Quote: @JimmyinSD said:
@ Magnus10 said:
Griff came up huge in the NO playoff win. Will miss him. Hope Ifeadi is ready to take a big role. I am sure his agent has some good offers on the table. Interesting comment from the agent about us having to spend our money elsewhere. I get the Pierce signing to replace Linval, but did we need to make CJ the second highest paid fullback, pay 3M + for Colquitt, and now 4M+ for Bailey? Not denying Bailey had a very good year, but that seems like an awful lot of $$ tied up in a punter and kicker.
I think 3 for Colquitt is ok, he is a hell of a punter and really calmed Bailey down as a holder. Bailey... I dont see it at 4 for him. I will be banging the table for a kicker in the 6th now for sure. According to Spotrac we are around 21st for total ST expenditures. Bailey's CAP hit this year is 2.1 and Colquitt's 1.8. Worth every penny after the 10 years + of ST shit-shows. Very good signings IMO.
Quote: @comet52 said:
@ FSUVike said:
Fact: Alexander took Tier 3 money to play with another team. Fact: Diggs wanted out. Fact: Everson shut down negotiations with Minnesota before he even had a deal in place with another team. Fact: Kearse wanted out.
Those are facts. One can logically infer, without having any fucking agenda, that an unusually high rate of players didn't want to stay with the team. 3 of them were mid to lower round guys, the type of guys you would think would have some small measure of gratitude to the team that took a chance on them and developed them.
I'm well within my rights to wonder whether an aging coach, who is nowhere near the age he was when he coached Prime Time, that's a renowned hardass with a penchant for calling players out in the media, might be losing his touch with some of his younger players. It's been brought up here before by others, and that was before such an unusual exodus.
I think, like everything else, it's a combination of things. The Players and their Agents understand the cap situation. Several of them didn't like how Zimmer utilized them. Which can relate back to him not connecting as well, Potentially, with some of his younger players. Scheme changes also factor in.
But to accuse me of having an agenda, and I'd like to see the last post where I advocated for firing Mike, smacks of koolaid drinking homerism. Some real thin skinned folks here as Free Agency doesn't go the way you wanted and you're frankly overly protective of a team that has unquestionably regressed. A regression I'm actually for, in case you cared.
I tend to agree with you actually though I realize others don't. The hardass coach tends to engender a certain fan loyalty that transcends a factual analysis of his performance because "hey, tough guy!" He mostly cannot win big games and players I think must know this. I also think the noise about Diggs wanting out due to Cousins was just that - noise. To me Digg's departure was about Zimmer and to a lesser extent Zimmer's run heavy philosophy.
I observed over the years that Zimmer rarely praised Diggs and I think he resented the diva side of his personality. The rumor that when Diggs skipped practice, Zim got up in the room and said eff that guy just strikes me as over the top, useless behavior. Would he say that about one of his defensive pet pupils? I doubt it. Other players have to see him bagging on a guy whose contribution on the field was solid and wonder what it's about.
A guy missing a couple practices doesn't really warrant such an exaggerated reaction, though maybe it was just one of Zim's many mysterious and largely ineffective attempts at motivation, like stuffed animals in the locker room or something. And Mac Alexander taking peanuts to play for one of the worst franchises in football tells me something too and it's not something positive about the inner workings of the Vikings.
Well said - this is something I have not been able to put into words as you did: "The hardass coach tends to engender a certain fan loyalty". There is a certain element of fans (and posters here) who gave their love to Zimmer the moment during his hiring when they heard about his swearing criticism of Bobby Petrino. Hey, I agree with his sentiments about Petrino - but swearing and spitting doesn't make him a great coach.
He has the image of being loved by his players, but I suspect there is an inner circle populated by favorites like Smith and Barr, and no offensive player has ever been near the favored clique.
Quote: @Jor-El said:
@ comet52 said:
@ FSUVike said:
Fact: Alexander took Tier 3 money to play with another team. Fact: Diggs wanted out. Fact: Everson shut down negotiations with Minnesota before he even had a deal in place with another team. Fact: Kearse wanted out.
Those are facts. One can logically infer, without having any fucking agenda, that an unusually high rate of players didn't want to stay with the team. 3 of them were mid to lower round guys, the type of guys you would think would have some small measure of gratitude to the team that took a chance on them and developed them.
I'm well within my rights to wonder whether an aging coach, who is nowhere near the age he was when he coached Prime Time, that's a renowned hardass with a penchant for calling players out in the media, might be losing his touch with some of his younger players. It's been brought up here before by others, and that was before such an unusual exodus.
I think, like everything else, it's a combination of things. The Players and their Agents understand the cap situation. Several of them didn't like how Zimmer utilized them. Which can relate back to him not connecting as well, Potentially, with some of his younger players. Scheme changes also factor in.
But to accuse me of having an agenda, and I'd like to see the last post where I advocated for firing Mike, smacks of koolaid drinking homerism. Some real thin skinned folks here as Free Agency doesn't go the way you wanted and you're frankly overly protective of a team that has unquestionably regressed. A regression I'm actually for, in case you cared.
I tend to agree with you actually though I realize others don't. The hardass coach tends to engender a certain fan loyalty that transcends a factual analysis of his performance because "hey, tough guy!" He mostly cannot win big games and players I think must know this. I also think the noise about Diggs wanting out due to Cousins was just that - noise. To me Digg's departure was about Zimmer and to a lesser extent Zimmer's run heavy philosophy.
I observed over the years that Zimmer rarely praised Diggs and I think he resented the diva side of his personality. The rumor that when Diggs skipped practice, Zim got up in the room and said eff that guy just strikes me as over the top, useless behavior. Would he say that about one of his defensive pet pupils? I doubt it. Other players have to see him bagging on a guy whose contribution on the field was solid and wonder what it's about.
A guy missing a couple practices doesn't really warrant such an exaggerated reaction, though maybe it was just one of Zim's many mysterious and largely ineffective attempts at motivation, like stuffed animals in the locker room or something. And Mac Alexander taking peanuts to play for one of the worst franchises in football tells me something too and it's not something positive about the inner workings of the Vikings.
Well said - this is something I have not been able to put into words as you did: " The hardass coach tends to engender a certain fan loyalty". There is a certain element of fans (and posters here) who gave their love to Zimmer the moment during his hiring when they heard about his swearing criticism of Bobby Petrino. Hey, I agree with his sentiments about Petrino - but swearing and spitting doesn't make him a great coach.
He has the image of being loved by his players, but I suspect there is an inner circle populated by favorites like Smith and Barr, and no offensive player has ever been near the favored clique.
How quickly we forget that hardass Zimmer was crying at the podium while addressing the media after Teddy blew up his knee.
I think Zimmer has established a strong culture in Minnesota. He cares about his players... and part of that is being real with them when they need to do better. How dare him hold guys accountable...
As far as PA's tidbit about Diggs... when a guy doesn't show up to practice because he's being a bitch... well it isn't going to sit well with the head coach. I'm sure it didn't sit well with a bunch of players on the team either. These guys are putting their bodies on the line to play a game and the locker room is a brotherhood. If I guy is holding out to get a contract, no one gets involved... But when you have some guy skipping out because he wants to catch more passes and doesn't like his role in the offense? I bet you the leaders on the team like Rudy, Thielen, and Everson had a talk with him when he got back.
Quote: @minny65 said:
Everson was not a headcase for the Viking organization at all. Sure he had a mental breakdown a couple years ago that really affected his family, like all mental health issues, and he missed some games....stress the "game" part.
Other then that Everson has been a model team mate and one of the vocal leaders of the Defense. I think he was inspirational for many of the other players because he showed he can overcome adversity.
I am disgusted by your "headcase" comment. You sound like an Eagles fan (I live in Eagle country).
In fact, I find Everson's comments about moving on (not his choice being that we didn't have the funds) very classy. He said he will always be a Viking. I put him up there (close) with Brian Robison in terms of class and leadership.
I appreciate what Everson has done for the organization that I love. I wish him well physically and mentally as he moves onto another phase of life.
Skol, EG, Skol!! He's forever a Viking, and a damn good one too, Skol!
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