Time to get back to work. We have an NFC Championship game to play.
Still riding the high from last night, but looking ahead to this Sunday, these are things I feel we need to work on for this game.
1) Pass Rush: I started a thread a couple of weeks ago about our pass rush being very average since EG developed Plantar Fasciitis. We had some
early pressure on Brees, but as the game settled in, especially the second half, Brees had way too much time and was extremely comfortable waiting
for his receivers to create separation. That has to improve this game against Foles, and if we make it past the Eagles, Brady in the Super Bowl.(I don't
think the Jags have a repeat performance against the Pats in the AFC Championship.) Hunter has disappeared as well, and we don't seem to be doing anything other than a straight ahead rush of our 4 lineman. I'm not seeing any stunts. We only blitzed 5 times in the first half, not sure what we did
in the second half, but the front four have to do a better job for this defense to be effective with it's scheme of man coverage.
2) Offensive Line: Our Pass Protection really struggled this game, especially in the second half after the Saints started throwing more stunts at us. Case was under constant duress and pressure and our Passing game started to stall. I give the Saints a lot of credit for the adjustments they made in the second half. Not sure about the move of Remmers to LG and Hill to RT for this game, especially when a lot of the Saints pressure was coming up the
middle after their stunts which made it difficult for Case to step up and find space to move in the pocket. The Eagles front will be an even bigger challenge for our O Line.
3) Wright needs more reps. He shouldn't be splitting time with Treadwell or Floyd. He continues to perform at a high level and makes critical plays when we need to move the chains.
4) McKinnon needs a bigger role in the Passing game vs. what we saw against the Saints. He is a matchup nightmare and we really didn't utilize him much in the passing game. He may not be as talented as Kamara, but he definitely needs to see more touches in space as a receiver. He makes things happen in the open field. Even as good as Kendrick's is, you saw what happened when he had to cover Kamara when he was a receiver.
5) The Saints defense is susceptible to Tight Ends but Rudy seemed to be a non-factor all night. Not sure if he is still injured, but he seemed to struggle to get open and the Saints had those fade routes well covered. We really need him to step up or find more opportunities for Morgan who has proven he can make plays when given the opportunity.
6) Critical Mistakes: This one is stating the obvious, but Case's interception was just a terrible decision and one you can't make with a 17-0 lead. It led to a short field and 7 points by the Saints, and changed the momentum of the game. If you can't throw it away, take the sack. It's OK to punt when we have this defense. The blocked punt was another disastrous momentum swing that led to 7 points. I know we have a new long snapper, but being able to block a punt up the middle shouldn't happen. Priefer needs to get that fixed. The sack that Case took in the opening drive in the second half was also a killer and knocked us out of field goal range. Thank goodness he got the ball out in time before his knee touched the turf on the challenge play that led to our field goal. Hopefully a game of playoff experience for this team will go a long way towards fixing those issues going into next week.
7) Coaching: This is the first game in a long time where I felt both Shurmur and Zimmer were outcoached in the second half. I'm sure having a 17-0 lead led to the ultra conservative and complacent approach in the second half, but we really didn't seem to make any adjustments. Hopefully they learned from this and realize these teams are too good to take your foot off the gas pedal.
This game didn't have to come down to the Minneapolis Miracle. Had we eliminated those critical mistakes, hit the field goal, scored a TD when it was first and goal inside the 5 yard line, this game would have played out much differently. The Eagles game will be an incredible defensive battle, but I like our chances and think our offense is better with Case vs the Eagles and Foles. Hopefully we can come a way with a comfortable victory. I don't think my
heart is strong enough for another finish like last night.
I was already thinking about the eagles last night, we have issues to fix, but you can find flaws in every game to work at. My biggest concern is the hang over that the players and coaches are going to have from last night. that was such and emotional high, how do they reset today and get back to work and will they be able to stay as focused as they need to be this week with all the hype still surrounding last nights stunner? I know Zim will bust his ass to get them ready, but you cant really change how a persons mind works.
Something in our favor.
Saints have a better QB, RB duo and top WR than the Eagles.
Belief
The Eagles havent played well in 5 weeks. They barely got by a 2 win team, they lucked out a win versus a bad Oakland, got punched in the face by Dallas and then lucked out vs a conservative Falcons team. You can play like this and win these games versus lesser teams, but versus an equal, chances of winning are slim.
What not to do next week, throw the game away. Dont throw the game away and we win
Vikings 23 Eagles 13
@"Skodin" said: Something in our favor.Saints have a better QB, RB duo and top WR than the Eagles.
Belief
The Eagles havent played well in 5 weeks. They barely got by a 2 win team, they lucked out a win versus a bad Oakland, got punched in the face by Dallas and then lucked out vs a conservative Falcons team. You can play like this and win these games versus lesser teams, but versus an equal, chances of winning are slim.
What not to do next week, throw the game away. Dont throw the game away and we win
Vikings 23 Eagles 13
and the Eagles have a better defense. I am not saying we should fear the iggles, but they deserve a lot of respect. yes they floundered after wentz went down, but they are finding a way and will be at home. their front 4 are for real.
1. The Saints defense is decent. I would put it on-par with the Eagles, with a slight edge to the Eagles.
2. The "conservative" defense in the second half had more to do with injuries than anything else, in my opinion. With Stephen out, Rhodes hobbled and Sendejo sidelined... the Saint took advantage of that. With one of those injuries? The Vikes roll. With all three? Well... they got lucky.
@"Max" said: 1. The Saints defense is decent. I would put it on-par with the Eagles, with a slight edge to the Eagles. 2. The "conservative" defense in the second half had more to do with injuries than anything else, in my opinion. With Stephen out, Rhodes hobbled and Sendejo sidelined... the Saint took advantage of that. With one of those injuries? The Vikes roll. With all three? Well... they got lucky.The Saints defense played really well in the second half. They took a lot more chances after their halftime adjustments and were creating havoc with our OLine in both pass protection and stuffing the run. We can't abandon the run against the Eagles but I have a feeling they will be loading the box to stop the run and put constant pressure on Keenum. Should be an interesting match up with the Eagles D and Vikings O.
Not sure what kind of impact Stephen had when he left the game. He didn't even register a tackle. In their DLine rotation, Tom Johnson was much more active. Sendejo going out definitely hurt.
@"Max" said: 1. The Saints defense is decent. I would put it on-par with the Eagles, with a slight edge to the Eagles. 2. The "conservative" defense in the second half had more to do with injuries than anything else, in my opinion. With Stephen out, Rhodes hobbled and Sendejo sidelined... the Saint took advantage of that. With one of those injuries? The Vikes roll. With all three? Well... they got lucky.Good points, but I would say that second half D was heavily influenced by the Short Fields for New Orleans. Having to drive 75, 80 yards instead of 30 and 35 is drastically different against this defense.
@"Skodin" said:this exactly, it cant be undersold how much better our D is when they have a little wiggle room. they really thrive by winning on first down, bowing a little on second down and getting the opposition into longer 3rd down situations. sometimes they miss and give up a 10 to 15 yard gain, but typically not repeatedly on drives and especially as the field to cover gets smaller so making the eagles play a long field all day will be huge. we need to take care of the ball on O and limit returns on ST.@"Max" said: 1. The Saints defense is decent. I would put it on-par with the Eagles, with a slight edge to the Eagles. 2. The "conservative" defense in the second half had more to do with injuries than anything else, in my opinion. With Stephen out, Rhodes hobbled and Sendejo sidelined... the Saint took advantage of that. With one of those injuries? The Vikes roll. With all three? Well... they got lucky. Good points, but I would say that second half D was heavily influenced by the Short Fields for New Orleans. Having to drive 75, 80 yards instead of 30 and 35 is drastically different against this defense.
@"Skodin" said:Agreed. It was a "perfect storm" scenario. Injuries, short fields and no rest all in a sudden change caused the "collapse." As long as the Vikings play smart, they should win this game.@"Max" said: 1. The Saints defense is decent. I would put it on-par with the Eagles, with a slight edge to the Eagles. 2. The "conservative" defense in the second half had more to do with injuries than anything else, in my opinion. With Stephen out, Rhodes hobbled and Sendejo sidelined... the Saint took advantage of that. With one of those injuries? The Vikes roll. With all three? Well... they got lucky. Good points, but I would say that second half D was heavily influenced by the Short Fields for New Orleans. Having to drive 75, 80 yards instead of 30 and 35 is drastically different against this defense.
I think this is the most difficult game of the season coming-up. And a lot of Vike fans underestimating how good Philly is, especially there.
Biggest game since Favre vs Brees, that's for sure. Am hoping the good times keep rolling. Been one hell of a ride so far. I dont know what my frigging blood pressure was leaving USB Sunday night.
Sheesh and Skol!
no underestimating here. i have only been able to witness the 5 champonship losses.
@"kmillard" said: no underestimating here. i have only been able to witness the 5 champonship losses.Worm will turn one of these days. Could be Sunday. I do remember winning NFCCG's...I hope you get to experience that feeling too.
@"purplefaithful" said:Gee grandpa....tell us what it's like. ...pretty please!@"kmillard" said: no underestimating here. i have only been able to witness the 5 champonship losses. Worm will turn one of these days. Could be Sunday. I do remember winning NFCCG's...I hope you get to experience that feeling too.B)
@"JimmyinSD" said:@"purplefaithful" said:Gee grandpa....tell us what it's like. ...pretty please!@"kmillard" said: no underestimating here. i have only been able to witness the 5 champonship losses. Worm will turn one of these days. Could be Sunday. I do remember winning NFCCG's...I hope you get to experience that feeling too.B)
You sir, can kiss my hind end... :)
Some great points in the initial post. A few complimentary comments:
- I don't think the second-half defense was conservative. It was clear to me in the first half that the game plan was to blitz little and not give Brees the chance for huge plays. Short fields, injuries and the defense wearing down a bit were all factors in the second half slide.
- I can't remember which player or coach used the term "complacent". I gotta say that really boils my blood. If you got complacent in the second round of the playoffs at all, there is something wrong with you. To be complacent with a 17 point lead against a hall of fame QB, is stupid and unforgiveable.
- On the offensive line, I am struggling with Zim's comment that the team that runs the ball best will likely win the game. I doubt our ability to run the ball productively against the Eagles. Aside from one run, Murray averaged 2 yards a carry versus the Saints, and the results got worse as the game went on. The Saints have a good run defense; the Eagles are better. Our passing game is much better than the Eagles (and our pass defense is better than theirs).
- On the tight ends, I do think the ankle is still bothering Rudy, and asking him to win on a fade route isn't high percentage. He's just not that athletic and he's clearly bothered in both speed and hops. I noted several times in the Saints game where David Morgan drew a very favorable assignment and I thought we would go his direction, but never did.
Nobody is taking the Eagles lightly, especially at home, but we are the better team. They are used to winning at home - the week 17 shutout loss to the Cowboys notwithstanding. But just look at the Eagles' regular season home opponents this year:
the Giants, Cardinals, Redskins, 49ers, Broncos, Bears, Raiders, and Cowboys. Not a single playoff team there.
They just beat an up and down Atlanta team; we beat the Saints.
Remember what everyone was saying before the Vikings / Saints game: this was the real NFCCG. Nothing has changed. So Foles surprised us by playing a better second half last week with that RPO game. So what? That was his one trick. The element of surprise is gone.
Now we cannot go out and shit the bed and expect to win on the road. We won't. We got this.
Zim sets up the run scenario---if they creep up to stop it by loading the box Case will carve the birds up. Take what's there and play within his abilities(smart ball) move the chains. Vikings by 12
@"Akvike" said: Zim sets up the run scenario---if they creep up to stop it by loading the box Case will carve the birds up. Take what's there and play within his abilities(smart ball) move the chains. Vikings by 12I hope you're right...There are some calls Zimm and the coaching staff made last week that give me pause.
Regarding the players, I think the Saints DL started to take over in the second 1/2. I am concerned about our OL holding-up against a very stout front 4 this week.
I hope you're right on + 12.
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