I didn't want to throw out an unsupported opinion so I'll just throw out the numbers (sorry for the data dump).
Here are the drive stats for all non-desperation (e.g. last 15 seconds in Seattle) drives starting under 10:00 minutes to play in the 6 close games the Vikings have played this year.
Vikings:
10 Drives
0 points scored
Drive Results: 1 int., 2 turnover on downs, 7 punts
This is what you get with a Mike Zimmer coached team...his philosophy and scheme is not made for 2020 football and makes the margin of error so small for this team.
Newsflash I know Mike you said before the start of the season you’ve never had a bad defense? Look in the mirror, your baby is broken down and leaking oil. You can’t play conservative offense when your defense can’t stop anyone. There can’t be another team in the league that thinks running the ball on 2nd and 11 is a good play except for this team. You have two elite level WR’s...USE THEM! Did Irv Smith go Into the witness protection program after his two catches??
Everything has to go perfect for a team coached like this to win, you are going to be in a lot of games but also means you are going to be in a lot of games against crappy teams and one mistake can cost you the game.
Yes, Cousins played great for the first 55 minutes, but once again he failed to step up when it mattered most. It wasn’t just the final drive either. It was the drive prior to that as well. Yes, Jefferson’s drop was huge, but the fact he went 1/6 down the stretch after going 21/24 is a problem.
I can’t lay all the blame on Kirk though. You could argue the first half is where this game was lost with the two big turnovers. In addition, the overall philosophy continues to be an issue. Without Dalvin as a threat, this offense is putrid. That’s not all on Kirk. It’s as much on the coaching staff as well, including Zimmer.
Since I’m pretty sure you write the headlines, Matthew, I’m going to take issue with your opinion of Cousins’ performance as “Brilliant.” First, he fumbled in Vikings territory. That led to six points by Dallas. Given a 28-24 lead with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Vikings managed one first down, but after that, Cousins looked shaky and was errant with his passes forcing a punt. Dallas went down the field and scored.
Boyd dropped a game-saving interception at the goal line. Zimmer got embarrassed by Mike McCarthy one play later and Dallas’ score made it 31-28.
The Vikings got the ball back with about 100 seconds left in the 4th quarter. A pass to Rudolph led to a first down, but on the next four plays, Cousins executed once, putting the ball in Jefferson’s hands over the middle. He dropped it. His first of the year, by my count. On third down, instead of checking down to Cook in the right flat, he pump-faked and air-mailed it downfield. On 4th down with the game on the line, under pressure, he threw up a desperation pass downfield. Ballgame.
When the game is on the line late in the 4th quarter, Kirk Cousins is not a good horse to bet on. There are a lot of past performance data that proves that.
I would like the Vikings to target Jefferson more. They threw at him five times in the game while Theilen got 11 targets. We all know who is the more explosive receiver. Why Cousins continues to favor Theilen is an ongoing mystery.
Cook takes a terrific beating between the tackles. Without Ezra at right guard, the middle of the line collapsed often in the game. Cook got the hell beat out of him by the Chicago defense on Monday night. Six days later, the same thing. Give Mattison more reps in the game. The Vikings are 4-6. Do the Vikings really want to give Cook 30 to 35 touches a game in a season that looks really iffy playoff-wise after today? A little long-term thinking might be in order.
A lot of fans had Minnesota winning their next three games. It was a night thought cloud to float on and contemplate. They have to win next week and the week after that to get to .500. If they get back to 6-6, that’s another conversation, but right now the most important game is straight away.
I agree with you. I think Kirk was at his best today. Can’t be better than that.
My concern is that they didn’t come in to this game slinging it down the field. JJ and Thielen are so (so, so, so) much better than the defenders who were covering them.
This was the perfect opponent to blow out early with huge plays in the passing game, then control the clock for the second half. With a multi-score lead, Zim could work his magic on defense. Instead, Dallas was able to stay on schedule and stay unpredictable.
Cook has had I think 66 touches the last two games, this is not sustainable. I get using your star RB but you also just signed him to a contract extension for big $ that has not even kicked in yet and Zimmer is trying to squeeze every ounce of juice out of him this year. Why not save some Cook bullets for future years as this year is about to have a bow put on it.
Further to the mailbag, I appreciate that Maalouf doesn't have roster control. But, either he has the opportunity to make an impact or he doesn't. If the latter, he shouldn't be there--hire a rescue greyhound to increase morale. If the former, his impact is actively harmful to overall success, and he shouldn't be there.
How many times have kickoffs been taken out of the endzone? Is there any evidence the punt and punt return teams have been coached?
I was (and remain) happy to (have) see(n) the noted bigot Priefer leave; Maalouf was not the right new hire and needs to be replaced.
Zimmers lack of faith in Cousins is really showing. Against a bad pass defense the Vikings should have been airing it out more. This one is all in the head coach
I didn't want to throw out an unsupported opinion so I'll just throw out the numbers (sorry for the data dump).
Here are the drive stats for all non-desperation (e.g. last 15 seconds in Seattle) drives starting under 10:00 minutes to play in the 6 close games the Vikings have played this year.
Vikings:
10 Drives
0 points scored
Drive Results: 1 int., 2 turnover on downs, 7 punts
16.5yds/drive (165 yards)
3.3 yds/play (50 plays)
9 1st Downs (.9 1st Downs/Drive)
Kirk Cousins:
7-18, 67 yards, 0 td, 1 int., 1 sack, 0 yards rushing; 26.85 QB Rating
Opponents:
12 Drives
34 points allowed
Drive Results: 4 tds, 2 fgs, 1 int., 1 fumble, 3 turnover on downs, 1 punt
45.3 yds/drive (541 yards)
5.6 yds/play (97 plays)
31 1st Downs (2.6 1st Downs/Drive)
Drive Breakdown:
Titans:
Received Ball at 6:31 up 30-28
5 plays, 12 yards, punt; (1 1st down)
Cousins 2-2, 15 yards, 1 sack
Received Ball at 1:44 down 31-30
4 plays, 1 yard, interception (No 1st downs)
Cousins 0-3, 0 yards, 1 int.
Tennessee last 2 drives: 10 plays 39 yards, fg; 9 plays, 44 yards, fg
Houston
Receive Ball at 5:52 up 31-23
7 plays, 25 yards, punt (2 1st Downs)
Cousins 1-2, 7 yards
Houston last 2 drives: 9 plays, 77 yards, td; 10 plays, 71 yards, downs
Seattle
Receive Ball at 5:45 up 26-21
7 plays, 44 yards, downs (2 1st Downs)
Cousins no attempts (did not attempt QB sneak on 4th and inches)
Seattle last 2 drives: 4 plays, 13 yards, int; 13 plays, 94 yards, td
Green Bay
Receive Ball at 8:15 up 28-14
3 plays, 7 yards, punt (No 1st Downs)
Cousins no attempts
Receive Ball at 2:42 up 28-22
5 plays, 16 yards, punt (1 1st Down)
Cousins no attempts
Green Bay last 2 drives: 9 plays, 74 yards, td; 5 plays, 31 yards, fumble
Chicago
Receive ball at 8:35 up 19-13
6 plays, 19 yards, punt (1 1st Down)
Cousins 1-3, 8 yards (had a 15 yard run called back by penalty)
Receive Ball at 2:04
5 plays, 25 yards, punt (1 1st Down)
Cousins 1-1, 21 yards
Chicago last 2 drives: 5 plays, 11 yards, downs; 6 plays, 18 yards, downs
Cowboys
Receive ball at 5:54 up 28-24
4 plays, 12 yards, punt (1 1st Down)
Cousins 1-3, 12 yards
Receive ball at 1:37 down 31-28
4 plays, 4 yards, downs (No 1st Downs)
Cousins 1-4, 4 yards (Jefferson drop on 2nd down)
Dallas las 2 drives: 6 plays, 8 yards, punt; 11 plays, 61 yards, td
This is what you get with a Mike Zimmer coached team...his philosophy and scheme is not made for 2020 football and makes the margin of error so small for this team.
Newsflash I know Mike you said before the start of the season you’ve never had a bad defense? Look in the mirror, your baby is broken down and leaking oil. You can’t play conservative offense when your defense can’t stop anyone. There can’t be another team in the league that thinks running the ball on 2nd and 11 is a good play except for this team. You have two elite level WR’s...USE THEM! Did Irv Smith go Into the witness protection program after his two catches??
Everything has to go perfect for a team coached like this to win, you are going to be in a lot of games but also means you are going to be in a lot of games against crappy teams and one mistake can cost you the game.
Yes, Cousins played great for the first 55 minutes, but once again he failed to step up when it mattered most. It wasn’t just the final drive either. It was the drive prior to that as well. Yes, Jefferson’s drop was huge, but the fact he went 1/6 down the stretch after going 21/24 is a problem.
I can’t lay all the blame on Kirk though. You could argue the first half is where this game was lost with the two big turnovers. In addition, the overall philosophy continues to be an issue. Without Dalvin as a threat, this offense is putrid. That’s not all on Kirk. It’s as much on the coaching staff as well, including Zimmer.
Since I’m pretty sure you write the headlines, Matthew, I’m going to take issue with your opinion of Cousins’ performance as “Brilliant.” First, he fumbled in Vikings territory. That led to six points by Dallas. Given a 28-24 lead with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Vikings managed one first down, but after that, Cousins looked shaky and was errant with his passes forcing a punt. Dallas went down the field and scored.
Boyd dropped a game-saving interception at the goal line. Zimmer got embarrassed by Mike McCarthy one play later and Dallas’ score made it 31-28.
The Vikings got the ball back with about 100 seconds left in the 4th quarter. A pass to Rudolph led to a first down, but on the next four plays, Cousins executed once, putting the ball in Jefferson’s hands over the middle. He dropped it. His first of the year, by my count. On third down, instead of checking down to Cook in the right flat, he pump-faked and air-mailed it downfield. On 4th down with the game on the line, under pressure, he threw up a desperation pass downfield. Ballgame.
When the game is on the line late in the 4th quarter, Kirk Cousins is not a good horse to bet on. There are a lot of past performance data that proves that.
I would like the Vikings to target Jefferson more. They threw at him five times in the game while Theilen got 11 targets. We all know who is the more explosive receiver. Why Cousins continues to favor Theilen is an ongoing mystery.
Cook takes a terrific beating between the tackles. Without Ezra at right guard, the middle of the line collapsed often in the game. Cook got the hell beat out of him by the Chicago defense on Monday night. Six days later, the same thing. Give Mattison more reps in the game. The Vikings are 4-6. Do the Vikings really want to give Cook 30 to 35 touches a game in a season that looks really iffy playoff-wise after today? A little long-term thinking might be in order.
A lot of fans had Minnesota winning their next three games. It was a night thought cloud to float on and contemplate. They have to win next week and the week after that to get to .500. If they get back to 6-6, that’s another conversation, but right now the most important game is straight away.
Thank you for your continued fine work, Matthew.
I agree with you. I think Kirk was at his best today. Can’t be better than that.
My concern is that they didn’t come in to this game slinging it down the field. JJ and Thielen are so (so, so, so) much better than the defenders who were covering them.
This was the perfect opponent to blow out early with huge plays in the passing game, then control the clock for the second half. With a multi-score lead, Zim could work his magic on defense. Instead, Dallas was able to stay on schedule and stay unpredictable.
Cook has had I think 66 touches the last two games, this is not sustainable. I get using your star RB but you also just signed him to a contract extension for big $ that has not even kicked in yet and Zimmer is trying to squeeze every ounce of juice out of him this year. Why not save some Cook bullets for future years as this year is about to have a bow put on it.
Further to the mailbag, I appreciate that Maalouf doesn't have roster control. But, either he has the opportunity to make an impact or he doesn't. If the latter, he shouldn't be there--hire a rescue greyhound to increase morale. If the former, his impact is actively harmful to overall success, and he shouldn't be there.
How many times have kickoffs been taken out of the endzone? Is there any evidence the punt and punt return teams have been coached?
I was (and remain) happy to (have) see(n) the noted bigot Priefer leave; Maalouf was not the right new hire and needs to be replaced.
Zimmers lack of faith in Cousins is really showing. Against a bad pass defense the Vikings should have been airing it out more. This one is all in the head coach