swede700 Posted December 8, 2021 Share Posted December 8, 2021 Quote Minnesota’s nucleus of GM Rick Spielman, head coach Mike Zimmer, and quarterback Kirk Cousins has failed to turn the team into a championship contender. Is it time to blow it up? https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2021/12/8/22823546/minnesota-vikings-kirk-cousins-mike-zimmer-rick-spielman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingsrule Posted December 8, 2021 Share Posted December 8, 2021 14 minutes ago, swede700 said: https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2021/12/8/22823546/minnesota-vikings-kirk-cousins-mike-zimmer-rick-spielman I’d rank them as follows in terms of value as of late 1) Cousins 2) Spielman 3) Zimmer I don’t think there really should be a scenario where Spielman stays and Zimmer is fired. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted December 8, 2021 Share Posted December 8, 2021 (edited) I tend to agree with the author. I think that the best route to take is that you get rid of both, and at least attempt to trade Cousins to unload him as well, although they certainly could go the route of bringing in the offensive mind to work with him...but my preference is to just start over and if that means a crappy 2022 season, so be it. For far too long, we've wanted to protect ourselves from having a top-5 pick because that means that there is the potential of being a long-term loser. It hasn't gotten us anywhere. It's time to take the risk and reboot the franchise. Edited December 8, 2021 by swede700 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SemperFeist Posted December 8, 2021 Share Posted December 8, 2021 I’m all for rebooting the front office and the coaching staff. I’m not all that interested in blowing up the roster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted December 8, 2021 Share Posted December 8, 2021 19 minutes ago, SemperFeist said: I’m all for rebooting the front office and the coaching staff. I’m not all that interested in blowing up the roster. I agree specifically in not blowing up the roster completely, but just unloading Cousins. I think you try to maintain the rest of the roster as best as you can, because there are a lot of young pieces that still have potential. I'm not getting rid of Harrison, Kendricks or Hunter on defense, or Jefferson, Cook or most of the young offensive line on offense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingsrule Posted December 8, 2021 Share Posted December 8, 2021 25 minutes ago, SemperFeist said: I’m all for rebooting the front office and the coaching staff. I’m not all that interested in blowing up the roster. Don’t think we have a choice, defensively. Offense is full of young talent, this isn’t the case in defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SemperFeist Posted December 8, 2021 Share Posted December 8, 2021 1 hour ago, swede700 said: I agree specifically in not blowing up the roster completely, but just unloading Cousins. I think you try to maintain the rest of the roster as best as you can, because there are a lot of young pieces that still have potential. I'm not getting rid of Harrison, Kendricks or Hunter on defense, or Jefferson, Cook or most of the young offensive line on offense. Getting rid of a top 10 QB is just foolish. Even more so when you don’t have a viable plan in place to replace him. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SemperFeist Posted December 8, 2021 Share Posted December 8, 2021 57 minutes ago, vikingsrule said: Don’t think we have a choice, defensively. Offense is full of young talent, this isn’t the case in defense. But there’s nothing to blow up on defense. They just need to add some more talent. I want to add talent around Smith, Kendricks, Hunter, Pierce, Tomlinson, etc. not add to the list of talent to be replaced. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingsrule Posted December 8, 2021 Share Posted December 8, 2021 6 minutes ago, SemperFeist said: But there’s nothing to blow up on defense. They just need to add some more talent. I want to add talent around Smith, Kendricks, Hunter, Pierce, Tomlinson, etc. not add to the list of talent to be replaced. Aren’t nearly half the starters free agents? My point is, there’s going to be a lot of turnover on defense so however you want to word it. There aren’t a lot of young building blocks on rookie deals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake Plissken Posted December 8, 2021 Share Posted December 8, 2021 39 minutes ago, SemperFeist said: Getting rid of a top 10 QB is just foolish. Even more so when you don’t have a viable plan in place to replace him. Yes. You want to keep your young core players (especially #18) happy and make it an attractive place for FAs. Getting rid of Cousins suggests "rebuild". The team has too much talent for that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted December 8, 2021 Share Posted December 8, 2021 3 minutes ago, SemperFeist said: Getting rid of a top 10 QB is just foolish. Even more so when you don’t have a viable plan in place to replace him. Well, in most circumstances, I'd agree. But, I can't here because it's about more than just the QB. I think they either need to try and unload him or take the salary cap pain and just ride it out with the $45M hit and plan how to address it in 2023. Kirk turns 34 next year and I don't think extending him anymore would be wise, even if it's probably warranted for cap relief. The window they have to win is virtually closed at this point, so there's no point in delaying the inevitable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingsrule Posted December 8, 2021 Share Posted December 8, 2021 1 hour ago, swede700 said: Well, in most circumstances, I'd agree. But, I can't here because it's about more than just the QB. I think they either need to try and unload him or take the salary cap pain and just ride it out with the $45M hit and plan how to address it in 2023. Kirk turns 34 next year and I don't think extending him anymore would be wise, even if it's probably warranted for cap relief. The window they have to win is virtually closed at this point, so there's no point in delaying the inevitable. 34 isn’t that old for a QB. Even two more years takes him to 36, which buys the Vikes a couple years to identify a replacement. As for the cap hit, I guess I’d rather have Cousins then overpaid underperforming players like Barr, Tomlinson and Pierce. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted December 8, 2021 Share Posted December 8, 2021 2 minutes ago, vikingsrule said: 34 isn’t that old for a QB. Even two more years takes him to 36, which buys the Vikes a couple years to identify a replacement. As for the cap hit, I guess I’d rather have Cousins then overpaid underperforming players like Barr, Tomlinson and Pierce. Barr is going to be gone regardless because of the cap situation whether Cousins is here or not. He hasn't been available for most of the past 2 years, so unless he's willing to take the vet minimum, I can't see him coming back. I'd personally rather run with a Teddy Bridgewater type at $15M than spend $45M on Cousins or $30M+ for the next 2-3 years. As many others have mentioned in the past, it's about cap value rather than just space. I think I'm finally there with that group. Cousins...as great as he has been, isn't one that can lift a team to be better (which I have accepted) and this team is no longer in a position that that is acceptable, because they aren't in a position to win a title and won't be for the foreseeable future, so you'd just be paying him to keep the seat warm. Move him somewhere else where he has a better shot to win and the cap space can be freed up here to build up the roster elsewhere defensively. The comparison of Cousins has often been to Alex Smith...that's a fair comparison, but the difference is that while they were searching for their eventual Patrick Mahomes, they were only paying Alex Smith about $17M, which was no higher than 11% of the Chiefs cap in any given year. Only in 2020 did Kirk take up less than than that, and including next year, 3 of his 5 years will have been above 15% (and it'll be over 21% next year). Now, if you tell me that Kirk will renegotiate and only take up 10%-11% of their cap, I'll say sure, bring him back, as that's reasonable. But, I can't see him doing that. He's not that unselfish...which is fine, I don't blame him for trying to max out his value...but, it's time that he do that elsewhere, if at all possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SemperFeist Posted December 8, 2021 Share Posted December 8, 2021 23 minutes ago, swede700 said: because they aren't in a position to win a title and won't be for the foreseeable future This, I don’t agree with. This team could just as easily be 10-2 as they are 5-7. It’s not going to take much to push them in that direction. Imagine what an experienced offensive mind, who knows how to put together a game plan would do with this group of offensive players. Heck, even on defense, one good draft could be all the difference. Where would this defense be if you added a solid pass rusher? or a reliable cornerback? The decision makers at the top have failed this team with pathetic drafting over past 7 years. That is where the problem lies, and where the changes need to take place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SemperFeist Posted December 9, 2021 Share Posted December 9, 2021 This is excellent news for any team that is looking at a potential coaching change. Jackson is no longer an option, at any position, for your team. Ts and Ps to Grambling State fans. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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