http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/253...ngs-giants

Great way to start the season -- dominating win and winning a bet with my nephew.  Here are my misc. thoughts:

• Confidence.  There are a couple of examples of confidence in this game which I took note.  First, Bradford looked like he had a lot more confidence in his receivers than last year.  There were a lot of throws to open receivers but there were also a number of throws to covered receivers.  Rarely, last year, did Bradford feel confident enough in the receivers to throw the ball even when the receivers were covered.  This resulted in a lot of check downs.  Last night, as the night went on, Bradford seemed more and more confident in throwing to covered receivers (such as one of Diggs' TDs).  This could have been just due to Bradford's general growing confidence in the game or it might be the product of the off season work.  It will be something that I will be watching going forward.  The second example of confidence was the fact the Vikes ran a pitch play to Dalvin Cook with less than 2 minutes to go.  Obviously, there is more of a risk in a pitch play than a straight handoff -- I thought it showed great confidence in Cook.  Also, do you realize the three rookies are in the top 5 of rushing the first week?  That is pretty remarkable in itself.
• Peterson.  Did anyone get the feeling that Sean Payton wanted to get AD a touchdown in the Vike's house?  I don't think AD will finish the season with the Saints.
• Barr/Kendrick.  I was surprised to see Barr had more tackles and TFL (8; 1.5) than Kendricks (6; 0).  I thought Barr played well but Kendricks seemed to be everywhere.  Regardless, Linval presents the canvas upon which the backers paint their artistry.
• Elflein.  I have memorize how to spell his name because I feel I may be writing about him often.  It is not often that a Olineman catches my eye but Elflein seems very athletic and able to get to the second level.  He may follow a long line of athletic Viking centers.
• Thielen/Diggs.  One word to describe each.  Thielen -- inspirational.  Diggs -- dynamic.
• Quick questions in my mind.  Jaleel Johnson inactive?  Treadwell, being brought along slowly or not ready for prime time?  Another missed extra point?  
• One Coaching Criticism.  I know I shouldn't complain about anything but this stuck out in an otherwise near perfect game.  In the 4th quarter, Thielen was marked just short of a first down when he went out of bounds.  Time stopped.  Zim should have challenged the spot.  Vikings had 3 time outs.  Burning a challenge at that point only had upside.  The only think I could think of was that Zim didn't want to freeze his own kicker.  Small criticism but I felt I had to find something.

It’s been a long time since the Minnesota Vikings started two rookies on offense. To be exact, you have to go back to 1963 when rookies WR Paul Flatley and TE Ray Poage opened up the year in purple. But Dalvin Cook and Pat Elflein didn’t look anything like rookies in their impressive debuts against the New Orleans Saints.“This stadium is crazy and the fans make it even better,” Cook said. “Hearing the chant, hearing everything around you when you make plays, it’s unbelievable.”
Cook was sure to credit his offensive line, which was led by rookie Pat Elflein.
“I wanted to be calm and not overwhelm myself because that’s not going to do me any good especially when I’m making calls and making sure everyone’s on the same page,” Elflein said. “Really it goes into your preparation during the week. Work really hard then, study and when it comes to game day you just let it go. ‘Leave your anxiety in here,’ is what Coach Zimmer always says and I take that to heart.”
Quarterback Sam Bradford was impressed by Cook’s ability to keep grinding late into the game.
“I should be more surprised by that, but I’m not, probably because of how talented he is and because of what we’ve all seen from him since he got here,” Bradford said. “You can’t really say enough about him, to be able to come in and play as many snaps as he did to keep pounding and pounding and finally break a few at the end.”
http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2017/0...in-saints/

I've got them vs Seahawks, Packers or Giants playing for the Lombardi in Minny. Giants? Giants?! 

Doesn't get much more difficult than playing them on their home-turf at their home opener...Still relishing 1/0, but can't help but look ahead a bit. 

I was listening to Chicago sports radio this afternoon and they were talking about teams around the NFL and who had a good weekend and who didn't. Some of the teams they mentioned have bad QB's and have had for a few years now. 
It got me to thinking about this whole Sam/Teddy debate that goes back and forth between some of the fans on this and other boards. No matter who you like in this debate, you have to admit it's good to have guys that are at the very least, decent QB's.
You may not like Sam, but he by no means will ever be a Christian Ponder, Tarvaris Jackson, or any of the 3rd rate QB's the Vikings had actually starting games for them. You may not like Teddy, but he's at the very least a guy you can get behind and have to love his upside if he can overcome the knee injury. 
Look what Houston has gone through over the years with a great defense and nobody to play QB for them. The 49ers signed not one, but two guys that the Bears didnt want anymore. The Bears for God's sake! 
I know everyone wants a Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, or even Aaron Rodgers, but those guys are really few and far between. Be glad we have a guy who given time to throw can light up defenses, and a guy who with a little more time could be a guy who plays for a very long time.
I for one would rather be in this position than where this team used to be, searching for a half way decent QB every season and coming up short.

Also, the line played very well last night. It was good to see that progress has been made in that area.

 Man, every time I see this kid play, I come away more impressed. Speed, routes, quickness, hands, toughness.  I think we're witnessing the emergence of a superstar. 

Re-watching the game from last night, I have to wonder, just how much of our OL woes from the last few years was the failure of our RB's to consistently recognize and pickup blitzers and/or free runners on the pass rush.  Watching Cook stone a few guys last night and gave Bradford more time seemed to be a huge difference.  Don't get me wrong, the turnstile tackles we had previously didn't help much either, but how many times did you see the free runner flying at our QB and the RB no where to be found?  It seemed that not only could Cook block well, but he seemed to recognize it much better and be in the right position.  Thoughts?

Wow, what a night, a rookie breaking records in his first NFL game and giving his team a spark in all three aspects of RB play!!

Oh...wait...that was Dalvin Cook??? Kamara only gained 18 yards (2.6ypc)? But Jon Gruden - in the 4th quarter! - was putting up pictures of one of those backs, and raving about his great future, and comparing him favorably to Reggie Bush, Darren Sproles, and even HOFer Marshall Falk! Was he watching the same game as the rest of us??? Because on my screen, it sure sure looked like Cook was the big story and Kamara was just another guy.

wow, very nice performance by the boys in Purple.  showed up big on a big stage.  pretty good balanced performance and with continued health (particularly on the OL) we can expect more.  

you can see the flashes of brilliance with Cook, the various threats in the passing game (wait until Floyd comes back to give a deep look in a 3 WR set).

With one game we can move past, a terrible last 11 games, a pathetic preseason, the ghost of AP, the ghost of Brett (a pocket passer), and the lack of a playmaking WR since the Freak.

we will be underdogs vs Pitt, going to be interesting to see the wrinkles of this week's D plus the double A gap look versus Pitt.  Give us a good performance Vikes in Pitt, no one is expecting a win so historically this is a game we steal.

A win next week, and we are where we belong, in the top rung of the NFC