Great information, Matthew! This type of data always helps me to understand the complexity of the game and how much effort the truly great players put into their prep work.
I've often wondered if the football community started educating players at a young age, would their transition to the NFL be easier? Perhaps they already do... Grid Kids to the NCAA... game strategy and position technique becoming more complex as the child ages.
When will you have Jeremiah Sirles back to eloquently explain the fine art of neutralizing those Werewolf War Daddys'?
I love the illustration! Not that it needs to be a regular thing, but a very cool and welcome addition.
My main thought throughout this offseason is that the primary fulcrum upon which this season will turn is the OL, but honestly I think that there is a world in which JJ just goes nuclear and he wills us to the playoffs by repeatedly making big time catches and bailing out Kirk, in a manner analogous to Adrian in 2012 (this came to mind during the PI podcast comparing our team to that team and other Vikings "good-not-elite" teams, which was a fun listen). Frankly when you get 1400 yards and average almost 16 yards in your first season as JJ did the realistic expectation has to be regression, but there is a non-zero chance that JJ goes absolutely (CJ) ham and ascends to be one of the (if not *the*) clear alpha WR of the NFL. Something similar to what AB did, where over a 5 year period he *averaged* 116 catches, 10 TDs, and a stupid 1570 yards per year.
Is that likely? Of course not. Even if he does it, is there anything but an infinitesimal chance that that alone could cause a successful season if our OL and defense falters? Nope, sure isn't! Still, it is a fun thing to ponder - basically the entire NFL is collectively assuming that the clear star rookie WR of last year will regress to be merely mortal (even as they assume that most other rookie WRs such as Jeudy and Ceedee and Ruggs from last year will nearly inevitably take steps forward), but if that collective assumption is wrong suddenly our team might have one of the true game-changers of the NFL to work around.
Otherwise, quick caveat - interesting to note that we are currently slated to face 6 of the top 10 corners from last year, but cornerback performance is one of the least sticky in the NFL. Players consistently swing wildly from year to year in their grades. Certainly I still expect Jaire and Ramsey to be elite, but just some food for thought. I was more concerned when we were scheduled to face the top QBs last year - this year our opposition was harder defensively than offensively last year, which is arguably good given how much less consistent defensive performance is year-to-year.
Cousins trust in Jefferson will be huge. Last year Cousins didn’t throw the ball Jefferson’s way enough. This year I think he will look for any and every opportunity he can to throw the ball to him
Matthew great article. Also thank you for bringing Alex Boone in today. Must of listened to us on the founding zoom call haha. Thanks for everything again
Haha thanks Jordan. Glad you enjoyed the article and the episode. Alex was waiting to be sure he was done playing before coming back on. Should be a fairly regular thing now
Great information, Matthew! This type of data always helps me to understand the complexity of the game and how much effort the truly great players put into their prep work.
I've often wondered if the football community started educating players at a young age, would their transition to the NFL be easier? Perhaps they already do... Grid Kids to the NCAA... game strategy and position technique becoming more complex as the child ages.
When will you have Jeremiah Sirles back to eloquently explain the fine art of neutralizing those Werewolf War Daddys'?
Thanks! I'm editing a podcast right now with Jeremiah
I love the illustration! Not that it needs to be a regular thing, but a very cool and welcome addition.
My main thought throughout this offseason is that the primary fulcrum upon which this season will turn is the OL, but honestly I think that there is a world in which JJ just goes nuclear and he wills us to the playoffs by repeatedly making big time catches and bailing out Kirk, in a manner analogous to Adrian in 2012 (this came to mind during the PI podcast comparing our team to that team and other Vikings "good-not-elite" teams, which was a fun listen). Frankly when you get 1400 yards and average almost 16 yards in your first season as JJ did the realistic expectation has to be regression, but there is a non-zero chance that JJ goes absolutely (CJ) ham and ascends to be one of the (if not *the*) clear alpha WR of the NFL. Something similar to what AB did, where over a 5 year period he *averaged* 116 catches, 10 TDs, and a stupid 1570 yards per year.
Is that likely? Of course not. Even if he does it, is there anything but an infinitesimal chance that that alone could cause a successful season if our OL and defense falters? Nope, sure isn't! Still, it is a fun thing to ponder - basically the entire NFL is collectively assuming that the clear star rookie WR of last year will regress to be merely mortal (even as they assume that most other rookie WRs such as Jeudy and Ceedee and Ruggs from last year will nearly inevitably take steps forward), but if that collective assumption is wrong suddenly our team might have one of the true game-changers of the NFL to work around.
Otherwise, quick caveat - interesting to note that we are currently slated to face 6 of the top 10 corners from last year, but cornerback performance is one of the least sticky in the NFL. Players consistently swing wildly from year to year in their grades. Certainly I still expect Jaire and Ramsey to be elite, but just some food for thought. I was more concerned when we were scheduled to face the top QBs last year - this year our opposition was harder defensively than offensively last year, which is arguably good given how much less consistent defensive performance is year-to-year.
https://www.footballperspective.com/which-positions-are-most-consistent-from-year-to-year/
Cousins trust in Jefferson will be huge. Last year Cousins didn’t throw the ball Jefferson’s way enough. This year I think he will look for any and every opportunity he can to throw the ball to him
Matthew great article. Also thank you for bringing Alex Boone in today. Must of listened to us on the founding zoom call haha. Thanks for everything again
Jordan
Haha thanks Jordan. Glad you enjoyed the article and the episode. Alex was waiting to be sure he was done playing before coming back on. Should be a fairly regular thing now