All Things 2021 Minnesota Vikings Off-Season Thread

Was listening to a Mackey and Judd podcast. Phil Mackey is leading the "Kirk Cousins sucks" club.

He did rattle off some interesting stats. Assuming his information was correct - he looked at how Cousins has done in his career in late game situations where his team is trailing by one or two scores. In those situations, Cousins has a QB rating in the low 70's. (for reference, Christian Ponder had a higher QB rating in those situations). Take out those situations, and Cousins has a career QB rating over 100 - putting him up with the best QB's of the era.

So the point is that Cousins is a good QB in most situations - except in the situations where you really need to QB to make a play to win the game. A fairly major issue for a QB that is being paid like one of the best QB's in the sport.

caught a little of Paul Allen this morning. He and his guest were defending Cousins.
 


Was listening to a Mackey and Judd podcast. Phil Mackey is leading the "Kirk Cousins sucks" club.

He did rattle off some interesting stats. Assuming his information was correct - he looked at how Cousins has done in his career in late game situations where his team is trailing by one or two scores. In those situations, Cousins has a QB rating in the low 70's. (for reference, Christian Ponder had a higher QB rating in those situations). Take out those situations, and Cousins has a career QB rating over 100 - putting him up with the best QB's of the era.

So the point is that Cousins is a good QB in most situations - except in the situations where you really need to QB to make a play to win the game. A fairly major issue for a QB that is being paid like one of the best QB's in the sport.

caught a little of Paul Allen this morning. He and his guest were defending Cousins.
went for 23 TDS and & 7 picks in the last ten games last season IIRC - I'll take that type of ratio for the 2021 season.
 
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Would it even be a surprise at this point? It seems everyone is hyping them up. As jaded MN sports fans, we should tamp this down ASAP!
The speed of the defense and complexity of the schemes & calls is just tough to transition to from college.

Hill and Dozier are the starters, at this moment. Darrisaw and Davis have to earn the OL coach's trust, that they won't be a liability out there, before they start.

Hopefully it happens sooner than later, for Davis. Hill is probably reasonable to play this year, but the sooner Darrisaw is ready the better for the long term.


The one I can't believe is still on the roster is Samia. If he has to go in, we're F'ed.
 



The speed of the defense and complexity of the schemes & calls is just tough to transition to from college.

Hill and Dozier are the starters, at this moment. Darrisaw and Davis have to earn the OL coach's trust, that they won't be a liability out there, before they start.

Hopefully it happens sooner than later, for Davis. Hill is probably reasonable to play this year, but the sooner Darrisaw is ready the better for the long term.


The one I can't believe is still on the roster is Samia. If he has to go in, we're F'ed.

if the Vikes go out there for the 1st game of the season with Hill and Dozier as OL starters, Viking fandom might just burn down the stadium. Every writer, blogger, talk show host and podcaster will be screaming.

Unless the rookies are complete busts, I think they both start the opener.
 

if the Vikes go out there for the 1st game of the season with Hill and Dozier as OL starters, Viking fandom might just burn down the stadium. Every writer, blogger, talk show host and podcaster will be screaming.
You could easily be right about this.

Unless the rookies are complete busts, I think they both start the opener.
I just don't think it's that simple, even if I still want them out there.

No matter how physically talented they are ... if their heads are still spinning from trying to learn all the nuances of every call, you can't just throw them out there and get the QB knocked out of the game on an MA.


I'm going off what I read from some Vikings blog where a reader asked about the rookies, and they said that -- so far -- Hill and Dozier have been getting the 1st string reps, and they're taking it slow with the rooks.


I actually don't think Hill is that bad of an option. But both Samia and Dozier were awful at times last year, I think mainly in pass-pro ... and at G ... you just can't get beat that quickly. You can't do anything like that. Kirk is not mobile.
 

We still have training camp and (I think) 3 pre-season games.

If, after that, Hill and Dozier are starting, then I will be the first to hit the panic button, because that means that Spielman whiffed on two of his top 3 draft picks in a must-win year.

I still maintain that, as long as they are relatively equal in ability, the rookies will start the opener. If their ceiling is not higher than Hill and Dozier, then the Vikings could very well have a new Head Coach and GM next year - because without better O-Line play, this year is going to be a bust.
 

I just don't see why it has to be week 1, all or nothing.

What if they're ready by week 4?
 




Saw this re-tweeted this morning: (question - how do you threaten someone's job in a 'nice' way?)

Neil Stratton @InsideTheLeague
· 2h
Text from an #NFL scouting friend (cc: @NFLPA): "Position coaches are calling players and in a nice way threatening that if not vaccinated they could get cut."
 

Saw this re-tweeted this morning: (question - how do you threaten someone's job in a 'nice' way?)

Neil Stratton @InsideTheLeague
· 2h
Text from an #NFL scouting friend (cc: @NFLPA): "Position coaches are calling players and in a nice way threatening that if not vaccinated they could get cut."
The list of Vikings (allegedly) not vaccinated include Cousins, Harrison Smith and Thielen. Those threats won't work against them.
 

The list of Vikings (allegedly) not vaccinated include Cousins, Harrison Smith and Thielen. Those threats won't work against them.
Cole Beasley they are not, LMAO.

Now watch at least two them get sidelined with Covid during the season and completely F it up.
 



Cole Beasley they are not, LMAO.

Now watch at least two them get sidelined with Covid during the season and completely F it up.
I fully expect the Vikings to lose either a key regular season game or a play-off game because Cousins is in quarantine. It's almost a lock. I wish Vegas would give odds on it.
 


The list of Vikings (allegedly) not vaccinated include Cousins, Harrison Smith and Thielen. Those threats won't work against them.
NFL says we'll have to forfeit games if we get an outbreak.

F Cousins if he won't get vaccinated. Bench his ass and start Mond.


Some things are more important.
 


Might be a blessing just from a football standpoint. He was the guy who had the most confidence in Dozier. Continuing to send him out there should have been a good reason to be fired.
 

Might be a blessing just from a football standpoint. He was the guy who had the most confidence in Dozier. Continuing to send him out there should have been a good reason to be fired.
He's was only there at Gary Kubiak's insistence and should have been ushered out the door the minute he was gone. But maybe Klint loves him too.
 


Might be a blessing just from a football standpoint. He was the guy who had the most confidence in Dozier. Continuing to send him out there should have been a good reason to be fired.
And Samia as well?? Jeez
 






Might be a blessing just from a football standpoint. He was the guy who had the most confidence in Dozier. Continuing to send him out there should have been a good reason to be fired.
Correct, Dennison is leaving for a plethora of reasons not COVID related; this gave the Vikings the out they needed. A blessing for sure, there's no doubt about it
 


The timing of this is interesting. The NFL has had its policies out there for a while, and made it very clear - Coaches are "Tier 1" employees and are required to be vaccinated. If a coach is not vaccinated, that coach cannot be in the same meeting room or work directly with players on the practice field. As a practical matter, you can't function as a team if the coaches cannot work directly with their players.

The Vikings knew that. Dennison knew that. It's a virtual certainty that the team's lawyers and medical advisors have going through all of this and laid things out for the front office, coaching and support staff.

And yet, this story breaks a week before training camp. Somebody dropped the ball by allowing this situation to go on this long without being resolved.

BTW, wasn't just Dennison. One of the team's long-time equipment room workers was let go because he apparently refused to be vaccinated.

if someone doesn't like it, they can try suing the NFL. I think the NFL has more money and more lawyers.....
 

Arog still a packer. How is this possible?

from Mike Florio - Pro Football Focus:

Las Vegas usually knows what’s going on. On Aaron Rodgers, Las Vegas reportedly thinks it knows what he’ll be doing next week.

Via Bill Huber of SI.com, multiple sports books believe Rodgers will announce his retirement before Wednesday’s initial practice of training camp. Per Huber, Westgate Superbook has “closed all its NFC North markets, including projected wins, playoff odds, divisional odds and weekly lines for the four division teams.”

PointsBet sports book, which not long ago put the Green Bay over-under win total back on the board at nine, has once again removed Green Bay from the list of 32 teams. DraftKings also has removed the Green Bay over-under win total, along with its Packers-related “Team Specials.” (The other 31 teams have them.)

As one source with knowledge of the dynamics of the Rodgers situation said in response to these developments, “Vegas oddsmakers tend to be pretty sharp.” The source added that a lot of scenarios are in play, and “many, many factors” will be relevant to the outcome.
 




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