Preseason, Week 3: VIKINGS (2-0) vs Cardinals (1-1)

[VikeManDan]

38 minutes ago, Ozzy said:

And give Sloter the backup QB spot, forget freaking Mannion and his "experience".  No he did not win the Super Bowl for the Rams or even matter in that QB room, he is getting credit for basically doing nothing and just being around a successful young coach in an elite NFL offense.

#Preach

Edited August 24, 2019 by VikeManDan

[VikeManDan]

Biggest thing for me was no injuries. 2 good games and 1 bad game (without #19). Offense trending in right direction. 

[Eric dunn]

Things that have me really concerned after today's game are the same concerns i have had for a while.

-Rhodes looks finished, we really need Hughes to come back asap. I think this will be Rhodes' last season with the Vikings. 

-kicking is always a concern but right now i dont know what to think. They give up a 5th rounder for Vedvik and then dont commit to him at K. But use him at punter. Now in the dress rehearsal they use him as the starting K, but he misses two FGs. So if hes not a better P or K than what we had, we essentially completely wasted a 5th round pick.

- WR depth is a complete mess. Beebe hasnt done anything in games to show why he should be the #3 guy. I think Bisi should have that spot right now. But really, they need to go grab someone in the final cuts. I heard Stills might be cut, he'd be a great addition to this group. 

-Interior pass rush was a problem again today. Shamar brings nothing on passing downs and Herc/Holmes just arent flashing as much as id like. And at this point i think its safe to say Jaleel Johnson isnt going to pan out. 

To me if we can straighten those things out we might be ok. If Hughes can come back healthy and play well, Vedvik can kick as he did in BAL, Vikings can sign a WR like Stills, and lastly why not bring back Tom Johnson if the young guys arent cutting it? Another option at 3tech looks to be Arman Watts, he's looked surprisingly good, just needs some more reps with the starters. 

 

Edited August 24, 2019 by Eric dunn

[Krauser]

The OL was pretty good today. Cousins mostly had good pockets. One pressure was on a stunt where there was some miscommunication and another was on Rudolph. Bradbury's holding penalty was cheap. Hill's was legit, he tackled the guy. Samia took a holding penalty too, I think, but the announcers talked over the ref's call. Dozier and Jones were solid. Udoh gave up a pressure on a 3rd down where his technique was poor. He was otherwise very good, quite a bit better than Norton.

Cousins missed a couple of throws. He should've laid the deep pass up for Diggs to run under but instead he fired it. And the sideline throw to Beebe was just a wild pitch. He also suffered bad drops from Diggs and Beebe and had a pass to Beebe that missed because the receiver stopped running when he shouldn't have. 

Mannion was mediocre. Sloter was excellent, again. It's crazy that Sloter isn't getting a chance with the second string. 

Beebe had a drop and again had a mental mistake in route running. I've been giving him the benefit of the doubt based on positive reports from camp / practices but he hasn't been good this preseason.

For the other depth WRs, Bisi Johnson was great. He's clearly on the team as he played Thielen's spot with Thielen out.  They still need a slot WR, which I guess is Beebe, and a backup for Diggs, who I bet is Zylstra.

The game plan weirdly didn't feature much of the signature Kubiak play action, screens and bootlegs. TEs were hardly targeted with the ones. The one screen Cousins was in for got sniffed out and almost picked. In the second half, Conklin dropped a tough but makable catch but then caught another one. 

Cook looked explosive on the TD. Abdullah was OK but Boone was better as a RB. Boone had a decent KR. Both made a tackle as a punt gunner, but to me Boone's was more impressive. Ham again didn't contribute as a receiver, while Blasingame made another excellent catch (over his head) and run for the TD. 

The starting defense was good except for Rhodes. There was a deep completion against Waynes but he played it perfectly, just got beaten by a perfect throw. Kearse, Harris and Alexander were good. The LBs made some plays. Run defense was good. They generated some pass rush, and played some contain. Griffen showed up. 

Rhodes though looked terrible. I've been saying he could be the odd man out in the CB depth chart next year. I really don't want to see them lose 2 or 3 of Waynes, Alexander, Kearse and Harris while keeping Rhodes at top 5 CB money if he continues to decline. 

DL depth was up and down. Odenigbo was great. Jaleel Johnson didn't do much. Mata’afa had one nice pass rush.

Backup LBs seemed to have a good game, especially Downs.

Secondary depth was poor. Boyd had a terrible game and got picked on repeatedly. Meadors and one of the other safeties gave up what should've been a long TD except that Hundley missed the throw. I didn't notice Epps. 

Vedvik wasn't especially close to making the 43 yarder. He didn't miss the 54 yarder by much but it goes down as another miss. I don't understand what they're doing with the position.

[Ozzy]

25 minutes ago, Eric dunn said:

Things that have me really concerned after today's game are the same concerns i have had for a while.

-Rhodes looks finished, we really need Hughes to come back asap. I think this will be Rhodes' last season with the Vikings. 

-kicking is always a concern but right now i dont know what to think. They give up a 5th rounder for Vedvik and then dont commit to him at K. But use him at punter. Now in the dress rehearsal they use him as the starting K, but he misses two FGs. So if hes not a better P or K than what we had, we essentially completely wasted a 5th round pick.

- WR depth is a complete mess. Beebe hasnt done anything in games to show why he should be the #3 guy. I think Bisi should have that spot right now. But really, they need to go grab someone in the final cuts. I heard Stills might be cut, he'd be a great addition to this group. 

-Interior pass rush was a problem again today. Shamar brings nothing on passing downs and Herc/Holmes just arent flashing as much as id like. And at this point i think its safe to say Jaleel Johnson isnt going to pan out. 

To me if we can straighten those things out we might be ok. If Hughes can come back healthy and play well, Vedvik can kick as he did in BAL, Vikings can sign a WR like Stills, and lastly why not bring back Tom Johnson if the young guys arent cutting it? Another option at 3tech looks to be Arman Watts, he's looked surprisingly good, just needs some more reps with the starters. 

 

I agree with all of this, and it sucks but yeah if Rhodes plays like this in the regular season he is done for but they do have him signed till 2022 but I guess he could just be cut.  

I think Hercules and Holmes have flashed this presason, especially Hercules because you take him out of the mix and I agree the DL talent especially interior has looked pretty average.  Jaleel Johnson has he been injured?  He is not out there much it seems and if he is he does nothing.  Out of sight out of mind, kind of what has happened to Aviante Collins also on the OL.

 

2 minutes ago, Krauser said:

The OL was pretty good today. Cousins mostly had good pockets. One pressure was on a stunt where there was some miscommunication and another was on Rudolph. Bradbury's holding penalty was cheap. Hill's was legit, he tackled the guy. Samia took a holding penalty too, I think, but the announcers talked over the ref's call. Dozier and Jones were solid. Udoh gave up a pressure on a 3rd down where his technique was poor. He was otherwise very good, quite a bit better than Norton.

Cousins missed a couple of throws. He should've laid the deep pass up for Diggs to run under but instead he fired it. And the sideline throw to Beebe was just a wild pitch. He also suffered bad drops from Diggs and Beebe and had a pass to Beebe that missed because the receiver stopped running when he shouldn't have. 

Mannion was mediocre. Sloter was excellent, again. It's crazy that Sloter isn't getting a chance with the second string. 

Beebe had a drop and again had a mental mistake in route running. I've been giving him the benefit of the doubt based on positive reports from camp / practices but he hasn't been good this preseason.

For the other depth WRs, Bisi Johnson was great. He's clearly on the team as he played Thielen's spot with Thielen out.  They still need a slot WR, which I guess is Beebe, and a backup for Diggs, who I bet is Zylstra.

The game plan weirdly didn't feature much of the signature Kubiak play action, screens and bootlegs. TEs were hardly targeted with the ones. The one screen Cousins was in for got sniffed out and almost picked. In the second half, Conklin dropped a tough but makable catch but then caught another one. 

Cook looked explosive on the TD. Abdullah was OK but Boone was better as a RB. Boone had a decent KR. Both made a tackle as a punt gunner, but to me Boone's was more impressive. Ham again didn't contribute as a receiver, while Blasingame made another excellent catch (over his head) and run for the TD. 

The starting defense was good except for Rhodes. There was a deep completion against Waynes but he played it perfectly, just got beaten by a perfect throw. Kearse, Harris and Alexander were good. The LBs made some plays. Run defense was good. They generated some pass rush, and played some contain. Griffen showed up. 

Rhodes though looked terrible. I've been saying he could be the odd man out in the CB depth chart next year. I really don't want to see them lose 2 or 3 of Waynes, Alexander, Kearse and Harris while keeping Rhodes at top 5 CB money if he continues to decline. 

DL depth was up and down. Odenigbo was great. Jaleel Johnson didn't do much. Mata’afa had one nice pass rush.

Backup LBs seemed to have a good game, especially Downs.

Secondary depth was poor. Boyd had a terrible game and got picked on repeatedly. Meadors and one of the other safeties gave up what should've been a long TD except that Hundley missed the throw. I didn't notice Epps. 

Vedvik wasn't especially close to making the 43 yarder. He didn't miss the 54 yarder by much but it goes down as another miss. I don't understand what they're doing with the position.

I agree Boyd looked bad out there but so did Rhodes of course.  Duke Thomas consistently is around the ball and could make the roster I think as a backup CB especially with Hill and Hughes out for awhile.

Vedvik is talented, sure missed the kids but new holder and snapper for him, still he is young and talented and will either be the punter or the kicker.  Not sure which but no way he is not one of those things because if he isn't then they just wasted a 5th round pick for nothing.  That simply cannot happen and he has to make the roster, he is a better kickoff guy compared to Bailey so that is something that is important, most likely the punter is out and he is in as the punter and kickoff/long field goal guy.  

I agree Bisi looked very good, agile, quick, good after the catch and nice hands.  He should make the team, Treadwell they did not use like last week, not sure if that means there is a trade in the works for him leaving but still the WR group is nothing great to just cut guys who are better than others they are keeping could be an issue.

[dll2000]

4 hours ago, Ozzy said:

Agreed, Treadwell is just as good as Beebe if not better because he is bigger and a better blocker potentially.  

 

 

PS Wow that offensive line has looked like crap.  Bradbury has got pushed around and over powered it seems, Elflein is getting beat badly and Hill has looked bad also.  Zach Allen has played well, Cardinals got a steal with him in the 3rd when he should have been a 1st round pick.  Never thought Gunter was that good but he looks very solid in this game, same with Dogbe but maybe the Vikings are just playing that poorly.

 

And damn Xavier Rhodes looked bad, getting wipped by Damiere Byrd, not a good sign at all.  And does suck the Cardinals have a variety of options at WR youth and experienced and the Vikings struggle for a third WR?  Fitzgerald, KeeSean Johnson, Pharoh Cooper, Andy Isabella, Byrd, Hakeem Butler, Michael Crabtree, Christian Kirk, Trent Sherfield etc.  Maybe that is what the Vikings will do get a WR that is cut by another team that has too many.

 

It is just preseason but brings one back to reality a little about the OL.  
 

Above all those guys AZ had Kevin White as a starter before he got hurt and then they cut him as soon as he did.   A hamstring injury this time.  

Not saying you could trust him to stay healthy, but hearing that he was starting kind of shocked me.  He must have shown something to AZ.  

[y*so*blu]

Takeaways from this game:

Our o-line gave up three sacks and a lot of pressure to a bad team.

Vedvik missed two kicks. Yeah, they were long ones, but he's supposed to be able to handle those.

Cousins didn't look so good. Preseason, but still.

Sloter is a beast.

Heh heh. "Kyler." Heh heh.

Edited August 24, 2019 by y*so*blu

[gopherwrestler]

Just got done with the game. Wowzers, it’s preseason but we look like junk 

[PrplChilPill]

I didn't see the game, but I'm still baffled people wanted to trade Waynes and keep Rhodes this off-season. Sounds like I got one thing right....

[Hunter2_1]

I feel like we (NE) should have traded Gostowski with MIN. He's 98% during the season/and on regular kicks. He's a bit shaky now in pressured kicks in the playoffs and kicks beyond 50. So, given that we tend to be in high pressured situations and MIN just need a god damned kicker who is deadly from 0-49, and could win regular season games for you, it could have worked.

Pulling for MIN, as always. Good luck this season.

[SteelKing728]

23 minutes ago, Hunter2_1 said:

I feel like we (NE) should have traded Gostowski with MIN. He's 98% during the season/and on regular kicks. He's a bit shaky now in pressured kicks in the playoffs and kicks beyond 50. So, given that we tend to be in high pressured situations and MIN just need a god damned kicker who is deadly from 0-49, and could win regular season games for you, it could have worked.

Pulling for MIN, as always. Good luck this season.

If the Vikings aren't in it, I always Bandwagon on the Patriots. Its fun watching the greatest dynasty ever go to work.

Good luck to your team as well this season.

[Hunter2_1]

37 minutes ago, SteelKing728 said:

If the Vikings aren't in it, I always Bandwagon on the Patriots. Its fun watching the greatest dynasty ever go to work.

Good luck to your team as well this season.

We know we can count on you over in PatsHQ

 

What's the expectations for MIN this season? I have them in WC, I think.

[Robb_K]

I'm very happy with the new offence.  Again, they created room to operate.  I wasn't very happy with Cousins not doing well.  But, he didn't have a lot of plays.  So, I'll hope it's just because of a few dropped balls, a few OL breakdowns, and him just not being in top form, but not getting enough downs to get into a groove.  Sloter again looked very good.  I, too, think he should be getting 2nd string reps.  Mannion didn't impress me as being ready to be a solid replacement for Cousins in case of injury.  I think I'd rather see Sloter (who should surely improve working regularly with the 1st stringers).  Cook and Boone looked great.  Bisi looks like the 3rd WR, right now.  But, I'd like to see them pick up a WR from the last cuts, who should be a ready NFL established receiver.  I hope The OL gets better.  They only had a few breakdowns, but they were severe enough really hurt Cousins' ability to adjust to them and make a play.  I hope O'Neill can be healthy for Game 1, and get some reps in before.  The entire defence needs to play better more consistently.  I hope they are just saving there desire to go all out for the regular season.

[SteelKing728]

1 hour ago, Hunter2_1 said:

We know we can count on you over in PatsHQ

 

What's the expectations for MIN this season? I have them in WC, I think.

I consistently have them as a 10-6 team, beating the teams they should beat and losing to some better teams (LAC, KC, etc).

Hopefully another year of the offense gelling is what we needed although our first string offense was a mess against Arizona.

[Robb_K]

55 minutes ago, SteelKing728 said:

I consistently have them as a 10-6 team, beating the teams they should beat and losing to some better teams (LAC, KC, etc).

Hopefully another year of the offense gelling is what we needed although our first string offense was a mess against Arizona.

I don't think The 1st String had enough downs to get in a groove after a few costly errors (drops and badly-timed OL errors and miscues).  Had they played the whole game in a regulation game, they'd have had a good chance to pull out of it and score several times.  I'm not too worried about the offence.  I'm more worried abould Rhodes, and the DL, and the linebackers over the long haul.  The defensive front 7 doesn't seem to have the same fire they had 2 seasons ago.  This offence seems to be ready to score 25+ points per game.  But, the defence doesn't seem to be dominating at all.  Maybe they'll be giving up 24 points per game, and making us nervous EVERY game.  I certainly hope not.  I hope the offence can score 26 or 27 per game, and the defence will limit opponents to 13 or 14 a game, and there will be several laughers, in which The 2nd and 3rd String players can get lots of real game experience.