Page 1 of 3

Reasons Cole should compete with Jasper Brinkley

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 6:30 am
by jackal
1.Brinkley has only proved himself, as a special teams player.

2. Competition is a good thing

3. Brinkley has had a chance to learn during camp and mini camp and looks lost to be honest.

4. The team is rebuilding and going with youth now, anyways..

5. Cole looked better on the field in two consecutive preseason games (SF one sack) and (Bills two INT and pick sixes)

6. Brinkley made no big plays, in either of those games.

7. Its a good story if a 7'th round draft pick starts right away

Re: Reasons Cole should compete with Jasper Brinkley

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 8:07 am
by Juice
jackal wrote:1.Brinkley has only proved himself, as a special teams player.
2. Competition is a good thing
3. Brinkley has had a chance to learn during camp and mini camp and looks lost to be honest.
4. The team is rebuilding and going with youth now, anyways..
5. Cole looked better on the field in two consecutive preseason games (SF one sack) and (Bills two INT and pick sixes)
6. Brinkley made no big plays, in either of those games.
7. Its a good story if a 7'th round draft pick starts right away

I want Audie Cole to make the team and pan out as much as the next guy but him starting right away just isn't likely. There are probably only 2 quarters left in preseason where starters will be playing and I highly doubt Cole gets an opportunity against them. Yes, Brinkley hasn't looked good, but for a guy who missed all of 2011, OTA's and mini camps it's going to take time. If Brinkley isn't capable of being the starter, Cole probably wouldn't even be the second option. Mitchell would most likely take over at WLB and Henderson would move to MLB.

Re: Reasons Cole should compete with Jasper Brinkley

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 8:12 am
by DarthBrooks
This is what preseason is for, to give guys a chance to earn a spot. There's two more preseason games, let's see what happens after them..

Re: Reasons Cole should compete with Jasper Brinkley

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 9:49 am
by dead_poet
jackal wrote:1.Brinkley has only proved himself, as a special teams player.
I'm not even sure that's true. How many special teams tackles does he even have?
2. Competition is a good thing
True, but if the coaching staff really thinks Brinkley is the superior athlete/player, it makes sense not to split reps with a seventh-rounder. Especially if they think Brinkley needs all the reps he can get to return to form or they believe other/better players (Erin Henderson?) could use the reps if Brinkley doesn't pan out.
3. Brinkley has had a chance to learn during camp and mini camp and looks lost to be honest.
He was injured for a good portion. But I'll agree that he has been playing slow/hesitant.
4. The team is rebuilding and going with youth now, anyways..
This one is irrelevant. Brinkley is only 27 and has experience in the NFL and the system.
5. Cole looked better on the field in two consecutive preseason games (SF one sack) and (Bills two INT and pick sixes)
You're right about that. But it comes with a caveat: it's against second and third-stringers. His first pick-six last week came against the Bills' third QB. His second one against their fourth.
6. Brinkley made no big plays, in either of those games.
This is pretty much the same as #5.
7. Its a good story if a 7'th round draft pick starts right away
IMO that's not a reason to play the guy if they don't feel he's any better given his ability, skillset and entirety of his body of work. It really only benefits fans of "underdogs." If everybody did that for this reason there would be a lot of poor players out there with more talented players not having the opportunity.

I'd love to see Cole get more time in the next couple of preseason games to see if he's the real deal or if these were just fluke plays. You have to think he makes it past the first round of cuts though. I hope so anyway. His real shot to stick is on special teams and it appears he's on the second-team unit there, which doesn't necessarily bode well. We'll see.

Re: Reasons Cole should compete with Jasper Brinkley

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 12:36 pm
by dead_poet
80 PurplePride 84 wrote:Cole's INTs were against Brad Smith. He's a WR (QB in college) and only plays QB in the Wild Cat really.
Thigpen threw the first one.

Re: Reasons Cole should compete with Jasper Brinkley

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 12:44 pm
by saint33
I like Cole as much as the next guy, he seems to have a knack for big plays so far and was a very instinctive player in college, but I wouldn't anoint him just yet. We all see the splash plays, but we might not see all the mistakes he makes. He even said himself after the Buffalo game not to look too hard into the picks, as he says "everyone saw the two good plays I made, but no one noticed the 5 others that I screwed up" (or something along those lines lol)

But Brinkley's job should not be guaranteed at all. I think at this point, unless Brinkley shows up big this week, it should be an open competition at MLB. Whether it be Cole, Tyrone McKenzie, Larry Dean, Marvin Mitchell or moving Erin inside and starting one of those other 4 at will, we should be open to anything because Brinkley hasn't earned anything, certainly not a guaranteed starting role. He's still clearly tentative and hasn't made any improvements in the passing game

Re: Reasons Cole should compete with Jasper Brinkley

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 1:10 pm
by Mothman
Frazier felt Brinkley showed real improvement in the second preseason game:

http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Note ... iday081912
Brinkley missed all of last season following hip surgery, then suffered a groin strain that sidelined him for much of the offseason.

The Vikings played him throughout the first half of Friday's second exhibition against Buffalo in hopes of helping him regain his confidence and timing.

"I thought he made tremendous leaps from the week before in game action against San Francisco in what he did against Buffalo," coach Leslie Frazier said. "You could see him begin to get his legs back under him. You could see the quickness and the burst that we've been wanting to see."

Re: Reasons Cole should compete with Jasper Brinkley

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 1:42 pm
by jackal
I am not saying give Cole the job right now...

but I'm not happy with Brinkley at all. In one play in SF he looked like a child walking
in the middle of the freeway. I don't think he even knew where the ball was during the
play(SF game).

I have no faith that Brinkley will be a a decent MLB for us ever

and his injury record just makes me want to have other guys compete for that
job even more. I figure at the very least it might make him pick it up a little
faster.

Re: Reasons Cole should compete with Jasper Brinkley

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 1:57 pm
by VikingLord
The only question I have is has Frazier already picked his starter? If he has, then it makes no sense to sub in a guy like Cole no matter how great he does in the preseason simply because the starters need reps with the starters.

If, on the other hand, the job at MLB is open, then if I were Frazier I'd want to get Cole some reps with the starters and see if he is still making the same types of plays as he has been against the backups. Take what is seen there and in practices and then make a decision.

From where I sit, the Vikes have a gaping hole at MLB right now. Even if Brinkley is healthy there is little to convince me he's clearly better than any of the other options on the roster, including Cole. Frazier can hope Brinkley is ready, but that won't make him ready nor should that hope earn him the job.

This could be another "McNabb Moment" for Frazier. It was clear (at least to me) even before the Vikings traded for McNabb that he was done. He had the brand name and experience, but his performance at Washington was terrible (and the Vikes actually TRADED for him after that... uuuugghhhh). So Brinkley is the heir apparent to EJ. Had some significant injury issues in college. Has followed that with significant injury issues in the pros. Brinkley gets on the field and doesn't look too hot. Not particularly effective stopping the run, especially on outside runs, and not particularly effective stopping the pass. Cole gets on the field against 2nd and 3rd-tier guys and reminds us how a MLB can impact a game. If he ends up starting, he probably has his good moments and not-so-good moments ala Ponder's first year, and maybe Frazier catches a lot of heat for making the call, but in the end, if Brinkley isn't performing as he's "capable" of performing, does it really matter if he's more experienced or more physically-talented than Cole?

Honestly, the backup LB's have looked better to me than the starters this preseason in both phases of the defense. I'd agree with the OP that maybe the game for Frazier and his coaches at LB is to figure out who can develop and not stress the here-and-now so much. Maybe they take some hits with the younger guys, but in the longer-term those guys will benefit more from having the experience now rather than trying to force something that isn't working. I'd give Brinkley one more start on Friday and, if he still isn't there, get Cole in and compare him against the same offensive guys. If there isn't a huge dropoff, maybe that sways the decision.

Re: Reasons Cole should compete with Jasper Brinkley

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 2:21 pm
by Mothman
VikingLord wrote:The only question I have is has Frazier already picked his starter? If he has, then it makes no sense to sub in a guy like Cole no matter how great he does in the preseason simply because the starters need reps with the starters.

If, on the other hand, the job at MLB is open, then if I were Frazier I'd want to get Cole some reps with the starters and see if he is still making the same types of plays as he has been against the backups. Take what is seen there and in practices and then make a decision.

From where I sit, the Vikes have a gaping hole at MLB right now. Even if Brinkley is healthy there is little to convince me he's clearly better than any of the other options on the roster, including Cole. Frazier can hope Brinkley is ready, but that won't make him ready nor should that hope earn him the job.
It shouldn't but I'm not sure there's clearly a better candidate right now either. The whole point of camp and the preseason is to resolve these kind of questions so perhaps Brinkley and his fellow LBs will clarify things through their performance over the next few weeks.
This could be another "McNabb Moment" for Frazier. It was clear (at least to me) even before the Vikings traded for McNabb that he was done. He had the brand name and experience, but his performance at Washington was terrible (and the Vikes actually TRADED for him after that... uuuugghhhh). So Brinkley is the heir apparent to EJ. Had some significant injury issues in college. Has followed that with significant injury issues in the pros. Brinkley gets on the field and doesn't look too hot. Not particularly effective stopping the run, especially on outside runs, and not particularly effective stopping the pass. Cole gets on the field against 2nd and 3rd-tier guys and reminds us how a MLB can impact a game. If he ends up starting, he probably has his good moments and not-so-good moments ala Ponder's first year, and maybe Frazier catches a lot of heat for making the call, but in the end, if Brinkley isn't performing as he's "capable" of performing, does it really matter if he's more experienced or more physically-talented than Cole?
I think it assumes a lot to even consider this a possible "McNabb moment" for Frazier. He and Williams are watching these guys every day in practice as well as during games and they probably have a much better idea of where the LBs are in their development than we get from a few quarters of 2 preseason games. Cole's INTs were impressive but I don't know if he's shown enough otherwise to leap up to the top of the depth chart, even temporarily. Some of the players he's making plays against may not even be in the NFL in a few weeks and most of the rest will be buried on depth charts when the season begins. Maybe he's just better than the lowest tier of opposition...
Honestly, the backup LB's have looked better to me than the starters this preseason in both phases of the defense. I'd agree with the OP that maybe the game for Frazier and his coaches at LB is to figure out who can develop and not stress the here-and-now so much. Maybe they take some hits with the younger guys, but in the longer-term those guys will benefit more from having the experience now rather than trying to force something that isn't working. I'd give Brinkley one more start on Friday and, if he still isn't there, get Cole in and compare him against the same offensive guys. If there isn't a huge dropoff, maybe that sways the decision.
From what I'm reading, Cole probably isn't even Plan B. Speculation is that Erin Henderson could move into the MLB spot and that Mitchell would replace Henderson on the outside. However, Tyrone McKenzie (has he even been mentioned in this thread yet?) is currently second on the depth chart behind Brinkley so if the latter doesn't nail down the job, we'd probably see McKenzie start before Cole.

Re: Reasons Cole should compete with Jasper Brinkley

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 2:57 pm
by Juice
Mothman wrote:From what I'm reading, Cole probably isn't even Plan B. Speculation is that Erin Henderson could move into the MLB spot and that Mitchell would replace Henderson on the outside. However, Tyrone McKenzie (has he even been mentioned in this thread yet?) is currently second on the depth chart behind Brinkley so if the latter doesn't nail down the job, we'd probably see McKenzie start before Cole.
Good point on McKenzie. Not only is he currently second on the unofficial depth at MLB (which can change obviously) but he has also been active on special teams. Has Cole shown anything on special teams? (Maybe he has, I can't think of anything off the top of my head right now)

Depending on how many LB's we decide to carry (we had 5 last season), Cole could very well be the odd man out. Greenway, Henderson, Brinkley, Mitchell, McKenzie

Re: Reasons Cole should compete with Jasper Brinkley

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 3:07 pm
by Mothman
Juice wrote: Good point on McKenzie. Not only is he currently second on the unofficial depth at MLB (which can change obviously) but he has also been active on special teams. Has Cole shown anything on special teams? (Maybe he has, I can't think of anything off the top of my head right now)

Depending on how many LB's we decide to carry (we had 5 last season), Cole could very well be the odd man out. Greenway, Henderson, Brinkley, Mitchell, McKenzie
That's definitely possible. It wouldn't surprise me to see Cole end up on the practice squad but again, we're only midway through the preseason. Maybe he'll make a strong case to be on the active roster or even in the starting lineup.

Re: Reasons Cole should compete with Jasper Brinkley

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 4:00 pm
by Eli
"I thought he made tremendous leaps from the week before in game action against San Francisco in what he did against Buffalo," coach Leslie Frazier said.
Could that be a candidate for the most obvious thing ANY head coach has ever said? The guy had two pick sixes.

Re: Reasons Cole should compete with Jasper Brinkley

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 4:04 pm
by Cliff
Eli wrote: Could that be a candidate for the most obvious thing ANY head coach has ever said? The guy had two pick sixes.
The quote is about Brinkley.

Re: Reasons Cole should compete with Jasper Brinkley

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 4:08 pm
by Eli
Cliff wrote: The quote is about Brinkley.
Ah. Huge difference. :lol: