Who Starts?

[VikingsVictorious]

Franchise next moves: Sign Cousins for 2 seasons assuming a full recovery. Then draft a QB in the 1st round this year and let him sit until Cousins is gone.

GB has a strategy that is obviously working.

If Green Bay was offered a do over on the drafting of Love I think they'd decline.

[halfgiz]

Franchise next moves: Sign Cousins for 2 seasons assuming a full recovery. Then draft a QB in the 1st round this year and let him sit until Cousins is gone.

GB has a strategy that is obviously working.

Cousins already stated that he is going to put a video together to show teams how he is progressing.
So my guess he will be going to the highest bidder. He has always been about the money.
We’re not going to get a deal would be my guess.
We really can’t afford to get into a bidding for Cousins. We will already owe him 28 million.

[CharVike]

Franchise next moves: Sign Cousins for 2 seasons assuming a full recovery. Then draft a QB in the 1st round this year and let him sit until Cousins is gone.

GB has a strategy that is obviously working.

If they want to provide an entertaining product then they have no choice other than to sign Cousins. QB should always be at the top of the list. However the draft only has so many that can play at the pro level. Some are in the 1st round, some are in the 7th and others in between. You can make a trade as the 40ers did for Jimmy G who took them to the promise land. There's no set formula. Plenty of 1st rounders riding the pine. No team wants them. You need to find a guy that fits your scheme. For us that's a guy who can throw the ball downfield. Some hate that but I found it entertaining. Especially with the WRs and TE we have. We need to take the best available player in round one and every round after that. Hopefully it's an OL or DL player. We can't control the LOS and that needs to be fixed before even thinking of anything else. Right now GB is 8-8 and can't beat a top level team. They couldn't even beat us when we were healthy. Yes they killed us with nothing at QB and zero pass rush since Wonnum is out. Big deal.

[VikingLord]

Franchise next moves: Sign Cousins for 2 seasons assuming a full recovery. Then draft a QB in the 1st round this year and let him sit until Cousins is gone.

GB has a strategy that is obviously working.

This is what I think makes the most sense. However, where the Vikings end up drafting is going to have a huge impact on this strategy. The way things are setting up and barring no major developments during the offseason, Caleb Williams and Drake Maye will go off the board with the first 2 picks and in that order. After that, Jayden Daniels of LSU is likely to go next and will be off the board likely by pick 10 and no later than pick 12.

Then you get into a bunched group of QBs who have some potential, but also some question marks, and none of which merit clear first round grades, although several of which may go off the board in the 1st due to the QB position being overweighted in importance. Among this group of prospects are guys like JJ McCarthy of Michigan, Bo Nix of Oregon, and Michael Penix of Washington. Of that group I personally like Nix, but I can understand the hesitation some have with him.


Regardless, as far as the strategy you propose and the Vikings, the Vikings are likely to be stuck just in striking distance of Daniels, but well out of the running for Williams or Maye. If they can't get Daniels, then they might face the prospect of reaching for one of the 2nd tier prospects in the 1st, or try to trade back into the late 1st or the early part of the 2nd and hope they can find the guy they like still on the board there.

The Vikings don't currently have a 3rd round pick in the upcoming draft so a trade back that nets them a 3rd might be their best play, allowing them to gain back that pick while putting them in a position to get a good QB prospect without reaching.

As long as KAM doesn't trade back and get little value in return like he did in his first year, I'd be OK with that strategy.

[VikingLord]

Franchise next moves: Sign Cousins for 2 seasons assuming a full recovery. Then draft a QB in the 1st round this year and let him sit until Cousins is gone.

GB has a strategy that is obviously working.

Cousins already stated that he is going to put a video together to show teams how he is progressing.
So my guess he will be going to the highest bidder. He has always been about the money.
We’re not going to get a deal would be my guess.
We really can’t afford to get into a bidding for Cousins. We will already owe him 28 million.

Honestly, after watching Cousins blow the horn to start the game against the Packers it is pretty obvious the Vikings want him back and he wants to be back. It just makes sense and at this point I don't see how the Vikings at least can avoid it as they already owe him that money whether he plays for them or not as you point out, but more fundamentally, it just makes sense for both sides. And for the record, I like Cousins. I just don't like how he fails to make the critical play at the critical moment, but generally, I think he's a very good QB and he's capable of winning on the right team. He's certainly light years better than any of the other QBs currently on the roster.

[J. Kapp 11]

Cousins already stated that he is going to put a video together to show teams how he is progressing.
So my guess he will be going to the highest bidder. He has always been about the money.
We’re not going to get a deal would be my guess.
We really can’t afford to get into a bidding for Cousins. We will already owe him 28 million.

Honestly, after watching Cousins blow the horn to start the game against the Packers it is pretty obvious the Vikings want him back and he wants to be back. It just makes sense and at this point I don't see how the Vikings at least can avoid it as they already owe him that money whether he plays for them or not as you point out, but more fundamentally, it just makes sense for both sides. And for the record, I like Cousins. I just don't like how he fails to make the critical play at the critical moment, but generally, I think he's a very good QB and he's capable of winning on the right team. He's certainly light years better than any of the other QBs currently on the roster.

I brought this up in the Packers thread, but I don’t know what significance, if any, the gjallarhorn had.

Could be “we want you back.”

Could be “thanks for all you’ve done.”

Could be “this’ll get the crowd hyped” and nothing more.

As far as the player and the man are concerned, I love Cousins. If he had continued on the trajectory he was on, he’d have been in the MVP conversation. No quarterback in the league has played the position as well as he played it against the 49ers and the Packers. I’ll die on that hill. He was really coming into his own with Kevin O’Connell’s offense.

But does it make sense to bring him back, given the way the roster is constructed?

I’m at the point where I think that seems doubtful. There are just too many holes in this roster to justify using $40 million or more in cap space on the quarterback. Maybe if we had a stud edge rusher and a lockdown corner on rookie deals. But we don’t.

Meanwhile, the Lions just keep getting better. The Bears … don’t look now, but all those high draft picks are starting to pay off, and they not only have the No. 1 pick this year, but also the 10th, as well as the 10th pick in every round. They’ve matched our record, and they were considered a dumpster fire maybe a month ago. Green Bay has young talent everywhere, including a quarterback who seems to be getting better by he week. As far as pure roster quality is concerned, we’re lagging behind in a big way. Pay $45 million to Kirk, and that probably doesn’t change, especially with extensions on the horizon for JJ, Darrisaw and possibly Hunter.

So as much as I like Cousins, especially in this offense, I can admit it’s probably time to move on.

[chicagopurple]

J Kapp is spot on......keeping Cousins is just a guarantee that this team will continue to go nowhere for years. The only way forward is to dump his bloated contract, open up cap space, draft/trade intelligently to build a foundation of young quality players on the front lines and secondary that you can keep in the fold for a long stretch THEN land a young QB without an insane pay rate and DEVELOP him. Sadly this organization has shown no ability to build front lines or groom a young QB in the last few decades. What little success we have had in the last years was created by the fact that most of our division was a trash heap. That is no longer the case. Now we have some real competition for the first time in a long time and we are decaying. Cousins sells seats and beer. Wilf likes that and will probably stick with him but we wont sniff a championship with that strategy ever.......

[CharVike]

Honestly, after watching Cousins blow the horn to start the game against the Packers it is pretty obvious the Vikings want him back and he wants to be back. It just makes sense and at this point I don't see how the Vikings at least can avoid it as they already owe him that money whether he plays for them or not as you point out, but more fundamentally, it just makes sense for both sides. And for the record, I like Cousins. I just don't like how he fails to make the critical play at the critical moment, but generally, I think he's a very good QB and he's capable of winning on the right team. He's certainly light years better than any of the other QBs currently on the roster.

I brought this up in the Packers thread, but I don’t know what significance, if any, the gjallarhorn had.

Could be “we want you back.”

Could be “thanks for all you’ve done.”

Could be “this’ll get the crowd hyped” and nothing more.

As far as the player and the man are concerned, I love Cousins. If he had continued on the trajectory he was on, he’d have been in the MVP conversation. No quarterback in the league has played the position as well as he played it against the 49ers and the Packers. I’ll die on that hill. He was really coming into his own with Kevin O’Connell’s offense.

But does it make sense to bring him back, given the way the roster is constructed?

I’m at the point where I think that seems doubtful. There are just too many holes in this roster to justify using $40 million or more in cap space on the quarterback. Maybe if we had a stud edge rusher and a lockdown corner on rookie deals. But we don’t.

Meanwhile, the Lions just keep getting better. The Bears … don’t look now, but all those high draft picks are starting to pay off, and they not only have the No. 1 pick this year, but also the 10th, as well as the 10th pick in every round. They’ve matched our record, and they were considered a dumpster fire maybe a month ago. Green Bay has young talent everywhere, including a quarterback who seems to be getting better by he week. As far as pure roster quality is concerned, we’re lagging behind in a big way. Pay $45 million to Kirk, and that probably doesn’t change, especially with extensions on the horizon for JJ, Darrisaw and possibly Hunter.

So as much as I like Cousins, especially in this offense, I can admit it’s probably time to move on.

The Lions keep getting better? They just got beat by the fading Cowboys. They will win the div and then get spanked. The Bears. they beat us by 2 points and we had nothing at QB. They don't even know if the QB they have is the next super star or a guy they need to dump. Green Bay has nothing on defense. The last game we played them the announcers where pointing out their D coordinator and how great he is doing this game. We had nothing at QB. That D gets pounded. Yes Love looked great against us. Easy to play against a depleted D. Paying one player will not hurt the roster. People seem to think FA is loaded with young super stars. It's the complete opposite. Look at the money Davenport is getting and his production. That's a star FA player. Same with this Reed OG. Our problem is a lack of drafting ability. Darrisaw isn't a great LT. If you watch he can't handle the better rushers one on one. JJ what has he done since Cousins hasn't played? If we keep swinging and missing in the draft we will never challenge for a SB. These stiffs Kewsi drafted his first year are still on the roster doing nothing. You can't run a team like that. Ingram is still worthless. At least when Cousins plays the games are watchable. If they move on I'm fine with it but I won't watch a bunch of stiffs struggle just to complete a pass.

[CharVike]

J Kapp is spot on......keeping Cousins is just a guarantee that this team will continue to go nowhere for years. The only way forward is to dump his bloated contract, open up cap space, draft/trade intelligently to build a foundation of young quality players on the front lines and secondary that you can keep in the fold for a long stretch THEN land a young QB without an insane pay rate and DEVELOP him. Sadly this organization has shown no ability to build front lines or groom a young QB in the last few decades. What little success we have had in the last years was created by the fact that most of our division was a trash heap. That is no longer the case. Now we have some real competition for the first time in a long time and we are decaying. Cousins sells seats and beer. Wilf likes that and will probably stick with him but we wont sniff a championship with that strategy ever.......

Last few decades? We only drafted one super star QB since we existed. Drafting a QB is the apple in some fans eyes. The Panthers got the star from the last draft and they were just shut out. Threw for 112 yards on 32 attempts. That's beyond bad. That's Hall. We won't sniff a championship drafting Cine, Booth, Ingram and every other stiff. That's the key. Cousins does sell seats and beer and that's what football is. Entertainment. If you owned the team you would want the same thing. It's a business. No more than that. The only guarantee is when you can't draft. You won't win anything that way. The NFC is wide open. Even a team like the 49ers don't march to the SB very often. We beat them with our roster. This year was brutal because half the team is hurt. There isn't a team out there that is so deep they can over come that. Only so much cap to spend.

[VikingLord]

The Lions keep getting better? They just got beat by the fading Cowboys.

One could argue they beat the Cowboys, but the refs took it away.

Regardless, Kapp's point is well-taken. The Lions, for all their faults, are a team ready to compete for something meaningful over the next few seasons. The same can't be said about the Vikings.

The Bears. they beat us by 2 points and we had nothing at QB. They don't even know if the QB they have is the next super star or a guy they need to dump.

The Bears will likely take the consensus #1 QB prospect of this decade with the first pick, or if they like Fields, they'll trade that pick for another draft haul that will give them so many future good quality swings in the draft it will be almost impossible for them to miss. As it stands the Bears are already stacking up young talent. My guess is they'll ship Fields if they can and draft Williams.

Green Bay has nothing on defense. The last game we played them the announcers where pointing out their D coordinator and how great he is doing this game.

They looked pretty good on defense the last few weeks, and Love pounded the defense with a cast of no-name receivers on the road. The Packers have serious question marks, sure, and I don't believe Love will become a franchise QB for them, but right now they look like a much more motivated and well-coached team than the Vikings under KOC have looked the last several weeks.

Our problem is a lack of drafting ability. Darrisaw isn't a great LT. If you watch he can't handle the better rushers one on one.

Darrisaw had a bad game against the Packers but generally he's played pretty well from what I've seen. He seemed to do fine, for example, against the 49ers defensive linemen and I think most would agree that is collectively a better group of pass rushers than what the Packers trotted out last Sunday.

These stiffs Kewsi drafted his first year are still on the roster doing nothing. You can't run a team like that. Ingram is still worthless.

KAM has had his misses but he's also had his hits. He's not doing anything exceptional in the draft so far and his early trade with the Lions his first time running the draft still boggles my mind, but it's hard to say yet that KAM has failed overall as the GM. Let's see how he does this offseason.

At least when Cousins plays the games are watchable. If they move on I'm fine with it but I won't watch a bunch of stiffs struggle just to complete a pass.

Totally agree on this point. The Vikings have struggled for a very long time to find a viable QB in the draft. The last QB they drafted of any note was probably Dante Culpepper. Since then, they've taken some swings, even in the first, and come up largely empty. That trend has continued with their mid-round misses with Mond and now Hall. Even if they resign Cousins, they have to have someone viable behind him, and IMHO none of the QBs currently on the roster are viable as potential starters. KAM is in a position where he's going to have to solve the QB problem this offseason, and it will be very interesting to see how he approaches that solution. I agree with you that I am not interested in watching more of the same with this team since Cousins went down. I doubt very much that someone like JJ will be interested in committing his prime playing years to a team without a viable starting QB. There are big decisions to be made, the team will sit in an unenviable position in the first round to help make those decisions via the draft, and the clock is ticking on the core veteran talent currently on the team.

[J. Kapp 11]

I brought this up in the Packers thread, but I don’t know what significance, if any, the gjallarhorn had.

Could be “we want you back.”

Could be “thanks for all you’ve done.”

Could be “this’ll get the crowd hyped” and nothing more.

As far as the player and the man are concerned, I love Cousins. If he had continued on the trajectory he was on, he’d have been in the MVP conversation. No quarterback in the league has played the position as well as he played it against the 49ers and the Packers. I’ll die on that hill. He was really coming into his own with Kevin O’Connell’s offense.

But does it make sense to bring him back, given the way the roster is constructed?

I’m at the point where I think that seems doubtful. There are just too many holes in this roster to justify using $40 million or more in cap space on the quarterback. Maybe if we had a stud edge rusher and a lockdown corner on rookie deals. But we don’t.

Meanwhile, the Lions just keep getting better. The Bears … don’t look now, but all those high draft picks are starting to pay off, and they not only have the No. 1 pick this year, but also the 10th, as well as the 10th pick in every round. They’ve matched our record, and they were considered a dumpster fire maybe a month ago. Green Bay has young talent everywhere, including a quarterback who seems to be getting better by he week. As far as pure roster quality is concerned, we’re lagging behind in a big way. Pay $45 million to Kirk, and that probably doesn’t change, especially with extensions on the horizon for JJ, Darrisaw and possibly Hunter.

So as much as I like Cousins, especially in this offense, I can admit it’s probably time to move on.

The Lions keep getting better? They just got beat by the fading Cowboys. They will win the div and then get spanked. The Bears. they beat us by 2 points and we had nothing at QB. They don't even know if the QB they have is the next super star or a guy they need to dump. Green Bay has nothing on defense. The last game we played them the announcers where pointing out their D coordinator and how great he is doing this game. We had nothing at QB. That D gets pounded. Yes Love looked great against us. Easy to play against a depleted D. Paying one player will not hurt the roster. People seem to think FA is loaded with young super stars. It's the complete opposite. Look at the money Davenport is getting and his production. That's a star FA player. Same with this Reed OG. Our problem is a lack of drafting ability. Darrisaw isn't a great LT. If you watch he can't handle the better rushers one on one. JJ what has he done since Cousins hasn't played? If we keep swinging and missing in the draft we will never challenge for a SB. These stiffs Kewsi drafted his first year are still on the roster doing nothing. You can't run a team like that. Ingram is still worthless. At least when Cousins plays the games are watchable. If they move on I'm fine with it but I won't watch a bunch of stiffs struggle just to complete a pass.

You need to wake up and pay attention.

The Bears are ascending, and if you can’t see that, it’s because you don’t want to. They’ve scored at least 30 three times this year (we’ve done it once), they beat the Lions, they’re loaded with young talent, they have tons of cap space, and they’re in the best draft position of any team in the NFL.

The Packers are no joke with all those young cheap receivers. And while their defensive stats rank low, their backup corners just shut down JJ and Addison, even though you say it’s “easy to play against a depleted D.” Guess what. We didn’t.

As for the Lions, they’ve been building for awhile now. Say what you want, but they’re 11-5 and fighting for the 2 seed in the NFC. They’ve turned the Stafford haul into a bounty of good players AND made Goff into a pretty damn productive QB. If they get beat in the first round, it’ll be because their coach is a Neanderthal moron, not because their roster is substandard.

We are last in the North as far as roster construction is concerned.

[Cliff]

Honestly, after watching Cousins blow the horn to start the game against the Packers it is pretty obvious the Vikings want him back and he wants to be back. It just makes sense and at this point I don't see how the Vikings at least can avoid it as they already owe him that money whether he plays for them or not as you point out, but more fundamentally, it just makes sense for both sides. And for the record, I like Cousins. I just don't like how he fails to make the critical play at the critical moment, but generally, I think he's a very good QB and he's capable of winning on the right team. He's certainly light years better than any of the other QBs currently on the roster.

I brought this up in the Packers thread, but I don’t know what significance, if any, the gjallarhorn had.

Could be “we want you back.”

Could be “thanks for all you’ve done.”

Could be “this’ll get the crowd hyped” and nothing more.

As far as the player and the man are concerned, I love Cousins. If he had continued on the trajectory he was on, he’d have been in the MVP conversation. No quarterback in the league has played the position as well as he played it against the 49ers and the Packers. I’ll die on that hill. He was really coming into his own with Kevin O’Connell’s offense.

But does it make sense to bring him back, given the way the roster is constructed?

I’m at the point where I think that seems doubtful. There are just too many holes in this roster to justify using $40 million or more in cap space on the quarterback. Maybe if we had a stud edge rusher and a lockdown corner on rookie deals. But we don’t.

Meanwhile, the Lions just keep getting better. The Bears … don’t look now, but all those high draft picks are starting to pay off, and they not only have the No. 1 pick this year, but also the 10th, as well as the 10th pick in every round. They’ve matched our record, and they were considered a dumpster fire maybe a month ago. Green Bay has young talent everywhere, including a quarterback who seems to be getting better by he week. As far as pure roster quality is concerned, we’re lagging behind in a big way. Pay $45 million to Kirk, and that probably doesn’t change, especially with extensions on the horizon for JJ, Darrisaw and possibly Hunter.

So as much as I like Cousins, especially in this offense, I can admit it’s probably time to move on.

Move on to what though? Remember their motto is "competitive rebuild". Unless the Vikings hit on a draft choice that can play right away (low chance IMO) they'll be spending money at QB if they want to be "competitive". Maybe Cousins, maybe someone else (I've seen Russel Wilson's name thrown around). KOCs team is built around the passing game, there's got to be a reliable QB there.

[J. Kapp 11]

I brought this up in the Packers thread, but I don’t know what significance, if any, the gjallarhorn had.

Could be “we want you back.”

Could be “thanks for all you’ve done.”

Could be “this’ll get the crowd hyped” and nothing more.

As far as the player and the man are concerned, I love Cousins. If he had continued on the trajectory he was on, he’d have been in the MVP conversation. No quarterback in the league has played the position as well as he played it against the 49ers and the Packers. I’ll die on that hill. He was really coming into his own with Kevin O’Connell’s offense.

But does it make sense to bring him back, given the way the roster is constructed?

I’m at the point where I think that seems doubtful. There are just too many holes in this roster to justify using $40 million or more in cap space on the quarterback. Maybe if we had a stud edge rusher and a lockdown corner on rookie deals. But we don’t.

Meanwhile, the Lions just keep getting better. The Bears … don’t look now, but all those high draft picks are starting to pay off, and they not only have the No. 1 pick this year, but also the 10th, as well as the 10th pick in every round. They’ve matched our record, and they were considered a dumpster fire maybe a month ago. Green Bay has young talent everywhere, including a quarterback who seems to be getting better by he week. As far as pure roster quality is concerned, we’re lagging behind in a big way. Pay $45 million to Kirk, and that probably doesn’t change, especially with extensions on the horizon for JJ, Darrisaw and possibly Hunter.

So as much as I like Cousins, especially in this offense, I can admit it’s probably time to move on.

Move on to what though? Remember their motto is "competitive rebuild". Unless the Vikings hit on a draft choice that can play right away (low chance IMO) they'll be spending money at QB if they want to be "competitive". Maybe Cousins, maybe someone else (I've seen Russel Wilson's name thrown around). KOCs team is built around the passing game, there's got to be a reliable QB there.

Competitive rebuild. Ugh.

Just got done reading an article in The Athletic about the Bears, who are in the middle of an actual rebuild. With almost no fanfare, that team has won 7 of its last 9 games. They’ve hit on one draft pick after another. Rookie second-round CB Tyrique Stevenson is the reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Week. Ryan Poles’ second-ever draft pick? Safety Jaquan Brisker (sorry … yet another Lewis Cine reference), taken in the second round in 2022. He’s turning into a really good player. Their free-agent signings have all panned out. Their trades — for DJ Moore and Montez Sweat — have been gold. They have plenty of cap space. And they have, as of this moment, the 1st and 10th picks in the upcoming draft. I’m frankly purple with envy.

Meanwhile, the Vikings have so many roster holes that it looks like it’s been shot up with a Tommy gun.

As much as a really bad season or two would suck, I wish the Wilfs would just let KAM rebuild for real.

Since that’s not going to happen, it’s looking like Russell Wilson might actually make the most sense financially. Denver is on the hook for the remainder of his contract, so he could be had on the cheap. Draft your future QB and let him learn behind Wilson. As much as I’d love to have him back, Kirk is gonna get a haul from someone.

It’s just hard to wrap my arms around the super-weird and diva Russell Wilson replacing a guy who has become a favorite for me. Kirk is really good, borderline great, and an absolute pillar in the locker room and the community. He’s just going to cost too much.

[CharVike]

The Lions keep getting better? They just got beat by the fading Cowboys. They will win the div and then get spanked. The Bears. they beat us by 2 points and we had nothing at QB. They don't even know if the QB they have is the next super star or a guy they need to dump. Green Bay has nothing on defense. The last game we played them the announcers where pointing out their D coordinator and how great he is doing this game. We had nothing at QB. That D gets pounded. Yes Love looked great against us. Easy to play against a depleted D. Paying one player will not hurt the roster. People seem to think FA is loaded with young super stars. It's the complete opposite. Look at the money Davenport is getting and his production. That's a star FA player. Same with this Reed OG. Our problem is a lack of drafting ability. Darrisaw isn't a great LT. If you watch he can't handle the better rushers one on one. JJ what has he done since Cousins hasn't played? If we keep swinging and missing in the draft we will never challenge for a SB. These stiffs Kewsi drafted his first year are still on the roster doing nothing. You can't run a team like that. Ingram is still worthless. At least when Cousins plays the games are watchable. If they move on I'm fine with it but I won't watch a bunch of stiffs struggle just to complete a pass.

You need to wake up and pay attention.

The Bears are ascending, and if you can’t see that, it’s because you don’t want to. They’ve scored at least 30 three times this year (we’ve done it once), they beat the Lions, they’re loaded with young talent, they have tons of cap space, and they’re in the best draft position of any team in the NFL.

The Packers are no joke with all those young cheap receivers. And while their defensive stats rank low, their backup corners just shut down JJ and Addison, even though you say it’s “easy to play against a depleted D.” Guess what. We didn’t.

As for the Lions, they’ve been building for awhile now. Say what you want, but they’re 11-5 and fighting for the 2 seed in the NFC. They’ve turned the Stafford haul into a bounty of good players AND made Goff into a pretty damn productive QB. If they get beat in the first round, it’ll be because their coach is a Neanderthal moron, not because their roster is substandard.

We are last in the North as far as roster construction is concerned.

I think Goff lead a team to the Super Bowl in the past. I would call that productive. We are last mainly because of injuries. I could be sleeping but that's what I feel the main problem is. We beat the 49ers and gave the Chiefs a battle. We can't do that now. The Bears are ascending. They had 3 wins last year and so far 7 this year. Your correct. If Fields becomes a top flight QB maybe they win 14 next year and march to the SB. I don't see that happening. If they pick the best QB Caleb they will be starting all over again. If they stick with the guy they have it's another roll of the dice. Plus he gets banged up every year. It adds up. Yes the Packers D shut us down. I watched it. Their D sucks IMO. Playing against Hall is easy. He is a 3rd sting guy who will never be a starter in the NFL unless injuries force it. The Pack let the Panthers score 30. That team was just shut out. They have no QB right now although he was picked number 1. Maybe next year for him or the year after or the ..... it goes on. Maybe the Lions go all the way. They will kick us this week if that proves anything. They needed to beat the Cowboys and walked away with a loss crying about a call. Hammer that team and the calls won't matter.

[CharVike]

The Lions keep getting better? They just got beat by the fading Cowboys.

One could argue they beat the Cowboys, but the refs took it away.

Regardless, Kapp's point is well-taken. The Lions, for all their faults, are a team ready to compete for something meaningful over the next few seasons. The same can't be said about the Vikings.

The Bears. they beat us by 2 points and we had nothing at QB. They don't even know if the QB they have is the next super star or a guy they need to dump.

The Bears will likely take the consensus #1 QB prospect of this decade with the first pick, or if they like Fields, they'll trade that pick for another draft haul that will give them so many future good quality swings in the draft it will be almost impossible for them to miss. As it stands the Bears are already stacking up young talent. My guess is they'll ship Fields if they can and draft Williams.

Green Bay has nothing on defense. The last game we played them the announcers where pointing out their D coordinator and how great he is doing this game.

They looked pretty good on defense the last few weeks, and Love pounded the defense with a cast of no-name receivers on the road. The Packers have serious question marks, sure, and I don't believe Love will become a franchise QB for them, but right now they look like a much more motivated and well-coached team than the Vikings under KOC have looked the last several weeks.

Our problem is a lack of drafting ability. Darrisaw isn't a great LT. If you watch he can't handle the better rushers one on one.

Darrisaw had a bad game against the Packers but generally he's played pretty well from what I've seen. He seemed to do fine, for example, against the 49ers defensive linemen and I think most would agree that is collectively a better group of pass rushers than what the Packers trotted out last Sunday.

These stiffs Kewsi drafted his first year are still on the roster doing nothing. You can't run a team like that. Ingram is still worthless.

KAM has had his misses but he's also had his hits. He's not doing anything exceptional in the draft so far and his early trade with the Lions his first time running the draft still boggles my mind, but it's hard to say yet that KAM has failed overall as the GM. Let's see how he does this offseason.

At least when Cousins plays the games are watchable. If they move on I'm fine with it but I won't watch a bunch of stiffs struggle just to complete a pass.

Totally agree on this point. The Vikings have struggled for a very long time to find a viable QB in the draft. The last QB they drafted of any note was probably Dante Culpepper. Since then, they've taken some swings, even in the first, and come up largely empty. That trend has continued with their mid-round misses with Mond and now Hall. Even if they resign Cousins, they have to have someone viable behind him, and IMHO none of the QBs currently on the roster are viable as potential starters. KAM is in a position where he's going to have to solve the QB problem this offseason, and it will be very interesting to see how he approaches that solution. I agree with you that I am not interested in watching more of the same with this team since Cousins went down. I doubt very much that someone like JJ will be interested in committing his prime playing years to a team without a viable starting QB. There are big decisions to be made, the team will sit in an unenviable position in the first round to help make those decisions via the draft, and the clock is ticking on the core veteran talent currently on the team.

You bring up some good points as always. This season has left a bad taste for everybody. I'm usually the most negative and I know we don't have the most talented team. But we aren't a team with a bunch of garbage and nothing in front of us. We needed to find the next QB when they signed Cousins to that 2 year extension. Here we are 2 years later and we still don't have it. I don't see this draft as being loaded with a bunch of QBs. The draft never is. The top guy don't impress me at all. Guys can be found later. But they better get a guy in here or Cousins will be here until he's 40. However throwing away draft picks for nothing (Mond, Hall) is not very wise. Your talking backups at best. You can get that with an undrafted guy. I actually like the guy the Giants might kick out Jones. I think he has all the tools to work with. He impressed me when he played against us. Yes that was easy but he still didn't miss the easy. I'm one of the few who is OK with Cousins. The guy is a pro and has played behind a crap OL since the day he got here. I give him credit for that. Others can't wait until he's gone. We are all seeing it now and it's ugly. We can't score and have little threat to score.