All Things 2025 Minnesota Vikings In-Season Thread

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Slim Tubby said:
Honestly, if just JJM develops into a Pro Bowl caliber player, I'll forget about every single poor Draft selection KAM has ever made. I acknowledge how difficult (and sometimes reliant on sheer luck) this can be for any GM.

I haven't given up on JJM yet...not even close, but my anxiety as a fan is rising a tad. I really hope he plays against the Eagles and stays healthy the rest of the season to see what we have in him.

He's got a lot on his plate...first year as a starter, just had a baby, planning a wedding, etc. I lose focus just walking to the kitchen.
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You’re past your Amazon Prime🥸
 

GophersInIowa said:

Also Flacco will start for Cinci against GB this weekend, just 3 weeks after he beat them with Cleveland. Gotta be close to the shortest time between starts against the same team but with a different team.
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Ufdah🤨

I would like to amend my previous position and say without reservation that Kevin Stefanki should make any and all football personnel decisions👍
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
Ufdah🤨

I would like to amend my previous position and say without reservation that Kevin Stefanki should make any and all football personnel decisions👍
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Hence my "moronic" Owner comment.
 

Ope3 said:
Hence my "moronic" Owner comment.
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I understood he was challenged, but I didn’t realize one could be that moronic and still be competent enough to make NFL ownership 🪙. The juxtaposition doesn’t compute 🤷‍♂️
 


Ope3 said:
The reason I put some (as much) responsibility on KOC regarding JJM's fortune is I am positive he had significant input/endorsement on the decision to begin with.



Probably a push.



What aggravates me even more than the Wilfs themselves is the fawning over them by a significant faction of fans. That despite an empty Trophy case during their tenure (not even a Halas Trophy) and being the benefactors of $1Billion+ home facility that has helped exponentially (10X) increase their value.

To their credit, they are on a streak of 20 years without another Love Boat incident. Their updated Code of Conduct seems to have taken root. For the most part.
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Is anyone "fawning" over the Wilfs? It's pretty easy to be an NFL owner. Everyone spends to the salary cap and no one loses $$, unlike MLB and even the NBA/NHL. But still, many NFL owners manage to screw it up by meddling or being cheap with facilities etc. The Wilf's don't.

Sure you'd like to win more. But they've basically hired 4 coaches. 2 of them reached the NFC title game and KOC is the reigning coach of the year. Only Les Frazier was a dud and they pulled the plug after 3 seasons. Spielman had his faults but was widely recognized as a good GM. We'll see about Kwesi.

I fail to see where you think the Wilf's should have made a big move and didn't, outside of giving Spielman and Zim one season more than they should have.
 

howeda7 said:
Is anyone "fawning" over the Wilfs?
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Yes. It's not hard to go through various threads and find their praise for having nice practice facilities and spending to the cap...yadda, yadda, yadda.

howeda7 said:
Sure you'd like to win more. But they've basically hired 4 coaches. 2 of them reached the NFC title game and KOC is the reigning coach of the year. Only Les Frazier was a dud and they pulled the plug after 3 seasons. Spielman had his faults but was widely recognized as a good GM. We'll see about Kwesi.

I fail to see where you think the Wilf's should have made a big move and didn't, outside of giving Spielman and Zim one season more than they should have.
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The reigning Coach of the Year, still has not won a playoff game here. Other places fire their coaches even a couple of years after winning a Super Bowl. And then win another.

It's not about 1 single move or lack of effort. If Zimmer/Spielman were more than good, they would have gotten to the Super Bowl. They were not good enough.

20 years, no NFC Titles. Only 3 playoff wins, 2 in the past 15 seasons. What's the common denominator?
 

Ope3 said:
Yes. It's not hard to go through various threads and find their praise for having nice practice facilities and spending to the cap...yadda, yadda, yadda.



The reigning Coach of the Year, still has not won a playoff game here. Other places fire their coaches even a couple of years after winning a Super Bowl. And then win another.

It's not about 1 single move or lack of effort. If Zimmer/Spielman were more than good, they would have gotten to the Super Bowl. They were not good enough.

20 years, no NFC Titles. Only 3 playoff wins, 2 in the past 15 seasons. What's the common denominator?
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Bad qb play?
 

Ope3 said:
Yes. It's not hard to go through various threads and find their praise for having nice practice facilities and spending to the cap...yadda, yadda, yadda.



The reigning Coach of the Year, still has not won a playoff game here. Other places fire their coaches even a couple of years after winning a Super Bowl. And then win another.

It's not about 1 single move or lack of effort. If Zimmer/Spielman were more than good, they would have gotten to the Super Bowl. They were not good enough.

20 years, no NFC Titles. Only 3 playoff wins, 2 in the past 15 seasons. What's the common denominator?
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Being a Minnesota sports team.
 






Ope3 said:
Yes. It's not hard to go through various threads and find their praise for having nice practice facilities and spending to the cap...yadda, yadda, yadda.



The reigning Coach of the Year, still has not won a playoff game here. Other places fire their coaches even a couple of years after winning a Super Bowl. And then win another.

It's not about 1 single move or lack of effort. If Zimmer/Spielman were more than good, they would have gotten to the Super Bowl. They were not good enough.

20 years, no NFC Titles. Only 3 playoff wins, 2 in the past 15 seasons. What's the common denominator?
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The only example I can think of recently is the Eagles. But Pederson was let go more because of disagreements with the coaching staff.
 



Sounds like the Bears are working a deal for arguably the best DT in the NFL, Jeffery Simmons, with possibly DJ Moore and a high draft pick going back to TEN.
 

Slim Tubby said:
Sounds like the Bears are working a deal for arguably the best DT in the NFL, Jeffery Simmons, with possibly DJ Moore and a high draft pick going back to TEN.
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Cheap Wilfs.


;)
 

Slim Tubby said:
Sounds like the Bears are working a deal for arguably the best DT in the NFL, Jeffery Simmons, with possibly DJ Moore and a high draft pick going back to TEN.
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Odd timing, considering Simmons has been banged up for a few weeks now.

No matter what the Bears do, I have no doubt that Poles will f*ck it up. One of the most incompetent GMs in the league, I'm not sure how this move really moves the needle for the Bears. They're still the 4th best team in the division with some tough games left on the schedule.
 

Ope3 said:
Cheap Wilfs.


;)
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The Wilfs are too busy figuring out a way to pay off all of Pohlads' debt that they rolled into the Twins. 😉

(You have me very curious as to what the other factor is that explains your disdain for the Wilfs. I'm guessing its something outside of football.)
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
Odd timing, considering Simmons has been banged up for a few weeks now.

No matter what the Bears do, I have no doubt that Poles will f*ck it up. One of the most incompetent GMs in the league, I'm not sure how this move really moves the needle for the Bears. They're still the 4th best team in the division with some tough games left on the schedule.
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Agree on Poles but I'm reluctantly willing to admit that I see real progression in Caleb Williams. Odunze is a stud while Burden and Loveland have shown promise. Swift is okay but if they can find a difference making RB, the Bears under Ben Johnson can really make some noise on offense.

Their defense remains a disaster so maybe this is nothing more than a desperation move to balance out the roster on both sides of the ball.
 

Slim Tubby said:
Agree on Poles but I'm reluctantly willing to admit that I see real progression in Caleb Williams. Odunze is a stud while Burden and Loveland have shown promise. Swift is okay but if they can find a difference making RB, the Bears under Ben Johnson can really make some noise on offense.

Their defense remains a disaster so maybe this is nothing more than a desperation move to balance out the roster on both sides of the ball.
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Exactly. The run defense is one of the worst in the league (30th or 31st?) and Simmons is an average run defender at best; PFF ranks him like 75th out of 160 DT's against the run. There's no rhyme or reason to how Poles and Warren are constructing this roster. They acquired some upgrades, sort of, on the Off Line in the offseason and the OL is still ranked around 20-22nd in the league both pass blocking and run blocking.

And they've got Swift as their main back, the same guy that Ben Johnson let walk from Detroit.

I just don't see it with Williams. Sure there's talent there, but I just don't see it between the ears and I don't see it in regards to character. We'll see, but Goff worked so well in Johnson's scheme because Goff could stand in the pocket and throw the ball. Williams seems incapable of doing that, most of his plays come from escaping the pocket. Johnson is probably pulling his hair out trying to coach that out of him.

I'm biased against the Bears of course; not just being in the Vikings division but I also have strong betting positions on the Bears in the Bears not making the playoffs, Bears winning less than 9.5 games, and the Bears winning less than 6.5 games (that's a longer shot, I may not hit on that one).
 

Slim Tubby said:
Agree on Poles but I'm reluctantly willing to admit that I see real progression in Caleb Williams. Odunze is a stud while Burden and Loveland have shown promise. Swift is okay but if they can find a difference making RB, the Bears under Ben Johnson can really make some noise on offense.

Their defense remains a disaster so maybe this is nothing more than a desperation move to balance out the roster on both sides of the ball.
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amazing what a competent offensive coach can do with a guy with all the ability in the world. Eccentric as he is, Williams arm talent and play making has never been a question. Johnson saved Jared Goff's career (another guy with tons of arm talent).

why tennessee would do that trade for DJ Moore and say like a 2nd rounder rather than trying to accumulate as much draft capital as possible in a lost season would be mind boggling
 

upnorthkid said:
amazing what a competent offensive coach can do with a guy with all the ability in the world. Eccentric as he is, Williams arm talent and play making has never been a question. Johnson saved Jared Goff's career (another guy with tons of arm talent).

why tennessee would do that trade for DJ Moore and say like a 2nd rounder rather than trying to accumulate as much draft capital as possible in a lost season would be mind boggling
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Agreed. DJ Moore has talent and TEN is desperate for help at WR, but factoring in his age, draft capital would certainly be a more prudent return.
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
Exactly. The run defense is one of the worst in the league (30th or 31st?) and Simmons is an average run defender at best; PFF ranks him like 75th out of 160 DT's against the run. There's no rhyme or reason to how Poles and Warren are constructing this roster. They acquired some upgrades, sort of, on the Off Line in the offseason and the OL is still ranked around 20-22nd in the league both pass blocking and run blocking.

And they've got Swift as their main back, the same guy that Ben Johnson let walk from Detroit.

I just don't see it with Williams. Sure there's talent there, but I just don't see it between the ears and I don't see it in regards to character. We'll see, but Goff worked so well in Johnson's scheme because Goff could stand in the pocket and throw the ball. Williams seems incapable of doing that, most of his plays come from escaping the pocket. Johnson is probably pulling his hair out trying to coach that out of him.

I'm biased against the Bears of course; not just being in the Vikings division but I also have strong betting positions on the Bears in the Bears not making the playoffs, Bears winning less than 9.5 games, and the Bears winning less than 6.5 games (that's a longer shot, I may not hit on that one).
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some of that is what you mentioned before. The bears OL has been absolute shambles last year and only mildly improved this year and the lines at USC were just awful while he was there. His QBR is up 20 points, he's on pace to take about 30-35 less sacks, and his scrambles are to keep them ahead of the chains while looking downfield rather than dancing around 10 yards behind the LOS like last year.

the bears are hard to read. their offense is much better. defense has been super banged up. their next 5 games (@wash, NO, @Balt, @Cin, NYG) are probably the part that dictates if they make the playoffs or not as anything worse than 3-2 with @Mn, Pitt, @phil, @GB, Cle, GB, @SF, Det left. If they need to go 6-2 with that stretch, there's no chance (I'm assuming the WC teams at 10-7), particularly already losing 2 divisional games which is your first tie breaker iirc
 



upnorthkid said:
some of that is what you mentioned before. The bears OL has been absolute shambles last year and only mildly improved this year and the lines at USC were just awful while he was there. His QBR is up 20 points, he's on pace to take about 30-35 less sacks, and his scrambles are to keep them ahead of the chains while looking downfield rather than dancing around 10 yards behind the LOS like last year.
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I'll reserve judgment until we're a lot deeper into the season but his numbers went up after playing two of the worst defenses in the league in Dallas and the Raiders so it's really hard to give him some credit there. Russell Wilson threw for like 450 yards against the Dallas defense after all, and he got benched a week or two later.

I might be wrong on Williams, but I just don't see it. I'll take McCarthy over Williams at this point, and we don't even know that much about JJM.
 

So do we think the Vikes make a significant trade?

I’m assuming center is number one on people’s dance card, so what’s number two? I dunno know🤷‍♂️

FWIW, I’m assuming Jackson and O’Neill are back after the break.

EDIT: Now with the correct link for the Browns game. 🤦‍♂️


www.si.com

Vikings snap count analysis and notable PFF grades from win over Browns

What stood out from the Vikings' playing time distribution and grades in London?
www.si.com www.si.com

Per the ahove article, Brandel (42.0) and Huber (40.8) had the two worst grades on O. JJ had the highest. Writer was surprised by Brandel’s grade, but thought Huber’s was valid based on having one penalty and sack, in addition to allowing two pressures.

Top 5 on O

JJ - 82.9
Darisaw- 74.5
Addy - 70.5
QB #1 - 67.1
Nailor- 65.2


Encouragingly, Hargrove had the highest D grade and Greenard, with his insane 6 pressures, was second - he must have been pooped 😀

Top 5 on D

Hargrave - 87.6
Greenard- 75.8
Metellus - 74.3
Rodriguez - 71.1
Turner- 71.0
 
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Sounds like the Chargers, Bears and Chiefs have inquired about Kamara. NO is hoping to move him for a 3rd Rounder. I doubt they get more than a 5th in return.
 

Bye Week Fluff - I’m almost 60, so besides my grammatical errors, posting videos occasionally vexes me🤷‍♂️.

But my Urologist said , at least I hope if was him, my prostate is good.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Vikings?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc^tfw">#Vikings</a> S Harrison Smith had one request for KOC before returning this season: no hotel bed checks the night before a game, so he can get his full night sleep before game day:<br><br>“We signed a little separate agreement between him and I, little handshake agreement, if he gets bed… <a href="https://t.co/0NqTMPcMjp">pic.twitter.com/0NqTMPcMjp</a></p>&mdash; VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) <a href="">October 9, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
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Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
Exactly. The run defense is one of the worst in the league (30th or 31st?) and Simmons is an average run defender at best; PFF ranks him like 75th out of 160 DT's against the run. There's no rhyme or reason to how Poles and Warren are constructing this roster. They acquired some upgrades, sort of, on the Off Line in the offseason and the OL is still ranked around 20-22nd in the league both pass blocking and run blocking.

And they've got Swift as their main back, the same guy that Ben Johnson let walk from Detroit.

I just don't see it with Williams. Sure there's talent there, but I just don't see it between the ears and I don't see it in regards to character. We'll see, but Goff worked so well in Johnson's scheme because Goff could stand in the pocket and throw the ball. Williams seems incapable of doing that, most of his plays come from escaping the pocket. Johnson is probably pulling his hair out trying to coach that out of him.

I'm biased against the Bears of course; not just being in the Vikings division but I also have strong betting positions on the Bears in the Bears not making the playoffs, Bears winning less than 9.5 games, and the Bears winning less than 6.5 games (that's a longer shot, I may not hit on that one).
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It's funny how much you rip Poles roster construction yet think Kwesi is good at his job. The Vikings run defense is also terrible, ranking 24th after signing two old and expensive DTs and trading Phillips. Last year it was ranked 2nd.
 

Ope3 said:
What you have just described is completely different than "taking a dump" on the season if they go with JJM.

We don't even know if Wentz will be healthy for the Eagles game, with the injury he sustained today.
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Are you talking about the injury where he played the whole 2nd half and went 9/9 with a brilliant TD pass on the game-winning drive?

They might have to amputate
 

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