2015 Offseason - Free Agent/Draft Tracker

[Demi]

A GM doing nothing? Yay. Lotsa trash to pick up later. Not like we had any drastic needs. I guess we got Hill back.

What has winning free agency got so many teams? Buccs won spending big early not that long ago. Got them real far. How many teams are built around big money free agents? We overpaid Jennings last year. We could have got that production out of almost any WR given that many snaps. And by the time the team is competitive he'll be gone and they'll be trying to find his replacement! And the free agents the team has signed lately? More often than not don't work out.

[Mothman]

Yeah I don't trust Berger or Yankey there whatsoever. If we can recover from that and maybe sign Culliver and/or Moore, then I would be fine but Boling is a huge miss on our part. We could have had a monster hole filled by signing him

It would have been nice if they could have signed him but there are still guards on the market. Maybe they'll sign Justin Blalock. Dan Connolly could also be an option.

[VikingPaul73]

Bring back Charlie!!!!!!!!!

What is Baca up to nowadays???

[PurpleKoolaid]

I think everyone on the board wanted Boling, and thought we had a darn good chance at him. Couldnt even pull the trigger on a Bengal guard. Now i bet I know who their #1 pick is.

[PurpleKoolaid]

What has winning free agency got so many teams? Buccs won spending big early not that long ago. Got them real far. How many teams are built around big money free agents? We overpaid Jennings last year. We could have got that production out of almost any WR given that many snaps. And by the time the team is competitive he'll be gone and they'll be trying to find his replacement! And the free agents the team has signed lately? More often than not don't work out.

So House and Boling wouldnt have had value?

[HardcoreVikesFan]

It would have been nice if they could have signed him but there are still guards on the market. Maybe they'll sign Justin Blalock. Dan Connolly could also be an option.

Ehhhh I will pass on Connolly. Blalock would be a nice depth signing, but not someone you want starting.

I guess this means Minnesota will be trusting their starting left guard spot to a high rookie draft pick or Joe Berger or David Yankey. I am still a believer in Yankey, but I know it is not feasible to expect Yankey will be an all-world player.

[The Breeze]

I like the conservative approach to free agency. You really have to pick your shots year by year. Sometimes you want a veteran guy for specific reasons and he's not always going to be affordable, so timing and luck are big factors....but kudos to FOs that can stick to their budget and not be desperate.
----
The best value you can get is a starter at any position on his rookie contract.
---
This is a really young team and I think it could benefit from a couple more vets with playoff experience....but Seattle proved 2yrs ago that doesn't have to be the case. Either way, the fact that these guys are being so methodical is a good sign to me, for now. I would guess they will sign a few more guys....but I hope they stay just as methodical for the draft and find some solid guys while stryaing from the project types.

[Pondering Her Percy]

And here comes the lashing out at Spielman. Had a feeling that wouldnt take long. Desperate teams are the teams that overpay and load up in FA. Tampa last year, Miami, Jacksonville, and the Jets this year. Where will that get them?? Probably nowhere.

As for Boling, yeah I wanted him and I'm pretty upset about that one. However, just because we let House walk means nothing. I would take Culliver hands down over house. You act like House is some big name we missed out on and the guy didnt even play that often in GB.

There are still plenty of free agents out there. Chill out. New England hasn't done much of anything. Does that mean their GM sucks too?? Give me a break. We aren't even a full 24 hours into free agency yet and people are already snapping. There is still plenty of talent out there.

[Pondering Her Percy]

I think everyone on the board wanted Boling, and thought we had a darn good chance at him. Couldnt even pull the trigger on a Bengal guard. Now i bet I know who their #1 pick is.

You have no clue if they pulled the trigger or not. Cincy could have simply outbid them. The report specifically said we were making a "strong push" for him. That doesnt mean calling him on the phone asking him if he would take $500 K. I remember fans last year flipping out because we didnt make a move for a few hours. Have some damn patience my goodness.

Why don't you take a gander at the first page or two of this link and tell me how much "trash" is out there http://www.nfl.com/freeagency#tab=top101

[Demi]

Boling is hardly some elite prospect we had to get. Don't need another average player making 5~ million a year to play not that much better than a guy making a fraction of that amount. Or even drafting a rookie and grooming like like they did with Sullivan and Fusco and having them around for a decade or more.

[PurpleKoolaid]

Boling is hardly some elite prospect we had to get. Don't need another average player making 5~ million a year to play not that much better than a guy making a fraction of that amount. Or even drafting a rookie and grooming like like they did with Sullivan and Fusco and having them around for a decade or more.

Never said he was elite. He's a good guard at what I thought would be gotten for a decent price.

I knew we wouldnt do big in FA. We are building through the draft. But there were some FA's that I really hoped we would get. Doesnt matter now. I actually have more faith in Rick now, so hold back on the 'hater' talk, too early for that. I wonder how they can even go through the FA process without knowing if AD is coming back.

One thing that scares me is, the FO knows AD wont be playing with us. And somehow thats going to affect the cap. Maybe they are taking it easy until then. If we go into another year with an under par guard, im going to scream. Really. How long can we go without fixing the guard position?

I think Davidson has had more then enough chance, with a lot of talent, to make that line better.

[PurpleKoolaid]

Also Spikes. Am I the only one that didnt think the Vikes would snatch him up.? Maybe someone did, I'm too tired to look, but there is a shortage of ILB that KNOW and can play that position. Wonder if the Vikings got any offer for Greenway.

[Puddin'Taine]

It's amazing what they can see with HD and super slo-mo cameras.

I could be waxing somewhat satirically too.

This Sheldon charracter, is he handsome? Does he get the girls?

Lol, I think it depends on his confidence relating to which super hero pajamas he wore the night before.

[Puddin'Taine]

And here comes the lashing out at Spielman. Had a feeling that wouldnt take long. Desperate teams are the teams that overpay and load up in FA. Tampa last year, Miami, Jacksonville, and the Jets this year. Where will that get them?? Probably nowhere.

As for Boling, yeah I wanted him and I'm pretty upset about that one. However, just because we let House walk means nothing. I would take Culliver hands down over house. You act like House is some big name we missed out on and the guy didnt even play that often in GB.

There are still plenty of free agents out there. Chill out. New England hasn't done much of anything. Does that mean their GM sucks too?? Give me a break. We aren't even a full 24 hours into free agency yet and people are already snapping. There is still plenty of talent out there.

Exaaactly.
We have the money to offer big if need be, and Honestly neither Speilman nor Wild have a hard time doing it if we need to. Im pretty confident that we are making offers, at the same time I'm confident that if another team wins an offer there is a good reason we didn't match or over their offer.

Personally I'm very happy and completely comfortable that the Vikes don't get all GaaGaa over all the FA players that people and media consider "hot" every year and start screaming And sweating like 13yo girls at a Justin Beiber concert.

Regardless of how annoying and frustrating he can be, Spielman is pretty smart and I Honestly believe he actually really cares about the Vikings, not the NFL team he works for But, The VIKINGS. I'm sure He'll get something cool done, he always does. And that something "cool" might be something super tiny in FA season that doesnt seem very noticeable that somehow makes it possible to Do some huge damage in the draft, or something, who knows,...I dunno,...Do you know? Maybe I'm just crazy. ..what just happened Anyway?

...life is uneasy for pancake.
...

[The Breeze]

I've been reading about a new player rating system that is starting to make some waves with scouts and front office people. It's called the Kick A$$ Rating System (KARS).
____
KARS is based on 3 basic measures:
---
S.I.T.H. Quotient= how much squirt in the hole does dude have?..... 1-10 scale
--
Gristle Factor (GF)= how gristley is he?..... 1-100 scale
--
Twisted Steel Response (TSR)= how many whacks to the torso with a good length of 4in flatbar before dude falls down?
---
There was to be another number based on how well the guy avoids a 10lb plate thrown at him in sets of 10....but it was deemed too controversial with all the concussion stuff going on.
KARS will be included along with all the regular wussy stuff like running, jumping and answering questions for evluating prospects and Free Agents. McKinnon scored a 9/95/15....that's tops so far.
Looks legit.
Sorry no link.