The 4 losses have been ugly

No one can and no one will. It's simply a roller coaster. Some of the losses are a comedy of errors and some the game planning is atrocious. Maybe both as well. I think it has made me tougher as the season has gone on. The two injuries on OL are huge. The offense was totally what the fuck. Each game is a ripple effect positive or negative. Back to the drawing board. They are overperforming and overachieving at times and other times they are totally flat. It's bizarre. There have been a lot of great moments though. Oh well 

Legit chance at the #1 seed with Philly losing....San Fran breathing down their neck for the #2 seed (which they now have) and this kind of result?? I never thought this team was a juggernaut and it has obvious flaws, but I was determined to focus on the wins. Every one of the 4 losses were just jarringly horrible and it can't be ignored now or pushed away. Here's the thing: my guess is that KOC will shut down some starters against Chicago....do you want to head into the playoffs getting your asses handed to you by division rivals back to back?? Ugh.

@"StickyBun" said: Legit chance at the #1 seed with Philly losing....San Fran breathing down their neck for the #2 seed (which they now have) and this kind of result?? I never thought this team was a juggernaut and it has obvious flaws, but I was determined to focus on the wins. Every one of the 4 losses were just jarringly horrible and it can't be ignored now or pushed away. Here's the thing: my guess is that KOC will shut down some starters against Chicago....do you want to head into the playoffs getting your asses handed to you by division rivals back to back?? Ugh.

Does it really matter?  This team is going no where in the playoffs,  even if they manage to win their wildcard game,  they will get shit stomped in the next round,   they just are not as good as their record indicated,  and I think winning most of their games the way they did should have been an indication of that.   Sure good teams find ways to win,  but they don't make a habit of having to do that.

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"StickyBun" said: Legit chance at the #1 seed with Philly losing....San Fran breathing down their neck for the #2 seed (which they now have) and this kind of result?? I never thought this team was a juggernaut and it has obvious flaws, but I was determined to focus on the wins. Every one of the 4 losses were just jarringly horrible and it can't be ignored now or pushed away. Here's the thing: my guess is that KOC will shut down some starters against Chicago....do you want to head into the playoffs getting your asses handed to you by division rivals back to back?? Ugh.

Does it really matter?  This team is going no where in the playoffs,  even if they manage to win their wildcard game,  they will get shit stomped in the next round,   they just are not as good as their record indicated,  and I think winning most of their games the way they did should have been an indication of that.   Sure good teams find ways to win,  but they don't make a habit of having to do that.

@"StickyBun" said:

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"StickyBun" said: Legit chance at the #1 seed with Philly losing....San Fran breathing down their neck for the #2 seed (which they now have) and this kind of result?? I never thought this team was a juggernaut and it has obvious flaws, but I was determined to focus on the wins. Every one of the 4 losses were just jarringly horrible and it can't be ignored now or pushed away. Here's the thing: my guess is that KOC will shut down some starters against Chicago....do you want to head into the playoffs getting your asses handed to you by division rivals back to back?? Ugh.

Does it really matter?  This team is going no where in the playoffs,  even if they manage to win their wildcard game,  they will get shit stomped in the next round,   they just are not as good as their record indicated,  and I think winning most of their games the way they did should have been an indication of that.   Sure good teams find ways to win,  but they don't make a habit of having to do that.

It matters in the fact of the point we are both making: are they any good really? You'd think a good team would step up in the scenario where they can advance to a #1 seed or hold onto the #2. They did neither. They looked helpless yesterday, just like the other losses. It validates the little voice (or bigger voice, depending which fan you talk to) that said, 'I think this team maybe is a fluke'. Not sure anyone on this board can say with a straight face it wasn't always a thought somewhere in their fan brain. 

When we lose we friggin LOSE. It's sad. We've had some awesome wins this year that have been tons of fun but yeah the losses have totally stunk. I'm still not writing off this team because we've shown we can beat anyone, but it's definitely possible and maybe even likely that we lay an egg in the playoffs.
Hock making brutal mistakes early yesterday. Not scoring from the one yard line. Missing FGs. Giving up KRs. Tipped balls leading to picks and then Kirk doing dumb things. It was a mess up and down in every which way. Felt very similar to the NFCCG versus Philly from a few years back. Never stopped the bleeding even though we had plenty of chances to do so. Not a lot of fun to watch yesterday. Hoping for better the rest of the way.

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"StickyBun" said:

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"StickyBun" said: Legit chance at the #1 seed with Philly losing....San Fran breathing down their neck for the #2 seed (which they now have) and this kind of result?? I never thought this team was a juggernaut and it has obvious flaws, but I was determined to focus on the wins. Every one of the 4 losses were just jarringly horrible and it can't be ignored now or pushed away. Here's the thing: my guess is that KOC will shut down some starters against Chicago....do you want to head into the playoffs getting your asses handed to you by division rivals back to back?? Ugh.

Does it really matter?  This team is going no where in the playoffs,  even if they manage to win their wildcard game,  they will get shit stomped in the next round,   they just are not as good as their record indicated,  and I think winning most of their games the way they did should have been an indication of that.   Sure good teams find ways to win,  but they don't make a habit of having to do that.

It matters in the fact of the point we are both making: are they any good really? You'd think a good team would step up in the scenario where they can advance to a #1 seed or hold onto the #2. They did neither. They looked helpless yesterday, just like the other losses. It validates the little voice (or bigger voice, depending which fan you talk to) that said, 'I think this team maybe is a fluke'. Not sure anyone on this board can say with a straight face it wasn't always a thought somewhere in their fan brain. 

Theres been a few of us that never really bought in.   I think I've said it about every week.  I've enjoyed the ride,  but just wasn't seeing the growth that should have been coming with the O,  and definitely really never saw much with the D that would suggest they were ever going to make noise in the post season.  Sure they could see some flukey breaks and bounces go their way,   they did all season in their wins,   but in only a couple games did I feel that they were the superior team. 

I was impressed with how the defense started the game after the offense went 3 and out. The blocked punt was a fantastic momentum turning play, but then the offense shit the bed at the 2 yard line. I didn't understand the play calls at all during that series. Running Cook up the middle with your weak backup center in the waiting arms of Kenny Clark made zero sense and was so predictable. That gave all the energy right back to the Packers. It felt like the Offense and KOC were playing not to lose instead of being aggressive and showing the Packers D new wrinkles they weren't expecting. Losing this game in the manner in which we did made zero sense. If you lose so be it but be aggressive, try new plays, etc. We played right into the Packers hands with the Offensive Game Plan. Once Schlottmann went out, the offense turtled and played scared. I also felt they waited until the game was completely lost to get Jefferson the ball. They should have used motion for Jefferson in the first half where Alexander couldn't have teed off on JJ at the line of scrimmage and disrupt his routes. Rodgers was a complete non-factor in this game. If the Offense had actually put up some points to keep it close and put some pressure on the Packers offense, we could have won this game. 

What is there to buy into or not?

We've said it most of the season - enjoy the ride but this is not a roster that is going to make a deep playoff run.

I look at it as a year of extremes and I dont know when I've experienced something quite like it --  in all my years of fandom. Maybe 2001/2002 teams would be close. 

I mean coming back @ Buffalo and vs Colts? That s hit doesn't happen often (if at all) let alone twice in a season. I guess thats the flip side to these really fugly losses. 

Peel back the #'s and the reality is that I read the Vikings are 4-4 against contending teams this season. 

Regardless of these drubbings, they are a top 5 team in NFC. Now KOC/KAM will have a whole year to tinker and find ways to improve. 

It is always painful to watch the Vike's fail, but as others have said this year was going to be a roller coaster ride.

Wait till the end, get another ticket, and hope for a better ride next time.

We all knew the Vikings were bad on defense and were nowhere near as good as their record. That said, I think the hope was always that we would turn a corner somewhere. I mean we've been saying this since August: this team will likely be better in December than it was in September. And while you could see glimpses of improvement here and there, it never fully materialized. 

As much as I hate Tony fucking Romo, what he said yesterday is exactly right. If you can't run or stop the run, you can't win in the playoffs. 

Yup, Romo is spot on @ MB. 

In an era of rules that favor passing? RPO's, Jet Sweeps, WR's like JJ, Chase and more studs than I could list? It still comes down to balance and running the ball. 

Honestly? The Packers are a more balanced team than the Vikings and better on D too. 

Vikings have lots of areas to improve - including IOL and that entire D. 

Yesterday was not stellar for the game plan or coaches execution either. Plenty of blame to go around. 

You always expect a game or two that everything goes against you and it is just not your day, but we have now had 3 of those and also don't forget the disastrous first half of the Colts game. The defense is awful, but the offense is too good to have games like this.   I think a lot of it falls on KOC, he has not been a great game manager and his play calling is beyond predictable.  We had a huge break with the ball at the one after the block and we run it up the middle with a back up center, that tells me the coach is just not in the game.  There was no excuse to allow JJ to get abused all game, we kept going to other WRs, but you needed to make adjustments to free up your best player.  Maybe part of this is growing pains with KOC.  

The biggest concern is something is missing when things fall apart.  In the Colts game it was KJ who would not give up and seemed to really picked the team up.  Everyone just seemed to roll over yesterday.  I think Cousins is the biggest reason we have 12 wins, he has been consistent and amazingly clutch this year, you just want to see him be more fiery on the field, yesterday when things were falling apart, I just wanted to see him rally the team and get guys fired up and believing in themselves, but you just didn't see that from him or anyone.  For a team that has shown so much resiliency in close games it just doesn't make sense how they allow the game to get away from them like this. 

Losses are part of the game...disastrous, destructive and humiliating blowouts are ugly...

@"pattersaur" said:

When we lose we friggin LOSE. It's sad. We've had some awesome wins this year that have been tons of fun but yeah the losses have totally stunk. I'm still not writing off this team because we've shown we can beat anyone, but it's definitely possible and maybe even likely that we lay an egg in the playoffs. Hock making brutal mistakes early yesterday. Not scoring from the one yard line. Missing FGs. Giving up KRs. Tipped balls leading to picks and then Kirk doing dumb things. It was a mess up and down in every which way. Felt very similar to the NFCCG versus Philly from a few years back. Never stopped the bleeding even though we had plenty of chances to do so. Not a lot of fun to watch yesterday. Hoping for better the rest of the way.

We were snakebit, as Burnsie used to say. It was a lot like the 1st half of the Colts game. A lot of unearned points. Tipped pick sixes, KO returns, dropped balls, 3rd string center screwups. I mean how many sustained TD drives did Green Bay have? Two maybe? 

The fact that we won one game all season by more than 1 possession and lost 3 of 4 by  blowout should be all the evidence you need for how crazy our record is. 2022 has really come down to about a dozen heroic/fluke plays most of which were on Kirk and JJ. 

The defense has been schematically horrible. Almost no pass rush (with 2 rush specialists), and can't stop the run. The offense has become too reliant on the pass, seem to have 3 running plays that are all designed to go between the tackles and forgot that it's legal to use RBs as receivers beyond the LOS. KOC has to get some help in keeping him out of blind spots.

Defense is our biggest miss with Donatell. He's gotta go, and we have a lot of pieces to replace on both sides of the ball. With our limited resources in terms of cap and draft picks. (doesn't help that we'll be picking in the 20's). I just don't see where our record matches this year, or where we are significantly better next year without some wheeling/dealing and more luck.  

If anything i would say as the season has gone on,  the D has shown a little growth,   but the O seems to have regressed imo.

I figure Max Winter made a deal with the NFL that he gets a franchise back in the day, but they never get to win a real championship!
The NFL has upheld their end, we just haven’t been told that those 4 Super Bowl losses were as good as it’s going to get.
 I know ‘69 was officially a NFL Championship, but not really.

@"purplefaithful" said: What is there to buy into or not?

We've said it most of the season - enjoy the ride but this is not a roster that is going to make a deep playoff run.

Which begs the question, was it all worth it for this season? We held on to a lot of big contracts, held on to Cousins, and we are now going into next season once again with salary cap issues, quarterback of the future questions, roster holes and limited draft capital. I was a proponent of this being a long-term fix and we should tear things down under a new regime, move Cousins, and acquire draft capital for players like Kendricks. It was the sensible move to make but I knew it would never happen under the Wilfs who always believe we are contenders and a couple players away. So now we go into next season with all these questions while the Lions go into next season with salary cap, really good young players and multiple draft picks (including two picks in the top 20) to continue rebuilding that roster. 

The Vikings are not in a good situation, but hey, we are making the playoffs this season and will almost assuredly be bounced early in the playoffs. Fun, but to me not worth the future issues this season will bring.