2023 Vikings Regular Season Thread

[Danchat]

11 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

They think they'll win 5 or 6 of the next six, which, ya, doubt it, but so what? they aren't a legit SB contender by a mile, or more.

Fair enough, their next 5 games look easy. They could absolutely go 9-8 and get into that 7th playoff seed.

[Mike Sixel]

26 minutes ago, Danchat said:

Fair enough, their next 5 games look easy. They could absolutely go 9-8 and get into that 7th playoff seed.

Sure, but then what? I doubt they get embarrassed in the playoffs, but I doubt they win either. That said, I prefer a fun ride, do I hope they keep winning and tease me. 

[Danchat]

52 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Sure, but then what? I doubt they get embarrassed in the playoffs, but I doubt they win either. That said, I prefer a fun ride, do I hope they keep winning and tease me. 

I dunno, I don't think this team has what it takes to go deep, especially since that first game would be on the road against probably San Fran or Philly. But if they could keep playing like they did against the 49ers then it could be a fun season... I just don't know if this is going to be a one-off or if this is the new standard. Beat Green Bay next week and I'll be on board the playoff train, but losing to them would be a sign that this team is going to randomly pop off and sputter out the rest of the year.

[Mike Sixel]

2 minutes ago, Danchat said:

I dunno, I don't think this team has what it takes to go deep, especially since that first game would be on the road against probably San Fran or Philly. But if they could keep playing like they did against the 49ers then it could be a fun season... I just don't know if this is going to be a one-off or if this is the new standard. Beat Green Bay next week and I'll be on board the playoff train, but losing to them would be a sign that this team is going to randomly pop off and sputter out the rest of the year.

Like I said, I expect they'd lose if they make the playoffs

[Vanimal46]

Firing Donatell and hiring Flores might be the biggest upgrade in the entire NFL. Imagine if that guy had the 49ers talent to coach up. 

[Parfigliano]

10 hours ago, Danchat said:

I dunno, I don't think this team has what it takes to go deep, especially since that first game would be on the road against probably San Fran or Philly. But if they could keep playing like they did against the 49ers then it could be a fun season... I just don't know if this is going to be a one-off or if this is the new standard. Beat Green Bay next week and I'll be on board the playoff train, but losing to them would be a sign that this team is going to randomly pop off and sputter out the rest of the year.

Its a one off.

[nicksaviking]

13 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Sure, but then what? I doubt they get embarrassed in the playoffs, but I doubt they win either. That said, I prefer a fun ride, do I hope they keep winning and tease me. 

I mean, losing to the Giants in the playoffs no matter the score is pretty embarrassing. Surely they can repeat a similar feat again.

[Aggies7]

3-4 with a long stretch of bad teams coming up probably eliminates any chance of getting one of the big name QBs. I mean, in a league of 32 teams, you have to be utterly atrocious to finish bottom 5. And right now, the panthers, bears, patriots, broncos, cardinals, giants, titans and possibly even the packers are clearly worse than the Vikings. Then you’ve got marginal teams like Washington, Indy and the jets who could possibly finish worse than the Vikings. And almost all those teams would certainly be drafting QBs

Do you consider just riding it out and extending kirk again? Lol the guy is a great QB, if he can still play (he can) and wants to be here, maybe you make that move? Glad I’m not calling the shots

I wouldn’t have given the Vikings a chance to finish with 6-8 wins after the start they had and how they looked, but now it seems plausible.

But for the love of god, play Cam ****ing Akers as RB1

[Vanimal46]

Per ESPN, our playoff odds increased to 56% after the win last night. 

[Aggies7]

2 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

Per ESPN, our playoff odds increased to 56% after the win last night. 

[Vanimal46]

Just now, Aggies7 said:

3-4 with a long stretch of bad teams coming up probably eliminates any chance of getting one of the big name QBs. I mean, in a league of 32 teams, you have to be utterly atrocious to finish bottom 5. And right now, the panthers, bears, patriots, broncos, cardinals, giants, titans and possibly even the packers are clearly worse than the Vikings. Then you’ve got marginal teams like Washington, Indy and the jets who could possibly finish worse than the Vikings.

Do you consider just riding it out and extending kirk again? Lol the guy is a great QB, if he can still play (he can) and wants to be here, maybe you make that move? Glad I’m not calling the shots

Their next 6 opponents have a combined record of 16-25 at the moment. Conservatively they’re winning 4 out of 6, then right in the mix at 7-6. They could reel off 7 wins in a row and solidify themselves as the 2nd tier NFC team behind San Fran and Philly. 

With Kirk, I continue on with the plan. Which, to me, is finish out the contract then make a play for a rookie QB. 

[Vanimal46]

1 minute ago, Aggies7 said:

2.9% chance to win the Super Bowl! We’re coming! 

[Aggies7]

Just now, Vanimal46 said:

2.9% chance to win the Super Bowl! We’re coming! 

Don’t let us get hot!

[Mike Sixel]

QBs around past pick 15 (hardly an in depth analysis, this off the top of my head):

Bo Nix
Ewers (hurt again!)
 

Guys I think will be gone, but possible:
Penix
McCarthy

[nicksaviking]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

QBs around past pick 15 (hardly an in depth analysis, this off the top of my head):

Bo Nix
Ewers (hurt again!)
 

Guys I think will be gone, but possible:
Penix
McCarthy

There seems to be up to eight guys that the draft wonks can't agree on after Williams. Maye seems to be firmly number two now, but I'm guessing the order of everyone but Williams is going to change a dozen times between now and the combine, and then another dozen times between the combine and the draft. Heck, Williams holds on to the ball way too long, and USC keeps choking, opinion may shift on him too. Anyway, a guy like Cameron Ward is going to probably test out of this world and shoot up the boards bumping some of the the more established names down.

While I want the Vikings to have a pick of their choosing, Williams or Maye at this time, this draft is lining up to have more than one of the current marquee names be around in the late first to early second round. Brees, Hurts, Jackson and Rodgers had this post-hype fall due to others rising. Of course this area also sees the Bridgewater, Carr, Dalton post-hype talent level too. Best not to talk about the Brady Quinn tier, though at least if you get one of those, you cut your losses quicker.

Of course, the bigger issue is, would this front office recognize a possible top end QB if one fell to them? I guess maybe it's better if they had fewer choices and fate made the call for them anyway.

I think what I'm saying is, while the Vikings blew their chance at drafting at the top of the order, this ***might*** be one of those rare once-or-twice-a-decade years where they can still get a top end talent.

[nicksaviking]

I'm far from the biggest Cousins supporter, but some of this national stuff is just stupid. I can't NOT read PFT, but Florio is such a clown sometimes. 

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/is-kirk-cousins-currently-a-top-10-quarterback

Framing the question of whether Cousins is a top 10 QB like he's paying him a complement. According to Florio, it's down to Cousins, Aaron Rodgers, Jared Goff and Dak Prescott. Rodgers wasn't a top 10 QB last year, but he would be now if he wasn't hurt? And old? Prescott hasn't been good in two years, in fact, I feel slighted for Goff, who Florio seems to think is worse than Prescott. Goff has been better for two years, speaking nothing of how much better Cousins has been.

He lists eight 'consensus' top QBs, which somehow include Matt Stafford, who hasn't been good since 2021 and Trevor Lawrence who has been good for about a six game stretch in his young career.

The 'ninth' top QB is Tua, who Florio also is pretty dismissive about, so I guess somehow this whole thing annoyed me into being a Cousins/Tagovailoa/Goff sympathizer. Never thought that was possible. Overall, this seems like such a passive-aggressive hack job trying to downplay what happened last night. 

[Mike Sixel]

Last night I dreamed the Vikings traded for a DL and CB..... And signed both to long term deals. 

[gunnarthor]

23 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Last night I dreamed the Vikings traded for a DL and CB..... And signed both to long term deals. 

My dreams are a lot better than yours ...

[Mike Sixel]

26 minutes ago, gunnarthor said:

My dreams are a lot better than yours ...

Most are.

[Aggies7]

Can’t believe the Vikings lost to these buccaneers and baker mayfield.

[Mike Sixel]

My son and I have been thinking of flying out for the saints game, followed by the wild game that night. Ticket prices doubled after the SF win, which has me rethinking the idea. My dad said not to worry, they'll drop again after the Vikings lose to the Packers.....fans....

[nicksaviking]

The craziest take away from all of this, is that the Vikings defense has been so good lately, that they'll still probably win some of the next five games no matter who's behind center.

My other QB takes:

If the Vikings want to re-sign Jefferson, it might be good to have his take on the situation. I'd never let a player dictate how the team manages the roster, but it seems like the wrong decision could push him away. Does he want to soldier on, even if it's a lost cause, with the most capable QB, Mullins, (barf, saying that sounds ridiculous) or is he game rolling with the only upside QB, Hall, and then figuring out QB in the draft next year, should Hall not be the answer?

It was a pretty good day in the NFL as far as the Vikings fighting for QBs in the draft. Will Levis looks like he'll take the Titans out of the market for an early round QB. Howell is probably close to cementing the Commanders QB job. Russell Wilson looks like he's a capable QB again; with that contract, he just has to continue to be average to make the Broncos delay replacing him. Mayfield was solid again and almost pulled off a huge comeback. There are still plenty of landing spots, but probably fewer than normal, and if AZ and Chicago go QB in the draft, Murray and Fields are probably playing in one of those places, along with Cousins.

Finally, there looks to be way more reasonably exciting QB prospects next year than normal. Williams and Maye seem to be the consensus top two, but I'd bet Maye's spot at the top gets debated as we get closer to the draft. I see no prospect rankings that are remotely similar after those two. I've seen Quinn Ewers, Bo Nix, Michael Penix, Shedeur Sanders, Riley Leonard, Cameron Ward, J.J. McCarthy and Jayden Daniels pretty much everywhere from #3 to #13. Some of these guys probably won't come out, but I've seen basically everyone of these guys going in the top 40 on one mock or another. I'm less confident this organization will be able to identify the right guy, but the Vikings should be able to grab high upside QB, even if they don't get a top five pick. That doesn't happen often, but those rare seasons that see this happen often end up with a guy who falls having generational talent.

[Vanimal46]

1 hour ago, nicksaviking said:

If the Vikings want to re-sign Jefferson, it might be good to have his take in the situation. I'd never let a player be able to dictate how the team manages the roster, but it seems like the wrong decision could push him away. Does he want to soldier on, even if it's a lost cause, with the most capable QB, Mullins, (barf, saying that sounds ridiculous) or is he game rolling with the only upside QB, Hall, and then figuring out QB in the draft next year, should Hall not be the answer?

I would make sure Jefferson is involved with the QB evaluation process in the draft. This year we’re now in no man’s land at QB. If we pick a QB that doesn’t have chemistry with JJ for 2024, he’ll probably explore free agency. 

[Mike Sixel]

After a night of sleep and looking at the options online......I'd play Hall and see what he is / is not. Unless they can get a first or a second + for Hunter, I don't think I deal anyone....because NFL teams don't make trades of players plus picks for earlier picks, and I'm not interested in more 4th round picks (for buys like Hicks, Osborn, whomever).

[Vanimal46]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

After a night of sleep and looking at the options online......I'd play Hall and see what he is / is not. Unless they can get a first or a second + for Hunter, I don't think I deal anyone....because NFL teams don't make trades of players plus picks for earlier picks, and I'm not interested in more 4th round picks (for buys like Hicks, Osborn, whomever).

Yeah, Hall has at least a 1 game audition to see what he is. If it’s a train wreck, they’ll turn to Mullens if he can return for the Saints game. 

I would flip Osborn but that’s about it. More or less to do him a favor and send him to a team where he can be a  #1 WR like New England. Once JJ returns, I like the trio of him, Addison, and Powell. Maybe one of these weeks Nailor will be healthy to get some play time. 

[nicksaviking]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

After a night of sleep and looking at the options online......I'd play Hall and see what he is / is not. Unless they can get a first or a second + for Hunter, I don't think I deal anyone....because NFL teams don't make trades of players plus picks for earlier picks, and I'm not interested in more 4th round picks (for buys like Hicks, Osborn, whomever).

Leonard Williams just got traded for a 2nd and a 5th and he's also on an expiring contract. Hunter has to be worth more than that.

But as foolish as it sounds, this organization seems more likely to trade away draft picks than trade for them, even though to everyone else, the season is clearly over. 

I bet Kyler Murray rumors start to escalate to a nauseating level very quickly over the next 24 hours. They won't pull the trigger, but I bet we get reports that they there was internal debate and almost went ahead with a deal.

[Aggies7]

The sports talk talking heads were on the “tannehill to Minnesota” train today. Although he’s recently been injured too 

[Danchat]

3 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Leonard Williams just got traded for a 2nd and a 5th and he's also on an expiring contract. Hunter has to be worth more than that.

The starting price on Hunter would have to be a late 1st or a 2nd plus more. I don't think they move him, but it'd be plain stupid for him to go for less than Williams.

3 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

I bet Kyler Murray rumors start to escalate to a nauseating level very quickly over the next 24 hours

I'm seeing people talk about it but I have zero interest. His contract is still terrible even with the signing bonus removed. The entire premise behind moving on from Cousins next year was to stop overpaying a QB, which is exactly what acquiring Murray would be... plus the poor leadership, durability problems, inconsistent play to start. Not to mention that the Cardinals would have to take about a $60M dead cap hit (spread between 2023-2024) because they literally gave him that deal one year ago.

1 hour ago, Aggies7 said:

The sports talk talking heads were on the “tannehill to Minnesota” train today. Although he’s recently been injured too 

Plus he's been awful,  the dude has a 2/6 TD/int ratio and their rookie QB just threw for 4 TDs in his first game. And he's probably out another 2-3 weeks with a high ankle sprain. Zero interest.

I'd be down for getting somebody like Andy Dalton, Jacoby Brissett, or Case Keenum for a 6th or 7th rounder, that's it. It depends when Mullens will return, but give Hall a chance, see what happens, and keep some options on the table that aren't Sean Mannion.

[Parfigliano]

They have to give Hall at least a game or two to sink swim or tread water.

[Aggies7]

Every time I watch Jimmy G play, he’s awful.