SteelKing728 Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Every year people say we need to address the WLB, as if its a critical part of our defense. I've even seen mocks done by professionals that had us taking a WLB in the 1st round. I guess they don't really understand Zimmer's defense or watch our games minus the highlights. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 4 minutes ago, SteelKing728 said: Every year people say we need to address the WLB, as if its a critical part of our defense. I've even seen mocks done by professionals that had us taking a WLB in the 1st round. I guess they don't really understand Zimmer's defense or watch our games minus the highlights. While the WLB position isn't immensely critical, the SLB will be extremely important next year when Barr is gone, since they don't appear to have anyone on defense right now that can immediately fill in...Vigil, maybe, but he's only on a 1-yr deal and this is now his 3rd team in 6 yrs, so he wouldn't be a long-term solution anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcblack34 Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 2 hours ago, Cearbhall said: Spielman has had a tremendous offseason if one only looks at what he did on the defensive side. No offseason that results in the offensive linemen the team currently has penciled in as starts should be considered a tremendous offseason overall. Spielman is once again going into a season with nothing but "hope" that the offensive line will be decent. As ever, one can find reason for hope but eventually one wants something more. Maybe Cleveland will look average this year. Maybe Bradbury will look average this year. Maybe Davis will look average this year. None of them have ever looked average in the league. That is a lot of maybe on the interior offensive line with guys like Mason Cole and Dakota Dozier the veteran fallback options. That is a lot of hope with nothing proven. That result on one of the more important position groups on the field is not something that I could think of as a tremendous offseason. To me, it resulted in a very, very flawed roster going into the season. But sure, he did some nice things within aside from the glaring flaw. I really, really like what he did on the defensive line. This is a rather shortsighted take. That's like saying they did nothing last year to address the holes at WR and CB because the draft picks hadn't shown anything. I get that people don't like Spielman, but to say this wasn't, at least on paper, a great offseason is just ridiculous. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelKing728 Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 2 hours ago, swede700 said: While the WLB position isn't immensely critical, the SLB will be extremely important next year when Barr is gone, since they don't appear to have anyone on defense right now that can immediately fill in...Vigil, maybe, but he's only on a 1-yr deal and this is now his 3rd team in 6 yrs, so he wouldn't be a long-term solution anyway. Right. That could be our top priority potentially next year. I think Surratt will fill in as the "starting" WLB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cearbhall Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, wcblack34 said: This is a rather shortsighted take. That's like saying they did nothing last year to address the holes at WR and CB because the draft picks hadn't shown anything. I get that people don't like Spielman, but to say this wasn't, at least on paper, a great offseason is just ridiculous. It may be short sighted, but it is based off of years of observation of Rick Spielman, his tendencies, and what he has accomplished. I will never think that Rick Spielman had a great offseason until he figures something out related to his well established shortcoming. How great is it really to build up a solid defense when it is something he already has proven he can do? Until he wins a Super Bowl if he isn't taking steps forward in his area of weakness he hasn't done anything great IMO. It is easy to keep doing what you already know how to do well. It is hard to do something new well. As an investor, I care far more about year to year improvement than I care about current value of a company. If you look at something like IBM in the late 80's they were huge, but it was garbage to own. They weren't improving. It took bringing in a new CEO, Lou Gerstner, to get that company going in the right direction for a period of time again. Similarly, the Vikings need to bring in a new GM. Seeing Rick Spielman/Mike Zimmer do the same thing doesn't impress me at all. Edited June 23, 2021 by Cearbhall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moss_is_1 Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 3 hours ago, Cearbhall said: It may be short sighted, but it is based off of years of observation of Rick Spielman, his tendencies, and what he has accomplished. I will never think that Rick Spielman had a great offseason until he figures something out related to his well established shortcoming. How great is it really to build up a solid defense when it is something he already has proven he can do? Until he wins a Super Bowl if he isn't taking steps forward in his area of weakness he hasn't done anything great IMO. It is easy to keep doing what you already know how to do well. It is hard to do something new well. As an investor, I care far more about year to year improvement than I care about current value of a company. If you look at something like IBM in the late 80's they were huge, but it was garbage to own. They weren't improving. It took bringing in a new CEO, Lou Gerstner, to get that company going in the right direction for a period of time again. Similarly, the Vikings need to bring in a new GM. Seeing Rick Spielman/Mike Zimmer do the same thing doesn't impress me at all. So any GM is a failure if they don't win a superbowl? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcblack34 Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 6 hours ago, Cearbhall said: It may be short sighted, but it is based off of years of observation of Rick Spielman, his tendencies, and what he has accomplished. I will never think that Rick Spielman had a great offseason until he figures something out related to his well established shortcoming. How great is it really to build up a solid defense when it is something he already has proven he can do? Until he wins a Super Bowl if he isn't taking steps forward in his area of weakness he hasn't done anything great IMO. It is easy to keep doing what you already know how to do well. It is hard to do something new well. As an investor, I care far more about year to year improvement than I care about current value of a company. If you look at something like IBM in the late 80's they were huge, but it was garbage to own. They weren't improving. It took bringing in a new CEO, Lou Gerstner, to get that company going in the right direction for a period of time again. Similarly, the Vikings need to bring in a new GM. Seeing Rick Spielman/Mike Zimmer do the same thing doesn't impress me at all. You’re right. Spielman hasn’t used multiple top picks on the OL and hasn’t made runs at top free agent O-linemen. Wait… Has it panned out yet? No. But to call this off-season (again, on paper) anything other than a success is just objectively wrong. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cearbhall Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 13 hours ago, moss_is_1 said: So any GM is a failure if they don't win a superbowl? You missed what I was saying if that is the question you have in response to what I said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cearbhall Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 11 hours ago, wcblack34 said: You’re right. Spielman hasn’t used multiple top picks on the OL and hasn’t made runs at top free agent O-linemen. Wait… Has it panned out yet? No. But to call this off-season (again, on paper) anything other than a success is just objectively wrong. This response of yours is offensive. In response to your first paragraph, what you are implying I said is not at all what I said. It is not objectively wrong to call this off-season anything other than a success. It is an opinion. So, you see, the incorrect thing here is your statement that it is objectively wrong to call this off-season anything other than a success. Meanwhile, you are moving the goalposts. Success and tremendous offseason are not synonymous. I do not see this as a tremendous offseason for Rick Spielman. Not at all. Not even close. It is okay for you to disagree with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 On paper, it appears that the offseason looks real good...now, performance in the season will determine if it actually was. It could certainly blow up and fall apart...it has before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SemperFeist Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, swede700 said: On paper, it appears that the offseason looks real good...now, performance in the season will determine if it actually was. It could certainly blow up and fall apart...it has before. And if it doesn’t work out, I put that failure on the coaching staff, not the GM, or the personnel department. To use Bill Parcel’s famous analogy, the GM buys the groceries and stocks the kitchen, but the coach is responsible for cooking the meal. The offseason has been a success, there’s no denying it. A significant amount of talent, both proven and potential, has been added. As far as the 2021 season is concerned, the GM’s job is pretty much done. Now we are to the point where it’s time to play football, and that responsibility falls on the head coach and his staff. Edited June 24, 2021 by SemperFeist 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VikeManDan Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 David DeCastro released by the Steelers (saves $8.75M but ~$5.5 in dead) https://www.steelers.com/news/steelers-release-decastro He's 31, still trying to find more information but sounds like he might have battled an ankle injury last year? He played in 13 games. I'm not sure how his level of play has faired lately but perhaps the Vikes take a look at him for 1-year? Darrisaw-Cleveland-Bradbury-DeCastro-O'Neill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SemperFeist Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 Strong pass on him for me. DeCastro has been on the decline for 3 years. And the injuries have taken their toll. This release sounds like it’s health related, and there are a few reports that retirement isn’t out of the question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cearbhall Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 Given what the Vikings have at guard, the Vikings have to consider all options. I don't know about DeCastro's health; that would need to be vetted. If that checked out, even vastly diminished David DeCastro is an improvement over Dozier. I also don't know that DeCastro would fit the scheme. But beggars can't be choosers and the Vikings currently have Dozier practicing with the first line, which makes them beggars IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VikeManDan Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 16 hours ago, SemperFeist said: Strong pass on him for me. DeCastro has been on the decline for 3 years. And the injuries have taken their toll. This release sounds like it’s health related, and there are a few reports that retirement isn’t out of the question. Was designated as NFI (non-football injury) from what I read. I heard the retirement angle as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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