2021 Vikings Season Thread

[TheLeviathan]

Seems right to start a new one.

On the plus side, there's a good chance the whole division is 0-1 after today!  And we had good special teams!

[Mike Sixel]

Never liked Zimmer. Never been sure of the front office. I'd blow it up 100% when they miss the playoffs. No doubt. 

[Danchat]

Today's game was a big disappointment, but how 'bout them Packers? Woof. I thought they'd be starting a Tour de Force.

[gunnarthor]

Glad Green Bay lost. I hate them. SF looks good. The NFC west is going to be the most competitive division this year.

Rough loss today for the Vikes. We should have won, lots of missed opportunities, not sure how the replay officials didn't reverse both calls but, whatever. Next week we could easily be 0-2.

On the plus side, our punter seems pretty good and I had no expectation, none whatsoever, that our kicker would force overtime.

[Vanimal46]

This will most likely be the game we look back on if we’re somehow in the playoff race late in the season and need to win in Green Bay and sweep the Bears. 

The interior DL is vastly improved from last year. Pierce stood out today, and Tomlinson plugged holes. 

It baffles me why Dantzler was in street clothes today while Breeland got the start and got torched? Talk about a missed opportunity for the kid to take over the starting role. 

Finally, of course… The OL was brutal. Davis and Darrisaw can’t return fast enough. Hill is completely overmatched at LT.  Udoh is simply depth, not starting material. Bradbury is trending towards being a 1st round bust. Even O’Niell was disappointing after getting paid. 

[yeahyabetcha]

7 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

This will most likely be the game we look back on if we’re somehow in the playoff race late in the season and need to win in Green Bay and sweep the Bears. 

The interior DL is vastly improved from last year. Pierce stood out today, and Tomlinson plugged holes. 

It baffles me why Dantzler was in street clothes today while Breeland got the start and got torched? Talk about a missed opportunity for the kid to take over the starting role. 

Finally, of course… The OL was brutal. Davis and Darrisaw can’t return fast enough. Hill is completely overmatched at LT.  Udoh is simply depth, not starting material. Bradbury is trending towards being a 1st round bust. Even O’Niell was disappointing after getting paid. 

Dantzler was not very good in the preseason. No way Zimmer was playing him over Breeland.

[Mike Sixel]

3 hours ago, yeahyabetcha said:

Dantzler was not very good in the preseason. No way Zimmer was playing him over Breeland.

Three preseason games? I hope he's not basing decisions on that, and not last year.....

[TheLeviathan]

8 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Three preseason games? I hope he's not basing decisions on that, and not last year.....

Breeland has a strong career background too.  He made some great plays against the run yesterday between the blown coverages.

[a-wan]

It wasn’t Breeland vs Dantzler, it was Boyd vs Dantzler. And Boyd has apparently played and practiced better than Dantzler.

And the more I watch Cousins the more I want him gone. 

[Vanimal46]

Whelp, my pre-season prediction of Dantzler becoming an All-Pro during his rookie contract will probably come true if he’s a 49er. 

[Danchat]

2 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

Whelp, my pre-season prediction of Dantzler becoming an All-Pro during his rookie contract will probably come true if he’s a 49er. 

It is a sign that the Vikings are not ready to give up on him, but I'm starting to think that it's going to take another coaching staff to fix him, since Zimmer just doesn't get the most out of young CBs. After spending 1sts on Waynes, Hughes, and Gladney, why even bother drafting CBs when they can sign veterans that will make Zimmer happy?

[TheLeviathan]

18 hours ago, Danchat said:

It is a sign that the Vikings are not ready to give up on him, but I'm starting to think that it's going to take another coaching staff to fix him, since Zimmer just doesn't get the most out of young CBs. After spending 1sts on Waynes, Hughes, and Gladney, why even bother drafting CBs when they can sign veterans that will make Zimmer happy?

If there is any one thing I would want to fire these two for it's this.  Over and over and over again we invest in Zimmer's pet projects and over and over and over again he sits them on the bench.  If you need three years to develop dudes, make those picks in the 3rd and 4th round.  The early rounds should be for guys impacting by the end of their first season.

[a-wan]

Ahh, Vikings going to Vikings. Everson Griffen will be out for Week 2 against the Cardinals, with Zimmer telling reporters Griffen is in concussion protocol after swerving and crashing his car while trying to avoid a deer on the way to the practice facility.

[TheLeviathan]

6 hours ago, a-wan said:

Ahh, Vikings going to Vikings. Everson Griffen will be out for Week 2 against the Cardinals, with Zimmer telling reporters Griffen is in concussion protocol after swerving and crashing his car while trying to avoid a deer on the way to the practice facility.

Best DUI cover ever!

 

(Can't help it, first thing that came to mind.  Hope Ev is ok!)

[Mike Sixel]

6 hours ago, a-wan said:

Ahh, Vikings going to Vikings. Everson Griffen will be out for Week 2 against the Cardinals, with Zimmer telling reporters Griffen is in concussion protocol after swerving and crashing his car while trying to avoid a deer on the way to the practice facility.

Wouldn't have happened if they left it in Edina.....

[gunnarthor]

Anyone feeling good about today's game? This feels like a potential blowout loss to me. 

[cHawk]

I’d better see a more disciplined team this time.

[Vanimal46]

Oh great, Dalvin Cook in the injury tent…

[gunnarthor]

That half did not make me particularly happy

[Vanimal46]

So much for throwing all of our money fixing the defense. Holy cow. 

[cHawk]

3 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

So much for throwing all of our money fixing the defense. Holy cow. 

At least the OL is playing pretty well. I wish it would play like this more often.

[cHawk]

[gunnarthor]

This defense does not look good  

[cHawk]

Breeland:

[gunnarthor]

That was a very viking loss.  Impressive. 

[Vanimal46]

You can’t make up that ending. So Vikings. 

[Danchat]

Y'know, I had a feeling the Vikings were going to cover the spread and not get blown out. They played better than expected on offense, but man, the defense is just a trainwreck. We pumped all that money in FA for this? And then, of course, the kicker misses an easy one to lose it late, after he already missed an XP. Perhaps giving Joseph zero competition was a bad idea... ugh.

[cHawk]

People will praise Cousins for his *Pro Bowl Performance* and blatantly ignore that awful overshot of Jefferson on 3rd Down with nearly everything on the line.

What is he paid again? $33 Million?

edit: I don’t stand by this anymore.

[Vanimal46]

27 minutes ago, cHawk said:

People will praise Cousins for his *Pro Bowl Performance* and blatantly ignore that awful overshot of Jefferson on 3rd Down with nearly everything on the line.

What is he paid again? $33 Million?

I hate on Cousins as much as any fan, but today wasn’t his fault… The play calling on offense in the 2nd half was head scratching to say the least. Kubiak has much to learn about being an OC. Why continue running Cook into the ground, especially when he’s hurt?

The main culprit is the revamped defense we spent a ton of cash on for a quick turnaround. 479 yards given up, 371 in the air. Our secondary full of veterans was torched today. This is not a good endorsement for Zimmer. Vegas odds increased for him being fired mid season I would imagine. 

[cHawk]

30 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

I hate on Cousins as much as any fan, but today wasn’t his fault… The play calling on offense in the 2nd half was head scratching to say the least. Kubiak has much to learn about being an OC. Why continue running Cook into the ground, especially when he’s hurt?

The main culprit is the revamped defense we spent a ton of cash on for a quick turnaround. 479 yards given up, 371 in the air. Our secondary full of veterans was torched today. This is not a good endorsement for Zimmer. Vegas odds increased for him being fired mid season I would imagine. 

True. I take that back then.