Vikings Message Board.Com

There are a lot of interesting Vikings articles today, including the one I've linked to below. It's brief but I thought it might stimulate some discussion. I know we have Harvin threads already and the other WRs come up in discussions of Ponder but maybe this can be a thread where we focus on the performance of the current WRs and the future of the position for the Vikings, something I'm sure we'll be talking about well into the offseason.

Other than Percy Harvin, wide receivers haven't been much help

With Percy Harvin officially placed on injured reserve, the Vikings woke Thursday, Dec. 6, to a stark reality: Their current collection of wide receivers has three times as many dropped passes (9) as touchdowns (3).

Furthermore, Vikings receivers didn't catch a single pass in last weekend's 23-14 loss at Green Bay until the fourth quarter, and finished with only three: two by Jerome Simpson and one by rookie Jarius Wright.

This quote gets to me:

"We've got to keep working," offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave said. "The last few weeks we haven't had (Harvin), and Stephen Burton and Jarius Wright have stepped into that role and really done a fine job for us, so we're going to keep working with those guys -- and we'll have to make due."

I don't understand that . Wright is seldom ever targeted, even though he's the leading WR on the team in the last 3 games (what does that say?). Burton usually has slippery hands and is nobody's answer to any WR question. Looking at the situation right now, it seems clear that TE Rudolph will continue to carry the load as being the Vikings go-to receiver.

Musgrave has to get over three notions. First, as I've probably pointed out too often by now, Wright is not Harvin-lite. Never was. Never will be. He played wide receiver for the Razorbacks and he can do it now. He can play slot as well but he definitely can split out wide. As a matter of fact, so can Rudolph, for that matter. Second, Simpson never was a typical receiver but rather an athletic player with great speed and jumping abilities. Now he's playing hurt and cannot *athletically* do the things he normally can do. Simpson isn't a hands or possession receiver and never will be. Third, Jenkins and Burton are not good-sized receivers that can help in any possible way. They might be bigger guys (especially Jenkins) but they can't get separation, can't catch to save their lives, and don't do anything physical to help their games. Bottom line, they've become nearly useless.

If it was up to me (and we're probably all lucky that it isn't ), I would seriously consider starting Wright and Aromashodu. Yes, I know Wright is inexperienced and Aromashodu defines "inconsistent" but I am that dissatisfied with what Simpson, Jenkins and Burton bring to the field. Both Wright and Aromashodu can at least stretch the field and occasionally make a big play. That might be a good complement for Rudolph. But I admit that I'm reaching for ideas here.

losperros wrote:If it was up to me (and we're probably all lucky that it isn't ), I would seriously consider starting Wright and Aromashodu. Yes, I know Wright is inexperienced and Aromashodu defines "inconsistent" but I am that dissatisfied with what Simpson, Jenkins and Burton bring to the field. Both Wright and Aromashodu can at least stretch the field and occasionally make a big play. That might be a good complement for Rudolph. But I admit that I'm reaching for ideas here.

You might be reaching but I can't argue with you. Looking at the healthy WRs on the roster now, that's who I'd start too. Burton's useless and Jenkins and Simpson haven't been getting it done this season.

I have an interesting question for you all to ponder (no, I am not trying to make a pun about our QB either):


Would you rather have this group of receivers in 2012, sans Harvin, or the 2006 group of receivers? If anyone needs to have their mind refreshed, our 2006 WRs were Billy McMullen, Marcus Robinson, Travis Taylor, Troy Williamson, and Bethel Johnson.


My buddy and I were talking about this and I said I would take the 2006 receiving group over the 2012 wide receiving group as terrible as that sounds.

HardcoreVikesFan wrote:I have an interesting question for you all to ponder (no, I am not trying to make a pun about our QB either):


Would you rather have this group of receivers in 2012, sans Harvin, or the 2006 group of receivers? If anyone needs to have their mind refreshed, our 2006 WRs were Billy McMullen, Marcus Robinson, Travis Taylor, Troy Williamson, and Bethel Johnson.


My buddy and I were talking about this and I said I would take the 2006 receiving group over the 2012 wide receiving group as terrible as that sounds.

They are both terrible groups. I think I'd rather have the 2012 group because at least there are no questions at all about how horrible they are and since the team is on the rebuild, it's better to know what you have. At that time there was still "hope" for Williamson.

Mothman wrote: You might be reaching but I can't argue with you. Looking at the healthy WRs on the roster now, that's who I'd start too. Burton's useless and Jenkins and Simpson haven't been getting it done this season.

I remember in the pre-season watching the Cowboys and noticing that even their #5, 6, 7 & 8 WRs were better than our 2, 3 and 4. How many years have we invested in Burton... and to what end? The guy's worthless.

The other question is how much is due to Romo's ability to deliver the ball well? I won't side track this thread onto that topic though... We HAVE to get better receivers.

Aromashodu is probably the most complete receiver on the roster right now. He also blocks well. I don't see why Jenkins and what's-his-name-with-the-hands-of-brick are starting in front of him.

soflavike wrote:Aromashodu is probably the most complete receiver on the roster right now. He also blocks well. I don't see why Jenkins and what's-his-name-with-the-hands-of-brick are starting in front of him.

He has mediocre hands, a mediocre/poor blocker, isn't very physical and runs poor routes.

Ahhhhh yeah you guys! That's THE Raymond Webber! /sarcasm.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Two days after placing Percy Harvin on injured reserve, the Minnesota Vikings were set to ramp up their search for receiver depth with a workout of several players at Winter Park.

Several receivers were on their way to Winter Park for a workout on Friday afternoon, according to NFL sources.

That list included Raymond Webber, a former Arkansas-Pine Bluff standout who has had stints with Tampa Bay, Seattle and the New York Jets over the past two years but hasn't appeared in a regular-season NFL game.

The workout could signal the Vikings are considering promoting Chris Summers from the practice squad, which would create a vacancy there. Summers spent the offseason with the Chicago Bears, whom the Vikings play on Sunday.

As of Friday morning, the Vikings had not moved to fill the spot on their 53-man roster created when Harvin was placed on IR with the sprained ankle he suffered on Nov. 4 at Seattle.

http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Viki ... bber120712

Cliff wrote: They are both terrible groups. I think I'd rather have the 2012 group because at least there are no questions at all about how horrible they are and since the team is on the rebuild, it's better to know what you have. At that time there was still "hope" for Williamson.

I guess you could say the same for Jarius Wright currently. We really don't know what we have in him. The only major difference between the group was one WR was a first round pick that, as you said, had potential.

80 PurplePride 84 wrote: I've brought this up multiple times in the past in the past around here too.

It's close to wash. But I'd give a slight edge to 06. I posted in in another thread (forget which one), but Robinson and Taylor actually put up someone respectable numbers that season as bad as they were. I think our leading WR (minus-Harvin) this year is Jenkins with 30 catches.

Hahaha, it is good to see I am not alone in my choice!

It is really pathetic to think that we have not had a consistently good WR corps since Randy left. I guess you could say 2009 was consistent, but that was more due to QB play.

Ok, now I am really depressed. Since 2005, we have had terrible WRs AND terrible QBs. The one exception being 2009. For a team synonymous with offense, the late 2000s and early 2010s for the Vikings have been an embarrassment offensively.

HardcoreVikesFan wrote:Ok, now I am really depressed. Since 2005, we have had terrible WRs AND terrible QBs. The one exception being 2009. For a team synonymous with offense, the late 2000s and early 2010s for the Vikings have been an embarrassment offensively.

It might cheer you up to recall that Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin are two of the best/most electric players/athletes in the league. And a healthy Sidney Rice was also fun to watch. There have been some very bright lights in there, unfortunately they are few and far between with not much "Well, he's a good #2 or #3 complementary-type." The misses at the WR position have been much more frequent than the hits.

dead_poet wrote: It might cheer you up to recall that Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin are two of the best/most electric players/athletes in the league. And a healthy Sidney Rice was also fun to watch. There have been some very bright lights in there, unfortunately they are few and far between with not much "Well, he's a good #2 or #3 complementary-type." The misses at the WR position have been much more frequent than the hits.

Yeah, but unfortunately, the incompetence of the front office, which also prevailed in the 2000s and 2010s, let Sidney Rice walk.

Also, I am nervous about Harvin. Who is to say he is going to be here much longer?

HardcoreVikesFan wrote:Yeah, but unfortunately, the incompetence of the front office, which also prevailed in the 2000s and 2010s, let Sidney Rice walk.

I don't think that was incompetence. Rice gave them one good year out of 4. It's tough to ask the front office to break the bank to keep a guy like that.

Musgrave seems to have a streak of "he's my guy" running through his veins. My guess is this is one of the reasons Frasier hired him. (he does it too, McFlab anyone?)

I wanted to hit on something else you mentioned. Musgrave runs Harvin in the same way it seems, Harvin is a "slot" guy and he doesn't split him out wide enough. Same with Rudolph. I struggle with why Rudolph cant' be our possession guy, but it seems like he is limited to routes he is allowed to run. Not sure if he doesn't run others well or if Musgrave is pidgeon holing.

Who knows?

2006 Marcus Robinson would be heads and tails the best WR on this team now that PH is hurt. 2006 over 2012 IMO. As far as not having any good WR, 2009 Sindey Rice would beg to differ.

Mothman wrote: I don't think that was incompetence. Rice gave them one good year out of 4. It's tough to ask the front office to break the bank to keep a guy like that.

Exactly. Rice got a five-year, $41 million contract ($18.5 guaranteed), which is astronomical cash considering his injury history. He played six games in 2010 and nine in 2011 (catching 49 total passes in those two years), battling injuries every year. I actually applauded the front office for letting him walk for that amount. Of course, he's apparently healthy now and (finally) worthy of his contract. Given our lack of receivers outside of Harvin, it just makes it sting that much more right now.