Lack of Explosives on Offense

If I remember looking correctly at Cook's contract on overthecap, he isn't going anywhere.  The dead money was stupid.  I'm sure its similar to Theilen. 

This team is a playoff team.  It's just old

Agree About DC and AT

Between the Salary cap, aging players, and back to back bad drafts the Vikings are in a world of hurtn in the next couple seasons.

@"AGRforever" said:

If I remember looking correctly at Cook's contract on overthecap, he isn't going anywhere.  The dead money was stupid.  I'm sure its similar to Theilen. 

This team is a playoff team.  It's just old

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings/dalvin-cook-21782/

@"Still Hurtn" said: Agree About DC and AT

Between the Salary cap, aging players, and back to back bad drafts the Vikings are in a world of hurtn in the next couple seasons.

Aging players? Every team has aging players. Vikings have the 10th youngest roster in the NFL.

The '22 draft is incomplete due to injuries to 3 of the top 4 selections. Still, I feel confident that Asamoah will be a starting LB for us next season. And Ty Chandler is potentially our replacement for Cook. He was spectacular this summer. In limited action, Evans looks like a potential starter as well. Personally, I think he's the best looking rookie corner since Rhodes. Ingram is already a starter and should improve his 2nd season. If Booth and Cine come back healthy, that's a very good draft. We'll see...

Last year's draft, like all of them, had several misses, but it's also the draft in which we got Darrisaw, Patrick Jones, Kene Nwangwu and Cam Bynum. So a pro bowl level KR, a starting safety, a future starter in PJ2 and a very likely All Pro in CD. As drafts go, that ain't bad either. 

And while you may want to focus only on the negative, there should be some things that improve next year: Cousins in his 2nd season in KOC's offense. Another year together for the OL full of 1st and 2nd draft picks, some good young DBs.

This offseason, the Vikings defense has to do some shuffling around to get the players to match the scheme (or vice versa), especially in the front seven, but the Vikings will still be the team to beat in the North next year. 

I am sorry but how does this confirm these guys aren't the same players they were last year.  That level of dramatic drop for multiple players seems more like an issue with the game plan versus all of these players taking a setback.  

With the best WR in the game, a young pair of very good tackles, we barely go deep anymore despite having a guy that draws double teams.  Guys like Kene and Jaelen get a play a game.  They present dynamic talents to be utilized, why are we so limited.

There is too much talent on this team to be so inconsistent.  

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"Still Hurtn" said: Agree About DC and AT

Between the Salary cap, aging players, and back to back bad drafts the Vikings are in a world of hurtn in the next couple seasons.

Wow, that's a lot of doom and gloom...even for someone who's "Still Hurtn." :-)

Aging players? Every team has aging players. Vikings have the 10th youngest roster in the NFL.

The '22 draft is incomplete due to injuries to 3 of the top 4 selections. Still, I feel confident that Asamoah will be a starting LB for us next season. And Ty Chandler is potentially our replacement for Cook. He was spectacular this summer. In limited action, Evans looks like a potential starter as well. Personally, I think he's the best looking rookie corner since Rhodes. Ingram is already a starter and should improve his 2nd season. If Booth and Cine come back healthy, that's a very good draft. We'll see...

Last year's draft, like all of them, had several misses, but it's also the draft in which we got Darrisaw, Patrick Jones, Kene Nwangwu and Cam Bynum. So a pro bowl level KR, a starting safety, a future starter in PJ2 and a very likely All Pro in CD. As drafts go, that ain't bad either. 

And while you may want to focus only on the negative, there should be some things that improve next year: Cousins in his 2nd season in KOC's offense. Another year together for the OL full of 1st and 2nd draft picks, some good young DBs.

This offseason, the Vikings defense has to do some shuffling around to get the players to match the scheme (or vice versa), especially in the front seven, but the Vikings will still be the team to beat in the North next year. 

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"AGRforever" said:

If I remember looking correctly at Cook's contract on overthecap, he isn't going anywhere.  The dead money was stupid.  I'm sure its similar to Theilen. 

This team is a playoff team.  It's just old

Unless I'm reading it wrong, Cook's dead cap hit if we move him this offseason is only $6M. 

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings/dalvin-cook-21782/

@"greediron" said:

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"Still Hurtn" said: Agree About DC and AT

Between the Salary cap, aging players, and back to back bad drafts the Vikings are in a world of hurtn in the next couple seasons.

Wow, that's a lot of doom and gloom...even for someone who's "Still Hurtn." :-)

Aging players? Every team has aging players. Vikings have the 10th youngest roster in the NFL.

The '22 draft is incomplete due to injuries to 3 of the top 4 selections. Still, I feel confident that Asamoah will be a starting LB for us next season. And Ty Chandler is potentially our replacement for Cook. He was spectacular this summer. In limited action, Evans looks like a potential starter as well. Personally, I think he's the best looking rookie corner since Rhodes. Ingram is already a starter and should improve his 2nd season. If Booth and Cine come back healthy, that's a very good draft. We'll see...

Last year's draft, like all of them, had several misses, but it's also the draft in which we got Darrisaw, Patrick Jones, Kene Nwangwu and Cam Bynum. So a pro bowl level KR, a starting safety, a future starter in PJ2 and a very likely All Pro in CD. As drafts go, that ain't bad either. 

And while you may want to focus only on the negative, there should be some things that improve next year: Cousins in his 2nd season in KOC's offense. Another year together for the OL full of 1st and 2nd draft picks, some good young DBs.

This offseason, the Vikings defense has to do some shuffling around to get the players to match the scheme (or vice versa), especially in the front seven, but the Vikings will still be the team to beat in the North next year. 

Question regarding Cine.  Does anyone actually think he can come back?  Wasn't that a tib fib injury?

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"greediron" said:

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"Still Hurtn" said: Agree About DC and AT

Between the Salary cap, aging players, and back to back bad drafts the Vikings are in a world of hurtn in the next couple seasons.

Wow, that's a lot of doom and gloom...even for someone who's "Still Hurtn." :-)

Aging players? Every team has aging players. Vikings have the 10th youngest roster in the NFL.

The '22 draft is incomplete due to injuries to 3 of the top 4 selections. Still, I feel confident that Asamoah will be a starting LB for us next season. And Ty Chandler is potentially our replacement for Cook. He was spectacular this summer. In limited action, Evans looks like a potential starter as well. Personally, I think he's the best looking rookie corner since Rhodes. Ingram is already a starter and should improve his 2nd season. If Booth and Cine come back healthy, that's a very good draft. We'll see...

Last year's draft, like all of them, had several misses, but it's also the draft in which we got Darrisaw, Patrick Jones, Kene Nwangwu and Cam Bynum. So a pro bowl level KR, a starting safety, a future starter in PJ2 and a very likely All Pro in CD. As drafts go, that ain't bad either. 

And while you may want to focus only on the negative, there should be some things that improve next year: Cousins in his 2nd season in KOC's offense. Another year together for the OL full of 1st and 2nd draft picks, some good young DBs.

This offseason, the Vikings defense has to do some shuffling around to get the players to match the scheme (or vice versa), especially in the front seven, but the Vikings will still be the team to beat in the North next year. 

Question regarding Cine.  Does anyone actually think he can come back?  Wasn't that a tib fib injury?

I'm sure he'll be back. Sounds like the surgery was successful and eliminated some of the open-wound, infection concerns that might've jeopardized his career. But I suspect he's got a long recovery time, followed by months of conditioning. So I think it might be a little optimistic to think he'll be ready to go for training camp or even early in the season. 

@"purplefaithful" said: I read where Vikings are bottom 1/3rd in explosive plays (20+ more yards) this season

TJH will get you that 12, not the 22 or 33 yarders
- JJ avg yards per catch has gone up almost 5 yards since TJH arrived!

AT, KJO and Dalvin Cook - which of these will be here next season?
Cook, doesnt look like the same player anymore
AT doesnt look like the same player anymore
KJO - has not taken that step forward I was hoping for coming off last season

JJ - best player on the Vikings

Vikings are going to need to shed cap and add firepower to pair with JJ in future seasons

Trading for Hockenson is really the only reason the offense has stayed somewhat productive, but they've really schemed him in specific ways to open up Jefferson. That part is working well. Since the trade Jefferson's aDOT has moved up from 8.11 to 13.04 yards and JJ now accounts for 50% of the Vikings targets 10 yards or greater. Different conversation, but MVP level output. 

Thielen still is running crisp routes so his separation numbers are ok on paper. But on film he's lost the ability to win vertically which limits his effectiveness in the route tree. You used to see him win on deep crossers, posts, etc. Now its more curls and outs where precision > speed/explosiveness. Wouldn't it be a great time to have Jameson Williams? Not necessarily since I think he'll be some alpha #1, but the speed threat alone would open things up so much. 

After the season they'll have to decide whether to move AT into the slot long-term which could work. They just don't have the personnel right now since KJ can't play on the outside. 

The wild card in all of this is I think that Irv could really play into their scheme down the stretch. If they get into some 2 TE sets I think they could manipulate defense' enough to really manipulate a lot of what they're doing with Hock to get some freebies for AT & KJ.