Bears game: Two Takeaways

[Greylock]

Never know what you are going to get with Ryan Wright, think the only reason he made the team was because he is good at holding for Will.

Thought it was sort of out of the ordinary for a 22 year old kid who had never played a down in the NFL to be voted a captain by his teammates but now it looks like they knew what they were doing by putting that C on his jersey.

[MAD GAINZ]

Myles Price had 117 yards on kick and punt returns.  The kickoff returns were solid, averaging 24-25 yards on both (2) of them.  But the punt returns...four of them, with an AVERAGE of 17 yard returns?  How long has it been since we've had a punt returner like that?  Marcus Sherels?  He's gonna break one on a punt return. He's a little guy, 5'9". 183 lbs.  Sherels, that Rochester John Marshall (MN) product who played for the Gophers, wasn't very big either...5'10", 175 lbs.  But he had 4.37 40 speed.  Price is more compact, more muscle and still has 4.39 speed.

Solid UDFA pickup by Kwesi

Yeah, the last great punt returner we had was my Little Chinchilla (aka Marcus Sherels)...

Price might quickly become my LC2

BOOM

[Zanary]

Saving JJM for last...

1. The defense looks better, but still like a work in progress and they showed the real problems of today's speedy QBs.

1.5. Here's hoping that Cashman comes back completely and quickly from his hamstring issue.

2. The secondary...is the concern that it's been speculated to be. I'm sure Flores and the guys will be working on it, but...yep, concerning.

3. I thought we were gonna get one more Van Ginkel pick 6, big hopes for Sunday night.

4. The DT improvement was apparent, and Hargrave is gonna have a lot of new fans!

5. I'm trying to decide if the uncharacteristic drops were first-week rust, or the results of our young QB's fastballs...?

6. JJ has to be licking his chops for week 4, when the WR collective will be complete and he'll draw a bit less coverage. That said...week 1 TD was a great grab.

7. Thielen's return was amazing to see, and the 2 point catch was good for the soul.

8. Holy S**T, our RBs are gonna feast this season. This maybe our most improved area...

9. ...for the moment. JJM is obviously still in his very earliest game days, but with his grit/character both documented and displayed so thoroughly, it's likely he's going to be a step better almost game to game, which should be maddening for our opposing DCs. I LOVED the look on his face before they came down the tunnel, he looked like he was gonna bite somebody. This means a lot to me, as I've seen the trend that any of our QBs that look worried pre-game tend to have rough outings. I've seen this since Wade Wilson...so, seeing McCarthy looking like he was spoiling for a fight was excellent.

[kmillard]

That interior of the O line is going to be the best they have had in 20 years. Sad that it took so long to address that area. Dline should as well, hoping for good health there.

[StickierBuns]

I think the interior D line is working out ok:

ProFootballTalk
@ProFootballTalk
·
@NickOlsonNFL
"Vikings DTs Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen combined for 13 QB pressures against the Bears. Last year, Minnesota's staring defensive tackles combined for 21. All year."

Also: Down by 11 points right after you threw a pic six and this is your attitude? Its crazy good for handling adversity and pressure. He says this to the guy's in the huddle at the worst part of the game: 'Is there anywhere else you'd rather be?' Its nuts. It reset the whole huddle and the rest is history:

“I’ve never actually said that before,” McCarthy said, “but I feel like it was at the perfect time. Guys were kind of, you know, just in their head a little bit, and I feel like if you could, a smile goes a long way. So there was a lot of smiles after I said that, and just a little bit of a perspective shift. Yeah, things weren’t going our way, but we’re here doing this together, and the boys, they responded perfectly.”

From PFT.com:
"Indeed they did. The Vikings scored 21 points in the fourth quarter, turning a 17-6 deficit into a 27-17 lead.

The attitude from McCarthy transcends Xs and Os and analytics. When things aren’t going well, some quarterbacks exhibit a demeanor that tells the world, “It’s just not my night.” McCarthy refused to accept that, no matter how hopeless it seemed.

That’s the most encouraging aspect of the win, the most stunning component of the unlikely turnaround. Moving forward, the Vikings have a quarterback who will never throw in the towel on a game. He’ll keep his head and heart in the fight, and he’ll inspire the other players to do the same thing.

Every NFL team needs a quarterback with that mindset. The Vikings, who have gone nearly five decades with a bunch of talented (at times) placeholders since Fran Tarkenton, might just have their next franchise quarterback.

It’s fitting. Tarkenton started his career with a win over the Bears in the first game in franchise history. McCarthy started his career by finding a way to beat the Bears in what could be the first game on a new history for the Vikings.

One that, when the right supporting cast is assembled around him, maybe gets them back to where Tarkenton took them. And maybe even one step beyond."

[purplefaithful]

I think the interior D line is working out ok:

ProFootballTalk
@ProFootballTalk
·
@NickOlsonNFL
"Vikings DTs Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen combined for 13 QB pressures against the Bears. Last year, Minnesota's staring defensive tackles combined for 21. All year."

Also: Down by 11 points right after you threw a pic six and this is your attitude? Its crazy good for handling adversity and pressure. He says this to the guy's in the huddle at the worst part of the game: 'Is there anywhere else you'd rather be?' Its nuts. It reset the whole huddle and the rest is history:

“I’ve never actually said that before,” McCarthy said, “but I feel like it was at the perfect time. Guys were kind of, you know, just in their head a little bit, and I feel like if you could, a smile goes a long way. So there was a lot of smiles after I said that, and just a little bit of a perspective shift. Yeah, things weren’t going our way, but we’re here doing this together, and the boys, they responded perfectly.”

From PFT.com:
"Indeed they did. The Vikings scored 21 points in the fourth quarter, turning a 17-6 deficit into a 27-17 lead.

The attitude from McCarthy transcends Xs and Os and analytics. When things aren’t going well, some quarterbacks exhibit a demeanor that tells the world, “It’s just not my night.” McCarthy refused to accept that, no matter how hopeless it seemed.

That’s the most encouraging aspect of the win, the most stunning component of the unlikely turnaround. Moving forward, the Vikings have a quarterback who will never throw in the towel on a game. He’ll keep his head and heart in the fight, and he’ll inspire the other players to do the same thing.

Every NFL team needs a quarterback with that mindset. The Vikings, who have gone nearly five decades with a bunch of talented (at times) placeholders since Fran Tarkenton, might just have their next franchise quarterback.

It’s fitting. Tarkenton started his career with a win over the Bears in the first game in franchise history. McCarthy started his career by finding a way to beat the Bears in what could be the first game on a new history for the Vikings.

One that, when the right supporting cast is assembled around him, maybe gets them back to where Tarkenton took them. And maybe even one step beyond."

The serendipity can't be denied...