I think that loyalty pays off in the long run. When free agency rolls around a team with a history of taking care of its more productive players will have the advantage over a team like the Jets who just throw money at every free agent. Cousins is a good example, he could have taken more from the jets but his final decision came down to the organization and Im sure the fact that the vikings have a history of that loyalty had something to do with his decision.
Quote: @comet52 said:
Here's what Zimmer said about retaining his guys he loves so much on D :
“Days like today are really important to me because without the ownership and the way they help us to keep guys like Anthony and Shamar, it’s really, really important and dear to us,” coach Mike Zimmer said. “They’re both great people. That’s kind of the type of players we’re trying to get here: Great people, great players who want to learn and get better, [be] great people in the locker room and help each other get better. They’ll always be Vikings and they’ll always be Zim guys.”
http://www.startribune.com/with-initial-...507257132/
Ok, they have "good guys". A locker room full of good guys hasn't won a championship and chokes in the playoffs. So that's what ya got in Purple. Good guys. Hurray.
Not sure why he mentions Shamar when they dumped him last year to get Richardson.
That right there sends up the BS flag for me.
I get that he wants to keep his "pet" in Barr. I would not have paid 13 mil for Barr.
I would rather have spent the 8.5 mil on Jordan Hicks or try to sign Zach Brown who the Redskins released. That would have given them two 3rd round compensatory picks next year.
Oh well, Barr has a lot to live up to now.
I am guessing they are going to try and transition him to defensive end with that salary.
Quote: @MarkSP18 said:
@ comet52 said:
Here's what Zimmer said about retaining his guys he loves so much on D :
“Days like today are really important to me because without the ownership and the way they help us to keep guys like Anthony and Shamar, it’s really, really important and dear to us,” coach Mike Zimmer said. “They’re both great people. That’s kind of the type of players we’re trying to get here: Great people, great players who want to learn and get better, [be] great people in the locker room and help each other get better. They’ll always be Vikings and they’ll always be Zim guys.”
http://www.startribune.com/with-initial-...507257132/
Ok, they have "good guys". A locker room full of good guys hasn't won a championship and chokes in the playoffs. So that's what ya got in Purple. Good guys. Hurray.
I am guessing they are going to try and transition him to defensive end with that salary.
They may (though I would say put him on the line more, not full transition) - but all the more reason to let Griffen walk if he wouldn't take a huge cut.
Overloyal and in love with a few exceptions.
Quote: @Jor-El said:
I'm pretty tired of "loyalty" being touted as a reason fans should overlook this team's lack of playoff success - Zimmer, and a lot of fans, sometimes talk like Minnesotans are sending these guys off to fight in Kandahar. They're entertainers. Any player who ever made more than a million dollars in the NFL should be grateful.
The biggest puzzle and problem this week is Griffen. Why is he being given a base salary of $7.9M? We have better players on the D-line, a competent young replacement in Weatherly, a pipeline of young pass rushers, and (proclaimed loudly and constantly by every Zimmer/Patterson supporter) a coaching staff that's great at molding talent. But we need to give top-25 DE money to a 31-year-old who is coming off a mental breakdown?
Overpaying Griffen essentially ended free agency for the Vikings. He should have been offered a deal that would convert his remaining guaranteed $1.2M to a base salary, with incentives if he proves he is still a star. People laud the Vikings (Brzezinski Genius) when they craft contracts with low dead cap in later years and say we will have the opportunity to drop a player when he declines - but then we don't do it! An extra $6.7M in available cap right now would not exactly bring in a star, but it would let them have a shot at a competent lineman or #3 WR. Instead we have cap tied up with a guy who might be a training camp cut. Oh well, if we had the cap space, Zimmer would be signing Tom Johnson, George Iloka, and Sendejo, or getting Newman to un-retire.
This came up on the radio Friday: why does Zimmer, supposedly the best coach and scheme genius on the Vikings, have to keep all his defensive pieces at his disposal - but offensive coaches are supposed to turn garbage into gemstones? Kubiak and Stefanski must be far better coaches if they can accept having their present depth chart featuring one OG who was a 6th-rounder that couldn't push Remmers or Compton last year (Isadora) and the other an undrafted free agent coming off an injury that might convert from OT (Collins). That would be the equivalent of telling Zimmer he's going to have to start Ifeadi Odenigbo and Ade Aruna next fall - imagine the panic!
Just for reference, Nick Easton is getting $6M a year. You want Everson Griffen, who with his down year last year is averaging 10 sacks a season as a starter( 9.25 sacks per season over the last 2 seasons), to get 20% of what Easton got? There are 6 DEs that have gotten contracts so far in the offseason, none have made less than what you are proposing.
I know I'm going to get blasted for saying this, but character is more important than winning. How you do something is more important than what you accomplish. The ends do not justify the means. This goes for the players, the staff and the ownership.
Quote: @comet52 said:
Here's what Zimmer said about retaining his guys he loves so much on D :
“Days like today are really important to me because without the ownership and the way they help us to keep guys like Anthony and Shamar, it’s really, really important and dear to us,” coach Mike Zimmer said. “They’re both great people. That’s kind of the type of players we’re trying to get here: Great people, great players who want to learn and get better, [be] great people in the locker room and help each other get better. They’ll always be Vikings and they’ll always be Zim guys.”
http://www.startribune.com/with-initial-...507257132/
Ok, they have "good guys". A locker room full of good guys hasn't won a championship and chokes in the playoffs. So that's what ya got in Purple. Good guys. Hurray.
I was thinking the same thing. Nowhere in that statement does it say that they will help us win a Super Bowl.
Quote: @Max said:
I know I'm going to get blasted for saying this, but character is more important than winning. How you do something is more important than what you accomplish. The ends do not justify the means. This goes for the players, the staff and the ownership.
I'm not gong to blast you... but I will disagree. As much as I believe in the importance of character... the goal (at the professional level) is to win. Now, there are players who *might* be able to help you win some games- but they are just as likely to make you "better" by being off the team (OBJ, for example). Winning ISN'T the only thing... but it should be the goal; not making sure that you have a team full of choir boys.
There's absolutely no reason you can't do both.
Quote: @Jor-El said:
This came up on the radio Friday: why does Zimmer, supposedly the best coach and scheme genius on the Vikings, have to keep all his defensive pieces at his disposal - but offensive coaches are supposed to turn garbage into gemstones? Kubiak and Stefanski must be far better coaches if they can accept having their present depth chart featuring one OG who was a 6th-rounder that couldn't push Remmers or Compton last year (Isadora) and the other an undrafted free agent coming off an injury that might convert from OT (Collins). That would be the equivalent of telling Zimmer he's going to have to start Ifeadi Odenigbo and Ade Aruna next fall - imagine the panic!
I don't agree with your whole take... but I do completely agree with your last paragraph!
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