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Vikings vs. Rams: Twitter Reaction and Full Postgame Quotes

The Mike Zimmer era is now underway in Minnesota. It got off to a start he could have only dreamed of with a 34-3 victory in the Vikings’ first road win since December of 2012. The players showered him with a bucket of Gatorade to celebrate their 1-0 start.


The massive victory margin is the first thing to address. Dominant wins like this haven’t come to Minnesota since 2009. They’ve been even more scarce in Week 1 showings.



Defense was the overarching theme from this dominant win. Not only did the unit not allow a touchdown, but it scored one via a Harrison Smith interception return.


Zimmer pulled all the right strings, as the defense controlled a depleted Rams offense. Whether the results were all due to the play of Minnesota remains to be seen, but the immediate improvement over last season’s defense is obvious.



The total suffocation was due in large part to schematic advantages and advantageous play from Minnesota. The Vikings also got production out of incumbents like Harrison Smith, Chad Greenway and Everson Griffen . Even Josh Robinson got in on the act with a game-changing interception in the first half.



Some of the more impressive defensive displays came from new additions. Rookie Anthony Barr put in a tremendous shift, showcasing his skills in all aspects of the game and making a bigger impact than the box score will indicate.



Other additions like Linval Joseph and Captain Munnerlyn were difference-makers as well. The new pieces gelled with the returnees, and Zimmer ’s scheme had its way with St. Louis throughout the game.




The Rams offensive line certainly wasn’t ready for everything Minnesota’s front brought to the table. Disruption with the rush and turnover creation in the secondary proved enough to keep an anemic Rams offense out of the end zone.


On the other side of the ball, Minnesota’s offense didn’t turn the ball over. The unit pounded the ball with running back Adrian Peterson to mixed results. The difference-maker was the big play, two of which Cordarrelle Patterson helped generate. The Vikings started with speed sweeps and then further opened things up by tossing the football to him out of the backfield.




Plays like the ones Patterson made take some of the load off Peterson’s shoulders, which he described in a postgame interview.



The offense furthered its production through the connection of quarterback Matt Cassel to wide receiver Greg Jennings.



It was Jennings who caught Cassel’s first touchdown pass and Jennings who led the Vikings with six receptions.


Tight end Kyle Rudolph had a quiet game for the most part. He finally got involved with a touchdown reception in the fourth quarter when offensive coordinator Norv Turner was able to finally feed the ball to all of his offensive pieces.



A few things gave the Vikings offense fits on the day. The Rams’ explosive pass rush was one of them.



Minnesota’s offensive line was under varying degrees of undress throughout the game, sometimes due to its own misdeeds.



Another part of the game Minnesota will look to improve on moving forward is penalties. The Vikings finished the game with seven penalties for 60 yards. The Rams had twice as many penalty yards! The flow of the entire game was slowed down by the constant throwing of yellow flags.



In the end, though, it was a commanding performance from Minnesota that Vikings fans can only be pleased about. The ones in attendance at the Edward Jones Dome certainly were certainly pleased. They let everyone know about it, too.



So while much is to be improved upon before the schedule starts to toughen up in Minnesota, the team has a lot to be proud of with its first victory of the season. The defense controlled the game through a potent pass rush and some opportunistic coverage. The offense held up its end of the bargain by taking care of the ball and making its share of big plays.


Zimmer and staff were obviously pleased to get their first win in Minnesota, but they also let it be known that expectations will now be raised.



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from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1rXeTlj

via IFTTT September 07, 2014 at 02:03PM
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