Quote: @StickyBun said:
Odenigbo isn't starting material, and neither is Hercules Mata'afa.....both board favorites. Wonnum might not be either, but I'd like to see him play with Pierce and Hunter on the line. Barr was out and Kendrick's was missed terribly when out. No pressure by the D line puts added pressure on a young secondary. It was a domino effect.
This is exactly it. I like Wonnum and think he could be the other starter, but only with Hunter and Pierce on the DL. The last few weeks we received a reality check when it comes to starters vs. backups....and it was BAD. There is no coach in the NFL who would have been able to slow teams down with the front 7 we had on the the field. No one...and that's not up for debate for the anti-Zimmers on this board. I dont want to see Jaleel, Watts, or Stephen on the field again unless it is an injury. Odenigbo is a solid backup/rotational guy but is nowhere near a starter.
Quote: @Hawkvike25 said:
@ StickyBun said:
Odenigbo isn't starting material, and neither is Hercules Mata'afa.....both board favorites. Wonnum might not be either, but I'd like to see him play with Pierce and Hunter on the line. Barr was out and Kendrick's was missed terribly when out. No pressure by the D line puts added pressure on a young secondary. It was a domino effect.
This is exactly it. I like Wonnum and think he could be the other starter, but only with Hunter and Pierce on the DL. The last few weeks we received a reality check when it comes to starters vs. backups....and it was BAD. There is no coach in the NFL who would have been able to slow teams down with the front 7 we had on the the field. No one...and that's not up for debate for the anti-Zimmers on this board. I dont want to see Jaleel, Watts, or Stephen on the field again unless it is an injury. Odenigbo is a solid backup/rotational guy but is nowhere near a starter.
I think the point for that that are currently anti Zimmer/Spielman is that these were their guys, its who they drafted, its who they kept on the roster, yes we have had a few injuries, but its fucking tackle football, you know there will be injuries and that you will need to likely rely on back ups at some point at most positions. yes there was covid, but every other team in the league dealt with the same shit. If Zimmers D requires players at such a high level that only the very best in the game can do it... then maybe its not a viable option for a game with a salary cap and high likelihood of injury, especially considering how much the rules of the game favor offensive performance over that of the defense.
IMO they need to find a balance and that wont be found with paying slightly above average guys (Barr, Cousins, and a few others) contracts that arent supported by their play. Cousins has shined at times, but in todays game there isnt room for a dominant OL as well as paying a QB like he is what makes the offense go, and Cousins is going to need a dominant OL to take this team to the next level, and of course still leave enough for a defense that force a few 3 and outs.
25. Minnesota Vikings: 6-9 (Last week: 17) Will Mike Zimmer be back in 2021? Every team has battled COVID-19 and injuries. Minnesota has done it poorly.
I'm not arguing that the defensive players we ended up starting weren't subpar. My argument is that many of these guys are here because Zimmer/Spielman chose to have them here or failed to develop enough talent to handle inevitable injuries.
They could have kept Griffen and realized Odenigbo was no more than a part-time player. Spielman could have made Ngakoue agree to a contract extension before trading for him. Zimmer could have made Mac Alexander happy to play here for the $4M he got from the Bengals. He could have done whatever the Colts have done to straighten out Xavier Rhodes, and maybe Spielman rework Rhodes' contract to keep him here for something like the $3M he got from Indy. What does this defense look like with those 4 (Griffen, Ngakoue, Rhodes, Alexander)?
It's not just bad luck hurting this team, it's an accumulation of bad decisions. Another aspect of that is this roster is paper thin because Spielman's asinine "strategy" of accumulating late-round picks is an utter failure that has produced no players capable of being competent starters (aside from Diggs).
The Ngakoue fiasco really exposed a confusion about this team's direction within management - rebuilding or contending? Signing Cousins to an extension seemed like "win now"; trading Diggs for picks seemed like at least mini-rebuild; acquiring Ngakoue seemed like "win now"; trading him and shopping other veterans was back to mini-rebuild. Is there a plan?
Zimmer and Spielman should both go and the Wilfs should find a new GM who can objectively decide whether to keep Cousins for 2 more years (before his full extension is guaranteed this spring) and pick a new head coach.
Quote: @JimmyinSD said:
@ Hawkvike25 said:
@ StickyBun said:
Odenigbo isn't starting material, and neither is Hercules Mata'afa.....both board favorites. Wonnum might not be either, but I'd like to see him play with Pierce and Hunter on the line. Barr was out and Kendrick's was missed terribly when out. No pressure by the D line puts added pressure on a young secondary. It was a domino effect.
This is exactly it. I like Wonnum and think he could be the other starter, but only with Hunter and Pierce on the DL. The last few weeks we received a reality check when it comes to starters vs. backups....and it was BAD. There is no coach in the NFL who would have been able to slow teams down with the front 7 we had on the the field. No one...and that's not up for debate for the anti-Zimmers on this board. I dont want to see Jaleel, Watts, or Stephen on the field again unless it is an injury. Odenigbo is a solid backup/rotational guy but is nowhere near a starter.
I think the point for that that are currently anti Zimmer/Spielman is that these were their guys, its who they drafted, its who they kept on the roster, yes we have had a few injuries, but its fucking tackle football, you know there will be injuries and that you will need to likely rely on back ups at some point at most positions. yes there was covid, but every other team in the league dealt with the same shit.
I'm with you, Jimmy. It really shouldn't matter that you're playing 3rd and 4th string players and undrafted rookies. Man up, bitches. You can't play like Danielle Hunter and Eric Kendricks, then fuck you. Go sell insurance.
Just for my own reference, since every team is dealing with the same injury/covid load, what are some good examples of teams that have lost 3 pro bowl starters on one side of the ball and are excelling. I'm a little out of the loop.
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