Quote: @purplefaithful said:
What is there to buy into or not?
We've said it most of the season - enjoy the ride but this is not a roster that is going to make a deep playoff run.
Which begs the question, was it all worth it for this season? We held on to a lot of big contracts, held on to Cousins, and we are now going into next season once again with salary cap issues, quarterback of the future questions, roster holes and limited draft capital. I was a proponent of this being a long-term fix and we should tear things down under a new regime, move Cousins, and acquire draft capital for players like Kendricks. It was the sensible move to make but I knew it would never happen under the Wilfs who always believe we are contenders and a couple players away. So now we go into next season with all these questions while the Lions go into next season with salary cap, really good young players and multiple draft picks (including two picks in the top 20) to continue rebuilding that roster.
The Vikings are not in a good situation, but hey, we are making the playoffs this season and will almost assuredly be bounced early in the playoffs. Fun, but to me not worth the future issues this season will bring.
https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/cap/2023/
Vikings are currently 26th in salary cap space at 7 million over the cap for next season. Bears have the most money to spend while the Lions have the 10th most money to spend in free agency.
So was the juice worth the squeeze going all in on 2022?
Quote: @purplefaithful said:
What is there to buy into or not?
We've said it most of the season - enjoy the ride but this is not a roster that is going to make a deep playoff run.
I look at it as a year of extremes and I dont know when I've experienced something quite like it -- in all my years of fandom. Maybe 2001/2002 teams would be close.
I mean coming back @ Buffalo and vs Colts? That s hit doesn't happen often (if at all) let alone twice in a season. I guess thats the flip side to these really fugly losses.
Peel back the #'s and the reality is that I read the Vikings are 4-4 against contending teams this season.
Regardless of these drubbings, they are a top 5 team in NFC. Now KOC/KAM will have a whole year to tinker and find ways to improve.
There have been some all year talking about this team improving as the season goes on and making some noise in the playoffs. The saying " just have to get in" or " be playing our best football in December " or other things to suggest they felt the team had potential to compete in the postseason, some of us have been thinking the that was not likely, not that the playoffs weren't in the cards, just that this team would not be good enough to make any noise.
They've been fun to watch most weeks, but they have been more lucky than good IMO.
Quote: @supafreak84 said:
@ purplefaithful said:
What is there to buy into or not?
We've said it most of the season - enjoy the ride but this is not a roster that is going to make a deep playoff run.
Which begs the question, was it all worth it for this season? We held on to a lot of big contracts, held on to Cousins, and we are now going into next season once again with salary cap issues, quarterback of the future questions, roster holes and limited draft capital. I was a proponent of this being a long-term fix and we should tear things down under a new regime, move Cousins, and acquire draft capital for players like Kendricks. It was the sensible move to make but I knew it would never happen under the Wilfs who always believe we are contenders and a couple players away. So now we go into next season with all these questions while the Lions go into next season with salary cap, really good young players and multiple draft picks (including two picks in the top 20) to continue rebuilding that roster.
The Vikings are not in a good situation, but hey, we are making the playoffs this season and will almost assuredly be bounced early in the playoffs. Fun, but to me not worth the future issues this season will bring. Its a good, rhetorical question...
And this is where over the next 2-3 seasons we'll see how this staff manages the challenges of cap vs talent...I think KC can play at a high level for the foreseeable future so they dont have to draft a qb #1 this next season - unless the opportunity presents itself.
If they can be competitive for an NFC title in the next couple seasons, build off this year and make the post season again? Win the norris again?
And do so without have to tear down ala the Bears this season? Then I'd say yes it was worth it.
We just wont know for a while...
Vikings attempting the improbable: Ruining this amazing seasonA year filled with unexpected joy and unbelievable clutch wins is starting to become overshadowed by dismal performances down the stretch.A Vikings season filled with a breezy NFC North crown, breathtaking performances from Justin Jefferson and enough improbable comebacks to fill five years — including two all-timers against Buffalo and Indianapolis — should have earned the team enough grace to survive just about anything on the negative side of the ledger.
But recent weeks, and particularly Sunday's 41-17 loss to Green Bay, have divided the narrative between "a whimsical adventure no matter how it ends" and "an unsustainable fluke destined for an unsatisfying crash landing."
How you choose to define this adventure might say more about what pleasure you seek to derive from the Vikings than it does about the 2022 Vikings themselves, but the common ground is this: There's no other way to look at this year other than strange — perhaps the strangest in Minnesota sports history, as Patrick Reusse said on Monday's Daily Delivery podcast.
Sunday's loss, a game that was 41-3 at one point, was a tipping point toward the once unimaginable prospect of an amazing season being ruined.
Consider what was at stake: - The Vikings knew at the start of the game that home-field advantage in the NFC was still within reach thanks to the Eagles' loss to the Saints.
- They knew that another victory over the only team that had defeated by more than one score this season would end the playoff hopes of their biggest rival and at least keep them in line to earn the No. 2 seed.
- Bigger picture, a convincing win at Lambeau could have even influenced the future of Aaron Rodgers.
Instead, they fell behind by at least 33 points for the third time in the last seven weeks. They played like one of the worst teams in the league, which at least one analytics measure suggests they are.
Their perilously thin offensive line was dealt another blow when Brian O'Neill exited with an injury. Kirk Cousins turned the ball over four times, continuing to be the heartbeat of a team that only thrives on thin margins.
Losing wasn't the sin; the process was the problem. Players came nowhere near meeting the moment. Kevin O'Connell was outcoached, including a disastrous series of play calls that led to a lifeless field goal on a drive that started at the Green Bay 1.
The ceiling for a 12-4 team shouldn't be one playoff win, but that's what it feels like right now.
A first-round win probably would be enough to save the overall vibe of the season. But how it ends feels a lot more important to the narrative than it did even a few weeks ago.
https://www.startribune.com/vikings-packers-kirk-cousins-aaron-rodgers-randball/600240213/
You hope to be healthy and peaking in December/January. That narrative doesnt fit the Vikings right now.
Looking around the NFC:
The injuries are there for the big boys: (Philly and SF).
Dallas I believe is in decent health - but I dont put them on the same level as Eagles/9'ers
I'd have Cowboys 3rd in the NFC, Philly still #1, SF #2 (even with Purdy @ QB).
Bucs are lurking in the shadows.
And honestly? you gotta start thinking about GB cause they're relatively healthy and playing much better than early in season.
I have no idea where our Vikings fit cause they aren't playing well but have a gaudy record.
Maybe it doesnt matter cause I dont think there is an NFC team that beats KC in a SB.
It’s all been a Jedi mind trick, everyone knows Cousins is a .500 QB… 
12-4 won the NFCN and get a chance to take out at least 1 team with a home playoff game.
As a fan I couldn't ask for more.
To me wasn't 1 player and 1 play away from being a Superbowl contender- I don't get where the expectations have come from.
Can they get hot and do it,?. Absolutely. The Gmen did it in 2008.
They'll be an underdog the whole way.
In years past being favorite brought no benefit.
I'm 100% good with it.
Quote: @purplefaithful said:
@ supafreak84 said:
@ purplefaithful said:
What is there to buy into or not?
We've said it most of the season - enjoy the ride but this is not a roster that is going to make a deep playoff run.
Which begs the question, was it all worth it for this season? We held on to a lot of big contracts, held on to Cousins, and we are now going into next season once again with salary cap issues, quarterback of the future questions, roster holes and limited draft capital. I was a proponent of this being a long-term fix and we should tear things down under a new regime, move Cousins, and acquire draft capital for players like Kendricks. It was the sensible move to make but I knew it would never happen under the Wilfs who always believe we are contenders and a couple players away. So now we go into next season with all these questions while the Lions go into next season with salary cap, really good young players and multiple draft picks (including two picks in the top 20) to continue rebuilding that roster.
The Vikings are not in a good situation, but hey, we are making the playoffs this season and will almost assuredly be bounced early in the playoffs. Fun, but to me not worth the future issues this season will bring. Its a good, rhetorical question...
And this is where over the next 2-3 seasons we'll see how this staff manages the challenges of cap vs talent...I think KC can play at a high level for the foreseeable future so they dont have to draft a qb #1 this next season - unless the opportunity presents itself.
If they can be competitive for an NFC title in the next couple seasons, build off this year and make the post season again? Win the norris again?
And do so without have to tear down ala the Bears this season? Then I'd say yes it was worth it.
We just wont know for a while...
Would love to hear Geoff's take on things, but yeah Kirk will be 35 and once again entering into the final season of his contract. Kwesi hasn't really come out and endorsed Kirk as a "franchise" type QB and made reference to that fact last offseason. I think how Kirk plays in these upcoming playoffs will go a long way in determining his future in Minnesota. He gets paid big bucks and once again we will be determining if the juice is worth the squeeze.
To me, it just feels like we set ourselves up for more of the same. Just happy to make the playoffs with no real shot at taking it the distance. That's been this organizations holding pattern for 25 years. I thought the time to tear it down and rebuild around the young players we had was last offseason with a new regime taking the riegns, almost like Chicago did and Detroit did a couple years ago. I love the Wilfs, but I fear we will never exceed beyond mediocrity with them calling the shots
vikings have been horrible late in the regular season for a long time. Nothing new to see here. when they become stronger finishers i will take notice.
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