1. Through four games, the Minnesota Vikings have played well in 2.75 of those games and poorly in 1.25 of those games. That has translated into a 2-2 record. The two wins against the Atlanta Falcons and Oakland Raiders were very impressive. A poor first quarter and a single, late, mind-numbing mistake against the Green Bay Packers produced the first loss. A terrible offensive performance against the Chicago Bears last Sunday produced the second loss. Perhaps it's because the loss is the most recent game, the terrible performance against the Bears is now THE "end-all, be-all" summation of the Vikings' potential this season. In the opinions of the media and many fans, it's time to pack it in. The season's over for the Vikings. The celebration of the two impressive wins was fun and energetic but neither led to a final declaration of the team's potential this season. It was "that's great but they gotta do it again, and again, and against stronger competition." Why is it that a loss is always more defining than a win?
2. More Vikings-Bears. The Vikings sadly had only two possessions of the football in the first half. The first possession ended when Kirk Cousins missed Adam Thielen by about a yard for what could've been a long touchdown pass. Thielen had beaten coverage and was open for an easy, early score. The second possession ended on a questionable fumble on the Bears side of the field by Stefon Diggs. The play was ruled an incomplete pass on the field. It looked like an incomplete pass live. It looked like an incomplete pass on replay. Alberto Riveron's random interpretation of football action saw it differently. The Bears lone touchdown drive of the game survived a sack and fumble recovery by the Vikings defense that was nullified by a penalty and a fourth down that was converted by a link of the chain. Official decisions and a missed golden opportunity for a touchdown in the first half helped keep this shitty Vikings-Bears game from being a very different game.
2. More Vikings-Bears. The Vikings sadly had only two possessions of the football in the first half. The first possession ended when Kirk Cousins missed Adam Thielen by about a yard for what could've been a long touchdown pass. Thielen had beaten coverage and was open for an easy, early score. The second possession ended on a questionable fumble on the Bears side of the field by Stefon Diggs. The play was ruled an incomplete pass on the field. It looked like an incomplete pass live. It looked like an incomplete pass on replay. Alberto Riveron's random interpretation of football action saw it differently. The Bears lone touchdown drive of the game survived a sack and fumble recovery by the Vikings defense that was nullified by a penalty and a fourth down that was converted by a link of the chain. Official decisions and a missed golden opportunity for a touchdown in the first half helped keep this shitty Vikings-Bears game from being a very different game.
3. Penalties. Fans and the media have been honking loudly and often about the increase in called penalties. A lot of those flags have been thrown for holding penalties. A lot of teams, especially the Green Bay Packers, have been getting away with blatant holding for years. The NFL has made a concerted effort this year to crack down on the blatant holding. In my little pocket of the world, I see a lot of people running red lights. So much so that one might think that it is now legal to run red lights. It's dangerous out there. If the police were to actually do something about this before someone gets killed would the problem be with the police? The much less important problem of flag throwing in football isn't with the officials. It's with the teams that are trying to get away with something that's illegal.
4. More penalties. Maybe it's just the games that I've been watching but there seems to be a lot of players grabbing facemasks.
5. Former Washington Redskins and Denver Broncos offensive lineman Mark Schlereth was a guest on Brandon Thorn's Trench Warfare podcast. If anyone is at all interested in offensive line play I highly recommend following Thorn on all of the various social media platforms. His work is terrific. Anyway, Schlereth's talk of the offensive line drifted to the NFLPA's stupidity (his words) with regards to the CBA. "We negotiated contact out of a contact sport." Offensive line play has gotten spotty across the league and a big reason is the inability to do real offensive line work in the offseason due to the CBA. I would imagine that during the 2011 labor negotiations the owners were thrilled to learn that easier offseasons and easier practices were priorities for the players. The players might not be as sore but the quality of the game has suffered.
6. The Oakland Raiders and Chicago Bears play in London on Sunday. With the start of the now annual international series of games it's again time to ask the important question. Why haven't the Green Bay Packers played in a London game? Travelling to London for a game is an incredible inconvenience. And it's incredibly unfair to the fans that lose a home game. But the Packers get a pass every year.
7. Vikings safety Harrison Smith has a Tabasco shot before games.
8. Coverage of an NFL Draft doesn't stop with the last pick for Daniel Jeremiah. He follows and ranks the rookies as they make their way through their first season. In his current Top-25 Rookie rankings, it was interesting to see that only 10 were selected in the first round. Nine of the 10 were in the top 10. (draft pick)
2. Darnell Savage Jr,. S, Packers (21)
3. Daniel Jones, QB, Giants (6)
4. Devin Bush, LB, Steelers (10)
5. T.J. Hockenson, TE, Lions (8)
6. Nick Bosa, DE, 49ers (2)
7. Kyler Murray, QB, Cardinals (1)
8. Brian Burns, Edge, Panthers (16)
9. Josh Jacobs, RB, Raiders (24)
10. Marquise Brown, WR, Ravens (25)
18. Josh Allen, Edge, Jaguars (7)
Jeremiah's top ranked rookie is Jaguars rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew. He was selected in the
sixth round.
Every draft is different. Every season is different. Every player is different. But Jeremiah's rankings shows one thing that's always true. Talent is found throughout the draft.
9. Khalil Mack is really good at football.
10. In the small sample size of the first four games of a season, an NFL team is probably neither as good as their best game nor as bad as their worst game.
11. RIP Bill Bidwill.
4. More penalties. Maybe it's just the games that I've been watching but there seems to be a lot of players grabbing facemasks.
5. Former Washington Redskins and Denver Broncos offensive lineman Mark Schlereth was a guest on Brandon Thorn's Trench Warfare podcast. If anyone is at all interested in offensive line play I highly recommend following Thorn on all of the various social media platforms. His work is terrific. Anyway, Schlereth's talk of the offensive line drifted to the NFLPA's stupidity (his words) with regards to the CBA. "We negotiated contact out of a contact sport." Offensive line play has gotten spotty across the league and a big reason is the inability to do real offensive line work in the offseason due to the CBA. I would imagine that during the 2011 labor negotiations the owners were thrilled to learn that easier offseasons and easier practices were priorities for the players. The players might not be as sore but the quality of the game has suffered.
6. The Oakland Raiders and Chicago Bears play in London on Sunday. With the start of the now annual international series of games it's again time to ask the important question. Why haven't the Green Bay Packers played in a London game? Travelling to London for a game is an incredible inconvenience. And it's incredibly unfair to the fans that lose a home game. But the Packers get a pass every year.
7. Vikings safety Harrison Smith has a Tabasco shot before games.
8. Coverage of an NFL Draft doesn't stop with the last pick for Daniel Jeremiah. He follows and ranks the rookies as they make their way through their first season. In his current Top-25 Rookie rankings, it was interesting to see that only 10 were selected in the first round. Nine of the 10 were in the top 10. (draft pick)
2. Darnell Savage Jr,. S, Packers (21)
3. Daniel Jones, QB, Giants (6)
4. Devin Bush, LB, Steelers (10)
5. T.J. Hockenson, TE, Lions (8)
6. Nick Bosa, DE, 49ers (2)
7. Kyler Murray, QB, Cardinals (1)
8. Brian Burns, Edge, Panthers (16)
9. Josh Jacobs, RB, Raiders (24)
10. Marquise Brown, WR, Ravens (25)
18. Josh Allen, Edge, Jaguars (7)
Jeremiah's top ranked rookie is Jaguars rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew. He was selected in the
sixth round.
Every draft is different. Every season is different. Every player is different. But Jeremiah's rankings shows one thing that's always true. Talent is found throughout the draft.
9. Khalil Mack is really good at football.
10. In the small sample size of the first four games of a season, an NFL team is probably neither as good as their best game nor as bad as their worst game.
11. RIP Bill Bidwill.
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