Big questions on the horizon...

I think the coaching staff is fine. Obviously the D can coach as they resurected Rhodes, the safeties played great, the only time I heard Waynes being called was for a tackle for a loss. 

The good news as someone else pointed out, this type of offensive game probably means we get to keep the offensive staff together.  I think that is a good thing.  Stef has had a few clunkers this year and I think bears a large part of the blame for the poor offensive rhythm at times.  Cousins seemed to get much more comfortable with the offense as the year has gone on, and should be even better next year.
I think Reiff's cap number is huge and he is probably a restructure or gone.  The o-line has gotten much better, but could use some more talent on the left side.  D-line needs a real 3-tech.  Stephens is nothing special and that has hurt our D this year.  Maybe Hunter moves to the RDE and Weatherly takes over at LDE with Iafadi backing them up.

@"greediron" said:

I think the coaching staff is fine. Obviously the D can coach as they resurected Rhodes, the safeties played great, the only time I heard Waynes being called was for a tackle for a loss. 

The good news as someone else pointed out, this type of offensive game probably means we get to keep the offensive staff together.  I think that is a good thing.  Stef has had a few clunkers this year and I think bears a large part of the blame for the poor offensive rhythm at times.  Cousins seemed to get much more comfortable with the offense as the year has gone on, and should be even better next year.
I think Reiff's cap number is huge and he is probably a restructure or gone.  The o-line has gotten much better, but could use some more talent on the left side.  D-line needs a real 3-tech.  Stephens is nothing special and that has hurt our D this year.  Maybe Hunter moves to the RDE and Weatherly takes over at LDE with Iafadi backing them up.

Agreed.  That left side of the O line is going to get Cousins killed.  The draft can certainly help but we'll need a FA there or the DT to get immediate help.  

rainbows and lollipops

@"purplefaithful" said: Feels like the off-season after last night, even though it ain't yet

How do you improve from good to great for this franchise?

• What do you do with KC?  (the sure alternative is...?)
• What do you do with Cook? Who will most certainly want a new deal
• How do you improve the D and OL?
• Where do you place your salary cap bets?
• Are they fine with this coaching staff? 
• Do you still trust RS to make those decisions?

• KC- I like Kirk, but I am completely clueless as to what the offensive game plan was other than... offensive.™ Obviously, his replacement needs to come from this coming draft.
• Cook- UGH. How do you let that talent go? But- If you can't rely on him to be in games that decide the division... is he worth the money?  I just don't see us letting him walk, but I'm glad I'm not the one making the decision! 
• DL & OL- Let BarrNone, MaroonBells, and FSUVike sit in the war room. Thank you.
• Salary Cap Bets- In Brez We Trust.
• Coaching Staff- It may be time for a change. From the fans perspective, and maybe even the player's perspective. We may need a change of scenery.
• RS- I like RS. He's aggressive in the draft, but his ability to pick a QB, and stack our OL is suspect. I'm not sure where the fault lies with the talent distribution, but we really need some studs on the OL.  

I think the coaching changes are such a fan driven decision.  But it leads to instability and constant suck rather than improvements.  Now a gutting is necessary on some occasions when year after year of poor play is evident. But if you look at the consistently good teams, NO, NE, Seattle, they have stability.  Seattle didn't run Carroll out when they struggled and now they are back in the thick of it.

Those teams all won Superbowls Greediron. That bought them time. Zimmer has been past the 1st Round of the Playoffs once. His win percentage against good teams on the road and even at home in big pressure situations is not good.

This offseason will be so interesting. If Rick loads up on the O-Line I'll be happy. If Defense-focused then I'll know once and for all that he and Mike just don't get it.

@"greediron" said: I think the coaching changes are such a fan driven decision.  But it leads to instability and constant suck rather than improvements.  Now a gutting is necessary on some occasions when year after year of poor play is evident. But if you look at the consistently good teams, NO, NE, Seattle, they have stability.  Seattle didn't run Carroll out when they struggled and now they are back in the thick of it.

I dont think a flush the whole staff is in order (yet, for me). Some tweaks may very well be though (think Jerry Grey). 

That said, Zimmer is on a 1 year deal correct?

Not sure what strong rational Zygmunt has to extend Zimmer longer term right now. Not when looking at the broader track record and now 2 years in a row of not being able to win the North. 

Vikings Marketing will need a new slogan from Defend The North. 

There is a lot of gray around the Vikings, both with coaching and key players that have been cornerstones in years past.

Vikings are a step above average. These are the hardest types of situations to make sound decisions in. Its much easier with 5 wins or with a perennial playoff powerhouse. 

Big question.

If they stay the coarse, does the future look bright?

Or stated another way, does the future look like more of the same, with signs of hope and promise giving way to bitter disappointment in the end?

I've been hopeful since 1961 but at some point reality takes hold.

@"FSUVike" said: Those teams all won Superbowls Greediron. That bought them time. Zimmer has been past the 1st Round of the Playoffs once. His win percentage against good teams on the road and even at home in big pressure situations is not good.

This offseason will be so interesting. If Rick loads up on the O-Line I'll be happy. If Defense-focused then I'll know once and for all that he and Mike just don't get it.

With what money?  We need to cut Griff and let Waynes to walk just to be under the cap if I remember correctly. 

Reiff doesnt make much sense to cut till after the 2020 season due to dead cap numbers. 

XR really has to be a post June 1 cut though I thought we can cut him and designate him as post 6-1.

Rudolphs deal probably keeps him on the team.

Maybe Harrison Smith will restructure?

Maybe we can get some help from a Cousins extension?

However you shake it, we’re paying for a top tier QB and sacrifices will need to be made. 
 

@"jargomcfargo" said: Big question.

If they stay the coarse, does the future look bright?

Or stated another way, does the future look like more of the same, with signs of hope and promise giving way to bitter disappointment in the end?

I've been hopeful since 1961 but at some point reality takes hold.

Like anything else in life, you want to be running to something vs away. 

In this case, I dont know what not staying the course entails??? I don't think the front office knows yet either. 

I suspect these aren't conversations that'll be had till the final chapters of this season are written. 

@"AGRforever" said:

@"FSUVike" said: Those teams all won Superbowls Greediron. That bought them time. Zimmer has been past the 1st Round of the Playoffs once. His win percentage against good teams on the road and even at home in big pressure situations is not good.

This offseason will be so interesting. If Rick loads up on the O-Line I'll be happy. If Defense-focused then I'll know once and for all that he and Mike just don't get it.

With what money?  We need to cut Griff and let Waynes to walk just to be under the cap if I remember correctly. 

Reiff doesnt make much sense to cut till after the 2020 season due to dead cap numbers. 

XR really has to be a post June 1 cut though I thought we can cut him and designate him as post 6-1.

Rudolphs deal probably keeps him on the team.

Maybe Harrison Smith will restructure?

Maybe we can get some help from a Cousins extension?

However you shake it, we’re paying for a top tier QB and sacrifices will need to be made. 
 

If we are to get to the SB next season then here is what to do;Draft a QB and bench Cousins. The message will be clear.

@"FLVike" said:

If we are to get to the SB next season then here is what to do;Draft a QB and bench Cousins. The message will be clear.

Bench our best player?  He did fuck the goat. It was a team effort. 

You may think he can do it bur I think he couldn't even get to the superbowl with an all-pro oline and an all-pro defense.

Cousins is not the problem.  Sure he had a bad night but he was under duress from the 1st snap of the game.  They need more on the OL, espcially the left side.  They must bolster the interior DL and find a replacement for Rhodes and probably Waynes.  Like I said in an earlier post I don't see Zimmer leaving unless he retires to the ranch.

my gut says 1 year extension for Z,  Rick and KC.  

Extend Reiff and lower his number, he is a pretty decent LT. We badly badly need a real stud G to plug in at LG, Bad elf can swing. Bradbury should improve in pass pro next year. We also need to draft IOL and DIL 1 and 2 unless an absolute steal falls, and i dont mean a Mike Hughes “steal”. If that doesnt get it done let everybody go into the last year cause the window will be closing anyway 

I think it needs to be addressed 1 step at a time top down.  

1. Is Rick getting extended?  If yes does he keep Zimmer,  if No find new GM now and let him decide the future.  This is IMO where real change needs to start, if Rick sinks or swims with Zimmer, does that allow for the rest of the necessary changes or will Zimmer be to set in his ways?

2. If Rick stays then I would say Zimmer is here,  I see them tied to the end and if Zimmer is locked in does he go all in for his job with KC?  Or does the team see if a coming FA like Teddy or one of the others allow them the cap relief to fix other areas while not paying those top tier QB wages.  If they dont fix things like OL,  any money spent on KC is just pissing it away IMO.

3. KC needs to decide what's more important to him,  resetting the QB pay scale or leaving some money to fix his OL.  Period,  if he wants more than hes set to make now in any restructuring then let him play out his deal and move on.

4. I dont give Cook a raise,  his availability/durability is to suspect to tie the ship to,  he is great when he is great,  but is average at  best when playing dinged up and that is to frequent.  I love a healthy DC,  but he cant eat top RB type money when he is only playing like a top RB 70% of the time.

Going forward I think any veteran deals need to see more incentive based scales.  To much money getting tied up for mediocre play which makes it hard to move on from these deals when the players dont pan out.

Critical weaknesses.

1. Cousins can't compensate for even one bad offensive lineman, much less 4.

2. Compounding number 1, the coaching staff stubbornly fail to help out struggling offensive linemen by giving them help.

3. Spielman can't evaluate O-line talent.

 The window has closed on the defense!

4. The interior of the defensive line gets pushed backwards and often give up 5 yards at a pop, even when they stop the run. The Zimmer philosophy of using defensive tackles as space eaters so linebackers can fill the gaps and make the tackles contributes to this. The middle of the defensive line doesn't get much penetration on run or pass plays and are owned by Chicago, Seattle, and now, Green Bay. Joseph has been good but he's having trouble staying healthy and has not been great the past two seasons.

5. Though Hunter has been a stud, it is time for Griffen to go. He, like Joseph, has declined.

6. The defensive secondary has become a liability. When they were a strength of the team, we would see a lot of press man coverage and the threat of a blitz from anywhere. Now we see a lot of zone and not a lot of blitzing which results in the kiss of death, post game press conference quote, " I don't know. I will have to look at the film".
XR is probably done. Hughes has been disappointing. Hard to say what Hill is but he can't stay out of trouble. And Harry is beginning to decline.

7. They have 2 very good linebackers but one of them is inconsistent, and has great games then disappears in other games.

8. Coaching. I think the coaching is pretty good overall but a couple of things bother me.
First, there seems to be a lack of in game adjustments to compensate for the unexpected at times.
Second, I'm not sure this philosophy of delegating all things offense and micromanaging all things defense is the best possible approach for a head coach.

I'm confident there will be a lot of disagreement. These are the big questions for me.
I could discuss how I would move forward from here, but that would be another wall of text best left for another time.

@"jargomcfargo" said: Critical weaknesses.

1. Cousins can't compensate for even one bad offensive lineman, much less 4.

2. Compounding number 1, the coaching staff stubbornly fail to help out struggling offensive linemen by giving them help.

3. Spielman can't evaluate O-line talent.

 The window has closed on the defense!

4. The interior of the defensive line gets pushed backwards and often give up 5 yards at a pop, even when they stop the run. The Zimmer philosophy of using defensive tackles as space eaters so linebackers can fill the gaps and make the tackles contributes to this. The middle of the defensive line doesn't get much penetration on run or pass plays and are owned by Chicago, Seattle, and now, Green Bay. Joseph has been good but he's having trouble staying healthy and has not been great the past two seasons.

5. Though Hunter has been a stud, it is time for Griffen to go. He, like Joseph, has declined.

6. The defensive secondary has become a liability. When they were a strength of the team, we would see a lot of press man coverage and the threat of a blitz from anywhere. Now we see a lot of zone and not a lot of blitzing which results in the kiss of death, post game press conference quote, " I don't know. I will have to look at the film".
XR is probably done. Hughes has been disappointing. Hard to say what Hill is but he can't stay out of trouble. And Harry is beginning to decline.

7. They have 2 very good linebackers but one of them is inconsistent, and has great games then disappears in other games.

8. Coaching. I think the coaching is pretty good overall but a couple of things bother me.
First, there seems to be a lack of in game adjustments to compensate for the unexpected at times.
Second, I'm not sure this philosophy of delegating all things offense and micromanaging all things defense is the best possible approach for a head coach.

I'm confident there will be a lot of disagreement. These are the big questions for me.
I could discuss how I would move forward from here, but that would be another wall of text best left for another time.

Barr looks to be worth his pay when the DTs are playing well,  if he isnt getting above average DT play then he is usually a non talker in games in terms of stopping the run between the tackles.  he is to easily blocked on the inside,  when they get out in space he is much better but just slipping a block and making a play he is very poor at.   which then begs the question,  if you need above average DT play to lift his game,  is Barr worth the hefty pay that he is making?

You have to find a QB this off season, either draft one, make a trade, but KC cannot be your QB moving forward unless you want to continue to lose every big game.  Thankfully one year left and he either plays while the young guy gets ready or serves as an expensive backup.  We are not winning with him, so it really makes no sense for him to take another snap as a starter.  

I like Cook, but I would not tie up a big chunk of the salary cap on a guy who can't stay on the field.  Mattison is going to want to start at some point and is not a huge drop.