Too Much Purple Koolaid?
The win vs the Bucs was fun, and pretty dominant. No one lie, the Case Keenum performance was surprising to all but his Mom.
But, the win vs the Texans was dominant too last year, so let's not get ahead of ourselves.
If anyone thinks the Lions are predominantly the shitty Lions of the past 3 decades, look again. Stafford is Pro Bowl level and can give fits, and the defense is adequate. That does not mean that the Lions are a 12-4 team, but doesn't mean they are a 6-10 team either.
I have never been a big Jim Caldwell fan, but his team does play for him, and I applaud him for how he accepted a defeat last week with a clock runoff that had to be hard to take - he has some class.
It is an NFL North contest, and rarely are those easy "W's" I hope Keenum is the 369 QB, not the 167 yard QB we saw in Pittsburgh. We all want the Vikings to win, but we beat a bad Saint team on a record night for our QB, lost to what looks like an average Pittsburgh team (could have been distracted by all the "will same play or won't he" talk). How are the Bucs? Hard to say.
Maybe we blow the doors off of the Lions, but until we do, this team has proven nothing other than when the defense plays well and the offensive line blocks decently, we can win, and sometimes dominate. Let's see more from this sample size before we fire up the printing press for our playoff T-shirts.
@"greediron" said:@"1VikesFan" said:@"greediron" said: Agreed Minny. I think Zimmer's D has Stafford's number. He has been hit, harrassed and taken out of his game so often by us. I think our defense will have a good plan. We may bend a bit early as we figure out the offense, but will turn up the heat after a drive or 2.
He might have Stafford's number but didn't the Kitties sweep the Vikes last year? It's going to take a whole team effort to win Sunday.
The at home loss was late in the season and the D seemed to by struggling/feeling hopeless/spent at that point. As Minny said, the offense shot ourselves in the foot in both games IIRC.
IIRC it wasnt the offense that lost the second game, they left the field with a lead didnt they? defense let them drive for a tying field goal and then let them drive for the winning TD?
@"JimmyinSD" said:@"greediron" said:The at home loss was late in the season and the D seemed to by struggling/feeling hopeless/spent at that point. As Minny said, the offense shot ourselves in the foot in both games IIRC.
IIRC it wasnt the offense that lost the second game, they left the field with a lead didnt they? defense let them drive for a tying field goal and then let them drive for the winning TD?
I think it was Thanksgiving in Detroit that was really on the offense. The game at home, I do recall giving up a tying FG and then Tate breaking tackles by Rhodes and Smith. But that was late in the year and I think the D was worn down, struggling to give it 100% at that point. It was on them, but our whole team was shit at that point.
@"greediron" said:@"JimmyinSD" said:@"greediron" said:The at home loss was late in the season and the D seemed to by struggling/feeling hopeless/spent at that point. As Minny said, the offense shot ourselves in the foot in both games IIRC.
IIRC it wasnt the offense that lost the second game, they left the field with a lead didnt they? defense let them drive for a tying field goal and then let them drive for the winning TD?
I think it was Thanksgiving in Detroit that was really on the offense. The game at home, I do recall giving up a tying FG and then Tate breaking tackles by Rhodes and Smith. But that was late in the year and I think the D was worn down, struggling to give it 100% at that point. It was on them, but our whole team was shit at that point.
our offense was lulled to sleep by what can only be described as the worst rendition of the national anthem since rosie odonnell.
Tough stretch coming-up...We need Bradford back and playing at a high level.
Fingers crossed there's a little magic left with Keenum. Sunday is going to be a difficult game. Am frankly more concerned about the D than O going into this one.
Haven't felt like that since 09 lol!
Need Bradford back, period. If Minnesota can somehow sneak a victory in here against Detroit with Keenum, they'll be set really well moving forward because I think Bradford will start the following week.
Detroit is actually healthier this week than last. They are a very dangerous team. They believe they can come from behind in any game so it won't be over until it's really over. Stafford has crazy come from behind win rate.
it's going to be a tough win.
The drive to let the Lions get into FG range with 26 seconds left, at home, was what sent the team into a tailspin last year. Then, while still in the midst of the division race, we crapped the bed late again on Thanksgiving day. I thought the team played well enough to win both, but couldn't finish either. The loss in Detroit coming off Bradford's worst throw in a Vikings uniform. While I don't expect Case to be the Case from last week, I still think he will be good enough to win on Sunday. I look for a big time game from Cook this week as well.
@"Mike Olson" said: Defensively it comes down to one thing. Pressure Stafford. Can't do that then you can't win this game no matter what you get out of Case.Agreed.
This game is definitely going to rest in the hands of the defense.
@"JimmyinSD" said: This game is definitely going to rest in the hands of the defense.Kinda, but I see it as a balance: Detroit can score a lot late, so our offense needs to get on the board early and often.
Break the kittens' spirit, and there's no late comeback.
@"Zanary" said:@"JimmyinSD" said: This game is definitely going to rest in the hands of the defense. Kinda, but I see it as a balance: Detroit can score a lot late, so our offense needs to get on the board early and often.Break the kittens' spirit, and there's no late comeback.
yeah, the O will have to score some point, and will have to sustain some drives to let the D rest, but IMO this game really boils down to the D being able to keep the pressure up on stafford without gambling to much with bringing extra pressure.
@"Zanary" said:@"JimmyinSD" said: This game is definitely going to rest in the hands of the defense. Kinda, but I see it as a balance: Detroit can score a lot late, so our offense needs to get on the board early and often.Break the kittens' spirit, and there's no late comeback.
Maybe its just my own fan lens, but for some reason the D intensity is better in a tight game vs playing ahead...I don't always like Zimmer's play calling in a game where we're ahead either.That said, I'd rather be playing from ahead lol!
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