Some Misc Thoughts

Bottom of the first…  ;)  B)

Pierce on pace for 34 sacks.

@"BarrNone55" said: Pierce on pace for 34 sacks.

 Did I see a little swim move out of Pierce on that 2nd sack???

My thoughts:

- They played beyond terrible in the preseason and that carried over today.  Sloppy, penalty filled performance.  The penalties were legit and we once again we have questions along our offensive line. 

- Spielman, Zimmer, and Cousins are officially on the hot seat.  If the Wilfs decide to clean house after the season, Stanford's David Shaw should be the first call made and given the keys to the kingdom. 

- Darrisaw being injured has really bitten us in the ass.  Hill is a fringe roster player...always has been, and he played terrible today.  Bradberry continues to get pushed back into the lap of Cousins routinely and IMO the Vikings need to start prepping Wyatt Davis to transition to center.  It's the same issues along the line with the same players.  The Benglas have mediocre defensive line talent and the Vikings made them look like the fearsome foursome out there.

- Not having Irv Smith this year is a crusher.  He was being counted on as our 3rd option in the receiving game and we just lack weapons on offense. Osborne looked decent but we need more in the receiving game.

- The regression of Cam Dantzler forcing us to start Breeland is another crusher.  Just lacks overall speed and is going to struggle against fast guys. 

- I'm not sure about this new hybrid 3-4 defense.  We didn't run a single double A gap blitz look until overtime. 

Looked like a poorly prepared, motivated and coached football team.  This team has zero heart.  

What a Vikings debut for Michael Pierce. Trey Hopkins is gonna see him in his sleep tonight pic.twitter.com/vu3fYeZ2U0

— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) September 12, 2021

• The pass rush looked much improved from last year. They did a good job of collapsing the pocket from the edge and Pierce showed some pass rushing moves that I did not expect him to have. It was nice to see Hunter back out there and get to the QB and Griffen seem to be around the QB. Burrow obviously has some reduced mobility, but compared to last year they were generating a lot of pressure and have better DL depth.
• The run defense is not there yet. I'd love to see the breakdown of inside versus outside runs, but it seemed like they were getting gouged the most on stretch runs. Some of that is on the DEs needing to set the edge, but there were also some missed tackles by the LBers and secondary.
• I'm not sure yet on Breeland. He got burned at the end of the 2nd quarter for a TD, but did do better when he could keep his man in front of him. Hopefully he can be good enough, but I'd really like to know what's going on with Dantzler since I expected him to at least compete for a starting job and he ended up buried in the depth chart.
• It was nice to have Alexander back. He broke up a pass or two and nearly had a pick. He's definitely an upgrade over last year.
• I didn't notice Patrick Peterson much, which I'm assuming is a good thing.
• Hill had an awful game. He was getting beat consistently, had a few penalties, and was a liability. I know that Darrisaw may need some time to get up to speed after his injury, but we need him sooner rather than later.
• The offense was not disciplined. Tons of false starts, illegal formation, and holding penalties that need to be cleaned up. Not sure why Udoh beat out Davis to start right now.
• Losing Irv Smith hurts. Hopefully, the other TEs can at least become decent blockers and outlet receivers, because the OL needs the help.
• The fumble call on Cook was BS.
• Special teams actually looked good. The new kicker and punter performed well and I think there were even some returns.
• I had no expectations for KJ Osborn after he struck out as a returner last year, but we was a good third receiver yesterday and maybe he can be a Jarius Wright type player, which would be a great surprise.

@"Tyr" said:

• The pass rush looked much improved from last year. They did a good job of collapsing the pocket from the edge and Pierce showed some pass rushing moves that I did not expect him to have. It was nice to see Hunter back out there and get to the QB and Griffen seem to be around the QB. Burrow obviously has some reduced mobility, but compared to last year they were generating a lot of pressure and have better DL depth.
• The run defense is not there yet. I'd love to see the breakdown of inside versus outside runs, but it seemed like they were getting gouged the most on stretch runs. Some of that is on the DEs needing to set the edge, but there were also some missed tackles by the LBers and secondary.
• I'm not sure yet on Breeland. He got burned at the end of the 2nd quarter for a TD, but did do better when he could keep his man in front of him. Hopefully he can be good enough, but I'd really like to know what's going on with Dantzler since I expected him to at least compete for a starting job and he ended up buried in the depth chart.
• It was nice to have Alexander back. He broke up a pass or two and nearly had a pick. He's definitely an upgrade over last year.
• I didn't notice Patrick Peterson much, which I'm assuming is a good thing.
• Hill had an awful game. He was getting beat consistently, had a few penalties, and was a liability. I know that Darrisaw may need some time to get up to speed after his injury, but we need him sooner rather than later.
• The offense was not disciplined. Tons of false starts, illegal formation, and holding penalties that need to be cleaned up. Not sure why Udoh beat out Davis to start right now.
• Losing Irv Smith hurts. Hopefully, the other TEs can at least become decent blockers and outlet receivers, because the OL needs the help.
• The fumble call on Cook was BS.
• Special teams actually looked good. The new kicker and punter performed well and I think there were even some returns.
• I had no expectations for KJ Osborn after he struck out as a returner last year, but we was a good third receiver yesterday and maybe he can be a Jarius Wright type player, which would be a great surprise.

Agree with most of that. I think they avoided P2, which I agree, is likely a good thing. Irv was going to be a HUGE part of this offense. You could see it in training camp clips. He was the target on seemingly every other pass. Losing him hurts more than most people think. I think Udoh just needs time. He has everything else. Will Davis take over at some point? Maybe, but I think it's just as likely he replaces Bradbury. Very happy with Joseph. Happy they stuck with him. Tackling was a big problem. That is unusual for a Zimmer defense. 

@"BarrNone55" said: Pierce on pace for 34 sacks.

Chandler Jones on pace for 85 sacks ...

This week he gets Rashod Hill

@"SFVikeFan" said:

@"BarrNone55" said: Pierce on pace for 34 sacks.

Chandler Jones on pace for 85 sacks ...

This week he gets Rashod Hill

I'll take Zim and many other QBs to lead this team than

Cousins on this team with any other coach.

How many other QBs would love the weapons Minnesota could surround them with AND have historically a great defense under Zimmer.  I guarantee Rodgers would love to play on this team  

This defense will need time to gel, no doubt, and it will be good, if not great when that times come.  Unfortunately we will have a robot mercenary at QB that will take us where he has taken every other team he has QB'd, nowhere.

@"Skodin" said: I'll take Zim and many other QBs to lead this team than

Cousins on this team with any other coach.

How many other QBs would love the weapons Minnesota could surround them with AND have historically a great defense under Zimmer.  I guarantee Rodgers would love to play on this team  

This defense will need time to gel, no doubt, and it will be good, if not great when that times come.  Unfortunately we will have a robot mercenary at QB that will take us where he has taken every other team he has QB'd, nowhere.

As bad as our OL is...no,  Rodgers would not love to play on this team. Granted there are things good QBs do to help their OLs that Cousins doesn't,   but Rodgers would have a hissy fit if he got hit as much as KC does.

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"Skodin" said: I'll take Zim and many other QBs to lead this team than

Cousins on this team with any other coach.

How many other QBs would love theeapons Minnesota could surround them with AND have historically a great defense under Zimmer.  I guarantee Rodgers would love to play on this team  

This defense will need time to gel, no doubt, and it will be good, if not great when that times come.  Unfortunately we will have a robot mercenary at QB that will take us where he has taken every other team he has QB'd, nowhere.

As bad as our OL is...no,  Rodgers would not love to play on this team. Granted there are things good QBs do to help their OLs that Cousins doesn't,   but Rodgers would have a hissy fit if he got hit as much as KC does.

@"minny65" said: Looked like a poorly prepared, motivated and coached football team.  This team has zero heart.  

Correction. They had zero heart yesterday. Actually, I would argue focus was the bigger problem. Whatever it was, we should stop painting the entire 17 week season with the paint brush from one game. 

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"minny65" said: Looked like a poorly prepared, motivated and coached football team.  This team has zero heart.  

Correction. They had zero heart yesterday. Actually, I would argue focus was the bigger problem. Whatever it was, we should stop painting the entire 17 week season with the paint brush from one game. 

@"minny65" said:

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"minny65" said: Looked like a poorly prepared, motivated and coached football team.  This team has zero heart.  

Correction. They had zero heart yesterday. Actually, I would argue focus was the bigger problem. Whatever it was, we should stop painting the entire 17 week season with the paint brush from one game. 

Correction.  This team has not had a heart in a looooong time not just in week 1.  Unfortunately, my comment is not based on 1 game.  

@"SFVikeFan" said:

@"BarrNone55" said: Pierce on pace for 34 sacks.

Chandler Jones on pace for 85 sacks ...

This week he gets Rashod Hill

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"minny65" said:

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"minny65" said: Looked like a poorly prepared, motivated and coached football team.  This team has zero heart.  

Correction. They had zero heart yesterday. Actually, I would argue focus was the bigger problem. Whatever it was, we should stop painting the entire 17 week season with the paint brush from one game. 

Correction.  This team has not had a heart in a looooong time not just in week 1.  Unfortunately, my comment is not based on 1 game.  

Hmmm...wow, no, I wouldn't agree with that at all.