House Spielman built takes shape

[Mothman]

A good read from Chip Scoggins:

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... 56392.html

Rick Spielman quietly celebrated the anniversary of his promotion to Vikings general manager this past Thursday.

He became emotional in front of reporters that day last January, his voice cracking as he acknowledged the challenge that awaited him following a 3-13 season. His vision included a major rebuild that required tearing down the roster and reshaping it with an influx of new faces and young talent. A year later, Spielman has formulated the right blueprint to help the Vikings organization achieve long-term health and stability.

The Vikings bucked predictions by advancing to the postseason in a presumed rebuilding campaign. That's a credit to the players and coaching staff who refused to view their own expectations in those terms. But the success also reflects Spielman's belief that his organization can build a solid foundation through the draft without compromising the NFL's win-now mandate. This Vikings team proved that being young and being good are not mutually exclusive.

"I think we're on the right track," defensive tackle Kevin Williams said. "We played so many young guys and mixed in the older guys. If we come back next year and bomb, I think we'll all be disappointed."

[HardcoreVikesFan]

A good read from Chip Scoggins:

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... 56392.html

I have to say, I was skeptical when Rick took over as the GM. However, it appears that Spielman has an eye for talent. Hopefully, Spielman keeps it up and we have another great draft this year.

[VikingLord]

Congrats to Spielman. He really did do a solid job.

With that said, I see this offseason as no less challenging than last, and in some ways it is more challenging. It's pretty clear what the Vikings need to do in terms of improvement this offseason, but this time around Spielman will have to accomplish that with lower draft choices in every round. He also needs to make a major decision on the immediate future of Percy Harvin, plus he'll have some challenging things to think about in regards to some of his established defensive vets like Kevin Williams, Jared Allen, and Antoine Winfield.

Spieman managed to hit the first pitch out of the part, but now he's back up to bat and this is a good pitcher he's facing. If he can somehow hit another homer, this team will be in great position to challenge for a long time.

[Purple bruise]

Looks as if the Vikes are set with a good HC a great GM and the franchize QB that they set out to get

[PurpleKoolaid]

Looks as if the Vikes are set with a good HC a great GM and the franchize QB that they set out to get

LOL by what do you grade a franchize QB?

[Demi]

Now if only he could get a damn franchise QB, but this is the guy that traded for AJ Feeley and drafted Christian Ponder. So maybe that's expecting too much.

[DanAS]

"I think we're on the right track," defensive tackle Kevin Williams said. "We played so many young guys and mixed in the older guys. If we come back next year and bomb, I think we'll all be disappointed."

[/quote]

All told, I agree that the ship is heading in the right direction. There remain multiple holes to be plugged, but far fewer than there appeared to be this time last year. And that, truly, is the sign of a successful season.

[admvp]

Now if only he could get a damn franchise QB, but this is the guy that traded for AJ Feeley and drafted Christian Ponder. So maybe that's expecting too much.

Seems he's done everything BUT find a darn franchise QB. With one of those, we could dominate year in and year out.

[NextQuestion]

He also swung and missed on some of the "big" FA acquisitions. Felton was great.

[Delaqure]

I actually think this off season will be the telling point of Spielman's abilities. He did very well overall last year, but like some have said, missed on a couple of picks. This year will be much more difficult for him as the free agency pool seems sparse for the needs of the team and we have a lot fewer draft picks at a lower position. What he does with the WR position will be key here and if he blows it I think we will have more trouble next year as I have my doubts that AD will be able to perform like he did this year.

[PurpleKoolaid]

I actually think this off season will be the telling point of Spielman's abilities. He did very well overall last year, but like some have said, missed on a couple of picks. This year will be much more difficult for him as the free agency pool seems sparse for the needs of the team and we have a lot fewer draft picks at a lower position. What he does with the WR position will be key here and if he blows it I think we will have more trouble next year as I have my doubts that AD will be able to perform like he did this year.

He handled the draft last year great IMO. Everything about it almost. Ging to be real hard to beat that. But other then Felton, he cant do worse in FA. I never ever wanna see Carlson with a Vikes uniform on a gain. Hes just taking up space. A rookie TE would be better.

[Eli]

I agree... Spielman has a long way to go before proving his competence. His grade in free agency moves is a 'C' at best. His draft was OK, but great?


1-4. Matt Kalil was a no-brainer. Half the free world expected the Vikings to take him.

1-29. Harrison Smith was a good pick. I still question the need to give up a draft pick to move up just six spots to take him, though.

3-3. Josh Robinson. Good value for a third round corner.

4-23. Jarius Wright. May prove to be a good value. Not a bad pick by any means.

4-33. Rhett Ellison. Typical late 4th rounder. Good pick, in that he contributed his rookie year.

4-29. Greg Childs. Took a chance and whiffed.

5-4. Robert Blanton. Jury is out. Good chance he won't be with the team in another season or two.

6-5. Blair Walsh. Great pick? There were three kickers the Vikings valued and two of them were already off the board. Spielman didn't make this pick - the Texans and Rams made it for him.

7-3. Audie Cole. Wait and see.

7-33. Trevor Guyton. Wait and see.

[DarthBrooks]

Trevor Guyton was released. Childs was not so much a whiff as a DNF. He was doing great and may have been the WR the Vikings needed all season long but the injury ended that. That draft wasn't a C grade though. Getting two guys who both turn around areas of weakness puts it into A territory. Kalil could solidify tackle for the next decade and a half. Smith likewise at safety. Kicker's careers tend to be mercurial but Walsh pretty much did everything he was asked of. Robinson and Wright could both be solid, reliable players for quite some time. When you compare that to the drafts of teams like some teams (where no one is left after a year) the team had an excellent draft.

[PurpleKoolaid]

I agree... Spielman has a long way to go before proving his competence. His grade in free agency moves is a 'C' at best. His draft was OK, but great?


1-4. Matt Kalil was a no-brainer. Half the free world expected the Vikings to take him.

1-29. Harrison Smith was a good pick. I still question the need to give up a draft pick to move up just six spots to take him, though.

3-3. Josh Robinson. Good value for a third round corner.

4-23. Jarius Wright. May prove to be a good value. Not a bad pick by any means.

4-33. Rhett Ellison. Typical late 4th rounder. Good pick, in that he contributed his rookie year.

4-29. Greg Childs. Took a chance and whiffed.

5-4. Robert Blanton. Jury is out. Good chance he won't be with the team in another season or two.

6-5. Blair Walsh. Great pick? There were three kickers the Vikings valued and two of them were already off the board. Spielman didn't make this pick - the Texans and Rams made it for him.

7-3. Audie Cole. Wait and see.

7-33. Trevor Guyton. Wait and see.

Smith singlehandedly changed the secondary. He even made Sanford look like he knew what playing a safety was. Smith is a GREAT pick, along with Walsh and Kalil. And Kalil wasnt a no brainer, alot thought we would go Blackburne. Childs doesnt equal a whiff. Wright is a good to great pick already. Man, I thought I was hard on Spielman. What would you consider a good drafting year for the vikes recently other then grabbing AD?

[admvp]

1-29. Harrison Smith was a good pick. I still question the need to give up a draft pick to move up just six spots to take him, though.

All due respect, you're a good poster here, but that statement is almost laughable. Maybe we get him six picks later, maybe we don't. Fact is, we got him, and I think we're all glad we did. I think it's wrong to question whether that needed to be done. It worked out, so give him credit.

6-5. Blair Walsh. Great pick? There were three kickers the Vikings valued and two of them were already off the board. Spielman didn't make this pick - the Texans and Rams made it for him.

So he doesn't deserve credit for the pick? Seriously? Is that what you're saying?

Look, there are lucky picks. I understand that. But when the rest of the draft is also good, it's hard to consider this a lucky pick. And even in the case of a lucky pick, you still have to give credit. The pick was made. Period. End of story. The rest, to a degree, is semantics. The Texans and Rams don't draft for us. Rick Spielman does.

If I remember correctly, all the other NFL teams, like the Raiders, had JaMarcus Russell first on their boards. And the Raiders took him. So should we not fault the Raiders for making a terrible pick? I say we still should. Yeah, everyone screwed that one up, but it was the Raiders who made the pick. Maybe I'm looking at it wrong, I don't know.

All I'm saying is that maybe instead of making excuses (let's call them what they are) against Spielman's case by pointing out the picks as 'no-brainers' or 'reaches' or 'made for him' or this or that, we should look at the big picture and see that these are good picks. Thus, it's a good draft. It just seems like it should be that simple. Maybe I'm the idiot here. Haha.