Monday Open Thread, December 11, 2017

Top of the Monday mornin’ to ya’,

Well, that sucked. I don’t like it when the Vikings lose, but the reason I don’t get as somber and dejected with this team (anymore) is because of what they’ve built here. I have zero doubt that they’re going to bounce back from this and continue to play smart, fundamentally sound football, and I give them a legit shot against any team in the NFL. Any. Team.

If a team goes on the road against a good opponent, and turns the ball over three times in that game, they generally get beaten......badly. Yesterday, the Vikings, despite having three turnovers, still came back and tied the game in the fourth to put themselves in a good position to come away with the W. It didn’t happen, but they fought, didn’t get discouraged, and they kept playing solid football to the end. I haven’t seen a Vikings team this strong, and that plays sound, disciplined ball as consistently as this team. (Granted, I wasn’t around for the Purple People Eaters, so don’t spit out your dentures yelling at me. They may have been better, I don’t know)

How did the team look? Well, I mentioned the three turnovers. Keenum wasn’t great yesterday, okay? He had a bad game. He seemed to be a little off the entire game, a lot of completions were poorly placed, and he missed a few opportunities. There were 2 INTs, and I know one was technically a “drop” by Diggs, but at some point, the odds are going to catch up with you. Balls that are poorly placed have a higher probability of being dropped or tipped than a ball that is placed well, and that happened yesterday. I’m not saying Diggs shouldn’t have caught it, he should have, and I’m guessing he’d say he should have, but the ball also could have been thrown better. Against an excellent defense, weaknesses or mistakes tend to get exploited. I’m not going to harp on it, it was just a bad game for Case. He’s wearing purple, so I’ll be cheering for him to light it up the next time he goes out there. I will say this, he was under a lot of pressure at times yesterday. The Carolina front 7 is VERY good, and it showed. That D and our O line catching the injury bug during the game did not do Keenum any favors.

The defense was put in some bad spots at times, but they also gave up more than they usually do, both in the air and on the ground. The two long runs were crushers, including that final long run by Cam (did you see that blatant hold by Kalil? good grief). I’m sure Zimmer and Edwards will be making adjustments and shoring up some weaknesses immediately, the Panthers certainly exposed a couple. Then there’s Forbath. I don’t know if he’s kicking low, or if the FG unit just forgot that you have to block, but it sure seems like there have been a LOT of tipped/blocked field goals & extra points against us this year.

Other than that, I hope you all had a good weekend despite the loss. I took a look on Twitter, and saw some idiocy that I hope I don’t see here today. It was a loss, we didn’t suddenly turn into a 3-10 team, I’m pretty sure we’re 10-3. Take a pill, and SKOL!

Around the DN since our last open thread:

Ted posted the Stock Market Report for the Panthers game.

Chris takes a look at the revised playoff picture.

Chris also has your post-game wrap-up.

Inflation will be hitting the Vikings QB position........hard, after this season, per Chris.

It seems George Edwards is getting some buzz as a potential HC candidate as well, per Chris.

Vikings news from other sources:

From Vikings.com, see Coach Zimmer address the media after the game, watch all the highlights (if you want to), hear from Keenum as he speaks with reporters after the game, and lots more for you to sift through in the media vault.

Around the rest of the league:

From CBS Sports, the Eagles fear Carson Wentz may have suffered an ACL injury yesterday. That sucks, the kid was having a really great year, I hope it isn’t as serious as they think.

Did you see this? Texans QB Tom Savage appeared to have some sort of seizure after an injury on the field, then was cleared to go back in by a neurotrauma consultant, and was pulled again shortly thereafter after it was evident that he shouldn’t have been put back in, per NFL.com. Wow, I wonder who the neurotrauma consultant was, some. Maybe they had a promotion where the first 100 fans got entered into a drawing to be the team’s neurotrauma consultant for the day.

Also from NFL.com, Larry Fitzgerald passed Randy Moss for 3rd place on the all-time receiving yards list.

We come to today’s media selection.

Here’s one of my favorite current singers, Chris Knight. If you’re a fan of country (real country, not that stuff on the radio) this guy has some good stuff.

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

-No discussion of politics or religion
-No feeding of the trolls
-This isn't a male version of The View, so leave the gender hatred at the door
-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 get someone fired or in serious trouble with their employer
-If you can't disagree in a civil manner, feel free to go away
-While navigating the open thread, just assume it's sarcasm

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 tiger meat.