Key to this game is Jared Allen and Brian Robison against Marshall Newhouse and Bryan Bulaga.

If Newhouse and Bulaga keep the Viking DEs to two sacks or less, the Packers win. And probably win big.

In fact, I'll go farther. As long as the Vikings don't keep Rodgers running for his life early (i.e., in 1st and 2nd quarters), this game is over by the half. And it won't matter what Christian Ponder, Adrian Peterson, and Percy Harvin do.

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It particularly won't matter what Adrian Peterson does. Let him run all over the field, for all I care, as long as the wide receivers are shut down.

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Minnesota has wide receivers, plural?

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Stone hands got that nickname in Chicago for a reason.

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think this one is going to be close...

Ponder is going to make them alot better than the putrid QBing that they were getting from McBouncepass.

i'm also gonna say that this is the week where they actually decide to use Harvin on 50% + of their snaps

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[stupid]

I was going to say the same thing. Nagler also pointed out that teams are running a lot of max protect (keeping tight ends and fullbacks into block). Dom just lets them, rushes three until we have a lead, and leans on the (so far) staunch red zone defense. Seems to be working so far. The Vikings could roll up 600 yards of offense, and as long as they only score 3 points I’m a happy camper. Hopefully this means that in games where it really matters, such as the Thanksgiving game against the Lions, Dom can pull out some unscouted looks.

Unless things get awfully ugly in the first half against the Vikings I imagine both the offense and defense will look pretty boring. Let’s hope that’s how it shakes out, at least. I’m watching this one back home in SoDak with my mom. For the last two years every game I’ve watched with her has fallen in the Win column, so I expect a W.

💓 you, Nerdmann,
Logan

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I think this will be another divisional game that is closer than the talent dictates, I for one hope this will be another game where we play Howard Green gets some more snaps, and maybe for once Raji doesnt have to play all the snaps. I fear we are wearing the big guy out, to my eyes he is not looking fresh in the games, he makes a play here and there, but the effort is not consistent.

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Well in Raji's defense he commands double teams. He doesn't just "get" them -- he "commands" them. He's a lot more disruptive when they bring some kind of pressure that frees him up for a one-on-one.

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I don’t know that you’re wrong, but I am always wary of fans evaluating effort. I just don’t see how a fan watching on television can say with much confidence, "that guy isn’t showing much effort”. Maybe where a wide receiver is concerned it’s a little easier to make that call, but on the D line it seems tougher.

Offenses have been bringing in max protect schemes and running the football with cutesy misdirections plays, then taking what they can get downfield in plays that take forever to develop. Dom has been playing bend but don’t break style defense until the redzone, on one hand, or the Packers have a healthy lead, on the other. I don’t think you’re going to see Raji (and the rest of the D line) streaking toward the QB while Dom is rushing three guys against an entire offensive line, two tight ends and a fullback. On the other hand, I think it was during the Atlanta game that they showed a replay of Raji blocking up two gaps singlehandedly, waiting for the running back to make his cut, and stopping the play for no gain. That takes effort. It’s not QB sack effort but it gets the job done, within the scheme, when a team is trying to trudge down the field 4 yards at a time.

I agree that this game will be closer than we’d like. It’s the Vikings after all, and even though the Packers destroyed them in Minnesota last year there’s always the possibility that they play us closer than we expect. That defense still has a lot of playmakers (even though they’re aging) and Jared Allen is having a great season so far. Ponder starting is bad for the Vikings' overall season, but it’s good for their chances in games like the one. Remember in ’09 when we played the Bucs in a game the Packers should have won? Well, we lost, and we lost to a rookie QB named Josh Freeman. Hopefully McCarthy uses that as an example this week. Finally, I read that the Vikings are having one of those “come to Jesus" type meetings today (yep, just like the Packers in ’09 ). The 2011 Vikings aren’t the 2009 Packers, but this may not be a walk away win.

I hate the fucking Vikings, though, and I hope the Packers win by 40 points.

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Yes. They have Percy Harvin and Be...Ber....

OK. I couldn't finish my train of thought. Was laughing too hard.

With Sidney Rice gone, forget it. MN won't score much. Let AP get his 135 yards and one TD. 🇦🇷 will throw 4.

Formo - I'll take the sig bet. Screw it. I'll spot you 21 points between the two games too and we sweep. Sig stays until the end of the year.

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