All Things 2025 Minnesota Vikings In-Season Thread

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From the Parkinglot said:
Why not go for two and potentially make it a 9 point game?
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I like that play a lot if it's later in the game, say inside 3 mins or so. I thought about that as well but there was so much time left.

We are seeing a learning and maturation process here, too bad he missed some time earlier in the year. JJM is still making some of the mistakes he made earlier, but he's making much less of them and they aren't sinking the ship.

I think he's only going to get better and better
 

Hardly anyone is noticing because, hey, who wants to watch the Saints, but Tyler Shough has actually been playing some decent football. Is it enough for them to not address the position next spring for a more permanent option? Who knows, but it's not nearly as laughable as most would have thought a few months ago.
 




Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
Hardly anyone is noticing because, hey, who wants to watch the Saints, but Tyler Shough has actually been playing some decent football. Is it enough for them to not address the position next spring for a more permanent option? Who knows, but it's not nearly as laughable as most would have thought a few months ago.
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he's 26. he should be at this point. the question is how much better will he get? They'll probably ride with him as the rest of the team is so full of holes and he's been serviceable.
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
I like that play a lot if it's later in the game, say inside 3 mins or so. I thought about that as well but there was so much time left.

We are seeing a learning and maturation process here, too bad he missed some time earlier in the year. JJM is still making some of the mistakes he made earlier, but he's making much less of them and they aren't sinking the ship.

I think he's only going to get better and better
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we'll have to see here as he plays better defenses. dallas has given up the 2nd most points in the league and has the leagues worst pass defense. Washington the 4th worst.

that said, much much better and more decisive last 2 games. they need to fix his mechanics for consistency in the offseason, but encouraging signs.


as an aside, i'm going to be curious how much they force the ball to Jefferson the last 3 weeks to try get him to 1k yards. Needs 190 over the last 3 games. best chance to throw up yards will be against a very banged up lions team in a few weeks and i guess we'll see what GB has to play for last week of the season
 

upnorthkid said:
we'll have to see here as he plays better defenses. dallas has given up the 2nd most points in the league and has the leagues worst pass defense. Washington the 4th worst.

that said, much much better and more decisive last 2 games. they need to fix his mechanics for consistency in the offseason, but encouraging signs.


as an aside, i'm going to be curious how much they force the ball to Jefferson the last 3 weeks to try get him to 1k yards. Needs 190 over the last 3 games. best chance to throw up yards will be against a very banged up lions team in a few weeks and i guess we'll see what GB has to play for last week of the season
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I'm at the point of letting JJ be JJ. Screw the mechanics. When they were focusing on that he was horrible. Let him do what he's spent his life doing. Seems to be working better.
 

TNGophfan said:
I'm at the point of letting JJ be JJ. Screw the mechanics. When they were focusing on that he was horrible. Let him do what he's spent his life doing. Seems to be working better.
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No. Let him go out and rip it for the rest of the season. He knows the plays. He knows progressions. It's the thinking about plays, progressions, and mechanics that's is jumbling his brain (plus bad protection).

In the offseason, he doesn't have to worry about plays ot progressions. That's when he needs to focus on his mechanics. He should be able to sort a lot of it out.
 
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Cool stat regarding the OLine’s performance last night -


Even without left tackle Christian Darrisaw, the Vikings’ front kept McCarthy clean. McCarthy was only pressured on 22.2 percent of his dropbacks, according to Next Gen Stats, the second-lowest pressure rate he’s faced in a game this season.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
Cool stat regarding the OLine’s performance last night -


Even without left tackle Christian Darrisaw, the Vikings’ front kept McCarthy clean. McCarthy was only pressured on 22.2 percent of his dropbacks, according to Next Gen Stats, the second-lowest pressure rate he’s faced in a game this season.
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I blew that one totally.

Shut Darrisaw down for the year and get him healthy.

Draft defense like no tomorrow.
 

TNGophfan said:
I'm at the point of letting JJ be JJ. Screw the mechanics. When they were focusing on that he was horrible. Let him do what he's spent his life doing. Seems to be working better.
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Just like the golf swing, there's tweaking it and there's doing a full blown rebuild. They can continue to tweak it without changing the way he plays and making him think too much about it.

I still love the intangibles, enough to stick with him at this point; he's a gamer, the guys love playing around him, he's athletic and can move, and he definitely has an arm that can sling it.

And he sure seems to be able to handle all the noise around him and still deliver. The noise in MSP for the last month or two around whether or not he was a major bust had to be deafening. And all he's done the last two games is deliver
 

KOC, not pleased about JJs whatever the hell you want to call that move as he was going into the end zone
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
Just like the golf swing, there's tweaking it and there's doing a full blown rebuild. They can continue to tweak it without changing the way he plays and making him think too much about it.

I still love the intangibles, enough to stick with him at this point; he's a gamer, the guys love playing around him, he's athletic and can move, and he definitely has an arm that can sling it.

And he sure seems to be able to handle all the noise around him and still deliver. The noise in MSP for the last month or two around whether or not he was a major bust had to be deafening. And all he's done the last two games is deliver
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yup he's still super erratic but more decisive recently. has a great runway to finish the year hopefully positively with the defenses we get and the lions and packers being at home

i do think some of the mechanics tweaks they had to do with Josh Allen are going to be needed. he still sails the ball too frequently and that's because of his form, but he also has all those arm angles and slots that can make a QB special/dynamic. He has also shown some good improvement in layering the ball (throw to Hock was a good example, though that was a pretty big NFL window comparatively to some). the decisions i'm cool with. let him rip it and make his mistakes now and learn. No reason not to
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
Just like the golf swing, there's tweaking it and there's doing a full blown rebuild. They can continue to tweak it without changing the way he plays and making him think too much about it.

I still love the intangibles, enough to stick with him at this point; he's a gamer, the guys love playing around him, he's athletic and can move, and he definitely has an arm that can sling it.

And he sure seems to be able to handle all the noise around him and still deliver. The noise in MSP for the last month or two around whether or not he was a major bust had to be deafening. And all he's done the last two games is deliver
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It was bad for Brosmer, but I think that took some pressure off McCarthy. He saw someone else do worse.
 

The talent is clearly there and this is a good sign for the future. He's still only 22 (Nix and Penix from the same draft are 25).

I do think there are times where I wish he would just run the ball more often. You obviously don't want him to get too run happy where he scrambles every time if the first option isn't there but its ok to use his athleticism if needed instead of trying to force a throw.
 


Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
Just like the golf swing, there's tweaking it and there's doing a full blown rebuild. They can continue to tweak it without changing the way he plays and making him think too much about it.
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Every single year, I always seem to play my best golf in April - May before my melon gets in the way and I start thinking too much about my swing and making minor "tweaks".

Getting back to the basics always returns my game but the mental aspects that lead to a lack of confidence in sports at any level are very real. Is there anything scarier than your next iron swing after hitting a shank?

Hopefully, he just keeps slinging it the rest of the way and if he plays similar to the last two (2) weeks, he probably saves KAM's job and makes KOC look like a better coach.
 

Phillip Rivers is Not the First 44 year old QB, retired for five years to come back and play,
He’s the SECOND. The first is -

Rivers is the second quarterback in NFL history to return at age 44 after five years out of the league.

Steve DeBerg did it with the Atlanta Falcons in 1998, reaching the Super Bowl as a backup to Chris Chandler.

Former NFL center Robbie Tobeck, who played for the Falcons from 1994 to '99 before a seven-season run with Seattle, was home in Florida for the 1998 offseason when his brother-in-law got him tickets to an Arena League game in Tampa.


"Hooters was sponsoring halftime, and they had this deal where you come out and run a route and you catch a ball from Steve DeBerg," Tobeck recalled last week. "I was like, 'Oh, that's cool. Steve DeBerg, I remember him.'"

DeBerg was so far out of the league that he had coached quarterbacks for two seasons on Dan Reeves' staff with the New York Giants. But with Reeves coaching the Falcons in 1998, there was a connection, same as Rivers had with Shane Steichen in Indy.

"I'm going in to the facility that next week to work out," Tobeck said. "I pull in the facility, and they're working this guy out on the field. A quarterback. I'm looking ... I'm looking ... that's fricking Steve DeBerg! Just literally the weekend before, I'm watching him throw balls to Hooters contest winners at the Storm game."
 

Slim Tubby said:
Every single year, I always seem to play my best golf in April - May before my melon gets in the way and I start thinking too much about my swing and making minor "tweaks".

Getting back to the basics always returns my game but the mental aspects that lead to a lack of confidence in sports at any level are very real. Is there anything scarier than your next iron swing after hitting a shank?
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My buddy who gives a lot of lessons has a great saying, "The middle of your swing is a helluva place to give yourself a golf lesson." You can tinker with shit on the range, but once you get to that first tee, you have to just play, just swing. When I get on the course, I have to remind myself to hit "golf shots", not try to make good golf swings.

Slim Tubby said:
Hopefully, he just keeps slinging it the rest of the way and if he plays similar to the last two (2) weeks, he probably saves KAM's job and makes KOC look like a better coach.
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I'm willing to give KOC the benefit of the doubt that he's still evolving as a play-caller and even more importantly, how to call a game with JJM under Center. Second game in a row where the Vikings ran the ball more than they threw it; that's no coincidence that JJM looked a whole lot better.

For the last 3 games, he doesn't have to look great; he just has to make improvement every week, build on the previous week.
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
My buddy who gives a lot of lessons has a great saying, "The middle of your swing is a helluva place to give yourself a golf lesson." You can tinker with shit on the range, but once you get to that first tee, you have to just play, just swing. When I get on the course, I have to remind myself to hit "golf shots", not try to make good golf swings.
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That's funny because I can grab a couple of buckets of range balls, hit a few good shots with the driver and 7-iron right and leave the rest as a stroll to the first tee ready for greatness.

I can also hit every ball in both buckets and wonder if I maybe should be in the boat instead.
Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
I'm willing to give KOC the benefit of the doubt that he's still evolving as a play-caller and even more importantly, how to call a game with JJM under Center. Second game in a row where the Vikings ran the ball more than they threw it; that's no coincidence that JJM looked a whole lot better.
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A good short game covers up a lot of swing issues. The running game certainly needs to be JJM's favorite wedge.
Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
For the last 3 games, he doesn't have to look great; he just has to make improvement every week, build on the previous week.
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Agreed.
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
My buddy who gives a lot of lessons has a great saying, "The middle of your swing is a helluva place to give yourself a golf lesson." You can tinker with shit on the range, but once you get to that first tee, you have to just play, just swing. When I get on the course, I have to remind myself to hit "golf shots", not try to make good golf swings.



I'm willing to give KOC the benefit of the doubt that he's still evolving as a play-caller and even more importantly, how to call a game with JJM under Center. Second game in a row where the Vikings ran the ball more than they threw it; that's no coincidence that JJM looked a whole lot better.

For the last 3 games, he doesn't have to look great; he just has to make improvement every week, build on the previous week.
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almost like playing to his game script in college was the way to go, kind of like we all thought they would do when they brought in Mason to complement Jones and claimed they were going to run the ball lol
 

Jonathan Greenard will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery​

Vikings linebacker Jonathan Greenard will miss the rest of the season with a left shoulder injury, coach Kevin O’Connell said Monday.

Greenard’s injury will require surgery.

“It was something he was playing through,” O’Connell said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN. “He knew he would not be able to put this behind him until probably he got it fixed, whenever that was going to be. And just looking at coming out of [Sunday night] and aggravating it and just it feels like the best time to do that now.”
Greenard initially appeared on the practice report with a shoulder injury in Week 11, having injured it in the Week 10 game against the Ravens.

He finishes his season with 38 tackles, three sacks and 12 quarterback hits.
Greenard had double-digit sacks in 2023 with Houston and in 2024 in his first season in Minnesota.

Rookie Dallas Turner is expected to see more snaps in Greenard’s absence.
 

Slim Tubby said:

Jonathan Greenard will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery​

Vikings linebacker Jonathan Greenard will miss the rest of the season with a left shoulder injury, coach Kevin O’Connell said Monday.

Greenard’s injury will require surgery.

“It was something he was playing through,” O’Connell said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN. “He knew he would not be able to put this behind him until probably he got it fixed, whenever that was going to be. And just looking at coming out of [Sunday night] and aggravating it and just it feels like the best time to do that now.”
Greenard initially appeared on the practice report with a shoulder injury in Week 11, having injured it in the Week 10 game against the Ravens.

He finishes his season with 38 tackles, three sacks and 12 quarterback hits.
Greenard had double-digit sacks in 2023 with Houston and in 2024 in his first season in Minnesota.

Rookie Dallas Turner is expected to see more snaps in Greenard’s absence.
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Pete Bercich really, really, REALLY likes Dallas Turner. And rumor has it Pete knows football, a little. This film breakdown is damned interesting.

 

Not too bad. Just have to keep stacking up good performances, while continuing to work on improving every week

 

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