We look like crap tonight

@"Scoog" said:

@"SFVikingFan" said: Incredible TD throw on the run on the next play to Beebe in the endzone!  BOOM!!!

Beebe is really fighting to make this team, had a big punt return to set up this drive as well.

Beebe and Sloter will make some team. If not ours, they'll be signed by one of the basement dwellers.

Definitely bright spots tonight.

@"ThunderGod" said:

@"SFVikingFan" said:

@"HappyViking" said: Missed the first half, but Siemien looks horrible.  Case is a major upgrade for Denver. Cousins better stay healthy. 

I was just thinking the same thing.  Offense looks much better since Sloter has come in.

Nice throw by Sloter to Boone on 3rd down to get 1st and goal at the 5.
Boone rush down to 1 yard line.
Sloter throw to Wieneke for a TD.
Carlson a little too close for comfort on the extra point.  Sigh...

Sloter is pumped; I like this guy and his attitude.  Looks much, much better than what I have seen out of Siemien.

In fairness to Siemien (and maybe a little with Cousins) the SeaHawks were out to blitz tonight and the our offensive line didn't give them much time.  Siemien didn't seem to either have any deep routes to throw to or didn't have the time.

A few observations:
Compton isn't good.  He is the one who blew the pass protection when Cousins got sacked earlier, because he couldn't come off of his (unnecessary) double-team with the LT in time (or, really, at all).  On the other hand, I think Edison should stay on the field, even after Elflien comes back.  He's been impressive in both the run and passing.  That might solve our LG "problem".  Also, Hill (RT) wasn't all that impressive.  The rookie (O'Neill) helped give up a sack because he simply didn't keep his feet moving (fast enough).  Simien was also to blame, because he didn't step up on that one. 

As for the early troubles, the Seahags were clogging every running lane, which is tough to run against (especially when you use a zone blocking scheme like we do).  But that should've opened up some of the passing opportunities.  I'm hoping that Flip was just trying to get some plays run that he wanted to see, rather than failing to adjust to the extra attention paid to the running lanes by the Seahags.  On the other hand, we did attempt some P/A passes- but just didn't execute them.

Cousins has looked meh so far; but I guess I'm not too shocked by that.  Hopefully he gets better.  

Not happy with the defense (vs. the run) at all.  Richardson does not look like he should be a 3-down DT.  He looks better suited to rush the passer; he wasn't real effective vs. the run.  On the other hand, it also looked like we were in some kind of nickel defense for most of the game, which means that we only had 2 LBs on the field to stop the run.

Overall, not too impressed... but still hopeful that the issues are more related to us trying to get our work in vs. just not executing.

@"pumpf" said: A few observations: Compton isn't good.  He is the one who blew the pass protection when Cousins got sacked earlier, because he couldn't come off of his (unnecessary) double-team with the LT in time (or, really, at all).  On the other hand, I think Edison should stay on the field, even after Elflien comes back.  He's been impressive in both the run and passing.  That might solve our LG "problem".  Also, Hill (RT) wasn't all that impressive.  The rookie (O'Neill) helped give up a sack because he simply didn't keep his feet moving (fast enough).  Simien was also to blame, because he didn't step up on that one. 

As for the early troubles, the Seahags were clogging every running lane, which is tough to run against (especially when you use a zone blocking scheme like we do).  But that should've opened up some of the passing opportunities.  I'm hoping that Flip was just trying to get some plays run that he wanted to see, rather than failing to adjust to the extra attention paid to the running lanes by the Seahags.  On the other hand, we did attempt some P/A passes- but just didn't execute them.

Cousins has looked meh so far; but I guess I'm not too shocked by that.  Hopefully he gets better.  

Not happy with the defense (vs. the run) at all.  Richardson does not look like he should be a 3-down DT.  He looks better suited to rush the passer; he wasn't real effective vs. the run.  On the other hand, it also looked like we were in some kind of nickel defense for most of the game, which means that we only had 2 LBs on the field to stop the run.

Overall, not too impressed... but still hopeful that the issues are more related to us trying to get our work in vs. just not executing.

It did look like we were missing a MLB on those long runs given up.
Very little penetration by the DL when the first string was in there.  The DTs were clearly getting handled.
The OL, well, what can I say.  I did not see a whole lot of positives with that group, even Edison did not impress me in the early going.  I don't know what the answer is there.

The 3rd pre-season game is the one you want to look ready in. I agree. What I saw didn't scream ready. Still got alot of practice field time to go before we take the playing field against San Fran. Pre-season has been frustrated by oline injuries. I would have hoped we could have worked more series with what resembled a starting unit. Cook has had to be held back and only just got some action. Kingbash is right. Don't read too much into pre-season games. We don't know what the coaches goals and priorities are. It is better as a fan if they look great. I'm no way concerned. This team is loaded. Well I'm concerned about the offensive line. Is that anything new??

@"HappyViking" said: Missed the first half, but Siemien looks horrible.  Case is a major upgrade for Denver. Cousins better stay healthy. 

I'm going to start going broken record here soon. Trevor doesn't look awful he was and is awful. I was not on board with giving up any draft assets for a guy someone else already gave up on. If there was any hope for Siemian it was lost in Denver. He is now a scared QB who is indecisive and more afraid of the bad that might happen to pull the trigger. He's inaccurate when he does. Sloter should be #2. That kid is the rifleman.

@"Ponifan" said: I am focused on the OL tonight and no, it does not look good.  I knew the first preseason game was an anomaly.  Now, reality is setting in.  Even with everybody healthy, it was not going to be easy, but they don't have the players right now.  Completely over-matched on run-blocking.

Agree and it might be time to start thinking about the ever expensive oline trade. It's only going to get more expensive later. We still got 2 weeks of practice time. Might be a good time to bring in one more guy to practice. We knew this was going to be a weakness. However not to even be able to get through pre-season without it getting weaker is a concern. Hope they get it right. If not we won't be right. A concern 2 years ago concerned last year, just getting started this year and...

Going to be all pre-season without the starting OL playing together.

Cousins had good velocity tonight, some accuracy issues which will come and go. 

Thought Cook should have gotten more carries

Beebe is making the 53 as will Sloter

I think the hype maChine has many believing we're going undefeated or will look dominating most weeks. There's a;ot of good teams out there.  

I think Compton needs to be a backup not a starting RG.  He was horrid.

I also thought the combo of Isidora/Collins was a lot better than Remmers/Hill although it was the laters first real play time so have to take it with a grain of salt.

I didn't notice the Center so that's a good sign

@"twgerber" said: I think Compton needs to be a backup not a starting RG.  He was horrid.

I also thought the combo of Isidora/Collins was a lot better than Remmers/Hill although it was the laters first real play time so have to take it with a grain of salt.

I didn't notice the Center so that's a good sign

I wonder if they've toyed with putting Isidora over at RG yet? Agree, Compton for such a big man is too soft in there. I think we'll be "ok" with Remners/Hill on RT side if they can ever play there a few games and get some continuity going. 

Elf should be coming back and that should help. 

Yeah, last night was a huge mess.  Didn't really look good in any sense of the word.  I'm going to just chalk it up to lack of preparation (less gameplanning).  They looked like they just showed up last second and started playing.  My biggest concern was all the unblocked blitzers.  I'd hope that by this point they'd be knowing their roles.  Siemian was hot garbage.  I'd 100% give Sloter the primary QB duties in game 4 just to see what he looks like with a slightly better cast.

@"ThunderGod" said: Where has Rudy been.  I don't remember his name being mentioned but once in the last game.

Good question. Another thing is he has that big body, he needs to use it more. Sometimes he just goes down after the catch when he doesn't have to. I wish he wouldn't do that. 

@"twgerber" said: I think Compton needs to be a backup not a starting RG.  He was horrid.

I also thought the combo of Isidora/Collins was a lot better than Remmers/Hill although it was the laters first real play time so have to take it with a grain of salt.

I didn't notice the Center so that's a good sign

He is a backup, and not a very good one, but I can see why he would make a lot of rosters.  I wasn't real impressed with Collins tonight, which is too bad because I thought he was going to show off.  I wish we could get someone else, but I also don't want to mortgage the future for some player that we think is going to be our saviour.  THAT HAS NEVER WORKED OUT IN THE PAST AND IT WON'T HERE!

@"purplefaithful" said:

@"twgerber" said: I think Compton needs to be a backup not a starting RG.  He was horrid.

I also thought the combo of Isidora/Collins was a lot better than Remmers/Hill although it was the laters first real play time so have to take it with a grain of salt.

I didn't notice the Center so that's a good sign

I wonder if they've toyed with putting Isidora over at RG yet? Agree, Compton for such a big man is too soft in there. I think we'll be "ok" with Remners/Hill on RT side if they can ever play there a few games and get some continuity going. 

Elf should be coming back and that should help. 

@"Jor-El" said:

@"purplefaithful" said:

@"twgerber" said: I think Compton needs to be a backup not a starting RG.  He was horrid.

I also thought the combo of Isidora/Collins was a lot better than Remmers/Hill although it was the laters first real play time so have to take it with a grain of salt.

I didn't notice the Center so that's a good sign

I wonder if they've toyed with putting Isidora over at RG yet? Agree, Compton for such a big man is too soft in there. I think we'll be "ok" with Remners/Hill on RT side if they can ever play there a few games and get some continuity going. 

Elf should be coming back and that should help. 

Doesn't a starting OG combo of Isadora and Remmers seem sensible?

Izzy at LG makes a ton of sense.  He's stout against penetration and his feet are quick enough in pass pro for this offense.
I see it coming down to putting your best guys out there and that probably means Compton is getting replaced at some point early in the season.
Because, He's not going to 'gel' if he can't hold the point of attack.

@"kahsmick" said: Izzy at LG makes a ton of sense.  He's stout against penetration and his feet are quick enough in pass pro for this offense. I see it coming down to putting your best guys out there and that probably means Compton is getting replaced at some point early in the season. Because, He's not going to 'gel' if he can't hold the point of attack.

The only problem with that...  I would have expected the Vikings to make the switch by now.  The fact that Compton has been our starting LG the first 3 preseason games makes it seem like he will be the Week 1 starter.

@"Wetlander" said:

@"kahsmick" said: Izzy at LG makes a ton of sense.  He's stout against penetration and his feet are quick enough in pass pro for this offense. I see it coming down to putting your best guys out there and that probably means Compton is getting replaced at some point early in the season. Because, He's not going to 'gel' if he can't hold the point of attack.

The only problem with that...  I would have expected the Vikings to make the switch by now.  The fact that Compton has been our starting LG the first 3 preseason games makes it seem like he will be the Week 1 starter.

@"Wetlander" said:

@"kahsmick" said: Izzy at LG makes a ton of sense.  He's stout against penetration and his feet are quick enough in pass pro for this offense. I see it coming down to putting your best guys out there and that probably means Compton is getting replaced at some point early in the season. Because, He's not going to 'gel' if he can't hold the point of attack.

The only problem with that...  I would have expected the Vikings to make the switch by now.  The fact that Compton has been our starting LG the first 3 preseason games makes it seem like he will be the Week 1 starter.