Minnesota Vikings

[sawraven1]

I am rooting for the Vikings or the Eagles.

Honestly i don't think any of the 3 teams outside of New England have a chance.

Look at the AFC and NFC conference championship QBS? If this list isn't enough to get Harbaugh shit caned i don't know what is.

Nick Folles
Case Keenum (Who short time ago were both back ups on the Rams)
Blake Bortles
Tom Brady

Almost doesn't even seem fair. 2017 was the Gift year for facing the Back up QB and the Ravens mightily screwed the pooch

[alien bird]

I didn't know where else to ask this, and it doesn't deserve a thread alone, but . . .

Not that it would have mattered, but shouldn't Stephon Diggs have been assessed a 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty after scoring the game winning touchdown for throwing his helmet while on the field? That would have been assessed on the kickoff and extended the game by one play (the kickoff) as an untimed play.

Maybe I've got the rule wrong but I think that's how it should have worked.

[HKusp]

I didn't know where else to ask this, and it doesn't deserve a thread alone, but . . .

Not that it would have mattered, but shouldn't Stephon Diggs have been assessed a 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty after scoring the game winning touchdown for throwing his helmet while on the field? That would have been assessed on the kickoff and extended the game by one play (the kickoff) as an untimed play.

Maybe I've got the rule wrong but I think that's how it should have worked.

Maybe, the thing is, when he threw the helmet, the clock read 0 so if the game is over, how do you penalize the player?

[Kyle Cactus]

I love teams built around defense, but it's not easy for those teams to be consistent year-to-year without a great QB. Really, that's my favorite team construction:
QB that's good enough to elevate the offensive talent around them (with some capable pieces obviously) + great defense.

If Keenum can continue playing with the same efficiency he did this year, or can get good enough that they could rely on him to provide more passing value, then I'd agree that this team could be one of the best teams in the NFC for the next several years. But I'd guess that he regresses next year and the Vikings bounce back and forth between really good seasons like this one (possibly with a chance at a Super Bowl) and mediocre seasons.

[PainServer52]

Vikings are the only team that has a chance to beat NE. Their defense is really good but not on the level of the Legion of Boom and Denver defenses that won those SBs, so I think Brady will put up points against them.

[HbgPARavenfan]

Vikings are the only team that has a chance to beat NE. Their defense is really good but not on the level of the Legion of Boom and Denver defenses that won those SBs, so I think Brady will put up points against them.

Saxonville with the upset this weekend

[Trackmaster]

I don't really think it matters that much. A team can be defensively minded, offensively minded, or balanced, its about the talent, and the sum of the parts. If you have a great offense, your defense needs to be at least average. If your defense is great, your average needs to be at least average. If your team is balanced, your offense and defense need to both be in the top 10, keeping the other team on its heels the whole game.

I'd say that to synergize a great offense, a great pass rush, and ball hawks tend to be the best defense for that kind of offense. If you have a stout defense, really any kind of offense helps, but a reliable, great running game and offensive players who protect the ball and don't make mistakes is what you look for.


I think that there was a time that it was looking like the NFL was turning into the AFL, and you needed a great QB and great weapons to do anything. But it looks like the NFL's defenses are improving. I'm not sure if its the hard-nose old school football that we used to have, but it looks like the offenses and defenses are stalemating again, so lower scores can win more often now.