Also, can I pause for a moment and brag how close my prediction was? I said we'd win 24-21 and we won 24-16????
SKOL!
Sunday, September 9, 2018
1-0!
I was going to write up a long post, but I have to be up at 5 am for work tomorrow so you'll have to make do with the video highlights for now:
Also, can I pause for a moment and brag how close my prediction was? I said we'd win 24-21 and we won 24-16????
SKOL!
Also, can I pause for a moment and brag how close my prediction was? I said we'd win 24-21 and we won 24-16????
SKOL!
Friday, September 7, 2018
San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings Preview
Howdy y'all! We are just TWO DAYS AWAY from our 2018-2019 season opener and I am so incredibly excited!
Basic info: 1:00 PM Eastern time start, at US Bank Stadium, airing on FOX.
So we had a good preseason, 3 wins, 1 loss, none of which I found exciting, except for maybe the Seahawks game where we won 21-20.
Pre-season Recap:
Minnesota at Tennessee - (W) 13-3
Seattle at Minnesota - (W) 21-20
Jacksonville at Minnesota - (L) 14-10
Minnesota at Denver - (W) 42-28
Really, I was glad to see the highlights, and rolled my eyes at the stupid mistakes, but the older I get, the less the preseason means to me. You get 10-15 minutes of your starters so they can get the rust off, and then start putting your second and third choices through their paces, and mix in the guys who will never play an NFL snap out of the preseason or a practice squad just in case you've got a guy who's actually gold and not just a flash in the pan. Didn't the Detroit Lions go 4-0 in the preseason of the year they went 0-16? Pretty sure that was the year I started realizing preseason doesn't mean anything.
Focusing on this Sunday, I'm glad we're getting the 49ers game out of the way early. They're going to be a good team this year (HOW could the Cheatriots be so stupid as to toss Garoppolo for an aging Brady??) and I want a chance to knock them on their butts before they've had a chance to gel. Honestly, I don't know anything about their O-line, their runningbacks Breida and Morris, or their WR Pettis. Their starting WR, Pierre Garcon was on my fantasy team a couple years back and I liked him, he was a good earner, but are good fantasy stats for an 11 year veteran any kind of guarantee of a good offense in a new season?
I think I'll pick on running backs today.
Looking up Matt Breida, he's a 2 year veteran, undrafted, age 23, from Georgia Southern, and last year he had 105 carries for 465 yards, average 4.4 and 2 TDs. Looking more closely at his stats, he had 1 fumble and no other turnovers, 21 receptions out of 36 targets for 180 yards with a long of 32.
Their number two, Alfred Morris is a 7 year veteran, aged 29, from Florida Atlantic with 115 carries for 547 yards (4.8 avg) and 1 touchdown last year. He had 7 receptions from 9 targets for 45 yards with a long of 13. And one kick return for 12 yards...in 2016...with Dallas. BUT he's had zero fumbles in the past three years after 11 fumbles the three years before that. That's a good stat.
So these guys look solid. But as a comparison, in Dalvin Cook's rookie year (last year) he had 74 attempts for 354 yards with a long of 33, two touchdowns, one fumble, and one fumble for loss. Plus 11 receptions out of 16 targets for 90 yards with a long of 36 yards.
On the flip side, we're starting Kirk Cousins (QB), Dalvin Cook (RB), Adam Thielen (WR), and Kyle Rudolph (TE). All of this I am very pleased about, but I'm also nervous as Cousins has not had as much time with this team as Garoppolo has had with his.
I particularly like Adam Thielen (I know plenty of people think he's nothing special) and I'm happy enough to have him split time with Stefon Diggs - and I hope our coaching staff has a good system where they both get enough snaps to be effective, but not so many they wear down and collapse in the playoffs.
I'm hoping we win the offensive battle.
Really, though, despite looking at the RBs today I think this will probably be a clash of two bend-but-don't break defenses. I'm predicting myself eating my fingernails to the bone during the entire game. Honestly, I'm kind of wondering if it's going to be a miraculous play by Marcus Sherels (or a lineman!) that makes the difference and swings us to a W.
My prediction: Vikings 24 - 49ers 21.
Other thoughts: best wishes to former Gator Keanu Neal (currently playing safety for the Atlanta Falcons) who tore his ACL and is out for the season. Hate my Gators getting hurt, even when they've gone up to the NFL and play for not-my-Vikings!
SKOL!
Basic info: 1:00 PM Eastern time start, at US Bank Stadium, airing on FOX.
So we had a good preseason, 3 wins, 1 loss, none of which I found exciting, except for maybe the Seahawks game where we won 21-20.
Pre-season Recap:
Minnesota at Tennessee - (W) 13-3
Seattle at Minnesota - (W) 21-20
Jacksonville at Minnesota - (L) 14-10
Minnesota at Denver - (W) 42-28
Really, I was glad to see the highlights, and rolled my eyes at the stupid mistakes, but the older I get, the less the preseason means to me. You get 10-15 minutes of your starters so they can get the rust off, and then start putting your second and third choices through their paces, and mix in the guys who will never play an NFL snap out of the preseason or a practice squad just in case you've got a guy who's actually gold and not just a flash in the pan. Didn't the Detroit Lions go 4-0 in the preseason of the year they went 0-16? Pretty sure that was the year I started realizing preseason doesn't mean anything.
Focusing on this Sunday, I'm glad we're getting the 49ers game out of the way early. They're going to be a good team this year (HOW could the Cheatriots be so stupid as to toss Garoppolo for an aging Brady??) and I want a chance to knock them on their butts before they've had a chance to gel. Honestly, I don't know anything about their O-line, their runningbacks Breida and Morris, or their WR Pettis. Their starting WR, Pierre Garcon was on my fantasy team a couple years back and I liked him, he was a good earner, but are good fantasy stats for an 11 year veteran any kind of guarantee of a good offense in a new season?
I think I'll pick on running backs today.
Looking up Matt Breida, he's a 2 year veteran, undrafted, age 23, from Georgia Southern, and last year he had 105 carries for 465 yards, average 4.4 and 2 TDs. Looking more closely at his stats, he had 1 fumble and no other turnovers, 21 receptions out of 36 targets for 180 yards with a long of 32.
Their number two, Alfred Morris is a 7 year veteran, aged 29, from Florida Atlantic with 115 carries for 547 yards (4.8 avg) and 1 touchdown last year. He had 7 receptions from 9 targets for 45 yards with a long of 13. And one kick return for 12 yards...in 2016...with Dallas. BUT he's had zero fumbles in the past three years after 11 fumbles the three years before that. That's a good stat.
So these guys look solid. But as a comparison, in Dalvin Cook's rookie year (last year) he had 74 attempts for 354 yards with a long of 33, two touchdowns, one fumble, and one fumble for loss. Plus 11 receptions out of 16 targets for 90 yards with a long of 36 yards.
On the flip side, we're starting Kirk Cousins (QB), Dalvin Cook (RB), Adam Thielen (WR), and Kyle Rudolph (TE). All of this I am very pleased about, but I'm also nervous as Cousins has not had as much time with this team as Garoppolo has had with his.
I particularly like Adam Thielen (I know plenty of people think he's nothing special) and I'm happy enough to have him split time with Stefon Diggs - and I hope our coaching staff has a good system where they both get enough snaps to be effective, but not so many they wear down and collapse in the playoffs.
I'm hoping we win the offensive battle.
Really, though, despite looking at the RBs today I think this will probably be a clash of two bend-but-don't break defenses. I'm predicting myself eating my fingernails to the bone during the entire game. Honestly, I'm kind of wondering if it's going to be a miraculous play by Marcus Sherels (or a lineman!) that makes the difference and swings us to a W.
My prediction: Vikings 24 - 49ers 21.
Other thoughts: best wishes to former Gator Keanu Neal (currently playing safety for the Atlanta Falcons) who tore his ACL and is out for the season. Hate my Gators getting hurt, even when they've gone up to the NFL and play for not-my-Vikings!
SKOL!
Sunday, July 29, 2018
Guess who's back!
Dalvin Cook is back at training camp!
Hah, yeah, I'm back too. According to my department, I'm officially finished with grad school, so I decided what better way to celebrate than to bring back my beloved Vikings' blog? I wonder if this year I'll have time to watch EVERY Vikings game as it airs?? Maybe that's a bridge too far for a Millennial working two jobs and writing a book, but we'll pray to the Football Gods and see what happens.
But on to the important stuff!
First, just wanted to post this because it still gives me the chills:
And then this, because ESPN finally got it right:
Can you DIGG it?
Yes, I'm still a bit sad that we've lost Keenum. I genuinely believe the dude has a good run left in him. I've always had a soft spot for the Broncos, and I'll be interested in what he does with them in the upcoming season.
Definitely have some hype for Kirk Cousins though. All those franchise records he set for the Redskins? I know they had some sweet players around him, but I'm hoping that he'll gel with Diggs, Treadwell, and Rudolph to an even higher degree. He had three consecutive seasons with 4,000 passing yards, so if we combine that kind of passing with a healthy, hungry Dalvin Cook we could have something extremely exciting here folks.
Speaking of Dalvin Cook, as a Gator alumna I watched that dude run all over us for three years. He broke Warrick Dunn's single season rushing record and his career rushing record at FSU (and Dunn spent four years at FSU!), and I'm the first to admit he's thrilling to watch when he has the ball. ACL injuries aren't a death sentence anymore, and I'm hoping hard Cook comes back ready to show the world what he's made of.
I also wanted to take a moment to shout out to Tony Sparano, the Vikings' O-line coach, who passed away last Sunday at age 56 from heart disease. 19 years in the NFL as a coach or assistant coach is one hell of a legacy, and we'll all miss him. Glad to hear the Vikings shifted their camp events around so everyone who knew Coach Sparano could attend his funeral services.
Camp Notes
According to my sources (aka Twitter) Marcus Sherels snagged the first INT of this year's camp, which is no less than I expected. Sherels is the guy nobody remembers until he has another punt return for a touchdown, but he's determinedly weaving himself into the team, and if he stays healthy I'm hoping he can come up big in the clutch when we need him. Sherels is going to share return duties with our rookie Mike Hughes, and I'm anticipating a lot of fun watching pick #30 acclimate himself to the NFL. We've got those new kickoff rules this season, and while they were proposed to keep kickers safer, the fact that they force everyone to start cold rather than running might make for some interesting results!
Xavier Rhodes is reportedly taking the rookies and newbies under his wing, and Harrison Smith is entering this year as the league's top safety. I get tingly thinking about our defensive back lineup, particularly, Rhodes, Smith, Sendejo and Kearse - and I love that they're taking on the young'uns, and can't wait to see how Mackensie Alexander shows up on Sundays.
My thought for the week is that "Don't stop playing til the clock hits zero" should be this year's team mantra. We've got everything we need - we just need to put the pieces together and leave everything we've got on the field.
SKOL!
Hah, yeah, I'm back too. According to my department, I'm officially finished with grad school, so I decided what better way to celebrate than to bring back my beloved Vikings' blog? I wonder if this year I'll have time to watch EVERY Vikings game as it airs?? Maybe that's a bridge too far for a Millennial working two jobs and writing a book, but we'll pray to the Football Gods and see what happens.
But on to the important stuff!
First, just wanted to post this because it still gives me the chills:
And then this, because ESPN finally got it right:
Can you DIGG it?
Yes, I'm still a bit sad that we've lost Keenum. I genuinely believe the dude has a good run left in him. I've always had a soft spot for the Broncos, and I'll be interested in what he does with them in the upcoming season.
Definitely have some hype for Kirk Cousins though. All those franchise records he set for the Redskins? I know they had some sweet players around him, but I'm hoping that he'll gel with Diggs, Treadwell, and Rudolph to an even higher degree. He had three consecutive seasons with 4,000 passing yards, so if we combine that kind of passing with a healthy, hungry Dalvin Cook we could have something extremely exciting here folks.
Speaking of Dalvin Cook, as a Gator alumna I watched that dude run all over us for three years. He broke Warrick Dunn's single season rushing record and his career rushing record at FSU (and Dunn spent four years at FSU!), and I'm the first to admit he's thrilling to watch when he has the ball. ACL injuries aren't a death sentence anymore, and I'm hoping hard Cook comes back ready to show the world what he's made of.
I also wanted to take a moment to shout out to Tony Sparano, the Vikings' O-line coach, who passed away last Sunday at age 56 from heart disease. 19 years in the NFL as a coach or assistant coach is one hell of a legacy, and we'll all miss him. Glad to hear the Vikings shifted their camp events around so everyone who knew Coach Sparano could attend his funeral services.
Camp Notes
According to my sources (aka Twitter) Marcus Sherels snagged the first INT of this year's camp, which is no less than I expected. Sherels is the guy nobody remembers until he has another punt return for a touchdown, but he's determinedly weaving himself into the team, and if he stays healthy I'm hoping he can come up big in the clutch when we need him. Sherels is going to share return duties with our rookie Mike Hughes, and I'm anticipating a lot of fun watching pick #30 acclimate himself to the NFL. We've got those new kickoff rules this season, and while they were proposed to keep kickers safer, the fact that they force everyone to start cold rather than running might make for some interesting results!
Xavier Rhodes is reportedly taking the rookies and newbies under his wing, and Harrison Smith is entering this year as the league's top safety. I get tingly thinking about our defensive back lineup, particularly, Rhodes, Smith, Sendejo and Kearse - and I love that they're taking on the young'uns, and can't wait to see how Mackensie Alexander shows up on Sundays.
My thought for the week is that "Don't stop playing til the clock hits zero" should be this year's team mantra. We've got everything we need - we just need to put the pieces together and leave everything we've got on the field.
SKOL!
Friday, September 23, 2016
Friday Morning Followup
It's Friday, fellow Vikings! I'm at work (as I'm sure you are too), but fortunately since I'm a security guard, there's no issue with me researching and blogging my beloved Vikes at this early hour of the day.
Matt Kalil's hip surgery to fix a labrum tear was successful, but he's done for the season with a six-month recovery time. Hope he roars into camp next year and sets his pace for awesomeness throughout the season!
Sharrif Floyd's right knee arthroscopy happened yesterday, not much buzz on how it went or what the doctors saw so far as I can tell.
In direct contrast to yesterday's news about nothing but the meniscus being hurt in Peterson's knee, today there is a report he has a "slight LCL strain that will not require surgery". I do wish people would quit lying! At least I say when something is just a rumor or culled from twitter.
In good news, we beat the Packers with minimal services from both Kalil and Peterson, so here's hoping the team can keep the good energy and strong-arming up without them! Peterson is a vital presence as a leader, but he's also the kind of guy who will be there, day in and day out, rehabbing, watching film, participating in team activities and standing on the sidelines hollering for his teammates. We won't lose that service from him, for which I'm devoutly thankful! Found a byte today saying Peterson chose the full surgery now because it can potentially give him a few more years of his career now, instead of a partial repair or a trim which could risk his entire career all over again. I have to say, I'm salivating at the thought of a full-speed All Day next to a well-rested Teddy Bridgewater, with a year of Sam Bradford to back up, and emergency Shaun Hill, as well as the surprising emergence of Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen!
Jerick Mckinnon has now won the starting RB spot for the Vikes. Skol, Mckinnon, and all the best of luck when you've got the rock! We've also picked up former Bronco Ronnie Hillman. I had him as a fantasy backup late last season and he was fine. Not a lot of scoring, but if we can use him for misdirection and blocking, and regular runs when Mckinnon is targeted by the defense, all should be "doable" if not "good"!
Lastly, sending out positive thoughts to the o-line in practice this week. Because we need some good breaks there!!
SKOL!
Matt Kalil's hip surgery to fix a labrum tear was successful, but he's done for the season with a six-month recovery time. Hope he roars into camp next year and sets his pace for awesomeness throughout the season!
Sharrif Floyd's right knee arthroscopy happened yesterday, not much buzz on how it went or what the doctors saw so far as I can tell.
In direct contrast to yesterday's news about nothing but the meniscus being hurt in Peterson's knee, today there is a report he has a "slight LCL strain that will not require surgery". I do wish people would quit lying! At least I say when something is just a rumor or culled from twitter.
In good news, we beat the Packers with minimal services from both Kalil and Peterson, so here's hoping the team can keep the good energy and strong-arming up without them! Peterson is a vital presence as a leader, but he's also the kind of guy who will be there, day in and day out, rehabbing, watching film, participating in team activities and standing on the sidelines hollering for his teammates. We won't lose that service from him, for which I'm devoutly thankful! Found a byte today saying Peterson chose the full surgery now because it can potentially give him a few more years of his career now, instead of a partial repair or a trim which could risk his entire career all over again. I have to say, I'm salivating at the thought of a full-speed All Day next to a well-rested Teddy Bridgewater, with a year of Sam Bradford to back up, and emergency Shaun Hill, as well as the surprising emergence of Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen!
Jerick Mckinnon has now won the starting RB spot for the Vikes. Skol, Mckinnon, and all the best of luck when you've got the rock! We've also picked up former Bronco Ronnie Hillman. I had him as a fantasy backup late last season and he was fine. Not a lot of scoring, but if we can use him for misdirection and blocking, and regular runs when Mckinnon is targeted by the defense, all should be "doable" if not "good"!
Lastly, sending out positive thoughts to the o-line in practice this week. Because we need some good breaks there!!
SKOL!
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Onward, Sweet Charlotte!
According to all the news agencies, the Vikings will go ahead with their game against the Panthers in Charlotte, South Carolina. Let's hope nothing bad happens and no one gets hurt.
For the record, I am 100% in favor of peaceful protesting, and have a certain amount of sympathy even when they do silly things like block open roads. What I am not in favor of is molotov cocktails and looting, which I think is a pretty reasonable line to draw.
Anyway, let's forget politics for a few minutes and enjoy some football.
Adrian Peterson's meniscus surgery was successful. Zimmer is still being cagey about the timeline. Guess at least Teddy has a rehab buddy now? Surgeons say there was no sign of damage or anything like that anywhere else in the knee, which is a big relief. He's getting up there in years, lets hope he's still got great healing flesh.
Out of the blue, Sharrif Floyd has had knee surgery today! Just a "cleanup" procedure due to a "cartilage" issue, similar to one he had last year. Then he was out for four games. Let's hope he doesn't take any longer this time around. Should we start praying for Linval Joseph? I'll burn a couple candles to keep him going!!
Xavier Rhodes is practicing and is *said* (that is, rumored on twitter) to be good to go for Sunday. Which is good, because we NEED him.
I'm going to end with this quote I found courtesy of HC Mike Zimmer:
"I feel like we have to go back to work and go play Carolina (on Sunday)," Zimmer said. "I expect (the players) to perform the way I always expect them to perform."
Mike Zimmer = Boss.
SKOL!
For the record, I am 100% in favor of peaceful protesting, and have a certain amount of sympathy even when they do silly things like block open roads. What I am not in favor of is molotov cocktails and looting, which I think is a pretty reasonable line to draw.
Anyway, let's forget politics for a few minutes and enjoy some football.
Adrian Peterson's meniscus surgery was successful. Zimmer is still being cagey about the timeline. Guess at least Teddy has a rehab buddy now? Surgeons say there was no sign of damage or anything like that anywhere else in the knee, which is a big relief. He's getting up there in years, lets hope he's still got great healing flesh.
Out of the blue, Sharrif Floyd has had knee surgery today! Just a "cleanup" procedure due to a "cartilage" issue, similar to one he had last year. Then he was out for four games. Let's hope he doesn't take any longer this time around. Should we start praying for Linval Joseph? I'll burn a couple candles to keep him going!!
Xavier Rhodes is practicing and is *said* (that is, rumored on twitter) to be good to go for Sunday. Which is good, because we NEED him.
I'm going to end with this quote I found courtesy of HC Mike Zimmer:
"I feel like we have to go back to work and go play Carolina (on Sunday)," Zimmer said. "I expect (the players) to perform the way I always expect them to perform."
Mike Zimmer = Boss.
SKOL!
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Adrian Peterson to Undergo Surgery
Well, there you have it folks. Adrian Peterson has elected to undergo surgery to repair his torn meniscus, and will be out "several months". News reports are saying that "bucket handle tears" have recovery times of 3-4 months (a bit more time off than "running on torn meniscus all season", hey?!) which puts Peterson coming back for the rear end of the season, if at all.
To replace him we've picked up Ronnie Hillman, and made room for him by putting Matt Kalil on IR because apparently he has a lingering hip issue that they've now decided he needs surgery for too.
Salaries and cap hits aside...this is going to be one bumpy ride for the Minnesota Vikings. SKOL!
To replace him we've picked up Ronnie Hillman, and made room for him by putting Matt Kalil on IR because apparently he has a lingering hip issue that they've now decided he needs surgery for too.
Salaries and cap hits aside...this is going to be one bumpy ride for the Minnesota Vikings. SKOL!
Monday, September 19, 2016
All Day Problems
First thing's first: we won!! What a stellar christening present for our brand new stadium! Huzzah!
Now to get down to the bad bits: we've got some problems.
Worst problem first: Adrian Peterson is having a rough season.
I didn't fuss when he only got 31 yards the first game of the season, because he did that last season too and ended up with a monster year.
Last night he had 12 rushes for 19 yards (avg of 1.6 yards) and 2 receptions for 7 yards before being injured in the third quarter. This time it's a right knee injury, and apparently a torn meniscus. I've googled the injury (paging Dr. Google!) and they said that with surgery, it's a 6 week recovery rate. Since Zimmer went on the record saying he won't rule Peterson out for next week, I think we can all safely assume they're not going the surgery route. Apparently the non-surgery route requires rest, ice and physical therapy. We know Adrian does whatever he can on the physical therapy side of things, and the trainers will see him iced up to high heaven. But rest? Ha...that's a bit less likely.
Fortunately, the swelling seems to have subsided substantially, and he's walking around at home. Plus, players have gone whole seasons running on a torn meniscus before - Chris Johnson tore his while playing for the Titans and recorded a thousand yard plus season. So, we'll be hopeful on that front, but he is the "wrong side of thirty" for a football player, and he's had a worryingly slow start. Maybe it's time to start thinking about our other backs.
Next problem: o-line did not make me happy. Now I know perfectly well that of any part of a team, the o-line requires the MOST synchronicity and it's still a young season, and we did cut loose a few pieces late in the preseason, but still, I'm worried. Sam Bradford got sacked four times, and while he bounced up like an india-rubber ball last night, can he do that all season? I realize we won't play Green Bay's defense every week, but all we need is one unlucky hit to lose Sam Bradford the same way my Gators just lost Luke Del Rio for a month.
Finally: Green Bay fumbled like what, four times? And we only got it once? Our defense has GOT to get that! Winning the turnover ratio is how teams win games.
Still, it's a good omen that we won despite injuries. I'm happy that we're sitting pretty at 2-0. SKOL!
Now to get down to the bad bits: we've got some problems.
Worst problem first: Adrian Peterson is having a rough season.
I didn't fuss when he only got 31 yards the first game of the season, because he did that last season too and ended up with a monster year.
Last night he had 12 rushes for 19 yards (avg of 1.6 yards) and 2 receptions for 7 yards before being injured in the third quarter. This time it's a right knee injury, and apparently a torn meniscus. I've googled the injury (paging Dr. Google!) and they said that with surgery, it's a 6 week recovery rate. Since Zimmer went on the record saying he won't rule Peterson out for next week, I think we can all safely assume they're not going the surgery route. Apparently the non-surgery route requires rest, ice and physical therapy. We know Adrian does whatever he can on the physical therapy side of things, and the trainers will see him iced up to high heaven. But rest? Ha...that's a bit less likely.
Fortunately, the swelling seems to have subsided substantially, and he's walking around at home. Plus, players have gone whole seasons running on a torn meniscus before - Chris Johnson tore his while playing for the Titans and recorded a thousand yard plus season. So, we'll be hopeful on that front, but he is the "wrong side of thirty" for a football player, and he's had a worryingly slow start. Maybe it's time to start thinking about our other backs.
Next problem: o-line did not make me happy. Now I know perfectly well that of any part of a team, the o-line requires the MOST synchronicity and it's still a young season, and we did cut loose a few pieces late in the preseason, but still, I'm worried. Sam Bradford got sacked four times, and while he bounced up like an india-rubber ball last night, can he do that all season? I realize we won't play Green Bay's defense every week, but all we need is one unlucky hit to lose Sam Bradford the same way my Gators just lost Luke Del Rio for a month.
Finally: Green Bay fumbled like what, four times? And we only got it once? Our defense has GOT to get that! Winning the turnover ratio is how teams win games.
Still, it's a good omen that we won despite injuries. I'm happy that we're sitting pretty at 2-0. SKOL!
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