2018 Minnesota Vikings Off-Season Thread

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Thing is, the QB decision depends in part on who the new OC is going to be. If you franchise Keenum 1st, then hire an OC who doesn't like Keenum, that is a disaster waiting to happen.

I almost think you have to hire the OC first and get his input on what he wants in a QB. Worth noting that Foles had his best season with Shurmur as OC, and now Keenum has a career year with Shurmur.

So, you have to consider - will Keenum be as effective under a different OC - especially if that OC makes changes to the offense. (I suppose they could go with Stefanski, the QB Coach as OC, for purposes of continuity.)
 

I’d be shocked if they don’t know exactly who the next OC is already. They’ve known Shurmur was leaving for weeks, if not months.

I would imagine we’ll hear officially who it is by early-mid February.
 


dpodoll68 said:
We get it, you don't like the guy. Despite your criticisms, he had the 2nd best QBR in the league. (I find that highly unlikely to happen if he had "2-3 very good games and a bunch of games where he was adequate.") He could continue to be that good (or better), but nobody knows, including you.

It's hilarious that you're bringing up his age when you want the Vikings to sign Eli Manning, who will be 38 by the time the 2019 playoffs begin.
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I don't dislike Keenum. I just don't think we'll win a Super Bowl with him and I don't want to sign up for multiple years. Realistically we have a 1-2 year window while this defense is still elite (unless they have a hang-over). In that small window, I'd rather have Eli/Cousins.
 



howeda7 said:
I don't dislike Keenum. I just don't think we'll win a Super Bowl with him and I don't want to sign up for multiple years. Realistically we have a 1-2 year window while this defense is still elite (unless they have a hang-over). In that small window, I'd rather have Eli/Cousins.
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I can understand Cousins, but why Manning? He is not good and also very old.

Also, if you think we have a 1-year window, franchising Keenum is perfect. We would have to wastefully spend on terrible players to even approach the cap in 2019 - which is maybe why you want Manning.
 

dpodoll68 said:
I can understand Cousins, but why Manning? He is not good and also very old.

Also, if you think we have a 1-year window, franchising Keenum is perfect. We would have to wastefully spend on terrible players to even approach the cap in 2019 - which is maybe why you want Manning.
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I like Keenum. I'm ok with him coming back if he uses his legs more often (which he did a few times well), and does a little better job of knowing when and when not to take risks, He needs to be better at having that internal clock and just get rid of the ball when it goes off
 

JimmyJamesMD said:
I like Keenum. I'm ok with him coming back if he uses his legs more often (which he did a few times well), and does a little better job of knowing when and when not to take risks, He needs to be better at having that internal clock and just get rid of the ball when it goes off
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Agreed. He is very mobile by NFL QB standards and in general makes good decisions - as evidenced by his x straight games without an interception (whatever the number was) and having a 22:7 TD:INT ratio during the year. He made a handful of insanely idiotic throws that were as bad as anything I've seen from an NFL QB (like the one in the Saints game), but it's like some people (*cough* Howie *cough*) want to pretend that those exclusively are the standard of his ability and ignore the other 475+ throws he made, in which he was (at very worst) a top 10 NFL QB. We don't know whether he can replicate that going forward, but we also don't know that he can't, despite what some believe.
 

My concern with Keenum is shurmur leaving. Like others have said, what if the new OC just isn't as good at figuring out what keenum can do as shurmur was. It's too bad shurmur is leaving but can't blame the guy.

I do not like the eli manning route, I'd almost rather take peyton out of retirement than pick up eli.
 



bottlebass said:
My concern with Keenum is shurmur leaving. Like others have said, what if the new OC just isn't as good at figuring out what keenum can do as shurmur was. It's too bad shurmur is leaving but can't blame the guy.

I do not like the eli manning route, I'd almost rather take peyton out of retirement than pick up eli.
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I'd love Keenum if Bevell is hired as OC. I think they'd be a good fit. Don't know much about other OC's
 

Chip: With Vikings in win-now mode, don't be afraid to go bold at QB

Mike Zimmer is in the market for a starting quarterback and an offensive coordinator. Two job openings linked closely together that will have a significant impact on the direction the Vikings take following an NFC Championship Game appearance.

Zimmer has to get this right. Both decisions.

Often when teams go searching for a quarterback and offensive coordinator, something went horribly wrong. They’re usually starting over.

That’s not Zimmer’s reality. His team is built to contend now. The Vikings’ no-show dud in Philadelphia won’t lower expectations by meaningful degree, as long as Zimmer and General Manager Rick Spielman don’t whiff on those two pressing needs — quarterback and offensive coordinator.

Finding Pat Shurmur’s replacement is the first order of business. His scheme, play-calling and ability to maximize individual talent enabled the Vikings to mitigate injuries to Sam Bradford and Dalvin Cook and become a top-10 scoring offense.

Zimmer said he doesn’t intend to take “a square peg and put it in a round hole” with his offense. In other words, he’s not looking for a radical philosophical shift. He wants to keep many of the same principles, which makes sense because the nucleus of skill players thrived in Shurmur’s system.

The quarterback question is more complicated. The public conversation about how the organization should proceed in deciding among Case Keenum, Teddy Bridgewater and Bradford is too limited in scope.

Why not look outside Winter Park?

Their first phone call should be to Drew Brees. Yes, that sounds like crazy talk, but what’s the harm in trying?

http://www.startribune.com/with-vikings-in-win-now-mode-don-t-be-afraid-to-go-bold-at-qb/470803613/

Skol Vikes!!
 

And the only way I'm comfortable with Bradford coming back is if we have a top 5 offensive line. I don't trust that line, and we need at least a guy that can buy himself time. Old Teddy and Case can do that
 

dpodoll68 said:
I can understand Cousins, but why Manning? He is not good and also very old.

Also, if you think we have a 1-year window, franchising Keenum is perfect. We would have to wastefully spend on terrible players to even approach the cap in 2019 - which is maybe why you want Manning.
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I would first take a shot at Brees, then Cousins (if the contract's not totally absurd in guaranteed $) then Manning. If we strike out on all of the above, Keenum is probably the next best option, though I would probably take a Teddy/Bradford combo over Keenum if they could get them both for the same $.

I don't think we would win many more regular season games with Manning vs. Keenum, but I'd much rather have him in the play-offs. The Giants were a supposed Super Bowl contender this year before it all blew up and outside of Odell Beckham the Vikings have better weapons than the Giants.
 



dpodoll68 said:
I can understand Cousins, but why Manning? He is not good and also very old.

Also, if you think we have a 1-year window, franchising Keenum is perfect. We would have to wastefully spend on terrible players to even approach the cap in 2019 - which is maybe why you want Manning.
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I would offer Keenum a 1-year contract at max dollars with a short time frame to accept. No? Then I would move to option 2; Teddy and offer him a multi year cap friendly incentive laden contract. No? Then I would offer Bradford the biggest multi-year and incentive laden contract, sign RG3 and continue the development of our Rookie QB.

My preference would be to keep Case and Teddy and they compete for the job.


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A rather pessimistic way to look at it is, with the schedule they have next year, this is likely an 8-8 team anyway, outside of the playoffs looking in. Road games at GB, Philly, New England, LA Rams, Seattle and home games against New Orleans, GB, San Francisco, etc. It's a meat grinder of a schedule.

Like I said, I wouldn't franchise any of the 3; way too much to pay for any of them for next year. Offer Keenum 4 years at $60-65M or so, not a lot guaranteed, and hope he bites. A heavily incentive-laden contract for Bradford wouldn't be a terrible way to go either. Not sure if we are to read too much into the fact that Bradford was the backup the last several weeks instead of Bridgewater.

Interesting times ahead, no doubt. Not overly optimistic about things next year with their schedule though. I've seen this movie before, teams falling off after a year like the Vikings had and following it up with a 1st place schedule.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
A rather pessimistic way to look at it is, with the schedule they have next year, this is likely an 8-8 team anyway, outside of the playoffs looking in. Road games at GB, Philly, New England, LA Rams, Seattle and home games against New Orleans, GB, San Francisco, etc. It's a meat grinder of a schedule.

Like I said, I wouldn't franchise any of the 3; way too much to pay for any of them for next year. Offer Keenum 4 years at $60-65M or so, not a lot guaranteed, and hope he bites. A heavily incentive-laden contract for Bradford wouldn't be a terrible way to go either. Not sure if we are to read too much into the fact that Bradford was the backup the last several weeks instead of Bridgewater.

Interesting times ahead, no doubt. Not overly optimistic about things next year with their schedule though. I've seen this movie before, teams falling off after a year like the Vikings had and following it up with a 1st place schedule.
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I get what you're saying about the schedule. But in today's NFL, that doesn't mean a thing year-to-year.
 

Can't trust Bradford's knee. He is one hit away from retirement. Teddy? who the bleep knows if he can still play? The Vikes are in a real catch-22 with Teddy. To find out if he can play, they have to play him. But, if they commit to Teddy, and find out he can't play, they have to have a pretty damn good #2 plan. I don't think they want to hand the keys to Sloter - although people who have watched practice say the kid appears to have some legitimate skill.

Safest bet for continuity is a 1 or 2-year deal with Keenum. I do not want to go the "aging veteran" route any more. Brees is a pipe dream. Of the Free-agent QB's, Cousins is the one I would take a run at - he's young enough to be decent for several years.

My hope is that they continue to build up the O-line, and re-tool the offense slightly to feature Cook next year. Maybe keep Murray as a back-up, goal-line back.
 

Assuming Brees is willing to leave NO, why is he a pipe dream? He will want to go somewhere he can win and we have plenty of cap room.
 

STrib: Vikings to interview Kevin Stefanski, Darrell Bevell for offensive coordinator job

As the Vikings begin their search for a new offensive coordinator, they have interviews set up with a pair of candidates who know each other well.

According to a league source, Vikings quarterbacks coach Kevin Stefanski will interview for the job at coach Mike Zimmer’s ranch in northern Kentucky this weekend. CBS Sports also reported the team will talk with former Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, who was the Vikings’ OC from 2006-10 under Brad Childress.

Stefanski and Bevell were on the same coaching staffs under Childress, and Stefanski worked under Bevell as the Vikings’ assistant QB coach in 2009 and 2010. As Bevell moved to Seattle following Childress’ firing in 2010, Stefanski stayed on coach Leslie Frazier’s staff, and became the tight ends coach when Mike Zimmer was hired in 2014. He became the team’s running backs coach in 2016 after Kirby Wilson left for a job as the Browns’ running game coordinator, and moved to QB coach this season when the Vikings reworked their offensive staff. Bevell, who had been the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator from 2011-17, was fired by the team after the season.

Zimmer said earlier this week he planned to talk with several candidates, adding, “I’m going to take my time and make sure we get the right thing.” Stefanski has never called plays or been an offensive coordinator, but Zimmer spoke highly of the 35-year-old this week.

“Kevin is a very smart guy. I need to sit down and talk to him,” Zimmer said. “I need to sit down and talk to some other people and figure out what the best thing is for us moving forward.”

http://www.startribune.com/vikings-...vell-for-offensive-coordinator-job/470985193/

Skol Vikes!!
 

BleedGopher said:
STrib: Vikings to interview Kevin Stefanski, Darrell Bevell for offensive coordinator job

As the Vikings begin their search for a new offensive coordinator, they have interviews set up with a pair of candidates who know each other well.

According to a league source, Vikings quarterbacks coach Kevin Stefanski will interview for the job at coach Mike Zimmer’s ranch in northern Kentucky this weekend. CBS Sports also reported the team will talk with former Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, who was the Vikings’ OC from 2006-10 under Brad Childress.

Stefanski and Bevell were on the same coaching staffs under Childress, and Stefanski worked under Bevell as the Vikings’ assistant QB coach in 2009 and 2010. As Bevell moved to Seattle following Childress’ firing in 2010, Stefanski stayed on coach Leslie Frazier’s staff, and became the tight ends coach when Mike Zimmer was hired in 2014. He became the team’s running backs coach in 2016 after Kirby Wilson left for a job as the Browns’ running game coordinator, and moved to QB coach this season when the Vikings reworked their offensive staff. Bevell, who had been the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator from 2011-17, was fired by the team after the season.

Zimmer said earlier this week he planned to talk with several candidates, adding, “I’m going to take my time and make sure we get the right thing.” Stefanski has never called plays or been an offensive coordinator, but Zimmer spoke highly of the 35-year-old this week.

“Kevin is a very smart guy. I need to sit down and talk to him,” Zimmer said. “I need to sit down and talk to some other people and figure out what the best thing is for us moving forward.”

http://www.startribune.com/vikings-...vell-for-offensive-coordinator-job/470985193/

Skol Vikes!!
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Why the hell would anyone want a offensive coordinator from Chillies staff. Didn’t Bevell just get fired because he was soooooo good? (sarcasm alert)


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Vikings Off Season Thread

Just wanted to get a thread started to discuss OC opening and roster moves, including the draft and free agency.

I’m curious as to where people think we will go in the draft? I think we take an interior guy and then depending on who is available, possibly add a RT in free agency and slide Remmers to guard. Wouldn’t mind seeing us add some rotational depth on D either.
 

Sportsfan24 said:
Why the hell would anyone want a offensive coordinator from Chillies staff. Didn’t Bevell just get fired because he was soooooo good? (sarcasm alert)
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Aside from the Seahawks having one of the worst offensive lines in the league, my guess is Bevell was/is the fall guy for Carroll not having any control over that dumpster fire of a locker room and it's finally catching up to them. That team is an undisciplined sh!t show and has been for a while.

I'm not advocating for Bevell by any stretch, but I don't know that his termination from what's been happening in Seattle is a massive indicator that he's not capable.
 

howeda7 said:
Assuming Brees is willing to leave NO, why is he a pipe dream? He will want to go somewhere he can win and we have plenty of cap room.
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I just don't see it. Why is MN such a better situation for Brees? NO was 10-seconds away from beating the Vikings. NO has a good young back and an improving defense. the Vikings just lost their OC and several other players could be retiring or moving on. As I see it, the only way the Vikes get Brees is to grossly over-pay for him. I would rather see the Vikes bring back Keenum - providing they can do so at a reasonable price - and spend their cap room improving other areas of the team - O-Line, depth at D-line, younger nickel back, etc.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Jokes are funny.



Agreed - this would be great, but my guess is that Teddy will be able to get a better offer elsewhere, both in terms of $ and in the team's willingness to start him.
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Admittedly I don't follow the NFL as closely as some of you guys, but is Teddy really so good that he'd be attractive to other teams looking for a starter? Wasn't he still basically in "he has potential" mode when he got injured? Factor that with the unknown of his injury & I'm not seeing why anyone would shell out big bucks for him?

I'd like to see us hire an OC that runs a similar system to Shermur, one that fits Keenum, head into training camp with him penciled in as the starter & Teddy being signed for a reasonable price with the opportunity to win the job in training camp.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Aside from the Seahawks having one of the worst offensive lines in the league, my guess is Bevell was/is the fall guy for Carroll not having any control over that dumpster fire of a locker room and it's finally catching up to them. That team is an undisciplined sh!t show and has been for a while.

I'm not advocating for Bevell by any stretch, but I don't know that his termination from what's been happening in Seattle is a massive indicator that he's not capable.
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good point about Bevell. I like Keenum (don't love) and would be more excited if Bevell was his OC. I think they are a good fit.

That being said, I hope they focus on O-line to help whoever the QB is. With Berger probably retiring, they are have at least two open spots to improve.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Aside from the Seahawks having one of the worst offensive lines in the league, my guess is Bevell was/is the fall guy for Carroll not having any control over that dumpster fire of a locker room and it's finally catching up to them. That team is an undisciplined sh!t show and has been for a while.

I'm not advocating for Bevell by any stretch, but I don't know that his termination from what's been happening in Seattle is a massive indicator that he's not capable.
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Bevell didn’t didn’t impress here and I’m not giving him much credit for Russell’s ability to elude pass rushers until he can find an open guy. Seattle had no run game and there was nothing scary about their passing game. Bevell does less the nothing for me.

I would love it if we could get Joe Thomas from Cleveland.


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Sportsfan24 said:
Bevell didn’t didn’t impress here and I’m not giving him much credit for Russell’s ability to elude pass rushers until he can find an open guy. Seattle had no run game and there was nothing scary about their passing game. Bevell does less the nothing for me.

I would love it if we could get Joe Thomas from Cleveland.


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JT would be money!
 

short ornery norwegian said:
I just don't see it. Why is MN such a better situation for Brees? NO was 10-seconds away from beating the Vikings. NO has a good young back and an improving defense. the Vikings just lost their OC and several other players could be retiring or moving on. As I see it, the only way the Vikes get Brees is to grossly over-pay for him. I would rather see the Vikes bring back Keenum - providing they can do so at a reasonable price - and spend their cap room improving other areas of the team - O-Line, depth at D-line, younger nickel back, etc.
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I didn't say it was. I just said if he's willing to leave the Saints it would be high on the list. Define overpay? We paid Bradford/Bridgewater/Keenum ~$30 million. I wouldn't be opposed to paying Brees that much. I'd much rather do that then pay Keenum $25 million by franchising him.
 

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