All Things 2024-25 Vikings Regular Season Thread

[GophersInIowa]

However, it would be better for the NFL to also have drama in the NFC North.

In the NFL plenty is never enough.

The drama would still be there as they would still be fighting for the first round bye.

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

I agree, except that this year I have season long prop bets on both the Raiders and the Bears Losing all of their division games. The Raiders, I feel pretty good about; 0-5 and a final game at home against the Chargers to close things out. The Bears? The Bears could f*ck up and win one of these final 3 games they have, AT Minnesota, Home Detroit, AT Green Bay



This is going to be one interesting offseason for the Vikings, one that will probably set the course for the franchise moving forward for a while. The beauty is, none of us REALLY know what the powers that be think about JJ McCarthy, Sam Darnold, or even Daniel Jones; or more importantly, what they will be thinking of those three next March.

One thing I do know is, they really have no clue what kind of pro JJ McCarthy is going to be. Zero. Can't wait to see what the QB roster looks like come next August 1.

Yes, none nof us know and we have our own Sports Soap - The Purple Pocket.

One thing I think we can all agree on, it sure is fun to watch those bombs to JJ & Addy; it’s almost like watching the relevant Raiders of old

 

[GopherJake]

The drama would still be there as they would still be fighting for the first round bye.

I think you mean home field? Only top conference team gets a bye.

 

[GophersInIowa]

I think you mean home field? Only top conference team gets a bye.

There’s a good chance the NFC North champ will also get the #1 seed in the NFC and the bye.

 

[GophersInIowa]

 

[GopherJake]

There’s a good chance the NFC North champ will also get the #1 seed in the NFC and the bye.

Aha. I see. I thought the discussion was focused on non-division winners, but yeah, I agree.

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

Super frickkin cool

Thanks

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

Not sure who had the stomach to watch that garbage Monday Night game with the Cowboys and Bengals. I watched a little bit because I (ridiculously) had a few prop bets on some receiving yards for a few Cowboys receivers. But one thing that was mentioned briefly this morning on the Lombardi Line that sure rings truer than ever now;

How bad must Trey Lance be if he can't beat out Cooper Rush?

Rush has played a fair amount of football, and played okay at times, but he was abysmal Monday night. Just horrendous. I'm all about a good reclamation project; the Darnold experience has been amazing, and I have to admit I'm intrigued by what this group could do with Daniel Jones, if they decide to go that way.

But you can't go very long without someone mentioning trading for Trey Lance. I guess the Cowboys are definitely eliminated (like there was some question about it before MNF), so maybe they give Lance some run the rest of the way? But they gave him the ENTIRE preseason, like every game, and he still looked terrible.

 

[GophersInIowa]

Super frickkin cool

Thanks

I love watching that stuff

 

[GophersInIowa]

Aha. I see. I thought the discussion was focused on non-division winners, but yeah, I agree.

It was. The argument is that making division championships more important means more drama at the end of the season. At least for this year though, if you ranked playoff teams 1-7 based on record, I don’t think it reduces the drama that much.

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

How did Jalen Redmon become a Viking? By jumping off the tape in the UFL, after being undrafted and cut by the Panthers.

Beyond a cool story bro, here’s some snippets from the article in the Athletic -

Vikings’ defensive success highlights value of organizational continuity

The Vikings have found unique, versatile talent on defense via free agency, undrafted players and even the United Football League.

www.nytimes.com

One morning last summer, Ryan Grigson, the Minnesota Vikings’senior vice president of player personnel, appeared in the doorway of Brian Flores’ office. Grigson, a former scout, had been scouring film from the United Football League. A defensive tackle had impressed him so much that he wanted to mention him to the defensive coordinator.


Intriguing Grigson as much as anything was Redmond’s wiggle. For a 6-foot-3, 291-pound defensive tackle, Redmond maneuvered swiftly toward the quarterback on pass-rushing downs.

Grigson offered his evaluation. Flores listened skeptically, understanding how rare it is for NFL teams to pluck meaningful contributors from alternate football leagues weeks before training camp.

“It’s kinda like, ‘Are we really doing this?’” Flores said a few weeks ago. “Then you put the tape on and you go, ‘Hey, maybe we should really do this.’”

 

[howeda7]

It was. The argument is that making division championships more important means more drama at the end of the season. At least for this year though, if you ranked playoff teams 1-7 based on record, I don’t think it reduces the drama that much.

Seed by record but give Division winners an automatic tiebreaker.

 

[Ope3]

There’s a good chance the NFC North champ will also get the #1 seed in the NFC and the bye.

Good chance, but less of a chance if the Eagles keep winning.

Still more drama if the NFC North 2nd Place team falls to the 5 or 6 seed instead of the 2 or 3.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

the Vikings plan - according to virtually all accounts - calls for the team to have a young starting QB on a rookie-level contract for several seasons. that gives the team the cap room needed to bring in quality free agents and address depth issues.

and O'Connell - who doesn't come off like a BS artist - had a lot of praise for McCarthy during training camp.

honestly, I think the Darnold situation just fell in the Vikings' laps, and they'll take everything they can get from it.

but after this year, I really think it goes back to the plan: McCarthy is the QB with someone (Jones?) serving as a veteran back-up AT A REASONABLE COST.

bringing Darnold back at a market-rate contract ($30-mill a year or more) means less money to fill other needs. if they truly think McCarthy can do the job - working in the most QB-friendly environment in the NFL - then they can let Darnold walk and stick to the plan.

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

Why can’t the Vikes franchise tag Darnold ?

If Darnold leaves, we get a compensatory pick, right?

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

Why can’t the Vikes franchise tag Darnold ?

It was several months ago that I had heard this notion first bandied about; franchise him and then trade him, or just franchise him.

Letting him walk more than likely brings back a 3rd round draft pick in compensation so the return I would think would have to be better than a 3rd rounder.

Regardless of what the QB room looks like next Mar/April, the current folks in charge have earned my faith that they've done what's best for the position and for the franchise. Honestly, if the price was right, I'd be okay with all 3 of them being on the roster.

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

Wow. The hoodie actually took the job at North Carolina. WTF.... I'm shocked, I would not have guessed that in a million years.

There has to be some kind of guarantee of some serious deep pockets in regards to NIL money. They will absolutely be a player in the CFP next season, not a doubt in my mind.

 

[TNGophfan]

Why can’t the Vikes franchise tag Darnold ?

If Darnold leaves, we get a compensatory pick, right?

I am probably wrong on this because I don't follow the finance/salary cap/contract issues very closely, but I think if you franchise him, the offer would have to be in the $25 to $30 million range. What if he takes it? Don't think the Vikes want that much of their cap space tied up in Darnold, but who knows.

 

[WoodburyTim]

I am not sure which way I am personally leaning, but you can’t help but watch almost every team in the NFL constantly trying to find that Pro Bowl QB and think how much it would hurt to have him(Darnold) and let him go and then have McCarthy be one of the 50 or 60% of 1st round QB’s that don’t work out.

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

Interesting comments from Troy Aikman on PTI during the Five Good Minutes segment

He said if Norv Turner hadn’t become his OC in his third season and change the trajectory of his career, he likely would have eanded up with a Darnold like career pre-Vikings. He said KOC is one of a handful of coaches at that Norv Turner level now; were very fortunate he’s our HC.

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

I am probably wrong on this because I don't follow the finance/salary cap/contract issues very closely, but I think if you franchise him, the offer would have to be in the $25 to $30 million range. What if he takes it? Don't think the Vikes want that much of their cap space tied up in Darnold, but who knows.

They wouldn’t franchise him if they don’t want him to stay, right?

They wouldn’t do this, in my guess, unless he leads them to the NFC Championship Game, he’s going to be a Pro Bowler this season.

This allows McCarthy a real apprenticeship next season and can find playing time here and there, in addition to practice reps.

It’s a intriguing situation and as Ogee said, I trust that KOC and Kwesi will figure it out out.

 

[TNGophfan]

They wouldn’t franchise him if they don’t want him to stay, right?

They wouldn’t do this, in my guess, unless he leads them to the NFC Championship Game, he’s going to be a Pro Bowler this season.

This allows McCarthy a real apprenticeship next season and can find playing time here and there, in addition to practice reps.

It’s a intriguing situation and as Ogee said, I trust that KOC and Kwesi will figure it out out.

Well, my point was that somebody, maybe you, just said to franchise him and then trade him. I may have misunderstood, but if you do that, he accepts offer, then you can't find a trade partner, you're stuck with the contract.
Again, maybe misinterpreted but too lazy to go back and parse it.

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

Well, my point was that somebody, maybe you, just said to franchise him and then trade him. I may have misunderstood, but if you do that, he accepts offer, then you can't find a trade partner, you're stuck with the contract.
Again, maybe misinterpreted but too lazy to go back and parse it.

It wasn’t me about the franchise/trade.

I think if they franchise him, then he’s the QB #1.

 

[howeda7]

Well, my point was that somebody, maybe you, just said to franchise him and then trade him. I may have misunderstood, but if you do that, he accepts offer, then you can't find a trade partner, you're stuck with the contract.
Again, maybe misinterpreted but too lazy to go back and parse it.

I don't think you'd have a problem finding a trade partner, but you might not get more than the compensatory pick you'd get anyway (3rd/4th round pick) if he leaves as a free agent. So there's not much reason to do it. No one is giving you a first round pick for the right to pay Darnold $40 + million.

I think the argument for franchising Darnold would be if they feel nervous about JJ's knee. While paying Darnold $40 million for 3-4 years wouldn't be wise, they probably have enough cap room in 2025 specifically to swing it if necessary for one year.

 

[WoodburyTim]

Interesting comments from Troy Aikman on PTI during the Five Good Minutes segment

He said if Norv Turner hadn’t become his OC in his third season and change the trajectory of his career, he likely would have eanded up with a Darnold like career pre-Vikings. He said KOC is one of a handful of coaches at that Norv Turner level now; were very fortunate he’s our HC.

That is a pretty strong endorsement. If true, it also seems to point to the Vikings being in the unique position to not necessarily have commit to a guy long term. There is always guys like Darnold out there who were in a bad spot with a bad coach. Heck, already Jones already picked us probably in part because of what he has seen KOC do with Darnold and maybe even to a much lesser extent the group of castoffs last year that KOC had to work with.

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

That is a pretty strong endorsement. If true, it also seems to point to the Vikings being in the unique position to not necessarily have commit long term to a guy long term. There is always guys like Darnold out there who were in a bad spot with a bad coach. Heck, already Jones already picked us probably in part because of what he has seen KOC do with Darnold and maybe even to a much lesser extent the group of castoffs last year that KOC had to work with.

Yes it was a cool endorsement and Aikman showing great humility as well.

I think it ha/will bode well for signing Non-QB FAs coming here as well, as we receive “A” ratings from the players regarding the training facilities, nutrition, trainers/rehab etc… and the staff puts the players in positions to succeed.

The Wilfs are building a franchise that will be competitive most seasons; maybe we’ll finally get that elusive Super Bowl -I actually feel this could happen in the next 5-10 years.

 

[Ope3]

The Wilfs are building a franchise that will be competitive most seasons; maybe we’ll finally get that elusive Super Bowl -I actually feel this could happen in the next 5-10 years.

Hopefully the Wilfs have learned a few things as they enter their 3rd decade of Vikings stewards.

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

Hopefully the Wilfs have learned a few things as they enter their 3rd decade of Vikings stewards.

I would image they have, as they were smart enough to accumulate the needed wealth to but if in the first place and their lack of craving the spotlight, ala Jerry Jones and Danny Snyder, portends a reasonable amount of narcissism for that income bracket.

I also think that type of endeavor is much more complicated/complex than the average GHer Monday QB can fathom, with me leading that particular parade

 

[TRF Guy]

 

[gophersfan]

Remember if the 49ers wins tonight over the Rams. The Vikings will clinch a playoffs spot. So root for the 49ers tonight.