Bigger disappointment?

[Counter-Tre]

Good god, how many 3rd and 9's did the Vikings convert on us!

[Beemnseven]

Originally Posted by Counter-Tre

Good god, how many 3rd and 9's did the Vikings convert on us!

Yep, that number sticks out for me too. On the post game show on the way home, they said the Vikings were 9 for 17 on third down. 7 of the 9 were for 3rd and 7 or longer.

No pass rush and a poor pass defense add up to lots of 3rd down conversions and a loss. Simple as that.

[mooby]

Defense easily. I knew I wouldn't be suprised if our offense didn't start flying out of the gate, but the Vikings O handled our defense pretty easily.

[SmootSmack]

I thought the offense did quite well for the most part. But you gotta score touchdowns, not field goals. Defense gave up way too many 3rd downs. And so much for Archuleta and Taylor making offenses fear going over the middle. I think overall defense was clearly the bigger let down.

But to me there was no let down bigger than special teams coverage. That was just abysmal.

[illdefined]

our entire D-Line was M.I.A. and our big offseason hope Andre Carter seems to have made everyone worse.

our secondary: * BIG TROUBLE *

Springs won't be the same guy he was last year, even after he heals.

Rogers is a great nickelback, only a decent no.2, and by no means a no.1. he's had enough starting experience to show his potential guys, and his upside is looking less and less.

Archuleta is a wannabe Sean Taylor, with none of his physical qualities. He's not as fast, not as strong, and worse yet, with all his 'experience', he wasnt showing any kind of veteran instinct.

Prioleau was playing good for us last year, better at coverage for those 3rd and longs, and looks like he's out this year.

That leaves us Rumph and Wright. we're in real trouble back there.

Williams' blitzes only work when you can have some confidence in one of those two units (ideally both). our linebackers can't be a defense unto themselves.

our offense is new, it's obvious its just a matter of time (what happened to passing to SELLERS on the goaline, Cooley is the decoy!). but the defense isn't new, it's in the worst shape it's been in years. i'd be making some serious phone calls this week.

[diehardskin2982]

I'm starting to miss ryan clark atleast he kept sean in check... the o looked good to me but where was cooley, duckett, lloyd? Too many weapons i guess. It will get better it is only the first game

[budw38]

I would say defence . We are in our third year under Willams . I do however feel it is not his fault that they overpaid for Carter < no pass rush > and Adam , who has never been good in coverage . It is only week 1 , but they better spend next off season building the left side of our O Line < i think Samuals and Dockery are too soft > and get a kid like Abraham < Atl > who can hurt the opposing qb . Wish we had drafted Merriman last year , beast ! NOW IT IS TIME TO WAX THE COWGILRS !!!!!!!

[jbcjr14]

I think the injury to Prileau on the opening kick had alot to do with the defensive calls. He is a vital part to the nickel packages and to have him go down that early may have changed that. I voted Dfense because they just could not get off the field on 3rd downs. It's week one...DO NOT PANIC.

[onlydarksets]

No question - defense. They looked lost at times, although, as I've said elsewhere, ST looked good.

[VTSkins897]

honestly i'm glad this game is over. the west coast offense, especially run by brad johnson, is a pain in the ass to play, especially with our pressure-style defense.

i look for us to beat the cowboys, who looked just as bad as we did.

brad johnson is a damn good QB in my mind. he's like 8-2 over his last 10 games right? just be glad this game is over.

i may be freaking out but the vikings could be in the running to win the nfc north. none of us should be worried now. i was impressed to see the offense move the ball when it needed to.

[MTK]

BJ has always been very underrated. The guy just wins.

I came away very impressed by the Vikings. They are very physical at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, and they have a QB that isn't going to make mistakes and lose games for them. They should be right there with the Bears for the division title.

[dmek25]

what is up with our defense? for the past 2+ seasons, has been top 10 quality. the only 2 changes have been ryan clark and lavar. did someone underestimate how much they meant to this team?

[MTK]

Originally Posted by dmek25

what is up with our defense? for the past 2+ seasons, has been top 10 quality. the only 2 changes have been ryan clark and lavar. did someone underestimate how much they meant to this team?

Missing Springs is HUGE.

[JankySpanky80]

If we don't have Springs next week we are gonna get killed. GW won't leave Rogers, Rumph, or Wright on an island against TO or Glenn, therefore we won't have any pressure and we all know how Bledsoe does without pressure. I love the skins to death but if they perform like they did last night and all of preseason this game will be over by halftime.

[Longtimefan]

Neither side of the ball was very effective but I think the defense was the greater disappointment. Inability to cover receivers, penalties, third down conversions, and just overall lack of effort were all contributing factors. Players point to mistakes, but it's not a mistake when you can't cover anybody. If we see that same kind of coverage against Owens, Glenn, and Whitten on Sunday night then a flight to Dallas is useless. You can't go "back to the drawing board" and learn how to cover receivers, and tackle opposing ball carriers. We must do a better job with the basics.