What’s next

Shaka when the walls fell, 65 and over 50 years a fan. How hard is it to pick a team that won't make it to the Superbowl in 50 years? We have one more year after this one to find out.

FLVike wrote:
Shaka when the walls fell, 65 and over 50 years a fan. How hard is it to pick a team that won't make it to the Superbowl in 50 years? We have one more year after this one to find out.

Gerald Ford president last time. Think about it.

I think Kelly for sure is headed to IR, I havent heard about O'Neil yet...

Not ready to call the season lost if they are 2/3...I mean hell, there is still 12 games of joy left! :)

O’Niel Fked his MCL.

O'Neill is gonna be out 8 weeks if he returns at all.

Kelley's 5th? Concussion since 2023, 2nd this season, players have retired with similar injury history.

This is not a very good football team, way too many holes, can't make up for terrible drafting and personnel management. There was a reason Allen was not wanted back by a great defensive coach, yet Kwesi happy to overpay. 4 games of complete invisibility and no effort which was the book on him in Washington. Flores gets credited for being a great coach, but the defense always comes out like they have no idea what the opponent is going to run, his stunts which have grown stale and there are no adjustments throughout the game. Not sure how many sacks we have to take before KOC puts in some quick hitters and rollouts. We caught magic in the bottle with Sammy last year, outside of that this current staff is not taking the team in the right direction. What's next is more of the same until we get a competent GM.

No AVG kills

Flores gets a lot of credit, but almost never has his defense ready from the go. How many teams have driven down on the opening drive to score a TD since he’s been here? He’s a billion times better than Donatell, but I could have been better than that guy. Letting the opponent score on their opening drive puts the offense in catch up mode.
Why O’Connell doesn’t want to call a frickin’ slant to save his life, or help his QB is a mystery that I don’t think any of us can figure out.
Kwesi can’t draft well, he signs a lot of UDFA’s that make the team, and signs guys that step in and contribute, but he has to be able to draft so there is some depth at key positions. Undrafted guys aren’t supposed to make your roster all the time, or more times than draft picks.
I’m 62, and unfortunately I don’t see the Vikings any closer to a Super Bowl. Maybe next year, we are fucking Cubs fans.

With the injuries, questionable coaching, the likelihood that JJM will be out there soon, and a tough schedule, this could turn into 6-11 in the blink of an eye.

Guys our coaching isn't perfect but it's very good and maybe elite. Stop.

KAM's drafts have been bad and that put the team into a position where the only option was to fill with vets and UDFAs. Fault him for bad drafting but we can't be mad he tried to supplement the roster the only other ways he can. He's made some big time dud moves but also found a lot of talent as well.

Injuries have nuked our early season and yes, KO needs to call way more quick throws. Wentz loves throwing to TEs and Hockenson barely had a target before midway through the third and then-- lo and behold-- it started working. A similar thing happened against the Bears when he finally started pounding the rock with Mason. But overall, all of our playmakers touched the ball yesterday. The distribution mostly made sense (I'd eliminate all Nailor targets but many here would disagree with me on that though).

Wentz is a statue behind a threadbare, patchwork offensive line that lost two players mid-game yesterday.

I'm as bummed as anyone about how the season has gone so far but we're 2-2 and have a winnable game this week. KO will be under zero illusions that our offensive line is going to play well against a stellar front, so unless he's truly daft, he's going to be forced to adapt this week. Let's see what happens.

I think the good news is that despite our injuries we are 2-2 with a good chance at getting to 3-2 against Flacco and the Browns. I usually hate the early season bye, but this year it's timing is perfect. We get to 3-2 and start to funnel some guys back from injury...I like our chances.

smleh wrote:
Kelly and O’Neill probably headed to IR. So probably signing 2 vet minimum type of backups. If they lose to Cleveland time to sell off who you can and not double down.

Once JJM is healthy, let him play out the year and see what this looks like going into 26.

I’m 60 and been a fan since 73 so coming to this conclusion pains me but it it what it is.

I agree.  I'm about your age and feel the same way.   Wash, rinse, repeat.

JR44 wrote:
This is not a very good football team, way too many holes, can't make up for terrible drafting and personnel management.  There was a reason Allen was not wanted back by a great defensive coach, yet Kwesi happy to overpay.  4 games of complete invisibility and no effort which was the book on him in Washington.  Flores gets credited for being a great coach, but the defense always comes out like they have no idea what the opponent is going to run, his stunts which have grown stale and there are no adjustments throughout the game.  Not sure how many sacks we have to take before KOC puts in some quick hitters and rollouts.  We caught magic in the bottle with Sammy last year, outside of that this current staff is not taking the team in the right direction.  What's next is more of the same until we get a competent GM.

I agree with you 100%.   Just a microcosm of complete incompetence......Kyle Hamilton is SITTING THERE for the taking but the Vikings decided to make a trade and take Lewis Cine.  Utter stupidity imo.  You have been correct on this issue the whole time JR

With the way this team is constructed? With the % of FA starters they rely on and poor drafting?

IMO this is a win now, in the window now team. Not a SB yet with a rook QB, but still win now.

That to me makes this a bit more urgent than usual. Guys like Gink, Harry, Jones, Allen, Kelly, Hargrave and more are going to be sniffing a cliff soon.

purplefaithful wrote:
With the way this team is constructed? With the % of FA starters they rely on and poor drafting?

IMO this is a win now, in the window now team. Not a SB yet with a rook QB, but still win now.

That to me makes this a bit more urgent than usual. Guys like Gink, Harry, Jones, Allen, Kelly, Hargrave and more are going to be sniffing a cliff soon.

The poor drafting definately hurts in that regard. When the undrafted players you take a blind swing on look better than the early round rookies you've spent a substantial amount of time scouting and effort into drafting, there's a problem, and that problem has led to having to dip into free agency and overpay for older players to fill the roster holes you were unable to in the draft. Those chickens always come home to roost at some point.

smleh wrote:
Kelly and O’Neill probably headed to IR. So probably signing 2 vet minimum type of backups. If they lose to Cleveland time to sell off who you can and not double down.

Once JJM is healthy, let him play out the year and see what this looks like going into 26.

I’m 60 and been a fan since 73 so coming to this conclusion pains me but it it what it is.

I've got years on ya...and been a fan since somewhere in the mid 60's.  Tark was our QB (in his first go with the team).

The drafts are actually improving, but we do have whacko luck with injuries/timing. The JJM situation looks worse as we've wanted to go with out "younger/mobile QB" for years, partially under the delusion that our sack issues would be largely solved.

Yeah, well, swing and a miss.

I think we play it out with JJM whenever he's ready. The possibility of a Wentz-dominated season just ended, he's reminded everyone why he was available. He can be very good, but he stands an even chance of being...replacable.

Riphawkins wrote:
Flores gets a lot of credit, but almost never has his defense ready from the go. How many teams have driven down on the opening drive to score a TD since he’s been here? He’s a billion times better than Donatell, but I could have been better than that guy. Letting the opponent score on their opening drive puts the offense in catch up mode. Why O’Connell doesn’t want to call a frickin’ slant to save his life, or help his QB is a mystery that I don’t think any of us can figure out. Kwesi can’t draft well, he signs a lot of UDFA’s that make the team, and signs guys that step in and contribute, but he has to be able to draft so there is some depth at key positions. Undrafted guys aren’t supposed to make your roster all the time, or more times than draft picks. I’m 62, and unfortunately I don’t see the Vikings any closer to a Super Bowl. Maybe next year, we are fucking Cubs fans.

Ah, it was a 3 and out for Pitt.  Huge sack by Redmond set the tone.  Offense came away with 3 which should have been 6.  The game started great on the first drive for each team.

C’mon guys. The sky isn’t falling. Kelly will im sure go on IR and we may be looking for someone to replace him. O’Neill will not go on IR. KOC has said he is not doing that and he will be “week to week”. We have this week and then a bye. After that we should have Jones, Cashman, Jackson maybe VanGinkle and McCarthy all back. And let’s stop flogging that dead draft horse. The fact is KAM’s drafting has gotten better. But that is old news now. I expect McCarthy to have his ups and downs but if its more up than down and the injury bug settles down I still have faith. Long season and this team doesn’t quit. We shouldn’t either. Don’t quit before the miracle.

Caactorvike wrote:
C’mon guys. The sky isn’t falling. Kelly will im sure go on IR and we may be looking for someone to replace him. O’Neill will not go on IR. KOC has said he is not doing that and he will be “week to week”. We have this week and then a bye. After that we should have Jones, Cashman, Jackson maybe VanGinkle and McCarthy all back.  And let’s stop flogging that dead  draft horse.  The fact is KAM’s drafting has gotten better. But that is old news now. I expect McCarthy to have his ups and downs but if its more up than down and the injury bug settles down I still have faith. Long season and this team doesn’t quit. We shouldn’t either. Don’t quit before the miracle.

Caactorvike wrote:
C’mon guys. The sky isn’t falling. Kelly will im sure go on IR and we may be looking for someone to replace him. O’Neill will not go on IR. KOC has said he is not doing that and he will be “week to week”. We have this week and then a bye. After that we should have Jones, Cashman, Jackson maybe VanGinkle and McCarthy all back.  And let’s stop flogging that dead  draft horse.  The fact is KAM’s drafting has gotten better. But that is old news now. I expect McCarthy to have his ups and downs but if its more up than down and the injury bug settles down I still have faith. Long season and this team doesn’t quit. We shouldn’t either. Don’t quit before the miracle.

Yes, the drafts have improved every year. But suddenly the 22 draft doesn't look as bad now that Ed Ingram is the top graded guard in the NFL through 4 weeks. LOL. I say that only because it's the most "Viking" thing ever. You can only laugh. 

This Cleveland game isn't going to be easy, but they've thrown us a bone by starting their rookie QB. If we can just pull out a dub in the Big Smoke, we'll be 3-2 going into a much needed break with, as you point out, several players likely to return. And that brutal stretch after the bye suddenly doesn't look quite as tough with the Chargers losing to the Giants and missing both Joe Alt and Slater from their OL. The 1-3 Ravens are a shell of their former selves with injuries piling up on both sides of the ball.