2019 Minnesota Vikings In-Season Thread

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Cousins is the Kyle Gibson of the Vikings. You can see it in his eyes that he doesn't have it and you know that his teammates have lost confidence in him.
 




After yesterday, not sure I can take another interview with the wholesome look and the earnest usual rhetoric. "I'm very disappointed in my performance today. It just wasn't good enough." No sh*t!
 


It's impossible to describe just how disappointed I am with Cousins. I thought he was very unfairly bashed by the media all off-season. My reasoning for continually backing him up to friends and others was the terribly uneven play-calling last year, combined with having to play behind one of the worst offensive lines in all of football... and he still threw for 30 TDs and completed 70% of his passes. Yesterday's performance was indefensible. When the defense finally clamped down on Green Bay, that was a winnable game. An 8th grader wouldn't have made that throw at the end. When the Vikings need him to step up against good teams, he continues to struggle. Very disappointing...
 

One thing I wish is we can stop with the "$84 million" after every bad play. He makes what he makes. It's as pointless as it was with Mauer.
 

Anyone watching the MNF game? Former Vikings Trevor Siemian's ankle just got fu*ked sideways and he still got up and walked off the field! I'm not sure how he managed that....but ankles are not supposed to move like that.
 

stocker08 said:
Anyone watching the MNF game? Former Vikings Trevor Siemian's ankle just got fu*ked sideways and he still got up and walked off the field! I'm not sure how he managed that....but ankles are not supposed to move like that.
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Also worth noting that Luke Falk (QB for Washington State in the 2016 Holiday Bowl when the Gophers shut them down 17-12) came in to replace Siemian.
 



As much as I cheer for the Vikings, I so want Daniel Carlson to dagger them with a long field goal to win the game. Zimmer deserves to reap what he sowed, and in a just world he pays for his intemperate, emotional, childish decision to cut an obviously talented player after one game.
 

Bad Gopher said:
As much as I cheer for the Vikings, I so want Daniel Carlson to dagger them with a long field goal to win the game. Zimmer deserves to reap what he sowed, and in a just world he pays for his intemperate, emotional, childish decision to cut an obviously talented player after one game.
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I'm already preparing for this disappointment. It's too classic of a MN sports fail to not happen.
 

Do you have a crush on Daniel Carlson?

I have one on Teddy. I would love to see Teddy tear up the Vikings
 

JimmyJamesMD said:
Do you have a crush on Daniel Carlson?
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The Pats don't win their first Super Bowl without Vinatieri. That's how I look at it. You're more likely to win a championship because of your place kicker than in spite of him.
 



Bad Gopher said:
As much as I cheer for the Vikings, I so want Daniel Carlson to dagger them with a long field goal to win the game. Zimmer deserves to reap what he sowed, and in a just world he pays for his intemperate, emotional, childish decision to cut an obviously talented player after one game.
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I blame Spielman for Carlson, not Zimmer. Forbath was fine. Rick the Genius thought he could "upgrade" the position by using an untested rookie on a team with Super Bowl hopes. Zimmer had to keep him.

He choked in Green Bay. Not once. Not twice. Three times. His confidence was gone by the 3rd kick and you could see it. They couldn't keep running him out there. They had to make a change. Kicking is mental more than anything. Kudos to him for bouncing back. Blaire Wash never did.
 

howeda7 said:
I blame Spielman for Carlson, not Zimmer. Forbath was fine. Rick the Genius thought he could "upgrade" the position by using an untested rookie on a team with Super Bowl hopes. Zimmer had to keep him.

He choked in Green Bay. Not once. Not twice. Three times. His confidence was gone by the 3rd kick and you could see it. They couldn't keep running him out there. They had to make a change. Kicking is mental more than anything. Kudos to him for bouncing back. Blaire Wash never did.
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I feel ya, but Ryan Longwell approached the club and said, I can fix him. Zimmer rebuffed him and angrily cut Carlson. In my opinion that's inexcusable.
 

On Cousins:

The Vikings front office and coaches evaluated Cousins. Presumably they looked at film, stats, etc. maybe talked to people who knew him.

And after their evaluation, the Vikings front office decided to give Cousins an $84-million contract.

But - just because you give someone a big contract, that does not mean they are going to turn into a different player or a better player. Cousins is who he has always been. A guy who is capable of putting up decent stats, but turns the ball over too much and has basically been a .500 quarterback for his entire career.

So, fans can b*tch about Cousins all they want - but the people they should be b*tching about are Spielman and the front office. How many times can the same staff f*ck up the QB position and keep their jobs? Inquiring minds want to know.
 

howeda7 said:
I blame Spielman for Carlson, not Zimmer. Forbath was fine. Rick the Genius thought he could "upgrade" the position by using an untested rookie on a team with Super Bowl hopes. Zimmer had to keep him.

He choked in Green Bay. Not once. Not twice. Three times. His confidence was gone by the 3rd kick and you could see it. They couldn't keep running him out there. They had to make a change. Kicking is mental more than anything. Kudos to him for bouncing back. Blaire Wash never did.
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Bad Gopher said:
I feel ya, but Ryan Longwell approached the club and said, I can fix him. Zimmer rebuffed him and angrily cut Carlson. In my opinion that's inexcusable.
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There's a really, really good article in The Athletic about the journey last year for Carlson. He used the time off between the Vikings and landing with the Raiders to go to work, a lot of self film work, some consultation with old Special Teams coaches, and figured out what he was doing wrong. At least in his words, the issue was never confidence. He had gotten a little too far away from the ball, which threw his footwork sequence out of whack.

Of course, hindsight is 20-20 and I was somewhat on board with cutting ties with him at the time because of the hopes for the season. That doesn't look like a great move right now but who knows if he fixes things without taking the time away from any of the teams to self-evaluate.

On the flip side, as someone who has 4 seats in the new Las Vegas Stadium (sorry, Allegiant Air Stadium now) and will be cheering for the Raiders when they get to LV, I hope Carlson is kicking for the Raiders for the next decade.
 

Charley Walters: It’s Vikings’ fault they’re stuck with Kirk Cousins

Quarterbacks are usually as good as their records. In six seasons in Washington, Cousins’ won-loss record was 26-30-1. In two seasons in Minnesota, it’s 9-8-1.

Entering this season, Cousins, 31, remains without a career playoff victory.

The Vikings, it turns out, overpaid for mediocrity. Now they are stuck with it. Cousins’ contract includes a clause that he must approve any trade.

At $27.5 million guaranteed this season, not including a $500,000 workout bonus, and $29.5 million guaranteed next season, not including another $500,000 workout bonus, the Vikings’ only way out of the deal would be to release Cousins. That’s a lot of money to eat, and it’s not going to happen.

The NFL’s trade deadline isn’t for another five weeks. The Vikings probably would have to pay at least half of Cousins’ remaining contract if they were able to find a trade partner.

https://www.twincities.com/2019/09/...vikings-fault-theyre-stuck-with-kirk-cousins/

Skol Vikes!!
 

Bad Gopher said:
I feel ya, but Ryan Longwell approached the club and said, I can fix him. Zimmer rebuffed him and angrily cut Carlson. In my opinion that's inexcusable.
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I'm not sure "fixing" in the middle of the season was a real option. I suppose they could have kept him and still signed Bailey, but no one does that.
 

howeda7 said:
I'm not sure "fixing" in the middle of the season was a real option. I suppose they could have kept him and still signed Bailey, but no one does that.
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OK, but... I've thought about this a little more, and I think people reflexively criticize Spielmann. What he did was draft a talented place kicker who's now on an NFL roster and doing very well. He could very well end up in the Pro Bowl at some point. That sounds like a good personnel move to me.
 

howeda7 said:
I blame Spielman for Carlson, not Zimmer. Forbath was fine. Rick the Genius thought he could "upgrade" the position by using an untested rookie on a team with Super Bowl hopes. Zimmer had to keep him.

He choked in Green Bay. Not once. Not twice. Three times. His confidence was gone by the 3rd kick and you could see it. They couldn't keep running him out there. They had to make a change. Kicking is mental more than anything. Kudos to him for bouncing back. Blaire Wash never did.
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The Vikings screwed the kicker situation up bad. Forbath was better than fine. In the NFC Divisional game that we still needed the "miracle" in order to win.....Forbath hit a 53 yard field goal with about a minute and a half remaining in the game to put the Vikings up 23-21. Considering our history of kickers choking under pressure.....we got rid of a guy that hit a long field goal in a clutch moment of a playoff game.

There was absolutely no reason to draft Carlson.
 


Bad Gopher said:
OK, but... I've thought about this a little more, and I think people reflexively criticize Spielmann. What he did was draft a talented place kicker who's now on an NFL roster and doing very well. He could very well end up in the Pro Bowl at some point. That sounds like a good personnel move to me.
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The Original Sin is drafting a kicker. You never draft any special teams players. You don't draft punters, kickers, or long-snappers. You sign them as free agents and only as free agents. Spielman is a dummy.
 

I don't understand why you would draft kickers or punters.
Find a solid vet as a free agent and go with it.

Vikings are a master of overthinking the kicking position to try and setup a kickoff kicker to kick it high and shallow to pin teams back.
This seems like the dumbest idea when you have a top 5 defense.
 

Outside of the first quarter against the Packers, the Vikes have dominated.

Skol Vikes!!
 

Souhan: Dalvin Cook has become the face of the Vikings

Three games into the 2019 season, Dalvin Cook has become the face of the Minnesota Vikings. And the mascara.

Cook is the Vikings’ best player, athlete, stratagem and blemish-obscurer. After filleting the Raiders en route to 110 yards and a touchdown on Sunday in the Vikings’ 34-14 victory, he’s on pace to rush for exactly 2,000 yards and embarrass 200 linebackers this season.

He is the first Viking in franchise history to rush for 100 yards or more in the first three games of a season, and he is averaging a rather silly 6.6 yards per carry. "We’re riding his coattails,’’ receiver Adam Thielen said. “And I expect that to continue.’’

http://www.startribune.com/dalvin-cook-has-become-the-face-of-the-vikings/561074452/

Skol Vikes!!
 


TruthSeeker said:
The Original Sin is drafting a kicker. You never draft any special teams players. You don't draft punters, kickers, or long-snappers. You sign them as free agents and only as free agents. Spielman is a dummy.
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Stupid take. A 5th to 7th round pick for a guy that could hold down the position for years is a small price to pay. Or are you saying that everyone nails their 5th round picks? Not sure why you lump long-snappers in there (can't recall that ever being done?) and I would take a punter with a pick only if he was supremely talented.

At the end of the day, you may spend a pick later in the draft on a K or a P for the same reason you draft some other positions earlier in the draft; to get them in on a Rookie deal instead of a league minimum for a guy that's floated around numerous teams.

Janikowski was a fantastic pick for the Raiders in the 2000 Draft. There were two guys in the first round that ever made a single Pro Bowl after Janikowski; 5 picks in the 2nd round that year ever made a Pro Bowl, 1 in the 3rd and none in the 4th. And not a single one of them had a career remotely as successful as Janikowski.

The Raiders probably struck gold with Carlson last year; ask them in a few years if they would have given up a 5th rounder for Carlson.
 


Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Stupid take. A 5th to 7th round pick for a guy that could hold down the position for years is a small price to pay. Or are you saying that everyone nails their 5th round picks? Not sure why you lump long-snappers in there (can't recall that ever being done?) and I would take a punter with a pick only if he was supremely talented.

At the end of the day, you may spend a pick later in the draft on a K or a P for the same reason you draft some other positions earlier in the draft; to get them in on a Rookie deal instead of a league minimum for a guy that's floated around numerous teams.

Janikowski was a fantastic pick for the Raiders in the 2000 Draft. There were two guys in the first round that ever made a single Pro Bowl after Janikowski; 5 picks in the 2nd round that year ever made a Pro Bowl, 1 in the 3rd and none in the 4th. And not a single one of them had a career remotely as successful as Janikowski.

The Raiders probably struck gold with Carlson last year; ask them in a few years if they would have given up a 5th rounder for Carlson.
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You dummy, the Vikings drafted a long-snapper this year. That's why I added them in. To further my point, here are the 16 most accurate kickers by field goal percentage in NFL history and where they were drafted. I was going to go to 15 but number 16 is a hall of famer.

1. Justin Tucker - Undrafted (The Vikings drafted Blair Walsh instead. That's right, we drafted a terrible player, and the best ever went undrafted)
2. Robbie Gould - Undrafted
3. Stephen Gostkowski - 4th Round
4. Will Lutz - Undrafted
5. Josh Lambo - Undrafted
6. Mike Vanderjagt - Undrafted (Was most accurate of all time when he retired)
7. Dan Bailey - Undrafted
8. Stephen Hauschka - Undrafted
9. Nate Kaeding - Round 3 (Was 2nd most accurate kicker of all time when he retired)
10. Matt Bryant - Undrafted
11. Chris Boswell - Undrafted
12. Kai Forbath - Undrafted
13. Rob Bironas - Undrafted
14. Dustin Hopkins - 6th Round
15. Shayne Graham - Undrafted
16. Adam Vinatieri - Undrafted

13 of the 16 most accurate kickers by field goal percentage went undrafted. You have multiple future hall of famers on that last who went undrafted like Vinatieri and Justin Tucker. That's why you don't ever draft a kicker you dummy. You can find great ones all the time without using draft picks.
 

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