All Things 2023 Minnesota Vikings In-Season Thread

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I see, so rushing TD doesn’t matter after all. Just general rushing to setup the pass, good to know!
 

MplsGopher said:
Correct statement: if they turned the ball over fewer times/made fewer grave mistakes against Tampa and LAC, they’re 4-2.

Pretending rushing matters on this offense, for anything other than setting up the pass, is so fake.
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That's why you give 21 million to blocking tight ends.

You do that because rushing doesn't matter.

Don't quite your day job.
 

MplsGopher said:
I see, so rushing TD doesn’t matter after all. Just general rushing to setup the pass, good to know!
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The Vikings are currently very poor at general rushing. Lack of TDs on the ground illustrates that point among other metrics.
 



MplsGopher said:
Mattison has been disappointing so far. They’re just fine rushing. More touches for the others needed.
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Statistical evidence suggests otherwise. They rank 27th overall in yards. 3 of the teams behind them have played 1 fewer game.

0 rushing TDs which is tied with Pittsburgh for worst, but they only have played 5 games.

Longest run from scrimmage is 17 yds. Only Tampa is worse.

Most fumbles though.

www.pro-football-reference.com

2023 NFL Standings & Team Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Check out the 2023 NFL Standings & Team Stats including AFC and NFC results and standings on Pro-football-reference.com
www.pro-football-reference.com www.pro-football-reference.com
 



#3 in passing offense, weird how you left that part off.

I guess the run to set up the pass strategy is working! Thanks for clearing that up :)
 



Ope3 said:
Uhh, yeah. You just listed perhaps the most important thing why it's pertinent to have at least a respectable rushing attack. It's quite vital.
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Wise man once say... "The best way to play good/better defense is to play LESS of it"

Control the clock/TOP, play less defense.
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
Wise man once say... "The best way to play good/better defense is to play LESS of it"

Control the clock/TOP, play less defense.
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Very solid point. Ball control can also be a key ingredient to success, especially when the Defense is substandard, like the Vikings, ranking 23rd.

The poor running attack lowers the Vikings overall Offense ranking from 3 to 16, middle of the road. Combined that with the with the other side of the ball and turnovers, it's not a surprise they have the record they deserve, 2-4 and 3 back of the Lions.
 
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Defense last year was terrible. This year it’s not great, but it is vastly superior in identity. If you’re going to go down, go down with a fight. Don’t be the guy just sitting there seeing how many punches to the face you can take before falling over. Swing back!!

#3 passing offense is what matters. We’re rushing enough to set it up, clearly.

This why they “deserve” a 4-2 record. That’s the real “should be” record, and what they “are”.

Cousins won’t be traded. There will be no tanking.

Tanking is for idiots. Even with Andrew Luck, how’d that work out? That’s what would happen to the Vikings.

Trade up in 24 draft to take a Mahomes, if there’s one there. That is correct. That’s how it’s done while still winning some games the season before.

Piss on tanker trolls. You’re wrong . You lose. :)
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
Wise man once say... "The best way to play good/better defense is to play LESS of it"

Control the clock/TOP, play less defense.
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Another way to play less defense is to make the other team punt. Sometimes you can make them punt after they have run three plays.
 



MplsGopher said:
Defense last year was terrible. This year it’s not great, but it is vastly superior in identity. If you’re going to go down, go down with a fight. Don’t be the guy just sitting there seeing how many punches to the face you can take before falling over. Swing back!!

#3 passing offense is what matters. We’re rushing enough to set it up, clearly.

This why they “deserve” a 4-2 record. That’s the real “should be” record, and what they “are”.

Cousins won’t be traded. There will be no tanking.

Tanking is for idiots. Even with Andrew Luck, how’d that work out? That’s what would happen to the Vikings.

Trade up in 24 draft to take a Mahomes, if there’s one there. That is correct. That’s how it’s done while still winning some games the season before.

Piss on tanker trolls. You’re wrong . You lose. :)
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When we get to April and the draft, those couple of extra wins are going to be so special.
 

MplsGopher said:
Defense last year was terrible. This year it’s not great, but it is vastly superior in identity. If you’re going to go down, go down with a fight. Don’t be the guy just sitting there seeing how many punches to the face you can take before falling over. Swing back!!

#3 passing offense is what matters. We’re rushing enough to set it up, clearly.

This why they “deserve” a 4-2 record. That’s the real “should be” record, and what they “are”.

Cousins won’t be traded. There will be no tanking.

Tanking is for idiots. Even with Andrew Luck, how’d that work out? That’s what would happen to the Vikings.

Trade up in 24 draft to take a Mahomes, if there’s one there. That is correct. That’s how it’s done while still winning some games the season before.

Piss on tanker trolls. You’re wrong . You lose. :)
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I do believe rooting for tanking, especially in week 6 is bad voo doo. The Texans were mocked for winning in week 17 last year and costing themselves the #1 pick. But they ended up with Stroud and he looks far better than Bryce Young thus far. Perhaps the Sports Gods rewarded them.
 

9ers suddenly seem vulnerable and the six games after that seem winnable.
 

It's all connected - but only the front office knows how the pieces fit.

If the #1 priority is to bring Cousins back, then that reduces the need to move up in the draft for a QB. But if the decision has already been made to move on from Cousins, then acquiring a new QB has to be top priority. (maybe 1A to the 1B of Jefferson's contract)

call me a pessimist, but I just don't want to see the Vikes fall into the worst-case scenario, which IMHO would be: they don't land a top QB in the draft, Cousins moves on, and the team winds up signing a retread free-agent QB while probably paying way too much.

bottom line, if the Vikes wind up with - let's say - 7, 8 or 9 wins - then the only way they get a top QB in the draft is to trade away a butt-load of future draft picks to move up. OR, they gamble on a 'developmental' QB in the draft while the media competes to see who can make the most Christian Ponder references.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
It's all connected - but only the front office knows how the pieces fit.

If the #1 priority is to bring Cousins back, then that reduces the need to move up in the draft for a QB. But if the decision has already been made to move on from Cousins, then acquiring a new QB has to be top priority. (maybe 1A to the 1B of Jefferson's contract)

call me a pessimist, but I just don't want to see the Vikes fall into the worst-case scenario, which IMHO would be: they don't land a top QB in the draft, Cousins moves on, and the team winds up signing a retread free-agent QB while probably paying way too much.

bottom line, if the Vikes wind up with - let's say - 7, 8 or 9 wins - then the only way they get a top QB in the draft is to trade away a butt-load of future draft picks to move up. OR, they gamble on a 'developmental' QB in the draft while the media competes to see who can make the most Christian Ponder references.
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When you consider how many holes we have to fill, especially on defense, the amount of trade capital we would need to spend to move up far enough to get Williams or Maye is unappealing.

With that said, QBs like Sanders, Nix, Penix Jr and Ewers should all be there after #10 unless guys jump up after the Combine.
 

#10 is where KC traded up to draft Mahomes.

Buffalo gave them the 2017 #10 in exchange for 2017 #23 (1st) and 91st (3rd) and 2018 1st. Didn't even have to give up players (eg. trade Hunter for a first rounder).
 

Slim Tubby said:
When you consider how many holes we have to fill, especially on defense, the amount of trade capital we would need to spend to move up far enough to get Williams or Maye is unappealing.

With that said, QBs like Sanders, Nix, Penix Jr and Ewers should all be there after #10 unless guys jump up after the Combine.
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Deion says his boy is staying.
 


Slim Tubby said:
That's probably wise. He holds the ball way too long. The amount of yards lossed on sacks this year has to be enormous.
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Deion's comment was he can make just as much money staying in Colorado as he can getting drafted.

I don't think he was kidding either.
 


Yep, taking CU Buff mega-donors for a ride ... anyone surprised?
 

Slim Tubby said:
When you consider how many holes we have to fill, especially on defense, the amount of trade capital we would need to spend to move up far enough to get Williams or Maye is unappealing.

With that said, QBs like Sanders, Nix, Penix Jr and Ewers should all be there after #10 unless guys jump up after the Combine.
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All the talk about the Vikes "tanking" is not going to result in Williams or Maye. Worst case scenario (unless they trade Cousins and they just roll with Jaren Hall at QB) is at least 6 wins. They don't have enough capital to move up to get them unless they really want to screw the next couple of drafts. It is highly likely however, they could be in on any of those guys you list, so the question is are any of them worth taking between 10-15 in the draft? He's being mocked all over the place (as high as mid-first round, and not a first rounder), but I'd be looking at JJ McCarthy. I was on record as wanting to go all-in on trading up early in the second round to get Hurts. McCarthy has a similar game, if less physical than Hurts.

Penix is a statue in the pocket, ala Cousins. We see how that works. Nix was completely underwhelming at Auburn and took a huge jump at Oregon- they throw a lot of RB/WR screens which inflate his completion %. He may have improved, but that immediate jump makes me skeptical. Ewers I think will need a bit of seasoning before throwing him in to the fire. Not sure what to make of Sanders; could be good, could be a bust IMO.

At the end of the day, I'm probably OK with any of them if the Vikes view one of them high enough. IMO, the worst thing that can happen is for the Vikes to resign Cousins to another 3 year contract. Cousins can be successful, but the Vikes would need to re-invest in a good RB and upgrade the OL. If they were determined to create an elite OL, Cousins could work, but that's not going to happen. It's time to move on.
 

Ope3 said:
Yesterday only 2 teams broke the 30 point barrier, Jacksonville and Miami.

More amazing 23 teams scored 21 or fewer.
17 of those didn't get to 20.
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The Dan Patrick Show had a stat guru on his show today, Warren Sharp. So far Season to Date, the NFL Unders have hit on 61.5% of games. Lowest totals since 1991.

That's even with lowering the Average O/U to 44.1, lowest projected totals since 2011.
 

Ope3 said:
The Dan Patrick Show had a stat guru on his show today, Warren Sharp. So far Season to Date, the NFL Unders have hit on 61.5% of games. Lowest totals since 1991.

That's even with lowering the Average O/U to 44.1, lowest projected totals since 2011.
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Did they have any theories on why that’s the case? With the rule book highly favoring the offense much more so than it used to, that’s surprising. There have been a number of QBs go down this year which can’t help (add in holdover injuries from last year in Murray as well), but that happens every year.

The first couple weeks would make sense as all the starters are rusty at the beginning of the season due to lack of preseason play. But that should have normalized by this point in the season.
 

forever a gopher said:
Did they have any theories on why that’s the case? With the rule book highly favoring the offense much more so than it used to, that’s surprising. There have been a number of QBs go down this year which can’t help (add in holdover injuries from last year in Murray as well), but that happens every year.

The first couple weeks would make sense as all the starters are rusty at the beginning of the season due to lack of preseason play. But that should have normalized by this point in the season.
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Yes, there were several theories and supporting stats. One of the most important was shifting from more Def PI calls to just holding. The difference from a spot foul to 5 yds is huge. Also a point of emphasis is Illegal Lineman Down Field.

It was very interesting, I recommend checking out the show via podcast if you have any interest. Hour 2.

Actually found a link:

Warren Sharp breaks down historically low-scoring NFL – DanPatrick.com

danpatrick.com
 


Cleveland out with foot.

What a brilliant move to pay $4M to sign a backup guard!!!! They knew that they would need Risner to temporarily fill in for one of our two undisputed starters, eventually!

Right, @howeda7 ??
 

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