Kyle Rudolph unfollows Vikings after Irv Smith Jr. drafted

[Pondering Her Percy]

Yep, that 8 in 8 team was something special all right. Couldn't waste that season...

Uh we were 11-5 the season before and lost nobody but ok....

I am not sure why you think something you have zero proof of, whether or not I liked Mahomes before the draft, is a valid point to make here. Even if true, it wouldn't mean our GM wasn't stupid for blowing his chance on Mahomes. Isn't his job to know that stuff? I am pretty sure my opinion had no impact on the decision or we would be talking about how many more SBs Mahomes would be winning with us right now.

Well for one, I can just about guarantee you weren’t pushing for Mahomes or Watson but toot your own horn all you want.

Second, you act like us drafting Mahomes was some sure thing for us and that we should have known he was going to be the next great QB. Don’t you think if teams “knew” about Mahomes he would have went #1 overall? I guarantee it. It’s simply an easy out for you to sit there and say our GM is dumb because he made a trade the year prior and lost out on him. You say it NOW but guarantee you weren’t saying it back then. Nobody was saying “let’s tank because we want pat Mahomes”. Literally nobody. It was up in the air if he was even going to be drafted in the first round let alone the top 15. So I don’t know why you try and make it out to be some no-brainer decision when that wasn’t at all the case. It’s just you have nothing else to lean on when bitc#ing about Cousins so that’s what you resort to.

KC was originally drafting 27th and didn't bother to trade ahead of the Jets at 6th, who were also looking for a QB. It is safe to say that with a Hill/Stave season, KC wouldn't have had the ammo to get ahead of us. Now, you could argue our GM wouldn't have necessarily drafted the best young QB in the NFL if given the chance, but that isn't exactly a glowing endorsement of Rick now is it?

They could have very well assumed Mahomes would fall. I don’t recall anyone having him going in the top 10. And I guess it’s not a glowing endorsement for anyone other than the chiefs since they are the ones that drafted him. Again, you aren’t proving anything. You’re still hanging onto any easy out you can.

And in the end, Cousins is our QB and your bitc#ing, complaining and trolling isn’t going to change that. So I guess you just have to deal with it and see what this year brings

[Raptorman]

Vikings have never had the number 1 pick because of their record. Nor do I want it because of their record.

Not even with Steckel?

Nope. Vikings to worst years since 1960, are Steckels 3-13 and Frazier's 3-13. Granted they did go 2-11-1 and 3-11 in their first two years but by win percentage, those are not 1 and 2 worst seasons.

[VikingsVictorious]

I've seen Morgan called the best blocking TE in the NFL. Blocking is a big part of what TEs are supposed to do. I like him.

Called? By whom? His mom?

Liking him is not the same as "he should start." He shouldn't.

I totally agree he shouldn't start. Did I say anything to give you that impression. I said I like him and I do. I'm not the one that called him the best blocking TE in the NFL. His mom and dad might think so, but I'm pretty sure I read it in a reliable source.

[fiestavike]

Called? By whom? His mom?

Liking him is not the same as "he should start." He shouldn't.

I totally agree he shouldn't start. Did I say anything to give you that impression. I said I like him and I do. I'm not the one that called him the best blocking TE in the NFL. His mom and dad might think so, but I'm pretty sure I read it in a reliable source.

So far, it doesn't look like he's been able to get back to practicing. When he's healthy, I think he's a fantastic blocker and route runner. I for one am not excited about retaining the services of Kyle Rudolph unless Morgan is physically unable to return or Smith isn't good enough to see the field in year 1. Both of those are possibilities I suppose.

[VikingsVictorious]

I totally agree he shouldn't start. Did I say anything to give you that impression. I said I like him and I do. I'm not the one that called him the best blocking TE in the NFL. His mom and dad might think so, but I'm pretty sure I read it in a reliable source.

So far, it doesn't look like he's been able to get back to practicing. When he's healthy, I think he's a fantastic blocker and route runner. I for one am not excited about retaining the services of Kyle Rudolph unless Morgan is physically unable to return or Smith isn't good enough to see the field in year 1. Both of those are possibilities I suppose.

I like Morgan, but neither he, Smith or Conklin is a reason to not retain the services of Rudolph. I think the three of them combined total 23 NFL receptions. We need Rudolph as the almost every down TE and the other three can mix in on the two TE sets.

[CharVike]

I actually frequent boards of some of the teams that were in the running for Cousins, and none of them complain about not getting him. It is pretty much a consensus outside of MN the signing has not worked out so far.

I'd be a lot more surprised if you claimed that folks outside of Minnesota thought signing Cousins had worked out so far.

Because the only way a move like Spielman made to bring Cousins in is ever going to be considered astute is if the Vikings not only make the playoffs, but get farther in them than they managed with Keenum at the helm, regardless of what Cousins manages to do as an individual player.

Also, is it possible that last year's Vikings was like the 1972 Vikings who were coming off a great year, were loaded with talent, traded to bring back Fran Tarkenton at QB, and somehow ended up laying enough eggs during the season that they fell way short of expectations?

That the 1972 result wasn't indicative of the overall potential of the Vikings, nor Fran Tarkenton's abilities of that era should serve as a cautionary tale about predicting the future based on a singularly disappointing result, both for a team and for an individual player, especially at QB.

It's very reasonable to believe that this upcoming season the Vikings and Cousins are more likely to return to contention than to remain average or regress further IMHO.

Keenum had nothing to do with the unforeseen season the Vikings had. Yes they made the NFC Champ game thanks to a miracle home playoff win. Our D had some very good games even held the Rams in check. We held the Bears down. We shut out the Pack. Last year our D wasn't as good.

[CharVike]

I give Speilman credit for trying to fix the problem. Unless we tank a season, like Jimmy Johnson did, and get pick number 1 we won't get a QB. Grabbing Sloter was a nice move because he has the physical tools. But he's years away but I'm hoping it works and he may be the guy to take over. You never know. IMO it's better to tank than win 6-8 games. No benefit to that at all. Your draft position blows at that point. The top QBs will be gone. We have been in this position for decades.

Vikings have never had the number 1 pick because of their record. Nor do I want it because of their record.

Yeah winning 8 games is much better than having the number 1 pick. Tell that to Jimmy Johnson. He won a few. Only way to get a top QB is to tank a season. I think Speiman did great getting Cousins. We had nothing and needed a player. Hopefully our D steps up to the 2017 level. They had some great games including holding the Rams in check and shutting out the Pack which is extremely hard to do. But our D is getting old and has some big question marks IMO.

[CharVike]

The Vikings tried to trade him. If his value was so high we would have rec an offer that couldn't be turned down. The offer wasn't there. That tells you all that needs to be known.

Well I can tell you a team isnt offering a first round pick for a 30 year old TE. You cant tell me NE didnt offer them something. Maybe it wasnt what we wanted, maybe our asking price was high, who knows. No less, you're fine with throwing a rookie TE in there day 1? Please dont say Morgan either.

They should have cut him and signed that FA G that teams were fighting over. Now they will plug in one of the worst Gs Kline.

Saying Kline is "one of the worst G's" is based off of what? His one bad year out of the last 4? You literally havent seen the guy play a snap here and I can probably 99.9% guarantee you never watched him in Tennessee. But I guess he's "one of the worst guards". If you dig deep on Kline, he's actually been one of the better pass blocking OGs over the past few years. And he was in the average range from an overall grade standpoint 2015, 2016 and 2017. I dont think he's going to be a stud, but I also dont believe he'll be "one of the worst guards in the league".


[quoteRudy is old and slow and is not known as a punishing blocker. That's not worth much. He caught Speilman doing something and now he's a lifer.

Yeah I'm sure that's exactly what happened.....
[/quote]
I never seen Kline play is correct. I was using his ranking. I also went to a Titians board and most of the vibe was who cares. Didn't read one comment stating that he will be missed or we are in trouble now. Bottom line he is not a very good player. This isn't a young guy on the way up he is the complete opposite. He fell off the map for a reason. The G from the Browns didn't fall off the map. He's still on the map. This isn't a young guy who might improve. Players lose it.

[Raptorman]

Vikings have never had the number 1 pick because of their record. Nor do I want it because of their record.

Yeah winning 8 games is much better than having the number 1 pick. Tell that to Jimmy Johnson. He won a few. Only way to get a top QB is to tank a season. I think Speiman did great getting Cousins. We had nothing and needed a player. Hopefully our D steps up to the 2017 level. They had some great games including holding the Rams in check and shutting out the Pack which is extremely hard to do. But our D is getting old and has some big question marks IMO.

Problem with tanking to get a number one pick is that you never know if that pick will work out or not. It's a great idea but 50% of top QBs taken in the 1st round suck. BTW, Jimmy Johnson never tanked a year to get a top QB. Just saying.

[fiestavike]

So far, it doesn't look like he's been able to get back to practicing. When he's healthy, I think he's a fantastic blocker and route runner. I for one am not excited about retaining the services of Kyle Rudolph unless Morgan is physically unable to return or Smith isn't good enough to see the field in year 1. Both of those are possibilities I suppose.

I like Morgan, but neither he, Smith or Conklin is a reason to not retain the services of Rudolph. I think the three of them combined total 23 NFL receptions. We need Rudolph as the almost every down TE and the other three can mix in on the two TE sets.

As long as Rudolph's new deal doesn't cost us Morgan, I'm fine with it. I hope they can find a trade partner for Rudolph after this season either way. He's the least valuable player currently on a sizeable contract for the Vikings at this point.

[CharVike]

No. You don't know that the Vikings even wanted to keep them. So move on.

For years people complained about the Vikings not doing anything to address the QB situation. So they draft Ponder. And people complained. Then Teddy, and people complained. Then they traded for Bradford and people complained. Now Cousins, and people continue to complain. I'm pretty sure that had we not signed Cousins, and kept Keenum and the Vikes went 8-7-1 last year, people would be complaining about not getting Cousins. Seriously, it's annoying.

It is almost like we haven't had a franchise QB since Fran and people want that to change.

I actually frequent boards of some of the teams that were in the running for Cousins, and none of them complain about not getting him. It is pretty much a consensus outside of MN the signing has not worked out so far.

What is working out mean? Super Bowl? NFC Champ Game. Being competitive? What teams boards did you look at? If it was the Bills then those fans are stupid. They don't have a QB. Some on this board blame Cousins for our season. It's a team game.How about Rhodes for laying down and taking the paycheck. He didn't care and was smoked. No pride. Just kept pulling himself out. At least Cousins took a tremendous beating and still played. He didn't walk off or fake an injury. E Griffen begged out. Everson Griffen has been sidelined indefinitely by an undisclosed situation. What does that even mean. He wussed out and didn't want to play. He collected a paycheck for nothing. Pay for nothing don't work.

[CharVike]

Who did we want to re-sign that we couldnt because of the cap?.....

Richardson and Murray

The great Richardson. 4.5 sacks and couldn't hold the point. You act like it's John Randle. He's not that good. The Browns brain trust signed him. If he was so good we would have resigned him. He's not worth the coin he wanted. A one year gap fill.

[CharVike]

Yeah winning 8 games is much better than having the number 1 pick. Tell that to Jimmy Johnson. He won a few. Only way to get a top QB is to tank a season. I think Speiman did great getting Cousins. We had nothing and needed a player. Hopefully our D steps up to the 2017 level. They had some great games including holding the Rams in check and shutting out the Pack which is extremely hard to do. But our D is getting old and has some big question marks IMO.

Problem with tanking to get a number one pick is that you never know if that pick will work out or not. It's a great idea but 50% of top QBs taken in the 1st round suck. BTW, Jimmy Johnson never tanked a year to get a top QB. Just saying.

There are no guarantees with the draft I know that. But when was the last time we were in position to draft the top rated QB? Some how Jimmy got himself in position to draft Aikman. Maybe it wasn't a tanked season. But I thought it was. And to your point he also drafted Walsh in the sup draft and he blew. 50% is probably correct. But we will pick 18-28 next year with no chance for a QB. Very little chance should I say.

[Raptorman]

Problem with tanking to get a number one pick is that you never know if that pick will work out or not. It's a great idea but 50% of top QBs taken in the 1st round suck. BTW, Jimmy Johnson never tanked a year to get a top QB. Just saying.

There are no guarantees with the draft I know that. But when was the last time we were in position to draft the top rated QB? Some how Jimmy got himself in position to draft Aikman. Maybe it wasn't a tanked season. But I thought it was. And to your point he also drafted Walsh in the sup draft and he blew. 50% is probably correct. But we will pick 18-28 next year with no chance for a QB. Very little chance should I say.

Wow. Let's see. The Cowboys went 3-13 the year before Johnson became their coach, that was Landry's last year as coach of the Cowboys. Therefore they had the number one pick since the next worse teams won 4 games. Jimmy Johnson had nothing to do with the Cowboys getting the number 1 pick. So, if you think Jimmy Johnson positioned the Cowboys to the number 1 pick when he was the head coach of the Miami Hurricanes, please explain it to us. Because I really want to know how he did that.

[VikingsVictorious]

Well I can tell you a team isnt offering a first round pick for a 30 year old TE. You cant tell me NE didnt offer them something. Maybe it wasnt what we wanted, maybe our asking price was high, who knows. No less, you're fine with throwing a rookie TE in there day 1? Please dont say Morgan either.



Saying Kline is "one of the worst G's" is based off of what? His one bad year out of the last 4? You literally havent seen the guy play a snap here and I can probably 99.9% guarantee you never watched him in Tennessee. But I guess he's "one of the worst guards". If you dig deep on Kline, he's actually been one of the better pass blocking OGs over the past few years. And he was in the average range from an overall grade standpoint 2015, 2016 and 2017. I dont think he's going to be a stud, but I also dont believe he'll be "one of the worst guards in the league".


[quoteRudy is old and slow and is not known as a punishing blocker. That's not worth much. He caught Speilman doing something and now he's a lifer.

Yeah I'm sure that's exactly what happened.....

I never seen Kline play is correct. I was using his ranking. I also went to a Titians board and most of the vibe was who cares. Didn't read one comment stating that he will be missed or we are in trouble now. Bottom line he is not a very good player. This isn't a young guy on the way up he is the complete opposite. He fell off the map for a reason. The G from the Browns didn't fall off the map. He's still on the map. This isn't a young guy who might improve. Players lose it.
[/quote]
Have you heard of an award called comeback player of the year. I think Randy Moss would have won it when he switched from Oakland to New England. Maybe Kline wins it this year. Point being not all players are done the first time they have a down season.