Not anything close to NFC elite

In 2018 they are what the record says, essentially a .500 team. Until that team decides that it is important to get a proper offensive line it is just wishful thinking they can do much more.

I don't think we have to worry about Flip being one and done...

@"BarrNone55" said: I don't think we have to worry about Flip being one and done...

For some reason the Vikings under Zimmer have never played well off a bye week.    

And they still have a winning record and they can win the NFC North still IMO.   Not much margin for error

Disappointing loss. Actually, very disappointing in how easily they got handled. 

They are going to need a Plan B for the team's direction for 2019 if they want to compete. 

It wasn't a great night for Trubisky but their defense is top notch. Mack is who we thought he was. They look to be the North representative this year, at least to me.
Speaking of Trubisky...he is what I'd call a pesky player in that he "hangs around." He makes just enough crucial plays to keep their heads above water. His INTs last night were brutal but the guy can scramble like no other and just finds a way to keep the chains moving.
It is getting harder and harder to watch my Vikings. They are truly disappointing, and as an old fan of nearly 50 years young I just get tired of it and turn it off. So I didn't see any of the fourth quarter. I didn't know the score until this morning. I just saw a Bears team that has a good young coach with a pretty balanced team and a great defense kick us in the nutz...ala US in 2015.
Kirk needs Case's horse shoe pretty bad right about now...

@"prairieghost" said:It is getting harder and harder to watch my Vikings. They are truly disappointing, and as an old fan of nearly 50 years young I just get tired of it and turn it off. So I didn't see any of the fourth quarter. I didn't know the score until this morning. I just saw a Bears team that has a good young coach with a pretty balanced team and a great defense kick us in the nutz...ala US in 2015. Kirk needs Case's horse shoe pretty bad right about now...

Color me underwhelmed with just about everything associated with this team this season to date.

@"StickyBun" said:

@"prairieghost" said:It is getting harder and harder to watch my Vikings. They are truly disappointing, and as an old fan of nearly 50 years young I just get tired of it and turn it off. So I didn't see any of the fourth quarter. I didn't know the score until this morning. I just saw a Bears team that has a good young coach with a pretty balanced team and a great defense kick us in the nutz...ala US in 2015. Kirk needs Case's horse shoe pretty bad right about now...

That's me now also. I won't watch a shit show any longer, better things to do. I'm fair-weather at this point in my Viking fandom. Just been too disappointed too many times, at some point you realize its a waste of time and emotional energy. If they catch fire I'll climb back on the bandwagon, otherwise the beach is calling on Sunday afternoons. Its WAY to nice down in south Florida at this time of year to waste watching mediocre Viking's football. 

@"BarrNone55" said: I don't think we have to worry about Flip being one and done...

I think the direction this team needs to go is offense. They spent heavily in draft assets on defense and somehow lucked into a couple really good offensive weapons. Lets build off that while they're young.  Use some capital on a real oline. Give Kirk the time to make the throws. Maybe open a hole or two for Cook. I believe he could still be a asset as well. We spent so much time and energy building a defense that the game changed before we could cash in on it. We were just too embarrassed by years of terrible D to notice where the league wanted the game to go. Guess what I'm saying is defense no longer wins championships...imo. Just has to be opportunistic. We have a few really good pieces in place to have a great offense. Time to build around those maybe. 

When you ignore the offensive line for so many years, and have an overly conservative defensive minded head coach at a time the NFL has transitioned to High Octane Offense, this is what you get. We are always several steps behind everyone else. We are too slow to adjust in games when things are not working, and we are too stubborn in thinking we can play a conservative run first ball control offense when the trends say otherwise. 

@"suncoastvike" said: I think the direction this team needs to go is offense. They spent heavily in draft assets on defense and somehow lucked into a couple really good offensive weapons. Lets build off that while they're young.  Use some capital on a real oline. Give Kirk the time to make the throws. Maybe open a hole or two for Cook. I believe he could still be a asset as well. We spent so much time and energy building a defense that the game changed before we could cash in on it. We were just too embarrassed by years of terrible D to notice where the league wanted the game to go. Guess what I'm saying is defense no longer wins championships...imo. Just has to be opportunistic. We have a few really good pieces in place to have a great offense. Time to build around those maybe. 

Minnesota's Achilles heel is that offensive line. It was a concern coming into the season.

@"StickyBun" said:

@"suncoastvike" said: I think the direction this team needs to go is offense. They spent heavily in draft assets on defense and somehow lucked into a couple really good offensive weapons. Lets build off that while they're young.  Use some capital on a real oline. Give Kirk the time to make the throws. Maybe open a hole or two for Cook. I believe he could still be a asset as well. We spent so much time and energy building a defense that the game changed before we could cash in on it. We were just too embarrassed by years of terrible D to notice where the league wanted the game to go. Guess what I'm saying is defense no longer wins championships...imo. Just has to be opportunistic. We have a few really good pieces in place to have a great offense. Time to build around those maybe. 

Want to see a guy with a lot of time to throw? Check out Jared Goff. All day. And he's developing into a hell of a QB because of it. 

Minnesota's Achilles heel is that offensive line. It was a concern coming into the season.

@"StickyBun" said:

@"suncoastvike" said: I think the direction this team needs to go is offense. They spent heavily in draft assets on defense and somehow lucked into a couple really good offensive weapons. Lets build off that while they're young.  Use some capital on a real oline. Give Kirk the time to make the throws. Maybe open a hole or two for Cook. I believe he could still be a asset as well. We spent so much time and energy building a defense that the game changed before we could cash in on it. We were just too embarrassed by years of terrible D to notice where the league wanted the game to go. Guess what I'm saying is defense no longer wins championships...imo. Just has to be opportunistic. We have a few really good pieces in place to have a great offense. Time to build around those maybe. 

Want to see a guy with a lot of time to throw? Check out Jared Goff. All day. And he's developing into a hell of a QB because of it. 

Minnesota's Achilles heel is that offensive line. It was a concern coming into the season.

@"purplefaithful" said: Color me underwhelmed with just about everything associated with this team this season to date.

@"StickyBun" said:  Minnesota's Achilles heel is that offensive line. It was a concern coming into the season.

@"prairieghost" said: It wasn't a great night for Trubisky but their defense is top notch. Mack is who we thought he was. They look to be the North representative this year, at least to me. Speaking of Trubisky...he is what I'd call a pesky player in that he "hangs around." He makes just enough crucial plays to keep their heads above water. His INTs last night were brutal but the guy can scramble like no other and just finds a way to keep the chains moving. It is getting harder and harder to watch my Vikings. They are truly disappointing, and as an old fan of nearly 50 years young I just get tired of it and turn it off. So I didn't see any of the fourth quarter. I didn't know the score until this morning. I just saw a Bears team that has a good young coach with a pretty balanced team and a great defense kick us in the nutz...ala US in 2015. Kirk needs Case's horse shoe pretty bad right about now...

Yes, "not a great night for Trubisky" if you are focusing on stats and INTs, but at the same time, his mobility totally confused and flummoxed our vaunted defense and head coach. Zimmer has never dealt with a running QB before? Didn't know that was Trubisky's strength coming into the game? It's nice that the Vikings defense tends to improve after halftime, but don't they watch film before games?
And I thought the Vikings were the "fast defense", but the Bears were running up and down the field. If they had not had the fumble and INTs, Bears could have been up by 28 at halftime.
Cousins is pressing, or something - hopefully not overrated.
We should beat the Packers next week, but who knows? The road games to NE and Seattle could be brutal. I'll guess we're 6-6-1 three weeks from now heading into the supposedly-easy stretch. 8-7-1, mediocre non-playoff team.
Oh, and Dalvin Cook: good that he had the 70-yard run against Detroit, but that's all we have seen in 2018. Maybe he would be better with a strong OL, but so would every other RB in the world. We don't have a RB who can make something out of nothing or make his blocking look better, so I hope Zimmer quits trying to establish the run for the first three quarters regardless of the score.

Akiem Hicks dominated this game and really exposed our weakness in the A gaps. The bears d is for real. 

Their oline is alot better than i thought

@"Bullazin" said: Akiem Hicks dominated this game and really exposed our weakness in the A gaps. The bears d is for real. 

Their oline is alot better than i thought

Compton has been a disappointment all year, but apparently we have no one better. Remmers must have been a bad OT because he's not much of an OG. And Elflein was getting pushed around last night so much I wonder if he has fully recovered.