nicksaviking

Maybe I'll bring this thread back instead of dwelling on the season long issues in the weekly game threads. So McCarthy is in the concussion protocol. There is obviously going to be skepticism about this, just like there was skepticism about the ankle sprain. As frustrated as I am, I've taken a step back and feel a bit bad for everyone. IF like me, KOC and KAM thought Darnold was a great find but still wasn't capable of winning a championship and that was also their goal, it's really hard to fault them for trying McCarthy this year, even if they knew he wasn't going to be ready. It's also hard to place any blame on McCarthy. VERY VERY CLEARLY he would have benefited from staying in collage, getting more reps, learning more and maturing. But his coach was about to get banned from the NCAA and move to the NFL and his school was about to get crushed by the coaches actions. Transferring probably would have been the right move, but it would have been a terrible look; leaving the National Champs for another school and not going pro? That doesn't look very confident, which would have also hurt his standing. Clearly the biggest issue is Vikings leadership incorrectly thinking they could get a young man who was barely old enough to drink, up and running an NFL team. He had the physical talent, but there was a lot missing. So I'm not mad, this was always a possibility and I'm glad they took the shot. Just don't stick with it past the point of no return. So here comes Max Brosmer. All I ask is that he is either Kurt Warner, or a complete bum. I don't want a Gardner Minshew or Aiden O'Connell situation where the team runs with what should be a career backup QB longer than they need to.

They haven't won more Super Bowls, and that should be the only goal for this franchise at this point. They haven't had back-to-back double-digit win season or even back-to-back playoff seasons since 2009 and they haven't had a streak of three such seasons since Denny Green was here. They are not going to be a legit contender until they regularly start getting top playoff seeds and actually start winning those games.

And bounced in the first round again. This team is constantly one of the oldest in the league; that's not sustainable, if they want to be a year-to-year contender, they have to start building a strong group of good, young and cheap core players and every year they have to continue to draft good, young, cheap players for when the last crop become expensive free agents.

Most fans don't like Falvey because he seems insincere and talks like a huckster. KAM is the complete opposite, he's likeable. However, Favley did build an excellent rotation and bullpen, his problem was that the team didn't develop hitters. But that's baseball; you don't know for 4+ years if the guys you draft will pan out, in the NFL you should know after two years. Hence, KAM absolutely SHOULD have a shorter leash.

To be fair to the Spielman/KAM comp, I'd seen enough of Bridgewater to know that his ceiling was that of a game manger QB, which I didn't want. Far and away the best QB of those we're talking about though.

Ponder, Bridgewater and who? People were ready to run Spielman out the door years before he finally was. And that's despite him drafting Pro Bowl if not HOF players just about every year. And somehow, four years later, this team still has more starters from Spielman's drafts than from KAMs drafts.

Are we reading the same message boards?!? Derek Falvey might be as reviled as the Pohlads based on the posts that I've been reading.

JJ might end up being OK. But it should be clear by now that it will only happen with the Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Geno Smith method, which means it won't be on this team. This all is too much for him as a 22-year-old kid.

Probably depends on if he plays the Rams again. Or the Lions. He also didn't play well against the 49ers. I don't like his chances against the Eagles either. So maybe if he plays the NFC South winner. Or the Bears, their defense stinks. Unless you ask JJ McCarthy.

I don't want the extremely slim chance of getting a game manager to win a Super Bowl, particularly when that comes with also needing an all time great defense. The better chance is to keep grinding until you find an elite QB. And If they start making decisions where the primary emphasis is to save their jobs instead of winning a championship, it's time for new leadership.

Hard pass. I don’t want a Shannahan special game manager. He might be good for a team that’s looking for a Kirk Cousins ceiling. I want a QB who can drag a team to the Super Bowl, and I’m willing to draft more JJ McCarthys until he they get it right.

I thought i saw green all around him, but I’ll defer to those with a more functional view!

Was that the first one? I’m at a brewery and a bit far from a TV. Poor eyesight speaking, but the second two looked like they got blown up and had zero chance.

And if you pause the plays, check out the linemen, every one of them look lost and unsure who to block.

Did they really just try and fail to run three screen passes in a row? They haven been able to run screen passes in five years.

For sure, he’s clearly talented. But he’s not in Heisman talks or top of the draft talks like expected. And he’s capable of being in those talks. That was a Sarkisian rip, not a Manning rip.

Sure, but the position scarcity associated with those other guys should be completely negated by the fact that a rebuilding team like the Twins should never give one of them a single at bat.

I bet Manning returns to school next year. Though I'm thinking top rated HS QBs might want to start avoiding Steve Sarkisian. Jake Locker at Washington, Cody Kessler at USC and now Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning at Texas? Most college coaches never get a QB recruit as highly rated as those guys and none of them lived up to the hype.

On a team that has James Outman, Mickey Gasper, Ryan Fitzgerald, Carson McCusker, Ryan Kreidler, Eduard Julien, Kody Clemens and Johnny Pereda also on the 40-man roster, I don't get why there is any huff about Larnach. Definitely not a Larnach apologist, just wondering why anyone would care when there are this many players even worst than him still on the roster. If all nine of those guys were DFA'd how many would get signed to another team's 40-man roster? Two? Maybe three? One of which would most certainly be Larnach.

Obviously this team needed another catcher. However this guy looks like the type that is constantly floating around on the waiver all year, so I’m not sure why you’d want to roster this caliber of player now.

I don't have any problem cutting ties with Larnach. I do have a problem suggesting this team has any kind of roster crunch. Aside from Larnach, I count nine other position players this team can drop with zero remorse. If I had to rank them, Larnach might actually be my tenth choice to drop, but he is paid more. And I guess that matters to some people......

There better be zero chance McCarthy is battling some FA vet for the #1 spot in 2027. If that's the case we already know he's not going to cut it and the team needs to give him the Josh Rosen treatment. In this scenario, the new QB draft pick should be the #1; stop fooling around with project QBs and go get a rookie that can start Day 1.

I have to disagree that Foley was or will ever be a "legitimate high-end reliever" as the guy can't strike anyone out, which is pretty imperative for relievers who are constantly inheriting runners. So on that note, sure, I'd toss the dice with Moreta, though the Pirates aren't exactly in a position to cut bait on upside players so I'd suspect something more might be going on there. I'd take Lowe over Clemens in a heart beat. His down year was almost as good as Clemens unsustainable career year. If I have the choice between two sketchy hitters, I'll take the one that has a history of being able to get on base. Lowe has a history of doing that well. Obviously it goes without saying that I'd trade them both for Door Number Three, even without seeing what's behind it.

Yeah, and tabloid rag aside, the quote is taken from an article called, 'How Yankees can capitalize on MLB’s growing trend of relievers converting to successful starters'. Joel Sherman is as tied into the Twins as he is the Italian National Baseball Team. If they up and vanished tomorrow, he wouldn't even notice. The Twins may be looking to move Lopez, but Sherman is getting this info second or third hand from his sources on the Yankees or other East Coast teams. And if the Twins are actually looking to make trades, it would be in the Twins best interests to obfuscate their true intentions.

Right, but then why would another team want to trade for him? You can either trade Ober and get nothing of value for him, or hold on to him, cross your fingers his velocity returns and with it his value.