The Vikings aren't THAT bad...blow it up or nah?

[PacificNorseWest]

Don't get me wrong, they are what their record says they are, but we've all seen bottom feeder teams before and this ain't that. Not in the sense of a dire need for playmakers. This team definitely is not devoid of talent. And they're mostly competitive (ducks from strays -- it's all relative, folks!)

If, after reading that paragraph, you agree or understand the rationale, move to the next post...

If, however, you made funny faces when reading that paragraph and/or disagreed with its premise, move to post #3.

[PacificNorseWest]

Talent, it's there. Some bad breaks, it happens. Pro Football Focus (PFF) rates Thielen and Jefferson very highly -- and if you couldn't care less about PFF rankings -- the eye test shows they're really really good, too!

Factor in a top tier RB and this is hardly a bottom-of-the-barrel operation on offense.

The defense has had their challenges, but I challenge you to re-focus and look at the missing links and those thrust into important roles as a result or by design.

Michael Pierce was supposed to be a viable replacement for Linval...he opted out. This is fine, but there's one investment not immediately available to capitalize on. Danielle Hunter -- for all intents and purposes -- is one of THE best pass rushers in the League today. He was held on standby until this rough start, so the plan is to get him 100% for 2021.

Dantzler and Gladney have shown lockdown and gritty potential. They're just going to have to take their lumps this year, but let us consider it the seasoning process.

I didn't hit on EVERYTHING and might have played hop-scotch around other hot button issues (O-line hopefully improves collectively with Cleveland in there) which, some of you may have as well, but the point remains....this isn't your hopeless and hapless Cleveland Browns of yore(my yore, maybe not your yore....the 90s version then the re-introduction era...not talking about the Kosar Browns)

There's this common theme in the betting world that can provide you a jump against the spread going into the following season. The theory mostly hinges on margin of defeat/victory and turnover margins.

In two of their matchups, Titans and Seahawks, respectively, they lost by a combined 2 points...these are teams that got folks in a tizzy talking Super Bowl. 2 points....COMBINED...

Turnovers: Minnesota is second to last in this statistic that is historically known to be volatile year-to-year.

In 2016, they were top 5...2017, middle of the pack...2018, sub par...2019, top 5...2020 lower rung...history suggests a correction towards the mean....In 2021 and/or 2022, Zimmer's defense has a better than average probability of being in the + territory in regards to turnovers.

Let's all just calm down for a minute...call the audible: "easy, easy, easy"

[PacificNorseWest]

Cousins got his bag of money and that butt-hole has the nerve to be cavalier about his inconsistency and mostly putrid play when it matters with faux remorse understanding full well that he fully played the Vikings' front office (FO).

Zimmer pulled hard at the heart strings and the FO bought in -- which I agreed with -- but now, we have track record. And history suggests, he's a one track mind...try and control the defense; let someone else figure out the offense, but if I don't like it, I'll just replace you. Someone has to be the scapegoat, after all.

And as much frustration as the QB and HC bring...the GM isn't going to slide under the radar. If you played football, watched football, loved football, tried to understand football, hate football....EVERYBODY knows...you need an OFFENSIVE frickin' line to do anything in the damn National Football League! Spielman (the Rick version) is/has been averse to this theory.

Zygi: Blow. It. Up.

[PacificNorseWest]

Skol!

[PacificNorseWest]

Skol?

[VikeFanInEagleLand]

It's always difficult to not to agree that a team IS what their record says they are. But, I as I view this season so far, I believe that the team would have at least two more wins based on better coaching alone. And having said that, they also may have entered the last game versus Atlanta with a completely different attitude. So this 1-5 team could possibly be 4-2 with better coaching.

There is plenty of talent on the team. No need to talk about blowing it up. We all see that there needs to be a more concerted effort to improve the offensive line. I have always had the opinion that a great O-Line is the most important factor of having a dominant offense. Yeah, it's sexy to have stars at the skilled positions, but a good O-Line can make an otherwise slightly above average offense look great.

The defense is more difficult to evaluate because of their age. It could be that this year we are just seeing the learning curve.

Fixing most of these things doesn't require a complete teardown. We're really not that far away. The most difficult thing will be to get a winning QB. We're not going to ever win a Super Bowl with what we currently have.

[makila]

I don't have any faith in this current regime of Spielman and then Zimmer can address the problems on our roster. That's my issue. This is based on Spielman's track record of his decade plus with the organization and their inability/desire/willing to acknowledge the interior of the line sucks, and has sucked, for a long time. QB future, lack of. Really bad spot we've gotten into with our FO money. For those reasons blow it up, not limited to the roster.

[RandyMoss84]

Vikings will not win a Superbowl until Speilman and Zimmer are gone

[Bowhunting Viking]

Well unfortunately I have moved into the option 3 category.
I have spent ALOT of time trying to convince myself to continue believing in the current leadership regime. I wanted to continue to be confident in their ability to build a good team.. i.e. Spielman. And the ability to make the right decisions during the week and especially during the game to put us in the best possible position to win games i.e. Zim.
And mostly I kept on and kept on trying to believe that Cousins could and would be The Man to finally use the talent around him and take us to the SB. I know the O line sucks and there are other variables involved. But I am now to the point the point where I have just come to my conclusion that the guy is truly just a good QB who is GROSSLY overpaid and was falsely perceived by our short sighted GM to be a franchise QB and the missing piece. It was a monumental gamble and an even more monumental mistake.
We do have some very good players on our roster, and a few seasons ago we were in a spot that made so many of us believe that we were finally gonna get that coveted Lombardi Trophy. Well, we were fooled again!!!
The day we extended Cousins was the day Spielman convinced the Wilfs to pull out the magic pen and sign a ton of $$$$$$$ for a big bowl of Fools Gold.
And as bad as I hate to admit this, as u can see by my Username I LOVE to bowhunt.. and I relished in the fact that our HC was a fellow Bowhunter. Well, I don't care about that anymore. I have lost faith in Zim as our HC. Great DC but that's it. I want a coach that will utilize the talent and make the right decisions to make us a winning team. I am to the point that I don't care if a guy is an avid needle pointer.. if he can coach is to be a SB winning team so be it.
I have NO belief whatsoever that as long as Slick Rick is in the GM seat, Zim is on the sidelines with the headset on and #8 is taking the snaps that we are gonna get anywhere to to being SB champs.
Blow it up.. why not.. we are now mired in #### anyway!! Might as well go for it.
I guess I have progressed from frustrated to pissed off!

[Maelstrom88]

Yeah I'm in category 3. They are getting outcoached and I'm ready to move on. Get an innovative offensive mind in here and a competent set of guards. Let youth play the rest of this year. Get a new GM. The failure of Rick on the oline, to draft and develop a QB, and the way this young secondary has looked should be all she wrote on his tenure. It's time for a new era. Also, go back to the 90's jerseys.

[Foreman44]

It’s sad that I am cheering the jets, Washington, Houston, Atlanta, Houston to win to to enhance our chances for that higher draft pick...that means we have to lose as well. Does it matter at this point

[RandyMoss84]

Bengals fans are calling for Zimmer after choking against the Browns today, the Bengals can have Zimmer!

[chicagopurple]

Arent that bad?!!?!?!

I guess if you live in Cleveland, MN seems competent. The Vikes are a laughing stock. NO OL, NO QB, No Head Coach. Over invested in a crappy QB, over invested in RB (which NO modern winning team would EVER do) , a fading defense both physically and schematically......this is a team that good players scheme to leave.....guys like Diggs, et are happy to leave this train wreck. Until the Front Office is flushed down the toilet, they dont deserve top tier talent.....it would be a waste to spend a careen in MN. We are gonn end up woth a high draft choice and Spielman will waste it .......AGAIN.

Its time for a fire sale....trade away anyone worth draft choices. Bring in a good GM. Draft a good young OL/DL and build from there...for once. I suspect Z Wilf has become senile and clueless though......he will just sit pat and enjoy his special relationship with Spielman, such a nice young man!

[RandyMoss84]

Arent that bad?!!?!?!

I guess if you live in Cleveland, MN seems competent. The Vikes are a laughing stock. NO OL, NO QB, No Head Coach. Over invested in a crappy QB, over invested in RB (which NO modern winning team would EVER do) , a fading defense both physically and schematically......this is a team that good players scheme to leave.....guys like Diggs, et are happy to leave this train wreck. Until the Front Office is flushed down the toilet, they dont deserve top tier talent.....it would be a waste to spend a careen in MN. We are gonn end up woth a high draft choice and Spielman will waste it .......AGAIN.

Its time for a fire sale....trade away anyone worth draft choices. Bring in a good GM. Draft a good young OL/DL and build from there...for once. I suspect Z Wilf has become senile and clueless though......he will just sit pat and enjoy his special relationship with Spielman, such a nice young man!

I am afraid of it, Wilf will probably give Zimmer and Speilman contract extensions until they finally fire both in who knows when? It reminds me of Mike Brown giving Marvin Lewis extensions until he finally fired Lewis after 15 years after choke after choke in the playoffs

[J. Kapp 11]

This team is terrible, and I fail to see any path to believe otherwise.

NBC has us ranked 27th. CBS 26th. Walter Football a very generous 23rd. ESPN 25th. NFL.com 27th. The world thinks we're terrible, yet somehow we Vikings fans believe we're "better than our record."

There are 7 teams with 1 win or fewer. We're one of them. With the way our defensive backs are playing (Dantzler and Gladney may have potential, but they are definitely NOT showing signs of being great cover corners), the trade of Ngakoue, the non-existence of our D-line, the injury to Cook, the abysmal play of our interior O-line, and the absolutely disgusting play of our QB, it's inconceivable to me that we're more than a 3-win team. Of all the teams left on our schedule, I see us having a prayer against Dallas and Jacksonville. That's it.

We're constructed terribly, we're coached terribly, and we're playing terribly. In other words, we're terrible.

This is going to be a long season.