Good QB play is what brings the NFL to the stratosphere

[medaille]

I’m not going to speak for casual fans, but this is the least interested I’ve been in football for a while. An Eagles/Chiefs super bowl is the most unappetizing, boring, matchup they could have ended up with.

Daniels was an interesting storyline. The Lions were an interesting storyline. The two most highly publicized teams of the last few years getting more publicity is not interesting. I don’t need to see another second of either Kelce, Taylor Swift or Mahomes wife.

While I'm glad there's some new blood at the top of the QB pool, having the same handful of teams in the running every year isn't good for my interest.

[Montana Tom]

From SI.com (like I was saying...)

With $71 million in dead cap space in 2024, the Vikings couldn’t be big spenders on every position on the field, so they elected to go after key edge players in Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel and then bargain hunt at defensive tackle. They did enough at DT to cobble together a quality run-stuffing unit who played their role effectively in terms of helping blitzers from the second level get to the quarterback.

That said, the Vikings need a big upgrade there next season if they are going to take another step as a defense. Too often they were forced to rush Pace Jr., Cashman or Metellus and vacate the middle of the field because they could not get interior pressure by rushing four defensive linemen. The three starting DTs totaled 38 QB pressures between them. There were 25 DTs who had more than that alone in 2024.

Luckily for the Vikings, this is a great year to need a defensive tackle. There are high-quality rushers at the top of free agency and potential major difference makers in the draft.

The question is whether they see DT as a position that is worth investing big money or draft capital. The position has exploded in price over the last few years with 14 DTs making at least $20 million per year. It’s likely that the top free agent Osa Odighizuwa will demand in that ballpark after posting 60 QB pressures for the Cowboys in 2024.

Second-wave type free agents also do not come cheap. Players like Ed Oliver or Dalvin Tomlinson, who are above average but short of superstar status, still land contracts in the range of $14-$18 million per year. We can expect to see top-20 interior players in pressures like Milton Williams, Levi Onwuzurike and Jarran Reed aiming for that range.

Going the bargain-shopping route isn’t often fruitful at this position, as the Vikings have seen in recent years. It has been since Sheldon Richardson in 2018 that they made a significant investment in the interior rush and it has shown in the results. The only player to register more than Richardson’s 4.5 sacks at DT for the Vikings was Armon Watts in 2021.

It’s time to go all-in and support the edge rushers and blitzing linebackers with a monster in the middle.

As far as the edge rusher position goes, the Vikings are spoiled there with two of the NFL’s best players in 2024, a first-round pick who gets time to develop and promising UDFAs. Still, there will be a spotlight on Turner in 2024 because his role will be expected to expand and his production grow along with it. Unfortunately, we can’t separate the player from what was paid to obtain the player, even if Turner is working on a different timeline than other pass rushers from his draft class.

[StickierBuns]

Not sure yet what kind of QB he'll be, but he's one hell of a kid:

https://twitter.com/vikingzfanpage/statu...7977079953

[JimmyinSD]

Yesterday was my first time watching him, but I feel the same.  I was in awe of a rookie having the poise and accuracy in such a difficult environment, behind, on the road, NFCCG...

Yeah, I was completely impressed.  This wasn't RGIII that would just run, he found his targets and delivered even when moved off the spot.

and was hitting them in-stride, leading them on most all throws,  after watching Darnold all season throwing high and late it was pretty refreshing to see...  and I liked Darnold, he was a breath of fresh air after watching Cousins for the last half decade.  if JJM can come out and show anywhere near what we saw from Daniels... well its going to be pretty damn near nirvana for my football fandom.

[MaroonBells]

I dont think you hear much bitching about the QBs that are in the top tier of the game and winning playoff games getting paid,  its the Jones, type of QB that gets 40 million on the back of doing very little aside from being a QB.

OK, but put yourself in their shoes. Jones DID win a playoff game. And he was coming off a pretty good season too. You either pay market to see your cards—to see if he can continue improving with some better weapons—or you fold. In hindsight they probably should have folded and started over at QB. But hindsight is always 20/20. Football not so much.

[comet52]

OK, but put yourself in their shoes. Jones DID win a playoff game. And he was coming off a pretty good season too. You either pay market to see your cards—to see if he can continue improving with some better weapons—or you fold. In hindsight they probably should have folded and started over at QB. But hindsight is always 20/20. Football not so much.

Teams get fooled by outlier years all the time. They get caught up in the fun of winning and neglect to take a realistic look at why they had the outlier - luck, outlying oerformances by a key guy/guys, soft schedule, unsustainable stuff like turnovers or winning close contests instead of losing them, etc.

Building long term sustainable success is the goal, not having a lucky year once in a while then mistakenly blowing resources trying to maintain it.

[greediron]

OK, but put yourself in their shoes. Jones DID win a playoff game. And he was coming off a pretty good season too. You either pay market to see your cards—to see if he can continue improving with some better weapons—or you fold. In hindsight they probably should have folded and started over at QB. But hindsight is always 20/20. Football not so much.

Jones beat the worst D in the modern era.  Anyone with a brain could see that playoff win was a _onatell fraud.

Yes, they were held hostage, do you start over or do you pay a mediocre qb millions.  Well they blinked and paid him.

[medaille]

Teams get fooled by outlier years all the time.  They get caught up in the fun of winning and neglect to take a realistic look at why they had the outlier - luck, outlying oerformances by a key guy/guys, soft schedule, unsustainable stuff like turnovers or winning close contests instead of losing them, etc. 

Building long term sustainable success is the goal, not having a lucky year once in a while then mistakenly blowing resources trying to maintain it.

I don’t think teams are fooled by QBs as much as they don’t have options.  The problem is that there’s a shortage of QBs capable of building around.  Teams that don’t have contingency plans at QB are either forced to overpay for a subpar option or waste a season.  This last draft was pretty egregious in my mind, as there was a fair number of teams that had a chance at drafting a QB and chose not to, and now are looking for a QB, but they’re not available.

I think the solution to this is to have the league mandate that teams carry more QBs on their roster (not practice squad).  I think if teams were forced to roster 4 or even 5 QBs, you’d start to see the floor level of quarterbacking rise up to the point where maybe you can find a cheaper but equally viable option as Jones and you don’t feel the need to overpay him and then cut him shortly into his extension.

[MaroonBells]

I don’t think teams are fooled by QBs as much as they don’t have options.  The problem is that there’s a shortage of QBs capable of building around.  Teams that don’t have contingency plans at QB are either forced to overpay for a subpar option or waste a season.  This last draft was pretty egregious in my mind, as there was a fair number of teams that had a chance at drafting a QB and chose not to, and now are looking for a QB, but they’re not available.

I think the solution to this is to have the league mandate that teams carry more QBs on their roster (not practice squad).  I think if teams were forced to roster 4 or even 5 QBs, you’d start to see the floor level of quarterbacking rise up to the point where maybe you can find a cheaper but equally viable option as Jones and you don’t feel the need to overpay him and then cut him shortly into his extension.

Call me skeptical. Contingencies are good to have, but there are 32 teams in the NFL. There might be 20 worthy starting QBs. The other 12 teams, no matter how many backups they have, don't have QBs they can win with. 

Imagine how much it would change things if you had a coach who could turn a bad QB into a good one. That renders all of the above moot. That's hugely valuable. I think that's why we heard so much about teams willing to trade for KOC before he was extended.

[greediron]

Call me skeptical. Contingencies are good to have, but there are 32 teams in the NFL. There might be 20 worthy starting QBs. The other 12 teams, no matter how many backups they have, don't have QBs they can win with. 

Imagine how much it would change things if you had a coach who could turn a bad QB into a good one. That renders all of the above moot. That's hugely valuable. I think that's why we heard so much about teams willing to trade for KOC before he was extended.

Well I think it would be beneficial to give teams the option to develop QBs like they used to.  Having a couple spots for developmental QBs would be good for the game in the long run.