This is The Way

[FSUVike]

New Orleans is a hard team to figure out. Defense was dominant early in the season, went into their annual second half of the season swan dive then started playing better again. Offense was also up and down until this 4 game streak of crushing Defenses.

This is still a team that SF scored on at will that couldn't score against the Falcons. As inconsistent as Minnesota? No. But still hot and cold.

The Blueprint remains the same as in recent years. Can't let them get any traction running the ball. Murray's a load as we all know but he's no Ingram. The DTs must stuff the inside runs. Our speedy LBs and Secondary can hopefully stop Alvin from getting too many chunk runs outside the Tackles.

Stopping the Passing Game is the bigger concern. MT & Kamara need to be doubled. I no longer trust Rhodes so I'd bracket Thomas with Waynes and Ant Harris. Xavier will need to slow Jared Cook, who's been hot recently. Kendricks is the best at covering RBs but Kamara has given him problems in the past. Do they trust him to handle the best receiving RB since Ladanian Tomlinson? I think Kendricks has played better than any other Viking this year but that's a tough ask.

Zimmer is going to have to bring Smith down to the LOS a lot more than I think he'd prefer. Harry needs to be able to help on Kamara and keep an eye on Hill as a WR and gadget QB. With Ant helping on Thomas there won't be anyone deep if someone gets burned but it's the chance you have to take. Hughes will get singled up with Old Man Ginn and he has to win that matchup. Same with Alexander when he's facing Hill or Kamara or Cook in the Slot.

We've seen Zimmer Defenses slow Brees down for chunks of games. This NO team is more Michael Thomas/Alvin Kamara dependent than any previous iteration. They have almost twice as many catches combined as the entire rest of the team. And they don't have Ingram. This is not the same caliber of Defense but Mike is also facing a less dynamic, though still lethal, Offense.

As I predicted, Ramczyk is a beast so I don't expect Hunter to go off. Griff is in his now annual second half of the season hibernation. I'd like to see a lot more Ogdenigbo and Weatherly and a lot of fake blitz looks. You blitz Drew and don't get home and he'll kill you so I expect a lot of fake looks to make him think with the occasional actual blitz. He hates pressure up the middle so any way they can manufacture it will be critical. 

On Defense they are missing a starting RDE in Davenport and a valuable run-stuffing rotational DT in Rankins. Jordan is tough but also matched up with Minnesota's best O-Lineman. If there was ever a chance for this POS O-Line to open some running lanes AND pass protect in the same game this is it. Their LBs are meh. Eli Apple and PJ Williams are eminently beatable and so is Janoris Jenkins. Lattimore is good and so are their Safeties. Again, nothing really scary here.

The key is getting Dalvin on track and stoning interior pass rushing pressure. Elf/Bradbury/Kline MUST hold up against traditional pressure and blitzes. Thielen needs to crush Apple/Williams/Jenkins. Diggs should be able to make some plays against Lattimore. Smith and Rudy should be able to get open against Davis/Klein/Alonso and Bell/Williams.

The other major key is OC Boy Wonder. If NO sells out to stop the run AND the pass protection isn't there will he wait until the team is in a significant hole and go Shotgun in the 4th Quarter. Or does he do it in the 2nd Quarter or to start the 2nd Half. He's been as painfully slow to adjust in-game as Zimmer has.

There isn't a big gap talent-wise. The only players they have on Defense that I covet are Jordan and Lattimore. Their HOF QB is very dependent on Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara. If the Vikings Players bring their 'A' Games AND Zimmer and Stefanski coach aggressively and make adjustments sooner than later this is a winnable game.

Gotta figure the score needs to be in the high 20s to win. I don't see Minnesota putting up 30+ on the road in a Playoff Game. Bring this baby home with a score like 28-24, IMO. 

[Guest]

Wouldnt  it be great to see Z go balls out against Peyton!  Now is the time Z, youve shown glimpses, take the blinders off and let your horses run!

[Guest]

FSU,
The key will come down to how Dennis Allen schemes to take away what we do best and if Stefanski has a counter for it. I think they will target Elf just like the Packers and Bears have done this year to put pressure up the middle which Cousins can't overcome since he doesn't move well in the pocket. I expect to see a lot of inside stunts by Jordan and Trey Hendrickson as Elf, Bradbury, and Klein have struggled as a trio with their pass blocking in a zone scheme. Elf especially doesn't recognize stunting lineman into his zone well at all often whiffing, reaching, or having poor footwork. He completely left Kwiatkoski unblocked that led to the Safety yesterday. Although Bradbury has absolutely struggled this year, I think Elf has contributed to making him look worse than he is.  Cousins will need to get the ball out quickly unlike the Packers game and Stefanski will have to design a lot of crossing patterns for Thielen, Diggs, Johnson, etc. and get the TE's involved in this game if the running game is struggling. 

I hate to be negative, but I have zero expectations that our OLine will hold up against the Saints even though they are not as good as when we faced them in 2017. 

[Guest]

I like your well-thought analysis and insight. But knowing what to do and them actually doing it are almost always two different things for our Vikings in big games. Execution isn't always their strength. My lack of faith and trust involves their ability to be clutch, to make plays that need to be made at important junctures of the game. Holding onto a lead. Getting a big stop on defense late. All on the road in a playoff atmosphere. 

So to distill things simply, they have to be aggressive and unpredictable on both sides of the ball. I have hope, I just don't have faith they can accomplish enough of the things they'll need to do to win this game. JMO. Some of the posts here that are more positive than I think they deserve to be also said we'd easily beat Green Bay, etc. At some point, you are what you are.

[Guest]

Fair assessment of the matchups, FSU.  The key is figuring out a way to limit Michael Thomas (he'll get his, we just can't let him wreck us with multiple scores) and not let Kamara get outside on little swings and dumps for 5, 6, 8, and 10+ yard chunks.  The Saints have been at their best when they can dink and dunk their way down the field and then hit a couple big plays downfield to MT.

This will be a tough game, but I guess I'm not as down on our chances as some of the posts I've been reading today.  I'm looking forward to seeing how this team responds on Sunday.  Maybe we see an inspired performance from the Vikings?  They had all week to stew on that loss to Green Bay...  maybe that loss gets the team focused and fired up to prove everyone wrong?

We'll find out...

[Guest]

we are going to have to get a little dirty===enough playing off and letting the qb cut ya to pieces.  press the wrs out of the back field and lay the wood to brees early  I mean off the line and rbs out of the backfield.

[Guest]

I say we put a BOUNTY on injuring Saints players. 

compound fractures....a trip to the Bahamas,
$10,000 for severe head traumas / concussions.
Torn connective tissue damage, $15,000
If a player has to be carted off the field on a spinal board or administered CPR, $20,000

How Sean Payton is still in the league is beyond me. A lot of lip service to “making the game safer”. 

F him, Williams, and the Saints

[Guest]

@StickyBun said:
I like your well-thought analysis and insight. But knowing what to do and them actually doing it are almost always two different things for our Vikings in big games. Execution isn't always their strength. My lack of faith and trust involves their ability to be clutch, to make plays that need to be made at important junctures of the game. Holding onto a lead. Getting a big stop on defense late. All on the road in a playoff atmosphere. 

So to distill things simply, they have to be aggressive and unpredictable on both sides of the ball. I have hope, I just don't have faith they can accomplish enough of the things they'll need to do to win this game. JMO. Some of the posts here that are more positive than I think they deserve to be also said we'd easily beat Green Bay, etc. At some point, you are what you are.

I wasn't one of the folks saying we'd beat GB. They have a really good DT in Clark. We already saw Chris Jones, Hicks and other upper level DTs get consistent pressure. And they have a speedy edge rusher which is Reif's kryptonite. And a Top 10 ever QB who frankly doesn't need many weapons to beat you. And Aaron Jones, whom I've feared all year.

The Packers have the D-Line taylormade to beat Minnesota. New Orleans does not. They have Jordan. He's good but he's not a monstrous DT and he's not as fast as Z. Smith. And he hasn't dominated any of the matchups against the Vikings recently IIRC.

Stunts will be a problem. They always are with how god awful Elf is. But they will be stunts with lesser talented players than the teams who've wreaked havoc up the middle this season. 

Greediron, Kamara is just as dangerous when he lines up as a WR on the LOS as he is coming out of the backfield. His ability to cut at the top of his route is Thielen-esque. Not sure Kendricks can handle that which is why I'd put Alexander or Harry on him.