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Tomorrow's offensive stars - today
#1
Dalvin Cook and Justin Jefferson show off the talents that make them special

HOUSTON – The Vikings ran 65 offensive plays Sunday. Two deserve special attention. One run, one pass, both Picassos.

Dalvin Cook's 7-yard touchdown run in the first half and Justin Jefferson's 25-yard catch in the second half.
The Vikings won for the first time this season, 31-23 over the winless Houston Texans, for a multitude of reasons. At the top of the list were those two plays produced by those two players.
Cook and Jefferson.A pair of special talents in a league with elite athletes.
"Obviously Dalvin is a really good football player," coach Mike Zimmer said.
"Jefferson is showing why we took him at that pick," Cook said of the first-round selection and his new tag-team partner.
Both backed up career performances a week ago in a loss with outings that in many ways were more impressive in helping the Vikings avoid another sour outcome.
Cook rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries after posting a career-high 181 yards against Tennessee last week.
Jefferson caught four passes for 103 yards, and all four completions covered at least 23 yards.
Raw numbers don't do their contributions justice. The beauty lies in the effort required in achieving those statistics.
Cook spent the game pinballing off defenders, constantly fighting for extra yards, when it looked like he had nowhere to go. He gained a large percentage of his 130 yards after initial contact.
He played the role of escape artist on his second touchdown run, the 7-yarder in the second quarter.
The play sent Cook up the middle into a pile of bodies. Three defenders got a hand on him, the last guy dragging him toward the ground. Cook stayed on his feet, using his left arm to keep his balance.
Once steadied, Cook bounced outside and then stiff-armed a cornerback out of his way at the 3-yard line to create a path to the end zone.
"Dalvin has great heart," Zimmer said.
He showed a little bit of everything on that run. Heart. Balance. Strength. Explosiveness. Determination.
"That's the striking zone," Cook said. "We're just scratching and clawing trying to win."
The day provided more evidence that the Vikings made a wise investment in giving Cook a lucrative contract extension on the eve of the season. The running back position has been devalued in the modern NFL, but a player with game-changing talent should never be minimized or devalued.
Alexander Mattison is a fine backup. He's not Dalvin Cook.
The Vikings offense can be explosive and high-scoring with a run-first focus because Cook's skill set creates that possibility. His speed to the perimeter stresses defenses, but his power in breaking tackles at the line — or in the backfield — turns potential negative plays into positive gains that prevent drives from being doomed. That's a special quality.
The rookie receiver looks like a budding star, too.
Mostly a bystander his first two games, Jefferson has emerged as a deep threat and big-play target who will take defensive game-planning and focus off Adam Thielen.
One play underscored just how much Jefferson's role in the offense has shifted the past two weeks. Early fourth quarter, the Vikings faced a third-and-6 clinging to a 24-16 lead.
Texans cornerback Phillip Gaines lined up across from Jefferson in man-to-man on the outside. Jefferson's route took him along the sideline. Gaines' coverage was tight. Kirk Cousins threw a back-shoulder pass.
Jefferson twisted his body for a 25-yard completion to extend the drive, which resulted in a touchdown for a 31-16 lead.
Two things: A) Cousins went to his rookie in that critical situation and B) Cousins and Jefferson never work on back-shoulder throws in practice.
Both points speak volumes.
"That's trust right there," Jefferson said.
Trust in the rookie's "raw ability" to make a play, Cousins said.
As he ran down the field after that catch, Cousins turned to a teammate and said, "18 can play."
Jefferson wears No. 18, and he is showing he can play in different ways. In the slot, outside, deep throws, run-after-catch. He's averaging 21.8 yards per catch and leads the league in catches of 20-plus yards with eight.
"It's only my fourth game of my career," he noted. "We didn't have any preseason. I guess you could say this is my preseason. I'm just getting started."
A Cook-Jefferson marriage is a nice starting point.
https://www.startribune.com/scoggins-two-plays-from-two-special-players-lead-vikings-to-victory/572632981/

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#2
Yep. And Cousins looked good. But the future QB HAS to be drafted hopefully in the next Draft. Cousins is trusting Jefferson already, that's pretty amazing. Like I mentioned in another thread, that 2nd TD run by Cook was elite and special. I don't have a lot of 'wow' moments in games but I actually said an audible 'whoa' when he scored. Incredible he got that into the end zone. 

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#3
Saw the first half, and highlights of the rest of the game, so I don't want to take this too far, but it looked like the offensive line played better this week. I saw several drops where Cousins had plenty of time. I focused on two players in particular. Samia, who looked better, and Bradbury who looked damn near dominant. Curious to see their PFF grades. 
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#4
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
Saw the first half, and highlights of the rest of the game, so I don't want to take this too far, but it looked like the offensive line played better this week. I saw several drops where Cousins had plenty of time. I focused on two players in particular. Samia, who looked better, and Bradbury who looked damn near dominant. Curious to see their PFF grades. 
Here's one....#1 ain't bad...

https://twitter.com/PurpleForTheWin/stat...34208?s=20
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#5
Pass pro absolutely was better this week. 
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#6
...and here's Samia's grade, plus a few positive comments. Maybe there's hope for big ornery kid from OU....

https://twitter.com/JonasStaerk/status/1...88704?s=20
https://twitter.com/vikingsfans16/status...21312?s=20
https://twitter.com/josh_henig/status/13...22528?s=20
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#7
Quote: @purplefaithful said:
Pass pro absolutely was better this week. 
With a bad or average offensive line, its really opponent specific how they play: some games, serviceable and then others just f-ing horrible. They looked decent against a bad Houston D-line (other than JJ Watt who you can afford to double team). 

I think the board will be moaning and groaning after the Seattle game and a good opponent. 
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#8
Quote: @StickyBun said:
@purplefaithful said:
Pass pro absolutely was better this week. 
With a bad or average offensive line, its really opponent specific how they play: some games, serviceable and then others just f-ing horrible. They looked decent against a bad Houston D-line (other than JJ Watt who you can afford to double team). 

I think the board will be moaning and groaning after the Seattle game and a good opponent. 
Very possible. He's a 2nd year player who's started 3 games. He's going to have his ups and downs. But after it looked like he was a flat bust, I'll take the ups where we can get them. And JJ Watt is a pretty fair opponent, especially when you consider that Samia is almost certainly targeted by defenses. 
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#9
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
@StickyBun said:
@purplefaithful said:
Pass pro absolutely was better this week. 
With a bad or average offensive line, its really opponent specific how they play: some games, serviceable and then others just f-ing horrible. They looked decent against a bad Houston D-line (other than JJ Watt who you can afford to double team). 

I think the board will be moaning and groaning after the Seattle game and a good opponent. 
Very possible. He's a 2nd year player who's started 3 games. He's going to have his ups and downs. But after it looked like he was a flat bust, I'll take the ups where we can get them. And JJ Watt is a pretty fair opponent, especially when you consider that Samia is almost certainly targeted by defenses. 
O'Neill had Watt most of the game, Samia came in to chip on him and with double teams. 

Listen, its a win. But I also know that its one game against a bad opponent. Most likely case is this is still an offensive line that sorely needs big upgrades at OG. Reiff is playing out of his mind but they need an upgrade there as well. 
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#10
Jefferson became the sixth Vikings rookie to post back-to-back 100-yard receiving games, joining Stefon Diggs, Randy Moss, Hassan Jones, Anthony Carter and Paul Flatley. 
He caught four passes for 103 yards — all on plays that gained at least 20 — while Thielen caught eight of 10 targets for 114 yards. Cook and tight end Kyle Rudolph were the only other Vikings players to catch a pass.

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