Murray
However none of these subtraction's really make us that much worse for wear. We are still about the same. Is that good or bad?
Quote: @Tyr said:
Murray was a good player for us and always a likable guy, but Richardson is the bigger loss. The woes with our interior run defense were real, but how much was Richardson and how much was Joseph being hurt is up for debate. What is being underestimated right now is Richardson's ability to generate quick pressure up the middle. There definitely some games that stood out more than other, but in a league where teams are increasingly spreading the field and getting rid of the ball quickly, then the quickest way to the QB is up the middle, which also creates opportunities for the pass rushers on the edge. I know that Stephen isn't the same caliber of interior pass rusher and what Jaleel Johnson and Jalyn Holmes are capable of is still a bit of an unknown. I would not be shocked if the Vikings look for an interior pass rusher early in the draft.
As for replacing Murray. That is probably more of a 3rd-5th round priority. Cook was finally healthy and looking better, but with Roc Thomas messing up his career & Cook's propensity to be banged up so far, the Vikings would be wise to have a good backup in place. That player should also be more of a power back like Murray was, though I'm not sure the type of back we add will be more of a 1-cut runner that fits Kubiak's version of zone blocking.
Not debatable. When Joseph drew two defenders and left Sheldon singled up he abandoned his gap time and time again to go after the QB, exposing the undersized Kendricks who struggles to get off blocks.
And Richardson definitely got doubled a number of times himself and instead of occupying his guys he got flipping blown out of his gap.
There are reams of tape of both happening a bunch last year.
If you are going to be that much of a liability against the run you need to get more consistent pressure that Sheldon did.
This draft has 3T players that will replace enough of his pass rushing production at a fraction of the cost.
I don't think any of those 3 leaving will have much of a negative impact at all.
It's a little too early to call that list complete, but you could very easily include Griffin and/or a traded CB. I think losing Richardson and Griffin together is a big loss. Going from Richardson-TJohnson-Griffen-Weatherly to TJohnson-Stephen-Weatherly-Bower is a pretty massive hit to our starters and rotational depth at those positions.
Quote: @FSUVike said:
@ Tyr said:
Murray was a good player for us and always a likable guy, but Richardson is the bigger loss. The woes with our interior run defense were real, but how much was Richardson and how much was Joseph being hurt is up for debate. What is being underestimated right now is Richardson's ability to generate quick pressure up the middle. There definitely some games that stood out more than other, but in a league where teams are increasingly spreading the field and getting rid of the ball quickly, then the quickest way to the QB is up the middle, which also creates opportunities for the pass rushers on the edge. I know that Stephen isn't the same caliber of interior pass rusher and what Jaleel Johnson and Jalyn Holmes are capable of is still a bit of an unknown. I would not be shocked if the Vikings look for an interior pass rusher early in the draft.
As for replacing Murray. That is probably more of a 3rd-5th round priority. Cook was finally healthy and looking better, but with Roc Thomas messing up his career & Cook's propensity to be banged up so far, the Vikings would be wise to have a good backup in place. That player should also be more of a power back like Murray was, though I'm not sure the type of back we add will be more of a 1-cut runner that fits Kubiak's version of zone blocking.
Not debatable. When Joseph drew two defenders and left Sheldon singled up he abandoned his gap time and time again to go after the QB, exposing the undersized Kendricks who struggles to get off blocks.
And Richardson definitely got doubled a number of times himself and instead of occupying his guys he got flipping blown out of his gap.
There are reams of tape of both happening a bunch last year.
If you are going to be that much of a liability against the run you need to get more consistent pressure that Sheldon did.
This draft has 3T players that will replace enough of his pass rushing production at a fraction of the cost.
Richardson did have issues with discipline in the running game. Joseph was also hurt and those two problems fed into eachother, which is where I had some doubt about how much of the interior run D struggles were on Richardson. That being said, I do agree that we should be able to find a cheap and adequate relacement for him in the draft. They may even feel that Johnson or Holmes can be that, but I suspect not. Either way I’m glad we are in the position of replacing Richardson instead of Barr. I’ll beed to start looking closer knto this year’s DT crop, but I know it’s supposed to be a good class.
I think it's Murray as well - besides, I think we'll get a comp pick for Richardson.
The only thing that compensates regarding Murray is that he is replaceable. There are still some decent veteran RBs on the market that the Vikings might pursue after the first rush of FA: CJ Anderson (Kubiak connection), Doug Martin, Spencer Ware. I would really like to see the Vikings sign TJ Yeldon, as he is still young and could replace Murray as a receiving back with some size to complement Cook.
Quote: @StickyBun said:
I don't think any of those 3 leaving will have much of a negative impact at all.
That's what I was trying to say... but apparently no one got the "Monty Brewster" reference. :'(
Richardson by far. Backup backs are a dime a dozen. Whether you like what Richardson contributed to the team or not, starting-level 3Ts are much, much harder to find and infinitely more valuable.
There are too many good backs in the NFL right now. You lose a guy like Jerrick McKinnon, you plug in an undrafted guy like Matt Brieda and he's a revelation. Chris Carson, a 7th rounder in Seattle, holds off 1st round pick Penny and finishes top 10 in rushing. Lose Melvin Gordon, Austin Ekeler steps in and you barely miss a beat. Todd Gurley goes down and you sign a guy right off the damn street (CJ Anderson) and actually improve your running game.
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