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Vikings Discussion & Random Thoughts
There were strong storms in the Minot area last night. I know some of you live in that area, hopefully you’re all okay.
We finished cleaning the inside of that horribly nasty house that we’re working on. Man, that thing was atrocious. There were four of us working our tails off Saturday morning, and we filled this entire dumpster in 3.5 hours. All that stuff came from the inside of that small house. Crazy.

Vikings & NFL News
Sports Illustrated highlights 3 Vikings who are candidates for contract extensions prior to the 2026 season.
Maxx Crosby is focused on recovery and has put the trade attempt behind him, according to NFL.com.
Brandon Aiyuk took to social media to send a message to the 49ers, from NFL.com. Yikes.
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JJ (QB) was asked about ‘trade rumors’ and he said pretty much what you expected him to say. But you know the ‘QB Statement Experts’ here will spin it to fit their own prefered narrative.
https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/article/vikings-qb-jj-mccarthy-dispels-notion-that-hed-want-trade-before-season-this-is-where-i-want-to-be-221114804.html
I would think that getting kicked out of Zona and being paid to go away would be a wakeup call and than he is ready to ‘go out and prove the haters wrong’.
It could happen and I hope it does, but Vikings so probably not so much.
According to some people, a QB does not need to be on the field throwing the ball to receivers to learn the offense. As soon as he was hired by the Vikings, he should have had his nose in the playbook. He should already have the playbook mastered, or he should by the start of training camp. If he doesn’t have the playbook down by the start of the season, I see no reason for him to be on the field unless JJ is injured.
Kyler Murray is the new “Black Kirk Cousins”.
Hope so. Cousins is one of the best QB’s in Vikings history. If he comes close to playing at Cousins level, KOC will be doing backflips.
It was not intended as a compliment.
Well, you messed up then, huh? How about the “Black JJM”? Grin.
Actually, you proved my point.
Yeah, I get people hate that Cousins actually was a really good QB for the Vikings. I get they can’t handle that reality. Don’t hate me for being a realist.
Oh no, did someone say something bad about Murray. I’ll come to his rescue and spew a bunch of data that ended up getting zero results, as far as success on the field, to prove everyone wrong.
Not quite sure what you’re on about JV, but I assume this is demeaning to me in some way, because I produce data, vs lauding some guys “intangibles”. When I look at any QB, I look at their individual play and performance. Teams win games, as I have said many times. A team needs a competent QB to contribute to its overall success. In total, the QB is significant on about 26% of all the plays in a game. That is, the plays where he passes the ball, for the most part. He’s not even on the field for more than 50% of the plays. So yes, if he plays well, and puts up points, the team is in a better position to win. I look at how well a QB plays the position, and does his job. How well he personally executes. Over time, a QB in the NFL who completes over 65% of his passes, game in and game out, is doing a good job. A QB with a career passer rating over 95 is doing a really good job. So my take on a good QB vs a bad QB might not necessarily line up with your take.
Welcome to purple clarity, join us, we’ve been waiting for you.
Murray is a great athlete and has tons of QB talent. His problem is immaturity.
If KOC can coach him past that, he can be a first tier QB.
Does that make Dak Black KC 1.0 and Kyler Black KC 2.0??
They’re pretty opposite QBs though…..
Athletically, yes. Being mid tier ability and top tier pay, no. The exception is Murray is not getting top tier pay from the Vikings. But he was top tier pay on his last contract.
Dak will hold on that title until he retires.
I don’t even like Kirk, but Murray is nothing close to him, he’s not the new “black Kirk cousins” and he plays nothing like Kirk
Happy Wednesday,
FTP
SKOL
FTP Auto Rec.
Happy Wednesday Dancing GIF Rec.
There’s something going on I just don’t understand (just got back from golf) reading the comments.
It seems that one cannot say anything to bad about JJ without getting jumped on. At the same time, Murray is like a punching bag.
Yet, I’d bet it’s like 80/20 or even 90/10 Murray will be our starting QB.
Don’t we want him to play well? Don’t we want him to practice and prepare well for the season?
Situation normal. How was golf?
The golf was about normal. Shot one over for nine but only hit four greens in regulation. My irons suck but short game is really solid.
Me and these irons are quickly approaching a crossroad.
Laughing. Well you are clearly better than me, so maybe you can forgive those irons a bit, Grin.
I’m not better. Half of my ball striking is poor: the long part is good.
I may score better, but that’s chipping/pitching and putting.
I envy the guys that can hit high irons and stick’em.
I hit all my shots high, naturally. Always have, and don’t know why. I remember I was plying in Germany many years ago and I pulled my drive left, leaving me with a tree between my ball and the green. My buddy was looking at it and said “punch it back into the fairway”. I said “Oh I can hit an 8 iron over that tree easy”. He was like yeah, right. I took out the 8 iron and hit it nicely, clearing the tree. I didn’t get to the green, but I was much closer than I would’ve been with a punch out. My buddy was really pumped about it, but I was like meh, not a hard shot.
Really?
I looks the opposite to me.
Say anything good about JJ (QB) and you are subjected to the same talking points about he is the worst QB in the history of football.
Say anything bad about Murray and you are bored to death by constant ‘opinions’ about how much better he is.
I want them both to do well as long they are both Vikings.
Don’t know. Seems whatever is said about JJ – well, he’s only played 10 games and cheap. Murray – a midget, doesn’t study, too small in the pocket, kicked out of Arizona et all.
Doesn’t really matter I guess. Suppose KOC already knows the answer and it will come out down the road.
KOC said he knows when he’ll announce the starter, but wouldn’t divulge it. He also said there isn’t much time, which I took to mean the sooner we pick the starter the more time he’ll have to work with the starters and get ready for the first game. That is sensible, IMO. I’d say he’ll announce the starter before training camp, and I think he knows who it is already.
I dont see a lot of nice things about JJM on this site.
Nice?
More like logical takes like ‘only 10 games’ and ‘showed improvement at the end of last year’.
It’s just that certain people will make every excuse in the book for the QB they like. And admonish any QB they don’t like.
I for one believe JJ should be given as much practice as possible, as he is our potential QBOTF. Murray is a 1 year rental that is here for “break glass in case of emergency”. I also know that McCarthy has flaws and should be given one more chance to prove he is the QBOTF. If he fails one more time, I would send him to the scrap heap.
If JJ can’t stay healthy he is no good to the team. The best ability is availability.
Agree big time about avaiability.
Now for JJ. Seems he came and was given the keys to the Ferrari. But JJ got hurt. But the Vikings org didn’t give up, they let Sam go and gave him the keys again. And JJ blew it and as such he has gone from the penthouse to the outhouse so to speak. He is where he is at this point because he put himself there.
Can you name a QB, not named Brady, that came in and played well in his first 10-20 starts?
I can’t see giving up on him at this point. Again if he can not get it done this year or he gets injured again, I say cut bait.
Murray has had 8 years to prove he can get it done and has failed.
It doesn’t matter what I think – only KOC.
And I’m not saying I give up on him – but he has dug his hole and only he can dig his way out of it.
Sure, Andrew Luck, C.J. Stroud, Jayden Daniels, Ben Roethlisburger, Justin Herbert, Dak Prescott, Cam Newton, and even Baker Mayfield, all had really good rookie seasons off the top of my head.
OK, I’ll give you Roethlisburger, he did win a SB. Newton got close, but the others are stat guys that haven’t lived up to their potential either. Stroud and Daniels still could be great, but both had down years their sophmore seasons.
Gil Brandt always said you can’t judge a QB until he’s played 30 games, but what would he know compared to the football geniuses here, he only built Super Bowl winning teams and is in the NFL HOF.
Mornin JR, I agree with this take. When JJM was drafted, all we heard was how great he was ad nauseum. Then when he played last year, and I watched him, I was thinking “this kid is years away from being an NFL caliber QB”. I still think he’s years away.
Just saw Murray threw 2 picks in 7 on 7 drills…..are we “sure” Wentz will not be our starting QB?
He could be, but if I’m betting money it’s still on Murray.
Murray/JJ/Wentz/Brosmer(practice squad) is how I see things.
But I am convinced I know less and less as I age.
I see it the same way.
But then my ignorance knows no bounds.
Pretty normal KOC answer…
Just so everyone is clear on this; there are only 2 great QBs in the NFL. Kirk Cousins and anyone not named JJ McCarthy.
Qué?
Me, I like Stafford and Mahomes.
I think there’s a lot of great QB play to admire.
Stafford/Mahomes for sure.
When healthy I think Burrow might be the best of the bunch.
Josh Allen is a 1-Man wrecking crew (and it’s been fun to watch him evolve as a passer)
Purdy pretty good in Shanahan’s system.
So when you are convicted of murder, the dead white person is the racist?
Apparently… in some people’s minds. Certainly not all.
Vikings fans have become jaded to the rookie QB process considering all they have seen in the past what…25 years is Ponder and Teddy. Every other QB has been an over paid or aging Vet or retread. We literally have no ideal how to handle this process. And its very apparent on here and all socials.
You are so correct with that comment. We Viking fans also think we know way more than we do. Lets watch it play out…..
Agreed. And I get it, last year wasnt nearly as fun as 2024 and was hard to watch at times but, you got to be prepared for that, Rookie QB and last second panic pick ups to fill out the room. That ship has sailed. I really think this season could be a lot of fun and they can and should get a WC came out of it. Thats just me though.
Dart was a rookie, McCarthy was in his second year. Dart had 4 months on the job, McCarthy had 17 months. Apples to oranges argument, and nobody was claiming he was a HoF QB when he was drafted.
17 months on the job, but how much game time? Injured his entire first season.
So he missed the season (4 months) but not a whole year. He was drafted in April, and injured his knee mid August. Did he just sit around and do nothing in those 4 months? No, he practiced, and practiced, and practiced. In November he a non surgical procedure to drain the knee and reduce swelling, but by February he was moving decently and could throw the ball. By training camp he could practice fully. In that whole time he also attended meetings, watched film, and worked on learning the offense, so yeah 17 months of study time and 8 months of practice, compared to Dart’s 4 month’s. McCarthy should have been much better than Dart.
BTW, this is a totally cherry picked stat comparison. Dart threw 15 TD’s to 5 int’s and JJM threw 11 TD’s and 12 int’s. Dart completed 63.7% of his passes, and JJM only completed 57.6%. Dart’s passer rating was 91.7 and JJM’s was 72.6. SO… looks like the guy with 4 months on the job, did WAY better than the guy with 17 months on the job to me.
JJ has 10 starts.
Drake Maye did not look good after 10 starts.
JJ needs more in game experience, but he has to earn it.
He could still be a bust.
He could also become a very good QB.
You do not know.
Neither do I.
Today, he is miles cheaper than your god-tier Kirko QB.
Dart was not considered a “HoF” type QB. He started after 4 months, compared to JJM starting after 17 months with 8 months of training camp, versus 4 months for Dart. Dart was way better than JJM. Rationalize it any way you want. BTW, Mayes stats in his first 10 games were pretty damn good, if you care to look them up so yeah, that dog won’t hunt.
And a bad cheap QB, is just a bad QB. Do I know what the future holds for JJM? I do not. So far I am completely unimpressed though. He’s slow on the draw and inaccurate. Unless he somehow increases his processing speed and accuracy, I don’t see him going far.
By the way, Cousins as a rookie started his first game when RGIII was injured, and completed 70.3% of his passes for 329 yards, and 2 TD’s with a 104.4 passer rating. His first start in the NFL, as the backup to Griffin.
One final note… Cousins has a cap hit this year of $1.3M. He cost about $225K more than JJM. Tell me more about your great cheap QB who can’t hit the broadside of a barn.
Please just go join the raiders site and spew your crap about kirko being the best ever.
I’m just providing data. I guess sometimes the truth bugs people.
https://www.silverandblackpride.com/
There is where you belong
also, KFEY was right
Sorry Surly, that GIF applies to you. Cousins was one of the best QB’s the Vikings have ever had. It’s you and others that can’t handle the truth.
“One of the most accurate passers”
Who cares what Giant fans think? The Giants suck!
Sounds like he is politicking to be named the starter and get all of the 1st team reps.
Thereby shutting JJ (QB) out.
Logical? Maybe. Not sure how that plays inside the locker room if JJ (QB) has any supporters.
I think this is a total non-issue. Every guy in the locker room knows he was just stating the facts of life in the NFL. He wasn’t slighting anyone. Just answering a question.
But, if JJ just answers a question he is immature and not a good leader. The hypocrisy is deep.
Very deep.
False equivalency… JJM was personal, and immature, and basically presented himself as a bad teammate and non team player when asked about Murray. Murray presented a reasonable, rational answer to a question about learning the offense.
When you present something that is intellectually irrational, I feel obliged to let you know.
False equivalencyHow dare you disagree with me. – FIFYJust pointing out the reality of the argument JV.
The reality of the argument is if someone does not agree with you it is a false equivalency.
JJ answered the question about the QB room honestly, and you called him immature.
Kyler Murray answered a question about camp and splitting reps and he answered it honestly.
If JJs answer is immature then KMs answer is whiny.
But since you prefer KM over JJ it is only possible that KM is being honest and JJ is being immature.
Sorry, developers have not created the crayon font at this point.
That’s not true JV. A false equivalency, is a false equivalency. You compared the comments of two different QB’s on two different subjects, with two different responses, as the same. One question was about personal teammate relationships, and the other was about the challenge of learning a new offense. There is no equivalency in those two questions, or their relative responses. This is a classic example of a false equivalency argument.
Right now, I don’t believe in JJM at all. That’s true. Personally I like Wentz the best, not Kyler though, if you must know. But that has nothing to do with this.
No I compared your response to the two different comments made by two different QBs. Both comments were me oriented, not team oriented, but one is considered immature and the other is not, by you.
Did you hear JJ call Jennings, his own teammate a dirt bag? Talk about immaturity from a “leader”.
Meh, “gameboy” wants the reps to learn the offense. JJ wants the reps to prove he can do better than what is on tape in 10 games.
Both have valid arguments. Both can play the position. Pretty sure both could be injured by week 1 and we roll with Wentz/Brosmer.
Well it’s split rep’s at the moment, so both guys have to “suffer” through that. KOC will let this play out a little longer, to solidify in his head which guy he thinks can do the best job for the team.
Are we going to see more “peaceful protests” tonight over the Anthony guilty verdict that is about to be dropped?
I’m getting tired of peaceful protests, personally.
Black Panthers to the rescue to calm things down. I also saw one where a black lady said, “what am I supposed to tell my sons after this?”
I guess it is a ‘racist’ verdict if you see everything thru the lens of race.
Yeah, so if I get their reasoning right here, Black people can kill white people, without repercussions, because white people are racists. That’s not good.
Maybe if we pay them enough ‘reparations’ then they will be ok with white people not being killed.
Speaking of white people being killed all those northern soldier in the Civil War who were killed, resulting in the freeing of millions of slaves don’t count to them???
Booker T. Washington said this in 1911, just 48 years after the slaves were freed by Abraham Lincoln.
“There is another class of coloured people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs — partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs.”
115 years ago, he saw this effect.
Race Baiting has made Sharpton, Jessie Jackson, Malcom X and others a lot of money.
Jackson was someone who wanted to move Black people forward. Trump supported Jackson starting in 1985, because he agreed with his perspectives. Make education opportunities better, job opportunities better, and help people succeed.
Trump is a racist, though.
‘Jackson was someone who wanted to move Black people forward’
As long as he was able to get enough money out of corporations that is.
Guilty of murder.
Small-ish crowd at the courthouse. One fistfight.
I expect Fake News to try to drum up more drama over it.
I expect you’re right.
According to Facebook, the country will burn if Anthony is found guilty.
Good thing I got a couple of fire extinguishers a few months ago then.
I’ll wait till we play a real game, against a real defense, and see if Kyler averages 162 yards, with a 57% completion rate, a 72 passer rating, and throws 11 TD’s against 12 interceptions in 10 games. I’m gonna bet that won’t be the case.
The Defense normally develops quicker than the Offense usually.
Especially with a new ‘triggerman’ running the Offense.
Midget Man is already complaining about not getting enough reps and thinks he is entitled to all of the reps because he is the new guy.
That’s not what he said. He was asked what was the toughest part about adjusting to Minnesota’s offense. He said it was the split reps. He wasn’t complaining, he was answering a question from a reporter.
I remember JJ answering a question and getting crucified for saying he was doing his job. This sounds pretty whiny to me.
I didn’t think it was whiny. He was asked a question about what was the toughest part about adjusting to the new offense, and he answered it. I thought it was a practical, rational answer. Honest too. Most folks just don’t get how hard it is to learn a new system. It’s much harder than they think. So yeah, the more reps the better. But it’s split reps and that’s just the way it is.
I suspect, as I don’t know the man, he used the opportunity afforded by the question to advocate for more 1st team reps for himself and therefore less for JJ (QB).
Other QBs were questioned for ‘answering a question’ honestly here by certain posters.
Well that’s what we call a false equivalence argument. The “other QB” was asked a question about his relationship with a new teammate, and his answer was somewhat terse, and showed he wasn’t a good teammate, or team player. It was, in a word, supremely immature, even referencing high school. Murray was asked about learning the offense, and his answer was rational and realistic, without being a dick. IMO.
Yes, In Your Opinion.
And you have made your personal bias abundantly clear on the topic.
Kind of like throwing short on 4th and 8 with the season on the line?
Completing the pass at the last second before being sacked to the only guy available? Yeah, sometimes you don’t have a chance. Reality sucks sometimes, but you still just have to deal with it and move on.
Just gonna leave this here. This was option one of two he had that were better then the 3rd one he made. Risk adverse to a fault. KJ was breaking open a full second before this screen shot was taken btw.
too logical.
Actually that pic shows perfectly that Cousins could not get the ball to that receiver, at all. Look at where the defender is crashing down on Cousins from, look at where Cousins body is positioned, and where his arm is. No way he could get the ball to that receiver before being hit. Cousins had worked the deep ball first to Jefferson, but he was bracketed with a safety over the top, and he actually sort of gave up on the route and wasn’t even looking back. Cousins quickly ran out of time in the pocket, and as he was about to get hit, got the ball out to the only receiver available, which was Hock.
Great picture!
Does Billy have enough ammo left to pull this one off?
Thumbs up to that Bow.
Sounds like there might be some flyovers more local to the IRGC soon.
Well we have a lot going on behind the scenes. Lots of things that won’t come out anytime soon.
Shooting down an Apache (unless it was a false flag by Israel) seems to demand something the public can see.
Maybe. I hear it was a preprogrammed drone on a flight, not a weapon dispatched purposefully against our helicopter. Fog of war moment maybe. Regardless, I think we need to implement the strategy Trump is working on. He’s lining up a strategy that will bring permanent peace to the region. He’s playing 3D chess here, and pulling a lot of levers. Time will tell if his strategy works. One day the story will be told of all the activities, clandestine and otherwise that were going on to try and permanently solve a thousands of years old problem.
My mind went straight to false flag. US has done it multiple times in the past to grease the wheels for the war profit machine.
If not Iran, I would guess Israel first.
Eh, two sides of the same coin imo.
Remember how KOC almost refused to run play action plays, even thought that was KC’s bread and butter. Are we going to see the same thing if Murray is playing. Murray almost has to run play action, in order to see his receivers.
Also if Murray is in the back field running around like a chicken with his head cut off, won’t that wear down our O-linemen? I see a lot of holding calls in our future.
Or make their D line wore out. Goes both ways. O line wont have to work harder if Murray scrambles, at that point the Defense is already through the line of scrimmage and its up to Murray to evade.
IIRC the o-line seemed very run down after a couple of games with Dobbs at QB. The “experts claimed it was from having to block for a QB that the O-line had no idea where he was going to be.
Traditionally, O-Lines prefer a pocket passer over a scrambling QB, for that reason. They know where he is going to set (how deep his drop will be) and the timing of the play. They can work stunts and pass-off’s much easier. If they are moving around a lot on a play as the QB scrambles, the integrity of the pass protection scheme is lost, and the line is basically relying on athleticism and improvisation to protect the QB.
Meh, Cardinals O line, Chiefs, Baltimore , dont hear them complain. I think its a nothing burger.
For sure. And called rollouts and bootlegs are very different than scrambles.
Agreed. I just dont think there’s a lot of solid evidence except some talking heads opinion that scrambling QBs wear out an O line more then ones that stand in the pocket. Sharron scrambled for GB for a decade + and they always had top graded O lines (the scrambling helps with the sack and pressure numbers but thats another discussion.)
Not to mention being allowed to hold.
Also facts
If KOC doesn’t adjust his offense to take advantage of the skill set Murray brings to the position, he’s not a very good coach. Moreover, why even bring Murray in if you aren’t going to make adjustments.
Because you don’t change your offense for the backup QB.
Wentz will be find at it too.
So as we examine the QB situation, it seems to me, a fair question to ask is, what about our receiving corps? We have a trio of WR’s who are pretty strong, plus Hock. Jefferson’s contract is a pretty steep investment all by itself, let alone all those other guys. Wouldn’t we want to have a QB who can make reads and deliver the ball accurately and on-time to them? Maximize their skillset as it were?
Of course the answer is yes.
However, paying 30 million or more for Sam/Kirko would prohibit the team from stacking the trenches.
Jones was the best affordable option last season, but he saw that McFragile was the anointed one according to either the FO or head coach, so he walked.
Murray is good enough, and certainly cheap enough(this season) to take advantage of the weapons on this roster.
Long term, unless he suddenly is feeling generous, he will demand a very lucrative contract if he plays well this season, and the Vikings will once again be in salary cap hell.
The team is attempting the strategy of building a solid roster while the QB is on a rookie (cheap) deal, and had to pivot due to injuries.
Sam was great for year 1, and JJ would not have started unless possibly that week 8 area where Sam was not playing well, but JJ had an owie again, and could not play.
Last season was a cluster, fully on the GM. Not retaining either Sam or Daniel was a large mistake, and JJ showed that he is not ready.
This year the team gets a good QB for cheap, and they will ride him like a mule until dead.
No idea what will happen, but I do think this QB room is an improvement over last season.
This ^ it really is that simple. No need to over analyze or play Devil’s Advocate with it. No one is arguing that a high IQ QB that can throw an accurate pass is needed to win. Thats obvious and doesn’t require elaboration. The cost of said QB or who said QB may be is the real question. We will find out of they are on the roster this season or not.
So your logic is, of course a high IQ QB with an accurate arm is needed to win, but we don’t need to pay for one.
FTFY
Or overpay for a moderate IQ and moderate arm.
The market is the market. You get what you pay for, in general.
If you want to win a SB you will have to pay to have good QB play.
Now, there is no guarantee if you do pay you will win one, but if you don’t you won’t.
Pay? yes.
Overpay
NO
reference Seattle and Philthy, among others.
IF the Vikings could suck less at drafting and building a roster, this season is a good time to do that. Rookie QB deal, wentz is a bargain, Murray is a bigger bargain, and Brosmer is overpaid if he is getting 50 buckx.
Sign who you need to in the trenches while these guys are cheap.
Can’t be.
Winning games is not a qb stat.
Therefore, no reason to pay money for a QB.
Not if you don’t have to, correct. Or over pay, as Surly clarified.
Just because the market says a QB should be making this purely on market value not on talent value, doesn’t mean you HAVE to go with that QB and HAVE to pay them that. That’s called being desperate. The Vikings need to get as far away from being desperate as possible. That’s how 2018 and on happens. Bad news.
You know I never read your comments right?
Same goes for you booba ❤️❤️
Except you comment on what you don’t read all the time… so..
Oh im sorry, I thought you didn’t read my comments…who are you replying to? I can make sure they get your message.
This.
I will never forget Zimmer saying he did not want to pay so much at the QB position that he could not field a competitive roster.
Wryck heard that and said “I can do what I want”
So there we were, for years.
Useless
Guy is so punchable.
I’m clearly not a GM type or QB expert either. But some general thoughts.
There are a lot of ways to build a team and win games.
Seems to me as you point out our “big play” given where we spend the money is winning thru a talented passing game. Our receivers are elite.
For this strategy to make any sense, you must have a talented QB.
Yeah, you’d want the best QB possible throwing to JJ, Addison, hock, Jennings, Jones. Question is, who will be healthy? JJ, Murray, and Wentz have all had extensive injury histories, JJ only two years in the NFL. It wouldn’t surprise me if all three ended up playing next season
‘a fair question to ask’
Seems like a dumb question to ask as the obvious answer is ‘DUH’.
There are folks that believe it’s more important to get a young QB reps and “develop” him than play a guy farther along the development curve. It’s a fair question SoCal.
I think the better question is “where are we as a team?” Are our expectations to win a superb owl this year? I don’t think the Vikings are SB contenders. So should we waste another year on a one year QB, just to get a few more wins this year? Or, should we invest in the future and develop the QB we drafted as our potential QBOTF?
Fair question.
Our defense could be top five.
Our offense, with good QB play, could also be top five.
If you can’t deep with that, you’ve got other problems
Watching the SPLC testifying in front of Congress.
Mr Fair, the CEO and acting president of the SPLC is doing a decent job of dodging and avoiding questions he doesn’t want to answer.
I don’t believe a word he is saying especially when he plays the ‘not to my knowledge’ card but he is good at being slippery and slimy.
Yes, he does look slippery.
It’s all great theatre.
What I find shameful is our Congress has turned into the circus they have become.
Indeed
I would think the questions would be fairly simple and direct. Did your organization provide funds to this organization? We actually have the money trail as I understand it. He could say “not to my knowledge”, but then you would pursue the budget process, who oversees spending, and what processes are followed to allocate funds. He can play dumb, but eventually his house of cards would fall.
Oh that question was asked numerous times and in different ways.
His response is ‘That question will be answered by our counselors in court’.
In court? This is an NGO funded by Congress. Now they have to go to court to get answers? Hmmm… they could just say OK, we’re defunding you forever for unethical behavior, and yeah we’re suing you for all our money back.
Don’t think so – it is a 501 (c) (3) non profit funded by donations and grants.
Yes, not funded by Congress.
It was brought up mulitple times that ‘donors have not complained’ so they are good with what SPLC did.
The are under indictment by the DOJ. So yes they will address those questions in court.
These type of hearings are all about “show” at this time.
Both sides, Republicans and Democrats, will get there little five minute sound bits that they can show their constituents and look like they are really doing something.
And at the end of the day, absolutely nothing will come of this.
Likely
Sounds like Teasley thinks Murray is the starter.
He is not deciding who will start and when.
But he will have a lot to say about who stays at the end of the season and for how much.
Actually the Wilf’s said he has the final say on the 53 man roster, which I found odd. So he’s has the say about who will stay at the start of the season. I still think he was intoning here that Murray is the favored guy to start. Just my opinion of course. Lots of pundits who have been at the OTA’s have said Murray looks better than McCarthy throwing the ball. That said, it’s practice, and not much more than playing catch at this point.
I do not believe that having the ‘final say on the 53 man roster’ is the same thing as ‘deciding who will start and when’.
It not.
Me either, but that’s not what I was talking about SoCal.
Sounds/reads to me that you were conflating the two.
Whoa, careful there SoCal, do you know who you are talking to?!
No, I was answering your “But he will have a lot to say about who stays at the end of the season” comment. Not conflating anything.
‘he was intoning here that Murray is the favored guy to start.’
You were talking about ‘who will stay at the end of the season’?????
No, I was talking about who the pundits think will be the starter this season based on Teasley’s comments. Then you introduced the commentary about “he will have a lot to say about who stays at the end of the season” and I responded to that. You’re making this really hard for some reason.
I think the real deciding factor will be who can run the offense. If the stories about Murray not studying film or playbook are true, he will struggle to run our offense.
Except the fact that he has publicly said the QB room is “deep” and “bring on the competition. Let the best man win.”
Well as the Black Panthers just stated that this is a racist country and our new GM has a black father, and he seems to be advocating for the Black QB over the White QB the conclusion should be pretty obvious.
The ‘Soft Holdout’ ala Hock?
Heard we have a couple of similar situations going on currently, one is a LB not sure of the 3rd. Too lazy at the moment to search for it since someone around here as the answer already.
I think Cashman and Van Ginkel are both in contract years at linebacker, along with Pace. Hock is in that situation again too I believe, along with both our RB’s Jones and Mason. Rodgers at CB, too. So lots of contract decisions to make.
Not worried about Pace but Gink and Cashman need to be on-board.
Sounds like the new GM has some work to do. I am sure the coaches want to keep Gink, Cash and Potato happy and involved.
This is where the rubber meets the road. Teasley has retain talent or let it go, based on his cap management strategy. We have a little over $13M in cap space right now, for the rest of the year. So we’re in decent shape. Next year we’re also in decent shape, but have a lot of players to work out deals with.
Will they sign shorter, cheaper extensons?
Void years in play? kicking the can down the road?
Coaches have a say in how much they feel that they need each player.
Potato has more backup but the youngsters need a year to mature into the NFL game.
Well, that’s all part of Teasley’s cap management plan. So we’ll see how he plays his cards. I’m not a big fan of the constant restructures, adding void years, etc when it comes to the cap, but I’m not the GM or the owner.
It makes sense, he has no guaranteed money left so if he were to get injured he’d be up shitts creek
Hawt Taek Tuesday,
JJ will start at QB week 1. He does so good that we end up trading Murray before the trade deadline.
Vikings make the playoffs and actually win a playoff game.
KOC keeps his career alive for another 2 years.
Addison has a monster year and we trade him for a 1st and 2nd round pick to a crappy team, so they are great picks.
Have some ‘Hopeium’ for breakfast.
And of course #nojinx.
That’s an interesting take. I’ll give you that. Whoever ends up as QB1, they better play sound football. We had a really good performance from Darnold, but KAM let him walk. Likely an economic move. Still, Cousins and Darnold executed KOC’s offense pretty well. Both were not retained. I’d like us to find someone who can replicate their level of performance. Someone who can make quick reads, and deliver the ball accurately. Please.
I would like that as well, as long as that someone is closer to Sam’s contract vs Kirk’s contract.
Murray is the best QB on the roster today. At 1.3 million, that is a better bargain than Sam was at 10 Million.
I still think Murray will play just well enough that the new GM will throw away a ton of money to keep him, just to handicap the rest of the roster. Again. And again.
Glad it is not my money.
KAM did let Darnold walk, but he also let Jones walk, and to me that was also bad.
JJ and a late addition of Wentz did not work out. I still hope JJ becomes a viable starter, but I doubt it is this season.
QB room is much improved since last season. Wentz has time in the system and rumors are his arms both work, JJ is not quite as shitty as last year according to pundits saying useless things, and Murray has the skills, if he can put things together and see over the linemen to throw the ball.
No idea who the #2 qb is, but I am confident that Mighty Mouse will be the starter unless injury derails him.
Also, Kirk still sucks.
I tend o just look at QB’s based on how they play on the field.
Get your idea that you can look at this in a sort of cost/benefit way.
But also believe operating in this way will always sub optimize the QB position.
yep, unless you find the unicorn rookie that can play quickly at an average level or better. Thinking Dart, Nix, Maye, etc. Not McFragile (yet). Only 10 games, and he looked terrible the first 7 or so.
I hate overpaying any player(Jefferson) to the detriment of being able to field a solid team.
Teams like the Seahawks and Eagles built the trenches, while not overpaying at the QB position.
Whatever it takes to finally win a SuperBowl would be great.
Solid post all around 10/10!
He was good in Iron man as War Machine. Too bad he got a bit greedy.
I love the optimism
Ill give you props to sticking to your guns man! We shall see what happens come August!
If JJ doesn’t start week 1, he will start after the bye week.
Wellll that sounds like a cop out haha, either he starts week 1 or he doesn’t. It sounds like that was the position you were taking. Wanting to hedge your bet with the Bye week? (This is all in good fun btw).
I still say he is starting week 1.
Also, I am quite capable of acknowledging when someone is ribbing me. I assume everything on the internet to be sarcasm.
Roger that! Just making sure.
I would love to see JJ start.
So would the Vikings, I am sure.
When does the new Call of Duty game come out? I expect the little guy to be ill or tweak his ankle around that time.
I havent paid for a video game in over 5 years but usually around Oct or Nov, they like to release close to holiday season to boost their sales with black Friday and Xmas
Happy Tuesday,
Skol
FTP
FTP Auto Rec.
Bittersweet day for me. Just finished participating in my last board meeting.
My official retirement date is July 10th. I am excited and a little scared and sad at the same time. Excited to be done after 36 years of working, and now I will be able to golf more and do whatever I want. Scared because it is quite a life change. Sad because I have some co-workers who have become my closet friends over the years, and I just won’t see them as often.
Went through that myself a few years back (had been same place for 43 years). You will go thru a lot of different emotions – that’s normal, but you’ll be OK. You may find you have to work a little harder at maintaining relationships.
When I left a friend gave me this advice – ‘Don’t become and angry old man and learn to find joy in the small things.’
Congratulations on your retirement.
I am starting know what you feel like. I’m going down to 1 day at the beginning of Sep so I am starting to train others on a bunch of my duties. It is exciting and scary all at the same time.
Congrats NoDak. It took me a couple years to “let go” after I retired. I had colleagues that I received emails and texts from often. To be honest, I still confer with a lot of them to this day. My wife laughs and asks what secret squirrel stuff I was talking about with them. Of course I don’t have any classified communications ability at home anymore, but we talk about current events and don’t delve into anything classified. Sometimes they ask who my contacts were in certain agencies or countries, to help them with something they’re working on. I do see them too at times playing golf with them, and occasionally lunch. So, maybe I never really retired.
Anyway, I know you’ll be happy, and fine. Congrats again.
When I retired I kept up with quite a few of my coworkers.
One told me she was having trouble with her computer that she did TDYs/Schools on for the Bde. The IT guy was on a joke thread that I had kept up on. I asked if he could stop by and check it for her.
She called me a few days later and said IT came to check my computer she said he told her SFC SoCal said she was having problems. She told me that she had complained to my replacement but he hadn’t followed up. Said I was doing more for her/the office six months after I retired then the new boss was.
Kind of choked me up, that was a good unit that I didn’t want to leave.
Senior NCO’s are the heartbeat of the force. They take care of their troops, and make sure everything is done right. Obviously you had that in you. Lead the troops, care for the troops. So awesome.
Some try to do their best for the unit, troops and the mission.
Some not quite so much, at least those make the majority that try look better.
Yeah, I came across a few “politicians” only interested in their career path, but you could always see the real leaders. They stood out, and I can tell you I was badly wounded in Afghanistan and an Army SFC saved my life. So I got a place in my heart for you guys.
Same.
Mine will likely be December 18th.
Maybe through mid February for the audit if they pay me.
Went thru dozens of ‘mini’ situations like that.
In the Army you were moving every few years, those kind of felt like that. Then retired and went to work for my brother, bankrupted after 3 years (Thanks Adelphia), then at the prison everyone got moved/changed jobs after 3 years (no getting too comfortable around the inmates) so more of the same.
None of them as poignant as what you are looking at. Some more meaningful than others though. I guess you kind of get numb to that sort of thing after about 40 years of going thru changes every 2-3 years.
Before we moved here I counted about 30 moves, 9 years at the SoCal house was the longest I had ever been in one place since I joined the army at 18.
Funny, my brother in law planted a tree in his backyard in ND when each of his kids were born. I told him I wish I could have done that with my kids. He replied he wished he could have moved around and seen more of the US and the World. I guess the grass really is greener on the other side of the fence.
Just saw the words up top. Weather wasn’t horrible in Minot, some strong winds, a little hail, lots of rain, plenty of lightening, the tornadoes missed us to the northwest. Not much damage at all, hardly any branches down.
Well there is just the one tree in NoDak.
Touche!
I walked 18 holes of golf yesterday. The temp was 93 and the wind was 23 to 33 mph. I am not a smart man sometimes.
Wow… glad you’re still alive!
I forgot my rule that when the temp hits 90 I use a cart. I will not forget again.
Good rule.
My rule is to use a cart. Everytime.
And if there are no carts available, I play another day. I did walk our local course once and it was miserable. The local course is set up in a river valley so a lot of steep hills.
I have to admit, when I walked it, I hit the ball better. Maybe because I didn’t want to go chasing it all over the course.
I use golf as “exercise/weight control” It is an easier sell to my wife if the 4 hours has a health benefit associated with it.
Clever
Yep.
I did walk the par 3 on Saturday.
But it was a cooling breeze
Well at least the wind kept away the State Birds, aka mosquitoes.
I did, too
Was the windmill really whipping around?
It was, the blade barely caught my ball & threw it off target, or I’d have likely hit a hole-in-one.
So KAM now has a new job with the 49rs, Vice President of Personnel and Strategy.
Sounds like ‘corp speak’ for ‘glorified office fetcher’ to me, but what do I know??
https://thevikingage.com/kwesi-adofo-mensah-officially-new-job-nfl-minnesota-vikings
Does this mean the Vikings don’t have to pay out the remainder of his contract? I know that is why Zimmer took so long to get back to coaching in the NFL. He wanted to stick it to the Vikings for firing him.
Hmmm had not considered that. It is not mentioned in the article.
All depends on the contract. Unlikely though.
Sure he’s running analytics, which makes sense for him
Vice President of Personnel and Strategy? Has anyone looked at how well he did that here? I’d say those were probably the two singular reasons we got rid of him.
Vikings mandatory mini camp starts tomorrow. Mandatory minicamp: June 9-11.
Then the last OTA’s are June 15-18.
Training camp should be fun this year
The Vikings are firmly in the National spotlight with the JJM and Murray drama playing out. Oddly enough the Raiders are also in the media crosshairs this year as they focus their attention on Fernando Mendoza vs Kirk Cousins. Sometimes you just have to ignore the noise though. Murray and Cousins will be the starters for their respective teams. Both head coaches want/need a vet at the helm to give their teams the best chance to win games.
Depending on Murray’s commitment to learning the offense, he has the better arm talent and much more experience than JJM. In fact, so does Wentz IMO.
This is why I don’t think Murray will be QB1 week 1.
I’ll take that bet at this point… I just don’t see JJM as the better choice under center.
KOC is not a fan of adlibbing on the field. If Murray cannot learn the playbook and play within the design of the play, he will not be the starter.
McCarthy, in general, can only run a limited passing offense. At most he can get through two reads, before he takes off running. Murray can do that, and do it better, because he has a more accurate arm than JJM.
Could, not necessarily can, we as fans do not know this yet. Remember JJ has had a full offseason to review his game film and work on mechanics. Compared to last year where he was still recovering from surgery. A lot can change over an offseason.
He did work out with his favorite QB coach from collage over the summer.
He’s playing for his future, he’ll be all-in, IMO. At least for this year.
I believe that as well.
But I also believe that ‘old habits die hard’.
So being a Viking fan I ‘hope for the best but expect the worst’.
He should understand that you have to earn it every single day. For the rest of his career. Every day you have to go out there and prove yourself. I have this feeling he didn’t really get that. Like he thought he was just destined to be the starter. Still everyone went on and on and on and on ad nauseum about his “intangibles”. He’s a winner! He meditates. He becomes this whole other person on the field. Etc, etc, etc.
Well all that’s great, but it doesn’t mean anything in the NFL. The tangibles of a fast brain, and an accurate arm is what matters in the NFL for a QB. All that other stuff is a load of hooey.
Are you still referring to Murray or did you switch over to JJ (QB)?
I ask because the original comment was about Murray but you bring up ‘medication’ which is more of a JJ (QB) thing.
I was refering to JJM. I didn’t realize you were referring to Murray. Grin.
Cousins and McMidget will 100% be starting week one, though most people expect Mendoza will start at some point during the season, barring injuries I don’t think JJ will.
Given 3Ms injury history I expect JJ (QB) will get a start or three.
Think JJ is even more injury prone than Murray.
Yes but I doubt that JJ (QB) will get injured while sitting on the bench while waiting for 3M to get his injury.
What if Wentz ends up being QB2?
More like QB2B.
Once 3M get injured I expect the braintrust will go with JJ (QB) first as they need to confirm what they have in him. They already know what they have in Wentz. IMHO of course.
I think they know what they have in McCarthy as well. I think they make him QB2 though, to save face, if nothing else. I personally saw the offense was running more efficiently, and productively last year with Wentz under center. Wentz, while far from perfect, was averaging 242 yards a game passing, to JJM’s 162. That’s 80 more yards of offense a game. His completion percentage was 65.1% to JJM’s 57.6% and JJM had more interceptions than TD’s. Also his on-target rate, and bad throw rate were about the worst in the league. So I personally think Wentz is the better choice for QB2, but I’m not in the building.
That all may or not be true about what they think of JJ (QB) or Wentz ability to be QB2.
I do think they feel they need to give JJ (QB) at least one more chance due to his draft position.
And KOC’s quote about teams failing young QBs more than young QBs failing teams.
I Think that is a real possibility, if they like what they see in Midget, I could see them trading JJ and getting what they can.
That is being discussed by ‘internet experts’.
What if Murray is QB3?
Or QB4?
Brosmer does have a year in the system under his belt now.
A year of absolute crap
JJ could get hurt walking, given his McFragile history.
Sure, he might even get a splinter from the bench that gets infected.
I would think that the odds of that are kind of slim. But if they do happen then they still have Wentz.
At first I read “JJ could hurt wanking”, which also is true
Those can be some serious injuries. errr or so I head from a friend.
Welcome to the club.
There are 94 days until the National Football League 2026 Season starts on Wednesday, 9 September 2026 8:20 PM EDT.
There are 98 days until the Vikings first game against the Packers on Sunday, 13 September, 4:25 PM EDT
Such a great pic GF! Jefferson looks like he’s really enjoying the moment with your son. So cool!
I was just wondering why kiddo was holding a shoe in that picture?
He got that signed by JJ
Ahhh.
Photo proof should make it more valuable on the sports memorial market.
On the home page, the picture is cropped and I just saw Eli holding a shoe with someone standing next to him. I just figured Gone fishin’ had grown a little and had his summer tan.
And put on a wig…..
He did an awesome job with the kids, really impressed with him.
Only about 6 months until real football.
Christian Watson got a 4 year Potentially $110 mil contract. That is crazy money for a guy who has not played a full season yet.
https://www.dailynorseman.com/minnesota-vikings-news/97137/jordan-addison-contract-extension-more-difficult-minnesota-vikings-green-bay-packers
Yeah, like JJ he’s had a hard time staying on the field
It’s Monday,
I actually enjoy Mondays, I get to go to work and take it easy.
Skol
FTP
I’ve always enjoyed Mondays. New week, fresh start.
Great pic.
SKOL and go Vikes. FTP
Rec for first PA… and FTP!
SKOL!
FTP Auto Rec.