End of Season Thoughts

[PurpleMustReign]

All of the points I wanted to make were already made by deat_poet. So, thanks for typing it out for me, dp

I am absolutely thrilled with the season. So much better than what I expected in so many aspects. My biggest things going into the offseason are to extend Harvin and sign Wallace (or similar).

[PurplePPLEater]

I think if we have as good of a draft as we did last year we can win the NFC North next year.

I have 10x as much faith in Fraizer now than I did at the beginning of the season.

Good to see AD didn't let the ACL injury really have much of an effect on him.

Defense is heading in the right direction.

QB situation still a mystery in terms of whether we have a franchise QB or not.

[ranskal]

QB situation still a mystery in terms of whether we have a franchise QB or not.

This to me, after the initial shock of hearing Webb was starting last night, was what I was disappointed in not getting to see. Ponder played well the past few weeks, including his best game in the biggest game he ever played in. I wanted to see how he performed in his first playoff game.

[bigskyeric]

Great Season all around.

Ponder shined when he absolutely had too, but then didn't start the most important game of his career. Unfortunately, I fear his elbow will be his Achilles Heal for the remainder of his career.

We know Webb isn't the answer, and sadly, isn't even a good backup. With all the Hype over Webb, until last night I was convinced we had the best backup in the League. He should have kept running the Ball, and Musgrave should have adjusted the game plan to his strengths.

Musgrave kept it simple for this young team and the Vikings Proved you can play conservative and still win.

Zygi handing over the keys to Spielman was the best move he's made to date. What a draft, Wow. I don't ever remember questioning who my favorite Rookie on the team was the way I am this season. For now I'll have to Pick Walsh. He is a huge asset to the team and gives us an incredible advantage over our opponents.

AD, wow. As someone who's suffered an ACL tear, I'm convinced AD is the most focused athlete in NFL history. I wonder what would have happened if Frazier didn't 'ease' him back onto the field. He should demolish the record next season...... I'm confident.

I fear we'll be without Harvin next year. But really, He wants to be the only player on the field and last I checked, teams win games. Jarius Wright proved to be better then I expected. I still hold out hope Childs will recover and find a spot on this team again.

Love him or hate him..... Frazier has this team playing together, focused, with a sense of pride again. Something that was ripped away from them after the disheartening loss of 09. Which leads me to my final point, At the beginning of the year, I made a bet with a Saints Fan. That the Vikings would have a better season than the Saints. The Loser buys the Winner a case of beer of their choice. I'll be sippin' Grain Belt Premium tonight.

Skol Vikings

[headless_norseman]

Also, our rookies turned out to be complete stars. Kalil, Smith, and Wal$h all had a huge impact on our season. If we can have another draft like that this coming year, we could be in Super Bowl contention!

This would be a good post to kick off a draft thread a few weeks from now. I went through a short while ago and looked at the guys we drafted and how much they contributed. I'd have to grade last years draft around an A-. And I'm not sure if that other WR from Arkansas is even on the team?

[BGM]

1.) A lot of our core veteran guys are getting up there. Didn't someone mention retirement with Winfield before the season started? KWill has lost a lot of his quickness too, although I still love him. JA, everyone knows he isn't the same guy anymore.

Jared Allen is 30 and was playing with a torn labrum this season. Still, he managed to lead th eteam in sacks and was better than ever against the run. Kevin Williams is 32, and I agree we need to find his heir apparent. Winfield still packs a punch at 35, but I think he has two more seasons in his tank. Still, we need to address his eventual departure. Chris Kluwe and Cullen Loeffler are 31. Joe Berger and Michael Jenkins are 30. Everyone else is under 30. So, really, there are not that many vets who are getting long in the tooth. However, the two that are older are very important and talented members of the team.

2.) Coaches and schemes. If all the coaches return, we're doomed to fail. Honestly, I give AD that much more props for getting that many yards from such dull running plays. I know being a Madden genius does not make me a real NFL strategist, but our offense needs to more screens, timing routes (god it's hard to admit, but Rodgers throwing to his WR are a thing of beauty at times), counter plays, and REAL PA passes. Defensively, cover 2 is effective if the DLINE is getting presure. Our DLINE will be a year older and was merely mediocre this season only.

We have a QB who is not a timing route guy and an offense that is a WCO hybrid. The running plays may seem dull to you, and AD is fantastic at making things happen, but the run blocking has been great, and Musgrave's use of Felton at FB has been awesome (as can be seen by ADs rushing average with Felton blocking being approx. 7.7 ypc). The issue of PA has more to due with Ponder not being much of a passing threat this season than anything to do with the scheme. The coaches are obviously getting a lot out of their talent, as the 10-6 record shows.

3.) Inconsistency. I feel we could've also easily gone 6-10 this year. Our defense is inconsistent. Ponder is inconsistent. Our WR's, TE, OLINE...everyone except Peterson. Now I supposed this has to do with us being a young team, but at the same time, this inconsistency can also tilt towards consistently bad next year. What's suprising too and worries me is that it is the VETERANS that are inconsistent - JA, Greenway, Jenkins, Loadholt, Sandford, Cook, Simpson, etc.

Inconsistency is part and parcel of having the fourth youngest team in the league. I agree that needs to improve, but I do not see this as a concern... yet.

[mosscarter]

webb on the roster is the only concern

[headless_norseman]

webb on the roster is the only concern

Webb is not the problem. When even announcers and annalists were wondering why they insisted on using him as a pocket passer after the first successful series, then Musgrave screwed up the gameplan - you have to adjust your playcalling with what you have, not ram that round peg into the square hole.

[headless_norseman]

We have a QB who is not a timing route guy and an offense that is a WCO hybrid. The running plays may seem dull to you, and AD is fantastic at making things happen, but the run blocking has been great, and Musgrave's use of Felton at FB has been awesome (as can be seen by ADs rushing average with Felton blocking being approx. 7.7 ypc). The issue of PA has more to due with Ponder not being much of a passing threat this season than anything to do with the scheme. The coaches are obviously getting a lot out of their talent, as the 10-6 record shows.

There must be something amiss with an OL than seems so adept at run blocking, but so pedestrian at basic pass protection. No wonder Ponder is so skitzy - hard to get a QB to progress under circumstances like that. They strike me as an offense that doesn't spend enough time on the passing game in practice.

[FailedtoOpen]

Ponder: I think Ponder is a clutch QB, the problem is he isn't consistent. He can make all the throws, he can make plays, he can drive an offense down the field. The problem is he isn't consistent, whether it be him getting rattled, coaches or game planning, he is either good, or bad. He can become a good QB, maybe a lesser version of what Brady is now. Somebody who executes the offense perfectly, and doesn't make mistakes.

Adrian Peterson: He had arguably the greatest single season of all time. The numbers comparing Dickersons season to APs was amazing. AP beat Dickerson in every category, except those 9 yards. He is easily a top 5 back of all time with this season, and if he continues to be dominate no reason he shouldn't be named a top 3.

Offensive Line: Kalil is the real deal and played well all season. Loadholt played well but makes far too many mental errors. Sullivan is continuing to really hold and be the drive behind the OL.

Wide Receivers: I like Wright a lot, he provides a different edge than Harvin. He seems to succeed more in the deep pass then that of Harvin, granted Harvin wasn't used in that way all too much. Simpson deserves another season and hopefully he can be integrated a little more smoothly then he was this year. Hopefully Harvin comes back, but everyone else will probably be gone. Maybe Jenkins stays as a 3rd receiver.

Tight Ends: Rudolph.

[VikingPaul73]

Ponder shined when he absolutely had too, but then didn't start the most important game of his career. Unfortunately, I fear his elbow will be his Achilles Heal for the remainder of his career.

I agree. I also believe his elbow will be 100% healthy within 4 weeks.

[soflavike]

Ponder: I think Ponder is a clutch QB, the problem is he isn't consistent. He can make all the throws, he can make plays, he can drive an offense down the field. The problem is he isn't consistent, whether it be him getting rattled, coaches or game planning, he is either good, or bad. He can become a good QB, maybe a lesser version of what Brady is now. Somebody who executes the offense perfectly, and doesn't make mistakes.

Ummm.... I'm not sold that he is a "clutch" QB yet. His decision making got better late in the season, but he still exhibits some major limitations. He can't make all the throws... anything deeper than 20 yards is uncharted territory for Ponder. His arm strength is below average and he is inaccurate throwing downfield. The big problem is that you really can't teach arm strength. It is what it is, and it generally decreases over a QB's career... especially with elbow injuries.

I think the Vikes need to keep looking for a Quarterback. I don't see Ponder as a long-term solution.

[Demi]

The issue of PA has more to due with Ponder not being much of a passing threat this season than anything to do with the scheme.

He's also HORRIBLE at play action. Heck Webb had the entire defense biting on his more than once last game.

[BGM]

He's also HORRIBLE at play action. Heck Webb had the entire defense biting on his more than once last game.

Can't argue against that. Ponder still does not sell PA well at all.

[BGM]

There must be something amiss with an OL than seems so adept at run blocking, but so pedestrian at basic pass protection. No wonder Ponder is so skitzy - hard to get a QB to progress under circumstances like that. They strike me as an offense that doesn't spend enough time on the passing game in practice.

Actually, the Vikings OL only allowed 32 sacks (11th in the NFL) and 64 QB hits (6th in the NFL). They have made some serious positive strides!