Predict the Vikings game

Viking get embarrassed again and they can’t do anything about it. 😉 Rams win 40 – 20.

Last year Vikes won 24-7.

They rushed for over 170 yards in that contest. Latavius Murray(who may play agfain this year because of uncertainty about Dalvin Cook) had a very good day. Another big problem for the Rams defense was Dominique Hatfield. He was torched on a regular basis. I’m not sure if he will have to play this time or not. Let’s hope not.

Now this is a much difference defense, of course. Quinn is gone. Ogeltree is gone. Johnson is gone.

Sadly, Peters and Talib are gone.

So I expect Cousins to complete some passes. The corners just can’t give up the big plays, miss tackles and so on.

Barron played a lot in coverage that game but he’s gone as well.

The Bills game is a fluke to me. They were clearly looking ahead and not ready.

They will be ready for this one.

Goff had a decent game but momentum swung when Kupp lost a fumble at the goal line and the Rams never got it back. The Rams rushed for a total of about 43 yards but they got down in the game and threw the ball more. The game was closer than the score but Hatfield was exploited time and time again.

The Rams can have success with Gurley. The Vikes give up about 105 yards rushing a game. He can do very well this week. But the Rams can also throw on this defense. I do worry about the kicking game. They need touchdowns in this one because without Talib and Peters, and what has been a poor pass rush, this has the looks of a shootout type of game.

Rams: 34
Vikes 30

Rams 27, Vikings 19.

Vikings’ o-line is subpar, and in 12 years of Thursday night games no team has ever won or covered the spread when they’ve had to travel two time zones west.

The Vikings loss to the Bills was a big surprise out here. Offense was inept, defense was a step or two behind the play, and they didn’t even use their new kicker. The highlight of the game, up to the garbage time touchdown, was a 70 yard punt.

Zimmer was livid. I’m of the opinion that the coaching staff prepared them for the game but the team came out flat and stayed flat. It’s worth noting that the team’s halftime adjustments, whatever they were, had no effect. Fans here are typical Scandinavian; stoic and pessimistic.

The Vikings have a few key injuries and one big distraction. DE Everson Griffen was in an incident at a downtown Minneapolis hotel and allegedly at a teammate’s house, and is undergoing a mental evaluation. Everson Griffen He will not play on Sunday but his replacement, I don’t know if this kind of thing will affect their locker room.

The Vikings’ offensive line is a patchwork of decent talent, but mostly playing out of position. They recently acquired Brett Jones from the Giants to play center; he is their fourth starting center since the preseason began in August. Pat Elflein has been healing from an ankle injury. He played against Buffalo, but it didn’t help much. He was a good center in his rookie year. They lost their starting left guard early in the year too. The two starting guards and tackles are two UDFAs, one claimed on waivers and another taken from Jacksonville’s practice squad; three of the four were acquired within the last year or so.

Defensively the Vikings are about the same as last year, except Griffen is out but his replacement, Stephen Weatherly, is a good player. They played so badly against the Bills I don’t know what else to say about them. I think they will prepare very hard for us on Thursday.

I hope this is the game where the Rams turn Donald loose and Suh too. Pressure Cousins, clog the running lanes between the tackles, and force the defense back onto the field. Wear them out on defense and the Rams could open up a big lead in the second half. Make the defense run, don’t expose the receivers to big hits from the Vikings’ safeties and throw a couple of home-run balls against CB Trae Waynes.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by snowman.

Ram win. Vikings feel pain.

wv wrote:

I think the Rams would win by 15 if the allpro cornerbacks were playing,
but as it is the Rams only win by 14.

Rams 24
Vikes 10

Gurley hurtles Carl Eller in the snow and runs for the go-ahead score.

The future is now.

w
v

Any chance Jim Marshall goes the wrong way and scores for us?

Vikes Pro Bowl DE out

http://www.startribune.com/vikings-standout-everson-griffen-being-evaluated-after-erratic-behavior/494267331/

Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen was growing increasingly paranoid and feared someone was trying to kill him in the weeks and days before troubling incidents Saturday at a downtown Minneapolis hotel and in his Minnetrista neighborhood sent law enforcement looking for him, according to police reports released Tuesday.
The behavior prompted the Vikings to ban a disruptive Griffen last week from practice and seek mental health treatment, the reports said, which also noted that the 30-year-old husband and father is not suspected of a crime.
By the end of Saturday afternoon, Griffen was taken in an ambulance for treatment, but not before another outburst prompted police to intervene and escort him to the emergency vehicles’ destination.

Griffen did not play in Sunday’s 27-6 loss to Buffalo at U.S. Bank Stadium. He was on last week’s injury report as sidelined by a knee injury. On Monday, the Vikings listed him on the injury report as not having practiced because of “knee/not injury related.”

We’re going to do everything we possibly can, not only to help Everson, but all of the players on our team, and not just them but their families as well,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said Tuesday.
Griffen involved in police incident Saturday at Minneapolis hotel
Griffen is at a mental health facility for evaluation and treatment, NFL sources have confirmed.
Griffen first drew police attention about 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the Hotel Ivy in downtown Minneapolis, where the three-time Pro Bowl player was threatening to assault staff employees and lying on the lobby floor, according to a Minneapolis police incident report.
Emergency audio dispatch revealed as events unfolded that he “said that if someone doesn’t let him in his room that he is going to shoot someone,” but no gun was seen.
An officer met with Griffen’s wife at a park Saturday in Mound and recounted events leading up to the hotel incident:
She said her husband awoke in the middle of the night on Sept. 16 and left the home. She said he does this at times when he is fighting “demons” in his head. She said he returned Wednesday only to leave an hour later and not return until Saturday morning.
She said Griffen wasn’t making sense, became combative and ordered her out of the Minnetrista home. He then went to the Hotel Ivy, which is where he stays during the week. She said Griffen needs to be medicated for his mental struggles and had been without sleep for days.
The officer called Griffen on his cellphone, and Griffen said he was going to be gone for about a week and was rambling incoherently before hanging up.

Police learned from Vikings player development director Les Pico that Griffen “has been really struggling for the past few weeks,” the police reports read. Pico said Griffen “has been explosive, screaming and yelling” at practice, the reports continued. Pico called Griffen paranoid and prone to repeating himself.
The team notified Griffen’s agent that its defensive star was banned from practice until his mental health is evaluated.
Griffen’s wife then called and said he was at teammate Trae Waynes’ home down the road. Griffen was trying to break in, had jumped through bushes and was shirtless. Within minutes, Griffen’s wife notified police that he was in a pickup truck with someone who didn’t know what to do with him. The man had encountered Griffen at a gas station, and delivered him home.
Police met Griffen outside late Saturday afternoon, and he was making comments about “777” — having to do with angels — and that he went to Waynes’ home because “God made me do it.”
Griffen agreed with the officer to be taken for mental health treatment. But soon after the ambulance was en route, Griffen fled the vehicle. By the time police arrived, he had returned and had his hands in the air. Eventually, Griffen agreed to continue the trip under police escort.
The Vikings issued this statement from Waynes: “To clarify, there was no attempted break-in at our home and at no point did my family or I feel unsafe. We are friends with the Griffen family and we are here to support them in any way possible during these trying times.”

Zimmer said he hadn’t spoken to Griffen since last week. “In the long run, he’s a really good kid,” Zimmer said, confirming that Griffen would not have played Sunday because of the knee injury and that Griffen will not travel to Los Angeles with the team for Thursday’s game against the Rams.
“I’ve always loved Everson … He’s always been a good model for us and he’s going through some tough times right now,” Zimmer said. “I just hope the best for him.”
Asked if the team could have ensured Griffen received a mental health evaluation, either on-site or by taking him to a facility, Zimmer said, “Honestly, I don’t know. That’s not really my area of expertise, and so, I don’t know the answer to that, to be honest with you.”
The Vikings selected Griffen in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He has been chosen for the Pro Bowl the past three seasons and received a four-year, $58 million contract extension from the team in 2017 that put him under contract through the 2022 season. He was elected a team captain for the third consecutive season in 2018.
Griffen was arrested twice in three days in Los Angeles in 2011, following his rookie season, for public intoxication and driving with an invalid license.
Star Tribune staff writers Liz Sawyer and Ben Goessling contributed to this report.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482

Paul Walsh is a general assignment reporter at the Star Tribune. He wants your news tips, especially in and near Minnesota.

InvaderRam wrote:

i can only hope that the rams pass rush can get to cousins.

also interested to see how goff follows up his performance against the chargers.

IMO that is the key. Dalvin Cook was limited in practice yesterday, not sure if he will play. Our defensive front has a definite advantage against the Vikings offensive line and we must exploit that to compensate for losing Talib and probably Peters. And Kupp must not fumble on the one yard line again.

Tweets by TomPelissero

Man that Griffin story is so sad. I hope he gets back to normal.

Zooey wrote:

I’ve changed my mind. Rams win a close one.

Kind of like Swedish meatballs in an oil derrick fire.

The Vikings look good cooked that way. I think I would serve them over egg noodles. Deelish.

Marshall ?Now that was good. Really good. How do people remember this stuff. I forgot what or if I age this morning.

Herzog wrote:

Man that Griffin story is so sad. I hope he gets back to normal.

i agree very sad. can’t help but think head injuries.

on the pass rush. every other unit has stepped up. now the edge rushers need to do their part to win this game. we’ll see how complete of a team the rams are or aren’t.

i’m getting very nervous.