All Things 2021 Minnesota Vikings In-Season Thread

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Nax5 said:
He also considered building a plexiglass box to sit in during QB meetings. Zimmer must want to shoot himself at this point.
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He'd trade the Broncos Cousins for Teddy right now if he could.
 


I wish this was 20-30 years ago and some player would give him a talking to with their mitts - I normally don't advocate for violence, but this is the Vikings, so its important.

I betcha Johnny Randle wouldn't have had any qualms about motivating The Preening Snowflake.
 

Nax5 said:
He also considered building a plexiglass box to sit in during QB meetings. Zimmer must want to shoot himself at this point.
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I had seen this. This is an absolute joke. I hope he gets suspended without pay.
 



I kind of hope they have to forfeit a couple games without pay this year and the locker room totally implodes. I just want to hear PA try to gloss that over🤣

Seriously considering going Pack this year, Rodgers is a much more entertaining character than Kirk and his pile of rocks.
 

Wally said:
I kind of hope they have to forfeit a couple games without pay this year and the locker room totally implodes. I just want to hear PA try to gloss that over🤣

Seriously considering going Pack this year, Rodgers is a much more entertaining character than Kirk and his pile of rocks.
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PA guaranteed that Rodgers wouldn’t play for the pack this year so you may have to with the bears.
 

There has to be something in these contracts that lets the team legally void them for detrimental conduct.

If he committed a felony crime for example, I can't believe the Vikings would still be on the hook to pay the rest of his guaranteed money.


Obviously refusing to take the vaccine is not a felony, but it's the same idea.
 

MplsGopher said:
There has to be something in these contracts that lets the team legally void them for detrimental conduct.
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There is, but refusing to take a vaccine doesn't meet that standard. Even if it did, by all reports I have seen, the Vikings have 1/3 of their players unvaccinated. They aren't going to cut 1/3 of the team a month before the season starts and, if they wanted to make an example of someone, it would not be their starting QB on a guaranteed contract with no viable replacement. I am sure that there is some frustration among his teammates, but there also have to be a number of players who are happy that he's the lightning rod for this and they aren't being asked about why they have made the same decision.
MplsGopher said:
If he committed a felony crime for example, I can't believe the Vikings would still be on the hook to pay the rest of his guaranteed money.
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They could cut him (see Jeff Gladney) and try to avoid his future salary if he committed a felony, but this isn't that and the organization has unnecessarily complicated their lives by guaranteeing his salary in a manner far beyond what is typical in the NFL.
MplsGopher said:
Obviously refusing to take the vaccine is not a felony, but it's the same idea.
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I get, and share, the frustration with Cousins and the rest of the players refusing to get the vaccine and hiding behind the "it's a personal, private matter" line of defense. They are pretending that their choice doesn't have consequences for the rest of the team, the organization, the NFL and the public. They are also refusing to acknowledge that they have voluntarily surrendered much of their privacy when they elected to pursue a career in the public eye in a profession where their physical status is reported week to week. It's a shame (and ridiculous and embarrassing) that the highest paid player and supposed leader of the team is hiding from the reality of this decision. He should own it and state that he is understands that he may be abdicating his leadership role on the team and is placing additional and unnecessary potential impediments on their path to possible success by refusing to get the vaccine, but that he feels that it is worth it because . . .reasons. I don't really even care what his reasons are--religion, anti-government, doesn't trust the science, fear of the microchips, whatever. He's paid tens of millions of dollars to lead the team, he's making choices that make that more difficult, man up and explain it.

In the end, I expect that the non-vaccinated borderline players will get cut and the rest will find that the decision impacts how they are viewed down the road when they are looking for roster security or their next contract or team. For Cousins specifically, I think the chances that the Vikings build their plans around him in the future have been reduced, but they still need somebody to play the position and they are already committed to paying him.
 
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Gopher_In_NYC said:
I wish this was 20-30 years ago and some player would give him a talking to with their mitts - I normally don't advocate for violence, but this is the Vikings, so its important.

I betcha Johnny Randle wouldn't have had any qualms about motivating The Preening Snowflake.
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These players risk CTE and other significant physical injuries every day to play in the NFL. To $%% up the season over refusing a shot is so asinine.
 

Reusse's new nickname for Cousins -

"The Plexiglass Pistol."

Also saw a tweet noting that Plexico Burress and Plexiglass Cousins both went to Michigan State.

If Cousins does have to miss a game this year due to covid, he will become incredibly unpopular with some of the fans - but other people are supporting him for what may be political reasons.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Reusse's new nickname for Cousins -

"The Plexiglass Pistol."

Also saw a tweet noting that Plexico Burress and Plexiglass Cousins both went to Michigan State.

If Cousins does have to miss a game this year due to covid, he will become incredibly unpopular with some of the fans - but other people are supporting him for what may be political reasons.
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It's pretty likely that there will be a few players that miss games this year. This is a whole lot of hand-wringing and waving hands in the air in despair over almost nothing in early August.

I'm more interested in how practice is going, how all the new faces on defense are going to gel and pick up Zim's scheme and how they are going to fit into Zim's defense. That group needs to take a big step forward, a major step forward, from what they did last year. Not to mention how the rookies start to work their way into the starting OL slots.

Last year's defense was an embarrassment, plain and simple. I'm expecting a big improvement this year, across the board. I hope Hunter has a monster year and deservedly gets rewarded next offseason. It will more than likely mean the Vikings had a very good year!
 





2nd Degree Gopher said:
There is, but refusing to take a vaccine doesn't meet that standard. Even if it did, by all reports I have seen, the Vikings have 1/3 of their players unvaccinated. They aren't going to cut 1/3 of the team a month before the season starts and, if they wanted to make an example of someone, it would not be their starting QB on a guaranteed contract with no viable replacement. I am sure that there is some frustration among his teammates, but there also have to be a number of players who are happy that he's the lightning rod for this and they aren't being asked about why they have made the same decision.

They could cut him (see Jeff Gladney) and try to avoid his future salary if he committed a felony, but this isn't that and the organization has unnecessarily complicated their lives by guaranteeing his salary in a manner far beyond what is typical in the NFL.

I get, and share, the frustration with Cousins and the rest of the players refusing to get the vaccine and hiding behind the "it's a personal, private matter" line of defense. They are pretending that their choice doesn't have consequences for the rest of the team, the organization, the NFL and the public. They are also refusing to acknowledge that they have voluntarily surrendered much of their privacy when they elected to pursue a career in the public eye in a profession where their physical status is reported week to week. It's a shame (and ridiculous and embarrassing) that the highest paid player and supposed leader of the team is hiding from the reality of this decision. He should own it and state that he is understands that he may be abdicating his leadership role on the team and is placing additional and unnecessary potential impediments on their path to possible success by refusing to get the vaccine, but that he feels that it is worth it because . . .reasons. I don't really even care what his reasons are--religion, anti-government, doesn't trust the science, fear of the microchips, whatever. He's paid tens of millions of dollars to lead the team, he's making choices that make that more difficult, man up and explain it.

In the end, I expect that the non-vaccinated borderline players will get cut and the rest will find that the decision impacts how they are viewed down the road when they are looking for roster security or their next contract or team. For Cousins specifically, I think the chances that the Vikings build their plans around him in the future have been reduced, but they still need somebody to play the position and they are already committed to paying him.
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Thanks for sharing these thoughts. You're very likely correct in all aspects, and certainly level-headed regardless.
 

2nd Degree Gopher said:
There is, but refusing to take a vaccine doesn't meet that standard. Even if it did, by all reports I have seen, the Vikings have 1/3 of their players unvaccinated. They aren't going to cut 1/3 of the team a month before the season starts and, if they wanted to make an example of someone, it would not be their starting QB on a guaranteed contract with no viable replacement. I am sure that there is some frustration among his teammates, but there also have to be a number of players who are happy that he's the lightning rod for this and they aren't being asked about why they have made the same decision.

They could cut him (see Jeff Gladney) and try to avoid his future salary if he committed a felony, but this isn't that and the organization has unnecessarily complicated their lives by guaranteeing his salary in a manner far beyond what is typical in the NFL.

I get, and share, the frustration with Cousins and the rest of the players refusing to get the vaccine and hiding behind the "it's a personal, private matter" line of defense. They are pretending that their choice doesn't have consequences for the rest of the team, the organization, the NFL and the public. They are also refusing to acknowledge that they have voluntarily surrendered much of their privacy when they elected to pursue a career in the public eye in a profession where their physical status is reported week to week. It's a shame (and ridiculous and embarrassing) that the highest paid player and supposed leader of the team is hiding from the reality of this decision. He should own it and state that he is understands that he may be abdicating his leadership role on the team and is placing additional and unnecessary potential impediments on their path to possible success by refusing to get the vaccine, but that he feels that it is worth it because . . .reasons. I don't really even care what his reasons are--religion, anti-government, doesn't trust the science, fear of the microchips, whatever. He's paid tens of millions of dollars to lead the team, he's making choices that make that more difficult, man up and explain it.

In the end, I expect that the non-vaccinated borderline players will get cut and the rest will find that the decision impacts how they are viewed down the road when they are looking for roster security or their next contract or team. For Cousins specifically, I think the chances that the Vikings build their plans around him in the future have been reduced, but they still need somebody to play the position and they are already committed to paying him.
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Great post.

Unfortunately, Captain Crunch doesn't have the aforementioned leadership qualities you mentioned in you post; I've always had the sense that it about him and not the team.
 

So...what moves do the Vikings make to improve for 2022 since 2021 is a guaranteed failure?
 



Take this for what it's worth, but Doogie was on Skor North the other day, and he said the Vikings may have more unvaccinated players than any other team in the NFL, including a number of projected starters.

And here's the kicker - supposedly, the Vikes have several players who have said they would retire if the NFL tried to force them to take the vaccine. It's believed that Cousins is among those who feel that strongly.

The odds of getting through the season without key players missing games is not good.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Take this for what it's worth, but Doogie was on Skor North the other day, and he said the Vikings may have more unvaccinated players than any other team in the NFL, including a number of projected starters.

And here's the kicker - supposedly, the Vikes have several players who have said they would retire if the NFL tried to force them to take the vaccine. It's believed that Cousins is among those who feel that strongly.

The odds of getting through the season without key players missing games is not good.
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So you're saying they found a way to get rid of the old, expensive veterans?

How soon can they mandate the shots?
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Take this for what it's worth, but Doogie was on Skor North the other day, and he said the Vikings may have more unvaccinated players than any other team in the NFL, including a number of projected starters.

And here's the kicker - supposedly, the Vikes have several players who have said they would retire if the NFL tried to force them to take the vaccine. It's believed that Cousins is among those who feel that strongly.

The odds of getting through the season without key players missing games is not good.
Click to expand...
I want to see the dumpster fire that happens when the teams loses a few game checks. That would be hilarious
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Take this for what it's worth, but Doogie was on Skor North the other day, and he said the Vikings may have more unvaccinated players than any other team in the NFL, including a number of projected starters.

And here's the kicker - supposedly, the Vikes have several players who have said they would retire if the NFL tried to force them to take the vaccine. It's believed that Cousins is among those who feel that strongly.

The odds of getting through the season without key players missing games is not good.
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I don't think "several" players said they would retire. Chad Greenway said on ESPN Sioux Falls that at least one said that, and implied it was Cousins.

There are several other vaccinations I assume these guys had to be in school. Once the FDA approval comes, the league may well have the right to mandate it. I'd like to see how many would really retire. My guess is less than 5 league wide.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
supposedly, the Vikes have several players who have said they would retire if the NFL tried to force them to take the vaccine. It's believed that Cousins is among those who feel that strongly.
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Good F'ing riddance. Get the F out
 

howeda7 said:
I don't think "several" players said they would retire. Chad Greenway said on ESPN Sioux Falls that at least one said that, and implied it was Cousins.

There are several other vaccinations I assume these guys had to be in school. Once the FDA approval comes, the league may well have the right to mandate it. I'd like to see how many would really retire. My guess is less than 5 league wide.
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Of course this is correct.

Lip flapping with empty ass threats is free. Like CRG trying to tell anyone who will listen that he has a group ready to walk off the job. :ROFLMAO: Uh huh. Let's see the rubber meet the road, when the bills come due.
 

howeda7 said:
the league may well have the right to mandate it
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No, the players have a Union. Unless its in their contract the league can't mandate vaccines.

A communist Union protecting players rights, who woulda guessed?
 

MplsGopher said:
Of course this is correct.

Lip flapping with empty ass threats is free. Like CRG trying to tell anyone who will listen that he has a group ready to walk off the job. :ROFLMAO: Uh huh. Let's see the rubber meet the road, when the bills come due.
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Lefty advocating slave labor, sad...
 

short ornery norwegian said:
The odds of getting through the season without key players missing games is not good.
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The odds of this happening during any season are not good. Not ever. Players are likely going to test positive every now and then, and some will have been vaccinated and some will not have had the vax. Those are just the facts.

The obsession people have with this during the first or second week of fall training camp is off the charts. Take a deep breath, try not to lose your mind, stress can be a killer. Looking forward to talking about football, position battles, etc.
 

With a couple of the rookie/younger OL a little banged up early in fall camp, it's looking more and more like this will be the starting OL for Week One against Cincinnati, according to Chad Graff with The Athletic:

Hill - Cleveland - Bradbury - Udoh - O'Neill

From what I gather, Udoh had spent major chunks of previous camps at OT and mostly struggled, seems to be much more at home at Guard. I am still thinking/hoping that when Wyatt Davis is both healthy and also has time to get up to speed, he'll take over but that could be mid-season or beyond, who knows. Same with Darrisaw at LT, but I'm a lot more comfortable with Rashod Hill at LT than I would be with Udoh at RG.
 

Wally said:
No, the players have a Union. Unless its in their contract the league can't mandate vaccines.

A communist Union protecting players rights, who woulda guessed?
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Yes, but does the CBA grant the league the right to mandate vaccines if they have full approval?
 

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