State of the North

[Heyjoe4]

I thought Darnold was not in a good situation in the NFL until he got to SF. When Purdy went down; Darnold looked really good. It was only a short time and early in the year. Preseason? Maybe he just needed to be on a decent team. Just like with any QB almost; pressure is the best thing. It isn't looking like we can take minihaha lightly.

I don't even remember him playing for the Niners. Well maybe he found the right place, as you imply.

The Queens, once again, just can't be taken lightly. There are a few 2-0 teams that have surprised me and some 0-2 teams as well. Things will shake out in another few weeks. Hope Love can come back for the Viking game in two weeks.

 

[Krabs]

Most analysts picking queens to finish in last place. Maybe they missed something. Don't take them for granted..

I would agree they look better than initially thought. I think their roster is still pretty bad. The Giants are one of the worst teams in the league. I'd wager they are three wins at best. The 49ers was a much better win. The 49ers were obviously without CMC and it wasn't what I would call a dominant win. MN's defense is not great. They gave up over 300 yards passing to Purdy, 100 yards rushing to Mason and over 100 yards receiving to Samuel. They gave up 399 total yards. They also gave up 24 first downs and the 49ers held the ball 35 mins to 25 mins. The glaring stat is that Jefferson had 133 yards receiving. Do a good job shutting Jefferson down, get after Darnold and it should be a win. You can't ever overlook any team in the NFL, but I think MN is smoke and mirrors.

 

[Heyjoe4]

I would agree they look better than initially thought. I think their roster is still pretty bad. The Giants are one of the worst teams in the league. I'd wager they are three wins at best. The 49ers was a much better win. The 49ers were obviously without CMC and it wasn't what I would call a dominant win. MN's defense is not great. They gave up over 300 yards passing to Purdy, 100 yards rushing to Mason and over 100 yards receiving to Samuel. They gave up 399 total yards. They also gave up 24 first downs and the 49ers held the ball 35 mins to 25 mins. The glaring stat is that Jefferson had 133 yards receiving. Do a good job shutting Jefferson down, get after Darnold and it should be a win. You can't ever overlook any team in the NFL, but I think MN is smoke and mirrors.

Yeah I think you're right. And the win against the Niners came on big plays. Jefferson has a 97 yard TD, and he ran an incredible route. But the D is pretty weak. The game in two weeks will be telling.

 

[Krabs]

Yeah I think you're right. And the win against the Niners came on big plays. Jefferson has a 97 yard TD, and he ran an incredible route. But the D is pretty weak. The game in two weeks will be telling.

Again, a win against the 49ers is a good win. I'm not knocking that. They have the Texans, Packers (hopefully with Love), Jets and Lions. That a tough upcoming schedule. It will tell a lot how they do over that stretch.

 

[OldSchool101]

Again, a win against the 49ers is a good win. I'm not knocking that. They have the Texans, Packers (hopefully with Love), Jets and Lions. That a tough upcoming schedule. It will tell a lot how they do over that stretch.

Yes. A Win is a Win especially against a good coached Football team. 14 points came off 2 plays.
-The 98 yard TD score to Jefferson
-The INT at the SF 10 yard line.

Not taking those completely away, but aside from that 1 chunk play and capitalizing on goal to go on another, the Vikings scored a total of 3 FG’s or 9 points. This was at home and indoors which helps.
Jefferson is always good for a TD, but not often 98 yarders either. You gotta make them work for those. They had MN backed up and I’m sure went for the throat for a Safety 2pt play. The risk there is you HAVE to double JJ he’s too good.
I’d still say put them in neutral territories and SF wins 7 out of 10 times. So it’s not like MN is “better” than SF49ers either. MN was Better that day, at home. Credit to the Vikings for catching SF sleeping early on in the season.

My hope is we can catch Tennessee similarly half awake. They are not SF, but they are playing at home. Even an ugle Win is acceptable.
1-2 or even 1-3 is absolutely recoverable, but 2-1 would put us firmly in the race with MN for the lead in the North the following week.
2-1 would be huge for GB.

 

[sschind]

Yes. A Win is a Win especially against a good coached Football team. 14 points came off 2 plays.
-The 98 yard TD score to Jefferson
-The INT at the SF 10 yard line.

Not taking those completely away, but aside from that 1 chunk play and capitalizing on goal to go on another, the Vikings scored a total of 3 FG’s or 9 points. This was at home and indoors which helps.
Jefferson is always good for a TD, but not often 98 yarders either. You gotta make them work for those. They had MN backed up and I’m sure went for the throat for a Safety 2pt play. The risk there is you HAVE to double JJ he’s too good.
I’d still say put them in neutral territories and SF wins 7 out of 10 times. So it’s not like MN is “better” than SF49ers either. MN was Better that day, at home. Credit to the Vikings for catching SF sleeping early on in the season.

My hope is we can catch Tennessee similarly half awake. They are not SF, but they are playing at home. Even an ugle Win is acceptable.
1-2 or even 1-3 is absolutely recoverable, but 2-1 would put us firmly in the race with MN for the lead in the North the following week.
2-1 would be huge for GB.

I think many Packer fans, myself in particular, would love to pick apart a vikings win. The bottom line is of course a win is a win but there is nothing wrong with breaking it down like you did. The giants are a disaster so its easy to discount that win. The 49ers are not a disaster but how many times do teams go on a 98 yard drive much less score on one play? Not very many. A very high percentage of time starting at your own 2 results in a punt at best. I wasn't aware of the INT at the 49ers 10. How many times do you get a turnover inside the opponents 20. Again, not that many give them credit they did get 7 out of it.

My point, as I think yours was, is that although they did win, and I do give them credit for that, it wasn't a dominating win. Several things happened in that game that you can't count on. Of course a few things happened to the 49ers that you can't always count on either to keep them in it (see my first above) You can say that about a lot of wins but there is some legitimacy to it. I'm still not sold on the vikings. Just like I'm not sold on the Lions fall from grace. I still think it will end up a 2 team race for the the North between the Packers and Lions.

However, I fully admit that my thinking is somewhat influenced by my intense dislike for the vikings and has a degree of wishful thinking factored in.

 

[Heyjoe4]

I think many Packer fans, myself in particular, would love to pick apart a vikings win. The bottom line is of course a win is a win but there is nothing wrong with breaking it down like you did. The giants are a disaster so its easy to discount that win. The 49ers are not a disaster but how many times do teams go on a 98 yard drive much less score on one play? Not very many. A very high percentage of time starting at your own 2 results in a punt at best. I wasn't aware of the INT at the 49ers 10. How many times do you get a turnover inside the opponents 20. Again, not that many give them credit they did get 7 out of it.

My point, as I think yours was, is that although they did win, and I do give them credit for that, it wasn't a dominating win. Several things happened in that game that you can't count on. Of course a few things happened to the 49ers that you can't always count on either to keep them in it (see my first above) You can say that about a lot of wins but there is some legitimacy to it. I'm still not sold on the vikings. Just like I'm not sold on the Lions fall from grace. I still think it will end up a 2 team race for the the North between the Packers and Lions.

However, I fully admit that my thinking is somewhat influenced by my intense dislike for the vikings and has a degree of wishful thinking factored in.

The Vikings have always been a tough out for the Packers. And the Queens are the only team in the North I hate, including their obnoxious fans. I can deal with the Bears and Lions. Not so for the Vikings. I hope the Lombardi remains out of their reach for as long as I live.

 

[PikeBadger]

I would agree they look better than initially thought. I think their roster is still pretty bad. The Giants are one of the worst teams in the league. I'd wager they are three wins at best. The 49ers was a much better win. The 49ers were obviously without CMC and it wasn't what I would call a dominant win. MN's defense is not great. They gave up over 300 yards passing to Purdy, 100 yards rushing to Mason and over 100 yards receiving to Samuel. They gave up 399 total yards. They also gave up 24 first downs and the 49ers held the ball 35 mins to 25 mins. The glaring stat is that Jefferson had 133 yards receiving. Do a good job shutting Jefferson down, get after Darnold and it should be a win. You can't ever overlook any team in the NFL, but I think MN is smoke and mirrors.

This is my take as well. They've got holes and imo have thin depth as well. When the injuries start happening I think this team is in trouble. I suspect the 2nd half of the season will not be a good situation over there.

 

[OldSchool101]

It really early. The first game is really teams shaking off the rust. You could say more like 2-3 games. Often we see the penalties drop after the first couple of weeks.
That said it’s great to start 2-0. You need those close Wins to buffer a few close Losses down the stretch.

I’m not saying the Vikings aren’t good. More just noting it’s very early and a few big turnovers or mega plays decide these games. If those big plays remain consistent and they sit at 4-0 or 6-1 etc we can all crown them but until then they remain common Bourgeoisie. Not enough info imo.

I remember years past the Chargers like 15 years ago starting at 5-0. Then they fizzled

 

[OldSchool101]

On a positive note!

Packers QB Jordan Love practices for first time since knee injury

Jordan Love was back at Packers practice on Wednesday for the first time since injuring his left knee in the season opener.

packerswire.usatoday.com

I suspect if he doesn’t play this week he will against the Vikings

 

[Heyjoe4]

On a positive note!

Packers QB Jordan Love practices for first time since knee injury

Jordan Love was back at Packers practice on Wednesday for the first time since injuring his left knee in the season opener.

packerswire.usatoday.com

I suspect if he doesn’t play this week he will against the Vikings

Thanks for the article OS. I think it would be wise to sit Love another week, considering the opponent, and how well Willis and the run game executed against the Colts. And Levis makes some truly bad decisions and I expect 2 INTs this week.

They can't use the same game plan. Instead of 50 plus runs I expect 40 plus. So Willis has to pass more. That's a little risky, but they aren't asking him to be Love. MLF and Stevanovich (sp?) had a great game plan last week. I expect they'll have another one for the Titans.

With the Vikings coming up next, I'd roll with Willis for another week and let Love heal.

 

[rmontro]

With the Vikings coming up next, I'd roll with Willis for another week and let Love heal.

Not sure how much I like it, but I expect that is what will happen.

 

[gopkrs]

If Love has been cleared and he is doing well; maybe make him QB2 and only play him if we are losing. And maybe give him a few series and get him back into the swing of things.

 

[tynimiller]

If Love has been cleared and he is doing well; maybe make him QB2 and only play him if we are losing. And maybe give him a few series and get him back into the swing of things.

There is real chatter that we may dress 3 QBs...

 

[OldSchool101]

Nothing has been typical about the start to this year. After watching Jordan at practice he actually seems pretty comfortable. He said it absolutely affects his mobility, but we don’t need to over use Jordan either. We’re talking about a 60/40 Run to pass ratio here. Let Love play 1 Quarter + and then have a plan to turn it over to Malik in Quarter 2-3 unless Jordan is just feeling good to go. Treat it like we would Preseason etc

I know that’s not typical yet it would be wise to try that brace out for a couple series to test it before entertaining the Vikings. I don’t know if I like the idea of Jordan playing 4trs just yet. 1-2 Qtrs? If he’s cleared? Absolutely yes

Then give him an extra 1 1/2 days of rest. Ease him back into practice 1/2 speed.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Not sure how much I like it, but I expect that is what will happen.

I'm not crazy about it either. Gotta win the games you're supposed to win. If he does play he'll have a brace. If he's close, he'll play.

I'm sure MLF and the team know, and he'll have a game plan for Willis or Love. The games team play with "questionable" and "doubtful" is just to keep the Titans D off balance. There's no way to police that by the league.