Quotulatiousness

October 7, 2019

Minnesota Vikings pillage the New York Giants, 28-10

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

The 2-2 Minnesota Vikings visited the 2-2 New York Giants on Sunday afternoon, still smarting from last week’s drubbing at the hands of the Chicago Bears. Earlier in the week, media rumours began that the Vikings were looking to trade wide receiver Stefon Diggs, followed by reports that Diggs was very unhappy with the Vikings this season (particularly the lack of receptions for him and Adam Thielen). Diggs failed to show for a team practice and meetings and was heavily fined by the Vikings for the absences. Quarterback Kirk Cousins has been taking a lot of heat for his sub-par performance in the first four games, and fans were hoping to see some signs of improvement in New Jersey. Cousins delivered … but mainly to Adam Thielen and Dalvin Cook. Cousins threw for more than 300 yards and two touchdowns, both to Thielen, while Cook had a career day with 132 yards rushing on 21 carries and six receptions for 86 yards (but he did lose a fumble at the end of a run).

Christopher Gates:

This was exactly the sort of game that Kirk Cousins needed to have after his performance in Chicago. He completed 22-of-27 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns and looked as good as he has all season. Adam Thielen was the recipient of both of Cousins’ touchdown tosses, and finished the afternoon with seven receptions for 130 yards. After causing some controversy earlier this week, Stefon Diggs had three catches for 44 yards, while rookie Olabisi Johnson had four grabs for 43 yards.

Dalvin Cook had another outstanding game, both on the ground and in the passing game. He had his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the year, rushing for 132 yards on 21 carries. He also caught six passes for 86 yards, all in the first half. Alexander Mattison picked up 35 yards on six carries, and Ameer Abdullah chipped in with three carries for 24 yards.

The Vikings move to 3-2 on the season, and will host the Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Giants fall to 2-3, and have a short week ahead of them, as they’ll travel to take on the New England Patriots for Thursday Night Football.

The Minnesota Vikings get a victory over the New York Giants in Week 5 NFL action, winning by a final score of 28-10 at MetLife Stadium. Thank you to everyone that got their coverage of this week’s game right here at The Daily Norseman!

Judd Zulgad:

How fast can life in the NFL change?

A week ago, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins was offering wide receiver Adam Thielen a public apology for getting him the ball only two times for 6 yards in a loss at Chicago. Another wide receiver, Stefon Diggs, decided to stay away from the team facility for a few days because of his frustration with the Vikings going to a run-first scheme under Gary Kubiak and Kevin Stefanski.

By halftime of the Vikings’ 28-10 victory over the feeble New York Giants on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, Cousins had a season-high 278 yards passing, Thielen had a season-best six receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown and Diggs had, well, his involvement remained a work in progress (two catches for 24 yards).

Diggs added a 20-yard reception in the fourth quarter to finish with three catches for 44 yards, Thielen ended up at seven catches for 130 yards and two scores and Cousins completed 22 of 27 passes for 306 yards and the two TDs to Thielen. It was Cousins’ first 300-yard passing game since a 24-17 victory last Nov. 25 over Green Bay at U.S. Bank Stadium. That was nine games ago and also marked the last time Thielen had more than 100 yards receiving.

The Giants’ inability to stop the pass and the run didn’t hurt matters, but this was the exact type of game the Vikings needed after a week of drama that centered around a unit that isn’t even supposed to be the key to this team. Did this signify a turnaround for an offense that was held to 222 yards in a 16-6 loss to the Bears? Probably not, considering Chicago’s defense can be dominant and the Giants defense belongs in the XFL.

As usual after a Vikings game, Ted Glover provides his essential Stock Market Report on the day’s activities:

Buy: The offense was way better today. It’s really hard to find fault with an offense that had 490 yards, while the QB threw for over 300, RB1 had over 130 yards on the ground, and one of two WR1’s had 130 yards and two TD’s. It was a performance that was sorely needed for the team and the fans.

Sell: The Red Zone offense was better today. But nothing is perfect, and the Vikings struggled for the first time in the red zone today. On the opening drive of the game, they got down to the 13, but had to settle for a field goal. On their third drive Cook fumbled inside the five and the Giants recovered when it looked like he was going in to score. Granted, it turned out to not be a big deal, as the Vikings won handily, but it was mildly concerning.

Buy: What Diggs said needed to be said. Whatever the issue was had been simmering for awhile, and after the Bears game, it needed to be said. It worked, and the Vikings came together and had a whale of a football game. Hell, if it ends up with games like this, maybe he needs to call someone out every week.

Sell: The way Diggs said it. I’ve never been a fan of complaining to the press, though. Had the Vikings lost today, what Diggs said and did on Wednesday would have gone nuclear, and it would have taken on a life of its own. I get the frustration, as we all felt it, and I have no issue with calling people out when they’re underperforming. But like Diggs said himself in the locker room after the game, he could have handled it a lot differently. And yes, he wants to be in Minnesota.

Buy: This was a needed win. This win settled a lot of jittery nerves in Vikings Land. Not everything is all unicorns and rainbows yet, but at least the Vikings gave themselves a launching point to get to the unicorns and rainbows stage. A loss today would have meant death, pestilence, and plague across the land.

Sell: This win cures everything that ails the Vikings. They still have a tough schedule ahead. Philly comes to town this week, then a big road game against Detroit. The defense still had problems with drive extending penalties on third down, the offense had some issues in the red zone, and were it not for two Daniel Jones overthrows this could have been a completely different ballgame. Still, though, it was a good win, and that’s what matters for today.

Buy: The Vikings have a problem with penalties. We mentioned the defense and their mind numbing third down penalties. It killed them against the Bears last week, and it cost them again today. The Vikings are one of the most penalized teams in the NFL this year, and after five games it’s now officially “a thing”.

Sell: The amount of penalties in a typical game is good for the NFL. All of that said, it seems like the NFL is doing everything they can to make this great game unwatchable. Rules changes in recent years are making the game unrecognizable from what it was just 4-5 years ago. Referees are over legislating what penalties they do understand, are screwing up replay calls over what rules they don’t understand, and throwing ticky tack flags where everyone goes “wtf was that call” are dragging the game down.

October 4, 2016

Vikings defeat New York Giants, 24-10

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 11:26

The Minnesota Vikings finally developed something resembling an early-game offensive effort capped off with a Matt Asiata rushing touchdown. From that point onwards, the Vikings never relinquished the lead. The Giants’ vaunted receivers were widely expected to take control of the game, but were blanketed by the Vikings secondary until late in the game, while quarterback Eli Manning had his traditional bad game against Minnesota (25-for-45, 261 yards and an interception). The Vikings pass rush wasn’t getting to Manning but he frequently threw the ball to the turf when a defender got close to him, so even though there were no sacks in the game, the pass rush was definitely disrupting the Giants’ plans.

(more…)

July 31, 2015

@DrawPlayDave explains how he decides what to put in his webcomic

Filed under: Football, Humour — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

A brief Twitter exchange between Dave Rappocchio (@DrawPlayDave) and Arif Hasan (@ArifHasanNFL):


March 12, 2014

Gerhart moves on and Joseph moves in

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 08:29

I was off being a pallbearer in Toronto when the NFL’s free agency period started, so I didn’t get caught up on the early moves until much later in the day. As far as the Vikings were concerned, the two biggest moves were backup running back Toby Gerhart signing a three-year, $10.5 million deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars and former Giant defensive tackle Linval Joseph signing a five-year, $31.5 million deal with the Vikings:

Linval Joseph is 25 years old, and will turn 26 years old midway through the season. He doesn’t have extraordinary statistics that you would more likely see come from an undertackle like Henry Melton or Kevin Williams, but he does plug the run extremely well. He has had 9.0 sacks in the previous three years, which is more than what fellow 1-tech and previous Vikings Pat Williams was able to do in any three-year stretch with the Vikings.

Linval Joseph is unique, in that at 328-pounds, he could have played 3-technique coming out of college. He has a good first step and is both strong and quick with a good understanding of leverage, though was weak at consistently lowering his pads coming out of East Carolina.

He is supposed to be good for a 3-4 or 4-3 scheme because of his ability to anchor, length (with astonishing 34.5″ arms) and quickness, although the Giants have almost exclusively used him in a one-gap role.

If Joseph is as good as hoped for, it will make a huge difference to the Vikings’ defensive line, which has never regained the form it had with “Fat Pat” at the nose. The signing may make it less likely that Kevin Williams returns to the Purple, as many were assuming he could slide over to nose tackle (having had a huge game in that spot last season, when both Letroy Guion and Fred Evans were injured). Williams had said he wasn’t interested in playing the nose, and is an unrestricted free agent.

Also looking for the right contract (as in “pay me”), former Minnesota defensive end Jared Allen is still unsigned. He’d been rumoured to be looking at a deal with Denver, but the Broncos may be more interested in DeMarcus Ware, who is also a free agent this season. The Bears and the Seahawks are also said to be talking with Allen’s agent. Allen hinted that he’d retire rather than play as a situational pass rusher, but Andrew Krammer thinks that’s bluff: “Why I won’t believe Jared Allen would retire: that all-time sack total means too much to him. That list in his locker said so.” Allen kept a regularly updated list in his locker showing where he ranked in the all-time totals.

October 22, 2013

The Vikings’ Josh Freeman era begins with a painful loss to the Giants

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 07:24

From the moment he was signed, some Viking fans were eager to see what former Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman could do. Last night, those same fans were introduced to the notion that a quarterback can’t magically make up for an entire offseason of practice, drill and team familiarity. Freeman stood tall in the pocket to deliver downfield throws, but those throws were far too often over the heads or out of reach of his intended receivers … timing and route accuracy were both in short supply. Freeman was only intercepted once, but the Giants had other opportunities to pick him off over the course of the game.

All of the problems the Vikings have displayed on the field up to this point were pretty much unchanged despite the change at quarterback: the defence gave up far too many yards and stayed on the field far too long, and Adrian Peterson was not able to get the rushing game going (although he had been on the injury report with a hamstring issue this week). If Marcus Sherels hadn’t scored his second career kick return touchdown, the Giants would have blanked the Vikings. Unfortunately, Sherels also had a few key errors, including coughing up the ball near the Vikings goal line on a punt return. Defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd also had a bad special teams outing, fumbling the ball on a kickoff return (the Giants kicked short to keep the ball away from fellow rookie Cordarrelle Patterson).

1500ESPN‘s Andrew Krammer:

Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave said the game plan was going to be simple for quarterback Josh Freeman, who made his first start in a 23-7 loss on Monday Night Football against the previously winless New York Giants.

The end result left many saying he was set up to fail.

Simplicity took a bad seat to ineffective as Freeman threw 33 incompletions, dropping his league-low 43.5% even further during his first outing as a Vikings quarterback.

A member of the team for just two weeks, Freeman looked rusty as he hadn’t played since Sept. 22. However, in his last game as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer, Freeman completed just 19-of-41 passes in a loss at New England.

Struggles aside, it was obvious from Freeman’s midseason signing that the Vikings wanted to evaluate him as their potential long-term answer. But that philosophy was taken to the extreme on Monday night as Freeman threw 53 passes to running back Adrian Peterson’s 13 carries.

Phil Mackey:

On Sept. 4, prior to the start of the regular season, FootballOutsiders.com – one of the top football analytics sites on the web — projected the Minnesota Vikings as the team most likely to pick No. 1 overall in the 2014 draft.

Football Outsiders gave the Vikings a 4.9% chance to make the playoffs and a 0.1% chance to win the Super Bowl.

We all laughed.

While the Jacksonville Jaguars are leaders in the clubhouse to pick No. 1 overall, nobody should be laughing anymore at the notion that the Vikings are one of the worst teams in the NFL. Not after the embarrassment we saw on Monday night in front of a national audience.

Consider this: The previously winless New York Giants averaged 2.0 yards per carry and 4.9 yards per pass on offense. Eli Manning needed 39 passes just to reach 200 yards. The Giants also fumbled four times, were hit for 72 yards in penalties and handed the ball 18 times to Peyton Hillis, who they signed off the street on Wednesday. Check that. Hillis was actually volunteering as an assistant coach at a high school in Tennessee last week.

And the Giants looked like the 1999 St. Louis Rams standing next to the Vikings.

Everyone deserves to be ripped here.

Jim Souhan at the Star Tribune:

Last time the Vikings played in New Jersey, their quarterback spent most of his postgame interview answering questions about sending illicit texts.

Monday night, the Vikings visited Jersey again, and this time it got embarrassing.

To be a Vikings fan these days, you need a gallon of Pepto-Bismol and a Hazmat suit. Winless in the United States this season, the Vikings might be the worst team in the NFL that does not reside in the state of Florida.

They have failed to look professional in consecutive weeks, and in unpredictable fashion: by imploding at home against an unremarkable Carolina team, then looking unfamiliar with the concept of offensive football on Monday night against a terrible Giants team.

Their 23-7 loss buried memories of their 2012 playoff appearance and transported them back to 2011, when they won only three games and began another desperate search for a franchise quarterback.

Worse, these kinds of losses transport them back to 2010, when they got their coach fired in the middle of the season.

They might be searching for a coach and quarterback this winter. Or by November.

October 15, 2013

Tune in Wednesday for another thrilling episode of “As the stomach turns”

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 07:19

It’s rather sad that a losing team tends to generate more interesting — and more amusing — media coverage than a team that’s currently winning. TV execs, however, may be wondering how they can possibly earn a profit when they’re contractually obligated to broadcast games like next Monday’s matchup between the 0-6 New York Giants and the 1-4 Minnesota Vikings. How do you get even hardcore football fans to waste several hours of their Monday evening watching teams that are this bad?

One minor point of interest is figuring out who will be starting at quarterback for the Vikings. Christian Ponder may have started his last game for the purple, and Matt Cassel didn’t do himself any favours in Sunday’s debacle against the Carolina Panthers. Newly signed QB Josh Freeman appears to be the odds-on favourite to start this game … after all, as Christopher Gates says, how bad can it be?

In one corner of this Triangle of Mediocrity … and I use that term because I’m feeling unusually generous today … we have the guy that began the season as Minnesota’s starting quarterback in Christian Ponder. In another corner, we have the guy that took over for Ponder when he was injured, Matt Cassel, who was last seen in a heap on the turf at the Metrodome. And in the final corner, we have the newly-acquired Josh Freeman, who has been on the team for a week and is probably already wondering exactly what the heck he’s gotten himself into.

[…]

That leaves us with Freeman, who this week could … and probably should … start an 11-game audition for the rest of the NFL to show that his rough start to the season was due to being trapped in Greg Schiano’s House of MRSA and Innuendo. There’s a concern that he doesn’t know the playbook yet, but considering that Bill Musgrave’s offense is slightly less diverse than the menu at your local Five Guys, I’m not sure how big a concern that actually is. Freeman’s next start will be his 60th as an NFL quarterback, and he’s got to be to the point of his career where he’s seen quite a bit from opposing defenses. Besides, what’s going to happen … this offense going to get worse?

Frankly, I think Freeman gets the start because, at this point, he’s the only option that makes sense. There’s a chance that the team could go with Cassel again, and basically no chance that they go with Ponder.

Tune in Wednesday for the thrilling conclusion of It Doesn’t Matter: We’re Screwed No Matter What Because None Of These Guys Can Play Corner.

Update: “How bad is the Vikings defence?” I pretend to hear you ask. They’re among the most generous in the NFL, giving up 418 yards per game (which is second-worst in the league) and allowing nearly 32 points per game (third-worst). Opposing teams convert third-down opportunities 49% of the time (as Chip Scoggins points out, that’s even worse than their putrid 2011 season where they allowed a 44% conversion rate). They’re third-worst in the league for getting off the field, staying on the field nearly 34 minutes per game — time of possession isn’t a total measurement of defensive ineptitude, but teams that don’t score quickly (or at all…) put extra pressure on the defenders.

October 28, 2012

The Two Scotts pick this week’s NFL matchups

Filed under: Football, Humour, Media — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 10:55

Scott Reid and Scott Feschuk get serious about something … but not football, of course:

New York Giants (plus 2) at Dallas

Scott Reid: I have no way of knowing but I like to imagine that deep down, Tony Romo and Eli Manning loathe one another.

Romo’s hatred would be all bound up in his feelings of insecurity and gross inadequacy (not unlike your own feelings toward me, Mr. Feschuk). Manning probably just hates the dimples. My fondest hope is that deep in the fourth quarter of this week’s matchup – after the Giants gain a 10-point lead – Romo breaks down on television and begins to sob uncontrollably, confronted with the awful truth that he’ll never best his rival. Manning, meanwhile, will make Jessica Simpson jokes and snicker about the hands-off approach of John Mara. Eventually Romo cracks completely and beats Manning savagely with a Gatorade bottle – leaving Eli dead and himself condemned to a life behind bars. In no way would this scenario make Mike Vick the best starting quarterback in the NFC East. Pick: New York.

Scott Feschuk: That’s all very interesting but I have a more important question: What man would ever agree to date Taylor Swift? You’d have to know right from the get-go that everything that happens is basically fodder for her next three albums, right? Wouldn’t it get awkward pretty quick?

You and Taylor Swift are in bed.

You: That was amazing. Let’s do it again.

[Swift opens her journal and starts writing.]

You: What are you doing?

Taylor: Oh, nothing. What rhymes with horndog?

You: Are you writing a song about me and our relationship?

Taylor: What? No. No, of course not!

You: Then who are these guys? [Points to drummer, guitarist and fiddler in bed with them.]

Taylor: Take five, fellas. I need to work on the bridge anyways.

Pick: New York.

December 12, 2010

Vikings-Giants game moved to Detroit after Metrodome roof failure

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 19:38

It’s kinda remarkable to watch:

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&#038;brand=foxsports&#038;from=foxsports_en-us_videocentral&#038;vid=ca15cffb-3b66-49a0-84ca-20ed0a175567" target="_new" title="NFL on FOX: Metrodome collapse">Video: NFL on FOX: Metrodome collapse</a>

The game will be moved to Detroit’s Ford Field as the repairs to the Metrodome will take at least a week, and the other venue in Minneapolis can’t be made ready in time.

December 9, 2010

The Two Scotts say thumbs down on the Vikings

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 12:51

Not surprisingly, the two Scotts think that the Giants are going to win their matchup with Minnesota on Sunday:

New York Giants (minus 2.5) at Minnesota

Reid: Favre is listed as questionable for Sunday after being knocked out of last week’s game on his first passing attempt. Of course, no one really expects the Vikings to bring Brett’s crusade for 300 straight starts to an end — so Tarvaris Jackson has, once again, been sent out to pick up smokes. In a sad effort to convince the coaches he was ready, Jackson even pretended last week to be Favre by tossing three interceptions. No luck. This streak ends at season’s end or with Jenn Sterger moving into Favre’s bungalow. Pick: New York.

Feschuk: Brett Favre is having an annus way more horribilis than that one the Queen had. With Dong-gate now in the hands of the Commissioner, it’s worth reflecting on the details of the poorly understood NFL Code of Conduct policy. Exactly what does it demand of players like Favre? Here are a few excerpts of note:

     * Players are expected to report ON TIME for all meetings, scrimmages and police lineups.
     * Mandatory snickering in the huddle when the quarterback calls for a “two-minute drill.”
     * If you’re buying prostitutes, make sure you bring enough for the whole team.
     * When getting dressed for a public appearance, players are asked to remember that the penis goes on the inside.

Pick: New York.

October 11, 2010

Let’s hope it’s 1975 all over again

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 11:17

I find it hard to believe it, but that’s the only time the Vikings have ever beaten the Jets:

With WR Randy Moss expected to play, the Vikings now have the vertical outside threat they need to allow Percy Harvin to play the slot, where his versatility is put to better use. And stretching the defense will only make RB Adrian Peterson more explosive as the Jets will have to pick their poison. Moss will likely be shadowed by CB Darrelle Revis (hamstring), who returns after missing a game and last week said Moss didn’t always play 100 percent during their Week 2 matchup against New England.

Jets QB Mark Sanchez has thrown eight touchdown passes over the past three games and gets WR Santonio Holmes back from suspension to add another downfield weapon. Sanchez’s ability to keep moving the offense will be key as the Vikings allow just 3.6 yards per carry and back quarterbacks into consistent third-and-long situations. Minnesota’s pass defense has improved with the returns of CB Cedric Griffin.

[. . .]

– The Vikings’ only victory over the Jets came on Oct. 12, 1975, when they beat New York, 29-21, at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minn.
– The Vikings will be happy to be playing in the New Meadowlands. They never beat the Jets in their former home, going 0-4 at the Meadowlands against them.
– The Vikings have played the second fewest games out of any NFL team against the Jets, only having met them eight times since 1970.

[. . .]

SERIES HISTORY: 9th regular-season meeting. Jets lead series, 7-1. York has won six in a row dating to the 1979 season. The Vikings’ only win in the series was in 1975.

September 3, 2010

Fox reports that Sage Rosenfels has been traded to the Giants

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 21:30

Fox Sports has a report up saying that the Giants have traded for Minnesota’s Sage Rosenfels:

The Giants had searched for a new backup since Jim Sorgi suffered a season-ending shoulder injury earlier in the preseason. Third-stringer Rhett Bomar, a 2009 fifth-round pick, proved incapable of handling the role when starting in place of the injured Manning (laceration).

A 10-year NFL veteran with 12 career starts, Rosenfels will provide New York with a veteran presence. Rosenfels was acquired by Minnesota via trade with Houston in 2009 and signed to a three-year, $9 million contract extension. But any chance of competing for a starting spot was derailed when Minnesota signed Brett Favre.

Rosenfels has remained mired in a third-string role in Minneapolis behind backup Tarvaris Jackson despite an outstanding preseason statistically. Rosenfels completed 60.8 percent of his passes with four touchdowns and no interceptions compared with Jackson, who posted a 46.2 completion percentage.

I’m sorry to see Sage go (I thought it would be Tarvaris Jackson who’d be leaving), but hopefully he’s got a good situation in New York. Still, that means it’s pretty much certain that the Vikings will be keeping Joe Webb on the roster, rather than trying to get him past waivers and onto the practice squad.

Update: Judd Zulgad reports that the deal included running back/returner Darius Reynaud and that the Vikings will receive draft picks in the 2011 and 2012 drafts:

Sage Rosenfels apparently was being showcased after all.

The Vikings traded the veteran quarterback and running back Darius Reynaud to the New York Giants on Friday evening for an undisclosed draft choice in the 2011 NFL Draft and a conditional draft choice in the 2012 NFL Draft. The Vikings announced the trade on their website.
The deal is contingent upon both Rosenfels and Reynaud passing physical examinations with the Giants. The trade leaves the Vikings with 73 players, meaning they must cut 20 more by 5 p.m. Saturday.

The trade ends a frustrating season-plus stint in Minnesota for Rosenfels, who arrived in a trade with Houston in February 2009 expecting to compete with Tarvaris Jackson for the starting job but ended up being the No. 3 quarterback last season behind Brett Favre and Jackson.

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