Looking Ahead...

[purplefaithful]

A portent of a season of watching opponents move up and down the field on the Vikings? It's not time yet to go there with this unit, which took the field Sunday with seven new starters from a year ago. Too early.
And it wasn't all bad. For instance:

• Danielle Hunter shaking off the rust of a missed season (neck injury) and registering his first sack in the fourth quarter. The Bengals respected his talent by running some plays away from him and having Burrow get the ball away quickly to reduce his pass-rushing ability.
• Michael Pierce, who also could have shown rust after opting out last season, coming up big with two sacks and seven total tackles, tied for third most on the team. That's evidence that Pierce and Dalvin Tomlinson will form a formidable tackle tandem.
• Linebacker Eric Kendricks being his usual busy self, with 15 total tackles. Once Anthony Barr returns to health, the Vikings will have their two best linebackers together again. 
• And Nick Vigil, opposite Kendricks and subbing for Barr, piling up 10 tackles and a sack.

Some things need to be addressed right away in Week 2. Chase's catch on Breeland looked eerily similar to Tyreek Hill's score on him during exhibition play. Breeland and Mackensie Alexander had the lowest Pro Football Focus scores among Vikings defensive players. Sheldon Richardson didn't have a strong game, either.
It's easy to overreact after Week 1. How do you think Packers and Titans fans feel about their teams right now? The Vikings defense can raise its game — and it will need to.
The effectiveness of Zimmer's revamped defense will be determined over the next three weeks. Fairly grade this bunch after a visit to Phoenix, a home opener vs. Seattle, and a visit from old friend Kevin Stefanski.
Murray awaits Sunday. The Vikings have won five of their past six games against Arizona, but here are the names of the Cardinals quarterbacks in those games: Josh Rosen, Carson Palmer (1-1 against the Vikes), John Skelton, Kevin Kolb and Derek Anderson.

Murray, with four touchdown passes and a 121.0 rating in the Cardinals' 38-13 rout of the Titans, looks ready in Year 3 to jump up a tier in the NFL quarterback rankings.
Wilson will bring his 7-0 record against the Vikings to Minneapolis the following week. In those seven games, the Seahawks have averaged 29 points. And Tyler Lockett will be waiting for Breeland. Dangerous territory here.
October's opener is no easier. The much-improved Cleveland Browns get the next crack at conquering the defense, and Stefanski, the former assistant,knows what's in the secret sauce.
It's much too early to render a verdict now, after one game. But by Week 4's finish, in the late-afternoon hours of Oct. 3, we'll know if Zimmer's defense is worthy of top-five status once again.
https://www.startribune.com/vikings-defe...600097302/

[Guest]

• And Nick Vigil, opposite Kendricks and subbing for Barr, piling up 10 tackles and a sack

Man, maybe the Vikings found themselves a baller in Vigil?!

[Guest]

I really enjoyed the throw from Jefferson to Osborn. That was definitely unexpected.

[Guest]

The season-opening loss to the Cincinnati Bengals wasn’t even 24 hours old, and this particular player, who Zimmer declined to name, had some thoughts about where the Vikings were headed after a dreadful showing in an overtime loss at Cincinnati last Sunday. 
“He said, ‘I think we can be really good,’ ” Zimmer said. “I have the same feeling. I think we still have a chance to have a really good team. I know we didn’t show it, really, in all three phases the other day. But there’s a lot of things I see that are pretty darn good.” 
This could very well be coach speak from Zimmer, a calculated effort to keep the fan base, and players, positive in a sea of negativity, but that said, the Vikings actually did put some good things on film against the Bengals. 

Though the insane number of penalties was the main storyline, and the shaky play of the offensive line left something to be desired, when the Vikings got out of their own way, they showed flashes of potential. 
Here are some things that stood out. 
OFFENSIVE WEAPONSWhile most people are going to remember running back Dalvin Cook fumbling away the ball in overtime, and rightfully so, the Vikings did have success moving the ball throughout the game. Now, this came against the Bengals, who, well, let’s be honest, aren’t exactly the 1985 Chicago Bears; but the Vikings have proven playmakers on offense that win on a consistent basis, and that isn’t going to change. 
Aside from Cook, receivers Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen are consistently open downfield, and receiver K.J. Osborn has started to emerge as a viable option. Collectively, the Vikings have some of the best offensive weapons in the league with quarterback Kirk Cousins leading the charge. If Cousins can get the ball to his playmakers — and a lot of this falls on the offensive line — the Vikings still have a chance to make some noise. 
IMPROVED PASS RUSHHow bad was the Vikings pass rush last season? The failed experiment that was defensive end Yannick Ngakoue led the Vikings in sacks despite playing in only six games with the team. In total, the Vikings finished with 23 sacks, trailing only the Las Vegas Raiders, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Bengals, respectively, for the lowest output in the league. 

That explains why the Vikings invested so heavily in their defensive line this offseason. They signed tackles Dalvin Tomlinson and Sheldon Richardson, as well as defensive ends Everson Griffen and Stephen Weatherly. Add the return defensive tackle Michael Pierce and most important, superstar defensive end Danielle Hunter, and the pass rush was highly effective in the season-opener — five sacks. If they can continue this trend, they are going to make things tough on opposing quarterbacks. 
WOEFUL NFC NORTHMaybe the most promising thing to come out of Week 1 for the Vikings wasn’t even on the field at Paul Brown Stadium. While they suffered a disappointing loss, the rest of the NFC North struggled with the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, and Detroit Lions all losing. In fact, the Vikings currently sit atop the NFC North based on tiebreakers, and yes, that point is being made very tongue in cheek. 
Still, the fact that the division could be wide open certainly benefits the Vikings. Maybe the Packers bounce back next week and maligned quarterback Aaron Rodgers throws for 400 yards, but as of right now it sure looks like the Vikings are going to have a chance to contend in the NFC North.
https://www.twincities.com/2021/09/14/mi...-be-right/

[Guest]

This year's defense was built to stop the run on early downs so that Zim's disguised schemes can do their magic on 3rd. We saw some glimpses of that. I think I read the Bengals were 3 of 14 on 3rd downs. But the beef upfront didn't quite live up to its billing on early downs. Not terrible, but I think a lot of us expected more. 

I think the defense we see 4 or 5 weeks in will be quite a bit better than what we saw week 1. Question is...can the offense clean up its problems enough to keep us in contention until then?

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@Vikergirl said:
I really enjoyed the throw from Jefferson to Osborn. That was definitely unexpected.

I did too, but Justin has to throw that ball sooner. If he does, KJ likely has a ton of YAC

[Guest]

Darrisaw needs to enter the chat and Davis might need to take some snaps a center.

[Guest]

"receivers Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen are consistently open downfield"

But were they?

Frankly, some of the play designs and play calls were bad (especially against the blitz).  Cousins also doesn't look comfortable in tis offense yet (same as last year).  The Vikes probably lead the league on third down in completing pass short of the first down.  That is a stat I would like to see.

[Guest]

I agree that Kendricks, Pierce and Virgil were definitely the highlights on defense, however I was not impressed with Hunter, he was not containing the run on his side and other than the sack he was not generating much of a pass rush from what I saw, in fact, there were several times that I wondered if he was in the game.  

[Guest]

https://twitter.com/NickOlsonNFL/status/...6292188166