Both Down and Out, Now's the Time to Scout the Vikings' Roster

At this point it is interesting to watch Joe Webb, even though you knew he was the most raw QB to start in the NFL, get his due and see what he can do. At least we get to see if we can use him or if we need to draft a QB.

We need to start somewhere, it would be nice to know we don’t need a QB in the first few rounds, since we don’t have a 3’rd round pick DO’H

Really, what the hell, let it roll for the next couple of weeks, play a bunch of prospects, we have nothing to lose…

I’m sorry. I’m no expert in journalistic values, but it seems to me an earlier disclosure or two were in order. The fact that the DailyNorseman Position Coach did not disclose in her article that Cutler and Forte were on her fantasy team this week is, to put it mildly, a journalistic misstep. I won’t question your football loyalties. Clearly you went for the cold hard fantasy points over silly sentimentalism. However, it’s hard for me to picture you suffering (from a cold and a defeated home team and whatnot) when our defense was basically lying down for your fantasy team QB and Running Back. My guess is that if you’d had Hester on your fantasy team you would have been dancing around the room. Can you truly understand what it feels like to suffer a loss with no “on the other hand” or “silver lining” optimism to hold onto? No. No you can’t. Not when you’re out there winning this week’s fantasy league with players who’ve just crush the Purple and Gold. Give up your Bears, Packers and Lions players and come join the rest of us in our un-redeemed misery. Now please excuse me while I go find a dog to kick.

and that is one reason why it could be time to let him go.

I would consider it if they could get a pick. But with his salary and age it may be hard for to get something in return.

If he stays, then I think they need to sign him to a 3 year deal for about 10 mil.

At the same time though, I think it is time for Brinkley to play.

I’m with you, I have been waiting and waiting for a light bulb to go on for Bryant McKinnie, but it just doesn’t seem to happen. And, in the meantime, the quarterbacks are really getting pummeled. Loadholt needs work, no doubt about that, but I can’t even get as annoyed about his holding calls because at least he’s trying to stay with a block, unlike McKinnie.

The offensive line has needed help for the last two years and it desperately needs to be addressed. It may be that the most important offensive line position that needs to be addressed is coach. However, that is an issue that will not be cleared up until the Wilfs name a new, permanent head coach.

Honestly, at this point I think there are very few players that are guaranteed to be on the Vikings roster next season. With new a new coach, changes in the coaching staff, and an emphasis on rebuilding, there will be a lot of changes in the Vikings next season. I’m going to cross my fingers and hope that all those impending changes will result in winning games.

We simply don’t have one worth mentioning. Even cornerback is ok seeing how Winfield is the man and Griffin hopefully won’t tear a third ACL next year. Chris Cook remains very unproven, and if this guy remains as injury prone as he was this year, that’s a total draft bust. Between Walker and Sheppard, we could just keep both a figure that’ll do on depth. I’d like to see Asher Allen go though, simply as punishment for both subpar laziness and his tendency to quit- we simply don’t need a loser like that on our team.

The issues at safety, for a Tampa-2 cover scheme (of course, we could open a whole new debate on whether that scheme, or even the 4-3 scheme, will be back next year), are far too huge to ignore. Our run defense, to me, is a complete casualty of this flaw- the linebackers have to consistently play back to bolster the ridiculously weak secondary, opening lots of wholes for good, or even decent, running backs. The only reason we didn’t see this flaw exposed last year was that it was one of those things that can take teams a season to catch up on- last year, teams were afraid to run the ball against our vaunted run D. We saw in games like the NFC Championship, however, that smart coaches were picking up on the weakeness behind the D-line- you just had to get past the front four, who’s main job is to pressure the QB anyways, and you could get a good run in. And once that’s exposed, everyone’s onto ya.

I don’t see the D-line as a weakness, therefore, despite their mediocre play this year. And I think EJ Henderson has played like a lion, even without his amazing recovery from that injury. (I’ll never forget his somersault (sp?) interception… absolutely amazing.) And while he doesn’t seem like a vocal leader on the field, remember the players and coaches have called him the ‘heart and soul’ of the defense, and he has been consistently voted as a team captain for defense. The last thing we need right now is to remove that kind of leadership.

What really sucks is that our draft priority should be- QB, LT, and then SS/FS. However, with no third round pick, we’re going to have to address either LT or SS/FS in the FA, and I haven’t even begun to look yet to see who will be available- the thing w/ FA is that you often don’t have top-notch players showing up every year. (Of course you do from time to time, but someone like Troy Polumalu isn’t going onto the waivers anytime in the next 20 years.) Most teams don’t do stupid things like let Matt Birk leave town. And w/ our needs arguably constituting three of the most important positions in the NFL, we’re even more stressed to find something good in FA.

…applauding himself when he’s in the vicinity of a play that’s over. Even on special teams he’s a weakness.

I agree about the need for depth but can’t you suggest someone, anyone else. I really, really want to see Tyrell Johnson gone — and it has nothing to do with the fact that he dropped a ball that gently floated up to him in the final minutes of the New Orleans/Vikings game. That was just the cherry on top of an absolutely horrible season for him. ARGH!

… might be cheap depth + special teams. He isn’t a starter calibre player, but I’m not sure why everyone is so keen to waive him either, when he isn’t eating up big $$$. M. Williams is another story.

I like the idea of A. Winfield to safety. He has great instincts and is an awesome tackler. Maybe a bit undersized though?

If Cook could be healthy, then maybe even Winfield to SS and Cook to FS.

But yeah, we are short handed any way you look at it in the defensive backfield. If we move Winfield and/or Cook to safety, then we have C. Griffin at CB and basically just a few serviceable (barely) guys.

I can’t stand the guy. Poor play is one thing- it won’t get you far in the league, but if you just can’t do it, well- you just can’t do it. Laziness, on the other hand, is a whole different animal. When half the defensive coaching staff was holding Ray Edwards back from tearing Asher Allen’s head off for giving up on a tackle in the Green Bay catastrophe, it made me want to take Allen’s paycheck from that game and give it to Edwards.

was a stroke of genius. I hear too it was all Frazier’s call. Nice work- that should count towards him in his coaching interviews.

My main concern is that our previous draft really wasn’t spectacular. Toby Gerhart has worked out OK- but the jury is out on whether he was really worth getting so aggresively. For this year anyways, Chris Cook was a bust. Letting McCoy slip through our fingers still stings.

It could all be vindicated in a year or two if Webb turns out to be the real deal, but that’s so far off now that I can’t really include it. And even if it ends up working out, it’s pure luck, not genius- he wasn’t drafted to be a QB.

It could be argued that the draft was intended to help with this year and pretty much this year only. Webb as a project was a passing thought. Griffin and DeGear were about the only possible picks that could be considered ‘looking to the future’.

This draft really needs to be taken with a full reloading mentality. (Yes, I’m using that phrase from now on. Sounds cooler.)

Yeah, getting Hutchinson and Herrea back next season will help. I think you guys need to get a replacement for McKinnie too. What do you think about Sullivan? I think he’s a lot like Wells from the Packers. Smart guy whose capable of calling the protection schemes and line shifts but just too undersized.

When Madieu Williams looked like his coverage and tackling were improved over last year, but that certainly hasn’t been the case the last two games. He isn’t being effective at the position.

Here’s the information about McNabb’s contract that I was referring to (link and key text provided below):

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/donovan-mcnabb-washington-redskins-unhappy-future-ahead-122010

“The next and final insult for McNabb, who signed some phony-baloney five-year contract extension for $78 million with the Redskins last month, is that Shanahan and the Redskins simply won’t allow him to walk away once this season ends. They own his rights for $3.5 million in 2011 and they will be wise to hold onto him, maybe until they finalize their 2011 roster next August when the team would be obligated to pay another bonus.

Who knows who wants McNabb next year?

But when you spend a second- and a fourth-round pick for such a player, you are going to want some compensation in return. That $3.5 million will become a bargaining chip between McNabb and the Redskins. That bonus money might be the final straw that breaks McNabb’s back."