KOC: Inconsistency

Vikings need the break. I was telling my son yesterday that, in terms of how the game is going to go, you can pretty much throw out the first two series for each team since those plays are all scripted. And that's basically game plan v. game plan. And theirs kicked our ass yesterday. But once that was over, it was a more realistic game, with good and bad on both sides. 

There was a drive in the 3rd quarter that was nearly flawless. Kirk had a totally different energy. Was it no huddle? I can't remember, but whatever it was, we need to do more of it. 

Yep...  A week after I say I don't have any concerns with the offense...  We have 8 or 10 three-and-outs?  Lol
Was it the road environment?  The heat and humidity?  Just an off game with a fired up Dolphins team that was desperate to get a win after two straight losses? 

I don't know, but it was encouraging to see the offense score TDs when they moved the ball and put points on the board off of turnovers created by the defense.  We call that complimentary football folks.

I know everyone wants to see dominant wins that makes us feel good and relaxed while we watch/cheer on our team...  but these have been some great character building wins.  Especially when you consider most of these guys were on the other side of these just a season ago...

Feel like this bye week is hitting us at the right time.  Good opportunity for the Rookie HC to reflect back on the past 6 weeks and figure out where we're going from here.

Are the Vikings good? Seems like nobody knows the answer to this question. Maybe the best answer is "not yet," because there's hope that as they become more familiar with their schemes, they'll start playing better and winning more convincingly. I hope so, but you'd like to see steady improvement and that's not happening either. Instead, you see fits and starts. Inconsistency. Just one example: We heap praise all over the OL, and rightly so, then they play like shit in Miami. 

Each week, we say stuff like, "The Vikings are 3-1, but…" or "The Vikings are 4-1, but…"

Yet, at some point, we must get rid of the 'but' because the team continues to win. If they weren't good — they'd lose. And they're not losing.

— Dustin Baker (@DustBaker) October 17, 2022

Agreed the bye is coming at a good time. In a 17 week season, I wouldnt mind 2 byes for these guys. 

Looking at the remaining schedule, I think they can go .500 and that would make a hella first year for KOC

After watching KC vs Buffalo yesterday? Cowboys vs Eagles? It underscored for me we're going to have to double-down on improving the D over the next few seasons.

Looks like we have a good NFC team on our hands - they're just not NFL elite yet. 

So far a breath of fresh air for me as a fan though. 

@"MaroonBells" said: Are the Vikings good? Seems like nobody knows the answer to this question. Maybe the best answer is "not yet," because there's hope that as they become more familiar with their schemes, they'll start playing better and winning more convincingly. I hope so, but you'd like to see steady improvement and that's not happening either. Instead, you see fits and starts. Inconsistency. Just one example: We heap praise all over the OL, and rightly so, then they play like shit in Miami. 

https://twitter.com/DustBaker/status/1581842526038028288?s=20&t=A77EEQWjOw7RATpYUxgL_w

Look around the league and the Bills and Eagles look like the two most dominant teams in each conference...  but the Eagles have issues scoring points in the 2nd half of games (showed up last night again where they let Dallas claw back into the game after being ahead 20-3 at half).  And the Bills started hot, lost to Miami, and needed to comeback against both the Ravens and Chiefs to win.  Both teams have looked more bearable in recent weeks.

The rest?  The 49ers have looked dominant at times, but they just lost to Atlanta and lost to the Bears...  Bucs lost to the Steelers who look terrible.  Rams and Packers have major issues on offense and their defenses aren't as dominant as many expected.  The Giants are 5-1...  Jets are 4-2...  Dallas is 4-2 with a backup QB...  But are they good? 

We'll find out in the next month or so which teams are legit and which are pretenders...  

@"Wetlander" said:

@"MaroonBells" said: Are the Vikings good? Seems like nobody knows the answer to this question. Maybe the best answer is "not yet," because there's hope that as they become more familiar with their schemes, they'll start playing better and winning more convincingly. I hope so, but you'd like to see steady improvement and that's not happening either. Instead, you see fits and starts. Inconsistency. Just one example: We heap praise all over the OL, and rightly so, then they play like shit in Miami. 

https://twitter.com/DustBaker/status/1581842526038028288?s=20&t=A77EEQWjOw7RATpYUxgL_w

I think the answer is yes, we're a good team. But you could ask that same question about every team in the NFL right now and it'd be split. 

Look around the league and the Bills and Eagles look like the two most dominant teams in each conference...  but the Eagles have issues scoring points in the 2nd half of games (showed up last night again where they let Dallas claw back into the game after being ahead 20-3 at half).  And the Bills started hot, lost to Miami, and needed to comeback against both the Ravens and Chiefs to win.  Both teams have looked more bearable in recent weeks.

The rest?  The 49ers have looked dominant at times, but they just lost to Atlanta and lost to the Bears...  Bucs lost to the Steelers who look terrible.  Rams and Packers have major issues on offense and their defenses aren't as dominant as many expected.  The Giants are 5-1...  Jets are 4-2...  Dallas is 4-2 with a backup QB...  But are they good? 

We'll find out in the next month or so which teams are legit and which are pretenders...  

Agreed, I would put Bills and Eagles as the top 2 teams in the league and I'd rank Bills #1 as they have Allen and not Hurts @ QB. 

KC is a very close 1a imo

We'll see how the war of attrition plays out and who gets hot when the weather gets cold. 

Bills/Cheifs in a pick em for #1
Eagles #3
Probably Vikings, Dallas, 49ers, Giants, Chargers, Ravens and Bucs in some sort of order. 

@"AGRforever" said: Bills/Cheifs in a pick em for #1 Eagles #3 Probably Vikings, Dallas, 49ers, Giants, Chargers, Ravens and Bucs in some sort of order. 

@"purplefaithful" said:

@"AGRforever" said: Bills/Cheifs in a pick em for #1 Eagles #3 Probably Vikings, Dallas, 49ers, Giants, Chargers, Ravens and Bucs in some sort of order. 

Do we need to start considering the Jets in this discussion??? 

I think the discussion for 22 is Philly, KC, and Buffalo. Then everybody else. Will be shocked if it ends differently this season.

The Vikings' number of ineffective offensive plays: Whether it's because coaches are struggling to put the Vikings in the right situations or players aren't executing, the offense didn't do enough to generate consistent production on Sunday. Cousins' average throw traveled only 5.4 air yards on Sunday, according to NFL Next Gen Stats; Thielen and Osborn struggled to separate from defenders.
Cousins' eight pass attempts to Jefferson added 4.4 expected points, according to data from NFL Fast R; the 10 pass attempts to Thielen added 2.3. His one throw to Cook added half an expected point, and a short handoff to C.J. Ham to convert a third-and-1 added 0.89 expected points.
Other than that, everything the Vikings attempted on Sunday was a net negative, in terms of expected points added. They had 10 three-and-outs, and Ryan Wright punted 10 times, the most by any punter in a game this season. The Vikings simply weren't able to produce effectively against a defense whose style of play should have given them chances.
According to Sports Info Solutions, the Dolphins came into the game using a one-safety shell 60% of the time (the fourth-highest rate in the league). They kept two safeties back only 23% of the time, tied for the lowest rate in the NFL. Their commitment to honoring the run created some favorable throwing windows for Cousins on the Vikings' first touchdown drive; O'Connell admitted afterward he had to hold back a smile when the Dolphins' coverage alignment allowed Cousins to check to Jefferson for a 47-yard throw.
With more efficient drives, the Vikings could have pulled away from a Dolphins team that gifted them excellent field position throughout the game. They'll look to improve in that area after the bye.
https://www.startribune.com/vikings-dolphins-kirk-cousins-adam-thielen-irv-smith-red-zone-offense/600216519/

MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. — In their first four games of the season, the Vikings turned just seven of their 15 red-zone attempts into touchdowns, costing themselves chances to keep their loss to the Eagles close and to turn victories over the Packers and Saints into blowouts.Kirk Cousins attempted 28 passes in the red zone in those games — the third-most in the league behind only Derek Carr and Patrick Mahomes, according to Sports Info Solutions. He threw 18 inside an opponent's 10-yard line (second only to Carr). His success rates were nowhere near the top of the league.
Through those four games, just 73.3% of his passes inside the 10 were catchable and 60% were on target, per SIS. Those rates were among the NFL's worst, and contributed to a 38.9 completion percentage in the low red zone that was the eighth-worst in the league through four weeks.
Against the Bears in Week 5, though, Cousins hit Jalen Reagor for a 1-yard score on a push pass during a game in which he completed four of his six red-zone passes overall and the Vikings added three rushing touchdowns: two from Dalvin Cook and one from Cousins on a QB sneak.
In their 24-16 win Sunday against the Dolphins, the Vikings had just two drives within the course of normal game situations that reached the red zone on Sunday. Cousins finished them with two plays that might rank among his best near the goal line this season.
Cook, for what it's worth, has run only six times for 15 yards inside the 10-yard line, scoring twice against the Bears; Alexander Mattison has five runs for 14 yards and a TD. The Vikings' propensity to throw near the goal line early this season has meant they're counting on their QB to finish drives
https://www.startribune.com/vikings-dolphins-kirk-cousins-adam-thielen-irv-smith-red-zone-offense/600216519/

@"kmillard" said: I think the discussion for 22 is Philly, KC, and Buffalo. Then everybody else. Will be shocked if it ends differently this season.

My thing with the Rams is their OL is seriously banged up. Just list an OT yesterday for the year. Teams usually can only handle so many key injuries. Also Vonn Miller leaving was huge.

@"1VikesFan" said: My thing with the Rams is their OL is seriously banged up. Just list an OT yesterday for the year. Teams usually can only handle so many key injuries. Also Vonn Miller leaving was huge.

Winning has been great. It’s everything so I’m pumped. We are definitely inconsistent all over but have been coming through in the clutch for the most part. 

Biggest surprise to me is that while the OL has looked much improved and JJ is still JJ, I’d say almost everyone else on the offense has taken a small step backwards. I didn’t see that coming. The defense, while mostly maligned on this board, seems to be showing improvement week by week. I’m hoping for the same from the O post-bye. 

We’re 5-1!

@"MaroonBells" said: Vikings need the break. I was telling my son yesterday that, in terms of how the game is going to go, you can pretty much throw out the first two series for each team since those plays are all scripted. And that's basically game plan v. game plan. And theirs kicked our ass yesterday. But once that was over, it was a more realistic game, with good and bad on both sides. 

There was a drive in the 3rd quarter that was nearly flawless. Kirk had a totally different energy. Was it no huddle? I can't remember, but whatever it was, we need to do more of it. 

Not sure why, but perhaps we like to run out of 3 wides.  He also mentioned Ham was in for each TD drive.

I would describe the 2022 Vikings play as lengthy streaks of utter ineptitude punctuated by periodic game changing plays on both sides of the ball.

It's weird and confusing to some but I am just going to enjoy the ride and give KOC the rookie benefit of the doubt.

Stacking wins builds confidence and a lot of the game is about mindset and how players feel going into the game.  So I'd give a little credit to the "culture" change despite pro sports generally rampant overuse of that corporate-speak wallpaper.