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Will the KO Offense be a Knock Out?


vike daddy

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9 minutes ago, vike daddy said:

Last year there was tension within the team even when they won. A mini shoving match between head coach and quarterback after a victory against the Lions was evidence of that. Now Kirk Cousins and O’Connell have consistent conversations throughout the game and teammates are brandishing the low-key Cousins with their chains after wins. Players revealed postgame that they’re making Cousins a custom chain for Christmas. You wouldn’t have dreamed that sentence last year.

Za’Darius Smith: “As a group and as a whole we’re treated like family and everybody has really, like family. We have a younger coach and the coach wants to know what the players want and that’s a good thing to have.”

Dalvin Cook: “The feeling of going to work, the feeling of coming back in this locker room, the feeling of being around these guys is fun, it’s contagious. Coach brought that with him Day 1 when he walked in the building both in how we want to play and what team we want to be outside of this stadium.”

Adam Thielen: “You go back to OTAs and it’s not just talk, coach comes in with a new culture and a new mindset and the new staff and we go on the field and spread the ball around. He talks about the amount of playmakers we have, the number of guys who can do things at a high level.”   

Kevin O’Connell: “The feeling you get on our sideline, in our locker room, no matter what the circumstances are, I do feel like these guys believe in each other, they believe in what we’re doing. That’s a proud feeling for a coach.”  

https://www.si.com/fannation/bringmethesports/vikings/the-vikings-are-oozing-with-confidence-after-another-thrilling-win?fbclid=IwAR1wGxsd8fahKTHrVjk9GGUjmJvDdHNY_c5A8LXAI396jCjksEOCxJaGs6g

 

 

Culture does count. You can see the difference on the field. Even when adversity happens, it doesn't feel like it will snowball; as was the case last year.

That said, something still feels "off" about this team. I don't know if they're still getting their heads around the offensive and defensive schemes, or what. It just doesn't feel, right now, like we have a team capable of dominating anyone. 

Still, it's fun to watch, and with the utter mediocrity on display around the league, it's hard not to ask "why not us?"

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28 minutes ago, wcblack34 said:

Culture does count. You can see the difference on the field. Even when adversity happens, it doesn't feel like it will snowball; as was the case last year.

That said, something still feels "off" about this team. I don't know if they're still getting their heads around the offensive and defensive schemes, or what. It just doesn't feel, right now, like we have a team capable of dominating anyone. 

Still, it's fun to watch, and with the utter mediocrity on display around the league, it's hard not to ask "why not us?"

Think it starts with Cousins. He’s just not as good as he was the previous few seasons. He’s not bad but we’re definitely lacking fire power in the passing game, we’re far more methodical; also way too many stalled drives. Feel like this offense shouldn’t have a problem putting up 30+ points regularly based on the talent. 

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I can agree with the above, but I also like to think that it doesn't really matter how they're playing now, as long as they're winning.  What matters is how they're playing once December and January roll around.  

The Belichick mantra was that the most important time is after Halloween and that all his players had to get up to speed by then, otherwise they wouldn't be playing.

Edited by swede700
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2 minutes ago, swede700 said:

I can agree with the above, but I also like to think that it doesn't really matter how they're playing now, as long as they're winning.  What matters is how they're playing once December and January roll around.  

right. the operative question becomes - can they play better?

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1 minute ago, vike daddy said:

right. the operative question becomes - can they play better?

I'd like to believe that they certainly can.  This Arizona game, while contained a lot of the similar things we have seen, also showed progress in certain areas.  Cousins' pocket presence was better and the running game was better as well.

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One key difference for this year's offense is the early-down passing. Minnesota's passing rate on first and second down this year ranks 12th in the NFL. Last year it was 22nd. Kevin O'Connell has done a stellar job using Kirk Cousins' biggest strength — play-action passing — on these early downs (third-highest play-action rate), balancing aggressive and safe throws.

Minnesota tends to turn toward play action in the red zone. Cousins ranks first in the NFL in play-action dropbacks in that area of the field with 19 and is second in red zone touchdowns on those throws with six, just behind Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes (seven).

https://www.vikings.com/news/cbs-sports-previews-vikings-commanders-offenses-week-8?fbclid=IwAR04wNGAycbPrbvb4l5h6MrgxYF9H7oA58KZpNErMJW6p0bOtYfeHh3vq3c

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Minnesota has scored 70 points in the fourth quarter overall and head coach Kevin O’Connell said on Monday that the late game heroics have provided the team with confidence that they can “consistently win close games” in the final minutes.

O’Connell:  “Ultimately, you hate to continue to put yourselves in positions where you need to come from behind and win, but at least we know we’ve kind of removed all doubt and have a belief in ourselves that we can go get those wins when we have to know. Like I said, can we have the type of preparation and the type of performance where we don’t need to do that? That’s ultimately what our job is as coaches, to keep pushing our guys. We’ve got great leadership that knows where we’re headed, hopefully as a team. We’re going to need to play a little more distant throughout games and put it all together as a football team.”

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/11/08/kevin-oconnell-hate-to-keep-playing-from-behind-but-its-given-us-a-belief-in-ourselves/

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50 minutes ago, vike daddy said:

Will Ragatz@WillRagatz

Vikings point differential by quarter:

1st: +15
2nd: +17
3rd: -33
4th: +33

They've won the third quarter just once (by 1 point against ARI). They haven't lost a fourth quarter yet.

Well at least they rise to the occasion in the 4th quarter. But that third quarter needs to be fixed. 

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Coach of the week

Kevin O’Connell, head coach, Minnesota. The Minnesota team that went into Buffalo and trailed 27-10 with 16:30 left in the game looked absolutely cooked. But the Vikings scored 23 points in the final 25 minutes of the game, and there was a doggedness to their performance that was admirable. When O’Connell took over, he emphasized teaching over hard discipline. Maybe that’s how Minnesota has won seven in a row and beaten 7-3 Miami and 6-3 Buffalo. Whatever, the O’Connell way is working for one of the hottest teams in football.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/11/14/tom-brady-germany-peter-king-fmia-week-10/

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Vikings’ passing offense has been less consistent than in previous years, but way more opportunistic. The fourth-quarter comebacks have significantly made an impact on the passing yards and PFF grade, but DVOA, a metric designed to predict future success, isn’t convinced of the sustainability of the unit. It’s understandable to not fully buy into the team, but 23rd in the league is quite the outlier.

240.7 YPG-7th
PFF: 71.8-11th
DVOA: -0.3-23rd

 

 

The Vikings rushing attack has been inconsistent this season but the big touchdown runs by Dalvin Cook have been a major factor in not seeing their rankings lower. It also hasn’t helped that Cook has looked like he has lost that next-level gear that has made him such a dynamic back.

99.4 YPG-25th
PFF: 80.3-16th
DVOA: -0.5-13th

 

 

The Vikings’ scoring offense has been good so far this season. They have found a way to score 23+ points in each of their wins this season. They are scoring slightly less than the 25.0 PPG than they did last year, but they are playing better defense and consistency is more important than overall points.

23.8 PPG-11th

https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/lists/vikings-offense-defense-kevin-oconnell-ed-donatell/?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR0Pvhxtj-HwOfsjF8ycfeuIL1SkDBuwKJnarVBxAVcJO

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