Patriots favored by 6
This should be a fun one. Brady sure isn't what he used to be. Was listening to a radio show this morning about how it's now his receivers who are making him look better than he is, rather than the reverse, which has been true for nearly 20 years. He's missing open receivers, looking sluggish and tired. Deep ball doesn't have the same zip. I haven't really paid much attention to the Pats this season but that seems to be the general buzz.
Still, nobody beats the Patriots at home in December. I don't know what their record is at home in December, but I know it's very good. And, of course, they have Gronk back and now Burkhead as well. Anyone know Zimmer's record against Brady?
“A gentleman is someone who can play the accordion, but doesn't." - Tom Waits
Not surprising. I can't remember the last time the Vikings beat NE. I think we're due for an upset win, and this one would be so sweet. Any given Sunday, right?
@"HappyViking" said: Not surprising. I can't remember the last time the Vikings beat NE. I think we're due for an upset win, and this one would be so sweet. Any given Sunday, right?
Culpepper was our QB, and Brady wasnt a Patriot.
Gronk being back scares me most. How will Kearse fare?
@"JimmyinSD" said:@"HappyViking" said: Not surprising. I can't remember the last time the Vikings beat NE. I think we're due for an upset win, and this one would be so sweet. Any given Sunday, right?
Culpepper was our QB, and Brady wasnt a Patriot.
Wow, it's been nearly 20 years since we've beaten them? Now I really, really think we're due.Go gettem' Vikes - SKOL!
@"HappyViking" said:@"JimmyinSD" said:@"HappyViking" said: Not surprising. I can't remember the last time the Vikings beat NE. I think we're due for an upset win, and this one would be so sweet. Any given Sunday, right?
Culpepper was our QB, and Brady wasnt a Patriot.
Wow, it's been nearly 20 years since we've beaten them? Now I really, really think we're due.Go gettem' Vikes - SKOL!
pepper was 20 yrs ago? damn im old
@"AGRforever" said:@"HappyViking" said:@"JimmyinSD" said:@"HappyViking" said: Not surprising. I can't remember the last time the Vikings beat NE. I think we're due for an upset win, and this one would be so sweet. Any given Sunday, right?
Culpepper was our QB, and Brady wasnt a Patriot.
Wow, it's been nearly 20 years since we've beaten them? Now I really, really think we're due.Go gettem' Vikes - SKOL!
pepper was 20 yrs ago? damn im old
Vikings fans age like dog years.
@"Vanguard83" said:I'm aging like Milk.. I need a Vikes Super Bowl before I sour..@"AGRforever" said:@"HappyViking" said:@"JimmyinSD" said:@"HappyViking" said: Not surprising. I can't remember the last time the Vikings beat NE. I think we're due for an upset win, and this one would be so sweet. Any given Sunday, right?
Culpepper was our QB, and Brady wasnt a Patriot.
Wow, it's been nearly 20 years since we've beaten them? Now I really, really think we're due.Go gettem' Vikes - SKOL!
pepper was 20 yrs ago? damn im old
Vikings fans age like dog years.
This is fantasy focused, but you have to love the insight. Mike Tagliere at Fantasypros.com (IMO) is the best fantasy analyst in the biz...
The rest here:
https://www.fantasypros.com/2018/11/the-primer-week-13-edition-fantasy-football/3/#min-ne
QBs
Kirk Cousins: Don’t think that just because the Vikings struggled to score more than 24 points the last four games that they’re not capable of it. The Patriots defense has been very hit-or-miss this season despite having one of the easier schedules. In games against Blake Bortles, Matthew Stafford, Andrew Luck, Patrick Mahomes, Mitch Trubisky, Aaron Rodgers, and Marcus Mariota, they allowed a top-14 quarterback performance. Against Deshaun Watson (back in Week 1), Brock Osweiler, Derek Anderson, and Josh McCown, they haven’t. You tell me which group Cousins is a part of. Four quarterbacks have been able to post 330-plus yards and three have thrown three-plus touchdowns. Cousins hasn’t delivered the upside that some would’ve expected this year, but with Diggs, Thielen, and Cook healthy, he’s in solid QB1 territory this week.
WRs
Stefon Diggs: The Vikings are likely to stick Stephon Gilmore on Diggs, which isn’t terrible because it would mean consistent one-on-one coverage for him. Against zone coverage, Diggs has a 77.8 WR Rating. Against man coverage, Diggs has posted a 115.9 WR Rating. The Patriots have Gilmore in man coverage 85 percent of the time. If Diggs can get off the press against Gilmore, he’s going to beat him. It’ll be curious to see how they handle the Thielen/Diggs duo, as the Patriots try to remove the No. 1 option for opponents, but it’s tougher to do that with slot receivers. Diggs should be considered a middling WR2 who does have a tough matchup, but he also dominates man coverage.
Adam Thielen: Bill Belichick was raving about Thielen in an interview this week, so you know he respects him as a receiver, but the question is – who gets the No. 1 treatment among the Vikings receivers? Belichick’s defense has made a name for itself taking away the opposing No. 1 option, but it’s tough to do that with a slot receiver. The Patriots have really struggled with that position this year, as Jonathan Jones has struggled to contain them. He’s allowed a 101.0 QB Rating in his coverage, which includes a 68.4 percent catch-rate, 11.6 yards per reception, and a touchdown every 14.3 targets. Just last week, we saw Jermaine Kearse total 6/66/1 on 11 targets. There’s risk that Belichick doubles him and trusts Gilmore one-on-one with Diggs all game, but Thielen’s matchup is too good on paper to pass him by. He should be played as a WR1 in this matchup.
Josh Gordon: Seeing Xavier Rhodes go down with a hamstring injury during their Sunday night game likely means he’s a no-go for them this weekend. That would mean Trae Waynes and rookie Holton Hill will match-up with Gordon. Waynes hasn’t been terrible, but he also hasn’t been great. Keep in mind that he’s covered a lot of No. 2 receivers when hearing his coverage stats, because they probably should be better than they are. He’s allowed a 72.1 percent catch-rate, 12.1 yards per reception, and two touchdowns on 43 targets this year, which amounts to a 104.3 QB Rating. Meanwhile, Hill is someone I like a lot as a prospect, but he’s still a rookie trying to guard one of the biggest physical freaks in football. He’s also played just 143 snaps this year in a backup role. Gordon should be played as a strong WR2 if Rhodes is out.
Brady has only lost 4 starts in his career at home in Foxboro.....don't expect #5 Sunday afternoon. Nobody is better at winning close games than the Patriots.
Gotta find a way to win one of the next 2...I don't care which one - actually beating Seattle (NFC) might be most advantageous if we had to choose one?
@"purplefaithful" said: Gotta find a way to win one of the next 2...I don't care which one - actually beating Seattle (NFC) might be most advantageous if we had to choose one?
Probably true, but beating the Pats in New England would be a big lift for this team I think. In order to even compete against teams like the Saints and Rams this team has to get hot and confident on both sides of the ball. No better place to do that than against Bill, Brady and the Pats.
Decent weather: 53 degrees, 8 mph winds. Rain in the morning then going to intermittent possible T-storms for rest of the day. Late afternoon game helps for once.
It's not Brady we have to beat; it's Belichick. If our defense could tackle like Dallas did last night, I think we'd have a chance. And if we don't have a chance... then we really don't have any business worrying about the playoffs.
@"pumpf" said: It's not Brady we have to beat; it's Belichick. If our defense could tackle like Dallas did last night, I think we'd have a chance. And if we don't have a chance... then we really don't have any business worrying about the playoffs.We have more than a chance. I think we're the better team. But Brady v. Hill and an ailing Diggs v. Gilmore, plus the fact that it's in Foxboro tilts this game to the Pats. Don't mean we can't win tho.
@"pumpf" said: It's not Brady we have to beat; it's Belichick. If our defense could tackle like Dallas did last night, I think we'd have a chance. And if we don't have a chance... then we really don't have any business worrying about the playoffs.The Vikes are in the drivers seat to make the playoffs. If they don't make it, yeah we'll all be PO'd, but it's soley because they weren't good enough. They have to beat winning teams to make the post-season.
If they make it, it's because they earned their spot playing a fairly tough schedule.
Beating the Pats would be a nice "make up" victory for that horrid Bill loss.
@"HappyViking" said:@"pumpf" said: It's not Brady we have to beat; it's Belichick. If our defense could tackle like Dallas did last night, I think we'd have a chance. And if we don't have a chance... then we really don't have any business worrying about the playoffs. The Vikes are in the drivers seat to make the playoffs. If they don't make it, yeah we'll all be PO'd, but it's soley because they weren't good enough. They have to beat winning teams to make the post-season.If they make it, it's because they earned their spot playing a fairly tough schedule.
Beating the Pats would be a nice "make up" victory for that horrid Bill loss.
Well...."good enough" could get some of the more cerebrally-challenged of us to start blaming Rick again, which of course is bat shit nonsense. You can blame injuries if you want. God knows, we've had our share. You can blame our schedule, which was (and remains) very difficult. You can even blame Zimmer for taking half the season to figure out his defense. One thing you can't blame is the talent on the roster.
@"MaroonBells" said:@"HappyViking" said:@"pumpf" said: It's not Brady we have to beat; it's Belichick. If our defense could tackle like Dallas did last night, I think we'd have a chance. And if we don't have a chance... then we really don't have any business worrying about the playoffs. The Vikes are in the drivers seat to make the playoffs. If they don't make it, yeah we'll all be PO'd, but it's soley because they weren't good enough. They have to beat winning teams to make the post-season.If they make it, it's because they earned their spot playing a fairly tough schedule.
Beating the Pats would be a nice "make up" victory for that horrid Bill loss.
Well...."good enough" could get some of the more cerebrally-challenged of us to start blaming Rick again, which of course is bat shit nonsense. You can blame injuries if you want. God knows, we've had our share. You can blame our schedule, which was (and remains) very difficult. You can even blame Zimmer for taking half the season to figure out his defense. One thing you can't blame is the talent on the roster.
Unless the talent plays like shit, then you can blame the talent.
@"greediron" said:@"MaroonBells" said:@"HappyViking" said:@"pumpf" said: It's not Brady we have to beat; it's Belichick. If our defense could tackle like Dallas did last night, I think we'd have a chance. And if we don't have a chance... then we really don't have any business worrying about the playoffs. The Vikes are in the drivers seat to make the playoffs. If they don't make it, yeah we'll all be PO'd, but it's soley because they weren't good enough. They have to beat winning teams to make the post-season.If they make it, it's because they earned their spot playing a fairly tough schedule.
Beating the Pats would be a nice "make up" victory for that horrid Bill loss.
Well...."good enough" could get some of the more cerebrally-challenged of us to start blaming Rick again, which of course is bat shit nonsense. You can blame injuries if you want. God knows, we've had our share. You can blame our schedule, which was (and remains) very difficult. You can even blame Zimmer for taking half the season to figure out his defense. One thing you can't blame is the talent on the roster.
Unless the talent plays like shit, then you can blame the talent.
Disagree. You can blame an individual talent for playing like shit, but you can't blame the talent in aggregate. That's on the coach.
@"pumpf" said: It's not Brady we have to beat; it's Belichick. If our defense could tackle like Dallas did last night, I think we'd have a chance. And if we don't have a chance... then we really don't have any business worrying about the playoffs.Just fyi, Vikings lead the league in fewest missed tackles in the running game. One other unrelated but interesting stat is that Stefon Diggs leads the league in fewest dropped balls. 0.
5 of 6 experts at CBS pick Vikings over Pats.
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-week-13-odds-picks-schedule-tv-streaming-expert-picks-against-the-spread-predictions-survivor-pool-play/
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