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NFL Week 6 Recap: Welcome To The Jungle

There was some weird issues that lead up to the game, such as Jefferson and Thielen both being placed on the Injury Report out of nowhere. Luckily, those two were able to play and if they were injured, it must have been a small one since they looked perfectly fine Sunday.

The bad feeling that I had throughout the week about this game didn't come to pass, thankfully. The defense started out the game hot, with an Interception, which led to three points. The Panthers came back and scored 7. And this back and forth happened throughout the game, up until 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The Vikings were up 11 points, and for some reason, the defense decided to stop playing at this point, because the Panthers had struggled all day, yet when it came down to them needing to be flawless in their execution to tie the game, they finally awoke and were able to march down the field, which makes me wonder, since I saw this being said a lot: did the defense falter at that critical moment because they ran out of gas and were tired or because the Panthers finally figured out how to offense? In my mind, it's the later. The Panthers offensive woes up until the end were self-inflicted. Recievers dropping passes and Darnold making poor throws and decisions helped the defense, yes, but the defense didn't cause them. It was the other way around. If the Panthers had played like that the whole time, I think they would've won this game, and that would've been entirely on the defense. The only time they had to face an actual offense, they folded and gave up 11 points in 10 minutes.

That being said, the offense once again looked like the saving grace of this team. My discontent regarding Kirk Cousins was that he wasn't a leader, couldn't get the job done when it counted, and wasn't worth his contract. Well, considering how he has played, he's show himself to be a leader and that he can get it done through 6 weeks. I'm not willing to break out the champagne and celebrate my horribly wrong take on god-king Kirk just yet. We've seen flashes of this kind of play in other years, but so far, this has been the longest of those stretches. When we get to the end of the year, and he has continued to play in this fashion the whole year, then I will change my mind on him. But, he's doing a pretty good job so far.

On the other side, while I thought Kirk was the source of all our woes, it's became plainly clear to me, and some other people that I've seen here on the Daily Norseman, that Mike Zimmer is the principle issue with this team. His conservative philosophy in football is an active detriment to this team. I used to believe that you could win a Super Bowl with Zimmer and not Kirk. The way this season has gone, that thought is gone. I'm not sure you can win one with Kirk, but I can definitely say, you can't win one with Zimmer.

It all comes down to coaching. Rick Spielman has crafted a roster that has a ton of talent on the defense and offense, yet, every single game this season, the Vikings are in close games with both really good teams and really bad teams. The inability to use the talent we have effectively and get the team ready for the games falls on coaching, and coaching alone. If you had asked me before the season: "If you had to keep 2 out of the 3, who do you keep?", I'd have told you Zimmer and Spielman. Right now, I'd pick Spielman and Kirk. If you took this exact same team, and at the start of the season, had hired an offensive minded guy, this team would probably be 5-1. This team has too much talent to blame Spielman for poor on-field production (although, to say he deserves no blame would be wrong too).

I'm currently 6/6 on my predictions of the Vikings, but we're coming into a very, very rough stretch of our schedule. Dallas, Baltimore, LAC, Packers and 49ers.

That is a gauntlet, and I have us losing each and every one of those games. Why? Well, at the start of the season, I would've told you that it was because Kirk would wilt under pressure and with all of them being great teams, he'd wilt pretty hard. Now? I don't think Kirk will just collapse under pressure. He didn't against the Cards or the Bengals, and even against the Browns, I don't think he wilted or collapsed (although, the O-Line definitely did). I fully expect the offense to fight and fight hard. I think we'll lose each and every one of these games due to poor game management decisions and defensive errors, primarily due to Mike Zimmer. And there'll be a theme in each game: The offense will be able to hang with them, and even get up on them. But, the conservative play-calling will continue to be an issue. I hope I'm wrong, but until I see something that drastically changes my mind, we'll be 3-8 at the end of this stretch.

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NFL Week 6 Predictions:

  • Week 6: 4-12
  • Revised Predictions:2-1
I did not do a very good job in guessing how this week would go. I don't really think much else is needed to say, quite honestly.
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Chiefs vs Washington

My revised prediction was correct, although there was a moment where it seemed like Taylor Heinicke and the WFT could pull out an upset. Then the Chiefs activated their latent talents and proceeded to kick the shit out of them. The score does not accurately reflect the early part of this game, but once the Chiefs started to roll, the WFT had no chance.

Buccaneers vs Eagles

The score for this game somewhat makes it seem closer than it really was, and somehow, someway, Tom Brady continues to outpace Father Time. The Eagles can't offense, and the crowd was cheering for when they ran the ball. Very different than the mood over here.

Vikings vs Panthers

Discussed above.

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Week 7 Predictions:

Here are my predictions for Week 7, the Vikings bye week. For the most part, I don't think I need to change very much of what happens. Now, you might like at this and see a couple games, and I can see them too.

Lions vs Rams

Bears vs Buccaneers

I have said this for the last few months: I like the Lions, specifically Dan Campbell. I'm not too big on the Bears, but they always seem to do some weird things in games like this, so I won't be surprised if they upset two of the Super Bowl contenders. However, there is one game that I think will end differently than what is shown above.

Browns vs Broncos

Not because I think the Broncos are the better team, but becasue the Browns are hurt to hell and back. Case Keenum will more than likely be the starter, and both starting RB's are out. The Browns will lose this game, but close enogh to where if they had all of their hurt players back, there'd be no question that the Browns would win that game.

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  • September 1st Regular Season Predictions: 56-40
  • Revised Predictions: 6-5
  • Week 1: 8-8
  • Week 2: 11-5
  • Week 3: 12-4
  • Week 4: 12-4
  • Week 5: 9-7
  • Week 6: 4-12
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For those who want to make their own predictions, I use this: NFL Playoff Predictor.

I am interested to see what you're opinions are of the game the Vikings had, as well as what you expect for the next week of football, not just from the Vikings, but around the entire league. Do you have any upsets in mind for this coming week, or are things going to be quite predictable?

Also, question for the readers: Out of the three (Rick Spielman, Kirk Cousins and Mike Zimmer), which 2 would you keep and why?

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.