Post by Purple Pain on Nov 14, 2023 11:48:06 GMT -6
PFF: A statistical review of NFL Week 10
PFF's NFL Week 10 Game Recap: Minnesota Vikings 27, New Orleans Saints 19
Arif Hasan: Vikings Extend Astounding Win Streak with 27-19 Win Over Saints
PFF's NFL Week 10 Game Recap: Minnesota Vikings 27, New Orleans Saints 19
Offensive spotlight: Now that he actually knows the playbook, or at least has seen it, Josh Dobbs was able to show a little more of what he can do for this Vikings offense. Dobbs averaged 7.9 yards per attempt and added 44 rushing yards, including a touchdown. His rushing almost iced the game conclusively but for a slip that caused him to fall down short of the first-down marker and give the Saints one more shot at a miracle. Dobbs crucially avoided any critical mistakes and showed the Vikings can win with him as the starter.
Defensive spotlight: Danielle Hunter had a big day for the Vikings defense, and it was his hit that knocked Derek Carr out of the game and brought in Jameis Winston for the closing stages. Hunter had a sack to maintain his league lead this season, as well as some additional pressure. He had a 22.5% pass-rush win rate pending grade review and was a constant problem for the New Orleans offense.
Rookie spotlight: Receiver A.T. Perry and defensive lineman Bryan Bresee each played extensively for the Saints. Perry caught two of the four passes thrown his way, with one of them an impressive contested touchdown from Jameis Winston. For the Vikings, cornerback Mekhi Blackmon continues to see more game time as the season progresses. He was targeted five times, allowing just two catches for 19 yards and intercepting a pass along the way.
Defensive spotlight: Danielle Hunter had a big day for the Vikings defense, and it was his hit that knocked Derek Carr out of the game and brought in Jameis Winston for the closing stages. Hunter had a sack to maintain his league lead this season, as well as some additional pressure. He had a 22.5% pass-rush win rate pending grade review and was a constant problem for the New Orleans offense.
Rookie spotlight: Receiver A.T. Perry and defensive lineman Bryan Bresee each played extensively for the Saints. Perry caught two of the four passes thrown his way, with one of them an impressive contested touchdown from Jameis Winston. For the Vikings, cornerback Mekhi Blackmon continues to see more game time as the season progresses. He was targeted five times, allowing just two catches for 19 yards and intercepting a pass along the way.
Arif Hasan: Vikings Extend Astounding Win Streak with 27-19 Win Over Saints
Joshua Dobbs Is An Agent of Chaos
Joshua Dobbs has twice demonstrated that, so far, he’s a different player over the two halves of the game. Last week, it was a disastrous first half performance followed by a miraculous second half. This week, it was much the opposite.
There is something different about a high-volatility quarterback playing when the season was supposed to be lost anyway. Every bad play is baked into our expectations while every good play is pure profit. Maybe that’s a bad way for a team to think but it’s hard to avoid that for fans who checked out in the first half of last week’s game against the Atlanta Falcons.
So it seems more pedantic than usual to point out that Dobbs was still making mistakes in the first half; that his style is unsustainable or that the interceptions will come in time. But, it still feels worth pointing out: Dobbs invited defenders into the ball, demonstrated some accuracy issues getting the ball to the right spot and took unnecessary risks.
He also finished the first half with 0.60 expected points per play, which would rank in the 96th percentile of all quarterback performances over a full game in the last 24 years. And it’s not as if he was buoyed entirely by big plays – he had 12.7 completions over expected when accounting for field position and throw distance.
But the first half score differential of 24-3 wasn’t going to last and the offense sputtered out as the defense gave way. Dobbs began missing his throws, struggling under pressure and seeing some of his gambles fall short of expectations.
In the second half, Dobbs finished with -0.24 expected points per play — which would rank among the worst quarterback performances of the year. That’s a truly difficult feat without a turnover.
That said, there’s much more good than bad with Dobbs. At the moment, it’s difficult to regard him as anything but a starting quality quarterback. His command of the offense was apparently so complete by the end of his second week with the team that head coach Kevin O’Connell said they used a complete gameplan with a full playbook.
After the game, Dobbs said that despite the fact that he “isn’t paid by the hour,” he spent all of his time at the facility — eating perhaps every meal last week in the team facility.
That command showed throughout the game, but the volatility gives us a good understanding of why he may not be trusted around the league. O’Connell made the point that Dobbs’ athleticism gives them license to call more aggressive plays, so that kind of floor should always be part of the conversation when discussing Dobbs as a starting quarterback.
And none of this should take away from the heroic performance from T.J. Hockenson, playing through a rib and oblique injury. After 134 yards and a touchdown, the former Lions tight end demonstrated why the VIkings could still feel confident in their skill corps without Justin Jefferson.
Jordan Addison continued stepping up, too — with a big play near the beginning of the game to help the Vikings run up the score. He finished with 69 yards on four receptions. Nice.
Joshua Dobbs has twice demonstrated that, so far, he’s a different player over the two halves of the game. Last week, it was a disastrous first half performance followed by a miraculous second half. This week, it was much the opposite.
There is something different about a high-volatility quarterback playing when the season was supposed to be lost anyway. Every bad play is baked into our expectations while every good play is pure profit. Maybe that’s a bad way for a team to think but it’s hard to avoid that for fans who checked out in the first half of last week’s game against the Atlanta Falcons.
So it seems more pedantic than usual to point out that Dobbs was still making mistakes in the first half; that his style is unsustainable or that the interceptions will come in time. But, it still feels worth pointing out: Dobbs invited defenders into the ball, demonstrated some accuracy issues getting the ball to the right spot and took unnecessary risks.
He also finished the first half with 0.60 expected points per play, which would rank in the 96th percentile of all quarterback performances over a full game in the last 24 years. And it’s not as if he was buoyed entirely by big plays – he had 12.7 completions over expected when accounting for field position and throw distance.
But the first half score differential of 24-3 wasn’t going to last and the offense sputtered out as the defense gave way. Dobbs began missing his throws, struggling under pressure and seeing some of his gambles fall short of expectations.
In the second half, Dobbs finished with -0.24 expected points per play — which would rank among the worst quarterback performances of the year. That’s a truly difficult feat without a turnover.
That said, there’s much more good than bad with Dobbs. At the moment, it’s difficult to regard him as anything but a starting quality quarterback. His command of the offense was apparently so complete by the end of his second week with the team that head coach Kevin O’Connell said they used a complete gameplan with a full playbook.
After the game, Dobbs said that despite the fact that he “isn’t paid by the hour,” he spent all of his time at the facility — eating perhaps every meal last week in the team facility.
That command showed throughout the game, but the volatility gives us a good understanding of why he may not be trusted around the league. O’Connell made the point that Dobbs’ athleticism gives them license to call more aggressive plays, so that kind of floor should always be part of the conversation when discussing Dobbs as a starting quarterback.
And none of this should take away from the heroic performance from T.J. Hockenson, playing through a rib and oblique injury. After 134 yards and a touchdown, the former Lions tight end demonstrated why the VIkings could still feel confident in their skill corps without Justin Jefferson.
Jordan Addison continued stepping up, too — with a big play near the beginning of the game to help the Vikings run up the score. He finished with 69 yards on four receptions. Nice.
... and neither is this Chris guy.