Minnesota Vikings News and Links, 23,24 September 2023

When yore team starts off 0-2 then it leads to plenty of deserved skepticism, criticism, and trade speculation. I suppose that if the team has only one or two wins by the trade deadline then Kwesi might consider trading players but that is a long ways off and I am uncertain how it would fit in the time horizon. Still don’t know what that is and don’t really read the nerd explanations either.

Since yore last open thread ...

• 2023 NFL Week 3: Los Angeles Chargers at Minnesota Vikings
• Los Angeles Chargers at Minnesota Vikings: Final injury reports for both teams
• Giving Props: Best player bets for the Vikings against the Chargers
• Marcus Davenport’s Lackadaisical Locker Room Interview Shows a Concerning Lack of Urgency

Other Vikings News

• ESPN Grades Minnesota Vikings Trade for Cam Akers
• New York media already turning on Dalvin Cook

Through two games, Cook has rushed for 40 yards on 17 attempts for an eye-watering 2.4 yards per attempt. Cook’s numbers get worse when looking at advanced analytics where he’s only ahead of new Vikings running back Cam Akers in rush yards over expected per attempt: Cook has a -1.7 to Akers’ -1.94.

This isn’t a new development for Cook. This is who he was last season when his yards per attempt dropped for the third straight season and he finished with -21 rush yards over expected and a dismal -0.08 rush yards over expected per attempt. That’s a complicated way of saying the metrics suggest he was below average.

“Cook is a shell of his former self and does not provide significant value to the Jets,” writes Fried. “The Jets fell for fool’s gold, and they’ve paid for it so far this season.”

Some fan bois will refute these numbers and blame the Jets offensive line.

• Vikings Notes: Akiem Hicks, Cam Akers, Eric Kendricks

Could Akiem Hicks be the answer? The 33-year-old, who tormented the Vikings during his Bears career, has clearly been hearing from plenty of Minnesota fans on social media. “That Viking love has been nice all day,” Hicks tweeted on Thursday night

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

• No discussion of politics or religion
• No feeding of the trolls
• 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