All Things 2025 Minnesota Vikings Off-Season Thread

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Slim Tubby said:
I'm convinced the media hype and constant promotion of Williams pressured CHI into drafting him #1. I don't think the Bears even brought Daniels in for a workout/interview before the Draft.
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Makes sense.
Slim Tubby said:
There is absolutely no way you could objectively watch Caleb and Jayden play their last year in college and walk away thinking Williams was the better prospect, especially in today's NFL.
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Caleb has some real skills: cannon of an arm and very elusive in the pocket - the second time we played him. He avoided several sacks which would have nabbed many other QBs.

3,500+ passing yards, 20 TDs and only 6 picks with the Chicago 🎪 Circus, he had to navigate all year long, makes those stats even more impressive to me. He needs to improve on his working through his progressions; also needs a HC and OC for him to reach his potential. Based in the 🐻 history, I’m skeptical thst will happen.

Daniel’s has the above attributes and throws the deep ball with exquisite touch and the scrambling ability of Vick/Lamar. He’s also unflappable and seems completely grounded.

IIRC, Williams had the most production outside the pocket and Daniel’s the best completion % on deep balls.

Much harder to the former than the latter in the NFL to my middle aged mind/musings.
 
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TNGophfan said:
I believe that everything starts with the o-line. If you can pass protect and run block, then you can do most anything provided you have average or above average qb, wide receivers and rb's. Don't need great, though that obviously would be a bonus. We have 1 great in JJ.
Vikes became 1 dimensional in the red zone because they couldn't run and, to me, that's an indictment of the interior offensive line.
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100%
 




Gawd, I hate snow football.

No traction, no one can cut, hard to throw the ball, can't see out of bounds or what yardline they are on.

I love domes.
 



Gopher_In_NYC said:
Makes sense.

Caleb has some real skills: cannon of an arm and very elusive in the pocket - the second time we played him. He avoided several sacks which would have nabbed many other QBs.

3,500+ passing yards, 20 TDs and only 6 picks with the Chicago 🎪 Circus, he had to navigate all year long, makes those stats even more impressive to me. He needs to improve on his working through his progressions; also needs a HC and OC for him to reach his potential. Based in the 🐻 history, I’m skeptical thst will happen.

Daniel’s has the above attributes and throws the deep ball with exquisite touch and the scrambling ability of Vick/Lamar. He’s also unflappable and seems completely grounded.

IIRC, Williams had the most production outside the pocket and Daniel’s the best completion % on deep balls.

Much harder to the former than the latter in the NFL to my middle aged mind/musings.
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Williams only had 6 picks because he refused to throw the ball down the field. Everything was dump-offs. He held the ball forever, he can't process the game at the NFL speed right now (if he ever will?), and honestly, I really don't know what kind of a leader he is or will be. The yards were a product of trailing in just about every game they played as well, and they put a pretty damn good Receiving corp around him, even if the OL wasn't great.

At this point, given the body of work, I'd honestly be happier with either Darnold or JJ McCarthy as the Vikings QB next season than I would be with Williams. Williams entered the NFL thinking it would be easy, and that's the last thing you want from any player, let alone your franchise QB.
 



kg21 said:
Gawd, I hate snow football.

No traction, no one can cut, hard to throw the ball, can't see out of bounds or what yardline they are on.

I love domes.
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Thank you, I have no idea why people think snow football is fun.
 






GophersInIowa said:
It’s enjoyable when my team is not involved.
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What's been enjoyable today is watching two competitive football games with high stakes that aren't being decided by the officials.

The league has a serious issue with the Chiefs/Mahomes games and the public perception of how those games are officiated.
 

TNGophfan said:
I believe that everything starts with the o-line. If you can pass protect and run block, then you can do most anything provided you have average or above average qb, wide receivers and rb's. Don't need great, though that obviously would be a bonus. We have 1 great in JJ.
Vikes became 1 dimensional in the red zone because they couldn't run and, to me, that's an indictment of the interior offensive line.
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Would love to peer into a crystal ball to see what the last few weeks would've been like with a Pro Bowl level OL.

I think Darnold still gets sacked a bunch. Not sure if we win.

An OL, no matter how good, can only hold out for so long.


Definitely would be able to punch it in on running plays with Goal to go. Got me there all the way. Maybe KOC is more apt to call running plays, but I still say that's a weakness of his that he needs to iron out.
 


Baltimore going for 2 in the 3rd quarter comes back to bite them. Never go for 2 in the 3rd quarter, unless you are so far behind that you need multiples of 8s to catch up. Too much game is left. Getting tired of posting this.
 


gopher7 said:
Baltimore going for 2 in the 3rd quarter comes back to bite them. Never go for 2 in the 3rd quarter, unless you are so far behind that you need multiples of 8s to catch up. Too much game is left. Getting tired of posting this.
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pretty funny. . These guys are good at football. They are terrible at math and probability.
 



gopher7 said:
Baltimore going for 2 in the 3rd quarter comes back to bite them. Never go for 2 in the 3rd quarter, unless you are so far behind that you need multiples of 8s to catch up. Too much game is left. Getting tired of posting this.
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The bigger issue to me was the Ravens passing on the conversion attempt when they had just been running at will down the Bills throats.

As for coming back to bite them, at the end of the game Harbaugh probably would have gone for 2 and the win anyway.
 

Ope3 said:
The bigger issue to me was the Ravens passing on the conversion attempt when they had just been running at will down the Bills throats.

As for coming back to bite them, at the end of the game Harbaugh probably would have gone for 2 and the win anyway.
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Maybe, maybe not. But, there was still 1:30 left. Pretty good chance Allen leads Bills to winning TD or field goal anyway.
 

gopher7 said:
Baltimore going for 2 in the 3rd quarter comes back to bite them. Never go for 2 in the 3rd quarter, unless you are so far behind that you need multiples of 8s to catch up. Too much game is left. Getting tired of posting this.
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I typically agree that you should never go for 2 until the 4th quarter, but there was only 1:37 left in the 3rd. It was almost the 4th quarter and I think anyone would, and should go for 2 in that situation.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
I typically agree that you should never go for 2 until the 4th quarter, but there was only 1:37 left in the 3rd. It was almost the 4th quarter and I think anyone would, and should go for 2 in that situation.
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Agreed, a lot of people using hindsight to criticize the decision. Also worth noting that Justin Tucker was significantly less accurate than his usual self this year, so two extra points in the snow were far from a guarantee.
 

the physicality of these teams have is not present on the Vikings.

And damn, these running games with physicality of the lines, but also the running backs is eye opening. These backs go forward and deliver the hit.

Also, these games are all parity games. It all comes down to a drop, a call, etc.

I miss the football of the 70's and 80's
 

kg21 said:
the physicality of these teams have is not present on the Vikings.

And damn, these running games with physicality of the lines, but also the running backs is eye opening. These backs go forward and deliver the hit.

Also, these games are all parity games. It all comes down to a drop, a call, etc.

I miss the football of the 70's and 80's
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I'm not going to rehash the whole "refs love the Chiefs" debate and all that, but somehow some way it would be nice to have football where everyone isn't always looking for a flag. It's gotten to the point where we have to hold our breath on every deep pass that goes incomplete to see if there's a PI call. Every hit where the runner is close to out of bounds we gotta see that flag. Every scrape of the QB's helmet is roughing the passer. It really does take away from the viewing experience.
 

Ope3 said:
It's a spectacle. Great theater. Unpredictable. Glad I'm not out there.
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They’re fun to play in, as it’s total chaos.

We played St. Cloud Tech in a snow game and only lost 12-0 (when you’re 2-7, moral victories count!!).

There was a ton of fumbles and even less passing than normal in that Central Lakes clash in the mid 80s.
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
Williams only had 6 picks because he refused to throw the ball down the field.
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Is that a product of the sets they ran or his exclusively his decision making?


Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
Everything was dump-offs. He held the ball forever, he can't process the game at the NFL speed right now (if he ever will?)
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No one knows at this point.
Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
, and honestly, I really don't know what kind of a leader he is or will be.
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It takes some longer than others.

Has Kyler turned the corner?

Often times the best teacher is a kick in the rear. So maybe the struggles are just what he needed 🤷‍♂️

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
The yards were a product of trailing in just about every game they played as well, and they put a pretty damn good Receiving corp around him, even if the OL wasn't great.
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Their D performance was hugely disappointing this year; get that squared away and that might improve their offense as well; not always being behind the 🎱
Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
At this point, given the body of work, I'd honestly be happier with either Darnold or JJ McCarthy as the Vikings QB next season than I would be with Williams.
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I wasn’t advocating for him over either.

Williams entered the NFL thinking it would be easy, and that's the last thing you want from any player, let alone your franchise QB.

Yes.

He’ll either figure it out or he won’t
 
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on the OL - I know the Vikes have a decent amount of cap space going into next season, but the OL is not the only position on the team that needs attention.

I saw this statement online on a Vikings fan site:

More than 45 percent of their total non-special teams snaps in 2024 were played by pending free agents. On a basic level, that means they need to re-sign or replace nearly half of their lineup.

so the front office has to make tough decisions. signing 3 new OL would be nice - but what if that means they don't have enough space left to address the DL, CB or Safeties?

and don't forget, they have - at this point - only 3 draft picks - with a 4th likely as a comp pick for Cousins. so a 1st, maybe a 3rd, and 2 5th.
 

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