We need you back here on the board for football, man! Its going to be a fun year. Don't let politics drag you down, sir. Just shoot your bullets and let it roll off your back. You need to be around to see how obnoxious I get when JJM pans out.

Looking forward to our matchups this year. You guys got lucky last year against us. You choked up a 28 point lead but we couldn’t finish. It won’t happen this year lol. We will win both times.

Both Drake Maye and Caleb Williams have to learn new offenses from their rookie years, that will take some time and probably curb a smidge of development for the sake of learning a new coordinator and offense. Its very early, but I'm reading that Williams is really struggling. While I do feel both teams made the right call in getting new head coaches, this is the kind of stuff that hurts young QBs. Patience is required and fans aren't wired that way today and the media doesn't care about that, the more drama they create, the more engagement they get. Twitter is the Wild West now where outright lying is the norm, which doesn't help when dealing with naive or unsophisticated fans online. 

I still stand by my opinion that Nix, McCarthy and Penix will turn out in the aggregate to be better NFL QBs than Williams, Daniels and Maye. This is my long term projection of the first 3 QBs drafted compared to the next 3 in round one. Nix's ceiling is a little higher than I originally thought and he spent some time with Drew Brees this summer. They are calling next year's QB class incoming as very good, so we'll see how that shakes out next Spring as well. There's going to be a TON of comparisons by the national media postgame from the MNF affair between Minnesota and Chicago as far as the QBs go in that first game. Pressure for both guys, but that's life in the NFL.

Neat story on JJ's progress, the defense looks sharp and some surprising contributors this season on D: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6517609...takeaways/

Here's the pass I mentioned yesterday: middle of the field heater only the WRer can get, JJ plants and torques with that underrated fast release, right on the hands. He's bigger from the waist down this year, using that as a throwing platform like the good ones do.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1948794049651245433

The Vegas consensus is that the Vikings will win 8.5 games in 2025. I think they’ll get the .5 for beating 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers in a large pub in Dublin, but that’s just a guess.

Many Vegas sites that set the Vikings’ win total at 8.5 also predict they will fail to reach it.

The consensus of well-known NFL analysts seems to be that the Vikings are in some sort of rebuild mode because they will start J.J. McCarthy at quarterback after allowing Sam Darnold to leave.

All of which leaves the 2025 Vikings in an ideal position, emotionally.

They won 14 games last year with a refurbished quarterback. They’ve won 13 and 14 games in the two seasons in which the starting quarterback has remained healthy under head coach Kevin O’Connell.

In 2023, when everything went wrong, including quarterback Kirk Cousins and star receiver Justin Jefferson getting hurt, they still won seven games.

I believe the 2025 Vikings are better than the 2024 Vikings, that the division is weaker than it was a year ago because of the Lions’ personnel and coaching losses and that the lack of pressure being applied from outside the building puts this team in an ideal place:

They’re underrated, overlooked and improved.

I would expect the Vikings to address their cornerback and tight end depth issues as the season opener approaches. They signed Stephon Gilmore in late August last year, and that, or something similar, could happen this season.

There are three reasons so many national line-setters and analysts are downgrading the Vikings’ chances this season:

Yes, the division is tough, but the Bears have much to prove before they can be taken seriously. The Packers are good, but Jordan Love appeared to regress at least slightly last year. The Lions lost three of their best brains — offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and center Frank Ragnow.

Yes, the schedule looks difficult, but playing two road games against beatable teams at neutral sites constitutes an advantage.

Yes, McCarthy is an unknown, but I believe he will be a better and more reliable quarterback at the end of this season than Darnold was last year.

The Vikings’ supposed interest in Rodgers fooled many into thinking they weren’t high on McCarthy.

Here are the facts underlying the speculation: The Vikings never brought Rodgers in for an interview or made him an offer. The Steelers, who did both, were always going to sign him.

My prediction for the 2025 Vikings: McCarthy will play well, the defense will thrive in a third season under Brian Flores, and the Vikings will win a playoff game.


Startribune

Just days after a quiet rookie season ended in the playoff loss to the Rams, Vikings edge rusher Dallas Turner said he felt the need to get back to work.

Turner, the former SEC Defensive Player of the Year drafted 17th overall out of Alabama last year, partnered up with Pro Bowl teammate Jonathan Greenard to work on multiple areas of his game.

“We didn’t go nowhere,” Turner said this week as Vikings training camp began, “so we was hitting it strong in the weight room, watching film and picking each other’s brains. He has a lot of knowledge. … It was a good opportunity to be around him this offseason … see how he got to this point in his career.”

Turner and Greenard lifted weights together at the team’s Eagan headquarters and honed pass-rushing skills with trainer Brandon Jordan, a former Michigan State assistant.

Greenard, who has had 24.5 sacks over the last two seasons, said he’s seen more urgency, understanding and collaboration from Turner, who had three sacks in 16 games as a backup last season.

“It’s way different than last year,” Greenard said. “Mindset, he’s more locked in. He’s receiving coaching a lot better. I mean, I’m just ready to see what he can do at this point. I worked with him pretty much all offseason a good bit, and to see him translate it out here on the field, I’m excited to see what he can do.”

Turner is an impressive athlete, leading all edge rushers with a 4.46-second 40-yard dash at the 2024 combine. But he looked a step slow as a rookie. He admitted to feeling slow at times while processing his assignments.

He said he’s heard the criticism that comes with playing the fewest defensive snaps (about 19 per game) among the nine first-round defenders in his class.

Eyes will still be on Turner once NFL rules allow padded practices beginning Monday. That’s when he can begin to show his physical progress, which has drawn strong early reviews from teammates and coaches. As a rookie, Turner said he wasn’t quite prepared for the speed or strength of the NFL game.

This time around, Turner said he is also embracing his standing on the team behind Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel.

“His body, the shape he was in, just looks so strong,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said. “I think he’s gained a lot of strength. I think he’s gained a lot of understanding of the role. … We’ve got three starters. We really feel like that. That’s a testament to the work Dallas has put in, and he’s going to get a lot of opportunities.”

O’Connell added: “I’m expecting a huge jump from him starting [this week].”

An added complexity to Turner’s NFL transition is the vision that coordinator Brian Flores has for his eventual overall game as a rush-and-cover linebacker. Last year, Turner dropped into coverage at a similar rate (27%) as the Vikings’ primary hybrid edge rusher, Van Ginkel (33%), according to Pro Football Focus. For comparison, Greenard dropped into coverage on 15% of passing downs.

More zone coverage responsibilities require even more film study, which Turner said can help him play up to his 4.46-second speed.

“Getting more comfortable with the pace of the game, getting familiar with offensive recognition: formations, plays, different types of [pass-blocking] sets, going against NFL players and stuff like that in general,” Turner said. “Strength, speed, conditioning, all that stuff. Just really an all-around, overall thing.”

Flores, the 44-year-old tactician, said Turner has been “open” to those varied roles this summer.

“We’re just looking for him to continue to improve as a rusher, in the run game, early downs, third downs, in the different roles we have him playing,” Flores said. “How many different ways can we rush him? How many different ways can we cover them? He’s been open, and he’s really done a good job in all those areas. We’ll see — I’m excited for him.”

Turner was almost as measured as his veteran defensive coordinator when asked about his own expectations for Year 2.

“All I can do is just still continue to learn, run my race,” Turner said. “Learn from these two dudes [Greenard and Van Ginkel] because they’re All-Pro, two Pro Bowlers; I’d be stupid not to be a sponge. That’s all I can do. I sit back, take whatever opportunity I get and run with it. As long as I get better, that’s all that matters.”

Startribune

Young Viking Earns Praise for Being a “Violent” and “Old School” Player
Young Viking Kobe King has his supporters in the Twin Cities.

The linebacker is coming off a successful college career with Penn State. The sense one gets after listening to him speak and hear him described is that he’ll have no trouble living up to the ideas of being an “old school” and “violent” linebacker. As a result, Mr. King should have a role on specials as a rookie and possibly get some work on defense, too. Just how high can his game soar, though?
To a certain extent, one thinks of Ivan Pace Jr. as an interesting comparable. After all, both thrive when allowed to step forward with aggressive physicality.

Linebacker coach Mike Siravo was the one to describe King with the quotes from the title. What makes the coach excited about the team’s new ‘backer? Check out the answer: “Just how physical he was as a tackler, like he’s an old school Penn State linebacker. He hits violent, he brings his hips, it’s painful to watch him tackle. And that’s not around much anymore.”

The coach offered those words more than a month ago. With training camp arriving, a physical player is going to be more at home since the intensity increases. So, too, will the preseason games offer King a good venue to show off his abilities.

Go ahead and ask the linebacker about how he views his game. His answer: “I’m an aggressive linebacker, I like to get downhill. Shoot gaps, play fast, physical.”

The 22-year-old defender was chosen in the 6th Round of the 2025 NFL Draft. He stands at 6’1″ and weighs 236 pounds. He has a sturdy build and should be capable of operating from within the ruggedness of between-the-tackles football.

What remains to be seen is if Kobe King is going to get scorched in coverage.

On PFF, Kobe King earned an impressive 83.6 grade for his efforts in 2024. The major boost to his overall assessment was his 89.2 run defense grade. He dips down to a much more modest 65.4 grade in pass coverage. Note, as well, that he was in the box for 704 snaps versus just 11 snaps as a slot corner.

So, the possibility exists that King ends up becoming an early-down thumper, someone who thrives when he’s allowed to come forward rather than being tasked with dropping into coverage. Of course, his ceiling has yet to be defined, so it’s entirely possible that he grows and matures in his game, proving capable of being an every-down player even if there appears to be a need to work to get there.

At Penn State in 2024, King played in sixteen games. He picked up 97 tackles, 3 sacks, 9 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, and 1 pass defended.

Sometimes, aggression can be used against a defender. Consider an instance when someone fully commits to the move that a pass catcher makes. A gifted route runner could then hit the brakes and move in the opposite direction, leaving a defender in the dust. Just look at what Justin Jefferson did to Stephon Gilmore — a former Defensive Player of the Year and lockdown corner in his prime — for a great example.

I didn't think they could do worse than the Dr. Seuss  "Thing 1, Thing 2" uni's, but as my wife always reminds me....I was wrong

Minnesota Star Tribune reporters who cover the Vikings each picked the player other than McCarthy who intrigues them most during camp.


Jordan Mason, running back

The Vikings’ March 18 trade for Mason came with a two-year, $10.5 million contract for the running back that will likely make him more than an aide to Aaron Jones. 

His 223-pound frame and tenacious running style will pair well with the Vikings’ new offensive line as coach Kevin O’Connell seeks a more forceful running game that can pick up first downs and finish drives. 

The Vikings have struggled on third-and-short runs over the past three years, and have been one of the league’s least efficient running teams in the red zone; Mason could be especially useful on the goal-line runs that help the Vikings score touchdowns while relying less on an intricate play design from O’Connell and flawless execution from their young QB. 

There’s a shift coming in the Vikings offense that the team hopes will make things friendlier for second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy, and the commitment to Mason shows how serious the Vikings are about a different offensive identity. 

 — BEN GOESSLING

O'Connell attempted to downplay the issue, calling it a "very mild" hamstring injury.

While the team did not announce a timetable for Jefferson's return, it doesn't appear he'll miss Week 1 due to the injury, per ESPN's Kevin Seifert.


https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/breaking-ne...29547.html