Vikings heading into next year
Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2014 6:15 pm
Hey guys this will be my first post on this message board and hopefully many more. I am a diehard vikings fan and have been reading this message board for most of the season. Here are my thoughts.
QB: Teddy is the franchise QB that we have needed for many years and I look forward to seeing him progress even more next season.
RB: Honestly I do everything in my power to try to get AP to take a pay cut. If he doesn't bite I still don't let him go because having AP next year opens up so many doors for Teddy and the passing game that he just isn't going to get with Asiata and Mckinnon. I do like both those backs but they are nowhere near the caliber of AP. Mckinnon can learn from AP and could play a huge role in the passing game next year. Asiata is great but Mckinnon is the future and AP should be the now.
FB: Sounds like Felton won't be back next year...Zach Line time?
WR: Cordarelle needs to take many steps this offseason. If he can do this he prevents us from having to waste a pick on a receiver in the draft. Charles Johnson was a solid find and hopefully continues to play well next year. We should get Jennings to take a pay cut but I do hope he is back because he seemed to help Bridgewater a lot this season. Jarius Wright and Adam Thielen should both be on the roster next year and deservingly so. We could have the exact same receivers as this year next year but how cordarelle plays next year is really going to show how much better we get at that position. My mouth waters just thinking of how great it would be if he breaks out next year and we hear bridgewater to patterson for the TD numerous times next year. Zimmer said he's got a plan for Patterson this offseason in today's press conference. It'll be interesting to see if it works.
TE: Anybody else getting tired of Kyle Rudolph's injuries. This guys could be so good for us if he could stay on the field. I'm just hoping that next year he stays healthy and can return to his pro bowl ways. Guy can flat out catch touchdowns. Rhett Ellison is also a very underrated player on this team and should have another solid season barring injury next year.
O'line: Really hoping Kalil can build off these last few weeks because he has played really well. We need to add a LG in free agency/draft. John Sullivan should lock down the center spot and Fusco RG. Loadholt will be at RT. It's amazing to think that we really only NEED to get one o'line position this year for starters. Injuries really made our o'line look bad but if we can stay healthy next year and our tackles can play well we could really see quite the turnover without any huge roster moves beside LG.
D'line: Griffen showed it was the right time to let Jared Allen go. Shariff Floyd and Linval Joseph are great inside and how bout Shamar Stephen and Tom Johnson playing very well for us. Tom Johnson is getting older but he played so well that you'd think we'd have em back next year. Brian Robison might be on his way out and that DE spot will have to get looked at in the draft/free agency
LB's: Chad Greenway is aging and it sounds like its about 50/50 on if he'll be back. I love that dude and it'll be tough to see him go if he does end up leaving. Anthony Barr was a real bright spot before he got injured. I look forward to seeing him in year 2 as he will be a sure fire starter. I can't see Brinkley being back so we'll need to address MLB either in staff or go out and grab one. Gerald Hodges and Audi Cole have played very well and I'm interested to see what Zimmer does with these guys. I do think one of these guys will grab a starting spot next year.
CB's: We got one great CB in Xavier Rhodes. He could be a top 3 corner in the league if he continues to progress which would be amazing because we can lock em on the best receiver on opposing teams(ex: Megatron, Jordy, Alshon). If he can become a true shutdown corner and shut these guys down in our division that would be huge. Other than him our corners are quite weak. Munnerlyn has been nothing but underachieving this year, wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't on the roster next year. Josh Robinson has made some strides but is nowhere near starting cb status and not sure if he can make the strides to get there. It'll be interesting to see how we address the CB position this offseason.
Safeties: Harrison Smith locks down one Safety spot( will be top 3 safety in the league next year imo). That leaves that other spot that we so desperately need. I don't think Blanton or Sendejo are the answer so we'll need to look into that position as well this offseason
K/P: Blair Walsh needs to be better next year. A good kicker needs to win you games not lose you them. I believe he lost more for us than won. Locke was decent this year and definitely improved as the year went on. Hopefully both these guys can get better as special teams play such a huge factor in games.
Overall: Our MLB spot is probably the most pressing, CB and Safety is tied for 2nd, and that LG spot is 3rd.
I'm really excited to see what we do this offseason because I believe if we make a couple of good decisions this team could be a very scary team come postseason time next year. Let me know what you guys think
QB: Teddy is the franchise QB that we have needed for many years and I look forward to seeing him progress even more next season.
RB: Honestly I do everything in my power to try to get AP to take a pay cut. If he doesn't bite I still don't let him go because having AP next year opens up so many doors for Teddy and the passing game that he just isn't going to get with Asiata and Mckinnon. I do like both those backs but they are nowhere near the caliber of AP. Mckinnon can learn from AP and could play a huge role in the passing game next year. Asiata is great but Mckinnon is the future and AP should be the now.
FB: Sounds like Felton won't be back next year...Zach Line time?
WR: Cordarelle needs to take many steps this offseason. If he can do this he prevents us from having to waste a pick on a receiver in the draft. Charles Johnson was a solid find and hopefully continues to play well next year. We should get Jennings to take a pay cut but I do hope he is back because he seemed to help Bridgewater a lot this season. Jarius Wright and Adam Thielen should both be on the roster next year and deservingly so. We could have the exact same receivers as this year next year but how cordarelle plays next year is really going to show how much better we get at that position. My mouth waters just thinking of how great it would be if he breaks out next year and we hear bridgewater to patterson for the TD numerous times next year. Zimmer said he's got a plan for Patterson this offseason in today's press conference. It'll be interesting to see if it works.
TE: Anybody else getting tired of Kyle Rudolph's injuries. This guys could be so good for us if he could stay on the field. I'm just hoping that next year he stays healthy and can return to his pro bowl ways. Guy can flat out catch touchdowns. Rhett Ellison is also a very underrated player on this team and should have another solid season barring injury next year.
O'line: Really hoping Kalil can build off these last few weeks because he has played really well. We need to add a LG in free agency/draft. John Sullivan should lock down the center spot and Fusco RG. Loadholt will be at RT. It's amazing to think that we really only NEED to get one o'line position this year for starters. Injuries really made our o'line look bad but if we can stay healthy next year and our tackles can play well we could really see quite the turnover without any huge roster moves beside LG.
D'line: Griffen showed it was the right time to let Jared Allen go. Shariff Floyd and Linval Joseph are great inside and how bout Shamar Stephen and Tom Johnson playing very well for us. Tom Johnson is getting older but he played so well that you'd think we'd have em back next year. Brian Robison might be on his way out and that DE spot will have to get looked at in the draft/free agency
LB's: Chad Greenway is aging and it sounds like its about 50/50 on if he'll be back. I love that dude and it'll be tough to see him go if he does end up leaving. Anthony Barr was a real bright spot before he got injured. I look forward to seeing him in year 2 as he will be a sure fire starter. I can't see Brinkley being back so we'll need to address MLB either in staff or go out and grab one. Gerald Hodges and Audi Cole have played very well and I'm interested to see what Zimmer does with these guys. I do think one of these guys will grab a starting spot next year.
CB's: We got one great CB in Xavier Rhodes. He could be a top 3 corner in the league if he continues to progress which would be amazing because we can lock em on the best receiver on opposing teams(ex: Megatron, Jordy, Alshon). If he can become a true shutdown corner and shut these guys down in our division that would be huge. Other than him our corners are quite weak. Munnerlyn has been nothing but underachieving this year, wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't on the roster next year. Josh Robinson has made some strides but is nowhere near starting cb status and not sure if he can make the strides to get there. It'll be interesting to see how we address the CB position this offseason.
Safeties: Harrison Smith locks down one Safety spot( will be top 3 safety in the league next year imo). That leaves that other spot that we so desperately need. I don't think Blanton or Sendejo are the answer so we'll need to look into that position as well this offseason
K/P: Blair Walsh needs to be better next year. A good kicker needs to win you games not lose you them. I believe he lost more for us than won. Locke was decent this year and definitely improved as the year went on. Hopefully both these guys can get better as special teams play such a huge factor in games.
Overall: Our MLB spot is probably the most pressing, CB and Safety is tied for 2nd, and that LG spot is 3rd.
I'm really excited to see what we do this offseason because I believe if we make a couple of good decisions this team could be a very scary team come postseason time next year. Let me know what you guys think
