Friday mailbag: Make or break in Carolina

Vikings fans have lots of questions about where things go depending on the result on Sunday

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By Matthew Coller

Happy Friday everyone… whew, there’s a lot going on with the Vikings as they head into a make-or-break game against the Panthers. Let’s have a look at what’s on Vikings fans’ minds…

@RalphVixCPA When do we start scouting college QBs?

If they lose against Carolina, that discussion begins. Even if it wouldn’t be entirely Kirk Cousins’s fault, missing the postseason this year would mean four years, one trip to the playoffs and one playoff win. It’s very hard to keep going the same direction when that happens. I saw that Packers writer Justis Mosqueda had this chart about the odds of teams making the playoffs versus their record. Already at 2-3 the chances to make the postseason are 30%. If they drop to 2-4 that falls to 20%. It does go up to 42% at 3-3, so a victory keeps them in the mix and we’ll hold off talking about Malik Willis or Sam Howell.

@TheRealSir_D When do the Vikings finally take the training wheels off the offense?

If that’s going to happen, it’s going to happen this week. I got the feeling that there’s frustration from Cousins and Zimmer about the play calling and it seemed from Klint Kubiak’s press conference on Thursday that he understands that some things better change. The thing that really struck me was Kubiak saying he could probably give Cousins more freedom at the line of scrimmage. Cousins has been in the league for a decade, he isn’t a journeyman backup or rookie. And in today’s game with lots of different looks being shown at the line from defenses, it seems like the QB needs to be able to adapt on the fly. I remember in the game against New England in 2018 they let Cousins go no huddle and dial it up himself for one drive and they looked great.. and then never went back to it. Something has to change. If it doesn’t, well, you saw the chart above, right?

@GriffRobMike I was originally hopeful the Vikings were going to go on the road and get a W until I remembered they play on grass. Vikings seem to be terrible on grass the last few years - what's that record look like?

I love this question. Who knows if the playing surface actually dictates anything but it’s fun to toy around with. They are 5-8-1 since 2018 when playing on grass. The funny thing is that the offense has played pretty well in some of those games. They’ve put up 30+ in four of them and at least 20 points in 10 of the 14 grass games. Maybe this is interesting, maybe not…11 of the 14 games on grass have been separated by one score.

dmoney0919 Is there a running count on how many times players & personnel have referenced “Not getting too high during the highs or too low during the lows”? Seems to be the default response now when talking emotions throughout the game/week/season.

Just as there is truth to all rumors, there’s truth in all cliches. If teams reacted the same way to every week that fans/media do, it would be really tough to operate. Everyone would be freaking out constantly. Though I also think that nobody wants to admit the amount of stress and pressure they’re feeling. When your team is on the brink of having the season fall apart before it even gets going, everyone in the building is feeling it. Fingers are getting pointed, people are desperate to keep their jobs, media and fans are ripping you up and down, family members and friends are asking what the heck is going on and players are asked to tune that out. Not easy.

@tjkill81 If zimmer gets fired who would you like the new coach to be?

Allow a quick aside: Sometimes when we talk about the possibility of the Vikings changing coaches and the argument for either side of that, it can be interpreted as me wanting people fired. In reality, I’ll be doing this whole Purple Insider thing the same way no matter who is in charge. It’s only a matter of reading the tea leaves and discussing what we see. Anyway, If you’re asking who I’d suggest if they’re making a change, I don’t have a list at the moment — we’ll cross that bridge if we get there — but looking for proven NFL coaches, even if they don’t have head coaching experience, is a smarter play than hoping someone who’s barely gotten their feet went comes your way and changes everything. It’s natural to say they should go with an offensive coach but two of the best coaches in the NFL right now are Sean McDermott and Brandon Staley. You want to go with someone who’s cutting edge but also has enough NFL background to get how things work and how to build a professional NFL environment. Basically everything opposite of Urban Meyer.

@robbQthibault Well happy Thursday… OK Matthew, in the spirit of purple insider here’s the task …convince your readers why Kirk Cousins should go rogue and call pass plays whenever he wants to use his sensational play makers, especially on second and third and long… Go!

I think Cousins has enough respect for the way things work in the NFL that he wouldn’t do something like this but when everyone is seeing the same thing and everyone is deeply frustrated, someone has to figure out a way to change it or they’ll continue down a path that doesn’t take them anywhere. If there’s ever been a time to go all out and let Cousins push the boundaries, it’s now. Sometimes I’m reminded of how many times Case Keenum threw the ball up for grabs and how often he was rewarded, even though they were trying to keep him shackled to game-manager status. (Although as I type this, I’m also looking at an injury report that lists Thielen and Jefferson, which is….not great for the go-all-out plan).

@benjackson0812 Darnold had a rough game against the Eagles. Do you see the Vikings being able to pressure him and cause some turnovers??

I do. Taylor Moton is good but Cam Erving has never been a quality pass blocker. Everson Griffen should tear him up and Darnold has four interceptions already this year when under pressure and a 59.6 QB rating. I’ve never been able to wrap my head around what Carolina saw in Darnold to give up such a high pick and then pass on Justin Fields. I would get it if they wanted to take a flier and draft someone but they seem to think he’s a franchise QB. Right now he ranks 24th by PFF and 26th in QB rating. This should be the third straight week of the Vikings terrorizing a mediocre quarterback.

@CJMcAulay What are your projections regarding Vikings activity at the trade deadline in the event they are: 4-3? 3-4? 2-5?

I can’t see the Vikings doing anything unless they’re 2-5. At that point, this thing is gone completely off the rails and there’s no coming back. It’s really hard to make a trade for a player that moves the needle if they’re 4-3 or 3-4. In the worst case scenario, I’d imagine they would look to move someone like Patrick Peterson if he wanted to go or Xavier Woods if another team needed a safety. I wouldn’t expect any type of significant return for anyone they would be shopping. There’s another argument to be made for seeing if a QB-needy competing team was interested in Cousins but I can’t figure out how anyone could do it with the salary cap. He would also likely net more in the offseason than mid-season. But if a good team had their starting QB go down… you never know.

@alstrain What totally minor things in Football annoy you the most? Mine are DBs celebrating an incomplete pass that was uncatchable, defenders picking up obviously dropped passes and running it back the other way, and defenders celebrating a hard hit after giving up a 20-yard gain

I’d have to go with the refereeing still being as dreadful as it’s always been. We all get 50 looks at every play and yet they only get to peak at a replay if the coach throws a little red hanky on the field. It seems like a preposterous way to ref the game. There should be another ref who is waiting upstairs watching a monitor and the refs on the field can buzz upstairs quickly to get a ruling. If they double checked a pass interference or holding that had a major impact on the game, we’d all be cool with that, right? Otherwise, it’s kickoffs flying out of the back of the end zone. The lack of returns drives me nuts. After a touchdown, you could run to the store, get some gas and make yourself a sandwich before the game gets going again. Returns used to be one of the most exciting plays in the sport, now kickoffs are a black hole in the game.

@tomspeicher Who would be the better GM for the Vikings, Matthew? You or @CourtneyRCronin?

There are certain things that either of us could probably do decently. Since the draft tends to be largely determined by luck, we’d have some hits and misses. We know the team well enough to figure out free agent fits and Rob Bryz could do all the cap stuff for us, so that would be alright. The harder part of being the GM is managing hundreds of people. You get the call when anything and everything goes wrong. You have to maintain relationships with other GMs, agents, players’ families, coaches, scouts etc. and the second there’s a problem with any one of them, it’s on you to fix it. And you’re the person with their name on every move that doesn’t work out. That job is much harder than we think.

@vikingsjazzfan Name your best all time starting WNBA team.

PG — Diana Taurasi

SG — Sheryl Swoopes

SF — Maya Moore

PF — Elena Delle Donne

C — Lisa Leslie

That power forward and center are super tough. You could have Candace Parker, Tamika Catchings, Breanna Stewart, Lauren Jackson, Tina Thompson, Rebecca Lobo, Sylvia Fowles, Britney Griner, Tina Charles etc.. The reason I’d go Delle Donne is that she’s an all-time great post player and might be the greatest shooter in history while being tough on defense. Not an easy list to make.

@JoeBMTN If you were at the bottom of a dog pile and Bill Romanowksi was next to you, which of your fingers would you want him to snap?

One of the things that’s great about football is that players seem to totally understand why most of their coaches never played at a high level. You have to have a certain amount of insanity to walk out on the field with someone like Bill Romanowski. Even if I was bigger and faster, there’s no way I’d be fearless enough to do that. I’ll stick to shooting hoops.

@Conorm511 Do we see Wyatt Davis at all this year ?

It’s always hard to say with injuries whether he’s eventually needed but the fact that they elevated Dakota Dozier says a lot about where he stands. It’s a little Dru Samia-ish where the guy has a lot of hype coming out of college but fails to launch. I’m not declaring it over, it’s just that we haven’t seen any signs that there’s something there with Davis.

@Skyler_SKOL I want an estimated number of how many tears have been shed by vikings fans since we have existed

The Vikings truly test whether it was better to have loved and lost. They have given fans so many reasons to give their hearts to the team, only to have them broken in the end. At least that’s better than the Lions who might as well not have existed since the 90s.

@tad_fundermann What is one realistic trade you would want to see them make before the trade deadline (besides somehow getting their 4th back for Herndon!)? To make it even more fun, what is one trade if they win this weekend and what is a trade if they lose to Carolina?

If they win, I’m not sure there’s really an obvious position to add at the deadline. Maybe if Michael Pierce is going to be out for a long period of time they could look for a defensive tackle. Maybe another corner for depth. It’s hard to see a decent TE2 being on the market (as they found out when trading for Herndon). If they lose, anything that isn’t nailed down should be on the table but judging by last year, I think if they go 2-4 and ownership doesn’t make a move, they’ll look at it as their last shot at getting back in the race and won’t sell off anything.

@varichak Why won’t Zimmer pull his head out of the dirt and start Darrisaw! Hill is getting manhandled out there!

Darrisaw didn’t practice basically at all during training camp. I’ve seen plenty of proven NFL players struggle when coming back from missing camp. That’s where guys get fully immersed in the playbook and in shape to play games. They have to make sure Darrisaw can handle 70 plays without getting fatigued before they put him out there for the entire game. I suspect we’ll see that after the bye week.

@alexjjlarsen Looking beyond this season - if you win your division, you make the playoffs. What might the Wilfs be thinking re: the next few years with Rodgers-less GB, Nagy/new coach Chicago, and, well, Detroit? Is Cousins not great, but good enough to beat those teams for a few years?

Things change quickly. You might look at Chicago and Detroit as being pretty bleh but if Justin Fields is good, they’ll be a contender. Look at how fast the Chargers became a superpower. And if you look at the Lions, you would have said just a few years ago that the Bills and Browns were jokes but if tanking goes right, it doesn’t take 10 years to get back to being competitive. I’m not convinced that Rodgers is leaving for sure after this year, either. If he is still playing really well and finally gets the power he wanted all along to add more receivers, I could see him finishing his career in Green Bay. If not, it’s possible they could fall apart. It’s also possible they could find another good QB. Long story long, I wouldn’t make any decisions at QB for the Vikings based on the rest of the division. Do the thing that gets you the closest to a championship. In the last three-plus years, this hasn’t been it.

@spardisjx Do you think there will be a front office change by the end of the season?

The path seems to lead in that direction. Ownership has been so patient but every year there seems to be some new excuse for why they can’t go farther. In 2018 it was John DeFilippo’s fault. In 2019, they were decent but didn’t have the O-line. In 2020 it was the defense getting old and having no fans inside the stadium. This year it’s a missed kick and a fumble. If they go 8-9…well… Usually in the NFL you can’t come short of expectations for four straight years and survive.

@Nichola79135367 How has Xavier Woods been? I have barely heard his name this year, which is...good?

It looks to my eye like he’s been fine. The PFF grades agree (17th of 62). He falls under the category of being a solid player rather than somebody who’s going to fly around and make plays all over the field and that’s OK for playing next to Harrison Smith. So far that’s been a good investment.

@billfehlberg After Frank Wycheck completed that legal lateral could he be the next player to receive another legal lateral?

Bill is trolling me here because he knows that the Music City Miracle was clearly a forward pass and a few more camera angles would have shown that clearly back in ‘99. I’m not sure I’ve ever read the rules on lateraling but I think you can throw it back to the person who just lateraled it, right?

@NicholasMMiller What are the Pros/Cons (if we do move on from Zimmer at some point this year) of 1. Keeping Zimmer entire year and fire after 2. Klint interim coach 3. Patterson Interim Coach?

Pro of keeping Zimmer no matter what is that there’s always a chance they’ll get hot and make the playoffs. He’s still a very good head coach and his teams are never out of the race. There isn’t a real con to letting that play out but if they end up with a losing streak and it’s gone completely sour, at some point ownership would look like they were signing off on this being acceptable if they didn’t do something. The pro of Kubiak being interim would be that maybe he unleashes the offense. Though I think he needs to get comfortable with calling plays in the third quarter before we anoint him the next Kyle Shanahan. Patterson has been around so long and has a great deal of respect in the organization. It would be a sign of appreciation and good for him, even if we couldn’t expect much immediate change.

@jls1968 Is the Dantzler issue actually about special teams or does Zimmer have another reason to hold a grudge with him? They have a potential Pro Bowl DB and refuse to play him for a player that is underperforming right now.

It feels like Dantzler has been painted as a victim here but he was straight up bad in the preseason and camp. Kris Boyd passed him on the depth chart at one point. Calling him a potential Pro Bowler is ridiculous. There’s no evidence to support that. He had two good games as a rookie and was OK against Cleveland. Mike Zimmer isn’t benching the next Charles Woodson here. Also, nobody is too good for special teams. Anthony Harris did it. Eric Wilson did it. Adam Thielen did it. If a player doesn’t give everything he’s got on ‘teams, why should he be trusted to give 100% every play on defense? I don’t think Breeland has been good either but if they think Dantzler is going to get pushed around or isn’t going to be prepared, he isn’t going to play over a veteran who has a ring.

@SteidlerCharley What is with the Vikings obsession with limiting Everson Griffin’s snaps, why not get the most of him where you can.

Their point seems to be that they’re concerned about the snap count adding up over a full season and him struggling by the final quarter of the season. What we saw last week is that they’re going to keep playing him in big situations and that’s the right thing to do. The drop off is pretty severe and they need him for every pass rushing down at this point.

@KrisKUSTRADIO So- um, no firing question from me. Instead, who wins the game? I know that question is asked way more than someone losing their job.

Haha. I’ll go with Vikings 20-17 in this one. Usually Zimmer’s defenses tend to lay a beat down on bad quarterbacks, so I’ll lean toward them sacking Darnold five or six times. Carolina’s defense has talent though, so it’s hard to see the Vikings going crazy on offense. However, if Jefferson or Thielen can’t play, I’ll switch my pick to 20-17 Panthers.

@vikesfan1930 In Madden football, would you rather coach one team for so many seasons or would you rather jump around from team to team?

I’m in it for the long haul once I get a franchise going. I’m probably not going 10 or 15 years with one team like some people but I’ll go a few years deep to draft and do free agency. The game really lost me when it got rid of the minicamp stuff though. That used to make the offseasons so much fun.

@MeefNWeef We all know the actual reason why the nfl won’t release the Gruden emails, but what do you think will be the script they come up with as to why they can’t?

Man, I wish I knew. It’s pretty strange that only emails that incriminate one person came out rather than a bunch of people ending up on a massive report of terribleness. Maybe it ends up being a string of NY Times stories that keep dropping one bomb after the next. I suspect we aren’t anywhere close to done with the findings.

@AES64 Why is Schefter still on duty given the email to Allen? It's clear that writers get information from sources, and often the content makes it clear who the source is. But to actually send a draft article to the source for editorial approval seems a large bridge too far.

Journalistically speaking, double checking info with sources is fine. Calling them “Mr. Editor” and asking them for changes to an entire article, however, isn’t particularly close to ethical. But that’s how it goes. It’s sorta the thing anyone covering the NFL knows has been going on but a lotta folks just found out. The networks let it fly because those reporters bring in a huge audience and, if we’re being honest, most football fans don’t particularly care, they just want to know if their fantasy RB is out.

@JoshuaR_Smith Zim is coaching for his job, and anyone with half a football brain knows last week’s approach/performance was awful. But what’s your level of confidence we’ll actually see a noticeable difference in offensive play-calling vs. Carolina given how crusty and stubborn this head coach is?

Well, recognizing the problem is the first step. Zimmer clearly recognized there was a problem because he put the entire coaching staff on a bunch of “projects” to look at every part of their offense and why they had been struggling so much in the second half. I do know that Zimmer liked Gary Kubiak’s offense last year because he found ways to create explosive plays. We haven’t seen that at all. I’ve also wondered if things are moving a little fast for Klint right now. I’m guessing we’ll see some shots downfield early and then we’ll see where it goes from there. Carolina has a tough defense that won’t give them a ton of time to sit in the pocket. That might hinder how much better they can look. Keep in mind, the Lions were a bottom three defense. The Panthers, right now, are a top three defense.

Bottom line: Zimmer seems willing to make changes. Whether you can vastly shift this thing in a week against a tough opponent is hard to say.

Jim via comment section: where's the stud running back they drafted? Kene Nwangwu. Isn't he back off IR? If Cook/Mattison banged up, seems like we're hearing nothing.

He isn’t off IR yet. We’ve seen him rehabbing but not practicing so it looks like you’re not going to see him all that soon. Really tough break. He looked extremely explosive in camp.

@OldNorse You predicted 10 wins this year knowing Zim was head coach. If you could have plucked any HC to start the year, what would have been your max win count for this roster this season?

Assuming we’re talking full coaching staffs, I might have gone 12 wins with Sean McDermott, Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Andy Reid or Sean Payton because they’re not leaving anything on the table offensively. One way to analyze your head coach with a big sample is whether you reach expectations or not. In 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019 the Vikings did. In 2016, 2018 and 2020 they didn’t. That seems to say that they’re getting about what they have in terms of talent out of the roster, generally speaking but not a lot more. Andy Reid has beaten the Vegas over/under for five straight years, for example.

@mnjoker0015 Historically. Every receiver in every franchise history. Do the Vikings have the greatest group?

If Jefferson stays on this path, I’m not sure anyone matches them. Pittsburgh with Antonio Brown, Hines Ward, Plaxico Burress, John Stallworth and Lynn Swann is a good crew. The Rams have a pretty decent case with Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Henry Ellard and Flipper Anderson. It’s hard to find teams with five or six in team history that were elite for long periods.

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