RiverDog wrote:
I'm always nervous about which team shows up.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the Vikings were down 3 starters on defense when we faced them 6 weeks ago. In our first game against them, getting ahead early was critical in taking Adrian Peterson out of the game.
Knowing that we walloped them 6 weeks earlier doesn't give me any more comfort than I felt before going into the first game when the Vikings were more of a mystery. Quite the contrary, it's darn tough to beat the same team twice in the same season, which is one of the reasons why I think we beat the Panthers next week if we can get past the Vikings this week.
I am not necessarily nervous about who shows up, but at this point any game makes me a bit nervous. Single elimination, any given Sunday, etc... Also history is full of teams blowing out a team during the regular season only to lose to that team in the playoffs. Heck we lost to Chicago like 40-0 one year and then lost to them in OT in the playoffs that same season, should have won it in regulation. I agree with almost everything here. All things considered it is much less likely that we get up 2 or 3 scores early: their 3 defensive studs out last game is the equivalent of us being without KJ, Mebane, and Kam. Freezing weather almost always leads to a lower scoring game. Also, IMO, the Lynch factor. I would love to think he is just going to plug in and we are going to be a better offense, but I don't know that for sure. All of that, like RD mentioned, is going to probably mean they are going to be able to stick with AP deeper into the game and the more opportunities he has the more likely he is to break a big run. Obviously our best chance is to put this game in Bridgewater's white gloved hands but to do that we need to make them one dimensional and to do that we need to get up early.