Mike Mauti

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Welsh Vike
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Mike Mauti

Post by Welsh Vike »

Everybody seems to be really pulling for this guy to come through. At last a full piece on him, worth a read over at espn.com


http://espn.go.com/blog/minnesota-vikings
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jackal
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Re: Mike Mauti

Post by jackal »

Man I am stoked for next year. We got younger,
Faster and stronger on the D line. I loved Allen
but his refusal to come off the field hurt the
team and himself IMO. Kevin Willams was great
But he was done and not consistent anymore.
With some free agents and a strong draft our
secondary(which was terrible) might be much
stronger as well. This team could compete next
year.
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VikeMike
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Re: Mike Mauti

Post by VikeMike »

I'm pulling for every Vikings to get better. But Mauti would be a real steal if he were to develop into a reliable LB. And a great story.
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King James
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Re: Mike Mauti

Post by King James »

Mauti has talent to be a pro bowl caliber LB. If he can remain healthy, that would be great. Had he not tore his ACL, he would've been 1st round talent last year.
Slick Rick
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Re: Mike Mauti

Post by Slick Rick »

I like Mauti, but Brinkley just seems like he's a better fit with what Zimmer was trying to do in Cincy. I don't know that LBs really have to be that good in coverage either to be honest. Even terrible coverage LBs like Henderson are viable enough for what they're usually asked to do that they can come up with the odd interception.

I also heard the Vikings are interested in Preston Brown, another 6'1, 250+ lb guy who's great against the run. Not really sure what Mauti's role will be, but as long as the changes are good I'm not going to complain about the name at LB.
Eli
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Re: Mike Mauti

Post by Eli »

Slick Rick wrote:I like Mauti, but Brinkley just seems like he's a better fit with what Zimmer was trying to do in Cincy. I don't know that LBs really have to be that good in coverage either to be honest. Even terrible coverage LBs like Henderson are viable enough for what they're usually asked to do that they can come up with the odd interception.

I also heard the Vikings are interested in Preston Brown, another 6'1, 250+ lb guy who's great against the run. Not really sure what Mauti's role will be, but as long as the changes are good I'm not going to complain about the name at LB.
Wow. What kind of magic system was Zimmer running in Cincinnati? The Vikings in recent years have had two linebackers and four defensive backs running around trying to cover three receivers and looking like they were searching for a lost jet in the Indian ocean. How does Zimmer do it with stiffs for linebackers?

People need to stop hitting the crack pipe and come back down to earth. Zimmer has been around this league longer than most of today's head coaches and he's never invented a single thing on defense that hadn't already been done by someone else.
HardcoreVikesFan
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Re: Mike Mauti

Post by HardcoreVikesFan »

I am pulling for Mauti, but let's be honest, if the team is banking on Mauti to become the fixture at MLB we have problems. Having Mauti/Cole/Brinkley should not preclude Minnesota from drafting an interior linebacker in this draft.
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saint33
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Re: Mike Mauti

Post by saint33 »

HardcoreVikesFan wrote:I am pulling for Mauti, but let's be honest, if the team is banking on Mauti to become the fixture at MLB we have problems. Having Mauti/Cole/Brinkley should not preclude Minnesota from drafting an interior linebacker in this draft.

Definitely not, but I also think having Mauti/Cole makes the need for a true MLB less severe than say, an OLB. I don't think the team needs to force a pick at MLB in the first couple rounds
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Slick Rick
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Re: Mike Mauti

Post by Slick Rick »

Eli wrote:Wow. What kind of magic system was Zimmer running in Cincinnati? The Vikings in recent years have had two linebackers and four defensive backs running around trying to cover three receivers and looking like they were searching for a lost jet in the Indian ocean. How does Zimmer do it with stiffs for linebackers?

People need to stop hitting the crack pipe and come back down to earth. Zimmer has been around this league longer than most of today's head coaches and he's never invented a single thing on defense that hadn't already been done by someone else.
I don't think you realize how poor most linebackers are in coverage to begin with. Even the ones who are respectable, are typically very bad. It's rare that you find that Derrick Brooks type of guy who can run with TEs and some slower receivers, and most good teams still get by. Check out how slow, and terrible guys like Vontaze Burfict and Rey Maualuga are in coverage, and how Zim still gets the most out of those guys. Their primary job is to tackle, right? That's how good coaches see it. If someone's going to catch a pass, everyone needs to start closing in and making the tackle to make sure that the play doesn't go any further, and that's something you never saw with Frazier's teams. Seattle made a living off of letting their corners and safeties do the bulk of the pass-defending, just like linebackers do the bulk of run-defending. There was nothing magic about their schemes that you're sarcastically trying to imply, they were simply always on you. That's how well-coached football teams are, they don't give you an inch, and that's kind of how I thought of the Bengals despite the fact that their secondary was nowhere near as stacked as Seattle's. Aside from that, I'm sure we'll see plenty of substituting for linebackers who are better in coverage if they're ever needed, like in nickel sets.

What people need to stop doing is being overly-cynical. Leslie Frazier's #### show is done, and a new era of Vikings football is here. Recognize Zim's work, think of it as his resume, and realize that it's at the very least an upgrade over what we had in years past. It's okay to have a little confidence in a team that played like crap previously, it's called realizing the underlying talent that has been underachieving for years thanks to the clowns for coaches that we had in Frazier, Musgrave and Alan Williams. I mean, look at their work in the league. It's terrible, and that's what we got. Chilly was the product of Reid, and in hindsight it's obvious. In this scenario, I can give you a little bit of foresight: Norv Turner and Mike Zimmer both have fantastic credentials, wizardry and inventiveness or not.

Feel free to be as realistic as you want, but that's not what you're doing at all. I know you think you are, but there's a fine line between being realistic and being pessimistic. Usually pessimists tend to think they're being "real", and no one else can handle their edginess.
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Re: Mike Mauti

Post by Eli »

Slick Rick wrote:I don't think you realize how poor most linebackers are in coverage to begin with. Even the ones who are respectable, are typically very bad.
That may be true (or just a matter of perspective). It doesn't mean that you can completely hide those poor coverage linebackers by "the system" you use. They'll be exposed, nonetheless.
What people need to stop doing is being overly-cynical.
This organization has given fans little to be optimistic about in recent years. The failures have not only been in the coaching ranks. They begin with the ownership, through the front office, to the coaches and the players. Top to bottom failure.
Leslie Frazier's #### show is done, and a new era of Vikings football is here.
Another era. It's yet to be seen how new it is. There will be different faces on the sidelines, and different names on the jerseys, that much is true. Will they have better success? That's why we watch the games on Sunday. Because our entertainment is in getting to see how it turns out.
Recognize Zim's work, think of it as his resume, and realize that it's at the very least an upgrade over what we had in years past. It's okay to have a little confidence in a team that played like crap previously, it's called realizing the underlying talent that has been underachieving for years
You don't win games with your resume. Zimmer doesn't have head coach on his resume, which is the biggest reason to be cautious in your enthusiasm. He could be successful, or he could fail horribly. We don't know that yet.

This team doesn't have as much talent as you give it credit for. Without a QB, they could have the best running back and offensive line in the NFL and not be able to win a playoff game. On defense, the holes in the starting lineup are big ones and depth is poor to nonexistent.
Feel free to be as realistic as you want, but that's not what you're doing at all. I know you think you are, but there's a fine line between being realistic and being pessimistic. Usually pessimists tend to think they're being "real", and no one else can handle their edginess.
I'd actually say I'm optimistic about the future. Not the immediate future - there are still far too many holes to fill on the roster - but in a few years, if Zimmer and Co. don't prove themselves to be completely incompetent, and if Spielman hasn't shot himself in the foot for the final time, the Vikings could become a contender once again.
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Mothman
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Re: Mike Mauti

Post by Mothman »

Boon wrote:and yet he turned cincy into a top 10 defense in one year.
Not quite. They were ranked 27th in 2007, the year before he became their defensive coordinator. They were ranked 12th after his first season and moved into the top 10 the following year.

Of course, for a little perspective, by the end of his second season as defensive coordinator for the Vikings, the much-maligned Leslie Frazier was fielding a top 10 defense too and the Vikings defense remained in the top 10 for the rest of his time as defensive coordinator. Personnel changes, injuries and age had a LOT to do with what happened to the Vikings defense after that and those factors will likely continue to have an impact on it's effectiveness, one way or the other.
Slick Rick wrote:I don't think you realize how poor most linebackers are in coverage to begin with. Even the ones who are respectable, are typically very bad. It's rare that you find that Derrick Brooks type of guy who can run with TEs and some slower receivers, and most good teams still get by. Check out how slow, and terrible guys like Vontaze Burfict and Rey Maualuga are in coverage, and how Zim still gets the most out of those guys. Their primary job is to tackle, right? That's how good coaches see it. If someone's going to catch a pass, everyone needs to start closing in and making the tackle to make sure that the play doesn't go any further, and that's something you never saw with Frazier's teams. Seattle made a living off of letting their corners and safeties do the bulk of the pass-defending, just like linebackers do the bulk of run-defending. There was nothing magic about their schemes that you're sarcastically trying to imply, they were simply always on you. That's how well-coached football teams are, they don't give you an inch, and that's kind of how I thought of the Bengals despite the fact that their secondary was nowhere near as stacked as Seattle's.
Cincy's starting secondary last year actually featured 3 former first round picks and two former top 10 picks in the lineup, all with experience. It was stacked with talent. It's easier to ask your front 7 to focus on the run when your back 4 can actually cover.

The Vikings players were undoubtedly coached to close and tackle the last few years too. Many of them just stunk at it.
What people need to stop doing is being overly-cynical. Leslie Frazier's #### show is done, and a new era of Vikings football is here. Recognize Zim's work, think of it as his resume, and realize that it's at the very least an upgrade over what we had in years past. It's okay to have a little confidence in a team that played like crap previously, it's called realizing the underlying talent that has been underachieving for years thanks to the clowns for coaches that we had in Frazier, Musgrave and Alan Williams.
As I pointed out above, that "clown" Frazier fielded a top 10 defense in each of his last 3 seasons as defensive coordinator. Like his style or not, he's far from incompetent. Heck, even in 2012, with less talent than they had a few years earlier, the Vikings defense finished in the middle of the pack, at #16 (in part because they stayed pretty healthy). It's far too simplistic to believe the Vikes defensive problems were just due to coaching and that simply changing coaches will make it ALL better. That's why the focus of this offseason so far has been on adding defensive talent and getting younger on that side of the ball. The Vikes clearly recognize that they need better personnel if they're going to field a better defense. I fully expect defense to be their primary focus in the draft too.

Edit: I should add that the point of all of the above is that there are always many factors in play when it comes to determining how a defense, or a team, plays and the change in coaches alone isn't likely to fix what has ailed the Vikings. Eli has a point about Zimmer's resumé. As a head coach, that resumé is blank. Whether people liked Frazier as a coach or not, the fact remains that, like Zimmer, he was fielding top 10 defenses before becoming the Vikings head coach. He was a well-respected defensive coordinator when he was promoted and things clearly didn't work out well for him as the HC. Hopefully, they will work out much better for Zimmer but only time will tell and he's going to need the players to make his approach work.
Feel free to be as realistic as you want, but that's not what you're doing at all. I know you think you are, but there's a fine line between being realistic and being pessimistic. Usually pessimists tend to think they're being "real", and no one else can handle their edginess.
LOL! I made a similar comment about realists on Facebook today.
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Re: Mike Mauti

Post by maembe »

Mothman wrote: Not quite. They were ranked 27th in 2007, the year before he became their defensive coordinator. They were ranked 12th after his first season and moved into the top 10 the following year.

Of course, for a little perspective, by the end of his second season as defensive coordinator for the Vikings, the much-maligned Leslie Frazier was fielding a top 10 defense too and the Vikings defense remained in the top 10 for the rest of his time as defensive coordinator. Personnel changes, injuries and age had a LOT to do with what happened to the Vikings defense after that and those factors will likely continue to have an impact on it's effectiveness, one way or the other.
Except the Vikings had the 8th ranked defense when they hired Frazer
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Re: Mike Mauti

Post by Eli »

I can't help but keep coming back around to the same conclusion each time I hear about how great of a defensive coordinator Zimmer has been: That the Vikings should have hired him as a DC.
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Re: Mike Mauti

Post by Texas Vike »

Eli wrote:I can't help but keep coming back around to the same conclusion each time I hear about how great of a defensive coordinator Zimmer has been: That the Vikings should have hired him as a DC.
Right, because he definitely would have left Cincy for a lateral move (not even) to the Vikings.

Let's let things play out a bit and see what Zimmer does to assemble coaching and playing talent and then how he coaches them to play. I, for one, look forward to a more aggressive style of play. Under Frazier, I eternally felt like no lead was secure no matter what. Our D could be shredded by the most average field general when it mattered. I hope we leave those days behind.
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Re: Mike Mauti

Post by Eli »

Texas Vike wrote:Let's let things play out a bit
Exactly. Enough with all this idiotic savior talk. Watch and see what happens.
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