Merry Monday everyone and welcome to Skoloholics! Join us for Minnesota Vikings talk, Vikings news, news from around the NFL, and virtually any other topic. On this site, the real action is in the comments, so if you haven’t checked out the comments section yet, you should join us! This is the daily open thread, which is wide open. Therefore, you will see discussion of nearly ANY topic here. Our one rule here is: “Remember, be cool to one another”. Also, a word to the wise, don’t feed the trolls. SKOL!!!!!!
Another wonderful Monday to kick off the new, and hopefully improved, work week. Although I must admit, I enjoy my new self-employment MUCH more than I enjoyed the corporate world. It’s sure nice to set your own schedule.
The Vikings’ third and final preseason game arrives on Saturday already, and then you know what happens. The 2023 regular season is so close, you can smell it. Oh wait, that might be me, I ate cabbage earlier.
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Minnesota Vikings News:
TwinCities.com lists the good and the bad from Lewis Cine’s 2023 preseason.
At Vikings.com, they note Cine’s resilience and Dye’s interception as highlights from Saturday’s game against the Titans.
ESPN lists some preseason week 2 takeaways from around the league.
FoxSports has highlights from Saturday’s Vikings-Titans preseason matchup.
Video of the Day:
This one is a couple/few years old, but it’s still worth playing. Enjoy!
Commander offense looks great. Excellent balance, Howell looks good. Let’s see if he can convert in the RZ.
he cannot.
Love those burgundy Commander uni’s.
I turned the sound off, don’t want to listen to anything the “on-air talent” has to say.
Ravens and Redskins tonight on Monday Night Football. Redskins will play their starters on offense to begin the game. Lamar probably sitting this one out for the Ravens.
I’m a big fan of the commanders this season. I think they compete in the NFCE and yes even with the Eagles. I like Howell I think he has a good year as a rookie. That defense might be the best in the NFL….Chase Young returns to that already formidable dline. Look out.
Colts have informed Taylor that he can seek a trade. Wow.
We’ll have to wait and see if anyone makes an offer. Taylor won’t come cheap.
How did I miss this?
Kirk Cousins CAUGHT a touchdown pass AND hit the griddy..
I saw that about 3 days ago and was going to post it but yeah he did and it was funny…
After practice on Monday afternoon, Minnesota Vikings T.J. Hockenson spoke with Vikings Wire’s Judd Zulgad and asked him about his return. This was Hockenson’s answer.
“We’re just taking it day by day. Obviously I want to be out there with the boys so it just all depends.”
Zulgad asked specifically about his contract and if him not practicing was about the contract.
“No, that’s not my focus,” Hockenson replied. “My focus is to be out here with these guys September 9th or whatever it is, be ready for September and be ready for gameday on Sundays.”
As far as talks progressing, Hockenson stated that he “doesn’t really know” and he “keeps that between Neil (his agent) and the guys upstairs.”
He’s full of shit…he’s had an ear ache now for weeks and they make drops for that it clears it up in literal days. So this is all BS holding in for a new contract and for whatever reasons the Vikings and him are promoting this BS about an ear issue. Give me a break.
So… you’re saying there’s a cover-up?
Yes I am. They’re prolonging an ear issue to not have to say he’s holding out.
What? I can’t hear you.
Brilliant idea by Hock…deny by deafness
From the Cardinals:
Gannon was asked if Colt McCoy is going to be the starting quarterback for Week 1 of the regular season. As he has all month, Gannon didn’t reveal much.
“When we need to name the starters, we’ll name the starters. But he’s doing a good job. I thought he operated well. I think that he’s getting more and more comfortable with what we’re asking him to do,” Gannon said. “He’s obviously played a lot of football, but I like where his game’s trending.”
Gannon said he’ll use the trip to Minnesota to get the team used to “standard operating procedures” for road trips. He planned to speak with Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell again on Monday to firm up the plans for practice.
Quarterback Kyler Murray will go on the trip, Gannon said. Murray is still doing rehab for his knee injury, and it didn’t sound like he’d be ready to practice this week.
The Browns have restructured the contract of DE Myles Garrett, creating $12.868M in 2023 cap space, per source.
Cleveland now has close to $34M in cap space, easily the most in the NFL.
Browns preparing to go after Cousins in 2024…
DumdumTaek
LOLOL
Or they have to pay a bajillion or so dollars to Watson.
And they’re around 50m over the cap in 2024
I agree with NVF and will start promoting this on my onlyfans page.
WTF?
You have officially lost your marbles.
Lol…seriously…
the bad news: NVF lost all credibility
the good news: he didn’t have much to start with
Well, if I’m incredible… that works for me…
You’re pretty quick today – good stuff.
I started my day at 4 a.m. with Europe meetings. I’m done for now and just hanging out here for no particular reason.
I never used the word incredible. But feel free to make shit up to support your case. It’s the way of the (under) world these days.
Some people have no sense of humor…
Yep. Some don’t
And they’re trading Watson to Minnesota?
Yep
Lol….have you SEEEEEEEN Watson’s cap hit lol….nobody got time for that but the Browns.
Ben and I were being facetious
2 years for JT??
2 years?
yeah I’ll pass on that…he had a lot of miles in cheese land and now is showing signs of wear and tear….he’ll want too much. Now I could be wrong and he returns to form he is a force….just not worth the risk.
How about Quinton Nelson instead?
I think the trade comp would be the biggest issue. Colts won’t give him away.
A short deal… 2 years is what I was saying. has a Market value of around 13m.
2/24 with incentives pushing it higher.
Kirk
JT
JJ
KJ
JA
Hock
What does 2 years mean?
Hes on the franchise tag. No long term deal can be done until March
It’s probably a terrible idea honestly. Cook ran for what last year, 1200 last year? Do we think JT has a 1500+ yard season still? He ran for 1800 two seasons ago, 800 last year. I don’t so I don’t think we see much of a lift from him.
Is the platform here a cousin of Coral from the DN, I keep getting logged out.
Good to see both Addison and Nailor back at practice today. Now just stay healthy!
Keep em all healthy.
This is the headline on the Viking Age website:
Polarizing Vikings defender injured in Monday’s practice
Minnesota Vikings safety Lewis Cine had to finish practice early after sustaining an injury
“Polarizing” they must have been reading Lifer and Mick’s posts here… grin.
I am an influencer.
Sure
Let’s be honest it’s my onlyfans posts that’s pulling in the traffic here…
@The goat Cine@ injured
Was that the leg that exploded?
Mick right now……
Per Vikes Central on X ( if you believe that to be reputable I have no idea)
“Vikings will make multiple trades within the next 10 days or so.
They have some work to do, and upgrading a few positions is key for this front office.
You heard it here first. #sko
“
Well, we’ll see. The team has some needs. Kinda weird waiting till all of OTA’s and training camp is over to bring in a bunch of new players though. Do you think Flores is telling KAM he doesn’t have the guns to make his defense work? Will we fix the interior O-line?
Additions to one or both would be nice. I dont think the timing is TOO weird, they are seeing what they got in practice and fear it may not be enough, pull the trigger. Im curious.
One can only hope we find some additional talent, for sure.
Trade for what though?? I mean trade means getting a player a team plans to keep on the 53 so we’re talking starter level I would assume so we aren’t seeing 10 of those naturally. Picking up cut players is not a trade so I’m confused on what this source is even talking about. There are a couple trades I’d like to see….KJ and Booth and a 2nd for Wilkins from the Fins would be glorious.
KJ could be expendable. I do like him and consider him one of the better WR3s in the league. Our WR room does have talent.
Can only trade players you control. Who on the team has trade value we can afford to part ways with? Reagor? Yes, but he hasn’t done much in his years in the league thus far. Wonnum? Maybe.
Kirk, KJ, trade picks for a guard, Reagor was a first round pick so somebody might bite still, one of the TEs
Laughing… you know they can’t trade Cousins Bow…
Right now we control 91 guys. Some teams may be willing to do a low round trade if they’re really interested in a guy and don’t want to risk losing him in waivers. Doesn’t happen a lot but it can.
90… we don’t control Cousins… grin.
Fair play…no trade clause!
: )
The number of times fans talk about trading a player = 1000
The number of times trades actually happen = 1
Wisdom.
They’ll never trade GRETZKY!
If WE don’t want Booth on our DB-lite team, nobody in the NFL wants him on their team.
They’ll maybe make a trade. VC has no connections or inside scoops. I somewhat know the guy
Well Mick’s chickens give him all the inside coop scoop so…..
You wish you had the ability to go in to the coop to get the scoop.
I got 12 eggs from the neighbors hens just today fella! I got the scoop and then some!
Interesting. Yeah anything on Twitter should be taken with a giant grain of salt.
Well, we do need more TE’s and WR’s.
Laughing… spot on DE!
So I cut my grass today, big news I know, while executing my superior landscaping skills (that’s for you MT) I was listening to PA and the whatever the fuck he calls that lame show 9 to noon or something, he was really breaking down the preseason stuff and he was adamant they aren’t showing shit on either side of the ball in any preseason game or even the joint practices. Nothing. So we aren’t going to see the starters and anything they run is as vanilla as Mick’s takes.
That’s been my take the last two boring ass games.
Glad PA can get you to belive it.
I’m envious as grass season is over and we are squarely in grasshopper season.
Grass season is never over Doc….
LOL!
A sort of newbie silly question and I am not trying to get under anyone’s skin.
Are internet fans different than the normal fans that go to games or watch on TV?
Reading some of the comments today, seems like folks sort of go out the way to present the team in like the least favorable light. I mean there’s only going to be one team to win the SB, and if I was betting, I’d take the Chiefs. But hell, I can feel good about the Vikings going into the season.
Been my experience the last 5 years here that internet blogs are full of naysayers and people who personally attack and denigrate you. You and I are men of a certain age and the internet environment doesn’t cotton to us.
yes, you need to win the magic internet points for being right.
And with the Vikings, being right means picking against them.
Hence the “negative” light.
Do you think fans on the internet don’t go to games or watch them? Im confused by your question. I frequent here and Reddit, but I also watch every game, usually with my group of Vikings friends and or my Dad when I make it home to visit and Iv been to two games. I dont view them as anywhere close to a SB team, does that make me invalid?
I was not artful as I presented that. I don’t view them as winning the SB either, but that was not the point. I guess, at the highest level, I don’t go out of the way to point out why they won’t. Why would I? I don’t see any value in that.
Some people revel in negativity, or as they call it, “reality”.
And, I mishit something. The thinking of the difference.
A year or so back when I just creeped I was reading a discussion thats sort of interesting. Zim was getting absolutely ripped by everyone for not benching Cousins and playing Mond the last game to see what he had. Think it was year before last. Then one guy posts like absolutely not, I’ve finally got tickets and am taking my 8 year old son who wears a Cousins jersey ever Sunday.
I get the intelligent reason for playing Mond, but probably more agree with the sentiments of the father taking his son.
Well, I have only once lived in a city that had a professional sports franchise (namely, Edmonton) and my fandom and their dynasty years easily predate the internet. I can tell you that even when the Oilers were reeling off Stanley Cup championships like a Pez dispenser there were plenty of fans that thought they needed improvement in one area or another…Paul Coffey was seen snorting coke at the local dance club…Wayne Gretzky needs to toughen up…blah blah blah. Surely you have heard this from Yankees fans?
Wasn’t what I meant. Believe me, I’m fully aware of bitching by fans. Now, whether they turn over every stone or go to the end of the earth to gather some off the wall stat to put the team down, is another matter.
that’s different than saying Joe Blow can’t hit a curve worth crap.
Oh got you. We are in agreement. I just gloss over that silly stuff. I like the Vikings, I’d still like the Vikings if they were 0-17, they could trade JJ, KC, Addison, Hunter and KJ to the Bucs for future considerations and I’d still be a fan.
The internet give the more vocal fans a voice.
And it’s an “anonymous” voice so they have no accountability, which leads to a lot of the behavior we see.
Not everyone, but most people find it harder to be a prick when they have to look the other person in the eye. Plus, if you are in the parking lot of the home team, you probably need to be careful what you say or you may get beat up.
I’m not saying everyone behaves that way. Just saying it’s the reason some do. Keyboard Warrior = Coward sometimes.
BTW…you’re the last (literally) person I’d put on that list. You’re as genuine as they come.
The Vikings have no realistic chance at winning the SB but if people want to believe they do that’s fine
Apparently not Ben. Positive vibes are not acceptable.
Damn Ben I didn’t know that. Guess I;ll become a Chiefs fan
Whatever makes you happy
Many of us are just being realistic.
I really can’t be overly optimistic when the best the team has done consistently is go about .500 and go one and done.
When the team is in the playoffs every year and starts to win playoff games, I might get a little more optimistic.
I think the Vikings are about as competitive a team as there is in the league at the moment. Hopefully the defense can be better this year, and the offense starts really soaring.
The goal isn’t to be competitive.
It’s to go for super bowls. At least for me, and if I believe players and coaches.
The goal is always to win the Super Bowl. You do that by winning games. You take each game one at a time and compete as hard as you can. If a team lacks the ability to compete, there’s no shot at a Super Bowl. The Vikings have a shot to win any game they play. They have enough offense, and they have some good talent on defense too.
Perhaps this is the difference. I can be realistic as hell, but see little value in total, cold, stone faced analysis like at work
When is the last time the Vikings went to the SB? that’s a lot of empty, disappointing years if i think like that. In stead, since football is entertainment to me,hay, they went 13 -4, had some luck, but had a crappy defense. I can see chances for improvement and going further in playoffs. Probably not SB, but we are headed in right direction. Perhaps simple, I’d rather be hopeful.
Well stated.
Following their loss to the Titans on Saturday, the Vikings are now on a 9-game preseason losing streak, the longest preseason losing streak in the entire NFL
Just asking, does it matter?
When I was a kid the Yankees came in last in the Grapefruit League every year and won the World Series about half the time.
Oh no, it doesn’t matter at all. The fact that someone found this stat and posted it on a Vikings twitter account made me laugh.
KOC has more preseason losses than regular season losses as well.
So.. as many preseason losses as his reg/postseason losses.
Nice pull.
Name of your sex tape
Of course
Believe I heard today the ravens have won like 20 something straight preseason games
The Ravens are on the longest NFL preseason winning streak in history and during that time, they’ve won just as many Super Bowls as the Vikings.
Site has a hard time loading comments. You have to refresh 75x a day?
Its free, you dont have a right to bitch about it. – NLNVF
Yep… you’re learning KFEY… keep paying attention.
Learning more and more I disagree with you that is lol
No problem with anyone disagreeing with me.
For $2.99 / month we will make it better. – Skoldiers
Id pay if it meant features would be added that would make the experience better. Right now we are getting what we pay for for free
I am not having an issue… My phone was a bit slow but I was at a volleyball game and Don’t know if they amount of people had something to do with it.
No your phone is fine it’s you that’s slow.
Any chance the starters play at all this weekend?
Doubt it.
I really don’t see a need to but thats just my opinion.
Probably right.
Has hell frozen over?
Nope, I wouldnt watch unless you are interested in 3rd and 4th stringers playing the most basic plays on both sides of the ball.
and watching Clayton Tune.
No, why would they sign that 4ty string QB if they were
https://twitter.com/lukebraunnfl/status/1693710929526198321?s=46&t=AdH8EkoWFhFabiApkD6FWQ
That was a nice play, havent had a good gunner since Patterson.
He hurt himself on that play…nothing bad but has a tweak. PA reported it.
Believe he was sent into concussion protocol
Skolly bust scream in
3
2
1….
lol, of course he is.
Oh look what KAM did now.
Kams out here knee cappin people
It’s Chuck Norris
I do have a bit of a conundrum. I have a heavy as crap fire hydrant inside a big garbage pail filled with water and a massive scum of disgusting rust and extruded paint. I need to get said pail from the column in my shop I strapped it to with a tie down out onto the driveway so I can dump the crap onto the gravel. Was I smart enough to place the pail on a pallet or a creeper pad? Oh no. I sense a little squat workout tonight.
Use a hose and siphon the water out. So as not to suck in the disgusting water, use an air compressor to get the water flowing.
If you don’t want to cut into a good garden hose, use some shorter hose you have and then just feed that into a garden hose.
Bow gets my thanks for the day.
I DID NOT know the air compressor hack. Thank you! I have a shop compressor. Woo hoo.
No problem, good luck. Work smarter, not harder.
A real man sucks it with his mouth.
I don’t think we need to know what you’re doing on the weekends.
I’ve had plenty of petroleum products in my mouth thanks to the aspiration siphon technique. Is K-Y Jelly a petroleum product?
All my compressors blow air……….how ya gonna get water flowing?
My shop vac sucks air, though…….and it’s a wet/dry vac.
You cut a slit at the end of the hose, use a spray nozzle and blow air out the hose, thereby creating a vacuum behind it.
Oh, like a suction dredge on Bering Sea Gold……..if he has a section of hose he doesn’t mind cutting.
Otherwise, take the cloth filter off the shopvac and stick the end of the garden hose inside the vacuum hose to get ‘er going.
Greta would not be pleased.
I don’t know if you guys remember the Packers first play of the season last year (against the Vikings) but it was go route to Christian Watson who was wide open and he dropped a perfect throw from Rodgers. Would have been an electrifying TD to start the Packers season, and set the stage for tons of Watson adulation. Alas… he dropped it (luckily for us).
Does KOC have the nuts to call that play to Addison this year on our first offensive play?
Hand off to Maddison for -1 gain. Then a quick dump off to CJ for a 3 yard gain. Gotta get Kirk comfy out there first.
Do we HAVE a CJ? We must – we have all the other Js…….
Ham
Does Kirk have the guts to throw it and will he even have time to if it is called and he wants to go there?
He would probably run the safer 2nd play call rather than gamble on that
I remember that play. It’s unlikely. Different players though. Addison has adequate speed – but not really a ‘take the top off a defensive’ guy like Watson. I could be wrong and Addison ends up a quality deep threat, but I see him doing more work underneath and mid-range over being a deep threat.
Not against a Todd Bowles defense on the first play of the game/season.
I’ve been asking for this for probably 10 years.
hasn’t happened yet.
Run to Cook usually.
Maybe, but would prefer play action and go route to JJ.
It’ll be a crossing route 4 yards from the line of scrimmage to TJ.
Na, throw it deep and even if it’s incomplete let the defense know what they’re in for all day.
Winner, winner, chicken dinner!!!
Checkdown to Mattison, who gains 8.
Some upstanding citizen crowbarred open our mailbox at work this weekend. It is a metal mailbox encased in stone. They destroyed the locked portion at the bottom where the mail sits. Who would you call to repair a broken mailbox? it is beyond my abilities to fix it.
Nothing is beyond CMyWilly’s capability.
Who would think mail is that important to do that to steal it?
People who know we receive check payments from businesses that still like to pay via check.
They need to get with the times. DD is where its at
something something stealing mail something something federal crime…..
Before you fix it/have it fixed have the authorities been notified?
Yes, called the local police. They will do absolutely nothing. We had a check stolen with our prior mailbox. They erased the name and put theirs on it. Nothing ever came of their “investigation”. Check was originally addressed to an Alabama address and it was cashed in Chicago.
Yep, I just used a little liquid paper. I have an honest face above my COVID mask.
It’s a federal crime. Couldn’t you notify the FBI, not that they are going to do anything either.
USPS
for those interested…
@Should be an A. The OL sucks so it’s not his fault@
But overall, I don’t think he was bad, given that he is playing with and against guys who likely won’t be on the roster.
That and there is 0 scheming going into these games. Its just standard run and pass plays, O line block straight ahead. The real growth is going to be in practice.
Tyler Forno’s (Rythms with…….) 53 roster picks for RB’s and WR’s:
WR’s How many: 4
Keeping five running backs is something that the team did last season and could easily do again with McBride having been a seventh-round pick this year. However, his performance isn’t one that you can keep on the 53-man roster right now. That can change over the next two weeks, but as it sits, McBride won’t make the roster.
—————————————————————————–
WR’s How many: 6
After being at six last week, it goes down to five with other position groups performing better. Jalen Nailor doesn’t make the final 53-man roster with the expectation that he gets placed on either injured reserve or the Physically Unable to Perform list.
—————————————————————————————-
He also thinks they keep Jalen Hall.
Nothing to surprising really, except that Nailor is hurt.
I could be mistaken, but I don’t recall us ever rolling with only four wide receivers.
I didn’t realize Mattison, Chandler, Wang and Ham were WRs either.
LOL..
My bad.
RB’s …..
What did cheater do now?
This is about something that went down during covid.
He visited with some recruit live or something.
They HAD an earlier agreement that the NCAA pulled.
UofM is trying to appear like they care on their own, so that post season isn’t touched if or when the NCAA decides to lay down their own penalties.
How dare someone visit with someone in person! What do they think this is, America?
15. Minnesota Vikings
Post-draft ranking: 1
On the hot seat: QB Kirk Cousins
Cousins is in a contract year for the fourth time in his career but the first since he signed with the Vikings in 2018. The Vikings decided against extending his current deal in March. There is no obvious heir on the roster, but at the very least, 35-year-old Cousins will have to ward off any hints of a physical decline to secure a new deal. On the other hand, a huge season could propel him to a bigger payday in free agency next offseason. — Kevin Seifert
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/38209757/nfl-preseason-power-rankings-2023-teams-coaches
He’s gone but @trust in KAM he has a plan@
Let someone else waste their Cap % hit on him for Mid record and 1 play off win.
Someone will and it won’t be the Vikes. You’ll be happy
Yes, yes I will. You should as well, the future elite Vikings roster building begins at that very moment and we have new hope. Not sure why you are scared of that and don’t want it.
I never said I didn’t want it. I’m down for that but I want to get a QB high and for KAM to have a plan. The future at QB is not on the roster.
Like been said… if the plan was to dump cousins they should’ve drafted Picketts in 2022 or gotten a QB high this year.
He could still land Caleb Williams so I’ll hold off but we’re in a tough spot next year given we’ll be picking in the 20s again
This assumes a playoff win
I think we win one playoff game
8-9. Miss WC by one game.
Maybe 2 if defense improves.
Tis the season for crazy talk….
Not that far off. Offense could easily get to top five second year in system.
Defense, maybe with Flores and hearing all the good stuff aboutCine, maybe 15 – 18. Can win a couple with that.
As long as the QB doesn’t throw short on 4th and 8 when it matters the most…….
Defense will be in the 20s, Offense could get figured out by the league and be mid.
Could….. and it may rain tomorrow too.
Say Dallas turn their defense around with one player. Maybe we can turn around too.
Must we chose glum and doom to look forward.
*gloom
and I agree.
I choose optimism.
Im optimistic, but skeptical until proven other wise. Trust but verify as they say. I dont WANT them to be mid, I just think they will be. There’s a difference.
I don’t want mid either and I believe our offense can carry us to division title. Now, our defense has to improve, especially after that.
If Flores can coax enough out of the defense for them to approach league average, the Vikings could be a really good team this season. Big if. Zim did it, maybe Flores can, too.
Zim had loads more talent to work with.
Winning one of the lesser divisions should not be the end goal and isnt much to hang your hat on.
It’s not my hat hanging banner and it’s the division we play in – we have no choice.
I’d simply rather get there as division champs than as a wildcard.
Fair enough. Having that home field is always helpful thats for sure. Going to Philly would suck. 49ers and or Cowboys would be meh as far as home field advantage.
So, by definition, you’re not optimistic.
That’s fair.
Debbie Downer says “Opposing teams have had another year to digest our IOL problems, and there are a couple games on tape showing how to shut JJ down.”
That could wipe out any gains the offense would make.
Hopefully not.
Positive Pete says ‘Vikes coaches see that tape too and are scheming to beat it if/when the need arises…’
and it will.
Skol
I’m pretty sure they knew last year our IOL had problems.
No doubt JJ will get a lot of attention. Other guys are capable of picking it up.
I can agree with that. I really do wonder that their plan is, perhaps future draft capitol / trades? Or use next year as a bridge year with a cheap vet and go for the QB in 2025?
The lack of any clarity whatsoever in said plan is why so many of us Kirk crusaders want to keep him. Unless they can get in the top 3 picks in next yrs draft there are zero good options other than tanking with Hall next year and pushing out a 5 yr plan to build a contender. If that’s the case trade JJ, Darrisaw, Hock, O’Neil, let Hunter walk and get ready for some ugly years building up draft collateral for the rebuild.
Us pleb fans dont know what their plan is, they have one, they just arent vocalizing it because however far this team makes it this year is going to dictate a lot. Also, you can get your QB in 2025, not just 2024. And also a 2 year rebuild/restock can be done with out getting rid of our best players lmao. Why do you insist we get rid of our best players if we get rid of Kirk, you can do one with out the other and be fine lol. ONE down year isnt going to make every good player want to bail. Those are your overreactive emotions, not the teams or players.
Most likely, it wouldn’t be just one down year. Even if you draft the best QB in the draft in 24, it will still take a year or two for said QB to develop into a contender.
I’m okay with that, but I don’t think the owners are ready to lose out on ticket sales.
Exactly. And welp, if they truly want a SB they are going to have to be okay with some down years. Even if they are a below .500 team, the Vikings turn out is ALWAYS great, they would be fine for sales.
It’s been since 2012 that we haven’t sold out, but there were a string of games from 2007-2012 (minus 2009 of course) that didn’t sell out, so there IS a history of fans losing faith as soon as shit turns south.
Pre-98 there were a lot of games that were blacked out do to not selling out.
That was 25 years ago, the league and how games are viewed and broadcast has changed A LOT.
So you don’t believe that if the Vikings are sub 500 for 2-3 years, the fan base will leave or not spend money on the team?
They have been sub .500 several times and the Wilfs still weren’t scraping to sell tickets.
Thank you. That is spot on.
Dumdum Skolly thinks because KAM hasn’t told him his plan, he must not have one. I actually think KAM is much more of a planner than Rick ever was. Spielman, who did a lot of good things, was a knee-jerk GM whereas as KAM is clearly much more measured in his approach. I’m not saying I’ve figured out KAM’s plan, but I can tell he has one, and I also can’t say it’s going to work, because it’s too early and there are too many unknowns, particularly at QB, to figure it out yet. But I’m willing to give him another season or two before I rush to judgement.
Bottom line is that KAM took over an aging roster with several bloated contracts. He’s come a long way toward cleaning that up and we’re going to have a lot more options in terms of how spending gets prioritized heading into the next 2 seasons.
Boom, exactly. These new guys were brought in to make THEIR team with THEIR QB. While also figuring out who to keep from the old regime. They are not risking their careers on other peoples players, trades, mistakes etc. Imo this is year one of cleaning house, there may be another year or two yet to come.
At first blush, I was going to ask how sure are you he has a plan.
But, some thought, if we have a good year and the offense does really well, we will sign Cousins. If we have a mediocre year, let him walk and draft/FA a new one. That the plan?
I don’t have all the answers but despite my comment above about KAM not revealing his plan, I do think he’s actually been very consistent in revealing a key element of his plan, without giving away too much detail that could undermine their competitive position.
The one word he’s used more than anything from the pressers I’ve heard and articles I’ve read is “flexibility”. Given the player/contract situation he inherited, step 1 had to be making some tough decisions to free up money, so they can start the process of building the team he and KOC want going forward. He’s largely done that and we will begin to reap the benefits of that flexibility, assuming they use it correctly, next season. That’s, I’m assuming, also why they balked at meeting Kirk’s “3-years, fully guaranteed” demand (according to reports). I don’t think they were as concerned about the money as they were about the term because “time” is also a key constraint when it comes to flexibility.
Even if they do re-sign Kirk, which unlike some I think can and may still happen, I think they want to know a little more about what they have in him and also use 2023 as a measuring stick to the limited foundation they currently have around the QB position, on both sides of the ball.
Ultimately, they’re doing what they said they were going to do: attempt a “competitive rebuild”..they’ve been true to their word. It’s not easy but it takes patience and creating flexibility to support future roster decisions was the first step.
Ultimately, even if Kirk balls out and they re-sign him, they know that’s only a 2-3 year solution at QB. So, they still need to solve for the long-term prospect, one way or the other. If Kirk doesn’t ball out, then we ALL should know it’s time to move on, and we’ll likely be in a position to secure a potential QBOTF in a deep QB draft.
I think your post is pretty good. and I believe in competitive rebuild. And I think Kirk will be here next year, one way or the other.
I don’t think we’re as far away as some. No team has everything. Give me one league average guard and one stud in our front seven, and let’s see how we do.
And bout 3 starting corners and Depth in the trenches. We are lacking ALL of that. No team has it all, but many teams have more than we do. At no point last year did we show we could hang with the big boys and beat a legit play off team but 10 + points.
No doubt – I would LOVE all of that.
My personal opinion why we can’t play with the big boys – physicality.
and this is pure hope, I hope Flores can do something about that.
We are building a consensus JR.
skolifer echoing what I’ve been saying for months.
Agreed. And by Kirk balling out, in my mind, that does not just stats. It means getting to a NFCCG AND Performing well in that game. Thats my personal bar. If he falls short of that, its time, bye bye.
And to be fair, you and I know Kirk, JJ, Hock et all could play their asses off and we could lose like 41-38.
Sure, if the offense puts up a fight and competes on that big a stage, that would give me some hope and would go a long way to changing my mind.
I’m sure they have a plan. They just aren’t sharing that information with the public.
“Elite Vikings roster building” – WHO is going to do that?
Could be Kam, could be someone else, im not going to act like I know what the next 3-5 years could bring (neither do you), but it needs to start somewhere. Kicking the same can down the road for half a decade has set this team back by MORE than half a decade.
At this point, I have little confidence in KAM.
Unlike you, I think there are a number of ways to get the job done. And, I’m not all in on tanking to get the job done as you like.
Fair enough. Time will tell.
Yep – the games do have a way of purifying all the predictions.
The Vikings will be just as mediocre or worse for the next decade after we release Cousins.
A decade? lmao, no. 2 years tops. The bar is literally being above .500 because until last years fluke record, thats what Cousins led teams were. You have a loser mentality when it comes to change and the future and I disagree with it all together.
You are always a pleasure to chat with. Don’t take things so personal and don’t make things so personal.
And I disagree with you all together. Throughout the many years that I have watched Viking football, so many have always wanted to blame a player or few for all of our mediocracy. Getting rid of Cousins will not be our salvation.
Is keeping him the answer though or just extended limbo? Moving on could go horribly wrong but if keeping him is only guaranteed non-suckage and nothing more, what’s the point?
5 years of, “if only we had a defense, OL, coach, play caller, xxxxxxxx……” is enough for me.
We are going for year 6 this year and people want more of it.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
The definition of insanity is getting rid of the best QB the Vikings have almost ever had, and thinking THAT will bring them a Super Bowl.
You’re scared of change, and are comfortable with mediocrity and find shelter in it. You never win if you dont play the game in the first place. Keeping Kirk is the equivalent of not playing the game.
You are really afraid that folks are starting to see Cousins is really one of the best QB’s in the league, and everyone will recognize you are wrong about everything…
I’m waiting to see 5k yards and 40+TD’s this year.
JJ, KJ, and JA are better than Garcon and Jackson.
Hock is better than Reed.
The had a little bit better of an OL, it helped that Kirk was only sacked 23 times.
Since he’s been in MN the lowest sacks in a season he’s taken is 28…in 2019 and 2021.
Cousins could eclipse 5K yards and 40 TD’s this season if the O-line holds up a little more and KOC takes the lid off the offense. The Vikings have been forced to play a ball control “prevent offense” for years in an effort to protect the defense. Hold the ball as long as possible, and score as time runs out so the opposing team can’t get the ball back with 30 seconds left and no timeouts, yet still score and win the game.
We saw some of that last year.
Would’ve been better off just to run up the score as high as possible and win the shootout instead.
maybe that will be this years strategy.
I’m not sure what take the top off means, the Vikings threw the ball 63% of the time last year, more than any team other than TB an the chargers.
We did, but we didn’t attack defenses in a way that put them on their heels from the start of the game to the finish. Think the Eagles game in 2019, when Cousins hit Diggs for back to back 50+ yard TD’s. We were bombs away in that game, and we’ve never seen that offense since.
Because their secondary was one of the worst in the league that year, you should take advantage of that. Try that against a top Defense, see how far that goes.
It goes a long way. We have great skill position players. Or did you forget that in your cipherin?
No, im afraid people are going to continue being scared of change and we will be mired in mediocracy for another decade. I don’t care about Kirk, his accolades, his family, or his fans. I dont know him. And I KNOW im not wrong so, your projection is strong. Its okay to be afraid of the unknow future, embrace it. Welcome it.
False premise here and of course misguided. No one is afraid of anything. You have started to push this narrative as some sort of support for your argument. Unfortunately for you, it’s patently false.
Seriously Kfey, that is a ridiculous take. Just because someone disagrees with you they are blah, blah, blah. NLNVF isn’t afraid of change, he just doesn’t want to change the wrong piece.
He’s a decent QB. Worse ones have won SB rings, but they had better talent elsewhere to make up for it.
We have 2 glaring deficiencies. IOL, and nearly the whole defense.
Flores is the hopeful answer to making our D perform better. KAM needs to redirect his draft priorities and sign an impact guard rather than 3-year projects.
My fear is it will take too long to accomplish signing cheap rookie talent and Cousins will be pushing a walker.
Maybe the plan this year is to let Cousins play his ass off, then trade him for a boatload of picks?
Can’t trade him since he’s not under contract. Best they could hope for is a compensatory in 2025.
Gee, thanks.
Anytime
Maybe during the joint practices this week KAM will talk to Arizona’s GM and come up with a trade package for Murray.
Neither will keeping him. And im not blaming him for all of our problems. Im blaming him for some. Others are to blame as well. Keeping him wont get us a SB either, so you HAVE TO BE WILLING TO GAMBLE. You miss the shots you dont take. Period. You miss, you re coup, you try again until you get it right. Ask the Bengals, Eagles, Chiefs, Bills how that works.
You’re being foolish if you don’t think Kirk can lead this team to a super bowl.
Next year big things need to happen with a few guys regarding contracts, so this is essentially the last hurrah.
It’s possible to re-sign Kirk and those guys but it makes bringing FA’s in a little bit tougher and you’d really need to have those draft picks show up and show out this year.
Saying he can’t get the Vikings to a SB is silly though.
I think he can get A team to the SB, just not this team.
Not really, there’s maybe 2 or 3 QBs who could drag this team to a SB and Kirk ain’t one of them
It’s a tough go to get there either way.
Eli Manning drug the 9-7 Giants to a SB win in 2011 with the 25th ranked defense in points and the 27th ranked defense in yards.
Wasn’t pretty but he did it.
The Vikings aren’t winning the SB sorry to have to break it to you.
I didn’t say they were.
I said they could.
No, they couldn’t
The only part of this team that has been consistently good the last 5 years is the passing game. That’s it. The Vikings already have a great QB. They need the rest of the team to be better.
Disagree, and how am I the fool? You are the one literally staring history and past performances in the face and laughing at them. Those who ignore the past are doomed to repeat it (as we are). Kirk is who he is, and his flaws are in his head, under the big lights, in the biggest moments in the biggest games and he has proven every time he gets there, that he will make the wrong or safe move. Over and over. Thats not silly to observe that and think in his 11 season at age 35, he’s going to change that. Yeah im the fool. Okay Mick.
Matt Stafford says you are wrong.
So do Brad Johnson, Doug Williams, Jim McMahon, Eric Hostetler, and Trent Dilfer.
what about John Elway? Does he count too?
He was 37 and 38 when he won his SB’s
Dan Marino played in the NFL for a total of 17 seasons. He spent the entirety of his career with the Miami Dolphins and is widely regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play in the league.
Marino led Miami to 10 playoff appearances and one Super Bowl game in 1985. Unfortunately, the Dolphins suffered a 38-16 defeat against Joe Montana’s San Francisco 49ers in the one big game that Marino played in.
Being foolish and a fool is not the same thing.
Kirk can lead a team to a SB. He is good enough to do that.
In my example with Eli Manning, he led a just over .500 team to a SB win with a bottom 5 defense. Those are facts.
Kirk is a better QB than Eli Manning.
Eli Manning’s only wins in the playoffs came on SB runs. The other 4 times he was in the playoffs he was 0-3 in the WC and 0-1 in the divisional round
You can disagree, that’s ok. Saying he “cant” is wrong.
How about we gamble with the known fact that our OL sucks big time. Maybe that is where we should gamble.
Diggs is unhappy?
I. Am. Schocked.
If everywhere you go stinks… I have bad news for you.
yep, the more he whines like the little bitch he is, the happier I am that he will not win a championship
As usual, his “sources” are between his ears. Smith’s mouth is so big he couldn’t hear what any “sources” are saying any way.
RAHHHHHHHHHWH HALL SO ELITE WITH HIS 46.9 PFF RATING RAHHHHHW
LITERALLY NO ONE HERE OR ANYWHERE EVER SAID HALL WAS ELITE! STOP MAKING SHIT UP TO STROKE YOUR DUMB PRO KIRK NARRATIVE
Then dont make autistic posts in all caps and you wont get that type of reply back.
Cut him!
Cut DJ, trade KJ extend TJ.
Wouldn’t be opposed to that. TJ not a lock for extension like people think. Dudes gonna want Kittle/Kelce level money. KAM gonna pay that especially if we have Hall/Mullens/Rookie throwing balls next season.
You got more J’s in that than Mjolnir has on his front porch.
Unlikely….
I like Jones better than him, who would play his snaps though?
Luigi?
Yeah him or Carter I guess?
Anyone know if this guy sucks?
I was told last week that they signed him because Hall sucks.
they signed him last week?
It was reported Thursday or Friday at least. Maybe those posts were just psychic.
I guess so, I remember something last week about them bringing in a QB for a visit, must have been him.
USFL reported it last week, Friday.
Don’t know when the Vikings made it official.
Must have officially signed today.
I wonder what someone at this level is really thinking?
Like they still believe they have a shot at being on an NFL roster, when in all likelihood, he is around for about a week until roster cuts.
Worst case he gets to play a little more football and collect a nice check.
Fast paycheck to cover rent for a few more months.
With a haircut like that, he is a solid backup. Guaranteed.
How about this one?
Wasting a roster spot. Cut him.
Automatic fail. I don’t know why they even bothered. A hairdo like that says it all. He is all about the idea of being an NFL player, not actually being an NFL player.
My fam has cabin up north, no I don’t say grey duck, everyone knows there’s more, yes a telescoping one.
Is there a healthy level of cheese obsession?
IDK, but there’s definitely an unhealthy one, is there a healthy level of egg obsession?
As long as it’s slushed… ya good.
I’ve lived in Wisconsin for a long time, but maybe what saved me is that I was not born here. I’ve never called it a bubbler (and while living in Wis, I’ve rarely heard anyone else say that either), I’ve never liked the Packers, I’ve never been drunk and I like cheese in a normal way.
Being drunk is horrible.
Getting old sucks.
I’m working on a fire hydrant project (I’ll share some pics when I get done) and set up the hydrant in a big old plastic garbage pail for electrolysis. Started filling it up with water and the pail leaked so I had to lift that heavy mofo into another pail and reset all my wiring. After that we had nine trusses that Menards had f’d up and my wife gracefully volunteered the two of us to carve them up to get out of the contractors way. She was great help all things considered but I was running the chainsaws and helping toss and sort wood, move it to a couple of pallets and stack it. My 30 year old Husqvarna finally drove me to rage, damn thing is harder to start than Aaron Rodgers latest squeeze, I can’t adjust the chain tension anymore cuz the clutch cover is broken (and they don’t make replacement parts), and the chain came flying off which was the signal to toss it in the trash pile. Finished with the battery powered chainsaw and a sawzall. Took like 4 1/2 hours and I am one SORE fella today.
Get yourself a Stihl and some Icy Hot.
My wife caught me looking at chainsaw reviews in bed last night. “OMG!” I don’t use the gas powered chainsaw very much, the battery one does a good job of limbing and I typically use the tractor to drag old cottonwood deadfall into a big pile and set it afire in the winter.
Icy Hot would be good.
Dumb two year old Lab got me up at 0330 for some reason or another. He was sniffing around the fence and I thought if he takes off after a critter I’m too sore to go out after him.
TL:DR – MT is getting old.
You’ll get there one day young buck.
Im already feeling it.
MT, I’ve been meaning to tell you my wife and I just recently started watching Yellowstone. I can’t remember if you’ve seen it but I think about you every time we watch. We just started season 4 yesterday…great show. We will be on to 1883 and 1923 once we finish the first series.
In the meantime, I didn’t realize automatic weapons and bombs were such a big part of daily MT culture. Keep your head down.
I love that show. There is a little dramatic license.
Love that show, but 1883 and 1923 are both much better.
Although the narration gets old, the story and action is better imo.
I just watched all the seasons on Parmount. That and getting NFL Network back are the benefits of being stuck with my sister’s provider, which I hate.
I need to get a real chainsaw also. I have a 16″ Poulan. We had some high winds last week and we got up Thursday morning to a tree laying over the driveway. My little chainsaw couldn’t handle the big part of the tree, so I cut off some of the top so my wife could drive through the yard to get around it. My neighbor came down after work with his big winch machine and drug it off for me. Good neighbors are good.
Yup mine has a 14″ bar and is too small to cut through the cottonwood deadfall. I need to get a 24″er.
You should have bought a new one long ago you cheapskate!
Talk to the CFO – she is the one who (rightfully) points out I haven’t used it in a year and that I can still jury rig the tension adjustment screw to maintain tension for a couple of pull cuts, and the reason it doesn’t start is cuz “you flooded it…or choked it…or pulled the rope too quickly…or pulled the rope too slowly” The sort of thing that endears husband to their wives, after the 200th yank on the starting rope and they start throwing out the advice.
“and they start throwing out advice”
@that’s the best@
Yeah, my wife will offer “suggestions” once in a while like “do you think its out of gas?” I just say thanks keep quiet. I mentioned wanting to get a riding mower the other day and my wife just rolled her eyes at me. I think I’ll wait until the spring to ask about it again
Here’s the 3-step method to getting your riding mower.
1 – This winter, mount your blade backwards.
2 – Next spring fake an ankle injury 2 days before you plan to mow the first time.
3 – Offer helpful ‘suggestions’ as she is struggling with mowing the lawn, like “You’ll get a better cut if you slow down.” and “Riding mowers are geared differently so they cut better when you move fast.”
She’ll soldier through for about an hour, then BOOM, you get your rider.
I’ve had various riding mowers for around 30 years. My wife hasn’t mowed in at least 5 years and rarely before that. She will occasionally ask if I would like her to mow and I think about what a bad job she would do and I say, “I’ll be fine.”
Struggling to get my 13-yr-old to understand the overlapping concept when making turns…..his corners look like this:
My wife likes to bathe, I like to shower. When we were first planning to build our shouse (remember we never planned full time living here) we compromised and put in a bathtub with a rainhead shower. My wife hates the rainhead as apparently by the time the rain reaches her head the droplets are approaching the speed of light while my bald dome lies just under the head so they haven’t accelerated as much.
In planning for the new shower, she wants a wall mounted showerhead and said the rainhead was a waste. I was advocating for both and a handheld as well. Sensing resistance I was chatting with the contractor about a shower system and said I had found a digital system that monitored the blend temps automatically, would switch from head to head automatically, etc…only drawback was it was $4000…WHAT! I heard exclaimed. She was gobsmacked I would waste money like that, said she was okay with a compromise of a manual diverter system with a rainhead and handheld if that is what I want but no $4000 digital system.
Hee hee hee like I would waste $4000 on a shower system.
I have a rainhead and a wall mount in one of our bathrooms. I have a single mixer handle for hot/cold adjustment and then tee-d from there to two handles that control the flow and pressure to each shower head. I had trouble finding valves to build it the way I wanted so I ended up buying a dual handle shower valve and cutting it (I was told there’s check valves so you can’t just install it upside down). Here is a pic from before the bathroom was finished, all in all only a couple hundred bucks in parts and if you don’t like the rainhead, don’t turn it on:
Said another way, you’re wife doesn’t want to take a shower with you.
I’ll just wait until the next time she wants to go mexico or buy some dumb expensive thing and remind of the lawnmower, it won’t be very long.
Go to the Board and have her removed. Tell her this is her replacement and see how she reacts.
It did hold out pretty well, though. Bought it for $149 in 1993 and I have cut down many a tree with that little beast.
Just don’t get caught looking at chainsaw reviews. You’d think I was looking at naked pics haha.
Yeah, imo when you can’t get replacement parts anymore its time to move on.
My dad is still on an acreage about 45 minutes from where I’m at. Fair amount of downed trees in the last month – spent a good 4 hours yesterday afternoon/evening cutting/clearing brush. Stifling heat but the work felt good to do. Took a ton of water breaks. Feeling it today. Getting old sucks at any age. I think I’ll quit doing it.
My sister and her hubby bought 60 acres of hunting land. They had one of those whitetail biologists come study the property and make suggestions for food plots, stand locations, etc. This past winter a logger came in and did selective cutting, taking popple and mature oak.
He cut the logs to length, leaving the short ends and butts in a massive pile. I spent yesterday morning swinging the maul, splitting 36″ oak rounds into fireplace chunks. There’s enough oak there to supply our campfires for 5 years, without even firing up the chainsaw. 10 years when it’s time to cut the ‘undesireable’ logs they left behind – rotted centers, but will make awesome chimney logs.
That’s good old fashioned hard work. Well done.
But I couldn’t even comb my hair this morning.
Just turned 60. Golf, rowing machine, and walking and yoga. If I am not doing one of those things I am sitting on my ass.
Once my wife is tired of doing yardwork, we are getting a Townhouse.
My knees hurt today from wearing dress shoes all day Saturday. I cannot imagine trying the stuff you do around the shouse
How’d the undrafted guy (Pace?) do this weekend?
Well, however he is showing a weakness that was showing why he may have went undrafted aside form his height. He does not play the run well.
Man, I thought he was basically all pro already.
From a pass rush and coverage aspect, he does look really good, but, unless he can fix the run part of his game he may just be a rotational/ pass rush specialist, which is still valuable. He has a good head on his shoulders, something I wish Cine had.
So we shouldn’t have created his HOF bust already?
I dont think anyone is doing that, and im sure you’re just being sarcastic but, for a UDFA he does look really good at rushing the passer, so the hype I think is legit but…not HOF level hype. I will take any help we can get on this paper thin defense.
Yeah he’s looked like he at least belongs on the field, I hope he keeps getting better.
Good but not as good as preseason game 1
Probably one of the wildest sequences in college football that I can remember (sound on). Clowney never lived up to the hype but just signed with the Ravens.
Was that a Dallas game where the ref pulled out a folded up piece of paper like a playing card and slid it between the nose of the ball and the stick?
Yeah, makes no sense. Did you ever see this on Clowney?
Skip is an dumb dumb.
Lol Skip
I get the whining and moaning because that game sucked to watch. No one stuck out as a good player for the Vikes.
I also get the point that it’s just preseason. These guys are backups for a reason, and we’ve got some good skill players on both sides.
I am concerned though as it seems our depth is lacking and the defensive system might have the same issues as last year.
All reasonable concerns and things I had been voicing since the end of last season. This team STILL lacks depth at crucial positions on both sides of the ball and its going to take time to add legit bodies to the ranks. As in multiple seasons. And expecting our defense to magically be better because of DC change is childish thinking. We might go from 30th ranked defense to 20th – 25th. Its improvement, but not good enough. I look forward to the true rebuild.
Depth is tough around the entire league.
losing a top player will hurt even the best teams.
Agreed, that fact is not lost on me. But…theres teams with far superior depth than we have in the trenches at the moment, and thats where we want to get to, 49ers, KC, levels of depth. Its going to be a process
Hmm…
SUPERSTAR
.
He sucks and got cut.
That’s impossible because after reading some of today’s comments, I’m convinced the preseason teaches us everything we need to know about young players.
I look at it like this, if they play good in the preseason they might still suck but also could be good. If they suck in the preseason they just suck.
I look at it like this, the preseason plays a big role in who does/doesn’t make the team, especially the young guys, but it’s just one glimpse into a player’s development…the coaches see them every day and know their assignments, etc. Whereas we make judgements based on very limited information.
So, whether we think a young player does or doesn’t suck really doesn’t have much bearing on whether they’ll be successful long-term. Yes, it’s more likely they won’t suck if they don’t suck and will suck if they do suck, but it’s the fucking preseason.
Our 2nd/3rd line defense lined up against the Titans 1st team O-line most/all of the first half. So, for example, the Cine missed tackle so many folks are worked up about probably doesn’t even happen if our 1st team D-line is in there because Cine likely wouldn’t have been on an island trying to make an open field tackle. That said, the good news is that he got a good lesson in how not to tackle in a meaningless game. And he’s already shown an ability to turn prior mistakes (i.e. trying to blow guys up in game 1) and turn them into progress (i.e. trying to wrap guys up in game 2).
The jury is still out either way…I’m not saying he’s going to live up to his draft position. But to suggest we know enough to call him a bust at this point is just stupid, even if it turns out down the road the Bust Buddies are right.
Also, most of the guys that played a lot of the game won’t be with us or any team in a few weeks.
If we are talking about Cine I would not say he sucks but also he has not been great. I like the play he made down around the goal line to stop Willis short. He should do things like that more.
How long do you give a 1st round draft pick before making a judgement on bust/non bust status?
If drafted by the Vikings, 1 training camp.
2 days
2-3 season, IMO. That said, all I really know is given Cine’s circumstances, anyone calling him a bust at this point is just an angry idiot.
I will say; however, my timeline is beginning to move up on Booth. He’s had much more opportunity than Cine to make a case for himself and although he’s been oft injured, when he has played he hasn’t really flashed at all. At least Cine has shown some potential in the past 2 games, and he’s had far less opportunity than Booth to improve due to his season ending injury. And when Booth has played, he’s looked mostly lost.
Reasonable.
For 1st and 2nd rounders, if you aren’t contributing by the middle of the second year, it aint looking good, IMO
Yeeeeesh he was cut too and Hall hasn’t even sniffed a TD
Wasn’t it Hall who got them down to the 1 for McBride’s TD?
That’s more than sniffing.
Shh, that doesn’t fit his doom narrative.
My observations from the game:
Good:
McBride played like less of a McBitch
I like this Nick Muse kid at TE
Malik Willis is an absolutely awful thrower of the football, even sucks against 3rd stringers, he somehow made Troy Dye look good, yikes
Meh:
Cine made plays both good and bad
Mullens
Preseason football sucks but at least its football
I was hoping to see that soulless ginger, milk hating, mayo in his coffee freak Will Levis play but he was apparently “dinged up”
Sucks:
if either tackles get hurt the Vikings are screwed, my god does Udoh suck something awful
The backup interior olinemen suck too, but its less obvious because the starters suck so bad at pass blocking you almost don’t notice the difference
Hall sucks
The defense sucks against the run
Booth sucks
KAM sucks
Levis is obviously an injury prone bust. The Titans GM is a clown.
Correct, cut him.
He needs to be deported to an alternate universe.
Udoh is the worst. How can we still have him on the roster? How many years of failure and lack of improvement do the Vikings coaches need to see???
Our backup DL is terrible. They were constantly getting pushed back. It looked like we didn’t have a DL and just had 6 or 7 LBs because they were all 3 or 4 yards off the line.
Yeah, while not exactly impressive, I like Brandel a lot better than Udoh. Yeah the dline isn’t great in general but the backups look pretty bad.
That is your most accurate comment of the day.
Naw this is:
I also like Muse.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS Join the club my young padwon
My daughter and I are leaning towards going to the Vikings/Philly game.
Should be a raucous evening if we go.
If you go, do not wear anything that looks remotely like you’re a Vikings fan.
I will probably wear my JJ jersey.
I’m not worried.
A McNabb Vikings jersey would get you killed.
LOL.
Probably.
It’s not the Jersey so much as how you act.
I’ve seen plenty of Vikings fans act like idiots on the road.
I just shut my mouth and watch the game.
I’ve seen fans from many teams recount horror stories about Eagles fans in Philly. I agree with JRobert.
Hire a body guard. This is not your kind and gentle America.
Cine sucked
Hall was even worse
Greg was good
Dykes isn’t making the team
Dye sucks but somehow makes one great play to keep sticking around
TEs were pretty good but 2 are gonna get cut
Thompson looks good but another player prone to concussions (in protocol now)
I think anybody would be in concussion protocol after making a tackle without a helmet.
Disagree on Hall, I thought he looked O.K. His first 2 passes could have been caught but weren’t.
Skolly hates Hall because he doesn’t put mayo in his coffee.
Ohhh…that explains it.
I’m not the only one who thinks he sucks. Ask Ben too… Hall sucks badly
Yeah, but Ben hates all backup QBs.
I hate all Viking QBs in general these days.
Fair enough.
Equal opportunity hate distributor
There, fixed it for you.
Correct.
What I’ve learned is that the QB is never at fault. Ever.
No no, every QB bad BUT Kirk.
Hall made one nice shift to his left in the pocket to avoid pressure, threw a good pass in to tight coverage that was accurate but incomplete. Got an unnecessary amount of ooohs and aaaaahs from a desperate fanbase worried about when their top 5 QB walks at the end of the year.
I didnt watch the game, I was working. Did look up the play in question. I am not in any mind that a 5th round pick was brought in to be our starter, because im not stupid. So if you are throwing me into that camp, take me out. Also Kirks not top 5, never has been, never will. You typing it over and over doesnt make it true. So you can stop perpetrating that lie as well. Good day sir.
Top 4 in yards, top 5 in TD’s last year… in the last 5 years only three QB’s have thrown more TD passes than Cousins. Facts and all.
Cine had 1 bad play… but yup a rookie who hasn’t played in over a year with 1 shitty play and a few that weren’t great but not glaringly bad means he sucks. smh.
It wasn’t even a “bad” play.
Spears made a good play, high risk high reward.
It was pathetic.
“It was a good play whiffing on the RB who then trotted in for a score.”
Mick dumdum
8/21/23
Obviously 55 is horrible and should have been cut immediately.
He also kinda got pancaked by Jimmy Garropolo
Sometimes you just have to give credit where it’s due. Spears made a great play. Agreed.
Correct
Good…If Hall is going to play for the Vikings he needs to get used to constant pressure.
True true
Cousins hasn’t pressured, NOT EVEN ONCE!!!
This is strange. I have been able to sell must of the games I am not using my season tickets for (I use 2 games a year), but one of the games that isn’t selling is the home opener against Tampa.
Usually the home opener is in fairly high demand….
I always look at price as the biggest reason people buy or don’t buy. Maybe drop the price under market value and see what happens.
SVP is in charge
Ugh…Ryan “I’m a dumnbass” Clark.
That’s for sure, and RGiii isn’t far behind.
RGBadKnee was as arrogant as they come. Imagine telling Mike Shanahan that his playbook sucks….
And losing your job to Kirk Cousins.
Not surprising. Cousins is the better QB.
Correct
Hopefully he fires RGBadKnee. Can’t stand that dude.
He sucks cut him. Also, Ryan Clark is a race baiting POS and RGIII sucks.
Clark sucks.
espn is woke and that sucks.
just do sports.
Yes, thank you.
I wonder if they will be less woke and stick to sports after they’re sold to apple.
Tough call.
it’s seems most “media” have to project a certain way rather than just doing sports.
I miss 90s sportcenter.
that was sports media at its peak.
It really was. Dan Patrick and Olberman were good – But Patrick and Kenny Mayne were must see tv. Kenny Mayne was my favorite ESPN guy of all time. Craig Kilborn a close second.
Stuart Scott was fantastic.
that whole lineup was great.
Dan Patrick’s radio show is very good, also pretty non political.
Yeah, I’d agree ftmp, ESPN is peak woke, Outkick is the opposite, both annoying. I remember 90’s sportscenter, even flaming lib Olbermann was great.
He really was. They were funny.
Does anyone listen or watch Monday Night Countdown? About the only exposer I have to that crew is the halftime show because I’m too lazy to get up and walk away when the talking heads ramble on about nonsense.
The ONLY time I watch a little of it, is if the Vikings are playing.
It’s garbage.
I don’t have ESPN and haven’t since the mid 2000s, I have not watched ESPN at all in at least 10 years other than at a sports bar, I only get MNF if its also broadcast on ABC, though I did watch a couple Manning Cast games last season since there are like 4 available per season through ESPN+.
I have ESPN and have had it for a long time. I only watch NFL or college football on it. I do not watch any of their “shows”.
I watched it when I had it, but quit cable long time ago
I like SVP. One of the very few decent ones left.
Looks like he just shit himself
‘Can confirm…’
Not good for the Bears, he’s one of the best guards in the NFL when healthy.
So, are the Bears now signing Risner?
Dude looks like he could do you Taxes , then pick you up and snap you in half. Wild.
Good morning skolocholo’s….
Question:
Who’s the most overrated player of all time?
My answer: Chad Johnson – I’ll never get the hype around OchoStinkhole….
Skol!
Brian Bosworth
Fun to watch Bo run him over.
Yeah it was – Boz was a monster in college. Never translated to the NFL.
Drug testing was way easier to beat at the college level. That or he decided to stop taking them.
Probably both. I’ve met him a few times over the years. Interesting guy.
Aaron Rodgers
Terry Bradshaw, he has four rings, but was at best an average QB, I believe his Int.- Td ratio is 1:1.
Good pull – my old man despises Terry Bradshaw. For reasons I don’t know.
Bradshaw couldn’t even beat out this guy
I remember back then, that Bradshaw was always knocked down by the press as too stupid, etc, but, a strong arm and a great team brought him to great heights.
Kirk Cousins. Chad Johnson though was like 3x all pro, he is a member of the 10k club too. He is not, however in the HOF so would say he is not overrated, his cigars however, are.
He’s got the numbers – don’t care. He disappeared in big games and was more concerned about his brand than anything else. I’m biased as I just don’t like the guy – but I stand by him being overrated. He wouldn’t make my top 20 list of ‘greatest receivers of all time’
If he gets in the HOF I’d probably agree.
Makes sense. I’m sure he will, eventually.
I don’t actually think this but… Emmitt Smith. He was a great running back but his numbers were inflated by being on incredible teams.
Fair argument. Although I think Emmitt was as tough an RB as you’d find.
Agreed, I am not trying to say he wasn’t good, he was great but I just don’t think he’s in the conversation for greatest.
I’d agree. Greatest RB in my opinion is Barry. Then Jim Brown, Walter Payton and AD
You misspelled Adrian Peterson
Barry was better than AD.
So was Jim Brown. AD is appropriately placed on my list.
College AD to Pro’s was something else though…man he was a weapon.
But you watch Barry replacing Thurman Thomas at Oak St that was another crazy college to then the Pro’s journey.
Both of those guys just freaks, like Randy. Just on another level as athletes.
I think my ranking would be
1.Barry
2.Brown
3.AD
4.Payton
5.LT
6.Faulk
Wangu is the next Barry Sanders, he’s gonna breakout anytime now.
Well, I can’t remember who, but someone compared him to Barry Sanders because they were backups at one point in their careers, Five saw this comment and well, you know, or can guess what happened next.
A polite, coherent, well spoken conversation?
LMAO
Solid list – I’d put Earl Campbell in there somewhere. Probably between LT and Faulk.
Sorry….
P-e-y-t-o-n H-i-l-l-i-s…
I use to say Barry might be the greatest football player ever because he did it basically on his own. Teams prepped for one player on the Lions and he would still hurt you. Then AP did that as well, incredible. AP in his prime was other worldly. I think AP is the best under center RB ever. I think Barry would have done better in traditional under center and shotgun if he was in today’s NFL. AP not so much.
Tony Mandarich.
FTP
He and Jamarcus Russell are for sure the biggest draft busts.
Ryan Leaf and Russell. Mandarich, while not living up to the massive hype, did manage to salvage his career a bit and had a solid stint with the Colts.
I think Cine is becoming almost as polarizing as Cousins.
People pounding their fists on the table that he’s a bust but then you have the Cine Crusaders defending him like there’s no tomorrow.
It’d be diffeent if Ed didn’t run such a dogshit defense.
incant in good conscience say it was the player and not the coach.
Flores seems like a great match for Cines style or play
Harrison played just fine in Ed’s defense….hit his career average in tackles, matched a career high in int’s….I think it’s the player more than the defensive coordinators fault but that’s just me.
0 sacks 1 TFL lowest amount of tackles in 4 years.
age is a part of it the scheme is a bigger part.
Correct, how often did you see Harry in the box or at the line of scrimmage last year? He played basically centerfield in Ed’s shell.
So what he wasn’t in the box or asked to rush the passer. Pass rushing is not the mark of a good safety.
To pull up the sacks stat and try and blame Ed for Cine’s inability to start is a fucking joke.
I wasn’t saying anything about Cine, just that Smith wasn’t used as he was under Zim where he would line up all over the place and cause disruption in multiple ways, not just rushing the passer. He did not, contrary to what Wrenage may think, look geriatric out there to me, he made plays in the passing game, but Ed’s scheme did not imo play to his strengths in all areas.
Harrison has played well in every defense. Harrison is an aged Vet. Not a good comparison.
It is a good comparison from a year stat overview when someone is trying to blame the defensive coord for a 1st rd rookies inability to start to show it did not effect a starter from having a decent year.
Blame? No.
take into consideration? Yes.
Ed’s defense didn’t fit whst Cine did well. Sit back and play cover Safety.
But it fit the CB convert Bynum well.
Eh…I’m not buying that as an excuse for Cine. Harrison has struggled in coverage his entire career at times. Again I think it points more to Cine’s inabilities and as he has shown, not even being that great of a tackler at this level than coverage concerns.
Does the NFL even allow tackling in practice anymore? How do they improve?
Drills against tackling dummies working on technique is the main method I believe.
Tackling dummies can’t hurdle, so you don’t develop that expectation.
One of the best tacklers in CFB…
he can’t tackle
-Lifer
WTF are you even talking about? Most of your takes, while I don’t always agree with them, have some substance to them. This rant is just ridiculous.
If I’m understanding you correctly, which I’m not sure that’s possible in this case, you’re trying to compare a 10+ year veteran’s ability to pick up two different schemes with a 2nd year player, who has seen limited action so far?
IIRC, Cine was banged up a little during his rookie training camp, so he didn’t get the full benefit of either camp or preseason. He saw limited snaps in exactly 3 regular season games before suffering a horrific injury early in game 4. He’s essentially a redshirt freshman starting in his 2nd preseason game.
He made a handful of really good plays and had one obvious bad play, but he was single-handedly trying to fill a gap the size of Montana because something clearly broke down on the D-line and/or 2nd level…there was no reason he should have been in a position to need to make a solo tackle like that at the line. Yes, he should have kept his head up and tried to wrap the guy higher on his body…but he went low and got burned. Same thing happened to a pretty good veteran named Anthony Barr a few years ago against Josh Allen on an open field tackle.
One bright spot was Cine clearly got and took coaching on his tackling from week 1 to week 2 because he was trying to wrap up versus blow up guys in this last game. The fact that there’s even a term Cine Crusader at this point of his career shows just how overreactive and dumb some of you can be.
Then again, for those to which that applies, I suppose they wouldn’t have anything to talk about if they didn’t invent things to bitch about.
You are correct – it’s one play. And obviously, he closes fast, maybe too fast, so he can’t settle as he should. And, WTF were the LB’s doing on the play.
My gripe is more picking a safety with a 1 pick. And now, a WR2 with our next 1 pick. We have had shitty IOL blocking like forever.
Cine may turn out to be a very good starter, which is great. But, to me, a good guard would have overall put us in a better place as a team.
Just a small point and not a knock on Cine. Wasn’t Ed named DC before the draft? Why draft a player that doesn’t fit well with your scheme?
Analytics
Insurance for negotiating with Smith?
considering the lack of depth at safety behind him last year adding a high caliber guy makes sense.
I don’t think the regime planned for ws to have such a shitty D… but more Fangio like.
which it wasn’t.
It’s also taking a safety with your number 1 draft choice.
Most comments I see are like, he’s leaning bust but we’ll have to see how the season plays out.
Sensible.
why that’s so hard to understand is beyond me.
lots of hate for KAM since the tradeback is my guess
KAM sucks but that doesn’t mean Cine necessarily will.
True…I’m holding out hope for Cine personally. Tackling is the one thing that can be taught…he has all the other intangibles outside of us not knowing how well he does hitting his assignments correctly.
Yeah, he can improve tackling, the other thing I’ve read is that he is still adjusting to the NFL game and needs to speed up his processing.
That’s completely fair and he should be given a full 3 yrs to do so. Sure you’d expect your 1st rd national champion, best defender on the defense to come in year one start and play a lot. He got hurt but even before then there was a pretty steep learning curve for him. I hope he puts it together.
I am actually shocked by this – they need to teach “tackling” at he NFL level?
I was talking to my cousin about this. He’s not a bust, not yet. He is moving VERY well, can’t even tell he was injured. People have to remember he is basically a rookie who is a year removed from playing any football. Dude is green and rusty on top of it. He always seems to be around the ball, I haven’t seem him blow coverages terribly. Is his tackling bad right now? Yes but he seems to be coachable. He got hurdled partly because he was trying to fix tackling too high, plus people only watch the end result of a play. Look at that play again, he was keeping proper outside leverage on the runner to help force him back inside, there was a giant hole so the back did cut back to the inside forcing Cine, while running left to try and lunge to the right to try and make the tackle, he went low, RB made a hell of an athletic play and there should have been help coming to help.
Well said…
Right.
nobody gives spears any credit for a great play.
he’s a good back who’s going to make some noise this year behind Henry. His legs will be fresh.
but…
cInE Is a BuST
This is one play – but I disagree with your take and this I think highlights his problem some. He did not need to use outside leverage. We had two, maybe three defenders for outside leverage. Cine would have better to come straight on or even some from inside. The ball carrier couldn’t have gone outside – too many defenders.
I think it’s more his angle of pursuit than his tackling. He knows ow to tackle. But, if your in the wrong position, at this level, you will miss tackles.
Well really it depends on what he is taught. If they are a spill team or contain team. But yeah it is true, attack the near hip/leg to stop cutback. That’s fair.
Skol!
I’m not really sure what to think about this…..
Thielen Meats is awesome.