All Things 2023 Minnesota Vikings In-Season Thread

Donate To GopherHole
forever a gopher said:
Being Pace was an UDFA, he gets to hit (restricted) free agency in year 4. If he continues to play as well as he has this year, he'll get paid before all the guys that got drafted. Pretty funny how that works. I went to Miami U as Pace did, so I've been cheering for him to do well. Tied an NCAA record with 6 sacks in one game while at Miami.
Click to expand...
Not that he didn't go there, but he finished at Cincinnati and that's what propelled him into NFL range?
 

Ope3 said:
However you fabricated or were completely off the mark that I was advocating the Vikings tank just because I said it worked for Dallas. I have never uttered one word on tanking either way (with regards to whether or not the Purple should employ such a strategy).
Click to expand...
Fine

Ope3 said:
Additionally you insinuated I was still hung up on the Herschel Walker trade. It did take a while, but I was officially over it when the Vikings pounded the Cowboys in the 2000 Playoffs.

So it took a decade.
Click to expand...
(y)
 

For posterity: 89 Cowboys is not a valid example of tanking.

I've still yet to see a valid example of where a team tried, gave it their all, then mid-way through the season they sabotaged their remaining games in order to get as high of a draft pick as possible, and then doing that worked. That's actual tanking, and moreso the point is that it actually worked. I'm sure teams have tanked before .... but I say it has never worked.

Basically, worked can only mean you got a franchise QB out of it. Even years ago, but certainly today, it's tough to see justifying such a strategy for really any other position.
 

When I'm saying tanking, I'm not saying try to lose.

I'm saying just lose the Viking way. You can try and still lose when you are the purple.
 

No matter what, if we limp into the playoffs, I hope they rig the system so we don't play the Lions a third time. That would just be Fing stupid.
 


MplsGopher said:
For posterity: 89 Cowboys is not a valid example of tanking.

I've still yet to see a valid example of where a team tried, gave it their all, then mid-way through the season they sabotaged their remaining games in order to get as high of a draft pick as possible, and then doing that worked. That's actual tanking, and moreso the point is that it actually worked. I'm sure teams have tanked before .... but I say it has never worked.

Basically, worked can only mean you got a franchise QB out of it. Even years ago, but certainly today, it's tough to see justifying such a strategy for really any other position.
Click to expand...

First off, it's rather difficult to prove either way, researching exactly where teams were in the standings before making a decision to not put their best foot forward to get a playoff berth.

Second, the NFL Playoff format has changed in just the past couple of years to a 7 team format. In the past, teams fighting for the 5th & 6th seeds, could have been closer to the Division Championship and regardless making into the tournament and having success would feel less daunting, getting to play the 3rd or 4th Seeds in Rd 1.

That might be enough now for teams to say, "screw it" instead of going on the road for a 3 games with a rather unfavorable matchup in their first round. Could be additionally plausible if the team "fighting" for the 7th seed is already banged up with a back-up QB or even 3rd stringer and other significant injuries.

Lastly, for it to "work" I don't necessarily have to be landing a franchise QB. Maybe a team in such a position has their long term QB solution figured out, but the starter is out for injury. A team moving from 20th in the Draft to say 12th and lands an All Pro destructive Defensive End or a Offensive Tackle, could certainly get a team over the hump for future success.

Totally plausible. But again I am not saying the Vikings should do that.

Hypothetically though, What if Week 18 the Vikings were still alive but in addition to needing to win would also need a multiple combination of Seattle, LA Rams and Tampa Bay to also lose? Even more murky would be if in addition to Cousins other key contributors were out or extremely limited. Could a reasonable case be made to play a less experienced QB or rest starters and not go full out? Sure.
 

MplsGopher said:
No matter what, if we limp into the playoffs, I hope they rig the system so we don't play the Lions a third time. That would just be Fing stupid.
Click to expand...
It would however most likely be the Vikings best chance to make it to the NFC Semis. Going to Detroit in mid-January would be preferable than going to San Francisco, Dallas or Philadelphia, IMO.

The dumb part is the NFL Scheduled the Lions-Vikings in both Weeks 16 & 18 to begin with.
 

MplsGopher said:
The point is that it is two absolutely different things.

Being an awful team from day 1 of the season is entirely, absolutely different than being a team that might be in playoff contention, plays some number of games, decides it isn't in playoff contention, and then self-sabotages its season from that point onward.

The latter is tanking.
Click to expand...
Both of them are better than being 8-9
 






ESPN predicted all games the rest of the season. Has the Vikings going winless the rest of the way and joining two other teams with a 7-10 record. According to this exercise, Vikes would then receive the 9th, 10th, or 11th draft pick.
Jayden Daniels? Maybe a stud dlineman?
 
Last edited:

30 years ago. Some things never change. Terry Bradshaw on the pregame, Jim Nantz on play by play and the Vikings fighting for the last playoff spot.

 




Refs doing a number on the Vikings today. Horrible roughing the passer then call back a TD.
 












The Vikings inability or nondesire to run the ball is an issue.

The Vikings have no control over the game or pace of the game with their lack of a running game. Detroit is just bleeding this clock right now and the Vikings can’t stop them.
 


The secondary is terrible and absolutely no pass rush.

Also burn that turf immediately after the season.
 


You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom