player, with Jerod Mayo and Dont'a Hightower being good options. The Pats simply don't have as many corners as we have receivers at this point (getting Browner in a few weeks is going to be a huge boost for them). Their defense doesn't look capable of locking down any RB right now, let alone Purple Jesus. Also, many people have brought up Mike Zimmer's ability to dial up a good plan against the Patriots' Offense last year, but I haven't heard anybody mention that Norv Turner put together a game plan that ended up leading to Jason Campbell throwing for 391 yards and 3 TDs that would have won the game if Tom Brady hadn't thrown 2 TDs in the last two minutes. A home opener at our short term field and the most optimism we've felt in a while? I'll take the Vikes on this one again.

[Laserman]

Who knows? Maybe this is the year the wheels finally fall off for Brady. He sure looked mediocre in Miami.

The Pats usually have trouble playing the dolphins early in the schedule in Miami. This isn't the first time. Miami seems to have had their number for awhile. even when the pats win it's usually a good game. I wouldn't count brady out just yet but age catches everybody at different times. I'm hoping the wheels come off on Brees, Brady, and manning

[PurpleHalo]

Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen. They had Blount last year too and may miss him.

I'm just saying, they've been one of the better running teams in the league the last two years so I'm not going to be quick to dismiss their running game based on last week's performance. Of course, if last week really was a good indication of what to expect from the Pats this year, they're running game isn't exactly scary and they have issues on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. That's something the Vikes should be able exploit.

They've won 12+ games in each of the last 4 years and they're always well-coached so I expect them to be a "tough out" for the Vikes.

I agree with this, and think it's a bit too early to write the eulogy for the Patriots. Belechick will bring something to this game, I just hope he doesn't have enough film to go by, although he has experience playing Cincy, and that is essentially what we are on defense. I don't think film matters as much for 28 and 84, if they are on they are tough to deal with, and the Pats have had trouble stopping the run. We will see if this defense is for real, or got off playing a struggling offense. All in all I expect a good football game, would be great to finally beat this team, I can't remember the last time they did, even going back to that game in 94 when Bledsoe threw 70 passes after we built that first half lead.

[knomage]

Bengals and Zimmer fan here, Last year our D stopped Brady's touchdown pass a game streak and we won with a consistent pressure D.

Cassel needs to play a conservative ,mistake free game and the D needs to ride Brady like a pony at the fair..do that and 2 and 0 is very possible.

Hiring Zim made the Vikes a lot of new fans...me included

[Funkytown]

Bengals and Zimmer fan here, Last year our D stopped Brady's touchdown pass a game streak and we won with a consistent pressure D.

Cassel needs to play a conservative ,mistake free game and the D needs to ride Brady like a pony at the fair..do that and 2 and 0 is very possible.

Hiring Zim made the Vikes a lot of new fans...me included

It's awesome to see all of the love and respect for Zimmer.

How many Bengals fans is this now? A handful? It's fantastic.

We're starting to see why he has such a following.

[PurpleMustReign]

It's awesome to see all of the love and respect for Zimmer.

How many Bengals fans is this now? A handful? It's fantastic.

We're starting to see why he has such a following.

Yeah, I like that he is so popular. I don't remember any Vikings coordinator going to another team and fans feeling the same way other than maybe Mike Tomlin.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[Mothman]

Yeah, I like that he is so popular. I don't remember any Vikings coordinator going to another team and fans feeling the same way other than maybe Mike Tomlin.

I'd say Dungy and Billick fit that description, especially Dungy.

[knomage]

Didn't Cassel start out with New England?.. I am sure Belechik knows how to get into his head. That's why Norv has a real challenge this week. To keep it simple for the QB and still confuse the defense.

[jackal]

We have to have a really good game to beat Brady.. mistakes and turnovers and I don't see a win..

Hopefully Peterson and Everyone shows up ON FIRE ! and we thump the cheaters ....