Could a team be 11-5 but still mediocre?

Its a bad year to be a good team in the NFC. Its loaded like a double-baked potato at Manny's Steakhouse. 

@"StickyBun" said: Its a bad year to be a good team in the NFC. Its loaded like a double-baked potato at Manny's Steakhouse. 

Yup.  And several crappy AFC teams are still in serious contention.  

What about this team looks mediocre?  We have a good offense, a good defense, and good special teams. If anything...  this team is incredibly balanced and has the look of a Super Bowl contender.  Whether we make it to the Super Bowl or not shouldn't influence our perception that this is a talented roster that is one of the top teams in a loaded NFC.

What bites is that a winner of a crappy division with a mediocre record (i.e. Cowgirlz) can get home field over a wildcard team with a better record from a tougher division.  

@"Jor-El" said: Best guess for the remaining schedule is that the Vikings are pretty likely to win at least 3 more games (Lions and Bears at home, Chargers in SD), to finish with at least 11-5. Most of my life, that has equated to being one of the best five or six teams in the NFL and a very legit Super Bowl contender. But they are almost certain to be underdogs in their other 2 games, and there has not been much of this season to suggest they will be impressive against the Seahawks or Packers. If they aren't, what game can we point to and say, "Damn, they really smacked a good team and looked like a champion"? Their best victory of 2019 was a 4-point on the road "conquest" - not sealed until the last play of the game - of the Cowboys, currently 6-5 but 3-5 since week 3. Maybe soundly beating the Eagles or Raiders at home is more impressive..? If this team can beat Seattle or GB - and not stumble against the 3 weaker opponents - and finish 12-4 or better, I'm a believer. But if we lose to both, I fully expect no more than 1 playoff win (if we draw the NFC East "champ"), and I'll still call this year a very mediocre one. Convince me otherwise?

I really doubt they will be underdogs against the Pukers at home.

I’m actually feeling pretty good about the Seattle and GB games. I see the Chargers game as problematic - they lose only because Rivers has been turning it over at a frantic pace - and we always struggle with Chicago. 

@"StickyBun" said: Its a bad year to be a good team in the NFC. Its loaded like a double-baked potato at Manny's Steakhouse. 

But NFC records at the top are inflated because there are also a lot of crappy teams in the conference, and the better teams have feasted. There are 5 teams with 8-10 wins and 5 with 3 or less. Most years there would be a couple of teams with big divisional leads but then 8 fighting for the other 4 playoff spots. This year, the "middle class" is a small group that has 5-6 wins and they are already effectively eliminated - aside from the 2 in the NFC East. Five games remaining and 5 of the NFC playoff teams are pretty much set - when can you remember that happening so early?

@"Wetlander" said: What about this team looks mediocre?  We have a good offense, a good defense, and good special teams. If anything...  this team is incredibly balanced and has the look of a Super Bowl contender.  Whether we make it to the Super Bowl or not shouldn't influence our perception that this is a talented roster that is one of the top teams in a loaded NFC.

By "mediocre" I don't mean bad as much as "not great". So what looks great on this team? Defense is weaker than the past 4 years, ST is better but hardly game-changing, and our offense has been improved but not exactly reminding me of '98 and enough moments of flatness that I don't trust it to carry us in a playoff game. I think a championship team needs at least one dominant unit - so which would that be?

Simple, nobody is actually great this year. The 9ers have a completely unproven QB and are not stoute against the run. NO Defense is experiencing it's annual 2nd half of the season swan dive. And Brees looks old. Seattle has the least amount of talent around Wilson that I can ever remember and their Defense scares nobody. GB either sacks you or gives up chunk plays and the Offense is Jeckyl and Hyde.

In the other Conference NE is tothless on Offense even with the GOAT. The Ravens are trying to become the first team in the modern era to win it all with a running QB. KC has no Defense. 

This is a WIDE OPEN year. Has the feel of at least 1 Wild Card team making the SB. Any Playoff Team has enough warts to lose at home in any Round. To any other Playoff Team.

The Vikings have no more or less warts than anyone else. The Offense keeps improving in Year 1 of yet another new system but finally one that plays to the strengths of the QB and at least tries to cover the deficiencies on the Line. The Defense has playmakers at every level that just aren't making the plays yet this year (minus Kendricks who is making all the plays). Zimmer can still open up the Playbook with real and fake A Gao looks, Barr/Harry at the LOS, NASCAR looks, Mac blitzes, etc. I'm assuming he's staying vanilla against the mediocre and crappy teams so he can save that stuff for the Playoffs.

Hell, even the Kicker has been mostly consistent. 

If Minnesota can throw to set up the run and vice versa when as the situation dictates that's good enough with a bendy but not breaky Defense. At least in a year without any great teams like this season has turned out to be.

@"Ralphie" said: What bites is that a winner of a crappy division with a mediocre record (i.e. Cowgirlz) can get home field over a wildcard team with a better record from a tougher division like the Vikings, who beat ALL 4 teams in the NFC East.

Believe, don't believe. Does it really matter? Sorry, I've just never bought into this "then I'll believe" stuff--the idea that if you beat this one team on this one day then it means something. Or if you lose to this one team on this one day then it means something else. Doesn't really mean anything. 

Vikings might lose to Seattle and they might even drop another one later on. Doesn't mean that the Vikings aren't still one of five teams in the NFC that can beat, or lose to, any of the other five in the playoffs.

  According to a lot of posts on several message boards the Vikings could be 13-3 and SUCK!

Man, it is wide-open this year aint it?

Even with some of the heavy-weights in the NFC, the Vikings are in as much contention as the 5/6 others. 

Who stays healthy? Who gets hot? Who do the football gods smile on vs smite?

I'm just grateful to be 8/3 and have a legit shot.

@"MaroonBells" said: Believe, don't believe. Does it really matter? Sorry, I've just never bought into this "then I'll believe" stuff--the idea that if you beat this one team on this one day then it means something. Or if you lose to this one team on this one day then it means something else. Doesn't really mean anything. 

Vikings might lose to Seattle and they might even drop another one later on. Doesn't mean that the Vikings aren't still one of five teams in the NFC that can beat, or lose to, any of the other five in the playoffs.

There are 10 teams with at least 8 victories already, so all could likely finish the regular season with 10+ wins. That many teams dilutes the achievement, and back to my OP I think the number of bad (or tanking) teams is a factor.
But as for certain wins having meaning: of those 10 teams with at least 8 victories, they may all have warts but most of them have beaten OTHER good teams. 8 of the "top ten" have defeated at least 1 of the others this year. The only ones who have not yet beaten another team with at least 8 wins are Minnesota and Buffalo.

@"Jor-El" said:

@"MaroonBells" said: Believe, don't believe. Does it really matter? Sorry, I've just never bought into this "then I'll believe" stuff--the idea that if you beat this one team on this one day then it means something. Or if you lose to this one team on this one day then it means something else. Doesn't really mean anything. 

Vikings might lose to Seattle and they might even drop another one later on. Doesn't mean that the Vikings aren't still one of five teams in the NFC that can beat, or lose to, any of the other five in the playoffs.

There are 10 teams with at least 8 victories already, so all could likely finish the regular season with 10+ wins. That many teams dilutes the achievement, and back to my OP I think the number of bad (or tanking) teams is a factor.
But as for certain wins having meaning: of those 10 teams with at least 8 victories, they may all have warts but most of them have beaten OTHER good teams. 8 of the "top ten" have defeated at least 1 of the others this year. The only ones who have not yet beaten another team with at least 8 wins are Minnesota and Buffalo.

I don't think we're mediocre.  I think we're good, but we're certainly not in the category of teams that have a good chance to go to the SB.  I think we have a good chance of beating any of the top teams, but I don't like our chances to win 3 road games in a row against playoff caliber teams to get to the SB.  We need to be markedly better than what we've shown in any of our games so far, and we need to do that 3 games in a row at this point.  Our best chance is for us to somehow beat GB for the division and get at least one home game.  Our chances of winning are much better at home.