ESPN Has The Vikings As Division Winners

Canthony wrote:

Stroud is mediocre and definitely shows that when the lights are on in the playoffs. No Bo Nix. Not to mention, Maye didn't play well at all. Like bad.

Definitely over-matched in the SB. But I think you are being too critical?

His QBR was not too shabby in 2 of those 3 playoff games:

• Wild Card Round (vs. Chargers): 86.6

• Divisional Round (vs. Texans): 100.7

• AFC Championship (at Broncos): 58.8

• Super Bowl LX (vs. Seahawks): 79.1 [1, 2, 3]

Yr3 will be interesting for that 24 class for sure.

Penix is facing some of the same issues JJM is with accuracy and injuries.

Nix was looking promising and I place the top 3 in one big lump for now until they start to separate ongoing (Caleb, Daniels, MAye).

purplefaithful wrote:

Definitely over-matched in the SB. But I think you are being too critical?
His QBR was not too shabby in 2 of those 3 playoff games:
Wild Card Round (vs. Chargers): 86.6
Divisional Round (vs. Texans): 100.7
AFC Championship (at Broncos): 58.8
Super Bowl LX (vs. Seahawks): 79.1 [1, 2, 3]
Yr3 will be interesting for that 24 class for sure.
Penix is facing some of the same issues JJM is with accuracy and injuries.
Nix was looking promising and I place the top 3 in one big lump for now until they start to separate ongoing (Caleb, Daniels, MAye).

I don't mind Caleb. I like he seems to have that killer instinct and will to win. Something that goes unnoticed when evaluating a QB. A QB and team that JJ should have beat twice having that same mentality.

Penix I never liked from the start. His knees are about as strong as a piece of straw. Maye I just think is a bit overrated at this point. I like him, but he showed a lot of bad in the playoffs. Something he will get to work on, however. JJ working this offseason with a professional is exactly something he should have done. It looks at this point that it has helped a ton. We will see.

I am sure we will get to see that Hot Girl at the bar to start the season. I just hope we don't wake up in the tub with a missing kidney when it's all said and done.

medaille wrote:

The Vikings defense lost 4 veteran starting caliber players with pro bowls on their resumes and are replacing them with 3 rookies or 4 rookies if you assume Golday will pivot from ILB to OLB in case of injury.
Maybe Smith will come back (I think he will), but we’ve lost a lot of starting talent and are replacing it with rookies.
Regarding Greenard, you can say Turner will replace Greenard, but in that case, who replaces Turner?  If AVG or Turner goes down for 6 games, you are now starting an edge that probably should be being eased into the rotation not forced to start and our front 5 (DL+edges) will likely consist of 3 rookies or 2 rookies and a backup caliber player.
Obviously, we hit home runs on all of our rookies, but if you’re twisted and want to imagine a scenario where we get somewhat normal rookie production from the rookies, this defense will undoubtedly take a step back.  If Banks and Citrus take a year or two to develop, that’s not great news for this year. 
I’m kind of expecting our defense to be comparable to our 2024 defense, where we struggle to stop people consistently, but hope to offset that with turnovers caused by our defense being so chaotic. I think our saving grace will be playing a 3rd place schedule with subpar QBs.

Very much agree here and it's why I was so relieved when the team went defense-heavy in the draft. Whether those players can help this year remains to be seen but at least whoever is/was running the show, got that right in my opinion. Needed more talent on that side of the ball. I'm hopeful about the CB we signed in free agency from Pittsburgh too, based on Flo's familiarity with him and the negative Steeler fan reaction to losing the guy. If he was a total bum, Steeler fans would be happy to tell us such lol.

Hopeful for a fun season and excited to see some new faces on defense who can hopefully become mainstays for us.

MaroonBells wrote:

It's going to be tough for the Lions to compete with all of the players they've lost. Packers will be who they always are: slightly above average and overrated by everyone. There's just not a lot of bite on that roster and several really bad drafts are catching up with them. I think it's between the Bears and Vikings. But instead of Flores making the difference, it will be Kyler Murray returning the offense to "functional."

When you look at how much crazy turnover luck and Caleb Williams blind-heave luck the Bears had last year, it's hard to think they won't regress.

The Vikings definitely have a shot at the division. And you know when a pessimist says that, you really should listen. 😁

Throw a dart for the NFCN and you might be right. Should be a fun year.

MaroonBells wrote:

I think this is a pivotal season for Caleb Williams. He improved a lot last year, but his completion percentage is still one of the worst in the NFL. He either improves as a pocket passer and becomes one of the most dangerous QBs in the NFL, or he doesn't and he remains maddeningly elusive, but someone you can beat if you contain him.

Yes, I remember a similar guy, RGIII who was supposed to revolutionize the position. Injuries caught up quickly and without that escapability, he wasn't good enough to be an NFL QB. We shall see if Ben can mold Williams into an actual QB rather than a Houdini that pulls big plays out of his hat.

Hmm, that seems to fit another QB that we may have on our roster as well. Again, can he thrive as a pocket QB?