Tuesday Open Thread: February 6, 2018

Merry Tuesday, everyone!

Hey, sorry I’ve been absent quite a bit lately, life has been busy (I’m not complaining, just telling you why I’ve been scarce). Things should calm down in my world this week, so I’ll be able to do better to keep some of the garbage out of the comments. Thanks for the heads-up on the boneheads who came over to behave like.........boneheads. They’re gone, and now they’ll miss out on all the winter crock pot recipes and beer discussions. Their loss IMO. For any other fans of other teams who come by here, you’re all welcome. Just be cool.

For those of you who are upset, I get it (read below). However, we still have rules here, so please remember them (they’re also below), this one seems to have been getting ignored a lot (again, I get it, but the rules are there for a reason, please abide):

-Keep the bad language to a minimum (using the spoiler tags, if you must)

For now, here are my quick thoughts on the season & how it ended. We have a solid team with a core of talented players, and a good coaching staff. We played 16.5 games of pretty consistently dominant defense, and also a decent offense with flashes of “good” & flashes of “WTH?”, so I’m not going to lose my mind because the final 1.5 games looked how they did (which was a total team effort of bad, really bad). We ended the season looking like crap, there’s no denying that. BUT, the “blow it up & start over, blah blah blah” stuff is lunacy, IMO. Does the team have things to work on? Definitely. They’d better figure out what caused the implosion that began at halftime of the Saints game and continued to the end. Once they figure it out (if they haven’t already), they have to do what it takes to prevent that from happening again. The entire team pretty much fell off a cliff, everyone from the head coach to the guy who hands the football to the referee (don’t know if there’s actually a guy who does that, but you get the point), and no stepped up to even slow the bleeding, let-alone stop it. That can’t happen again, EVER.

Does the team need to look at replacing SOME players? Sure. I think an upgrade is needed or would be nice at certain positions, and I think depth is always a need. QB is an area where the team will need a more permanent solution, and I’m guessing we’ll hear something not long after the new offensive coordinator is in place.

The team also has a LOT of elite talent, especially on defense. They have arguably the best safety and NT in the league, one of the best DEs in the league. They also have two very good linebackers who are in the upper echelon of players at their position, so all three levels of the defense contain elite talent. Make no mistake, this defense is elite and is being led by a good coach with an ability to develop players. This is a recipe for good things. The offense also has some talent (which was more noticeable this year since the O line has discovered that blocking is good). Diggs and Thielen are both excellent route runners and can create separation so the QB has windows to throw into. Rudy is a very good TE in this league, and Dalvin Cook will be lined up in the backfield again next year. The team is not in crisis mode at any position, and has full freedom in the draft. There’s lots of reason for optimism.

All that said, the last 6 quarters they played this year make me as angry as anyone, so I get the outrage/anger/whatever, I totally do. But, when you remember what we have, it’s easier to start to move on from that horror show, and get ready for the team to make another run. I’m not there yet either, but I’m pretty sure I’ll get there at some point. SKOL!

Around the DN since our last open thread:

Chris shared a cool story, you can see Randy Moss as he learns that he’s going to Canton.

Brad Childress didn’t stay retired long, as he’s joined the Bears as an offensive consultant, per Chris. I hope they don’t consult with him about how to count to 12, it’s not a strength.

Chris has a story about an idiot who was doing idiot things.

Vikings news from other sources and news from around the league:

Over at the Strib, they have a list of key dates for the 2018 off-season.

The Vikes need to go after Nick Foles, according to Bob Sansevere at the Pioneer Press.

From Vikings.com, listen as Wobby interviews Coach Zimmer, and see Randy Moss describe his journey to the Hall Of Fame.

Patriots DC Matt Patricia has been named the next head coach of the Lions, per NFL.com.

The Patriots aren’t going to hang on to Malcolm Butler, and he will become a free agent, according to the Sporting News.

We come to today’s media selection.

Thank you to Tor66, who like me, is entertained by drunk people, for today’s suggestion. There may be NSFW language in here, but it’s in Polish, so I’m not sure.

Again, we all know the rules, but in case someone is new:

-No discussion of politics or religion
-No feeding of the trolls
-This isn’t a male version of The View, so leave the gender hatred at the door
-Keep the bad language to a minimum (using the spoiler tags, if you must)
-Speaking of which, if discussing a newer show or movie, please use spoiler tags
-No pictures that could get someone fired or in serious trouble with their employer
-If you can’t disagree in a civil manner, feel free to go away
-While navigating the open thread, just assume it’s sarcasm

With that, the beer light is on and the bar is open. Belly up & tie one on. Don’t forget to tip your waitress, & try the tiger meat.