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Vikings Discussion & Random Thoughts
We made it to Monday! I hope everyone survived the weekend, some folks got a LOT of snow over the past few days. We only got maybe 4-6 inches here in the Bismarck area, I was hoping for more, we need the moisture badly. Kiddo and I went skiing yesterday, the shot of snow was enough to allow Huff Hills (a little ski place south of Mandan, actually within a couple miles of one of my favorite fishing holes) to re-open for one more day this year. It was the first time I’ve ever gone down-hill skiing, the last time I skied was cross-country skiing in high school, which was approximately 35 years ago. I’m sure that I was an amusing site for the other skiers to watch. I fell more times than I could count and I must’ve looked about as graceful as a drunk newborn colt. On my very first run, I actually skied backwards for about 20 feet (purely accidental, I assure you). It was kiddo’s second time skiing, and I was impressed, he did really well. We did have an absolute blast, it is definitely something we’ll do again many more times in the future.
Vikings and NFL News
From SI.com, the Jets are interested in signing Carson Wentz to take over when Geno Smith falters back up Geno Smith. I’d love to see Wentz back in the Vikings’ QB room.
The Star-Tribune describes the Kyler Murray signing as the Vikings’ loudest move in a quiet opening to free agency. That’s okay, the loudest team in free agency is rarely, if ever, the most successful. Remember how “loud” the Vikings were in free agency last year?
CBS Sports maintains a 2026 NFL free agency tracker where you can check on the latest news from around the league.
The NFLPA is set to choose a new executive director, according to CBS Sports. The weakest union in the world seeks a new leader.
ESPN looks at where nine of the best remaining NFL free agents should sign. LOL, they have Cousins going to the Packers, which makes little sense to me.
Media Selection
Here’s a really good one from The Why Files. Enjoy!
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Happy St Patrick’s Day, and SKOL.
Hope you’re all safe from the winter conditions.
FTP and good morning!
This is big. The beginning of the end of Communism in Cuba.
I can’t read French.
Wow… that’s weird… it was in English when I posted it. Now it’s in Spanish? Weird.
Cuba on Monday extended an invitation to Cuban Americans and other exiles living abroad to invest in and own businesses on the island, saying the “doors are open” to a community that has traditionally agitated for harsh economic sanctions against the Communist government.
Cuba also said it was removing impediments to U.S. businesses and other foreign investors but noted that U.S. law still prevented trade and investment under the long-running economic embargo aimed at punishing the government in Havana.
On a bus, a priest sat next to a drunk who was struggling to read a newspaper.
Suddenly, with a slurred voice, the drunk asked the priest, “Do you know what arthritis is?”
The parish priest took the opportunity to lecture the drunk and replied,
“It’s a disease caused by sinful and unruly life. Excessive consumption of alcohol, drugs, marijuana, crack, and certainly loose women, prostitutes, promiscuity, sex, and other things I dare not say.”
The drunk widened his eyes, shut up, and continued reading the newspaper.
A little later, the priest, thinking that he had been too hard on the drunk, tried to soften things.
“How long have you had arthritis?”
“I don’t have arthritis, it says here in the paper that the Pope has it.”
I saw this and thought, well my 7 iron goes that far. I guess I’m OK.
I don’t think I can throw one of those clubs more than 30 yards or so.
Never tried but even with practice I don’t see even 50 yards.
Laughing…
If the iron doesn’t get to a 90 foot apex with a a 44 – 45 decent angle it is worthless.
Better to get some of the newer so called ‘high launch’ irons ( will play a little shorter) but get the apex up high enough to hold the green.
I’m a very high ball hitter JR. My shots are generally much higher than the folks I play with. So I get plenty of altitude. I don’t have a lot of clubhead speed, and never have. I recently started feeling a lot more pressure in my left hand at the bottom, and I’m hitting the ball with a lot more authority. I think I’m compressing the ball for the first time ever. Started that last year as you recall. Prior to doing that, I hit my 7 iron 120 yards. Now I’m closer to 140, without increasing clubhead speed as far as I know.
Accidentally called Alexa “Siri,” and now the thermostat is set to 90 degrees and I can’t unlock my doors or windows.
I bought a world map and a dart. I told my wife to throw it, and we’d vacation wherever it lands.
I hear it’s nice this time of year behind the fridge.
I have always wanted to go to an airport, and buy a ticket on a random flight. With my luck, i’d end up in California somewhere
Laughing…
We would ‘pour one out’ in memory of you.
With friends like these……
We all like toughness.
Joe Kapp, Mick Tingelhoff and Mike Lucci – pretty tough guys.
Other than the Ravens being dipshits on the Crosby trade, it’s been a pretty lame FA period imo.
The QB shuffle has been interesting.
And it isn’t over as KC is still out there, The Douche hasn’t made a decision yet (again), ect.
More good news from Commiesota.
He did what he believed needed to be done.
And didn’t spend a day in prison. His son was on the Unsub podcast a few weeks ago. That was pretty entertaining.
This is a win for me…
I don’t that she dates any men.
Skinny black dudes would fight each other for her.
Shade in the summer and warmth in the winter???
Sweet fancy Moses
A guy goes into a store and asks the clerk, “I’d like some Polish sausage.”
The clerk looks at him and says, “Are you Polish?”
The guy, clearly offended, says, “Well, yes I am. But let me ask you: if I had asked for Italian sausage, would you ask if I was Italian? Or if I had asked for German sausage, would you ask if I was German? Or if I had asked for a taco, would you ask if I was Mexican? Huh? Would ya?”
The clerk says, “Well, no…”
With deep self-righteous indignation, the guy says, “Well, alright then, why the hell did you ask if I’m Polish just because I asked for Polish sausage?”
The clerk says, “Because this is a hardware store.”
Last night I tried to live out my fantasy of lying naked on a bearskin rug by the fireplace.
Unfortunately, the Cracker Barrel manager did not share my vision.
One of my favorite plays of all time…
Only you are capable of posting something this dumb…
Only you would drool over a lucky completion in a game that ended in a tie during a lost season from a QB that was supposed to be a missing piece on a SB caliber roster (which it was).
I reiterate… only you would post something that dumb.
And I reiterate, only you would have that as one of their favorite Vikings play of all time. Care to keep going? Or do you want to move on? 🫡
And here you are still posting dumb shit… stay on the porch son.
And even dumber… stay on the porch son.
Wooooosh 😂- thanks for making my work day more enjoyable when I check back in here.
See? Dumber and dumber and dumber. Stay on the porch son.
That is insulting to anyone.
You should never be surprised when people react unfavorably to that. Reading it is annoying.
Also, you started this Kirk shit today with your favorite play post.
Kirk still sucks, and I do not own a house with a porch.
I posted a great Vikings play and folks like you who hate Cousins react accordingly. You are responsible for your reactions, just as KFEY is for his. He definitely needs to stay on the porch.
I really couldn’t care less that anyone who has KDS can’t stand seeing a great play between him and Thielen, Surly. I’m not the one with the problem here.
Annoying to anyone.
Were you around in the nineties?
There was a company that got started called Big Dogs that’s first offerings were Big Dog (with a picture) tshirts that also said ‘if you can’t run with the big dogs, stay on the porch.’
Everyone loved the t shirts and NO ONE found the phrase insulting.
You mention ‘insulting and annoying’. But where were you when someone personally insulted the crap out of NLV last Friday? You weren’t lecturing them.
Obligatory
All though that was pretty damned sweet…seems like it was a tish lucky as well.
Yeah, a little further and closer to the sideline would have been a better/safer throw. But it worked so it is all good.
It was.
There are no doubt many “greater’ throws but what makes that particularly impressive is that Cousins gets hit in the knees, can’t step into it, and still gets enough rpms on the throw to beat the safety coming over.
Too bad our kicker missed three easy FG’s at the end and OT causing a tie. Believe Zim fired him the next day.
Regardless of the players involved, this is a great play. In fact, it’s one of the greatest plays I’ve ever seen.
Smart move by Fields…
I don’t think Fields had much of a say in it.
Found a video of GF…
Beauty
Beauty, eh?
FTFY
I almost said “She’s a beaut”
Dang, monster trout.
Big lake trout. So biggest fish we ever caught. My best are a 30 inch walleye, 25 inch brown trout and 42 inch king salmon. I never measure northerns
Northerns are delicious….bony as shit though.
They mess with rigging too much, slimy bastards. I avoid them if I can
Iv never caught a trout but never really fished for them either. Think the biggest Walleye Ive caught was 26 or 27.
I’m curious, did you do a mount with the walleye? I’ve never caught one that size, probably 22-25 inches has been my largest, but 30 was always the magic number for me and buddies that fish, to mount one on some driftwood.
I caught it up near Detroit Lakes. Released it. But a big fish
Nice, probably put up a good fight also.
He almost needed a bigger hole to get that thing out.
Had more time to think and stew (Not STU) about the Murray signing.
Pros : Cheap contract, much more accuracy vs what we had last season, is mobile, has won in this league on a crappy team. Had decent stats when he had good WR’s. Could have the proverbial chip-on-shoulder since AZ paid him millions to leave.
Cons: AZ paid him millions to leave. He is short. His study habits have been reportedly questionable. He has as many playoff wins as JJ (zero), but only got there once on a team with a poor defense.
I think if we had Murray, or Kirko, or Sam, or Daniel Jones on the roster last season, or Wentz even if not dying, the team gets into the playoff before failing.
The signing of Murray does make the QB room much better than last season, and no matter who wins the starting job I expect to see both JJ and Murray this season.
I do not really see this ending well, however. Too much history of watching this team.
I think Murray will either play very well, and the Vikings will panic-sign him to a huge extension that handcuffs the team as much as the Kirko years. Then JJ gets traded to the Chargers and he wins multiple super bowls with his favorite coach.
OR
Murray sucks, we ride with JJ this year, he shows a bit of improvement, so we watch Murray go to a different team and win, while in 2027 JJ gets injured week 1, and we watch the backup QB carousel again.
Murray is a play making QB, who can be very exciting to watch. That’s the positive. On the other hand, there’s all this talk about his preparation issues and not investing himself the way he should. We’ll see how that pans out. Regardless, he’s played 87 games and put up over 20,000 yards passing and 121 TD’s with a 67.1% completion percentage, and a 92.2 passer rating. In the NFL, that’s good. He also has 32 rushing TD’S so that’s 153 TD’s in 87 games.
If he maintains that level of performance, then the offense will be productive. It will hold up its end so to speak, which is what we want.
You make some great points and predictions. No arguments from me.
All very well thought out and very possible, especially the reasoned Vikings doom-dom (the doom version of fandom…basically standard Vikings fandom).
Yeah, getting kicked in the nuts every year, it is now expected.
So we still have Tai Felton in the background, who might could be a great receiver. He’s a big guy who ran a 4.37 forty at the combine. He had a year to absorb the offense, and see how Jefferson beats defenses. He is in a great position with the Vikings. Will he be out there as WR3 this year, making plays?
Good question.
Tomorrow is St Patrick’s day, so get your green beer ready.
“When a mosquito lands on your testicles, you learn that violence isn’t always the answer”.
— Chinese Proverb
Ain’t it the truth…
This is the world we currently live in.
TDS is a hell of a drug.
Going to make a trip to Grand Teton National Park in a few months. I know some of you have been there or live fairly close – any advice? We are doing about 3 days in the Tetons and then one day exploring the sights at Yellowstone. Is that not enough for Yellowstone – should we do 2 days and 2 days? Everybody we’ve talked to seems to say hiking in the Tetons is better and that one day is probably enough to hit the big sights at Yellowstone.
We are staying near Jackson Hole, WY and then after Yellowstone staying in Livingston, MT.
Any sights to hit driving back through North Dakota back to the cities? We are driving out through South Dakota and making kind of a loop.
Thanks in advance!
If you can get a room, Chico Hot Spring would be a good stop on the way out instead of going all the way to Livingston. Seeing everything in Yellowstone in one day is a lot but it can be done, especially if you’re starting in Jackson Hole. Take extra patience. Driving through Yellowstone sucks. I’ve seen traffic jams over a fox. Take some decent binoculars with as well. As far as North Dakota is concerned, I try to drive through there at night so I don’t have to see any of it. The Painted Canyon rest area is pretty neat though.
Also, if you are planning on doing any hiking, don’t forget bear spray. You can usually get a 2 pack at Costco fairly cheap.
Thanks, we were already planning on that.
If you’ve never used bear spray, I would recommend ordering it from UDAP and getting the one that comes with an inert trainer can.
Never heard of that, but great advice! Doesn’t help to have it if you don’t know how to use it.
Yeah, it’s a nice bit of comfort and makes you less likely to panic trying to get the safety off. I just looked and you can buy just an inert trainer can for about 25 bucks. The Forest Service made us just spray expired cans when I was in college, that of course never went bad when the wind swirled.
https://www.udap.com/mm5/product/15-I
Lol yeah, something you really don’t want to use unless you have to. Thanks!
I think our path takes us out through Livingston, but staying closer would give us more time in the park. Thanks!
Chico is on the way to Livingston if you are coming out through Gardiner.
Correct. We didn’t price hotels there specifically, but we figured it would be much higher price closer to the park, which is what our search generally showed (a quick google search shows $400+ for one night whereas Livingston was $200).
Just to pile on with bow, we love Chico. Highly recommend staying there.
Makoshika State Park is the biggest and bestest of Montana’s state parks.
https://fwp.mt.gov/stateparks/makoshika
Thanks for the suggestion. Looks kind of like the Badlands to me (which is cool).
It is never crowded. We hike and bike up there all spring summer and fall. I wish they would put in camping sites with full hookups, would be a boon to get some of those big motorhomes in here.
North Dakota options…Theodore Roosevelt National Park (north unit) has about a 14 mile 1 hour out and back trip that is widely considered the most scenic in ND – don’t go to the tourist infested South Unit that has Medora – unless you are into that kind of thing.
The Painted Canyon Visitor Center is another great option. It’s just a stop right off of I-94. Great views.
Those would be my 2 suggestions, they are very nice, but they cannot compete with Yellowstone.
Also Hikes at both venues.
Thanks for the suggestions!
The national weather service says that we had about 21 inches of snow in our area. It was very heavy snow. When I went out to shovel in front of our garage, the drift was up to my waist. My wife and I shoveled off and on quite a bit yesterday, and now the concrete slab in front of the garage is relatively clean. Yesterday our neighbor got his snowplow pickup stuck, so he got out his small bulldozer and did a quick plow of us and the other neighbor. Our township’s snowplow is doing what it can, but they must be recruiting people because a big tractor with a blade just went past plowing our road. As I’m typing this, the tractor came back again for another swipe. The first time through, he had to stop and back up a couple of times to get through the drift on our corner. One of the ladies at work finally got her driveway plowed and since she lives right on one of the major highways in the county, she headed to work. Once she got there, the parking lot only had about one row plowed to park, and when she got to the front door, she couldn’t get in because there was a large drift in front of the door. The boss, who is working at home, told her to go home. Yesterday, 5 of the snowplows for our county got stuck. Last night there was one that got stuck in a drift that was taller than the truck.
By Wednesday it is supposed to get up into the 40s, so we are going to have water everywhere as this stuff melts.
You don’t have a snowblower?
also I have the city snow plow, for whatever reason they think because I live at the end of the cul de sac they should just shove all the snow into my yard and in front of my driveway, probably a Packer fan
I’ve never had a snowblower. My neighbor always plows out my driveway and all I need to do is the cement slab in front of my garage and then typically the end of the driveway after the plow comes by and plugs up the end of course.
Nice of the driver to stockpile moisture for your lawn.
The good news about snow is it melts, but then of course you have to deal with all the water. Hopefully you don’t lose electricity, and you have plenty of provisions.
Stay safe!
We never did lose power, although I did hear that there were some power outages in the area. We have a big chest freezer full of meat, so we would be good for a long time, but we went to town on Saturday and stocked up on bread, etc. But in Wisconsin, even with a massive storm like this, we are pretty well prepared. The longest anyone would be stranded would probably be only a day or two.
That’s good. Living in Florida we’ll never have to worry about blizzards. Just hurricanes. We have enough canned goods, dry beans, pasta, soup, flour, etc to last three weeks in the pantry (maybe longer). We also have 30 gallons of water in the garage. No idea why. If a hurricane is coming, and you’re worried about water, you just fill the bathtub before it hits, but whatever. The wife doesn’t like that idea.
I agree with your wife.
Having drinking water is critical. I would rather have water from bottles stored in the garage vs water from a bathtub.
I would also rather deal with hurricanes vs snowstorms and tornados that we get in MN. I can drive away from a hurricane if needed.
That’s my take too. You can see a hurricane forming weeks before it gets to our neck of the woods. Depending on it’s path, you can find some place safe to evacuate to. We have three cats, so we have several carriers, and we have a “go bag” in the garage with everything we need for them. Portable litter pans, food, and “bedding”. Just throw it in the trunk. Cats ride out the drive in their carriers. They do OK with it. We’ve evacuated twice so we have it down to a science.
For some reason, we didn’t even think about water. But we have some bottle water that we keep on hand, just in case. Plus right now, there is a lot of water outside. As long as it isn’t yellow, I’m sure we could melt it down for a drink or two.
Indeed
Boiling melted snow works fine.
Winter camping used to be a thing for me.
Man, I have done some stupid things in my life…
Apparently I-94 near us came to a standstill yesterday. One trucker reported sitting in one spot for 5 hours. The national guard was walking along the highway passing out water to the stranded motorists.
Yup, we got hammered VP. I miscalculated at first, thought around 12 inches until I went outside. Probably the most at one time in around 30 some years if I had to guess.
Global warming!!!!
Ha, I’ve always hated that term. I prefer climate change 🙂
Got maybe 10-12 total here. Not a little (and my back hurts from shoveling it), but not near what you got. Rest up.
Bill was cruising down a country road on his motorbike when a deer darted out in front of him. He swerved, lost control, and ended up in a ditch. Luckily, he wasn’t badly hurt—just a little dazed.
A shiny BMW pulled up alongside, and out stepped an absolutely stunning woman. “Are you OK?” she asked. Bill rubbed his head. “I banged it a bit, but I think I’m fine.”
“Don’t be silly,” she said. “Jump in my car—I’m a nurse. I’ll patch you up, and you can warm up at my place just a couple of miles away.” Bill hesitated. “That’s really kind, but my wife wouldn’t be happy if I went home with a strange woman.”
The nurse smiled. “Nonsense! You could have a serious injury. I insist.” So Bill gave in, climbed into the BMW, and off they went.
At her house, she cleaned his wound, bandaged him up, and even offered him a cold beer. “I really shouldn’t,” said Bill. “My wife won’t like it.”
“Don’t be daft,” she laughed. “You’ve had a shock. A beer will calm you down.” So Bill had the beer. Then she offered him another. He shook his head. “Honestly, I’d better not. My wife really won’t like it.”
Rolling her eyes, she asked, “Why do you keep worrying about your wife? Where is she, anyway?”
Bill took a sip of his beer, shrugged, and said: “As far as I know… she’s still in the ditch.”
Re-signing Wilson to keep with Cashman as inside linebackers was really a key move this year. When you look at our ILB corps without Wilson, we were left with:
ILB1: Blake Cashman
ILB2: Jacob Roberts
ILB3: Josh Ross
they also tendered pace, he’s most likely back, but the defense was decidedly better with Wilson and the cash man on the field
Definitely. I don’t know if they’ll find a guy in the draft who could become a starter there, but I’d honestly be looking. Flores needs to do some homework.
I’d expect a couple LBs in our draft this year. Probably some undrafted ones also.
Just keeping up with where we’re at. We did good getting under the cap, and bringing in a couple guys with potential. Brez hasn’t gone crazy with fiscal or free agency moves. Just getting the house in order, in a good, common sense manner.
Also restructured hock, Jefferson and Jones
they’ll likely extend O’Neill before the season starts as well
they need depth at DT, C and safety, probably CB and WR as well, they’ll draft some guys but I expect they’ll sign a few before training camp. The Vikings announced a retirement celebration for Ham and Thielen, but did not include Harry. Perhaps the geriatric is returning, we’ll see.
I’m on the fence with the Hitman. I like having him out there, because of all the years he’s been playing, and his savvy vet presence. On the other hand, I wonder if he can keep up with the younger, stronger athletes he’ll be facing.
I think of he comes back it needs to be in a reduced role, his intelligence is elite but physically he’s not what he was. I think 50-60% off snaps would keep him relatively fresh and give younger hits a chance to develop before being thrown in.
keep him near the LOS vs coverage, like he started to do alot more of at the end of last year.
I figure our current needs are DT, CB/S and OC.
TE, WR, RB, OG, Edge, OT and LB could all use some depth/development pieces in the draft.
I’m OK with the Kyler Murray signing. At worst, he’ll be a small disappointment.
Good morning & SKOL!
‘At worst, he’ll be a small disappointment’
Very Punny of you.
So I saw yesterday here, that there are some teams talking to the Vikings about a trade for McCarthy. I don’t understand this at all, if true. He is a really bad passer. Amongst the worst I’ve ever seen in the NFL. Some folks think fixing his mechanics will make him a lot better. I don’t agree with this take. I think he’s Heinicke with a stronger arm. Just my opinion after watching him play.
I don’t think there’s much to it… Harbaugh maybe just wants his college QB back if he can get him really cheap, the Rams might want to take a flier as well if they can get him for a six-pack and a pack of smokes, and the Browns are just desperate.
My guess is he’ll stay a Viking for the next season, and he’ll be given the chance to compete for the QB 1 job. Agreed though, “Nine” hasn’t looked like the future of the franchise at all, so far.
He’s had a few moments, but his biggest problem is actually getting on the field. I also doubt anyone offers anything more than a bag of deflated balls.
i don’t think there is any competition this year. I also don’t think the Vikings will give Murray a massive contract next year unless they go deep in the playoffs and he’s a major reason why. Most likely the Vikings are right back in this situation again next year.
That’s McFragile’s biggest problem, he seems very injury prone.
It’s an interesting conundrum. KOC is on the hot seat, he knows he’s coaching for his job next season, so he’ll likely pick Murray, and we’ll get the usual corporate speech about a QB competition that won’t actually happen.
But if he doesn’t play, how do you evaluate “Nine”? He won’t get many games to show that he’s growing as a QB, unless Murray gets injured a few games into the season.
Looks like the Vikes once again managed to eff up the QB situation, but what’s new…
His biggest problem is he’s the worst passer in the NFL so staying healthy really isn’t a concern.
If McFragile™ doesn’t play much this year I assume the Vikings will tender any offers for him in next offseason. He’ll be heading into his final year on rookie contract and more of a liability at that point than of value.
So that’s a good point. I think Murray will play well enough for the offense to be impactful. I think we’ll be top half of the league offensively, and likely top 10 if Murray just plays decent. The offense is mature, and we have talent at all the “skill positions”. If the O-line stays healthy and plays decently, this offense will be good.
That said, the question of what do we do with Murray next year if he plays really well this year, is a good one.
Yup, I wouldn’t expect any decent draft picks being traded for him. Might as well keep him, got 2 more years on rookie deal, too early to give him up for peanuts, imo.
Yep, perpetual turnstile at QB. Stuck in mediocrity for eternity.
The Jets will end up with a true franchise QB before the Vikings.
Probably.
I am not ready to discount JJMac yet. He has only 10 games under his belt, and he flashed some very positive signs. That said, Murray is an upgrade over Wentz, especially at that price. Some good competition at QB will be good for the team
2st!
FTP!
Wentz sucks
the Vikings need DTs and a center
I’m going going out to snowblow
Don’t eat yellow snow..
Socrates was a pedophile
That was pretty ‘normal’ back in the day for Ancient Greece.
Probably a Packer fan too
Hand in hand
FTP Auto Rec.
Good morning, SKOL!
FTP!