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Post by Kapitan on Oct 8, 2023 20:29:22 GMT
First play! (Making matters worse, it was the first play of last night's Gophers game when we threw an INT for a TD. The state of Minnesota is not good with first plays lately.)
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NFL
Oct 9, 2023 0:35:38 GMT
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Post by kds on Oct 9, 2023 0:35:38 GMT
The Ravens didn't play the worst game in their history, but they might have played their dumbest. Honestly, it seemed like Pittsburgh was trying to give us the game at times, but between dropped passes, fumbles, and some just horrid play calling, the Ravens missed a chance to go 4-1, and 3-0 in the division.
I'm generally, a pretty big John Harbaugh fan, but my faith in him had wavered in recent years. If not for a couple of mental lapses, the Ravens are 5-0. I know players need to execute, but I think a lot of this stuff is on coaches.
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NFL
Oct 9, 2023 12:53:05 GMT
kds likes this
Post by Kapitan on Oct 9, 2023 12:53:05 GMT
Rough game for the Vikings, really frustrating because it seems like we could've won the game. I thought the defense did a reasonably good job on a very good KC offense. But between the lost fumble on the first play, an agonizing dropped pass by Alexander Mattison, and a few drops by Justin Jefferson and TJ Hockenson, it was just a matter of thrown-away opportunities.
Making matters worse, Jefferson left the game with a hamstring injury. Though, even with him our best offensive player, I actually think our WR group is reasonably good without him. Rookie Jordan Addison looks like a keeper, KJ Osborn has proved he's a decent role player, and young Brandon Powell looked pretty good out there. Plus we've got a few pass-catching TEs, led by Hockenson (if he doesn't drop them...).
However, we're 1-4. So the season is most likely over.
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NFL
Oct 9, 2023 16:24:41 GMT
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Post by kds on Oct 9, 2023 16:24:41 GMT
The Ravens sit at 3-2. I'm having a bit of deja vu, as we've seen this movie before. With the exception of the 14-2 2019 season, since 2016, the Ravens have a habit of outsmarting themselves, leaving points on the field, not taking advantage of opportunities, and ultimately wind up with a poorer record than we should have.
We've changed players. We've changed coordinators. Yet, this is still the norm. The lone constant is HC John Harbaugh. I never thought I'd say this, but for the first time in his 16 year tenure, I'm starting to feel like it might be time for a change.
I'm a John fan. He's got a borderline HOF resume. We've had a lot of winning seasons under him. We won Super Bowl XLVII, but that season was 11 years ago. In the time since, the Ravens have won a total of two playoff games.
Even great coaches have to pay the piper eventually. And ownership has invested a ton of money in this team.
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NFL
Oct 10, 2023 2:32:59 GMT
Post by carllove on Oct 10, 2023 2:32:59 GMT
Rough game for the Vikings, really frustrating because it seems like we could've won the game. I thought the defense did a reasonably good job on a very good KC offense. But between the lost fumble on the first play, an agonizing dropped pass by Alexander Mattison, and a few drops by Justin Jefferson and TJ Hockenson, it was just a matter of thrown-away opportunities. Making matters worse, Jefferson left the game with a hamstring injury. Though, even with him our best offensive player, I actually think our WR group is reasonably good without him. Rookie Jordan Addison looks like a keeper, KJ Osborn has proved he's a decent role player, and young Brandon Powell looked pretty good out there. Plus we've got a few pass-catching TEs, led by Hockenson (if he doesn't drop them...). However, we're 1-4. So the season is most likely over. Kapitan, your Vikings looked much better than a 1-4 team. Jefferson leaving the game was a blow. I really liked Kirk Cousins in The Quarterback Netflix Documentary. He is a great guy and a wonderful quarterback. Your defense was good. The Chiefs kept committing stupid penalties again. I wish Andy Reid would rein that in. Thank goodness for Mahomes and Kelce. Both gave me a scare though on that Astro turf. Hate that stuff.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 10, 2023 12:06:07 GMT
Sounds like Jefferson is going on IR, meaning he's out for at least four games. That's not good! Funny you say you think they look better than 1-4, carllove. I admit they looked better against the Chiefs than they have much of the season so far, so I see where you could think that. But believe me, at times they've looked worse than 1-4! What I could not fathom was how Tony Romo could keep saying how good he thought they looked, how he thought they seemed better than last year's 13-4 team. Just absurd...
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NFL
Oct 12, 2023 12:44:46 GMT
Post by Kapitan on Oct 12, 2023 12:44:46 GMT
There is a lot of chatter here among the fans and media about whether the Vikings will start tanking. The team is 1-4 and our best offensive player, WR Justin Jefferson, is out for at least 4 weeks.
Some of that chatter is of course focused on QB Kirk Cousins, who is having a very good year, but is very highly paid and is 35 years old. In other words, he's not a guy you necessarily want to have out there if you're more or less trying to lose games, identify future prospects, and cut costs. He's being a good soldier as always, saying his only focus is on the upcoming game, not trade rumors, etc., but you have to think as a competitor that he'd rather be fighting for a playoff team. (Complicating any moves, he has a no-trade clause he'd have to waive.)
Making matters worse for the Vikings, there is no legitimate young QB we can reasonably turn to. Our backup, 28-year-old journeyman Nick Mullens, was just put on IR and is out at least four games. We resigned former backup Sean Mannion, who is 31 but even worse than Mullens. We drafted BYU QB Jaren Hall, but by all accounts he's a long-term developmental project and I don't think anyone has high expectations.
Could be an ugly remainder of the season.
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NFL
Oct 15, 2023 12:26:50 GMT
Post by Kapitan on Oct 15, 2023 12:26:50 GMT
Today is a big game for Minnesota, which feels strange to say for a matchup between two 1-4 teams. But the Vikings are facing their first NFC North rival in Chicago today. I look at the record early (or now, not so early) in the season like I look at staying on schedule on offense. While you'd like to get 4-6 yards on 1st down, you can get stuffed but still come back from 2nd and 10. But if we were to lose today, 1-5 is a little like 4th and 30. It's hypothetically possible to come back from it ... but you're probably not coming back from it.
The Bears are terrible against the pass, 31st of 32 teams, giving up about 290 yards a game. That's good news, as the Vikings are 2nd in passing, getting about 282 yards a game on average. But of course we're without our far-and-away top target, star Justin Jefferson. The Bears are more mediocre stopping the run, but the Vikings are terrible running the ball (29th, just 80 yards a game).
Going the other direction, the Bears are pretty mediocre to poor on offense, but the Vikings are similarly mediocre to poor on defense.
I'm not going to say I'm confident, but it does seem like a pretty good chance to get a win and stay at least in "bad" territory, rather than "atrocious."
That said, while I'm generally not a fan of tanking, in a league with no draft lottery, an aging QB whose timeline doesn't fit the team, no QB succession plan in place, and a draft with what looks like three franchise QBs ... maybe this is the year to just bite the bullet and tank. Caleb Williams, Shedeur Sanders, or Drake Maye would sure help plot a future path.
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NFL
Oct 16, 2023 11:42:13 GMT
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Post by kds on Oct 16, 2023 11:42:13 GMT
The Ravens had issues finishing drives yesterday in London. However, Harbaugh elected to rely on Justin Tucker for six FGs instead of taking unneccessary risks, and the Ravens came away with a 24-16 win to improve to 4-2.
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NFL
Oct 16, 2023 11:54:43 GMT
kds likes this
Post by Kapitan on Oct 16, 2023 11:54:43 GMT
...the Ravens came away with a 24-16 win to improve to 4-2. Whereas the Vikings eeked out a 19-13 win to improve to 2-4. For the most part, they looked terrible. We couldn't stop the Bears' running game despite their top three backs all being out; we couldn't contain Justin Fields, and once he was knocked out of the game, we let undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent, from D2 Shepherd University, look pretty solid and nearly engineer a comeback win. Brian Flores's blitz-heavy defense paid some dividends, sacking the two QBs five times and finally producing a few turnovers (one forced fumble and two interceptions). That won this ugly one. But I worry about an aggressive, risky, gimmicky defense: live by the sword, die by the sword.
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NFL
Oct 23, 2023 17:31:50 GMT
via mobile
Post by kds on Oct 23, 2023 17:31:50 GMT
Wow, the Ravens showed up yesterday, and played probably their most complete game of football in three years, dominating the upstart Lions 38-6.
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NFL
Oct 24, 2023 19:12:32 GMT
Post by carllove on Oct 24, 2023 19:12:32 GMT
...the Ravens came away with a 24-16 win to improve to 4-2. Whereas the Vikings eeked out a 19-13 win to improve to 2-4. For the most part, they looked terrible. We couldn't stop the Bears' running game despite their top three backs all being out; we couldn't contain Justin Fields, and once he was knocked out of the game, we let undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent, from D2 Shepherd University, look pretty solid and nearly engineer a comeback win. Brian Flores's blitz-heavy defense paid some dividends, sacking the two QBs five times and finally producing a few turnovers (one forced fumble and two interceptions). That won this ugly one. But I worry about an aggressive, risky, gimmicky defense: live by the sword, die by the sword. Did you watch the game last night, Kapitan? I watched part of the first half. I was rooting for the Vikings! Glad they pulled the win out!
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NFL
Oct 24, 2023 19:18:37 GMT
Post by Kapitan on Oct 24, 2023 19:18:37 GMT
Whereas the Vikings eeked out a 19-13 win to improve to 2-4. For the most part, they looked terrible. We couldn't stop the Bears' running game despite their top three backs all being out; we couldn't contain Justin Fields, and once he was knocked out of the game, we let undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent, from D2 Shepherd University, look pretty solid and nearly engineer a comeback win. Brian Flores's blitz-heavy defense paid some dividends, sacking the two QBs five times and finally producing a few turnovers (one forced fumble and two interceptions). That won this ugly one. But I worry about an aggressive, risky, gimmicky defense: live by the sword, die by the sword. Did you watch the game last night, Kapitan? I watched part of the first half. I was rooting for the Vikings! Glad they pulled the win out! I actually missed much of it because I was out for dinner. (My friend who booked the reservation is a total non-sports fan, but the two of us who would've watched didn't want to make a fuss. What it did impact was traffic downtown getting to the restaurant!) I was able to catch some of it, and of course checked in on the stats. I'm still not convinced this is a good team, but they are definitely playing better. The offensive line seems a bit improved, and the addition of guard Dalton Risner helped in that respect. And the defense has won the turnover battle the past two weeks, which we all know makes all the difference in the world. The NFC North is so weak, we still have a realistic shot at the division (assuming Detroit doesn't keep up its strong start...and historically, Detroit crumbles). But we'll see.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Oct 24, 2023 19:49:31 GMT
Did you watch the game last night, Kapitan? I watched part of the first half. I was rooting for the Vikings! Glad they pulled the win out! I actually missed much of it because I was out for dinner. (My friend who booked the reservation is a total non-sports fan, but the two of us who would've watched didn't want to make a fuss. What it did impact was traffic downtown getting to the restaurant!) I was able to catch some of it, and of course checked in on the stats. I'm still not convinced this is a good team, but they are definitely playing better. The offensive line seems a bit improved, and the addition of guard Dalton Risner helped in that respect. And the defense has won the turnover battle the past two weeks, which we all know makes all the difference in the world. The NFC North is so weak, we still have a realistic shot at the division (assuming Detroit doesn't keep up its strong start...and historically, Detroit crumbles). But we'll see. The Vikings are an enigma. I just cannot get a handle on them from week-to-week (and that includes Fantasy Football ). Kirk Cousins, their defense, the team's (in)ability to close games, the trading of Dalvin Cook, should they go for it or rebuild, how good is their coach, etc. I watched that game last night and the Vikings appear to have some real talent, especially the offensive skill positions. They posted the Vikings schedule for the next two months and it's not that difficult, relatively speaking. If they get hot, they might compete for the last wild card slot. I never would've said that a week or two ago.
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NFL
Oct 24, 2023 19:54:20 GMT
Post by Kapitan on Oct 24, 2023 19:54:20 GMT
I actually missed much of it because I was out for dinner. (My friend who booked the reservation is a total non-sports fan, but the two of us who would've watched didn't want to make a fuss. What it did impact was traffic downtown getting to the restaurant!) I was able to catch some of it, and of course checked in on the stats. I'm still not convinced this is a good team, but they are definitely playing better. The offensive line seems a bit improved, and the addition of guard Dalton Risner helped in that respect. And the defense has won the turnover battle the past two weeks, which we all know makes all the difference in the world. The NFC North is so weak, we still have a realistic shot at the division (assuming Detroit doesn't keep up its strong start...and historically, Detroit crumbles). But we'll see. The Vikings are an enigma. I just cannot get a handle on them from week-to-week (and that includes Fantasy Football ). Kirk Cousins, their defense, the team's (in)ability to close games, the trading of Dalvin Cook, should they go for it or rebuild, how good is their coach, etc. I watched that game last night and the Vikings appear to have some real talent, especially the offensive skill positions. They posted the Vikings schedule for the next two months and it's not that difficult, relatively speaking. If they get hot, they might compete for the last wild card slot. I never would've said that a week or two ago. My friends and I were emailing about that this morning. It's astounding. I was all aboard the Rebuild Train two weeks ago, but after two more wins...? I don't know. I still don't think we're good. But when you're legitimately in the hunt, you hate to quit. Jordan Addison, our rookie WR who has elevated to the #1 spot with Justin Jefferson out, looks like a real keeper. The running game still stinks, but Cousins can spread it around and there is some talent yet.
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