Week 17 - Vikes @ Pack Support Group

I watched the game in depth because I was curious and because I'm a sicko. But it was kinda cathartic.

He was open or was going to be. Kirk just didn't wait. They actually moved the ball on offense decently well when he decided to make Osborne and Hock his primary options. But he literally just stopped looking for Jefferson.

On the pic six, JJ was in the slot and paired up against an LB. His route was to stop in front of the LB and then spin away toward the right which he did as Kirk was throwing the ball into a covered Hock (I think).

Do you remember Nailor's big catch in the 4th quarter where Mullens hit him deep right? That was the EXACT SAME PLAY. Nailor in the slot. Spins away from the LB and just a fraction of a second longer, he was wide open for a big gain. I think KOC ran that again just so he could see it work and have it on tape.

The vikings actually played very similarly to how they always do with a couple of huge exceptions. They were penalized in some key spots. They were slipping all over the field. And by far the biggest was that they allowed 4 turnovers.

They started with a 3 and out because of ineffective running.
Then they force a 3 and out by GB followed by a blocked punt
Another 3 and out because of ineffective running. Cousins missed an open JJ in the end zone.
Then the kickoff return with horrible ST play.
Then another 3 and out on a ball that Hock probably should have caught and a blown snap.
Then some bend don't break on D followed by a key sack by DT.
Then the pick 6 on the play I mentioned above.
A solid drive ending in a check down for 1 yard on 3rd and 11 after a 5 yard penalty and a missed FG
A bend don't break drive for the D resulting in a FG
Then another nice drive killed by a tip at the line and a pick.
Total blown coverage on the Tonyan TD. Still trying to figure out who was supposed to cover him when both LBers ended up in the middle of the field covering no one.
Then another good drive followed by a missed FG.
Then the another FG given up
Start the second half with forcing the pack to punt
Then yet another good drive killed by a sack fumble because Ingram is terrible.
And you know the rest.

This was the classic game of why people have a hard time with Kirk. He lead some really good drives but there were several throws he could have made or not made that would have made a big difference. It wasn't his fault by any stretch. The run game was weak sauce as usual. Some of the run plays they ran were just pure head scratchers. There was an opportunity for Kirk to have had a much better game though.

And otherwise, it was sort of the usual suspects. Sullivan is just a terrible football player. Not just because he sucks in coverage but there were so many plays where he had chances to go make tackles and ended up doing his classic jog up at the end.

Ingram just can't get it together. It's not like he's bad all the time. In fact, he's mostly ok. But those two or three times where he's not are just catastrophic.

Asamoah was very good with the exception of getting his jock handed to him by Rodgers. Very active and one of the first in on most plays that could involve him. He definitely needs reps as he does look a bit lost at times.

Metellus was pretty meh.

Smith and Hunter were a mess. They were both out of position a ton. Hunter dropped back a few times and looked so confused. Smith picked the wrong spot to lineup a lot and they ran to him a bunch effectively. Both were terrible at setting the edge. They got taken out of so many plays. This was probably the most disappointing part of seeing this again. Not sure if they were trying to get them to do some different things but they were both so lost.

Shelley was solid.

I was disappointed that Dantlzer only got snaps at the end. I'd really like to see one of him or Shelley replace Sullivan a bunch.

I'd like to see more of Nailor. I know it was garbage time but he's so much more polished than Reagor. You can just tell.

And they've got to work Chandler in there to give cook a break next week.

Anyway, rewatching it while already knowing the result gave me a different perspective and helped me step away from the ledge.

We can beat them. No question. It was basically a reversal of the first game. I'd actually relish in the chance to face them again.