I think both of those posters bickering over officials are both right.
First off, officiating didn't lose the game for us. We just got blown out in all phases. No calls would have salvaged a win for us. But jeeez cut the motorcycle guy some slack, nowhere did he even try insinuate that refs gave Seattle the game. And let's be honest, I did post here after that game just to get your guys opinion on the refs that game. The officiating that game was ridiculous, one of the worst games I've seen in terms of refs blowing calls. So about that - looking at it in a vacuum no there wasn't any one single call that would have changed the outcome by 3-7 points IMO. However, mentally it demoralizes a team. The ticky-tack crap on Robison's roughing call, the 1st & 40 drive of phantom calls when even Sherman looked at Wallace like "wait, they called that on you?" killed that drive, even the fact a blatant fumble had to be challenged just to get the call right. The whole game's officiating just seemed inconsistent - I have no problem with calling a tight game with ticky tack crap if it goes both ways, but that's not the way it went. Refs did have a huge impact on 3-4 drives extending drives for Seattle while burying us on others.
Now that being said don't get your feathers ruffled - Seattle was going to pound us by 4 TD's regardless. But officiating does impact the game to an extent. JMO, but for those of you who have played sports and it's just one of those days with the refs, it starts to affect you mentally. Vets can shake it off but young guys start hesitating, playing scared because they're now worried about ticky tack flags. But again, please don't single out one line of my comments above and act like I'm using refs as an excuse for losing because again - Seattle owned our butt that day with or without refs, but IMO yes the refs absolutely bent us over that day. It's just that as Vikings fans, we are accustomed to it (Cowboys Drew Pearson pushing off, Saints bountygate on Favre in 2009, and just about every Packers game every year lol). But, I'm not on your board to whine about refs - only commenting on it because others brought it up - so let's all agree it was a bizarrely called game, but officiating wouldn't have changed the outcome by more than 3-7 points. Getting beat 31-10 isn't a lick of difference.
- I will say this to people who say Vikings have no chance .... in the words of Lee Corso, "not so fast my friend". Look I do expect Seattle to win by 2-3 scores, but any given Sunday. I'm pretty sure you just got swept by a mediocre Rams team that we beat on the road. And tell that to the Packers, who dominated us in the first game, but just got beat in their house with the NFCN title on the line. Who knows. I don't believe in guarantees and absolutes in football.
- Lockett is a good player and could impact ST's, don't get me wrong. But we have a pretty good guy too in Patterson, who is #1 in NFL KR with a 31.8 average and 2 TD's. He's also a bit of a lunkhead and had a costly fumble vs. GB, but he can take it to the house from anywhere. Our PR Sherels is under-rated and also very dangerous. IMO ST's even out, you just never know which team can pop a big one.
- I get that Seattle is #1 in Rush D, but don't underestimate A.P. It wasn't too long ago that Seattle had a top-flight defense and AP went off for 17 carries and 180 yards. If you look at his stats, he is usually fairly quiet early in games. He is a freak that gets stronger as the game goes on.
- The key to Seattle beating MN is the recipe from last game - bottle up A.P. on 1st & 2nd. Turner is so dang predictable trying to force runs on 1st down so often you can bet the house on it coming. If Seattle can win the battle on 1st & 2nd, they will win the game. If you force the Vikes into 3rd & long, it puts too much pressure on the O-line and QB and we're not built to convert those.
- The other key factor for Seattle is to jump out to an early lead, just like earlier this year. IMO everyone is right - we don't match up well with Seattle at all but the discrepancy is widest in the situations where MN has to come from behind. We're not built to air it out. It's one of the reasons Seattle was able to shut down A.P. so well last game - it's not so much that Seattle's defense shut him down, it's that Seattle's offense forced our gameplan to go away from A.P. He only had 8 carries, a season low, because the game got out of hand so quickly we had to throw a ton. That's exactly what Seattle has to do to win and exactly what MN can't afford to allow to happen.
- If the Vikings can keep it close - and let's be honest with 0 degree temps it could very well be a dogfight for the offense's to move the ball - they will have a chance. If the Vikes keep it close, they can continue to run the football with A.P. And I get that Seattle has the #1 Rush D, but I can tell you that A.P. is a different beast who has the ability to make even great defense's look bad. I'm not saying that will happen, just saying it CAN happen. 0 degree temps might mean a slippery surface, and teams that stack the box to stop the run are playing with fire vs. Vikes because sometimes it just takes one guy to slip and A.P. is gone.
- I know on message boards that people tend to pick out single sentences out of context, but please understand I'm not trying to be argumentative or think the Vikings are going to win. I don't think they will. And I didn't suggest that Vikings are so young and Seattle is so old, they're not old farts at the end of their careers. My point is Seattle is chock full of veteran starters who have Super Bowl experience - Wilson, Lynch, Sherman, Thomas, Wagner, Bennett, Baldwin, Irvin, etc. are all badass dudes who have been to Super Bowls and won. Wilson has 4 seasons under his belt and loads of playoff experience. He's a rare bird that has played well since Day 1. Most QB's go through a learning curve, that's where Teddy is.
- Vikings are a work in progress. IMO they are a year or 2 away from being ready to compete with elite teams like Seattle. But interesting - Vikings are the only team in NFL history to make playoffs while playing in a temporary stadium (TCF past 2 years while the new indoor US Bank Stadium is being built). And don't sleep on Zimmer - if there's one horn I am going to toot, it's the immediate impact Zimmer has had on our defense. He built Cincy's defense from joke to annual playoff contender, they are still running all of his schemes over there. In just 2 years under Zimmer Vikes went from #31-#32 in defense to #5. Vikings still need another Safety to pair with Harrison Smith, as the weakest link by far is #34 Sendejo, but overall the defense is the main reason we made it to 11-5.
- Should be a good game, but overall Seattle is by far the worst matchup we could have drawn for playoffs. Our offense will struggle unless Turner pulls a rabbit out of his hat and calls his 1st slant of the year and other short passes. I expect a final score of Seattle winning 27-17. Who knows with this weather, but I'd be pretty surprised if it's another blowout.