nicksaviking

Agree, the rankings are fluid, and Cousins isn't a bad QB. The Vikings are just ready for a top tier QB. They've had one season with a top tier QB since Culpepper was in his prime, and that top tier QB had a grey beard and could barely move. Seems we're way overdue for our turn to have one of those game changing players.

Mahomes, Herbert, Burrow, Jackson, Allen and Hurts should be considered elite. I don't know why that isn't enough to make the Vikings want to find their own long term young QB. Better is kind of an abstract word for QBs though. I'm convinced Cousins could NEVER put the team on his back to win a Super Bowl, so why keep trying? There are other young guys that have a better shot than Kirk ever will. The way Trever Lawrence finished made it look like he's ready to take the leap. Tua looked like he was closing in on that group before he had his head caved in. Kyler Murray seems like he's closer to imploding than ascending, but he's dallied in the top tier at times. No one wants Deshawn Watson, but, he's clearly more talented than Cousins. Not to get too deep in the minutia here, because there are numerous reasons to move one, but not a single one of those guys mentioned makes that play Cousins did to end the season. The best of them would have known the TE was way short of the line to gain and changed the route in the huddle or at the line of scrimmage. Most of the rest would have rather thrown it to a WR, even if he was covered. But every single one of them would have been able to escape that pressure, and even if the TE was the only option to throw to, the other QBs would have made the LB commit to covering the TE, or coming to the line of scrimmage to tackle the QB, and whichever option the TE chose, the QB would have made him pay by doing the opposite.

Pretty much all the top tier QB are drafted. Most early. At some point the Vikings have to suck it up and get one the conventional way.

Seems to me the Twins ALWAYS give up a run to the ghost runner, but their ghost runner only scores about 50% of the time. Surely my memory exaggerates, does anyone know if that stat is kept somewhere?

These are deal breakers for me. These numbers don't tend to improve with age. Go with the young guys that have some upside instead of the broken vets who have much less chance of turning things around. Besides, you know how much harder it is to dump the guy from Chaska after two months than it is to dump a guy from Greenville SC, Lubbock TX or LA?

Signing Carr just seems like a Cousins redux to me. Neither are bad QBs, but neither are the kind that could put your team over the top. I just want to try winning with a top tier QB for once. I know, that SEEMS like a lot to ask, but I can name six I think unequivocally qualify and another 2-4 which are close, if not already in that group. I mean, 20%+ of the league has one, can't the Vikings EVER get one?

If a bunch of Cook/Thielen/Smith/Kendricks/Hunter get cut, it's hard to see Cousins and any of those guys that survive the cut making it the following year. This team is going to have to do something untasteful to get their 2023 QB. To me the options seem to be to trade up for one in this year's draft, absolutely tank 2023 to make sure they get one in the 2024 draft, or do another good-not-great veteran free agent signing in 2024 None of those options are appealing to me, but the last seems like the worst one as far as building a championship caliber team is concerned.

I'd take anything for Dalvin, but man, there are so many free agent RBs this year, a team would have to be nuts or absolutely in love with Cook to part with a draft pick instead grabbing someone else or waiting for the Vikings to cut him.

No interest, his strikeout and walk rates seem to indicate he's washed up. I don't want to sign someone just to sign someone. I'd much rather see the young internal options in the pen, whether it be someone who's currently a reliever or one of the starters.

I love Derek Carr giving the Raiders the business. LV: Ok Derek, you can go find a team to get traded to. Carr: You mean I can pick a team that will either have to sign fewer free agents because of my huge salary, or I'll have to rework my awesome contract? Not to mention my new team will have to give my old team draft picks that could otherwise make us better? LV:........ Carr: Yeah, I think I'll just wait for you to pay me 40M to go away.

Trying to say this without vomiting....I think I'd rather have Pagan? Hand doesn't strike anyone out anymore and walks anything that can resist chasing his slider. Which now seems to be nearly every batter he faces. But at least Pagan is certainly on thin ice, where as Hand is more likely to get a long leash as a local hero free agent. I'd rather have neither, but prefer the guy who's more likely to be released by June? Pardon me while I look for the mop.

Yeah, I'm going to want to see this terrible defense for myself at the MLB level before I vote to take his glove away. By definition, half of the league is below average defensively, yet there tends to be lots of hand wringing if a prospect isn't a + defender. It's Ok to have those guys on the field if they can hit.

Relievers are the kickers of MLB. When they step on the field they have one, short term duty. While the other players are evaluated based on work over multiple innings and could grade out from anywhere between an A and an F, it's pretty much always a pass/fail situation for a reliever. And these pitchers are in this position because for one reason or another, they aren't good enough to be starters. It's a finger crossing scenario by default. Bottom line, I feel just as comfortable with a reliever holding a lead as I feel comfortable with a kicker aiming for a game winning field goal. Which is not at all. And it doesn't matter who the kicker or relief pitcher are, the voice in my head always says they're going to choke.

We have three Applebee's in Fargo that Steve Fraley may frequent, yet I don't remember the last time I heard anyone else mention going to one. That can only mean people eat there in shame?

Yeah, so dumb. Doing this makes me think the GMs think WAY more highly of their draft skills than they should.

I always disliked when they'd use a 1st round pick clearly to replace a big name lost the prior season. Troy Williamson to replace Randy Moss. Michael Bennett to replace Robert Smith. Bryant McKinney to replace Korey Stringer. It was always destined to make the new player have to fill huge shoes. And the 'We're just taking the BPA' always rings so hallow in those times. So it's a great thing that the JJ pick actually was the BPA!

I don't know, the Twins went and got two of the best relievers available at the deadline last year too and that didn't work out. Putting together a bullpen is a gamble any way you do it, those pitchers just don't tend to be reliable year in and year out, or team in and team out. Is rolling with the guys they have really any more of a risk than rolling with guys that were on other teams last year?

It was just him being the new guy in town that I thought people were grabbing on to. Honestly though, reading through the whole thread, everybody has started to sell me on him him more. My recollection of how the GOOD Twins players handled A ball seems to be inflated upon further research. I thought anyone who ended up being decent put up an easy .800+ OPS in A ball. Seems that wasn't always the case. I'm in on Salas.

I was excited to have Urshela last year but that's because I thought he'd end up being the next Marwin Gonzalez/Eduardo Escobar super utility guy. Then he played all of three innings outside of 3B last year, despite all the injuries. If he was only going to play 3B, it was the right move to trade him. Farmer as an actual utility guy is a better use of the roster than a guy who'll push Miranda out of the lineup regularly.

I'm happy to have him, but when the first positive mentioned is his 'speed' I think the rating might be oversold a bit, particularly in an organization that's philosophically opposed to stealing bases. Hard to see how he can be higher than Varland, Wallner, Festa and Mercedes, this kind of seems like he got a bump due to shiny-new-toy syndrome.

Maybe, but teams are much less eager to take on salary in-season. The Twins might have to eat most of it. Which is fine by me if it's fine by them. And honestly, he's probably still here because no other team found the remaining 9.5M salary reasonable. Particularly since you can still get David Peralta, Robbie Grossman, Tyler Naquin, Ben Gamel or Kole Calhoun for a fraction of that.

It wouldn't make sense as far as getting equity is concerned. But if one had the opinion that his absence would improve the roster, that would make sense. Not saying that it necessarily would, but I'm also not saying it necessarily won't if he doesn't show a dramatic offensive improvement early in the season.

I'm very interested to see how all of this plays out. Some teams, but probably very few, will have figured out the exact right formula to work with the new rules. A few teams will probably already have lucked into having the exact right formula on roster. Most of the rest, will have to adjust on the fly. The worst of the rest, will have to adjust after the season. I'm always way more interested in the offense than the defense, but even while I don't like some of the player choices (outfield, not infield) I like that this team is being proactive. But, they can always minimize any sub par infielder velocity if they make sure to focus on pitcher velocity. The most efficient and optimal out is a strikeout.

Great hire. I really hope they hire some additional upstart position coaches who can pick up the slack if Flores turns this around and gets a HC job next year.

And the Twins have had just as much luck, if not more luck, in getting the less heralded offensive prospects to perform. I'm looking forward to seeing where the guys who played in Wichita last year end up. Everyone's excited about Brooks Lee, and people still talk about Austin Martin, but Edouard Julian, Jair Camargo, Anothy Prato, Alex Isola and Yunior Severino were all hitting well in AA. That's five under-the-radar guys that could get looks this year if they keep producing.