Pretty depressing Matthew. But I agree. It was the ultimate FU to Viking fans by Zimmer to not let JJ have a chance at the record at the end. Does the man have any emotional intelligence? I hope Zimmer and the GM are fired tomorrow. And I hope they can trade Cousins. We need some hope for the future, even if it means going backward for a couple years.
Great read Matthew! “ When the in-stadium announcer said, “at quarterback, Kirk Cousins,” there was no reaction. He started the game by checking down to Dalvin Cook and then got sacked.” Check down Opie of Mayberry needs to go…
You just wrote a sad symphony MC. My fan hangover is over. I live in NY near Cooperstown. I did not listen to last weeks game against GB on Sirius as I was driving in the dark in NE Arizona on vacation. I chose not to listen today but watched Red Zone. It’s done. I had wild expectations prior to the start of the season. I was hopeful several times even after the ugly hiccups in several games. I might watch the last 2 games condensed with my NFL game pass. Maybe. What will Monday and beyond bring? Change. So goes the familiar recoil of “wait until next year”… again.
Vikes win, because of course they win all meaningless games to get crappier draft picks and to piss me off even when they win!! Thank God season is over.
I was at the game, and your account is spot on accurate -- good observations and articles.
KFC was just classic KFC, and total garbage in the first half. And WTF was Kubiak doing in the first half? Those play calls were both boring and awful -- much like a lot of the rest of the season.
I had been a Zimmer fan in the first 4 seasons and gave him the benefit of the doubt in 2018 and 2019. But the past 2 years have just been horribly coached. And, to top it off, he basically has just repeatedly said "FU fans" by having a team that is both bad and not fun to watch. I mean, how hard would it have been to give the fans the JJ record? Not hard at all, especially since the Bears seemed determined to help.
BTW, you said something on the podcast that made me want to note one Vikings bit of history for you. In whatever year Jared Allen was going to break the sack record, the Vikings played the Bears for last game of season. The coach was Lovie Smith. If you go back and look at that game, it was the biggest jerk coaching I have ever seen by Lovie. If my recollection is right, the entire game plan was "Don't give Jared Allen the sacks record!" The Bears ran almost all game (even in obvious passing downs) and they intentionally rolled to the opposite side for the few passes they did that day. Essentially, they ran a meaningless game such that they would not allow Jared Allen to get the record. Might be my biased eyes at the time, but don't think so.
Anyway, thanks for the good work as always this season, let's hope we have an entirely new troika to route for next year with, hopefully, Spielman, Zimmer and KFC gone.
Perfect photo... Zimmer benched sitting alone, a human rendition of a Perianal Cyst about to live up to that relegation when it could have been sooo much better. What a petulant curmudgeon.
It seems like this is the minority opinion, but I really don’t care one iota that the Vikings didn’t try to force-feed Jefferson the ball on their final possession. He’s already played one more game than Moss. The game was over. The season is over. If you want to criticize the coaching staff for not getting it to Jefferson sooner, fine. But at the very end of the game? That would have seemed bush-league to me.
It was not so much the end of the game... it was an issue all game and could have been one of the few things fans had to cheer about and they waited and waited. Zimmer being Zimmer might have been an incredible Defensive mind but he has proved through the years he has no idea how to organize an offense. Like a hammer repeatedly to the head, run, run, run, and when we lost what did he say? "I think we should have run more". There were several opportunities to throw the ball JJ's way throughout the game. But no, Cousins gets his statistical mirage and JJ falls short of the record, a record that could have been achieved by week 15 if the QB and the OC pulled their head out of no aggression. To illustrate my point... 09/12 Chicago Cousins 106.8 JJ targets 5; 10/31 Dallas Cousins 88.3 JJ targets 2; 11/07 Baltimore Cousins 104.3 JJ targets (3) 11/28 San Fran Cousins 93 JJ targets 4. The lack of targets was not JJ's fault and he is the best player on the Offense. So the culmination of aggravation overflows with fans like me who believe Zimmer's hammer headed petulance teamed with Cousins play it safe cost JJ the record in the first place.
I certainly agree that there stretches in games, often in the first half, that the Vikings inexplicably did not throw to Jefferson enough. Obviously, Cousins’ risk-adverse mentality has something to do with that. I’d guess the opposing defense’s game plan does, too. I mean, Jefferson puts together arguably the best two-season stretch of any Vikings receiver - do Cousins and Zimmer and Klint get any credit for it? Or did Jefferson do it in spite of those guys? I also find it a touch ironic that everyone blasts Cousins for being so “stat-obsessed”, but we’re pissed that the team didn’t exhibit a similar obsession in order to get Jefferson the record.
Don’t interpret what I’m saying as me being a Cousins or Zimmer apologist. I’m as ready to hit the reset button as anyone. But I really don’t care about such a record in a season such as this. Be honest - prior to this week, could you have told me the year in which Moss set the record?
I appreciate the dialogue Chirs, I knew ahead of each record that JJ was about to set it. The media was way ahead of the record breaks in announcing them. The biggest difference between the view of stats between Zimmer, Cousins, Kubiak and JJ is that JJ demonstrated clearly he is a team player, not entirely self-serving. He did look forward to breaking the records but winning was still most important. Zimmer detested the offense, which includes JJ as a member of it, and was repeatedly verbal about it. His 'I don't care about records' statement was ludicrous... it was the only reason he played all the starters in the last game. It was not team oriented, it was Zimmer the hammer head. Cousins is partially responsible for JJ stats and partially responsible for JJ not getting the record. When you go back and view the tape you'll see that there were many more bad throws toward JJ than wonderful throws. This is not knew news same thing happened with Diggs and Theilen, Cousins should kiss their cleats for the number of sensational, off balance awkward catches they made. Kubiak I felt sorry for. He was caught between a worthless Dennison, Zimmer's constant redirection of the play calls, and Cousins checking down the majority of the time. We really never did see who Kubiak really was though being the least tenured is getting a considerable amount of the blame. So my final statement is that JJ played despite Zimmer's attitude and game planning. JJ was dependent on the QB to achieve. He played "team" ball despite Cousins being risk-averse and padding his own stats first. JJ achieved despite Kubiaks play calling but the combination of the above resulted in JJ not getting a record that should have been achieved week 15. I've enjoyed the dialogue and hope to read more of your comments! SKOL
Pretty depressing Matthew. But I agree. It was the ultimate FU to Viking fans by Zimmer to not let JJ have a chance at the record at the end. Does the man have any emotional intelligence? I hope Zimmer and the GM are fired tomorrow. And I hope they can trade Cousins. We need some hope for the future, even if it means going backward for a couple years.
Great read Matthew! “ When the in-stadium announcer said, “at quarterback, Kirk Cousins,” there was no reaction. He started the game by checking down to Dalvin Cook and then got sacked.” Check down Opie of Mayberry needs to go…
You just wrote a sad symphony MC. My fan hangover is over. I live in NY near Cooperstown. I did not listen to last weeks game against GB on Sirius as I was driving in the dark in NE Arizona on vacation. I chose not to listen today but watched Red Zone. It’s done. I had wild expectations prior to the start of the season. I was hopeful several times even after the ugly hiccups in several games. I might watch the last 2 games condensed with my NFL game pass. Maybe. What will Monday and beyond bring? Change. So goes the familiar recoil of “wait until next year”… again.
Thanks Matthew
As disappointing in some ways to win this game a couple of points
1. Nagy is a moron. 4 and 1 and throw the ball? They had a 2-3 yard run almost guaranteed.
2. ISM looked pretty good
3. Willekes looked pretty good
4. Zim really did not want to make fans happy... Not only did he have the gall to win, he did not feed JJ at the end with the record at stake
Vikes win, because of course they win all meaningless games to get crappier draft picks and to piss me off even when they win!! Thank God season is over.
Please pass the hemlock…
I was at the game, and your account is spot on accurate -- good observations and articles.
KFC was just classic KFC, and total garbage in the first half. And WTF was Kubiak doing in the first half? Those play calls were both boring and awful -- much like a lot of the rest of the season.
I had been a Zimmer fan in the first 4 seasons and gave him the benefit of the doubt in 2018 and 2019. But the past 2 years have just been horribly coached. And, to top it off, he basically has just repeatedly said "FU fans" by having a team that is both bad and not fun to watch. I mean, how hard would it have been to give the fans the JJ record? Not hard at all, especially since the Bears seemed determined to help.
BTW, you said something on the podcast that made me want to note one Vikings bit of history for you. In whatever year Jared Allen was going to break the sack record, the Vikings played the Bears for last game of season. The coach was Lovie Smith. If you go back and look at that game, it was the biggest jerk coaching I have ever seen by Lovie. If my recollection is right, the entire game plan was "Don't give Jared Allen the sacks record!" The Bears ran almost all game (even in obvious passing downs) and they intentionally rolled to the opposite side for the few passes they did that day. Essentially, they ran a meaningless game such that they would not allow Jared Allen to get the record. Might be my biased eyes at the time, but don't think so.
Anyway, thanks for the good work as always this season, let's hope we have an entirely new troika to route for next year with, hopefully, Spielman, Zimmer and KFC gone.
Skol, Vikings!
Perfect photo... Zimmer benched sitting alone, a human rendition of a Perianal Cyst about to live up to that relegation when it could have been sooo much better. What a petulant curmudgeon.
The Turbo Snark is set to 11 in this one, Matt.
It seems like this is the minority opinion, but I really don’t care one iota that the Vikings didn’t try to force-feed Jefferson the ball on their final possession. He’s already played one more game than Moss. The game was over. The season is over. If you want to criticize the coaching staff for not getting it to Jefferson sooner, fine. But at the very end of the game? That would have seemed bush-league to me.
It was not so much the end of the game... it was an issue all game and could have been one of the few things fans had to cheer about and they waited and waited. Zimmer being Zimmer might have been an incredible Defensive mind but he has proved through the years he has no idea how to organize an offense. Like a hammer repeatedly to the head, run, run, run, and when we lost what did he say? "I think we should have run more". There were several opportunities to throw the ball JJ's way throughout the game. But no, Cousins gets his statistical mirage and JJ falls short of the record, a record that could have been achieved by week 15 if the QB and the OC pulled their head out of no aggression. To illustrate my point... 09/12 Chicago Cousins 106.8 JJ targets 5; 10/31 Dallas Cousins 88.3 JJ targets 2; 11/07 Baltimore Cousins 104.3 JJ targets (3) 11/28 San Fran Cousins 93 JJ targets 4. The lack of targets was not JJ's fault and he is the best player on the Offense. So the culmination of aggravation overflows with fans like me who believe Zimmer's hammer headed petulance teamed with Cousins play it safe cost JJ the record in the first place.
I certainly agree that there stretches in games, often in the first half, that the Vikings inexplicably did not throw to Jefferson enough. Obviously, Cousins’ risk-adverse mentality has something to do with that. I’d guess the opposing defense’s game plan does, too. I mean, Jefferson puts together arguably the best two-season stretch of any Vikings receiver - do Cousins and Zimmer and Klint get any credit for it? Or did Jefferson do it in spite of those guys? I also find it a touch ironic that everyone blasts Cousins for being so “stat-obsessed”, but we’re pissed that the team didn’t exhibit a similar obsession in order to get Jefferson the record.
Don’t interpret what I’m saying as me being a Cousins or Zimmer apologist. I’m as ready to hit the reset button as anyone. But I really don’t care about such a record in a season such as this. Be honest - prior to this week, could you have told me the year in which Moss set the record?
I appreciate the dialogue Chirs, I knew ahead of each record that JJ was about to set it. The media was way ahead of the record breaks in announcing them. The biggest difference between the view of stats between Zimmer, Cousins, Kubiak and JJ is that JJ demonstrated clearly he is a team player, not entirely self-serving. He did look forward to breaking the records but winning was still most important. Zimmer detested the offense, which includes JJ as a member of it, and was repeatedly verbal about it. His 'I don't care about records' statement was ludicrous... it was the only reason he played all the starters in the last game. It was not team oriented, it was Zimmer the hammer head. Cousins is partially responsible for JJ stats and partially responsible for JJ not getting the record. When you go back and view the tape you'll see that there were many more bad throws toward JJ than wonderful throws. This is not knew news same thing happened with Diggs and Theilen, Cousins should kiss their cleats for the number of sensational, off balance awkward catches they made. Kubiak I felt sorry for. He was caught between a worthless Dennison, Zimmer's constant redirection of the play calls, and Cousins checking down the majority of the time. We really never did see who Kubiak really was though being the least tenured is getting a considerable amount of the blame. So my final statement is that JJ played despite Zimmer's attitude and game planning. JJ was dependent on the QB to achieve. He played "team" ball despite Cousins being risk-averse and padding his own stats first. JJ achieved despite Kubiaks play calling but the combination of the above resulted in JJ not getting a record that should have been achieved week 15. I've enjoyed the dialogue and hope to read more of your comments! SKOL