Extensions for Spielman & Frazier?

[CalVike]

Spielman is credited with a great draft. Frazier will have at least doubled the win total with no talent at WR. Given the Wilf's track record, it's far more likely these well respected NFL leaders are extended than terminated. This is really what I think will happen.

[PurpleMustReign]

Spielman is credited with a great draft. Frazier will have at least doubled the win total with no talent at WR. Given the Wilf's track record, it's far more likely these well respected NFL leaders are extended than terminated. This is really what I think will happen.

I am not as against Spielman as I am Frasier. I have officially lost all respect for him. There is no reason to have Ponder in the game anymore. None. Zero. I am sick of these idiotic stubborn coaches who stick with these inept Quarterbacks who do nothing but hurt the team.
You cannot possibly tell me that Webb would be doing worse than Ponder. It is impossible.

[Mothman]

I am not as against Spielman as I am Frasier. I have officially lost all respect for him. There is no reason to have Ponder in the game anymore. None. Zero. I am sick of these idiotic stubborn coaches who stick with these inept Quarterbacks who do nothing but hurt the team.
You cannot possibly tell me that Webb would be doing worse than Ponder. It is impossible.

You need to watch this:

http://www.1500espn.com/videos/giving_a ... big_chance

It may give you a different perspective on Frazier and Spielman...

... or maybe not.

[Mothman]

Spielman is credited with a great draft. Frazier will have at least doubled the win total with no talent at WR. Given the Wilf's track record, it's far more likely these well respected NFL leaders are extended than terminated. This is really what I think will happen.

It wouldn't surprise me, although I'm trying to remember if Spielman already received an extension when he was promoted. He may already be under contract for a while.

[PurpleMustReign]

You need to watch this:

http://www.1500espn.com/videos/giving_a ... big_chance

It may give you a different perspective on Frazier and Spielman...

... or maybe not.

I watched it after I posted it. Idk about this team anymore. Why would the GM need to be involved in a starting lineup change? The more this team plays the more dysfunctional they seem.

[Mothman]

I watched it after I posted it. Idk about this team anymore. Why would the GM need to be involved in a starting lineup change? The more this team plays the more dysfunctional they seem.

It may not be quite as literal as they made it sound. Frazier may be able to make a change at QB during a game if he really wants to but he's probably under pressure not to make such a change or, if pressure is too strong of a word, maybe management has simply asked him not to do it.

The Vikes are definitely taking the long view. There's a point at which that could hurt Frazier's standing with other players on the team but it's clear that Spielman sees this as a rebuilding year and wants to treat it that way. The Vikes know they aren't a Super Bowl team and they know they need a QB to become one. Consequently, I'm betting Spielman wants to find out exactly what they have in Ponder by evaluating him for an entire season. In a sense it may be a good thing if a willingness to make a change next year lies behind that determination to stick with such a struggling player. It's frustrating now but maybe it means Ponder will be replaced as soon as next season if he doesn't start delivering this season.

I'm torn by it because I don't think it's fair to the rest of the roster.

The whole situation is frustrating.

[DavidKarki]

It may not be quite as literal as they made it sound. Frazier may be able to make a change at QB during a game if he really wants to but he's probably under pressure not to make such a change or, if pressure is too strong of a word, maybe management has simply asked him not to do it.

The Vikes are definitely taking the long view. There's a point at which that could hurt Frazier's standing with other players on the team but it's clear that Spielman sees this as a rebuilding year and wants to treat it that way. The Vikes know they aren't a Super Bowl team and they know they need a QB to become one. Consequently, I'm betting Spielman wants to find out exactly what they have in Ponder by evaluating him for an entire season. In a sense it may be a good thing if a willingness to make a change next year lies behind that determination to stick with such a struggling player. It's frustrating now but maybe it means Ponder will be replaced as soon as next season if he doesn't start delivering this season.

I'm torn by it because I don't think it's fair to the rest of the roster.

The whole situation is frustrating.

This was always a rebuilding year and never otherwise. I think the Vikings front office fully expected to be out of it early and thus to be able to use this as a long pre-season for Ponder, which was the plan meant for 2011 (when the new stadium was not yet done and the franchise was still stuck in a holding pattern until they knew what city they'd be in going forward) but didn't happen due to the NFL lockout denying Ponder proper off-season prep time, which then led to the mistake of bringing McNabb in. (Assisted by the need they felt to win now to help – or at least not hurt – the stadium drive.)

Then, once AP wrecked his knee (and the Vikings stupidly threw away RG3 by beating the Redskins a year ago), there was no reason to not just give Ponder 2012 as he was to have been given 2011. Surely AP would take time to come back, by which time the Vikings would be out of contention, and he could be safely rested. And maybe even Harvin too, in a contract year. Hence dumping Rosenfels and keeping 3 young QBs, as well.

But then AP came back sooner than ever thought possible and better than ever. And the Vikings upset SF and squeaked by Jax, Ariz, and Det twice. Suddenly they actually had to try, something the temporary place-holder coaches (whose qualifications or lack thereof were ignored until the stadium was resolved) were wholly unprepared for. Hence the seemingly inexplicable pulling of AP at times (still trying to balance protecting his health/knee with the need to ride him for all he's worth to win) and staying with Ponder (since they left themselves no alternatives and painted themselves into a corner at the QB spot).

And so here we are, with a QB and head coach (and maybe GM) that clearly are not the answer. Now that the new stadium is done and Zygi needs to sell expensive PSLs/tickets to it, the temporary place-holding coaches need to go and so does Ponder. The on-field product will need a jolt to fill the new building, and now that the stadium has finally been settled, that can proceed apace – understanding that while the Vikings are a year behind schedule due to the NFL lockout/McNabb business, they couldn't possibly have started the full-scale rebuild any sooner. They are doing now what they should have been doing last year.

The problem with this, as pointed out, is that you lose the fans by taking this long-term a view. Fans don't have that kind of patience anymore. You're never again going to see Favre getting two seasons of 30+ INTs with the Packers before figuring it out in the early 1990s. (And no, I'm not saying Ponder has anywhere near that raw physical talent; he had bad throws [2 deep to AP & Toby] as well as bad decisions [2 INTs] today.) Far from having until August 2016 before needing to contend again, the Vikings will actually kill all the buzz of the new stadium if they keep being this historically awful throwing the ball, even as Peterson is historically awesome running the ball. Zygi had better see this and take drastic action, erring on the side of a full-scale house cleaning.

[CalVike]

It wouldn't surprise me, although I'm trying to remember if Spielman already received an extension when he was promoted. He may already be under contract for a while.

I don't recall reading of an extension. It would not surprise me at all if he was extended at the time. His top lieutenant George Paton took himself out of the running for GM of the Rams in the off-season so it would not surprise me if Paton was extended too. I re-read a couple articles on Spielman's promotion to GM and they definitely emphasized a new focus on the long view.