I know that offensively, We aren't exactly a juggernaut, but much to my surprise, we have scored enough to win, have made a ton of key 3rd downs, keeping drives alive, and most importantly have taken care of the ball. Keenum has still only thrown 2 int's which is impressive under anybody's measure. He might not be consistently throwing for 300 yds. but with our defense, we don't necessarily need that. 

Given the current state of our QB situation, I honestly think that if Case is still the man coming out of the bye, we just have to hand him the keys for the rest of the year. The team is responding well to him, he's on a pretty good roll, and getting Sam or Teddy back up to speed would simply be a 3 week experiment that may or may not go well. 
 

https://twitter.com/Timberwolves/status/...wsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FTimberwolves%2Fstatus%2F922273409081511936

https://twitter.com/Vikings/status/922115552516042752

https://twitter.com/TroyRenck/status/922195290593009664

DEFENSE:

Did not take very long for the Defense to set the tone today.  Even though we endlessly heard about all the Ravens offensive unit injuries the Defense did not let up and also did not give up any silly penalties like in some games past.

Kendricks had 4 tackles for a loss and he and Barr we just relentless along with the great pass rush.

The Ravens were allowed to add some garbage time stats and a TD but otherwise we had them at around 200 total yards and 9 points until the prevent.  

Did not think the game was well officiated at all, the 15 yard on Tom Johnson was bogus and the first pass/interception Treadwell's arm was being pulled down before the ball got there and should have been a PI not an interception.  That said, I really liked the play call of going for the TD there.  I think Shurmur has been awesome with play calls the whole year and has quickly changed our whole offensive scheme.  He has also been able to teach it to Keenum rapidly.

OFFENSE:

Keenum started out poorly and then got into somewhat of a rhythm.  The interception throws his QBR off etc but it was a good play call and a decent throw IMO.  But Keenum is clearly a fill-in backup and while steady he is not really improving week to week from what I can see (just a fan but he is literally a game manager asked to not turn the ball over and he is doing that).  I just don't see him as having the ability to win games for us vs playoff caliber teams.  I really hope Sam and/or Teddy can get back for the stretch run and a playoff push.  

The officiating on WR push-offs is out of control and I am talking about all season not just this game.  I think Thielan was getting upset because he was being held so much and then got called for a bogus push off.

That said - we only had 4 penalties (Raven's had 3) so the flags were not flying but the one that were (theilan push, johnson QB, and the none call vs Treadwell)

Treadwell was targeted 4 times with 3 receptions and he had the 3 receptions on 3 targets last week.  Wright came in and did a nice job as usual.  We are pretty deep at WR if/when Diggs back.  Good to see some production from the second year player and hope to see him on the field more even when Floyd get back.

Murray obviously looked better then previous games and he certainly ran with authority so maybe his ankle is nearing 100%.  Nice to have him/ and McKinnon and maybe combined can replace Cook for us down the stretch.  They compliment each other very well and are two different style backs.

OL:

Another well played game - 0 sacks - can you imagine that after last year.  Now Reiff got dinged at the end so hopeful that it is not serious but it was nice to have Hill come off the bench and play with competence at LT.  Meanwhile Cam was sacked 5 times today but not sure how many were on Kalil.  Remmers has been playing very well at the other tackles spot and someone had a stat on our run game when it goes off right tackle and averageing 9+ yards.  

We had another rookie sighting in Isadora at LG who seemed to fill in for the fill in (Sirles) very well with my limited OL eye.  First snap was Murray running for a 35 yarders right in his gap.  Saw him getting downfield nicely as well.

It has been an amazing OL rebuild by Spelly (personnel), Sparano (coaching) and Shurmur (scheme).  Not only does it look like we have a good OL we actually seem to have depth.  Not saying we are done at all just saying that we actually have guys that come in an not see a huge drop-off.  Obviously it would be ideal for Isadora to steal the starting spot.

ST and Coaching:

Obviously our ST played well with all the long FG's and Sherels punt returns but we also held the Ravens ST in check and that was a strength of theirs.  

I liked Shurmur's play calling and it seemed to me that we went for the jugular on a few occasions.  No real opportunity for Zimmer in terms of reviews etc so not much comment on him other then the team really seemed ready to play, did not play sloppy (very few penalties), and we played aggressive on both sides of the ball so that is a great coaching job IMO.  Trip to England and then a Bye week which after the Bye week might we see - Sam and/or Teddy, Diggs 100% for the stretch run.

wecall know his knee surgery was botched and he has severe nerve damage after it.  But it is stunning how he is never even mentioned.

id be stunned if his career is not over, but to get so little about a former #1 is odd.

you get plenty on Bridgewater

Latavius Murray just latest sign Vikings' offensive line is new and improved

MINNEAPOLIS -- If you ever wondered what early-20th-century, leather-helmet football would have looked like in a $1.1 billion angular glass stadium, Sunday was your day to find out. The Minnesota Vikings slugged their way to a 24-16 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in a game that was nowhere near as high-flying as the final score makes it appear.
The Vikings kicked six field goals and scored one touchdown, after which the same kicker missed the extra point. The Ravens scored on three field goals (which, combined with Minnesota's six, tied an NFL single-game record) and didn't get the ball inside the Vikings' 20-yard line until the game's final minute, when they scored a touchdown on the last play of the game.
"That was a little disappointing," Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr said. "We wanted to keep them out of the end zone."
Point of pride, interrupted. But the Vikings won, and the Green Bay Packers lost. Now Minnesota stands alone in first place in the NFC North at 5-2. The Vikings won this division two years ago, so they know they can win it this year. But they also know that, since QBAaron Rodgers is out for the Packers and injuries have shredded the wide receiver corps here and in Chicago and Detroit, this division is going to have to be won ugly.
http://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/post/...to-be-ugly

It's 15 minutes long, and Pete gives a lot of observations from the win over the Ravens, as well as what the team can expect from an overseas trip next Sunday.

Hope you will listen.

nt