Vikings D improving, O solid!

by VikesFaninNM on Nov 23, 2009 10:09 AM CST Comment 15 comments

Just before the bye, it seemed like the Defense had lost a little of it's touch. They had a few 2nd half collapses leading several teams, Baltimore, Green Bay (game two) to start mounting a comback. Thankfully, during these times, the defense woke back up and helped to avert disaster. Looking back then, the Defense was ranked over all near 20. Yikes, what a step back from last year. After this week, this are looking better. Granted, two games against the Lions and Seahawks have helped to pad it a little, but hopefully increase the confidence factor as well. Currently, the Vikings have now climbed up to 13th overall, the Rushing D is back up to 3rd and the Passing side has inched up to 21st after being at 26th a few weeks ago. Definate sign's of improvement on that side of the ball and hope that trend keep's improving!

Over in Offensiveland, we rank 8th overall, 10th in rushing. That might make some go "Whaaaaat?", but the next few items coming up are going to show why. We no longer have to rely on A.P. running All Day to keep the O going. Which I think will help to his longevity over the next few seasons. Passing, we are 10th, a massive improvement over the last several years. Oh, and I will throw this out there, after this past Sunday, Favre now has a passer rating of 112, the highest in the league and little higher then Brees. Another big improvement, we rank 2nd in points per game average with 30.6 so far. Another huge improvement over the last few years. The Saints sit at 1 with 36.9, but have gone from 40 - 50 points for a few games, then the low 20's on others. We have been 27 and higher with the only game to not break 20 against Pittsburgh, so alot more consistent.

Compared to last year, the Offense is ALOT more balanced, something most of us have come to realize and even with a sluggish start, the Defense is finally showing why they were feared last year, and the year before. Hopefully, this only get's better as the season progresses. Thank God for a bye week in the middle of the season!

This FanPost was created by a registered user of The Daily Norseman, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the site. However, since this is a community, that view is no less important.

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Secondary is healthy

The defense should get better now that Winfield has returned and the backups have some game experience. Young backs tend to tackle poorly. It seems like our tackling has been better after the break. We just need to kep making small steps forward. We’ll see with the Cincy and Arizona games coming up.

by lifelongvike on Nov 23, 2009 11:06 AM CST reply actions

I had Paymas back in the beginning

I thought he would get better with a game or two under his belt, but now I’m not sure how he’s even on the team…lol. It would be nice to see Winfield, (hopefully this week against the Bears) but definitely the following week @Cardinals. Winfield will shore-up some of those missed tackles, maybe get a couple pick’s, and that will increase their rankings.

I would like to see better results in the running game, but I’m perfectly happy with the way things are going.
Favre gets a lot of credit for the success of the offense, and he does deserve much of it, but my man Percy is showing no-mercy with his KR’s, giving the Vikings good field position to work with. Lets hope Harvin can stay healthy for years to come, because this guy is probably the biggest steal in his draft class.

Go Vikes……Mission Miami.

by chaosg on Nov 23, 2009 2:07 PM CST reply actions

I still don’t know what everyone is talking about as far as our defense going backwards.

The only thing I am noticing is the lack of a good cornerback by the name of Antoine Winfield. If we have Antoine healthy, and and consider the yardage given up during garbage-time, we have a top-10 passing defense. Maybe even top 5-7.

That focus on improving our pass defense has much to do with our perceived drop in rushing defensive standings. Make no mistake, we are still one of the top rush defenses in the league.

by Bjorno on Nov 23, 2009 4:08 PM CST reply actions

Maybe it had something to do with the second-half D collapses that we had suffered, the past few games. Thankfully that didn’t happen so much against the Seahawks

Ah, ah,
We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands,
To fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!
SKOL!

by DCPurple on Nov 23, 2009 8:01 PM CST up reply actions

Rush defense

We are back to # 3 rushing defense after this week.

I agree most of our passing yardage given up is in garbage time. That’s why I don’t like looking at yardage stats as the gauge. I like the Aikman Efficiency Ratings as being much more accurate.

by PurpleJesus on Nov 24, 2009 6:57 AM CST up reply actions

Correct

The Vikes pass defense will never be at the top of the charts. They play a zone continually. But I have no doubt that it is a pass defense that collectively can get the job done. I would also comment that NFL pass offenses are so good ( Indy, N.O., Minn., Arizona, N.E., S.D.) that all pass defenses look weak this year.

by lifelongvike on Nov 23, 2009 4:51 PM CST reply actions

I have seen way too many 300+

yard passing games against just about everyone this year to place alot of weight on pass defense rankings. Not to mention that rankings are way to influenced by yards. And last time I checked…it was points that won. In order to really get a feel for the defenses, you would have to figure out how many of the points scored against a team were garbage. You know when a couple of the significant starters are on the bench and they are playing prevent D (which never works). Plus you would have to adjust for how good/poor the opposing team’s offense usually is.

This is a much harder taks than simply totaling the yards and crowning the victor. You would think with the stat geeks we have out there that this would have been corrected a long time ago.

Sigh…oh well.

by TheEvilProfessor on Nov 23, 2009 5:12 PM CST up reply actions

Yes

They can and should play better. Allowing anything between the 20s is not the design of this defense. The template should be against the Steelers, the second-half performance of the pass defense. Cover the receivers and get the ball back on downs.

One other thing. The Vikings need to make more interceptions.

by medicineball on Nov 24, 2009 9:07 AM CST up reply actions

I would say yes...

but that isn’t what the tampa 2 does. They would be better served by making sure they tackle and also trying to cause fumbles. It’s turnovers more than interceptions. Sometimes going for interceptions can lead your defense out of position (which leads to scores…which win games).

by TheEvilProfessor on Nov 24, 2009 11:28 AM CST up reply actions

by thewild_viking_twins on Nov 23, 2009 6:47 PM CST reply actions

+10!!

by DCPurple on Nov 23, 2009 8:02 PM CST up reply actions

Yeppers....

Sure seems so….

The Steeler loss was a wake up call for all…

They know the big prize is there (SB W)…

But are playing week to week football….

Each game another area is improving…

Ideally they will peak in all facets for POs….

Guess we will just sit back and enjoy….

Couple of tough games after Da Bears…

Let’s see how they do over next 3 weeks…

Hope not too many surprises for us/them…

I would rather be IN the Arena than watching from the stands...That is my life!
* Read Teddy Roosevelt's "Man in the Arena" if you need further explanation...

by vikingfanfrom afar on Nov 23, 2009 9:29 PM CST up reply actions