All Things 2024-25 Vikings Regular Season Thread

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GopherPoke said:
Am I completely out of line saying PA and Bercich are a horrible listen. I can’t handle the constant whining of Bercich and the extreme homerism. Full disclosure: not a Vikings fan. Not being a dink, I’m just curious of other thoughts here.
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No argument what so ever. I can't stand listening to them.

Circumstances meant I had to listen to the 1st Half of the Giants game in a golf cart and the 2nd Half of the 49ers while in my car. Fortunately with SiriusXM, I was able to listen to both via the NY & SF local feeds. What a godsend.

Bonus is hearing them call losses for the overwhelming majority of their audiences.
 




GophersInIowa said:
That’s a really nice win. Could have made it a bit easier on themselves. The defense is really good. Cashman was all over the place today.
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Listening to the 49ers Broadcast team in the 2nd Half, it never sounded like just a 6 point game.

Having hearing the audio with all the reports of players cramping up, I think both Bosa & Kittle took IVs, I wonder did they not flip the AC switch on in the Zygi Dome?

In retrospect, San Fran playing on a short week (MNF), traveling 2 time zones for a 10am body clock kickoff certainly helped the Purple effort.
 


kg21 said:
Is it just me, or are 55 yard field goals almost becoming like extra points. I swear, hardly any of them miss in the games I watch.
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There's more compression and transfer of energy with the softer leather being used for footballs in today's game.
 






Short Blurb from The Athletic on why Darnold is for real -


1. Beating the New York Giants in Week 1 was one thing. Upsetting the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers on Sunday was another. Time to believe in Darnold?​

First off, Darnold playing well for the Vikings isn’t a shock to everyone. Before Mueller left The Athleticand joined the New Orleans Saints’ front office last month, the former NFL Executive of the Year made a film-based case for Darnold reviving his career in Minnesota.

Mueller lauded the Vikings for doing what so many teams fear: moving on from an expensive veteran quarterback (Kirk Cousins) without knowing what the future holds.

That plan included signing Darnold for one year and $10 million, before it was known Minnesota could maneuver in the draft for the since-injured J.J. McCarthy. Mueller loved the plan partly because he thought Darnold’s 2023 tape with San Francisco showed progress.

“For the first time in this kid’s career, he had answers in his backpack to make decisions that helped him make progressions, reads, and he had an offensive line that actually protected him,” Mueller said then. “I think Sam Darnold was in horrible situations before he got to San Francisco, but he played really good in San Francisco in some film that, for me, was easy to decipher his strengths and weaknesses.”

Darnold ranks third in yards per attempt (9.5) through two games and sixth in passer rating (111.8). He’s 14th in EPA per pass play.

The Houston Texans, Green Bay Packers and New York Jets are next on the schedule for the Vikings. Minnesota will have better feeling by its Week 6 bye as to whether Darnold’s solid start is sustainable.
 



Gopher_In_NYC said:
Excellent article on The D and how it’s for realz

www.nytimes.com

New-look Brian Flores defense perplexes 49ers, alters our expectations for Vikings

The Vikings surprised the 49ers and might be more competitive than many experts thought. The defense is to thank.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
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I'm looking forward to reading it, but they DID give up 400 yards and they punted twice. Got to watch the game after getting home from the Cardinals WHIPPING of the Rams, and loved the win but was surprised how easily the 49ers moved the ball. But hey, there's a reason they're SB contenders, and I didn't change my mind yesterday.

Just an awesome awesome win.
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
I'm looking forward to reading it, but they DID give up 400 yards and they punted twice. Got to watch the game after getting home from the Cardinals WHIPPING of the Rams, and loved the win but was surprised how easily the 49ers moved the ball. But hey, there's a reason they're SB contenders, and I didn't change my mind yesterday.

Just an awesome awesome win.
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The Run D was porous at times, but they did get lots of pressure overall with five sacks.

Cashman was unbelievable, 13 tackles, including a sack and three passes defended.

FWIW - it felt like we had the better coaching and the 9ers were clueless on how to stop the bunch formation; with Nailor wide open in the end zone for a TD - he played great also.

Playoffs certainly look possible at this point.
 
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Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
I'm looking forward to reading it, but they DID give up 400 yards and they punted twice. Got to watch the game after getting home from the Cardinals WHIPPING of the Rams, and loved the win but was surprised how easily the 49ers moved the ball. But hey, there's a reason they're SB contenders, and I didn't change my mind yesterday.

Just an awesome awesome win.
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The 49ers really only "easily" moved the ball in the 4th Quarter, IMO, with their 99 yd TD and 57 yd FG drives, in which the Vikings were playing a bit of prevent.

Fortunately the Vikes wedged in a FG drive of their own that took more than 6 minutes to eat up clock and make it a 2 score game thus relying on not giving up an onside kick.

In addition to the 2 punts they had an interception, fumble recovery and turnover on downs. Most critical was the special teams blocked a punt. Too bad with a short field they only got 3 pts out of it.

This really could have been a rout for the Purple.
 

And for all you Kicker haters out there, and "you shouldn't waste a draft pick on a Kicker"... IN YOUR FACE!!

Small sample size, for sure, but Reichard has been money and is no doubt earning the trust of the staff the minute the Vikings cross midfield.
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
I'm looking forward to reading it, but they DID give up 400 yards and they punted twice. Got to watch the game after getting home from the Cardinals WHIPPING of the Rams, and loved the win but was surprised how easily the 49ers moved the ball. But hey, there's a reason they're SB contenders, and I didn't change my mind yesterday.

Just an awesome awesome win.
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In the first three quarters at least I felt like a lot of that was very hard to come by in the air. Lots of really tough catches where Purdy had to place the ball perfectly. The secondary played pretty well IMO.
 



Ope3 said:
Deep dive on the previous Head Coach.

www.startribune.com

Mike Zimmer opens up about final years as Vikings coach

Former Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer talks to the Minnesota Star Tribune's Mark Craig about his final years in Minnesota, the death of his son Adam, and his return to the NFL as Cowboys defensive coordinator.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Personally, I liked Zim. When their roster was healthy, they were stout on Defense. Downfall was as a Head Coach, needed to also focus on other side of the ball with really adept Offensive Coordinators and at least be on the same page.

The way it fell apart with Norv Turner was a bad omen.

The time was ripe when they let him go. I think the Wilfs made the right decision to make a clean break with Spielman as well.
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In the last 2 games against Alvin Kamara........Kamara has scored 10 touchdowns.

What in the actual hell, Zimmerman?
 

GophersInIowa said:
In the first three quarters at least I felt like a lot of that was very hard to come by in the air. Lots of really tough catches where Purdy had to place the ball perfectly. The secondary played pretty well IMO.
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Purdy continues to be the most underrated and most disrespected player in the NFL right now. He's becoming an elite player and the notion that it's because he's in the Shanahan system and a "system QB" is just plain ridiculous and laughable.

And it's not just throwing short, high percentage passes. A few of the podcasts I listen to put a lot of weight into Yards Per Attempt; 7.0 YPA and above kind of the dividing line for whether or not you're an effective passer and also if you're throwing the ball down the field.

Last year Purdy crushed the league by a full YPA, averaging 9.2 YPA for the whole season. This year through 2 games he's at 8.5 YPA.

Watch the games. Purdy stands in the pocket and throws the ball DOWN THE FIELD, throwing guys open, small windows, and mostly making really good decisions with the football. And more athletic than people give him credit for also.
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
Purdy continues to be the most underrated and most disrespected player in the NFL right now. He's becoming an elite player and the notion that it's because he's in the Shanahan system and a "system QB" is just plain ridiculous and laughable.

And it's not just throwing short, high percentage passes. A few of the podcasts I listen to put a lot of weight into Yards Per Attempt; 7.0 YPA and above kind of the dividing line for whether or not you're an effective passer and also if you're throwing the ball down the field.

Last year Purdy crushed the league by a full YPA, averaging 9.2 YPA for the whole season. This year through 2 games he's at 8.5 YPA.

Watch the games. Purdy stands in the pocket and throws the ball DOWN THE FIELD, throwing guys open, small windows, and mostly making really good decisions with the football. And more athletic than people give him credit for also.
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Yep. He had 97 more yards passing than Mahomes last year in 153 less pass attempts and 93 less completions. Very efficient.
 



kg21 said:
Is it just me, or are 55 yard field goals almost becoming like extra points. I swear, hardly any of them miss in the games I watch.
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I heard the stat on SNF last night so I hope I'm getting it right. But it was something like NFL kickers are 33 or 37 on 50+ field goal attempts so far this season. That's higher than a free throw percentage! Insane.
 

DarrenTheGreek said:
I heard the stat on SNF last night so I hope I'm getting it right. But it was something like NFL kickers are 33 or 37 on 50+ field goal attempts so far this season. That's higher than a free throw percentage! Insane.
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Kickers went 21 of 23 in week one alone. And one of the two kickers that missed was cut the next day (Cade York by Washington).
 


I wholeheartedly agree with Lombardi on this, in regards to the massive epidemic of teams going for it on 4th down. And as far as the ESPN graphic on the screen saying what they think, I don't give a flying f*ck what the analytics folks at the "worldwide leader" think about it:

 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
I wholeheartedly agree with Lombardi on this, in regards to the massive epidemic of teams going for it on 4th down. And as far as the ESPN graphic on the screen saying what they think, I don't give a flying f*ck what the analytics folks at the "worldwide leader" think about it:

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In this specific situation I agree it was dumb to go for it on 4th and 4 on a short field. But the reason you think there’s a “massive epidemic” of teams going for it on 4th down is because for the longest time coaches were way too quick to punt or kick field goals in situations where they shouldn’t have.
 

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