S197 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 05, 2020 2:32 pm
Pondering Her Percy wrote: ↑Wed Aug 05, 2020 12:42 am
Have been absent from here for a while and been super busy but trying to get back on when I can.
As for Spielman, I 100% think he deserves an extension. Again, we wouldnt have the talent we do on this team if it wasnt for Spielman and even after what we've lost this offseason talent wise, this is still one of the more overall talented teams in the NFL with what looks like a bright future with a solid looking draft class and another 13 picks already next year.
Spielmans job is to bring in talent. He's not the coach. He isnt out there playing. He has done his job better than a good 80% of GMs in this league since Zimmer has been here. When he finally took over as GM, he's continued to bring in talent to this team and even more so since Zim has been here, especially via the draft.
I mean there has been:
Cook
Mattison
Diggs
Thielen (who he brought in on a workout as an UDFA and kept year after year, when he could have easily cut him)
Jefferson (should be a big time player for us for a long time)
Irv
Bradbury
Oneill
Cleveland (Jury is out but I like the potential there, similar to Oneill)
Hunter
Lynch (will be a stud IMO)
Odenigbo
Kendricks
Barr
Rhodes
Waynes
Alexander
Gladney (solid pick)
Dantzler (who for whatever reason I think will be our next shutdown CB and maybe be even better than Gladney)
Harris
Smith
Sure we can sit here and say he was "part of" the Ponder pick, you can try and blame him for Kalil which is a terrible argument, you can complain about Cousins contract, etc. But you can also complain about any other GM and their "bad moves".
But please tell me how many GMs in this league have brought in the talent he did above?? I can tell you there havent been many. He's been long considered one of the better GMs in the NFL and I 100% agree. I dont care what he did prior to 2012, I dont care what he did in Miami, I care about what he's done to fill this roster with talent, and he's done a damn good job at that if you ask me.
PHP,
I hear what you're saying and I think you bring up a lot of valid points. But you have to admit, you're padding that list a fair amount. You have 5 guys on that list who haven't taken an NFL snap yet and a few guys with some pretty big question marks. I don't think Bradbury has proven anything yet nor has Odenigbo (other than he's a solid backup). Irv had a decent enough rookie year but he didn't exactly light the world on fire.
I think Rick has done a really good job at certain positions. He's found great value at DE with mid-round picks like Robison, Griffen, and Hunter. Trading for Jared Allen. His backups (Odenigo, Weatherly, etc.) were also good picks for where he got them. You could make the same argument for WR where he hasn't had the best luck in early rounds but he's hit some homers in late rounds and also found solid contributors in guys like Jarius Wright, etc.
I think his biggest blind spots are at OL and QB. Kalil, you know, I'm okay with that pick. None of those guys around that pick panned out and he was a promising prospect out of college. When you move Tyron Smith to RT, I can see why that would intrigue scouts. But Rick has really struggled greatly even if you discount that pick. I mean, after Hutchinson have we had any guard that's even remotely average? I think Brandon Fusco may be the best guard we've had, which speaks volumes. He is putting more emphasis on the line the last few drafts so I do give him credit there, but those picks need to pan out. Elflein is not looking good. Bradbury was a rookie but he struggled a lot. O'Neill, and I'm probably in the minority here, but I think he's just an average RT. It's just we haven't seen average in so long that he looks better than he really is. Or maybe more accurately, I don't think he has much of a higher ceiling.
QB we've discussed ad nauseum so I won't go there. I don't think Rick is a bad GM, my biggest fear is he and Zimmer are putting this team in this sort of Goldilocks situation where they're not bad but not great either. So the Vikings are a perpetual wild card team (+ or - a game depending on the season).
Yeah sure I added picks from this year but those picks also scream potential. Where someone like Cameron Smith last year was nothing but a special teamer and not a good pick IMO. I would not be shocked one bit if this years draft class blows the 2015 class out of the water. Jefferson, Gladney, Cleveland, Dantzler, Lynch and Dye have production and potential written all over them. Wonnum and Willekes working with Patterson are two more. Stanley has the potential of being a decent backup.
As for other guys, Bradbury was an excellent run blocker. He needs to get better in pass pro for sure but I still think he has a bright future. Odenigbo has the 4th most snaps at DE behind Hunter, Griff and Weatherly and recorded 7 sacks. That's more than a solid backup if you ask me. That's nearly unheard of recording that many sacks with that snap count.
As for Oneill, I dont have a clue in the world why you believe he's just an average RT. He's allowed 1 sack in two years and that sack was his final game in 2 years against the 49ers in the playoffs. He's 1 of 3 tackles EVER to not allow a single sack in his rookie season with a minimum of 500 snaps.....the only two others to ever do that....Joe Thomas and Ryan Clady. So yeah maybe he doesnt have a higher ceiling because he's allowed 1 sack in 2 years. So really the only ceiling he could hit is allowing 0 sacks in the next 2 years. Oneill is a well above average RT. I'm not sure how a tackle can be considered "average" when he's allowed 1 sack in two years. I literally dont know how that is possible.
Clearly you're more down on these guys than most but again, we can sit here and pick apart Spielman's "mistakes" just like we could with any GM. But I would bet my bank account that he's had a lot less mistakes in the last 5 years than a good 80% or more of the leagues GMs. Even the best of the best GMs have bad draft picks, bad roster moves, bad signings, etc. Spielman has flipped this roster from a very bad one in 2013 to a very good one since Zimmer has been here.