The D, Is Anyone Concerned?

Dunno.  I am hopeful this is like the Carolina game, only we won.  A brief reminder that we need everyone to do their job.

I think Rhodes is hurting more than is let on.  And he lost his head for a while.  And Zimmer took responsibility for the 4-10 call.  He said he stayed with the coverage one time too many.  If they hold on that, we are talking an amazing defensive stand.

Honestly, they adjusted well at halftime and put points on the board while we didn't.  In the first half we got an INT in the redzone, stopping a long drive.  Second half they capitalized on 2 turnovers and came away with points.  If we don't have those two mistakes, we may have won 20-7 or so. 

I am probably more concerned about our O-line honestly.  We didn't run the ball very well.  Case got pressured quite a bit. 

I am concerned with AZ.  We missed him when he went out.  

And I am concerned we aren't blitzing enough.  I hope we become aggressive and go after them next week.  

We were too vanilla on both offense and defense.  They coached like playoff rookie play callers. Need to do better vs. Philly. Murray had 19 carries for 50 yards. And it was obvious at times that we were running and the Saints stacked the line.  That is ok on 2d and 1, but not on 1st and 10. Not over and over.

we held them just fine in the first half.  it was the chicken shit calling in the second half that nearly made this year end just like all other viking postseasons. 

@"A1Janitor" said: I am concerned with AZ.  We missed him when he went out.  

And I am concerned we aren't blitzing enough.  I hope we become aggressive and go after them next week.  

Sendejo was the best I've ever seen from him. Should be up for Most Improved Player. Man, I have really been wrong about him.

I believe Zimmer blitzed selectively because of Brees. There aren't many in recent memory that can diagnose and beat a blitz like him.

Foles? Imma bet that's a whole nother thamg.

I'm concerned about the lack of pressure being generated.  I have to think Griff's foot is really affecting him.  

I'd seriously consider more of BRob at LDE and moving Hunter to RDE more.   The caveat is I don't know how much the game plan plays into what they are doing, Brees is a guy you almost wan tot keep in the pocket so that may have been a factor.

I'm just happy they came out of the by and played great the first half, they came down a little in the 2nd and maybe a combo of a bit of a let down, conservative calls, and NO having a HOF QB with some tendencies to exploit help swing things along with a couple key plays to swing momentum and quite the crowd a bit.

Just looking at some stats...

New Orleans ranked FIRST in NFL offense
Minnesota 8
Philly 10

Minnesota ranked FIRST in NFL defense
Philly is ranked 4th

Foles is a solid QB, but he's not Wentz...nor....Drew Brees.....If he starts trying to sling it because they are trailing, I'm not sure he's gonna have the same success Brees did.  Hoping Sendejo is doing ok.

Lack of pass rush is a concern and has been for weeks. We are not getting consistent pressure with the front four. Brees had way too much time in the second half for his receivers to run open. 

I think we will need to pass to set-up the run against Philly and might need to run more outside with McKinnon. I don't see us getting much of push up the middle with Cox being such a force on that defense and that is where Murray needs to run to be effective.  

Pass protection also broke down in the second half. Lots of inside pressure on Keenum. I hope Shurmur has some tricks up his sleeve for this game and we can get the short to medium passing game going against the Eagles defense who have struggled in the secondary. I like our run after the catch ability with Diggs, Thielen, and McKinnon if they get him in space.  

No.  This is Drew Brees.  The defense bent because the offense let up off the gas pedal and got way too conservative. The defense still allowed only 2 of 9 third down conversions.

The defense is elite, but teams will get their yards in a league where the rules very much favor offense and scoring.  

When you worry about the Viking D, is the days they are not disciplined in stopping the run  - 1st Detroit Game, Carolina.  when that happens, there is trouble

if they’re attacking #20 you’re damn right I’m concerned! 

It seemed when Vikes were disguising their blitz packages and bringing the heat was when they forced teams into making mistakes.  Brees hates being hit.  Sometimes you have to give up somwthing to get to them early on but it usually paid off.  
Im not sure what the D philosophy is now.

I noticed Harris making some defensive adjustments and was surprised he was as vocal as he was presnap. He seems smart, a week of practice taking 1st team reps will probably go a long way.

this has been a trend for over a month now. Offense has reeled in to conservative levels, no pass rush. No need to hide anything next week. They are going to have to do more than play vanilla to win on sunday.

There are a couple things to keep in mind:

• Keenum's INT and the blocked punt basically spotted New Orleans 14-points. The D has generally been great even in short fields, but if you keep giving a team like New Orleans chances, then they will find ways to score.
• Brees tends to get rid of the ball quickly, which neutralizes the impact of the pass rush.
• Kamara is dangerous in the passing game, which also limits the amount of exotic looks they can run, especially double A gap looks. I was frustrated they didn't attack on 4th and 10, but Brees getting rid of the ball quick and the threat of Kamara in the flats forced them into more conservative coverage.
• It wasn't Rhodes best game. The cheap shot to Sendejo got him off his game and lead to him giving up a bad TD.
• I do agree that the pass rush has slowed in recent weeks. Some of that is matchups. Some of that may be Griffen's foot injury, but the DL has generally still done a good job of containment. Long term, I think they may need to start replenishing DL talent and they could really benefit from an interior pass rusher, but they need to work with what they have right now. Interior pressure is a great way to counter quick passing.
• The offense was not sustaining drives and left a lot of points on the board. The game should not have been close and they turned what should have been a blowout victory into a situation that needed a miracle for us to win and thankfully we got that miracle.
• While not defense, I can't help but think how much Cook would be helping right now. Murray and McKinnon have filled in admirably, but Cook's threat to score every time he touches the ball is really missed right now. I guess he does factor into defense, since the best defense is to control the clock, build up a big lead, and let the D attack, but it is hard to attack Brees.

I cant fault the offense much for this close game.  They got up 17 points and our D didnt hold them.
The Vikes invested heavily in their D and they looked great in the first half but not in the second.  If they are going to win big games then they need to play like a number one D.  That means sacks, turnovers and containment.   
I am guessing but I dont think they called a great D game.

Think Brees is tough?  Wait until Brady starts winging it around.

@"Poiple" said: It seemed when Vikes were disguising their blitz packages and bringing the heat was when they forced teams into making mistakes.  Brees hates being hit.  Sometimes you have to give up somwthing to get to them early on but it usually paid off.   Im not sure what the D philosophy is now.

I talked to Assistant Defense Line Coach Rob Rodriguez in pregame and he said, "Brees gets the ball out so fast, he's almost impossible to sack.  So, we plan to put pressure up the middle to make him uncomfortable in the pocket so he has to slide step to throw and gets out of rhythm."  That worked in the first 20 minutes of game time, but all teams adjust.  Remember, the Saints are good.  Had they beaten us in week 1, they'd have been the one's 12-4 hosting us at 12-4 in the Superdome.

@"kmillard" said: this has been a trend for over a month now. Offense has reeled in to conservative levels, no pass rush. No need to hide anything next week. They are going to have to do more than play vanilla to win on sunday.

Offense was not vanilla for the 1st half and opened it up.  Yes, the second half was very conservative (or, better said, they did not execute as well)

If I remember correctly, to start the second half the Vikings offense had the ball for about 7 minutes. Then the Vikings defense was on the field for about 7 minutes. It doesn't do the offense any good to eat up the clock if the defense can't stop the other team from doing the same thing. I think the defense being on the field for that long combined with the defensive injuries and Rhodes mini meltdown all played a part in the Saints getting back into this game

Not against Philly. Zimmer admitted he made some mistakes in this game and you can bet he'll get that cleaned up. And a re-charged Vikings defense against Nick Foles should be (may not be, but SHOULD be) a laugher. 

But I'm way more concerned about the Patriots than I was before. 

Brees is very good, and arguably the best QB in the league, but he's also human.  About any starting QB will hit open receivers if they're given time.  I wasn't seeing the Vikings D getting close to Brees enough in the second half.  No middle push, and he was able to step up and make his throws. 

If Foles has time to throw, he's good enough to hit his receivers too.  They do plenty of quick throws to their TEs, RBs, and shorter routes to the WRs too.  Ask Atlanta if they respect the Eagles offense now.  The Eagles outplayed them, and Foles was solid, especially as the game wore on.

The Vikes D played well enough to squeak out that win, but blowing a 17-0 lead at home isn't something I would've ever expected from them.  Maybe my expectations are too high?

This will be a tough game Sunday evening, but I also think both the AFC teams remaining are better than this Foles led Eagles team.