Falcons game/NFL observations

[StickierBuns]

11-2 with a pedal to the metal 2nd half performance, very nice. Seems a bit surreal at times considering most of our thoughts in late August. Fun stuff.

• U.S. Bank stadium was rockin', fans let it all hang out. Could hear it through the speakers on TV. 
  
• Oooooeeee Slingin' Sammy Darnold: that boy was ballin'. MVP chants toward the end got Sam fired up. When the crowd gave Sam a standing ovation and he started swinging the towel and getting animated, Brian O'Neill said its one of the coolest moments he's ever seen at The Bank, how joyful the fans were.*
  
• Jefferson and Addison, quite the duo. Those dudes are gangsters on the field, full of playmaking confidence.
  
• I see you now Jalen Redmond, I believe he got the start. Disruptive. Long arms for a guy 6'2". Quick and impactful. Not ready to crown him yet, but damn...
  
• Kirko.....your best days are behind you. Still floats passes at the exact wrong times. That shot early by Dallas Turner turtled him up a smidge.
  
• Other than 2 plays that I didn't understand from KOC, more aggressive than I've seen him recently....and I loved it. That pass to TE Oliver is exactly the kind of dagger on first down that deflates a D. 
  
• 110 yards rushing between Akers and Jones, every yard needed. That last TD run for Aaron Jones was a damn good one. 
  
• Crazy penalties against Atlanta at the best times for Minnesota. I'll take it.
  
• Cardinals did their job by losing, but the Rams held on. I believe Minnesota can clinch a playoff spot with a win from this point forward.
  
• That dance routine by Metellus and Bynum was gold, lol....the 'White Chicks' dance.
  
• The early window of games were mostly garbage matchups, yuck. 
  
• The Bears played like hot dogshit. Brutal.
  

The team was having fun and it showed. The Vikings seem to turn it on when required. Let's keep rolling on MNF.

* https://twitter.com/TPPSkol/status/18658...wcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Fnfl%2Fvikings%2Fnews%2Fsam-darnold-is-living-a-dream-and-re-entering-mvp-race-for-red-hot-vikings-01jem648jyr9




https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/4286...erformance

[StickierBuns]

[MaroonBells]

Can't say enough about our wide receivers. If you play fantasy, you know what Jefferson and Addison do is not common. If the ball’s in the general area, they are coming down with it.

I thought this game would be a chess-like battle of game plans between Morris and KOC. And it was. I think Morris won the first half and KOC won the 2nd. But what made the difference, ultimately a big difference, was how much better Darnold was than Cousins. 

Big win, but I still have this nagging notion that our defense becomes more and more vulnerable as the season wears on. Yes, we were without a couple starters, but there were too many wide open receivers (probably where we missed Gilmore), and we really struggled to stop the run. It seemed the penetration was there, but we seldom made the tackle (probably where we missed Pace).

[StickierBuns]

Can't say enough about our wide receivers. If you play fantasy, you know what Jefferson and Addison do is not common. If the ball’s in the general area, they are coming down with it.

I thought this game would be a chess-like battle of game plans between Morris and KOC. And it was. I think Morris won the first half and KOC won the 2nd. But what made the difference, ultimately a big difference, was how much better Darnold was than Cousins. 

Big win, but I still have this nagging notion that our defense becomes more and more vulnerable as the season wears on. Yes, we were without a couple starters, but there were too many wide open receivers (probably where we missed Gilmore), and we really struggled to stop the run. It seemed the penetration was there, but we seldom made the tackle (probably where we missed Pace).

Yeah, I didn't mention the D in my write up: it worries me as well. But this isn't a truly elite team yet, I think this upcoming offseason will help in that department and move them into the edge realm of that territory. This is, IMO, a very good team that will need a little luck and timely plays on D to make it to the NFCC game this year. And most probably it will take winning on the road to accomplish some playoff wins, even tougher. I'm just taking it week by week and loving it until the ride ends.....

[viking1987returns]

Sam balled out

[dadevike]

I'm really hoping that the D is missing Ivan Pace. He is huge for us. So unique the way he shifts and bends. He gets to the QB and is always in the right spot on run plays. That said, Atlanta's O-line is really really good.

[purplefaithful]

Disappointed in the pass-rush yesterday.

I agree the D is not (yet) SB/CG caliber. I think they need another high quality runner - not sure if Jones is back in 25. Either way, they need to address the rb room.

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[JR44]

What I was really impressed with is that Atlanta came out a fired up football team and played as well as they could, they really took it to us early and their DL was just dominating, it didn't look great at first, yet this team took their best shot and then came back punching back and never let up. It was something in this team that I have not seen yet this year, but they played championship team football yesterday. Hoping we can really build on what we did yesterday. Definitely the most fun I have had watching a game this year!

[MaroonBells]

What I was really impressed with is that Atlanta came out a fired up football team and played as well as they could, they really took it to us early and their DL was just dominating, it didn't look great at first, yet this team took their best shot and then came back punching back and never let up.  It was something in this team that I have not seen yet this year, but they played championship team football yesterday.  Hoping we can really build on what we did yesterday.  Definitely the most fun I have had watching a game this year!

I really think Morris put together a game plan that caught us off guard. We didn't have an answer for their pass rush. We didn't have an answer for Cousins or their backs. But KOC seemed to make the necessary adjustments (like rolling Darnold left, better pass blocking schemes and finding a way to get Jefferson away from Terrell). 

Of course it helped that the Falcons committed several costly penalties and Cousins made a couple big errors, turning what probably was going to be a nail biter into a bit of a blowout.

[medaille]

I don’t think a “SB caliber defense” exists anymore. Perhaps, one or two teams have a “SB caliber defense”. We are living in an offensive world, where the goal of a defense is to slow down the other teams offense, a little more than they can slow down yours, and ideally you gain a clutch turnover. I think up until this past game, the defense has fundamentally carried the team, and if any part of our team wasn’t SB caliber it was the offense. Our defense has been doing what it’s been doing most of the year. It’s being opportunistic. It’s generally not letting teams beat them deep. It is allowing teams to move the ball.

That said, I do think teams kind of have the gameplan against our defense. I think teams that can bring out a heavier formation or have a dominant OLine are going to be able to bully us in the run game, force us into a personnel package we aren’t as good in, and put us on the back pedal. But with our defensive style, it’s ok to let other teams move the ball, as long as you’re confusing enough to force a couple turnovers a game.