All Things 2024-25 Vikings Regular Season Thread

Last ATL play: good ol Statue Cousins. Sack
It's suspected that he's still hurt too. Saw a stat that every time they were lined up in the pistol they ran the ball and every time they were in shot gun they threw it.
 

One thing that stood out to me about Darnold was that it appears he takes a little more time to go through the progressions before going to the check down. Cousins did have the tendency to check down very quickly. I don't blame him I guess as he was constantly getting killed back there.
 


One last thought: I was paying attention on every play but Jerry Tillery looked to be all over the place. Could end up being a sneaky good signing.
 

Knock on wood, but Vikes may have found a dependable kicker in Reichert. Always held my breath with Joseph as he seemed to miss 1 extra point a game (ok, I know that's an exaggeration). Kids steady so far through preseason and yesterday. Also, Zimmer's not here to mess with his psyche, lol.
To your post, Vikings feel the same way, per this excellent article in The Athletic -


Here’s a taste regarding a football player, not a kicker, from Alec Lewis’ excellent article -

Reichard, wearing Alabama’s crimson and white uniform, boots the ball across the field toward an Auburn returner. The camera pans to the ball carrier, who picks his running path and starts weaving through blockers.

For a second, you wonder: Is he about to break this? The returner is galloping, picking up steam, approaching the last line of defense.

That’s when Reichard re-enters the picture. He chops his feet and lunges like an arcade claw machine teetering to grab onto a slippery prize. When the returner tumbles to the turf, Reichard stands over him and nods. The crowd roars.

Minnesota Vikingsstaffers laughed at the highlight when they found it during the pre-draft process. Here was a player listed at 6-foot-1 and 187 pounds — and, to be clear, Reichard isn’t anywhere near 187 pounds sopping wet — flexing atop a much larger returner. The Vikings loved his passion. In a way, this one play hinted at their broad evaluation: In Reichard, they might not be getting the tallest or strongest kicker, but one who is freaking fearless.

“He’s a killer, man,” said Ken Whisenhunt, the longtime NFL coach and former Alabama assistant. “Nothing rattles him.”

 


Patrick Jones on pace for 34 sacks this season. 😉

TJ Watt has Cousins considering retirement. ATL fans are in for a harsh reality check.
 

Yes you absolutely do that.
Well it's only one week and against a pretty bad team, but as someone who was not one bit high on Darnold this offseason, I am so far wearing an egg on my face. Here's to me eating tons of crow all year long. Go Sam.

It's hard to imagine stepping into a situation that is SO well suited for Darnold to be successful; a great offensive play-caller as HC; your long-time buddy and security blanket McCown telling you all the right things; book-end franchise OTs and an experienced Center leading the line; JJ, Addison, Hock, and now Aaron Jones, and a defense that should create some turnovers and keep you in games.

At the end of the day, Darnold doesn't have to be elite to be successful and he doesn't have to REMOTELY shoulder the load of the entire franchise, which is what he was asked to do before.

The next bunch of games are tough though. 2-2 is probably a lot to ask but who knows. The schedule is definitely favorable on the back end.
 

To your post, Vikings feel the same way, per this excellent article in The Athletic -

Here’s a taste regarding a football player, not a kicker, from Alec Lewis’ excellent article -

Hey, HEY! What the f'k is up with the kicker hate?
 




If Darnold blows up ... we have to sign him again, don't we??

McCarthy can sit and learn, like Love did ..

No. If Darnold has a big year, someone will give him 30+ million on the open market.

McCarthy was already pushing Darnold before he got hurt. Sitting for a year is fine, but JJ needs to play starting next year.

The problem with the Packers sitting Love for so long is then they only had 1 year to evaluate him before giving him a massive deal. He still has a lot to prove, and that contract could still turn out to be a bad contract.

The best franchises get a good QB on a rookie deal and maximize the rest of their talent while the QB is on the rookie deal. The Vikings are in a great position to do that.
 

Weather - I am not saying you're wrong - but that is asking a lot to put the immediate future of the franchise on a guy who has played part of one pre-season game. assuming all goes well with the rehab, McCarthy goes into next season starting almost from square 1. sure, he'll have a year spent watching and learning the offense, but he still has to translate that knowledge onto the field.

I'm not saying McCarthy can't do it - I'm just saying that we have to see him do it. I don't consider McCarthy a sure thing.
 

Weather - I am not saying you're wrong - but that is asking a lot to put the immediate future of the franchise on a guy who has played part of one pre-season game. assuming all goes well with the rehab, McCarthy goes into next season starting almost from square 1. sure, he'll have a year spent watching and learning the offense, but he still has to translate that knowledge onto the field.

I'm not saying McCarthy can't do it - I'm just saying that we have to see him do it. I don't consider McCarthy a sure thing.

That's no different than any rookie QB ever. Williams, Daniels, and Nix all started yesterday and didn't have a year to sit and learn. Same goes for Young and Stroud last year. Some will be good, some will fail.

He was drafted 10th to be the future of the franchise. You need to figure out if he is the future or not. You don't do that by paying a journeyman QB big money because maybe he'll have one good year and keep JJ on the bench.

We'll see how good Darnold is when he starts playing real teams, starting next week.
 

The best franchises get a good QB on a rookie deal and maximize the rest of their talent while the QB is on the rookie deal. The Vikings are in a great position to do that.

I'm not saying what you say here is necessarily "wrong" but it oversimplifies things a little bit and doesn't really address the entire story.

Technically, the real story is about what percentage of the salary cap your QB takes up, not NECESSARILY as simple as having a QB on a rookie contract. Michael Lombardi talks about this every now and then in his GM Shuffle podcast.

For example, Jalen Hurts this year only counts for 5.31% of the Eagles' salary cap, because of the way the contract is structured. The Eagles are going to be SB contenders this year. Trevor Lawrence just signed his big deal as well and only accounts for 5.88% of the Jags cap this year. Even Aaron Rodgers only accounts for 6.6% of the Jets' salary cap this year.

The reason Cousins' contract was so debilitating for the Vikings was not JUST the contract, but because of the way he was doing his deals, his contract was always banging the Vikings cap for so much of the number.
 



I'm not saying what you say here is necessarily "wrong" but it oversimplifies things a little bit and doesn't really address the entire story.

Technically, the real story is about what percentage of the salary cap your QB takes up, not NECESSARILY as simple as having a QB on a rookie contract. Michael Lombardi talks about this every now and then in his GM Shuffle podcast.

For example, Jalen Hurts this year only counts for 5.31% of the Eagles' salary cap, because of the way the contract is structured. The Eagles are going to be SB contenders this year. Trevor Lawrence just signed his big deal as well and only accounts for 5.88% of the Jags cap this year. Even Aaron Rodgers only accounts for 6.6% of the Jets' salary cap this year.

The reason Cousins' contract was so debilitating for the Vikings was not JUST the contract, but because of the way he was doing his deals, his contract was always banging the Vikings cap for so much of the number.

I understand but those teams are also just kicking the can down the road. That's what got the Vikings in the cap hell that they were in the last several years.

If Darnold has a good year, the Vikings are pretty much in the same position that they were in last year. They just won't have to pay quite as much to keep Darnold as they would've had to to keep Cousins.

The difference is the Vikings have already drafted their QB of the future, so there's no reason to spend big to keep Darnold, especially when they'll have plenty of cap room to go after other positions of need.
 


I understand but those teams are also just kicking the can down the road. That's what got the Vikings in the cap hell that they were in the last several years.

If Darnold has a good year, the Vikings are pretty much in the same position that they were in last year. They just won't have to pay quite as much to keep Darnold as they would've had to to keep Cousins.

The difference is the Vikings have already drafted their QB of the future, so there's no reason to spend big to keep Darnold, especially when they'll have plenty of cap room to go after other positions of need.
This. If Darnold has a good year- trade him. Double win.
 

This. If Darnold has a good year- trade him. Double win.
He's a free agent after the season and if he's playing well, they'll likely be in play-off contention at the trade deadline.
 



OK - I'm going to go out on a limb here with a steamin' hot take --

I think the 49ers are better than the Giants.
 

So tired of the term ny football giants. When was there a baseball giants? 100 yrs ago?
 


So tired of the term ny football giants. When was there a baseball giants? 100 yrs ago?
1885 - 1957, which includes the year the New York Football Giants were founded which is what they were celebrating on Sunday (100th Season).

The baseball version was founded in 1883 but played their first 2 seasons as the Gothams (per wiki).
 

Say Hey
Haters Gonna Hate!
Welcome to New York, it's been waitin' for you
Welcome to New York, welcome to New York
It's a new soundtrack, I could dance to this beat, beat forevermore
The lights are so bright, but they never blind me
 


What's the word on Addison for this game?

Anyone know.

I think him playing is huge for us.
 

What's the word on Addison for this game?

Anyone know.

I think him playing is huge for us.
Doesn’t sound promising, per Alec Lewis’ article in The Athletic yesterday -




On Monday, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said Addison had “pretty significant soreness.”

“Still hopeful Jordan will have a chance (to play in Sunday’s game against the 49ers),” O’Connell said. “But we’ll be smart with him knowing it’s a long season and how important he is to our offense.”
 

What's the word on Addison for this game?

Anyone know.

I think him playing is huge for us.
I'm with you...having Addison opposite of Jefferson is crucial to this offense. Ankles are tricky business...my guess is that he misses 2-3 weeks.

I definitely hope to be wrong on that, though, especially with Hock Tua already out.
 

I'm with you...having Addison opposite of Jefferson is crucial to this offense. Ankles are tricky business...my guess is that he misses 2-3 weeks.

I definitely hope to be wrong on that, though, especially with Hock Tua already out.
It's a double whammy as they now can double and triple JJ.

Plus, Addison torched them last year and they would definitely be paying special attention to him.
 

It's a double whammy as they now can double and triple JJ.

Plus, Addison torched them last year and they would definitely be paying special attention to him.
Absolutely. Addison is a hell of a good young WR in his own right. If he's out, we need a huge game from Jones and our OL.

We will be asking a lot of Darnold if 2 of his 3 top receiving options are on the bench.
 




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