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Points scored? (i.e. 24+/game)
Division Record?
3rd down conversion?
Dont fall off the cliff in December (given the schedule)
Run Defense?
1st down efficiency?
3rd down D getting off the field?
Score more points than the opponent? lol
Aside from the obvious (i.e. avoiding a Mash unit again) what in your opinion are the most important factors/statistics that would contribute to winning the North and a shot at a home SB homeboy?
Stay healthy
establish a respectable ground game
DTs and LBs play to their capabilities
Quote: @"Vanguard83" said:
Stay healthy
establish a respectable ground game
DTs and LBs play to their capabilities
I agree, the health of the team is very important. It is unbelievable how much injuries this team suffered through last year, especially on the offensive line. I also hope Zimmer's eye condition improves.
1. (Duh!) Health. 3 straight years the Vikings have lost multiple OL starters for extended periods. 2014: Fusco gone week 3, Loadholt gone week 12. 2015: Loadholt and Sullivan gone in preseason. 2016: Kalil and Smith both gone week 2.
In addition to the OL carnage, 2014 had Switchgate, lost Cassel in week 3 and Rudolph missed 7 games, 2016 Sharrif only played 1 game and AD 3.
If this season Reiff, Remmers, Cook, Murray and Bradford all stay upright this O will be better. And the DT depth is far better in case of injury too.
2. Never mind Waldo, Where's Laquon? For however long Michael (hic!) Floyd is gone, the Vikings need more than 1 freaking catch from Treadwell to keep defenses from doubling Diggs or Thielen.
3. Plugged nickel? Exit (Stage Left) Captain, enter Mack Alexander, who contributed to my week 9 trip to USBank by giving up Detroit's only regulation TD and generally looking more lost than Trump in a library. At least Grandpa Newman is still there if Mack is still clueless.
4. Just don't F it up. This means you, Sendejo. Try laying out an opponent instead of a teammate for once. Or hopefully Kearse builds on last preseason and take the starting gig this time.
It's certainly not the be-all-end-all of stats, but it's a mantra I've been hearing since the '60's and it seems to hold true to this day, more often than not. WIN THE TURNOVER BATTLE.
If a team ends the season between + 10-15 on the turnover differential, their chances of making the playoffs skyrockets.
Again, that's not ALWAYS the case, as I believe the 2016 Vikings finished at @ +10, but historically this is one stat that seems to prove true time and again.
The poster children for this theory are the 2006 Bears. There is NO WAY a team with Rex Grossman as a starting QB DESERVES to make a SB, but a healthy turnover differrential, coupled with a RIDICULOUS amount of defensive/special teams TD's, put them in the Championship game.
I realize health and a few other areas mentioned in this thread are important, but if I had to choose ONE, I'm sticking with turnover differential, especially with the solid (not yet ELITE) defense that the Vikings have.
Sendejo scares he hell outta me. The guy looks completely lost sometimes.
Balance.
The defense is good enough to win a Super Bowl as it is. But it has to be paired with an offense that keeps it off the field.
I think it's pretty straight forward. The defense needs to stay the same, while the offense needs to get better. If the Vikings would have scored a consistent 21 points a game, they would have went 11-5. A middle of the road offense is 23 points per game. More precisely, our offense can't lay as many eggs, where we are stagnant all game and just can't seem to score. The Vikings had 2 losses where we held the opponent to 17 or less points, and another 3 where the score was 21-10 ,20-10, 22-16.
The OLine was clearly the primary limiting factor, and that should be resolved enough that we can be functional.
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