ATLANTA — The Vikings entered Sunday’s game ranked No. 1 in the NFL in third-down defense, so it wasn’t a surprise that they were once again solid. But after surrendering just one conversion in 10 Atlanta tries and limiting wide receiver Julio Jones to two catches, Minnesota qualified as downright superb.
The Falcons (7-5) were smoking hot before the Vikings (10-2) showed up at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, converting 65.9 percent of their third downs in a three-game winning streak in which they averaged 31.7 points.
Against the Vikings, Atlanta converted its first third down of the game, a 16-yard pass from 2016 NFL MVP Matt Ryan to reserve tight end Levine Toilolo on third-and-6 from the Atlanta 37-yard line.
And that was the end of that.
Atlanta whiffed on its final nine third-down conversion attempts one week after converting 11 of 14 in a 34-20 victory over Tampa Bay. The Vikings entered the game allowing a league-low 28.5 percent conversion rate; Sunday’s work dropped that to 27.2.
http://www.twincities.com/2017/12/03/on-...nted-them/

ATLANTA — After the Vikings lost 14-7 on Oct. 1 to Detroit, defensive end Everson Griffen said it was important to win their next four games.
Well, the Vikings have doubled that. Their 14-9 victory Sunday over Atlanta at Mercedes-Bank Stadium was their eighth in a row.
“We went 4-0 and now we’re 8-0,” Grifffen said. “It’s up to us to keep our foot on the gas pedal.”
The winning streak is the Vikings’ longest since they won their final eight of the 1998 regular season and then a playoff game. Their 10-2 start is the best since they also were 10-2 in 2009.
Minnesota has all but wrapped up an NFC North championship. The Vikings have a four-game lead over Detroit (6-6) and Green Bay (6-6) with four games remaining, and can clinch the division next Sunday with a win at Carolina (8-4) or a loss by either the Lions or Packers.
http://www.twincities.com/2017/12/03/red...gger-goal/

ATLANTA — The Vikings didn’t have a sack Sunday on Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan, but they scared him plenty.
At least, that was the word from Minnesota defensive end Everson Griffen after the Vikings’ 14-9 victory at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“If they’re scared to throw the ball down the field, then they’re not going to score so many points,” Griffen said. “They were scared of our rush. We affected him. We didn’t get any sacks, but we affected him in many ways. We got pressure in his face. We hit him. So that’s all you can ask.”
With Ryan getting rid of the ball quickly against the Vikings’ pass rush, he completed just 16 of 29 passes for 173 yards with a long completion of just 20 yards. Ryan had a passer rating of 72.9 after entering the game 10th in the NFL with a rating of 97.2
“They are a very good defense,” Ryan said. “We knew it was going to be tough sledding at times, but we’ve got to be more productive and put ourselves in better positions.”

http://www.twincities.com/2017/12/03/eve...matt-ryan/

You would think this match-up would have warranted a little better quality.

8 minutes, and shot from the field at Mercedes Benz Stadium (a term that I found unusually hard to spit out for some reason today)

Pregame:

* Teddy Bridgewater and Latavius Murray are buddies.  It makes sense, as they and Shariff Floyd worked on the far field by themselves in training camp as all three were rehabbing from injury.  Bridgewater found Murray right before the game any gave him a big good-luck hug

* The Stadium 1 - The Georgia Dome sits right next to the new Mercedes Benz Stadium.  It is in mid-implosion and looks like a dry version of the rotting Titanic.

* The Stadium 2 - It was a MUCH nicer stadium than it shows on TV.  The lighting is poor because the "nest" at the top is opaque. Had they used the same material as US Bank Stadium, it would have brought nice sunshine in.  But, this is a state of the art facility and ranks above the other away stadiums we have visited this year, although Pittsburgh is nice.

* The Stadium 3 - It isn't finished.  It look like it was still under construction inside

* The Stadium 4 - They announced a crowd of 71,000.  It was not even close  It MIGHT have been half full, and about one-third of those there were wearing purple.

* Pregame meal - they feed the press, and oh my goodness did they do it well in Atlanta.  Buffet with thick pork chops, cuban sandwiches, prime beef and more.   1st class - I felt like royalty

The Game:
* The Vikings looked a bit lethargic on offense at first, but that was not flatness.  The Falcons were taking away the deep stuff, and the 2 defenses basically had the same strategy - stop the #1 WR (Thielen and Jones) and hope the other WR (Sanu and Diggs) would not burn them.

* Murray is the real deal.  He runs too upright, but, that is his style.  He has an almost imperceptible wiggle in the hole, and find yardage.

* CJ Ham - you need a yard, he will get you two.  How long has it been since we had that?  And, as a former feature back, he can catch and he is a vicious blocker.

* Adam Thielen - he works so hard in routes, that even when doubled, he found space.

* LaQuon Treadwell - what can we say, we have no idea why he still starts and plays so much.  He does not get open, and even if he is a good blocker, how many WRs are primary blockers?

* David Morgan - he was sorely missed in pass protection when he left, and that is why the Falcon rush was a problem in the 2nd quarter.  Blake Bell stepped-up and played better in the second half (see our interview with this engaging and likable player after the game)

* It is concerning sometimes the way the defense fails to stop the run at times.

* The pass rush has not been as effective lately, and when QBs have time to throw in the NFL, they will find receivers.

* Eric Kendricks - heavens, he hits like a ton of bricks

* Xavier Rhodes - he handled Julio Jones single-handedly all game and Jones was not a factor.

* Ryan Quigley - almost no one can even name our punter, but he flipped the field several times this game.

Post Game:

* The loudest of the loud is Everson Griffen - he is very emotional as he comes up the tunnel...some of the things aren't printable!

* Mike Zimmer, who is always escorted by his own security person (who does a good job, while still being a good guy), and today, for the first time since we've been covering the team, he was smiling broadly!

* Case Keenum was last up the tunnel and he was hooting and hollering the whole way.  He is having the time of his life!

* David Morgan got a concussion during the game (and NFL rules forbid us interviewing anyone in concussion protocol), but it was nice to see Kyle Rudolph and Blake Bell checking on him, and joking with him.  David had a hoodie on, but we wished him well, and he is always pleasant thanks like you just gave him a million dollars.  I wish all fans could meet him.  Eric Sugarman came in to check on him too.

* The pooled interviews were with Adam Thielen, Jerick McKinnon, and Xavier Rhodes.  We don't participate in those, but they are inundated with 12-15 microphones in their face and bright lights.  We prefer the one-on-ones

* The press corps have swelled as the victories have mounted.  At least 30 press members were in the Viking locker room tonight.  At Pittsburgh, there were 6 of us!

* Strangely, few talk to any defensive linemen except Everson.   But, we asked Tom Johnson to speak to us, and he was so obliging, and seemed almost happy to get some recognition for the line.

* Harrison Smith again came up and asked us how we'd been.  Harrison is a very quiet individual, but such a nice person.

* We thanked Stefon Diggs for giving us interview time last week, and he said, "oh, man, you don't have to thank, I'm always glad to talk to the fans".  He seemed almost shocked that any media member thanked them for their time.  We are sure to shake every players hand after they give us an interview, and thank them for their time.  Most media members just walk away.  I wouldn't like that as a player.

* After all the reporters left Adam Thielen, we talked about his son's first Thanksgiving.  You could tell he was relieved to talk about his other passion - his family, and not just football, football, football.  He said his son's first words were "mama" and that he was at home a month ago when his son took his first steps.  You think Adam looks like a nice guy?  You have no idea.  He is genuine and unaffected.

* We talked briefly with Kai Forbath - he is nice enough, but he is introverted, and is not a big talker.

* We were the only ones to interview reserve TE Blake Bell, but he is a very engaging personality and has some tremendous size.

* Teddy Bridgewater got dressed VERY quickly.  The press has to stay outside the locker room for 10 minutes while Zimmer talks to the team.  When we walked in, Teddy was fully dressed and leaving the locker room.  He smiles, but I imagine this QB situation is not what he was envisioning.

* Zygi Wilf entered the locker room like a kid on Christmas Morning.  Just a big grin.

* Pete Bercich and I did the postgame show for our site on the field after the game.  When done, he took me over to the section on the field where all the friends and family of Viking players met with the players.  It is stunning how many family members came to the game, well over 100.

This team is confident, and that is 90% of what makes a winner.  Yet, they did not play their best, and still got a road win.

We will let you know what we see in Charlotte next week.

Gosh its hard cheering for the seachickens but we need to kill an eagle or two before the season is done. 

On the play today where Keenum floated the one over the
middle to Floyd, he is clearly and squared hit in the face / head by the
opposing player. Once again no call.


 


Are the officials graded or reprimanded for these missed calls?


 


Do the Vikings send them in for review and explanation?


 


Gets under my skin that so called franchise QB’s are treated
differently.


 

He is a bigger cog in this unit than most realize.  It is why Bucky Hodges was cut after preseason.  Bell is seen as a big target who can run and block.  Good sense of humor.