Vikings Message Board.Com

Delaqure wrote:This talking about Fitz is exciting but I think we are all living in dreamland here. It's almost as bad as talking about the possibility of getting Drew Brees. Lets try to keep the talk realistic shall we?

Do you ever wonder if local reporters utilize these boards to generate ideas for their articles? Case in point, Michael Rand wrote an article in the Strib today titled: "Don Count on Fitzgerald in Purple". It essentially follows the reasoning outlined by various posters in this thread.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... 95611.html

I guess there's nothing wrong with taking the pulse of fans by reading through such forums, as long as they steer clear of outright plagiarism.

losperros wrote: I think everyone is beginning to think that way. The WRs have three more games to show they can get open and/or catch a pass.

On that note, here's Dan Wiederer's take from the Strib:



http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... 79751.html

I think an interesting question becomes if Wright begins to develop into that slot receiver type role are they going to keep Harvin and have two smaller slot type WR's or will they keep wright and try to find value in a trade for Harvin

Here's why I think our WR's are probably fine, and what we need is someone to get them the ball
[from Tuesday Morning QB on the ESPN website - http://espn.go.com/espn/playbook/story/ ... good-again]:

Against Houston, the Patriots got long touchdown catches from two players shown the door by the rest of the league (Brandon Lloyd, cut by four teams; Donte' Stallworth, cut by five teams).

I think Jenkins and Aroma are only on their second or third teams. With the Vikings, how good could these guys be? With the Patriots, you have a team with castoffs as wide receivers about to set multiple offensive records.

John_Viveiros wrote:Here's why I think our WR's are probably fine, and what we need is someone to get them the ball
[from Tuesday Morning QB on the ESPN website - http://espn.go.com/espn/playbook/story/ ... good-again]: I think Jenkins and Aroma are only on their second or third teams. With the Vikings, how good could these guys be? With the Patriots, you have a team with castoffs as wide receivers about to set multiple offensive records.

I agree. A good QB can help the wide recievers, and a good WR core can help the QB. It goes both ways. Who knows, ponder might be better with better WR's, or our WR's might be better with a better QB. We have to experiment and take risks.

John_Viveiros wrote:Here's why I think our WR's are probably fine, and what we need is someone to get them the ball
[from Tuesday Morning QB on the ESPN website - http://espn.go.com/espn/playbook/story/ ... good-again]: I think Jenkins and Aroma are only on their second or third teams. With the Vikings, how good could these guys be? With the Patriots, you have a team with castoffs as wide receivers about to set multiple offensive records.

There is no doubt at all that Brady makes receivers better. After all he is a hall of famer. However, how many of those come around and how often? Sure, Brady could make our guys a lot better. So could Brees. But we don't have them and don't look to have anyone of that calibre any time soon. Nor do we have the coaching staff of New England or the offensive line of New England which was hight touted in the article. Could we find someone better than Ponder right now? Of course, but my concern is that our WR core will make whoever we get worse than they are now. We have got to do something with this mess. I am really hoping we bring in a decent FA and get someone good in the draft. That way if we do replace Ponder with a good QB (Not necessarily a Brady or Brees) they will perform much better. Whomever we get is going to need the help.

Ya I think if we're going to use Brady as the standard, they'll be at least 26 teams looking for Qbs

John_Viveiros wrote:Here's why I think our WR's are probably fine, and what we need is someone to get them the ball
[from Tuesday Morning QB on the ESPN website - http://espn.go.com/espn/playbook/story/ ... good-again]:

Of course, Easterbrook emphasizes o-line play first and foremost in that column:

The starting point is offensive line play. The Patriots throw a lot, yet have allowed just 20 sacks, fourth-best in the league. In an NFL in which firing assistant coaches is a New Year's Day tradition, Dante Scarnecchia has been the Pats' offensive line coach since Bill Belichick arrived.

Watch Patriots line film, and what you won't see is an offensive lineman standing around doing nothing. On almost any NFL snap, even on good teams, there's at least one offensive lineman who brushed his man then just stood there looking at the play. When an offensive lineman stands watching the play, that team's offense is functioning 10-on-11. New England offensive linemen never stand around doing nothing. New England always plays 11-on-11.

From many years of staring at the New England offense, your columnist is convinced this is its most fundamental advantage. Everybody runs slants, curls and hitches like the Patriots do; many teams have sophisticated, accurate quarterbacks like Tom Brady; alone in the NFL, the New England Patriots have offensive linemen who never stand around doing nothing. This is an edge any team could seek. Only the Patriots have attained it.

I think Jenkins and Aroma are only on their second or third teams. With the Vikings, how good could these guys be?

Not that good. Aromashodu has never been that good. He doesn't have Lloyd's pedigree or a 1400 yard season on his resumé. He's a role-player at best, on any NFL team.

Jenkins is skilled but he's lost a step from his prime, gets out of his breaks slowly and struggles to separate from defenders on most routes. He's good at settling into a zone or catching a quick slant but he's not really a starting-caliber WR anymore either.

With the Patriots, you have a team with castoffs as wide receivers about to set multiple offensive records.

They also have one of the most productive wide receivers in the game over the last half a decade and two formidable TEs, one of whom is an elite player at his position. By the way, one of the castoffs you mentioned, Donte Stallworth, has one catch this season. It was a whopper, a 63 yard TD, but it's not as if he's played a big role for the patriots. he wasn't even on the team a few weeks ago and he's on IR now.

I agree with your basic point: a great QB could make WRs like Aromashodu and Jenkins look better but that's like saying a Hall of Fame caliber receiver or two would help Ponder look better. I'm pretty sure Ponder would look like a better QB if he was throwing to Moss and CC in their primes.

Jim

saint33 wrote:Ya I think if we're going to use Brady as the standard, they'll be at least 26 teams looking for Qbs

Absolutely correct.

John_Viveiros wrote:Here's why I think our WR's are probably fine, and what we need is someone to get them the ball
[from Tuesday Morning QB on the ESPN website - http://espn.go.com/espn/playbook/story/ ... good-again]: I think Jenkins and Aroma are only on their second or third teams. With the Vikings, how good could these guys be? With the Patriots, you have a team with castoffs as wide receivers about to set multiple offensive records.

I wish the Vikings had Tom Brady. They don't. They don't have a great QB on the roster nor do they have one in sight.

Regarding the WRs, I'd take Brandon Lloyd and Donte Stallworth over Jenkins, Burton, Simpson, and Aromashodu in a heartbeat. No comparison.

I'd love Tom Brady as well but that isn't in the cards right now. Here is a question: How many of you think they can win with jsut average to good QB play, say top 16 in the league vs. top 5. I think they could be deep playoff contender with such QB play, but I might be in the minority there.

mansquatch wrote:I'd love Tom Brady as well but that isn't in the cards right now. Here is a question: How many of you think they can win with jsut average to good QB play, say top 16 in the league vs. top 5. I think they could be deep playoff contender with such QB play, but I might be in the minority there.

I think it would probably take at least one better wideout to make that happen, especially because I don't think an average-to-good QB would be enough to get them more than one home game in the playoffs (if that) and I don't know if that change at QB would make the Vikes a significantly better road team.

losperros wrote:
Regarding the WRs, I'd take Brandon Lloyd and Donte Stallworth over Jenkins, Burton, Simpson, and Aromashodu in a heartbeat. No comparison.

Stallworth? Really? He wasn't even on an nfl team a couple weeks ago. The vikings(and everyone else) had plenty of chances to get stallworth if they wanted him.

Crax wrote: Stallworth? Really? He wasn't even on an nfl team a couple weeks ago. The vikings(and everyone else) had plenty of chances to get stallworth if they wanted him.

I know what you're saying. It's just that I've been truly disappointed with the Vikings WRs for most of this season. Stallworth is older and has had repeated health issues, and he's far from being ideal for the Vikings. But I'd take him over the Vikings WRs that I mentioned. Not that Stallworth is that good but that they are that bad. Even at 32 years of age, Stallworth can at least still go deep, get separation and make a catch.

I wouldn't want a troubled and aging Brandon Lloyd wearing purple either. Still, I'll take him over Jenkins, Burton, and Simpson. Again, because Lloyd is so good? No. Because the Vikings WRs mentioned are so bad. Actually, maybe if Simpson wasn't running around with a gimp leg, he might be better than Stallworth or Lloyd. Hard to say at this point.

jackal wrote:Harvin and Wright are the only two guys I would keep maybe Jenkins because he can catch critical third down passes ...

all the rest are trash and would leave by the curb or in a dumpster somewhere...

I agree. Harvin and Wright are must keeps. As much as some people have been down on Jenkins the guy has very reliable hands. He might beat a guy deep once every 4 years but he's always good for that 5-10 yard catch. I think he is a guy that would benefit a ton from having a legitimate #1 WR on the outside that can take the top off of defenses (Bowe, Wallace, Jennings).


When it comes to our WR's, I believe this organization really needs to open their pockets. We have taken 2 number 2 WR's in back to back years (Jenkins and Simpson) and tried to make them into #1's. Its just not working and I hope this organization realizes that. This WR draft class isnt the most promising which is why I really wouldnt mind dropping the money for any of the 3 WR's above. They have all proven themselves in this league and would all be a huge upgrade. I also feel like we should snag another prospect in the 2-4 round.

All in all, our WR's could/would be: A big time #1 (Bowe, Wallace, Jennings), Harvin, Wright, Jenkins (possibly), and a draft pick. That's pretty good looking!!

Jerome Simpson - WR - Vikings

Coach Leslie Frazier indicated Jerome Simpson's back injury has "definitely" affected his play over the past two months.

The injury's biggest impact has been in speed and the ability to plant coming in and out of breaks. "You can see he's not as crisp as he was before that injury," Frazier said. Quite frankly, Simpson has not been an NFL-caliber wide receiver since the weakness and numbness appeared in his lower leg back in early October.
Source: ESPN 1500 Twin Cities