THE TABS
Member
Still shaking my head as to how we managed to pull that one out last night. The Vikings did exactly what they wanted to do; control the clock, run the football, throw play action, and win third down on both sides...AND STILL LOST! We basically played about four minutes of good football, and it wound up being enough to win.
I actually thought Mike Zimmer made the right call to go for it on 4th down, given how easily they were running the ball on us. With less than a yard to go, you have to trust your players in that spot. If you can't get less than a yard AND give up a 94 yard drive in less than two minutes, then you deserve to lose. If the situation were reversed, I'd want Pete to do the same. It worked for the Raiders against the Chiefs yesterday, and nobody had a problem with that. Why give the ball back if you don't have to? He went for the jugular, and I respect that.
Anyway, after processing this game, it made me think about 2014, and the NFC Championship game against Green Bay. The Packers absolutely dominated us for 55 minutes, and we made an improbable comeback to send it into OT, and eventually win it. I've never seen us play so bad and still win that day, until yesterday. It makes me think the same thing today as it did then, in that this team may be having itself one of those "magical" years where all the parts may not fit perfectly, but we have it where it counts. Back then, Russ was on his rookie deal, so we could spend big in other areas, which gave us a competitive advantage that enabled us to win two conference championships and a Super Bowl. Obviously, this team isn't nearly as strong, but RW has now being given more latitude to be what he has been all along, which is one of the best, if not THE BEST quarterback in the NFL (only Patrick Mahomes can give him an argument IMO).
Last night also is a great example of why the quarterback position is now more important then ever. With COVID guidelines restricting fan attendance, there is no home field advantage, which has turned a lot of games into glorified 7 on 7 drills, which means, more often than not, the team with the better quarterback is going to win. It just makes the "Let Russ Cook" movement/philosophy all the more necessary. It's not a field position/control the clock game anymore. It's all about maximizing your possessions and never taking your foot off the gas. If someone were to put 60 or more points up on us (with our defense, it could happen), I wouldn't accuse them of running up the score. I'd consider it necessary. I could see the Super Bowl playing out like a BIG 12 game, with 100 or more points scored between the two teams,
As long as one of those teams happens to be US, then I'll eat whatever RW is serving.
I actually thought Mike Zimmer made the right call to go for it on 4th down, given how easily they were running the ball on us. With less than a yard to go, you have to trust your players in that spot. If you can't get less than a yard AND give up a 94 yard drive in less than two minutes, then you deserve to lose. If the situation were reversed, I'd want Pete to do the same. It worked for the Raiders against the Chiefs yesterday, and nobody had a problem with that. Why give the ball back if you don't have to? He went for the jugular, and I respect that.
Anyway, after processing this game, it made me think about 2014, and the NFC Championship game against Green Bay. The Packers absolutely dominated us for 55 minutes, and we made an improbable comeback to send it into OT, and eventually win it. I've never seen us play so bad and still win that day, until yesterday. It makes me think the same thing today as it did then, in that this team may be having itself one of those "magical" years where all the parts may not fit perfectly, but we have it where it counts. Back then, Russ was on his rookie deal, so we could spend big in other areas, which gave us a competitive advantage that enabled us to win two conference championships and a Super Bowl. Obviously, this team isn't nearly as strong, but RW has now being given more latitude to be what he has been all along, which is one of the best, if not THE BEST quarterback in the NFL (only Patrick Mahomes can give him an argument IMO).
Last night also is a great example of why the quarterback position is now more important then ever. With COVID guidelines restricting fan attendance, there is no home field advantage, which has turned a lot of games into glorified 7 on 7 drills, which means, more often than not, the team with the better quarterback is going to win. It just makes the "Let Russ Cook" movement/philosophy all the more necessary. It's not a field position/control the clock game anymore. It's all about maximizing your possessions and never taking your foot off the gas. If someone were to put 60 or more points up on us (with our defense, it could happen), I wouldn't accuse them of running up the score. I'd consider it necessary. I could see the Super Bowl playing out like a BIG 12 game, with 100 or more points scored between the two teams,
As long as one of those teams happens to be US, then I'll eat whatever RW is serving.
