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***OFFICIAL*** 2012 MINNESOTA VIKINGS SEASON THREAD (1 Viewer)

Didn't get to watch the game but if we would have lost like that to the Jags I'm pretty sure I would have cried.

 
A win is a win baby!! :excited:

Saying that.. The defense is still a work in progress.. Still can't cover the pass when it is needed.. Just wait until they face Stafford and Rodgers. :scared:

LOVED seeing Adrian not only start, but look great for a guy only 8 months removed from knee surgery. :thumbup:

When Frasier pulled his butt out and was forced to allow Ponder to throw at the end, Ponder stepped up and did was necessary to get the Vikings into position for the FG to get them into OT. Overall Ponder looked much better then last year and, once they get Jerome Simpson back, the WR group will help him improve.. :thumbup:

Speaking of the FG kicker... After one week you have to give a :thumbup: to Spillman for letting Longwell go and drafting Walsh.. Kid has a GREAT leg and didn't choke when the pressure was on him.

Still quite upset at Frasier's "Play not to lose" mentality when they got the ball with less than 2 minutes left. To run it up the middle 3 straight times was maddening and could have cost them the game.. thought he would have learned from last year that sitting on a small lead in the 4th quarter is never a good idea.

I would much rather lose a game because Ponder threw an INT, then lose a game because you were afraid of him making a mistake.

Still think, looking at the schedule, a 7 or, dare I dream, 8 win season is within their grasps. :popcorn:

 
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They were 20 seconds away from losing one of the only weak opponents on their schedule. I think they have a lot of work to do to win 4 games this year. Gabbert looked like Montana at times yesterday. What is a good qb going to do? I'm starting to think this teams biggest need is a stud linebacker. They dont have one.

 
Positives:

1) AP - What else can be said? To play like he did being just 8 months from an ACL tear is superhuman.

2) Ponder - After the firt few series he started to get into a rhythm. Good velocity on his throws and seems to have much more confidence in his o-line than he did at the end of last year.

3) The o-line. They still got blasted back on a few running plays but overall seems like an improved unit from last year.

4) Brian Robison

5) Harrison Smith is a big upgrade at the safety spot. Early results look very promising.

6) Percy Harvin is nearly unstoppable.

Negatives:

1) The secondary is still bad. I don't know how Cook could have gotten so turned around on that late TD.

2) Greenway looked a step late in coverage to me. He used to be much faster, IMO.

3) Like Funkley said, as a whole, the LB corps doesn't look very good.

4) I still don't like the gameplan the coaches put together - especially on offense.

I still think the o/u on wins this year is 6.

 
Dont get me wrong, i'm thrilled that they won. Ponder recovered nicely once Musgrave took the skirts off. Blair f'n Walsh.....wow, best Vikings debut since Moss? But overall, they still look like a team that is about 5-6 players away from being good. I think we will see improvement that doesnt translate to wins yet. And like Andy said, the seconsary is still bad. Nice to see H.Smith rebound though. He looked turrible early.

 
I didn't see the game, but I have AP on my bench. Can anyone tell me how he looked compared to AP of old? I realize he scored twice and had over 80 yards, but did he seem to have burst? Were his cuts sharp or more rounded? Did he appear tentative at all?

 
AP looked at about 80%.

He didn't have that "take your breath away" burst back yet.

On the plus side it didn't look like he'd taken the field too soon and was risking a setback.

 
I am honestly happy with the secondary. They were in position to make good plays. They didn't give up any huge plays other than the Chris Cook TD but that was a great throw by Gabbart. Speaking of Cook, he's gonna be a stud. I wished we would get more pressure up front. I did see pressure but not as consistently as I would like to see it.

Ponder is still a work in progress. Started slow. I hope Leslie let's him take more shots down field. Rudolph is going to have a great season.

And AP is still da BOSS!

 
To me, the best thing about the win was pulling out a close victory when in the past they would have just given up after allowing that disappointing late TD. Last year, most of their losses were very close and could have been won with late clutch play instead of rolling over. To see them come through in the clutch and not give up was very encouraging.

Their schedule is much easier than last year, and the team is much better in some key areas (O-line, secondary, Kicker, WR when Simpson's back, TE when Carlson's back up to speed). If they can continue to have a winner's attitude and play so well in the clutch, I think they could surprise a lot of people with a winning record. With the scrubs they had last year in some positions, they almost beat some very strong teams.

Ponder taking the ball with only 14 seconds left at his own 31, putting them in FG range, and Walsh kicking the 55-yarder as time expired was very different from what this team would have done in past years (other than Favre year 1), when the team would have just conceded the defeat. IMO, that's the mark of a winner, and I hope to see much more of that this year.

 
Secondaries do more than cover and even if some guys were in position to make plays (that werent made) the Vikes secondary might be the worst tacklers in the NFL. Winfield needs to hang up the cleats.

 
Worried that AP is going to get more work than he should. Seems like 17 carries, while not overly excessive, might still be a few too many. But then, Gerhart didn't look too good.

O-Line, Walsh, Harvin, Robison looked great. H. Smith, Rudolph, Ponder looked good. Still worried about Mistral Raymond and the LBs, although Greenway made a couple nice plays.

Happy with a victory, but still only expecting 5 or so wins this year. In fact I think that this team really would be best served by having a bad season and nabbing a high pick next year that could be used on the back 7. Jury still out on the coaching staff, I'm not sold on them but I don't dislike them (yet) either.

 
'Funkley said:
They were 20 seconds away from losing one of the only weak opponents on their schedule. I think they have a lot of work to do to win 4 games this year. Gabbert looked like Montana at times yesterday. What is a good qb going to do? I'm starting to think this teams biggest need is a stud linebacker. They dont have one.
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I am happy with the Harrison pick, and I think that choice somewhat took us out of the running for Kendricks, but I fully agree with you that Greenway is not enough of a difference maker. Neither is Erin Henderson. They are ok just not difference makers. The Vikings need an upgrade at LB particularly one who can cover. That is what excited me about Audie Cole. Hopeful he may develop into a good nickle LB at some point but we still need to upgrade the position.
 
'Andy Dufresne said:
AP looked at about 80%.He didn't have that "take your breath away" burst back yet. On the plus side it didn't look like he'd taken the field too soon and was risking a setback.
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I pretty much agree with this.I have noticed a little bit of stiffness in how AD runs in practice and also in this game at times. It is a very subtle thing but I cannot totally dismiss it. Something about his gate is different than years past, he is not settling in when he goes low the same, he seems to be running a bit more upright than before. I can see that he is still getting used to how his knee is now. Maybe that stiffness will go away after some time. Just my observation after scrutinizing his runs quite a bit. The 80% of former self seems about right to me for where AD is right now. Hoping he can come back all the way.
 
Vikings Head Coach Leslie FrazierGood afternoon everybody. This smile on my face is definitely a reflection of yesterday and the way our players played, just so proud of the effort they gave over the course of four quarters and then in that final overtime as well. There were a lot of good things, so many things that we learned about ourselves throughout that game. There are obviously things we have to work on to improve on, the tape will show that and we’ll get a chance to go through that with our players today. It’s a lot more fun making those corrections after a win, which is good for our football team. From an injury standpoint we came out pretty good. We didn’t really sustain any major injuries so we should have everybody participate this week in practice and getting ready for this ball game. We may get Marvin Mitchell back who was banged up a week ago; we’ll see how the week goes on. Other than that, Andrew Sendejo who is coming back from an injury is probably the only other guy that was out that we were kind of counting on. To come out of the game without any major injuries is a big deal.Q: What is the long-term psychological value of having that victory?A: It’s hard to measure other than it’s a great feeling for our team from a confidence standpoint. One of the things we emphasized throughout this offseason was finishing and being able to execute under pressure and our guys did that yesterday. They had moments where they could have easily folded and said, this game is over, particularly after that long pass at the end of the game but they didn’t. There are some things that we can draw on where our players will have confidence in the future and win close ball games; that we can finish with a win. That’s something you can build on as a team.Q: Did you see plays Christian Ponder make that he might not have made last year?A: I don’t think there is one more evident than that two-minute situation that we had. There were a number of moments like that a season ago where we needed just one play that could have turned the game in our favor in the fourth quarter and we couldn’t find a way to make that play. For Christian to make that throw to Devin Aromashodu, the first play to get us in the position to get it to Kyle [Rudolph] to get out of bounds; the poise that was needed in that sequence and the leadership that was needed, that’s good stuff. That’s what this league is made of when you have a quarterback that can take you down the last two minutes of a game and put you in a position to win a game. He did something we hadn’t seen very much of recently so it was good for us.Q: Did you give Ponder more opportunities to call audibles at the line of scrimmage and was the one to Kyle Rudolph one of those opportunities?A: We have two minute situations that we’ve pretty much gone through. That situation, we actually practiced it back in Mankato and even in the offseason here so we’ve kind of gone through that and talked about how we would handle that situation. He was working off script so to say but it’s different in a game situation with the pressure on than in practice. Our two minutes, we have an idea of how we want to do every situation and he knows what those situations call for.Q: What changed in Ponder from the start of the game?A: I think that two-minute sequence right before the half was big for him and for our team. We were able to get points on the board. We were struggling early on to get first downs on offense, but that sequence really gave him some confidence and we got the ball to the end zone. In the second half he lit it up, I think he went 17 for 20 in the second half. We were talking to him throughout on the sideline and our coaches were encouraging him; we talked about this being a four-quarter type of game. We don’t expect to play many games, if any, where we are going to be blowing someone out in the fourth quarter. We’re going to have some moments where we’re a little bit stagnant and good teams find a way to work through those, good quarterbacks find a way to work through those and that’s what he did. That’s a good sign for us that he worked through some tough moments early on and finished as well as he finished.Q: Are there ways you have to find to get Percy Harvin the ball more?A: We’re always trying to find ways to get him the football whether it’s coming out of the backfield, lining up in the backfield, bending the slot or bending outside, reverses, kickoffs, whatever; we’re always trying to find ways to get him the ball and we’ll continue to do that and give it to him in different ways. He’s such a factor with the ball in his hands even if you have to do it on those smoke screens that we ran in this game. Whatever you have to do to get the ball in his hands to give him a chance to make plays, we’ve all seen the results of it. He turned what should have been maybe three or four yard gains into big plays for us. He is a special guy with that football in his hands.Q: You get the ball with 1:51 left and hold it for only 33 seconds; how do you balance staying committed to your power running identity and not being too conservative?A: We would like to be better in that four-minute situation, that’s one of the things we’ll talk about when we get together with the team today. You want to be able to run the ball when people know that you have to run; we have to get to the point where we can do that. There are going to be more games where we’re going to have to be able to take time off the clock. We’ll have to figure out a way to get a first down and we’ll have to get to the point where we are able to throw the ball in those situations as well. Right now, where we are, we took the approach we thought was necessary but we have to find a way to move the football a little bit better than we did yesterday.Q: Did the penalty on Michael Jenkins mess up the whole philosophy?A: It messed us up big time, can’t have that.Q: How much more time would you have liked to run off?A: It would have been about 1:03, 1:01, which would have been great with no timeouts at that point for them. Now you get them back in a backed up situation having to drive the football 80 yards down the field; that was our goal, 80, 85 yards. For us to have a penalty just discourages everything you’re trying to get done. You stop the clock, you give them a chance to conserve a timeout, just not what you want. We have to be smart in that situation and good teams don’t allow that to happen. We have to be better than that in that situation.Q: How close are you to reaching that power running identity and being able to run the clock down?A: We’re not that far away, some of it is getting more repetitions with the group that we have. This is the first time that this unit has played together in a game situation upfront. We have to continue to work together so that we can get more confidence in moments like those that we can get more movement in our offensive linemen and our backs can have confidence that holes are going to be there for them. A part of it will just be our playing together a little bit longer and being able to believe when those situations come up.Q: Did Adrian Peterson experience any swelling or pain after carrying so many times?A: No, he hasn’t come in the training room, hasn’t complained at all. So far, so good.Q: Christian Ponder said he was trying to press urgency earlier in the game. Is that important?A: We like to always get off to a good start. I know he would, he leads our offense. There are going to be some times where things don’t quite go the way you want early in the game but his sticktoitiveness throughout the game, that’s one of the things that was really encouraging for me and I think our entire team, that he didn’t get discouraged, he didn’t get down on himself and as much as he wanted to get off to a fast start, it didn’t happen but he didn’t go in the tank. He just continues to stay with it and good things happen over the course of the four quarters.Q: What was your assessment of Matt Kalil?A: He played a good game. For his rookie debut, to come out and work as hard as he did against what we consider a pretty good front, Jeremy Mincey is a good defensive end and so is Andre Branch, both of those guys are, Jeremy in particular is a very good player. I thought he held his own in the run game, did a very good job in pass protection as well, just a lot of things that we can build on. There were a few errors that we want to correct. There are some things that he knows he has to get better at but that’s going to be a part of his maturing as an offensive tackle as well but a lot of good things on tape by him.Q: How did Harrison Smith do?A: I thought he did a good job. He had maybe one missed tackle but his angles, he had a nice deflection there late in the game, moved around well, was in the right position, made some good plays. When I look at the tape, he brought a smile to my face a few different times because he was where he needed to be and that’s important when you’re a guy who plays in the secondary. Being where you’re supposed to be while other guys on the defense can trust that you’re going to carry out your assignment and he was there, he was where he needed to be and when he had an opportunity to make plays, he made plays for the most part.Q: Does it make sense to target the same number of carries for Adrian going forward?A: I think we still have to be somewhat cautious. Now Adrian won’t want to hear that but we still have to keep a rotation going between he and Toby (Gerhart). I don’t think we can, at this point, say, ‘Adrian, look forward to carrying the ball 20-25 times.’ I don’t think we’re at that point quite yet but before the game, I wouldn’t have said that he would have been able to carry it 17 either. He’s very unique in so many ways but I think we’ll go forward knowing that he is coming off of major knee surgery and it will only be his second game since that surgery and full participation. We’ll be somewhat cautious.Q: Did you ask him during the game if he could go some more? Did you ask him how he was doing after 10 carries?A: Yeah, our running backs coach James Saxon was in constant communication with him throughout the game. We had talked about this beforehand, that that conversation needed to be going on all throughout the game, you know, ‘How are you doing? How are you coming along? Are you fatigued? Do you have any soreness?’ There was constant communication. Every conversation was positive. There were some moments where we brought him out and he got a little bit winded but he continued to want to participate and there were no ill-effects from it. He did a great job.Q: After assessing it, can you continue to win that way?A: I don’t know. I just know in our League you just have to find ways to win, even if you don’t play your best game. Even the best teams I’ve been on, they find a way. Somebody will make a play, even if we didn’t have a good day. There are enough players on the team that believe that somebody will make a play as long as the game stays close. You’d like to be able to get in situations where one day we can run away from people in the fourth quarter and hopefully that day will come but I think the way we’re built right now, we’re going to play a lot of close games and we have to find a way to win those games in the fourth quarter and fortunately for us yesterday, we found a way. People made plays on both sides of the ball and of course Blair (Walsh) did as well. That may be who we are. We’ll see as the season goes on.Q: You’re kind of bracing for a wild ride?A: It could be. Who knows? We may hit a stride and start blowing people out. That would be awesome. I’ll be a lot less tense on the sidelines, believe me. It’s just so rare in our League to blow teams out. You just know that you’re going to be in close ball games and you have to find a way to make some plays and some of it is because of your doing. Now maybe you didn’t do some things you should have done early on, but sometimes it’s just the fact that it’s the NFL and the other team you’re playing against, they’re pretty good also. A lot of tight games, that’s the way it goes.Q: What concerns you most about Jacksonville’s 17-play scoring drive they had?A: Third downs. We had them in situations we want to get teams in, a lot of third-and-seven plus. We didn’t find a way to make a play and that could create problems. Fortunately for us, 17 plays, three points. You’ll take that when that happens and from an offensive standpoint, you’re kicking yourself because you didn’t get it in the end zone. When we get teams in third-and-eight, third-and-nine, we have to find a way to get off the field. We have to improve on that. That was discouraging and that will definitely be a point of emphasis when we sit down and talk this afternoon.Q: How much of a concern was the tackling?A: We had some missed tackles at times but I thought overall, our tackling was pretty good, especially considering we’re in the first game of the season. I wasn’t as down about that as I was about our third down inefficiency early in the game. Got better in the second half, but the situations we had them in, we have to do better.Q: Were you getting enough from the pass rush?A: I thought we had some good hits on the quarterback from our front, particularly Brian Robison, he did a great job all day. They really couldn’t handle him and he had more one-on-ones of course than Jared (Allen) did and he got good pressure for us. I thought Everson Griffen got good pressure for us a few times so although we didn’t get the sacks, I thought we had some good hits on the quarterback but there were other times when I thought we needed to get more pressure and we didn’t. We were a little bit inconsistent. Overall, I thought we got some knock downs, some hits on the quarterback that rattled him at times and if we can do that, sometimes that can be as effective as a sack.Q: Seemed like some of Adrian’s runs were to the middle or the right side. How effective can that grouping be?A: We think it can be an effective group in totality, not just the right side but in some of what we do, you’re trying to figure out what’s the best thing for Adrian and where is he going to have the most success and I’m sure people will look at tape and try to figure that out as well as they try to get a handle on how we are using him but some of it has to do with what runs we think are better for him at this point as opposed to running behind a particular lineman.Q: How impressed were you with Antoine Winfield being with you guys this week after what he has been through?A: I have so much respect for Antoine. To experience the loss he experienced this week and to come to work, to work as hard as he did and then to play in the ball game and play as well as he did, I don’t know if I could have done that. I don’t know many people that could have done that. Just a very courageous young man, a very strong young man and his teammates, they were very supportive. They were pulling for him. A lot of guys were encouraging him throughout the game and throughout the week as well. I have tremendous respect for him. My heart goes out to he and his family. I know how difficult this is for them and we’re going to try to be there to support him and his family. Our whole organization will.Q: Is Brian Robison set for a breakout year here?A: He got off to a great start yesterday. I think he is in position to hopefully have a breakout season. It would be great for our team if that happens but the way he played yesterday, he’s well on his way. Now can you put it together week in and week out? Because he got off to a great start a year ago. We’d love to see him consistently bring pressure like he did yesterday and that allows us to blitz less and even help our secondary more but he’s off to a great start. He had a great camp, great offseason, didn’t miss anything and it was great to see yesterday. Would love to see him do it again against the team we’re playing this coming Sunday.
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http://www.vikings.com/news/article-1/Vikings-Quotes---Leslie-Frazier---September-10/768530e0-d9f9-4241-bb1a-06d7745f85cb
 
'Herb said:
Worried that AP is going to get more work than he should. Seems like 17 carries, while not overly excessive, might still be a few too many. But then, Gerhart didn't look too good.O-Line, Walsh, Harvin, Robison looked great. H. Smith, Rudolph, Ponder looked good. Still worried about Mistral Raymond and the LBs, although Greenway made a couple nice plays.Happy with a victory, but still only expecting 5 or so wins this year. In fact I think that this team really would be best served by having a bad season and nabbing a high pick next year that could be used on the back 7. Jury still out on the coaching staff, I'm not sold on them but I don't dislike them (yet) either.
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I'm with ya. I don't want to get my expectations too high this year. 5 or 6 wins seems realistic. Vikings should be capable of beating Indy on the road but I don't feel confident that they will.
 
Not sure why I watching NFL fantasy Live because Dave Dameshek is so freaking annoying. Dameshek talking about Luck fantasy prospects this week said something like this: "Luck is playing a team that will be drafting number 1 in April." I would love for the Vikings to prove him wrong.

 
Luck targeted Reggie Wayne 18 times and Coby Fleener 10 times against the Bears. They ran sparingly but the Bears got ahead and controlled the game.

The Vikings will likely try to turn loose more pass rush this week and the draws with Donald Brown could be effective again.

Ponder was more efficient than Luck in week 1. Although it is worth mentioning that most of Ponders success was during hurry up situations and overtime he was 20 for 27 74% completion rate 270yds 0 TD 0 INT to Lucks 1st game 23 for 45 51% completion rate 1 TD 3 INT 1 fumble lost. The Vikings have more balance with their offense as well.

The Viking defense particularly in coverage is not as good as the Bears defense. But with Harrison now the safety position is improved and that makes a pretty big difference. I see this as a week the Vikings will let loose with some blitzes and see if their defense can't get in on some of this Luck as well.

I certainly expect it to be an exciting game. The Viking secondary still has a long way to go and Luck should have some success I think, especially if they do as well protecting him as the Jaguars did, even with some injuries.

The Vikings have to find a way to cover Reggie Wayne. No easy task. I would love to see someone on the Vikings defense actually stop a decent TE player from catching the ball instead of just tackling them after they do.

 
'Biabreakable said:
Luck targeted Reggie Wayne 18 times and Coby Fleener 10 times against the Bears. They ran sparingly but the Bears got ahead and controlled the game.

The Vikings will likely try to turn loose more pass rush this week and the draws with Donald Brown could be effective again.

Ponder was more efficient than Luck in week 1. Although it is worth mentioning that most of Ponders success was during hurry up situations and overtime he was 20 for 27 74% completion rate 270yds 0 TD 0 INT to Lucks 1st game 23 for 45 51% completion rate 1 TD 3 INT 1 fumble lost. The Vikings have more balance with their offense as well.

The Viking defense particularly in coverage is not as good as the Bears defense. But with Harrison now the safety position is improved and that makes a pretty big difference. I see this as a week the Vikings will let loose with some blitzes and see if their defense can't get in on some of this Luck as well.

I certainly expect it to be an exciting game. The Viking secondary still has a long way to go and Luck should have some success I think, especially if they do as well protecting him as the Jaguars did, even with some injuries.

The Vikings have to find a way to cover Reggie Wayne. No easy task. I would love to see someone on the Vikings defense actually stop a decent TE player from catching the ball instead of just tackling them after they do.
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Me too. But I don't think that player is a member of the Vikings yet, unfortunately.I think the Vikes win this game, but won't be real surprised if they don't. Luck is so freakin good already, I really don't see a blitz-heavy scheme fazing him much. My hope is that the Indy defense is still a bit out of sorts (and missing Freeney) and that the Vikes can score enough points on them to pull out a victory.

 
'Donnybrook said:
Not sure why I watching NFL fantasy Live because Dave Dameshek is so freaking annoying. Dameshek talking about Luck fantasy prospects this week said something like this: "Luck is playing a team that will be drafting number 1 in April." I would love for the Vikings to prove him wrong.
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While I'm not bullish on the Vikings prospects this season (wait, am I ever?) calling them the worst team in the league is beyond dumb. The #1 pick is going to go to a team that wins somewhere between zero and three games.They're not going to go 2-13 the rest of the way. 4-11, yes...but not 2-13.
 
'Andy Dufresne said:
'Donnybrook said:
Not sure why I watching NFL fantasy Live because Dave Dameshek is so freaking annoying. Dameshek talking about Luck fantasy prospects this week said something like this: "Luck is playing a team that will be drafting number 1 in April." I would love for the Vikings to prove him wrong.
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While I'm not bullish on the Vikings prospects this season (wait, am I ever?) calling them the worst team in the league is beyond dumb. The #1 pick is going to go to a team that wins somewhere between zero and three games.They're not going to go 2-13 the rest of the way. 4-11, yes...but not 2-13.
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That is probably not even the dumbest thing Dameshek said. He also suggested that Washington will lose to St Louis this week. (I find that hard to believe with all the injuries to the Rams Oline). He said the pass rush of Chris Long will be a major factor for RGIII.
 
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'Donnybrook said:
'Andy Dufresne said:
'Donnybrook said:
Not sure why I watching NFL fantasy Live because Dave Dameshek is so freaking annoying. Dameshek talking about Luck fantasy prospects this week said something like this: "Luck is playing a team that will be drafting number 1 in April." I would love for the Vikings to prove him wrong.
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While I'm not bullish on the Vikings prospects this season (wait, am I ever?) calling them the worst team in the league is beyond dumb. The #1 pick is going to go to a team that wins somewhere between zero and three games.They're not going to go 2-13 the rest of the way. 4-11, yes...but not 2-13.
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That is probably not even the dumbest thing Dameshek said. He also suggested that Washington will lose to St Louis this week. (I find that hard to believe with all the injuries to the Rams Oline). He said the pass rush of Chris Long will be a major factor for RGIII.
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I can't believe I have to give props to Dameshek. I guess it doesn't matter that we got a new defensive coordinator, drafted a safety and a corner and got Winfield and Cook back. Secondary is still struggling mightly.
 
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They need to find plays farther than 7 yds or Harvin will be dead by week 5.

Seriously. Open it up a bit guys.

 
Winfield, Raymond and Cook are back, Harrison Smith looks like a player. So how come their pass D looks just as bad as last year? Luck is awesome, but he's still a rookie and I shudder to think what Rodgers and Stafford are going to do to this defense. Hell at this rate Kolb, Freeman and Russell Wilson will rack up 300+ yds against them unless they fix some things real fast.

I've been watching this team for 25+ years, and that game was one of the worst I've seen this team play as far as lack of discipline and beating themselves. And that's saying something. Starting to wonder about this coaching staff...

 
'Herb said:
Winfield, Raymond and Cook are back, Harrison Smith looks like a player. So how come their pass D looks just as bad as last year? Luck is awesome, but he's still a rookie and I shudder to think what Rodgers and Stafford are going to do to this defense. Hell at this rate Kolb, Freeman and Russell Wilson will rack up 300+ yds against them unless they fix some things real fast.

I've been watching this team for 25+ years, and that game was one of the worst I've seen this team play as far as lack of discipline and beating themselves. And that's saying something. Starting to wonder about this coaching staff...
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I think you answered your own question. But I think you can add the fact that Winfield and Cook aren't as good as we hoped they'd be this season.

And why didn't the d-line dominate that high-school level o-line the Colts fielded yesterday?

 
Certainly not enough depth.

LB corps is disappointingly average at best.

And the :deadhorse: is that the WR corps, outside Harvin of course, is miserable.

 
So far the secondary has been underwhelming as expected, but unlike last year the D-line hasn't been getting the sacks to partially offset the poor secondary.

The offense actually doesn't look too bad once Musgrave decides to open up the dang playbook. That run, run, short pass offense just doesn't work very well. Hopefully when Simpson comes back we can actually stretch the ball downfield a bit more.

 
'Andy Dufresne said:
And why didn't the d-line dominate that high-school level o-line the Colts fielded yesterday?
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Andrew Luck had KY on his jersey. They just couldn't get him down, even when they managed to get a hand on him. It was remarkable. They were on top of him the whole day, he just stepped away and chucked the ball to open receivers. That guy is going to be a HOFer. He's friggin amazing. Can't say enough about how impressed I am with him. He'll be top 5 in the league next year. He's top 10 right now, IMO.
'Funkley said:
I just dont think there is enough talent on this team. Looking at another top 5 pick.
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Long term this is the best thing that can happen to this team. I don't know if the requisite coaching changes that would go along with that would be for the best or not, but the rest of this season should give us the answer to that question.
 
It all goes back to the coaching.. Frasier's coaching "Play it close to the vest and let your defense win it" works when you have a top 5 defense.. NOT when your defense has as many holes as the Vikings Defense has right now.

Once they fall behind in the game then he takes the leash off the offense and Ponder has proven more than capable of moving the ball, even with the misfits at WR after Harvin.

There is no way in heck your defense is going to stay with the 49ers, Packers, Lions, etc..

Time to just "let it rip" and if you lose, :shrug: at least gave it your all.. :thumbup:

But coaching "not to lose" is going to cost him and the rest of the coaching staff their jobs at this rate.

 
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I know you can't blame a single player, but Chris Cook has allowed game-changing receptions in both of our games so far. One killed us, the other would have without our sweet kicker.

 
'snogger said:
It all goes back to the coaching.. Frasier's coaching "Play it close to the vest and let your defense win it" works when you have a top 5 defense.. NOT when your defense has as many holes as the Vikings Defense has right now.
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This is a good observation. Going back to the Chili days, Vikings coaches have had the philosophy of "keep it close in the first half and then try a little bit harder in the second." :yucky:
 
Vikings got absolutely shafted on both the roughing the kicker penalty and on Jared Allen's pursuit of Luck out of bounds. One of the two was a complete whiff, and the other was a graze at best.

That aside, the play calling was atrocious. So many screens, laterals, passes behind the line of scrimmage or short curls. Peterson was gashing for a number of 5-6 yd runs in the first few drives, but as the defense couldn't get off the field, they started to freak and call more passes, and it looked like Harvin was their only plan. There wasn't even a deep pass attempted until THE 4TH QUARTER. If the defense's #1 option isn't playing and you can't get a TD until the 4th, you really need to look at your gameplan.

Harvin has to be hurting today, and they can't use him this much with their late bye. Sit everybody vs. SF- don't even watch.

 
'Herb said:
'Biabreakable said:
Luck targeted Reggie Wayne 18 times and Coby Fleener 10 times against the Bears. They ran sparingly but the Bears got ahead and controlled the game.

The Vikings will likely try to turn loose more pass rush this week and the draws with Donald Brown could be effective again.

Ponder was more efficient than Luck in week 1. Although it is worth mentioning that most of Ponders success was during hurry up situations and overtime he was 20 for 27 74% completion rate 270yds 0 TD 0 INT to Lucks 1st game 23 for 45 51% completion rate 1 TD 3 INT 1 fumble lost. The Vikings have more balance with their offense as well.

The Viking defense particularly in coverage is not as good as the Bears defense. But with Harrison now the safety position is improved and that makes a pretty big difference. I see this as a week the Vikings will let loose with some blitzes and see if their defense can't get in on some of this Luck as well.

I certainly expect it to be an exciting game. The Viking secondary still has a long way to go and Luck should have some success I think, especially if they do as well protecting him as the Jaguars did, even with some injuries.

The Vikings have to find a way to cover Reggie Wayne. No easy task. I would love to see someone on the Vikings defense actually stop a decent TE player from catching the ball instead of just tackling them after they do.
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Me too. But I don't think that player is a member of the Vikings yet, unfortunately.I think the Vikes win this game, but won't be real surprised if they don't. Luck is so freakin good already, I really don't see a blitz-heavy scheme fazing him much. My hope is that the Indy defense is still a bit out of sorts (and missing Freeney) and that the Vikes can score enough points on them to pull out a victory.
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If I see number 50 in position to be able to make a play yet be clueless as to where the ball is one more time. :rant: I think Luck did some good things to escape the pass rush that has been pretty much non-existant thus far this season. Jared Aleen needed an IV during the game. Makes me wonder if he is off the wagon again. Luck hurt us with some great scrambles and extending plays.

 
Overall, I have been pleased with what I have seen:

1. Ponder looks better.

2. Harvin is involved a ton.

3. Rudolph looks good.

4. Peterson is better at this point than I thought he would be.

5. Pass defense is improved (believe it or not - although couldn't get much worse than last year).

6. Offensive line is better.

7. Good drafting of the kicker.

That being said, I would have loved to get this last game at the Colts - even though, come April, I'll be glad we didn't pull it out.

Things I have been disappointed in:

1. Run defense looks bad! Gore may run for 175 this weekend.

2. No pressure up front - Robison and Griffen are the only ones putting consistent pressure on the QB.

3. Carlson not playing - hopefully it is because he is still slowed by injury.

4. Linebackers are underwhelming (at best)...Manti Te'o looks good for the Irish though (they are the Vikings AAA affiliate!)

5. Toby hasn't played much but hasn't produced much - although he hasn't had holes the few times he has run.

 
'FunkyPlutos said:
Overall, I have been pleased with what I have seen:

1. Ponder looks better.

2. Harvin is involved a ton.

3. Rudolph looks good.

4. Peterson is better at this point than I thought he would be.

5. Pass defense is improved (believe it or not - although couldn't get much worse than last year).

6. Offensive line is better.

7. Good drafting of the kicker.

That being said, I would have loved to get this last game at the Colts - even though, come April, I'll be glad we didn't pull it out.

Things I have been disappointed in:

1. Run defense looks bad! Gore may run for 175 this weekend.

2. No pressure up front - Robison and Griffen are the only ones putting consistent pressure on the QB.

3. Carlson not playing - hopefully it is because he is still slowed by injury.

4. Linebackers are underwhelming (at best)...Manti Te'o looks good for the Irish though (they are the Vikings AAA affiliate!)

5. Toby hasn't played much but hasn't produced much - although he hasn't had holes the few times he has run.
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:confused: Just because Allen doesn't have a sack yet doesn't mean he hasn't been getting pressure on the QB..

He's had at least 5 to 6 chances.. Luck alone escaped him twice that I recall..

Robinson has been impressive.. Seems to have stepped up his game. :thumbup:

I agree on the lack of talent at LB.. They will need to address that in the off season.

Run Defense is about even to where it was last year.. Again, goes to the lack of talent at the LB position..

 
'snogger said:
:confused: Just because Allen doesn't have a sack yet doesn't mean he hasn't been getting pressure on the QB.. He's had at least 5 to 6 chances.. Luck alone escaped him twice that I recall..
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I agree he has gotten pressure a little but it isn't a consistent collapsing of the pocket like I am used to seeing with him.
 
I'm not sure Ponder looks better. He was awful for half the Jags game, good in the second half and overtime. Then average for the Colts game. I expected more improvement than we've seen.

 
I think the point with Allen was "consistent pressure". Considering who he has been going against he should be dominating play after play. Instead, he looks shot out of cannon on some plays then disappears for 5-6.

 
9 Vikings-49ers Storylines To FollowPosted by Mike Wobschall on September 19, 2012 – 5:52 am For team’s that suffered through a defeat on Sunday, the following Wednesday can’t come soon enough. Wednesday is the day NFL teams officially flip their calendars from one week to the next and begin on-field preparations for the upcoming opponent.The Vikings upcoming opponent is the 2-0 San Francisco 49ers, the defending champions of the NFC West who were just moments away from a berth in last year’s Super Bowl before losing to the NY Giants at home in the NFC Championship Game. San Francisco is a team with impressive wins at Green Bay in Week 1 and then at home against the Detroit Lions in Week 2.Here are a few storylines we’ll be chasing this week as the Vikings prepare to battle the 49ers at Mall of America Field on Sunday…1. 49ers Defense Poses Nasty ChallengeIn their two early-season wins, this 49ers defense held Green Bay – last year’s highest-scoring offense at 35.0 points per game – to just 7 points through three quarters of play, and they held Lions QB Matthew Stafford – a 5,000-yard passer a season ago – to just 230 passing yards and one touchdown. Justin Smith and Aldon Smith team to form a stout presence against the run and effective pass rushing from the edge of the 3-4 alignment, inside linebackers NaVorro Bowman and Patrick Willis roam the middle of the defense, and both CB Carlos Rogers and S Dashon Goldson hold down a secondary with sound coverage ability and a physical presence against the run.The Vikings have weapons to go at this defense. Percy Harvin – more on him in a bit – is good enough to produce against any defense, Adrian Peterson and Toby Gerhart won’t be afraid to challenge the run defense, and it will be fun to watch TE Kyle Rudolph battle these talented and fierce LBs. This is a very good 49ers defense, no doubt, but the Vikings won’t back down just because many think they’re outmatched.2. How Will The 49ers Defend Percy Harvin?This just in: Percy Harvin is really good. He has been the heart and soul of the Vikings offense, and he will surely be a focal point for the 49ers this week in their preparations. But that doesn’t mean he’ll be neutralized. Coming off his performance in Week 1 – 192 combined yards on 14 total touches – Harvin was certainly priority #1 for the Colts last week. It didn’t matter. Harvin had a career-high 12 receptions last Sunday, and he’s now hauled in 18 of the 21 passes Christian Ponder has sent his way. There’s no question the 49ers will focus on Harvin this week and on Sunday. The question is, how will they try to take him out of the game? And more importantly for the Vikings, how will Harvin be utilized against this talented defense?3. How Will The Vikings Defend Vernon Davis?The Vikings have surrendered TDs to TEs in each of the first two games, with Mercedes Lewis finding paydirt in Week 1 and Dwayne Allen striking early last week. If the Vikings don’t fix that issue by Sunday, Vernon Davis could wreck the game. In two games this season, Davis has 8 receptions for 116 yards and 3 TDs. He has the body and strength of a TE, but he runs and catches like a WR. It’s entirely possible that Davis is the top priority – in conjunction with stopping the run (always a top priority in the NFL) – for the Vikings defense heading into this game.4. Willis Is San Francisco’s Man in the MiddleThe 49ers defense features plenty of talented players, one of which is arguably the best inside LB in the NFL – Patrick Willis. On multiple occasions, I’ve heard Vikings RB Adrian Peterson explain that Willis is one of the fiercest hitters in the League and one of the players Peterson respects the most. The Vikings found Peterson – the cornerstone of their offense – with the 7th pick of the 2007 draft, and the 49ers found Willis – the cornerstone of their defense – with the 11th pick in the same draft. On Sunday they’ll square off once again, the third time the Vikings and 49ers have met since each player’s rookie season (the Vikings are 2-0 in those games).5. Are There Any Parallels Between Alex Smith And Christian Ponder?San Francisco QB Alex Smith was much maligned early in his career, as the former No. 1 overall pick labored through his first six NFL seasons. Smith endured a seemingly countless number of coaching and coordinator changes, and it took him five seasons to complete 60% of his passes or register a passer rating over the pedestrian rate of 75.0. But the 49ers patience and belief in Smith has paid off. Smith has blossomed into a calculated-but-cunning passer. Last season while guiding San Francisco to a 13-3 record, Smith completed 61.3% of his passes and boasted a clean 17-5 TD-INT ratio. His rock-solid play has shifted the perception others have of him from a passer who just manages the game to a passer who helps the 49ers win games.Ponder, also a 1st-round pick, is only 13 games into his career – not even a full season of playing experience yet – so it’s premature to compare his path to the one Smith took. Ponder is completing a League-high 75.8% of his passes and has a passer rating of 110.6, so it’s unlikely it will take him six seasons to reach the 60% completion rate and 75.0+ passer rating milestones mentioned above. And we certainly hope Ponder enjoys the synergy of a coaching staff with little change. The point here is a more general one – have patience and confidence in your young 1st-round passer. Allowing him to develop will pay dividends if you can build a solid team around him. I think the Vikings are on the right track with Ponder.6. Vikings Must Be Buttoned Up In Kick CoverageThe 49ers put up an incredible statistic in 2011 – they had 37 offensive drives that started at midfield or in plus territory. Thirty-seven. A big reason for that are San Francisco’s tremendous return teams. The 49ers ranked 1st in kickoff return average at 27.2, with Ted Ginn handling the bulk of those (29 returns for 800 yards – a 27.6-yard average), and they ranked 4th in average drive start (23.9-yardline). Also, the 49ers ranked 5th in punt return average (12.4 yards), with Ginn handling most of those as well. Ginn remains the 49ers return man, so the Vikings kick coverage groups have their work cut out for them. Here’s the good news: the Vikings rank 4th in opponents average drive start after a kickoff (19.4-yardline), and they rank 6th in opponents punt return average (6.2). This will be a good battle to watch all game.7. Vikings Defensive Line To Face Solid 49ers Offensive LineSpeaking of a good battle to watch all day, don’t forget to check out Vikings DE Jared Allen going against San Francisco LT Joe Staley. Both are Pro Bowlers – Allen has 4 and Staley made his 1st appearance last year – and both are nasty. Allen will be angry, as he’s still looking for his first sack of the season. Staley will be determined to keep it that way and let the Detroit Lions worry about giving up Allen’s first sack of 2012. Aside from Allen vs. Staley, though, there is a good matchup in the trenches. Playing next to Staley at LG is Mike Iupati, a 2010 1st-round pick out of Idaho, playing at center is Jonathan Goodwin (151 career games, 78 starts) and anchoring the right side at tackle is another former 1st-rounder, Anthony Davis.8. Using The Dome-Field AdvantageHistorically the Vikings have been tough to beat at home. They are 158-88 (.642) all-time at Mall of America Field, and when the Vikings give their fans something to cheer about, that building gets loud. The noise can make it difficult for opposing teams to operate. It’s common for coaches or players who join the Vikings from other teams to tell the rest of us how hard it is to play at Mall of America Field when the place is rocking. Last year, though, the Vikings didn’t play well at home – they were 1-7 at Mall of America Field – and that decreased their advantage in the building. If the Vikings are to pull an upset this week, they’ll need to play well early to encourage the crowd to be loud and make it tougher on Alex Smith and Co.9. Randy Moss Returns To Minnesota49ers receiver Randy Moss spent plenty of time on the Vikings sideline at Mall of America Field, playing for the Purple from 1998-2004 and again in 2010. On Sunday, though, Moss will appear in the stadium as a member of the visiting 49ers. It will be interesting to observe the home crowd’s reaction to Moss, from the time Moss appears on the field for pre-game warm-ups to the time the 49ers leave the field following the game. What will Moss do if he scores? What will he do if he doesn’t? You just never know with Moss.One thing you do know, though, is that Moss will go down as one of the greats in Vikings history. He was always a fan favorite – and remains the favorite of some fans to this day – and he ranks second in Vikings history behind Cris Carter with 587 receptions, 9,316 receiving yards and 92 touchdowns.
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http://blog.vikings.com/2012/09/19/9-vikings-49ers-storylines-to-follow/The good news is-
Frazier Says Henderson Out, Mitchell StartsPosted by Mike Wobschall on September 21, 2012 – 12:21 pm Vikings Head Coach Leslie Frazier on Friday ruled LB Erin Henderson out of Sunday’s game. Henderson sat out of practice this week with a concussion. Frazier also said that 6-year veteran Marvin Mitchell will start for Henderson against the San Francisco 49ers.The Vikings signed Mitchell this past offseason, and a big reason he was appealing to the Vikings was his experience not only on special teams but also on defense. Mitchell started 2 games at LB for the New Orleans Saints in 2009, the year they won the Super Bowl. Vikings Defensive Coordinator Alan Williams was asked about Mitchell on Thursday while meeting with reporters and said he feels comfortable with having Mitchell play a prominent role on defense.“Marvin has been in ball games as a starter, he’s been in ball games as a backup, he’s played a lot of football so everything that happens is not new to him out there,” Williams said. “That gives me comfort and when he’s been in ball games, he’s performed well so that gives me comfort that it’s not all new to him and we’re not playing guys that have not played a lot of football. Marvin has so I feel good about that.”With Henderson out, it’s expected that staring middle LB Jasper Brinkley will now stay on the field in nickel situations. Henderson is usual the “MIKE” LB in nickel, with Chad Greenway also on the field in those situations. Additionally, rookie LB Audie Cole stands a good chance of being active for his first NFL regular season game to provide depth on defense and perhaps play a role on special teams as well.Frazier also ruled DE D’Aundre Reed (calf) out for the game, but said all others listed on the injury report – John Sullivan (ankle), Andrew Sendejo (ankle), CB Chris Cook (biceps), TE Rhett Ellison (ankle), Mitchell (ankle), Brian Robison (elbow) and Jarius Wright (ankle) – will likely be listed as probable.
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http://blog.vikings.com/2012/09/21/frazier-says-henderson-out-mitchell-starts/
 
'Funkley said:
I'm not sure Ponder looks better. He was awful for half the Jags game, good in the second half and overtime. Then average for the Colts game. I expected more improvement than we've seen.
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The coaches are partly to blame. They had Ponder on a tight lease early in both games and only late did they open up the offense for him. But his decision making seems better and quicker.We'll see how he handles a top defense today. I don't expect a lot but I don't think he's going to get embarrassed.
 
Great game played by the Vikings today! I did not think they could win this game. So happy to be wrong and it is great to see Ponder playing so well. Really looking forward to next week when we get Simpson back which will give Ponder another target to work with.

Coverage seemed much better without Henderson on the field.

 
That didn't even look like the same defense they've been trotting out there the first 2 games. I never expected a win, but they really stuck it to the 9ers. That was a beatdown.

 
Frazier post game presser - http://www.vikings.com/media-vault/videos/Frazier-Presser---49ers-Postgame/a6cd7fa8-9162-4fa6-9d6a-72d3c7d16842

Key points-

The Vikings only had one penalty.

Team win.

@ 1:30 Extra motivation by the press calling the 49ers a more physical team than the Vikings. Frazier says that burned him up and he talked to the team about this perception.

@ 4:00 he talks about Ponder. He talks about a play where Ponder throws the ball away instead of taking the sack. He says over the headset "He is finally growing up. He is finally getting it!" clearly pleased with how Ponder has been developing.

@ 5:13 talks about Greenway having a big game. He also mentions A. J. Jefferson being used to cover Vernon Davis at times.

@ 5:50 they sort of talk about the refs. It is more what isn't said than what is. :banned:

@ 8:15 talks about how he could tell by Friday that the team was very focused and prepared, that he could tell then they were going to play well. He says the team did not handle themselves well after the win in Jacksonville. That they did not prepare as well for the Colts as he saw following the Colts game.

@ 11:15 talks about Kyle Rudolph.

@ 11:55 talks about Peterson and why they were resting him at that point.

I have not seen Frazier this loose and happy ever.

 
Great win! Boy were they physical on the Offensive and Defensive lines. Ponder improving, Peterson getting stronger, Rudolph emerging as a top TE, and Simpson comes back this week to put another fast WR weapon on the field for Ponder. Defense still needs some players but I really like this Offense.

 
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