Vikings Message Board.Com

Thielen has done everything asked of him and he is great Viking IMO.

I hope he proves some people wrong, and stays on the Vikings roster. He has a good attitude
and wants to work. I wish some other Vikings had the same attitude. If Thielen does not make the
team, I wish him success in whatever comes next.

My opinion might change if I actually heard the soundbite, but based on what I read that doesn't sound like much more than PA's guess.

I can't see Patterson being dumped for Theilen...

Yes it's early. And yes it's preseason. But I'm starting to be a little concerned about Mike Wallace. It's a given that the guy is overpaid, right, but at the moment, he's looking more like, well, "he who shall not be named - wide receiver version" to me.

I am just not that enamored of guys whose #1 attribute is speed. It doesn't seem to be a recipe for consistent success. [Like I'm not thrilled about the Trae Waynes pick - still too early, but it wouldn't have been the direction I would have gone.] My understanding is that Mike's hands are a tad suspect too. He seems like a decent #2 guy (from what he's done in Miami the last couple years) in that he'll probably get 50 catches for 700 yards and 6 Td's or so, but I'm not sure Jarius Wright couldn't have that kind of production if he was targeted the same number of times. I have heard that he's a good teammate, that he's working with the younger guys in a way that Greg Jennings didn't, so that's a plus in his favor.

Patterson is clearly not going to be involved in the "standard" passing game if he's causing interceptions by running bad routes (and however you want to describe the Chicago game interception last year) - it's just not worth the risk. Maybe they cut his route tree in 1/3, and hope teams don't notice for a few weeks, because then they'll know his tendencies. It seemed like at the end of last season, the coaches had more trust in Thielen, and maybe that was why.

I'll be interested to see if Thielen holds off Diggs for the WR4 playing time throughout the season, or whether Stephon picks up the routes quickly enough to get onto the field without hurting us.

And then injuries could throw the whole thing into a blender, like it did for the Packers.

Right now, I'd say we're at Johnson/Wallace/Wright/Thielen/Patterson/Diggs, but I wouldn't be shocked if in week 16 that Wallace and Wright were flipped, and maybe Diggs works his way up to #4.

John_Viveiros wrote:I have heard that he's a good teammate, that he's working with the younger guys in a way that Greg Jennings didn't, so that's a plus in his favor.

Didn't Jennings play a mentor role to the younger receivers, especially Patterson?

I'm with you on worrying about Wallace but I think it's because we've been burned before by the "field stretcher" type receiver. This isn't the first time we've heard, "With Adrian keeping 9 in the box, Mr. X is going to be wide open all day!"

But even if I am (admittedly prematurely) worried, Wallace does have the skillset to be very productive in this offense. Lets hope we finally have that deep threat receiver for once, and not just another guy with speed who turns out to be of little threat at all.

S197 wrote:

Didn't Jennings play a mentor role to the younger receivers, especially Patterson?

I'm with you on worrying about Wallace but I think it's because we've been burned before by the "field stretcher" type receiver. This isn't the first time we've heard, "With Adrian keeping 9 in the box, Mr. X is going to be wide open all day!"

But even if I am (admittedly prematurely) worried, Wallace does have the skillset to be very productive in this offense. Lets hope we finally have that deep threat receiver for once, and not just another guy with speed who turns out to be of little threat at all.

I don't think he's just a deep threat too. I think he'll be dangerous all over the field. His highlight reel shows he can break it from anywhere. Im a little concerned as well but I won't start worrying until week 4 or 5.

808vikingsfan wrote:I don't think he's just a deep threat too. I think he'll be dangerous all over the field. His highlight reel shows he can break it from anywhere. Im a little concerned as well but I won't start worrying until week 4 or 5.

Yes, I feel the same way. Actually, I believe we'll see a lot of catch and run with all the WRs. That's one of the reasons why Zimmer and Turner have stocked the WR corps with fast guys. It's not just for the deep ball.

S197 wrote:

Didn't Jennings play a mentor role to the younger receivers, especially Patterson?

I read somewhere (on the internet, so it has to be true) that Jennings was a little too quiet for the role of mentor. And if we are going to judge his mentoring ability on how Patterson has turned out, well...

losperros wrote: Yes, I feel the same way. Actually, I believe we'll see a lot of catch and run with all the WRs. That's one of the reasons why Zimmer and Turner have stocked the WR corps with fast guys. It's not just for the deep ball.

To be a truly great deep threat, a receiver needs to be able to also threaten the CB's with slants and the 12 yard out patterns. Otherwise, the DB just turns and sprints to the end zone.

I really want Teddy to start getting Wallace involved in those routes, which will open up the deep stuff. But it hasn't come close to happening in a game yet, right? Yes, it's early, but we're at about one game of tape for Teddy, and there has been nothing to show. Maybe they'll target Wallace a lot more in this next preseason game. We'll know soon enough (say, after week 3) if things aren't working out too well.

With TE's and wide outs I think we keep ten, at least...

I could see 4 Te's and six WR's making the team

jackal wrote:With TE's and wide outs I think we keep ten, at least...

I could see 4 Te's and six WR's making the team

So do I. That's especially true with the six WRs.

There is Wallace, Johnson and Wright. After that there are three talented backups who also happen to be quality special teams players.

I really like the team's WR depth this year. Why trim it down?

jackal wrote:With TE's and wide outs I think we keep ten, at least...

I could see 4 Te's and six WR's making the team

At least 10? I would like to keep the 6 receivers and 4 TEs, but I don't see how we could possibly keep more than 10.

At least 10? I would like to keep the 6 receivers and 4 TEs, but I don't see how we could possibly keep more than 10.

No FB only two RB's even though I think Asiata makes it as well.

Cutting back on LB or secondary (zimmer loves his sceondary..doubt that ever happens)

At least 10? I would like to keep the 6 receivers and 4 TEs, but I don't see how we could possibly keep more than 10.

I hope they don't even keep 10, the team would be better off.
Thielen, Patterson, Ellison, Ford.
Better players will be trimmed from other teams rosters.