Week 4: VIKINGS (3-0) at Packers (2-1)

[vike daddy]

[Dr A W Niloc]

      Having seen Sam Darnold before, I gave up on the Vikes contending when J.J. McCarthy went down.  Had someone predicted that Darnold (PFF:7th) would be, by most metrics, the best QB in the tough NFC-North, I'd have doubted their sanity.  I would guess that Caleb Williams was a disappointment and that Goff was relying on his support staff but what about Jordan Love (PFF:20th)?  Injured?  Yes, but his replacement, Malik Willis (PFF:12th) is an improvement.

      So Telegram Sam Darnold is the #1 QB in arguably the league's toughest division, ahead of Jordan Love's upgrade?

=====  CompADoT, Pass Attempts/Yards, Frequency of Targets  ====

   2024                   | Pass        |       Use        | Off
CA 0925  ADoT-Rk  Cmp%-Rk | Yrds-Rk Att | Rn-Ps-RBs  WR TE | PFF
                       ^^ |             |                  |   
5. Minn  7.27-16  73.5--6 |  476-10  24 | 14 10 7th  27 29 |  10
12 G.B.  8.37--7  59.2-25 |  382-21  30 |  1 30  14  26 28 |  17
26 Detr  6.84-21  63.9-20 |  541--3 8th |  5  5 1st   9 17 |   1
28 Chic  7.56-14  56.1-28 |  267-31 2nd | 22 16  27   6  9 |   5

     Yup.  In addition to the NFC-North's best passer (CompADoT:5th), especially in accuracy (Completion Percentage:6th), their overall offensive talent (10th) is seven rungs better than the Pack's.  They're still not a ground threat but their pass protection remains #1 in the NFL.  (Detroit's is 3rd, Green Bay's is a respectable 5th, and Chicago's 9th on paper.)

     Five years ago this division had the worst defenses in football.  Now, all are in the top dozen in the bottom line:  points allowed.

=====  Most Points + Yards Yielded, Ratings, Run/Pass Mix  =====

   Team  Fantasy Points |        || L E A S T | Defnsv  Run/
   2024  to  to  to  to | to to: || Yards     | DV PFF  Pass R/P
Rk 0924  QB  RB  WR  TE | PK DST || Rn Ps Pts | PA Agg  Lean Mix
                        |        ||       ^^^ |              
5. Minn  24  28  16   8 | 32  16 ||  2 26 2nd | 28  21  P-56 P-6
6. Detr  14  32   6  27 | 17  26 ||  4 19 9th |  9  11  P111 P-2
16 Chic  29   9  28  12 | 16   4 || 17  7  10 | 30  16  R101 R-2
22 G.B.  11  14  14   6 | 27  27 || 10 22  12 | 31  19  P-17 P14

     Minny's defense has been almost as surprising as its QB.  They rose steadily from DFL to average over the previous two years and have now taken a quantum leap into the top five.  Pass defense remains a slight concern and the P-6 schedule encourages opponents to air it out.

      I expect the Vikings to win this high scoring game comfortably, the division less so.

 

 

 

[SteelKing728]

Not having Pace or Bradbury possibly for this game stinks.

[vike daddy]

Stephon Gilmore only has one stadium left to go. On Sunday, he'll cross Lambeau Field off his list and will be able to say he's played a regular-season game in each of the 30 current NFL venues.

Gilmore: "I'm looking forward to it; I know the history of it."

Lambeau Field is the second-oldest stadium of those currently in use, second only to Chicago's Soldier Field, which first opened in 1924 and has been renovated a number of times. The Chicago Cardinals were the first team to call Soldier Field their full-time home, though, and the Bears didn't "move in" until 1971.

Lambeau Field, which opened in 1957, was named City Stadium, but in 1965 it was rechristened in honor of Earl "Curly" Lambeau, the Packers player and head coach.

vikings.com

[Sad People]

Feels weird saying this after we’ve played the Niners and Texans but this is the tough test of the season so far. 
 

IOL and stopping the run are my keys to the game. 

[swede700]

Unlike the first 3 games of the season, I expect this one to be competitive even if Love is starting.  I like LaFleur's coaching, but I think KOC is better...and the fact that KOC is going against a rookie DC is an advantage even if LaFleur v. Flores is a stalemate.  

[viking]

I

 

 

Not sure if anyone is interested - Vikings v Packers 2004 season wildcard game in full on the NFLs YouTube channel

[vike daddy]

Packers quarterback Jordan Love looks like he’s on track for another questionable designation on Friday.

Love took part in practice on a limited basis once again on Thursday and head coach Matt LaFleur said after the session that the team would take a decision on his availability against the Vikings all the way to gameday if necessary. 

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/another-limited-practice-for-jordan-love-thursday

[SemperFeist]

When they said they weren’t putting him on IR, I said they were going to use him as a decoy. 

[Ozzy]

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/41461025/vikings-justin-jefferson-jaire-alexander-get-head

 

Apparently Alexander on the Packers is talking trash, but honestly I am impressive with Jefferson's leadership this year especially after the big contract.  One can tell he is a great leader especially in the WR room, all those guys gain confidence because of him and all have greatly improved as receivers because of him.   Nailor is the big one currently that has but one could say Powell has as well and the growth Jackson has.

 

Hopefully Aaron Jones can stay healthy and kind of stick it to the Packers, he has more yards from scrimmage in three games than Josh Jacobs has on the Packers, and has 20 less carries as a runner and is a far more productive pass catcher!  

[vike daddy]

Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson and Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander will meet again on Sunday. They have had some battles. And Jefferson knows that Alexander likes to chirp.

Jefferson: “He likes to do that stuff to get inside someone’s head, I’m not really tripping on that. I’m going to just get my Griddy in his end zone. So, I’m not tripping on it at all. I’m excited for the matchup. I really don’t care about the matchup, honestly. I feel like he cares more of it than I do, but I mean it is what it is.”

“That’s every team, no knock at Jaire. That’s every team and how they scheme up against me and how they try to play me. So, it doesn’t matter if I’m going up against Jaire or if I’m going up against the worst corner in the league, it doesn’t matter. Always just trying to knickknack at every little thing and just try to play the head game. Just try to hit you a little extra or try to push you a little extra than normal people do. But I understand that it’s a tactic. It’s a tactic to get inside my head and to mess up my game plan and what I’m doing, but it doesn’t really work."

“I understand that he has some help over the top sometimes and he likes to do the jump jam and likes to put hands on to disrupt the route, but we have a plan for it. I can’t wait to go up against it honestly.”

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/justin-jefferson-on-matchup-with-jaire-alexander-he-cares-about-it-more-than-i-do

[vike daddy]

Brian Flores, on Matt LaFleur:

"Well, we certainly got one of the best coming up, as far as offensive coordinators. I've had my share of tough days against LaFleur and his offenses, dating back to when he was in Tennessee. Quite honestly, we have to do everything we can to stay ahead of a guy like Matt. I think for Matt to go in his bag and be a West Coast guy and then turn around and he's got this whole Zone Read/RPO/Counter Read, that's pretty impressive. And I don't think it's being talked about enough. It's impressive to watch. He's obviously a very, very good coach. One of the best in the league. This will certainly be a challenge, regardless of who the quarterback is."

NFLNewsExtra.com

[vike daddy]

Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison returned to practice on Wednesday and he feels ready to return to the lineup for Sunday’s game against the Packers.

Addison: “I’m feeling good to jump back in. We hot right now. Sam looking good. The O-line is playing good. We got a good run game going. I feel like having me out there is just going to take it up a notch.”

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/jordan-addison-feels-ready-to-return-to-vikings-lineup

[vike daddy]

The Packers offense ranks fifth in the league in total yards per game (391.7), second in total yards per play (6.39), fourth in passing yards per play (8.28) and are in the top two in rushing (first in yards per game with 204.0 and second in yards per carry with 5.51). Green Bay is also tied for seventh in scoring at 25 points per game.

The Vikings are second in scoring defense (10.0 per game) and are tied for second in rushing yards allowed per game (71.3).

https://www.vikings.com/news/nfl-expert-picks-packers-week-4-opinions-divided?

[Scottish_Viking]

Yes the Packers will be delighted to go 2-0 without Love, but let's not forget it was against the Colts and Titans. We got no respect for blowing out the Giants a team of a similar level with a QB most experts had us finishing bottom of the division with and no-one had us above .500.

But divisional games seem to see form go out the window so expecting a tough close game. A win in GB and I definitely see us hitting the bye week 5-0. Skol!