Quote: @Jor-El said:
@ FSUVike said:
I believe that 1 of 2 things happened: the FO was gearing up to go All In one more time when Diggs finally forced his way out and changed their plans to 'Soft Rebuild'. Or the Wilfs wanted Cousins extended to keep butts in seats while the team quietly went full Rebuild, which is a terrible strategy since Kirk is eating up a huge chunk of cap space that could have been used this offseason and the next two to add more high upside younger guys.
Next step will be extending Cook, not that he's any part of the rebuild, he puts butts in seats.
SI has an article about Minnesota straddling the line between contending and rebuilding. Daily Norseman has one called What is the Team Doing. And an excellent podcast by BJ Reidell and Drew Mahowald called What exactly are the Vikings doing. A franchise that hates dead cap space is currently carrying the 5th most in the NFL. The GM and HC are on the last year of their deals.
Theirs so much speculation for a reason. Some moves look like a team that thinks its window is still open. Others smack of rebuilding. It's schizophrenic.
I encourage all of you to check out that Reidell and Mahowald podcast. I've never listened to them before but they had a very reasoned, intelligent discussion about what Minnesota is trying to do that really encapsulated things for me.
But you're looking at it from a binary either/or perspective - that their strategy is either "rebuild" or "go for it completely". IMO they are in a middle ground of just maintaining competence. It's not "mediocrity" but it's "above-average-ocrity".
The extension of Cousins proves this is their plan. Cousins has not shown he is an elite QB but he has shown he will win the easier games and even put up stats that let the team claim they have a solid solution in place at that position. He stays healthy and he seems to get along well enough with Zimmer. What more do you want from a QB??
pocket awareness, mobility, ball security in the pocket, off the top of my head.
Quote: @Jor-El said:
@ FSUVike said:
I believe that 1 of 2 things happened: the FO was gearing up to go All In one more time when Diggs finally forced his way out and changed their plans to 'Soft Rebuild'. Or the Wilfs wanted Cousins extended to keep butts in seats while the team quietly went full Rebuild, which is a terrible strategy since Kirk is eating up a huge chunk of cap space that could have been used this offseason and the next two to add more high upside younger guys.
Next step will be extending Cook, not that he's any part of the rebuild, he puts butts in seats.
SI has an article about Minnesota straddling the line between contending and rebuilding. Daily Norseman has one called What is the Team Doing. And an excellent podcast by BJ Reidell and Drew Mahowald called What exactly are the Vikings doing. A franchise that hates dead cap space is currently carrying the 5th most in the NFL. The GM and HC are on the last year of their deals.
Theirs so much speculation for a reason. Some moves look like a team that thinks its window is still open. Others smack of rebuilding. It's schizophrenic.
I encourage all of you to check out that Reidell and Mahowald podcast. I've never listened to them before but they had a very reasoned, intelligent discussion about what Minnesota is trying to do that really encapsulated things for me.
But you're looking at it from a binary either/or perspective - that their strategy is either "rebuild" or "go for it completely". IMO they are in a middle ground of just maintaining competence. It's not "mediocrity" but it's "above-average-ocrity".
The extension of Cousins proves this is their plan. Cousins has not shown he is an elite QB but he has shown he will win the easier games and even put up stats that let the team claim they have a solid solution in place at that position. He stays healthy and he seems to get along well enough with Zimmer. What more do you want from a QB??
Binary is how I believe it should be, JL. You're either All In or flat out Rebuilding. Seattle has been Retooling since their last Super Bowl appearance and are stuck in the 1 & Done zone. With a significantly better QB. Their Defense still isn't back and their O-Line still isn't fixed and Russell is eat a big chunk of their cap. Rodgers isn't a whole better than Kirk any more and while they finally fixed their Defense the O-Line is starting to leak oil and they still lack weapons.
I don't have any problems with Cousins other than the cost. Like any Retooling team the Vikings won't have much $$ to look to FA for solutions which will put an inordinate amount of pressure on the Draft to produce to keep the Retooling on schedule. Kirk needs a 9ers-esque team around him to win it all but the Vikings don't have the ammunition to put one together unless they get 6-8 Starters out of the next 2 Drafts. Doable but still a tall order.
I would have gone for it by keeping Weatherly, Mac, Kline and Diggs (fine him until he shuts up and let him know he's getting traded next offseason if he STFU) and added a a piece or 2 in FA and get the rest from the Draft.
OR I would have committed 100% to the Rebuild, which means no stupid ass signings like Bret Jones or Abdullah. Load up on picks for 2021 and get your cost-controlled QB of the future.
In either scenario I would not have extended Cousins. Not because I don't like him or think he can't win it all. Because he costs too damn much to make either scenario work. So of course that's exactly what they did. Committed to the Middle Road. And I think Ownership were the ones that made that milquetoast decision, not Rick and Mike, cuz they want butts in seats more than a ring.
Quote: @Jor-El said:
@ FSUVike said:
I believe that 1 of 2 things happened: the FO was gearing up to go All In one more time when Diggs finally forced his way out and changed their plans to 'Soft Rebuild'. Or the Wilfs wanted Cousins extended to keep butts in seats while the team quietly went full Rebuild, which is a terrible strategy since Kirk is eating up a huge chunk of cap space that could have been used this offseason and the next two to add more high upside younger guys.
Next step will be extending Cook, not that he's any part of the rebuild, he puts butts in seats.
SI has an article about Minnesota straddling the line between contending and rebuilding. Daily Norseman has one called What is the Team Doing. And an excellent podcast by BJ Reidell and Drew Mahowald called What exactly are the Vikings doing. A franchise that hates dead cap space is currently carrying the 5th most in the NFL. The GM and HC are on the last year of their deals.
Theirs so much speculation for a reason. Some moves look like a team that thinks its window is still open. Others smack of rebuilding. It's schizophrenic.
I encourage all of you to check out that Reidell and Mahowald podcast. I've never listened to them before but they had a very reasoned, intelligent discussion about what Minnesota is trying to do that really encapsulated things for me.
But you're looking at it from a binary either/or perspective - that their strategy is either "rebuild" or "go for it completely". IMO they are in a middle ground of just maintaining competence. It's not "mediocrity" but it's "above-average-ocrity".
The extension of Cousins proves this is their plan. Cousins has not shown he is an elite QB but he has shown he will win the easier games and even put up stats that let the team claim they have a solid solution in place at that position. He stays healthy and he seems to get along well enough with Zimmer. What more do you want from a QB??
Damning them with faint praise eh? What more indeed. There are only a handful of elite franchise qb's in the league - Mahomes, Watson, Wilson and Brady and Brees who are close to the end. Then there's the 2nd tier, maybe twice as many guys, like Garroppolo, Goff, Tannehill, Kirk. Lamar Jackson could end up in the first category but for now I'm skeptical because of his accuracy issues at times.
Anyway, it just means that teams spend tons of money and time and effort trying to find the right guy for that position because it's so damned hard to accomplish. 5 elite guys means 27 teams wish they had one and have to make do with whatever they can find. Re-upping Cousins is pretty much a no brainer in light of that reality, otherwise you have to tear it all down and start over and assume that somehow you can identify a guy to draft who will be the franchise. Talk about a crapshoot. You might get Patrick Mahomes the 2nd, or you might get Ryan Tannehill. Or you might get Jamarcus Russell or Tim Couch.
I think your earlier post was spot-on. Why should Wilf demand a rebuild at this point? The money flows in, the stadium is full, the ratings are great. Once he put Rick in charge and finally let him can Les Frazier and hire Zimmer, the team has been around .600 win % overall since. Fans stay interested because they think the team could contend if only they did this or that got this or that guy, etc. However I don't think they can win a Lombardi because the coach has big game limitations that the .600 record kind of papers over, just like Jason Garrett whose win % was almost identical to Zim's. After 10 years the owner who loved him finally had to cut bait.
I'd say I expect Zim to be here 10 years too but this off-season is kinda weird. It almost looks like moves from two guys who are out the door if they don't win but I still think they are getting extended and it's all duckies and bunnies over at TCO. The money keeps flowing to Zygmunt, why rock his own boat when it's going so well?
Quote: @FSUVike said:
@ Jor-El said:
@ FSUVike said:
I believe that 1 of 2 things happened: the FO was gearing up to go All In one more time when Diggs finally forced his way out and changed their plans to 'Soft Rebuild'. Or the Wilfs wanted Cousins extended to keep butts in seats while the team quietly went full Rebuild, which is a terrible strategy since Kirk is eating up a huge chunk of cap space that could have been used this offseason and the next two to add more high upside younger guys.
Next step will be extending Cook, not that he's any part of the rebuild, he puts butts in seats.
SI has an article about Minnesota straddling the line between contending and rebuilding. Daily Norseman has one called What is the Team Doing. And an excellent podcast by BJ Reidell and Drew Mahowald called What exactly are the Vikings doing. A franchise that hates dead cap space is currently carrying the 5th most in the NFL. The GM and HC are on the last year of their deals.
Theirs so much speculation for a reason. Some moves look like a team that thinks its window is still open. Others smack of rebuilding. It's schizophrenic.
I encourage all of you to check out that Reidell and Mahowald podcast. I've never listened to them before but they had a very reasoned, intelligent discussion about what Minnesota is trying to do that really encapsulated things for me.
But you're looking at it from a binary either/or perspective - that their strategy is either "rebuild" or "go for it completely". IMO they are in a middle ground of just maintaining competence. It's not "mediocrity" but it's "above-average-ocrity".
The extension of Cousins proves this is their plan. Cousins has not shown he is an elite QB but he has shown he will win the easier games and even put up stats that let the team claim they have a solid solution in place at that position. He stays healthy and he seems to get along well enough with Zimmer. What more do you want from a QB??
Binary is how I believe it should be, JL. You're either All In or flat out Rebuilding. Seattle has been Retooling since their last Super Bowl appearance and are stuck in the 1 & Done zone. With a significantly better QB. Their Defense still isn't back and their O-Line still isn't fixed and Russell is eat a big chunk of their cap. Rodgers isn't a whole better than Kirk any more and while they finally fixed their Defense the O-Line is starting to leak oil and they still lack weapons.
I don't have any problems with Cousins other than the cost. Like any Retooling team the Vikings won't have much $$ to look to FA for solutions which will put an inordinate amount of pressure on the Draft to produce to keep the Retooling on schedule. Kirk needs a 9ers-esque team around him to win it all but the Vikings don't have the ammunition to put one together unless they get 6-8 Starters out of the next 2 Drafts. Doable but still a tall order.
I would have gone for it by keeping Weatherly, Mac, Kline and Diggs (fine him until he shuts up and let him know he's getting traded next offseason if he STFU) and added a a piece or 2 in FA and get the rest from the Draft.
OR I would have committed 100% to the Rebuild, which means no stupid ass signings like Bret Jones or Abdullah. Load up on picks for 2021 and get your cost-controlled QB of the future.
In either scenario I would not have extended Cousins. Not because I don't like him or think he can't win it all. Because he costs too damn much to make either scenario work. So of course that's exactly what they did. Committed to the Middle Road. And I think Ownership were the ones that made that milquetoast decision, not Rick and Mike, cuz they want butts in seats more than a ring.
I disagree on the Wilfs being behind this half assed approach. This IMO is Rick and Mike saying that the QB is more important to winning this year than the rest of those guys (since they cant afford them all. They were stuck with Cousins for this year anyway, and the only chance at putting any sort of team together to try and get themselves an extension of their own was to lower Cousins cap number through an extension for him. This half assed approach isnt about putting butts in seats by the Wilfs, its about Rick and Mike trying to save their own butts IMO.
Quote: @JimmyinSD said:
@ FSUVike said:
@ Jor-El said:
@ FSUVike said:
I believe that 1 of 2 things happened: the FO was gearing up to go All In one more time when Diggs finally forced his way out and changed their plans to 'Soft Rebuild'. Or the Wilfs wanted Cousins extended to keep butts in seats while the team quietly went full Rebuild, which is a terrible strategy since Kirk is eating up a huge chunk of cap space that could have been used this offseason and the next two to add more high upside younger guys.
Next step will be extending Cook, not that he's any part of the rebuild, he puts butts in seats.
SI has an article about Minnesota straddling the line between contending and rebuilding. Daily Norseman has one called What is the Team Doing. And an excellent podcast by BJ Reidell and Drew Mahowald called What exactly are the Vikings doing. A franchise that hates dead cap space is currently carrying the 5th most in the NFL. The GM and HC are on the last year of their deals.
Theirs so much speculation for a reason. Some moves look like a team that thinks its window is still open. Others smack of rebuilding. It's schizophrenic.
I encourage all of you to check out that Reidell and Mahowald podcast. I've never listened to them before but they had a very reasoned, intelligent discussion about what Minnesota is trying to do that really encapsulated things for me.
But you're looking at it from a binary either/or perspective - that their strategy is either "rebuild" or "go for it completely". IMO they are in a middle ground of just maintaining competence. It's not "mediocrity" but it's "above-average-ocrity".
The extension of Cousins proves this is their plan. Cousins has not shown he is an elite QB but he has shown he will win the easier games and even put up stats that let the team claim they have a solid solution in place at that position. He stays healthy and he seems to get along well enough with Zimmer. What more do you want from a QB??
Binary is how I believe it should be, JL. You're either All In or flat out Rebuilding. Seattle has been Retooling since their last Super Bowl appearance and are stuck in the 1 & Done zone. With a significantly better QB. Their Defense still isn't back and their O-Line still isn't fixed and Russell is eat a big chunk of their cap. Rodgers isn't a whole better than Kirk any more and while they finally fixed their Defense the O-Line is starting to leak oil and they still lack weapons.
I don't have any problems with Cousins other than the cost. Like any Retooling team the Vikings won't have much $$ to look to FA for solutions which will put an inordinate amount of pressure on the Draft to produce to keep the Retooling on schedule. Kirk needs a 9ers-esque team around him to win it all but the Vikings don't have the ammunition to put one together unless they get 6-8 Starters out of the next 2 Drafts. Doable but still a tall order.
I would have gone for it by keeping Weatherly, Mac, Kline and Diggs (fine him until he shuts up and let him know he's getting traded next offseason if he STFU) and added a a piece or 2 in FA and get the rest from the Draft.
OR I would have committed 100% to the Rebuild, which means no stupid ass signings like Bret Jones or Abdullah. Load up on picks for 2021 and get your cost-controlled QB of the future.
In either scenario I would not have extended Cousins. Not because I don't like him or think he can't win it all. Because he costs too damn much to make either scenario work. So of course that's exactly what they did. Committed to the Middle Road. And I think Ownership were the ones that made that milquetoast decision, not Rick and Mike, cuz they want butts in seats more than a ring.
I disagree on the Wilfs being behind this half assed approach. This IMO is Rick and Mike saying that the QB is more important to winning this year than the rest of those guys (since they cant afford them all. They were stuck with Cousins for this year anyway, and the only chance at putting any sort of team together to try and get themselves an extension of their own was to lower Cousins cap number through an extension for him. This half assed approach isnt about putting butts in seats by the Wilfs, its about Rick and Mike trying to save their own butts IMO.
That doesn't make any sense. They extended Kirk to lower his cap hit this year so they could what, sign a Tier 3 FA Wide Receiver, retain the backup to the backup Center and keep the entire Special Teams Unit together?
The same 2 guys that constructed a team that made the NFCCG and just knocked off the allegedly greatest #3 seed ever came up with this plan? There's no logical argument that can be made that this year's team will be better than last year's team. Unless you truly, homerically believe they will find a starting 3T, WR, Guard, a rotational DE, another CB and Safety depth all in one Draft.
Rick and Mike were ordered to do this. If not, they should be fired. Cuz if this is the plan to keep their jobs they've lost their ever luvin minds.
Quote: @FSUVike said:
@ JimmyinSD said:
@ FSUVike said:
@ Jor-El said:
@ FSUVike said:
I believe that 1 of 2 things happened: the FO was gearing up to go All In one more time when Diggs finally forced his way out and changed their plans to 'Soft Rebuild'. Or the Wilfs wanted Cousins extended to keep butts in seats while the team quietly went full Rebuild, which is a terrible strategy since Kirk is eating up a huge chunk of cap space that could have been used this offseason and the next two to add more high upside younger guys.
Next step will be extending Cook, not that he's any part of the rebuild, he puts butts in seats.
SI has an article about Minnesota straddling the line between contending and rebuilding. Daily Norseman has one called What is the Team Doing. And an excellent podcast by BJ Reidell and Drew Mahowald called What exactly are the Vikings doing. A franchise that hates dead cap space is currently carrying the 5th most in the NFL. The GM and HC are on the last year of their deals.
Theirs so much speculation for a reason. Some moves look like a team that thinks its window is still open. Others smack of rebuilding. It's schizophrenic.
I encourage all of you to check out that Reidell and Mahowald podcast. I've never listened to them before but they had a very reasoned, intelligent discussion about what Minnesota is trying to do that really encapsulated things for me.
But you're looking at it from a binary either/or perspective - that their strategy is either "rebuild" or "go for it completely". IMO they are in a middle ground of just maintaining competence. It's not "mediocrity" but it's "above-average-ocrity".
The extension of Cousins proves this is their plan. Cousins has not shown he is an elite QB but he has shown he will win the easier games and even put up stats that let the team claim they have a solid solution in place at that position. He stays healthy and he seems to get along well enough with Zimmer. What more do you want from a QB??
Binary is how I believe it should be, JL. You're either All In or flat out Rebuilding. Seattle has been Retooling since their last Super Bowl appearance and are stuck in the 1 & Done zone. With a significantly better QB. Their Defense still isn't back and their O-Line still isn't fixed and Russell is eat a big chunk of their cap. Rodgers isn't a whole better than Kirk any more and while they finally fixed their Defense the O-Line is starting to leak oil and they still lack weapons.
I don't have any problems with Cousins other than the cost. Like any Retooling team the Vikings won't have much $$ to look to FA for solutions which will put an inordinate amount of pressure on the Draft to produce to keep the Retooling on schedule. Kirk needs a 9ers-esque team around him to win it all but the Vikings don't have the ammunition to put one together unless they get 6-8 Starters out of the next 2 Drafts. Doable but still a tall order.
I would have gone for it by keeping Weatherly, Mac, Kline and Diggs (fine him until he shuts up and let him know he's getting traded next offseason if he STFU) and added a a piece or 2 in FA and get the rest from the Draft.
OR I would have committed 100% to the Rebuild, which means no stupid ass signings like Bret Jones or Abdullah. Load up on picks for 2021 and get your cost-controlled QB of the future.
In either scenario I would not have extended Cousins. Not because I don't like him or think he can't win it all. Because he costs too damn much to make either scenario work. So of course that's exactly what they did. Committed to the Middle Road. And I think Ownership were the ones that made that milquetoast decision, not Rick and Mike, cuz they want butts in seats more than a ring.
I disagree on the Wilfs being behind this half assed approach. This IMO is Rick and Mike saying that the QB is more important to winning this year than the rest of those guys (since they cant afford them all. They were stuck with Cousins for this year anyway, and the only chance at putting any sort of team together to try and get themselves an extension of their own was to lower Cousins cap number through an extension for him. This half assed approach isnt about putting butts in seats by the Wilfs, its about Rick and Mike trying to save their own butts IMO.
That doesn't make any sense. They extended Kirk to lower his cap hit this year so they could what, sign a Tier 3 FA Wide Receiver, retain the backup to the backup Center and keep the entire Special Teams Unit together?
The same 2 guys that constructed a team that made the NFCCG and just knocked off the allegedly greatest #3 seed ever came up with this plan? There's no logical argument that can be made that this year's team will be better than last year's team. Unless you truly, homerically believe they will find a starting 3T, WR, Guard, a rotational DE, another CB and Safety depth all in one Draft.
Rick and Mike were ordered to do this. If not, they should be fired. Cuz if this is the plan to keep their jobs they've lost their ever luvin minds.
they had to make moves to get under the cap, remember they had to cut quite a bit just to be able to afford this years draft class as well as filling some roster holes with cheap free agents, that is why they were forced to rework cousins deal to lower his cap number this year... they couldnt cut him to create space so since they are stuck with him they did what they had to do to fill the roster and that was the reworked deal.
Quote: @JimmyinSD said:
@ FSUVike said:
@ JimmyinSD said:
@ FSUVike said:
@ Jor-El said:
@ FSUVike said:
I believe that 1 of 2 things happened: the FO was gearing up to go All In one more time when Diggs finally forced his way out and changed their plans to 'Soft Rebuild'. Or the Wilfs wanted Cousins extended to keep butts in seats while the team quietly went full Rebuild, which is a terrible strategy since Kirk is eating up a huge chunk of cap space that could have been used this offseason and the next two to add more high upside younger guys.
Next step will be extending Cook, not that he's any part of the rebuild, he puts butts in seats.
SI has an article about Minnesota straddling the line between contending and rebuilding. Daily Norseman has one called What is the Team Doing. And an excellent podcast by BJ Reidell and Drew Mahowald called What exactly are the Vikings doing. A franchise that hates dead cap space is currently carrying the 5th most in the NFL. The GM and HC are on the last year of their deals.
Theirs so much speculation for a reason. Some moves look like a team that thinks its window is still open. Others smack of rebuilding. It's schizophrenic.
I encourage all of you to check out that Reidell and Mahowald podcast. I've never listened to them before but they had a very reasoned, intelligent discussion about what Minnesota is trying to do that really encapsulated things for me.
But you're looking at it from a binary either/or perspective - that their strategy is either "rebuild" or "go for it completely". IMO they are in a middle ground of just maintaining competence. It's not "mediocrity" but it's "above-average-ocrity".
The extension of Cousins proves this is their plan. Cousins has not shown he is an elite QB but he has shown he will win the easier games and even put up stats that let the team claim they have a solid solution in place at that position. He stays healthy and he seems to get along well enough with Zimmer. What more do you want from a QB??
Binary is how I believe it should be, JL. You're either All In or flat out Rebuilding. Seattle has been Retooling since their last Super Bowl appearance and are stuck in the 1 & Done zone. With a significantly better QB. Their Defense still isn't back and their O-Line still isn't fixed and Russell is eat a big chunk of their cap. Rodgers isn't a whole better than Kirk any more and while they finally fixed their Defense the O-Line is starting to leak oil and they still lack weapons.
I don't have any problems with Cousins other than the cost. Like any Retooling team the Vikings won't have much $$ to look to FA for solutions which will put an inordinate amount of pressure on the Draft to produce to keep the Retooling on schedule. Kirk needs a 9ers-esque team around him to win it all but the Vikings don't have the ammunition to put one together unless they get 6-8 Starters out of the next 2 Drafts. Doable but still a tall order.
I would have gone for it by keeping Weatherly, Mac, Kline and Diggs (fine him until he shuts up and let him know he's getting traded next offseason if he STFU) and added a a piece or 2 in FA and get the rest from the Draft.
OR I would have committed 100% to the Rebuild, which means no stupid ass signings like Bret Jones or Abdullah. Load up on picks for 2021 and get your cost-controlled QB of the future.
In either scenario I would not have extended Cousins. Not because I don't like him or think he can't win it all. Because he costs too damn much to make either scenario work. So of course that's exactly what they did. Committed to the Middle Road. And I think Ownership were the ones that made that milquetoast decision, not Rick and Mike, cuz they want butts in seats more than a ring.
I disagree on the Wilfs being behind this half assed approach. This IMO is Rick and Mike saying that the QB is more important to winning this year than the rest of those guys (since they cant afford them all. They were stuck with Cousins for this year anyway, and the only chance at putting any sort of team together to try and get themselves an extension of their own was to lower Cousins cap number through an extension for him. This half assed approach isnt about putting butts in seats by the Wilfs, its about Rick and Mike trying to save their own butts IMO.
That doesn't make any sense. They extended Kirk to lower his cap hit this year so they could what, sign a Tier 3 FA Wide Receiver, retain the backup to the backup Center and keep the entire Special Teams Unit together?
The same 2 guys that constructed a team that made the NFCCG and just knocked off the allegedly greatest #3 seed ever came up with this plan? There's no logical argument that can be made that this year's team will be better than last year's team. Unless you truly, homerically believe they will find a starting 3T, WR, Guard, a rotational DE, another CB and Safety depth all in one Draft.
Rick and Mike were ordered to do this. If not, they should be fired. Cuz if this is the plan to keep their jobs they've lost their ever luvin minds.
they had to make moves to get under the cap, remember they had to cut quite a bit just to be able to afford this years draft class as well as filling some roster holes with cheap free agents, that is why they were forced to rework cousins deal to lower his cap number this year... they couldnt cut him to create space so since they are stuck with him they did what they had to do to fill the roster and that was the reworked deal.
Ugh, that's horrible Roster Management. Maybe Maroon was right that Rick never planned on keeping Barr until he approached them and Zimmer just couldn't let him go Brokeback Mountain style.
Here's my prediction and I think you know I'm not a Pollyanna: come September, this fanbase is going to be excited again. Long way to go.
Quote: @FSUVike said:
@ JimmyinSD said:
@ FSUVike said:
@ JimmyinSD said:
@ FSUVike said:
@ Jor-El said:
@ FSUVike said:
I believe that 1 of 2 things happened: the FO was gearing up to go All In one more time when Diggs finally forced his way out and changed their plans to 'Soft Rebuild'. Or the Wilfs wanted Cousins extended to keep butts in seats while the team quietly went full Rebuild, which is a terrible strategy since Kirk is eating up a huge chunk of cap space that could have been used this offseason and the next two to add more high upside younger guys.
Next step will be extending Cook, not that he's any part of the rebuild, he puts butts in seats.
SI has an article about Minnesota straddling the line between contending and rebuilding. Daily Norseman has one called What is the Team Doing. And an excellent podcast by BJ Reidell and Drew Mahowald called What exactly are the Vikings doing. A franchise that hates dead cap space is currently carrying the 5th most in the NFL. The GM and HC are on the last year of their deals.
Theirs so much speculation for a reason. Some moves look like a team that thinks its window is still open. Others smack of rebuilding. It's schizophrenic.
I encourage all of you to check out that Reidell and Mahowald podcast. I've never listened to them before but they had a very reasoned, intelligent discussion about what Minnesota is trying to do that really encapsulated things for me.
But you're looking at it from a binary either/or perspective - that their strategy is either "rebuild" or "go for it completely". IMO they are in a middle ground of just maintaining competence. It's not "mediocrity" but it's "above-average-ocrity".
The extension of Cousins proves this is their plan. Cousins has not shown he is an elite QB but he has shown he will win the easier games and even put up stats that let the team claim they have a solid solution in place at that position. He stays healthy and he seems to get along well enough with Zimmer. What more do you want from a QB??
Binary is how I believe it should be, JL. You're either All In or flat out Rebuilding. Seattle has been Retooling since their last Super Bowl appearance and are stuck in the 1 & Done zone. With a significantly better QB. Their Defense still isn't back and their O-Line still isn't fixed and Russell is eat a big chunk of their cap. Rodgers isn't a whole better than Kirk any more and while they finally fixed their Defense the O-Line is starting to leak oil and they still lack weapons.
I don't have any problems with Cousins other than the cost. Like any Retooling team the Vikings won't have much $$ to look to FA for solutions which will put an inordinate amount of pressure on the Draft to produce to keep the Retooling on schedule. Kirk needs a 9ers-esque team around him to win it all but the Vikings don't have the ammunition to put one together unless they get 6-8 Starters out of the next 2 Drafts. Doable but still a tall order.
I would have gone for it by keeping Weatherly, Mac, Kline and Diggs (fine him until he shuts up and let him know he's getting traded next offseason if he STFU) and added a a piece or 2 in FA and get the rest from the Draft.
OR I would have committed 100% to the Rebuild, which means no stupid ass signings like Bret Jones or Abdullah. Load up on picks for 2021 and get your cost-controlled QB of the future.
In either scenario I would not have extended Cousins. Not because I don't like him or think he can't win it all. Because he costs too damn much to make either scenario work. So of course that's exactly what they did. Committed to the Middle Road. And I think Ownership were the ones that made that milquetoast decision, not Rick and Mike, cuz they want butts in seats more than a ring.
I disagree on the Wilfs being behind this half assed approach. This IMO is Rick and Mike saying that the QB is more important to winning this year than the rest of those guys (since they cant afford them all. They were stuck with Cousins for this year anyway, and the only chance at putting any sort of team together to try and get themselves an extension of their own was to lower Cousins cap number through an extension for him. This half assed approach isnt about putting butts in seats by the Wilfs, its about Rick and Mike trying to save their own butts IMO.
That doesn't make any sense. They extended Kirk to lower his cap hit this year so they could what, sign a Tier 3 FA Wide Receiver, retain the backup to the backup Center and keep the entire Special Teams Unit together?
The same 2 guys that constructed a team that made the NFCCG and just knocked off the allegedly greatest #3 seed ever came up with this plan? There's no logical argument that can be made that this year's team will be better than last year's team. Unless you truly, homerically believe they will find a starting 3T, WR, Guard, a rotational DE, another CB and Safety depth all in one Draft.
Rick and Mike were ordered to do this. If not, they should be fired. Cuz if this is the plan to keep their jobs they've lost their ever luvin minds.
they had to make moves to get under the cap, remember they had to cut quite a bit just to be able to afford this years draft class as well as filling some roster holes with cheap free agents, that is why they were forced to rework cousins deal to lower his cap number this year... they couldnt cut him to create space so since they are stuck with him they did what they had to do to fill the roster and that was the reworked deal.
Ugh, that's horrible Roster Management. Maybe Maroon was right that Rick never planned on keeping Barr until he approached them and Zimmer just couldn't let him go Brokeback Mountain style.
it all started with a fully guaranteed contract and a no trade clause 2 years ago. we were told at that time by many that they would still be able to keep the guys and with the cap escalations predicted that it wouldnt be a problem down the road.... well? hell he took a pay cut (kind of) for this year and we are still in cap shit.
Quote: @FSUVike said:
@ JimmyinSD said:
@ FSUVike said:
@ JimmyinSD said:
@ FSUVike said:
@ Jor-El said:
@ FSUVike said:
I believe that 1 of 2 things happened: the FO was gearing up to go All In one more time when Diggs finally forced his way out and changed their plans to 'Soft Rebuild'. Or the Wilfs wanted Cousins extended to keep butts in seats while the team quietly went full Rebuild, which is a terrible strategy since Kirk is eating up a huge chunk of cap space that could have been used this offseason and the next two to add more high upside younger guys.
Next step will be extending Cook, not that he's any part of the rebuild, he puts butts in seats.
SI has an article about Minnesota straddling the line between contending and rebuilding. Daily Norseman has one called What is the Team Doing. And an excellent podcast by BJ Reidell and Drew Mahowald called What exactly are the Vikings doing. A franchise that hates dead cap space is currently carrying the 5th most in the NFL. The GM and HC are on the last year of their deals.
Theirs so much speculation for a reason. Some moves look like a team that thinks its window is still open. Others smack of rebuilding. It's schizophrenic.
I encourage all of you to check out that Reidell and Mahowald podcast. I've never listened to them before but they had a very reasoned, intelligent discussion about what Minnesota is trying to do that really encapsulated things for me.
But you're looking at it from a binary either/or perspective - that their strategy is either "rebuild" or "go for it completely". IMO they are in a middle ground of just maintaining competence. It's not "mediocrity" but it's "above-average-ocrity".
The extension of Cousins proves this is their plan. Cousins has not shown he is an elite QB but he has shown he will win the easier games and even put up stats that let the team claim they have a solid solution in place at that position. He stays healthy and he seems to get along well enough with Zimmer. What more do you want from a QB??
Binary is how I believe it should be, JL. You're either All In or flat out Rebuilding. Seattle has been Retooling since their last Super Bowl appearance and are stuck in the 1 & Done zone. With a significantly better QB. Their Defense still isn't back and their O-Line still isn't fixed and Russell is eat a big chunk of their cap. Rodgers isn't a whole better than Kirk any more and while they finally fixed their Defense the O-Line is starting to leak oil and they still lack weapons.
I don't have any problems with Cousins other than the cost. Like any Retooling team the Vikings won't have much $$ to look to FA for solutions which will put an inordinate amount of pressure on the Draft to produce to keep the Retooling on schedule. Kirk needs a 9ers-esque team around him to win it all but the Vikings don't have the ammunition to put one together unless they get 6-8 Starters out of the next 2 Drafts. Doable but still a tall order.
I would have gone for it by keeping Weatherly, Mac, Kline and Diggs (fine him until he shuts up and let him know he's getting traded next offseason if he STFU) and added a a piece or 2 in FA and get the rest from the Draft.
OR I would have committed 100% to the Rebuild, which means no stupid ass signings like Bret Jones or Abdullah. Load up on picks for 2021 and get your cost-controlled QB of the future.
In either scenario I would not have extended Cousins. Not because I don't like him or think he can't win it all. Because he costs too damn much to make either scenario work. So of course that's exactly what they did. Committed to the Middle Road. And I think Ownership were the ones that made that milquetoast decision, not Rick and Mike, cuz they want butts in seats more than a ring.
I disagree on the Wilfs being behind this half assed approach. This IMO is Rick and Mike saying that the QB is more important to winning this year than the rest of those guys (since they cant afford them all. They were stuck with Cousins for this year anyway, and the only chance at putting any sort of team together to try and get themselves an extension of their own was to lower Cousins cap number through an extension for him. This half assed approach isnt about putting butts in seats by the Wilfs, its about Rick and Mike trying to save their own butts IMO.
That doesn't make any sense. They extended Kirk to lower his cap hit this year so they could what, sign a Tier 3 FA Wide Receiver, retain the backup to the backup Center and keep the entire Special Teams Unit together?
The same 2 guys that constructed a team that made the NFCCG and just knocked off the allegedly greatest #3 seed ever came up with this plan? There's no logical argument that can be made that this year's team will be better than last year's team. Unless you truly, homerically believe they will find a starting 3T, WR, Guard, a rotational DE, another CB and Safety depth all in one Draft.
Rick and Mike were ordered to do this. If not, they should be fired. Cuz if this is the plan to keep their jobs they've lost their ever luvin minds.
they had to make moves to get under the cap, remember they had to cut quite a bit just to be able to afford this years draft class as well as filling some roster holes with cheap free agents, that is why they were forced to rework cousins deal to lower his cap number this year... they couldnt cut him to create space so since they are stuck with him they did what they had to do to fill the roster and that was the reworked deal.
Ugh, that's horrible Roster Management. Maybe Maroon was right that Rick never planned on keeping Barr until he approached them and Zimmer just couldn't let him go Brokeback Mountain style.
How it went down, don't know. But they made the conscious decision bringing back Barr that it was going to make for a very painful cap situation this year. So there is some truth to this.
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