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Vikings Discussion and Random Thoughts
I heard a slight rattle in my Accord the other day, something I hadn’t heard from it before. I crawled underneath to take a look last night, and there is oil all over the undercarriage. Did some more looking, saw that rim of the front passenger tire was coated in oil. Between my own woman’s intuition, and bouncing it off a couple gear-head buddies of mine, we arrived at the conclusion that it’s most likely the oil pressure switch. I’ll have to drive my pickup today, then try to replace the part on the car when I get home. It looks pretty easy, but I know better.
Absolutely no useful NFL or Vikings news out there, the Bears signed the dude we just cut, Shadeur Sanders is either going to get drafted early or late, or somewhere in between. Also, you may not believe me but Aaron Rodgers has still not signed with the Steelers…..or any other NFL team, but we all know he’s signing with the Steelers……..some day. Allegedly.
The great news is that the NFL draft is a little over two weeks away. I cannot wait, kiddo and I are going to make seafood gumbo for our draft party, my mouth is already watering. I’m still of the opinion that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will swing some sort of trade prior to the draft in order to accumulate more picks. You never know, I’ve been wrong before. MANY times.
Vikings News
Nahshon Wright didn’t remain unemployed for long, the Chicago Bears signed the CB one day after he was released by the Vikings, per the Chicago Sun-Times.
Vikings.com posted v6.0 of their Vikings 2025 Mock Draft Tracker.
The NY Times looks at history to see what the Vikings might receive if they decide to trade pick #24.
NFL News
Safety Justin Simmons is looking for the best situation in free agency, and hopes to sign before training camp, according to NFL.com.
Dan Campbell says they can maintain a strong offense without Ben Johnson, he said the players are the ones who make it what it is, also from NFL.com. Simple-minded people are amusing, aren’t they?
ESPN ponders whether Deshaun Watson has played his last NFL down. I would say so, even if he manages to avoid prison time, he is no longer skilled enough to play in the NFL. The Browns are VERY good at ending NFL quarterbacks’ careers.
Pro Football Network shares rumors that say Kirk Cousins will be heading to Cleveland. If he does go there, I’ll bet he wants to retire there.
Media Selection
We haven’t watched a WhyFiles episode in a while, so here you go!
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Joe Ryan pitched 7 shutout innings and the bullpen managed not to screw it up for a 4-0 Twinkie win.
https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/minnesota-twins-kansas-city-royals-450409107/
Crap
Here’s a list of draftee’s who are visiting with the Vikings
Wonder which are distraction and which are actual interest?
Well they’re looking at a lot of O-lineman (7) so I imagine they’re interested in drafting someone there. Also D-linemen. So I think that’s a probability. Couple CB’s so maybe just thinking about it.
Obviously I haven’t a clue though. Grin.
CB, S, TE, and maybe a tall, speedy WR or a massive, run stuffing DT is what I have been mocking to us.
And no TE on the list and only two on the roster, makes me wonder what the plan is/
Not that anyone is around to read this, but what a day/week it has been so far. Last night I forgot to set my alarm and so 1/2 hour after it was supposed to go off, my wife woke me up. I rushed through the morning routine and fortunately I only had one book order to pack up, so I got to work only a couple minutes late. This week has been preparing grant reimbursement packets, but they are all stacked on my desk because the CEO who has to sign off on them is in Madison meeting with politicians. Plus we have our annual audit at the end of April, so in any spare minute I am working on audit papers. Today I was looking for items in binders for backup for reimbursements and audit and couldn’t find several items. Obviously I just paged right past them because when I had someone else look, they were right were they were supposed to be.
I need another vacation.
Laughing… hang in there VP, the weekend is nigh.
Not to worry VP, only a select few of us will know about the day you managed to inflict upon yourself.
#grin
Clever
Who me?
Shirley you jest.
No I don’t… and don’t call me Shirley… grin.
But it is one of the Classic Jokes of all time. lol
That’s true.
Started a “Streaks” Bet on under dog yesterday, you get to pick two stats parlays to start, if they both hit, you get to either cash out (small amount) or add another and keep going. So I bet $1, and if I hit 9 in a row I win $800. My 3rd bet today was Nolan Arenado to get over 1 of a combined, bases, runs or RBIs. He was batting .333 going into the game and Pitts pitcher had just got done giving up a lot of hits to the Yankeee. Arenado has gone 0-4 in a 12 inning game….*sigh*
Trump is one evil sob for making Wall Street and billionaires richer today.
Is that todays narrative?
That is one possibility.
What even they are told to say is what they will say.
We will know what the ‘talking point’ is soon enough.
Maybe… will be interesting to see what the Dem’s say. My thought is they’ll say, “See we were right about tariffs. As soon as Trump paused them all is well.”
Significantly poorer than 30 days ago.
Your portfolio might be a bit poorer, but those are actual loses unless you sell at the lower numbers. You still own the same stocks, they are just worth less temporarily.
I’m lighting cigars with 50s instead of 100s. 🤬
Sounds like a 1st World Problem.
Jina is pi$$ed.
http://english.sse.com.cn/
I love reading news from the North Korean and Chinese viewpoints.
😂
What the hell is a Jina?
China
I see Leavitt lit up Pelosi yesterday for a speech she made on House floor. She said in 1996 it’s time to fight status quo trade policies that have contributed to Americas trade deficit with China. Hmm…….
She also included Chuck Schumer’s tariffs speech in 2005, where he put a chart up showing the extreme tariff imbalance with China.
Just make sure she knows about it in plenty of time to make plans to capitalize on the markets.
Sorry but she has a punchable face.
Trump has the balls to actually address the problem
Does she still have a government job?
Even Gary Player is under par. Doubt i’d have a backswing at 89.
Player is amazing. He played in the real Masters at age 73.
This one’s for you NLNFF.
Typo.
That’s funny! Thanks for sharing……
That’s hilarious. Thanks for sharing!
She’s a Puker fan. (And she’s too fat.)
I think I could make her a Vikings fan.
You’d teach her to blow the Gjallarhorn, eh? Wink wink nudge nudge say no more.
If I wasn’t married….
Be fun trying! 😁
Trump just raised tariffs on China to 125% and the market jumped up to +2000 on the news.
He also placed 90 day pause on some of the tariffs so negotiating can take place.
Almost like it’s all a negotiation ploy. Huh, funny.
Panicans will have to find something else to panic over.
Woke will have to find another ploy to try to take DJT down.
Now it will be evil billionaires getting rich on this surge, after quoting and supporting the evil billionaires to criticize Trump 2 days ago.
Dow just reached 40k again. Skyrocketing.
Open37,387.91
High40,136.71
Low37,275.69
Prev close37,645.59
52-wk high45,073.63
52-wk low36,611.78
Look at that 52 week high. Sob, sniff.
I told you to sell, sell, sell, MT!
It’s called, “The Art of the Deal”.
Yet longtime politicos and tv talking heads ignore Trumps past.
He has been easy to follow and understand.
He believed in this stuff 30 years ago, and is on tape saying it.
So did many prominent Dem’s over the years. The difference is, they were politicians. There are a couple different definitions of the word “acting”. One is pretending, and another is actually taking action. Politicians always fall under the first definition.
Restored the whole market in like 8 minutes… HAHAHAHAHAHA
Sounds like the “pause” is what the markets like (predictability) not the Jina tariff at 125%.
So it is a good thing that Trump is not acting on what the Stock Market wants.
The Market will be fine no matter what happens.
And ‘Jina’ but them self in this situation, suddenly we care what is good for China? When was the last time they were looking out for us? CoVid??
Not if the economy crashes. (Pretty sure it won’t but we may have a recession and that’s not good.)
Not true.
Don’t care. My post was about the markets reaction…it reacted to the tariff pause not the Jina tariff increase.
Sounds like Booker and I on the same page. I am not enthused by a trade war with allies. Should we negotiate better trade deals, absolutely. But should we estrange Canadian, Mexican, British, German markets and push them to establish trade relations with one another but not us? China I like. Not an ally. Plus they are a huge export nation to us so any pause in trade is going to hurt them way before us (nonetheless I ordered all the stuff I needed for my planned summer projects off Amazon two weeks ago, guarantee 90% of that stuff like ceiling fans, electrical outlets, shade sail, mounting hardware etc is made in China).
‘Sounds like Booker and I on the same page’
Yep you are both Panicans’
Let’s think of the worst thing that can happen and worry endlessly about that and use that fear to stop doing what we can to fix a real problem.
Even being ‘sure that won’t happen’ doesn’t stop Panicans from fixating on it. Of course those with TDS feed that fear assisted by Woke politicians and fake news.
I hate that sound bite… at war with our “allies”. They tariff the shit out of our goods or worse don’t allow them at all, and “we” are the bad guy hurting them.
Makes me want to throw up. If they were our “allies” they wouldn’t be placing tariffs on our goods, now would they? We’re at fault for doing the same thing they do?
Please…
They are our Allies’ because they like us because thay can pick our pockets.
I don’t know why SoCal is calling me a Panican but if calling me that makes you feel better, so be it. I’m betting I have more exposure to the markets than 99% of people on here and I continue the John Bogle stay the course long term investment horizon ideals, so I personally don’t consider myself a panic person, I’ve weathered bad markets before.
The protections and rules that our allies (when I use that word it is the Commonwealth and Germany that I mean) put in place have definitely restricted access of US production to their markets. How many American cars go into Germany for every German car coming into America? Let’s change that. But slapping up a wall of tariffs does two things. First of all, it is a trade war, and the citizens of those countries are going to react as expected. Canadians booing the American national anthem at hockey games, etc, gives the Liberal party a chance to blame their failing economic policies on Trump, and perhaps keeps them in power. Second of all, sooner or later we the US taxpayer get to pay the piper…if that means billions of dollars in farm aid dollars, for example.
The other problem which Ted Cruz has eloquently spoken of is that we are on a very short time horizon. Another 8 months and the election cycle for midterms will start up. An economy of higher prices and low 401(k) accounts is an opportunity for the Democratic Party to take the majority in the House and Senate. Yet it would take about three years for major onshoring of the whole supply chain and development of manufacturing facilities and hiring of personnel if we maintain this protectionist stance. So having a midterm victory is critical to the tariff balance.
One also has to look at how much more it costs to service the massive US debt if interest rates increase 1%. How about when Chinese investors start calling in their loans?
Your points don’t make much sense to me MT. Why do I care what our “allies” citizens think? Why should I care or panic about a short timeline? It’s all blather. Let’s get down to brass tacks. Trump holds all the cards here. There isn’t a single country in the world that doesn’t depend on trade with us to maintain their economy. Period. None of them can blow this off, outraise us, or affect us more than we affect them. Trump knows he has them all by the short hairs. Their politicians can posture all they want. In the end the USA will come out on top, because Trump is completely right, and he holds all the cards.
All countries do trade with the US, as we are conspicuous consumers. But the notion that a nation cannot survive or develop trade relationships which maintain their current trade volumes by expanding trade agreements with other countries is specious. I’m not asking anyone to “care” what citizens of other countries think, I am just pointing out that perspective depends on your viewpoint.
Apparently I am the only one that thinks the Republicans hold rather a tenuous majority in the House and Senate.
I don’t have any control in the matter. I have no desire to run for Congress and I have but one vote. But Trump does not hold all the cards, this is not a dictatorship.
I feel ya.
I have definitely resigned myself to the dems getting control of at least one house in the mid terms because of people’s short attention spans, but if Trump is willing to ride this through what I think is the end goal then it will be worth it, not to mention that even with a majority in let’s say the house, nothing will really change. Trump will still be president and like 75% of the Repubs in congress are just as big of dirt bags as the dems. Cut hay while the sun is shining.
After the midterms, the Republicans will own the House and the Senate. Trump has done hundreds of good things already, and all the Dem’s have is unfounded negative rhetoric, and outright vitriolic Trump hate. Gonna lose big with that as your “platform”.
You’re delusional. I like what Trump is doing, but if I had to put money on the table today, the Dems will control at least on of the houses of congress after the midterms.
Laughing… there you go again Bow… calling me “delusional”.
Just watch and learn, then come back here and apologize when once again I’m right and you’re wrong.
Do think Bow has a point, especially in the house with all the gerrymandering.
But I would have said you were “hopeful,”
Yeah JR, folks are all listening to the negative Nancy’s and the Dem’s spin, and thinking that Trump and the Republicans are “on the ropes” or have a chance to lose the majority.
I’m saying here and now, that’s rubbish. The Dem’s don’t have a platform. Nothing. They just oppose Trump. They just hate Trump. That’s it, and because they oppose Trump, they have taken ridiculous positions on real issues Americans care about. Border security, men in women’s sports, getting rid of violent illegal aliens, etc, etc, etc. The Dem’s have been perfectly played by Trump, just as China has. Folks are not seeing reality here, their listening to pundits and politicians and not using their common sense.
I think it has do with how successful his economic plan works between now and the 2026 election.
If the country is flourishing the Rs will widen their majority, if it is floundering then they will lose at least the house.
Voters are not going to be gaslighted (gaslit?) by the fake news again, they have been red pilled. Except those with DTS of course.
I am hopeful that DJTs plan will work but there are no guarantees in life.
Under Trump’s first administration the economy was burning brightly until the COVID Crisis where the Dem’s shut down businesses, forced people to stay in their homes, lose jobs, and take Government checks as some sort of reimbursement.
Trump was against all the shutdowns and payouts, once he figured out that COVID wasn’t the plague that all the political forces insisted it was. Fauci totally betrayed him, and we wasted hundreds of billions of dollars and wrecked the economy for no good reason. In retrospect, wrecking the economy was likely the planned Democrat objective, in order to “ruin” Trump politically.
I call you a Panican because you are treating this just like the election in Nov.
You listened to fake news and your fears and believed that Trump would lose.
You are now listening to fake news and your fears and believe that the sky could be falling.
We can either fix the problems the US is facing or we can listen to the negative ‘maybes’ and pull back and let the problems continue until they can’t be fixed.
Well, I don’t think this place would be much fun in the offseason if we all agreed with one another, and don’t need a safe space to express my point of view. In other words feel free to call me names. I personally try to abstain from personal attacks, but that’s probably the Canadian in me.
I have no problem with the discussion. Disagreements tend to sharpen arguments when they are challenged and defended.
As long as the arguments don’t turn personal and acrimonious it, ala NLNVF and KFey93, it is all good and healthy.
F U. (Sarc)
KFEY is acrimonious, and has a personal issue with me. I couldn’t care less about him.
Probably would get pretty boring if everyone agreed and I actually read with interest your point of view. In fact, believe it’s shared by a great number off people, just not here.
Now, I don’t agree with you about tariffs, but do think you are correct about losing the House. History would also agree.
JR, you may or may not be a data junkie like me, but I love this site:
https://datagolf.com/historical-tournament-stats?event_id=14
Thanks, that’s interesting.
Twinks sporting a majestic 3-8 record.
Bucks do a 34-3 run in 4th quarter to beat Timberpuppies.
Need a special mindset to be a Minny sports fan.
Maybe i’ll watch The Masters par 3, has to be more entertaining.
MLB and NBA are dead.
Went to bed before the T’puppies ended. Was shocked when I checked the score.
Still first in the Central?
Stars were up 5-2 with a minute left in game, Canucks scored an NHL record three goals in last minute to send game to OT, which they won. Poor Dallas.
Wow… that’s crazy!
As an avid fan who got to watch the “Miracle on Manchester” in 1982 when the Oilers famously choked away a 5-0 lead in the third period allowing the Kings to win game 3 of a best of 5 series and ultimately win the series, I actually do feel for the fans. That kind of collapse is almost miraculous (three goals in under a minute).
I guess that’s why you became a Vikings fan.
It was awesome getting kicked in the crotch figuratively the next day, my junior high had about a 50:50 split of Flames and Oilers fans.
That kind of collapse is almost
miraculousVikings-LikeThese TV economic and money people are totally clueless.
The last month, all the talk was tariffs would cause INFLATION.
Now, Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan says tariffs will cause a RECESSION.
Which one is it all you “experts” ?????
People are talking about the Stock Market going down as “losses” and a pointer of whether the economy is healthy. It’s not. People have pulled their money out of the market temporarily as they watch which way the winds will blow. That money didn’t “evaporate”. It’s still there, just waiting to be reinvested. The commentary is ridiculous about the markets, tariffs, etc. As you said, just a lot of blather.
Stock market losses are stock market losses…there has been a $10 trillion drop in capitalization from what I read. There is no doubt my portfolio has taken a huge hit. Maybe what you are saying is that I still own the same number of shares, but those shares are currently worth less money?
Yep. Remember when this happened under Biden though? Nobody was out there screaming about it. It was all “the market will recover eventually” (which it did right after November 5th). In December the DOW hit somewhere around 45K, which I think is the all time high. Trump will make your 401K and/or your portfolio soar soon. Remember what he did to your portfolio in his first term? Yeah, this time it will be even greater.
Agree.
I meant politicians and pundits. I was indeed screaming.
Even Mr. Nobody was screaming.
And you can throw Congress in the clueless also.
Read on Fox News this morning. a bipartisan bill in the Senate (many Republican supports) is coming forward to limit Trump’s powers on tariffs and return that power to Congress.
I was breathless, can you image that group of idiots actually negotiating a tariff deal.
It irks me that in our total history, there has never been such a high level of Congressional and Judicial activity to limit the President’s lawful powers under Article two. All of a sudden everyone knows better, has a different opinion, and therefore THEY must take the rightful power established in the Constitution from the President “for the good of the country”.
Aren’t inflation and recession exclusive phenomena that can be related? If they said tariffs may cause deflation that would be opposites, these two statements to dumb me are not exclusionary.
Technically you are correct.
Prices can go up with 2.5% inflation, while a recession happens.
When was the last time we had high Inflation and a Recession at the same time?
But the broader point is I don’t think you can have catastrophic inflation with a catastrophic recession. They don’t know what to say other than whatever Trump is doing is bad.
Michael Jordan was attending the Ryder Cup match in 2021, and a reporter asked him what his advice was to the U.S. competitors. He said, “I told them to keep it simple, and do what they do”. He said that was how he approached his play in winning all those NBA Championships over the years.
I think this is great advice for the players at the Masters this week. Don’t let the moment get too big. Play your game, and don’t over complicate things.
I just created one of the most destructive items ever…a Styrofoam cup sealed inside a plastic bag.
Goodbye, Earf!
Just pay ALGORE some carbon offsets, and everything is fine.
So, I love Rory, but of the five players to complete the career Grand Slam, most recently Woods in 2000, all five of them already had a Masters title to their credit before capturing the final leg. No one in history has won the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam.
Now… Rory found a new ball recently that has helped his play immensely. Spin affects the pro’s way more than the average Joe, and Rory has found a TaylorMade ball, that spins nicely on approaches and pitches to the green, so it has stopping power, but doesn’t spin too much for his driver.
Maybe Rory will be the first person to win the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam.
i like Rory as well and would love to see him win the Masters
It’s not the ball that hurts Rory, it’s between his ears and shaky putting under pressure. i.e., last year’s US Open.
I disagree. His wedge play has always gotten him. This year with the new ball his wedge play is markedly improved while his driving has remained strong.
How about between his ears – especially at Augusta?
And his putting, he’s not even. in the same league by a long ways compared to Jack, Tiger, Seve, Watson et all. If he was a. good putter, he’d have 10 majors by now.
I agree that Rory’s putting comes and goes, but that’s true of every player, ever. If his wedge play is “on” though, I believe he can hit it close enough to take some stress off his putter. JMO of course.
As good a ball striker Rory is, Sheffler is even better. But his putting, it really comes and goes.
In the article I quoted, they had this little factoid.
Thirteen of the last 15 Masters winners were ranked inside the top 40 in par-5 scoring for the season. Augusta National is famous for its four longest holes, but players know those are the opportunities where you need to pounce. Scheffler has played them well in his two Masters victories, but he has slowed in that category in the early part of the 2025 season.
Winning his third Green Jacket would put Scheffler in somewhat rarified air, and I do believe he can do it. He needs to score well on the par 5’s though as every Masters Champion ever, has. If he steps up and gets that done, he’s the front runner to win IMO.
Put this is for what it’s worth.
I’ve heard many pros say the greens at Augusta are the toughest putting in the world. And guys like Jack, Tiger, Seve actually putted their best there.
Years ago, I was at Congessional watching Seve on the putting green. The putter was magical in his hands, Years later, watched Tiger there and it seemed the same way.
Few weeks back at Bay Hill, was watching both Rory and Scottie on the putting green. They had all these contraptions on the ground snd their hands on the putter looked tortured, like blacksmiths with little touch. I just thought to myself, no wonder these guys have so much trouble putting. Looked so unnatural.
But hey, they get lots of coaching.
Zach Johnson is not a great putter. Nor are Bubba Watson, Hideki Matsuyama, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Danny Willett, Adam Scott, and others. If you have a great week with your short irons and wedges, you can putt “decently” and win.
An old quote from Jack ( and I’m not going to quote the source BS – believe it or not).
Jack said – I’ve won many times when my ball striking was off but I putted well. But I’ve never won when my ball striking was good and my putting poor.
You never have to quote sources to me JR. That just total BS and honestly I laugh every time someone goes down that lane here.
That is fine and dandy for Jack. My point remains, others have actually won the Masters over the years while not putting lights out.
I would simply suggest this. At my age I can recall watching most every Masters – that’s my source.
But would add to your post about Johnson, Bubba and all the rest, they all putted very well when they won (maybe their absolute best given their capabilities).
In my opinion, you simply cannot win at Augusta unless you putt well.
This is a great discussion JR.
Since 2010, players to finish in the top 10 at the Masters have averaged 9.6 fairways hit per round. Every other finisher at Augusta in that span has averaged almost the same total: 9.5. So the numbers say that accuracy off the tee isn’t a significant advantage.
Since 2012, nine of 10 Masters winners have ranked inside the top-seven that week in greens in regulation, averaging a stout 73.6%. The field average in that span is 61.3%. For the winners of every other PGA TOUR event in that span, the average GIR rate is 74.1% – not quite as high an advantage over the field (about 66%). There have been 10 Masters victories by three or more strokes since 1996. All 10 of those champions ranked sixth or better for the tournament in greens hit, with four of them leading the field outright.
For the last seven winners (as far back as the data goes), 33.6% of the strokes gained by tournament winners have come on the greens, a bit less than on approach (36.0%). In seven of those 28 rounds, winners have had negative Strokes Gained: Putting. That is only the case for five rounds when it comes to approach play. Five of the last six Masters winners have ranked outside the top-five that week in Strokes Gained: Putting; only two have done so in Strokes Gained: Approach.
Would say it’s both putting and hitting greens.
This comes from maybe Ben Hogans last interview (was with Ken Venturi maybe 30 or so years ago).
Hogan said, and he was a great iron player Augusta is one of the few courses you play where your iron shot must hit a target of about one square yard. Hit the spot and you have an eight foot putt for a birdie. Just miss it, and you can easily have a treacherous 50 foot put.
It’s that demanding.
Exactly. Hogan was spot on. With all the standard Augusta National adages we hear every year (miss it the right place, don’t aim at the flag on 12 on Sunday, etc). Augusta National boils down to the greatest second shot course in the world. If you hit your irons well, you will be there on Sunday.
Zach Johnson won without going for a single par 5 in two all week.
As I remember, it was very cold and windy the year Zack won, Thus all the big boys couldn’t hit the five’s in two giving Zac’s short game a big advantage.
True, cool temperatures and gusty winds on the weekend resulted in high scores for the field. Johnson’s 289 (+1) is tied for the highest winning score ever.
JR, here’s something you might not know.
Tiger Woods won his fifth Masters title thanks to a week of exquisite, vintage approach play.
Woods hit more than 80% of his greens in regulation, most of any player in the field and the most by a Masters champion since Tiger himself 18 years prior. He also led the field in Strokes Gained: Approach, gaining more than a full stroke in Rounds 1, 2 and 3, and a whopping 2.87 on Sunday. In all, more than 57% of Woods’ total strokes gained against the field for the week came from his approaches.
Actually, I think Woods won his fifth masters because Francesco Molinari collapsed near the end.
I think he hit the water twice.
And he shot the lowest score…
So, going into the off season I felt like we needed to address four key areas, to get better in 2025. First was our back-up QB situation. I guess the Vikings are good to go with Brett Rypien. Moreso than most folks ever considered.
After the QB situation, I thought the interior O-line was really a need, as well as the interior D-line. I was happy with our moves to bring in two quality O-linemen, and two quality D-linemen.
Finally, I thought we probably had to get our defensive backfield addressed. Again, we have done some work there, but I wouldn’t say it’s a really strong group yet.
In the draft, if there was a Guard/Tackle who was a standout athlete available, I would go with that guy as our first choice. If a big, strong, fast CB falls to us, I’d go with that guy next.
I’m not as worried about the backup QB as most. If JJ goes down for the year, there’s not many QBs that were available that are actually going to be step in and fix that (even if they brought back Darnold or Jones, do you think this year would end any different than last year). Other than that, all you can really hope for is that your backup QB can step in and go .500. Can Rypien win 2 out of 4 should JJ sprain his ankle? I think he can with the coaches and cast around him. That is not to say that I would not like to see Flacco or somebody similar come in. I think they’re just waiting until after the draft to see what shakes out and possibly sign Flacco when it doesn’t count against the comp pick formula.
There’s a lot a back-up QB does, that you have left out.
Considering we kept Sean Mannion on this roster 5 years too long I think it depends on the team and roster how valuable a back up QB can really be.
Sean Mannion was a really good asset to the QB room. He assisted with analyzing the game plan with Cousins, and deciding on certain sets as well as keys and reads. Mannion was very good between the ears, just not quite as good on the field.
He was also ancient. I pretty sure he was only on the roster because Kirk insisted they keep his friend there and so he wouldn’t feel his starting spot wasn’t threatened. But that’s neither here nor there.
Ummm that’s just you theorizing. The coaches loved Mannion. They were the ones advocating for him.
And you know this….how?
He was told at Thanksgiving dinner.
I read it in an article somewhere years ago. Obviously don’t remember where, but the commentary from the QB coach was Mannion was his second in command, and assisted greatly in getting ready for the game.
Im trying to be as civil as possible here, but you cant accuse me of “Theorizing” when you are doing the exact same thing and twisting it to support your narrative. Saying ” I read it in an article some where 6 years ago” aint going to cut it. Also, lets take a step back and view this from 30,000 feet. Right now you are choosing to die on a hill for Sean fricken Manion!! lol. Come on even you have to admit thats stupid.
I’m not theorizing at all, as I am quoting an actual coach from the team. You’re just spewing uninformed and totally baseless commentary.
NLNVF. Please, please, read what I am typing. You didnt quote anything up above, not once. You are pulling things from your head that you “think” you remembered reading over half a decade ago. No where is that considered a viable quote or citation. Please find the article, that actually has quotes from coaches that healed any weight in the Vikings locker room during these times, I will gladly read it, say you were right and move on with my day. But I got a feeling you either cant, or wont do that. At this stage we are both “spewing uninformed and totally baseless commentary”. This is why there are several of us here that dont take you seriously when it comes to the subject of Vikings football. Again, im trying to be as civil as possible here. You have to drop the ego and show some humility. You’re not in a FOB right now, you are on an online Vikings forum, things are different.
I posted what I read, and the commentary came from the QB coach on the team. That’s the basis for my commentary. You have zero basis for your commentary, other than your personal opinion.
And im just supposed to believe what you posted is exactly what you read from that article with no source cited or anything else? Just your word, thats all I have? You see how thats a problem right? There’s a reason they make you cite your sources in school, clearly you felt you were too good for that as well. Whatever.
You haven’t figured out yet that you matter just about as much as a gnat on an elephants ass. I don’t answer to you son. The fact that you arrogantly insist I do answer to you is pathetic. As I have told you many times, when it comes to me, stay on the porch.
You two sometimes have some collosal arguments. But today – Mannion, you’re pole faulting over mouse shit.
He is just compelled to disagree with me and try to “take me down”. Unfortunately for him, baseless commentary and unfounded opinion are insufficient to do so.
‘very good between the ears, just not quite as good on the field’
Sounds like he should have a QB coach and not a taking up a roster spot and cap space.
^ Bingo need value other then Kirk liked him sitting next to him in class.
Given Cousin’s durability the backup QB hardly mattered.
Will agree he was durable, will disagree the backup QB hardly mattered. It mattered then just as much as it did now because we did have competitive rosters in ,18, 19
Agree 18 and 19 not so much thereafter.
The only difference I see now, is that when Cousins came him he already had a durability factor. JJ, not so much,
Normally I don’t give a rats about backup QB’s. But given the quality of our roster and our planned starting QB hasn’t played one NFL real game down, I think it’s more important now than it usually is.
Now, how they acquire one, no big deal.
Kurt Warner never started a game before 1999 and that ended up pretty good. Mahomes started one or two his rookie year in basically preseason games that didn’t matter. JJ will be fine. He’s been in the building and got the redshirt year a lot of people wanted to see.
Warner is a bit of a one off and Mahomes is probably the most talented QB of all time.
That said given the circumstances still believe it’s more important than it usually is, in my opinion.
if he would have won this past superbowl i would have agreed about mahomes, but since he didn’t, he’s just an average qb in my book
I’ve always wondered what kind of a coach Warner would have made. I would have liked to see the experiment.
I think the ability for Rypien to win depends on at what point in the schedule he would have to play.
Of course, but in general, do you think KOC could go .500 with him over 4 games? I’d say likely, unless they have a crazy gauntlet stretch in the schedule.
Sure. It would be an ugly game but, think we could gut out 2 wins.
i think you are incorrect about the backup QB situation.
They will 100% address it before the start of training camp. Does it matter if it’s addressed NOW vs THEN? for a backup QB, it does not matter.
people are getting so enamored by this backup QB stuff. whether they sign someone after the draft, or in May or June, i don’t see why it even matters.
Bingo. So nice that the biggest fret with fans is the backup QB.
i have said this for a couple weeks now, but i think our future backup QB is currently on another teams roster.
Very smart of you to parrot my thoughts. If that comes to pass, my gut is telling me Levis or DeVitto.
i’m the Iago to your Jafar
haha glad you got the reference.
I got kids (and am one).
Forgot about Tannehill.
The Vikings are ‘good to go on Rypien’ as QB3.
They will sign a QB2 after the draft.
There is a plan in place and I am not going to waste time worrying about it.
We still only have two TEs on the roster, I am more concerned about that actually.
Maybe… maybe not. What if Rypien is QB2, and they draft a QB as QB3?
They will not. So I am not going to worry about….
I’m not “worried”. I do think when you’re running with a young, and to date, unproven QB, having a solid, experienced backup QB is beneficial. It looks to me like the Vikings aren’t concerned with the situation, and are good with the status quo, or have some other, as yet not apparent, strategy they are banking on.
I think they are going to sign Flacco.
I’d be good with that.
‘What if’ Atlanta cuts KC and he signs here to be our QB2.
‘What if’ The Douche decides to sign here at Vet Minimum to be QB2?
Those possibilities are about as likely as your ‘speculation’ IMHO.
Yes, I’m purely speculating, of course. There isn’t much data we can really go on here, so all we are left with is speculation. Right?
Not all speculation is considered equal.
Some reaches the level of ‘clickbait’ just to get a reaction.
Absolutely… like Cousins coming back to Minnesota… HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. A knee slapper there.
TEs are the best athletes and most important position on the field….generally they are the smartest and best looking as well.
Yes, I agree, they will sign another QB after the draft. I am not concerned.
Does your wife resemble Taylor Swift?
Ha! Fortunately no….but she does sing as well as Taylor.
Two things I noticed in this, I think JJ was there guy all the way. Kwesi made a comment I didn’t catch until I’d watched it a couple of times about going up to 4 to get him. Second, they had no idea they would have a chance at Turner unless they didn’t take JJ. I think they were as surprised as us that they were able to get him. Also, RIP Kyhree.
I think I heard this: “Supposed to trade the farm to take him at 4.”
Donated plasma for the first time yesterday. Quite a process for first time setup (2.5 hrs, blood test, physical, liability things etc.) but the actual donation part only took 35 minutes. Get $400 for your first 4 donations. Then its $50 first time the next week and $75 the 2nd time the next week. I did feel pretty tried 2 hrs after I was done but it was already 9pm too so idk. I feel fine today.
Does the $400 donation you mention like count against taxes? Kind of don’t follow the 50 first time an d 74 second. Just curious.
I don’t think so. I donated a few times a few years ago and I didn’t get any tax documents from them. I couldn’t bring myself to spend new house money on a new gun I wanted so I just donated when they gave me extra deals. It’s a gift or something to avoid the income tax I believe. Maybe I was just fraudulent, but without a tax document, nothing came up when I was doing my taxes.
oh no, you didn’t report to the government some extra cash you got? SHAME ON YOUUUUUUU
F them. I had to report the freaking bow I won two years ago and the cooler I got through a rewards program.
haha i know, i was being facetious.
I know you were but it brought up things and I got mad. How do I have to report a bow I won in a raffle as income? The government needs to back the hell off and shrink by about 70%.
Holy shit thats dumb lol
Apparently anything you win or get through a rewards program over $700 must be reported as income. I had to fill out tax documents to get the bow. So dumb.
What we fought for, taxes on compound bows!
Well, $600 is the officially IRS requirement.
I don’t believe so. It was never brought up in the 2 hr schpeel I got before hand. And yeah the payments after seemed kind of arbitrary but, still $125 for 60 minutes of my time a week, ill take it for some quick cash.
Oh, they actually give you money. That’s what I didn’t understand, a donation but you were getting paid.
You “donate” and as a thank you they give you money. Sort of a double donation.
You get paid to “donate” plasma from your blood haha. Yeah its on a debit card that you get an account with and you get your money added to the card about 20 minutes after donation.
You should come to Florida. They have blood banks and pay $75 a pint. Not sure of method of payment.
Buddy was joking and said I should donate sperm $700-$1200 a month.
Problem there is 5 years from now somebody sues in a liberal court and you end up having to pay child support.
Depends on method of donation and what they look like.
Lol, exactly
No.
In fact, the money you get is likely TAXABLE.
Everything is taxable, unless there is a specific rule in the tax code to exclude it.
Good for you KFEY!!! I know you did it out of altruistic motives and the 400 dollars was just a nice add on.
Cant it be both? lol
My father passed away last night, from natural causes. 87 years old. He was a very hard-working Minnesota Farm Boy. He instilled that hard-working attitude in me and pushed me to succeed.
SKOL to my father! He lived a great life and will be dearly missed.
It kills me that he never got to see a Vikings Super Bowl victory.
FTP!!
Sorry for your loss.
SKOL
SKOL to your father, and sincere condolences.
Sorry, man. Losing fathers is a tough one. My sympathies.
Skol, sorry for your loss. Maybe he’ll help give the Vikes that special boost they need this year
My condolences. SKOL to your dad!
How many more must pass without ever seeing their beloved Vikings win it all?
Sounds like he was a great man, and he passed that on to you.
Praying for you and your family. He had a good long life, remember the good times
Sorry for your loss. I lost my father 2 years ago. Keep those memories in your head and heart.
Sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine how tough that is and just hope I don’t have to find out for awhile.
Sorry for your loss and God Bless your family.
I’m so sorry for your loss. RIP.
Sorry to hear FL.
Sorry for your loss. Blessings that he died of natural causes, and not hooked up to some machines in the hospital or suffering in pain.
So sorry FloridaSKOL.
Another perfect draft!
Nice, but not one of those guys will ever amount to anything in the NFL… grin.
I don’t even know who they are now!
Laughing… at least you’re honest.
I wouldn’t mind seeing another TE, especially if it’s somebody that can let you move Hockenson’s big contract in a year or two if necessary.
I would jump at that.
So the Masters starts tomorrow. Several days ago (maybe a couple weeks?) I said Collin Morikawa was someone I would watch. I surprisingly got a lot of pushback just because I said I thought he could win.
Despite all that, I still think Morikawa will make some noise at Augusta, and contend on Sunday.
I wouldn’t say ‘pushback’, but do think his game is not the best suited for Augusta. Still, he may play very well.
I believe he’s made the cut at Augusta every time he’s played there. Since 1998, all but one Masters champion made the cut at Augusta National the year prior. Thirteen of the last 15 Masters winners were ranked inside the top 40 in par-5 scoring for the season. Eight of the last nine Masters champions averaged at least 67.18% Greens in Regulation in their season leading into the tournament. Each of the last seven Masters winners had a top-15 finish in one of the two prior majors played. Twenty of the last 26 Masters champions had a previous win or runner-up in a major. Each of the last 13 Masters champions picked up at least 18 shots via Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green over their four most recent starts. Twenty-five of the last 27 Masters winners had a top-30 finish at Augusta National to their credit before winning.
The one player in the field who meets all this criteria is Collin Morikawa.
BTW I read all that in an article this morning. I was ahead of the game picking Morikawa to contend before this came out.
As I said before, I love his game for a US open course. Now his putting had been off some but he seems to have found it recently.
Still think Augusta will be a tough test for him but of course not impossible.
I understand your position JR. You might note how well Morikawa has played at Augusta though. He is making his sixth Masters start. He has finished inside the top 10 in each of the past three years and has never missed the cut at Augusta National. He finished runner-up in Maui in January and as you personally witnessed, finished second at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March.
I don’t think Augusta National is an insurmountable challenge for him, because he’s contended strongly over the last three years. The proof of the pudding is in the eating here. You don’t finish inside the top 10 three years running if the course is too big for your game.
He will likely be in the top 10.
But to predict a winner, any winner is nothing more than a wild ass guess.
Now, do I think Bernhard Langer will win? 100% no.
There will be 10-15 old men that have zero chance.
But anybody in the top 20 currently could win.
I didn’t predict he would win. I said he was someone to watch, and someone I think will contend on Sunday.
AND that’s like, just my opinion.
Ok.
Shocking, I know, that a top 10 world golfer will contend any given week.
It would be helpful if you committed yourself to what the definition of “contend” means in your prediction.
OMG. you don’t know what “contend” means, and you’re arguing with me?
I need to just ignore you.
DeFilippo definitely proved that true.
oh how badly i would LOVE to see the lions regress, mostly for their insanely cocky fans who have become UNBEARABLE the last 2 seasons.
well, if a team sucks for decades, then gets good, the fans get a bit giddy with excitement, and they are not sure how to behave.
Fanatics (fans) in general, don’t know how to behave. Grin.
Considering they still haven’t even gotten to the Super Bowl, you’d think they would have a little reservation still, but they act like their the 90’s Cowboys or 9ers or the Brady Patriots. I hope they crash and burn and go back to 4th in the division.
At the first crack, Campbell’s attitude is going to cause problems much like how Zimmer’s schtick wore thin when the wins stopped coming. He’ll end up turning into it harder and the players will shut him out. There will be internal turmoil and they’ll be back to where they started.
and it shall come to pass, as the prophecy is being foretold.
i still want them punished for their actions….
GM
FTP!
SKOL
Morning Surly. Beautiful day here in Tampa. How’s it going there?
Warmer, and golf courses are opening. Still too cold for me to golf. Maybe next week. Mid 50s today for high temps.
I used to play almost no matter what the weather was, as long as the course was open. Had a great pal who joined me in Maryland, and for years we played in cold, wind, rain, etc. Our favorite saying was “you can’t win the Open, if you can’t play in the wind and rain”. As we got older though, our desire to play in foul weather waned, and we eventually got to “if it’s colder than 45 degrees, we ain’t playing”. Also, if it was more than a sprinkle going on, we went to breakfast.
I golfed in the snow on mothers day one year. Snow started falling on the 10th hole. We finished the round, but I did tell my wife I was not doing that again.
I prefer at least 50 degrees and no rain when I tee off. colder than that, and my hands and knees hurt.
Yeah, I have many aches and pains from years of beating up my body in combat, and training. Bad knees, broke my back in a helicopter crash, busted up my shoulder in a bad fall in Bosnia, etc. I love being in Florida where the sun warms my body. I don’t think I’ve played in less than 70 degree weather in years now.
It’s fun here in the winter. We get warm stretches in December and January that are comfortable golf weather but you’ll still have ponds froze over while you’re golfing in 50 degree weather. My dad came out and golfed with me around Christmas a couple of years ago. He bladed a shot on a par 3 over a pond, landed dead center of the pond and bounced it to about 3 feet from the pin.
1st
FTP
Skol
Rec for first, and SKOL!
FTP Auto Rec.