So let's talk about Russell Wilson

[Check down]

Usually lurk and don't post a lot but I live in Minneapolis so thought I'd weigh in. -4 is ridiculously cold but you do adjust in time. whether you practice outside or not you do tend to climate through daily activities when you live here. For a group coming in it's bitter, hard to move, hard to breath and every bump hurts. I moved here from a warm climate and thought I was going to die the first time I experienced below zero. Even worse is the windchill which makes all of your limbs feel like bricks in a matter of seconds. Heater on the sideline only help when you're on the sideline and actually make it harder to climate as a series goes on. The variation is a killer. There is no way to say weather didn't have an effect.

 

[Uncle Si]

Whatever, he was uncomfortable. Most humans would be. I think a lot of it was caused by Minnesota having a great defensive game plan concerning how they pass rushed Wilson the rest was the weather or the more obvious reasons(3rd/4th string TE's and RB's).

Ease up Mizzou...

When I said uncomfortable I was referring to his play and approach, not whether he could handle the cold. Vikes did a decent job, Becells schemes looked strange and Wilson didn't look confident all day.

Yes Wilson may have lacked confidence against this vikings front and backers but so did Aaron Rodgers in less severe weather in week 17. There were many factors in this game that contributed to the poor performance incuding communication problems, passes that were lost in the sun or floated short due to swirling 10mph winds that then directed east to west.
I also live in Minny and have been to TCF many times. That stadium is basically a horse shoe and strong gusts of wind will direct down 4th street by Williams arena and into the entrance. Also the home team sideline (the north sideline) is in the sun and the majority of the field and south sideline is in the shade. Because the sun is in a low angle this time of year it can interfere with tracking balls thrown toward the north sideline. Bevell and Russ won't need to know this after today however.

Look, I live here too. Long live our struggles.

I am very certain RWs struggles were weather related. And I think the Vikings played into that and did a great job. Talking about his struggles as a reason why the game came down to a missed Field Goal seems reasonable though, no? Its just a part of THIS game. Don't think the OP, or me, is trying to beat Wilson with a stick about it.

I was also very confused by Bevell's formations. Alot of bunch stuff that relied on pocket time to get open receivers. Not much in terms of quick hitting plays.

 

[mikeak]

To me it was clear. We thought we would have Lynch back and setup a gameplan like the first 6 games of the season which worked fantastic to open the season (sarcasm). We had the short plays running then deep ball gameplan in minus degree weather. It was genius because nobody would have expected something that stupid. Did RW struggle with a crappy game plan - yes. Did he fail to figure out the ball in that weather the first three quarters - yes

Should we have had a different gameplan - absolutely yes

I hope everything points to Lynch being out all week. Then we can put in place the right gameplan and then I hope Lynch plays

 

[marymoorhawk]

I'm in the "throw this one away" camp. And I am eating crow because I didn't think the cold would have as much of an impact as it did. He clearly underthrew (severely) 2 or 3 deep balls that in normal conditions either are scores or huge, chunk plays. Yesterday though, the ball just died, like hitting a ball at Safeco in April.

 

[chawx]

Obviously, Russell, Bevell and the (Offensive) coaches underestimated the cold.

They thought they could play the same game they would play if it was 30 degrees. Everything was off in that game for us from an offensive stand point.

Minny, on the other hand, had a plan and executed it fairly well. Then again, they only got 12 (oops...I mean 9) points.

One thing I also think was a bigger factor than anyone in this thread besides one other person mentioned, is the fact that for most of the game, the Vikings sidelines were in the sun. I guarantee that helped keep them mentally in the game and not just in literal "survival mode"

Yes, Russell had an "oh shit" look on his face 90% of the game, but I think it was more of an "oh shit, IT IS COLD AF" face.

 

[marymoorhawk]

Obviously, Russell, Bevell and the (Offensive) coaches underestimated the cold.

They thought they could play the same game they would play if it was 30 degrees. Everything was off in that game for us from an offensive stand point.

Minny, on the other hand, had a plan and executed it fairly well. Then again, they only got 12 (oops...I mean 9) points.

One thing I also think was a bigger factor than anyone in this thread besides one other person mentioned, is the fact that for most of the game, the Vikings sidelines were in the sun. I guarantee that helped keep them mentally in the game and not just in literal "survival mode"

Yes, Russell had an "oh shit" look on his face 90% of the game, but I think it was more of an "oh shit, IT IS COLD AF" face.

I think the headset issues also played a huge part. Nothing was on time. Adjustments were made and the 2nd half was better but the cold clearly impacted the entire game, for both teams.

 

[Rob12]

Russ hung in there and played great considering the beyond brutal conditions. This week will be better.

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

I think the only two guys who would have balled out in the weather today are Tom Brady and Packers days Brett Favre. I laughed when people brought up college games in Wisconsin as though he ever played in temps this cold.

It was pretty clear from the beginning we were trying to score enough to get the win and get the hell out of there. Luckily Blair Walsh gave us a little extra help.

Russ will have a great game next week - all that matters

You forgot Bart Starr....2 TD passes and one rushing in the Ice Bowl. I know. I watched the game on TV.

Black & White?

Very good question my friend. At that point in time my family indeed still had a B & W TV. However, my grandparents had purchased a color one the year before and I watched this game at their house "in living color".

BTW, their color TV was why I became a Chargers fan. One look at those beautiful powder blue jerseys with the white pants and helmets and gold lightning bolts and I was instantly a fan (along with the Packers and Raiders in those days).



One other thing, not only did Starr throw for 2 TDs and sneak in for the game winner, but he had no turnovers that game.

 

[idahohawk]

I think he had an off day which was magnified by the brutal conditions.

What else have I got? The TD to Doug didn't suck.

There were also some drops early, but I'm not sure anyone could catch some of those frozen solid footballs whizzing right at you.

I also think Willson being out was huge. Yesterday was a game where a solid TE is key, imo.

Maybe the "oh shit" look was "oh shit, it's cold!"

I agree on some of the decisions to throw short or run on long distance downs, but that stuff seems to snowball at times (no pun intended)

The one I have more trouble with is the clunker vs. the Rams. That was brutal. I hope we get the red hot Russ from here on out.

You mean the "oh shit" expression when he turned a mistake (his) into the biggest offensive play of the game, by keeping his head, and redeeming himself by throwing a pass to Lockett?

No, I meant the "oh shit" look on his face for about the entirety of the game. We're hearing more about the communications issues but Pete said that it happened a few times. Didn't happen on every play.

As I said, despite my feeling like running on 3rd and 12 or dumping it off on 4th and 13 seemed like bad decisions from a play calling or execution standpoint, he looked very out of sorts in general. Didn't seem to know where he was going with the ball. Took longer to get rid of it, etc.

Yes, that one play, was nice. What else have you got?

I wasn't upset at all, but honestly, when you phrase it as Russ having an "Oh shit" look all day, seems like a good way to get some heated responses. No anger here. Just respectfully disagree. I mean yeah I think he struggled, but I also say, who wouldn't have?

My use of "oh shit", has an antagonizing tone? Have you ever read any of my posts? I am a very big Wilson proponent. I (and others that I happened to be with today) felt like he was shitty today. What about that should upset anyone? It's my opinion.

I'm perfectly fine with everyone thinking it's bat shit crazy to think that. It's my thought, I shared it. You're welcome to call it bat shit crazy but the leaps to discussing playoff record or acting like a single play says more about a performance than the rest is funny to me.

 

[idahohawk]

Another quick note, when the Vikings beat the Packers last Sunday, and I saw the initial weather forecast, I got a really bad feeling. I knew it was going to neutralize much of what we do (downfield passing game, etc), particularly w/out Rawls/Lynch. I actually had bad dreams about it. Maybe I take this too seriously? nah.

 

[Uncle Si]

It looked like the cold was a speed equalizer. Most guys looked like they were running at 80% speed and it felt like the fastest players were running at an even lower percentage. Nobody was running away from anybody, and the speed loss affected how easily receivers got open and also the timing of a QB hitting his receivers in stride.

Bridgewater practiced in the bitter cold all week and seemed to have the timing adjustment down from the first snap. Wilson took about 3 quarters to figure it out.

If Seattle plays Green Bay at Lambeau in a couple weeks, it might be wise to fly out there immediately and get some practices in with cold weather conditions so Wilson can calibrate.

It wasn't bitter cold in Minneapolis all week. On the contrary, it was in the 30s until Saturday. Bridgewater had exactly the same time in the cold to prepare as Russel.

 

[Polaris]

It looked like the cold was a speed equalizer. Most guys looked like they were running at 80% speed and it felt like the fastest players were running at an even lower percentage. Nobody was running away from anybody, and the speed loss affected how easily receivers got open and also the timing of a QB hitting his receivers in stride.

Bridgewater practiced in the bitter cold all week and seemed to have the timing adjustment down from the first snap. Wilson took about 3 quarters to figure it out.

If Seattle plays Green Bay at Lambeau in a couple weeks, it might be wise to fly out there immediately and get some practices in with cold weather conditions so Wilson can calibrate.

It wasn't bitter cold in Minneapolis all week. On the contrary, it was in the 30s until Saturday. Bridgewater had exactly the same time in the cold to prepare as Russel.

True, but Minny had the inferior talent (other than Adrian Peterson). When extreme cold conditions affect both teams to slow them down, and thus equalizes things, that almost always favors the team with the lower talent and we saw that in spades this last Sunday. Also because Bridgewater wasn't trusted to do a lot of deep stuff, he didn't try the sorts of passes that were most affected by the cold.

Basically Minny had the best possible conditions possible to pull of an upset against a team that normally would have a prohibitive edge in talent...and they nearly pulled it off. I wouldn't read anything into that game other than that. It was essentially a fluke game played under fluke conditions.

 

[NFSeahawks]

Everyone is angry at Laloosh for strange reasons.

Sounds fair. Lol

Anyway, I nor anyone else has anything relevantt to add to this thread.

 

[Willyeye]

I heard Jordan Hill on the radio today and when they asked him how cold it felt, he said that on his first snap, he took a deep breath just before the snap...it was so cold he couldn't see for about 10 seconds. From that point on, he held his breath during plays.

 

[Uncle Si]

It looked like the cold was a speed equalizer. Most guys looked like they were running at 80% speed and it felt like the fastest players were running at an even lower percentage. Nobody was running away from anybody, and the speed loss affected how easily receivers got open and also the timing of a QB hitting his receivers in stride.

Bridgewater practiced in the bitter cold all week and seemed to have the timing adjustment down from the first snap. Wilson took about 3 quarters to figure it out.

If Seattle plays Green Bay at Lambeau in a couple weeks, it might be wise to fly out there immediately and get some practices in with cold weather conditions so Wilson can calibrate.

It wasn't bitter cold in Minneapolis all week. On the contrary, it was in the 30s until Saturday. Bridgewater had exactly the same time in the cold to prepare as Russel.

True, but Minny had the inferior talent (other than Adrian Peterson). When extreme cold conditions affect both teams to slow them down, and thus equalizes things, that almost always favors the team with the lower talent and we saw that in spades this last Sunday. Also because Bridgewater wasn't trusted to do a lot of deep stuff, he didn't try the sorts of passes that were most affected by the cold.

Basically Minny had the best possible conditions possible to pull of an upset against a team that normally would have a prohibitive edge in talent...and they nearly pulled it off. I wouldn't read anything into that game other than that. It was essentially a fluke game played under fluke conditions.

I agree with all of this. Just pointing out the false narrative bathe Vikings were somehow better prepared for the weather because they live here. It's a balmy Winter (until this week). It certainly aided them by slowing the Seahawks down.