On to London....

[badgervike]

Rodgers looks ready....for retirement

[MaroonBells]

Brunch hell, game's at 7:30 here in mountain. We went to the Viking bar on Sunday and they announced they're going to be opening the doors at 7 am next Sunday. Even though I'm a sucker for the occasional morning drinking, I doubt we'll do that. For west coasters it will be like a sunrise service.

[Zanary]

I'm glad that the Vikings reportedly have a lot of fans for their UK games, as they'll be missing the US Bank crowd at this "home" game.

I keep feeling like this will be a huge game for Flores, as A-a-ron has obviously seen a huge number of defensive looks in his time, and will want to cling to relevance after an ugly loss.

[FLVike]

Absolutely nobody on this Board.

Well back in July or August I didn't predict the record, but I'm sure you can find my post where I said I am pushing all my chips in, this team is going to the playoffs.

[Zanary]

Absolutely nobody on this Board.

I didn't predict any records, but I caught hell from the mega-nega folks in that I felt that too many were selling the team short. We'd knocked off the eventual NFC Superbowl team and the Packers just as our injuries got ridiculous; if Sam was worthy of any of KOC's commentary, we stood a good chance to come out swinging.

KOC never, ever, blinked or stuttered when talking about how well Sam was working with the system/offense, all offseason long.

Meanwhile, Flores had more time and some additions to add to his defense...which, while overwhelmed in last year's mess, had shown a sharp gain in aggression and competence compared to what had come before. I believe that continuity can be a huge bonus, until/unless things grow stale.

Would I have predicted 4-0? I might've been willing to put some money on it, but it all depended on how the team gelled. I think I did post that just about everywhere.

Am I shocked? Nope. I'm thinking we finally have systems that work with our people, work really well, for the first time in...forever.

[JR44]

Does it feel to anyone else like we are playing the Packers again this week! In fact, I have to say my disdain for Rodgers alone is greater than all of GB, so feel like I want to win them to win this game even more than last week.

[JimmyinSD]

Does it feel to anyone else like we are playing the Packers again this week! In fact, I have to say my disdain for Rodgers alone is greater than all of GB, so feel like I want to win them to win this game even more than last week.

Hes not a packer any more, really dont care who, just want the Vikings to win, beating him now doesnt really add, and a loss wouldnt sting anyworse coming from him.

[purplefaithful]

After he dominated the Vikings for most of his career, Aaron Rodgers’ likely goodbye to the team and its fan base will be in London and not the uncomfortable confines of U.S. Bank Stadium.


There are as many reasons to pick the Vikings this week as there are Jets offensive linemen who were woefully incapable of protecting 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers against a similar blitz-heavy scheme in last week’s 10-9 upset loss to Denver at home.

The Broncos have the highest blitz percentage in the league (44.1), according to Pro Football Reference. The Vikings are second (40.8).

The Broncos rank second in the NFL in sacks (16). The Vikings rank first not only in sacks (17), but knockdowns (20) and pressures (62).

The Broncos pressured Rodgers 17 times. They hit him 14 times. They sacked him five times. They made coach Robert Saleh wince too many times.

“That would make you sick if he were a 20-year-old quarterback,” he said when asked about Rodgers taking that kind of beating at his age and coming back from a torn Achilles.

“You want your quarterback feeling comfy back there and he definitely wasn’t comfortable.”

Left guard John Simpson is ranked 52nd among 76 NFL guards in pass blocking, according to Pro Football Focus. Right tackle Morgan Moses, who was sidelined last week, is ranked 70th among 78 tackles. His replacement, first-round pick Olu Fashanu, ranks 75th after his first NFL start.

Left tackle Tyron Smith, the decorated former Cowboy, is 33 and looks old. Center Joe Tippmann gave up a sack and two pressures against Denver.

Rodgers can’t move like he used to. He was sacked on a blitz up the middle on his first play Sunday. With 1:50 left and facing fourth-and-10, he was dropped easily with a blind-side blitz.

Rodgers’ famous ability to manipulate defenses with his cadence also backfired. His linemen were the ones jumping. Simpson jumped on fourth-and-goal at the 1, which led to a field goal.

“We [run through] it every day in practice, we change cadences every walkthrough,” Rodgers said. “It’s a weapon. That was way out of character for us.”
Flores said he doesn’t expect Rodgers to stop using his hard count as a way to slow the pass rush.

“I’m just going to go with the 20 years [of success] that I’ve seen,” Flores said.

Good idea, Flo. Unlike U.S. Bank Stadium, Rodgers’ cadence will be heard in London.

Source: Startribune

[StickierBuns]

Rodgers's cadence is a weapon. It will mitigate some of the things Flo does. But its not like Minnesota hasn't beaten Rodgers before....he's very good when he's on, but he's beatable and more so now as he'll be 41 years old in December. Saleh is a moron for bringing up possibly stopping his cadence because they got like 5 false starts from it last week. More anomaly than anything.

I think the London stadium is going to be pro-Vikings. Its our 'home' game abroad, so it will be decked out in purple. Lots of U.K. Vikings fans.

[MaroonBells]

I've heard of 40 winks. Didn't the Cowardly Lion mention it? But I wouldn't expect these Gen Z'ers to have heard it before.