“Carroll declined to divulge Lynch’s current whereabouts, wryly stating that Lynch “is at large”.
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The score was not as bad as the game actually was, as the visiting Seahawks dominated. He’s thrown at least one touchdown in all 12 games this season, he’s had a passer rating of 80 or better in all but one game and his passer rating on the season is now up to 106.2. The Dolphins held off Baltimore at home to remain alive in the playoff hunt, but continue to bring up the rear in the AFC East. Meanwhile, New York blew yet another fourth-quarter lead in a awful loss to the Jets that make this a must-win considering it closes the season against Carolina, Minnesota and Philadelphia.
-COACHING: A. The Seahawks knew they had to stop Adrian Peterson and did so.
Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell is rumored to be on the short list of candidates to replace head coach Bronco Mendenhall, who left Brigham Young University to take the football vacancy at the University of Virginia. His average for his 10-year career against the league is 98.7 yards. By pacifying him with more guaranteed money this year, the Vikings took away any significant financial commitment beyond this season. The Vikings bag appears to contain little besides Peterson, which is now another problem goring forward for the rest of the season. In the 1970s, the Steelers won two Super Bowls on the backs of Mean Joe Greene, Mel Blount, Jack Ham and Jack Lambert. They failed on both accounts. He also caught three passes for 22 yards. Sunday was a matchup of two very good-maybe great-defenses. That trio needs to heal quickly, as they face one of the top defenses in the league on Thursday night. But the way it showed up when we evaluated it again, the MRIs and stuff like that, it just looked like it was going to be an unpredictable return. By the time Minnesota had it for a fifth time, then in the second half, it was 21-0.
“I don’t really worry about other people’s opinions”, Zimmer said.
Wilson threw three touchdown passes in each of the last three games.
But also look at an undrafted free agent like running back Thomas Rawls emerging as a star in Lynch’s absence, and rookies like wide receiver Tyler Lockett and defensive end Frank Clark who are playing increasingly prominent roles. Unfortunately, that is where his big play ability ended.
As for the pre-game film, Carroll and his staff came up with an idea to splice in some players college highlights into the mix of Seahawks plays. Aside from a Cordarelle Patterson kickoff-return touchdown, the Vikings barely threatened to score. Should he be pleased? As always, the percentages are how much the play changed Minnesota’s odds of winning. Although the Colts were shooting for him to come back in Week 15, Matt Hasselbeck injured his neck and shoulder in suffering his first loss as a starter against Pittsburgh on Sunday night. Linval Joseph and Andrew Sendejo were no-gos from the get-go.
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Rawls has another incredible day as the lead back in the Seahawks offense. That said, far too numerous penalties called in this game simply were so minor or non-existent that it becomes hard not to complain about them. So let’s go this way instead. “Especially if we don’t play the way we’re capable of playing we’re definitely not as good as what we think we are”.
