Vikings top needs in 2015

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jackal
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Vikings top needs in 2015

Post by jackal »

1. Better OL play
The OL was horrible last season. I was so glad when they cut Johnson.
I am hoping with Fusco and Loadholt returning the injury bug will go
bug someone else. I am not sure what is up with Kalil. His first year
was great, I'm hoping a better LG will let him relax and focus on his
pass protection.

2. Stopping teams in fourth quarter:
The Vikings have not been able to stop other teams scoring and pull
out games. I think we need to improve our depth and secondary more.
Ball control could also assist in this. It looks like Peterson will be gone
and Asiata can't get up to speed fast enough, when he is only threat
(in short yardage situations). Maybe with better OL... Asiata or Draft Pick
can do better.

3. Fast starts:
IMO the Vikings seem to be half asleep in the first quarter, sometimes.
I know if Rudolf(or some other TE) can stay healthy. Norv is famous
for killing teams across the middle with TE's and running backs.

Turnovers:
Good teams don't turn the ball over a lot or have excessive penalties.
I'm hoping with the extra time this off season Teddy and company can get
better timing. With Wallace, Wright, Johnson, Patterson and Rudolf that
should really improve next season. In Teddy's defense four picks at least were
timing pop ups of receivers and not his fault IMO.
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DanAS
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Re: Vikings top needs in 2015

Post by DanAS »

They definitely need improvements on the OL -- especially at guard. But they have holes in various places. They need better linebacking play at certain positions, they could use another starting cornerback and one more starting safety, they may well need a better RB if Peterson doesn't return, they could use a DE to replace an aging Robison ... and on top of all that, some folks project them as taking a WR in the first round to play opposite Wallace (meaning that they don't have much confidence in the other WRs).

I was hoping that some of these holes could be filled through free agency. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened. It's like there has been a force field preventing the better free agents from coming to Minnesota (or at least staying there when they do come). Fortunately, we were a young team last year, and some of our guys could improve and fill some of those needs without having to get upgrades that aren't currently on the roster. But it's hard to count on that. And let's face it, those are a lot of needs to fill if you hope to contend.
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Re: Vikings top needs in 2015

Post by losperros »

jackal wrote:1. Better OL play
The OL was horrible last season. I was so glad when they cut Johnson.
I am hoping with Fusco and Loadholt returning the injury bug will go
bug someone else. I am not sure what is up with Kalil. His first year
was great, I'm hoping a better LG will let him relax and focus on his
pass protection.
I agree with all the needed improvements you brought up, but I guess this one irritates me the most. It's been a long time since the Vikings had consistency from their OL. Maybe one guy is good but someone else isn't, or there are intangibles like injuries that dramatically affect the OL, or they have a good game and then three bad ones in a row.

Nobody is perfect and I don't expect the offensive linemen to execute flawlessly all the time. OTOH, the OL needs to play focused football all four quarters of every game, and this rarely happens for the Vikings. At least not lately. And the entire offense is predicated on what happens at the line of scrimmage.

Last but not necessarily least, the team needs better depth so if the injury bug bites, there are players that can efficiently fill in.
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Re: Vikings top needs in 2015

Post by The Breeze »

Dominate the trenches.
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Re: Vikings top needs in 2015

Post by J. Kapp 11 »

Why turnovers?

I realize it's always important to minimize turning the ball over, but the Vikings had the 7th-fewest turnovers in the NFL last year, and that was with a rookie starting 12 games at QB. The entire team only lost two fumbles. Meanwhile, the dynamic duo of Christian Ponder and Matt Cassell had six of those turnovers between them. I just don't see turnovers as a huge problem for this team.

We could stand to improve on the other side of the ball, however. We ranked 25th with just 19 takeaways, for a turnover ratio of -1.
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Re: Vikings top needs in 2015

Post by Purple bruise »

IMO I think that another quality corner and a solid mlb are musts along with solidifying the guard position.
I would strongly suggest another option at back-qb. Hill and Cassell were/are average or below and I would hate to depend on Hill in the event that TB goes down. I would love it if they could swing a deal for Grappolo, a very young player to develop along with TB.
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Re: Vikings top needs in 2015

Post by S197 »

The Breeze wrote:Dominate the trenches.
I would agree, which means shoring up the run defense that was quite bad at times last year. Hopefully a healthy Floyd and an upgrade at ILB will help.
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Re: Vikings top needs in 2015

Post by The Breeze »

S197 wrote: I would agree, which means shoring up the run defense that was quite bad at times last year. Hopefully a healthy Floyd and an upgrade at ILB will help.
Those two things certainly won't hurt. Plus, just it being year 2 of Zimmerville could/should(?) show marked improvement on that side of the line.
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jackal
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Re: Vikings top needs in 2015

Post by jackal »

When I said turnovers I meant but are ability to take
away as well. We also had a few right at key points
as well. That kinda fits with fourth quarter finishing
Games portion as well.
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Re: Vikings top needs in 2015

Post by PurpleMustReign »

S197 wrote: I would agree, which means shoring up the run defense that was quite bad at times last year. Hopefully a healthy Floyd and an upgrade at ILB will help.

Was Joseph healthy all year? He seemed to struggle a bit which makes me think something wasn't right.
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Re: Vikings top needs in 2015

Post by mondry »

PurpleMustReign wrote:
Was Joseph healthy all year? He seemed to struggle a bit which makes me think something wasn't right.
He got shot.
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Re: Vikings top needs in 2015

Post by PurpleMustReign »

mondry wrote: He got shot.

Oh yeah, lol...
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Re: Vikings top needs in 2015

Post by The Breeze »

Sorry, but getting shot is no excuse.
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Re: Vikings top needs in 2015

Post by DK Sweets »

The Breeze wrote:Sorry, but getting shot is no excuse.
:lol:
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Re: Vikings top needs in 2015

Post by Purple bruise »

The Breeze wrote:Sorry, but getting shot is no excuse.
Yeah but that depends on what part of your body that you got shot. :wink:
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