Sam, I'm about a week late to this as I missed it somehow. First, this is a great article, as all of yours have been. I appreciate your more balanced view of the Vikings situation as opposed to say Courtney and Matthew's push for a big-time free agent (I see in his most recent article Matthew's come around to seeing the challenges that you laid out here and in your Bargain Bins write-up. And while I love Courtney I don't think she's been doing that much homework recently).
But back to you and your takes here. Love the points on the secondary, which bears out Mike Zimmer's "you can never have too many cornerbacks." While I love the idea of getting a Safety like Moehrig or Grant or a big CB like Campbell, St-Juste, and Trill Williams in the draft, based on the free agent options and the experience mix on this team in the secondary, it seems like D-line and O-line are more likely bets in the draft (which I know goes right to your point about drafting Guards). Agree with all the points on not taking a Guard at 14 so move back and take one late in the first or in the recouped second or even third. While it seems odd that Vikings bounce linemen around so much there are OTs like Mayfield and Hudson that could be great Guards in the Vikings scheme. And guys like Kendrick Green and Royce Newman are fits too.
I made the list of big name free agents... I don't think I've made a "push" for them as much as laid out the potential options. I said on the podcast that given the choice between Reiff and Scherff, I'd go with the guard but I've never felt that the right approach was to pour all of their cap space into one player.
Good points, Matthew. I felt you were more in Courtney's camp on getting a big free agent, but you have pointed out several times how top heavy this team is, and that getting quantity, lower-priced FAs makes more sense than the one big swing. Also, if one thinks of Reiff as an internal free agent given the cap savings, your argument to move on from him is consistent with your point. I've wanted them to keep Reiff, but your points on the savings and pressure up the middle wreaking havoc on Cousins game have convinced me the Vikings need to move on.
I realize that I talk about so many options and angles it can be hard to figure out which ones are my opinions and which I’m just “making the case” for haha. But yes with all respect to Reiff, it’s hard to see how keeping him is a great idea considering the situation with pressure and needs
Welcome aboard Sam! Fun first article. Fascinating idea regarding Zimmer not calling plays. Frankly I would rather have a dedicated assistant take over the general management decisions (such as when to call a time out or go for it or whatever) before I would see someone else call plays, given Zimmer's history of success with that over the years. I think that a truly great play caller on either side of the ball can be one of the most valuable wild cards that a team can have.
That said, I think it makes a lot of sense to go into the year with the idea that Zimmer will hand it over *if* the defense doesn't make massive strides in the first few weeks. I could totally see someone else calling plays invigorating the team and being a helpful injection of vitality, as you said. Hopefully Zimmer is prepping whoever his #2 option is so that this can be a fallback option (if not an option out of the gate) depending on how everything goes.
Also, am I the only one in the world that is more concerned with the Vikings run defense than the pass defense? The Vikings had issues in their secondary, obviously. That said, the best overall metric for pass defense in my book is defensive pass DVOA, and by that metric the Vikings were 14th in the league, compared to an abysmal 30th in rush defense, and that is with Dantzler missing 5 games, Hughes missing 12, Gladney missing 1, Boyd missing 6... We apparently had a player named Cordrea Tankersley start a game for us last year, which I apparently blocked out of my memory. When I watched the games my thought was that we had to sell out to stop the run, which exposed our pass game, especially because we never had pressure.
To be clear I would totally be up for grabbing a veteran CB (someone like Ronald Darby or Xavier Woods would be amazing) that can provide a good floor and push Gladney/Dantzler/Hughes, and love that being a part of our offseason.
But that said even if Hunter and Pierce come back at 100% I am more concerned with solidifying our DL than solidifying our secondary.
You're not crazy. The interior line got destroyed late in the year, especially against the Saints and Bears when they weren't getting help from Eric Kendricks. I'm bullish, however, on Hunter and Pierce going a long way to restoring the run defense, especially if they bolster the 3-tech spot.
Could not agree more on your first and third points. Although I will have to say I disagree with drafting a guard early. I could be on board with that in years past, but this year the Vikings have so many holes to fill that there’s quite a few I’d rank higher than drafting a guard, for a few reasons. One being that OL are rarely studs right off the bat. If we take a guard early there’s a good chance he may not even be that good right away, and we need help there now (hopefully a vet in free agency). Also not having a second round pick makes me cautious of taking a less valuable position in round one, but as you said if we can trade back and maybe pick up a second round pick I’d feel better since we’d have more darts to throw. It also all depends on how free agency plays out and what holes we’re left to fill come April. Great piece Sam!
Not having that second-round pick could be a killer. A lot will depend on what type of bargains they can find in free agency. If DL and safety get at least adequately addressed before the draft I think IOL becomes more likely but not a certainty.
Thanks for the #takes, Sam. I think you nailed it. Guys like Thuney/Schreff and Atkins are tantalizing, but you are probably better off spreading it out and trying to upgrade from bad to adequate at multiple positions rather than getting to good/great at 1.
Sam, welcome. Nice first article with PI. I agree that things need to change and the Vikings need to explore switching things up such as Zimmer not play-calling. However, I don’t think Zimmer will give it up. Especially if this is a “hot seat” year for Zimmer like many say it is. I really enjoy your take on using cap space to acquire many playmakers instead of acquiring one superstar. I hope that the Vikings staff see the error in that decision last year and that they will not make the same mistake this year. Looking forward to many more reads from you!
Thanks, Robert. With so many teams in cap trouble it'll be a true accomplishment for those that can escape financial strain and still remain competitive. Vikings can't afford to make many mistakes.
Great job Sam! I can see why Coller brought you on board.
Sam, I'm about a week late to this as I missed it somehow. First, this is a great article, as all of yours have been. I appreciate your more balanced view of the Vikings situation as opposed to say Courtney and Matthew's push for a big-time free agent (I see in his most recent article Matthew's come around to seeing the challenges that you laid out here and in your Bargain Bins write-up. And while I love Courtney I don't think she's been doing that much homework recently).
But back to you and your takes here. Love the points on the secondary, which bears out Mike Zimmer's "you can never have too many cornerbacks." While I love the idea of getting a Safety like Moehrig or Grant or a big CB like Campbell, St-Juste, and Trill Williams in the draft, based on the free agent options and the experience mix on this team in the secondary, it seems like D-line and O-line are more likely bets in the draft (which I know goes right to your point about drafting Guards). Agree with all the points on not taking a Guard at 14 so move back and take one late in the first or in the recouped second or even third. While it seems odd that Vikings bounce linemen around so much there are OTs like Mayfield and Hudson that could be great Guards in the Vikings scheme. And guys like Kendrick Green and Royce Newman are fits too.
I made the list of big name free agents... I don't think I've made a "push" for them as much as laid out the potential options. I said on the podcast that given the choice between Reiff and Scherff, I'd go with the guard but I've never felt that the right approach was to pour all of their cap space into one player.
Good points, Matthew. I felt you were more in Courtney's camp on getting a big free agent, but you have pointed out several times how top heavy this team is, and that getting quantity, lower-priced FAs makes more sense than the one big swing. Also, if one thinks of Reiff as an internal free agent given the cap savings, your argument to move on from him is consistent with your point. I've wanted them to keep Reiff, but your points on the savings and pressure up the middle wreaking havoc on Cousins game have convinced me the Vikings need to move on.
I realize that I talk about so many options and angles it can be hard to figure out which ones are my opinions and which I’m just “making the case” for haha. But yes with all respect to Reiff, it’s hard to see how keeping him is a great idea considering the situation with pressure and needs
Good read, Sam. Welcome!
Welcome aboard Sam! Fun first article. Fascinating idea regarding Zimmer not calling plays. Frankly I would rather have a dedicated assistant take over the general management decisions (such as when to call a time out or go for it or whatever) before I would see someone else call plays, given Zimmer's history of success with that over the years. I think that a truly great play caller on either side of the ball can be one of the most valuable wild cards that a team can have.
That said, I think it makes a lot of sense to go into the year with the idea that Zimmer will hand it over *if* the defense doesn't make massive strides in the first few weeks. I could totally see someone else calling plays invigorating the team and being a helpful injection of vitality, as you said. Hopefully Zimmer is prepping whoever his #2 option is so that this can be a fallback option (if not an option out of the gate) depending on how everything goes.
Also, am I the only one in the world that is more concerned with the Vikings run defense than the pass defense? The Vikings had issues in their secondary, obviously. That said, the best overall metric for pass defense in my book is defensive pass DVOA, and by that metric the Vikings were 14th in the league, compared to an abysmal 30th in rush defense, and that is with Dantzler missing 5 games, Hughes missing 12, Gladney missing 1, Boyd missing 6... We apparently had a player named Cordrea Tankersley start a game for us last year, which I apparently blocked out of my memory. When I watched the games my thought was that we had to sell out to stop the run, which exposed our pass game, especially because we never had pressure.
To be clear I would totally be up for grabbing a veteran CB (someone like Ronald Darby or Xavier Woods would be amazing) that can provide a good floor and push Gladney/Dantzler/Hughes, and love that being a part of our offseason.
But that said even if Hunter and Pierce come back at 100% I am more concerned with solidifying our DL than solidifying our secondary.
You're not crazy. The interior line got destroyed late in the year, especially against the Saints and Bears when they weren't getting help from Eric Kendricks. I'm bullish, however, on Hunter and Pierce going a long way to restoring the run defense, especially if they bolster the 3-tech spot.
Could not agree more on your first and third points. Although I will have to say I disagree with drafting a guard early. I could be on board with that in years past, but this year the Vikings have so many holes to fill that there’s quite a few I’d rank higher than drafting a guard, for a few reasons. One being that OL are rarely studs right off the bat. If we take a guard early there’s a good chance he may not even be that good right away, and we need help there now (hopefully a vet in free agency). Also not having a second round pick makes me cautious of taking a less valuable position in round one, but as you said if we can trade back and maybe pick up a second round pick I’d feel better since we’d have more darts to throw. It also all depends on how free agency plays out and what holes we’re left to fill come April. Great piece Sam!
Not having that second-round pick could be a killer. A lot will depend on what type of bargains they can find in free agency. If DL and safety get at least adequately addressed before the draft I think IOL becomes more likely but not a certainty.
Gonna be fun to see how Slick Rick and company pull this off-season off for sure!
Thanks for the #takes, Sam. I think you nailed it. Guys like Thuney/Schreff and Atkins are tantalizing, but you are probably better off spreading it out and trying to upgrade from bad to adequate at multiple positions rather than getting to good/great at 1.
Nice first article. I agree that the Vikings need to draft a guard or find an experienced guard on the free-agent market.
Sam, welcome. Nice first article with PI. I agree that things need to change and the Vikings need to explore switching things up such as Zimmer not play-calling. However, I don’t think Zimmer will give it up. Especially if this is a “hot seat” year for Zimmer like many say it is. I really enjoy your take on using cap space to acquire many playmakers instead of acquiring one superstar. I hope that the Vikings staff see the error in that decision last year and that they will not make the same mistake this year. Looking forward to many more reads from you!
Thanks, Robert. With so many teams in cap trouble it'll be a true accomplishment for those that can escape financial strain and still remain competitive. Vikings can't afford to make many mistakes.