Vikings Week 15 Outlook: Let The Chips Fall Where They May

There is a lot on the line this week in the NFC North.  Da Bears play the Cheese in Lambert at noon.  A Pack victory probably means they win the Division and Da Bears would be eliminated from the playoffs.  The Bears seem to have hit their stride and it is my belief that the Pack are pretenders this year.  I think we may see a Bears upset at Lambert.   May it be so.

A Pack loss opens the Door for the Vikes to win the Division provided they can get a victory against the Chargers in L.A. this week.  The Vikes should be able to beat the Chargers if the Vikes play reasonably well on both sides of the ball.  I think the Vikes will do that. 

If the Pack do beat the Bears, that isn't the end of the world for the Vikes provided the Vikes don't have an end of the year collapse like they did last year.  The Vikes should make the playoffs and a Pack victory this week most likely means the Vikes will face the Pack in Lambert in the first round of the playoffs. So let the chips fall where they may I think the Vikes have a better team than the Packers.

Vikings Week 14 Outlook: Thumbs Up

First my thoughts on the Loss at Seattle.  What a disastrous 3rd Quarter and start of the fourth.  I wonder how the game would have turned out had Rhodes not gotten that unnecessary roughness penalty.  The team lost the plot there for a while after that mistake. I am impressed that the Vikes/Cousins fought back as effectively as they did.  It's quite astonishing that we actually had a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter.  It's a shame they couldn't finish the job, what a missed opportunity.

I am pretty sure the team is going to be in a surly mood come Sunday at home.  The Lions will have the advantage of a long week for them and a short week for us. That shouldn't matter that much.  The Lions undrafted rookie QB is starting his second game.  I am sure the Lions are going to want to run the ball as much as possible.  The Vikes D has to be embarrassed about how many yards they gave up on the ground in Seattle, so good luck with that Detroit.  Zimm vs. a rookie QB.  This one could get ugly in a good way.  I highly doubt the Lions will be able to come in and pull what Denver did.  Last week the Lions allowed Trubisky to throw for over 300 yards and 3 touchdowns.  But I think the Vikes need to get the running game re-established.  Pound the rock boys, SKOL!

(I also think if Dalvin isn't 100% healthy than they should sit him for this one.)

 

Vikings Week 13 Outlook: Apprehensive

This week's game is a huge opportunity.  Beating one of the best teams in football at their place on Monday Night Football would be really nice to see.  I am not getting my hopes up to high.  Russell Wilson is a magician and Kirk's record in big spot games is spotty at best.  It is possible that Zimmer and Stefanski/Kubiak will come up with a stellar game plan.  I certainly expect the Vikes to show more life coming out of the bye than the Cheese did last week.  If the Vikes are good enough to beat Seattle this week I think that will pretty much guarantee us a playoff spot.  It would be a great first step toward winning the Division.  A loss isn't the end of the world provided the team stays healthy, but it would obviously put the team in a more difficult spot. Every game the Vikings play from now on is big.  It has been an exciting season so far and I hope it continues with a strong Vikings efforts every game.  Skol! 

Dude Wipes Dude and Brandon Palaniuk Returning To The Elites

Article Here...

After one year on the Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour two of the biggest names in bass fishing are going back to B.A.S.S..  This may or may not be an ominous sign for Boyd Duckett and the boys over at MLF.  Who knows how the MLF FLW take over is going to work out in the long run.  I think going back to B.A.S.S. is the smart bet.  When I lost Outdoor Channel last Spring when we switched to Direct TV my interest level in MLF nose-dived.  In fact, it wasn't until I was doing this post that I looked up The Bass Pro Tour on Discovery Channel which we do have.  I now have the DVR set to record.  I got to do something with my time this winter because with these back to back Thanksgiving week snowstorms it looks like my ice fishing got done before I could even get started.

The Forgotten Frenzy Popper

So I was reading through some old Bass Pundit Blog posts this morning from November 2009 when I came across the one when I talked about the Frenzy Popper being discontinued.  That got me to thinking.  Did I even catch a fish on one this year? 

So I went and checked on Fish Swami to get the answer.  The answer was no I did not.  I was a little shocked by that.  How could it be that I didn't even catch a single fish on a lure I just adore.  I then opened the database query to include all the years down to 2012 when I first started recording my catches with Fish Swami.  I was really shocked by that result.  I figured I had gotten fish every year but  2019 on the Frenzy Popper.   Boy was I wrong.  Here is the result:

 I've only caught 1 fish on the lure in the last 5 years.  Egads!

This proves for a fact that my memory and recall isn't the greatest.  I was totally oblivious to just how neglected the Frenzy Popper has been in my fishing the last few years.  I will have to rectify that situation in 2020.  In fact, I'm going to set a goal of catching at least 25 fish on the Frenzy Popper in 2020.  I caught more than that on the lure in one trip during The Great GOMH Whackfest of 2009.

Trophy Put Into Storage This Week

Dad and I finally got around to putting the Trophy away for the winter this week.

Boom! And Just Like That Bass Pundit Became 15 Years Old

Well, my blogging here at the mothership was down a few more tics yet again this year. A new record low, in fact. I guess I was preoccupied with other things.  But I am still at it and will persist.

Vikings Week 11 Outlook: A Little Bit of Concern

This is a game the Vikes should win.   Denver coming off the bye is probably going to have a few tricks up their sleeve.  Beating us at home would be a real feather in their cap and I expect we will see their best effort and that's what worries me.  Our guys better not have one foot already in the bye when they step on the field tomorrow.  I expect it to be a dogfight. If we don't turn the ball over I think it will be a Vikes victory.

Vikings Week 10 Outlook: I've Got A Feeling

I believe the team and Cousins are pretty pissed off about losing to the Chief's.  I have a feeling that they are going to take that frustration out on the Cowboys.  Feeling pretty good about a win this week. 

What A Bummer Game Man!

"This week's game in Kansas City is quite important for the team to put in a quality performance. I am not a believer in this team just yet.  The O-line has something to prove after last week's game.  I don't trust Cousins to come through when we need him.   And the play by the Defense this year has been mildly disappointing.  I want to see my team beat two quality opponents in the next two weeks on the road."

Instead of a quality performance, I got a wildly erratic one that resulted in a loss.  The Vikings were like Jekyll and Hyde in this one.  It made for an exciting game.  I had a feeling coming in that whether or not Mahomes played that the chances of the Chiefs losing another game in Kansas City were pretty slim.  The Vikes almost pulled it off.  I've got to give the Chief's coaches and players credit; they took some haymakers from the Vikes and managed enough big plays to win in the end.

Kirk was at times brilliant, at other times terrible, and at other times boneheaded (sliding before he got the first down).

The O-Line was at times brilliant, at other times terrible,  and at other times unlucky (the call that went against Bradford for being downfield when he really wasn't).

The O-Coordinator lost the plot at the end of the game going away from the run after it had finally started working well.  I was in disbelief over the play calling on our final two drives.  Run the damn ball when taking time off the clock is called for.  Hopefully, this is a lesson learned for Stefanski.

The Defense was just plain snakebitten.  The ball on the ground twice in the closing minutes with the Chief's recovering it both times after brilliant calls by Zimmer.  That long completion on third down when Everson hit Moore's arm. Dats Amazin good fortune for the Chiefs!  Any of those plays go our way and it's probably a Vikings victory.

Vikings Outlook for Week 9: It Gets Serious Now

The 49ers are undefeated. The Sea Chickens have the same record as the Vikes and the Rams are a game back. The Saints have one loss and Brees is back. The Packers have one loss and just beat the Chiefs, this week's Vikes opponent.  This week's game in Kansas City is quite important for the team to put in a quality performance.  I am not a believer in this team just yet.  The O-line has something to prove after last week's game.  I don't trust Cousins to come through when we need him.   And the play by the Defense this year has been mildly disappointing.  I want to see my team beat two quality opponents in the next two weeks on the road.

Trophy Out For 2019

I held out as long as I dare hoping some warm weather might show up, but it was not to be.  The Trophy is out for 2019.  One more night in the water and it would probably have been a lot tougher breaking her out.

Vikings Outlook After Week 7: Some Optimism Is In Order

I didn't get around to my post week 6 outlook.  I was guardedly optimistic that after the throat punch the Lions got in there loss to the Pack on Monday Night Football would land us a win and it did.  Bravo Vikes!  The O-Line looks like they are coming together nicely and the O is hitting on all cylinders. It's hard to know whether or not Cuzzbuzz is coming into his own or whether this is the same ole say ole of Kirk beating up on inferior competition.  The Lions flat out got ripped off in Lambert last week and that crowd in Detroit was rocking giving the game a playoff feel. 

The Vikes versus the Skins at home should be a win.  But it is a primetime game, a Cousins bugaboo, and we got beat by the Bills at home last year. You can't take anything for granted in the NFL.  Keenum will give us his best shot, but I think the D has something to prove as they can't be happy with their performance versus the Lions.

Outlook: Thumbs Up! 

Challenge Cup On Platte/Sullivan Tomorrow

I would have been fishing two tournaments this weekend, but the cold/windy weather on Saturday resulted in the Snatchers Mini-Bucks being canceled.  The Challenge Cup will be held on Platte/Sullivan on Sunday.  The Challenge Cup is a tournament between the 3 Brainerd area bass clubs. Unfortunately, due to Pete coming up this week I was unable to get any pre-fishing in by myself.  My boater will be Arnie Farber from the Brainerd Lakes Bassmasters.  Apparently, he didn't have a particularly good pre-fish or maybe he was sandbagging to Tuma.  If we are on nothing I've got a few ideas on where we might be able to catch some fish.

Rods I'm Bringing:
7'4" H Zillion (Jig)
7'4" H Tatula XL (Spinnerbait)
7'4" H Tatula (Swimbait)
7'2" H Tatula (Jig)
7'2" MH Tatula (Chatterjig)
7' H Avid (Craw Tube)
7' MH Mojo (Chatterjig)
7' M Avid (Senko)

Vikings Outlook After Week 5: Still Concerned

The Vikes took a step forward on the road offensively against the Giants, which is a good sign.  This week get a little stiffer test versus the Eagles at home.  If we see continued improvement on both sides of the ball that should equal a win.  Hopefully, Wentz will be running for his life.