Minnesota Viking Updates

[IA_Guy]

It's over boys. All over. Fun while it lasted. Down 3 linemen for who knows how long, and Xavier Rhodes has been banged up and not himself since the week before thanksgiving. They won't talk about it but I DVR all the games and pinpointed where he came up lame with a pulled calf. He's played since but not the same. A healthy Rhodes doesn't get torched by a scrub like Funchess yesterday and he also gave up huge yards to Marvin Jones on Turkey Day even though he did seal the game with his INT. Yeah yeah he held Julio Jones to practically nothing but in fairness they rarely target Jones anyway.

We made great moves on the O-Line but this year we can't keep them healthy either. I say GB trashes us 31-14 for a revenge beating. Flip a coin whether or not we beat the Bengals and I bet we lose to the Bears.

Even if we win out, I think Green Bay does to and if we meet in the post season Rodgers is gonna tear us up. Our only hope to go far was securing a top spot and home field and after this week looks like its not gonna happen. Get ready to be real disappointed. I don't think we win the division and I will be shocked if we make the playoffs the way the NFC is rolling. Must be nice to be in the AFC where every year if you are .500 in week 14 there's always a chance.

[Reinhard]

Wow Loose one game and it's the end of the world LOL.  We still have a strong team including one of the best defenses in the league.  The coaches will put together a plan for each game.  The Cheeseheads getting anywhere near the playoffs is laughable.  Detroit is a better team than they are.  Chicago is going nowhere this year.  All the teams are having injuries this time of the year, it happens more toward the end of the season than any other time of the year.  We are doing this good with a back up QB, how many other teams have a talented back up or back ups with Teddy as we have?  We have fighters on this team and this team is hungry and we as true fans can see this.  We win against the Bengals and the Cheeseheads can kiss their future good by and I don't think that will even be needed.  They will not risk further injury to Rodgers unless they get into the playoffs and that's a pipe dream at best.  good luck.

[Lee Borgersen]

    Latavius Murray, RB, Vikings



 

Minnesota’s eight-game win streak was halted by the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, and the fact that they were able to bottle up the Viking run game was a big reason why. Murray has been a consistently strong contributor to the Minnesota offense since roughly October, but he didn’t get it going here, with only 14 yards on nine carries. That forced Case Keenum to make plays. The QB couldn’t quite make enough, resulting in Minnesota’s first defeat since Oct. 1.


Signed:

"Da Bears"

[glenn57]

no worries Lee my man....by this time next week da VIKES will have the division title locked up!!!!!!!!!

[LPS]

With Wentz out for the season with a torn ACL they announced today that the Vikes are the team most likely NFC team to play in the Super Bowl.  I actually like being the underdog. 

[Lee Borgersen]

no worries Lee my man....by this time next week da VIKES will have the division title locked up!!!!!!!!!

 



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[Jerkbiat]

With Wentz out for the season with a torn ACL they announced today that the Vikes are the team most likely NFC team to play in the Super Bowl.  I actually like being the underdog.

I liked being the under also. I think they play better.

[Bobberineyes]

But playing indoors in the winter til Feb would be a blessing for this group.

[Bobby Bass]

It's over boys. All over. Fun while it lasted. Down 3 linemen for who knows how long, and Xavier Rhodes has been banged up and not himself since the week before thanksgiving. They won't talk about it but I DVR all the games and pinpointed where he came up lame with a pulled calf. He's played since but not the same. A healthy Rhodes doesn't get torched by a scrub like Funchess yesterday and he also gave up huge yards to Marvin Jones on Turkey Day even though he did seal the game with his INT. Yeah yeah he held Julio Jones to practically nothing but in fairness they rarely target Jones anyway.

We made great moves on the O-Line but this year we can't keep them healthy either. I say GB trashes us 31-14 for a revenge beating. Flip a coin whether or not we beat the Bengals and I bet we lose to the Bears.

Even if we win out, I think Green Bay does to and if we meet in the post season Rodgers is gonna tear us up. Our only hope to go far was securing a top spot and home field and after this week looks like its not gonna happen. Get ready to be real disappointed. I don't think we win the division and I will be shocked if we make the playoffs the way the NFC is rolling. Must be nice to be in the AFC where every year if you are .500 in week 14 there's always a chance.

The big problem with this is the Pack has to win out and they have a snowball chance in he** of doing that. No one thought the boys would win it all and they don't have to. One game to lock up the division and now Phily has lost their qb and things will be hard for them to win out and secure top spot. sit  back and enjoy the ride this season will not be done in three weeks for the  Vikes but the Bears and Pack will be watching us and Detroit in the playoffs.

[IA_Guy]

Again not to be pessimistic but realistically this has run its course. Keenum's favorite target in games against teams with a good defense, and in the red zone, is Kyle Rudolph. He's  not only out, he's out for a while. Walking boot. They haven't said what exactly is wrong but they don't put you in a boot if you just have to rub some dirt on it.


I mentioned before Xavier Rhodes isn't healthy. Zim probably avoids putting him on the injury report, and for media purposes, has him limp through practices. Just because Xavier's presence alone alters entire gameplans for teams that face him. Can you imagine how much worse Julio Jones and Matt Ryan would have attacked Rhodes's side of the field if there were media reports of him being even "Questionable" at practice?

That brings me to the O line. Remmers hasn't even practiced since November. Something is very wrong with his lower back. Had this been earlier in the season I bet we would see him on IR. Elflein has been AMAZING both in pass protection and in screens and zone runs in space. He is now injured. Riley Reiff was probably one of my favorite off season pick ups (Bias, Go Hawkeyes!) but he too is injured.

Our defense use to be our leaning point. That group won us games we had no business winning because the pressure on the offense was only to score 14 points. And the scary part is, it was mainly our defense (besides Keenum running for his life - due to injured linemen) that screwed the pooch against Carolina. Everyone talks about how we are the best team in the league at preventing big plays, offensive bursts of 25+ yards. Well big plays is what lost us the Carolina game. And the defense is the healthy side!! NO excuse for that other than they mentally took a dump.

Now for the run game, I have no idea how but up until this point we have been able to count on the McKinnon and Murray convo for 100+ a game and 1 or 2 TDs. BOTH of them got completely bottled up in Carolina. A large part of that is due to the offensive line. The scrubs just aren't as athletic blocking in space and picking up defenders at live speed. That is why they are backups. Poor McKinnon and Murray were drawing contact right at the line of scrimmage and many times behind it.

With 3 injured linemen, no starting tight end, (and Rudolphs backup, David Morgan is going through concussion protocol so we are down to a 3rd stringer whos name escapes me) and a lackluster run game that only succeeded because of Shurmurs zone run schemes no without wheels due to OLine injuries, welcome back to 2016-2017 vikings football. Aka bradford ball. A ton of check downs, a lot of three and outs, keenum running for his life, and frustrating losses. Defense will be on the field a lot with our offense looking like this.

Here are my predictions and why they will happen.

1) Vikes vs Bengals - Bengals have talent on that team. AJ Green is a monster and on a good day Andy Dalton is no slouch either. They have one of the toughest defenses although it is also one of the most inconsistent. Bengals just got TROUNCED by Chicago in embarrassing fashion. I think they are out for blood to prove they are a better team than last week. Let us not forget they played the Steelers within an inch of their lives and they forced Overtime against green bay AT LAMBEAU earlier this year -WITH RODGERS. This isn't a team to sleep on. I say Cincy beats MN at home by tiring out our defense and stopping an injury depleted offense. I would also wager Kai Forbath has something to play in this loss.

Bengals win it, 31-28.

2)Green Bay and Minnesota both transcend logic, stats, or rational analysis. GB always comes up with wins when they need them and MInnesota always finds a way to screw it up. When he plays angry Rodgers is a force to be reckoned with, the likes of which I have never seen in the NFL before. He is better than Brady on a pure talent scale. Plus Lambeau will be absolutely raucous, they want to see a revenge blood bath as retribution for putting Rodgers on IR and I think that is what they get. While Davante Adams has put up numbers in Rodgers absence, Cobb, Nelson and company have proven they aren't quarterback proof. But instead of defending one receiver (adams) Vikes will now be forced to contain 3 of the best in the division. Again Rhodes is banged up and McCarthy and Rodgers both like complicated routes, complicated to the point where dummies like Trae Waynes and youngsters like Mackenzie Alexander won't be able to stop them. Also Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams are SURPRISINGLY good backs both for their roster slot and draft order.

I say Green Bay wins this one 38-21. It will go a lot like last years Christmas matchup.

3) Chicago is better than their record. They beat the Steelers, with GLENNON. Pre Trubisky. They also beat the Panthers! They are a wildly inconsistent team but as they showed againts a Cincy Defense Trubisky can ball. Especially considering he has no WR weapons at all. Tarik Cohen and Jordan Howard are great backs. The bears will win in similar fashion as the Bengals will beat us, wearing down our defense that is always on the field, by moving the chains just enough. This one will be close. But the division loss (and loss to a shared opponent with GB) will seal our fate.

Bears win, 27-24, in overtime. This will be another loss in which Kai Forbath plays a big hand.


There you have it folks. We will be doing good to make the playoffs, and even if we do it will be short lived unless a lot of guys get healthy real fast.

So you can all send me a can of Schmidt when it happens just like this, here again are my predictions in short:

Bengals 31 Vikings 28
Packers 38 Vikings 21
Bears 27 Vikings 24 (in OT)

This is for another thread or another post, but Green Bay by the way will win out, secure a wild card, run the table, win the Super Bowl in OUR HOUSE, with a QB who spent 8 weeks on IR for the first time ever. Guaranteed.

[Bobby Bass]

Again not to be pessimistic but realistically this has run its course. Keenum's favorite target in games against teams with a good defense, and in the red zone, is Kyle Rudolph. He's  not only out, he's out for a while. Walking boot. They haven't said what exactly is wrong but they don't put you in a boot if you just have to rub some dirt on it.


I mentioned before Xavier Rhodes isn't healthy. Zim probably avoids putting him on the injury report, and for media purposes, has him limp through practices. Just because Xavier's presence alone alters entire gameplans for teams that face him. Can you imagine how much worse Julio Jones and Matt Ryan would have attacked Rhodes's side of the field if there were media reports of him being even "Questionable" at practice?

That brings me to the O line. Remmers hasn't even practiced since November. Something is very wrong with his lower back. Had this been earlier in the season I bet we would see him on IR. Elflein has been AMAZING both in pass protection and in screens and zone runs in space. He is now injured. Riley Reiff was probably one of my favorite off season pick ups (Bias, Go Hawkeyes!) but he too is injured.

Our defense use to be our leaning point. That group won us games we had no business winning because the pressure on the offense was only to score 14 points. And the scary part is, it was mainly our defense (besides Keenum running for his life - due to injured linemen) that screwed the pooch against Carolina. Everyone talks about how we are the best team in the league at preventing big plays, offensive bursts of 25+ yards. Well big plays is what lost us the Carolina game. And the defense is the healthy side!! NO excuse for that other than they mentally took a dump.

Now for the run game, I have no idea how but up until this point we have been able to count on the McKinnon and Murray convo for 100+ a game and 1 or 2 TDs. BOTH of them got completely bottled up in Carolina. A large part of that is due to the offensive line. The scrubs just aren't as athletic blocking in space and picking up defenders at live speed. That is why they are backups. Poor McKinnon and Murray were drawing contact right at the line of scrimmage and many times behind it.

With 3 injured linemen, no starting tight end, (and Rudolphs backup, David Morgan is going through concussion protocol so we are down to a 3rd stringer whos name escapes me) and a lackluster run game that only succeeded because of Shurmurs zone run schemes no without wheels due to OLine injuries, welcome back to 2016-2017 vikings football. Aka bradford ball. A ton of check downs, a lot of three and outs, keenum running for his life, and frustrating losses. Defense will be on the field a lot with our offense looking like this.

Here are my predictions and why they will happen.

1) Vikes vs Bengals - Bengals have talent on that team. AJ Green is a monster and on a good day Andy Dalton is no slouch either. They have one of the toughest defenses although it is also one of the most inconsistent. Bengals just got TROUNCED by Chicago in embarrassing fashion. I think they are out for blood to prove they are a better team than last week. Let us not forget they played the Steelers within an inch of their lives and they forced Overtime against green bay AT LAMBEAU earlier this year -WITH RODGERS. This isn't a team to sleep on. I say Cincy beats MN at home by tiring out our defense and stopping an injury depleted offense. I would also wager Kai Forbath has something to play in this loss.

Bengals win it, 31-28.

2)Green Bay and Minnesota both transcend logic, stats, or rational analysis. GB always comes up with wins when they need them and MInnesota always finds a way to screw it up. When he plays angry Rodgers is a force to be reckoned with, the likes of which I have never seen in the NFL before. He is better than Brady on a pure talent scale. Plus Lambeau will be absolutely raucous, they want to see a revenge blood bath as retribution for putting Rodgers on IR and I think that is what they get. While Davante Adams has put up numbers in Rodgers absence, Cobb, Nelson and company have proven they aren't quarterback proof. But instead of defending one receiver (adams) Vikes will now be forced to contain 3 of the best in the division. Again Rhodes is banged up and McCarthy and Rodgers both like complicated routes, complicated to the point where dummies like Trae Waynes and youngsters like Mackenzie Alexander won't be able to stop them. Also Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams are SURPRISINGLY good backs both for their roster slot and draft order.

I say Green Bay wins this one 38-21. It will go a lot like last years Christmas matchup.

3) Chicago is better than their record. They beat the Steelers, with GLENNON. Pre Trubisky. They also beat the Panthers! They are a wildly inconsistent team but as they showed againts a Cincy Defense Trubisky can ball. Especially considering he has no WR weapons at all. Tarik Cohen and Jordan Howard are great backs. The bears will win in similar fashion as the Bengals will beat us, wearing down our defense that is always on the field, by moving the chains just enough. This one will be close. But the division loss (and loss to a shared opponent with GB) will seal our fate.

Bears win, 27-24, in overtime. This will be another loss in which Kai Forbath plays a big hand.


There you have it folks. We will be doing good to make the playoffs, and even if we do it will be short lived unless a lot of guys get healthy real fast.

So you can all send me a can of Schmidt when it happens just like this, here again are my predictions in short:

Bengals 31 Vikings 28
Packers 38 Vikings 21
Bears 27 Vikings 24 (in OT)

This is for another thread or another post, but Green Bay by the way will win out, secure a wild card, run the table, win the Super Bowl in OUR HOUSE, with a QB who spent 8 weeks on IR for the first time ever. Guaranteed.

Great read glad you spent all of this time writing this, to bad it is pretty much all wrong..

[Gunner55]

Pretty awesome day for football yday. Now if Atlanta can do their part tonight & put an end to Mr. Rodgers & the cheesehead's playoff hopes, it would put a nice finish to the weekend's games.

[glenn57]

hey IA_Guy................what say now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[Reinhard]

I hope Iowa guy doesn't play Fantacy leagues because so far his pridictions have been a fantacy  , Rudolf did play some plus scored a TD.  Running game was good too and Keenum played great as usual.  Defense was awesome and had a interception for a TD.  Bengals were almost shut out.  Congrats to the Vikings for being the division champs. Rodgers had a terrible game yesterday.  I don't think his shoulder is completely healed.  A mistake for them playing him.  good luck.

[LPS]

All is well in Viking land.....

[Steve-o]

Yes, I'm enjoying the ride, but I also expect a wild finish.

A trip to Lambeau in December is fraught with peril and it remains to be seen if the Bears will lay down for us again on the last week of the season.

I watched the end of the Patriots/Steelers game with both teams showing dynamic scoring potential in the final minutes.  If I have any concern for our Vikes its that they haven't shown that they can score a TD in under two minutes to win the game if we fall behind or get into a shootout.

The good news is that the Vike's defense limits the opponents opportunities so we don't get into shootouts.

[glenn57]

steve-o, they did say yesterday during the game that the vikings lead the league in scoring points in the final 2 minutes prior  to halftime.

yea i watched that pats-steelers game................... friggin awesome finish,especially since my 3rd favorite team is the patriots and cant stand the steelers.

oh by the way my fav team........vikes
2nd fav........whomever is playing the  packers!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Steve-o]

Between Panther/Packers and Patriots/Steelers it was hard to pick a team I wanted to see win.

Now that you mention it, I do recall hearing that halftime scoring statistic, but it isn't quite the same as doing it at the end of the game.

Maybe even that works to our advantage.  Since we haven't had to try to win games in the final 2 minutes with desperation drives, there isn't any game film to analyze as to what Shurmur might call in that situation.

[Reinhard]

the officials screwed up again yesterday with that stupid total ball control for recievers.  The guy for the steelers had complete ball controll as he crossed the goal line and the end zone.  It was when he fell out of bounds and fell to the ground the ball josseled a bit.  Thielen had one taken away last week for the same reason.  A running back can cross the goal line with the ball and not have control when he hits the ground and it counts anyway.  Total BS.  good luck.

[cookie]

Thanks for the morning laugh Bobby Bass

[Gunner55]

 Thanks Atlanta!  Cheese less playoffs this season for the 1st time since '08. So.......... the next question is...... does Rodgers play this weekend? :scratch  I think he'll want to but will they let him? In his post game interview after the last game he sounded like he was already thinking that this season is over for them

[greatoutdoors]

I'm sure Rodgers wants to play this weekend to get revenge on the Vikes for his injury.
The Packers have nothing to gain, the Vikings are fighting for home field advantage for a few games, so they will be attacking anything standing in their way which will be Rodgers.
I think McCarthy will bench him to save him from severe injury.

[LPS]

McCarthy said Rodgers was sore after the game.  Why risk getting hurt.  The team he chooses to play on next year wants him fresh....

[IA_Guy]

Well y'all got me, feel free to send me any good recipes for crow ya got layin around! 

Let me be 110% clear what I predicted was in no way shape or form what I wanted to happen. I still had visions in my head of last year the pack starting 4-6, then winning out and taking the division and making a deep playoff run. It was truly about as statistically impossible as this year in week 10 last year but it happened. Every must win was a win and it came solely due to Aaron Rodgers alone throwing hail mary's and corking huge plays under 2 minutes. It was almost as if he can will his team to a win.

As of right now Green Bay is my favorite to go to the Super Bowl next year though. They fell flat this year yeah but I think if you flip the coin for them it is gonna come up heads way more than 50%.

Plus we still haven't seen the end of the season, if McCarthy is stupid enough to play Rodgers this sunday he will trash the vikes. And I am afraid of the bears at this point in the year. Call me stupid but Trubisky can make a play here and there and their pass rush is straight up mean especially against an offense that is banged up.

[Bobby Bass]

Well if you ask Rogers if he wants to play you know he will say yes. Does he need to play for nothing? I think he will sit I believe they have activated a backup OB already to take his place. Vikes will win out over both the Packers and Chicago because they are a better team. If Philly loses one and MN wins both I think not sure they will get number one seed, they already have a bye which is good news. You can't lose when you don't play. Lets put the cheeseheads in our rear view mirror and not listen about how they are going to win it all,,,,,next year.   

[Lee Borgersen]

  Hundley gets his turn to try and cool off Vikings.


 
 
Associated Press
 
  ......
  Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer against Green Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

NFC North supremacy and the brutal cold of a late-December night game at Lambeau Field.

Well, so much for most of that.

The Vikings have clinched the division title and have an eye on securing a first-round bye and possibly earning home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. The Packers, on the other hand, are out of the playoff picture. Aaron Rodgers, whose right collarbone was broken during a season-defining loss at Minnesota in Week 6, is back on injured reserve after throwing three interceptions in a killer loss at Carolina.

At least it will be cold for Saturday night's game. The predicted low for Saturday night is 1.

Zimmer insists his team, which has won nine of its last 10, won't overlook the Packers, who won't be part of the postseason for the first time since 2008.

"I told my team this: We're a good team, we're not a great team," Zimmer said. "I don't know if there's any great teams out there, but we're a good team. We don't have the luxury of looking past anybody, and that's really not our mentality as a football team (or) the kind of guys that we have."

The landscape of the NFL underwent a seismic shift during the first quarter of the teams' matchup in Minneapolis on Oct. 15. That's when Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr took Rodgers to the turf after a pass. Rodgers suffered a broken right collarbone. Minnesota won 23-10 to record the second of eight consecutive wins. The Packers went on to lose four of Brett Hundley's first five starts at quarterback.

Rodgers returned last week but the Packers lost 31-24 at Carolina. Green Bay put Rodgers back on injured reserve and has turned over the offense again to Hundley. He's thrown eight touchdowns vs. eight interceptions this season -- including one touchdown and three picks in relief of Rodgers at Minnesota. In four home starts, the Packers have gone 1-3 with Hundley throwing zero touchdowns vs. five interceptions.

"I think he's grown quite a bit," Zimmer said. "He's making a lot of quick decisions. He's been taking care of the football well. He's using his legs quite a bit. He's obviously got a strong arm, very athletic guy. He starting to see a lot more as far as the things when he wants to get the ball out to the perimeter when guys are playing off coverage, does a nice job with movement in the pocket, and he's starting to really -- I'm not saying he's Rodgers, but he's got a lot of very similar mannerisms."

Hundley will face an enormous challenge against Minnesota's powerful defense. The Vikings rank second in the NFL in total defense and scoring defense. Defensive end Everson Griffen, who has 13 sacks, Barr and cornerback Xavier Rhodes were selected to the Pro Bowl team on Tuesday.

"We've seen these guys, me personally, for three years now," Hundley said. "To play against these guys, and now to get another chance to play them, it's a great opportunity. They do what they do well, very well. They're one of the best defenses in the league."

Green Bay's defense relies on big plays that have been too infrequent. The Packers kept their season alive by scoring a defensive touchdown in the overtime win vs. Tampa Bay and forcing an interception in overtime to win at Cleveland. At Carolina, however, the Packers failed to force any turnovers and gave up four touchdown passes to Cam Newton and a season-worst 29 first downs.

Green Bay is No. 30 in opponent passer rating (100.5) and No. 31 in opponent completion percentage (68.4). Vikings quarterback Case Keenum is No. 8 in rating (98.9) and No. 2 in completion percentage (67.9).

"He's been given an opportunity and obviously he's had a number of experiences and I'm sure he's learned from them all to prepare himself for this opportunity in Minnesota," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "He's doing a hell of a job. He has really good tape."

On the injury front, Packers receiver Davante Adams remains in the concussion protocol following the helmet-to-helmet hit by Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis that resulted in Davis getting a one-week suspension. Adams is second in the NFL with 10 touchdown catches.

Starting outside linebackers Clay Matthews (hamstring) and Nick Perry (ankle/shoulder) and guard Jahri Evans (knee) also didn't practice for Green Bay. For Minnesota, reserve cornerback Tramaine Brock (foot) was the only player to not practice.

[Gunner55]

I read somewhere yday that Bradford was taking some snaps in practice. It said that they had 3 weeks to decide if they would put him on the active roster or not. Just heard the NFL guy on ESPN mention Shurmur's name when he was talking about the head coaching job with the Bears, as well

[Steve-o]

Yes, heaven forbid that Keenum would get knocked out, who would Zim put in the game...?  Teddy?  Bradford?

Wow, what a talker that would be.

[Lee Borgersen]

Former Concordia, CFL standout signs with Vikings.

By Forum News Service  on Jan 3, 2018   

  .....
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings have signed coveted Canadian Football League receiver Brandon Zylstra, a former standout at Concordia, to a reserve/future contract.


 


The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Zylstra led the CFL with 1,687 receiving yards for the Edmonton Eskimos this past season. One of Zylstra’s many recent NFL workouts included a stop at Winter Park on Dec. 8.




The future contract means Zylstra will be added to the Vikings’ 90-man offseason roster once the 2018 league year begins in March. The Vikings currently have Jarius Wright, Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, Laquon Treadwell and Stacy Coley under contract through at least next season.

The Spicer, Minn., native finished with 1,932 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns in 29 career games with the Cobbers.


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[glenn57]

from spicer mn...........wowzer...............thats just down the road a bit from me!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mikey too!!!!!!!!!!!!!