Misc. Thoughts: Packers

[VikingOracle]

Usually I have many more thoughts after a loss:

• #Slotertime:  Just kidding.It does seem to me that when you value performance during practice (Cousins) over performance during games -- albeit against 2nd and 3rd teamers (Sloter), you put people on the field who can't shine at the biggest moments.  You can throw in all the discussions about Elflein and Jones.  It just seems to me that Zimmer doesn't put into the equation that some people are just better when the lights are on -- some people are able to elevate their play under pressure and some people fold under pressure of big moments.  And no, I am not suggesting that Sloter is a better QB than Cousins --  I am only trying to make sense of how Zimmer etc. are evaluating players and the weight they place on different aspects of a player's performance while on the roster (practice, games, meetings, etc.).
• Play Action:  Tied to the above, the thinking going into the season was that Cousins was a better QB when the play action was working.  Well, you really can't get a better set up for play action than the Vikes currently have with Cooks playing so well.  Are the Vikes disproving that Cousins is a good play action QB or are the pass plays called out of play action not schemed up well?
• Downfield Attack:  It strikes me that when the Vikes are passing not out of necessity, they are throwing longer than last year.  Given the offensive line is still not pass blocking at a high level, especially the middle, I would love to see some more intermediate passes (where are the TEs?) -- I see a lot of passes behind the line of scrimmage and down the field but less quick timing routes.  And the Vikings better throw in a center screen to the TE in the next game.  The way the interior dlineman are tee off on Elflein and Bradberry, a center screen seems like a good call to me.
• Rhodes:  were Rhodes struggles tied to some other players not doing their assignment or has Rhodes simply slowed down?  It does appear that he has lost a step at times.
• Slow Start:  I can attribute the slow start to one or more of the following: (a) the Packers had 3 additional days to prepare; (b) the Vikings listened too much to the praise for the Falcon's game and © Zimmer, etc. just didn't have them properly prepared for what the Packers were going to do.  (b) and © are closely related and I tend to lean in that direction.  It appears to me that the Vikings have a tendency to get full of themselves and that bites them in the ass.
• Cook/Mattison: Pleasure watching either of them get the ball.
• Kicking:  I would love to see someone do a deep dive on the missed kicks.  We were sold a bill of goods that it was the holding that caused the prior issues.  Thoughts on this?

[Guest]

@VikingOracle said:
Usually I have many more thoughts after a loss:

• #Slotertime:  Just kidding.It does seem to me that when you value performance during practice (Cousins) over performance during games -- albeit against 2nd and 3rd teamers (Sloter), you put people on the field who can't shine at the biggest moments.  You can throw in all the discussions about Elflein and Jones.  It just seems to me that Zimmer doesn't put into the equation that some people are just better when the lights are on -- some people are able to elevate their play under pressure and some people fold under pressure of big moments.  And no, I am not suggesting that Sloter is a better QB than Cousins --  I am only trying to make sense of how Zimmer etc. are evaluating players and the weight they place on different aspects of a player's performance while on the roster (practice, games, meetings, etc.).
• Play Action:  Tied to the above, the thinking going into the season was that Cousins was a better QB when the play action was working.  Well, you really can't get a better set up for play action than the Vikes currently have with Cooks playing so well.  Are the Vikes disproving that Cousins is a good play action QB or are the pass plays called out of play action not schemed up well?
• Downfield Attack:  It strikes me that when the Vikes are passing not out of necessity, they are throwing longer than last year.  Given the offensive line is still not pass blocking at a high level, especially the middle, I would love to see some more intermediate passes (where are the TEs?) -- I see a lot of passes behind the line of scrimmage and down the field but less quick timing routes.  And the Vikings better throw in a center screen to the TE in the next game.  The way the interior dlineman are tee off on Elflein and Bradberry, a center screen seems like a good call to me.
• Rhodes:  were Rhodes struggles tied to some other players not doing their assignment or has Rhodes simply slowed down?  It does appear that he has lost a step at times.
• Slow Start:  I can attribute the slow start to one or more of the following: (a) the Packers had 3 additional days to prepare; (b) the Vikings listened too much to the praise for the Falcon's game and © Zimmer, etc. just didn't have them properly prepared for what the Packers were going to do.  (b) and © are closely related and I tend to lean in that direction.  It appears to me that the Vikings have a tendency to get full of themselves and that bites them in the ass.
• Cook/Mattison: Pleasure watching either of them get the ball.
• Kicking:  I would love to see someone do a deep dive on the missed kicks.  We were sold a bill of goods that it was the holding that caused the prior issues.  Thoughts on this?

Good post. The kicking makes me sick. It's just sitting there, waiting to bite us in the ass and end our season prematurely down the road. It's so horribly ironic. Our kicking woes brethren in Chicago chose a kicker that gave no one in Chicago any confidence at all, came on in Denver and kicked a 50+ field goal at the end to win it. 

Rhodes shut down Julio. But he always struggles against Adams. I sort of think he's in his comfort zone against the big over-the-rim1 receivers and not so much against the smaller, quicker types. He would struggle against a guy like Diggs for example. 

[Guest]

I really did not like Theilen's route design on the playaction. Super stacked box against us, that's a situation where you call your BEST play to take a shot over in behind the frozen box. Neither TE ran a passing route. Playaction eliminated Cook as an option on that play. There were only two guys to throw to, both of them outside WR's against man coverage. The CB on Theilen hardly budged on Theilen's fake run... i mean, if Thielen is walking away from me towards the box like he's gonna block why would I hurry myself out of possition to cover ground that's covered by the box anyways? ... Theilen cuts and runs to the sideline and the CB is standing there, ready to give him a high 5.

Because the TEs did not run any routes, everyone in entire box was able to shift and cut off the passing lanes to Diggs, who was cutting across it all. You can kind of see the body language of the Packers covering Conklin and Rudolph. They step up to the run, realize it's pass, realize their assignments aren't doing shit and they panic to get back and visualize what the hell is going on. The guy on Rudolph can see Diggs begin coming across and he slinks into that lane (Cousins wasn't looking there yet).

A 7 yard out route to an outside WR off play action, against a stacked box, is just goofy to me.