Lets play a game of.......Fix the Vikings

[Beo]

Let's leave the impending coaching change out of it and just concentrate on the roster. We are going to have a very high 1st round pick, a 2nd, and two 3rd round picks to work with. Give me some scenarios of who needs to go, who needs to be resigned, who to go get in free agency, and what to do with the first couple rounds of the draft. Try to be as realistic as possible like if you choose to resign Jared Allen then obviously you wont have as much money for alot of free agents. Doesnt have to be perfect but semi-realistic as possible please. I will start us off:

First off, I would let every one of our unrestricted free agents (Allen, Williams, Johnson, Cook, Cassel, Freeman, Simpson, Gerhart, Bishop etc) all walk except for Everson Griffen and Joe Berger. I hate to see Allen and Williams go but we need to rebuild this defensive line and we save alot of money especially with letting Allen walk and we would most certainly get an additional 3rd round compensatory pick for him giving us three 3rd round picks. Along with all the free agents we let walk we also pink slip Erin Henderson, Guion, and Carlson. Now with our new found spending money in free agency and alot of holes to fill we hit the market. I first start off by completely revamping our secondary. I sign Jairus Byrd to pair with Harrison Smith to make a very formidable safety duo. Then I bring in 2 CB's in Sam Shields and Alterraun Verner. Both are young and coming into their own as CB's and along with Xavier Rhodes, Smith, and Byrd take our secondary from horrible to one of the best in the league. At linebacker I bring in Wes Woodyard to play OLB opposite Greenway and move Mauti in to replace Henderson at MLB. On the defensive line along with resigning Griffen I bring in Linval Joseph to pair with Floyd for our new DT tandem.

On the offensive side of the ball I choose to bring in just 1 free agent and that is WR Eric Decker. Decker along with Jennings, Patterson, and Wright makes for a great WR corp and will give our QB alot of weapons. Now that we have brought in 6 free agents to fill some starting positions we now go to the draft to fill the rest. I am predicting that we will have the 3rd pick of the draft and I select DE Jadeveon Clowney to take over for Jared Allen at RDE. Next I package our 2nd round pick along with our 3rd round pick we received from Seattle plus our 4th round pick to move back into the middle of the first round to select QB Johnny Manziel to be our starting QB. With our 3rd round pick and our 3rd round compensatory pick we got from Jared Allen walking I take OG David Yankey to take over for Charlie Johnson and TE CJ Fiedorowicz to take over as the second TE in 2 TE sets with Rudolph.

So there it is A real house cleaning that isnt too unreasonable and would give the Vikings a chance to compete quickly. Anyone else want to give it a shot?

[Purpnation]

Let's leave the impending coaching change out of it and just concentrate on the roster. We are going to have a very high 1st round pick, a 2nd, and two 3rd round picks to work with. Give me some scenarios of who needs to go, who needs to be resigned, who to go get in free agency, and what to do with the first couple rounds of the draft. Try to be as realistic as possible like if you choose to resign Jared Allen then obviously you wont have as much money for alot of free agents. Doesnt have to be perfect but semi-realistic as possible please. I will start us off:

First off, I would let every one of our unrestricted free agents (Allen, Williams, Johnson, Cook, Cassel, Freeman, Simpson, Gerhart, Bishop etc) all walk except for Everson Griffen and Joe Berger. I hate to see Allen and Williams go but we need to rebuild this defensive line and we save alot of money especially with letting Allen walk and we would most certainly get an additional 3rd round compensatory pick for him giving us three 3rd round picks. Along with all the free agents we let walk we also pink slip Erin Henderson, Guion, and Carlson. Now with our new found spending money in free agency and alot of holes to fill we hit the market. I first start off by completely revamping our secondary. I sign Jairus Byrd to pair with Harrison Smith to make a very formidable safety duo. Then I bring in 2 CB's in Sam Shields and Alterraun Verner. Both are young and coming into their own as CB's and along with Xavier Rhodes, Smith, and Byrd take our secondary from horrible to one of the best in the league. At linebacker I bring in Wes Woodyard to play OLB opposite Greenway and move Mauti in to replace Henderson at MLB. On the defensive line along with resigning Griffen I bring in Linval Joseph to pair with Floyd for our new DT tandem.

On the offensive side of the ball I choose to bring in just 1 free agent and that is WR Eric Decker. Decker along with Jennings, Patterson, and Wright makes for a great WR corp and will give our QB alot of weapons. Now that we have brought in 6 free agents to fill some starting positions we now go to the draft to fill the rest. I am predicting that we will have the 3rd pick of the draft and I select DE Jadeveon Clowney to take over for Jared Allen at RDE. Next I package our 2nd round pick along with our 3rd round pick we received from Seattle plus our 4th round pick to move back into the middle of the first round to select QB Johnny Manziel to be our starting QB. With our 3rd round pick and our 3rd round compensatory pick we got from Jared Allen walking I take OG David Yankey to take over for Charlie Johnson and TE CJ Fiedorowicz to take over as the second TE in 2 TE sets with Rudolph.

So there it is A real house cleaning that isnt too unreasonable and would give the Vikings a chance to compete quickly. Anyone else want to give it a shot?

I would love to see us get Shields but there is almost no way the Packers don't resign this guy, unless he flat out just doesn't want to play for them. Dude is becoming a shutdown corner.

Other wise I actually like alot of what you said, I think if Clowney is on the board by the time we pick we HAVE to take this dude, but I would be dissapointed if we didn't trade back up into the first round for a QB, I honestly think this QB draft is alot better then some give it credit for, and I would be ECSTATIC if we got Manziel, is there a chance he could be a bust? Sure, but then again there really is no such thing as a cant miss prospect at the QB position.

[The Breeze]

The Wilfs should purchase an enormous Bassomatic 5000 (maybe a 500,000), dump the whole team in there and flip the switch. Fixed...it's just that simple!

[PsyDanny]

The Wilfs should purchase an enormous Bassomatic 5000 (maybe a 500,000), dump the whole team in there and flip the switch. Fixed...it's just that simple!

Bassomatic 5000 still does not have the chops of the original Bassomatic 76.

But in theory...

[Orion]

Who needs to go:

Wilfs
Coaching staff
Ponder, Cassel, Freeman as starter

Who needs to come:

A solid franchise quarterback
A competent coaching staff

[King James]

Am I the only one who as an issue with the RG, and RT position? Phil Loadholt is terrible in my opinion and I have no idea how he got a contract extension. Brandon Fusco is just inexperienced and inconsistent. The o-line needs a tune-up in my opinion.

[soflavike]

This really hurts, but it's true... from "Shutdown Corner"

What's gone wrong: Only anything wearing a purple helmet. The defense is among the worst in the league, ranking 27th in yards surrendered. The offense is only marginally better, ranking 25th overall and 24th in passing. And when you've got Adrian Peterson on your team, ranking 19th in rushing is damn near a war crime. The quarterback situation is a garbage fire. Other than that, everything's great.

Read the rest here:
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutd ... --nfl.html

[BGM]

I think trading away or not signing team leaders is a huge mistake. No rebuilding process involves a complete strip down. I think re-signing Jared Allen has to happen. His production may have slipped, but there has to be leadership on the DL and he's it, because I agree that we need to consider letting Kevin Williams go. The real need on the DL is a run stopper - some big body that eats up blockers and running backs.

The team needs to look at getting the LB corps revamped. Hang on to Greenway, and I think an argument can be made for Henderson as a backup or situational guy. The Vikes need two or three very strong LB players to make the defense hum. A quality LB corps can make up a lot for a lack of strength in the secondary. That is going to require at least one FA signing, probably 2.

I believe there is actually some raw talent in the defensive secondary that is simply screaming out for quality coaching. I would add one veteran FA to that crew and then look to coaching for more improvement.

On offense, I think we can consider RB and WR to be fairly set. AT QB, we obviously need a complete reset. There are plenty draft-worthy possibilities, but my top 3 are Bridgewater, Mariota and Manziel - and I am leaning toward Manziel because he has the makings of a superstar QB, and I think he is the one who will be able to handle being thrown right to the wolves from his first snap. Then either hang on to Cassel or pick up a journeyman to backup.

The OL needs help. But is it coaching or personnel? Do we want bruisers or athletes? I think getting the guards improved has to be job one.

There are good bones to this house, we just need to add some structural improvements and add some luxury finishing touches.

[Eli]

The simple reality of the situation is that you cannot have a total "housecleaning" every two years and still call it a rebuilding process. Slashing and burning the roster every time you have a losing season is a good way to spend a decade at the bottom.

[Thaumaturgist]

The simple reality of the situation is that you cannot have a total "housecleaning" every two years and still call it a rebuilding process. Slashing and burning the roster every time you have a losing season is a good way to spend a decade at the bottom.

OK, but in your opinion, what's the correct way to do it?

[Mothman]

I think trading away or not signing team leaders is a huge mistake. No rebuilding process involves a complete strip down. I think re-signing Jared Allen has to happen. His production may have slipped, but there has to be leadership on the DL and he's it, because I agree that we need to consider letting Kevin Williams go. The real need on the DL is a run stopper - some big body that eats up blockers and running backs.

The team needs to look at getting the LB corps revamped. Hang on to Greenway, and I think an argument can be made for Henderson as a backup or situational guy. The Vikes need two or three very strong LB players to make the defense hum. A quality LB corps can make up a lot for a lack of strength in the secondary. That is going to require at least one FA signing, probably 2.

I believe there is actually some raw talent in the defensive secondary that is simply screaming out for quality coaching. I would add one veteran FA to that crew and then look to coaching for more improvement.

On offense, I think we can consider RB and WR to be fairly set. AT QB, we obviously need a complete reset. There are plenty draft-worthy possibilities, but my top 3 are Bridgewater, Mariota and Manziel - and I am leaning toward Manziel because he has the makings of a superstar QB, and I think he is the one who will be able to handle being thrown right to the wolves from his first snap. Then either hang on to Cassel or pick up a journeyman to backup.

The OL needs help. But is it coaching or personnel? Do we want bruisers or athletes? I think getting the guards improved has to be job one.

I'll answer that one: we want athletes. You can do more with athletes. On that note, I'd honestly love to see them trade Loadholt. I know they just signed him to a new deal and it won't happen but I just can't stand watching defenders blow past him to make big plays anymore. That position is crying out for more athleticism.

You're right on target about the LBs and the need for a big run-stopping ST in the middle. I think you have an excellent point about leadership as well.

I believe they need more talent and better coaching in the secondary. They should let Cook walk and if they can find a good veteran corner in free agency, sign him.

There's a LOT of work to be done.

[Eli]

I'll answer that one: we want athletes. You can do more with athletes.

There are two sides to that. Take Michael Mauti. Probably not a great athlete, with no great measurables, but an instinctive player who may just be a great MLB if healthy.

Take Percy Harvin. Amazingly versatile athlete who the Vikings never used to his full potential because they didn't know how.

Everson Griffen. Another gifted athlete who could conceivably play 2/3 of the positions on defense, but will he ever be an elite pass rusher at DE?

I'm not a fan of the school of drafting players that claims you're better off taking the BPA. The Vikings don't need another flashy KR/WR who is unable to run routes out of college. They don't need another 4.3 40 cornerback who can't cover. They don't need another 6'6" QB with a rifle arm who can't complete 50% of his passes.

[mondry]

OK, but in your opinion, what's the correct way to do it?

The hard but correct way to do it is to get the proper guys in place when it comes to management, coaches, etc. The Kansas City Chiefs are the perfect example of the wrong guys at the top making a huge negative impact. Sub in Andy Reid, who people have varying opinions on and a stable, good, but perhaps not great QB and it makes all the difference. From 2-14 to 7-0.

The Chiefs clearly had talent just like we have talent. Every team in the NFL for the most part HAS TALENT but it's how much the organization and coaches can get out of the talent that matters.

Once you get the top straightened out it's about making shrewd moves to keep the talent you're bringing in and making the right choices for the long term development of the team. We continue to struggle in this area so it will be a long drawn out process. Spielman signing guys like Carlson, Jennings, Loadholt, etc when they aren't the long term solution sets us further and further back.

Sure an andrew luck could help us out but I think andrew luck would be a total bust in our system running musgrave's 1 WR offense. Honestly it's a pretty terrible time to be a Vikings fan and I don't see much hope. At this point we're banking on Spielman being way smarter than he is and having some master long term plan to switch schemes and coaches to make more use of guys like Rhodes and Patterson. Otherwise he's completely out of touch with our current plan. You can't draft a man corner and a 4th string WR when we desperately need line backer help, guards, and PASS catching TE's to run a 2 TE offense.

[HardcoreVikesFan]

I am sorry, but Greenway has to be dealt with in some way. His cap figure is way too high for the type of play he displays on weekly basis. I love the guy. He is from my home state, and he is a Hawkeye legend. However, it is time to restructure his deal or just move on. I cannot stomach him over-pursing and looking completely lost in coverage any longer. I am sorry but Chad is as over-rated as they come.

In all honesty, the entire defense could be scrapped (outside of Harrison Smith, Xavier Rhodes, Shariff Floyd, and maybe Everson) and I would not shed a single tear. Don't even try to convince me they are a good unit, they are not. Holding the Giants to less than 300 yards of total offense is not an accomplishment at all. Major changes are needed on defense and I fear that those changes will only come until a whole new regime is brought in.


Offensively, there is not much to say other than the obvious. We need a QB. We need two new guards. We may need a new offensive tackle/center as well. I could talk until I am blue in the face about how much Fusco sucks ####, but I think I have said it enough. Same goes for Charlie Johnson.


At the end of the day, I am a pissed off fan. Until we bring competence into this organization, nothing will change. I thought Spielman knew what he was doing, but now I am beginning to wonder if we have all be taken for big suckers. I am still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for one more year. The rest of the Vikings' staff though? Screw 'em. Fire them all.

/rant.

[Mothman]

There are two sides to that. Take Michael Mauti. Probably not a great athlete, with no great measurables, but an instinctive player who may just be a great MLB if healthy.

Take Percy Harvin. Amazingly versatile athlete who the Vikings never used to his full potential because they didn't know how.

Everson Griffen. Another gifted athlete who could conceivably play 2/3 of the positions on defense, but will he ever be an elite pass rusher at DE?

I'm not a fan of the school of drafting players that claims you're better off taking the BPA. The Vikings don't need another flashy KR/WR who is unable to run routes out of college. They don't need another 4.3 40 cornerback who can't cover. They don't need another 6'6" QB with a rifle arm who can't complete 50% of his passes.

I meant you can do more with athletic offensive linemen and I wasn't suggesting they get athletes who don't know how to play their positions. I'm simply saying you can do more with an athletic guard or tackle than with a big, powerful slow one.

Regarding Harvin: the popular opinion is that the Vikings never used him to his full potential because they didn't know how to do it. It will be interesting to see if that's actually true. He's never played pro football outside of Minnesota so I think it remains an open question.