Just Need An Average O

An average offense gets us to the playoffs, but historically you need BOTH your offense and defense be at least top 10 to make any type of run to the Super Bowl.

Provided we get competent QB play this year and we avoid a rash of injuries, the offense should be quite a bit better than average. I'm a little more worried about the defense until I see what we have in mind for Harry, Greenard and the DL. Flores needs a good draft and I'm hoping our first two picks go to the defense, if not our first three.

Defense has lost 3 starters and backfilled none of them.

I think we're closer to 2024 defense than 2025, with shit DTs, that let's teams move the ball pretty easily against us, but hoping the turnovers come in droves.

Also, we had 3 viable safeties in 2024 and 1 currently

JustInTime wrote:
https://x.com/nfl_researcher/status/2044506306971890046?s=46&t=TjjB9Q4BmOwmN74RrrMjoQ

Assuming BFlo can hold serve.

Huh?  What's your goal 10-7 and first round playoff loss.  lol

Which ever 11 take the field on D, maybe they'll get to play from ahead a bit this year?

purplefaithful wrote:
Which ever 11 take the field on D, maybe they'll get to play from ahead a bit this year?

I think that should be the expectation.  Our offense, injuries not withstanding, is pretty stacked as far as talent goes.

KOC and the QBs really need to show up better this year.

Last year was snake bit. Some of it was a young QB that missed time to injuries, some of it was due to an OL that lined up 26 different ways due to yet more injuries, the primary backup was brought in late (due to a swing and miss on another player, earlier) and got his shoulder broken...and our UDFA QB had to get on the field as well.

It was brutal...and unlikely to repeat. That said, our assumed #1 and #2 QBs both have injury reputations to shake. Our QB room looks solid through 3 players now, so...we have zero excuses there.

Zanary wrote:
Last year was snake bit. Some of it was a young QB that missed time to injuries, some of it was due to an OL that lined up 26 different ways due to yet more injuries, the primary backup was brought in late (due to a swing and miss on another player, earlier) and got his shoulder broken...and our UDFA QB had to get on the field as well.

It was brutal...and unlikely to repeat. That said, our assumed #1 and #2 QBs both have injury reputations to shake. Our QB room looks solid through 3 players now, so...we have zero excuses there.

McCarthy's injury luck was brutal sure, but IMO the team we saw reflected what was built. The offense was a mess because our QBs were mccarthy, wentz with one arm, and brosmer. The o-line was a mash unit because like 80% of it was attempting to return from serious injuries. The RBs didn't have juice because our RBs don't have juice. And the team lacked depth because either our scouts or our coaches can't consistently develop draft picks.

We had a lunch pail defense playing like a top 3 unit and our kicker was mr automatic all year. I don't think we were snake bit, I just don't think we were that good.

pattersaur wrote:

McCarthy's injury luck was brutal sure, but IMO the team we saw reflected what was built. The offense was a mess because our QBs were mccarthy, wentz with one arm, and brosmer. The o-line was a mash unit because like 80% of it was attempting to return from serious injuries. The RBs didn't have juice because our RBs don't have juice. And the team lacked depth because either our scouts or our coaches can't consistently develop draft picks.

We had a lunch pail defense playing like a top 3 unit and our kicker was mr automatic all year. I don't think we were snake bit, I just don't think we were that good.

Yah, the QB and OL rooms cost this team dearly...

this team hit 9 wins because of BFlo and that D...I'm still scratching my head on how in the world they win that white out game at home last year...

Betting on the NFL is not for the faint of heart, thats for sure.

And considering the D struggled the first quarter of the season without Harry and Van Ginkel. How good was it down the stretch? Pretty amazing run IMO.

Remember, we had 5 sacks against Seattle, in Seattle where the offense didn't show up and Seattle basically went into a shell once they got the lead and saw our offense wasn't a threat.

Waterboy wrote:

Huh?  What's your goal 10-7 and first round playoff loss.  lol

No. 

We were nearly 10-7 last year with an O that was:

30th in passing yards (ahead of the Jets and Browns)
29th in passing touchdowns (ahead of the Jets, Browns, and Titans)

Getting to an average O easily equates to another 2-3 wins assuming the D holds serve.

Doesn’t seem to far fetched to me.

JustInTime wrote:

No. 

We were nearly 10-7 last year with an O that was:

30th in passing yards (ahead of the Jets and Browns)
29th in passing touchdowns (ahead of the Jets, Browns, and Titans)

Getting to an average O easily equates to another 2-3 wins assuming the D holds serve.

Doesn’t seem to far fetched to me.

Agreed. I keep waffling between having faith in Flores to do what he always does, and knowing we need a talent infusion. I'm hoping our draft gives me a little more confidence on this front.

JustInTime wrote:

No. 

We were nearly 10-7 last year with an O that was:

30th in passing yards (ahead of the Jets and Browns)
29th in passing touchdowns (ahead of the Jets, Browns, and Titans)

Getting to an average O easily equates to another 2-3 wins assuming the D holds serve.

Doesn’t seem to far fetched to me.

Getting to 11 wins may not even win the division and having a strong D and average offense won't equate to a Super Bowl run.  It your goal is to make the playoffs, sure let's hope for an average offense.  

If your goal is to win a Super Bowl this year, we better be expecting a top 8 offense.  Especially with Kyler Murray, our weapons, and one of the best offensive minds in the game calling the shots.  Anything less than that means something went terribly wrong.

MAD GAINZ wrote:

Getting to 11 wins may not even win the division and having a strong D and average offense won't equate to a Super Bowl run.  It your goal is to make the playoffs, sure let's hope for an average offense.  

If your goal is to win a Super Bowl this year, we better be expecting a top 8 offense.  Especially with Kyler Murray, our weapons, and one of the best offensive minds in the game calling the shots.  Anything less than that means something went terribly wrong.

I do think Murray will help a bunch.

But do TJH, Mason and AJ Sr really strike an inordinate amount of concern in DC's? 

I think Mason is the one with good tread/best years left. 

I wonder if we're looking at our Offense through purple glasses sometimes?

JustInTime wrote:

No. 

We were nearly 10-7 last year with an O that was:

30th in passing yards (ahead of the Jets and Browns)
29th in passing touchdowns (ahead of the Jets, Browns, and Titans)

Getting to an average O easily equates to another 2-3 wins assuming the D holds serve.

Doesn’t seem to far fetched to me.

You're making a lot of assumptions and though we went 9-8, it was a very soft 9-8.  Another 2-3 wins would be okay but still doesn't put us near the Rams or Seahucks or 49ers.  We went 14-3 and were mostly pretenders.  We're further away now than we were then.

purplefaithful wrote:

I do think Murray will help a bunch.

But do TJH, Mason and AJ Sr really strike an inordinate amount of concern in DC's? 

I think Mason is the one with good tread/best years left. 

I wonder if we're looking at our Offense through purple glasses sometimes?

Sersiously? I think it's just the opposite. Viking fans, especially the ones on this board, tend to forget how unusual it is to have a WR/WR/TE/LT/RT combo this good. Name a team with a better combo. You can't. Now if we've added a qualified QB to that? Oh my. 

Yes, the backs are mid. But at the end of the day, they're just backs. Who were the 4 starting backs in the conference championships? It wasn't Bijan, Gibbs, Barkley, Taylor, Cook or McCaffrey.

Waterboy wrote:

You're making a lot of assumptions and though we went 9-8, it was a very soft 9-8.  Another 2-3 wins would be okay but still doesn't put us near the Rams or Seahucks or 49ers.  We went 14-3 and were mostly pretenders.  We're further away now than we were then.

Two assumptions: 

BFlo can hold serve. And he appears to be perfectly capable of turning chicken shit to chicken salad.

Our O, particularly the passing game, isn’t absolute dog shit two years in a row.

Not exactly a huge leap of faith.

MaroonBells wrote:

Sersiously? I think it's just the opposite. Viking fans, especially the ones on this board, tend to forget how unusual it is to have a WR/WR/TE/LT/RT combo this good. Name a team with a better combo. You can't. Now if we've added a qualified QB to that? Oh my. 

Yes, the backs are mid. But at the end of the day, they're just backs. Who were the 4 starting backs in the conference championships? It wasn't Bijan, Gibbs, Barkley, Taylor, Cook or McCaffrey.

All 5 of those positions had down years last year.  Was some of it QB related?  Sure.  Was all of it QB related?  Certainly not.  Hockenson can barely run and can’t chip and then run a route.  We also lost Nailor and Ham and out of our 6 “starting” IDL/S positions, we have 2 functional starters and 4 warm bodies and the hope of a rookie or two playing well day one.

This team has to get multiple starters through the draft (or maybe Hitman comes back).

I think the offense and the team as a whole are going to live or die with how healthy the Oline is.

MaroonBells wrote:

Sersiously? I think it's just the opposite. Viking fans, especially the ones on this board, tend to forget how unusual it is to have a WR/WR/TE/LT/RT combo this good. Name a team with a better combo. You can't. Now if we've added a qualified QB to that? Oh my. 

Yes, the backs are mid. But at the end of the day, they're just backs. Who were the 4 starting backs in the conference championships? It wasn't Bijan, Gibbs, Barkley, Taylor, Cook or McCaffrey.

Hey, I'm in a seriously discerning state of mind today! 

I think we tend to gloss over the offense and just make assumptions its going to be kick ass...I hope so (and the upside is there) but some stuff has to be seen by me to be believed. 

Three things have to happen imo:

1). Murray has to play well, stay healthy and can he lift all boats on that side of the ball? Yes, the WR's should feast
2). Frank Smith has to work his magic, especially with the run game and non under-center scheming. 
3). Darrisaw has to return to previous form and thats no gimme with that injury

As an aside, I have no idea what TJH can provide on-going with the passing game (yes, I know Murray knows how to feed a TE) but Hock aint the guy he was when we traded for him. I think the Vikings know this and cut his contract term.

Questions in my mind on TE and RB's...So it's just not a slam dunk to me this is going to be 01, 09 or 98 redux. 

I hope it is...

purplefaithful wrote:

Hey, I'm in a seriously discerning state of mind today! 

I think we tend to gloss over the offense and just make assumptions its going to be kick ass...I hope so (and the upside is there) but some stuff has to be seen by me to be believed. 

Three things have to happen imo:

1). Murray has to play well, stay healthy and can he lift all boats on that side of the ball? Yes, the WR's should feast
2). Frank Smith has to work his magic, especially with the run game and non under-center scheming. 
3). Darrisaw has to return to previous form and thats no gimme with that injury

As an aside, I have no idea what TJH can provide on-going with the passing game (yes, I know Murray knows how to feed a TE) but Hock aint the guy he was when we traded for him. I think the Vikings know this and cut his contract term.

Questions in my mind on TE and RB's...So it's just not a slam dunk to me this is going to be 01, 09 or 98 redux. 

I hope it is...

Valid points, PF. But aren’t those the kind of adjustments every team in the NFL deals with?

Remember last year at this time? Everyone was worried about the Lions without even considering they had lost their starting C, a starting CB, a starting Safety and a Pro Bowl guard. They were still good, but they weren’t the same. These things matter. Let’s fast forward a year and look at some other teams.

• Since Seattle's the team to beat, they lost their OC, they lost their starting RB, a starting CB, a starting S and a starting LB. Their biggest addition was WR Rasheed Shaheed.

• Lions again lost several key players. Their Pro Bowl LT, a starting Edge, a starting LB, a starting CB and David Montgomery. In terms of money, their biggest addition was Cade Mays, a league average center.

• Chicago lost their OC, their starting center, a starting LB and a starting WR. The biggest addition they made was Coby Bryant, the starting CB they pinched from Seattle. Their starting center is now Garrett Bradbury.

• Packers lost 11 players, including a starting LB, a starting WR, a starting Edge and a starting OL. They’ll get Tucker Kraft back and maybe Parsons later in the year. But their biggest addition was…wait for it…Javon Hargrave.

I’m glad you brought him up, because I think the most undervalued Vikings player going into 2026 is TJ Hockenson. Viking fans are talking about him like he’s in some kind of age-related decline. He’s 28. 4 years younger than Kittle, 8 years younger than Ertz and Kelce…and another year removed from the ACL.