Prediction for next season starting QB will be ......

[Delaqure]

Yep. The alternatives are truly ugly. That's why I think the Vikings' smart move would be to extend Cassel's contract at a better salary than he's promised in 2014. There are no immediate saviors to be found at #8 in this year's draft. And there are no franchise free agent quarterbacks. The Vikings need someone to hold them over, and while Cassel is clearly not a long-term solution, he's far better than the alternatives.

And, oh by the way... I expect Spielman to completely #### this up again. Which should not come as a surprise to anyone.

The problem is their wont be any saviors in any draft for this team for a long time. Why? Well this was one of the worst years for this team ever and we still only draft at #8. Which means we will always be picking low enough to not be able grab a top prospect. All the "saviors" will be off the board by the time we pick. Spielman will only be able to get a 2nd tier qb and hope he strikes gold. After the top couple of guys are gone its always a crap shoot.

[HardcoreVikesFan]

I wonder, does anyone know if John David Booty is willing and available? If so, boom, problem solved. Franchise QB.

[majorm]

The problem is their wont be any saviors in any draft for this team for a long time. Why? Well this was one of the worst years for this team ever and we still only draft at #8. Which means we will always be picking low enough to not be able grab a top prospect. All the "saviors" will be off the board by the time we pick. Spielman will only be able to get a 2nd tier qb and hope he strikes gold. After the top couple of guys are gone its always a crap shoot.

I think the QB position this season is a crap-shoot even at the top. I just don't see Bridgewater or Manziel as "sure things" in the NFL by any stretch. There isn't one in this year's draft.

[maembe]

Overall, he still just seems marginally better than Ponder to me. The highs are certainly higher and when he's on his game, he looks better, more in command. For example, I don't think Ponder could have had the kind of performance Cassel had against the Eagles so in that sense, Cassel looks better to me but the lows...

Three of the Vikings 4 lowest point totals last year came in games Cassel started at QB. That is not encouraging, especially since two of them were at the end of the season.

Honestly, I just don't see a QB on the roster that's actually an appealing candidate to start next season.

Thank you. I'm not sure how people are able to ignore those performances so easily. He had one really good game, but overall, he didn't play much better than Ponder, if at all. The bottom line though is that at the rate we were scoring, even with Ponder at QB, an average defense would have given us a shot at the playoffs, there are only a select few QBs who are going to put up 30+ points consistently. I don't think we can count on having one of those elite QBs, so the defense should be just as much if not more of a priority, which is why I'm definitely okay with passing on a QB in the first round.

[TeamChaplain]

I wonder if Freeman will get another look, 12 days under the frazier/musgrave regime didn't do him justice imo. I'd give him and Cassel an opportunity to battle it out. It will be interesting to see how Spielman/Zimmer and Turner work all that out.

[dead_poet]

I wonder if Freeman will get another look, 12 days under the frazier/musgrave regime didn't do him justice imo. I'd give him and Cassel an opportunity to battle it out. It will be interesting to see how Spielman/Zimmer and Turner work all that out.

Well, Freeman has the arm to attack vertically and he's apparently known for his ability to connect deep, which is something Turner likes in his quarterbacks. Still, he has a lot working against him with his abysmal play the last couple of seasons. For the right price, I wouldn't mind Cassel, Freeman and a early-round rookie battling for the starting gig. I just have a hard time believing Freeman would win that competition based on recent performance.

[Purple bruise]

I wonder, does anyone know if John David Booty is willing and available? If so, boom, problem solved. Franchise QB.

You are kidding I hope. Booty could not even make it on Houston's team (maybe the worst needy team for a QB). He will be 30 years old.

[NextQuestion]

If Simpson doesn't drop that deep bomb TD from Freeman...does his performance look any better?

[Mothman]

If Simpson doesn't drop that deep bomb TD from Freeman...does his performance look any better?

Statistically, yes, but otherwise no, I don't think so. We saw the pass. The result doesn't change what we also saw over the course of the game.

[Just Me]

I wonder if Freeman will get another look, 12 days under the frazier/musgrave regime didn't do him justice imo. I'd give him and Cassel an opportunity to battle it out. It will be interesting to see how Spielman/Zimmer and Turner work all that out.

Quite honestly, I could see that happening. Spielman brought him to the team, and as long as Freeman doesn't want the Vikes to break the bank to keep him, he might be in the QB stable next year. I don't have a great deal of hope he'll work out, but I can see Spielman (with a new coaching staff) not wanting to close that door so quickly. (Especially when the immediate alternatives are Ponder/Cassel.)

[Just Me]

You are kidding I hope. Booty could not even make it on Houston's team (maybe the worst needy team for a QB). He will be 30 years old.

He's kidding. No one thinks Booty was or will be our 'franchise guy'. (especially with MBT just "waiting in the wings")

[Laserman]

I think we should get off the Draft a top QB shelf and start getting very serious at studying the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th round QB prospects. Manning aside, not all top tier NFL QBs came out of the first round. The Drafting Staff in Minnesota Better get much better at evaluating QB than just looking at the top college QBs. there are more Tom Brady's and Russell Wilsons out there IF our staff can get serious about it

[saint33]

I think we should get off the Draft a top QB shelf and start getting very serious at studying the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th round QB prospects. Manning aside, not all top tier NFL QBs came out of the first round. The Drafting Staff in Minnesota Better get much better at evaluating QB than just looking at the top college QBs. there are more Tom Brady's and Russell Wilsons out there IF our staff can get serious about it

Teams in desperate need of a QB don't usually do a great job of finding QBs later in the draft. The Nick Foles/Russell Wilsons/Tom Bradys of the league generally were drafted as project players on teams with their starting QB already on the roster. The teams usually take these players because their value on their board is too good to pass up. They are "happy accidents". Teams that desperately need a QB tend to target a particular player and overdraft that player. Not that, that means said QB can't succeed, just that the odds of finding a franchise QB in the later rounds is significantly lower than the odds of finding one in the first round. It's a crapshoot

[Eli]

Maybe teams that desperately need a QB need to start targeting more mid-round QBs. They're certainly no worse off with these project QBs on their roster. Think where the Vikings might be today if they'd taken a few 3rd or 4th round chances over the past five years. They may or may not have found a franchise QB among them, but I'd bet they'd have at least one competent backup.

There's a huge difference between a 3rd round project and a 7th round flier, which the Vikings have been known to draft. A 7th round QB arguably can't even be called a project. He's a low risk selection, who, even if he makes the practice squad, was a great pick.

[majorm]

Statistically, yes, but otherwise no, I don't think so. We saw the pass. The result doesn't change what we also saw over the course of the game.

Just like we saw that Cassel handles the position much better than Ponder? In spite of the fact that stats alone may make the difference between the two seem smaller?

I love debating with you Moth.