Heimdallr Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 I really don't think massive changes are needed on offense. Keep Reiff, Bradbury, Klein and O'Neill, and replace Eflein and keep him as the backup IOL. Draft an early round LG. Draft a midround rookie or bring in a cheap veteran to compete with Bisi as the #3 WR. I could see Rudolph being a cap casualty, otherwise I don't foresee any other major offensive changes. I'd also extend Kirk. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake Plissken Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 20 minutes ago, Virginia Viking said: One of the questions that keeps popping up for me is wondering if the Vikings haven't maxed out the starting talent on the team. I keep reading here that if there had been a more imaginative offensive scheme - or - if the defense could've gotten better penetration from the DT position, the Vikings could've beaten the 49'er's. While the Vikings have very good players in a number of positions, the only truly "great" player we have on this current squad is Harrison Smith. What I am saying is that no matter the game plan or scheme, the Vikings would never have beaten the 49'er's...period...end of story. Their on the field talent is WAY better than the Vikings. The other reality I've come to realize is that there are other teams, besides SF that have significantly better talent than the Vikings; specifically, everybody else that's still playing, plus Baltimore. Maybe even Philly if they were healthy. In other words, the Vikings are good enough to win 9 to 12 games a season...and inevitably get clobbered in the playoffs. What's going to turn things around? Probably the biggest factor is going to be dumb, stupid luck. Because of being in cap hell, the Vikings will have to rely on hitting on every draft pick with someone who will be a significant contributor. The other factor will be in letting go of good players and restructuring a lot of others. No brain decisions would be to say goodbye to Rhodes, Elflein, and Reiff. Starting to hurt decisions would be to cut Rudolph, Griffen, Joseph. Highly unpopular decisions would be to not resign Waynes, Harris and Alexander...Trade Anthony Barr for picks...consider trading Thielen for picks while you still can. Restructure the hell out of Kirk's contract. Make Cook a good offer, but don't make him the highest paid running back. Upgrades...according to priority...1. Left Tackle. (If Udoh can move in there great.) 2. Left Guard (perhaps Samia...but don't be afraid to be bold here.) 3. DT (A younger version of Joseph.) 4. Safety. (Harris will be hard to replace) 5. Back up QB. (Mannion did nothing for me in the week 17 game.) After all these changes...should they occur...the Vikings may only win 6 or 7 games in 2020. However, with two lucky drafts and some really smart and lucky maneuvering, the Vikings will rebound in 2021. But will they be able to defeat SF, GB, KC, TN in the playoffs/Super bowl??? I would be down for the no-brainers if there is a plan at LT I'd be comfortable with 2 out of 3 for Rudy, Griffen, and Joseph I'm all aboard for trading Barr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heimdallr Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 I don't think we can afford to re-sign Anthony Harris, so we'll have a new starting safety. I can't see Zimmer starting a rookie safety, and it sounds like Kearse is also gone, so we'll probably see Sendejo or a similar veteran stopgap there, while a rookie learns behind them. I think you need to cut Rhodes based on his performance and salary. I'd re-sign Waynes because he shouldn't command top-5 CB money, and we can't lose 3 starters in one year. Linebackers are set. I'd keep Everson if at all possible, otherwise it'll just need to be Weatherly and Odenigbo stepping up. On the inside, it might be time to let Linval go. I'm sure his contract is pretty expensive, he is old, and we just got gashed on the ground against SF. I would draft a DT as high as possible. Losing Linval, Everson, Rhodes and Harris at the same time will be a huge change to the defense, but if we can draft a good DT we should be OK. We have young DE's that can step in and we invested in corners the last few years. Safety will be downgraded, but that is Zim's specialty. He can get production out of cheaper players. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthCountryEvo Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 Only way i'd keep Reiff is if he was restructured to a much lower number. I'm also a proponent of moving Oneill to the LT and moving Udoh or Hill to RT (I would prefer Udoh and allow Hill to be our backup swing tackle). I know it had been discussed in the previous year or so by us here about moving Rieff to guard. I think that alone is an upgrade from Elflein. I still have hope for Samia as well, simply because we didn't get to see much from him this year and I think he has plenty of potential. Otherwise on offense, I am not so sure what other big holes we have apart from figuring out the WR3/4 spots (which can be found in the middle of the draft or with a low tier vet free agent) unless you want to blow things up and rebuild at QB, which I am very much so on the fence about. We'll know come this year's draft how the team feels. Defensively, I hope we retain Griffen, and i think we can probably do so at a discount. I'd be okay with moving on from Joseph, but I don't see a replacement on the roster, and you just don't have too many nose tackles come out of the draft and have great success, at least not initially. Stephen is an average starter at best, and behind him I think we have some decent rotational pieces, but nothing spectacular. CB really showed it's bruises this year, and I just don't see how we can keep Rhodes around. Everyone apart from Alexander showed some big struggles. I think this is going to probably be a focal point for us in the first 2 rounds of the draft, and rightfully so. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDBrocks Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gopherwrestler Posted January 13, 2020 Author Share Posted January 13, 2020 3 minutes ago, JDBrocks said: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 It is what it is with Kearse. He was decent at what he did, but he wasn't better than the guys starting in front of him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDBrocks Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 4 minutes ago, swede700 said: It is what it is with Kearse. He was decent at what he did, but he wasn't better than the guys starting in front of him. Exactly. Does he think he was a better player than Smith or Harris? Good for him for believing in himself, but jeez... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingsrule Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 3 minutes ago, swede700 said: It is what it is with Kearse. He was decent at what he did, but he wasn't better than the guys starting in front of him. I guess I don’t get where his disdain is coming from. He was an okay player who was stuck behind two great Safeties. As a nickel CB, he wasn’t anything special. His tweets just come off as very entitled. Kearse was passed over by many teams in the draft as a seventh round pick but MN gave him a chance and he stuck around as a good backup. Not seeing what MN did here for him to feel “unappreciated”. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 1 minute ago, vikingsrule said: I guess I don’t get where his disdain is coming from. He was an okay player who was stuck behind two great Safeties. As a nickel CB, he wasn’t anything special. His tweets just come off as very entitled. Kearse was passed over by many teams in the draft as a seventh round pick but MN gave him a chance and he stuck around as a good backup. Not seeing what MN did here for him to feel “unappreciated”. Who knows...it's just a guy who thinks he's better than he really is. He's not his uncle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gopherwrestler Posted January 13, 2020 Author Share Posted January 13, 2020 Biggest issue with Kearse I would say is he probably reads twitter and PFF grades. It listed him as a top 10 safety in the NFL this year. Then the team signed Sendejo and his playing time went down even more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingsrule Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 Just now, gopherwrestler said: Biggest issue with Kearse I would say is he probably reads twitter and PFF grades. It listed him as a top 10 safety in the NFL this year. Then the team signed Sendejo and his playing time went down even more. Did he even play Safety? Thought they mostly used him at CB on certain occasions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 11 minutes ago, vikingsrule said: Did he even play Safety? Thought they mostly used him at CB on certain occasions. Yes, he was the primary backup safety, and played as a big nickel when necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Buck Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 20 hours ago, since72 said: I was trying to think of something to post, but you’ve expressed my thoughts perfectly. It’s going to be a while before I care about this team. My interest this season was minimal and now it’s in negative numbers. Good grief, you have six days to prepare for a well rested top seed team, traveling from as far south As you can be, back to Minnesota, then going as far west as you can go, and your OC is off interviewing for another job? I was so sure of the outcome that I watched a whole 2 minutes. From Kendrick’s pick to the field goal to the kneel down before half. Hey, at least I go into the off-season with my last memories being good ones. My interest in the Vikings was high after hiring Zimmer, but it’s been dwindling every year. Like PurpleChillPill says - they don’t give you a reason to care. I guess we have no money to make a “splash” in free agency. Have fun with your mock drafts. It’s not my cup of tea. I know, I know, why do you hang around this forum if you don’t do mock drafts. Well the quality and knowledge of forum members can’t be beat. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and analysis. At times it’s more fun than watching the games. Catch up with you again, maybe in April, or wake me when September comes. Hang in there, buddy. If the Chicago Cubs can win a World Series after over a century of losing, the Vikings will surely get over the hump eventually. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 4 minutes ago, Uncle Buck said: Hang in there, buddy. If the Chicago Cubs can win a World Series after over a century of losing, the Vikings will surely get over the hump eventually. And plus, it took 70+ years for the Cubs to even get back to the WS before they won. It's only been 42 for the Vikings. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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