swede700 Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 2 hours ago, Purplexing said: Fire Brzezinski! Fire Ten-Pick Rick! You can't fire Brz. He's the guru that's structured contracts so well that they've even had the ability to add guys and not get a bazillion dollars over the cap like some teams. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nzd07 Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 3 hours ago, Purplexing said: Taking the discussion in a slightly different direction, is the 'problem with Cousins' due to his performance, his contract, or to other aspects not in his control; e.g. the Vikings defense has been declining, COVID impact on the roster, offensive line instability over several years, offensive game planning and play-calling... ? The only problem with Cousins is his contract. Stafford and Carr (similarly ranked players) are sitting at $27 and $25 AAV, respectively. Kirk is at $33 AAV. So he's overpaid about 5 million. Honestly though, I wouldn't even say Cousins has the worst contract in the NFL. Matt Ryan and Carson Wentz are both making similar numbers. At this point I'd say Ryan is close to washed, and Wentz is not only a worse QB but also has problems staying healthy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Nzd07 said: The only problem with Cousins is his contract. Stafford and Carr (similarly ranked players) are sitting at $27 and $25 AAV, respectively. Kirk is at $33 AAV. So he's overpaid about 5 million. Honestly though, I wouldn't even say Cousins has the worst contract in the NFL. Matt Ryan and Carson Wentz are both making similar numbers. At this point I'd say Ryan is close to washed, and Wentz is not only a worse QB but also has problems staying healthy. It's more related about his contract in conjunction to what he provides to the teams as a leader, which he doesn't. He doesn't provide the leadership needed for a QB especially when he makes that kind of money. The last 2 years especially, there was a lack of leadership on the team, and the QB should fill that void, but Cousins was not capable of doing so. Ryan, as much as he's declined, still provides significant leadership to that team...enough to at least put them in the mix, despite the lack of talent on that roster. Based on the talent on this roster (at least what we generally see as a significant amount of talent), he hasn't lifted this team to where it should be. It's almost as if he just goes through the motions and then goes home to his family...which is certainly fine if there are other significant leaders on the team on the field like a Ray Lewis...but there's not. Edited January 9, 2022 by swede700 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nzd07 Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 21 minutes ago, swede700 said: It's more related about his contract in conjunction to what he provides to the teams as a leader, which he doesn't. He doesn't provide the leadership needed for a QB especially when he makes that kind of money. The last 2 years especially, there was a lack of leadership on the team, and the QB should fill that void, but Cousins was not capable of doing so. Ryan, as much as he's declined, still provides significant leadership to that team...enough to at least put them in the mix, despite the lack of talent on that roster. Based on the talent on this roster (at least what we generally see as a significant amount of talent), he hasn't lifted this team to where it should be. It's almost as if he just goes through the motions and then goes home to his family...which is certainly fine if there are other significant leaders on the team on the field like a Ray Lewis...but there's not. I don't buy that type of stuff. Being a "leader" or "clutch" is just stuff that the media tries to portray as being important to the outcome of football games. You either do your job effectively and get rewarded with a contract, or you don't. Like, when people talk about Joe Montana and how great of a leader he is... Let's not forget the fact that the 49ers consistently fielded the most talented team in the NFL throughout their dynasty... And the fact that Montana himself was just very good at his job. But no, it was his leadership and clutchness that propelled them to success, sure. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 4 minutes ago, Nzd07 said: I don't buy that type of stuff. Being a "leader" or "clutch" is just stuff that the media tries to portray as being important to the outcome of football games. You either do your job effectively and get rewarded with a contract, or you don't. Like, when people talk about Joe Montana and how great of a leader he is... Let's not forget the fact that the 49ers consistently fielded the most talented team in the NFL throughout their dynasty... And the fact that Montana himself was just very good at his job. But no, it was his leadership and clutchness that propelled them to success, sure. You can choose to buy it or not, but I do, as I've seen it over and over, there is an "edge" or a little extra "oomph" that leaders can give to get good players to play even just a bit better in crunch time. Favre is that perfect example. The 2009 Vikings weren't significantly different than the 2008 Vikings, yet you could see the difference that Favre made for that team. Yes, the 49ers were very talented...but, that was later. The 1981 49ers weren't significantly talented. Their leading rusher was some guy named Ricky Patton and Ronnie Lott was a rookie. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nzd07 Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 7 hours ago, swede700 said: You can choose to buy it or not, but I do, as I've seen it over and over, there is an "edge" or a little extra "oomph" that leaders can give to get good players to play even just a bit better in crunch time. Favre is that perfect example. The 2009 Vikings weren't significantly different than the 2008 Vikings, yet you could see the difference that Favre made for that team. Yes, the 49ers were very talented...but, that was later. The 1981 49ers weren't significantly talented. Their leading rusher was some guy named Ricky Patton and Ronnie Lott was a rookie. The 2009 Vikings added a hall of fame Quarterback. I guess we'll just agree to disagree, I personally would take the better player over the better leader 10 out of 10 times. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplexing Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 10 hours ago, swede700 said: You can't fire Brz. He's the guru that's structured contracts so well that they've even had the ability to add guys and not get a bazillion dollars over the cap like some teams. Cousins contract. QED. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gopherwrestler Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 12 hours ago, swede700 said: You can't fire Brz. He's the guru that's structured contracts so well that they've even had the ability to add guys and not get a bazillion dollars over the cap like some teams. If they don’t let Spielman walk I’ll almost put it 100% that Brz won’t leave. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcblack34 Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 The idea that Brz is responsible for Cousins is just flat out stupid. If he was fired, he'd be snapped up by another team inside a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplexing Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 (edited) 17 minutes ago, wcblack34 said: The idea that Brz is responsible for Cousins is just flat out stupid. If he was fired, he'd be snapped up by another team inside a week. Who is responsible for contracts' salary cap implications in the Vikings organization? ... hmm? If Ten-Pick Rick negotiated the contract, what is the purpose of Brzezinski's role? If he is just a beain counter, he's greatly overpaid. If not, he's partially responsible for what many fans claim is a bad contract for Cousins. Which is it? Pick one and stick with it. 'Re-employment within a week' is irrelevant to the discussion of what is claimed to be a huge error in salary cap management. Edited January 9, 2022 by Purplexing add last sentence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcblack34 Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 1 minute ago, Purplexing said: Who is responsible for contracts' salary cap implications in the Vikings organization? ... hmm? If Ten-Pick Rick negotiated the contract, what is the purpose of Brzezinski's role? If he is just a beain counter, he's greatly overpaid. If not, he's partially responsible for what many fans claim is a bad contract for Cousins. Which is it? Pick one and stick with it. Brz writes the contracts management tells him to. He finds a way to make it work under the salary cap rules the NFL has set. If Spielman and/or Zimmer didn't want to keep Cousins, then he wouldn't have written that contract. Pretty simple concept to grasp...unless someone just wants to complain for the sake of complaining. Reaching that much doesn't make you taller. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplexing Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 28 minutes ago, wcblack34 said: Brz writes the contracts management tells him to. He finds a way to make it work under the salary cap rules the NFL has set. If Spielman and/or Zimmer didn't want to keep Cousins, then he wouldn't have written that contract. Pretty simple concept to grasp...unless someone just wants to complain for the sake of complaining. Reaching that much doesn't make you taller. So, you assume Spielman / Zimmer want to keep Cousins because the contract was signed by Brzezinski or Spielman as written. I don't disagree. But I don't completely agree. Many complaints are posted on the internet by fans about the contracts.... original and extensions. So, who is right, the fans who are complaining or Spielman/ Zimmer/ Brzezinski? I'm not reaching at all. I am pointing out those who complain about a contract they haven't fully understood as necessary to sign and keep Cousins. It is they who are reaching for something to criticize when their underlying issue is a QB who performed at the top tier of NFL QBs yet doesn't satisfy them for whatever reason. Finally, the tone of your reply needs serious adjustment. Trying to talk down to someone is never a proper approach to a civil discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 The contracts that the Vikings give out are negotiated by Spielman and Brz together, but ultimately it is Rick's call on what goes into the contract. Brz is the one in charge of the structure of it for cap purposes. So, Brz has less responsibility other than to tell Rick when he can't do something. I wouldn't necessarily say he's an overpaid bean counter, because for one, we don't know how much he gets paid, and for the other, he's still basically Rick's legal advisor, and we all know how much attorneys get paid (and Brz is an attorney). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CriminalMind Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 (edited) My feeling is Brz is responsible for providing options to Rick in terms of different contract structure options for individual and/or multiple Free Agents at a time. Rick decides on amount and the player, and Brz provides options on how to fulfill. Rick also “picks” the structure, but Brz provides a recommendation. who even knows if Brz likes Cousins one bit at all, or even thought the extension was a “good idea” Edited January 9, 2022 by CriminalMind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viking Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 Can we trick any team for trading for Kirk this offseason? I'd take both of Denvers 2nd rounders in the coming draft if they take all his salary too 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts