Edwards on his way out??

No offense to George but, does it matter?

I think I miss my appendix more.

A better DC can make a lot of difference

RAHEEM MORRISC, ATLANTA FALCONS
Falcons secondary coach Raheem Morris will be promoted to defensive coordinator after 2019.It's been a whirlwind season for Morris, who began the year as Atlanta's wide receivers coach before the Falcons reassigned him after their Week 9 bye. The move to defense proved beneficial for all involved and now Morris will move forward as the Falcons' D coordinator, spelling Dan Quinn, who had been serving in a dual capacity as both defensive coordinator and head coach. A long-time position coach (he also briefly served as Jon Gruden's successor in Tampa Bay), this will be Morris' first stint as an NFL D coordinator.
SOURCE: atlantafalcons.com

If he leaves, they would have to promote from within. Nobody who is in demand would come here for a one year deal. 

There's talk that Paul Geunther may be on the way out in Oakland. I know he and Zimmer were pretty tight from their days in Cincy, and Zim tried bringing him here but Geunther stayed as DC there. Might be a viable option.

I do think that the defense is need of some new ideas and while the core of it will stay the same, someone who could add some different wrinkles to what they already do would be a nice addition. In particular, there have been a lot of issues with coverage this year. If it was just Rhodes struggling, I could pass that off as a personnel issue, but our CB play as a whole has taken a step back, so maybe this is something that a new DC could help address even if Zimmer continues to call the plays. Bringing in Guenther seems likely, since he was Zimmer's first choice for DC & would already know most of the terminology, but with more spread & RPO concepts entering the NFL, it would be interesting to bring in someone with a college background. That probably won't happen, but I'd welcome a new set of eyes on the defense.

Its very rare to see D's dominate like the old days...Even watching SF a few times this year, there is only so much a team can do to limit all those RPO, Jet Sweep, Spread concepts Tyr mentions above. 

All of that said, I still believe the cornerstones of an NFL franchise still lie with LT, QB and RDE. How would we rate our beloved Vikings at these positions?

Then lets talk about 3t...Even the elite QB's dont handle the pressure up the middle like off the edge. How do we rate there?

The fact this team is going to end-up with 10 or 11 wins actually surprises me. Funny, it feels like 8/8 again this season.

@"purplefaithful" said: Its very rare to see D's dominate like the old days...Even watching SF a few times this year, there is only so much a team can do to limit all those RPO, Jet Sweep, Spread concepts Tyr mentions above. 

All of that said, I still believe the cornerstones of an NFL franchise still lie with LT, QB and RDE. How would we rate our beloved Vikings at these positions?

Then lets talk about 3t...Even the elite QB's dont handle the pressure up the middle like off the edge. How do we rate there?

The fact this team is going to end-up with 10 or 11 wins actually surprises me. Funny, it feels like 8/8 again this season.

There is absolutely no reason, outside of purple goggles, to think Minnesota is going to travel somewhere and win a playoff game. 

@"StickyBun" said:

@"purplefaithful" said: Its very rare to see D's dominate like the old days...Even watching SF a few times this year, there is only so much a team can do to limit all those RPO, Jet Sweep, Spread concepts Tyr mentions above. 

All of that said, I still believe the cornerstones of an NFL franchise still lie with LT, QB and RDE. How would we rate our beloved Vikings at these positions?

Then lets talk about 3t...Even the elite QB's dont handle the pressure up the middle like off the edge. How do we rate there?

The fact this team is going to end-up with 10 or 11 wins actually surprises me. Funny, it feels like 8/8 again this season.

There is absolutely no reason, outside of purple goggles, to think Minnesota is going to travel somewhere and win a playoff game. 

@"purplefaithful" said: Its very rare to see D's dominate like the old days...Even watching SF a few times this year, there is only so much a team can do to limit all those RPO, Jet Sweep, Spread concepts Tyr mentions above. 

All of that said, I still believe the cornerstones of an NFL franchise still lie with LT, QB and RDE. How would we rate our beloved Vikings at these positions?

Then lets talk about 3t...Even the elite QB's dont handle the pressure up the middle like off the edge. How do we rate there?

The fact this team is going to end-up with 10 or 11 wins actually surprises me. Funny, it feels like 8/8 again this season.

I do think that the lack of a 3-technique/UT who can generating quick interior pressure and Griffen getting older, even though he has bounced back remarkably well from last year, are part of the coverage issues. The CBs are being forced to cover longer, which isn't sustainable, though I think there are legitimate issues with the corners too, but the issues up front exacerbate the problems at corner.

LT is a big issue. I think that Reiff's play against GB pretty much guarantees that he won't be back next year. I'm curious if they'll move O'Neill to LT or try to find another stopgap like Reiff was? As for QB, Cousins can be up & down, but there's enough good that I wouldn't let him go unless they were sure they could add someone better, though the cap hit for an experienced QB is tremendous. It might be wise to draft a QB this year, though we have so many needs and so little cap space that it can be hard to address some needs ahead of time.

I do agree that it's a strange season where we'll end up being a 10 or 11-win team that feels like an 8-8 team. They've proven they can handle bad teams, but have been unable to handle good teams all year. I think the offense can elite when healthy, but the defense doesn't feel like it's there this year.

I've been firmly in the move O'Neill to LT camp, but I'm wondering if Hill should be given the first shot there..

@"BarrNone55" said: I've been firmly in the move O'Neill to LT camp, but I'm wondering if Hill should be given the first shot there..

Well we know he sucks balls at RT,  we know nothing of ONeill at LT so I would be more incline to draft a LT prospect that can kick inside and let him compete with Reiff next year before screwing up RT.  

Seriously,  we have 1 OL position that we dont have to worry about week in week out,  why does everybody want to F with that before we have a replacement at RT?

No offense Barr,  I know you do your homework but this desire to make moves based on unknowns doesnt compute with me.

This is why Leatherwood makes sense. He has played Guard before and could replace Elf day 1.

Hill seems to have a decent handle at LT. I think we have options to free up cap.

@"BarrNone55" said: This is why Leatherwood makes sense. He has played Guard before and could replace Elf day 1.

Hill seems to have a decent handle at LT. I think we have options to free up cap.

We will need to make moves to free up a lot of cap this year and Reiff seems like a prime candidate to cut. His performance is declining, he has a $13.2 million cap hit for next year and $4.4 million in dead cap space. They could try to restructure him, but after his performance against Green Bay would want to rely on him next year even on a renegotiated deal? At least we have options to fill LT in O'Neill & Hill and it should be easier to find an affordable RT through the draft or FA than a LT. There's going to be a few tough decisions this year. Reiff is one of the more straightforward decisions, but players like Griffen, Rhodes, & Joseph will be tougher to handle.

If Edwards goes it's just scapegoating - OC, PK, and ST coach spots aren't as vulnerable as in past years. It would also tell me the Wilfs are really questioning the investment they have made in the defensive unit.

We might not have a choice with Grif as his restructured contract incentives were met, so he'll be a FA...personally, I'd move Odenigbo into the starting lineup...continue to use a rotation, and find the next project for coach Dre...

I'd guess they'd just give him another year to match everyone elses contract, unless he wants out.

@"purplefaithful" said: Its very rare to see D's dominate like the old days...Even watching SF a few times this year, there is only so much a team can do to limit all those RPO, Jet Sweep, Spread concepts Tyr mentions above. 

All of that said, I still believe the cornerstones of an NFL franchise still lie with LT, QB and RDE. How would we rate our beloved Vikings at these positions?

Then lets talk about 3t...Even the elite QB's dont handle the pressure up the middle like off the edge. How do we rate there?

The fact this team is going to end-up with 10 or 11 wins actually surprises me. Funny, it feels like 8/8 again this season.

It feels like that because we didn't show up for the Green Bay game. Remember, after the Chargers win, it was all puppies and giggles. MVP and extension talk for Cousins, 12-4, thoughts of maybe getting a bye, Vikings' power ranking was top 5 and they were 6-point favorites over the Packers...and they should've been. 

Everyone overreacts to both wins AND losses. Still, it's bizarre to think that this was literally 7 days ago. Now everything has changed. As it should I guess, because I have no explanation for what happened at USB a week ago tonight. 

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"purplefaithful" said: Its very rare to see D's dominate like the old days...Even watching SF a few times this year, there is only so much a team can do to limit all those RPO, Jet Sweep, Spread concepts Tyr mentions above. 

All of that said, I still believe the cornerstones of an NFL franchise still lie with LT, QB and RDE. How would we rate our beloved Vikings at these positions?

Then lets talk about 3t...Even the elite QB's dont handle the pressure up the middle like off the edge. How do we rate there?

The fact this team is going to end-up with 10 or 11 wins actually surprises me. Funny, it feels like 8/8 again this season.

It feels like that because we didn't show up for the Green Bay game. Remember, after the Chargers win, it was all puppies and giggles. MVP and extension talk for Cousins, 12-4, thoughts of maybe getting a bye, Vikings' power ranking was top 5 and they were 6-point favorites over the Packers...and they should've been. 

Everyone overreacts to both wins AND losses. Still, it's bizarre to think that this was literally 7 days ago. Now everything has changed. As it should I guess, because I have no explanation for what happened at USB a week ago tonight. 

@"StickyBun" said:

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"purplefaithful" said: Its very rare to see D's dominate like the old days...Even watching SF a few times this year, there is only so much a team can do to limit all those RPO, Jet Sweep, Spread concepts Tyr mentions above. 

All of that said, I still believe the cornerstones of an NFL franchise still lie with LT, QB and RDE. How would we rate our beloved Vikings at these positions?

Then lets talk about 3t...Even the elite QB's dont handle the pressure up the middle like off the edge. How do we rate there?

The fact this team is going to end-up with 10 or 11 wins actually surprises me. Funny, it feels like 8/8 again this season.

It feels like that because we didn't show up for the Green Bay game. Remember, after the Chargers win, it was all puppies and giggles. MVP and extension talk for Cousins, 12-4, thoughts of maybe getting a bye, Vikings' power ranking was top 5 and they were 6-point favorites over the Packers...and they should've been. 

Everyone overreacts to both wins AND losses. Still, it's bizarre to think that this was literally 7 days ago. Now everything has changed. As it should I guess, because I have no explanation for what happened at USB a week ago tonight. 

No it wasn't. There were several posts, mine included, that said the win over the Chargers felt hollow and weird. 7 turnovers is why they won. Nothing has changed, what has remained the same is the Vikings don't beat good teams. You were one who thought we'd handle Green Bay, but you say that every week. Not trying to bag on you, I like your football knowledge, but you get a little too homer for me as far as how the team really is. You've overrated their talent. The team has won 8 games last year and 10 this year, that's what they are. The #6 seed in the NFC.