Vikings at Chargers (Week 8) | Pre-game Discussion

[Riverwalk]

Yep. Teams "get well" playing the Chargers

There’s a few exceptions but when the Chargers win it’s always a close game. The best teams have a lot more blowout wins against lousy teams.

I hear a lot of chatter about the Chargers trading for Breece Hall.

Personally, I think the season is toast and Chargers should be sellers, not buyers. They will need to add a lot of talent in the trenches to be competitive. I count a minimum of 4. DL, Edge, C, G. They need to be top tier, not JAGS, so don’t give up 1-4 2026 picks or there will be regrets later.

[CanadianBoltFan]

If we had an all pro center, the interior problems would be drastically reduced, Becton/Zion's game being elevated.
Then focusing attention on the edges will lead to consistent protection, instead of plugging a hole in the damn and another hole popping up.

For sure, plus, instant pressure up in the middle in their face, is harder for QBs to deal with than outside pressure they can roll away from

[sonorajim]

There’s a few exceptions but when the Chargers win it’s always a close game. The best teams have a lot more blowout wins against lousy teams.

I hear a lot of chatter about the Chargers trading for Breece Hall.

Personally, I think the season is toast and Chargers should be sellers, not buyers. They will need to add a lot of talent in the trenches to be competitive. I count a minimum of 4. DL, Edge, C, G. They need to be top tier, not JAGS, so don’t give up 1-4 2026 picks or there will be regrets later.

We could use premier talent anywhere but QB. Top Need is C. Hall would be a nice add but has to be cheap.

[Charge!]

Are Vikings better than Giants, MIA, WASH?...... I think they are, but we do j0ot have to travel and they do.....

[CanadianBoltFan]

Surely our defense wont get destroyed by a banged up Carson Wentz?

We should and must win this game, get to 5-3, and hopefully start getting some guys back.

[Charge!]

For sure, plus, instant pressure up in the middle in their face, is harder for QBs to deal with than outside pressure they can roll away from

This!..... this is why in todays quick passing offfenses, pressure up the middle, is the ONLY way to really pressure a great pocket passer.....only way to get Brady, Manning, Rivers..... etc...

outside rushers do not get there in time..... except when they rush INSIDE against charger! where we are extremely weak and confused...

are our OL this bad or are they badly coached?

[Charge!]

Surely our defense wont get destroyed by a banged up Carson Wentz?

We should and must win this game, get to 5-3, and hopefully start getting some guys back.

If our offense struggles to score TD's, there wont be much pressure on him to take risks because they will blitz the crap out of our offense and force lots of mistakes and punts.....keeping game close enough for wentz to find a blown coverage a few times.....

We have no running game, to fall back on.....and have not added any RB's who can break tackles.....

[DerwinBosa]

If our offense struggles to score TD's, there wont be much pressure on him to take risks because they will blitz the crap out of our offense and force lots of mistakes and punts.....keeping game close enough for wentz to find a blown coverage a few times.....

We have no running game, to fall back on.....and have not added any RB's who can break tackles.....

The Vikings have one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL right now, which will present a massive challenge for our depleted offensive line. Kevin O'Connell has done an excellent job of reviving struggling quarterbacks' careers. Wentz isn't great, but he's been better than I expected, and the duo of Justin Jefferson, a top three receiver, and Jordan Addison is another significant challenge.

Realistically, with our injuries all around, I'm not confident. I would love to be wrong.

Although I hate Thursday Night games for the players, the 10-day gap after this game will be nice.

[Heatmiser]

This!..... this is why in todays quick passing offfenses, pressure up the middle, is the ONLY way to really pressure a great pocket passer.....only way to get Brady, Manning, Rivers..... etc...

outside rushers do not get there in time..... except when they rush INSIDE against charger! where we are extremely weak and confused...

are our OL this bad or are they badly coached?

I think it is coaching. Detroit had to shuffle things around and had a very bad first game with new IOL players. They corrected that the very next game and it has continued.

TG

[Charge!]

There’s a few exceptions but when the Chargers win it’s always a close game. The best teams have a lot more blowout wins against lousy teams.

I hear a lot of chatter about the Chargers trading for Breece Hall.

Personally, I think the season is toast and Chargers should be sellers, not buyers. They will need to add a lot of talent in the trenches to be competitive. I count a minimum of 4. DL, Edge, C, G. They need to be top tier, not JAGS, so don’t give up 1-4 2026 picks or there will be regrets later.

Realistically you are right..... We are tied with KC for 2nd place, but we are getting worse each week..... Chiefs have gotten better every week this season and are now playing best football in NFL..on both sides of the ball......they will easily win this division.....

If we lose to MIN we will be playing TEN next and we are better if healthy, BUT TEN has .....a hard nosed tough defense that can cause us trouble up the middle..... and TEN and Raiders are the 2 worst teams left on our schedule

How many more games can we realisticsly win?:

Chargers 4-3 but we could have/should have lost to DEN and MIA, based on the way we played....both games required Herbert making HOF type of plays to win those games!

MIN - could go either way? short week against a great blitzing defense.... and an offense with speedy skill players....but like last 3 opponents, MIN is beatable....IF WE PLAY BETTER!!!

TEN -W
PIT - L
JAX - L
Raiders -W
Eagles - L
Chiefs - L
Dallas - L
Texans - W
DEN. - L

We likely end up 7-10 or maybe 8-9? neither record will make the playoffs, so maybe this is why Chargers have not finalized trades that they have already set up???

Chargers cannot wait to see if Chargers can win next 4-5 games to determine if trades would be worth it? Trades need to be done in next 2 weeks..... picking up a RB who is better then Vidal would be easy and cheap but OL or DL or LBer help would cost more.....

[Charge!]

The Vikings have one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL right now, which will present a massive challenge for our depleted offensive line. Kevin O'Connell has done an excellent job of reviving struggling quarterbacks' careers. Wentz isn't great, but he's been better than I expected, and the duo of Justin Jefferson, a top three receiver, and Jordan Addison is another significant challenge.

Realistically, with our injuries all around, I'm not confident. I would love to be wrong.

Although I hate Thursday Night games for the players, the 10-day gap after this game will be nice.

Agree!

[Riverwalk]

I think it is coaching. Detroit had to shuffle things around and had a very bad first game with new IOL players. They corrected that the very next game and it has continued.

TG

Yep. Lions have had 7 distinct offensive Line injuries this year and a voluntary retirement and a departure to Tenessee. They currently have 5 OL on IR.