09-10-2019, 04:53 PM
Buried at work but thought I would post a few miscellaneous thoughts about the game.
- Quarterback sneaks. I feel like the Vikings have been horrible on QB sneaks the past few years. I certainly didn't think the Vikings would be good at it against the Falcons given the undersized interior and Grady Jarrett prowling nearby. Really pleasantly surprised by the Vikings ability in short yardage to push the pile for Cousins to successfully sneak it a few time. Really unexpected by me.
- UFA Backfield. I realized during the game that Kearse, Harris, Waynes and Alexander are all UFA at the end of the year. Literally, another team could have an entire new starting defensive backfield by signing all 4 players.
- Kline: I expected an upgrade with Kline but he really fits the system well and played excellently. Knowing that the right side of the OLine is well taken care of gives me a lot of comfort.
- Zero. Bradbury was grade a 0 for pass blocking by PFF. I don't know how you can be given a 0 in pass blocking when you don't give up a sack. Yes, I recall Grady walking him back on one play but I would expect a 0 to be reserved for turnstiles. I will say Elflein and Bradbury had problems both individually and as a duo on Sunday. Frankly, I would run so many stunts against the two of them because they have been poor recognizing and reacting to stunts. I have full confidence that Bradbury is going to grow throughout the season and be an above average center by week 17; I have less confidence that Elflein will be an average guard by week 17.
- Competition. I have been thinking about this quite a bit as it goes to coaching philosophy. When the Vikings brought in the kicker from Baltimore, the threat of competition seemed to elevate the performance of Bailey and Wile (at least punting). I am not sure why the Vikings never created a competition for Elflein's guard position. I know they wanted to create cohesiveness in the starting Oline but it seems to me that they made the decision as to who the starters were prematurely.
- Going Forward. I really like the fact the Vikes did not need to use much of their offense in the Atlanta game -- keeps the Packers and Bears a bit in the dark. I also like the fact that throughout the year the Vikes offense should improve just through player improvement and the return of Morgan at some point. Bradbury, Smith and Mattison should improve throughout their rookie campaigns and that is really exciting.
