Cup of Coffee

November 22, 2021: Beyond The Sticks

32 Comments

The Vikes decided to throw the ball downfield to their talented receivers, and get this, they won! I mean, sure, they tried to lose in other ways, but it wasn't because of death by check downs.

32 thoughts on “November 22, 2021: Beyond The Sticks”

  1. As they lined up for the field goal at the end, I was thinking, okay, how are they going blow this?

    1) Bad snap
    2) Blocked kick
    3) Shank
    4) The kick is good, but there's a penalty on the Vikings so it doesn't count
    5) The kick is good, but Green Bay called time out just before the snap so it doesn't count

    "He makes the kick and the Vikings win" was not really a scenario I was seriously considering.

    1. As davidwatts pointed out on the Twitter machine, yesterday was the 500th win in the Vikings' glorious history. I'm not sure if that includes the post season or not.

      2. the Vikings are 21-30 (.412) in the playoffs

        I know a lot of people say "The Vikings suck. " or "They never win" or any series of those opinions but in reality the Vikings have been consistently good for 60+ years. Rarely a terrible season, they make the playoffs regularly (30 times in 60 seasons). They just dont have a Super Bowl ring.

        1. There are 32 teams in the NFL. 14 (now) make the playoffs (43+ percent).

          So, making the playoffs 50 percent of the time is not exactly impressive. Barely better than expected through random chance.

          Over the last 20 years, they have made the playoffs only 7 times, and played a total of 13 playoff games (6-7), with two appearances in conference title games.

          The playoffs are a crap shoot, albeit less so than in baseball. If I counted right, they are 2-5 on the road and 4-2 at home in those games.

    2. When Cousins threw the apparent pick I thought to myself, this is the most perfectly Vikings way to lose ever, then I got up and went to the bathroom. When I got back the Vikings still had the ball and I thought I might have hallucinated the whole interception thing.

  2. AFL report:

    Mesa won the league championship, defeating Surprise 6-0. Scottsdale finished with a record of 12-18, in second place in the AFL East, four games behind Mesa.

    Matt Wallner batted .303/.405/.606 with 6 home runs in 66 at-bats.
    Andrew Bechtold batted .237/.333/.305 in 59 at-bats.
    Michael Helman batted .216/.355/.255 in 51 at-bats.

    Cody Laweryson was 0-1, 3.86, 1.21 WHIP with 18 strikeouts in 14 innings.
    Kody Funderburk was 3-2, 6.11, 1.75 WHIP with 22 strikeouts in 17.2 innings.
    Evan Sisk was 0-0, 7.59, 1.59 WHIP with 14 strikeouts in 10.2 innings.
    Zach Featherstone was 0-1, 8.10, 2.20 WHIP with 12 strikeouts in 10 innings.

    As you can see, the whole league is a small sample size, so I wouldn't get too excited about any of it. I assume it's better to do well than to do poorly, but I have no idea how success in the AFL may translate into future major league success, or if it does at all. I follow it because it's fun, not because it's meaningful.

  3. Fertile-Beltrami will be playing Leroy-Ostrander for the 9-man MN state championship on Saturday. Baby bro is the defensive coordinator / line coach, and his done a pretty good job, I'd say. They're going to have their hands full though.

  4. I have determined that bean green casserole is not a sufficient "green" vegetable for Thanksgiving. I will be roasting brussels sprouts as well.

    1. A Cast Iron, Sprouts, cranberries, beef bacon, slivered almonds, some citrus dish always accompany our GBC.

    2. The last few years we've done a salad of mixed spring greens and baby lettuces, dried cranberries, pecans, red onion, and feta cheese with a raspberry vinaigrette. Also, the essential crudité and relish tray. If you can find them, Mazzetta Italian Antipasto Olives are awesome. Not as good as their discontinued Napa Valley Bistro variety with a chardonnay brine, whole garlic cloves and pepperoncini, but a close enough approximation.

      1. Just started featuring a dish at the joint that I will also serve at Thanksgiving for the family. Fried Butternut Squash tossed in a sweet and smoky dry rub, then spinach, blue cheese crumbles, candied pecans, pomegranate and maple honey mustard dressing. Seriously, it is the bomb.

        Also, I am going to smoke a full boneless turkey breast after an 8 hour brine. Regarding brussels sprouts: I told my wife I want to make our stuffing using mushrooms, brussels sprouts and wild rice. She is making green bean casserole as my daughter loves it.

        1. Oh, and my mashed potatoes this year will be a three cheese baked mashed with panko bread crumbs. Made these 2 weeks ago (happy accident) and they were awesome!

    1. Is that MSP or MSY? I want my Pfizer booster asap because I'm going to a hockey game in St. Cloud next Saturday (vs. UND, so I suspect lots o' unvaxxed folks). The earliest appointments I can find from Allina or pharmacies are mid-December.

      1. MSP Terminal 2, but they only had J&J. They also give you a parking voucher to get in and out

        1. I can't tell you how long it takes to work, but I can tell you it takes about twelve hours to have a reaction to it.

      4. If you are willing to drive, check pharmacies and supermarket pharmacies south of the metro on 35. (I don’t mention this lightly because it has been a constant frustration when my wife is hoping to give vaccines to the locals and all of the appointments have been gobbled up by metro folks. So I’ll just say if you make an appointment, show up. If you’re not going to show up, cancel.)

        1. Off-topic but... why are your bullpens so awful in October? It's painful to watch from the outside.

          1. I wish I knew! I had trouble getting any FA pitcher to talk to me and apparently they all hated Gardy. So Anthony let me demote him to bench coach. Though he said the actual guys on the team didn’t seem unhappy. My coaching staff hates each other, though. Maybe that has something to do with it?

            Past years my bullpen felt kind of weak all year, but this time Street and Francisco were monsters all year and then blew up at their first opportunity in the playoffs. Maybe I should fire Bobby Cueller? Would seem a shame with Johan still on contract.

            I figure with next year being the 30th anniversary of my last championship, Boston is bound to win it then. lol

            1. I didn't realize you had so much of Gardy's old staff. No wonder you can't win in October.

  6. We’re testing out our stuffing tonight. Cornbread, chipotle, andouille. I don’t think it will suck.

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