All Things 2022 Minnesota Vikings In-Season Thread


Ten things to know as Vikings report to training camp this week​

Kevin O'Connell's first training camp as Vikings coach begins this week, with the first full-squad practice on Wednesday.

Rookies, quarterbacks and select players will report to TCO Performance Center on Sunday while the remaining veterans must arrive by Tuesday, when O'Connell and new General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have their camp-opening news conferences.

The Vikings enter camp with 89 players on their 90-man roster after waiving quarterback Nate Stanley last week. Eight of their 10 draft picks are under contract, with second-round cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. and second-round guard Ed Ingram unsigned entering the weekend.

Fourteen practices will be open to fans between July 30 and Aug. 18. Tickets should be reserved in advance at vikings.com; a limited number will be available at the gate.


Skol Vikes!!
 


from what I read, only 11 padded practices for training camp. a far cry from the old days.

we'll see how ready they are for the season - especially if the starters don't place much in the pre-season games.

BTW - I assume by now people have seen Aaron Rodgers showing up at camp dressed like Nick Cage's character from "Con Air." I admit I laughed.
 



Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will 'say less' after making waves with recent comments​

He labeled Cousins as a “good quarterback” but went on to say that he wasn’t Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes and that teams are more likely to win the Super Bowl if they have QBs of that caliber.

Nothing here is groundbreaking. The Vikings’ approach with Cousins did not indicate that Adofo-Mensah believes his quarterback is elite. They signed Cousins to a short-term extension and reportedly pursued trade options and looked into the possibility of acquiring DeShaun Watson. It also isn’t breaking news that Brady and Mahomes are the guys who reach the Super Bowl more often.

However, the comments don’t exactly jive with the general we-support-you vibe the Vikings are going for with Cousins this year. Cousins already acknowledged the lack of total buy in from the organization during his spring press conference, saying that he “has to earn the right” to be a Viking for life.

Still, it was enough to draw attention to the Vikings' QB situation.

During his press conference on Tuesday, Adofo-Mensah said that he wasn’t being specific about Cousins when he spoke for the USA Today article and explained that he was referring to a comparison with NBA team building and how NFL franchises are nervous about quarterback situations in general.

“I'm kinda new to the media thing,” the Vikings’ GM said. “I think, at times, I'm a very passionate person. I love talking about this stuff: team-building, decision-making, and I think in those moments, I can get theoretical and high-level.”

It wasn’t the only comment that raised some eyebrows. He also talked in the USA Today piece about the idea of going “full Rams.” Earlier this offseason Adofo-Mensah called the Vikings’ situation a “competitive rebuild” and later said that he didn’t feel they were in a position to trade away picks like the Los Angeles Rams to go all in toward one shot at winning the Super Bowl.


Skol Vikes!!
 

Two things:

1) If I'm Cousins, I'm going to read those comments and quietly turn them into self-motivation.

2) Of course Cousins isn't as good as Brady. But neither is Mahomes — at least, not yet. No one is as good as Brady. There is only one Brady. Brady's achievements are what every other QB aspires to... until someone surpasses them. I'm not sure we'll ever see that happen, though.
 





Shortly after releasing their annual QB Tier Rankings, The Athletic just ranked each team's difficulty of schedule, based solely on opposing QBs. One of the podcasts I listen to puts a very heavy weight on this metric to predict season success.

The Athletic: Ranking each NFL Team Schedule Difficulty

The Vikings, according to this metric, have the 25th most difficult schedule for this season. Almost kinda makes me feel like putting a futures bet on the Vikings going Over the season win total, which is sitting right at 9.5 at the moment.
 


KAM got a swift talking to by the brass, and was told to tow the company line.

"Not a rebuild"

"Cousins is our QB"
I think it's more just idiotic for a GM to say the things he said on the first day of training camp. I completely agree with the substance but choosing to say it then was absolutely idiotic.
 

Shortly after releasing their annual QB Tier Rankings, The Athletic just ranked each team's difficulty of schedule, based solely on opposing QBs. One of the podcasts I listen to puts a very heavy weight on this metric to predict season success.

The Athletic: Ranking each NFL Team Schedule Difficulty

The Vikings, according to this metric, have the 25th most difficult schedule for this season. Almost kinda makes me feel like putting a futures bet on the Vikings going Over the season win total, which is sitting right at 9.5 at the moment.
I was just coming here to comment on their schedule. This year they have 9 homes games, 8 road games. But really it's just 7 true road games because one of the 8 is in London. So 9 home, 7 road and 1 neutral.

I'm surprised the NFL doesn't always have the London games be a home game for teams with 9 home games and a road game for teams that have 9 road games.
 



Does anyone know if Irv Smith Jr. is going at full speed?
 

Does anyone know if Irv Smith Jr. is going at full speed?
I know they were hoping he would be good to go right from the start. But not sure how it's actually going.

 



per Shooter:

Kirk Cousins begins this season with a guaranteed two-year contract for $70 million. If the Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback plays well this year (say 11 victories), the Vikings might have to guarantee him even another extension that could be worth $45 million for 2024.

Regardless, even if Cousins, who turns 34 next month, misses the playoffs for a third straight season, he’s in fine contractual shape. He’s guaranteed $30 million in 2023 and has a no-trade clause. Missing the playoffs again, though, could cause the Vikings to trade up in the draft for a QB.

Cousins wasn’t as responsible for last season’s 8-9 finish as was a horrible defense. It still looks like the Vikings, moving to a 3-4 defense, need another hefty (300-plus pounds) defensive lineman. The team has no quality defensive tackle backups.


Go Gophers!!
 

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell puts the kibosh on fans taking videos of training camp practices​

The request, a first for the team, is intended to keep competitors from getting any kind of inside information.

Kevin O'Connell has his first franchise first in his very first week of training camp.

Per the 37-year-old Vikings coach's wishes, the team asked via the video board inside TCO Stadium that fans not post videos of practice on social media.

That's a new one for the new head coach.

Greeting the large crowd on the first day fans were allowed to watch practice was this sign:

"Vikings Fans. Please help our team, not the opponents, and refrain from taking videos of practice."

O'Connell said doing so is a competitive disadvantage, adding that he and his own staff gather social media videos shot at other NFL camps to "build up inventory of our opponents."

"I understand there's going to be some fans that get excited — and maybe not just fans — and video some things and put them out there," O'Connell said. "But, ultimately, the goal is, especially for our fans, to understand that they're a part of this [team] and the excitement and joy of being a part of it.


Skol Vikes!!
 

 

6 game suspension for Watson, no appeal. Of course, RG can overrule if he chooses, but shouldn't be any reason to.
 

The Athletic early 53 man roster projections have Surratt, Davis, Robinson, and Davidson all being cut. All 5th round or higher in the 2021 draft class.

Davis in particular, can't friggin believe it.
 

6 game suspension for Watson, no appeal. Of course, RG can overrule if he chooses, but shouldn't be any reason to.
We'll hear the outrage for a few weeks, after the talking heads give it several days of coverage. It was never going to be enough for many people.

The NFL has just put themselves in a terrible spot with their "Personal Conduct Policy". Just no consistency at all, no objectivity it seems, etc. I'm no Zeke Elliott fan, at all, but him getting 6 games a few years ago when absolutely nothing was proven was just an atrocity.

Looking forward to not hearing about this once we hit Week 1, which isn't that far away!
 

We'll hear the outrage for a few weeks, after the talking heads give it several days of coverage. It was never going to be enough for many people.

The NFL has just put themselves in a terrible spot with their "Personal Conduct Policy". Just no consistency at all, no objectivity it seems, etc. I'm no Zeke Elliott fan, at all, but him getting 6 games a few years ago when absolutely nothing was proven was just an atrocity.

Looking forward to not hearing about this once we hit Week 1, which isn't that far away!
How about Ridley getting a full year for betting $1500 on his own team? Crazy inconsistency.
 

How about Ridley getting a full year for betting $1500 on his own team? Crazy inconsistency.
Stupid crazy. They put themselves in this position, giving Roger too much authority, and opened this whole can of worms. You could make a case they shouldn't be in the business of disciplining the players, but I get why they feel the need to do SOMETHING in some cases.

It's just not a good look because nobody is ever going to be happy with whatever you do.
 

The Athletic early 53 man roster projections have Surratt, Davis, Robinson, and Davidson all being cut. All 5th round or higher in the 2021 draft class.

Davis in particular, can't friggin believe it.

that suggests that Spielman and Zim were reaching and gambling because they knew their jobs were on the line. When you gamble, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.

in the case of Davis, sometimes you do have to consider that the player is the one who dropped the ball. from all accounts, he came into camp out of shape and never did anything to make the coaches think he deserved playing time. Now, he is being evaluated by a completely new coaching staff, and he isn't even getting consideration for 2nd team.

some guys who were very good in college just don't pan out in the pros. it happens.
 

The Athletic early 53 man roster projections have Surratt, Davis, Robinson, and Davidson all being cut. All 5th round or higher in the 2021 draft class.

Davis in particular, can't friggin believe it.
Best to keep in mind that these are predictions made before the pads even come on. I definitely don’t think Surrat or Davis have much of a chance. I think Robinson and Davidson have opportunities as there aren’t established back up edges or an established TE3. Both are longer shots though.
 

6 game suspension for Watson, no appeal. Of course, RG can overrule if he chooses, but shouldn't be any reason to.

Laughably bad. This wasn't one or two accusations. It was 30 women accusing him of sexual misconduct. Six games is more or less a slap on the wrist. Especially when considering......:

How about Ridley getting a full year for betting $1500 on his own team? Crazy inconsistency.

Clownish.
 

It was 30 women accusing him of sexual misconduct. Six games is more or less a slap on the wrist.
He did not assault anyone.

Probably whipped out his d___ and asked for a happy ending. Highly doubt these workers hadn't seen the same thing countless times before (men are pigs, this is known). Only this time it was a celebrity (who acted stupid), so it was payday. No criminal charges, because no crime was committed. Just a dummy being a dummy. Hopefully he learned his lesson. 6 games is more than enough.

Those demanding he be suspended for the season are just hysteria artists, trying to draw attention to their Twitter accounts. Blah blah blah
 

He did not assault anyone.

Probably whipped out his d___ and asked for a happy ending. Highly doubt these workers hadn't seen the same thing countless times before (men are pigs, this is known). Only this time it was a celebrity (who acted stupid), so it was payday. No criminal charges, because no crime was committed. Just a dummy being a dummy. Hopefully he learned his lesson. 6 games is more than enough.

Those demanding he be suspended for the season are just hysteria artists, trying to draw attention to their Twitter accounts. Blah blah blah
The judge (yes, a female) who rendered the ruling talked to the 4 most credible witnesses that they could come up with while making her decision, she talked to them herself.

Watson is an idiot, no doubt, he's getting everything he deserved. But this is an almost daily occurrence to massage therapists. What you aren't hearing also are the therapists who not only didn't join in with the others making accusations but also a number that probably took him up on his offer, with or without an agreed upon fee for extras.

I disagree with you on one point; with a number of them, he was likely shooting for entirely more than a happy ending, some attempt at solicitation was happening, no doubt about it, it just never reached the point of physical assault, apparently not in anyone's eyes.

We'll see what the NFL/Roger does; they're in a tough spot. If they appeal, it goes right back to RG doing whatever the hell he wants, which is exactly what this new collectively bargained process was intended to prevent. But if they don't appeal, it looks like they are going too soft.

RG should come out strong and say they strongly disagree with the outcome, but will not appeal to preserve the integrity of the process
 




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