Forum The Longship Rebuilt Vikings Defense

Rebuilt Vikings Defense

MaroonBells
Joined Jan 2014
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Just how much have the Vikings rebuilt their defense? Yes, many of the new faces are players returning from injury or Covid opts, but still, this is a pretty remarkable fact:

By preliminary calculations, Harrison Smith and Cameron Dantzler will be the only players to presumably start for the Vikings in Week 1 of 2021 compared to Week 17 of 2020.

The thing is going to look and feel totally different.

“A gentleman is someone who can play the accordion, but doesn't." - Tom Waits

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#1 · Mar 27, 9:10 AM
DE
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@"MaroonBells" said:
By preliminary calculations, Harrison Smith and Cameron Dantzler will be the only players to presumably start for the Vikings in Week 1 of 2021 compared to Week 17 of 2020.

The thing is going to look and feel totally different.



Yeah, that's crazy.  Hopefully the COVID bug is better at being under control for camps and the regular season.

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#2 · Mar 27, 9:19 AM
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@"MaroonBells" said: Just how much have the Vikings rebuilt their defense? Yes, many of the new faces are players returning from injury or Covid opts, but still, this is a pretty remarkable fact:
By preliminary calculations, Harrison Smith and Cameron Dantzler will be the only players to presumably start for the Vikings in Week 1 of 2021 compared to Week 17 of 2020.

The thing is going to look and feel totally different.



Hmmm, Eric Kendricks started the first 11 games of 2020 so unless he has been cut, traded, or still injured, he'll be our starting MLB this year.  Was there a news release that he is out for the start of the season?

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#3 · Mar 27, 11:18 AM
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@"IDVikingfan" said:
@"MaroonBells" said: Just how much have the Vikings rebuilt their defense? Yes, many of the new faces are players returning from injury or Covid opts, but still, this is a pretty remarkable fact:
By preliminary calculations, Harrison Smith and Cameron Dantzler will be the only players to presumably start for the Vikings in Week 1 of 2021 compared to Week 17 of 2020.

The thing is going to look and feel totally different.



Hmmm, Eric Kendricks started the first 11 games of 2020 so unless he has been cut, traded, or still injured, he'll be our starting MLB this year.  Was there a news release that he is out for the start of the season?

 Read it again. 

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#4 · Mar 27, 11:40 AM
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Oops, misread as first game...

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#5 · Mar 27, 11:42 AM
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Still need upgrade at RDE and Safety next to Harry

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#6 · Mar 27, 11:49 AM
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I'm really starting to look forward to the season.

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#7 · Mar 27, 11:59 AM
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Did someone say we need a safety next to Harry?  Bam!  Zimmer and Spielman must be watching this board.:)

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#8 · Mar 27, 12:23 PM
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except when they need a starting caliber guard

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#9 · Mar 27, 1:03 PM
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It will be interesting to see how it all works out.

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#10 · Mar 27, 1:18 PM
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D is shaping up real nice! I’m still not “all-in” until I see O-Line improvements, but I love what they’re doing on D. 

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#11 · Mar 27, 7:48 PM
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Honestly, if the team gets some incremental O line help, a return to the playoffs won't be any kind of surprise. They almost did it last year with the shittiest D of the Zimmer era by far. 

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#12 · Mar 28, 4:53 AM
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D was so putrid in 2020, we'd be vying for top 3 pick this year if the Offense wasn't so potent with Cousins, Dalvin AT and JJ...They are lucky Cousins is so durable (knocks wood).

I fully expect this team to be playoff caliber unless the injury gods smite em...Maybe good enough to compete with GB for North. 

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#13 · Mar 28, 8:54 AM
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@"purplefaithful" said: D was so putrid in 2020, we'd be vying for top 3 pick this year if the Offense wasn't so potent with Cousins, Dalvin AT and JJ...They are lucky Cousins is so durable (knocks wood).

I fully expect this team to be playoff caliber unless the injury gods smite em...Maybe good enough to compete with GB for North. 


The D is going to be improved, how much remains to be seen. If they can figure out just a little more improvement on the O-line.......100% the media will sleep on the Vikings until they win some games. Media formula: bad last year + too lazy to do research = will remain bad this year. Add a sprinkle of 'Aaron Rodgers, best QB in NFL, blah blah blah run away with the North' flavoring that gets put into every opinion.

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#14 · Mar 29, 5:34 AM
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@"StickyBun" said:
@"purplefaithful" said: D was so putrid in 2020, we'd be vying for top 3 pick this year if the Offense wasn't so potent with Cousins, Dalvin AT and JJ...They are lucky Cousins is so durable (knocks wood).

I fully expect this team to be playoff caliber unless the injury gods smite em...Maybe good enough to compete with GB for North. 


The D is going to be improved, how much remains to be seen. If they can figure out just a little more improvement on the O-line.......100% the media will sleep on the Vikings until they win some games. Media formula: bad last year + too lazy to do research = will remain bad this year. Add a sprinkle of 'Aaron Rodgers, best QB in NFL, blah blah blah run away with the North' flavoring that gets put into every opinion.



Truth. Because that's what they do every year. However, at some point, someone in the media will take a look at the depth chart, realize that this team was a game away from the playoffs last year, lost three games by 3 points or less, and to that team added Hunter, Pierce, Tomlinson, Barr, Kendricks and Patrick Peterson. 

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#15 · Mar 29, 6:05 AM
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Still have money to add Geno.  Give me the Brown trade (14 and a 3rd) with the 27th pick.  Brown and Phillips day 1
REVAMPED DEFENSE
DL: Hunter-Tomlinson-Pierce-Phillips, Weatherly-Atkins-Lynch-Wonnum, Watts, Holmes
Went from zero pressure and horrible run D to very good pressure and fantastic run defense.  DL sets the tone
DB: Dantzler-Woods-Smith-Peterson, Gladney, Mac Man, HughesIf Zim can do to Peterson what he has done in the past with vet CB's, if Woods can return the abilities he had when he was coached by our current DB coach, this secondary could be stackedYoung DB's benefit from significantly increased pressure on the QB as
well as a real training camp and a year of trial by fire

Healthy, with some steps forward by young guys?  This could be a top 5 defense
2020 offense with Brown at LT, a solid vet LG (taylor, blythe, cole), and 2.0 Jet plus a top 5 defense? 

SB contender

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#16 · Mar 29, 7:33 AM
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@"StickyBun" said:
@"purplefaithful" said: D was so putrid in 2020, we'd be vying for top 3 pick this year if the Offense wasn't so potent with Cousins, Dalvin AT and JJ...They are lucky Cousins is so durable (knocks wood).

I fully expect this team to be playoff caliber unless the injury gods smite em...Maybe good enough to compete with GB for North. 


The D is going to be improved, how much remains to be seen. If they can figure out just a little more improvement on the O-line.......100% the media will sleep on the Vikings until they win some games. Media formula: bad last year + too lazy to do research = will remain bad this year. Add a sprinkle of 'Aaron Rodgers, best QB in NFL, blah blah blah run away with the North' flavoring that gets put into every opinion.



Love that take.  Everything stays the same unless the QB is part of the sloberfest, then it is always rosy.

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#17 · Mar 29, 11:42 AM
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