Raptorman
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You asked. I told. Yup You got the Vikings by 2 tds.
What Vikings Fans Are Saying
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Stel
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Another fun fact:
The Vikings have allowed their opponents to gain .54 yards per carry MORE against them than those opponents have averaged in all their other games.
Another fun fact:
The Rams have held their opponents to .58 yards per carry LESS against them than those opponents have averaged in all their other games.
SuperMan28
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Yeah, we've actually played more than one good team. Really, I wish we coulda had the Lions count for a quarter of our games this year so far. That would be awesome!
snackdaddy
Who's your snackdaddy?
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Well that settles it. a 27 year old back had a great game 3 years ago against the Rams defense, which was Fisher's first year in a rebuilding season. So that means the 30 year old back will do it again.
Raptorman
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Never said he would. SuperMan28 asked when was the last time Peterson was pulled from a game. So I told him. Nothing more nothing less. If you don't want an answer, don't ask a question.Well that settles it. a 27 year old back had a great game 3 years ago against the Rams defense, which was Fisher's first year in a rebuilding season. So that means the 30 year old back will do it again.
SuperMan28 said:
snackdaddy
Who's your snackdaddy?
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Never said he would. SuperMan28 asked when was the last time Peterson was pulled from a game. So I told him. Nothing more nothing less. If you don't want an answer, don't ask a question.
Oh, I get it now. The last time Peterson did that was 3 years ago. I'm sure you're glad you have Peterson, but at this point I'd much rather have Gurley. Peterson's best days are behind him. Gurley's best days are ahead of him. And I believe Gurley is already better than him right now.
ChrisW
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Just in case anyone read this and were curious about whether these guys are worth listening to...one of them claimed Ramstalk has good discussion and is worth reading. Enough said.
Lol. I guess they like the whole front page being name calling and troll accounts posting LA vs. STL threads.
SuperMan28
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Never said he would. SuperMan28 asked when was the last time Peterson was pulled from a game. So I told him. Nothing more nothing less. If you don't want an answer, don't ask a question.
I hope you realize you proved my point lol. I asked when was the last time Peterson pulled a similar game to Gurley's LAST SUNDAY and you pulled up a game from three years ago. Then you were smug about it.
:rolllaugh::yess:Seriously, the smugness was the best part.
That was great, man. Your sense for comic relief clearly comes natural, as in you don't think about it.
I bet you're thinking now, though:
By all means keep going :barefoot:
Raptorman
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Smug? Seriously? Just the facts. I just posted the facts. I would have posted one from last year but he didn't play much. Although I am sure I can find another newer one. Nope. I checked. That just happens to be the last one he was pulled from. Like I said, if you don't want an answer, don't ask the question.I hope you realize you proved my point lol. I asked when was the last time Peterson pulled a similar game to Gurley's LAST SUNDAY and you pulled up a game from three years ago. Then you were smug about it.
Seriously, the smugness was the best part.
That was great, man. Your sense for comic relief clearly comes natural, as in you don't think about it.
I bet you're thinking now, though:
By all means keep going :barefoot:
Rabid Ram
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Norv Zimmer
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Re: Enemy Fan Forums: St. Louis Rams
chicagopurple wrote:
I gotta admit, the Rams fans are very reasonable and logical in their assessments! I find most fan sites to be skewed and lopsided but I guess St Louis fans are pretty sober. If nothing else, it should be a tight game if both teams play up to their current potential.
Yet not one on their prediction page predicts the Rams to lose.
Should be predict a loss? I mean really smh not predicting a loss against a team whose 6-2 against a cupcake schedule. And their 2 loses coming from the 49rs and a quality opponent. But that makes us unreasonable in your eyes seriously
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Re: Enemy Fan Forums: St. Louis Ramschicagopurple wrote:
I gotta admit, the Rams fans are very reasonable and logical in their assessments! I find most fan sites to be skewed and lopsided but I guess St Louis fans are pretty sober. If nothing else, it should be a tight game if both teams play up to their current potential.
Yet not one on their prediction page predicts the Rams to lose.
Should be predict a loss? I mean really smh not predicting a loss against a team whose 6-2 against a cupcake schedule. And their 2 loses coming from the 49rs and a quality opponent. But that makes us unreasonable in your eyes seriously
RamzFanz
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A vikings fan in Florida. How did that happen?
Raptorman
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Oh, it's much better than that. I grew up 29.2 miles from Lambeau Field in the heart of Packer country. Became a Vikings fan when I was 8. Been one ever since. FL is just were I live.
RamzFanz
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That's balls sir.
Sweet picture huh?Norv Zimmer
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chicagopurple wrote:
I gotta admit, the Rams fans are very reasonable and logical in their assessments! I find most fan sites to be skewed and lopsided but I guess St Louis fans are pretty sober. If nothing else, it should be a tight game if both teams play up to their current potential.
Yet not one on their prediction page predicts the Rams to lose.
Should be predict a loss? I mean really smh not predicting a loss against a team whose 6-2 against a cupcake schedule. And their 2 loses coming from the 49rs and a quality opponent. But that makes us unreasonable in your eyes seriously
That's me and Mr jeopardy alex trebek!
Stel
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More fun facts.
Minnesota's D allows 17.4 points per game. Their 7 opponents have scored an average of 20.44 points per game. The Minnesota D has, therefore, held their opponents collectively to 3.04 points per game less than the rest of the league.
STL's D allows 17.9 points per game. Their 7 opponents have scored an average of 22.19 points per game. The STL D has, therefore, held their opponents collectively to 4.29 points per game less than the rest of the league.
Minnesota's O scores 21.0 points per game. Their 7 opponents have allowed an average of 26.17 points per game. The Minnesota O has, therefore, scored collectively 5.17 points per game less than the rest of the league scores against Minnesota's opponents.
STL's O scores 19.3 points per game. Their 7 opponents have allowed an average of 21.5 points per game. The STL O has, therefore, scored collectively 2.2 points per game less than the rest of the league scores against STL's opponents.
My conclusion: So far this year, we both have good scoring defenses but the STL D is about 1.25 points per game better than the MN D and, so far this year, we both have mediocre offenses but the STL O performs about a FG better against their opponents than does the MN O.
But, on any given Sunday . . .. Should be a good game.
Minnesota's D allows 17.4 points per game. Their 7 opponents have scored an average of 20.44 points per game. The Minnesota D has, therefore, held their opponents collectively to 3.04 points per game less than the rest of the league.
STL's D allows 17.9 points per game. Their 7 opponents have scored an average of 22.19 points per game. The STL D has, therefore, held their opponents collectively to 4.29 points per game less than the rest of the league.
Minnesota's O scores 21.0 points per game. Their 7 opponents have allowed an average of 26.17 points per game. The Minnesota O has, therefore, scored collectively 5.17 points per game less than the rest of the league scores against Minnesota's opponents.
STL's O scores 19.3 points per game. Their 7 opponents have allowed an average of 21.5 points per game. The STL O has, therefore, scored collectively 2.2 points per game less than the rest of the league scores against STL's opponents.
My conclusion: So far this year, we both have good scoring defenses but the STL D is about 1.25 points per game better than the MN D and, so far this year, we both have mediocre offenses but the STL O performs about a FG better against their opponents than does the MN O.
But, on any given Sunday . . .. Should be a good game.
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http://www.dailynorseman.com/2015/11/4/9673122/matchup-index-vikings-vs-rams#comments
Matchup Index: Vikings vs Rams
By CCNorseman @CCNorseman on Nov 4, 2015
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A blast from the past: Vikings vs Rams 1992. - Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
In Week 9, the St. Louis Rams travel to Minneapolis to take on the Vikings. The Daily Norseman considers a variety of statistics for both teams.
The 5-2 Vikings suddenly find themselves in the conversation of playoff teams after beating the Bears in Chicago last week. That win propelled the Vikings to within a game of the division leading Packers, and they now currently sit in 8th place overall, good enough to secure a wildcard spot if the season ended today.
However, a lot has been made over the past few days about the Vikings strength of schedule (or lack thereof). On the flipside, the St. Louis Rams find themselves close behind with a record of 4-3 after picking up wins against the Browns and 49ers coming out of their BYE week. The Rams currently sit in 11th place overall and in 2ndplace in the NFC-West behind the Arizona Cardinals. So a lot is at stake for both teams. What follows is a look at how the Vikings and Rams stack up in a variety of rankings and efficiency statistics, or a "matchup index" if you will.
Vikings Offense vs Rams Defense
If the Vikings are going to win this game, they will have to win the battle in the trenches. When you compare the Vikings offensive line to the Rams defensive line, things look pretty dicey, unfortunately. Football Outsiders ranks the Vikings offensive line 17th in Adjusted Line Yards on the ground, and 26th in Adjusted Sack Rating. In other words, they are merely average in run blocking, but leave a lot to be desired in pass protection.
If we dig a little deeper in run blocking, we find that the Vikings are 10th in "Power Success" (runs on third or fourth down, two yards or less to go, that achieved a first down or touchdown). Our running backs are also still very much getting things done in spite of the offensive line, as the Vikings rank 7th in running back yards (YPC combined by all running backs) and 5th in open field yards (Runs more than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage, divided by total running back carries).
The Rams run defense is ranked 9th best allowing an average of 98.1 yards per game, and Football Outsiders ranks them 3rd best in adjusted line yards allowed. Having said that, the Rams run blocking is least efficient in the very things the Vikings are good at: Power Success and Open Field Yards.
This says to me that the Rams defensive line will make it difficult for the Vikings offensive line to open holes for Peterson and company, but if Peterson can "work his magic" so-to-speak and get to the second level or out on the edge, he could find some success. And the Vikings should have an edge in short-yardage "power" situations. All that said, I expect the Vikings run game to struggle a bit.
Our passing game may be partially hindered by the poor adjusted sack rating though, as we currently rank 30th in passing yards per game, and 16th in yards per pass attempt. Bridgewater's passer rating also only ranks 19th overall. All that said, the passing game has seen a bit of an uptick the past few weeks ever since Stefon Diggs became a starting wide receiver, and some of our low rankings in yardage are related to a 29t hranking in overall pass attempts.
Our offensive line will have a big test to face as the Rams defensive line ranks 4th overall in adjusted sack rating and is ranked 8th overall in yards per pass attempt allowed. The Rams still have a great defense against both the pass and the run, and Norv Turner will have his work cut out for him trying to draw up successful plays to counter their strengths.
Vikings Defense vs Rams Offense
Now that Todd Gurley is healthy, he's having a great rookie year and comparisons to Adrian Peterson have already been made. The Rams have a slightly better overall offensive line than the Vikings, although their strengths and weaknesses are the opposite. The Rams are ranked 24th on the ground in adjusted line yards, but 12th best in pass protection via Football Outsider's adjusted sack rating.
Even though the Rams offensive line is ranked significantly lower in run-blocking, the evidence of Gurley's strong play can been seen in the same way that Peterson shows through for the Vikings: the Rams rank 1st overall in open field yards, and 4th in running back yards per carry (and 3rd overall in team rushing yards per game). So Gurley is getting it done in spite of the poor run blocking.
We'll see how Gurley does against our average run blocking defensive line. Football Outsiders ranks our defensive line 21st in adjusted line yards allowed, and we allow the 21st most rushing yards per game. While we are average, we do excel in one area: Power Success.
Our defensive line is ranked #1 overall in short-yardage and goal line situations, according to Football Outsiders. Despite what minor advantages our defensive line may have in specific situations, I would not be surprised to see the Rams find some success on the ground with Todd Gurley.
When it comes to pass blocking, the Rams 12th best ranking in adjusted sack rating looks good. But unfortunately, Nick Foles and company haven't been able to take advantage of their offensive line's blocking efficiency. The Rams are dead last in passing yards per game, which is mostly due to their dead last ranking in pass attempts per game.
It's easy to understand why the Rams are a run heavy team though, because their yards per attempt is also low, ranked 21st at only 7.0. The Vikings defensive line is merely average in adjusted sack rating, ranked 16thoverall. But we're getting it done in the back end as our pass defense allows only 229.3 passing yards per game (8th best) and 7.1 yards per attempt (12th best). While we might struggle with pressure overall, I would not expect Nick Foles and company to find a lot of success through the air.
Vikings Special Teams vs Rams Special Teams
The Special Teams primary function is about field position. According to Football Outsiders, the Vikings rank 15th in kickoffs and 8th in punting. That said, we rank 3rd overall in kicking average and 23rd in net punting average. Our kicking game appears to be pretty average. That said, our starting field position is ranked 5th best in the NFL as we start on roughly the 30 yard line on average.
On the flipside, Football Outsiders ranks the Rams 7th in kickoffs and 13th in punting. The Rams rank 2nd in kicking average and 3rd in net punting average. Their elite kickers however, haven't given them much of an advantage in starting line of scrimmage though, which is ranked 16th.
Coaching
Another element of the game that is often overlooked is the quality of coaching. Mike Zimmer has an excellent reputation as a defensive coordinator, and his style has already dramatically turned around the Vikings defense in two short years. Norv Turner has had a long and successful career in the NFL as a coordinator and head coach as well, but our offense in general has struggled to find consistent success the past two years.
On the other side Jeff Fisher is no slouch. The folks over at QuantCoach have attempted to objectively measure the influence of coaching, and have determined that the Vikings coaches are having a slightly negative effect, ranked 17th overall while the Rams coaches are having a slightly positive effect ranked 13th overall.
So where does all of this leave us? Well, I've decided to break it all down for you in this handy dandy chart, because who doesn't love a good chart?
Matchup Index
Phase of Game.......................................................................Advantage
Vikings Run Offense vs Rams Run Defense.................St. Louis Rams
Vikings Pass Offense vs Rams Pass Defense................St. Louis Rams
Rams Run Offense vs Vikings Run Defense.................St. Louis Rams
Rams Pass Offense vs Vikings Pass Defense................Minnesota Vikings
Vikings Special Teams vs Rams Special Teams............Even
Vikings Coaches vs Rams Coaches..................................St. Louis Rams
Overall Advantage...............................................................St. Louis Rams
When I step back and look at the matchups in the trenches and some of the overall team efficiency stats through the first half of the season, I see the Rams gaining some significant advantages. That said, the game will be played in Minnesota and that has to swing some momentum towards the Vikings.
It will certainly make it harder on the Rams to execute in a loud, hostile environment. I also like to listen to what the sharps in Vegas think too. Home Field advantage is essentially viewed as a 3-point advantage, generally speaking. So if Vegas has both teams as essentially equal, then they'll break the tie by giving the home team a 3-point advantage. In our case this week, Vegas gives the Vikings a 2.5 point advantage, which is actually slightly less than the standard home field advantage.
In other words, they have our two teams nearly equals with the Rams coming out ahead just a little bit. But not enough to overcome the home field advantage. Essentially, it's a coin flip game. With two strong defenses going at it, and two passing offenses that have struggled overall on the year, I expect a low scoring game, and so does Vegas, giving our game the lowest combined point total of the week.
The very last thing to consider is the relative health of both teams. The Rams are dealing with some injuries to their star defensive ends Chris Long and Robert Quinn, and offensive tackle Robert Havenstein (none of them practiced Wednesday).
While the Vikings have their own injuries to deal with as Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks, Stefon Diggs and Joe Berger all did not practice. It's early in the week and we'll get a more clear picture by Friday what the nature of these injuries are, but all are significant for both teams. So what is my scoring prediction for the game?
I expect a close, low-scoring game: Vikings 17, Rams 20. My bold prediction is that the Rams win a heart-breaker on a game-winning field goal in overtime.
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So..... we're going to lose?
Nah!
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Exactly. Not Going To Happen.
Teddy will find a way. And Zim Tsu wants you to keep hating with your fancy stats. Fuckers.
(Nice piece BTW)
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C'mon CCNorseman, In a close game go with the home team!
You forgot to mention something very important – if it’s close the Vikings have a huge edge late in the game, it’s when they’re at their best.
The Rams aren’t yet world beaters, they’re 4-3 … seems they either win with ease or lose ugly.
I think Teddy will rise to the occasion, it’s in his DNA … especially when the heat is on.
Vikes 20, Rams 9
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We have won every game that I predicted the Vikings will score 40 for the first time this season, so I'm going with that
Vikings 43, Rams 12
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It's supposed to be quite windy Sunday
I wonder how that will affect the passing and kicking games?
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Great article!
Very informative and I hope your statistics and facts prove to be wrong
But one thing:
The Rams currently sit in 11th place overall and in 2nd place in the NFC-West behind the Arizona Cardinals. They would have the 2nd wildcard spot claimed if the season were to end today.
Technically, we own the second wild cart slot. The Falcons have the 1st slot. The Rams if they beat us, take away our slot which is why this game is soooo important for our playoff chances.
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Might take a minute to digest those stats, burp. I guess the most surprising is the coaching one. Not having watched the Rams and being naturally biased I would take our coaching, plus Fisher just bugs me. We lead the league in fewest penalties, and we are playing excellent complimentary football, Wobbie informs me.
The list of areas that the Rams are on top is daunting so I’m gonna blow that all off and go with intangibles:
Tops is Teddy is clutch, 2nd is Adrian with all the comparisons, and 3rd is the D. Shouldn’t have put them 3rd because the defense is gonna come up big at home with the help of earth shaking noise in TCF.
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And one more intangible, Greg Williams is the Rams DC
We owe him one
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In addition to having few penalties called on us, the d-line has been great at getting penalties called on the other team. bonus + bonus
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I haven't seen the rams play yet this year but one thing that sticks in my mind about them is they're always a lot better in their division than out of it.
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The better statistics would be to
compare Rams stats on the road v/s Vikings stats at home. That what we are going to see this weekend
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Stats bore out what I've been saying all week, feels like a trap game loss against an up and coming team while we're coming off two emotional division road wins
Keep hearing how home field will be the difference but honestly crowds get quiet if the home team is losing, and we’ve been trailing a lot in games lately. We’ve all been waiting for Teddy to make that next level jump but instead we’re making excuses for him as to why not. I think he’ll need to for us to win this game, 300+ 3 td’s no turnovers.
Would love to see AP have a dominate performance but been saying that all year so not counting on that against this defense. Gurley on the other hand, feels like he could have a huge day, nfc offensive player of the week kinda day.
Felt confident we could compete and beat the Lions & Bears, don’t have that against this Ram team, just think they’re another version of San Fran nfcw style teams that we don’t match up well against. Rams 31 Vikings 17.
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I think Rams are not going to score anywhere close to 31
If we score 17, it may be just enough to win this one
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Jeff Fisher may have finally put a team together that has a shot at a winning season.
The rookie running back, Gurley, sets the stage for their offense. The Vikings offense faces yet again another stout defense. The team will play better than they did against the Bears and use that home field advantage to run their record to 6-2 in the first half of the season. The Vikings have yet to play their best game as a team and this game may be the one.
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We Won AT St. Louis Last Year 34-6!
Does everyone really think the Rams have improved that much more than the Vikings have? We should win this game easily at home.
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yeah, I was thinking the same thing
the Ram’s D has been stout for a good 3-4 years, but we seem to run roughshod on them IN THEIR HOUSE
I think it’s going to be another close one, but I think we’ll end up on top.
next week at the Raiders smells like a trap game to me….
Matchup Index: Vikings vs Rams
By CCNorseman @CCNorseman on Nov 4, 2015
A blast from the past: Vikings vs Rams 1992. - Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
In Week 9, the St. Louis Rams travel to Minneapolis to take on the Vikings. The Daily Norseman considers a variety of statistics for both teams.
The 5-2 Vikings suddenly find themselves in the conversation of playoff teams after beating the Bears in Chicago last week. That win propelled the Vikings to within a game of the division leading Packers, and they now currently sit in 8th place overall, good enough to secure a wildcard spot if the season ended today.
However, a lot has been made over the past few days about the Vikings strength of schedule (or lack thereof). On the flipside, the St. Louis Rams find themselves close behind with a record of 4-3 after picking up wins against the Browns and 49ers coming out of their BYE week. The Rams currently sit in 11th place overall and in 2ndplace in the NFC-West behind the Arizona Cardinals. So a lot is at stake for both teams. What follows is a look at how the Vikings and Rams stack up in a variety of rankings and efficiency statistics, or a "matchup index" if you will.
Vikings Offense vs Rams Defense
If the Vikings are going to win this game, they will have to win the battle in the trenches. When you compare the Vikings offensive line to the Rams defensive line, things look pretty dicey, unfortunately. Football Outsiders ranks the Vikings offensive line 17th in Adjusted Line Yards on the ground, and 26th in Adjusted Sack Rating. In other words, they are merely average in run blocking, but leave a lot to be desired in pass protection.
If we dig a little deeper in run blocking, we find that the Vikings are 10th in "Power Success" (runs on third or fourth down, two yards or less to go, that achieved a first down or touchdown). Our running backs are also still very much getting things done in spite of the offensive line, as the Vikings rank 7th in running back yards (YPC combined by all running backs) and 5th in open field yards (Runs more than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage, divided by total running back carries).
The Rams run defense is ranked 9th best allowing an average of 98.1 yards per game, and Football Outsiders ranks them 3rd best in adjusted line yards allowed. Having said that, the Rams run blocking is least efficient in the very things the Vikings are good at: Power Success and Open Field Yards.
This says to me that the Rams defensive line will make it difficult for the Vikings offensive line to open holes for Peterson and company, but if Peterson can "work his magic" so-to-speak and get to the second level or out on the edge, he could find some success. And the Vikings should have an edge in short-yardage "power" situations. All that said, I expect the Vikings run game to struggle a bit.
Our passing game may be partially hindered by the poor adjusted sack rating though, as we currently rank 30th in passing yards per game, and 16th in yards per pass attempt. Bridgewater's passer rating also only ranks 19th overall. All that said, the passing game has seen a bit of an uptick the past few weeks ever since Stefon Diggs became a starting wide receiver, and some of our low rankings in yardage are related to a 29t hranking in overall pass attempts.
Our offensive line will have a big test to face as the Rams defensive line ranks 4th overall in adjusted sack rating and is ranked 8th overall in yards per pass attempt allowed. The Rams still have a great defense against both the pass and the run, and Norv Turner will have his work cut out for him trying to draw up successful plays to counter their strengths.
Vikings Defense vs Rams Offense
Now that Todd Gurley is healthy, he's having a great rookie year and comparisons to Adrian Peterson have already been made. The Rams have a slightly better overall offensive line than the Vikings, although their strengths and weaknesses are the opposite. The Rams are ranked 24th on the ground in adjusted line yards, but 12th best in pass protection via Football Outsider's adjusted sack rating.
Even though the Rams offensive line is ranked significantly lower in run-blocking, the evidence of Gurley's strong play can been seen in the same way that Peterson shows through for the Vikings: the Rams rank 1st overall in open field yards, and 4th in running back yards per carry (and 3rd overall in team rushing yards per game). So Gurley is getting it done in spite of the poor run blocking.
We'll see how Gurley does against our average run blocking defensive line. Football Outsiders ranks our defensive line 21st in adjusted line yards allowed, and we allow the 21st most rushing yards per game. While we are average, we do excel in one area: Power Success.
Our defensive line is ranked #1 overall in short-yardage and goal line situations, according to Football Outsiders. Despite what minor advantages our defensive line may have in specific situations, I would not be surprised to see the Rams find some success on the ground with Todd Gurley.
When it comes to pass blocking, the Rams 12th best ranking in adjusted sack rating looks good. But unfortunately, Nick Foles and company haven't been able to take advantage of their offensive line's blocking efficiency. The Rams are dead last in passing yards per game, which is mostly due to their dead last ranking in pass attempts per game.
It's easy to understand why the Rams are a run heavy team though, because their yards per attempt is also low, ranked 21st at only 7.0. The Vikings defensive line is merely average in adjusted sack rating, ranked 16thoverall. But we're getting it done in the back end as our pass defense allows only 229.3 passing yards per game (8th best) and 7.1 yards per attempt (12th best). While we might struggle with pressure overall, I would not expect Nick Foles and company to find a lot of success through the air.
Vikings Special Teams vs Rams Special Teams
The Special Teams primary function is about field position. According to Football Outsiders, the Vikings rank 15th in kickoffs and 8th in punting. That said, we rank 3rd overall in kicking average and 23rd in net punting average. Our kicking game appears to be pretty average. That said, our starting field position is ranked 5th best in the NFL as we start on roughly the 30 yard line on average.
On the flipside, Football Outsiders ranks the Rams 7th in kickoffs and 13th in punting. The Rams rank 2nd in kicking average and 3rd in net punting average. Their elite kickers however, haven't given them much of an advantage in starting line of scrimmage though, which is ranked 16th.
Coaching
Another element of the game that is often overlooked is the quality of coaching. Mike Zimmer has an excellent reputation as a defensive coordinator, and his style has already dramatically turned around the Vikings defense in two short years. Norv Turner has had a long and successful career in the NFL as a coordinator and head coach as well, but our offense in general has struggled to find consistent success the past two years.
On the other side Jeff Fisher is no slouch. The folks over at QuantCoach have attempted to objectively measure the influence of coaching, and have determined that the Vikings coaches are having a slightly negative effect, ranked 17th overall while the Rams coaches are having a slightly positive effect ranked 13th overall.
So where does all of this leave us? Well, I've decided to break it all down for you in this handy dandy chart, because who doesn't love a good chart?
Matchup Index
Phase of Game.......................................................................Advantage
Vikings Run Offense vs Rams Run Defense.................St. Louis Rams
Vikings Pass Offense vs Rams Pass Defense................St. Louis Rams
Rams Run Offense vs Vikings Run Defense.................St. Louis Rams
Rams Pass Offense vs Vikings Pass Defense................Minnesota Vikings
Vikings Special Teams vs Rams Special Teams............Even
Vikings Coaches vs Rams Coaches..................................St. Louis Rams
Overall Advantage...............................................................St. Louis Rams
When I step back and look at the matchups in the trenches and some of the overall team efficiency stats through the first half of the season, I see the Rams gaining some significant advantages. That said, the game will be played in Minnesota and that has to swing some momentum towards the Vikings.
It will certainly make it harder on the Rams to execute in a loud, hostile environment. I also like to listen to what the sharps in Vegas think too. Home Field advantage is essentially viewed as a 3-point advantage, generally speaking. So if Vegas has both teams as essentially equal, then they'll break the tie by giving the home team a 3-point advantage. In our case this week, Vegas gives the Vikings a 2.5 point advantage, which is actually slightly less than the standard home field advantage.
In other words, they have our two teams nearly equals with the Rams coming out ahead just a little bit. But not enough to overcome the home field advantage. Essentially, it's a coin flip game. With two strong defenses going at it, and two passing offenses that have struggled overall on the year, I expect a low scoring game, and so does Vegas, giving our game the lowest combined point total of the week.
The very last thing to consider is the relative health of both teams. The Rams are dealing with some injuries to their star defensive ends Chris Long and Robert Quinn, and offensive tackle Robert Havenstein (none of them practiced Wednesday).
While the Vikings have their own injuries to deal with as Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks, Stefon Diggs and Joe Berger all did not practice. It's early in the week and we'll get a more clear picture by Friday what the nature of these injuries are, but all are significant for both teams. So what is my scoring prediction for the game?
I expect a close, low-scoring game: Vikings 17, Rams 20. My bold prediction is that the Rams win a heart-breaker on a game-winning field goal in overtime.
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So..... we're going to lose?
Nah!
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Exactly. Not Going To Happen.
Teddy will find a way. And Zim Tsu wants you to keep hating with your fancy stats. Fuckers.
(Nice piece BTW)
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C'mon CCNorseman, In a close game go with the home team!
You forgot to mention something very important – if it’s close the Vikings have a huge edge late in the game, it’s when they’re at their best.
The Rams aren’t yet world beaters, they’re 4-3 … seems they either win with ease or lose ugly.
I think Teddy will rise to the occasion, it’s in his DNA … especially when the heat is on.
Vikes 20, Rams 9
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We have won every game that I predicted the Vikings will score 40 for the first time this season, so I'm going with that
Vikings 43, Rams 12
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It's supposed to be quite windy Sunday
I wonder how that will affect the passing and kicking games?
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Great article!
Very informative and I hope your statistics and facts prove to be wrong
But one thing:
The Rams currently sit in 11th place overall and in 2nd place in the NFC-West behind the Arizona Cardinals. They would have the 2nd wildcard spot claimed if the season were to end today.
Technically, we own the second wild cart slot. The Falcons have the 1st slot. The Rams if they beat us, take away our slot which is why this game is soooo important for our playoff chances.
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Might take a minute to digest those stats, burp. I guess the most surprising is the coaching one. Not having watched the Rams and being naturally biased I would take our coaching, plus Fisher just bugs me. We lead the league in fewest penalties, and we are playing excellent complimentary football, Wobbie informs me.
The list of areas that the Rams are on top is daunting so I’m gonna blow that all off and go with intangibles:
Tops is Teddy is clutch, 2nd is Adrian with all the comparisons, and 3rd is the D. Shouldn’t have put them 3rd because the defense is gonna come up big at home with the help of earth shaking noise in TCF.
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And one more intangible, Greg Williams is the Rams DC
We owe him one
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In addition to having few penalties called on us, the d-line has been great at getting penalties called on the other team. bonus + bonus
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I haven't seen the rams play yet this year but one thing that sticks in my mind about them is they're always a lot better in their division than out of it.
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The better statistics would be to
compare Rams stats on the road v/s Vikings stats at home. That what we are going to see this weekend
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Stats bore out what I've been saying all week, feels like a trap game loss against an up and coming team while we're coming off two emotional division road wins
Keep hearing how home field will be the difference but honestly crowds get quiet if the home team is losing, and we’ve been trailing a lot in games lately. We’ve all been waiting for Teddy to make that next level jump but instead we’re making excuses for him as to why not. I think he’ll need to for us to win this game, 300+ 3 td’s no turnovers.
Would love to see AP have a dominate performance but been saying that all year so not counting on that against this defense. Gurley on the other hand, feels like he could have a huge day, nfc offensive player of the week kinda day.
Felt confident we could compete and beat the Lions & Bears, don’t have that against this Ram team, just think they’re another version of San Fran nfcw style teams that we don’t match up well against. Rams 31 Vikings 17.
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I think Rams are not going to score anywhere close to 31
If we score 17, it may be just enough to win this one
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Jeff Fisher may have finally put a team together that has a shot at a winning season.
The rookie running back, Gurley, sets the stage for their offense. The Vikings offense faces yet again another stout defense. The team will play better than they did against the Bears and use that home field advantage to run their record to 6-2 in the first half of the season. The Vikings have yet to play their best game as a team and this game may be the one.
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We Won AT St. Louis Last Year 34-6!
Does everyone really think the Rams have improved that much more than the Vikings have? We should win this game easily at home.
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yeah, I was thinking the same thing
the Ram’s D has been stout for a good 3-4 years, but we seem to run roughshod on them IN THEIR HOUSE
I think it’s going to be another close one, but I think we’ll end up on top.
next week at the Raiders smells like a trap game to me….
snackdaddy
Who's your snackdaddy?
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Lol, they're overlooking the Raiders with the only worry about it being a trap game. Raiders have a better QB and better WR's than either the Rams or Vikings.
I feel the overall talent from top to bottom edge is with the Rams. But that doesn't always equate to wins. Rams finally got over that on again off again thing winning two in a row. Now they gotta show they can win a tough road game. Do that and they're legit.
I feel the overall talent from top to bottom edge is with the Rams. But that doesn't always equate to wins. Rams finally got over that on again off again thing winning two in a row. Now they gotta show they can win a tough road game. Do that and they're legit.
ChrisW
Stating the obvious
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rking4441
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I think these are the most relevant parts of CCNorseman's post. I watched the Vikes v Bears game and it was very evident that neither of those two teams applies much pressure on the QB. This week we will get to see how Bridgewater plays with constant pressure in his face. I was hoping for 6-8 sack on the 49ers but if it happens against the Vikes I wouldn't be mad. I still expect a close game.