Leber sums it up

[Vikergirl]

https://www.instagram.com/tv/B6cVa-TFKj8...oqvvw94ylw

[Guest]

Here is what makes zero sense to me. How does our Offensive Line dominate a Chargers DLine that has two of the better pass rushing ends in the league, and then roll out a performance like this in one of the most important games of the year? How do we gash the Packers Defense in the running game at Lambeau, but couldn't get any positive yardage in the running game at home? It's as if they intentionally tried to lose this game. Leber is absolutely right about the playcalling and Cousin drop backs. That is not the offense we have been successful with all year. Did Stephanski outcoach himself by trying to show something different that the Packers were not expecting to see? All that game plan accomplished was to expose our biggest weaknesses. I wasn't sure what to expect from the Defense, but they kept us in this game until they ran out of gas. 

This is an embarrassing loss that I'm not sure we will recover from in time for the playoffs. 

[Guest]

• Coaching/Scheming = D
• KC = D
• OL = F
• D= B
• Boone = D

Clark and Zarius DOMINATED last night

KC is good, but not good enough to lift the entire surround like they needed last night. Very few are mobile and can make pin-point daggers down field. So before we toss him in the garbage heap with 0/9 on MNF, tell me who's available and better? 

I figured the Vikings would be loose coming into this one with a tix already stamped. 4 catches by the WR's???

Disappointing for me and really lowers my post-season expectations

Fewest Pack fans I've seen here in years

Rogers is still good, but not the guy of old. 

[Guest]

Agree with your grades except the DL, they couldn't stop the run if their lives depended on it.  Pathetic game except for the turnovers.

[Guest]

@1VikesFan said:
Agree with your grades except the DL, they couldn't stop the run if their lives depended on it.  Pathetic game except for the turnovers.

I think the D played well enough to win this...

They were gassed and losing Barr/Kendricks???

We have nobody as good as Zarius and Kenny Clark. 

They are not using Barr well imo. 

[Guest]

The only explanation for the crappy playcalling - aside from simple incompetence - was that Zimmer didn't want to show anything to the Packers because they might play again in two weeks. Bad approach IMO, but maybe.

Tbro, agreed in general, but even if the Vikings "recover" to their midseason level, do you think this team ever had any chance in the playoffs? We lose to good teams. In the playoffs, all the teams will be good.

People seem to think the Vikings got on some kind of roll where they were outplaying good competition. No - they just had a nice stretch of their schedule where the competition was all bad. Giants, Lions, Redskins, Broncos, Lions again, Chargers - there isn't a 7-game winner in that "streak". Every time a true winner popped up (Seahawks, Chiefs even without Mahomes), the Vikings lost. We barely beat the Cowboys and now it's apparent they are even worse than their record, and defeated the Eagles when injuries made them worse than their current level of mediocrity.

[Guest]

They're done. It was another odd year season where they exceeded expectation but continue to have fatal weaknesses.
Cousins is a QB that can't overcome an average or below average offensive line, and Spielman is a GM who has never been able to adequately evaluate offensive line talent.
That alone is enough to doom the Vikings to perpetual seasons of promise that fail in the end.
One can ask, who else is available in Cousins case? My answer would be to draft a rookie, because extending Cousins long term is likely to repeat this pattern, of the Vikings being just good enough to continuosly break their fans hearts, year in and year out.
I'm not opposed to starting over, but the GM needs to go! 

[Guest]

@Jor-El said:

The only explanation for the crappy playcalling - aside from simple incompetence - was that Zimmer didn't want to show anything to the Packers because they might play again in two weeks. Bad approach IMO, but maybe.

Tbro, agreed in general, but even if the Vikings "recover" to their midseason level, do you think this team ever had any chance in the playoffs? We lose to good teams. In the playoffs, all the teams will be good.

People seem to think the Vikings got on some kind of roll where they were outplaying good competition. No - they just had a nice stretch of their schedule where the competition was all bad. Giants, Lions, Redskins, Broncos, Lions again, Chargers - there isn't a 7-game winner in that "streak". Every time a true winner popped up (Seahawks, Chiefs even without Mahomes), the Vikings lost. We barely beat the Cowboys and now it's apparent they are even worse than their record, and defeated the Eagles when injuries made them worse than their current level of mediocrity.

If we have a healthy Cook and Mattison back, I believe we have a chance to win a 1st round playoff game, especially if our defense plays like they did last night. The run D was more porous than I would have liked, but until they were gassed from being on the field too long, it wasn't hurting us. Our Pass D definitely stepped up from where we were a few weeks ago. Rodgers was never comfortable, and Adams only seemed to be open with Wide Receiver Screen passes. It comes down to the line and the playcalling and game plan with protection schemes. Stefanski put Cousins in a bad situation with a drop back in the pocket game plan expecting our OLine to morph into something they haven't been all year. 

We will see. 

[Guest]

@TBro said:
 All that game plan accomplished was to expose our biggest weaknesses. 

This 100% correct. 

[Guest]

@Jor-El said:

The only explanation for the crappy playcalling - aside from simple incompetence - was that Zimmer didn't want to show anything to the Packers because they might play again in two weeks. Bad approach IMO, but maybe.

Tbro, agreed in general, but even if the Vikings "recover" to their midseason level, do you think this team ever had any chance in the playoffs? We lose to good teams. In the playoffs, all the teams will be good.

People seem to think the Vikings got on some kind of roll where they were outplaying good competition. No - they just had a nice stretch of their schedule where the competition was all bad. Giants, Lions, Redskins, Broncos, Lions again, Chargers - there isn't a 7-game winner in that "streak". Every time a true winner popped up (Seahawks, Chiefs even without Mahomes), the Vikings lost. We barely beat the Cowboys and now it's apparent they are even worse than their record, and defeated the Eagles when injuries made them worse than their current level of mediocrity.

“Every time a true winner popped up the Vikings lost.”. This is the absolute truth and it has been this way for sometime.  This is why we stink at prime time games.  In prime time you are facing the best teams.  We are just good enough to beat up the small and medium kids in the school yard but when we face off against the big boys we get spanked.