Pendejo 1 wrote:
yeah Mayfield is their only bright spot.
Apparently you haven't seen their roster. It's actually impressive. Hence why they had a winning record once Hue Jackson was fired.
In any case, hearkening back to OP: I don't know if they're the dumbest - but as an Eagles fan, I sure am grateful for 'em ;) Fly Eagles Fly
But before you attack Kirk, let's look at their stats. Case's 2017, Kirk's 2018 (when they were leading the offense) respectively
Completion percentage: 67.6%, 70.1%
Completions: 325, 425
Passing Yards: 3547, 4298
TD Passes: 22, 30
Interceptions: 7, 10 - here remember that Case only started 14 games as the Vikings QB
Even so, the Ints indicate a bigger problem that becomes more obvious when you look at:
Sacks: 22, 40
Yards lost due to sacks: 136, 262
Sack % on dropbacks: 4.4%, 6.2%
Yards per completion: 10.9, 10.1
Net yards gained per pass attempt: 6.78, 6.25
Total rushing yards: 1957, 1493
Time of possession: 32:26, 29:34
These indicate a serious regression in the offensive line as a whole. If you look at their rosters, 3/5 of the starting offensive lineman were new this year. As a result, Kirk was pressured more, leading to more frequent dump-off passes and a relatively ineffective deep game. They were in the bottom 1/3rd in the league when it came to passes 40+ and 20+ yards.
You could say this was just because they passed more or because Kirk isn't as accurate downfield, but the reluctance to run the ball indicates a more likely story - the coach wasn't comfortable running the ball with a suspect offensive line.
The Vikings still scored one more touchdown this year than last year, but scored 22.5 ppg against last year's 23.75.
The Main problem, which you touched on and I think we all can agree on, is that people figured out how to play their defense. That may have started with the way my Eagles attacked them in the NFC championship...and frankly, embarrassed them. What a year.
The vikings allowed an average of 15.75 PPG last year. That's insane. This year? 21.3125.
Their offense only scored 19 points more than their defense over the course of the whole season compared to last year's 130 pt differential. That kind of consistency over a season will win you a lot of games in this league.
Every team has turnover following a run at a championship. I mean, heck, look at the Eagles. They are a shell of the team they were last year. Our entire secondary is made up of nobodies - undrafted free agents and people off the street, mixed with a couple late round picks. Did the Vikings' main office make some mistakes with the offensive line and defensive rotation? Yeah. Definitely. Does that make them the dumbest team in the league? No. Just makes for some temporarily happy Eagles fans.
TLDR: Viking's Defense was crap after being the best in the league last year. If it was the offense, it was the O-line's fault, not Kirk Cousin's.