Vikings Offseason Thread

[Mike Sixel]

I've lost all interest in this year. 

[Aggies7]

23 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Lost year. Completely lost year. They almost have to extend Darnold......

Um, we still have JARREN HALL

[Aggies7]

8 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

I've lost all interest in this year. 

It’s uncommon to go into a season with zero expectations. Might be nice honestly. Maybe we’ll get another high draft pick?

[Mike Sixel]

Addison just carted off with a leg injury

[nicksaviking]

Things are going well today......

[Mike Sixel]

O'Connell says Addison will be fine....

[gunnarthor]

.... So, we're all blaming Mike, right? 

[Mike Sixel]

8 minutes ago, gunnarthor said:

.... So, we're all blaming Mike, right? 

I was told there were no injuries! Sigh. Might as well, that's this week for me.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

McCarthy needed to spend at least a full year holding the clipboard anyway. Sure does suck for the kid, though. 

[DocBauer]

First thing I thought was "OF COURSE!"

While disappointing as can be, not only could McCarthy's injury have been worse, or at a worse time, but he was going to sit most of the season no matter what. 

Once upon a time, your young QB used to sit for a year or two behind a veteran to learn the system and adjust to the league. Patrick Mahomes...arguably the best player/QB in the league...sat for all but 1 game his rookie season. 

What stinks is the on the field practice time he's going to miss. He can still watch film, attend all meetings, and absorb that way. If he's placed on the IL he's out for the season. And I don't believe he would be allowed any sort of actual "practice" time even if he heals up quickly. If he makes the opening day roster and then isnplaced on the IL, he can be brought back later, if he heals quickly, to at least get some non-contact practice reps around December. 

Just something to think about.

[Mike Sixel]

12 hours ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

McCarthy needed to spend at least a full year holding the clipboard anyway. Sure does suck for the kid, though. 

Can't throw. Can't practice. Can't work on his firework.  And I strongly disagree he should stand around for a year anyway. 

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

29 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Can't throw. Can't practice. Can't work on his firework.  And I strongly disagree he should stand around for a year anyway. 

He won’t forget how to play football.

I am comfortable disagreeing. Seen too many guys thrown in the fire and never recover, on the other hand, Stroud did really well last year. I remember some of the KFAN guys saying they wanted McCarthy to be in the mix right away. Maybe that would have been the right call? 

[nicksaviking]

13 hours ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

He won’t forget how to play football.

I am comfortable disagreeing. Seen too many guys thrown in the fire and never recover, on the other hand, Stroud did really well last year. I remember some of the KFAN guys saying they wanted McCarthy to be in the mix right away. Maybe that would have been the right call? 

We've seen a lot of them, but most of those guys played for extremely inept offensive coaching situations.

Also, and this is a bit harsh, but if a guy can't recover from a high level of adversity, he's probably not the kind of player who could one day carry a team to a Super Bowl.

[Vanimal46]

Super Bowl homeboy! McCarthy getting put on IR now officially ends his season. 

[DocBauer]

23 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Can't throw. Can't practice. Can't work on his firework.  And I strongly disagree he should stand around for a year anyway. 

I'm going to disagree. And I like the kid!

I was hoping they'd hold back, put him on the roster, and then put him on the IL so he might get some practice reps come December. I guess they don't feel he'll be ready enough to do that.  And I'm pretty sure his IL designation now mean NO field time, even if he's a quick recovery.

I think he's in a perfect situation in regard to coaching, system, and talent. And I know some guys come in and perform very well their rookie season. But I've just seen too many 1st round kids come in and get eaten up by the speed and talent of the game. And with all due respect to McCarthy and his skills, he wasn't in a system in college that was centered on the QB and the passing game. 

I think he can continue to learn a lot from the side, and get ready for 2025. It's not just learning the offense, it's learning the speed of the game and what NFL defenses bring.

Missing actual practice time STINKS! But I believe he can continue to learn and get ready for next year.

[Mike Sixel]

I mean, if he can learn all that doing nothing, why can't he learn that in college? He's basically a rookie next year, given he can't practice. 

[nicksaviking]

17 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

Super Bowl homeboy! McCarthy getting put on IR now officially ends his season. 

I’m a bit embarrassed to admit, but I kind of like this pick up. I was interested in Corral last year, and I’d rather roll the dice with the unknown than on someone like Sean Mannion.

[Parfigliano]

Seems a good year to tank  play lots of guys to evaluate the talent for next year and get a top 5 pick.

[Vanimal46]

4 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

I’m a bit embarrassed to admit, but I kind of like this pick up. I was interested in Corral last year, and I’d rather roll the dice with the unknown than on someone like Sean Mannion.

True. I would rather watch him than Mullens for sure. Probably Hall too. 

[wabene]

15 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

I mean, if he can learn all that doing nothing, why can't he learn that in college? He's basically a rookie next year, given he can't practice. 

No doubt the lack of practice reps is a killer. I do think a year studying the offense is very valuable giving him a big leg up on a true rookie.

[Aggies7]

Nick Mullens redemption szn has begun. 3-5, 53 yards, 1 TD, 135 rating on the first drive 😈 

[Aggies7]

Jarren Hall redemption szn. Still have nightmares about that packers game last year 

[Mike Sixel]

Signed Gilmore, which I'm not sure I care. This team likely isn't good, and 8 or so wins is the worst...

[gunnarthor]

This is a playoff team! Darnold will thrive, the secondary is fixed, Turner will be a stud. 

[Vanimal46]

The Gilmore signing at the very least raises the floor of production for the CB group. I believe CB, just like OL, is all about the weakest link. We now have 3 average ish CBs so no one in particular is going to get picked on constantly. 

[Parfigliano]

49 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Signed Gilmore, which I'm not sure I care. This team likely isn't good, and 8 or so wins is the worst...

8 wins is draft no mans land.

[nicksaviking]

Flores got a really bad defensive team to look league average last year. I think it's possible this defense is a top unit in the league now that it actually has league average players. 

I think this team could be much better than expected. But even if Darnold pulls a Geno Smith type resurrection, that's still not a good enough QB to win it all.

[Cap'n Piranha]

On 8/18/2024 at 8:46 AM, gunnarthor said:

This is a playoff team! Darnold will thrive, the secondary is fixed, Turner will be a stud. 

Which is just about the worst case scenario, barring an actual miraculous run to the Super Bowl.  With only 3 scheduled picks in next year's draft (one in the 1st, 2 in the 4th), the Vikings will have a hard time adding talent to the roster through that route, unless the 1st round pick is high enough that they can get an elite talent, or trade down for a multitude of picks.  Sure, they have a projected $67M in cap space, but will need to sign a lot of defenders (for 2025, there are only 4 DL, 3 S, and 5 CB on roster--2 of those S are Smith and Cine, and every single CB is on a rookie deal).  This is to say nothing of the need to improve the OL, add more WR talent, as well as RB and TE depth.  Finally, if Darnold does thrive, are the Vikings really going to just let him walk, and assume a rookie with no experience will be able to replicate?

Kwesi could have had six players instead of Turner; 2nd, 5th, and 6th rounders in 2024, and 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in 2025.  It's certainly possible that Turner will be a better player than any of the 6 players selected with those picks; but will he be better than those 6 players combined?  For instance, the Twins could offer to trade Lewis, Wallner, Duran, Jax, Miranda, and Ober to the Yankees for Soto, and the Yankees would likely agree.  Soto would probably be a better player than anyone the Yankees would receive in return, but would almost certainly not be a better player than all of them combined.

Just when the Vikings need to be able to replenish their roster with cheap young talent, due to the sub-par drafts from the last couple of years of Spielman and first two of Kwesi, they have scant ability to do that.

[Cap'n Piranha]

On 8/16/2024 at 7:43 PM, DocBauer said:

I'm going to disagree. And I like the kid!

I was hoping they'd hold back, put him on the roster, and then put him on the IL so he might get some practice reps come December. I guess they don't feel he'll be ready enough to do that.  And I'm pretty sure his IL designation now mean NO field time, even if he's a quick recovery.

I think he's in a perfect situation in regard to coaching, system, and talent. And I know some guys come in and perform very well their rookie season. But I've just seen too many 1st round kids come in and get eaten up by the speed and talent of the game. And with all due respect to McCarthy and his skills, he wasn't in a system in college that was centered on the QB and the passing game. 

I think he can continue to learn a lot from the side, and get ready for 2025. It's not just learning the offense, it's learning the speed of the game and what NFL defenses bring.

Missing actual practice time STINKS! But I believe he can continue to learn and get ready for next year.

How exactly will McCarthy learn the speed of the game and NFL-level defensive schemes when he not only can't see them in game situations, but not even at 3/4 speed in practice?  He'll surely be better prepared to begin next year then this year (if he's not, he'll go the way of JaMarcus Russell real fast), but missing the entirety of this year is a massive blow, when you consider he is one half of the package the Vikings essentially traded an entire draft for (to acquire McCarthy and Turner, Kwesi gave up two 2nd, one 3rd, two 4th, and two 5th--they got a 6th back in the McCarthy deal, offsetting the 6th given up in the deals for Turner).  That's 7 picks spent on two players, so those two players can't just be starters, or even Pro Bowlers; they need to be stars at the All-Pro level.

[gunnarthor]

I laughed at this far more than I should have.