Vikings vs. Saints: Twitter Reaction and Full Postgame Quotes

Darren PageSep 21, 2014

The Minnesota Vikings fell to the New Orleans Saints in what turned out to be an eventful game full of momentum swings. A first-round rookie quarterback also made his debut, which received lots of attention on social media.

Pregame thoughts mostly centered on just how perfect Minnesota would have to be in order to hang with New Orleans. Drew Brees and the Saints offense are incredibly potent, so a struggling Minnesota defense would have a tough test on its hands.

The Saints have been a difficult team to beat in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in recent years, which was highlighted right before kickoff.

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"
Saints finally open home season. They were 8-0 at Superdome last year. Last loss Dec. 30, 2012, vs. Carolina. #Vikings
— Brian Murphy (@murphPPress) September 21, 2014"

Minnesota's defense played as if it was well-aware of this stat to open the game, because the New Orleans Saints marched down the field in short order for an opening touchdown. Brees went after rookie linebacker Anthony Barr early.

"
Anthony Barr is struggling early, NO is targeting him. #Vikings
— Aj Mansour (@AjKFAN) September 21, 2014"

"
Impressive opening drive for Saints. 11 plays, 80 yards, 7 first downs. Almost perfect balance: 6 rushes for 38 yards, 5 passes for 42 yards
— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) September 21, 2014"

After a quick three-and-out, the Saints offense came right back on the field and didn’t break stride. It was able to move the ball methodically down the field to score a second touchdown.

"
That was the 10th first down for the #Saints and we're 10 minutes into the game.
— Andrew Krammer (@Andrew_Krammer) September 21, 2014"

"
Drew Brees threw TD to his favorite receiver - the "open man." And TE Josh HIll was WIDE OPEN bc of coverage breakdown. About to be 14-0
— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) September 21, 2014"

"
Total yards: Saints 162, Vikings 2. Total plays: Saints 18, Vikings 3.
— Lenny Vangilder (@LennyVangilder) September 21, 2014"

Minnesota’s defense was fast asleep to start the game. That put the team in a hole early. As the Vikings tried to respond through the air, left tackle Matt Kalil continued his shaky ways, giving up multiple pressures.

"
Paging Matt Kalil. Matt Kalil. Please block your man.
— Judd Zulgad (@1500ESPNJudd) September 21, 2014"

"
Not enough people are talking about it, but Matt Kalil is really playing poorly this year.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) September 21, 2014"

That led right into Matt Cassel having to scramble and elude pressure. A tackle on a short gain up the middle left him down injured.

"
Matt Kalil getting beat far too often these days. Cassel scrambled for 5 yards on third down and got left ankle twisted. Teddy time?
— VikingUpdate.com (@VikingUpdate) September 21, 2014"

As soon as Cassel failed to get up, the murmurs of Teddy Bridgewater getting his first regular-season look for the Vikings were widespread.

"
Teddy Bridgewater is warming up on the Vikings sideline.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) September 21, 2014"

"
Cassel being carted off. Teddy Bridgewater up next at QB for Vikes
— John DeShazier (@JohnDeShazier) September 21, 2014"

Tweets immediately began rolling in with opinions on the expectations for Bridgewater, who was about to be rushed into the game in the second quarter.

"
Can't think of a tougher spot for Teddy Bridgewater to make his NFL debut than down 2 TDs in New Orleans. This will be interesting ...
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 21, 2014"

"
Change at quarterback could be perfect time for Vikings to find some optimism after so much negativism the past week.
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) September 21, 2014"

Returns were positive on the rookie’s first two offensive drives. He showed his poise in the pocket and picked up yards with his feet.

"
Saints are blitzing Bridgewater a lot; no surprise there, Bridgewater handling it w/his legs more than his arm so far; will need to use both
— Hawkeye Gamefilm (@hawkeyegamefilm) September 21, 2014"

"
The way Teddy steps up in the pocket, there's no thought behind it. Just habitual for him. Natural
— Mark Dulgerian (@MarkDulgerianOS) September 21, 2014"

The Minnesota defense finally came to life in the second quarter as well.

"
Best moment of day for #Vikings defense, holding on third-and-short, forcing Saints to punt. Teddy and boys will get 3 minutes to work
— Brian Murphy (@murphPPress) September 21, 2014"

After a tumultuous first quarter, one where the defense couldn’t get off the field, head coach Mike Zimmer and his staff made the right adjustments to stem the tide.

"
Saints hope to get back to 1st Q ways. They had 3 1st downs in 2nd Q as opposed to 11 in 1st. #MINvsNO
— Sean Kelley (@SeanKelleyLive) September 21, 2014"

"
With how ugly this game started for the Vikings I would have been surprised to learn the Saints lead is only 13-6 at the half.
— Derek Wetmore (@DerekWetmore) September 21, 2014"

Safety Harrison Smith earned a majority of the praise into the third quarter, making a number of pass deflections and impacting the game all over the field.

"
Another pass deflection for Harrison Smith on this drive. Having another big game.
— Andrew Krammer (@Andrew_Krammer) September 21, 2014"

Linebacker Gerald Hodges made a big impact too in his spot duty as the Vikings’ run defense started to sharpen up early in the second half.

"
Hodges again. Saints haven't been able to run ball since first 2 drives.
— Brian Hall (@MNBrianHall) September 21, 2014"

A shotgun snap gone awry seemed to give Minnesota a glimmer of hope in the third quarter, allowing the defense to get off the field on a crucial third down. Saints center Jonathan Goodwin going down with an injury made it happen.

"
Botched snap. That's exactly why you don't want to lose your starting center.
— Canal St. Chronicles (@SaintsCSC) September 21, 2014"

Then the game came to its controversial head, as these matchups with New Orleans often do. Cornerback Captain Munnerlyn came up with a critical third-down sack of Brees but flipped him over backward in his tackle attempt. The flags flew for roughing the passer, and New Orleans was given an out.

"
Here’s the body slam that caused Drew Brees to get far more upset than we normally see him with opposing players: pic.twitter.com/kNXscSfSqF
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) September 21, 2014"

Of course, Brees took advantage.

"
Consecutive third-down conversions after Munnerlyn's third-down penalty has Saints in red zone
— Brian Murphy (@murphPPress) September 21, 2014"

"
Brees to Colston for TD. Munnerlyn penalty ends up costing points. Big moment in the game. #Vikings
— Master Tesfatsion (@MasterStrib) September 21, 2014"

Jimmy Graham proved to be the offensive threat that Minnesota’s defense couldn’t handle. Zimmer was more aggressive with blitz calls, but that often left safeties on an island with the dynamic tight end. The results were poor, especially when that safety was Robert Blanton.

"
I know a lot of teams struggle to cover Jimmy Graham, but the Vikings really haven't shown a good answer for the TE. Smith/Blanton/Robison
— Derek Wetmore (@DerekWetmore) September 21, 2014"

Third-down defense will be a point of emphasis going forward for Minnesota. Not being able to get off the field was the defense’s undoing over the course of this game.

"
#Saints are 9-for-13 on third downs today vs. #Vikings
— Andrew Krammer (@Andrew_Krammer) September 21, 2014"

Takeaways from the offense’s display will rightfully focus on the play of the upstart rookie quarterback. Bridgewater made a number of impressive throws in the fourth quarter as the environment became more hostile and the offensive line became more porous.

"
Impressive drive for Bridgewater. Showing great poise. It's freaking loud in here.
— Matt Vensel (@mattvensel) September 21, 2014"

"
Bridgewater looking poised, even as his offensive line has sprung a few leaks.
— Tom Powers (@TomPowersPP) September 21, 2014"

"
I'll be interested to go back and watch this one to see how many times Bridgewater got to set his feet. He's had to throw on the run a lot.
— Ben Goessling (@GoesslingESPN) September 21, 2014"

The overall discussion on the quarterback play should be positive, at least based on what Bridgewater was able to accomplish in his first showing. Criticisms of the offensive line are reasonable though.

"
So Teddy makes his debut, doesn’t look awful. 12/20 passing for 150 yards. 0 TDs, 0 INTs. 83.3 passer rating. #Vikings
— Aj Mansour (@AjKFAN) September 21, 2014"

Finding a fix for the running game must become a priority. The offensive line and duo of backs were unable to penetrate the Saints' front seven.

"
It's time for the #Vikings to go find an RB. Asiata isn't it. Go get someone. Anyone else out there is worth a shot.
— Jason Feldman (@PBFeldy) September 21, 2014"

Miscellaneous Notes

Linebacker Barr collected his first sack as a professional with an effective A-gap blitz in the second quarter.

"
Good to see Barr get his first sack! Nice execution on Pick rush vs OT. #VikingsSaints
— Ben Leber (@nacholeber) September 21, 2014"

Injuries became a hot topic as the game wore on, with multiple players going down.

"
Vikings TE Kyle Rudolph told me he is having an MRI tomorrow. Suffered a groin injury in the game.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) September 21, 2014"

"
Zimmer said the rib injury was what sidelined Chad Greenway. #Vikings
— Matt Vensel (@mattvensel) September 21, 2014"

"
Brandon Fusco has a pectoral injury, Josh Robinson hamstring and Chad Greenway came out because of his ribs. #Vikings
— VikingUpdate.com (@VikingUpdate) September 21, 2014"

Early determinations were made on Cassel after the game as well. They point to Bridgewater getting an extended stay as the starting quarterback.