Reusse: losing Harvin, Winfield, can't be Good

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Mothman
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Reusse: losing Harvin, Winfield, can't be Good

Post by Mothman »

Did it take Reusse two months to assemble these thoughts? ;) He's a little late to the conversation.

http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Reus ... 913_060913

In a nutshell, his attitude is that it's never good to get rid of great players. Generally speaking, I think that's a philosophy we can all get behind but what if the great player is a malcontent who apparently doesn't want to play for the team anymore and will be a free agent in a year? Is it a good idea to trade him then and get a first round pick in return or is it better to wait, franchise tag him and and make him a very unhappy player getting paid liek one of the top 5 at his position? Is it better to let him continue being a distraction and then walk in free agency a year later and get nothing in return?

Winfield's a different story but let's face it, they had to move on at his position at some point soon anyway. I wish it had happened differently and I wish it had happened later but it's an understandable, if regrettable, move.

Maybe the differences between Harvin and the Vikes weren't irreconcilable and maybe Winfield didn't need to become a cap casualty but these were at least understandable moves that could make the team better in two years, even if they don't necessarily make them better immediately.
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Re: Reusse: losing Harvin, Winfield, can't be Good

Post by TheCoolerOne »

I look forward to reading this guy's articles based on the sheer absurdity of most (read: all) of his opinions. I was dying to read a follow up to his "Reusse's Reality: Vikings will draft T'eo." Sure, all the signs pointed to us probably nabbing him, but nobody predicted it with as much arrogance as he did, going so far as to call it a "100% guarantee." And in this article for example, he's comparing oranges to apples and figures the cleverness of him being able to slide out one name like harvin and slide in "Gomez" like a mad lib will get people to get on board with him. I get his drift too, I just think he's a terrible journalist.
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Re: Reusse: losing Harvin, Winfield, can't be Good

Post by losperros »

I think Reusse's views have some merit. OTOH, I don't agree with his attitude, which seems too pompous to me, and while he's right about the short term effect of losing two talented players, he still seems to be missing the big picture.

Okay, so will the Vikings miss two big time talents in Harvin and Winfield? I say yes. At least they will for a while, anyway. OTOH, I like the Vikings approach at adding more variety and depth among their WRs and acquiring talented youth with great potential among their DBs as well. I think the Vikings made some smart moves on both counts.

I have to agree with Moth about Harvin and Winfield. Harvin wanted out. Sure, he's a terrific offensive weapon but the Vikings did what they had to do and I think made a decent trade that will help their team's future. I see no other way that the Vikings could have dealt with the situation. It was fair for both the team and Percy Harvin. As for Winfield, it was all about his age and salary, and that's equally understandable because Father Time will catch up with him and the team questioned how much they want to spend on him at this point. I'm not sure that the manner they cut Winfield was handled all that well, but their decision to move on makes sense.

It amazes me that Reusse fails to understand the Vikings thinking regarding these two players, regardless how good they are. Thankfully, the Vikings staff are presently forward thinkers, which I guess Reusse is not.
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Re: Reusse: losing Harvin, Winfield, can't be Good

Post by Hunter Morrow »

Why even have Harvin around? It is clear he didn't want to be there and mentally checked out on at least 3 regular season
games with the playoffs on the line and a playoffs game against the franchise's most hated rival. I know how stellar
Harvin is but I also know he's never started in every single game and has only played in every game once. He's always
going to be out for 2 games or more a season just physically and mentally he's totally checked out. A 2 game injury could
be a 6. You might as well trade him at the height of his value. I know Jennings was injured last year and Patterson hasn't played
one down but that is just the point. Lets see what a healthy Jennings and Patterson can do with the best running back in football
before we pronounce judgments of trading a guy who missed 7 games on a 10-6 season will just be the end of the world.

I know losing Winfield stinks but he was a 35 year old secondary player who wanted 7.5 million dollars in salary and compensation
this year. You can't pay that much money for Winfield with his injury history, age and limited role. If he wanted to take a dramatic,
multi-million dollar pay cut to remain a Viking, absolutely you pay 2 or 3 million for him. But you can't pay 8.
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Re: Reusse: losing Harvin, Winfield, can't be Good

Post by dead_poet »

Kind of misleading headline as nobody knows what the drama was (if anything).

Seahawks' Percy Harvin leaves drama back in Minnesota

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nf ... t/2409185/
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Re: Reusse: losing Harvin, Winfield, can't be Good

Post by VikingLord »

dead_poet wrote:Kind of misleading headline as nobody knows what the drama was (if anything).

Seahawks' Percy Harvin leaves drama back in Minnesota

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nf ... t/2409185/
One thing I can gather from the article is Harvin's rep must have preceded him. Both the head coach and GM from the prospective trade team want to interview the player face-to-face before making the trade? I think that's pretty unusual, so I'd say that is further evidence of real problems with Harvin's behavior off the field.
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Re: Reusse: losing Harvin, Winfield, can't be Good

Post by NextQuestion »

oh god... Reusse is brutal to listen to on ESPN15000
Pull yr 84 jerseys out.
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Re: Reusse: losing Harvin, Winfield, can't be Good

Post by Mothman »

Jeffbleedspurple wrote:If there is any game this season that I hope the Vikings not only win, but totally crush their opponent, that would be Seattle. :smilevike:
I'm with you. I'd love to see the Vikes just destroy the Seahawks in that game.
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Re: Reusse: losing Harvin, Winfield, can't be Good

Post by Texas Vike »

Mothman wrote: I'm with you. I'd love to see the Vikes just destroy the Seahawks in that game.

Is it at home this year? (too lazy to search)
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Re: Reusse: losing Harvin, Winfield, can't be Good

Post by mansquatch »

Reusse is crotchety as ever. I swear the MN sports reporting scene is all about being critical of the franchise and complaining about everything they do. The only time the Vikings will ever be flawless is when they got 16-0 and win a super bowl. Until then the reporters will be eternally waiting for the chickens to come home to roost.

I see his points in this article, but he acts as if they had a choice with Harvin. Did they really? If that dug in their heals Harvin would have just held out for 10 games and then walked next year netting the purple exactly nothing. I get the argument about losing his talent, totally valid, but Reusse’s argument really doesn’t provide the context of the available options. IMO the FO did about as good of a job as you could hope for given the PH situation.

The Winfield situation is more of an indictment on the front office, but the guy was 35. He might have 2-3 more years and his production has already started to show his age, although admittedly a 35 yr old 90% Winfield is still better than most of the guys in the league. Regardless, he signed a deal for like $3MM, not the $7.5MM the VIkes would have had to pay him. So while the situation could have been handled more diplomatically by Spielman and co, they were correct to not pay the guy $7.5MM.
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Re: Reusse: losing Harvin, Winfield, can't be Good

Post by Mothman »

Texas Vike wrote: Is it at home this year? (too lazy to search)
LOL! That is lazy. :)

Just kidding... it's another away game for the Vikes. They play November 17th at Seattle.

Jim
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Re: Reusse: losing Harvin, Winfield, can't be Good

Post by J. Kapp 11 »

The fact that Reusse cites a failed-Browns-scout-turned-ESPN-talking-head moron like Williamson as his "expert" shows you how little credibility his opinion carries.
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Re: Reusse: losing Harvin, Winfield, can't be Good

Post by Texas Vike »

Mothman wrote:
LOL! That is lazy. :)

Just kidding... it's another away game for the Vikes. They play November 17th at Seattle.

Jim
Actually too busy while at work for the extra key strokes... :lol: Anyways, what a bummer that we have to play them in that stadium again! That's hardly fair. It's a huge advantage, just as the dome is for us. I guess beating them there would be all the more sweet.
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Re: Reusse: losing Harvin, Winfield, can't be Good

Post by MV711 »

WE'll be OK...Let's move on and improve on lat year!!
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Re: Reusse: losing Harvin, Winfield, can't be Good

Post by vikeinmontana »

in related news, the los angeles lakers are really going to struggle in the playoffs this year due to kobe bryant's brand new achilles injury....

:confused:
i'm ready for a beer.
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