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2023 Sign, Draft, or Promote: Starting C


swede700

How should the Vikings handle the starting C?  

15 members have voted

  1. 1. How should the Vikings handle the starting C?

    • Re-sign Garrett Bradbury
    • Sign an external free agent (Specify preference in thread)
    • Draft a new starting C
    • Re-sign and promote Austin Schlottman
    • Promote Chris Reed
      0
    • Other (Specify preference in thread)
      0


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3 minutes ago, vikingsrule said:

Just a year ago, no one wanted him back. Half a year of good football doesn’t change a lot for me. 

He spent his entire career playing next to bad guards.....that makes his job hard. But I get your stance. Good luck to Kirk with someone likely to be worse.

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4 minutes ago, PrplChilPill said:

He spent his entire career playing next to bad guards.....that makes his job hard. But I get your stance. Good luck to Kirk with someone likely to be worse.

Could say the same with the Vikes success next year if they don’t make some meaningful upgrades on defense. Not going to win anything having to chase points constantly. 

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2 minutes ago, vikingsrule said:

Could say the same with the Vikes success next year if they don’t make some meaningful upgrades on defense. Not going to win anything having to chase points constantly. 

They won how many games last year, with the 31st ranked D? The only need an average D to be pretty good again next year, IMO. But that won't happen with Kirk getting killed with up the middle rushes. Again, I get your point.....but I think people are underestimating how bad it could be.

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1 minute ago, PrplChilPill said:

They won how many games last year, with the 31st ranked D? The only need an average D to be pretty good again next year, IMO. But that won't happen with Kirk getting killed with up the middle rushes. Again, I get your point.....but I think people are underestimating how bad it could be.

Maybe Flores can make up for a lack of talent. I don’t know. I get your push, I’m just not convinced that Bradbury is good at the end of the day where his loss would be meaningful. The only benefit of having him back as far as I am concerned is continuity and there is value in that with the QB and fellow OL. 

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33 minutes ago, PrplChilPill said:

He spent his entire career playing next to bad guards.....that makes his job hard. But I get your stance. Good luck to Kirk with someone likely to be worse.

Or was it the center? Bradbury has been awful in pass protection his entire career. Even this year, while there was an improvement, it wasn’t good. When the center is getting driven backwards as soon as the ball is snapped, it makes it almost impossible for the guards to maintain a proper pocket. Year after year we saw different guards yield similar results, with the center remaining the common denominator. So, maybe it wasn’t the guards making the center’s job difficult, but it was the center making it difficult for the guards?

Bradbury was drafted to be the point man in Kubiak’s wide zone run scheme. He was drafted for an offense that was going to be a heavy run oriented offense. That is no longer the situation in Minnesota with O’Connell at the helm. 

To his credit Cousins has been the most durable QB in the league since he became a starter in 2015, but he’s also been the most hit QB since he got to Minnesota in 2018. If the Vikings are going to extend Cousins, and rely on a QB who turns 35 before their next game to play 2-3 more years, then the trend of being the most hit QB can’t continue. Especially if you want him to continue to remain as durable as he has been. 

The Vikings need to find a center who can anchor in pass protection. A center who can maintain the point of a pocket at the snap, and giving the QB room. Not continue with the run blocking center who gets pushed into the QB’s lap, and seemingly turns every pocket into something that resembles the letter M. They need a different center than Bradbury. 

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57 minutes ago, vikingsrule said:

Maybe Flores can make up for a lack of talent. I don’t know. I get your push, I’m just not convinced that Bradbury is good at the end of the day where his loss would be meaningful. The only benefit of having him back as far as I am concerned is continuity and there is value in that with the QB and fellow OL. 

I am with you.  Bradbury is very much replacement level but continuity means something. If the Vikings get a center that plays average (top 16 starting center in the league) it will be an improvement.

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If Bradbury can be had for less than $7MM a season, then you bring him back. That's in line with an average Center. Continuity, familiarity with the offense and the calls the Center makes in that offense, and the "known" quantity are worth it. As someone else stated, this team won 13 games with 2nd worst defense in football. Why start opening holes on offense if you don't have to? Change for the sake of change isn't smart business or football.

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11 minutes ago, wcblack34 said:

If Bradbury can be had for less than $7MM a season, then you bring him back. That's in line with an average Center. Continuity, familiarity with the offense and the calls the Center makes in that offense, and the "known" quantity are worth it. As someone else stated, this team won 13 games with 2nd worst defense in football. Why start opening holes on offense if you don't have to? Change for the sake of change isn't smart business or football.

It’s not change for the sake of change. What a completely ridiculous thing to say. It’s change in an attempt to get better. That’s like saying the Vikings should have just signed Riley Reiff to a new contract instead of drafting Christian Darrisaw.  

Bradbury isn’t a good center. And his weaknesses make the jobs of those around him harder. Trying to improve on that isn’t creating a hole, it’s fixing one. 

What is really bad business is throwing money at a bad player just because the alternative is an unknown. 

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3 hours ago, PrplChilPill said:

How do you think the O would be with a worse C? That's a real risk given the draft.....

Is it? Bradbury has consistently been one of the worst starting centers in the league throughout his career and the offense has survived. 

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Just now, SemperFeist said:

It’s not change for the sake of change. What a completely ridiculous thing to say. It’s change in an attempt to get better. That’s like saying the Vikings should have just signed Riley Reiff to a new contract instead of drafting Christian Darrisaw.  

Bradbury isn’t a good center. And his weaknesses make the jobs of those around him harder. Trying to improve on that isn’t creating a hole, it’s fixing one. 

What is really bad business is throwing money at a bad player just because the alternative is an unknown. 

He's not bad though. He's average, and the suggestion is that they are giving him an average player contract. You're arguing a point that isn't being made.

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1 minute ago, JDBrocks said:

He's not bad though. He's average, and the suggestion is that they are giving him an average player contract. You're arguing a point that isn't being made.

He’s not average though. He’s bad, and his career has shown that. Just because O’Connell found a work around to hide him a bit more doesn’t change the fact that he consistently gets pushed backwards into Kirk in the passing game. 

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1 minute ago, SemperFeist said:

He’s not average though. He’s bad, and his career has shown that. Just because O’Connell found a work around to hide him a bit more doesn’t change the fact that he consistently gets pushed backwards into Kirk in the passing game. 

He's a good run blocker, and has been very good in the screen game. If you want to say he's not the right fit, then fine. I don't have an issue moving on either, for the right fit. But just blanket "he's bad" is not a fair assessment of him as a player.

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