Preseason, Week 2: Vikings (0-1) vs 49ers (1-0)

[Ozzy]

11 hours ago, twslhs20 said:

DB and OL are our weakpoints

With the development of Hinton, Ingram seems promising despite mistakes, hell Wyatt Davis I would kind of dislike cutting him.  He has looked decent in preseason outside of a few mistakes, but with his youth he is interesting.  Curious what they do with Reed who is hurt and Jesse Davis.  Udoh at backup RT and Brandel at backup LT seems solid.  Bradbury is the biggest question mark, I am oddly ok with the guards.  Maybe they need Jesse Davis to start the year and are not sold on Ingram, he did not have a super strong game against the 49ers but is promising.  

 

CB is by far the biggest need, sure a developmental/backup QB but that has been a need for years and they have no addressed it.  I say again pathetically Jake Browning is doing quite well on the Bengals in the preseason, pretty sad but wish we had him instead of Mannion that is for sure.  At safety Cine seems to have versatility, Bynum I like and Metellus played great against the 49ers and made a lot of plays.  

[Ozzy]

Guys who could be cut at QB in the NFL, but real key is if teams want to only keep 2 QBs, if they want to keep three almost all of these guys are off the table outside of maybe one or two.  If Jimmy G gets traded that could change some things also and open something up.

Brock Purdy
Nathan Peterman
Brian Hoyer
Davis Webb
Matt Barkley
Brandon Allen
Jake Browning
Nick Foles
Jack Coan
Nick Mullens
Jacob Eason

 

 

Washington's QBs, then again only if they keep two which they probably will not, if they keep all three these guys are off the table.

Taylor Heinicke
Sam Howell

 

 

Free Agent QBs:

Mike Glennon
AJ McCarron
Cole Kelley

[swede700]

22 hours ago, SemperFeist said:

Mond and Mannion really aren’t backup quality QBs, but they really didn’t get help from their receivers and tight ends in this game. Their performances probably look a lot different if Davidson catches a 3rd down conversion from Mond, or if he catches that seam route from Mannion. And Mond likely avoids that second interception if Mitchell catches the mid range shot inside the ten on that final drive. 
 

I’ll say this, if San Francisco cuts Purdy or Sudfeld, I’d take either one of them over Mond or Mannion. It’ll be interesting to see what SF ultimately does with Garoppolo, and whether or not they keep 3 quarterbacks. 

I would take Sudfeld, but not Purdy.  I wasn't impressed with Purdy.  He was better than Mond, but not by much.  

As far as my thoughts on the game, it was a pretty boring game...which I guess should be expected from teams that had been really built to be that way (although I expect it to change as far as the Vikings).

Mond regressed some, but that should be expected.  He needs to learn how to throw a bullet pass, he floats far too many, so when he makes a poor decision, like he did on that last interception, he has at least a chance to get away with it.  

Ingram...I'm still starting him Game 1 at RG.  He made a mistake a couple of times, but he's a rookie, so that should be expected.

TY McGill shows up again.  

Other than Bisi, I wasn't all that impressed with the rest of the WRs that played.  ISM was inconsistent, Mitchell blew the slim chance he had with that drop, and Nailor is nowhere to be found.  

[swede700]

On 8/21/2022 at 3:19 AM, viking said:

Vikings need a new QB2. As somebody said earlier maybe Nick Foles would come available. Mond can be stashed on the practice squad nobody is going to poach him.

Somebody would, because they would think they could unlock his talent...and aren't really concerned about the roster spot he'd take up.

[swede700]

On 8/20/2022 at 10:29 PM, Vikes_Bolts1228 said:

This is a weird Homer hill to die on.

Right now, these two are guaranteed loses if they have to start. 100%. They don't have a chance.

We know Kirk is reliable but all it takes is one weird hit and if he does miss a game or two, they shouldn't be guaranteed loses.

Is it much to ask for a backup that may have a shot to win one?

This is such a dumb hill to die on, dude. Wow.

There aren't even 32 quality starting QBs in the NFL.  I'm not all that concerned about the backup spot here.  If Kirk should go down, I don't care who they have as a backup, unless their name is Earl Morrall, Frank Reich, Don Strock or Steve DeBerg, they are probably not going to win many of those games he doesn't play. 

Edited August 22, 2022 by swede700

[Vikes_Bolts1228]

10 hours ago, swede700 said:

There aren't even 32 quality starting QBs in the NFL.  I'm not all that concerned about the backup spot here.  If Kirk should go down, I don't care who they have as a backup, unless their name is Earl Morrall, Frank Reich, Don Strock or Steve DeBerg, they are probably not going to win many of those games he doesn't play. 

Apparently someone in Eagan was....

[swede700]

13 hours ago, Vikes_Bolts1228 said:

Apparently someone in Eagan was....

That's what they get paid to do...plus, I said I wasn't all that concerned about it, not that there was no concern.  If the opportunity arose to improve it (which it did), great.  But, even Nick Mullens ain't likely going to save a season if he should have to start a lot of games.  The 2 seasons that he had to start half the season, the 49ers went 4-12 and 6-10.  

Edited August 23, 2022 by swede700

[wcblack34]

I see Mullens as a poor man’s Case Keenum. He can definitely throw the ball well. His processing and field vision are adequate, but far from elite. With a solid running game and adequate protection he can keep a team competitive and give you a chance to win. But, like most every backup, he’s not going to be the reason you won. None of those things can be said about Mond or Mannion. 

[Robb_K]

On 8/22/2022 at 6:21 AM, swede700 said:

There aren't even 32 quality starting QBs in the NFL.  I'm not all that concerned about the backup spot here.  If Kirk should go down, I don't care who they have as a backup, unless their name is Earl Morrall, Frank Reich, Don Strock or Steve DeBerg, they are probably not going to win many of those games he doesn't play. 

The Vikings will be near the bottom of the playoff seeds IF they stay healthy.  If cousins is out for 1-2 games because of Covid, or 3-4 games due to injury, Mullens will give them a chance to win some of those games, whereas playing Mond or Mannion would give them sure losses in every game.  Mannion can't move the ball up the field and move the sticks.  He doesn't risk throwing the ball over 7-8 yards unless a receiver is 10 yards away from any defender.  most of his throws are 4 yards or less check downs.  Mond holds the ball too long, and would throw too many interceptions, take too many deep sacks, and those would also risk fumbles, especially against 1st and 2nd stringers.  He was mostly ineffective against 3rd and a little bit of 2nd stringers.  

Mullens is used to playing backup in The NFL, and can move the ball.  He's had problems with too many interceptions in his NFL career, but KOC's schemes and play calling could help limit his exposure to dangerous plays, and Mullens could play a conservative enough game to limit risk of interceptions and still move the chains methodically, with mid-range and short passes, and letting the running backs do their jobs, whereas, I think both Mannion and Mond wouldn't be able to get that accomplished for enough scoring to win any games.  With The Vikings' excellent offensive weapons, even just using the short and mid-range game, and The Vikings' adequate defence, they might be able to win 40-50% of the games Cousins is out, with Mullens playing a controlled game, and letting the rest of the lineup win games.  If they would win 2 out of every 4 or 5 games Mullens would play, that would make a BIG difference between having Mannion or Mond lose (make it not possible to win) EVERY game Cousins is out.  That would likely mean the difference between The Vikings making the playoffs or not making them.  Sure, they won't have a chance to win The Super Bowl either way.  But, given all the player assets they've already used to be somewhat competitive this season, winning those 2 extra games, and making the playoffs, would be a LOT better than failing to make it.  Cousins is 34 years old.  Kwesi's argument that they should draft a young QB in the 2023 draft, and not stick with Cousins in 2024 wouldn't be hurt by the team going 11-6 with the help of Mullens' 2 extra wins.   And, with Cousins back in the lineup for the playoffs, the team could have a decent chance for getting one playoff win, and a lesser, but still reasonable chance of wining a second one.  Having either of those outcomes is a LOT more likely to keep Justin Jefferson from getting frustrated with this team and its management, and deciding he wants to leave for a team with a better young nucleus, and more forward-looking ownership and management.  So, to ME that having that extra, actually somewhat competent ability in the backup QB is VERY important.

The Vikings keeping just Mannion and Mond, and risking losing ALL of any games Cousins misses, is just not worth that risk.