Monday Open Thread: September 12, 2016

Merry post-win Monday, everyone! Well, the first half wasn't pretty, but the Vikings got it together in the second half and the defense took the game over.

I thought Hill played decent football. It's about what you can expect out of Hill. Nothing fancy, but nothing stupid. AD was shut down, as the Titans were obviously focused on stopping him. The receiving corps performed admirably, with the possible exception of Johnson. It seemed like everyone except him stepped up and made plays. The defense, after a rocky first half, looked friggin' dominant in the second half and they took the game over.

What did we do right?

I thought, as I said above, that the offense did a decent job. It was enough to win yesterday, but wouldn't be enough to beat a top team. Hill performed well, and stayed in the pocket to deliver the ball. Speaking of which, there were actual pockets to throw from. I think the O line did a very nice job in protecting Hill and giving him time to throw. After a couple bad plays or penalties by Smith right away, he settled down and the O line in general looked good.

Diggs really stepped up in the passing game, as did Rudolph. Thielen made some nice grabs when he got a chance as well. The play calling wasn't horrible (outside of the red zone), as the team made adjustments and got better as the game went on.

The defense showed why they are considered elite. After a rocky first half, they came out in the second half and absolutely dominated that game. They're going to be fun to watch this year.

What could we do better?

The running game was non-existent, which you'd expect with how the Titans were playing defense. I know I counted 10 guys up on the line on more than one occasion. The red zone play calling could have been better. Once again, the Vikings had a tough time punching it in once they got close to the goal line. Then there's Blair. I really don't know what's going on, but he'd better get it figured out fast. He missed an easy 37 yarder, an extra point, and he missed a 56 yarder (twice) by so much that it went out of view of the camera.

Around the DN since our last open thread:

The Vikings signed Joe Berger to a one-year extension.

Skol Girl gives us the low down on knee surgeries.

Chris has your post-game wrap-up.

Eric brought the stock market report.

Wludford has notes from the Vikings-Titans game.

Chris takes a look at the game on the morning after.

Vikings news from elsewhere:

Souhan at the Strib talks about Walsh's struggles.

From Vikings.com:

Here's Coach Zimmer's locker room speech.

Craig Peters posted the Vikings-Titans notebook.

Shaun Hill showed confidence and poise in his first start.

PA and Wobby look between the lines.

Here are some post-game interviews. They talked with Harrison Smith, also with Danielle Hunter, and here's Eric Kendricks, Stefon Diggs had some insight, as did Blair Walsh.

Around the league:

NFL.com tells us 39 things they learned from week one.

Get all the week one scores here at NFL.com

Twins update:

The Twins' weekend wasn't as good as the Vikings'. They won Saturday (with help from some Mauer power in the 12th), but dropped the games on Friday and Sunday.

We come to today's media selection. I love playing this one.

Again, we all know the rules, but in case someone is new:

-No discussion of politics or religion
-No feeding of the trolls
-Keep the bad language to a minimum (using the spoiler tags, if you must)
-Speaking of which, if discussing a newer show or movie, please use spoiler tags 
-No pictures that could potentially get someone fired or in serious trouble at their place of employment
-If you can't disagree in a civil manner, feel free to go away
-While navigating the open thread, just assume it's sarcasm
-This isn't a male version of The View, so leave the gender hatred at the door

With that, the beer light is on and the bar is open. Belly up & tie one on. Don't forget to tip your waitress, & try the blood sausage.