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VIKINGS NEWS
Old friend Ev Griffen was arrested again for DUI, hopefully he is ok and gets his life together.
NFL NEWS
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Question of the Day
What is the configuration of the IOL now that Risner is back?
Media Selection
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It is
FridaySaturdaySundayMonday and Welcome to Skoloholics.This is like the TomCruise movie ‘ Edge of Tomorrow’ – the day never changes.
Good morning and SKOL! Mandatory mini-camp is this week. Only three days, but we’ll get some slow motion clips of our guys making spectacular plays, I’m sure.
Oh, yeah, FTP!!!
Oil win, They were ought shot 35-10. They were dominated Guessing MT is happy though.
As long as MT is happy it’s all good.
It is only Hockey so not like it’s anything important.
MT. You out there? Jacked up for game ain’t you?
Read an article on Jefferson’s contract status and it was mentioned he had missed OTA’s. I think JJ missed OTA’s last year too, so I don’t think that’s a big deal. However, the Vikings mandatory mini camp starts Tuesday, and if Jefferson sits that out, fines are supposed to be incurred.
My bet is JJ is at camp on Tuesday.
So, regarding the “tampering” discussion below, I don’t get it. Cousins is driving on Tuesday to Atlanta to sign his contract the next day. He gets a call from the head PR guy, and I would assume this is in regards to detailing the events of the next day. Where he needs to park, etc. Then he gets a call from the head trainer. Again, I’d think that would be about the physical he has to pass before he can sign.
I don’t get all the “tampering” talk at all. I know there was a quote on the tampering rules that said no team personnel could contact the player on the two days prior to the official start of the season (which was Wednesday when Cousins actually signed) but coordinating the things he has to do on that day is a violation of tampering rules? It just doesn’t make sense that someone would think this way.
I just hate every team other than Vikings. The way i roll.
I’m good with that…
Get your point. Kind of a letter versus substance of the law. Doubt trainer and PR guy have much to do with contract negotiations.
‘I would assume’ does not equal ‘knowing’.
If that is all the conversations were about then it will probably be a ‘nothing-burger’ or just a slap on the wrist.
We will see if it goes deeper, or how much deeper when the results of the investigation come out. We really don’t know very much and if what we do know are the tip of the iceberg or not.
Yes, which is why I chose those words. No reporter or pundit knows either. This was all borne out of Florio screaming foul after Cousins’ signing presser. He doesn’t know either. It’s all about Florio getting noticed.
Seems a resolution to Falcons tampering will be resolved this week. Shocked if Purple get anything, maybe just subtraction for Atlanta. Assuming Penis signs a contract for $20 mil plus they are sure spending money on qb’s. Talk about rolling the dice.
FJB
Think the only way Vikings get anything out of it is if they and Atlanta agree to resolve it between themselves and the NFL agrees to the arrangement.
If Atlanta had an idea what the NFL would take as a penalty the two teams could split the difference and Atlanta would be penalized less and Vikings would get something out of the whole thing.
A win-win kind of deal. Or the NFL say ‘no harm, no foul’.
Of course ‘expect the worst and hope for the best’ is the way to go forward for us.
I always expect the worst, usually not disappointed.
It is easier to handle ‘the worst’ when you are expecting it.
And it is a joy to be wrong and ‘the worst’ doesn’t appear.
You’re strong – I can’t even think about four more years with Biden.
I figure being in Idaho for it will be much better than in Calif.
Being shielded from the worst of it will help I hope.
Pray it doesn’t happen but if it does I will do my best to endure.
Sniffer expected to sign a executive order on border. Now?! How fucking stupid are people to see what this clown is doing to buy votes!
Anything he does on the border will be designed to help get more illegals in faster.
They will call it something different and spin it as ‘tough’ just like they did with that Border Bill they tried to resurrect.
Maybe he can forgive mortgage payments too to seal the deal. This clown and and VP/cabinet remained it will show the true ignorance of voting base.
If he forgives mortgage payments I hope it is soon, I owe a little bit on this one and we owe a bit more in Idaho.
Would hate to pay off those and then have the mortgages forgiven.
I’m starting to believe pretty stupid. Had a gay couple of guys (married) recently tell me they are voting for Biden because Trump will ‘outlaw’ gay marriage and they would have to leave the country.
This is the kind of BS the left puts out.
Well if they believe that then they are not that smart to begin with.
They run a software company that makes a fortune yearly.
They think after Roe was overturned there are factions on our side that would delve into other social issues.
You can find ‘factions’ that will want to do just about anything.
Just ask NAMBLA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Man/Boy_Love_Association
When you’re hungry lots of food looks good.
Read an Atlanta said – ‘ It’s nice to have a QB that throws a ball that receivers CAN actually catch.’
‘It’s nice to have a QB that throws a ball that receivers CAN actually catch.’
KC or Penix?
#evilgrin
Laughing… nice. You know there were reports of a lot of drops when Penix was throwing the ball his first couple days in OTA’s… due to his reverse spin on the ball they said. I used to watch Stabler throw the ball for the Raiders, and the ball does look different in the air.
Be interesting. Know nothing about Falcons o-line and receiving corps.
Twinkies win 4-3.
They take the series from Houston in Houston which can never be a bad thing.
Have to take my sister somewhere, be back in couple hours.
Enjoy.
Watch out for crazies.
No kidding, crazies everywhere. I need to apologize to the whole country for the embarrassing LMPD fiasco during the LPGA. KY is a red state, but Louisville is run by the left. UGH.
Why my daughter moved to Oldham County, schools much better.
Even Nampa, which is about as red as you can get, has to allow a ‘pride event’.
https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/community/canyon-county/article288809225.html
UGH!
Yep.
Legal Counsel says if they don’t ‘allow’ it then the city will get sued and it will be even worse.
Hopefully no one will show up and the crazies will go elsewhere.
Eventually the left always eats their own.
‘left always eats their own.’
No kink shaming.
My cause is more important than your cause…
There is a Hierarchy Of Victimhood.
https://www.ourstreetsnow.org/post/the-ideal-victim-hierarchy
Dr. Goose taking good care of dad today.
Start my prep in a few hours.
I’ll forever look to last night’s Andouille Chili Cheese Dogs as my happy place in times of stress.
My wife surprised me with a blueberry cheesecake last night – I can’t accurately describe how good it was.
The biggest challenge today will be opening the fridge to refill my tea and seeing the remainder of the cheesecake sitting there, taunting me.
Hope y’all enjoy your Sunday.
Skol
Nothing wrong with Blueberry cheesecake for B-fast/Brunch.
Need to determine when the cut off is for ‘Prep time’ of course.
Nurses tell me nothing but clear liquids and jello after I woke this morning.
Alresdy got 1 full pot of coffee down – and I tried to sleep in this morning and managed to make it until 630.
Wife made a bunch of jello last night when she could’ve bought store-bought, thought that was nice of her. So I’ve got that.
Really looking forward to a cup of chicken broth later.
As long as the jello doesn’t have any vegetables in it, cause that is just evil.
Oh no, sorry. Very considerate wife for sure though.
Howdy stranger,
Long time-no chat.
Hope you and yours are doing well.
Sorry about being MIA. Lots going on, but sweet sister, I and daughter’s family are all OK, except son in law finally had to dump (at a loss) the new truck that was always a lemon. UGH. Also, controlling sister’s husband having lots of health issues, in and out of hospital. In addition, what the evil left have done to this country is so depressing.
Trying to get caught up on football. Thanks for the summaries below. Finding all the changes with the Vikings interesting and looking forward to seeing rookie QB (not a Darnold fan, understand he might start for a while).
Ahhh Life with family.
Usually good, sometimes bad, seldom boring.
Goose looks like he could use one of those chili dogs.
Is Caitlyn Clark being targeted because she isn’t the right kind of player in the WNBA?
Right ‘kind’ of player or right ‘color’ of player?
Popular, straight, white girl = violence to WNBA players.
The same way ‘opposing thought’ is an ‘assault’ to leftists…..
Are being granted special powers to be able to assault people with our minds?
I was filed on for ‘racism’ in prison by an inmate once. He told the investigating Sgt that I didn’t do or say anything but ‘he could just tell that I was racist’.
I guess it is kind of like that.
The presumption of guilt until you bow to the forces of DEI and all that.
I have since learned that since I ‘present as white’ I am automatically racist so maybe the inmate was correct.
Read an article several years ago by former players about the toxic, bullying environment in the WNBA. It’s not enough to keep your mouth shut about all the pride stuff, you have to join in the activism or you regularly get beat up. Haven’t watched a game since.
Yes
Prob pissed off about her endorsements.
I read Mjo’s lengthy post from 2 nights ago…
2 thoughts
I know everyone has been concerned for my safety. I was able to drive past Anamoose with no negative effects from the dark forces gathered there. I believe they will be gone by the time I make my return trip latter today.
Glad to hear that my prayers for your safety worked so well.
#grin
Mandatory mini-camp for the Vikings 4-6 June (Tuesday to Thursday). We’ll see how the media goes crazy over our team.
Good morning all. Beautiful day down here in Tampa. The weather guys here are predicting a big hurricane season this year. The hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30. There are already many “pieces” being done on TV about hurricanes and hurricane prep. With my elderly sister living with us now, and of course I’m almost 70, hurricane prep is a serious deal for us. Personally, I plan to go to JR’s house in Orlando.
Also, SKOL and FTP!
Good morning. You’re welcome any time but Orlando is not immune to hurricanes either. I’m on the west side about 45 miles from Tampa.
Global warming – oh boy, let’s go get an electric car.
Laughing… yeah, good ole Libs insisting the planet is falling apart, and the solution is to give them more money in taxes, raise fuel rates to a level no one can afford, and make people buy cars that are an ecological disaster (and cost too much). Brilliant.
Good morning, SKOL! FTP!
Yep, the Season is upon us. Preparations underway. We plan to drive up into northern AL, if needed.
Yeah, I’ve never evacuated in the past, but now, I will be a little more careful, with my sister around. I’ve often thought that if the storm is moving Northeast, I should head South. That way the storm doesn’t follow me. But a storm can go anywhere, (even South) so inland first I guess.
I’ll take the earthquakes out here over Hurricanes all day, every day.
Does your sister have health issues?
Hi Kathy, nice to see you! Yes, my sister fell and broke her hip about 5 weeks ago. Her husband passed a little over a year ago after suffering from dementia for a few years. She had called me and admitted she could not care for herself anymore, the day before she fell and broke her hip. She has now moved in with me, and I will take care of her for the rest of her life. She was living in Myrtle Beach.
Sorry about your sister’s health, falls are so dangerous for old people. A broken leg eventually took out my Aunt at 85, even though she was otherwise in pretty decent health for her age. Your sister is lucky to have a brother like you.
Thank you Kathy. My wife has been doing a lot, bathing her, etc. I’m thankful for that. She is a great person. Between the two of us, my sister is getting all the help/care she needs. She said this morning “I love this hotel” which made us laugh. Her spirits are up, and she’s doing her rehab exercises every day. Hope one day she will be able to walk again.
“I love this hotel”, that is awesome.
Yes, they are. My dad fell when he was 85. Went into the hospital and a few weeks later was gone.
Sorry. Very common, unfortunately.
Sorry to hear VP. My sister said she could just go into assisted living, but I said no way. Those places are where people go to die. I pretty much put my foot down and said she was coming home with me.
My mom is in one and she likes it. She picked it out and volunteer there for years before moving in.
She is in Phase 1 which has a lot of events and activities even help for the residents. She has been there almost 15 years now, she is 91.
Phase 2 is like a nursing him, Patients are mostly bed ridden, it can be temporary while they recover from a fall or the like.
Phase 3 is like ‘hospice’ but the residents from the other Phases can (and do) visit and ease their passing.
Down goes Twinkies, breaking their lengthy 2 game winning streak.
J. Ryan gave up 5 runs in 5 innings.
At least the Twins got 2 Runs on 4 hits will striking out 6 times.
I’m excited today Skolbros….
I’ll be dining on homemade chili dogs tonight. I’ve got some good Schuster’s (local brand) 1/4 lb beef franks. Wife made a quick batch of her Andouille Chili. Can’t wait.
This is a big deal for 2 reasons:
1st – I’ve committed to better eating the last few years, virtually wiping out junk food of any kind, and most comfort foods (save for a simple boiled Idaho Russet with a pat of butter and a dash of salt – a staple during my bachelor days). Now I eat chicken or seared salmon with Basmati rice and green beans or peas most nights. I snack on veggie straws. Any chocolate (which isn’t enough because it never is) is now strictly dark chocolate. I haven’t had ice cream in a year with the exception of a Creemee in Vermont last June. I’ve had to cut out red meat entirely – the toughest thing as steak is literally my favorite food, or was. I can handle lean ground beef in moderate portions – a far cry from my standard 2 Double QP and 2 Large Fry order, washed down with a gallon of Coke. Oofda. I’m trying to live longer. Which brings me to reason number 2….
I have a colonoscopy scheduled for Monday at 10 am. It’s preventative and I have no family history of stomach or bowel cancer. My recent stomach issues have me a tad concerned – the red meat thing – but overall I’m optimistic everything will be fine. Or I hope so. I’ve tried to be good natured about it – when I made the appointment I mentioned I’d recently taken a job at the university and pondered to the nurse as to whether the GI doctor would be okay with a me bringing in a couple of broadcasting majors to do the play by play of the video – this drew a chuckle.
I start my prep tomorrow at 5 pm. Clear diet and no solids after midnight tonight. According to my dad the preparation is the worst part – can’t be far from the bathroom as I understand it. So diet be damned! Today I eat what I want (except steak, wife said no and called me a moron ❤️) as it won’t be long for my body anyway.
Tomorrow is gonna suuuuuck!
Skol
Definitely stay close to a bathroom.
I had a colonoscopy when I was in the Army, bad Korean food.
Prep day was absolutely no fun.
Had to ride a Korean train to Seoul for the procedure that morning, several hours of uncomfortable.
Medics got me prepped, aka stripped and bent over.
Dr came in, couldn’t see him in the position I was in.
He removed the covering from my butt and said…..
“You look familiar”.
Good old Army Humor.
Would think a lot of chili today will only help to get things started sooner. good luck with procedure.
Drinking the amount of fluid required is the worst.
It doesn’t taste bad, but after drinking large quantities over hours is just hard.
Hope everything turns out good.
The prep is hideous. After my first a ran a cable cord to the bathroom and watched tv.
Good to know! I intend to have my laptop charged. It’ll be unpleasant for sure but it’s a part of getting older. I’m 45 and feel good, but a far cry from a young man.
Procedure is nothing. Just need a driver. Pick out a meal to eat today for when you come back. Good luck. Done it 4 or 5 times, can’t remember.
Oddly comforting Norse – thank you!
Haha!
The First Day Of The Rest Of Your Life?
You mean Saturday?
Sometimes.
First day of June. It’s the 152nd day of the year, with 213 days remaining until the end of the year. 99 days until we see real NFL football again.
Good morning, SKOL and FTP!
Good morning. Skol. FTP.
99 days isn’t that far away.
Even better that training camp starts at the end of July.
So really….
We’re less than 2 months away from the ‘start’ of football season.
Can’t wait.
🔨⚒️🔨⚒️
FTP Auto Rec.
I have some thoughts
Let’s call them musings from an eternal football optimist…
I’ve seen the talk below and in the past regarding NFL experts and pundits and their predictions of how our beloved Vikings will fair in the 2024 football season. Most have us ‘ranked’ somewhere in the mid to low 20’s from what I’ve seen. Not much optimism. Tough division, the unknowns and stacked odds of a rookie QB, a not-so-hot reclamation project in Darnold, IOL issues, ground game issues, issues on the back-end of the defense as well as no definitive playmaker in the middle of BFlo’s DLine. Woof.
But I have this feeling that Minnesota can and will be pretty competitive next year.
It might be the cannabis (okay….it’s likely the cannabis) and possibly the perpetual optimist in me, but I think we have many reasons to think so.
First, I don’t give a shit what the experts think. We’re all football fans, most of us rabidly so. WE. ALL. WATCH. THE. GAMES. Some have a more understanding of the nuances of the game than others, some watch in a casual capacity but the reality of our team’s worth is on display every Sunday – and we all see it. The majority of the ‘scoops’, ‘breaking news’ and ‘inside reports’ are strictly clickbait bullshit. I don’t care if a rookie QB overthrows a WR in practice or throws a boatload of pics in 7 on 7 drills. I also don’t get overly excited when I see video of a great throw or catch by one of our players in practice, without stands, when nothing is on the line. Occasionally you get to see glimpses of real talent – speed and arm strength don’t lie in these videos, but in the end its worth nothing other than hype and generating interest, which I suspect is the aim to begin with.
Secondly, I think we have a boatload of talent on both sides of the ball!
The offense is loaded. I know, I know…. Hock won’t be back right away and we have the aforementioned, woesome IOL to concerns ourselves with. Still loaded. Arguably the best OT duo in football. THE BEST WR IN FOOTBALL. A pretty damn good 2nd year WR2. An underrated playmaker at WR3 in Powell (not to mention a talented, looking to prove himself player in Trent Sherfield who could be sneaky good in 3WR sets) I think the running game finds footing this year as well. Aaron Jones is a complete back, great in the passing game and an underrated, motivated runner with (imo) plenty left in the tank. We’ve got one of the best cars on the lot. We just need someone to drive it.
Which brings me to the QB room.
I think KOC learned a hard but valuable lesson last year – you can never have enough QB’s. As Benjammin has pointed out, Darnold and Mullens statistically are basically the same player – both have enough starting experience that I think they will both make the roster this year (Obviously Darnold was regardless, but Mullens I think to some is questionable to be wearing purple next year) but both have their obvious limitations. One was a highly regarded early 1st rounder, the other career journeyman that has show few flashes but mainly inconsistent play – but I think both are capable of driving the really nice car we have, likely dinging the shit out of it – but still keeping us respectable in games if/when called upon. Darnold probably starts the year, but I’m not ruling out a bona fide QB competition in training camp as I think our rookie has the make-up and moxie to compete right away.
Speaking of our rookie….
I can’t wait to see JJ McCarthy – I believe in this kid. He’s won everywhere he’s been. High School. College. Playing against elite talent and winning the shit out of games. It’s not always sexy, but it’s got teeth. I think the physical tools are there – arm strength to drive the ball to all levels of the defense, 2nd level throw capability with zip and accuracy (think timing may be a bit of an issue and I hear the coaches want to clean up his mechanics a bit, but this isn’t unusual) I think he can play off-script as well as having sneaky good athleticism and mobility. I think he’s the real deal. I know, he hasn’t played a down in the NFL – I don’t care. I have the same feeling about him that I had about Mahomes and Burrow. The same feeling I had as a kid when watching Favre and Elway early in their careers when they struggled but you could see that had something. The same feeling watching a young Tom Brady beat the Greatest Show On Turf and knowing this guy wasn’t going anywhere. He’s a rookie. He’ll struggle at times. He’ll get snotbubbled a time or two. He’ll throw backbreaking interceptions. But he’ll overcome. He’ll lead. He’ll win games.
So now let’s talk defense.
I love BFlo’s aggressive are-we-coming-or-are-we-not-coming-but-of-course-we’re-coming-that’s-what-we-do approach to his defensive scheme. I like the exotic blitzes backed by zone coverage (and at times it burned us – against Chicago on MNF is one example) I like the complexity and the simplicity – make life hell for the QB pre-snap, bring hell at the snap, let good things happen. Injuries and lack of depth killed us last year. I don’t think that’s a problem this year. 3 pretty good Safeties in the rotation in Hitman, Metellus and Bynum. Quality DB starters in Murphy and Griffin (with the rookie Jackson eventually moving in as an outside starting CB with Murphy moving into the slot) and young, fast, aggressive additions at the Edge and LB positions. Greenard plays like an absolute bully. Van Ginkel was born to be a Viking, looking like Thor and playing with underrated athleticism (wouldn’t surprise me to see him breakout with 10+ sacks this year) Cashman gets sideline to sideline as well as anyone and is a good tackler with Minny roots. I love IPjr (also love that he’s back to his college number, 0).
And then there’s the addition of Dallas Turner.
This kid can fly around and make plays. He’ll be a force off the edge, but it won’t stop there. I think he can be deployed like Micah Parsons – bring him up the A gap, stunt and twist him off the edge in a combo with either Greenard or Van Ginkel. Let him drop back into coverage as he’s got the speed, agility and change-of-direction talent to not be a liability when doing so. I think sky is the limit for this kid. I think he’s an early DROY candidate with the potential of being DMVP. Beyond excited for his potential.
Obviously there are still concerns regarding the defense. Looked pretty pedestrian the last part of the season (I think due to depth and injury issues) and it’s definitely a concern. As is the lack of a game-wrecker in the middle. I like Harrison Phillips. Good guy. Decent player. But he’s not he force I envision when I think of IDL. We need one. Period.
So add all that up with a schedule that looks to be daunting early on paper with the opportunity to string together wins before hitting a tough final stretch of the season where we get to run through a gauntlet made up of the toughest division in the NFL according to some and the experts will tell you we are a mid to low 20’s team. The ‘expert’ consensus seems to be ‘yeah the offense is loaded but yadda yadda yadda rookie QB, you lost Danielle Hunter and KJ Osborn yadda yadda yadda – the Vikings suck.’ But it NEVER shakes out the way you think, the way the experts and pundits and Florio’s predict it will. Schedule’s look a lot less daunting by the start of October. Surprise teams pop up. Improbable 4-0 starts and inexplicable 0-4 losing streaks will rule early on. Injuries. Benchings. Suspensions. Concussions. The Greatest Show On Turf came out of nowhere. So did the 2001 Patriots. It can happen.
TL; DR – I just fired up my old ass laptop for the first time in years and am desirous to start writing again – I’m not any good at at, but I like therapeutic vibe of using my thinky-sponge to make words appear on my smartbox. It’s soothing.
Time to reward myself with a bong hit and some veggie straws.
Skol
I believe you might be correct,
I know that ‘Experts Suck’ at predicting stuff.
We have the pieces to make it work, but that doesn’t mean it will work.
Expect the worst but hope for the best, that keep me sane.
I thought MT was the king of long posts. Mjolnir, you may be a long lost brother of MT.
That said, I completely agree with your post, and that is strange. I am normally pessimistic, but still see this team as contending for a wildcard this season.
Defense is better imo, and the addition of a running back and eventually a QB that is more mobile yet can still throw while scrambling (JJ) gets me fired up not just for this season, but the Vikings next several years.
SKOL!
I would happily be MT’s brother.
I figure it’s fair to say he’s the President of Glendive.
So in truly embarrassing-sibling-of-a-well-known-politician-form – I’d be the Roger Clinton of Glendive…..
Good morning, brother!
GO OILERS!!!!!
Morning sawbones….
Go Oilers!!
This is precisely the reason that for the first time in my life, I placed bets on over/under for wins on four teams.
Det under 10.5
FTP under 9.5
NYJ under 9.5
Vikings over 6.5
I don’t think Detroit, FTP, or the NYJ will live up to the hype, and I think the Vikings can win 7 games.
That’s fair.
Morning – that’s a good read and not much to disagree about.
But to me the problem is we don’t live in isolation. I believe the Lions and the Packers are going to be getting better and we’re behind to begin with. And the Bears are getting better but they are starting behind us. Like all rookie QB’s, Williams may work out or not.
I’d agree with that. The NFC Norris is quickly approaching the ‘toughest division in the league’ category – if it isn’t there already.
Twinkies win, Beat Houston 6-1 for thier 2nd straight.
Pablo had a good game, 7 innings, 1 ER, 6 SO and 6 hits given up with only 1 walk.
2X NCAA Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist Wrestler Gable Steveson, U of M, signs with the Buffalo Bills as a DT. That should be fun to watch, much like Brock Lesnar was when he tried out with the Vikings in 2004.
https://sports.yahoo.com/gable-steveson-olympic-gold-medal-winner-and-ncaa-champion-wrestler-signs-with-bills-191631398.html
To me, KOC should now be ready to actually achieve success with this team. He and KAM picked the players. He and KAM built “their” team. They picked their starting QB for this year, and they have picked their QBOTF. They have picked their defensive players, and even picked their kicker. If the Vikings suck this year, it’s on them.
‘If the Vikings suck this year, it’s on them’
I expect a year is needed for the draft picks to adjust to NFL level speed and athletes and for the offseason hires to adjust to the new schemes.
Give them this year to jell and then pile on them next year for ‘suckatude’.
Only one draft pick is likely to start though, wouldn’t you say?
Initially yes, Turner.
Does a Kicker ‘start’? Reichard could kick off to start the game, I guess that can be considered ‘starting’.
Others probably will be getting playing time if not starting as the season progresses. K. Jackson, JJ, I can see Murphy as the 4th Edge/Outside LB, eventually, some on special teams.
ESPN’s Football Power Index has the Vikings as the NFL’s No. 25 team.
14% chance to make the playoffs.
54.8% chance of a top-10 pick in the 2025 draft.
I think about 10 teams or so are worse than us on paper, so I would put them at about 22. But the other stats seem accurate, based on that.
That’s why they play the games…..
I think it depends on QB play.
Good to decent could see Wild Card chances.
Poor to inadequate could lead to Top 10 Draft Pick.
At this point we have no idea what we will get.
I will default to Minn Sports Fan Norm.
Expect the worse but hope for the best.
I’m probably in the minority. I think Darnold (maybe JJ ) will be fine and our offense will be ok. Even when Mullens played we moved the ball like a real pro offense (not Dobbs like).
Now the defense, I have doubts.
I just can’t trust our run game and the fully unknown QB situation, along with interior line. I actually feel a little better about our defense (minus our fairly bad or unknown players at CB).
That’s fair and probably spot on.
I just think Mullens ran the offense last year with no running game and same line. If not for the turnovers, it at least looked like a pro offense and can move the ball
defense – pass rush and coverage concern me.
We added Greenard, Van Ginkel, Turner and Murphy to our pass rush, they will be better.
They added Griffin and K. Jackson both upgrades over last year, and the DBs will have the advantage of the upgraded pass rush.
As long as they are in position and are tackling well our defense will be better than last year, IMHO.
Times do change and rather quickly.
We are considered the number one super power in the world ( maybe not for long).
Yet cannot even control our southern border.
Can you imagine if Eisenhower or Kennedy were President. They would have stopped it or been impeached by both parties.
As late as Clinton or Bush, people would just not tolerate this.
Now, it’s like oh shit nobody can do anything. And we as a people tolerate this.
‘Yet cannot even control our southern border.’
We can control it but FJB refuses to, so he can get more people into blue states to inflate population and thereby representatives.
And as little as 10, maybe 15, years ago the people of this country would never have put up with this situation.
‘The Swamp’ and the ‘Rich Men North Of Richmond’ have always done whatever they want.
I suspect that we are just more aware of it now due to Social Media, the Internet, and 24 hr news channels.
True – but there were boundries. And there has always been the swamp and both sides have fed it.
But take an issue like IRS. When Nixon tried to use IRS against political foes, BOTH parties put him down. Obama comes along and look what IRS did to Tea Party. Things like this are rather big changes in the political boundries in Washington that both sides live by.
Hmmmm
Nixon, R, both sides put down.
Obama, D, got away with it.
FJB, D, protected by is side.
I am sure ‘someone’ will jump in with ‘all sides bad’, but one side is demonstrably worse.
One side has indeed changed. And as long as people put up with these ‘beyond the pale’ new rules it will only get worse.
Isn’t it wonderful how democracy works? We, the people, rule! Oh, wait…
Kennedy wanted to stop the un-elected shadow government and look how that turned out for him.
Grocery store run. Swing by bank and try and get a low interest loan first.
Bidenomics.
See how good you have it?
You should be thankful you can get food.
At the end of the tunnel?
Thats an oncoming train.
Yup, it usually is
No, No, No. Have you not been paying attention.
It is the ‘Unsophisticated’ people’s faulty for not understanding how good they have it.
Try to keep up.
Yep. If Trump is president, he will take away food.
Let them eat cake.
Marie Antoinette’s greatest quote.
Why is context so often over looked when people compare things? I think people are just lazy.
Or, they just don’t want to lose the argument, so they forget about context and claim it’s not important.
Column A, Column B
Man, Woman.
It’s science.
Political Science.
The science of politics
The politics of science
Science the politics of
Bill Nye is a tool
A Push broom?
Very Non-traditional.
My wife’s ex came down last night and asked if I would help with AI’ing the cows tomorrow morning. I’m glad he worked up the nerve to ask. I’m hoping I get to be the guy that puts on the whole arm glove and puts the semen in the cervix of the cow but I suspect I’ll either get to hold the tail out of the way or wrangle the cows. Oh well should be a perfect day to be outside.
How many guys get to say they spent a Saturday impregnating cows?
What an exciting way to spend a Saturday morning.
Well, if you knew the girls at my high school…….
My granddad always said, “if you take care of the cows, they will take care of you.” Maybe this is what he meant?
Ouch….nice burn, LOL!
LOL
‘How many guys get to say they spent a Saturday impregnating cows?’
Off the top of my head I would say Bill Clinton and anyone doing someone from ‘The View’.
Thankfully not me.
You should see the way some of these cows look at me!
Offer them a cigarette when you are done.
Seems the least you can do.
One of this spring’s calves had an omphalocele. It ended poorly for the calf. If I could only have successfully reduced the omphalocele I bet that cow would have been a fan for life.
‘omphalocele’
Gesundheit.
I’m not a big Carl Sagan guy, but there is an interesting blurb on the back cover of his “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” book.
The bolded text is mine.
Is the book any good?
I was adding inventory to my bookstore when I came across the book. I did not read it.
I figured it was right up your alley!
It might be an interesting read. I may not agree with the whole premise, but I’m sure there are some interesting points in the book.
Enemy and stranger used to be synonymous.
Song suggestion given recent events. Barry McGuire’s Eve of Destruction. Lyrics are scary given song is over 50 years old.
Nampa Mayor is sorry about ‘Pride Event’ but says ‘the advice of our legal counsel was that the city of Nampa must recognize the protected First Amendment rights of those scheduling and involved in this event,”
Have met the Mayor and she seems to have a good head in her shoulders. Sounds like counter demonstrations and protest are possible.
Read more at: https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/community/canyon-county/article288809225.html#storylink=cpy
What’s funny is the Libs saying they have a 1st amendment right to protest and then won’t get the irony of being against the counter protests 🤣
I think Darrisaw, Brandel, Bradburied, Ingram, O’Neil.
I learned about this at a church meeting last night.
If any of you are bored and looking for some excitement you should drive to
Anamoose and take it in. (Anamoose is a small town 60 miles from Minot).
It is a fairly large Pagan fesitval. “Awakening the witch blood” Runs today through Sunday.
I especially like the “clothing optional after 9 pm” rule and the mention of “children’s programming”…..Oh, but “Naked does not mean Consent”
I am driving through Anamoose today – I may try to find the Pagan location but probably not….I will have my son’s girlfriend in the car and don’t want to put her in any danger.
Here is the link for those of you who may want more information.
NDGS | North Dakota Grand Sabbat
The crazies on both sides scare the shit out of me. Super crazy religious nuts and super crazy atheist/Satanists… Are both dumb/scary to me for the exact same reason.
That sounds like a blast! Haha I love it. Even have a green witch as a guest speaker. Dude you should definitely go and report back.
Nodak at the event:
MT if i were driving solo I would for sure stop in and Pester the Pagans…but with the young girl with me I just can’t.
I’m sure they’re harmless. Just tell them you have a barbarian class rating in D&D and a kickass paladin character and they’ll be sharing popsicles and smores with you in no time.
You are right, they probably are harmless…
At least mostly peaceful.
“Pester the Pagans”….LOL, love it!
@looks frightening@
Until they put a hex on you at least.
And turn him into their play thing.
Like this?
Monty Python and The Holy Grail Auto Rec.
I would prevail, or die trying.
quite the crowd they have there.
NFL analyst has intriguing date for Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy’s first start (msn.com)
JJ is starting week 1.
IT MUST BE TRUE BECAUSE I READ IT ON THE INTERNET!
He’s obviously been reading my takes. Also, how come you geniuses are the only ones that seem to think the Vikings have one of the worst O-lines in the NFL and it has been used as an excuse for so much?
‘how come you geniuses are the only ones that seem to think the Vikings have one of the worst O-lines in the NFL and it has been used as an excuse for so much’
PTSD?
Strong offensive line, running game, and receiving corps – one out of three is pretty good in baseball.
Haha yeah, just dumb.
Mn Timber Puppies. You gutless trash. That is all. Wait.
FJB
Don’t be bashful, tell us how you really feel.
minnesota sports are always gutless, this shouldn’t surprise you…
i didn’t get to watch much of the series, since i was on vacation…but it looks like the first 2 games were close/shoulda/coulda/woulda games…
be a big difference if we were up 3-1 going into last nights game..
Turned on at half. 69-40. Had to put my readers on and look closer. Unreal. MN pro sports just plain suck.
Not for long. JJ is going to usher in a new era of MN sports the likes of which we could never have even dreamed.
In a positive way, I hope.
‘MN pro sports just plain suck.’
Amateurs are better in Minn?
Have more titles. Bring on football. Will be interesting. I don’t think i’ll stress out cuz not expecting a lot.
MN just won a professional hockey championship. I think they won a couple basketball ones in a row a couple years ago too.
PWHL and Lynx. Minny claim to fame.
‘they won a couple basketball ones in a row a couple years ago too.’
It was more than ‘a few years ago’.
‘The Lakers have been called the NBA’s first dynasty for winning three consecutive NBA titles from 1952 to 1954, when the franchise was in Minneapolis.’
Counting time is relative.
Personally I consider ‘before I was born’ more than ‘a few years ago’.
It was after I was born so just a few years ago.
And Bow’s just being a ‘big picture’ guy.
I guess they weren’t in a row, but 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 are a few years ago to me.
I had to wear the LGBFJB sweatshirt to work today (my little profile pick thingy is the back of my sweathshirt and the front has an outline of Montana with FJB in the middle). Normally it’s just some neutral clothing with no logos and such, but today was a day it felt necessary. I will be wearing it daily, even if it’s hot out. I heard Trump raised over 31 million dollars last night alone and there were so many people trying to donate yesterday and last night that his website was crashing.
LOL. “Even if it’s hot out”.
Be careful that you don’t get Cancelled.
That’s the fun thing about living in a not crazy state. Nobody has ever complained and I get stopped a lot by people to tell me they like my shirt.
‘living in a not crazy state’
This is what I am looking forward to.
I am on forced vacation today. Use it or lose it before the month runs out.
Forced vacation is great!
Rainy day nap coming my way.
Did he spooge on his glasses?
Ewww.
NOOOO!!! Drive to Anamoose!!!!
It’s a bit too early (and optimistic on my part), but there is a chance the northernmost (Edmonton) and southernmost (Ft Lauderdale/Miami) NHL franchises will be in the Stanley Cup Finals. That’s gonna be a whole lot of travel.
So the jet fuel used during the SC finals will contribute to ‘Global Warming’ which will mean less ice for playing Hockey?
How ironic.
I actually have zero idea how good the ice surface is at Florida’s venue. I can only surmise the ice plant has to work pretty hard. Although if the finals went seven games the seventh game would be on June 24th…since the days in Edmonton at that time of year are over 17 hours long the ice plant at Rogers Centre in Edmonton will be working overtime as well.
Ridiculous, really…Edmonton won their first Cup in 1984 on my birthday (May 19). Now hockey extends almost until July. Nonetheless…bring the Cup home!
Hope it’s not FLA/Dallas for hockey, something wrong there MT. GO OIL!
QofTD
I am thinking Risner, Bradbury, Ingram.
With Brandel first off the bench at Guard, Feeney at Center.
Hope it changes during the year as new additions get settled into the system.
RIP JJ
They played well vs S.F. last year so they are capable of pulling a rabbit out of their hats, But we can’t bet on that.
Maybe Darnold and Mullins are there to take the beating until JJ is ready to go. Then hopefully he has enough mobility to survive the rest of the season.
Thought QOTD was hard. Given the talent level of the players, just not sure the configuration matters that much.
Maybe Trump is just trying to get more street cred.
Here, have some street cred
I was hoping someone would pick up on that. Thanks.
So either 2, 3, or 4 people are dead? All quotes from the same story.
‘3 People dead including officer’
‘The Minneapolis Police Department said that two police officers were shot, and two other people are dead’
‘A police officer, two citizens and the suspected shooter are dead, and three others are injured’
https://www.foxnews.com/us/minneapolis-neighborhood-shooting-2-civilians-dead-2-police-officers-injured-authorities
Im sure the shooter was a good boy who would never hurt no one. Meanwhile im sure the rap sheet looks like a CVS receipt.
Numburrz ams hard two kount
Good Friday Jam – Get that tired ass werewolves in London out of here
YOU PUT SOME GODDAMN RESPECT ON WARREN ZEVON’S NAME!
Great tune, starting to listen to AB a bit more lately…
Sorry for yelling.
Skol
Its okay, I do the same thing lol
AB is so good. Myles voice is off the charts. Fun but hard to sing. Our band wants to be able to cover this some day, we need a lot of practice.
It’s my birthday! Been kicking my PRs ass in running. Ran for 4 miles last Sunday. My last 5K was 30 minutes and 25 seconds, so a 9 minute minute 47 second pace but tonight… Gonna eat a bunch of wings and drink 😂
Happy Birthday. One needs to reward themselves once in a while for all the hard work.
Damn straight lol. Thanks man
Ewwww running. Happy Birthday!
Lol, still went for a short run.
😂
you really missed a good opportunity at wishing someone else a happy birthday…
right, jacksonvike
It’s his birthday EVERYDAY!
I haven’t forgotten your deception freezey….
I don’t blame JVike – Jackson County boys are salt of the earth, honest as they come and prone to being duped by a chilly big city huckster such as yourself.
Happy birthday!
Ooooo! Little Dime from the Revolution is My Name video! Nice! 🤘
I still went out and did a short run. Wanted to see how fast I could do just a mile. Haven’t ran just a mile in a very long time.
😂
That’s pretty good. I haven’t done a mile in a while either. I think my last was 8:10. I’m not sure I could beat you in a mile dash right now.
I was so sure I was gonna beat it! First quarter mile was close to 7 minutes, half a mile was like 7:35… Then I got tired hahaha.
Do it the other way around – start slow and then get faster each quarter.
Thanks!
Ha! Thanks!
Happy birthday Edgie….
Happy Birthday, Edge! People born in May are clearly superior to the other 11’s.
Happy BD, bud!
That is one of the benefits of running as a big man. You can burn like 800 calories on a four-miler, easy. That leaves a big caloric gap for eating!
i did three one-mile intervals this morning, and they went okay. I still got a lot of ground to make up before September, but that is fine. Gives me something to chase.
‘That leaves a big caloric gap for eating!’
800 calories can be about 3 decent sized cookies and some milk to wash them down with.
Seems easier to just eat less, discounting the aerobic effect of running of curse.
HBD EDGE, ENJOY. Point comes in time you don’t want to be reminded.
We review Tomorrow Never Dies at The Last Movie Outpost. It might be the only non-political posting made on the Internet today!
I doubt there will be much political posting today…folks who were paying attention saw this coming. A judge whose daughter gets rich off of the Democratic party makes several absurd rulings during the trial, then gives the jury instructions way outside of the norm, and the jury pool is selected from an 80 percent Democrat pool. Really nothing more to say, the fix was in. It will be overturned on appeal, but that will be several months down the road.
And now the real shenanigans will begin.
Sentencing 3 days before the convention.
States not allowing Trump on the Ballot
Court challenges to Trump’s candidacy.
With all of the reasoning being….
“a convicted felon cannot run for office…..”
We cannot risk a convicted felon being elected and therefor must suspend the election to protect democracy.
Half the politicians in Washington are felons they just haven’t been convicted.
Congress has used millions of dollars of tax payer money to make hush payments and that’s all fine and dandy but somehow a lawyer paying 100k for his client is a felony.
There has never been a politician in our history that didn’t try to dampen negative information and then enhance the positive.
Is the DOJ not releasing Biden’s tapes with the special counsel interfering with the election by not letting voters have information to make an informed decision.
That’s (D)ifferent. Trump is a threat to the world and seeks to destroy it.
I sort of see that. think Putin and the Chinese are now thinking – ‘damn the Americans are getting tougher and doing things like we do.’
They’re also saying, “damn, they’re doing what we do but at least we’re smart enough to try to hide it.
‘There has never been a politician in our history that didn’t try to dampen negative information and then enhance the positive’
I think that is human nature.
Politician are similar to humans that way.
And thus it has never ever been a crime.
The Crime was being Trump.
He was guilty of that one thing.
I would say his crime was beating Clinton which detailed the woke agenda that started under Obama. Thus he was hated from day one.
He undermined the true leaders and tried to expose their corruption and the fact the elections really don’t matter because the elected officials are simply figure heads in front of the people truly running the country. I fear it is not long before somebody finally thinks the Tree of Liberty is looking a little dry.
He did that too.
I remember the night Trump was elected. Mainstream Media and Political ‘experts’ were already talking about Impeachment.
I was like WTF!! He won’t even be in office for 3 more months??
Yep, thats right.
I was naive. Knew there was a crooked judge and DA but had hope that one of the twelve jurors had some small degree of fairness
My Minn Fandom served me well.
I was in full ‘Expect the worst but hope for the best’ mode.
Lib friend on Facebook posted this… Currently arguing it’s a dumb point to make because you Libs would do the same thing… Of course they disagree… You’re all the same 🤣
I had a Lib friend once make a case to me many years ago.
It appears a black man was charged with a crime down in Alabama. He faced a white conservative judge, prosecutor, and an all white jury. He was found guilty.
Lib argued something with our system is wrong here and needed to be changed. Wonder what he would say now. if we spoke.
Right, this goes both ways.
Early reports from various sources are saying Addison is much improved from last year.
He gives credit to K Mac.
Wish Hock was healthy. That triple threat with a good RB… Could be scary if the OL could be decent and a QB comes through.
you must be forgetting who we have starting at QB….
@ This will be his breakout year, JJM won’t even see the field!@
With KOC he can be a serviceable bridge QB in the 15-20 range. Thats more than acceptable for a building season.
JJ is not a bridge QB.
I dont think he is referring to JJ
Then he is wrong.
dobbs had KOC and how did that turn out…
Pretty good (I only remember him playing one game).
We beat Atlanta , NO and could have beaten Denver with him starting. Thats pretty good for a nobody QB imo
You’re being kind. One good half against Atlanta followed by one good half against NO. then things started to come apart.
Still OK though for a while.
Still two Ws from a no name. That can keep a team in it when their starter is out. We’re splitting hairs here. Darnold is better than Dobbs so it stands to reason he’ll do just fine with KOC helping
Good for 2.5 games lol. Also comparing Dobbs to first round QBs is…well thats just dumb ha
wait, are you referring to sam darnold when you say “first round qb’s”??
i realllllllllllllly hope you are joking
Its technically correct, which is the best kind. Half of what makes a good starting NFL QB is coaching and team situation. He’s had shitty of those for his entire career minus the 49ers. He has the tools, issues are mental, KOC and team can help that a bit. Not saying he’s going to light it up but he can easily be serviceable.
Haha really? None of those excuses (or similar – like crappy O-line, new OC every year, and what I would consider a fairly bad coach) work for Kirk, but they are all applicable and accepted for a shitty QB like Darnold? Really, the hypocrisy is laughable.
Sam will be bad, I think, like he always has been.
If you thought Zimmer was a bad coach his entire time here you’re a bigger fool than I thought. Cousins had a winning coach and was dropped onto a stacked roster with top 5 weapons and defense and an average O line and still fucked it up. And by that point he was already in the league 6 years and was being paid big $$$. Your excuses for him are fucking laughable and his situations, coaches and players around him are NOT EVEN CLOSE to what Darnold has had to deal with. Your strawman argument is exactly that. You’re takes are still shit, do better.
A winning coach doesn’t mean good coach. He was fully defensive-minded and didn’t help his QB’s or kickers with his “tough” nature. I think he was an average coach his first few years, then bad after that. So fairly bad IMO.
He did not have an “average” o-line. The Vikings O-line has been BAD until the last couple years, if you may recall (at least according to most fans). Cousins was consistently among the most hit and most pressured for quite a while.
Cousins tenure at Washington was with dysfunctional owners, bad coach, and not a great roster IMO (he had Jordan Reed and maybe a decent WR if I recall). I would hardly call that a great environment to grow and develop.
So I just refuted pretty much everything you claim, what do you have to say about that?
And if my takes are so bad, why do I consistently get more thumbs up than you with your belligerent ranting and name-calling, Mr. Respectful?
That o-line and team were good enough to go to the NFCCG with Case Keenum.
True, but he was much more of a scrambler type. Several weak links in that o-line, more than now.
PFF 2017 Ranking: 22/32
Minnesota saw a lot of new pieces in place along the offensive line for the 2017 season as both tackle positions and the center position were filled by new members. These moves had mixed results for the Vikings, however. Riley Reiff has been a disappointment so far for the Vikings as he was not able to replicate the level of play we got used to from him in Detroit. Rookie center Pat Elflein did show some promising signs occasionally, but still struggled and allowed more pressure on fewer snaps than guard Joe Berger. Right tackle Mike Remmers played well and was one of the better acquisitions made by the Vikings until he got moved to guard towards the end of the season – a position he had never played before – and he struggled in December and January. While the Vikings’ offensive line allowed just 11 sacks, which was the third-fewest in the NFL, this was often largely due to QB Case Keenum’s ability to avoid defenders and get rid of the ball before he would be taken to the ground.
They were ranked 29th in 2018. 26th in 2020. So generally BAD.
So Case was better than his successor?
At avoiding pressure, I think there is no doubt. Accuracy and arm strength? A big no.
Laughing… how about the best defense in the league in 2017? Yeah… that defense was great, until the NFCCG… then they got curb stomped. The next year that defense began to get torched in crunch time, giving up points at the ends of half’s and games The running game went to shit “with the same players” as well. Kicker was a shit show too. Do you know who was good? Kirk Cousins. He completed 70.1% of his passes for 4,298 yards, with 30 TD’s and a 99.7 passer rating. This with an OC that got fired before the season ended.
Yeah, those same players from 2017 played poorly when it mattered most in 2018, but the QB who came in, did his job very well. 70 percent completion rate? Pretty amazing.
Also, Zimmer’s time-management gaffes were inexplicable at times.
Dobbs came in super late to the party, come on now. That’s totally different.
i was being facetious.
i love KOC
I said and hope one of our QBs comes through lol. Again, he’s never had a good situation around him.
We have both Oliver and Tonyan, both are suppose to be good.
Hoping that between the two of them they can replace Hocks production until he gets back.
GM
FTP
SKOL!
TGIFF
First
First auto rec
Good morning, SKOL!
FTP!
FTP Auto Rec.