PurplePTSD: Be Encouraged

Press release from the PurplePTSD:

K. Joudry

2022-02-14

Last night, the LA Rams emerged victorious over the Cincinnati Bengals. At times, the game was clunky; both offenses struggled to fully find their footing. Even still, it was a game that kept most fans engaged. There’s also something to be said about Minnesota Vikings fans being encouraged by the big game.

First, the Rams. As we all know, the Vikings are expected to bring Kevin O’Connell aboard as the next purple coach. The official hires for the rest of the coaching staff will take place shortly thereafter. Bringing in a Super Bowl-winner is indeed reason for optimism.

Perhaps even more encouraging was seeing how the Rams won. Matthew Stafford played fine, but he was far from elite. Plus, the offense really couldn’t get the run game going throughout the night. That didn’t stop them from getting the win. A dominant front seven largely propelled the Rams to victory.

The Vikings, in all likelihood, won’t be getting a defensive lineman nearly as dominant as Donald. That said, the point remains that the Rams succeeded largely because of their defense. A Sean McVay team won because the defense was their most dominant unit. The Vikings have the capacity to replicate this. Getting elite play at QB seems pretty far off for our Vikings, though even young fans have seen elite defenses in Minnesota. There’s a rich history of sensational defensive line play in Minnesota. Having a really good offense and a great defense can be enough to win the SB. It’s plausible the team could replicate this.

On Cincinnati’s end, it’s encouraging to see that an elite collection of offensive talent can (mostly) overcome a poor offensive line. In the end, the OL’s deficiencies largely contributed to the Bengals falling. Who would have guess they’d get this far, though? There’s good reason to believe Minnesota’s OL is already better than Cincinnati’s. Maybe that means the Vikings offense is in a fine position to take a good-size step in 2022.

It’s also notable that the Bengals’ strong defensive performance was aided by a ton of free agent additions. Again, a reason for purple optimism. I don’t expect the defense to be elite in 2022, but it could very possibly get into “pretty good” territory. Bringing in 2-3 impact players – not necessarily elite ones, just solid ones – could really help.

I’d find it hard to believe the Minnesota Vikings will represent the NFC in next year’s Super Bowl. How many of us would have picked the Bengals to represent the AFC, though? Strange things happen in sports, a main reason why it’s so captivating. The overall roster strategy for both the Bengals and Rams aren’t totally out of reach for the Vikings.

Perhaps the Vikings could blend some of the main takeaways from these teams with some of the current strengths of the roster. Perhaps that’ll be enough to snag that Lombardi someday soon.

This press release was produced by the PurplePTSD. The views expressed here are the author’s own.