The Kids Are Alright
by Christopher Gates on Dec 4, 2011 9:06 PM CST
in Minnesota Vikings 2011 Season
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PrintYes, ladies and gentlemen, I know that our favorite team found yet another new and creative way to rip our hearts out. You would think that a three-point lead with three minutes left in the game would be a relatively advantageous situation. But, when you're playing the 2011 Denver Broncos, that just means they have you right where they want you.
We lost one that we probably should have won, and we lost it in a way that we shouldn't have lost it. After all, this was supposed to be the one team that couldn't just rip our secondary to shreds at will like so many other teams have. This is a power running team, and that's supposed to play into our defense's strength. But, Tim Tebow. . .as is his wont. . .made the plays when he had to, and our secondary failed to recognize that Demaryius Thomas plays for the Denver Broncos after all. Seriously, to allow a guy to average 26 36 yards/catch (bad math on my part in the initial post) is just embarrassing, but that's what Thomas did to the Vikings this afternoon.
And yet, after Matt Prater hit that chip shot field goal, I didn't find myself nearly as disappointed as I figured I would be. Why? Because this team took on a very good Denver defense without their most dangerous offensive player in Adrian Peterson (or second most dangerous, if Percy Harvin keeps up the way he's been going lately), and got a lot of outstanding performances from guys that could be a part of this team for a long time to come.
Yes, folks, the kids are alright.
I don't mind other guys dancing with my girl
That's fine, I know them all pretty well
But I know sometimes I must get out in the light
Better leave her behind with the kids, they're alright
The kids are alright
Did he throw a couple of terrible passes? Yeah, he most certainly did. But again, that's going to happen with a rookie quarterback. I think some of us have forgotten what it's like to have a young signal caller behind center. The last young quarterback that this team started was Daunte Culpepper, and in his first season as a starter (after a full year of sitting on the bench, mind you), he still threw 16 interceptions. . .and he was throwing to Randy Moss and Cris Carter (among others) and playing behind an outstanding offensive line. Rookie quarterbacks are going to make bad throws, folks, there's no way around that. Two ill-timed throws from Christian Ponder shouldn't completely negate the fact that he, by and large, played an outstanding game.
To illustrate this, let me give you the statistics for four quarterbacks from their rookie seasons.
| Games | Completions | Attempts | Comp % | Yards | TD | INT | QB Rating | |
| Quarterback A | 11 | 155 | 293 | 52.9 | 1,749 | 9 | 18 | 55.7 |
| Quarterback B | 16 | 326 | 575 | 56.7 | 3,739 | 26 | 28 | 71.2 |
| Quarterback C | 3 | 9 | 16 | 56.3 | 65 | 0 | 1 | 39.8 |
| Quarterback D | 10 | 187 | 332 | 56.3 | 2,372 | 15 | 13 | 77.5 |
Okay. . .who are these guys? Let me tell you.
Quarterback A is Troy Aikman, who went 0-11 as a rookie starting quarterback and just got killed as the Dallas Cowboys went on to a 1-15 season overall.
Quarterback B is Peyton Manning, who went 3-13 as a rookie starting quarterback with the Indianapolis Colts.
Quarterback C is Aaron Rodgers, who was so awesome coming out of college he sat for three years behind a guy who, allegedly, didn't do anything for 16 years other than suck and throw interceptions and lose football games.
Quarterback D. . .is a projection of Christian Ponder for this season based on what he's done thus far as a starter.
Honestly, get this guy an offensive line that won't get him killed and a real deep threat, put Adrian Peterson back behind him in the backfield, and this offense is going to be fine.
But that's not to say that there isn't going to be talent developing around him, because clearly there will be. I'm running out of superlatives to describe Percy Harvin. Honestly, if he's not the most dangerous open field runner in the league, he's on the short list. But we expect that from Harvin. You know what we don't expect?
We don't expect six catches and 90 yards from Devin Aromashodu. We don't expect 21 carries for 91 yards from Toby Gerhart. We don't expect Stephen Burton, a seventh-round pick up from the practice squad that was supposed to be a project, to be making big catches on third downs and moving the chains.
And Kyle Rudolph? Seriously, what the heck else do I have to say about this guy other than "Why on earth is he only being targeted a few times a game?" Look at this.
There are a lot of other things to talk about concerning this game, and I realize that a lot of it is going to fall on the negative side of the ledger. But I wanted to remind everyone that, although this season has been a little rough and we're already looking forward to the 2012 NFL Draft. . .
The kids are alright. Yep. . .the kids are alright.
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I felt exactly the same. Awesome write-up.
My dad and I were absolutely pumped about what we saw out of Ponder and some of the other young guys today. And you know what? We competed against a helluva good football team, which is so much more than anything i could say about a team led by Donovan McNabb. And if it’s any consolation, we’re still one game closer to getting Matt Kalil.
I am content. Not happy, not pissed. Content. For now.
"Like I said, I don’t think anybody on this team knows what schism is, let alone could use it in a sentence. I thought it was an STD when I first heard it. And I was like whoa, we preach abstinence around these parts." - Jared Allen
For the first time this season
I really felt we had our big boy pants on. Not like when McNabb was wearing his Underoos.
by liveforadrenaline on Dec 4, 2011 9:20 PM CST reply actions
For the first time ever, I'm glad we're losing.
At this point “Feel Good” wins gain us nothing. (Look what that win last year against the Eagles cost us in draft position!) Once Ponder became the starter, all I wanted was to see improvement from him and for us to lose games. At this point we need as high a draft pick as possible, and today helped us. Kalil with the 1st rounder and then BPA on defense the rest of the draft!
by FLSKOLMAN on Dec 4, 2011 9:21 PM CST via mobile reply actions
CAVikefan
Indeed, get the LT Kalil before the Rams (they want him to) and defense, defense, defense because ours absolutely SUCKS!
We have had plenty of 4Q leads that the “d” could not come close to protecting, coaches have to go as well…..our secondary is both inept and incredibly stoooooopid.
One last gripe about sherrells thinking he’s Percy Harvin, since the coaches will not tell him, I will. Take a knee when the kick is 5+ yards deep in the end zone…two straight kicks he gets blown up @ the 14 yard line….get a clue!
Nope
If we are top 5, trade that spot for more draft picks, we can move back and still get a good LT and then we can also hit other spots. I would say go after Kalil if that was our 1 glaring hole but we have SOOOOOOO MANY needs! I guess if we get some more O-Line, WRs, DBs, and depth at DT and LB then we could just make a run for Kalil.
IF YOU THINK REEM SHOULD BE RATED ANY HIGHER THAN AROUND THE #5 HEAVYWEIGHT (AND THAT IS STRETCHING IT) THEN YOU ARE A FLIPPIN MORON, PLAIN AND SIMPLE.
by Edgecrusher71 on Dec 5, 2011 9:26 AM CST up reply actions
good write up
Even Rogers’ first full year as a starter was hardly anything to write home about and this, as you pointed out, was after years of riding the bench. Once we are able to get an o-line that isn’t absolute garbage there will be plenty of W’s to come.
My dad said that Ponder is junk and we should get rid of him.
Needless to say he wasn’t happy when I punched him for saying it.
Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, it's just that your's is stupid.
by HolySchnikes on Dec 4, 2011 9:26 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
Ponder needs to continue to learn
As long as he is learning, and doesn’t make so many mistakes next year, he’ll be looking pretty darn good. If you can take away some of his more costly interceptions, we’d be looking at 4-8 right now, maybe even 5-7.
It’s still frustrating when he throws a pick that, basically, costs us the game. But this is the learning process we must all endure. The secondary and OL aside, we’ve got plenty of young guys on the team that are making plays. While the loss hurts, we aren’t anywhere near the playoffs, and all winning does is put us further behind in the draft.
SKOL Vikings!
Point:
How many times do you see a quarterback with almost 400 yards and 3 touchdowns in the loss column? Not many.
by liveforadrenaline on Dec 4, 2011 9:34 PM CST reply actions
Our season in a nutshell
Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, it's just that your's is stupid.
Counter Point:
Tebow doesn’t need stats, stats need Tebow.
by dsludo on Dec 4, 2011 10:54 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
I'm not that worried about QB as I have been for the last few years
Now, it’s everything else that worries me :)
But we’ll have draft picks at the top of every round and a lot of money to spend in FA, so we shouldn’t be down long. (I’m assuming we’ll do something with the front office this offseason though)
(I’m assuming we’ll do something with the front office this offseason though)
What are your thoughts on that ? Think they’re gonna give Spielman the boot ?…or who ?
I sure hope so
The guy’s record is pretty lousy as a drafter. I realize he’s not completely in charge of the draft but what we’ve got isn’t working. It only makes sense to try something different at this point. We should get a GM who can hire a good HC and has a better eye for talent.
by Bodysuit Man on Dec 4, 2011 10:21 PM CST up reply actions
I'd sooner worry about DC than OC
Musgrave didn’t coach his guys to give up plays to phantom safeties. He also didn’t not tell the safeties where they’re supposed to be.
I would say
either make Spielman GM and give him complete control or
fire him and hire a GM that has complete control. There are too many hands in the cookie jar when it is coming to our football operations we just need one voice, so we have one man to give credit to when it’s due (Peterson, Allen, Harvin, etc…) and one man to blame when it doesn’t work (Moss) When there’s no oen to take the blame or fall, nothing gets improved
when asked by Dan Patrick if his name alluded to not making quick decisions in the pocket, Ponder calmly replied "As crazy as it sounds, my mom's maiden name is actually Superbowlwinner. All one word"
by filbert33 on Dec 4, 2011 10:47 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
way too much optimism
This team is horrible both sides of the ball, o-line, d-line, wr, secondary, coaching, Ponder getting beat up we need Khalil, Ponder could barely run today, he took a little bit of a beating. I was excited though for stpehen burton lol even though he made two catches
We do need Kalil.
and I was so pumped when I saw Stephen Burton make a couple of grabs!
"Like I said, I don’t think anybody on this team knows what schism is, let alone could use it in a sentence. I thought it was an STD when I first heard it. And I was like whoa, we preach abstinence around these parts." - Jared Allen
the only thing that bothers me
is the timing of Ponder’s turnovers. Just as in the Raiders game, he made the turnovers at the worst possible times. Both picks deep in our territory, and the other turnover in our red zone, all three leading directly to points. The same thing happened in the Raider game. All I can hope for is that it is indeed just because he is a rookie.
J.P. Bedor, Editor in Chief of Odin's Eye
www.eye-of-odin.blogspot.com
That's what my gut is telling me.
"Like I said, I don’t think anybody on this team knows what schism is, let alone could use it in a sentence. I thought it was an STD when I first heard it. And I was like whoa, we preach abstinence around these parts." - Jared Allen
His picks came at bad times because...
- Crucial plays are when defenders play the best and opposing coordinators put forth the best schemes. Ponder doesn’t have the offensive weapons or coaching staff to match that.
- On his 2nd pick, the kid had dropped back almost 50 times and had been hit (to the point of injury) all game. He’d have to be Superman to not buckle under that at some point.
- Rookie mistakes. Like you said.
- How about all the other crucial times Ponder has made amazing plays with his back to the wall? Like the perfect TD strike from midfield to Harvin on the 4th down last game? For every badly timed mistake, there are several situations where he’s made crucial plays to keep us in games.
Yeah I meant that my gut was telling me it was just happening cause he's a rookie.
I love how Ponder’s looked so far.
"Like I said, I don’t think anybody on this team knows what schism is, let alone could use it in a sentence. I thought it was an STD when I first heard it. And I was like whoa, we preach abstinence around these parts." - Jared Allen
I'm very optimistic about Ponder too. The kid is a lion.
The only reason for doubt is that our coaches are unproven at developing a young QB. Musgrave has credibility because of Matt Ryan, but it takes an entire system and organization to really bring the kid up. Last offseason, he was NOT working with the Vikings staff – he was with that guy in Florida (along with Cam Newton), and I sure hope he goes down there again.
And a lot will depend on the personnel they put around him. As much as I hate the Packers, they did a heckuva job developing Rodgers and surrounding him with a stable cast of great receivers. If Ponder can grow up with the same 3-4 receivers, TEs and OLine … look out.
Chris Weike, also a former Florida State QB, and a damn fine QB coach is who your thinking of.
"Let's go our there, and stick our fists through their ribcages, rip our their hearts, eat them, and sh!t them back out on the field!!" - Blue Mountain State
by Alittlemore_cowbell on Dec 4, 2011 11:32 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Also pressure, he doesn't have time to properly see the field
If our O-line would block somebody or at least get in their way maybe he wouldn’t have to be trying to get rid of it so soon and making a mistake.
I thought our entire O-Line was dominating in the second half. Our backs (ESPECIALLY Gerhart) were picking up blitzes very well too. I started watching the game midway into the second, so I didn’t get to see the first pick, but the second one wasn’t thrown under pressure. It was just underthrown to Harvin.
"Let's go our there, and stick our fists through their ribcages, rip our their hearts, eat them, and sh!t them back out on the field!!" - Blue Mountain State
by Alittlemore_cowbell on Dec 4, 2011 11:46 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Just goes to show how OLine is more about players coming together over time
and not just talent. Though in the Vikings’ case, more talent is probably necessary.
Also, Denver wasn't sending as heavy rushes in the 2nd half as we usually see
Without AD in the backfield, teams don’t stack the line of scrimmage as much. Of course our OLine was still very solid, but they need to start doing this when AD is in.
I should say
directly leading to points for the other team or taking away sure points for us.
J.P. Bedor, Editor in Chief of Odin's Eye
www.eye-of-odin.blogspot.com
I think it's because he's a rookie.
Also, because I think he’s really trying to make the plays that we need to have. But because he’s a rookie, he hasn’t seen the coverages and everything that NFL defenses are going to do to him. But he is a very quick learner and I doubt that he’ll continue to make the same mistakes consistently. These losses and these picks are learning experiences for him and will make him better in the long run, I think. He’s made plenty of crucial plays when we’ve needed them, as well. They haven’t translated into wins yet, but I think when we get more players who can match his play in crucial situations, they will.
+1. I also like how he doesn't make the same mistake twice,
and how classy he is in press conferences after losing – after watching Cam Newton whine like a child after his team loses, I stopped taking Ponder for granted. He has the focus, intelligence, stability and drive to really succeed. Now it’s up to his coaches and teammates to put him in position to do so.
And of course his performance on the field has exceeded any reasonable expectation for a rookie in his position – what with the coaches, defense, WRs, OLine and now lack of a running game he’s got to overcome.
Yeah,
who would’ve thought that he would drop back to pass around 50 times this game? I was really hoping he’d get over 400 yards for this game. And I think he would’ve if not for that pick. Which will happen with a rookie QB. He’s shown that he can do what we ask him to do and what he needs to do. If we need him to hand the ball off to AP and just convert our longer third downs, he can do that. If we need him to take off and run because our receivers can’t get open, he can do that, too. If we need him to drop back 50 times and throw from the pocket, he’s done that now. Limit the interceptions (which I think he will when he sees more NFL defenses) and he would’ve had a great game by any QBs standards. And hell, he did have a great game. He just made a couple mistakes. I think we’re good on the quarterback position, finally. Now just to get some other pieces in place… Which will probably take a little while because this team is a mess at the moment.
Agreed. Though, as I’ve said elsewhere on this thread, developing him will be the key. It takes an entire coaching staff and teammates to develop a promising rookie into a true franchise QB. Give him great coaching and a stable set of offensive weapons, and Ponder will have the entire league on notice.
i could be facetious and reply with...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrZ4sMRYimw …
… but i don’t really mean that =)
Ponder looked great despite two crucial mistakes — he’s a smart kid, hopefully he’ll learn from them.
"Th_r_'s n_ h_p_ f_r _ssh_l_ f_ckw_ts."
Can I buy a vowel...?? +1, Kluwe.
HELP TUNA
We need the TUNA not as a GM but as a consultant to Zygi to help him find a good GM get rid of Spilman shuffle some new cards into the scouting department.
I am beginning to think we need to get rid of LF
It is not that he is a bad guy ro coach, but I am not sure he is the type of coach you need for a young rebuilding team.
He continues to want to play the OLD vets to get a win rather than play the young pups to get some learning.
WE need a head coach who can bring in coaches who will bring in coachs who can them up. Maybe keep Musgrave as a QB coach. He has been demoted before. No one would hire him as a HO coach right now anyway so might as well take the demotion and coach your guy.
Real coaches would be playing the hung pups, keep talent out there on key downs and realize that your best Center is sitting on the bench.
LF
IS not going anywhere, especially not when Zygi is still paying Childress. He can’t afford to be paying two coaches for nothing. Leslie gets a pass this year because of the F’ed up offseason, but if he shows NO improvement at all (more of what we’ve been seeing now), I think his seat will be hot. However, I do think LF is finally realizing to play the young guys, see Rudolph’s epic TD and Burton’s nice receptions.
Pagac on the other hand, should be sweating. I think they’re seriously considering giving him the boot. Hell, blow up the entire defensive staff, it couldn’t be much worse than what they already have. Aside from Allen, the defense might as well shouldn’t be on the field after the second quarter.
by christian220896 on Dec 4, 2011 10:37 PM CST up reply actions
WHY NOT THE BOOT
LF contract cannot be that big.
Just one less bathroom in the next house.
z
"Let's go our there, and stick our fists through their ribcages, rip our their hearts, eat them, and sh!t them back out on the field!!" - Blue Mountain State
by Alittlemore_cowbell on Dec 4, 2011 10:45 PM CST up reply actions
You can't really judge a coach by his first year.
LF wasn’t handed the luxury that Mike Tomlin was handed when he was hired by the Steelers or Caldwell when he took over for Dungy. Childress had this team in complete disarray, setting it back a few years. I’m pretty sure you can’t rebuild a team in one year.
If it’s more of the same next year, then I think they’ll be thinking it’s time for a new coach.
by christian220896 on Dec 4, 2011 10:46 PM CST up reply actions
I'm all for giving Frazier one more year
and I certainly don’t blame him for the lack of talent on this team – he doesn’t deserve much of the blame for all these losses. But every week he seems to make some key mistakes for which he is 100% to blame: not challenging the Harvin TD, keeping Harvin AND Rudolph off the field in key situations, poor clock/timeout management, etc. Is that something that improves in a coach’s second year? Because if not, then all the brilliant schemes and talent won’t make Frazier much more successful.
Well that's one thing I agree with you on.
He’s been in the league long enough to know that kind of stuff. However, it’s trial by fire being a first year head coach. Hopefully next year he’ll have a more of a hand in the offensive plays because I’m pretty sure that’s Musgrave’s duty.
by christian220896 on Dec 4, 2011 10:58 PM CST up reply actions
He did better with that this week, though.
In my opinion. The two challenges we got overturned were in our favor in crucial situations. The Harvin/Rudolph thing was dumb. I don’t think the clock management was too bad around the 2 minute mark in the 4th. Who would’ve known that Ponder would’ve thrown that pick? I wasn’t really paying attention to the clock management, though. So I could be wrong. I was too busy being angry that Tebow was… well… Tebowing us.
Agreed. Improvement was definitely there
but on the defensive side of the ball, some blame has to be on Frazier, right? The guy was in this system (including as DC) for long enough to know how to avert disaster. He failed to do that today.
Tebow can Tebow as much as he wants to Tebow, but he shouldn’t Tebow 35 points on ANY team.
I vote Tebow becomes a verb now.
If it hasn’t already. I don’t even need to give the definition, because everyone knows what that is. We just got Tebowed today.
I’m not saying that Frazier is blameless. I think he deserves a lot of blame. But our secondary is an absolute abomination right now, through little fault of Frazier’s. Our two best corners are out, we even lost one of our bad corners for this game (Allen), our starting FS is out, we started a rookie 6th round pick in his place, our terrible backup at SS is out (Johnson), Sanford was playing like he’s never seen a football before, in coverage at least, much less getting payed to play the game, Cedric Griffin hasn’t been his normal average self since the injuries, which means our three best corners right now are a below average player coming off two torn ACLs, a guy who is best known for allowing Wes Welker rip off a 99 yard touchdown catch and then getting cut immediately after, and someone who hasn’t been playing corner for us at all this year and has been returning kicks from 5+ yards deep in the end zone to the 14 yard line. And I’m not even sure what order those would be in. I’m also not even sure who is behind them on the depth chart. So we can’t even replace them if they continue to crap all over everything with their sucky suckiness.
I realize that was rather long, but holy crap, is our secondary a nightmare.
Whoa, what the crap happened there?
I had a nice, long reply all typed out and when I went to post it, it went all crazy on me.
It was filled with many hilarious anecdotes and colorful descriptive language. You all would’ve loved it, I promise.
There's no other way to put it
In fact, I don’t think anyone has yet fleshed out the awfulness of our secondary so comprehensively.
I still blame Frazier though, because the secondary was an abomination even when they were healthy early in the season. And now, no matter how bad the players are, it’s no excuse for the defensive schemes and plays he’s letting Pagac call.
Frazier has been a higher-level coach for 23 years
Including 8 years as a head coach at the college level, and 6 years as a defensive backs coach and 4 years as a defensive coordinator.
I don’t give him a pass because he’s been in the league as a coach long enough to know what his game plan in the NFL should be. It doesn’t even look like he’s spent much time thinking about it in all those years.
by liveforadrenaline on Dec 5, 2011 6:36 AM CST up reply actions
Just Saying he is not a rebuilding coach
Just saying he is not a rebuilding coach. He wants to stick with mostly the vets and will probably continue to try to patch together a teams via too manyt old vets in FA rather than a few vets and a lot of young talent.
This year
There wasn’t much to rebuild with. They thought they could still win now, which failed miserably, that goes without saying. Let’s just see what happens in the offseason this year.
To learn, mistakes have to be made. Hopefully they can take this and realize that this is the complete opposite way to build a team.
by christian220896 on Dec 4, 2011 11:03 PM CST up reply actions
The only differences between this year and last year:
- Ponder
- Rudolph
- Minor additions: Sherels, Booker, Jenkins, Aromashodu, Charlie Johnson
- Subtractions: McKinnie, Berrian, injuries to the secondary
This was not tearing down the team and rebuilding – it was just drafting a QB, changing the coaching staff and crossing our fingers. This offseason will tell us whether they are really serious about rebuilding.
Forgotten subtractions: Rice, TJack
(I’m sure there are many other additions or subtractions that I forgot – but the point is, the QB and coaching staff were really the big ones.)
Edwards is gone too...
though it doesn’t seem that way.
"Like I said, I don’t think anybody on this team knows what schism is, let alone could use it in a sentence. I thought it was an STD when I first heard it. And I was like whoa, we preach abstinence around these parts." - Jared Allen
D'oh! Knew I forgot someone
I devoted so little of my football life to caring about Ray Edwards that I forgot he existed.
LOL. So many subtractions...
My brain must have repressed the memories of all these characters… (though I did have mad respect for Big/Phat Pat).
Retired. Retired. Terrible.
Thank God. Please come back Phat Pat. Thank God.
Aaaand, that is my assessment on that.
Well Frazier was mad when they brought in Sapp
He wanted to go with Brandon Burton but since the FO brought Sapp in he had no other choice but to play him over Burton. I hope Burton get to see the field more these last four games.
Who's our best center?
Maybe I’m confused, but I could have sworn we were running the ball heavily through the middle of the line successfully all game long.
"Let's go our there, and stick our fists through their ribcages, rip our their hearts, eat them, and sh!t them back out on the field!!" - Blue Mountain State
by Alittlemore_cowbell on Dec 4, 2011 10:45 PM CST up reply actions
sacks
and a lot of pressure up the middle to on passes
I missed the first quarter and a half of the game, so I can’t throw out my opinion of the sacks because I didn’t see them, but he’s been playing well all year long and has improved a lot from last year. To say that he’s not our best center shows ignorance on the subject.
"Let's go our there, and stick our fists through their ribcages, rip our their hearts, eat them, and sh!t them back out on the field!!" - Blue Mountain State
by Alittlemore_cowbell on Dec 4, 2011 10:56 PM CST up reply actions
I mostly saw pressure of the edge
Charlie Johnson and Phil Loadholt are the culprits here, sure there were times when Sullivan was just kind of standing around, but I think he is one of the better players on the line (not saying much though)
PFT has some article about how good Sullivan is so I won’t go into detail but according to them he is one of the best centers in the league, it’s hard for me to agree with that based of of the unit’s performance however they have done it on personal performance so it’s probably a good indicator
you play to WIN THE GAME, that's the great thing about sports
Agreed. Sullivan is not the problem. A solid LT (or even RT) would go a long, long way.
We also need to replace Hutch at some point, or the left side will crumble altogether. (it may already be happening, since Hutch hasn’t been his old self this year)
You are wrong, there is no other response.
"Let's go our there, and stick our fists through their ribcages, rip our their hearts, eat them, and sh!t them back out on the field!!" - Blue Mountain State
by Alittlemore_cowbell on Dec 5, 2011 11:23 AM CST up reply actions
Yeah, wait...
Who’s our best center? And based on the stats, Sullivan has been the third or fourth best center in the NFL this year.
Great game.
Not what I expected for sure. No wonder Florida won the national championship with Tebow and Harvin on the same team.
Maya: "What are your first impressions of Denver?"
Mozgov: "I must break you..."
by margabelle on Dec 4, 2011 10:40 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
The offensive kids are alright
but the defensive kids are bastards.
"Let's go our there, and stick our fists through their ribcages, rip our their hearts, eat them, and sh!t them back out on the field!!" - Blue Mountain State
by Alittlemore_cowbell on Dec 4, 2011 10:45 PM CST reply actions
In fairness, these are trying times
injuries (and incarceration) have turned our sucky secondary into an epically terrible one.
I know
I was half kidding. We have a lot of youth out there, and when they know their assignments, they play well. Problem is, they routinely get confused and are poor tacklers.
"Let's go our there, and stick our fists through their ribcages, rip our their hearts, eat them, and sh!t them back out on the field!!" - Blue Mountain State
by Alittlemore_cowbell on Dec 4, 2011 10:49 PM CST up reply actions
Kalil, the secondary, and a free agent WR
Any chance we could trade UP in this draft? Maybe our 2nd + 3rd rounders for another 1st? Hitting home runs with the draft picks has never been more important, and our record in the 3rd through 7th rounds has been pretty bad.
I doubt it.
Probably throw in another second in that for another first, which would be very detrimental to a team that needs all the draft picks it can get.
by christian220896 on Dec 4, 2011 10:48 PM CST up reply actions
What I mean is, can we flip some combo of 3rd through 7th rounders
into another 1st, or at least another 2nd? Obviously we don’t want to trade the farm, but given our poor record picking 3rd through 7th rounders (and the fact that our 1st and 2nd rounders haven’t been too shabby), it seems like we should get as many 1st and 2nd rounders as reasonably possible.
If getting as many 1st and 2nd rounders as possible...
It makes more sense to trade down. It would probably take a lot to move back up into the first round.
by christian220896 on Dec 4, 2011 11:08 PM CST reply actions
Well, I'd want to keep the 1st rounder at all costs
because that seems like the one pick with the best chance of being a long-term impact player at his position. No amount of average players makes up for a 10-year anchor and All-Star at a position of need, especially something like LT. Maybe we should focus on trading up to get another 2nd rounder, especially given the depth of this draft.
Draft pick trades are very risky
Risk is not what we need, we have taken enough the past few years and it has finally caught up to us
trading down would also eliminate ANY possibility of getting one of the best offensive lineman prospects since Joe Thomas, something I am sure we would be reminded of by announcers every time we played whoever his team may be – cause that’s how awesome they are
you play to WIN THE GAME, that's the great thing about sports
Pagac needs to go
The DBs coach needs to go too. Our secondary look completely lost half the time and completely inept the other half.
Maybe E.J needs to go too since he’s supposed to be the field general for the defense and he can’t get people into the right positions. Ok, maybe that’s not a good enough reason to let him go but it would nice to have someone on the field who can communicate to the other players what needs to happen to make up for the coaching failures.
Secondary is awful. But even our linebackers aren't making plays
Where are the picks, sacks, or at least some passes defensed? I blame Pagac for sure, but Mike Singletary is also to blame – the guy is not getting the results we need from the LBs.
I'm with you there
I debated putting the entire defensive coaching staff in there but figured i’d just mention the secondary since i’m pretty sure we could find better DBs in a youth league association.
I'm not so convinced it's the players
I’m more convinced it is the overall defensive scheme… most of the game we got owned up front, in the middle, and the backfield.
In the beginning of the year the backfield was playing a mile off the ball in a prevent/tampa 2.
Now the corner handoffs are practically non-existent.
Those are coaching adjustments.
by liveforadrenaline on Dec 5, 2011 3:32 AM CST up reply actions
I worry about our scheme too
It seems as though it’s been failing us for the last several years and relies far too heavily on our front four.
Am I a crazy optimistic homer for thinking that
this offense could be insane within a couple years? Ponder, behind an OLine that doesn’t get him killed, spreading it around to Rudolph, Harvin, AD, and 1-2 more stud WRs (Desean or Vincent Jackson? Dwayne Bowe?), and Ponder running it himself when the play breaks down…
Not at all!
I’m a believer too.
If the Vikes manage to draft #2 #3 overall, they could fill a lot of holes in the first 3-4 rounds……not to mention if they can get a couple decent FA’s, they could be a PO contender by next year….
Getting that Franchise-LT is key to their success though!
Excellent write up Chris.
Well, having so many needs should make for good fodder during the off season anyway. Listening to the talking football brains this evening they are suggesting that the Bears acquire McNabb as soon as possible. To this I say jocularity but was curious if this would get us out (and how much) from under some of his contract.
I don't think it would.
He cleared the 24 hours on waivers without anyone claiming him, so we’re on the hook for his contract. I believe that amount will not go down if any other team signs him now, but I could definitely be wrong on that point. Waivers is one thing I never really paid all that much attention to. Lol
Any GM or Coach who watched his departure interview
Would be nuts to sign him.
You can immediately sense he has little interest in playing and zero drive to win.
by liveforadrenaline on Dec 5, 2011 3:36 AM CST up reply actions
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