In any given Sunday, there are many factors in winning a game. Ya gotta run, stop the run, pressure the QB, win the TO battle, etc., etc. IMO, this is not one of those weeks. Minny has a VG-great run D, although I believe we can maybe get 100 yards. The vikings secondary is banged up and suspect. Saints had six guys catch passes for 15 yards or better, and Brees missed other open shots. I have very reliable Insider Info that there will be no wind or rain. Aside from the OL giving him some time, I believe this game is all on Henne. Thoughts?
I believe they did pretty good vs the Bills in tackling. I was really impressed with Clemons and how he got a couple of tackles on or before the line of scrimmage. Hope they feed the wolf this week and get after old man farve and shut down AP.
Yes they did a great job of tackling against the bills. But tackling AP vs tackling a rookie starting his first game in NFL ever is two completely different situations. I think we have all seen on numerous occasions when AP makes a guy miss or breaks the first tackle it can be the difference between a punting situation from their 30 yard line, or first and 10 from the opponents 20 yard line. The first person on him needs to bring him down. I also hope we keep that mentality going, this game and beyond. It will drastically help our D and our team win games, especially games that are going to be close.
Our defense causing turnovers is the most important key in this game Henne performing well would be 2nd on my list.
If Clemons keeps tackling high, as he has shown, he will have a major problem with AP, and many others down the line. It can work on little guys, and maybe he is going for a strip. It is a concern of mine. Aside from that, we will wait until Monday to see who is right.
I hope that's the case. We're kinda playing with house money in this game. We should give Henne carte blanche to do whatever he thinks he can. Let him be a gunslinger for a game, see how good he is, because I don't think we have a legitimate shot playing ground and pound with this team.
I think defense and the run game will be the key in this one. Henne is 2nd imo on that list. I am pretty sure he wont miss that deep pass two times in a row.
I agree, no one guy ever wins or loses the games, it's a team effort. Every one of the 45/46 active players take part in a game, hell even the practice squad guys put in a weeks worth of work to prepare a team for the upcoming game. One guy........no way
I think we will see more this week of ALL facets of the game. For some reason I believe that there may actually be a season game plan in the works here. I think we will doing enough each game to win and will only bring out the big stuff if need be. We were very conservative last week in many parts of the game and I think that was by design. I think we went into Buffalo with 2 or 3 different plans depending on how the game unfolded. Since Buffalo struggled so much, we kept a lot of key strategies in our pocket. And based on what happens this weekend, we will see more of some of those secrets. We did it to the Patriots in our first year with the wildcat. We released it when we needed it to make a point and we went 11-5 on the season. I think we are going to experience something similar this year as well but I have NO IDEA what that may be right now!
I think the key is to capitalize on Minnesota's lack of ball security. We all know Favre can be rushed into making mental lapses, and the D needs to make the play when Favre presents them. Peterson is one of the top backs in the league, but will put the ball on the ground. I'd love to see a ball hawking defense this Sunday with a blanket of coverage on Shiancoe.
Yup. You're right. Because Sunday its Chad Henne vs the Minnesota Vikings. This team is going to have to do an awful lot, collectively to win this game sunday. The D, the WR's, the OL, and the Secondary. Not just our QB. One player has NEVER won or lost an NFL game
Initially, this was my first thought as well. But, truth is Henne will be a HUGE factor in our success or failure Sunday. What's the old adage...no one gets more credit or more blame than the QB? And, frankly I expect more out of Henne than what I saw against Buffalo. Put it this way, if we play against the Vikes the way we played against the Bills last Sunday, in all three phases (offense, defense, and special teams), I fear we will lose. The difference (or key) will be opening up the offense via the passing game. If we can generate some kind of passing attack, we win this game. And, Henne is obviously key to achieving that. JMHO.
I agree with Pandarilla, turn Henne loose and lets see what he has got. Minny's secondary is not the best so we should have some guys open in this game. The Vikes strength is their front 7 so running the ball will be difficult. I say we get aggressive from the get go and attack the secondary, make them change what they are doing on D and hopefully open up some running lanes.
the four keys to the game: 1) offensive line fix is in... chemistry & timing are set, they dominate the trench 2) Henne steps up & does more than manage a game but creates points on the board through utilizing his excellent receiving corp 3) defense does what it did in Buffalo, systematically brutalize the opposition into submission 4) get decent field position throughout the game with special teams. like to see Smith return one for 7 to celebrate his new contract. all doable: Miami by three football is a team sport, having said that, w/o Henne there will be no win & w/o the offensive line opening running lanes & protecting the QB, there wil be no passing game
I think some may have misunderstood my post. I am not saying that Henne has to throw for 400 yards and 4 TD's as a One Man Gang. I am saying that few teams are capable of stopping our running game, and Minny is one of them. I cannot see the Vikings scoring 9 points, or being shut down, with us winning a defensive battle. So, I do not see us winning this game unless Henne plays well. This is one game he cannot just manage and avoid mistakes. I do believe he will be up to the challenge.
understood & agreed would add: throw in the Williams brothers nightmare & it is very much about our offensive line opening running lanes to jump start a pass game for Henne Chad can't do it by himself & we can't win w/o him. team-work will prevail Miami by three
