Captain Clutch!

Highest-graded QBs in Week 12 prior to MNF:
1. Patrick Mahomes - 90.1
2. Kirk Cousins - 87.9
3. Deshaun Watson - 84.6
4. Aaron Rodgers - 84.1
5. Baker Mayfield - 78.9 pic.twitter.com/fWrPeA7yku

— PFF (@PFF) November 30, 2020

@"nawlinsvike" said: Cousins throws the ball as good as any quarterback in the NFL.  His issue is pocket awareness (which he has been better at) and getting lost when the read isnt there.  

One thing i've noticed over the last couple of weeks is that Cousins is escaping the pocket more and actually running.  He ran a good bit with Washington but kind of just stopped doing it here.  

I want Cleveland back and i want Brett Jones at LG.

But again, Cousins has as good of physical tools as any QB in the NFL not named Mahomes. 

One of the most impressive plays yesterday was when he escaped the pocket, rolled left, passed the LOS, then jumped back and fired a strike I think to Beebe? It was a penalty but it was a damned impressive play. 

@JimmyinSD : said
Jones biggest problem is getting over powered which he would see more of at LG in most 4-3 schemes where the NT lines up over the LG and the RG gets the 3TDT,  I dont think Jones is the answer at LG,  and besides Dozier isnt sucking and Rieff is playing at a very high level with him there so maybe not mess with a good thing?

I noticed Jones getting pushed back on a few plays too, but... PFF has him graded at 77.6 on 138 snaps this season. That's the top grade on the Vikings Oline. In 2016 and 2017 he also was graded over 70.

IMO the Vikings coaching staff probably like Dozier more, so, I would agree with you to leave Dozier at LG. Brett Jones can play center and both guard spots so that makes him valuable as the top backup when Cleveland comes back.

Dozier and Jones will both be free agents, so lets hope they both want to continue to be Vikings on team friendly deals 

If the Vikings draft OT Samuel Cosmi or OT Christian Darrisaw in the first round.
The Vikings could move Riley Rieff to LG.

The problem: Yes, he restructured his deal to help the Vikings make room for Yannick Ngakoue by lowering his salary this year.. but next year it jumps up to just under 14 M with a dead cap hit of only 2.2 M.

So, if the Vikings need to make cap room, Rieff is probably a cut casualty. I think the Vikings will make it right by cutting him early and giving him plenty of time to test the waters as a free agent. I think the Vikings will offer him an affordable 3 year deal to finish his career as a Viking yet let him explore other options.

2021 is the last year on O'niel's contract, so he could be looking for a new deal this offseason???

Eric Wilson and Odenigbo are free agents that might want more money??

The Vikings will need to trim some fat somewhere?? At least 6-10 M range. 

This was a pretty good game by Cousins, and he had a last minute drive to lead his team to victory, which is clutch and I often criticize him for being anti-clutch, so this was a good change.  I'm not confident that this is the norm for Cousins, so I'll need to see more of this as time goes on to make it a trend. 

I also doubt if Cousins is going to be able to outduel good teams on a playoff run, given the very mediocre rest of our team.

@"Carl Knowles" said: @JimmyinSD : said Jones biggest problem is getting over powered which he would see more of at LG in most 4-3 schemes where the NT lines up over the LG and the RG gets the 3TDT,  I dont think Jones is the answer at LG,  and besides Dozier isnt sucking and Rieff is playing at a very high level with him there so maybe not mess with a good thing?

I noticed Jones getting pushed back on a few plays too, but... PFF has him graded at 77.6 on 138 snaps this season. That's the top grade on the Vikings Oline. In 2016 and 2017 he also was graded over 70.

IMO the Vikings coaching staff probably like Dozier more, so, I would agree with you to leave Dozier at LG. Brett Jones can play center and both guard spots so that makes him valuable as the top backup when Cleveland comes back.

Dozier and Jones will both be free agents, so lets hope they both want to continue to be Vikings on team friendly deals 

If the Vikings draft OT Samuel Cosmi or OT Christian Darrisaw in the first round.
The Vikings could move Riley Rieff to LG.

The problem: Yes, he restructured his deal to help the Vikings make room for Yannick Ngakoue by lowering his salary this year.. but next year it jumps up to just under 14 M with a dead cap hit of only 2.2 M.

So, if the Vikings need to make cap room, Rieff is probably a cut casualty. I think the Vikings will make it right by cutting him early and giving him plenty of time to test the waters as a free agent. I think the Vikings will offer him an affordable 3 year deal to finish his career as a Viking yet let him explore other options.

2021 is the last year on O'niel's contract, so he could be looking for a new deal this offseason???

Eric Wilson and Odenigbo are free agents that might want more money??

The Vikings will need to trim some fat somewhere?? At least 6-10 M range. 

They need to trim around 12 to 13 million just  to get under the cap and still have money to sign their draft picks.  Any additional signings will require more trimming and reworking of deals.

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"Carl Knowles" said: @JimmyinSD : said Jones biggest problem is getting over powered which he would see more of at LG in most 4-3 schemes where the NT lines up over the LG and the RG gets the 3TDT,  I dont think Jones is the answer at LG,  and besides Dozier isnt sucking and Rieff is playing at a very high level with him there so maybe not mess with a good thing?

I noticed Jones getting pushed back on a few plays too, but... PFF has him graded at 77.6 on 138 snaps this season. That's the top grade on the Vikings Oline. In 2016 and 2017 he also was graded over 70.

IMO the Vikings coaching staff probably like Dozier more, so, I would agree with you to leave Dozier at LG. Brett Jones can play center and both guard spots so that makes him valuable as the top backup when Cleveland comes back.

Dozier and Jones will both be free agents, so lets hope they both want to continue to be Vikings on team friendly deals 

If the Vikings draft OT Samuel Cosmi or OT Christian Darrisaw in the first round.
The Vikings could move Riley Rieff to LG.

The problem: Yes, he restructured his deal to help the Vikings make room for Yannick Ngakoue by lowering his salary this year.. but next year it jumps up to just under 14 M with a dead cap hit of only 2.2 M.

So, if the Vikings need to make cap room, Rieff is probably a cut casualty. I think the Vikings will make it right by cutting him early and giving him plenty of time to test the waters as a free agent. I think the Vikings will offer him an affordable 3 year deal to finish his career as a Viking yet let him explore other options.

2021 is the last year on O'niel's contract, so he could be looking for a new deal this offseason???

Eric Wilson and Odenigbo are free agents that might want more money??

The Vikings will need to trim some fat somewhere?? At least 6-10 M range. 

They need to trim around 12 to 13 million just  to get under the cap and still have money to sign their draft picks.  Any additional signings will require more trimming and reworking of deals.

Moving on from Reiff and Stephen gets us $15.5 million in cap relief, with about $3.5 in dead cap. We are about $8million over for the projected cap. 

I'm not certain that I would move on from Reiff, but I'll help Stephen pack.

@"BarrNone55" said: Moving on from Reiff and Stephen gets us $15.5 million in cap relief, with about $3.5 in dead cap. We are about $8million over for the projected cap. 

I'm not certain that I would move on from Reiff, but I'll help Stephen pack.

So much depends on what the Vikings intend to do with Cleveland and O'Neill. Does O'Neill finally move to the left to justify his next contract? Does Cleveland stay at guard or move to LT or even RT? If the Vikings keep Reiff, then they go into 2021 status quo, with an improving line and only LG requiring an obvious upgrade. That's a pretty appealing scenario, with candidates like Udoh, Samia and Collins as possibilities there as well. 

Rashawn Slater is a middle-first OL prospect who sounds like he could project anywhere on the line but center. But I will say that with O'Neill, Bradbury and Cleveland playing well and likely headed for big contracts, it's unlikely the Vikings invest another high pick there. 

Unless we go QB, the obvious pick is 3T, but as you've stated before, there just aren't many at the top of the draft. Maybe a mid-tier FA like Sheldon Rankins. 

@MaroonBells Speaking of Slater, Jerimah has him as his #1 OT over Sewell. 

When you're done laughing...

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"BarrNone55" said: Moving on from Reiff and Stephen gets us $15.5 million in cap relief, with about $3.5 in dead cap. We are about $8million over for the projected cap. 

I'm not certain that I would move on from Reiff, but I'll help Stephen pack.

So much depends on what the Vikings intend to do with Cleveland and O'Neill. Does O'Neill finally move to the left to justify his next contract? Does Cleveland stay at guard or move to LT or even RT? If the Vikings keep Reiff, then they go into 2021 status quo, with an improving line and only LG requiring an obvious upgrade. That's a pretty appealing scenario, with candidates like Udoh, Samia and Collins as possibilities there as well. 

Rashawn Slater is a middle-first OL prospect who sounds like he could project anywhere on the line but center. But I will say that with O'Neill, Bradbury and Cleveland playing well and likely headed for big contracts, it's unlikely the Vikings invest another high pick there. 

Unless we go QB, the obvious pick is 3T, but as you've stated before, there just aren't many at the top of the draft. Maybe a mid-tier FA like Sheldon Rankins. 

@"BarrNone55" said: @MaroonBells Speaking of Slater, Jerimah has him as his #1 OT over Sewell. 

When you're done laughing...

I saw that. But I haven't even begun to look closely at these guys yet to determine whether that's worthy of laughter...or another look. Sewell seems like a prototype LT, while Slater, at 6-3, and likely the arm length to go with it, will have to overcome length concerns to go anywhere near Sewell. This is probably DJ overthinking it...or clickbait.  

@"PurpleCrush" said:

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"BarrNone55" said: Moving on from Reiff and Stephen gets us $15.5 million in cap relief, with about $3.5 in dead cap. We are about $8million over for the projected cap. 

I'm not certain that I would move on from Reiff, but I'll help Stephen pack.

So much depends on what the Vikings intend to do with Cleveland and O'Neill. Does O'Neill finally move to the left to justify his next contract? Does Cleveland stay at guard or move to LT or even RT? If the Vikings keep Reiff, then they go into 2021 status quo, with an improving line and only LG requiring an obvious upgrade. That's a pretty appealing scenario, with candidates like Udoh, Samia and Collins as possibilities there as well. 

Rashawn Slater is a middle-first OL prospect who sounds like he could project anywhere on the line but center. But I will say that with O'Neill, Bradbury and Cleveland playing well and likely headed for big contracts, it's unlikely the Vikings invest another high pick there. 

Unless we go QB, the obvious pick is 3T, but as you've stated before, there just aren't many at the top of the draft. Maybe a mid-tier FA like Sheldon Rankins. 

I can definitely see them going after a Corner in the first. Asides from Gladney and Dantzler, who really stands out to be on the team as a solid contributor there next year? Hill hasn't done squat since his rookie year except get hurt and suspended, Hughes can't stay on the field, Boyd is a reserve/special teamer, and then a bunch of back end of the rotation guys.

I'm not saying they SHOULD go that route, but it's definitely feasible (Especially if Zim is still there). They could probably trade back, maybe recoup a second, then roll from there.

@"PurpleCrush" said:

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"BarrNone55" said: Moving on from Reiff and Stephen gets us $15.5 million in cap relief, with about $3.5 in dead cap. We are about $8million over for the projected cap. 

I'm not certain that I would move on from Reiff, but I'll help Stephen pack.

So much depends on what the Vikings intend to do with Cleveland and O'Neill. Does O'Neill finally move to the left to justify his next contract? Does Cleveland stay at guard or move to LT or even RT? If the Vikings keep Reiff, then they go into 2021 status quo, with an improving line and only LG requiring an obvious upgrade. That's a pretty appealing scenario, with candidates like Udoh, Samia and Collins as possibilities there as well. 

Rashawn Slater is a middle-first OL prospect who sounds like he could project anywhere on the line but center. But I will say that with O'Neill, Bradbury and Cleveland playing well and likely headed for big contracts, it's unlikely the Vikings invest another high pick there. 

Unless we go QB, the obvious pick is 3T, but as you've stated before, there just aren't many at the top of the draft. Maybe a mid-tier FA like Sheldon Rankins. 

I can definitely see them going after a Corner in the first. Asides from Gladney and Dantzler, who really stands out to be on the team as a solid contributor there next year? Hill hasn't done squat since his rookie year except get hurt and suspended, Hughes can't stay on the field, Boyd is a reserve/special teamer, and then a bunch of back end of the rotation guys.

I'm not saying they SHOULD go that route, but it's definitely feasible (Especially if Zim is still there). They could probably trade back, maybe recoup a second, then roll from there.

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"BarrNone55" said: @MaroonBells Speaking of Slater, Jerimah has him as his #1 OT over Sewell. 

When you're done laughing...

I saw that. But I haven't even begun to look closely at these guys yet to determine whether that's worthy of laughter...or another look. Sewell seems like a prototype LT, while Slater, at 6-3, and likely the arm length to go with it, will have to overcome length concerns to go anywhere near Sewell. This is probably DJ overthinking it...or clickbait.  

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"PurpleCrush" said:

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"BarrNone55" said: Moving on from Reiff and Stephen gets us $15.5 million in cap relief, with about $3.5 in dead cap. We are about $8million over for the projected cap. 

I'm not certain that I would move on from Reiff, but I'll help Stephen pack.

So much depends on what the Vikings intend to do with Cleveland and O'Neill. Does O'Neill finally move to the left to justify his next contract? Does Cleveland stay at guard or move to LT or even RT? If the Vikings keep Reiff, then they go into 2021 status quo, with an improving line and only LG requiring an obvious upgrade. That's a pretty appealing scenario, with candidates like Udoh, Samia and Collins as possibilities there as well. 

Rashawn Slater is a middle-first OL prospect who sounds like he could project anywhere on the line but center. But I will say that with O'Neill, Bradbury and Cleveland playing well and likely headed for big contracts, it's unlikely the Vikings invest another high pick there. 

Unless we go QB, the obvious pick is 3T, but as you've stated before, there just aren't many at the top of the draft. Maybe a mid-tier FA like Sheldon Rankins. 

I can definitely see them going after a Corner in the first. Asides from Gladney and Dantzler, who really stands out to be on the team as a solid contributor there next year? Hill hasn't done squat since his rookie year except get hurt and suspended, Hughes can't stay on the field, Boyd is a reserve/special teamer, and then a bunch of back end of the rotation guys.

I'm not saying they SHOULD go that route, but it's definitely feasible (Especially if Zim is still there). They could probably trade back, maybe recoup a second, then roll from there.

I could see a safety, but it's hard to see a corner. Because with a big cap number and no dead money, Harry is probably gone. Harris isn't very secure there either. With Hughes and Gladney 1st round picks, and Dantzler a 3rd rounder with upside, along with Hand, Boyd...even Hill, we could probably move that position down to the middle rounds. 

@"PurpleCrush" said:

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"PurpleCrush" said:

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"BarrNone55" said: Moving on from Reiff and Stephen gets us $15.5 million in cap relief, with about $3.5 in dead cap. We are about $8million over for the projected cap. 

I'm not certain that I would move on from Reiff, but I'll help Stephen pack.

So much depends on what the Vikings intend to do with Cleveland and O'Neill. Does O'Neill finally move to the left to justify his next contract? Does Cleveland stay at guard or move to LT or even RT? If the Vikings keep Reiff, then they go into 2021 status quo, with an improving line and only LG requiring an obvious upgrade. That's a pretty appealing scenario, with candidates like Udoh, Samia and Collins as possibilities there as well. 

Rashawn Slater is a middle-first OL prospect who sounds like he could project anywhere on the line but center. But I will say that with O'Neill, Bradbury and Cleveland playing well and likely headed for big contracts, it's unlikely the Vikings invest another high pick there. 

Unless we go QB, the obvious pick is 3T, but as you've stated before, there just aren't many at the top of the draft. Maybe a mid-tier FA like Sheldon Rankins. 

I can definitely see them going after a Corner in the first. Asides from Gladney and Dantzler, who really stands out to be on the team as a solid contributor there next year? Hill hasn't done squat since his rookie year except get hurt and suspended, Hughes can't stay on the field, Boyd is a reserve/special teamer, and then a bunch of back end of the rotation guys.

I'm not saying they SHOULD go that route, but it's definitely feasible (Especially if Zim is still there). They could probably trade back, maybe recoup a second, then roll from there.

I could see a safety, but it's hard to see a corner. Because with a big cap number and no dead money, Harry is probably gone. Harris isn't very secure there either. With Hughes and Gladney 1st round picks, and Dantzler a 3rd rounder with upside, along with Hand, Boyd...even Hill, we could probably move that position down to the middle rounds. 

I'm not saying they will, but that I can definitely see it for the reasons above. Hand might be converted to safety, Hughes might never play again with that neck issue of his, Hill hasn't done anything in the past 2 seasons and I believe is a UFA after the season. I know it's a running joke with the team, but would you really be surprised? 

Don't get me wrong. I'd love to see an OL or 3t to bolster those units. I just have programmed myself to not be surprised by what this team does ever.

@"Hawkvike25" said:

@"PurpleCrush" said:

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"PurpleCrush" said:

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"BarrNone55" said: Moving on from Reiff and Stephen gets us $15.5 million in cap relief, with about $3.5 in dead cap. We are about $8million over for the projected cap. 

I'm not certain that I would move on from Reiff, but I'll help Stephen pack.

So much depends on what the Vikings intend to do with Cleveland and O'Neill. Does O'Neill finally move to the left to justify his next contract? Does Cleveland stay at guard or move to LT or even RT? If the Vikings keep Reiff, then they go into 2021 status quo, with an improving line and only LG requiring an obvious upgrade. That's a pretty appealing scenario, with candidates like Udoh, Samia and Collins as possibilities there as well. 

Rashawn Slater is a middle-first OL prospect who sounds like he could project anywhere on the line but center. But I will say that with O'Neill, Bradbury and Cleveland playing well and likely headed for big contracts, it's unlikely the Vikings invest another high pick there. 

Unless we go QB, the obvious pick is 3T, but as you've stated before, there just aren't many at the top of the draft. Maybe a mid-tier FA like Sheldon Rankins. 

I can definitely see them going after a Corner in the first. Asides from Gladney and Dantzler, who really stands out to be on the team as a solid contributor there next year? Hill hasn't done squat since his rookie year except get hurt and suspended, Hughes can't stay on the field, Boyd is a reserve/special teamer, and then a bunch of back end of the rotation guys.

I'm not saying they SHOULD go that route, but it's definitely feasible (Especially if Zim is still there). They could probably trade back, maybe recoup a second, then roll from there.

I could see a safety, but it's hard to see a corner. Because with a big cap number and no dead money, Harry is probably gone. Harris isn't very secure there either. With Hughes and Gladney 1st round picks, and Dantzler a 3rd rounder with upside, along with Hand, Boyd...even Hill, we could probably move that position down to the middle rounds. 

I'm not saying they will, but that I can definitely see it for the reasons above. Hand might be converted to safety, Hughes might never play again with that neck issue of his, Hill hasn't done anything in the past 2 seasons and I believe is a UFA after the season. I know it's a running joke with the team, but would you really be surprised? 

Don't get me wrong. I'd love to see an OL or 3t to bolster those units. I just have programmed myself to not be surprised by what this team does ever.

To go back to what I said earlier, yes, I would be surprised. Your first round pick is usually meant to be a starter in year 1. We aren't going to take a slot corner in the first round. Safety is definitely a possibility along with DL and OL. I would be surprised and livid if a CB was taken in the first round considering Dantzler and Gladney are going to be the outside corners next year.