If the team gets to 6/2...

@"Geoff Nichols" said: The game @Washington is going to be a good test coming off the bye. Its a winnable game and would definitely set the tone heading into the 2nd half of the season. But ultimately it'll come down to health. 

so... as long as you brought up "health"  do you have any insight that you can share with us regarding some of the many health related questions that we are facing right now?   I am sure the health related issue at the front of most peoples mind is the status of Sirles...   B)  (that one was for you Greed  :p)

I’m not going to get a SB buzz going until after we are
winning a couple games against good teams on the road.

Our games so far haven’t been meaningless, but we’ve faced a
pretty easy schedule so far.

It’d be different if we were blowing all these easy teams
out of the water, but we’re not.  I think
we’re set up such that we could win any game, and we’re consistently good, but
my faith isn’t strong enough to suggest that we are likely to win 3 games in a
row against playoff teams on the road, nor do I think we’re a 13-3/14-2 type
team that often has homefield advantage throughout.

If we take 2 of 3 of Redskins, Lions, Falcons on the road
with decent offensive showings, I’ll start getting the SB tingle.

Saints Blew em out of the water.
Pittsburgh loss
Tampa Bay Blew em out of the water
Lions Loss by one score
Bears would have likely been a different game if Case started but we won.
Packers final score wasn't even close to the actual game. We controlled the whole game. Aaron will be out again when we play them next. 
Ravens Wasn't as close as score indicates. And Ravens have a good defense. 

Ok far from scientific by any stretch.....

Combine the two numbers (defensive and offensive rank) and like golf you want a low score

Vikings 4th ranked team defense. 12th ranked team offense. = 16

Browns ranked 9th in team defense. 24th ranked team offense. = 33
Redskins ranked 12th in team defense. 8th ranked team offense. = 20
Rams Ranked 15th in team defense. 9th ranked team offense. = 24
Lions Ranked 19th in team defense. 26th ranked team offense. = 45 
Atlanta Ranked 14th in team defense. 7th ranked team offense. = 21
Panthers ranked 3rd in team defense. 19th ranked team offense. = 22
Bengals ranked 5th in team defense. 29th ranked team offense. = 34
Packers ranked 22nd in team defense. 23rd ranked team offense. = 45
Bears 7th in team defense. 30th ranked team offense.  = 37

Steal one of Redskins, Rams, Falcons, or Panthers and I believe we are in the playoffs. 

@"Mike Olson" said: Ok far from scientific by any stretch.....

Combine the two numbers (defensive and offensive rank) and like golf you want a low score

Vikings 4th ranked team defense. 12th ranked team offense. = 16

Browns ranked 9th in team defense. 24th ranked team offense. = 33
Redskins ranked 12th in team defense. 8th ranked team offense. = 20
Rams Ranked 15th in team defense. 9th ranked team offense. = 24
Atlanta Ranked 14th in team defense. 7th ranked team offense. = 21
Panthers ranked 3rd in team defense. 19th ranked team offense. = 22
Bengals ranked 5th in team defense. 29th ranked team offense. = 34
Packers ranked 22nd in team defense. 23rd ranked team offense. = 45
Bears 7th in team defense. 30th ranked team offense.  = 37

We're almost 3X as good as the Packers! This is great news.

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"Geoff Nichols" said: The game @Washington is going to be a good test coming off the bye. Its a winnable game and would definitely set the tone heading into the 2nd half of the season. But ultimately it'll come down to health. 

so... as long as you brought up "health"  do you have any insight that you can share with us regarding some of the many health related questions that we are facing right now?   I am sure the health related issue at the front of most peoples mind is the status of Sirles...   B)  (that one was for you Greed  :p)

@"Geoff Nichols" said:

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"Geoff Nichols" said: The game @Washington is going to be a good test coming off the bye. Its a winnable game and would definitely set the tone heading into the 2nd half of the season. But ultimately it'll come down to health. 

so... as long as you brought up "health"  do you have any insight that you can share with us regarding some of the many health related questions that we are facing right now?   I am sure the health related issue at the front of most peoples mind is the status of Sirles...   B)  (that one was for you Greed  :p)

Sirles will be out through the bye but it isn't something that will be season ending. 

Diggs should be back this week after they babied him along for an additional week. 

Reiff is fine and so are the other guys with little nicks (Mac, Floyd, etc..) 

Teddy is ready whenever the coaching staff feels comfortable with him out there. I still think the real discussion happens prior to week 10. 

Bradford doesn't really have a specific time frame on his knee. He's improving but there still seems to be ongoing discomfort. I'd target him being close by week 10. But ultimately it could be longer than that. The unpredictability is really what prevented him from going on IR with a return designation earlier this season. At this point if they went that route he'd be shutdown for the rest of the year. 

@"Mike Olson" said: Ok far from scientific by any stretch.....

Combine the two numbers (defensive and offensive rank) and like golf you want a low score

Vikings 4th ranked team defense. 12th ranked team offense. = 16

Browns ranked 9th in team defense. 24th ranked team offense. = 33
Redskins ranked 12th in team defense. 8th ranked team offense. = 20
Rams Ranked 15th in team defense. 9th ranked team offense. = 24
Lions Ranked 19th in team defense. 26th ranked team offense. = 45 
Atlanta Ranked 14th in team defense. 7th ranked team offense. = 21
Panthers ranked 3rd in team defense. 19th ranked team offense. = 22
Bengals ranked 5th in team defense. 29th ranked team offense. = 34
Packers ranked 22nd in team defense. 23rd ranked team offense. = 45
Bears 7th in team defense. 30th ranked team offense.  = 37

This solidifies my belief that the toughest game left is at Washington. Luckily we will have two weeks to prepare.  

At Det, being the second toughest, but losing the last 3 games vs them the way we have (fluky, killed ourselves, close but played down to their level) chances are high for a Vikings victory. 

Carolina, Atlanta, similar games to me. Tough looking on paper but its not working properly for them, especially against tough Defenses like ours. 

Rams and Bengals, again two similar games, both at home vs a team we dont know that well. Teams that arent deep enough to hang with us but will make it tough on us to win

Net/net, Vikings are an upper echelon NFC team 1st 1/2 of the season...We'll get to watch now who gets hot, back on track, wins the war of attrition.

I still believe Atlanta and Carolina are going to bounce back. The time to have played them is probably past.

I hope our best football is still ahead. So much question @ QB though - we need some "lady luck" at that position. 

Eight favorites -- including the Vikings -- have emerged 100 days from Super Bowl

As of Friday, we will be 100 days away from Super Bowl 52 in Minneapolis. As we near the midpoint of the regular season, making it to the Super Bowl is still a theoretical possibility for most teams. But we’ve also learned enough to distinguish which teams we think — as of now — have the best chance of appearing at U.S. Bank Stadium on Feb. 4.
At this point, the realistic list includes eight teams — three from a top-heavy AFC and five from a more wide-open NFC. And yes, the Vikings are among those eight teams. Let’s take a quick spin through each one, starting with the AFC.
*Patriots: The defense had some early stumbles but has allowed just 38 points in its last three games. New England is the defending Super Bowl champion, owns a 5-2 record and still has Tom Brady as its quarterback. If there’s a true favorite, this is it. If the Patriots make it to Minneapolis … only Patriots fans will be happy.
*Chiefs: Kansas City started the year 5-0 before back-to-back losses slowed its momentum. Still, the Chiefs have a forgiving second-half schedule and look to be a legitimate threat with a much more dynamic offense than in years past. If the Chiefs make it to Minneapolis … Vikings fans will constantly be reminded about Super Bowl IV.
*Steelers: 
*Eagles: This is the trendy pick of the moment, given that Philadelphia is alone atop the NFL with a 6-1 record. Second-year QB Carson Wentz is playing brilliantly, and the defense is solid. Philadelphia will be tested with road games after the bye against the Cowboys, Rams and Seahawks. If the Eagles make it to Minneapolis … get ready for all of North Dakota to invade this state for a glimpse of Wentz.
*Seahawks: 
*Saints: 
*Falcons: 
*Vikings: You knew it was coming, right? And it’s legit. The Vikings have lost key offensive pieces and kept functioning, while the defense has graduated from very good to great. Their 5-2 record will be tested against better competition in the second half, but in a wide open conference they have a chance. If the Vikings make it to the Super Bowl … I can’t even imagine what would be like.
http://www.startribune.com/eight-favorites-including-the-vikings-have-emerged-100-days-from-super-bowl/453419893/

7 points scored. At home. Vs. a Detroit team missing its entire LB Corps.

But yeah, this team is favored in most games going forward according to many on here.

Last year's team had zero margin for error due to an awful O-Line and no rushing attack.

This year's team has zero margin for error due to having a 2nd String QB starting most games so far, against mostly unproven or seriously banged up Defenses.

A turnover or two, missed kicks, lapses in ST coverage, unable to flip the field.  Any combination of these will result in a loss against decent teams, especially on the road.

I was at the Detroit game.  You can't turn the ball over 3 times and expect to win.  If we turn the ball over like that on any of the games for the rest of the season, we can't win.  I am crossing my fingers that the Detroit game was an anomaly.  If we win the turnover battle (highly unpredictable, however) we have a legit shot to win every game...including GB in Lambeau.

Barring injuries to QB's, I see 5 wins after the bye. 11-5 with Keenum at the helm is quite a feat...

I thought and predicted that we would be fighting for our second division crown in 3 years and I still do!

PF you define the Viking Fan. Ha!

I keep looking up but I just don't see any shoes ready to drop. We are a good team. At some point we have to accept that. 

@"FSUVike" said: 7 points scored. At home. Vs. a Detroit team missing its entire LB Corps.

But yeah, this team is favored in most games going forward according to many on here.

Last year's team had zero margin for error due to an awful O-Line and no rushing attack.

This year's team has zero margin for error due to having a 2nd String QB starting most games so far, against mostly unproven or seriously banged up Defenses.

A turnover or two, missed kicks, lapses in ST coverage, unable to flip the field.  Any combination of these will result in a loss against decent teams, especially on the road.

I completely agree...  if Keenum has to finish out the season for us, our margin for error is extremely thin.  However, I think the majority of predictions in this thread are under the assumption that either Bradford or Bridgewater will be healthy coming out of the bye week.  Hence, the optimism.
That said, we're going to lose some games in the second half.  I don't see us running the table as much as I would love for that to happen.  But this team with a healthy Bradford or Bridgewater is definitely better than the team that went 11-5 in 2015.  If the Vikings can get to 6-2 this weekend and come out of the bye with Sam or Teddy...  11-5 or 12-4 isn't out of the realm of possibility.

shhh . .  but Teddy is healthy.  If he wasn’t healthy enough, he wouldn’t be at practice, getting reps with the 1’s.

Case beats Washington, he starts vs Rams
If he struggles in the first half vs the Rams, out comes Teddy in the second half
If he loses to Washington, particularly due to his poor play, Teddy starts vs the Rams
If he beats Washington, and beats St Louis, he’s 5-1 as a starter and starts the Thanksgiving Day game, he deserves it

@"Mike Olson" said: PF you define the Viking Fan. Ha!

I keep looking up but I just don't see any shoes ready to drop. We are a good team. At some point we have to accept that. 

LOL, hey now....you must be kidding just a smidge? 16 games in a season and these are the Vikings. Love how they've performed so far. Not projecting a slump, but more one game at a time. I'll be more optimistic with Bradford or Teddy in there that we don't hit some kind of wall. 

@"Skodin" said: shhh . .  but Teddy is healthy.  If he wasn’t healthy enough, he wouldn’t be at practice, getting reps with the 1’s.

Case beats Washington, he starts vs Rams
If he struggles in the first half vs the Rams, out comes Teddy in the second half
If he loses to Washington, particularly due to his poor play, Teddy starts vs the Rams
If he beats Washington, and beats St Louis, he’s 5-1 as a starter and starts the Thanksgiving Day game, he deserves it

I think if Teddy is on plan to replace Case as starter, Rams game is it...Not on the road.