Quotulatiousness

August 28, 2023

The Last Chance | Dorktown

Filed under: Football, History, USA — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

Secret Base
Published 15 Aug 2023

The Minnesota Vikings of the 1970s were among the greatest football teams ever assembled. Entering 1974, Bud Grant’s teams had reached two Super Bowls, but lost them both. The good times don’t last forever. It’s time to cash in.

Written and directed by Jon Bois
Written and produced by Alex Rubenstein
Rights specialist Lindley Sico
Secret Base executive producers Will Buikema and Jon Bois

Known goofs:

• At about the 42-minute mark, Jon says Fran Tarkenton held a 45-8-1 record as starter between 1973 and 1976. His record across these years was actually 43-10-1.
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August 21, 2023

What the parades are for | Dorktown

Filed under: Football, History, USA — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

Secret Base
Published 8 Aug 2023

This is the second episode of our seven-part docuseries, The History Of The Minnesota Vikings.

For the Vikings, the 1970s were so full of comedy, drama, and doomed snowmobiling expeditions that we had to split this decade into two episodes. And we STILL had to leave stuff out! What a team.
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August 14, 2023

56 pounds of beer | Dorktown

Filed under: Football, History, USA — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

Secret Base
Published 1 Aug 2023

In the early years, the Minnesota Vikings were like many new franchises of the time: dysfunctional, bad at football, and often intoxicated. And then a former NBA champion came back home to Minnesota and changed the identity of this franchise forever.

This is the first episode of Dorktown’s seven-part docuseries, The History of the Minnesota Vikings.
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July 8, 2022

The Missing Rings • The Story Of The 1969 Minnesota Vikings

Filed under: Football, Sports, USA — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

Randy Fast
Published 28 May 2016

I know that this video has already been posted on YouTube, but for those of you that have never seen it, here’s a great documentary by NFL Films on the 1969 Minnesota Vikings season. I was only seven at the time, and professional football wasn’t quite yet on my radar, but for hardcore Vikings fans, the finale of this season must have been a pretty hard pill to swallow. Anyway, I hope YouTube/NFL Films allows me to keep this video posted, so until then…

December 28, 2021

QotD: Football, Minnesota Viking style

Filed under: Football, Humour, Quotations — Tags: , — Nicholas @ 01:00

Little is surprising about a Vikings game filled with mistakes and missed opportunities. But when the Vikings aren’t the team blowing tackles, committing ill-timed penalties and failing to take advantage of an opponent’s errors, things certainly seem amiss.

Tom Pelissero, “Vikings rediscover winning ways”, KFAN Sports, 2005-01-10.

April 26, 2020

Minnesota Vikings 2020 draft – day three, rounds 4-7

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 05:00

Over the first two days of the draft, Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman addressed some of the most urgent needs of the team without needing to give up additional draft capital to move up for any given player. Having lost the top three cornerbacks from 2019, two rookie corners (Jeff Gladney from TCU, and Cameron Dantzler from Mississippi State) were drafted to potentially fill those roles. Having traded one of the top wide receivers to Buffalo, the team picked up Justin Jefferson from LSU who will be given every opportunity to compete for a starting role. The offensive line was shored up with the second round pick Ezra Cleveland from Boise State, which should allow some improvements to be made over the 2019 line. The Daily Norseman‘s Ted Glover did a draft-day edition of his Stock Market Report for days one and two.

At the end of the third round on Friday, Spielman took a great offer from the New Orleans Saints, swapping the Vikings’ 105th pick for the Saints’ 130th, 169th, 203rd, and 244th picks. This left the Vikings with a final day sheaf of thirteen draft picks to use in the last four rounds of the draft (3 in the 4th round, 3 in the 5th round, 3 in the 6th round, and 4 in the 7th round). “Trader Rick” was expected to spend the whole day engaged in his all-time favourite activity … swapping draft picks.

  • Round 4 (117th overall) — received from San Francisco — South Carolina DE D.J. Wonnum. In Rick Spielman’s mini-video after the pick, he said “He’s a long, athletic defensive end. He ran 4.6 at the combine … I know the success we have had and Coach Andre Patterson has had with these long athletic defensive ends and I know our coaches can’t wait to get their hands on him.” Courtney Cronin said “Wonnum has long been a target of Minnesota’s throughout this draft process. At 6-foot-5, 258 pounds, Wonnum looks like a physical carbon copy of Danielle Hunter when he was coming out of LSU five years ago. […] With Ifeadi Odenigbo primed to take on some of Griffen’s duties, the Vikings needed to address depth at defensive end and may be able to use Wonnum as a rotational edge rusher as a rookie. The Georgia native had 30 starts for the Gamecoks with 137 tackles, 29.5 tackles for loss and 14.0 sacks”. Daniel House said “He has impressive testing metrics, including high percentiles in the vertical jump, 40-yard dash and broad jump”. Arif Hasan, on the other hand thinks Wonnum was overdrafted: “I don’t really see much upside. Reasonably athletic run defender who adds competition. High motor but needs technical development. 180th on the consensus board, so a reach by that valuation”
  • Round 4 (130th overall) — received from New Orleans — Baylor DT James Lynch. Rick Spielman said “Had a great interview with us at the combine, and just another great addition, not only from a football standpoint but from a high-character, high-quality standpoint as well.” Courtney Cronin said “Minnesota drafted Baylor’s all-time career leader in sacks (22.0) when they took Lynch. Lynch is a versatile, powerful pass rusher who could give the Vikings a boost with their interior pass rush from the three-technique spot after he notched 13.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss last season. A unanimous All-American, effort is the first thing that jumps out to evaluators when looking at his college film. His sack numbers are one thing, but the amount of pressure Lynch generates on quarterbacks makes him a constant disruption in the backfield.” Chris Tomasson quotes Dane Brugler: “Lynch doesn’t have ideal length, which might limit his ideal scheme fit, but he competes with balance and power to hold up inside with the dependable football character that will endear himself to coaches.”
  • Round 4 (132nd overall) — Oregon LB Troy Dye. Chris Tomasson quotes Dane Brugler’s analysis: “Dye looks like a modern-day linebacker with his length and athleticism, but he plays more like a safety with questions about his functional strength and scheme fit in the NFL projecting as an immediate backup and special teamer”. Courtney Cronin said “The 6-foot-3, 231-pound Dye had been a difference maker at Oregon since his freshman year and led the Ducks in tackles for four straight seasons. He has good pedigree, too, as his brothers all played college football as did his dad. His size could be a concern, although his build is similar to Eric Kendricks and Cameron Smith.” Geoff Schwartz: “Troy Dye will be a fantastic pro. He’s just a playmaker on defense. He will be awesome on special teams. He played a game this season with a cast on his hand. The cast broke and he kept playing.”
  • Round 5 (155th overall) — received from Buffalo for Stefon Diggs — Traded to Chicago for a 2021 fourth-round pick.
  • Round 5 (169th overall) — received from New Orleans — Temple CB Harrison Hand. Daniel House: “Hand posted a 41-inch vertical at the NFL Scouting Combine. He also ranked in the 96th percentile of the broad jump, per MockDraftable. Zimmer is loading up on defensive back talent in this draft. Gladney, Dantzler and Hand.” Courtney Cronin: “Hand’s physicality makes him a good tackler, and he prides himself on using his length to cover. It’s unclear how the Vikings’ see him fitting given several scouting reports project him best as a Cover 3 fit who can provide support against the run and play in the box. He might become a cornerback used in specific schemes or could transition to safety in the NFL.”
  • Round 5 (176th overall) — received from San Francisco — Miami WR K.J. Osborn. Courtney Cronin: “At the University of Buffalo, Obsorn played primarily in the slot. After he transferred to Miami following the 2018 season, he started all 13 games as a senior where he found a home on the outside. Osborn’s stats don’t jump off the page, though he led the Hurricanes in receiving (50 catches, 547 yards, 5 TDs), but his contributions as a return specialist made him a well-rounded player. In fact, the Vikings are intrigued by his abilities as a punt returner (15.9 yards per return at Miami) and could consider him for that role as Mike Hughes’ responsibilities in the secondary are expected to increase this season.” Chris Tomasson: “Osborn had 50 catches for 547 yards for Miami. Draft analyst Dane Brugler: ‘Doesn’t explode out of his breaks to separate upon command, but he is instinctive and dependable with the ‘make-it’ attitude that will help him compete for a reserve/special teams role.'”
  • Round 6 (201st overall) — received from New Orleans — Traded to Baltimore for pick 225 in the seventh round and a 2021 fifth round pick.
  • Round 6 (205th overall) — Oregon State OL Blake Brandel. Christopher Gates: “Brandel had a very good college career with the Beavers, starting 48 consecutive games for them over the course of his career. With the Vikings needing depth on the offensive line, he’s going to have an opportunity to compete for a spot as the swing tackle on the roster. He may need some time to develop, but the Vikings obviously see something in him that they like.” Chris Tomasson: “Draft analyst Dane Brugler on new #Vikings tackle Blake Brandel: ‘Brandel has athletic limitations, but he moves with composed feet and patient hands to strike-and-anchor, projecting as a possible NFL swing backup.'”
  • Round 6 (207th overall) — received from Buffalo for Stefon Diggs — Michigan S Josh Metellus. Chad Graff says “The Vikings drafted S Josh Metellus from Michigan with the No. 205 overall pick (sixth round). They had only two safeties on the roster. @dpbrugler is a big fan. He wrote: Metellus may not win a job in camp, ‘but if he gets into an NFL game, he might not give the job back.'” At SKOR North, Matthew Coller said “At the Senior Bowl [Metellus] took some snaps as a cornerback to demonstrate that he could handle one-on-one matchups with wide receivers. According to PFF, he allowed only 50% of his targets to be caught and gave up a QB rating against of 68.1 while playing over 600 snaps three years in a row. PFF also noted his success with the Wolverines as a blitzer. The Vikings’ safety room is more or less empty with the exit of Andrew Sendejo and Jayron Kearse in free agency. Now they have a player to develop with the possibility of contributing quickly in a big nickel situation if he proves trustworthy right away.”
  • Round 7 (225th overall) — received from Baltimore — Michigan State DE Kenny Willekes. Chris Tomasson said “Draft analyst Dane Brugler had Kenny Willekes as a potential fifth rounder so that could be good value for #Vikings.” and “Willekes lacks the anchor and length to be a consistent edge-setter vs NFL offensive tackles but his resilient mentality and competitive motor translate to production, which should land him in a defensive line rotation”. Chad Graff: “A line from @dpbrugler’s scouting report on Vikings seventh-round pick Kenny Willekes: ‘Plays pissed off and competes like the other team peed in his Cheerios.'” I’ve got to admit, this is pretty impressive. Matthew Coller said “Willekes was a terrific run defender in college, grading over 80 in every year by PFF’s system and developed as a pass rusher, going from zero to nine sacks in his final year at Michigan State and adding 39 pressures. This is one of the Vikings’ best value selections. By PFF he was graded as a third-round pick but his lack of NFL-caliber athleticism likely hurt his grade by teams. He only ran a 4.87 40-yard dash at the Combine and is undersized at 6-foot-3 but Willekes already overcame being a walk-on at Michigan State and has an opportunity to do so again in Minnesota.”
  • Round 7 (244th overall) — received from New Orleans — Iowa QB Nate Stanley. Courtney Cronin said, “Here’s where the Vikings strategy of not having to bid for college free agents might be coming into play. Stanley was projected as late draft pick/priority FA. Minnesota now has him on a rookie deal and doesn’t have to bid with other teams like they did w Jake Browning last yr”. Vikings Corner said “He is a big-armed QB with experience in a zone running/bootleg heavy offense. Last year, Stanley completed 59% of his passes for 2,951 yards. He tossed 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions.”
  • Round 7 (249th overall) — compensatory pick for losing Trevor Siemian in free agency — Mississippi State S Brian Cole II. Jack Day said “Cole is another safety that isn’t the greatest when it comes to attacking the ball when it’s in the air, which is weird considering he is a former wide receiver. He is another physical prospect that needs some work in pass coverage, but is more than willing to deliver the big hits.
    He is able to bump down and cover running backs and tight ends in the slot and he has the size to match up well with bigger tight ends. Cole stands at 6-2, 213 pounds and runs a 4.52 40-yard dash. In his 2019 season, Cole was a captain at Mississippi State. He registered 65 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and an interception in his final collegiate season.”
  • Round 7 (253rd overall) — compensatory pick for losing Tom Compton in free agency — Washburn G Kyle Hinton. Chris Tomasson said “Draft analyst Dane Brugler on Kyle Hinton: ‘Faces a position switch and a sizeable jump in competition at the next level, but his athletic traits and intelligence are exciting foundation traits for a team willing to be patient, projecting as a low risk, high reward guard/center.'” Courtney Cronin said “Hinton played left tackle in college at 6-foot-2, 295 pounds. His size is why he’ll need to move inside to guard or center if he has any shot of making an NFL roster. But that’s not the point. After not being able to come to an agreement with Washington in a trade for Trent Williams, the only upgrade the Vikings made on the O-line in 2020 was drafting Boise State’s Ezra Cleveland in the second round. That’s not enough to fix an entire unit, so the Vikings will now have to address how they want to move forward, and who they’ll want to move around and try out at different positions, as they continue through an unprecedented offseason.”

And there we have it, at fifteen picks it’s the largest draft class for any NFL team in the seven-round draft era.

April 25, 2020

Minnesota Vikings 2020 draft – day two, rounds 2 and 3

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 05:00

The Minnesota Vikings entered the second day of the NFL’s first online draft holding twelve draft picks in total, with identified needs at offensive guard, offensive tackle, defensive end, defensive tackle, cornerback, wide receiver, and (potentially) safety. With such a long shopping list, it was widely expected that the team would be eager to move up to improve on the three day two picks:

  • Round 2 (58th overall) — OT Ezra Cleveland, Boise State. The Vikings don’t absolutely need to replace Riley Rieff at left tackle, but if Cleveland shows he’s up to the job, it gives the team a lot of flexibility on the left side of the offensive line. There was reportedly some discussion last season to shifting Rieff inside to take the left guard position, replacing Pat Elflein, and that now appears to be a stronger option for the 2020 season. Alternatively, Cleveland could be given a season at guard (although he doesn’t have the ideal body for working on the interior OL) with an eye to replacing Rieff in 2021.
  • Round 3 (89th overall) — CB Cameron Dantzler, Mississippi State. The Vikings needed at least one more cornerback and Dantzler was one of the higher-ranked day two corners on a lot of big boards. His draft stock took a hit with a slower-than-expected sprint time at the NFL combine.
  • By this point, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was starting to show the fatigue:

  • Round 3 (105th overall — compensatory pick for losing Sheldon Richardson in 2019) — traded to New Orleans for the 130th (4th round), 169th (5th round), 203rd (6th round), and 244th picks (7th round).

April 24, 2020

Minnesota Vikings 2020 draft — day one, first round

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 05:00

The 2020 NFL draft is the first time that a draft has been conducted under lockdown, so the “big event” the NFL has hyped-up for the last few decades is now a virtual event hosted at ESPN’s studio in Connecticut. Each team has their own isolated General Manager, electronically in contact with key members of their coaching and scouting staffs, effectively conducting a mock draft for real from their respective basements. The possibilities for disruptions, errors, and unintentional gaffes are at an all-time high. It might even have been worth everyone’s time to follow on TV or online, just for that comic potential.

Coming into the first round of the draft, the Minnesota Vikings had their own pick at 25 and Buffalo’s pick at 22 obtained as part of the Stefon Diggs trade. Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman, known affectionately as “Trader Rick” for his long-standing habit of swapping draft picks during the draft, was expected to be his usual huckster self and few expected the Vikings to end up with both of their first round picks by the end of the day.

After the 2019 season, the Vikings had parted ways with some key players and had identified other needs on both sides of the ball that could be addressed in the draft. The priority of those needs can be debated, so this is not in canonical order by anyone’s standards:

  • Cornerback — Starting corners Xavier Rhodes and Trae Waynes along with nickel Mackenzie Alexander will all be wearing different uniforms for the 2020 season, leaving the Vikings very short-staffed at this position. At least one of the first five picks should be a corner. Some players that might be available in the first round include Trevon Diggs (who I think we can be pretty sure won’t be the Vikings’ pick, for reasons), Jaylon Johnson, Noah Igbinoghene, Kristian Fulton, and Jeff Gladney.
  • Wide Receiver — The surprising trade with Buffalo that netted the Vikings extra picks in the draft in exchange for the services of Stefon Diggs means that Minnesota has a vacancy opposite Adam Thielen. This is widely declared to be potentially the best draft for wide receivers in many years, so this is a need that should be relatively easy to address. Potentially available players include CeeDee Lamb, Henry Ruggs III, Justin Jefferson, Denzel Mimms, Tee Higgins, and Jalen Reagor.
  • Guard — The Vikings parted company this offseason with right guard Josh Kline which was unexpected as he had been a solid performer for the team in 2019. Pat Elflein was the most easily identified weak spot on the offensive line and at the very least needs to be challenged for his starting spot (many fans would say he should be cut, not just “challenged”). The team may consider Dru Samia ready to step in for Kline, but it’s not clear if Oli Udoh, Brett Jones, or Dakota Dozier can be seen as starting-level replacements. This isn’t seen as a strong draft for interior offensive linemen, so guards Robert Hunt, Damien Lewis, and Jonah Jackson are expected to still be available well into the second round. Centres Cesar Ruiz, Lloyd Cushenberry, Matt Hennessy, and Tyler Biadasz may also be still on the board on day two.
  • Defensive End — Everson Griffin exercised his option to void the remaining years of his contract and backup Stephen Weatherly left in free agency, which means the team may be looking to draft an edge rusher to shore up the defensive line. Ifeadi Odenigbo played very well in relief last season and could be ready to step into the starting role, but as with cornerbacks, you can never have too many talented pass rushers. K’Lavon Chaisson, Zack Baun, Yetur Gross-Matos, Terrell Lewis, and Julian Okwara are potential picks in the range the Vikings will be picking.
  • Tackle — Both Minnesota’s offensive tackles are under contract for this year, but left tackle Riley Rieff might be looking over his shoulder if the team decides to trade for Washington’s Trent Williams or draft one of the top college tackles to replace him. Most mock drafts show the top four or five tackles going off the board early in the first round, but one or two may drop into the mid-twenties: Mekhi Becton, Tristan Wirfs, Josh Jones, or Austin Jackson might be there by 22.
  • Defensive Tackle — The team cut Linval Joseph at nose tackle for salary cap reasons, and brought in Michael Pierce to replace him. Shamar Stephen is still available at the 3-tech, but the team may be considering trying to upgrade their interior pass rush capabilities with a rookie DT. A.J. Epenesa, Ross Blacklock, Justin Madabuike, Marlon Davidson, and Neville Gallimore might be available past the first twenty picks.
  • Safety — This may not be a dire need, but with Anthony Harris potentially playing on the franchise tag (if the team doesn’t trade him during the draft), and having lost backups Andrew Sendejo and Jayron Kearse to free agency, some long-term concerns exist in the backfield. Expected to still be available when the Vikings are on the clock: Xavier McKinney, Grant Delpit, hometown favourite Antoine Winfield Jr., Ashtyn Davis, and Jeremy Chinn.

All of the above was written before the draft began … I probably should have posted that on Thursday.

With the Vikings on the clock for the 22nd pick (originally Buffalo’s traded as part of the Stefon Diggs deal), Minnesota selected LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

Jefferson had an absolutely monstrous season for the Tigers in their National Championship season. He caught 111 passes on the year, which was the most in the country, accounting for 1,540 yards (third in the country) and 18 touchdowns (second in the country). I’m not sure how that only managed to get him on the All-SEC Second Team, but whatever. He had a huge performance in the Peach Bowl as well, catching 14 passes for 227 yards and four touchdowns. After that performance, it’s no surprise he decided to skip his senior season in Baton Rouge and enter the NFL Draft.

Jordan Reid of The Draft Network has Jefferson as his #4 wide receiver and the #18 player overall on the Big Board in his Draft Guide. Here is his evaluation of Jefferson.

    A former two-star recruit, but Justin Jefferson always had a high-star work ethic. Being that he was legacy and had brothers who suited up successfully for the Tigers, playing in Baton Rouge had a deeper meaning behind it. Since stepping on campus, many mentioned how hungry he was to succeed from the beginning. His quickness and smarts help him overcome what he lacks from a stature standpoint. After a successful year, he went on to top those totals and become the top slot option for a record setting offense. Scouts are enamored with Jefferson because of his football acumen, love for the game, and value that he brings. Because of questions about his in-game play strength, he may be limited to a slot only role where he won’t be challenged as frequently. Jefferson projects as first-round selection that will be an option to play early on as a rookie because of how mature his game is, plus his consistency as a catcher will enable him to take on a heavy workload in his first year and beyond.

Jefferson should become the immediate starter for the Vikings across from Thielen, and should be able to make a significant contribution to the Vikings’ offense immediately.

The Vikings were on the clock again with the 25th pick, but traded it to San Francisco, moving back to the 31st pick and getting the 49ers’ 117th in the 4th round and 176th in the fifth round.

With the 31st pick, the Vikings selected TCU cornerback Jeff Gladney.

Gladney may not have racked up a lot of interceptions during his time in Fort Worth, only picking off one pass. However, he’s certainly been around the football, having collected 15 pass breakups in each of the past two seasons while starting all 27 games for the Horned Frogs. After this year’s Scouting Combine, he had surgery to repair a meniscus injury that he played through as a senior, but he should be ready to go by the time Training Camp comes around.

Jordan Reid of The Draft Network has Gladney as his #3 cornerback and #24 overall on his Big Board in his Draft Guide. Here is his evaluation of Gladney.

    Starting since he stepped foot on campus, Gladney is one of the most competitive cornerback prospects that you will see in this class. Not just in coverage, but also as a run defender. He’s scrappy, tough, and physical. Projecting best in a press man scheme, Gladney has the physical attributes and vertical speed necessary to quickly become a starter. Possessing high-end athleticism and recovery skills, Gladney could prove to be one of the better defensive backs of this entire crop. There’s not much to dislike about his game overall and he has the talent to become a top-40 pick.

March 28, 2020

QotD: A man’s view of home decoration projects

Filed under: Football, Humour, Quotations — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 01:00

Potentially offensive language warning — hence the NSFW tag — so the QotD is below the fold:

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January 6, 2020

Vikings upset New Orleans Saints 26-20 in wildcard round

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , , , — Nicholas @ 05:00

The Minnesota Vikings visited the home stadium of the NFC’s #3 seed the New Orleans Saints for a wildcard game as heavy underdogs. The game started poorly for Minnesota, as wide receiver Adam Thielen fumbled a reception and the Saints recovered deep in Vikings territory. The Vikings held New Orleans out of the end zone and forced the Saints to settle for a field goal to open the scoring. The Vikings responded with a field goal drive of their own to end the first quarter with the score tied 3-3.

In the second quarter, Minnesota punter Britton Colquitt finally did something he hadn’t done all season long — punted the ball into the opposing team’s end zone for a touchback. While the Vikings seemed to have figured out how to defend against future hall of famer Drew Brees at quarterback, they were left without many answers when the Saints used tight end/quarterback/gadget player Taysom Hill under centre instead, and he started with a long pass to Deonte Harris to put the ball inside the Vikings’ 5-yard line. He then threw a block to free running back Alvin Kamara for the go-ahead score. The Vikings responded with a drive capped with a Dan Bailey field goal to stay within one score. On the following Saints drive, Brees had a long pass picked off by safety Anthony Harris and the Vikings turned that into a touchdown on a five-yard run by Dalvin Cook.

In the third quarter, the Vikings added a touchdown on a drive that featured long passes from Kirk Cousins to Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, capped off with another Dalvin Cook rushing TD.

The Saints got back into contention in the fourth, leading to a tied score at the end of regulation. The Vikings won the toss and elected to receive the kickoff to start overtime and drove down the field, scoring the winning touchdown on a Kirk Cousins to Kyle Rudolph corner of the endzone pass. Minnesota advances to the divisional round of the playoffs to face San Francisco next weekend.

Andy Carlson offers his winners and LOOOHOOOOHOOOOOSERS for the game:

At the Pioneer Press, Chris Tomasson says Kirk Cousins has answered his critics:

Enough of the talk that Kirk Cousins doesn’t step up in big games.

In the biggest game of his life on Sunday, the Vikings quarterback rose to the occasion when it mattered most.

Cousins led the Vikings to a 26-20 overtime victory over New Orleans in a wild-card playoff game at the Superdome with a decisive nine-play, 75-yard drive to open the extra session. The Saints never got the ball in overtime, and all future hall of fame quarterback Drew Brees could do was watch Cousins in action.

Cousins showed Brees-like poise in overtime, completing 4 of 5 passes for 63 yards. The Vikings won it on Cousins’ 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kyle Rudolph with 10:40 remaining.

“He got the game ball in the locker room,” Rudolph said. “He deserves it. All we’ve heard is Kirk Cousins this, Kirk Cousins that. Playoff games, big games on the road, so much nonsense. It takes 10 other guys on offense, and I said that all year long, and (Sunday) 10 other guys stepped up huge to allow Kirk to go out there and play well.”

Among the stats attached to him, Cousins has a career 0-9 record as a starter on Monday Night Football. His latest loss was 23-10 to Green Bay at home on Dec. 23, his last action until Sunday since he sat out the meaningless Dec. 29 regular season finale against Chicago.

Against the Saints, Cousins completed 19 of 31 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown as the Vikings advance to Saturday’s divisional playoff game at San Francisco. In overtime, he hit Adam Thielen with a 43-yard pass down the right sideline to the Saints 2 before Rudolph scored three plays later.

It was the first playoff win for Cousins in his eight-year NFL career, the first six with Washington. With the Redskins, he got into one playoff game as a reserve as a rookie in 2012 and another as starter in 2015.

At SKOR North, Judd Zulgad explains the impact Dalvin Cook had in the first half:

Dalvin Cook got only one carry on the Vikings’ opening series of their playoff game Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, but it was an important one. After missing two games because of a shoulder injury, Cook took a handoff from quarterback Kirk Cousins and gained 9 yards to make it second-and-1 at the Minnesota 39-yard line.

Wide receiver Adam Thielen’s fumble on the ensuing play turned over the ball to the Saints, but Cook’s initial carry provided optimism that one of the Vikings’ biggest offensive weapons was back. Cook would carry the ball four times for 16 yards on the Vikings’ next possession that ended with Dan Bailey’s 43-yard field goal that tied the score at 3.

The Saints’ defense knew at that point that one of the top running backs in the NFL, at least when healthy, was going to be a handful and had to be a focus of their attention. That was good news for everyone in purple, especially quarterback Kirk Cousins and play-caller Kevin Stefanski. It also was an important part of the reason the Vikings were able to depart the Superdome with a 26-20 overtime victory that set up a second-round meeting against the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday in Santa Clara, Calif.

“I’m excited. We won our first playoff game, I won my first playoff game and there are some guys in the locker room that won their first playoff game,” Cook said when asked about his emotions. “It’s big for the organization. I just want to do everything my team needs me to do and do it at a high level. We’ve got some guys in that huddle where when they’re locked in, we can play some good football.”

Cook played his best football in the first half, rushing for 84 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown and catching one pass for 19 yards. The touchdown came on a 5-yard run with 27 seconds remaining in the second quarter that gave the Vikings a 13-10 lead and followed safety Anthony Harris’ interception of a Drew Brees pass.

Cook also had the first touchdown of the second half, scoring on a 1-yard run to give the Vikings a 10-point lead, but the Saints slowed him in the final two-plus quarters. Cook had only 10 total rushing yards on 12 carries (in part because of a couple of plays that lost yardage) and caught two passes for 17 yards. But Cook played a big role in overtime, gaining 11 yards on a carry before Cousins completed a 43-yard pass to Thielen at the Saints 2 that set up the winning touchdown.

Paul Allen and Ben Leber have tried, manfully, to keep their exultation down to a dull roar in their “Between the Lines” post-game show:

At the Daily Norseman, Ted Glover gives us his Stock Market Report on the Saints game:

Junk Bonds
No one. Seriously? You want me to be “that guy” today? Sorry, I don’t have takes that hot. Let’s enjoy one of the biggest wins in franchise history, and focus on the 49ers starting tomorrow.

Buy/Sell
Buy: There was contact on the Rudolph touchdown. Hi, welcome to the NFL, both players were jockeying for position. If you want to say there was a foul on Rudolph there, you could just as easily say there was defensive holding while Rudy was still on his route. Honestly, I thought that although there were a few bad calls in the game, they weren’t tilted to favor one team or the other. For all the complaining we rightfully make about NFL officiating, I thought the ref crew did a good job and let the players play.

Sell: It was offensive pass interference. Just shut up with that weak ass sauce. Like I said above, if you call PI on Rudolph, you HAVE to call either defensive holding or PI on the linebacker covering him, because you can make a strong argument Rudolph was creating separation because he wasn’t allowed a clean break on his route by the defender.

Buy: Stefon Diggs, wide receiver. Loved the passion Diggs had on the sideline, and it seemed weird that the Vikings didn’t look his way more today.

Sell: Stefon Diggs, running back. But…you know, let’s not look at him as a running back. That play never feels like it’s going to work…and it didn’t again today.

Buy: The Saints season is over. I can’t tell you how much pure, unadulterated joy it gives me knowing that smug jackass Sean Payton had his season end three years in a row, in heartbreaking fashion, and two of those came at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings.

Sell: The Vikings season is over. It is far from over. The Vikes showed a ton of fight today and punched the Saints in the mouth while punching their ticket to San Francisco. The 49ers present another huge challenge, but if the Vikes can continue this kind of play, they’re going to be a tough out.

Quote of the Week
My wife doesn’t watch a lot of sports. She’s not a big football fan, but she’s sympathetic to my plight as a Vikings fan. Today, for some reason, she decided to sit and watch the game with me. There were the usual twists and turns, the peaks and valleys, and when it looked like Dalvin Cook had fumbled and the Saints returned it for a TD (which was overturned), she looked at me and said “I can’t take this” and went upstairs.

Two minutes later, when she realized it wasn’t a fumble, she was back, watching the game, all the way to the end. When it was over, she turned to me and said:

“Honey, why do you put yourself through this every week? I don’t know how you do it.”

Me either, baby. Me either.

So, Vikes win and we’re on to San Francisco. Let’s do it all again next week.

December 16, 2019

Minnesota Vikings defeat Los Angeles Chargers 39-10 in turnover-fest

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

The 9-4 Vikings headed to the west coast for a game against the San Diego Chargers at (I kid you not) Dignity Health Sports Park (I realize that naming rights can be lucrative, but that moniker hardly rolls off the tongue, does it?). It’s a very small stadium (less than 26,000 seats), and visiting teams have often had nearly as many of their fans attend games in Los Angeles as the Chargers manage. You could say that the Chargers don’t really play any home games, based on fan support at the stadium.

The first quarter was relatively uneventful, but the end of the second quarter more than made up for that lack of excitement, as both teams notched interceptions and then the Chargers lost the ball on a pass attempt that was picked up by Vikings backup defensive tackle Ifeadi Odenigbo and run back for a touchdown. Up to that point, the Chargers were looking to take the lead on a strong passing game (with Xavier Rhodes out, Mike Hughes was matched up against a taller receiver (Mike Williams at 6’3″) and Philip Rivers was able to get passes over Hughes for consistent early gains). Matthew Coller:

To open the second quarter, future Hall of Fame quarterback Philip Rivers put on a clinic in anticipation and accuracy, hitting receivers all over the field and converting third down after third down on a 10-play, 75-yard drive to put the Chargers up 10-9.

Along the way, Rivers hit Keenan Allen for 19 yards on third-and-7, and then Allen again for 14 on third-and-8 and delivered a beautiful ball to running back Austin Ekeler for a 27-yard wheel route. The drive was capped off on a fade to 6-foot-3 Mike Williams, who jumped over cornerback Mike Hughes for a touchdown.

At that point you would have put your money on a shootout — maybe one that favored the future Hall of Famer.

But the next three Chargers drives would prove the game to be exactly the opposite — partly because of their own wild incompetence but equally because of the Vikings’ pure talent on defense.

Over the past three-and-a-half months we have not seen the type of stingy defense that the Vikings have normally brought to the table under Mike Zimmer especially against the pass but they still have Pro Bowlers and record setters on the defensive side along with some players who have been developing for a few years. All of them showed up and defined Sunday’s win.

After the Vikings took back the lead with a field goal, Rivers felt like his hot streak on third down would continue. He flung a ball up in the air on third-and-17 and Harrison Smith jumped in for his 23rd career interception.

Giving the offense the ball near mid-field gave the Vikings a shot at picking up a two-score lead but instead Kirk Cousins threw an interception on a screen pass, putting the Chargers in a spot to take back the lead with under a minute remaining in the first half.

An LA touchdown would have been huge considering they were set to get the ball back to start the second half. That’s when Danielle Hunter — who is making his case for defensive MVP — slapped the ball out of Rivers’ hands. It was picked up by improving young D-linemen Ifeadi Odenigbo, who used Hunter as a lead blocker to take the ball back 56 yards for a touchdown.

Early in the third quarter, Vikings running back Dalvin Cook re-aggravated the shoulder injury he’d been nursing for the last few weeks and was declared out for the rest of the game. Backup Alexander Mattison was inactive with an ankle injury, so running back duties devolved to Mike Boone, Ameer Abdullah, and C.J. Ham, who were certainly up to the task — Boone scored his first and second NFL touchdowns. Overall, the teams were far better matched than the final score indicated, but no team can win when you turn the ball over as often as San Diego Los Angeles did (seven … which is six more than the Vikings gave up).

At the Daily Norseman, Ted Glover describes it as not so much a game as a “MurderDeathKill”:

When the Minnesota Vikings took the field against the Los Angeles Chargers, they knew that any realistic hope of winning the NFC North was all but gone, as the Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears 21-13. They still controlled their playoff destiny with the sixth seed, but to ensure a playoff spot they needed to keep winning and keep one game clear of the other Los Angeles team, the Rams.

While the Vikings were taking care of business in Los Angeles, the other LA team was getting their collective ass handed to them by Dallas…

With the win, the Vikings move to 10-4 on the year and hold on to the sixth seed in the NFC. Combined with the Rams losing big to the Cowboys (they were down 34-7 in the fourth quarter at the time of this writing), Minnesota moves to the cusp of securing a playoff spot, as they would lead the Rams by two games with two to play, if that score holds up. A Minnesota win or a Los Angeles loss gives the Vikings the sixth seed, and they still have an outside chance at the NFC North with the Packers coming to town next week. The Rams will head to San Francisco.

In the longer-term view, we may have our future defensive co-ordinator picked out:

Andy Carlson offers his list of the game’s winners and looo-hooo-hooo-sers:

December 9, 2019

Detroit Lions struggle to score in low-voltage game against the Minnesota Vikings

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 05:00

Looking to get back on track after last week’s disappointing trip to Seattle, the 8-4 Minnesota Vikings hosted divisional rivals the 3-8-1 Detroit Lions at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon. The Vikings were again without the services of star wide receiver Adam Thielen, who suffered a hamstring injury early in the last game against Detroit. The Lions started their backup quarterback, as starter Matthew Stafford has a back injury that needs time to heal. This might sound like a tough situation for the Lions, but backup quarterbacks have done well against the Vikings in earlier games this season.

US Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings by “www78”
“Viking Stadium” by www78 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

The Minnesota defence seemed to be a bit more like its traditional self, batting down two passes on the Lions’ first possession and sacking quarterback David Blough to force a punt, but the high-scoring Vikings offence seemed … somewhat underpowered. Although the score was 17-0 at the half, the Vikings should have been up a few more scores but for just enough miscues to derail drives outside the red zone. Defensive end Danielle Hunter got some attention from the broadcast team as the first of his three sacks put him up to 50 in his career, and he’s the youngest player to get 50 sacks in the NFL.

The Vikings defence kept the Lions out of the end zone until less than three minutes remained in regulation time, playing the dreaded “prevent” to avoid giving up long pass plays. Judd Zulgad was hoping to see some improvement over the Seattle game, but says this game really didn’t show it:

The only thing worse than the Lions might have been the fact the crowd of 66,776 fans was subjected to the look-at-me officiating work of referee Walt Anderson and his crew. A game after Clete Blakeman’s crew threw an NFL season-low four flags on Monday in Seattle, Anderson and Co. called nine penalties in the first half and 12 in the game.

The problem with this game was is it came at a time when you would like to see which direction a team is trending, Sunday provided no clarity when it comes to the Vikings. The Vikings weren’t alone. The Green Bay Packers (10-3) remained a game ahead of the Vikings (9-4) in the NFC North after beating a terrible Washington team (3-10) at Lambeau Field.

The Vikings should get a better test next Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers simply because it’s a road game. The Chargers entered Sunday’s game against another bottom-feeder, Jacksonville, with a 4-8 record. The next real test for the Vikings should be in Week 16 against the Packers in a Monday night game at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Entering Sunday, the Vikings had beaten seven teams with records below .500 and only one (Oakland) with a .500 record. Their four losses had come against teams with winning records (Green Bay, Chicago, Kansas City and Seattle).

That’s part of the reason why it’s extremely difficult to see the Vikings being capable of making a Super Bowl run and impossible to do so if they end up as a wild card team and have to win three times on the road. The Vikings’ too-easy-victory on Sunday did nothing to change that feeling.

And finally, the Buy/Sell recommendations from Ted Glover’s post-game Stock Market Report at the Daily Norseman:

Buy: The defensive effort today. I was kind of concerned heading into this game. Rookie David Blough put over 280 yards passing on the Bears defense last week, and Mike Zimmer has a maddening habit of playing a fairly vanilla defense to start a game, allowing young QB’s like Brandon Allen of the Broncos to light up the VIkes like a Christmas tree. Today, the defense set the tone, blitzing and hurrying Blough from the first series, and completely stonewalling a top 10 NFL offense until the game was well decided.

Sell: Offensive penalty on 4th and 1 from the Lions four. In the second quarter the Vikings had a nice drive going, moving from their 35 to the Detroit four. On 4th and one, Mike Zimmer decided to go for it, and Dalvin Cook appeared to get two yards and a first down, setting up a first and goal. But the offense wasn’t set, they were called for an illegal procedure penalty, and Minnesota had to settle for a field goal. Against a better team on a different day, that could have been potentially huge.

Buy: Two minute drive to end the half. After the Prater missed knuckleball, the Vikes took over on their 35 with 1:06 and two timeouts left before halftime. What ensued is what I would argue might be the best two minute drive of the Zimmer era. A combination of great play calling, exceptional use of timeouts, and perfect execution on a big play got the Vikings close to the end zone:

Again, note the great protection for Cousins. It was a great throw, great catch, and two plays later Dalvin Cook walked in, giving Minnesota a 17-0 lead into the locker room.

Sell: Not stepping on the gas pedal to open the second half. Yet, the Vikings didn’t really do anything with that momentum coming out of the half. It seemed like Minnesota went into ‘kill the clock mode’ as opposed to ‘go for the throat’ mode, and part of me understands it. You have a big lead, the Lions have shown zero life on offense, and Minnesota was in complete control of the game. Yet we’ve seen first hand how tenuous 17…or 20…point leads can be.

A weird bounce, a turnover, or a busted play could completely turn the game around, and now what was a game you had in the bag is very much NOT in the bag. For example, on the Vikes first drive, a makeable third and five went to waste when Cousins threw a deep, low percentage pass to Alexander Hollins. Punt. On their second drive, the third and seven call was a run to the left by Dalvin Cook that went for no gain. Punt. The defense remained stout throughout, and the Lions got nothing going until the game was pretty much over, so it wasn’t a big deal. Still, for as much as Mike Zimmer preaches the importance of closing the first half with points and bookending that with points to open the second half, the lack of urgency there was weird.

Buy: Benching Rhodes to start the game. I like the move to bench Xavier Rhodes early in the game. The stat sheet says Rhodes started, but it looked like Mike Hughes started in his place, and played a good part of the first half. Rhodes did play, and it seemed like he responded. I liked it because it sent a message to the defense that they needed to play better, and it appears that the defense got the message loud and clear, as they played as well as they have in two months.

Sell: Walt Coleman’s officiating crew. What a joke of a crew. Their inability to correctly call the most basic of plays is balanced out by their penchant for throwing a flag just as the game is getting into a rhythm. Ticky tack penalties, a blown call that caused Zimmer to throw a challenge flag to overturn, when the side judge was literally looking at the drop happen? It was just a terribly called game.

Buy: This was a boring game. No, it won’t be the NFL Game of the Week, and yeah, it was kind of a snoozefest, but it’s a win. And it’s nine wins for the Vikings on the year, and one game closer to a playoff spot. I’ll happily take it.

Sell: Exciting losses are better. I would rather watch a boring win than sit through an exciting loss, like we saw happen between the 49ers and Saints.

November 18, 2019

Denver Broncos give up 20-point halftime lead over the Minnesota Vikings, lose 27-23

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

On Sunday afternoon, the 7-3 Vikings hosted the 3-6 Denver Broncos at US Bank Stadium in a 1:00pm start. Minnesota was without some key starters, including wide receiver Adam Thielen who is still recovering from a hamstring injury suffered early in the Detroit game, right guard Josh Kline (concussion), nose tackle Linval Joseph who had minor knee surgery and may be out for a few more games, along with safety Anthony Harris.

US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, home of the Minnesota Vikings by “www78”
“Viking Stadium” by www78 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Vikings fans were quite worried that the team would come out flat, having made the classic mistake of looking past the current opponent … making it a “trap” game:

Aside from that, one of the storylines of interest coming in was that it was going to be the first Vikings game for wide receiver Josh Doctson, who was just activated from injured reserve. He joined the Vikings early in the season, but was injured in one of his first practices with the team. The absence of Adam Thielen was thought to give him a good opportunity to show if his chemistry with Kirk Cousins had carried over from their time together in Washington. I watched the entire game, and while an Arif Hasan tweet told me that Doctson got on the field in the third quarter, he certainly didn’t make any catches.

For the first 30 minutes, this game totally lived up to the “trap” billing … the Vikings were putrid on defence, and cover-your-eyes awful on offence. As Matthew Coller put it, “There are 1,000 ways to lose a football game and the Minnesota Vikings attempted to try out every one of them on Sunday.” I’m not exaggerating by much to say the Vikings MVP in the first half was punter Britton Colquitt. At least he did his job with no obvious errors or miscues. It would be difficult to say the same for anyone else wearing purple in the first half. They went into the locker room — which must have appeared as welcoming as the gates of hell with Coach Zimmer ready to bite heads off — on the wrong side of a 20-0 score.

For every Vikings game, I print off a copy of the team roster and as the game progresses, I make notes beside players’ names for excellent play (“+”), terrible play (“-“), penalties (“P”), sacks (“S”), and so on. After 30 minutes, I had no “+” entries at all. The Vikings had gained all of 47 yards while holding the ball for only 11 minutes. The CBS crew covering the game helpfully noted that the last 99 teams to be down 20 points at the half had all lost the game. As you’d expect, the loyal fans took it well:

Even Ben Leber, who works for the Vikings Entertainment Network had to admit things were not going well:

The second half started well … in fact, the second half looked like a completely different team was wearing the purple uniforms than the collection of random bums who’d stumbled through the first half. The team gained nearly twice as many yards on their first drive as they’d done through the entire first half, taking the ball from their own 25 yard line to score their first points of the day on a Kirk Cousins to Irv Smith, Jr. ten yard pass (Smith’s first NFL TD). Vikings Twitter seemed to approve of the new plot twist:

But would the new-look Vikings continue the good work or lapse back into that zombie state of the first half? They did allow the Broncos to score, but only a field goal, then got back to work. It was the fourth quarter when the Vikings finally established a points lead they would not relinquish (although it went down to the final play of the game):

On their final drive, the Broncos pushed the ball all the way down to the Vikings’ 2-yard line. Denver had three chances on first-and-goal, but the Minnesota defense … and, specifically, Jayron Kearse … came up huge on the final three plays to hold on to the victory.

Kirk Cousins was absolutely on fire in the second half of this football game, and he ended up completing 29-of-35 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns. After a first half where he had no catches, Stefon Diggs wound up with five receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown on the afternoon. Kyle Rudolph had five catches for 67 yards and a touchdown, while Olabisi Johnson had six catches, but managed just 35 yards. Dalvin Cook had 31 yards on five receptions, Tyler Conklin had two catches for 28 yards, Irv Smith Jr. had three catches for 20 yards and his first NFL touchdown, and Ameer Abdullah (two catches, 11 yards) and C.J. Ham (one catch, six yards) caught passes as well.

Cook didn’t get a whole lot going on the ground, though he did cross over the 1,000-yard threshold for the season. He had just 26 yards on 11 carries, as the Broncos did a very good job of taking him away.

As Christopher Gates also pointed out, this was only the fifth time in team history the Vikings have come back from a 20-point deficit to win the game. Andy Carlson provides his post-game take:

November 10, 2019

Minnesota Vikings 28, Dallas Cowboys 24

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 23:59

On Sunday night — in prime time, Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback Kirk Cousins’ least successful time to play — the 6-3 Vikings visited Dallas to play the 5-3 Cowboys. Both teams depend on their star running backs — Minnesota’s league-leading Dalvin Cook and Ezekiel Elliot for the Cowboys — to help move the chains and open up passing opportunities by forcing the defence to focus on stopping the run. The team that managed to force the issue was likely to end up on the winning side of the equation, and that team turned out to be the Vikings. Dalvin Cook was bottled up for a while, but ended up with 97 yards on the ground and 86 receiving yards. Elliot was held to 47 yards rushing and 16 yards in the air.

Cowboys Stadium (now AT&T Stadium) on 1 October, 2009.
Photo by bobbyh_80 via Wikimedia Commons.

Coming into the game, both teams were facing reputations for “not beating anyone” despite their respective records. While the Vikings have struggled against teams with a winning record (and Kirk Cousins had a 1-6 record against the Cowboys from his time in Washington), the same could be said of Dallas:

In 2019, Dallas started the season 3-0, and the NFL torches came out right behind them. The Cowboys are always good for business.

This team hadn’t been 3-0 to start a season in over a decade. The Dallas Star Telegram even printed a history of the Cowboys Super Bowl victories after starting so quickly.

It was on again in Texas.

In reality, those three wins came against the now 2-7 New York Giants, the 1-8 Washington Redskins, and the 1-7 Miami Dolphins, a three-pack of tin cans if ever were packaged.

A month later, the again ascendant Cowboys, “America’s Team” refortified, were merely a .500 squad, having lost to the NFC South-leading New Orleans Saints, the NFC North-leading Green Bay Packers, and the AFC East bottom-dwelling New York Jets.

Yes, I said the New York Jets – a team with the now 31st-ranked offense and 25th defense in the league.

After that embarrassing loss in New York, the 3-3 Cowboys then took a bye week to prepare for a game against division rival Philadelphia Eagles in Dallas, licking their wounds and out of the fickle view of the press.

The Cowboys then bounced back – in pure tomato can fashion – by handing the Eagles their fourth loss in six games in AT&T Stadium and then traveling back to New York to give the lowly Giants their fifth consecutive defeat.

In short, both teams came into Sunday’s game needing a win to change “the narrative”.

In the early going, it looked like Minnesota was going to run away with the game, getting out to a 14-0 lead before Dallas could put together a scoring drive. Both first half touchdowns were passes to tight end Kyle Rudolph after solid running by both Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison. The first TD looked more like Cousins was just trying to throw the ball out of the end zone, but Rudolph made an amazing one-handed catch with both feet inbound for the score.

The second quarter wasn’t as picture-perfect for the Vikings, as Dallas scored twice to tie things up and Minnesota could only muster a field goal on the last possession of the half to go into the locker room at 17-14.

After the break, the Vikings got the ball first, but again were only able to get a Dan Bailey field goal to make the score 20-14, and the Cowboys did better with their next possession scoring a TD to take the lead for the first time in the game. On the Vikings next drive, Cook and Mattison again provided most of the yards, with Mattison almost scoring a rushing TD, but he was marked down inside the 1-yard line after review. Dalvin Cook did manage to get in from there, and then the Vikings elected for a two-point conversion attempt with Cousins getting the ball to Kyle Rudolph to put the Vikings ahead by 7.

In the fourth quarter, neither team could get a sustained drive going, and the only scoring was a Dallas field goal. In the last few minutes, the Cowboys got dangerously close to the Vikings end zone, but stalled out inside the 10-yard line and turned the ball over on downs. The Vikings final possession wasn’t pretty, but it forced the Cowboys to use all their time-outs before getting the ball back for a final chance. The game ended on a failed Hail Mary pass that was intercepted in the end zone by Jayron Kearse.

Update: Andy Carlson wraps up the game’s winners and losers on his post-game podcast:

I might quibble with a few of his choices, but I think he’s right that Mike “The Cornerback Whisperer” Zimmer needs to get his bag of magic tricks out and fix the secondary. The Cowboys should not have converted all those third-and-forever passes in the direction of Mike Hughes and Xavier Rhodes. Every team we face for the rest of the season will be dialling up plays to take advantage of our corners because they can’t seem to stop anyone.

Chris Tomasson compliments Kirk Cousins on getting the “can’t win in prime time” monkey off his back:

Say what you want about Kirk Cousins not being able to win big games on a national stage. He got one Sunday night.

The Vikings quarterback had a stellar showing in a 28-24 win over Dallas in a nationally televised game at AT&T Stadium.

It was easily Minnesota’s biggest win of the season. And it followed road losses earlier in the season at Green Bay, at Chicago (when the Bears were still good) and at Kansas City.

Cousins, in the second year of a three-year, $84 million contract, has had his share of struggles in prime-time games. He entered Sunday 1-7 in his career in such games against winning teams.

“I think I’ve played well in prime time,” Cousins said. “Have we won them all? No. But to get this one was a great step in the right direction. Hopefully, we can get a few more here. We need to get a few more before the season ends.”

Cousins completed 23 of 32 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns. He bounced back from the previous week, when he completed 19 of 38 passes in the 26-23 loss to the Chiefs, just the third time in first 82 career starts he had not completed more than 50 percent of his passes.

“I thought he played great,” said Vikings coach Mike Zimmer. “I thought he put the ball in the right place. He made some really good throws.”

And finally, Ted Glover’s Stock Market Report on the game, including the Junk Bonds section and his Buy/Sell recommendations:

Junk Bonds

Mike Hughes and the rest of the secondary. Amari Cooper and Randall Cobb (really, Randall Cobb??) made some great plays tonight, especially the 64 toe tap catches Cooper had. But … yeesh. The Cowboys carved up the Vikings secondary all night, as Dak Prescott had 397 yards passing, and both Cooper and Cobb went over 100 yards receiving. The Vikes did a great job of getting the Cowboys in third and long, but the Cowboys had four 3rd and 8 or longer plays in this game, and they converted all four of them. Minnesota had a good first quarter defensively, but couldn’t find an answer to what Dallas was dialing up for the rest of the night.

Buy/Sell

Buy: The Vikings first quarter. The Vikings started the game exactly the way they needed to. The defense stopped Dallas, and their first drive ended with Brett Maher missing a 57 yard field goal attempt. Minnesota answered by going 53 yards in five plays, and it was culminated by that crazy Rudolph catch to go up 7-0. After Dallas punted on their second drive, the Vikings went 90 yards in 13 plays, and once again Cousins found Rudolph for another one yard TD to go up 14-0.

Sell: The Vikings second quarter. But all of that slipped away in the second quarter. Minnesota’s offense stalled early in the quarter, and the Cowboys offense came to life. They scored two touchdowns, and evened the score at 14-14 with just under two minutes remaining in the half.

Buy: The two minute drive to end the half. But to Minnesota’s credit, they took the ball with 1:57 left in the half, drove the field, and stunted the momentum Dallas had built up with those two second quarter scoring drives. They took the ball down the field, in one of the better two minute drives the Vikings have had in recent years, and kicked a field goal to take the lead at 17-14 going in to the locker room.

Sell: Throwing to Irv Smith in the middle of the field with 10 seconds left in the first half. But it feels like the Vikes might have left points on the field before halftime. With 10 seconds left and the ball on the Dallas 15 with one timeout, Kirk Cousins threw a short pass over the middle to Irv Smith, Jr., for seven yards. It seemed inexplicable at the time, at least to me. The Vikes had one timeout, so it felt like there was time for two shots into the end zone, as it was second down. It seemed really important to get a touchdown there to thwart Dallas momentum, but it felt like the VIkings were content to settle for a field goal.

Buy: Opening up the second half with a scoring drive. Still, though, the Vikes took that scoring drive to end the first half and built on it coming out of the locker room. They took the opening kickoff and went 66 yards in 12 plays, culminated by a Dan Bailey field goal to take a 20-14 lead.

Sell: Giving up a scoring drive to lose the lead right after that scoring drive. But the Vikings defense couldn’t build on that. At that moment in the game, it really felt like if the Vikings defense could force a three and out they could blow the game open. The Dallas defense had been on the field for 12 plays, and a quick three and out would have put a tired defense back on the field, having to face a RB tandem in Cook and Alexander Mattison that seemed to be finding a bit of a groove. Dallas went 75 yards on five plays, and it culminated with a ridiculous Amari Cooper toe tap touchdown that gave Dallas a 21-20 lead.

Buy: Stonewalling Ezekiel Elliott. Minnesota came in to this game intent on not letting THE Ohio State legend Ezekiel Elliott beat them. And they succeeded in that. Zeke ended up with just 47 yards on 20 carries, couldn’t get untracked all night, and his longest run of the evening was only six yards.

Sell: Dak Prescott carving up the Vikings secondary like Dexter. But Zeke not being able to run didn’t really matter, as Dak Prescott had a whale of a game. He made some flat out sick throws to Amari Cooper, Randall Cobb, and Michael Gallup, who ended up with 76 yards and a TD. The Vikes had no answer for what the Cowboys were doing through the air, and the only time it seemed like the came up with a stop in the second half was the Jayron Kearse interception to end the game.

Buy: Football in the state of Minnesota this weekend. It was a great weekend for football in the state of Minnesota. On Saturday, the Golden Gophers upset fourth ranked Penn state and broke the top 10 for the first time since 1962. They control their own destiny to win the Big Ten West and advance to the Big Ten Championship game, and P.J. Fleck has made the Gophers relevant for one of the few times in my life. The Vikes beat Dallas on the road, advanced to 7-3, and have a really great shot to go to 8-3 heading into the bye. They have a lot of football left to play, and are still very much in the hunt for the NFC North title.

Sell: The season is over. For as good as this weekend was, neither the Vikings or Gophers have accomplished anything. Both teams have a lot of football left to play, and if they don’t stay focused, what could be special seasons for both could be rendered meaningless if they don’t keep their eye on the prize. Skol U mah, and let’s keep it going. Beat Iowa and bring Floyd home, and beat Denver.

November 6, 2019

Sage words from Zim Tzu

Filed under: Football, Humour — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

The National Football League has certain rules and requirements of the head coaches of all the teams, including a certain amount of mandatory contact with … ugh! … the media. Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer follows these rules — probably unwillingly, and certainly without much enjoyment or enthusiasm — but generally guards his tongue very carefully, not giving out any more information than he absolutely has to and couching that information in ways that are obscure and often inscrutable to the uninitiated media schlub or everyday fan. Fortunately, the Daily Norseman has on their staff Ted Glover, the world’s leading Zimmerologist, who can unwrap the verbal enigmas and decrypt the encoded truth and share with true Vikings fans:

Zim Tzu, image by Eric Thompson, Daily Norseman.

The Vikings warrior poet coach dispenses his words of wisdom

ED NOTE: This has bad words. None of the other things we write on here do, but this one does. It seems to be a popular bit, so until the law catches up with me, I’m going to keep doing it. Thanks for understanding, and thanks for not reading and not letting your kids read it if bad language isn’t your thing. Hope you enjoy the rest of our articles—Ted

Warrior poets don’t have time for deep, philosophical conversations once they’re in the maelstrom of conflict. You need accurate information, the lay of the land, and then you must make a decision. Good or bad, decisions must be made, because indecision is certain death. Good decisions could still end up with a bad result, for a number of reasons. Poor execution, faulty equipment, any number of things. But at least you give yourself the best chance of success.

And bad decisions? Bad decisions are more than likely going to result in your demise, but fuck it, at least go out with your boots on. And sometimes, even a bad decision can turn out okay with a stroke of luck, or poor execution of your adversary. And when that happens you feel invincible. Glory or death, bay.

Glory or death. Pain is temporary, chicks dig scars, but glory is forever. Unless you really fuck things up and lose, then you’re just a loser looking for answers, and you vow to not fuck things up like that again.

Because you are Zim Tzu, Scalper of the Capital, True King Of The Jungle, Potentate Of Those Who Eat Feces, The Biggest Apple, Commodore Of Outlaw Sailors, Master Falconer, The Once And Future King In The North, High Septon Of Eagan, Lord Commander Of The Iron Range And Twin Cities, Master Of Fortress TCO, Honorary Elder Of Mankato and Protector Of The Realm.

And when you need to explain setbacks, you’ll need help discussing things, because the proletariat has no concept of the shit you’ve gone through, man. None. So you need someone* to take your words and turn them into language that folks understand.**

You’re welcome.***

*Look, you don’t need anyone to help you figure this out. You’re a Vikings fan. Just shut up, drink, and bury those goddamn feelings.

**This whole post is incomprehensible bullshit. All the answers are made up, by me, because I need an outlet to vent and meth, apparently, is frowned upon in my house.

***Seriously, enjoy. Glad you guys like these remarkably bad interpretations of Zimmer’s press conferences.

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