Sunday past. I had some things going on, so i didnt watch the seahawk game closely until mid 3rd qtr.
-side note- the one draw back of v-see box. You cant pause or ffwd/rwd live tv.
But i did purchase nfl+ this year. So im rewatching the game this morning.

Weve talked about the issue im bringing up before. Maybe a year or 2 back. Back when I was spouting off about the "vic king offense".

A lot has changed on the nfl in these past few years. Teams have come around to actively pursuing the basics of what i was wanting back in 2021. Stealing possessions.

Back in the nfl hey day. It was commonplace that bothvteams would get 11 or 12 possessions per game. Sometimes 16 or 18. In todays nfl. The clock no longer stops when a player goes out of bounds. Penalties dont stop the game clock either. If you take notice. After the penalty is announced. The ball gets spotted. In some circumstanxe. They wind the clock. I have yet to figure out why they stop the clock sometimes, but wind the clock for other penalties. Does it matter? It is what it is. The end result of these rule changes. 7-8 possessions now seems the norm. Theres a few punt fest 20+ possession( combined) games. The nfl game has become more & more like madden in that regard. Every possession matters so very much. Every time your offense has the ball- its the 9th inning. Everytime your on defense- its a bullpen ace moment.

What koc/ flores are doing better than prior years. Theyre looking to steal possessions. On offense- with 4th down conversions. On defense- emphasizing turnovers.

The result- vikings go to halftime with a 3 point lead- stealing 2 possessions. A 4th down conversion and later a Dallas Turner INT. The Viking defense was on the field for under 10 minutes. That allows them to finish the game strong. If you think back to zimmers last 2 seasons. That was a constant criticism. The viking defense was often on the field for 40 minutes+ per game. Leaving the defense gassed at the end.

Back to that Turner INT. It was very dissapointing that the vikings couldnt burn off all or most of that final 6 minutes. Instead. A bad sack in 2nd down leads to a quick fg. The seahawks then go 3& out. Giving the vikes back the ball at 2 min warning. Thats awesome. Another stolen possession, right?
Except- koc's offense cant do anything. Only run 23 seconds come off the game clock. Its then Seattle that steals back that possession and scores a td.

All of the hard work of the 1st half. Basically tossed in the trash in the final 2 minutes.
KOC has coached up the team to understand situational football. Theyve gotten very good at it. Somebody needs to coach up KOC on situational coaching. Owning that last possession of the 1st half- putting up points. Is so HUGE for the halftime lockeroom. For the most part. The vikings worst game moment all season has been the final 2 minutes of the 1st half.

If that continues in these final 2 games of the season. The vikings will find themselves in trouble. It already showed up in the 1st game vs detroit. Lets hope thats an area of coaching emphasis this week. The coach self scouting how the final 4 minutes of both halves play calling has lead to stalled drives. Maybe flores cant learn a thing or 2 from how other teams shut down a good offense(vikings) inside 2 min. Hint. Its not playing soft zone.

I want that week 18 matchup for the marbles- so bad- I can taste the cheesy fries.🤪

When it comes down to it- I think the packers are better than the lions in the waning weeks of the season. This is quite the gauntlet ahead.

Please nfl- Dont Give us the Clete Blakeman, Shawn Hocchuli, Clay Martin or Brad Smith crews in either of these last 2. Those 4 crews are behind numerous 1 sided sketchy games the past 2 seasons.