NFL: NFC Wild Card Round: (3) Minnesota Vikings v (6) Seattle Seahawks; Sun 1pm ET NBC

[Avs_19]

Well, that sucked. Pretty much how it goes as a Vikings fan. Played a near perfect game defensively and still ended up losing it.

Those couple minutes in the 4th quarter did it. Seahawks get the big fluky play, score a TD against the fourth CB who just came in, and then Peterson fumbles to set up what ended up being the winning FG. They got every break in those few minutes and capitalized. Yeah, I'm bitter. Still a great play by Wilson and Lockett though.

Can't believe Walsh missed there but I feel bad for him. Missed an easy one but he also hit some big ones earlier. **** happens.

Peterson was the much bigger issue if you ask me. Did nothing productive in that game and actually ended up being a liability in the end. Then Dungy goes on the post game show and says Teddy didn't make the big plays in the 4th quarter and it was smart to keep running it. What a clown.

 

[electriccanuck*]

AP has to be close to done, right? especially as a Viking. He is 30 and while he did have what, two years? without taking hits i think the vikings should move on

 

[Avs_19]

AP has to be close to done, right? especially as a Viking. He is 30 and while he did have what, two years? without taking hits i think the vikings should move on

People will say they're not there without him and to some extent that's correct but I'm not a fan of having this offense completely centered around him, especially going forward. He'll be back though.

 

[Voight]

AP has to be close to done, right? especially as a Viking. He is 30 and while he did have what, two years? without taking hits i think the vikings should move on

He just won the rushing title and didnt play last season so he had a year of rest. I really dont think the Vikes will let him go, hes a top RB of all time and easily the best in the league, but he can carry the team at times.

 

[sigma six]

Are people really blaming Walsh? He scored all of their points.

 

[Gene Parmesan]

People will say they're not there without him and to some extent that's correct but I'm not a fan of having this offense completely centered around him, especially going forward. He'll be back though.

If Teddy stays on this trajectory, AP will be the centerpiece of the offense.

 

[Reality Check]

Are people really blaming Walsh? He scored all of their points.

Minnesota should have taken a few penalties to give Walsh a better shot. Despite being the underdog, that was a choke.

Thankfully, for Minnesota fans, Cincinnati still outshined them.

I'll give credit to Minnesota for playing better this time. Their defense played well enough to win in spite of Teddy Ponder and another costly turnover by Peterson. Although the weather did play a part in this game.

BTW All the attention seekers who were taking off their t-shirts to get on tv yesterday deserved that ending.

 

[George Binks]

I'm used to it

 

[Ivan13]

I know it's fun to point and laugh at Walsh, but what about AP, that man has one of the worst cases of fumbleitis I've ever seen, just a terrible play at that point in game.

Also, Faulk is an idiot, he actually said Walsh had a worse game than Hoyer because we knew who Hoyer is already. Unbelievable idiocy, but nothing new for him.

 

[aleshemsky83]

People will say they're not there without him and to some extent that's correct but I'm not a fan of having this offense completely centered around him, especially going forward. He'll be back though.

The problem with Peterson is hes so bad as a pass catching RB. Its really awkward to see him come out of the backfield and catch a pass. Last star RB I can remember being that bad is Michael Turner.

That and his fumbles.

 

[Tuggy]

wow. Seriously, how the hell do you miss such a short kick? And don't tell me its because the laces were out. If that was a 35+ fg then i could buy it but that was a kick i could have made. Unbelievable, shades of gary anderson. And peterson is just as much at fault for that loss. Fumbling the ball away like that late in the game. Pathetic

seahawks just keep getting the lucky breaks

 

[John Price]

I recall watching the fourth live at FedEx Field and by the last two minutes a significant crowd had gathered around the concourse televisions

When that kick went wide left everyone was stunned

 

[Daz28]

AP has to be close to done, right? especially as a Viking. He is 30 and while he did have what, two years? without taking hits i think the vikings should move on

If it's a sound financial move to make them better, then yes. If it's a move just to give up on him, then no. He makes the team better by miles. Going all chip Kelly and grabbing 2 guys at the price of one would get the same result. Keep your Porsche, even though 2 Cadillacs seems nice. When you think he's washed up or too expensive, then move on.

 

[Big Poppa Puck]

You know what it's like to be a Vikings fan?

As soon as Peterson caught the pass he fumbled on I screamed "DON'T FUMBLE!!!"

And before the field goal at the end I said to the guy I was watching the game with "I expect them to **** this up somehow." He said "That's just cause you're a Vikings fan..." Well.......

I'm not even mad it's just expected at this point. They find new ways to lose every year. But I'm still as sick to my stomach as I was during the 98 and 09 NFC Championships and the Nathan Poole game.



Walsh and Locke both need to go. Walsh was inconsistent all year and I don't care about the laces, it was a 27 yarder and he made one from 40+ earlier with the laces out. He could've dropped kicked it from that distance. And Locke is a below average punter to begin with and now he can't he even hold properly.

 

[tacogeoff]

damn, two laces in holds on the day. was watching the game with a seahawks fan and he was dumbfounded when it went wide. what a way to lose.

 

[Blitzkrug]

Peterson's fumble was pretty bad, but it still has nothing on his performance in the NFC Championship game years ago.

Two bad fumbles. One of which came on the Saints goal line. If he punches that in, odds are Favre never throws that INT and the Vikings go to Miami instead of New Orleans.

Yesterday wasn't the first time AP screws the Vikings, probably won't be the last either

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

This photo wasn't taken yesterday. It popped up online a few weeks ago.

 

[Captain Bowie]

I knew Sherman was a thug! What an ******* why would he kick his wife and then tell people about it???

 

[Trap Jesus]

Are people really blaming Walsh? He scored all of their points.

Ugh, going into Walsh's kick, kickers were 239/245 on field goals under 30 yards this season. Of those 6 missed field goals, 4 of them were blocked.

Here are the two occurrences where field goals were missed from under 30 yards and weren't blocked:

Adam Vinatieri misses 29 yard field goal in week 2 vs. Jets (down 7-0, 4:07 left in the 1st) - Hit Right Upright

Kyle Brindza misses 29 yard field goal week 4 vs. Panthers (down 17-13, 6 seconds left in the 2nd) - Hit Right Upright

Both longer, both at times where the game wasn't on the line, and both were at least close, where an inch or two to the left would have been the difference.

239/241 (99.2%) on makeable field goal attempts from inside 30, and the two misses were extremely close to counting. We just witnessed a truly unfathomable kind of miss here. It wasn't a slight miscalculation or anything, it was a complete and utter botch of an essentially automatic kick.

Feel bad for the guy, but he completely deserves the blame for the loss, regardless of how the game played out.

 

[aleshemsky83]

Ugh, going into Walsh's kick, kickers were 239/245 on field goals under 30 yards this season. Of those 6 missed field goals, 4 of them were blocked.

Here are the two occurrences where field goals were missed from under 30 yards and weren't blocked:

Adam Vinatieri misses 29 yard field goal in week 2 vs. Jets (down 7-0, 4:07 left in the 1st) - Hit Right Upright

Kyle Brindza misses 29 yard field goal week 4 vs. Panthers (down 17-13, 6 seconds left in the 2nd) - Hit Right Upright

Both longer, both at times where the game wasn't on the line, and both were at least close, where an inch or two to the left would have been the difference.

239/241 (99.2%) on makeable field goal attempts from inside 30, and the two misses were extremely close to counting. We just witnessed a truly unfathomable kind of miss here. It wasn't a slight miscalculation or anything, it was a complete and utter botch of an essentially automatic kick.

Feel bad for the guy, but he completely deserves the blame for the loss, regardless of how the game played out.

You dont need to discount blocks. A blocked kick on a chip shot is the kickers fault.

Anyways, Walsh is still a top 2-3 kicker regardless of the miss. His job is safe.

 

[Avs_19]

Walsh and Locke both need to go. Walsh was inconsistent all year and I don't care about the laces, it was a 27 yarder and he made one from 40+ earlier with the laces out. He could've dropped kicked it from that distance. And Locke is a below average punter to begin with and now he can't he even hold properly.

Who do you replace Walsh with? He was 34/39 this season and made the most FGs in the NFL from 50+. Starting next year they're also back inside for at least 9 games each season so you'd think that'll help him as well. He can be frustrating but overall he's still pretty good. He'd probably get picked up the next day if the Vikings cut him.

Locke on the other hand is really bad. I don't pay too much attention to all the punting statistics but I know his are bad and the eye test doesn't do him any favours either.

 

[Jesus comma Brodin]

I thought I'd feel better today but I am sick to my stomach every time I hear anything that reminds me about the game which isn't possible. Just the worst feeling when you're that emotionally invested in a team.

 

[Bruins4Lifer]

You dont need to discount blocks. A blocked kick on a chip shot is the kickers fault.

Anyways, Walsh is still a top 2-3 kicker regardless of the miss. His job is safe.

Top 2-3? You're way too generous.

Overall FG% he was 12th at 87% (min. 20 attempts)
40-49 FG% he was T-9th at 86%
50+ FG% he was 15th at 75%

And he was 30th of 33 kickers in XP % (min. 10 attempts) this year, having four misses.

No way is he even a top 10 kicker. Slightly above average at best.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

Ugh, going into Walsh's kick, kickers were 239/245 on field goals under 30 yards this season. Of those 6 missed field goals, 4 of them were blocked.

Here are the two occurrences where field goals were missed from under 30 yards and weren't blocked:

Adam Vinatieri misses 29 yard field goal in week 2 vs. Jets (down 7-0, 4:07 left in the 1st) - Hit Right Upright

Kyle Brindza misses 29 yard field goal week 4 vs. Panthers (down 17-13, 6 seconds left in the 2nd) - Hit Right Upright

Both longer, both at times where the game wasn't on the line, and both were at least close, where an inch or two to the left would have been the difference.

239/241 (99.2%) on makeable field goal attempts from inside 30, and the two misses were extremely close to counting. We just witnessed a truly unfathomable kind of miss here. It wasn't a slight miscalculation or anything, it was a complete and utter botch of an essentially automatic kick.

Feel bad for the guy, but he completely deserves the blame for the loss, regardless of how the game played out.

It was a bad hold but of course he could still normally make it even with a bad hold.

But then the conditions were clearly a factor. If you look at kicking stats - How many teams play in closed roof stadiums? On the flip side, how many NFL games take place in sub-zero temperatures? Not only do the conditions affect how the ball behaves, it also affects the players' ability to stay loose and execute.

I feel like pretty much everyone involved in the insanity of playing sports outdoors in those conditions should get a pass for whatever happened yesterday.

 

[Big Poppa Puck]

Who do you replace Walsh with? He was 34/39 this season and made the most FGs in the NFL from 50+. Starting next year they're also back inside for at least 9 games each season so you'd think that'll help him as well. He can be frustrating but overall he's still pretty good. He'd probably get picked up the next day if the Vikings cut him.

Locke on the other hand is really bad. I don't pay too much attention to all the punting statistics but I know his are bad and the eye test doesn't do him any favours either.

Roberto Aguayo? I don't know. Hopefully moving back indoors does help Walsh.

But Locke really does need to go he's almost as bad as a Eddie Johnson. Morale of the story is stop wasting draft picks on Punters.