Charley Walters Provides Us With Story Fodder

by Christopher Gates on Mar 6, 2011 11:48 AM CST in Minnesota Vikings

Pro Football Talk has a story on their rumor mill today about our Minnesota Vikings. In this story, they cite Charley Walters, aka "Shooter," from the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The main crux of the story is that the Vikings think that Joe Webb "is nowhere close" to being an effective starter at quarterback. The Philadelphia Eagles would disagree with that, I believe, but I digress.

Here is what Walters said in his article:

A little birdie says the Vikings considered trading for Denver quarterback Kyle Orton but have backed off. But it wasn't because of any progress made by Joe Webb, who insiders say is nowhere close to being an effective starter.

Now, I wouldn't be entirely against trading for Orton. He was having a pretty good year for a relatively dreadful Broncos team until the team decided to go with Tim Tebow instead. Here are his numbers from last season.

		Passing									Rushing					Sacks
	G	Rating	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/G	Y/A	TD	INT	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Sack	YdsL
2010 - Kyle Orton	13	87.5	293	498	58.8	3653	281	7.3	20	9	22	98	7.5	4.5	0	34	243

I don't know about you, but that looks pretty darn good to me. Yes, Orton completed less than 60% of his passes last year, which is always less than optimal, but that 20/9 touchdown to interception ratio is pretty outstanding, particularly given what we had to deal with in that department last season. I'm not sure what, exactly, the Broncos would want in a trade for Orton. . .new head coach John Fox has declared Orton to be his starting quarterback, after all. . .but it could still be an avenue worth exploring.

As far as Webb not being anywhere close to being an effective starter. . .that would probably come as news to not only Webb, but Vikings' offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave, too, who said recently that he's impressed with what he's seen with Webb on the film he's watched to this point.

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Comments

For some reason

It seems like every ‘article’ over at PFT is written with an aura of eliteism and snide overconfidence. Or maybe it’s just me.

by Jepp The Viking on Mar 6, 2011 12:07 PM CST reply actions

agreed

It has gone downhill since Florio became a bigshot. The news here originated with the Pioneer Press, however.

by medicineball on Mar 6, 2011 12:13 PM CST up reply actions

Worse

It originated with the mysterious bird that Charley Walters gets all of his “insight” from.

by Cobra312004 on Mar 7, 2011 1:37 AM CST up reply actions

building the team for the long haul

This confirms that quarterback is a real hole on the team. Webb is years away, and realistically is a strong candidate for conversion to wide receiver. Jackson has washed out apparently.

The real problem is that it isn’t just quarterback. The Vikings need to draft at least six future starters in this year’s draft.

The Vikings need to start getting better value out of the lower draft picks from rounds 2-7. When we look at the past, some good Vikings starters have come out of those rounds, but a lot of those players just aren’t Vikings right now.

The rich draft of 2010 was not played very well. While we hope that Cook, Gerhart, DeGeare, Webb, and D’Imperio all eventually mature into starter-quality players, the loss of the picks used for Nate Triplett and Mickey Shuler are already felt. We could have had a better player than Triplett, and Shuler should have been kept on the team.

At quarterback, the Vikings need to get a highly athletic quarterback with a good arm who is durable. This guy will have to start as a rookie and be tough enough and quick enough to get through the first couple of years as our team gets built back up.

by medicineball on Mar 6, 2011 12:12 PM CST reply actions

I respect your opinions mb

What did you think of the Locker pick in the mock draft? To be clear on my stance, I think we should gamble on Vince Young, and then try to solidify the rest of our needs (there’s a lot) in the draft. I think if Vince comes in with his head on straight, he would do well under Frazier. I don’t know that much about Locker.

by abba7 on Mar 6, 2011 1:20 PM CST up reply actions

throwing motion

Thank you. I was happy to the see the Locker pick.

I worry greatly about Locker’s throwing motion. He learned to throw the wrong way. I have said I don’t think it’s fixable, but maybe it is. The throwing motion is the only strike against him.

If the Vikings draft Locker at #12 I will be happy. I have him above Newton.

I think we should also look at Mallett.

While I loved Vince Young in college, and have been a fan of his, I believe he has become an egomaniac. He says he is going to be the greatest quarterback of all time. He yells at his coach. He has all kinds of drama. I hope the Vikings stay away. I hope Vince Young steps outside of himself and takes a long look inside. He’s a great guy, but he has got on the wrong track right now. I hope he bounces back to himself soon. I was having fun yesterday imagining though that the Vikings would sign Vince Young, Ocho Cinco, Terrell Owens, and Randy Moss. Then we’ll see some excitement. But that is just a daydream.

by medicineball on Mar 6, 2011 9:15 PM CST up reply actions

No Locker Please

His accuracy is a huuuuuge turn-off to me, and probably the Viking nation in general. I don’t know who could be our QBOTF, but Locker in my opinion is certainly not a candidate.

As for VY, I don’t think we need to gamble on somebody proven to have so many issues both on and off the field. We need to stop “gambling” on vets and start gambling on Rookies. Unfortunately for that statement, it would suggest we gamble on Locker…which is a lose-lose.

With all the uncertainty, the only thing I can say positively is that I would hate to be a member of the Vikings front office this offseason.

by Amir Ghasemi on Mar 6, 2011 2:13 PM CST reply actions

It's nice to see that i'm not alone here.

I think Orton would be a nice stop gap for the next few years, while the Vikings get their act together.
The Vikings need a guy who can get sacked 34 times in 13 games, and still throw for over 3600 yards.

I don’t know if the Broncos are willing to part ways, but they didn’t pay diddly squat to get Orton, and the current market for him is high, so the Broncos could be willing to make a deal.

by chaosg on Mar 6, 2011 6:00 PM CST reply actions

Didn't pay diddly squat?

Uh, Jay Cutler?

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by Ted Glover on Mar 7, 2011 8:08 AM CST up reply actions

The Bears basically threw Orton in the deal for free.

The Broncos received two 1st round draft picks, and K. Orton for J. Cutler….IMO that was a pretty good deal for the Broncos.

by chaosg on Mar 7, 2011 2:04 PM CST up reply actions

"Impressed with Webb"

does not necessarily mean “he’s our starter” or even a serious contender to start anytime soon. It means that he’s on the roster and Frazier and Musgrave were asked about Webb, nothing more.

by KC Viking on Mar 6, 2011 6:09 PM CST reply actions

Charley Walters, the Birdman of Albatrosses

The groundhog told me to just roll over and go back to sleep.

Not even a shadow of information to consider here.

There will be six more years of winter in Minnesota, or at least it will seem that way.

by Elgar on Mar 6, 2011 8:00 PM CST reply actions

How do you get tape/data to form an opinion in March?

None of the players are there and working out. How do you reach conclusions about them, in March while they’re gone?

Surreal.

Ah, ah,
We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands,
To fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!
SKOL!

by DCPurple on Mar 7, 2011 10:57 AM CST reply actions