Pondering Her Percy wrote: ↑Fri May 17, 2019 11:10 am
It's not like Cousins fumbled a certain way or something. A fumble is a fumble.
This is not true. When a QB fumbles matters. If a QB fumbles the snap or the handoff, they are much more likely to get the ball back than if they fumble while getting sacked.
A forced fumble is very different than an unforced one and it is great that Cousins doesn't have a lot of unforced fumbles, but having a lot of forced fumbles (strip sacks), is much more impactful than having a bunch of unforced ones for the simple fact that those are much more likely to be recovered by the other team.
Pondering Her Percy wrote: ↑Fri May 17, 2019 11:10 am
It's not like Cousins fumbled a certain way or something. A fumble is a fumble.
This is not true. When a QB fumbles matters. If a QB fumbles the snap or the handoff, they are much more likely to get the ball back than if they fumble while getting sacked.
A forced fumble is very different than an unforced one and it is great that Cousins doesn't have a lot of unforced fumbles, but having a lot of forced fumbles (strip sacks), is much more impactful than having a bunch of unforced ones for the simple fact that those are much more likely to be recovered by the other team.
Yes, and being the player on your team who is nearest to your own goal line when you fumble is going to make a big difference on the likelihood of your team recovering. Kirk mostly gets sacked and fumbles at the top of his drop. That's one the other team is very likely to recover...they are facing the ball, they are moving toward the ball, while our nearest guys have their back to the play. Its not like the high turnover rate on Kirk's fumbles was random chance.
I would be careful bringing up turnovers as a defense of Cousins play btw. He was top 5 in turning the ball over in 2018 when you include his fumbles. He was awful at protecting the football.
I dont want to get deep into Cousins talk again but I will say, this "fumble" stat that some like to bark about is a little overblown. Let's just say the ball didnt quite bounce our way when Cousins fumbled. He was tied for 10th most fumbles in the NFL with 9. The guys ahead of him or tied with him:
Lamar Jackson- 15
Jared Goff- 14
Derek Carr- 12
Dak Prescott- 12
Pat Mahomes- 11
Case Keenum- 11
Matt Ryan- 10
Russell Wilson- 10
Josh Rosen- 10
Deshaun Watson- 9
Carson Wentz- 9
Marcus Mariota- 9 Kirk Cousins- 9
Just picking 3 random QBs, Mahomes had 11 fumbles but only lost 2. Wilson had 10 fumbles and only lost 2. Keenum had 11 fumbles and only lost 2. Cousins had 9 fumbles and lost 7. I mean even Jared Goff who nearly led the league in fumbles and had 5 more fumbles than Cousins only lost 5 of 14 fumbles. So given that the ball didnt really bounce our way in those situations it makes Cousins' turnover numbers when you bunch them together look way worse. When really, he was somewhat on par with fumbles compared to other starting NFL QBs. If he's "horrible at protecting the football", then what is Russell Wilson, Pat Mahomes, Jared Goff, etc? Extra horrible?
If Cousins was toward the top of the league in fumbles and had like 14+ and lost 7+, then you have an argument. That would show that he fumbles more than most QBs and it's resulting in a lot of TO's. But that wasnt the case. Those guys had a considerable amount more than Cousins did but their "total turnover numbers" werent as high because their teams recovered the football more than ours did when it comes down to it. It's just bad luck if you ask me when it comes to Cousins. If he had 9 fumbles but only lost 2 or 3, we wouldnt even be discussing this. Just like nobody discusses Mahomes or Russell Wilsons fumbles. Not making excuses, this is just the reality of it. Think about it, our recovery rate when Cousins fumbled was about 22%. KC's was 82%. Seattles was 80%. Denvers was 82%. Even Goff with 14 fumbles, was 64%. Our was 22%!! That's very rare. It's not like Cousins fumbled a certain way or something. A fumble is a fumble. Inside the pocket, outside the pocket, a fumble is never a good thing. The closest recovery rate to Cousins was the Eagles and Wentz at 33%. His fumble stats were almost identical to Cousins. 9 fumbles, 6 lost. Cousins was 9 and 7 lost. Has anyone barked about Wentz's fumbling? Not that I've heard. I mean if you look at the 4 years Cousins has been an NFL starter, he's had:
Given the one high year in 2017, it's fairly consistent. Yet this past year was still far and away the most lost he's had.
And here is where the true tell is......
When you look at those same QBs above and figure their fumble rate per pass attempts they are as follows (in order from best to worst): Kirk Cousins- Every 67.3 passing attempts he fumbles
Matt Ryan- Every 60.8 attempts
Deshaun Watson- Every 56.1 attempts
Case Keenum- Every 53.3 attempts
Pat Mahomes- Every 52.7 attempts
Derek Carr- Every 46.1 attempts
Carson Wentz- Every 44.6 attempts
Dak Prescott- Every 43.8 attempts
Russell Wilson- Every 42.7 attempts
Jared Goff- Every 40.1 attempts
Josh Rosen- Every 39.3 attempts
Marcus Mariota- Every 36.7 attempts
Lamar Jackson- Every 11.3 attempts
....and that's just that group of QBs. I could dig deeper and he's still going to be in the top 10 in the league. So saying he's "horrible at protecting the football", now that I've dug deeper into it, is completely false. He was actually fairly good at it last year given how much he threw the ball and how bad his OL was.
Him losing 7 fumbles is such an easy stat to jump all over but when you lay out everything like I just did, it came down to bad luck. You were simply going off of the eye test and a stat line. And you thought it helped your argument when in the end, it didnt. Losing 7 fumbles out of 9 on the year is A LOT and very rare. Twice before in Washington he had 9 fumbles but only lost 3. The ball just didnt bounce our way this year. But either way, he's far from "horrible" protecting the football. Everything I posted above proves that.
This was an incredible post. Cousins is quite efficient and the first part of that is very low Ints per pass attempt. The second looks like he has a good fumble rate per pass attempt despite having an OL that gave up IIRC the worst pressures in the league. Cousins is going to be a part of the solution to our problems along with Bradbury. Go Vikings.
I dont want to get deep into Cousins talk again but I will say, this "fumble" stat that some like to bark about is a little overblown. Let's just say the ball didnt quite bounce our way when Cousins fumbled. He was tied for 10th most fumbles in the NFL with 9. The guys ahead of him or tied with him:
Lamar Jackson- 15
Jared Goff- 14
Derek Carr- 12
Dak Prescott- 12
Pat Mahomes- 11
Case Keenum- 11
Matt Ryan- 10
Russell Wilson- 10
Josh Rosen- 10
Deshaun Watson- 9
Carson Wentz- 9
Marcus Mariota- 9 Kirk Cousins- 9
Just picking 3 random QBs, Mahomes had 11 fumbles but only lost 2. Wilson had 10 fumbles and only lost 2. Keenum had 11 fumbles and only lost 2. Cousins had 9 fumbles and lost 7. I mean even Jared Goff who nearly led the league in fumbles and had 5 more fumbles than Cousins only lost 5 of 14 fumbles. So given that the ball didnt really bounce our way in those situations it makes Cousins' turnover numbers when you bunch them together look way worse. When really, he was somewhat on par with fumbles compared to other starting NFL QBs. If he's "horrible at protecting the football", then what is Russell Wilson, Pat Mahomes, Jared Goff, etc? Extra horrible?
If Cousins was toward the top of the league in fumbles and had like 14+ and lost 7+, then you have an argument. That would show that he fumbles more than most QBs and it's resulting in a lot of TO's. But that wasnt the case. Those guys had a considerable amount more than Cousins did but their "total turnover numbers" werent as high because their teams recovered the football more than ours did when it comes down to it. It's just bad luck if you ask me when it comes to Cousins. If he had 9 fumbles but only lost 2 or 3, we wouldnt even be discussing this. Just like nobody discusses Mahomes or Russell Wilsons fumbles. Not making excuses, this is just the reality of it. Think about it, our recovery rate when Cousins fumbled was about 22%. KC's was 82%. Seattles was 80%. Denvers was 82%. Even Goff with 14 fumbles, was 64%. Our was 22%!! That's very rare. It's not like Cousins fumbled a certain way or something. A fumble is a fumble. Inside the pocket, outside the pocket, a fumble is never a good thing. The closest recovery rate to Cousins was the Eagles and Wentz at 33%. His fumble stats were almost identical to Cousins. 9 fumbles, 6 lost. Cousins was 9 and 7 lost. Has anyone barked about Wentz's fumbling? Not that I've heard. I mean if you look at the 4 years Cousins has been an NFL starter, he's had:
Given the one high year in 2017, it's fairly consistent. Yet this past year was still far and away the most lost he's had.
And here is where the true tell is......
When you look at those same QBs above and figure their fumble rate per pass attempts they are as follows (in order from best to worst): Kirk Cousins- Every 67.3 passing attempts he fumbles
Matt Ryan- Every 60.8 attempts
Deshaun Watson- Every 56.1 attempts
Case Keenum- Every 53.3 attempts
Pat Mahomes- Every 52.7 attempts
Derek Carr- Every 46.1 attempts
Carson Wentz- Every 44.6 attempts
Dak Prescott- Every 43.8 attempts
Russell Wilson- Every 42.7 attempts
Jared Goff- Every 40.1 attempts
Josh Rosen- Every 39.3 attempts
Marcus Mariota- Every 36.7 attempts
Lamar Jackson- Every 11.3 attempts
....and that's just that group of QBs. I could dig deeper and he's still going to be in the top 10 in the league. So saying he's "horrible at protecting the football", now that I've dug deeper into it, is completely false. He was actually fairly good at it last year given how much he threw the ball and how bad his OL was.
Him losing 7 fumbles is such an easy stat to jump all over but when you lay out everything like I just did, it came down to bad luck. You were simply going off of the eye test and a stat line. And you thought it helped your argument when in the end, it didnt. Losing 7 fumbles out of 9 on the year is A LOT and very rare. Twice before in Washington he had 9 fumbles but only lost 3. The ball just didnt bounce our way this year. But either way, he's far from "horrible" protecting the football. Everything I posted above proves that.
This was an incredible post. Cousins is quite efficient and the first part of that is very low Ints per pass attempt. The second looks like he has a good fumble rate per pass attempt despite having an OL that gave up IIRC the worst pressures in the league. Cousins is going to be a part of the solution to our problems along with Bradbury. Go Vikings.
Stating Cousins is awful at protecting the football is a big time stretch. His pass protection was about as bad as it could get. He took a beating and was coached by a pathetic OC who was pass, pass and pass some more. Even an OL will have a hard time holding up when your offense is one dimensional. Especially pass blocking all the time and having to take the blow instead of dealing it out. They wear out. Just the opposite of what you want. If they fix this OL and at least try to run the ball we will be much improved. I think we will be able to run the ball. Then the argument will be that we don't need a QB at that point.
I dont want to get deep into Cousins talk again but I will say, this "fumble" stat that some like to bark about is a little overblown. Let's just say the ball didnt quite bounce our way when Cousins fumbled. He was tied for 10th most fumbles in the NFL with 9. The guys ahead of him or tied with him:
Lamar Jackson- 15
Jared Goff- 14
Derek Carr- 12
Dak Prescott- 12
Pat Mahomes- 11
Case Keenum- 11
Matt Ryan- 10
Russell Wilson- 10
Josh Rosen- 10
Deshaun Watson- 9
Carson Wentz- 9
Marcus Mariota- 9 Kirk Cousins- 9
Just picking 3 random QBs, Mahomes had 11 fumbles but only lost 2. Wilson had 10 fumbles and only lost 2. Keenum had 11 fumbles and only lost 2. Cousins had 9 fumbles and lost 7. I mean even Jared Goff who nearly led the league in fumbles and had 5 more fumbles than Cousins only lost 5 of 14 fumbles. So given that the ball didnt really bounce our way in those situations it makes Cousins' turnover numbers when you bunch them together look way worse. When really, he was somewhat on par with fumbles compared to other starting NFL QBs. If he's "horrible at protecting the football", then what is Russell Wilson, Pat Mahomes, Jared Goff, etc? Extra horrible?
If Cousins was toward the top of the league in fumbles and had like 14+ and lost 7+, then you have an argument. That would show that he fumbles more than most QBs and it's resulting in a lot of TO's. But that wasnt the case. Those guys had a considerable amount more than Cousins did but their "total turnover numbers" werent as high because their teams recovered the football more than ours did when it comes down to it. It's just bad luck if you ask me when it comes to Cousins. If he had 9 fumbles but only lost 2 or 3, we wouldnt even be discussing this. Just like nobody discusses Mahomes or Russell Wilsons fumbles. Not making excuses, this is just the reality of it. Think about it, our recovery rate when Cousins fumbled was about 22%. KC's was 82%. Seattles was 80%. Denvers was 82%. Even Goff with 14 fumbles, was 64%. Our was 22%!! That's very rare. It's not like Cousins fumbled a certain way or something. A fumble is a fumble. Inside the pocket, outside the pocket, a fumble is never a good thing. The closest recovery rate to Cousins was the Eagles and Wentz at 33%. His fumble stats were almost identical to Cousins. 9 fumbles, 6 lost. Cousins was 9 and 7 lost. Has anyone barked about Wentz's fumbling? Not that I've heard. I mean if you look at the 4 years Cousins has been an NFL starter, he's had:
Given the one high year in 2017, it's fairly consistent. Yet this past year was still far and away the most lost he's had.
And here is where the true tell is......
When you look at those same QBs above and figure their fumble rate per pass attempts they are as follows (in order from best to worst): Kirk Cousins- Every 67.3 passing attempts he fumbles
Matt Ryan- Every 60.8 attempts
Deshaun Watson- Every 56.1 attempts
Case Keenum- Every 53.3 attempts
Pat Mahomes- Every 52.7 attempts
Derek Carr- Every 46.1 attempts
Carson Wentz- Every 44.6 attempts
Dak Prescott- Every 43.8 attempts
Russell Wilson- Every 42.7 attempts
Jared Goff- Every 40.1 attempts
Josh Rosen- Every 39.3 attempts
Marcus Mariota- Every 36.7 attempts
Lamar Jackson- Every 11.3 attempts
....and that's just that group of QBs. I could dig deeper and he's still going to be in the top 10 in the league. So saying he's "horrible at protecting the football", now that I've dug deeper into it, is completely false. He was actually fairly good at it last year given how much he threw the ball and how bad his OL was.
Him losing 7 fumbles is such an easy stat to jump all over but when you lay out everything like I just did, it came down to bad luck. You were simply going off of the eye test and a stat line. And you thought it helped your argument when in the end, it didnt. Losing 7 fumbles out of 9 on the year is A LOT and very rare. Twice before in Washington he had 9 fumbles but only lost 3. The ball just didnt bounce our way this year. But either way, he's far from "horrible" protecting the football. Everything I posted above proves that.
This was an incredible post. Cousins is quite efficient and the first part of that is very low Ints per pass attempt. The second looks like he has a good fumble rate per pass attempt despite having an OL that gave up IIRC the worst pressures in the league. Cousins is going to be a part of the solution to our problems along with Bradbury. Go Vikings.
Thanks man! I just can’t bring myself to look at things on the surface. I’m always trying to dig deeper and find out what caused this or why this or that is happening.
The saddest thing in life is wasted talent and the choices you make will shape your life forever.
-Chazz Palminteri
StumpHunter wrote: ↑Wed May 15, 2019 9:15 pm
I posted these stats somewhere before, but the pick sixes and fumbles returned for TDs have been consistent throughout Cousins career. To limit them, the Vikings need to limit his opportunities to make mistakes, which will mean a more conservative offense. That is why I don't want to go higher than 9th. That and our defense could keep us from needing to score a ton.
I think what you guys are referring to is "Volume" of offense. The defense hurt them early last year, it didn't get it's wake up call until after the Rams game. That should be better in 2019. The offense should be more balanced and with a defense not allowing scores to get run up, the offense shouldn't feel the pressure to score a bunch or be so lopsided like it was last year. JDF's game planning and general design of the offense also contributed to this. He was very much the "Pass 50x a game" OC. Stefanski/Kubiak are highly unlikely to follow a similar templates. (I suspect Zimmer will be more active in the Offense meetings this season.)
If the defense can get back to itself (not a big stretch) and Kubiak/Stefanski can get the offense back to something resembling 2017 form, then this team should be an elite club in the NFC. Keep in mind that 2017 was helmed by Cse Keenum who was buoyed by a rushing offense and the league's #1 Defense. Cousins will have a much higher ceiling as a QB than Keenum in a similar environment. The key is for the Vikings to (re)create that environment.
Our defense was the same in the beginning and the end. There was no wake up call. The Bears and Seahawks ran the ball down their throats in the end. The Seahawks didn't even bother trying to pass. We held the Lions to 9 points in the beginning and at the end. No improvement they laid down twice. We did shut down the Phins at the end but big deal they didn't even care at that point.The game we needed a shut down was the last game and they couldn't do it. But we have a very good team and will challenge for the playoffs. Based on how things shook out last year we should have been buried. But our guys played hard but came up short the last game at home.
StumpHunter wrote: ↑Wed May 15, 2019 9:15 pm
I posted these stats somewhere before, but the pick sixes and fumbles returned for TDs have been consistent throughout Cousins career. To limit them, the Vikings need to limit his opportunities to make mistakes, which will mean a more conservative offense. That is why I don't want to go higher than 9th. That and our defense could keep us from needing to score a ton.
I think what you guys are referring to is "Volume" of offense. The defense hurt them early last year, it didn't get it's wake up call until after the Rams game. That should be better in 2019. The offense should be more balanced and with a defense not allowing scores to get run up, the offense shouldn't feel the pressure to score a bunch or be so lopsided like it was last year. JDF's game planning and general design of the offense also contributed to this. He was very much the "Pass 50x a game" OC. Stefanski/Kubiak are highly unlikely to follow a similar templates. (I suspect Zimmer will be more active in the Offense meetings this season.)
If the defense can get back to itself (not a big stretch) and Kubiak/Stefanski can get the offense back to something resembling 2017 form, then this team should be an elite club in the NFC. Keep in mind that 2017 was helmed by Cse Keenum who was buoyed by a rushing offense and the league's #1 Defense. Cousins will have a much higher ceiling as a QB than Keenum in a similar environment. The key is for the Vikings to (re)create that environment.
Our defense was the same in the beginning and the end. There was no wake up call. The Bears and Seahawks ran the ball down their throats in the end. The Seahawks didn't even bother trying to pass. We held the Lions to 9 points in the beginning and at the end. No improvement they laid down twice. We did shut down the Phins at the end but big deal they didn't even care at that point.The game we needed a shut down was the last game and they couldn't do it. But we have a very good team and will challenge for the playoffs. Based on how things shook out last year we should have been buried. But our guys played hard but came up short the last game at home.
I think what you guys are referring to is "Volume" of offense. The defense hurt them early last year, it didn't get it's wake up call until after the Rams game. That should be better in 2019. The offense should be more balanced and with a defense not allowing scores to get run up, the offense shouldn't feel the pressure to score a bunch or be so lopsided like it was last year. JDF's game planning and general design of the offense also contributed to this. He was very much the "Pass 50x a game" OC. Stefanski/Kubiak are highly unlikely to follow a similar templates. (I suspect Zimmer will be more active in the Offense meetings this season.)
If the defense can get back to itself (not a big stretch) and Kubiak/Stefanski can get the offense back to something resembling 2017 form, then this team should be an elite club in the NFC. Keep in mind that 2017 was helmed by Cse Keenum who was buoyed by a rushing offense and the league's #1 Defense. Cousins will have a much higher ceiling as a QB than Keenum in a similar environment. The key is for the Vikings to (re)create that environment.
Our defense was the same in the beginning and the end. There was no wake up call. The Bears and Seahawks ran the ball down their throats in the end. The Seahawks didn't even bother trying to pass. We held the Lions to 9 points in the beginning and at the end. No improvement they laid down twice. We did shut down the Phins at the end but big deal they didn't even care at that point.The game we needed a shut down was the last game and they couldn't do it. But we have a very good team and will challenge for the playoffs. Based on how things shook out last year we should have been buried. But our guys played hard but came up short the last game at home.
In both of those games you are correct that they needed to completely shut down the the opposition because the offense was horrible.
VikingsVictorious wrote: ↑Fri May 17, 2019 6:13 pm
This was an incredible post. Cousins is quite efficient and the first part of that is very low Ints per pass attempt. The second looks like he has a good fumble rate per pass attempt despite having an OL that gave up IIRC the worst pressures in the league. Cousins is going to be a part of the solution to our problems along with Bradbury. Go Vikings.
Thanks man! I just can’t bring myself to look at things on the surface. I’m always trying to dig deeper and find out what caused this or why this or that is happening.
You have to dig really deep to use two mutually exclusive stats in an attempt to prove a point.
From 2015 to 2017 he lost a strip sack fumble every 12 sacks. It was every 8 this season. Not a significant increase considering the elite QBs (Wilson, Rodgers and Brady) are in the 24 to 32 range during that time frame.
I think what you guys are referring to is "Volume" of offense. The defense hurt them early last year, it didn't get it's wake up call until after the Rams game. That should be better in 2019. The offense should be more balanced and with a defense not allowing scores to get run up, the offense shouldn't feel the pressure to score a bunch or be so lopsided like it was last year. JDF's game planning and general design of the offense also contributed to this. He was very much the "Pass 50x a game" OC. Stefanski/Kubiak are highly unlikely to follow a similar templates. (I suspect Zimmer will be more active in the Offense meetings this season.)
If the defense can get back to itself (not a big stretch) and Kubiak/Stefanski can get the offense back to something resembling 2017 form, then this team should be an elite club in the NFC. Keep in mind that 2017 was helmed by Cse Keenum who was buoyed by a rushing offense and the league's #1 Defense. Cousins will have a much higher ceiling as a QB than Keenum in a similar environment. The key is for the Vikings to (re)create that environment.
Our defense was the same in the beginning and the end. There was no wake up call. The Bears and Seahawks ran the ball down their throats in the end. The Seahawks didn't even bother trying to pass. We held the Lions to 9 points in the beginning and at the end. No improvement they laid down twice. We did shut down the Phins at the end but big deal they didn't even care at that point.The game we needed a shut down was the last game and they couldn't do it. But we have a very good team and will challenge for the playoffs. Based on how things shook out last year we should have been buried. But our guys played hard but came up short the last game at home.
Did you watch the Rams game? Or the Saints game? Or the Patriot's game? We lost all three. The defense vs. the Rams was an entirely different unit than the one that took the field against he Pats and Saints. We kept both Brady and Brees under control. The offense was great against the Rams, but the defense couldn't stop anything. Against NE and NO, the Defense was great, but the offense was a mess. The NO game was lost due to mistakes by our WR. The NE game was lost because of our Offensvie Coordinator.
Winning is not a sometime thing it is an all of the time thing - Vince Lombardi
CharVike wrote: ↑Sat May 25, 2019 2:13 pm
Our defense was the same in the beginning and the end. There was no wake up call. The Bears and Seahawks ran the ball down their throats in the end. The Seahawks didn't even bother trying to pass. We held the Lions to 9 points in the beginning and at the end. No improvement they laid down twice. We did shut down the Phins at the end but big deal they didn't even care at that point.The game we needed a shut down was the last game and they couldn't do it. But we have a very good team and will challenge for the playoffs. Based on how things shook out last year we should have been buried. But our guys played hard but came up short the last game at home.
In both of those games you are correct that they needed to completely shut down the the opposition because the offense was horrible.
I know the Bears stuffed the offense. They play D. When we play them early this season I don't think we will move the ball. They will shut the ground game down which will force Cousins to throw over and over. I can hope that we pound it down their throats. That will be the game plan and it could work. Better hope Mack don't find the creases in the OL scheme. He can move also. It's not gloom and doom but a tremendous challenge. That's the team to beat and I know we can do it. We need to have our A game on both sides.
Hilarious look at the Vikings position battles from Daily Norseman.
Looking at key positional battles heading towards training camp
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comments
Most of the starting positions are secure, but there are some intriguing battles looming for key backup jobs, too.
By Ted Glover@purplebuckeye Jun 11, 2019, 7:29am PDT
David Berding-USA TODAY Sports
From top to bottom, the Minnesota Vikings appear to have one of the more talented rosters in the NFL. On both sides of the ball, they have Pro Bowl talent at nearly every position group, young players that look like they can become Pro Bowl players, or both. Consequently, most of the starting jobs are presumably spoken for. But not everywhere, and there are some key backup position battles to be on the lookout for during this week’s mandatory minicamp, and then when training camp begins next month.
So, let’s take a look at some of these battles on the offensive side of the ball. Tomorrow, we’ll look at defense.
QB
Kirk Cousins and his now mid-range and completely non ridiculous looking contract is your starter, because duh. But behind him is Sean Mannion, a guy that once was within close proximity of Wunderkind Sean McVay, which means he’s inhaled his offensive genius and can presumably snap his fingers and put 40 points on the board.
Except, you know, in the Super Bowl, which makes Mannion a perfect fit for this team and their tortured history.
Behind him, there’s the Most Popular Man in Minnesota, The People’s Champion, The Mythical Figure that approaches Paul Bunyan status with each passing day, one Kyle Sloter. Did you know that if Kyle Sloter stood on the shores of Lake Superior, he could throw a ball and hit the Foshay Tower, bounce it off the roof of US Bank Stadium, and still overthrow Randy Moss in his prime? It’s true!
Anyway, either Mannion or Sloter will be QB2 behind Cousins.
RB
Dalvin Cook looks to step into the role of marquee running back that Mike Zimmer envisioned when he hired the Denver Mafia. Assuming Cook stays healthy, I think he’s going to have a monster year. Behind him though, the roles are less defined. This year kind of reminds me of 2010, when Chester Taylor had departed, and the Vikings drafted Toby Gerhart. RB2 seemed a pretty inconsequential job for a team coming off an NFC Championship appearance and returning literally everyone else on offense, but Taylor’s presence and reliability was sorely missed.
Latavius Murray’s role is going to be an important job to fill, and it’s going to come down to one of third round pick Alexander Mattison, Roc Thomas, Mike Boone or Ameer Abdullah Oblongata (copyright Christopher Gates). My completely wild guess at the depth chart right now is Cook, Mattison (you don’t draft a RB that high to not play a big role early), and Abdullah for the vet experience, but this is going to be one of the most hotly contested jobs as the summer unfolds.
Also, CJ Ham will enter his 43rd season as the Vikings unquestioned fullback.
OL
With the unsurprising announcement of Garrett Bradbury becoming the starting center, the line appears to be set for now. LT Riley Reiff, LG Pat Elflein, Bradbury, RG Josh Kline, and RT Brian O’Neill seem to be a decent upgrade over what the Vikings rolled out last year. If there’s a battle here, one would assume 4th round pick Dru Samia could push Kline for the RG job if Kline regresses or Samia shines. As to the backups, there are 10 five jobs open for five 10 guys. Brett Jones will probably be the backup IOL, and behind him you’ve got guys like Danny Isidora, Aviante Collins, Rashod Hill, and Storm Norton all vying for a roster spot. Those guys have the inside track to win a job as a backup, but Isidora really needs to have a good camp.
TE
With the news that Kyle Rudolph signed a contract extension, there’s really no news here anymore. Rudy and Irv Smith, Jr are going to be the top two guys, and the TE3 will come down to David Morgan or Tyler Conklin, more than likely.
WR
Behind Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen, there’s a whole lotta unknown. I’m going to call this group the Marianas Trench for now. We simply have no idea what’s really out there, but we’ve gotten a glimpse of something here and there. During the off-season OTA’s, Jordan Taylor seemed to take a slight lead over guys like Chad Beebe, Laquon Treadwell, and Brandon Zylstra, but the Vikings also drafted two guys late in the seventh round that will get a shot, Dillon Mitchell and Olabisi, Ob la Dahsi Life Goes On Brah Johnson. Beebe might have an edge here as a return specialist, but WR3, WR4, and WR5 jobs are all up for grabs.
About the only certainty in this group of guys is that as we get closer to camp, we’ll see a bunch of stories about how Laquon Treadwell is FINALLY ready to ‘break out’ and become WR3 for this team, how he’s ‘putting all the noise behind him’, and of course, the obligatory and ever popular ‘he’s in the best shape of his career’ feature.
I promise I will not write one of those stories.
Daily Norseman might want to pump the brakes on Sloter, he's only had 3rd string reps and even then maybe only about 50% of them. I think he'll win the job but he's not pushing Mannion for backup unless he plays lights out. Lets not forget guys were saying Heineke was going to leapfrog Keenum for the backup because of his preseason play.
S197 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 15, 2019 9:26 pm
Daily Norseman might want to pump the brakes on Sloter, he's only had 3rd string reps and even then maybe only about 50% of them. I think he'll win the job but he's not pushing Mannion for backup unless he plays lights out. Lets not forget guys were saying Heineke was going to leapfrog Keenum for the backup because of his preseason play.
They love Sloter over there, but I think most of it is a bit. No one actually believes Sloter has any real future with the Vikings outside of as a backup.
S197 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 15, 2019 9:26 pm
Daily Norseman might want to pump the brakes on Sloter, he's only had 3rd string reps and even then maybe only about 50% of them. I think he'll win the job but he's not pushing Mannion for backup unless he plays lights out. Lets not forget guys were saying Heineke was going to leapfrog Keenum for the backup because of his preseason play.
They love Sloter over there, but I think most of it is a bit. No one actually believes Sloter has any real future with the Vikings outside of as a backup.
