of course it is simplistic.....but I hate it when people talk about the top defenses in terms of yards allowed, or number of three and outs. The thing that really matters is points given up by the defense. They gave up 17 points to a rookie QB in windy conditions. If the WR doesn't tip the ball on that interception when the game was close, who knows what happens.

 

They aren't dominant, not even a little bit, this year. And the offense isn't good enough, for some reason, to cover for that. Not at a SB level. They don't look like the Pats or Rams at all. Not even close. This was supposed to be the year. The D is stacked with 1st and 2nd round picks (either they made or others). The O has a very good/great QB and two of the best WRs in the game. 

 

If this is how they look, it's hard to see them winning anything much past round 1 of the playoffs. There is still time, of course, but my post was about how they have played so far this year, not how they might play.

 

I think you're overlooking the league-wide transition to huge offenses. The supposedly elite Jaguars and Rams defenses are as leaky if not more leaky than the Vikings. It's a different game than even just last year. The defense is going to be fine.

When does Everson come back? The next 5 games decide if this team is a legit contender. NOLA, then division games, and ending with new England. Bye week in the middle will be a well deserved rest. See how the defense plays when on the big stage. A 4-1 performance would be pretty good.

I think you're overlooking the league-wide transition to huge offenses. The supposedly elite Jaguars and Rams defenses are as leaky if not more leaky than the Vikings. It's a different game than even just last year. The defense is going to be fine.

The Rams are 4th in the NFL @ 18.3 ppg. Vikings are 14th @ 23.6.

 

How are the Rams defense more leaky than the Vikings?

 

 

Yes, scoring is up. So, the actual pot numbers may be higher, but ranking is still ranking, and the Vikings are 14th.

Edited October 22, 20188 yr by Mr. Brooks

I would suggest the Rams schedule has been pretty favorable to judge by points.  When they've faced competent offenses, they have put up a lot of points on them.

 

(The Vikings have also faced some bad offenses, so I understand that, I'm only talking about the Rams)

I would suggest the Rams schedule has been pretty favorable to judge by points. When they've faced competent offenses, they have put up a lot of points on them.

 

(The Vikings have also faced some bad offenses, so I understand that, I'm only talking about the Rams)

Ok, but the post I was responding to was comparing the Rams to us.

 

As you said, we've both played some pretty weak offenses.

We've played 2 common opponents. We allowed 16 to SF, LA only allowed 10.

We allowed 10 to ARI, LA allowed 0.

We'll see how many they allow to GB next week, to whom we allowed 22.

 

Ok, but the post I was responding to was comparing the Rams to us.

As you said, we've both played some pretty weak offenses.
We've played 2 common opponents. We allowed 16 to SF, LA only allowed 10.
We allowed 10 to ARI, LA allowed 0.
We'll see how many they allow to GB next week, to whom we allowed 22.

 

That's true, they also gave up 31 to a pretty bad Seahawks team.  What happens against the Packers and with both of us against the Saints will tell a lot.

 

I think they're a poor defense that has been able to mask that due to getting big leads against bad teams.  But their offense is second only to KC and the dropoff from them to the next tier is significant.

Ok, but the post I was responding to was comparing the Rams to us.

As you said, we've both played some pretty weak offenses.

We've played 2 common opponents. We allowed 16 to SF, LA only allowed 10.

We allowed 10 to ARI, LA allowed 0.

We'll see how many they allow to GB next week, to whom we allowed 22.

The Vikings allowed 16 points to Garoppolo and the Rams allowed 10 to Beathard and that is a negative for the Vikings? The Vikings/Rams game was 38-31 on the road yet this is supposedly the second coming of The Greatest Show on turf. What gives there? That should have been a blowout if the Rams defense was so superior. The Seahawks are a mess yet they scored more points against the Rams than they have against any other team thus year.

 

Holding any team under 20 points this year should be the new barometer. Any team can score on any other team.

The Vikings allowed 16 points to Garoppolo and the Rams allowed 10 to Beathard and that is a negative for the Vikings? The Vikings/Rams game was 38-31 on the road yet this is supposedly the second coming of The Greatest Show on turf. What gives there, that should have been a blowout if the Rams defense was so superior. The Seahawks are a mess yet they scored more points against the Rams than they have against any other team thus year.

 

Holding any team under 20 points this year should be the new barometer. Any team can score on any other team.

Well the Vikings are 14th in the league in defensive points allowed. And they've played 3 rookie QB's.

They are a middle of the pack defense. I'm not sure when it became controversial to try to use facts to find a common ground.

Basing NFL defenses on stats is never going to tell the complete story, since most 4th quarter football is garbage time or 2-minute offense, both of which drive up the yards (and often points). 

 

Basing NFL defenses on stats is never going to tell the complete story, since most 4th quarter football is garbage time or 2-minute offense, both of which drive up the yards (and often points).

For yards, sure.

I never look at yards for team offense/defense.

Points isn't really a stat though. There is never a situation where a defense stops trying to prevent the opposing team from scoring. Aside from the very rare occasion when a team that's out of timeouts lets the opponent score so they can get the ball back.

 

For yards, sure.
I never look at yards for team offense/defense.
Points isn't really a stat though. There is never a situation where a defense stops trying to prevent the opposing team from scoring. Aside from the very rare occasion when a team that's out of timeouts lets the opponent score so they can get the ball back.

I disagree. No defenses play 100% with a big lead. The Vikings score against Buffalo, for a recent example.