ESPN: Were Vikings successful in addressing needs?

[StickierBuns]

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/4006...las-turner

Disciplined and methodical.

[MaroonBells]

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/4006...las-turner

Disciplined and methodical.

"Really, to me, it's just the mindset," he said. "People so easily tear players down, right? There is no perfect player. It's really trying to get people to understand just because the player is not perfect doesn't mean he can't be good, or average, and that's how you win in the league. Obviously, you need your great players, but you need those adequate players, your numbers 30 through 45 [on the roster], to be just marginally better than everybody else's. And that comes from a mindset. ... So really, it's just breeding that mindset in the organization."

I don't know what he means by mindset, but the bold is interesting. I've always felt that teams win or lose based on their superstars, because the rest of the rosters are really not much different. Salary cap almost ensures that. People bitch about depth all the time, but with a few exceptions, the depth on every team is pretty much the same. 

Kwesi also seems to believe in roster hierarchy--that your highest paid players should be at the most impactful positions--QB, WR, OT, Edge and CB, and the lowest paid are the least impactful--IOL, ILB, S, RB and DL (for a 3-4 anyway). The only position on the Vikings roster that doesn't seem to sync with that is CB.

[pattersaur]

"Really, to me, it's just the mindset," he said. "People so easily tear players down, right? There is no perfect player. It's really trying to get people to understand just because the player is not perfect doesn't mean he can't be good, or average, and that's how you win in the league. Obviously, you need your great players, but you need those adequate players, your numbers 30 through 45 [on the roster], to be just marginally better than everybody else's. And that comes from a mindset. ... So really, it's just breeding that mindset in the organization."

I don't know what he means by mindset, but the bold is interesting. I've always felt that teams win or lose based on their superstars, because the rest of the rosters are really not much different. Salary cap almost ensures that. People bitch about depth all the time, but with a few exceptions, the depth on every team is pretty much the same. 

Kwesi also seems to believe in roster hierarchy--that your highest paid players should be at the most impactful positions--QB, WR, OT, Edge and CB, and the lowest paid are the least impactful--IOL, ILB, S, RB and DL (for a 3-4 anyway). The only position on the Vikings roster that doesn't seem to sync with that is CB.

Agreed and as I said in another thread, if JJ or Darnold is better than expected out of the gate in 2024 then hopefully we can make a move for a CB or a DT to get us over the hump and into the playoffs. From there who knows. I love the flexibility this team has now. I don't foresee any bandaid moves (a la the Dobbs trade) in our future. Feels like the FO is building this thing right. It all hinges on JJ but if KO can get him to even a competent level then we'll be in business for at least 3 of the next 5 years I think. That's about equal to what we've done with Kirk and Danielle.

[VikingOracle]

"Really, to me, it's just the mindset," he said. "People so easily tear players down, right? There is no perfect player. It's really trying to get people to understand just because the player is not perfect doesn't mean he can't be good, or average, and that's how you win in the league. Obviously, you need your great players, but you need those adequate players, your numbers 30 through 45 [on the roster], to be just marginally better than everybody else's. And that comes from a mindset. ... So really, it's just breeding that mindset in the organization."

I don't know what he means by mindset, but the bold is interesting. I've always felt that teams win or lose based on their superstars, because the rest of the rosters are really not much different. Salary cap almost ensures that. People bitch about depth all the time, but with a few exceptions, the depth on every team is pretty much the same. 

I agree with you.  I believe that a team needs players that the other team are forced to scheme around (true superstars) and you get those players usually in the top half of the first round.  Players 30 through 45 are important but as you point out the salary cap really makes that group of players largely even throughout the league.  What does matter for depth however is coaching and the proper scheme to maximize the talent and hide the deficiencies of players 30 through 45.  Your depth is marginally better when they are put in the best position to succeed and that is coaching and scheming.

[Zanary]

I think coaching gets left out of these discussions almost alarmingly.

Going into the draft, everyone looks at 40 yard times, reps, college footage, and that's all legit...but, it also loses a TON of its importance once players are selected.

KC repeated as champions, after a season that started with a clumsy loss and a slew of receiver drops that may have been worse than ours. A ton of credit goes to coach Reid, who's kept the team rallied around his star QB and a few other players, even as other teams have been picking at his roster for years.

"Belicheat" was top of the class in this regard, even if his players didn't have a lot of fun in the process. They were all known to be coached up to the point that he could trade them as they got expensive, and the next man up would be similarly well taught with the same standards expected. Obviously, Brady wasn't as replaceable.

For this reason, Zimmer wore off on me quicker than I wanted to admit; I didn't see him as a championship coach. I still don't. Reid had to go through serious ups, downs, and personal hell to get where he is. He had Philly RIGHT THERE for years, only to come up just short...then get there with KC.

KOC and Flores are pretty solidly in a "definition season", now. The starting QB will be new, the locker room culture will be different, and the defense will have a year of Flores' stamp on it. We're about to see who the Minnesota Vikings are, and what they raise their players to be.

[Montana Tom]

I agree totally on the coaching. We all know that the best, most stacked (and often the highest payrolls) aren't always the winners.
The players have to perform, yes, but the coaching, the offensive and defensive schemes, the special teams execution...all those are unaccounted for wild cards in all this discussion about roster building.

[medaille]

NFL success is fundamentally about QB play, secondarily is about maximizing the output of every player on the roster (especially with regards to not having liabilities on the field), and thirdly is about finding superstars. You probably aren’t going to be SB competitive if you are missing any of the above.

The bolded line is about operational excellence. It’s about the coaching staff figuring out how to get 5% more out of every player. A coaching staff that is getting 5% more our of all the “normal” players is more valuable than Justin Jefferson being 30% better than the other teams #1 receiver. I think people get confused and blame the GM exclusively for not getting “good” players, but in almost all cases, a players goodness is some combination of their innate qualities combined with how well the coaches can help them refine their techniques and understand the schemes.