Backs Against the Wall: The Stakes for MIN-SEA

Sep 19, 2021; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Nick Vigil (59) celebrates after returning an interception for a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals during the second half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY SportsPlease note: This article originally appeared on our sister-site, PurplePTSD.com. This series features the managing editor of Purple PTSD, Kyle Joudry, plus VikingTerritory’s, Dustin Baker, going back and forth on a pertinent topic for the Minnesota Vikings. In this installment, the guys discuss how the team can fix the ship ahead of its date with Seattle. Joudry: Well, Dustin, the season has had an underwhelming start. If I’m not mistaken, we both picked the Cardinals to win in Week 2, but we were both Vikings believers in Week 1. What has gone wrong for our friends in purple through the opening two weeks? Perhaps more importantly, what needs to go right for us to climb out of this early hole? Baker: Do we consider Joseph missing the kick as something going wrong — or the Vikings effectuating their fate? Haha. The kick was bad, no doubt. I was even duped into believing he’d nail it. I’m an imbecile. We just have to accept the deity is going to strangle good moments out of us. Once that’s a foregone conclusion in our heads, only then can we pinpoint the real problem — defense. For now, anyway. What we see in these two weeks — is the exact same rubbish that transpired in 2020. Playmaking offense, with leaky and stinky defense. However, this time around, I believe Zimmer has the personnel to actually fix the damn thing. Last year, he did not. I’m of the opinion the defense needs time to jell. When it does, we already know the offense is money. The problem is — it can’t wait too much longer. The team will have a hard time climbing out of an 0-3 hole (if that happens). And it absolutely will be dead at 0-4. Put simply, the defense needs to show up. Particularly the secondary. Joudry: Right, that’s fair enough. I think where I disagree slightly is that the defense has been poor, but not nearly as pathetic as last year. In that sense, it feels a little different from last year. I mean, last season, the Saints marched the ball down the field, and we had absolutely no hope of coming up with an answer; Christmas was ruined. This year, I’m thinking that most of the issues are due to mental lapses and mistakes. So, like yourself, I think the talent is there but needs to do a better job of communicating and understanding their role within the broader defense. With that in mind, are you feeling hopeful about the defense’s chances heading into Week 3? What kind of challenge does Seattle present for both our offense and defense?

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