For Vikings in the offseason, there's work to do

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Mothman
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For Vikings in the offseason, there's work to do

Post by Mothman »

From the Star Tribune, written by Matt Vensel:

http://www.startribune.com/for-vikings- ... 368268361/
Here are seven pressing questions for the Vikings as the offseason officially kicks off:

Can they fix their offensive line?

Zimmer has made it clear this will be the top priority this offseason, though it probably should have been the top priority last offseason. Zimmer already has let offensive line coach Jeff Davidson go, replacing him with Tony Sparano. He also implied that there will be open competition along the offensive line, from left tackle Matt Kalil to longtime center John Sullivan (assuming he regains his health) to young right tackle T.J. Clemmings. There should be a number of quality veterans available in free agency, and it’s a safe bet that the Vikings will draft a lineman in the first three rounds for the first time since 2012.
There's obviously much more at the link (and yes, fixing the o-line should have been their top priority last offseason!). :)
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Re: For Vikings in the offseason, there's work to do

Post by dead_poet »

As I've mentioned before, barring injury I'd be surprised if four of the five starters week 1 weren't Kalil, Sullivan, Harris and Loadholt. LG remains the question mark for me UNLESS for some reason Sullivan and/or Loadholt's injuries sap them of some of their effectivenss.
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Mothman
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Re: For Vikings in the offseason, there's work to do

Post by Mothman »

dead_poet wrote:As I've mentioned before, barring injury I'd be surprised if four of the five starters week 1 weren't Kalil, Sullivan, Harris and Loadholt. LG remains the question mark for me UNLESS for some reason Sullivan and/or Loadholt's injuries sap them of some of their effectivenss.
It will probably play out that way. It actually wouldn't surprise me if Fusco was still starting next year too.

What happens may depend to some extent on how Spielman views the free agent field. I haven't paid enough attention to who will be available yet but if there's a younger, healthier option out there I could see him cutting a tackle to create cap space and then replacing him with a free agent. Loadholt's age, contract and recent injury history would seem to make replacing him a realistic possibility. and we've already discussed the complex situation with Kalil.

I'm not sure if Harris will be back or not. I wonder what kind of interest he'll draw in free agency. I would think the Vikes could re-sign him at a reasonable price if they want him back but if he chooses to explore his options, you never know what could happen.

I'm hoping they draft a few talented linemen with great long term potential who can actually push for starting jobs over the course of next season even if they don't start immediately.
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Re: For Vikings in the offseason, there's work to do

Post by losperros »

Mothman wrote: There's obviously much more at the link (and yes, fixing the o-line should have been their top priority last offseason!). :)
And it sure as heck better be their top priority this offseason!
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Re: For Vikings in the offseason, there's work to do

Post by mondry »

Nah, the top priority has to be improving the defense but I'm fine if they toss a 3rd rounder or a small amount of cap space for a guy on offense this time around, especially if they can cut some of our dead weight like loadholt and wallace.
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Re: For Vikings in the offseason, there's work to do

Post by chicagopurple »

IF Spielman is so blind and lame that he keeps the same damn OL, we are doomed. They are a sad mix of old, injured, and failed prospects.
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Re: For Vikings in the offseason, there's work to do

Post by halfgiz »

Good read Jim...
I think one unanswered question is will we pursue free agency since we have some cap space.
There are some pieces of the puzzle that needs filled and free agency could be a quickfix.
We have a lot to offer free agents. Up and coming team with a brand new stadium.
A dominate Offensive linemen would be a nice luxury.
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Re: For Vikings in the offseason, there's work to do

Post by fiestavike »

halfgiz wrote:Good read Jim...
I think one unanswered question is will we pursue free agency since we have some cap space.
There are some pieces of the puzzle that needs filled and free agency could be a quickfix.
We have a lot to offer free agents. Up and coming team with a brand new stadium.
A dominate Offensive linemen would be a nice luxury.
I wonder if Denver has punctured the idea that "you don't build through Free Agency".

Often its not wise, but that really depends on which free agents, how they fit with your team, and how much they cost.
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Re: For Vikings in the offseason, there's work to do

Post by mondry »

fiestavike wrote: I wonder if Denver has punctured the idea that "you don't build through Free Agency".

Often its not wise, but that really depends on which free agents, how they fit with your team, and how much they cost.
It's a bad idea for weak franchises like the browns or jaguars who think they can just overpay some DB from seattle and suddenly they'll have a top notch defender. I call it "chasing production", often times it's much more about the scheme / system and how that player fit within it and if the new team can't replicate it, they're often overpaying for an ineffective player.

Good examples were Nmandi Asomuga (or however you spell it!) who was a probowl man coverage corner in Oak and Philly signed him to play primarily zone defense. Or when Tampa Bay signed Revis (one of the best man corners ever) to play Zone.

FA should never be used to build your team but that doesn't mean you can't get key players from it now and then. We already proved that with guys like Linval Joseph, Captain, and Newman. A good way to look at it is like buying stock, you want to get into a stock with upside when it's cheap. You don't always want to buy shares of Apple at it's highest all time price, even if it's a great company because odds are that price is already way over "real" value. It's the same with football players, buy at the low to medium price and hope to get higher value out of them.

When you have great coaches like we do on defense it's a much more viable strategy. Notice a lot more of our offensive FA's tend to miss the mark (bernard berian, jennings, wallace, etc)
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chicagopurple
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Re: For Vikings in the offseason, there's work to do

Post by chicagopurple »

I dunno, Favre was a pretty usefull pick up. Yoou can't make a blanket statement like "Free Agents are no way to build a winner". You can't build a whole team that way but its certainly a good way to fill a few gaps if you are a team that is in the race. We are close to being a certified playoff threat. A few key free agents might just push us over the line. The cap space is there to make a few moves.
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Re: For Vikings in the offseason, there's work to do

Post by slapnut19 »

the name bruce irvin keeps coming up for me. he's the perfect versatile olb to pair with barr and hendricks. he will be expensive, but pass rushers are at a premium, but we have the luxury of cap space and having a qb making 2 mil or less for at least the next two years.

it's easy to say get some free agents for the oline, but we are slated to have the 2nd highest total o line payroll for 2016. to spend some money on that group we need to get rid of some.
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Re: For Vikings in the offseason, there's work to do

Post by 808vikingsfan »

mondry wrote:Nah, the top priority has to be improving the defense but I'm fine if they toss a 3rd rounder or a small amount of cap space for a guy on offense this time around, especially if they can cut some of our dead weight like loadholt and wallace.
I'm in this boat. I hope they focus on the D this offseason. Didn't like the drop off when Joseph was out. I'd add a solid DT, LB, and someone opposite of Smith.

The OL is only good as its weakest link. Clemmings had no business playing last year. The line will be good if one or both injured linemen return to form , put Fusco back to his natural position, and add a stud veteran.
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Re: For Vikings in the offseason, there's work to do

Post by Cliff »

808vikingsfan wrote: I'm in this boat. I hope they focus on the D this offseason. Didn't like the drop off when Joseph was out. I'd add a solid DT, LB, and someone opposite of Smith.

The OL is only good as its weakest link. Clemmings had no business playing last year. The line will be good if one or both injured linemen return to form , put Fusco back to his natural position, and add a stud veteran.
There's a big drop off when Joseph was out because he was playing out of his mind last season. He was a special player and most players behind him will be a significant drop off.

That's putting an awful lot of faith in two older players who suffered significant season ended injuries last season. Can they return to form? If they can, can they do it for an entire season? I would argue that the drop off from Loadholt to Clemmings was much worse than any other backup situation we had.
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Re: For Vikings in the offseason, there's work to do

Post by Mothman »

Cliff wrote:There's a big drop off when Joseph was out because he was playing out of his mind last season. He was a special player and most players behind him will be a significant drop off.

That's putting an awful lot of faith in two older players who suffered significant season ended injuries last season. Can they return to form? If they can, can they do it for an entire season? I would argue that the drop off from Loadholt to Clemmings was much worse than any other backup situation we had.
... and you'd be right.

Personally, I think it would be folly to focus on the defense for another offseason instead of addressing serious issues on offense. They certainly don't need to ignore the defense but improving the offense, especially the blocking, needs to be a priority.
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Re: For Vikings in the offseason, there's work to do

Post by fiestavike »

Mothman wrote: ... and you'd be right.

Personally, I think it would be folly to focus on the defense for another offseason instead of addressing serious issues on offense. They certainly don't need to ignore the defense but improving the offense, especially the blocking, needs to be a priority.
I'd like to see them focus intensely on the OL, but at a minimum they need to ensure that the unit is not below average next year, and show that they are developing some plan for the future with that unit.
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