VIKES @ da BEARS 11/24/24

[Aggies7]

2 hours ago, gunnarthor said:

I'm not sure how you think games against the 6-5 Falcons, Seahawks, and Cards will show us where we stand. 

I mean, we also play the lions on the road, packers and bears. It’s the 5th toughest remaining strength of schedule per espn (14th toughest up to this point). We’ll certainly learn more than playing the AFC south dregs.

And by the way, unless we overtake the lions (unlikely), we’ll almost certainly be facing either the south or west winner on the road in the wild card round. Could easily be Atlanta, Seattle or Arizona.

[gunnarthor]

I think another thread was talking about this but it makes more sense here - Jefferson on how frustrating it was not getting the ball in the game.

"“I mean, I always want to have an impact on the game,” Jefferson said. “And I always want to create some spark for our team. Defenders, the way they cover and the way the game goes, it might not happen all the time. So, it’s frustrating at times. But we got the win and that’s all that matters.”

I can't see his body language but, at least written out, the context looks right. He doesn't seem to be a problem for the Vikings but rather a honest answer to a real question. I'd be stunned if there was a player in the league who doesn't follow their stats and I'm sure Jefferson wants to have better stats than Chase. 

[gunnarthor]

1 hour ago, Aggies7 said:

I mean, we also play the lions on the road, packers and bears. It’s the 5th toughest remaining strength of schedule per espn (14th toughest up to this point). We’ll certainly learn more than playing the AFC south dregs.

And by the way, unless we overtake the lions (unlikely), we’ll almost certainly be facing either the south or west winner on the road in the wild card round. Could easily be Atlanta, Seattle or Arizona.

Sure, that makes sense. But I'm not sure these games will tell us anything that we don't already know. We're probably the 4th best team in the NFL. We'd likely be road favorites over the NFC West and NFC South team in the playoffs and road dogs against Philly and Detroit. 

[TheLeviathan]

1 hour ago, gunnarthor said:

Sure, that makes sense. But I'm not sure these games will tell us anything that we don't already know. We're probably the 4th best team in the NFL. We'd likely be road favorites over the NFC West and NFC South team in the playoffs and road dogs against Philly and Detroit. 

In the NFC you mean right?  

We're not as good as Detroit and Philly.  We're in the same mix as Green Bay.  We're a good team who has won against good teams and avoided any meltdowns.  We're not a Super Bowl contender IMO but the fact we're even close is crazy.

[gunnarthor]

1 hour ago, TheLeviathan said:

In the NFC you mean right?  

We're not as good as Detroit and Philly.  We're in the same mix as Green Bay.  We're a good team who has won against good teams and avoided any meltdowns.  We're not a Super Bowl contender IMO but the fact we're even close is crazy.

I think it's Detroit, Buffalo, KC (in some order) than us, Philly and Baltimore (in some order). I think we're certainly better than GB, Pitt, Washington, Houston, Chargers. 

Too early to worry about playoffs but right now it looks like we'd have to win road games at Atl/Sea and then, most likely, two more road games, most likely Philly and Detroit. That seems problematic. 

[TheLeviathan]

40 minutes ago, gunnarthor said:

I think it's Detroit, Buffalo, KC (in some order) than us, Philly and Baltimore (in some order). I think we're certainly better than GB, Pitt, Washington, Houston, Chargers. 

Too early to worry about playoffs but right now it looks like we'd have to win road games at Atl/Sea and then, most likely, two more road games, most likely Philly and Detroit. That seems problematic. 

Yup, that would be hard for any team.  I don't put us above Philly or Baltimore.  I would have us in the mix as the 6-10 range of teams.  Philly's defense is playing at an elite level and Baltimore's talent is just on another level.

[Aggies7]

The lions, packers, eagles and Vikings could all conceivably make it to the Super Bowl. I wish we had one of those teams like the ‘09 Vikings. That team would win this conference. I just don’t think the NFC is very strong this year. I’m still not totally sold on Philly either. 25th toughest strength of schedule according to espn. Vikings could beat them, but would surely rather see them at home,

[Vanimal46]

19 hours ago, TheLeviathan said:

The very fact you think they could conceivably make the Super Bowl here at Thanksgiving would've made past Aggies roll on the floor with laughter had I said it in August.

It's always good to be critical and want better.  It's also always good to remember context.

I'm not sure I agree with this line of thinking. I am enjoying this season greatly, but the Vikings have earned much higher expectations than what we thought in August. Now it's fair to expect 12 wins and making some noise in the playoffs... As long as the team remains as healthy as they've been this season. I expected the Twins to win a low 80s amount of games pre-season, but that didn't make the last 6 weeks of the season collapse hurt any less. I'm not heading into this winter thinking yep, the Twins met expectations no reason to make any changes. 

[gunnarthor]

Ivan Pace to the IR. Out at least 4 games. 

[TheLeviathan]

3 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

I'm not sure I agree with this line of thinking. I am enjoying this season greatly, but the Vikings have earned much higher expectations than what we thought in August. Now it's fair to expect 12 wins and making some noise in the playoffs... As long as the team remains as healthy as they've been this season. I expected the Twins to win a low 80s amount of games pre-season, but that didn't make the last 6 weeks of the season collapse hurt any less. I'm not heading into this winter thinking yep, the Twins met expectations no reason to make any changes. 

It's fair to say they've raised expectations, but I still think you can keep some perspective on it too.  I would expect them to beat the Seahawks or Falcons.  I'm not expecting a Super Bowl.

And if they win 12 and a playoff game, the only thing that can be concluded is that it was a wildly successful season...no?  

[Aggies7]

11 hours ago, TheLeviathan said:

It's fair to say they've raised expectations, but I still think you can keep some perspective on it too.  I would expect them to beat the Seahawks or Falcons.  I'm not expecting a Super Bowl.

And if they win 12 and a playoff game, the only thing that can be concluded is that it was a wildly successful season...no?  

The Vikings trophy case is full of those 

[gunnarthor]

37 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

The Vikings trophy case is full of those 

How fans view a season is, obviously, different to each fan. Some fans are "if we didn't win a championship, it's like we came in last place." That's a real viewpoint. I'm much more mellow. I want to have a fun season. I want the team to do well. I thought we were a wildcard team at the beginning of the season (one of the few) and I'm quite happy watching them make the playoffs.

[Aggies7]

1 minute ago, gunnarthor said:

How fans view a season is, obviously, different to each fan. Some fans are "if we didn't win a championship, it's like we came in last place." That's a real viewpoint. I'm much more mellow. I want to have a fun season. I want the team to do well. I thought we were a wildcard team at the beginning of the season (one of the few) and I'm quite happy watching them make the playoffs.

Fair 

[TheLeviathan]

4 hours ago, Aggies7 said:

The Vikings trophy case is full of those 

Sure, I want the title too.  I've concluded we have the coach to get us there.  That is one of the two essential pieces you need.  (QB is TBD at this point)

So it's been a wildly successful, fun season and we know we have a Super Bowl caliber coach.  Considering our odds of winning a SB with Sam Darnold as our QB were zero in August and remain zero today, why sweat the small stuff?  Look at the big picture: we are closer to where we need to be.  With a crap ton of room to add free agents and a QB to hitch our wagon to next year.

It may all topple down, but there is so much good to relish in rather than grousing that our thrice failed QB and a roster still rebuilding from the last FO isn't Super Bowl bound.  That expectation just doesn't comport with reality IMO.

[nicksaviking]

25 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

Sure, I want the title too.  I've concluded we have the coach to get us there.  That is one of the two essential pieces you need.  (QB is TBD at this point)

So it's been a wildly successful, fun season and we know we have a Super Bowl caliber coach.  Considering our odds of winning a SB with Sam Darnold as our QB were zero in August and remain zero today, why sweat the small stuff?  Look at the big picture: we are closer to where we need to be.  With a crap ton of room to add free agents and a QB to hitch our wagon to next year.

It may all topple down, but there is so much good to relish in rather than grousing that our thrice failed QB and a roster still rebuilding from the last FO isn't Super Bowl bound.  That expectation just doesn't comport with reality IMO.

I'm not sure that's proven. But it was proven the last one wasn't. As long as they continue to fire/hire/sign/adjust when it's clear the system/players/coaches won't lead them to a championship, I'll be OK with the process. Can't let it stagnate for years like was happening at the end of the Spielman/Zimmer era.

I'm a Super Bowl or bust guy, but I don't view all the other seasons as failures. It's more that my excitement level is pretty low until they show me otherwise. I'll need another 1998 or 2009 caliber of team, the kind where the Vikings are clearly one of the few favorites, before I'm a true believer.

[Mike Sixel]

I'm no longer a championship or bust person, give me fun.