Last Thursday, the Vikings lost their 2nd game in a span of 5 days. After starting 5-0, many Vikings fans have seemingly overreacted and "lost all hope" for the 2024 season. Since the Vikings have 10 days in between the Rams loss on this Sunday's game against the Colts, I wrote a separate recap to the Rams game already. Give that a read, if you haven't already, as I listed out a lot of my thoughts and areas that needed highlighting. If you don't want to read that recap, I will be touching on some of those points right now.
Game Notes vs Colts:
Losing LT Christian Darrisaw for the season is going to hurt, but it shouldn't "make or break" the rest of the season. The Vikings traded for OT Cam Robinson from the Jacksonville Jaguars. He is in his final year of his contract and was a former 2nd round pick. The coaching staff is going to need to get creative with how they handle pass and run blocking without their best offensive lineman. Along with newly acquired Robinson (not sure if he will play this weekend) David Quessenberry will likely to step in at LT. I wouldn't be surprised if they make bigger changes on the OL by getting Dalton Risner and Dan Feeney involved. They will also have to use FB CJ Ham and TE Josh Oliver even more in all blocking situations. It sucks, but creative coaching decisions can make the pass and run blocking work just fine.
In order to help the pass blocking, KOC and Darnold need to focus on short, quick passes. With the likely return of TE TJ Hockenson, this should help with that offensive scheme. Sam Darnold will now have Jefferson, Addison, Hockenson, and Jones to be able to work the short passing game with. On top of this, if the short passing game works early, it may force the Colts defense to move up to the line of scrimmage, opening up the occasional deep strike to Jefferson or Addison downfield. Adjust the scheme and play to your players' strengths, KOC.
LB Blake Cashman needs to return to the lineup. They are now 0-2 without their defensive captain while allowing 30.5 points per game in the 2 games he has missed. Lots of Vikings fans don't seem to understand how important he is to the defense. Cashman is the captain, green dot MLB and essentially QB of the defense. It's no surprise that in his absence, the defense hasn't been able to get any pressure and opposing offenses have been able to gash the Vikings on passes in the middle of the field; an area where Cashman usually shuts down. Go back and watch the defensive highlights from the first 5 games and specifically watch Cashman. That dude is absolutely the heart and soul of this defense. Our defense will immediately improve upon his return, I promise.
The Indianapolis Colts have decided to bench their young QB, Anthony Richardson, and start veteran Joe Flacco instead. This is a smart decision by the Colts because Richardson is one of the worst QBs I have ever seen play. He wasn't even good in college and I still have no idea why the Colts picked him at 4th overall a couple years back. With Flacco starting, this could create a challenge for the Vikings defense. Similar to Stafford throwing to Nacua and Kupp last game, Flacco has solid WRs in Downs, Pittman, and Pierce. If our defense struggles to get pressure on Flacco, he has the ability to absolutely tear up our defense again. If Cashman is able to play, I think we will be fine.
The Colts also have one of the best pure RBs in the game, Jonathan Taylor. Our defense must contain Taylor as much as possible.
I expect Justin Jefferson to have his usual 100-150 receiving yardage game, but also watch for Jordan Addison to show up in a big way. There has been a lot of question marks surrounding him and why he is having a down season so far. It just feels like a breakout game is brewing for the young star WR. Aaron Jones should be in line for another balanced rushing and receiving night like we have become used to seeing with him.
Finally, for all you "doom and gloom" Vikings fans out there, the Minnesota Vikings are absolutely still Super Bowl contenders this season. I still think our 2024 dead cap hit will be our biggest hurdle, but when you are in the position that we are currently in, you have to take advantage. You never know how future seasons are going to play out. If the Vikings can somehow make a trade for one of the top DT in the NFL, we will insantly become one of the Super Bowl favorites. I don't see this as being biased in any way, just realistic.
Trade Deadline Thoughts:
The NFL Trade Deadline is November 5th, 2 days after the Colts game. The Vikings should be buyers at the deadline. Be open to sell any players that aren't in the long term vision, but focus on trading for top players that have multiple years left on their contracts or are open to signing extensions. This will keep us competitive this year while also continuing to build for the near future. I had mentioned in my previous post that OT was one position we needed after Darrisaw was announced out for the season, and they traded for Cam Robinson. Now we need to trade for a high end DT (like Giants' Dexter Lawrence) for whatever he will cost. I also wouldn't discount the Vikings trading for a veteran LB and/or CB to add some depth. Kwesi has excelled when trading for players way more than actually drafting, screw the draft picks if it means getting good proven players that can fit into the long term vision. He needs to spend whatever drafts picks it will cost to get a top DT, first and foremost. Easier said than done, but that's why he gets paid millions of dollars. Get it done.
Colts Game Prediction:
I know primetime games can be scary for MN fans, but I think the Vikings are going to come into this game with a vengeance. With the players we have returning to the lineup, the 10 days of rest, and our great coaching staff putting together an excellent game plan... I think us fans are in for a treat (lol). Plus, we have JUSTIN JEFFERSON. I predict the Vikings to win this game 30-21 with the game never being in doubt. Lets improve to 6-2 and continue to win one game at a time! SKOL Vikings!
Can we just please win again? 🙏🏼
SKOLLLLLL