Breaking: Vikings will suck in 2024

Knucklehead wrote:


Agreed. 3-14 will yield a top 5 pick in the draft & prime opportunity to trade back to accumulate more draft capital.

That would be the silver lining. But that would be the silver lining for any team that chokes and coughs their way to 3 wins. I'll pass. That's a brutally long season. I think the only way they approach that territory is if Darnold sucks worse than he ever has since being in the NFL. Which considering this will be the best team he's ever been on very doubtful.

3-14? Pffftt! I went through the schedule and I can see 4-13 pretty easily!

I think that if Darnold starts the whole season, we go 5-12. I also believe the Vikings are MUCH better off with JJ and Turner and next year's 1st than Drake Maye. I expect to suffer this year, but there will be a 2025 payoff.

Everyone here knows my feelings on Darnold. I know he’s been in rough situations, but I just don’t see how he’s gonna come out and be a world beater on this team. I also am of the belief that Darnold will be difficult to unseat by JJM this year.

I honestly believe that Darnold was given 10 mil to take the piss this year and take a flyer at resurrecting his career, fully well knowing that he’s not the future at QB for the Vikings.

If he fails, he makes way for JJM in 2025 and allows him some game experience this year. If he succeeds, he allows JJM to not touch the field, makes a great market for himself next year, and allows the Vikings to be competitive.

I honestly think this is a 6 win team. Regardless of what happens, Darnold’s career hangs on what happens this season.

CFIAvike wrote:
Everyone here knows my feelings on Darnold. I know he’s been in rough situations, but I just don’t see how he’s gonna come out and be a world beater on this team. I also am of the belief that Darnold will be difficult to unseat by JJM this year.

I honestly believe  that Darnold was given 10 mil to take the piss this year and take a flyer at resurrecting his career, fully well knowing that he’s not the future at QB for the Vikings.

If he fails, he makes way for JJM in 2025 and allows him some game experience this year. If he succeeds, he allows JJM to not touch the field, makes a great market for himself next year, and allows the Vikings to be competitive.

I honestly think this is a 6 win team. Regardless of what happens, Darnold’s career hangs on what happens this season.

Here's why; Most here agree that the most important person on a football team is the QB, but I contend that the coach is the second most important person.  If we get 10 wins then what would you say?

I think at first glance I think this is a 8-10 win team. We'll take a big hit at QB. Darnold is not Cousins, but he's probably quite a bit better than any of the three QBs we used late last year. All the injuries and turnovers from last year should regress to the mean.

I think where we're being underrated is Addison, Turner and Pace Jr. I mean Addison would be a WR1 on most teams. He should be even better this year. Turner is the clear, odds-on favorite for DROY before he's even played a down. If he has that kind of year, Vikings could win a lot of games. IPJ with a year of experience will be fun to watch.

The biggest problem is the division we're in. All those teams are better than they were last year and in order to finish well we're going to need those teams to experience some of the injury and turnover luck the Vikings did last year.

So many moving parts vs last year
Cousins to Darnold is a huge downgrade
Difficult first 1/2 of schedule

I think Vegas got this right at 6.5

It'll take some win streaks in the back 1/2 of the year to overcome an ugly first 1/2.

I see them as a 7 to 9 win team this year. Darnold is a big question mark and at least so far, they are taking a slower approach with McCarthy, but we'll see if that changes in camp. They should have a better running game than last year and a healthy Jefferson will make a big difference, both of which will take pressure off of the QB. I think the D will be around the same to slightly better year. Hunter is a huge loss, but they have much better quality depth on edge and if Turner can hit the ground running, then he's a perfect fit for Flores' scheme. CB has some questions but it did last year too and I would agree that there are questions along the interior DL and OL. If Darnold turns out to be decent, then they could compete for a wild card, but I'm more expecting that McCarthy takes over midway to late in the season. I do wish they had brought in a better bridge QB. I get the idea on gambling on his potential and he at least had better coaching in SF last year, but I worry that he's mostly cooked.

MaroonBells wrote:

I think at first glance I think this is a 8-10 win team. We'll take a big hit at QB. Darnold is not Cousins, but he's probably quite a bit better than any of the three QBs we used late last year. All the injuries and turnovers from last year should regress to the mean.

I think where we're being underrated is Addison, Turner and Pace Jr. I mean Addison would be a WR1 on most teams. He should be even better this year. Turner is the clear, odds-on favorite for DROY before he's even played a down. If he has that kind of year, Vikings could win a lot of games. IPJ with a year of experience will be fun to watch.

The biggest problem is the division we're in. All those teams are better than they were last year and in order to finish well we're going to need those teams to experience some of the injury and turnover luck the Vikings did last year.

You seem to fear the North too hard....even last year with the shit show of injuries and cavalcade of backups at QB Minnesota was competitive with the NFCN. I don't fear them. Its no doubt better and it could be a premier division to showcase for the NFL moving forward, but Minnesota is going to be right there. Their roster says so. Wait 'til KOC's little piece of clay starts kicking in in 2025.

I remember a comment that Jared Allen said in what I think was his first year in purple, when we lost to a very soft, sucky Kansas City team (not expected). His comment? "Hey, it's the NFL. Everyone in this league is good."

Do we fear the NFC North? The entire NFL 17 game schedule?
I put this in the hand of KOC and his coaches to take the personnel we have and win.
It's over my pay grade, for sure, but if the base personnel that everyone has to deal with is "good", then the differentiation is coaching/game scheme.
Now it will get interesting.

I've been ignoring the predictions for the team since the 80's, when every sports bobblehead routinely picked us to finish last or next to last regardless how we'd done previously. At that time, they hated us for being "small market". Now, they dismiss us because our injury-plagued season allowed the kittens and the pukers to gain momentum...but, for how long?

Flores has another year with the team. Our young'uns are getting clued in. The ship's new course is finally plotted.

Stay tuned, folks.

Zanary wrote:
I've been ignoring the predictions for the team since the 80's, when every sports bobblehead routinely picked us to finish last or next to last regardless how we'd done previously. At that time, they hated us for being "small market". Now, they dismiss us because our injury-plagued season allowed the kittens and the pukers to gain momentum...but, for how long?

Flores has another year with the team. Our young'uns are getting clued in. The ship's new course is finally plotted.

Stay tuned, folks.

I agree and am also on board with 8-10 wins. A surprise season. Flores for another season and KOC coaching the turnovers out of Darnold gives the Vikings a chance to build toward the future. The San Diego based writer who predicted 3 wins also picked the Bears to go to the playoffs. I've got the Bears finishing last and the other 3 teams battling for the NFCN championship, with the Kitties having a slight edge.

Montana Tom wrote:
I remember a comment that Jared Allen said in what I think was his first year in purple, when we lost to a very soft, sucky Kansas City team (not expected).  His comment?  "Hey, it's the NFL.  Everyone in this league is good."

Do we fear the NFC North?  The entire NFL 17 game schedule? 
I put this in the hand of KOC and his coaches to take the personnel we have and win.
It's over my pay grade, for sure, but if the base personnel that everyone has to deal with is "good", then the differentiation is coaching/game scheme.
Now it will get interesting.

This is why I find it hard to believe the Vikings will win only 3-6 games. Everyone is good, including the Vikings. Our division is better than it's ever been, but they're still divisional games that can, and often do, go either way regardless of talent on the roster. Last year, for example, the Vikings played the Lions to the wire with Nick Mullens throwing 4 INTs and the Lions outrushing us 143 to 17.