Vikings at Lions Depth Chart Preview W13 2021
Dec 4, 2021 14:19:47 GMT -6
Reignman, Funkytown, and 1 more like this
Post by Danchat on Dec 4, 2021 14:19:47 GMT -6
After a disappointing defeat to the 49ers, the Vikings are back on the brink. They've got to have a better rematch against the worthless Lions, or they will fall into oblivion. Or they will at least deserve to be.
Injury Report
Vikings
RB Cook - Out
LB Barr - Questionable
LB Kendricks - Questionable
CB Alexander - Questionable
LT Darrisaw - Out
S Bynum - Out
Lions
OLB Flowers - Out
CB Price - Out
LB Reeves-Maybin - Out
RB Swift - Out
RT Sewell - Questionable
DE Brockers - Questionable
OT Nelson - Questionable
Line: Vikings -7.5 (62% of money on Vikings)
My thoughts:
QB - Jared Goff has been completely exposed as a below average QB. I refrain from calling him 'bad' or 'terrible' because the Lions have given him little to work with. Sure, their OL isn't terrible and they have a passable run game, but he has nobody to throw to. Not even the best QBs can survive throwing to guys who can't get open. They've scored below 20 points in 10 consecutive games... how is that even possible?!
RB - PFF doesn't like Swift for some reason, but was having a great season before getting injured. That leaves Williams, who is a solid back, but he's not going to break out long runs very often. Backups Jefferson and Igwebuike have combined for 132 yards on 11 carries so far, and should get mixed in.
WR/TE - Ugh. Hockenson is a nice start, but the rest is just bad. Raymond is an inconsistent deep threat who isn't starter caliber. Reynolds was a capable 3rd WR for the Rams, but did nothing with the Titans (despite their WR injuries), prompting his release. St. Brown has been unproductive with a large role. Their backups are UDFAs with little upside, so any injuries would make a bad unit even worse.
OL - Decker has returned to LT, pushing Sewell to RT, potentially making this unit a decent one. Still, that hasn't helped this offense score any points. One positive is that Evan Brown, who made his first career start against the Vikings Week 5 (and had a very good game), is PFF's 14th highest rated center out of 38. I have to say I'm quite jealous with how bad the Vikings' C position has been. Jackson is having a middling year, similarly to Ezra Cleveland, as a poor pass protector but good enough in the run game. Vaitai has been constantly hurt, and isn't that good to begin with.
DL - This is one of the worst defenses I've ever recorded on my depth chart previews. Rookie Alim McNeill is the single above average player on their front 7! Williams and Brockers are having career worst seasons, while Onwuzurike is not playing well either.
ED/LB - With Flowers and (Romeo) Okwara out, the pass rush is down to Charles Harris and Austin Bryant. Bryant and the other Okwara have been fine, but on the whole, the pass rush is very weak. Anzalone continues to struggle in a full-time role, and will be flanked by rookie Derrick Barnes, who was a safety in college.
CB - This unit contained the Vikings' pass attack rather well Week 5, except for Jefferson. Oruwariye has 5 picks, but is one of the slowest CBs out there and will get beat in coverage frequently. UDFA Jacobs has played shockingly well, better than most CBs on the Vikings so far. They've put SS Will Harris in the slot, but he's got an Abysmal grade. 2nd rounder Melifonwu is an athletic freak and could be put to use now that he's healthy.
S - Walker is still an average free safety, but they're now using career backup Dean Marlowe as a starter. He's not grading well, but this is the 29 year old's first time playing over 30% of his team's snaps.
Note - The Lions' kicker is Riley Patterson, the UDFA we had compete with Joseph this offseason. He never had a real chance of winning the job since he was injured most of the offseason, so I am interested to see how he fares.
Prediction: Vikings 24, Lions 18
The Vikings' gravitational pull to one possession games and the Lions' horrid offense is going to cause this to be a low-scoring game, methinks. The Vikings should put up 40+ on this defense, but with how inconsistent they've been and missing Cook, they might have another complete dud. The defense is healthier, so there are no excuses not to hold this pathetic offense to under 20 points.
Any thoughts?
Injury Report
Vikings
RB Cook - Out
LB Barr - Questionable
LB Kendricks - Questionable
CB Alexander - Questionable
LT Darrisaw - Out
S Bynum - Out
Lions
OLB Flowers - Out
CB Price - Out
LB Reeves-Maybin - Out
RB Swift - Out
RT Sewell - Questionable
DE Brockers - Questionable
OT Nelson - Questionable
Line: Vikings -7.5 (62% of money on Vikings)
My thoughts:
QB - Jared Goff has been completely exposed as a below average QB. I refrain from calling him 'bad' or 'terrible' because the Lions have given him little to work with. Sure, their OL isn't terrible and they have a passable run game, but he has nobody to throw to. Not even the best QBs can survive throwing to guys who can't get open. They've scored below 20 points in 10 consecutive games... how is that even possible?!
RB - PFF doesn't like Swift for some reason, but was having a great season before getting injured. That leaves Williams, who is a solid back, but he's not going to break out long runs very often. Backups Jefferson and Igwebuike have combined for 132 yards on 11 carries so far, and should get mixed in.
WR/TE - Ugh. Hockenson is a nice start, but the rest is just bad. Raymond is an inconsistent deep threat who isn't starter caliber. Reynolds was a capable 3rd WR for the Rams, but did nothing with the Titans (despite their WR injuries), prompting his release. St. Brown has been unproductive with a large role. Their backups are UDFAs with little upside, so any injuries would make a bad unit even worse.
OL - Decker has returned to LT, pushing Sewell to RT, potentially making this unit a decent one. Still, that hasn't helped this offense score any points. One positive is that Evan Brown, who made his first career start against the Vikings Week 5 (and had a very good game), is PFF's 14th highest rated center out of 38. I have to say I'm quite jealous with how bad the Vikings' C position has been. Jackson is having a middling year, similarly to Ezra Cleveland, as a poor pass protector but good enough in the run game. Vaitai has been constantly hurt, and isn't that good to begin with.
DL - This is one of the worst defenses I've ever recorded on my depth chart previews. Rookie Alim McNeill is the single above average player on their front 7! Williams and Brockers are having career worst seasons, while Onwuzurike is not playing well either.
ED/LB - With Flowers and (Romeo) Okwara out, the pass rush is down to Charles Harris and Austin Bryant. Bryant and the other Okwara have been fine, but on the whole, the pass rush is very weak. Anzalone continues to struggle in a full-time role, and will be flanked by rookie Derrick Barnes, who was a safety in college.
CB - This unit contained the Vikings' pass attack rather well Week 5, except for Jefferson. Oruwariye has 5 picks, but is one of the slowest CBs out there and will get beat in coverage frequently. UDFA Jacobs has played shockingly well, better than most CBs on the Vikings so far. They've put SS Will Harris in the slot, but he's got an Abysmal grade. 2nd rounder Melifonwu is an athletic freak and could be put to use now that he's healthy.
S - Walker is still an average free safety, but they're now using career backup Dean Marlowe as a starter. He's not grading well, but this is the 29 year old's first time playing over 30% of his team's snaps.
Note - The Lions' kicker is Riley Patterson, the UDFA we had compete with Joseph this offseason. He never had a real chance of winning the job since he was injured most of the offseason, so I am interested to see how he fares.
Prediction: Vikings 24, Lions 18
The Vikings' gravitational pull to one possession games and the Lions' horrid offense is going to cause this to be a low-scoring game, methinks. The Vikings should put up 40+ on this defense, but with how inconsistent they've been and missing Cook, they might have another complete dud. The defense is healthier, so there are no excuses not to hold this pathetic offense to under 20 points.
Any thoughts?