Is anyone actually afraid of the Vikings?

[PackinMSP]

I ask this kind of jokingly.

I was watching the game last night and sparingly follow the Vikings (but never root for them) as I have one of my condos in MSP, due to business reasons and some of the women are "easy on the eyes" there too!

The Front 7 of the Defense is stacked, but their secondary is suspect especially with the loss of Anthony Sendejo I think. He was like their Morgan Burnett of the secondary.

They have probably the best WR tandem in the NFL
Probably the best RB in the NFL (if not top 3)
Easily a Top 5 TE

And they have Kirk Cousins...

It's funny because you look at their Offensive numbers this past month, especially Cousins, and they're "Madden esque"..

But is anyone actually afraid of or worried about these guys? I mean we all know that they're not going to do anything in the playoffs and routinely choke in big spots.

They kept a 1 win team with a ROOKIE QB who looked completely overmatched in the game AT HOME... until about halfway through the 4th quarter.

Laughable.

 

[Dantés]

I don't know about "afraid," but the Vikings are really, really good. Their defense has lapses, but they are still a top ten unit. And their offense has been really strong since they started trying to be a little bit more balanced.

Cousins always comes up small in prime time. I don't think they will ever actually accomplish anything substantive with him. But they are certainly capable of hanging a loss on Green Bay.

 

[PackAttack12]

Cousins always comes up small in prime time. I don't think they will ever actually accomplish anything substantive with him. But they are certainly capable of hanging a loss on Green Bay.

This is the most important part.

As long as the Packers play a clean game and make things difficult on Cousins, he'll fold. But the Packers will not be able to get away with a bunch of turnovers and/or mistakes against them. They're simply too sound of a football team outside of the quarterback.

 

[GleefulGary]

The Vikings are a good squad.

They have two great WR's. A very good RB duo. A good QB. Great front 7.

They have some weaknesses too. Their OL is average at best. Secondary has been struggling (except Harrison Smith).

They absolutely can beat us. Wouldn't be surprised at all. Cook is going to have a big game with our run D. But we have a good pass rush, which helps.

In regards to playing close with Washington, Washington has an elite DL, which went against a bad OL that likes to run the ball. The struggles there made sense.

 

[HardRightEdge]

If Cousins is not the most fumble-prone player in the NFL he's close. He's been highly vulnerable to the strip sack. He's been good for 9-13 fumbles over the 2015-2018 period and has 7 so far this season. When you add that to his historical record of double-digit INTs, he's particularly turnover prone.

Going through his game logs since he became a full-time starter in 2015, I come up with a record of 12-1 in games where he had no fumbles or INTs. He's 26-31-2 where he had at least one INT or fumble. One of those wins, some may recall, was that 11/20/16 game against the Packers where he was All Pro for a day. Ditto 11/25/18. The one loss came last year in the low scoring season ender against the Bears. Two of those 12 error free games have been his most recent.

He's played pretty clean in this 4 game winning streak, 1 INT and 1 fumble. His 3 INTs on the season are below his typical ration and well within acceptable NFL tolerances.

He could be the anti-Favre. When Favre would come out air mailing his first few balls, which was a fairly common occurrance, I'd say he needed to get rocked once to unstick his gyroscope. Low and behold, it seemed to work. Cousins may just get off his game once he gets rocked and loses the ball.

Given the Vikings offensive weapons and their good defense, if you don't force Cousins into a possession error, or at least give him a good shot, there's a very good chance he'll beat you. But he is like that box of chocolates, you don't know what you're going to get from one week to week. But if the recent trend is any indication, he could be big trouble.

He has had Thielen and Diggs at different times this season carping about not getting the ball enough. That may be the biggest problem for these guys going forward.

 

[PackerfaninCarolina]

Afraid of the Vikes in Lambeau Field? No, and obviously our week 2 win shows they're incapable of winning here when Rodgers and the offense are hitting on all cylinders.

At US Bank Stadium? While no doubt at some point we will win there, it's become what the old Metrodome was like in the 1990s, so until proven otherwise, it certainly is concerning when we have to go there. Hence why I kinda wish our schedule would have had us playing there first and then drag em out here to the cold later where they'd lose.

 

[Wi. Mike now in Florida]

Vikings to me, (as great as their are), seem to be playing with one player short of
being in the play-offs.

Remember coach Bud Grant?
As bad as he tried, he could never win a SB with his Vi-Queens.

 

[weeds]

Of course they concern me. They're beating the team they're playing.

 

[El Guapo]

Both the Packers and Vikings looked mediocre at best in their Thursday night games.

 

[Packer Fan in SD]

I don't know about "afraid," but the Vikings are really, really good. Their defense has lapses, but they are still a top ten unit. And their offense has been really strong since they started trying to be a little bit more balanced.

Cousins always comes up small in prime time. I don't think they will ever actually accomplish anything substantive with him. But they are certainly capable of hanging a loss on Green Bay.

Agree. Division games always make me nervous. I remember many games over the years where the better team lost to a much lessor team. In divisional games, sometimes a bad team considers beating the divisional leader kind of like their Super Bowl. When two teams are comparable it may be a bounce here, tipped pass there, anything can be the difference. But many divisional games are close due to rivalry. And trying not to be a homer, but all 3 of the other NFC teams consider us their main rival, while only one really is.

 

[gopkrs]

I'm not scared of anyone right now. But I would like to shore up the D somehow against the run game.

 

[PikeBadger]

Not me.

 

[C-Lee]

They're very good.

 

[XPack]

Not afraid, but definitely wary of. They are a genuine contender both in conference and in division. They are already nipping at our heels and probably a slip away from tying with us. Definitely not to be underestimated.

But they they are a x factor short of full fledged threat, which coincidentally we have....players capable of moving up a gear when needed.

 

[ARPackFan]

Do you mean real Vikings from Scandinavia that pillage, burn, and kill everything in their path or those pu$$ies from Minnesota?

 

[Raptorman]

Cousins always comes up small in prime time. I don't think they will ever actually accomplish anything substantive with him. But they are certainly capable of hanging a loss on Green Bay.

On Cousins coming up small in primetime. This includes Thursday's game.

                   Comp   Attp  Perc   Yards  YPA   TD   INT   Rate
In all games 19     516   774   70%    5,962  8.1   35   13   103.2
In losses 12        330   477   69%    3,534  7.4   18   11    93.6
In wins/ties 7      186   257   72%    2,428  9.4   17    2   120.6

As far as the defense goes, in losses, they averaged 30.4 ppg given up, and in his wins, 17.3 ppg given up. I wonder, whats Rodgers average in primetime when the Packers defense gives up 30 points per game? Granted, in about 3 of those losses Cousins was responsible for some of that 30 ppg. But only 3.

But don't fear the Vikings. The only thing that separates the two teams so far this year is 5 points.

 

[Dantés]

On Cousins coming up small in primetime. This includes Thursday's game.

                   Comp   Attp  Perc   Yards  YPA   TD   INT   Rate
In all games 19     516   774   70%    5,962  8.1   35   13   103.2
In losses 12        330   477   69%    3,534  7.4   18   11    93.6
In wins/ties 7      186   257   72%    2,428  9.4   17    2   120.6

As far as the defense goes, in losses, they averaged 30.4 ppg given up, and in his wins, 17.3 ppg given up. I wonder, whats Rodgers average in primetime when the Packers defense gives up 30 points per game? Granted, in about 3 of those losses Cousins was responsible for some of that 30 ppg. But only 3.

But don't fear the Vikings. The only thing that separates the two teams so far this year is 5 points.

I gave them a lot of credit. Why you so mad? Are you the one that's afraid?

 

[Patriotplayer90]

Absolutely. The defense is top notch, the receivers are top notch, their RB is top notch, and Kubiac is one of the better offensive play callers in the league. We have to bring our A game to beat them.

 

[Poppa San]

Do you mean real Vikings from Scandinavia that pillage, burn, and kill everything in their path or those pu$$ies from Minnesota?

In his All About History interview, Hirst set the record straight about Viking brutality. He said:

People said it wasn’t really possible to write a series about Vikings because they were so nasty, that they were brutish and just pillaged and ***** everyone. But the more I read and understood the more I realized that this was a rich and wonderful culture that had been stigmatized by their enemies, the Christian monks who had an axe to grind against them. I just fell in love with their paganism and how democratic they were compared to other societies.

 

[Raptorman]

I gave them a lot of credit. Why you so mad? Are you the one that's afraid?

Mad? Who's mad. Just pointing out that Cousins isn't as bad as everyone makes him out to be in prime time games. Any QB that has a defense that gives up almost 31 ppg is in for a lot of losses. As a Packer fan over the last 10 years, you should have that figured out by now. It's not Rodgers and the Offense holding the Packers back, it's been their crappy defense. That's why players like Mahommes and Goff are coming down to earth. There is now enough film on them to see their tendencies and they have crappy defenses. But then, people still think that the Patriots have 6 rings solely because of Brady.

 

[gopkrs]

Mad? Who's mad. Just pointing out that Cousins isn't as bad as everyone makes him out to be in prime time games. Any QB that has a defense that gives up almost 31 ppg is in for a lot of losses. As a Packer fan over the last 10 years, you should have that figured out by now. It's not Rodgers and the Offense holding the Packers back, it's been their crappy defense. That's why players like Mahommes and Goff are coming down to earth. There is now enough film on them to see their tendencies and they have crappy defenses. But then, people still think that the Patriots have 6 rings solely because of Brady.

I agree with you on Cousins. When he is hot; he can beat anybody. And he has receivers and a running back or two. To say a player just is not good in big games...I don't buy it. Such a generalization. Backed up by stats that don't mean anything. e.g., he is 4 and 12 in Monday night games played in 40 degree weather or colder and he came off a bye week when the mean temperature in Illinois was 22 degrees.

 

[gopkrs]

Mad? Who's mad. Just pointing out that Cousins isn't as bad as everyone makes him out to be in prime time games. Any QB that has a defense that gives up almost 31 ppg is in for a lot of losses. As a Packer fan over the last 10 years, you should have that figured out by now. It's not Rodgers and the Offense holding the Packers back, it's been their crappy defense. That's why players like Mahommes and Goff are coming down to earth. There is now enough film on them to see their tendencies and they have crappy defenses. But then, people still think that the Patriots have 6 rings solely because of Brady.

I agree with you on Cousins. When he is hot; he can beat anybody. And he has receivers and a running back or two. To say a player just is not good in big games...I don't buy it. Such a generalization. Backed up by stats that don't mean anything. e.g., he is 4 and 12 in Monday night games played in 40 degree weather or colder and he came off a bye week when the mean temperature in Illinois was 22 degrees.

 

[gopkrs]

Mad? Who's mad. Just pointing out that Cousins isn't as bad as everyone makes him out to be in prime time games. Any QB that has a defense that gives up almost 31 ppg is in for a lot of losses. As a Packer fan over the last 10 years, you should have that figured out by now. It's not Rodgers and the Offense holding the Packers back, it's been their crappy defense. That's why players like Mahommes and Goff are coming down to earth. There is now enough film on them to see their tendencies and they have crappy defenses. But then, people still think that the Patriots have 6 rings solely because of Brady.

I agree with you on Cousins. When he is hot; he can beat anybody. And he has receivers and a running back or two. To say a player just is not good in big games...I don't buy it. Such a generalization. Backed up by stats that don't mean anything. e.g., he is 4 and 12 in Monday night games played in 40 degree weather or colder and he came off a bye week when the mean temperature in Illinois was 22 degrees.

 

[gopkrs]

Mad? Who's mad. Just pointing out that Cousins isn't as bad as everyone makes him out to be in prime time games. Any QB that has a defense that gives up almost 31 ppg is in for a lot of losses. As a Packer fan over the last 10 years, you should have that figured out by now. It's not Rodgers and the Offense holding the Packers back, it's been their crappy defense. That's why players like Mahommes and Goff are coming down to earth. There is now enough film on them to see their tendencies and they have crappy defenses. But then, people still think that the Patriots have 6 rings solely because of Brady.

I agree with you on Cousins. When he is hot; he can beat anybody. And he has receivers and a running back or two. To say a player just is not good in big games...I don't buy it. Such a generalization. Backed up by stats that don't mean anything. e.g., he is 4 and 12 in Monday night games played in 40 degree weather or colder and he came off a bye week when the mean temperature in Illinois was 22 degrees and 3 sets of twins were delivered in Omaha the night before.

 

[gopkrs]

Mad? Who's mad. Just pointing out that Cousins isn't as bad as everyone makes him out to be in prime time games. Any QB that has a defense that gives up almost 31 ppg is in for a lot of losses. As a Packer fan over the last 10 years, you should have that figured out by now. It's not Rodgers and the Offense holding the Packers back, it's been their crappy defense. That's why players like Mahommes and Goff are coming down to earth. There is now enough film on them to see their tendencies and they have crappy defenses. But then, people still think that the Patriots have 6 rings solely because of Brady.

I agree with you on Cousins. When he is hot; he can beat anybody. And he has receivers and a running back or two. To say a player just is not good in big games...I don't buy it. Such a generalization. Backed up by stats that don't mean anything. e.g., he is 4 and 12 in Monday night games played in 40 degree weather or colder and he came off a bye week when the mean temperature in Illinois was 22 degrees and 3 sets of twins were delivered in Omaha the night before.