"And then depression set in"

 

I was still pretty high after the loss to the Lions; They barely beat us and Hockenson hadn't played yet. I figured Hock would be back for the Rams game except he wasn't. Puka Nacua was unexpectedly ready to play for the Rams. Son of a ... Just the spark the struggling Rams Offense needed. Cashman was a no go at LB; The Defence struggled again with him out. The pass rush struggled to get pressure. Darrisaw tore his ACL and MCL. Uncle Sam nearly had his head ripped off on an uncalled Facemask Penalty in the endzone resulting in a game sealing Saftey for the Rams. Ridiculous! 

Oh, how the cruel winds of fate turned on my favorite team. Losing Darrisaw and the game basically assures that the Vikes will not be able to catch the Lions for the Division and the #1Seed. All my hopes and expectations went out the window with that loss. Losing one of the best Left Tackles in the NFL totally bites. How negatively will the running and passing game be affected? Right now, it's anybodies guess. 

Will the injury bug keep biting and bring down a once promising season?

After the next three games I think I will have a clearer grasp on where things are headed. Right, now things are muddied up. I think the picture is even darkerfor the Packers and their fate with a one legged quarterback and the Lions coming to town this week.

Huge Game This Sunday

 This is what I wrote over at IDO about the match-up with the Lions this Sunday. The Lions and Vikes are the premier teams in the NFC right now. The odds of the Vikes being the #1 Seed in the NFC go up significantly if the Vikes get the W. Will that happen? The Lions have to be the most feared team in the league right now.  I think the teams are fairly evenly matched with the Lions having the stronger Offense currently and the Vikes with the better Defense. It is a true toss-up from my perspective. This game could go in any direction at any time. It could be a blowout in either direction or be nip and tuck from start to finish depending on how the ball bounces and the success or failure of game plans on all sides of the ball. The teams don't play again in the final game of the regular season. Who knows what will happen between this week and that match-up in January? Either team could be injury-depleted or both could be the juggernauts they have been to this point. A Vikes win this week is a big step toward making that final game in Detriot meaningless, but there is a lot of football yet to be played between now and January.

SKOL Vikings!

 

Vikes Take Care of Business In London, Defeat A A Ron

 The Offense and aspects of the Special Teams did not play well, but the Defense and other aspects of the Special Teams were on point, so we won the game in a squeaker. Uncle Sam made bad decisions and bad throws. AJ got injured. We had the Jets Defence on the ropes and didn't press the advantage when we had the chance to impose our will in the running game when we were ahead in the first half. The Special Teams had multiple screw-ups that cost the team.  It was a sloppy, but we got the W. Now we have the bye week. Hopefully, AJ's hip injury isn't that serious and the team comes out refreshed and ready vs. the Lions in a couple of weeks.

Vikes D picked off A A Ron three times including the dagger in the final minute. Flores won the chess match vs. Rodgers pretty convincingly. If other aspects of the team could shoot straight they would have won easily.