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Re: Thoughts week 2
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 9:53 am
by dead_poet
DK Sweets wrote:I feel like this argument is at a standstill. I could say "Brett Favre had one hell of a game until his last pass. How do you know the pressure wasn't effecting Stafford?"
I guess my answer to that would be that Stafford's throws were still accurate and still being completed.
I saw pressure. You didn't see the pressure get there soon enough. We have different takes on it and I don't really know where else to go with that.
We'll go with pressure is a very good thing! I just wanted a few more sacks to help end 10+-play drives and/or incompletions or interceptions being thrown because of that pressure. As I mentioned in my own thoughts above it may have been simply that Stafford is a very tough, gifted, gritty quarterback and if we were going up against Manziel, Bortles or some other QB that the exact same pressure would've resulted in more defensive stops. I do give Stafford a ton of credit for being able to have the trainers tape his arm back on and continue to play as well as he did. You'll never get me to write this about Rodgers, though. I'd hope Griffen would kidnap a Packer, disgustedly wear it's jersey and sneak over to the trainer's table to steal Rodgers' arm.
I will say this though: I'm not very concerned with the first downs we gave up. We kept the running game stifled, prevented the big plays, and kept their score low until that awkward final drive. The Lions are too talented to stop everything, so if the feather in their cap was first downs, I'll gladly congratulate them and take the win.
Well, first downs surrendered has a cumulative affect. The more an offense has, the more chances they have to drive and score and the more tired your defense becomes. Those first downs put points on the board and kept our offense off the field. As I mentioned before, the Vikings only ran 61 plays. You usually need to have the ball on offense to score
For some perspective, Chicago (whose defense is, um, not good) allowed 12 passing first downs to Arizona this week. New Orleans' pass defense (which is also not good) allowed 7 (granted they were playing Tampa Bay).
Maybe I'm just too greedy.
But I think the Vikings will have a hard time winning games if they continue to allow that many sustained drives and that many first downs on a routine basis.
Re: Thoughts week 2
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 9:53 am
by dead_poet
Purple bruise wrote:
Very nice take Poet and very well thought out and presented
Thanks!
Thoughts week 2
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 10:11 am
by dead_poet
Welp
@mattvensel: After missing 13 tackles against the 49ers, the #Vikings missed just five yesterday per @PFF. Alas, three of them were by Eric Kendricks.
Thoughts week 2
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 10:40 am
by dead_poet
Solid.
@mattvensel: Matt Kalil and Brandon Fusco didn't allow a single pressure against the #Lions, per @PFF. Kalil is off to a good start this season. #Vikings
Re: Thoughts week 2
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 10:41 am
by PurpleMustReign
dead_poet wrote:Welp
What about JPFF (Jim's PFF)?
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Re: Thoughts week 2
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 10:47 am
by dead_poet
@christomasson: Chad Greenway was in for 16 snaps Sunday. According to Pro Football Focus records, that's a career low. Previous low 17 vs. Detroit in 2007
Re: Thoughts week 2
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 10:55 am
by losperros
dead_poet wrote:My own thoughts after a day of reflection....
The Neutral
4) Wide receivers. We have some, right? A lot of this is on the offensive line, but this breakout many expected from Charles Johnson is, um, not coming. The flip-side is the nice chemistry Teddy seems to have with Rudolph. Having a healthy Rudolph is vital to this offense.
Yes, there are rumors circulating that the Vikings do have some wide receivers. I'm going to watch the tape again and see if I can find some.
BTW, great breakdown of the team's performance, DP. Thanks.
Re: Thoughts week 2
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 11:37 am
by dead_poet
@eric_j_thompson: Snap counts for #Vikings LBs:
Barr 75
Kendricks 53
Hodges 28
Greenway 16
And weird, the defense played better. #NotACoincidence
Re: Thoughts week 2
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 11:40 am
by PurpleMustReign
dead_poet wrote:
I like Greenway, but his best days are behind him.
Lets trade him to Green Bay for Aaron Rodgers and clay Matthews .
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Re: Thoughts week 2
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 11:46 am
by Pondering Her Percy
dead_poet wrote:
It's good they are finally able to get their two best LBs on the field. Maybe when they broke down the 49er film this week they saw how brutal Greenway was. Barr and Kendricks should be on the field 99% of the time. Sprinkle in Hodges and lightly sprinkle in Greenway
Re: Thoughts week 2
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 12:23 pm
by dead_poet
Pondering Her Percy wrote:
It's good they are finally able to get their two best LBs on the field. Maybe when they broke down the 49er film this week they saw how brutal Greenway was. Barr and Kendricks should be on the field 99% of the time. Sprinkle in Hodges and lightly sprinkle in Greenway
Detroit was in 3-wide most of the day, particularly the second half. That had more to do with the nickel defense being on the field, I believe, than a Greenway demotion. I think he's probably still starting in base.
Re: Thoughts week 2
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 1:36 pm
by J. Kapp 11
dead_poet wrote:Solid.
Kalil just needs to cut the penalties. Yesterday he had a personal foul, a hold, and (if memory serves me correctly) a false start. But he's PLAYING so much better.
Re: Thoughts week 2
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 2:17 pm
by Mothman
From Ben Goessling:
Adrian Peterson's effect on Vikings' offense goes beyond carries
The 30-year-old Peterson accounted for 192 of the Vikings' 350 offensive yards, carrying the ball more often than he has in any non-overtime game since his 199-yard performance in Week 17 against the Green Bay Packers in 2012. But the Vikings fought so hard to bring Peterson back, following last year's suspension and the running back's initial trepidation about a return to Minnesota, because of the effect they believed he'd have on their offense.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Bridgewater hit six of his eight play-action passes on Sunday for 86 yards, and he also scored his 1-yard touchdown run off a play fake to Peterson. Considering Bridgewater had a QBR of just 31.2 on play-action passes a year ago, and hit only four of nine such throws last Monday, it's not insignificant he found more room to exploit a defense that had to pay attention to Peterson on Sunday.
Re: Thoughts week 2
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 3:11 pm
by Vikings28
Teddy was a lot better this week. Sure he didn't have to do a ton but he was there when they needed him. Made a couple of much needed throws, including the beauty to Wallace between 2-3 defenders. Also made a few nice plays on the ground when he had nothing through the air.
I agree that Kalil is still looking good. We badly need him to keep playing well.
Johnson had 10 catches for 80 yards and a TD but I still thought Rhodes was pretty solid out there. Kept everything short and I only recall him missing one tackle. Harrison was right there to make the tackle though so Johnson only got an extra yard or two. He had good coverage on the TD as well but Johnson just made a great catch.
One of my biggest complaints last week was the usage of Greenway and they went completely in the other direction this week. That was great to see. It's not all about Greenway since there's a lot of other players who didn't play well against the Niners but you could still see the difference on the field. A lot more speed out there with Barr, Kendricks, and Hodges flying to the ball. Hope it's not just a scheme/personnel thing either. Greenway should be replaced or minimized in base D as well.
Re: Thoughts week 2
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 7:04 pm
by frosted
Offense
- Watching Adrian react to the mass of bodies closing in on the interior of the line of scrimmage and bouncing that thing outside was a sight for sore eyes. I thought he ran the ball very well. It's too bad the fumbles reared their ugly head again. There's no doubt that he needs to nip that in the bud. I've been very pleased with his receiving ability thus far - he seems much more natural catching the ball with his hands. I don't think he's ever been
bad at catching the football, just maybe a bit mechanical doing it, but his ball skills look much smoother. Its going to pay dividends. His pass blocking still makes me squirm. I know this gets exaggerated quite a bit, but I do think he's well below average at it. Just not the best part of his game. That said, he's still a thoroughbred running the rock. He's going to be an extremely important factor in how far this offense (and team) can go this year (duh).
- Teddy looked great. Super comfortable in the pocket, his escapability is very impressive. I enjoy watching the kid be efficient. I recall one play where he fired a high, inaccurate pass. He needs to work on cutting those down. It just happens too often and can really be deflating when they come in key spots. Nice to see improvement in that area from game one to game two, though. I still need to see him open things up a bit more - he's extremely conservative (though, the guys being paid to catch the thing have to do a good job, too). I hope this winds up being an excellent year for Mr. Bridgewater.
- Kyle Rudolph has looked like a good football player through two games. I really think his run blocking has improved (what I have observed of it - don't have game pass this year, so no way to re-watch the TV copy or get a look at the film
)
- Matt Kalil -
*Knocks on wood*
- The offensive line as a whole wasn't impressive - the right side is awfully leaky in pass pro. We need to get these guys playing together as a cohesive unit. Sadly, I don't think they have the horses all the way across to be a truly good group.
- Chicken or egg when it comes to the receivers. Have they been unproductive because Teddy isn't letting it rip, or are they failing to get separation, causing Teddy to check down? We'll never know...until someone takes a look at the coaches film. Hint, hint.
- Turner's game plan was SO much better than San Fran. Thank God. I hope he continues to be good Norv. Bad Norv smells like old people.