Are we screwed with Cousins.

[StumpHunter]

Cousins is an above average QB that isn't elite enough to elevate an offense on his own. This is why I said before the season started the draft was botched with the neglect of the O-line. It was a baffling mistake that should cost Spielman and maybe Zimmer their jobs. And it will because Rick's job is tied to Cousins success. You simply can't make such a huge decision and not perform. If they dick around with the line again this offseason grabbing a bunch of 5th/6th round guards and journeymen, heads will roll.

It's just a shame an entire season was wasted on a mistake that frankly every armchair GM in the room could see from a mile away. Sparano and Easton were obviously unfortunate and unforeseen losses but they never would have crippled the offense like it is if Rick had a better contingency plan. It makes no sense to have so much secondary depth and nothing on the O-line. We went the entire offseason with Cornelius Edison running with the 1s for crying out loud. Don't even get me started on Remmers...

I agree with your post for sure. I keep saying that Flip was trying to make Cousins something he is not. Even the "great" Aaron Rodgers cant pull his team out of the crapper. Nor has he been back to a SB in 7 years. I feel like Washington did the same with Cousins. They had a good OL and good WRs his first year or two but their running game was very weak. Especially when McVay left. They also had defense ranked in the bottom 4 ALL 3 years Cousins started there. Cousins has what he needs around him to succeed here. However, it was poorly managed by our OC. If you put balance into this offense, utilize Dalvin Cook and not just Theilen and Diggs, along with a good defense, I think this team could be great. But yes, OL is an issue.

As for the OL, I agree that it has not been very well put together. However, here is my take on all of this....

Did we NEED Mike Hughes? No. But I've said from the beginning, is the combination of Hughes and Oneill any worse than the combination of Hernandez and Josh Jackson? FWIW, Jackson has been pretty brutal all year ranking as the #93 CB according to pff. Hernandez has been solid but is he so good that he's turning an entire OL around? No. The giants OL is still very bad. Point is, whether it was Hernandez or O'Neill, they are both good prospects but cant turn an OL around.

In the last two years, I think Spielman has done a good job trying to improve it. Last year he signed Reiff and Remmers, drafted Elfein and drafted O'Neill this year. I think it was their fault that they relied on Remmers so much at RG. Because he is not the answer that's for sure. If all worked out, I think Reiff, Easton, Elflein, Remmers and Oneill would be a good starting group IF Remmers was actually a decent guard and Easton didnt get hurt. We are currently in guard hell right now. That falls on Spielman. He relied on Easton (who was probably one of our weak links to begin with) and Remmers.

I think he made a HUGE mistake letting Gossett walk. He is now starting for Arizona and has actually graded out pretty well in both run and pass blocking. I liked him when we drafted him. Why we let him go is beyond me. Instead we keep a dud like Compton. I dont care if Compton knows Cousins or not, he isnt good. One thing that does bother me with Zim is the fact that he takes SO long to plug in rookies. Especially on the OL. Think about it, if Hill didnt get hurt, Oneill would probably still be on the bench. I feel like he looked at Gossett and said "no he's not ready" and they let him walk. He never gave him a chance to develop and that would have happened with Oneill if Hill didnt go down. Also, why do we continue to watch our guards suffer and leave Jones on the bench? I dont get it.

Overall, I think the #1 mistake THIS YEAR was letting Gossett walk. Most wont agree but he could be an Easton replacement and he's now gone. The only way anyone would be satisfied with the OL this year is if we drafted BOTH Hernandez and Oneill in the first and second. Which I think would have been a good idea, but unrealistic with Spielman and Zim (which is a problem). But Gossett was an EXCELLENT value pick and we let him walk. I do NOT want to throw a bunch of money away on FA OL. We need to continue to draft. A depth piece or two in FA? Sure. But draft our starters and PLUG THEM IN Zim.

In the offseason, our FA OL are Jones, Easton, Compton and Hill.

-Resign Jones as depth.
-Resign Easton (on a cheap deal due to injury otherwise let walk).
-Let Hill walk (unless its for vet minumum)
-Let Compton walk.
-Cut Remmers.

That leaves us with:

Tackles: Reiff, O'Neill, Collins
Guards: Isidora (possible Easton) (possible Jones)
Centers: Elflein (possible Easton) (possible Jones)

Come free agency time, I say get an average to above average OG to plug in on one side and depth at tackle

Then come draft time, draft an OG early. One of my favorites this year is Cody Ford from Oklahoma. I say find another 2 depth pieces in the mid to later rounds.

That gives us starters of:

LT: Reiff
LG: 1st round rookie
C: Elflein
RG: FA acquisition
RT: O'Neill

Depth of: Collins, Isidora, FA pickups and draft picks (possible Easton and/or Jones)

The Redskins were not bottom 4 in defense all 3 years Cousins was in Washington. We have been over this.

[808vikingsfan]

Agree that the Vikings need to upgrade the OL. But seriously, after what I've seen this year, I'd also want to upgrade the QB position.

[Texas Vike]

Agree that the Vikings need to upgrade the OL. But seriously, after what I've seen this year, I'd also want to upgrade the QB position.

That's my take too. I'm really glad we only inked a 3 year deal. I think he's a fine QB, but if I were GM, I'd be looking to strengthen our #2 QB via the draft in the next 2-3 years.

[Raptorman]

Agree that the Vikings need to upgrade the OL. But seriously, after what I've seen this year, I'd also want to upgrade the QB position.

If you haven't noticed, that is not such an easy thing to do.

[PurpleMustReign]

Agree that the Vikings need to upgrade the OL. But seriously, after what I've seen this year, I'd also want to upgrade the QB position.

That's my take too. I'm really glad we only inked a 3 year deal. I think he's a fine QB, but if I were GM, I'd be looking to strengthen our #2 QB via the draft in the next 2-3 years.

I see Sloter as a possible future QB for us as well.

[PurpleKoolaid]

Agree that the Vikings need to upgrade the OL. But seriously, after what I've seen this year, I'd also want to upgrade the QB position.

If you haven't noticed, that is not such an easy thing to do.

For the Vikings with Spielman, its been an impossible thing to do.

[Pondering Her Percy]

I agree with your post for sure. I keep saying that Flip was trying to make Cousins something he is not. Even the "great" Aaron Rodgers cant pull his team out of the crapper. Nor has he been back to a SB in 7 years. I feel like Washington did the same with Cousins. They had a good OL and good WRs his first year or two but their running game was very weak. Especially when McVay left. They also had defense ranked in the bottom 4 ALL 3 years Cousins started there. Cousins has what he needs around him to succeed here. However, it was poorly managed by our OC. If you put balance into this offense, utilize Dalvin Cook and not just Theilen and Diggs, along with a good defense, I think this team could be great. But yes, OL is an issue.

As for the OL, I agree that it has not been very well put together. However, here is my take on all of this....

Did we NEED Mike Hughes? No. But I've said from the beginning, is the combination of Hughes and Oneill any worse than the combination of Hernandez and Josh Jackson? FWIW, Jackson has been pretty brutal all year ranking as the #93 CB according to pff. Hernandez has been solid but is he so good that he's turning an entire OL around? No. The giants OL is still very bad. Point is, whether it was Hernandez or O'Neill, they are both good prospects but cant turn an OL around.

In the last two years, I think Spielman has done a good job trying to improve it. Last year he signed Reiff and Remmers, drafted Elfein and drafted O'Neill this year. I think it was their fault that they relied on Remmers so much at RG. Because he is not the answer that's for sure. If all worked out, I think Reiff, Easton, Elflein, Remmers and Oneill would be a good starting group IF Remmers was actually a decent guard and Easton didnt get hurt. We are currently in guard hell right now. That falls on Spielman. He relied on Easton (who was probably one of our weak links to begin with) and Remmers.

I think he made a HUGE mistake letting Gossett walk. He is now starting for Arizona and has actually graded out pretty well in both run and pass blocking. I liked him when we drafted him. Why we let him go is beyond me. Instead we keep a dud like Compton. I dont care if Compton knows Cousins or not, he isnt good. One thing that does bother me with Zim is the fact that he takes SO long to plug in rookies. Especially on the OL. Think about it, if Hill didnt get hurt, Oneill would probably still be on the bench. I feel like he looked at Gossett and said "no he's not ready" and they let him walk. He never gave him a chance to develop and that would have happened with Oneill if Hill didnt go down. Also, why do we continue to watch our guards suffer and leave Jones on the bench? I dont get it.

Overall, I think the #1 mistake THIS YEAR was letting Gossett walk. Most wont agree but he could be an Easton replacement and he's now gone. The only way anyone would be satisfied with the OL this year is if we drafted BOTH Hernandez and Oneill in the first and second. Which I think would have been a good idea, but unrealistic with Spielman and Zim (which is a problem). But Gossett was an EXCELLENT value pick and we let him walk. I do NOT want to throw a bunch of money away on FA OL. We need to continue to draft. A depth piece or two in FA? Sure. But draft our starters and PLUG THEM IN Zim.

In the offseason, our FA OL are Jones, Easton, Compton and Hill.

-Resign Jones as depth.
-Resign Easton (on a cheap deal due to injury otherwise let walk).
-Let Hill walk (unless its for vet minumum)
-Let Compton walk.
-Cut Remmers.

That leaves us with:

Tackles: Reiff, O'Neill, Collins
Guards: Isidora (possible Easton) (possible Jones)
Centers: Elflein (possible Easton) (possible Jones)

Come free agency time, I say get an average to above average OG to plug in on one side and depth at tackle

Then come draft time, draft an OG early. One of my favorites this year is Cody Ford from Oklahoma. I say find another 2 depth pieces in the mid to later rounds.

That gives us starters of:

LT: Reiff
LG: 1st round rookie
C: Elflein
RG: FA acquisition
RT: O'Neill

Depth of: Collins, Isidora, FA pickups and draft picks (possible Easton and/or Jones)

The Redskins were not bottom 4 in defense all 3 years Cousins was in Washington. We have been over this.

The redskins defense WAS bottom 4 in total defense all 3 of those years. I don’t need your next gen stats here. In TOTAL defense they were bottom 4. Bottom line is, no matter what you say or try to nitpick, they weren’t a good defense

[Pondering Her Percy]

That's my take too. I'm really glad we only inked a 3 year deal. I think he's a fine QB, but if I were GM, I'd be looking to strengthen our #2 QB via the draft in the next 2-3 years.

I see Sloter as a possible future QB for us as well.

[Pondering Her Percy]

Agree that the Vikings need to upgrade the OL. But seriously, after what I've seen this year, I'd also want to upgrade the QB position.

After 13 games?? Sorry but that’s very unrealistic and premature if you ask me

[PurpleKoolaid]

Agree that the Vikings need to upgrade the OL. But seriously, after what I've seen this year, I'd also want to upgrade the QB position.

After 13 games?? Sorry but that’s very unrealistic and premature if you ask me

I didnt see anyone asking you. I have seen quite a few people asking if Cousins is a good enough QB to get us to the SB. I for one dont think he can. He isnt good under pressure, cant make plays, doesnt have the heart for it (imo ofc). Whats premature is thinking just cause Rickie spent a ton of money on an unproved QB, that now we have our answer to QB. Even though Rickie didnt think the QB was worth protecting, or finding the best guy around for an OC. Not the worst OC in history like you believe.

[StumpHunter]

The Redskins were not bottom 4 in defense all 3 years Cousins was in Washington. We have been over this.

The redskins defense WAS bottom 4 in total defense all 3 of those years. I don’t need your next gen stats here. In TOTAL defense they were bottom 4. Bottom line is, no matter what you say or try to nitpick, they weren’t a good defense

Link? They weren't bottom four in yards or points given up, so I am not sure what you mean by total defense?

2015 the team was 16th in points given up. That doesn't sound like a 4th worst defense to me. Is that stat too advanced for you?

[PurpleMustReign]

The redskins defense WAS bottom 4 in total defense all 3 of those years. I don’t need your next gen stats here. In TOTAL defense they were bottom 4. Bottom line is, no matter what you say or try to nitpick, they weren’t a good defense

Link? They weren't bottom four in yards or points given up, so I am not sure what you mean by total defense?

2015 the team was 16th in points given up. That doesn't sound like a 4th worst defense to me. Is that stat too advanced for you?

If it doesn't come from PFF it doesn't count.

[808vikingsfan]

Agree that the Vikings need to upgrade the OL. But seriously, after what I've seen this year, I'd also want to upgrade the QB position.

After 13 games?? Sorry but that’s very unrealistic and premature if you ask me

His reputation in WAS was the same thing. That's why the FO was hesitant to sign him. That's why a lot of the fanbase didn't care if he left. My opinion of Cousins spans more than just the time he's been with the Vikings.

[fiestavike]

The bottom line at this point is that it doesn't matter what they should have done. Kirk Cousins will be starting for this team next year. All that matters is how to give him, and this team, a chance at success, and not to commit to him beyond next year.

*and also to start a contingency plan now. Maybe that's Sloter. Whoever it is, that person needs to be given a legitimate chance to compete as soon as possible, 3rd year of Cousins contract be damned.

[Raptorman]

After 13 games?? Sorry but that’s very unrealistic and premature if you ask me

His reputation in WAS was the same thing. That's why the FO was hesitant to sign him. That's why a lot of the fanbase didn't care if he left. My opinion of Cousins spans more than just the time he's been with the Vikings.

BTW, just who are they supposed to replace Cousins with?