Vikes thread!

[Steve-o]

All is I can say is with 4th and 8 you at least throw the ball past the sticks. 

Hawkinson was a beast with yards after catch yesterday, something we didnt see much of all year.  But yeah, that was no time for a Check-Down-Charlie play.  I'd like to see a wide angle replay to see how all the other receivers were covered.

[Jerkbiat]

Right, Hawkinson was a beast. Even if he threw into coverage it would have been a 50/50 shot. I'm sure he was thinking maybe Hawkinson could break free.

[Gunner55]

  https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2023/1/15/23556657/conditions-of-tj-hockenson-trade-finalized-after-vikings-playoff-loss-detroit-lions

[glenn57]

All is I can say is with 4th and 8 you at least throw the ball past the sticks. 

got hat right........

[Gunner55]

I saw the postgame press conference where they tried to get Cousins to criticize that play & he wouldn't do it. But he did say that he was disappointed with his throw just before that on 3rd down to Osborne though as he didn't lead him enough.. https://www.nfl.com/news/vikings-hc-kevin-o-connell-qb-kirk-cousins-explain-fourth-and-8-throw-short-of-s

[dakids]

To soon?

[mike89]

   if had better a defence stats I think would be way different.. oh well it's done this year...

[Jerkbiat]

 

[Gunner55]

To soon?

I think we might have a closet Packer fan in here.              

[Gunner55]

  if had better a defence stats I think would be way different.. oh well it's done this year...

Of our 5 top picks last year 4 played defense but only the LB from OK, Asamoah, was able to get on field during the last 8 games. Cine, Booth, & Evans all spent 1/2 the season on IR & I'd bet the DC would've loved to had them healthy.

[Steve-o]

That is part of it, but if you look at the way the defense played in the first half of the Giants game...  they couldn't stop anything.  Pete Bercich was harping on this yesterday morning.  Yeah, defensive guys were missing, but they gotta do better than that.  The Giants offense IS "improving" but they're not THAT good. 

[Gunner55]

  I'd still like to see what difference a couple DB's that are able to play man coverage would make. Sure, couldn't hurt. Pete who?            

[Steve-o]

I'd still like to see what difference a couple DB's that are able to play man coverage would make. Sure, couldn't hurt. Pete who?            

Pete Bercich was a linebacker for the Vikes between 1995–2000.  Then he was an assistant defensive coach.  And now he has been the color commentator guy on Vikings radio broadcasts since 2007. 

[roony]

In my opinion the Vikings were blessed with good fortune in the close games they ended up winning this season just as they had bad luck in several games last season. An objective observer would see that they are a .500 team. With the second worse defense in the league what more can you expect. Sometimes that purple kool-aid leaves a bitter after taste.

[Gunner55]

I'd still like to see what difference a couple DB's that are able to play man coverage would make. Sure, couldn't hurt. Pete who?            

Pete Bercich was a linebacker for the Vikes between 1995–2000.  Then he was an assistant defensive coach.  And now he has been the color commentator guy on Vikings radio broadcasts since 2007. 

Yeah, I know Steve-o.......................................I was just pulling your leg a little.          Glenn must be finally rubbing off on me!!                  

[Steve-o]

I'd still like to see what difference a couple DB's that are able to play man coverage would make. Sure, couldn't hurt. Pete who?            

Pete Bercich was a linebacker for the Vikes between 1995–2000.  Then he was an assistant defensive coach.  And now he has been the color commentator guy on Vikings radio broadcasts since 2007. 

Yeah, I know Steve-o.......................................I was just pulling your leg a little.          Glenn must be finally rubbing off on me!!                  

I swipe all of my insightful football takes from folks who know what they are talking about.  My bogus takes... Well, I make those up myself. 

[Steve-o]

10 bold predictions for the Minnesota Vikings 2023 offseason

• Ed Donatell will be fired
• Justin Jefferson’s new contract will set multiple records
• Kirk Cousins will get another extension
• Adam Thielen has played his last game as a Viking
• Several other fan favorites will be released (Despite posting his fourth straight, 1,000-yard season, Dalvin Cook is a candidate for the chopping block after becoming one of the league’s worst running backs per Football Outsiders’ success rate.  )
• Danielle Hunter will be traded
• T.J. Hockenson will sign an extension (and Irv Smith will leave in free agency)
• Patrick Peterson and Dalvin Tomlinson will leave in free agency
• Garrett Bradbury will re-sign with the Vikings
• The Vikings will trade down for defense in the draft

[dutchboy]

Do we even know what the cap numbers are for '23?

Letting Thelen go will be a major mistake IMO. He still gets it done when they throw to him and you never hear him bitching about the number of balls thrown his way.

But I guess I don't really care. The Vikings could go 2-15 every year and as long as the two wins were against Green Bay I would be happy.

[Steve-o]

10 Vikings who could be salary cap casualties

1.  Adam Thielen

Cap hit: $19,967,647
Cap savings: $6,417,647
Dead Cap: $13,550,000

Thielen is going to be an interesting one. With the restructure that he did last season, the dead cap number is really high, but his performance isn’t worth the near $20 million that he will be charged to the salary cap. His wife also went to Instagram after the game insinuating that his time in Minnesota might be over. A trade might be likely for Thielen, as he currently has a decent salary cap number of $11.817 million next season for a new team.

[glenn57]

I agree with Dutchy!! To me getting rid of him is a mistake. Of course he's not going to get thrown the ball as much with JJ and Hockenson.

Yea his wife did say something to the extent but i got the impression the Theilens weren't or aren't willing to redo a deal. I always thought he'd retire a viking.

My question is why did the brass throw him that kind of money then??

[glenn57]

 

[Steve-o]

I'd hate to see Thielen go too.  Besides being reliable, he has been team friendly the whole way.  But even he can only kick his money so far down the road to help the team with cap space.  $13M is a big dead cap hit if they flat out cut him.  But if they feel the need to break the bank for Jefferson, they may not be able to afford Thielen at $20M.

Goodness knows how all NFL money works. 

Its $20M against the cap if they keep him.
Its $13M against the cap if they cut him.
If they trade him, he counts $11M against the new team's cap. 

An aging Adam Thielen fits much better on another team at $11M than he does on the Vikes for $20M.  I don't like it, but I don't disagree with the internet predictor. 

Plus Osborn is an up-and-comer.   

[KEN W]

I agree Steve with everything you said. I would also add that Eric Kendricks will be gone and so will Phillips and safety Harrison Smith. To old and cost to much. Younger players can't do much worse.

Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said Wednesday the team has started contract negotiations with Jefferson.

“I wouldn’t use the word challenge,” Adofo-Mensah said, via NFL Media. “You got a special player, a special person. Those aren’t problems, or at least those are champagne problems. We’ll start there."

Jefferson, the league’s best receiver in 2022, will become the league’s highest-paid receiver when he gets an extension.

Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill currently is the league’s highest-paid at the position, having signed a four-year, $120 million extension in March that includes $72.2 million guaranteed.

[LPS]

Kendricks, Theilen, H. Smith are some of my favorite Vikings but but but...

[LPS]

Although I would like to see what a coach that is under 50 with a new philosophy can do with the nucleus of the defense, after we get some younger players, and salute the veterans we need to part with cuz they are too much money.  They know that too. 

[glenn57]

 

[Gunner55]

  Read somewhere that Hunter is probably gone too, for cap reasons. Found this on some other moves they made today. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/vikings-sign-curtis-weaver-to-futures-contract-lose-kyle-hinton-and-myles-dorn/ar-AA16uwNA?ocid=msedgdh Mensah & his #2 are 'sposed to be among the best young guys in the league now at dealing with contracts & the cap. Guess, we're going to find out. 

[Gunner55]

  A bit more on the new GM's background https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwesi_Adofo-Mensah

[Steve-o]

StarTribune Chip Scoggins:  Ed Donatell's first Vikings season a flop, but poor drafting has drained the defense

I can't read this Star Tribune article online because of cookies or something, but I'd like to know what he said, cause I'd love to disagree with him about why the season was a flop.

I agree that poor drafting has left the defensive cupboard bare, but if you go 13-4, win the division, and host a playoff game with a team who has had one of THE worst defenses three years running - that season is NOT a flop.

Again, for the first time in recent memory, this team has finally OVERACHIEVED - won more games than they were supposed to, and won several that they had no business winning.

But newspaper sports writers have to say what they have to say to provoke opinions and hold the organization figuratively accountable for NOT winning the Superbowl yet again.  OK, Chip, you call it a flop...  I say it was fun.

[dutchboy]

Chip said Donatell's first season was a flop as defensive coordinator. Which we all agree it was. He also said the reason for the poor defense was the lack of players that have worked out from the drafts.

I see it the same way. The DEFENSE was terrible from day 1, it had nothing to do with the offense or special teams. We all agree (I think) the offense put up enough points to win the Giants game.

Chips only point was the defense sucked this year.