Week 16: VIKINGS (6-8) at Saints (10-4)

[vikingsrule]

4 minutes ago, SemperFeist said:

To me Spielman and Zimmer are tied together. If one goes, the other does too. 

Id personally move on from Spielman and Zimmer, promote Paton to GM, and let him select his coach. 

Shame too considering what Stefanski is doing in Cleveland. 

[ArcticNorseman]

Listen . . . All this anti-Zimmer talk is futile.   Personally, I like Zimmer and his ability to develop defense.    Yes, today sucked.   The team had two brand new JV-squad LBs out there and to an extent, they each made a play or two.  So, the s-show we witnessed, wasn't due to nobody's . . . Not totally.   

Harris missing tackles, The Hitman missing plays, the corners playing soft and the D-Line making the Saints O-line look other-worldly.   The players failed.    And when Bailey missed the extra point the defense wilted like drought-ridden ***** willows.    

The defense forced how many punts?    I wonder the stats/records of winning the TO battle 2-0 when scoring over 30 points?  

Now, the clock mgt at the end of the first half is Zimmer's to bear . . . Bad, just bad.   The Vikes could've made a FG, come out in the 3rd and tied the game.   The feel would've been different, and Brees wasn't winning this game on his play.

All in all, I think a good showing next week, makes the Wilds retain Zim and Spelman . . . Some fans will be unhappy, some won't.    

 

[SteelKing728]

I still say keep Zimmer but if we underperform next season then its time to move on.

With us now mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, i think anyone with any sort of lingering issue should not play. I'd say sit Cook too and let Osborn/Chisena/Hollins start. 

Given our situation, playing next week like its the Preseason might not be such a bad idea.

[Viking Penguin]

2 hours ago, ArcticNorseman said:

Listen . . . All this anti-Zimmer talk is futile.   Personally, I like Zimmer and his ability to develop defense.    Yes, today sucked.   The team had two brand new JV-squad LBs out there and to an extent, they each made a play or two.  So, the s-show we witnessed, wasn't due to nobody's . . . Not totally.   

Harris missing tackles, The Hitman missing plays, the corners playing soft and the D-Line making the Saints O-line look other-worldly.   The players failed.    And when Bailey missed the extra point the defense wilted like drought-ridden ***** willows.    

The defense forced how many punts?    I wonder the stats/records of winning the TO battle 2-0 when scoring over 30 points?  

Now, the clock mgt at the end of the first half is Zimmer's to bear . . . Bad, just bad.   The Vikes could've made a FG, come out in the 3rd and tied the game.   The feel would've been different, and Brees wasn't winning this game on his play.

All in all, I think a good showing next week, makes the Wilds retain Zim and Spelman . . . Some fans will be unhappy, some won't.    

 

Then I hope we lose to Detroit 63-7

[Vikes_Bolts1228]

I have no doubt this team gets better next year.

But, how much better? Even if we take a big step forward next year, we're still hilariously behind the top teams in the NFL and I don't think we'll ever get there under Zimmer. This team seems like the Cincy Bengals. Good enough to make the playoffs, MAYBE can win a game but never a threat to win the Super Bowl.

I don't think our 1984 style of gameplay can keep up with these dynamic offenses that can put you down by 21 before you can blink which makes Kirk have to win the game.

Edited December 26, 2020 by Vikes_Bolts1228

[Viking Penguin]

1 hour ago, SteelKing728 said:

I still say keep Zimmer but if we underperform next season then its time to move on.

With us now mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, i think anyone with any sort of lingering issue should not play. I'd say sit Cook too and let Osborn/Chisena/Hollins start. 

Given our situation, playing next week like its the Preseason might not be such a bad 

We as older loyal fans need to not show up next year. We need to make the Vikings the least profitable team if we want to force the Wilf's hands. I want a Superbowl dynasty now. I feel us fans are owed that. I'm not asking for 1, I want multiple, and every time I see a wasted season, another year of our short lives, I expect even more. Man, just frustrated 

[KeithVikings28]

Attitude reflects leadership.

Bye Zimmer 👋.

[twslhs20]

We were close to a solid spot for a QB in the draft. 
 
The Vikings gonna Viking. Let the cycle continue 

[AP_allday2869]

1 minute ago, twslhs20 said:

We were close to a solid spot for a QB in the draft. 
 
The Vikings gonna Viking. Let the cycle continue 

? we lost, though?

[twslhs20]

4 minutes ago, AP_allday2869 said:

? we lost, though?

Referring to earlier in the season 

[y*so*blu]

The worst defensive performance of Zimmer's tenure, without a doubt.

Even Dennis Green never gave up a fifty-burger. Let that sink in.

Edited December 26, 2020 by y*so*blu

[wcblack34]

Positives, because I think we know the negatives:

Cousins played well. Can't fault him for the wet Kleenex that was thrown out there to masquerade as a Defense.

Running game looked decent when we could utilize it.

Irv Smith's development this year is encouraging. He's starting to become a real weapon. 

Tyler Conklin makes it easy to let Rudolph go at the end of the season. He's looked very good these past few weeks. 

Harrison Hand will be a contributor for a few years. 

 

That's really all I've got. 

[Illadelegend215]

7 hours ago, twslhs20 said:

We were close to a solid spot for a QB in the draft. 
 
The Vikings gonna Viking. Let the cycle continue 

It will. Everyone else had false hope. If we made the playoffs, this woulda happened.

[twslhs20]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/12/26/kirk-cousins-hasnt-taken-vikings-where-they-thought-he-would/amp/

[Uncle Buck]

It was an ugly performance by the defense, but I don't fault Mike Zimmer all that much.  We were basically fielding our B-Squad team.  There were 7 rookies playing in the game yesterday and 5 of them were on defense.  Like a lot of you, I've been a big fan of Mike Zimmer, but I have also reached the point where I just don't think his philosophy is going to get us to the promised land, no matter how well it is executed.

In the off-season, I predicted a 6-10 record when I found out that we had gotten rid of both Rhodes and Waynes, and weren't bringing in any free agent CBs to replace them, and we also lost Everson Griffen and traded Stefon Diggs.  As it turned out, we missed Danielle Hunter for the whole season, Barr was out, and we lost our All-Pro middle linebacker in Eric Kendricks for several weeks.  It shouldn't come as any surprise that we took a beating in 2020.  I don't think any coach could have turned this into a winning season.

Looking ahead to next season, I think this will be a greatly improved team.  I am guessing we win 12 games in 2021.  We have a good offense.  If we can solidify the offensive line, we should be very good.  We will have a number of starters back on defense next year too, and our rookie cornerbacks will go into next year with a year of experience under their belts.  

If I'm Zygi Wilf, I'm using 2021 as a do-or-die season for Zim.  If he doesn't win a Super Bowl next year, I would say that he has been given enough of a shot to determine that he probably never will.  We still have to pay Cousins next year.  We might as well give Zim one last year to try to make it work with what he has assembled.  I don't think he will be able to, but it's worth one more shot.  If we fire him after 2020, we aren't going to do anything in 2021 anyway.  Go for one more season, and if (when) it doesn't work, clean house.  I'd like to keep Spielman around, but if they decide to let him go too I wouldn't be too devastated.  Clean house of the coaching staff, the front office, and any older players who have any value to trade.  Then go into the 2022 draft with some draft capital, draft a quarterback who has some potential, and rebuild with a new coach.