Rick Spielman Interview

[Eli]

This year his job is on the line, the same as Fraizers was last year.

I very much doubt that. Spielman will be around at least as long as Zimmer and I'm sure that Zygi will give them at least two or three years. Two would be really extreme, and even three would be impatient.

Like it or not, Spielman's here for at least another three or four years.

[PurpleKoolaid]

I very much doubt that. Spielman will be around at least as long as Zimmer and I'm sure that Zygi will give them at least two or three years. Two would be really extreme, and even three would be impatient.

Like it or not, Spielman's here for at least another three or four years.

Really? His contract extends beyond this year?

[IrishViking]

Really? His contract extends beyond this year?

Its not so much his contract has the coattails of Zimmer. Should Zimmer be successful it is the same as Rick being successful meaning he stays. If Zimmer struggles it doesn't matter, he'll just need more time So Rick = staying. Pretty much the only way for Rick to be gone immediately would be him to hard sell a QB that everyone else says is a reach and that QB bombs hard. Apart from that unlikely scenario he'll be around for a few years.

[CalVike]

Unless it's 2-14 then 2-14, both should be around to open the new stadium.

[dkoby]

And making some questionable free agent signings.
Along with a lack of overall success everywhere else in the draft.

I'd hate to be Zimmer and try to overcome Spielman's personnel decisions...

Why don't you go back 3 years and outline ( in hind sight) exactly what he should have done.. just to enlighten us as to your insight. Tell everyone exactly what Rick should have done with every move in the last 3 years taking into consideration all the contract situations that were present.
Please, I'm waiting.
All you ever do is say what is a mistake but you never say what the solution SHOULD be.

Please tell us how awesome we would be under your leadership.

[Purple bruise]

Why don't you go back 3 years and outline ( in hind sight) exactly what he should have done.. just to enlighten us as to your insight. Tell everyone exactly what Rick should have done with every move in the last 3 years taking into consideration all the contract situations that were present.
Please, I'm waiting.
All you ever do is say what is a mistake but you never say what the solution SHOULD be.

Please tell us how awesome we would be under your leadership.

Maybe Purple Koolaid could help him out

[lyzarde]

Why don't you go back 3 years and outline ( in hind sight) exactly what he should have done.. just to enlighten us as to your insight. Tell everyone exactly what Rick should have done with every move in the last 3 years taking into consideration all the contract situations that were present.
Please, I'm waiting.
All you ever do is say what is a mistake but you never say what the solution SHOULD be.

Please tell us how awesome we would be under your leadership.

You're wasting your time with the doom biscuit.

[lyzarde]

You can always looks at our record, and how many pro bowlers we have the past few years and see what kind of a job Rickie has done. Or is Fraizer (who most of you supported whole heartedly until you knew he was getting the axe) 100% responsible for the joke of a record we have? And being in the cellar 2 out of 3 years. Ask Miami what they though about Rickie. To me Rickie is about 50/50. This year his job is on the line, the same as Fraizers was last year.

You mean the Miami team who just had to hire their 4th or 5th choice for GM because everyone else turned them down? The team who thought Jeff Ireland wasn't a scumbag and stuck with him while he spent his owner's money like he won the lottery every year? Miami is a train wreck and it all boils down to ownership down there. Looks like they are going with the whole triad of awfulness setup btw, I'm sure that will work out for them.

Personally I still hold Coaching responsible for how good players turn out, unless you're talking really really poor draft choices like Matt Millen. Or bad drafts plus ridiculous contracts like Marty Hurney in Carolina, loading up their roster with huge contracts for 3 RB's.

We haven't had a real coaching staff here in over a decade. Doesn't matter how much talent you get on the roster if they can't be coached up or put in schemes that work.

[Pondering Her Percy]

Along with a lack of overall success everywhere else in the draft.

Wrong. I have posted this on here before. Since Spielman has been here (2007), he has done well getting late round talent. Regardless of who had "control" from 2007-2011, this is who we have brought in..... (4th round or later)

2007: Round 4- Brian Robison
2008: Round 5- Letroy Guion, Round 6- John Sullivan
2009: Round 5- Jasper Brinkley, Round 7- Jamarca Sanford
2010: Round 4- Everson Griffen
2011: Round 6- Mistral Raymond and Brandon Fusco
2012: Round 4- Jarius Wright, Round 6- Blair Walsh, Round 7- Audie Cole
2013: TBD (Hodges, Baca, Mauti?)

For you to continue to say he is unsuccessful everywhere else in the draft is getting quite tiring and has no backing to it. Granted, some of these guys aren't the greatest players but have all contributed and played key roles on this team. You act like it's so easy to find studs in later rounds or something. It's not that easy and I feel Spielman has held his own when it comes to finding late round talent.

[Pondering Her Percy]

Fusco= dont really know yet, looked good at times, but I dont think he is that great, maybe a backup.

I completely agree with your post

However, just an FYI, Fusco was a top 5 guard (according to PFF) in the NFL this year and was quietly our best lineman.

[Delaqure]

well lets compare to.. having coaches that actually know how to develop talent... NOW WE HAVE ONE, and I guarantee this team has a lot of good players on it come the start of next season and I guarantee a lot of those good players are already on the roster right now. No one that rick drafted in later rounds to develop or to give a chance at starting has had a chance to start besides Cole due to Henderson finally showing how big of a jackwagon he is. Our linebackers are better already, just due to the hiring of Zimmer. ok thats me hoping, but I really think we have some good linebackers on this team. Mauti was a first round pick if his legs weren't torn up, yes i know, BIG IF.

If we want to be completely honest, we are both wrong, we have no way to tell at this time how well Spielman did in the drafts unless you just look at the players that have been given a chance to start.

2011: Spielman was VP of player personnel... not GM
Ponder = sucks
Kyle Rudolph = good TE, should prove to be great pick when someone can get him the ball and he is healthy
Fusco= dont really know yet, looked good at times, but I dont think he is that great, maybe a backup.
Rest of draft was pretty bad from what we have seen. Mistral Raymond was doing good next to Smith and then he got injured and lost his job.

2012:first year as GM
Matt Kalil = franchise LT
Harrison Smith = franchise Saf
Josh Robinson = showed promise end of 2012 season, then started to struggle this year. Will have to see what happens under new staff..
Jarius Wright = good slot receiver, should prove to be a good value once a qb can get him the ball.
Rhett Ellison = stepped in for Rudolph and showed good skill at run blocking and started to improve as a receiving TE. should be a great back up
Greg Childs = injured no clue
Blanton = didnt play until half way thru last season, started off crummy with quite a few PI penalties, started to show some promise the more he played.
Walsh = Pro Bowl kicker?? not bad.. kickers are people too!
Audi Cole = had a ridiculous game in preseason, didnt see the field until henderson turned alcohoiic, showed a lot of promise with such little time as starter
Trevor Guyton = Bad draft pick.. 7th rounder so whats really expected?

2013:
Floyd: considered a steal in the draft. Looks promising, barely played at all this year with Williams in front of him. Should be starter next year and hold on to his spot on this roster for years to come.
Rhodes: forced to play zone early in the season when he saw the field. started playing more and was finally allowed to play man and did a great job. Solidified 1 cb spot on this roster
Patterson: My goodness, what a gifted athlete and exciting player. shows a lot of promise and will be the best receiver on this roster since the last 84
Hodges: special teams, looked good. never really saw the field at linebacker but maybe a handful of times. With Zimmer in the building, theres reason to be optimistic.
Locke: starter, what more can you ask for. Punts look good, sure he will improve whatever punters improve during the offseason. maybe start a band or become a rights advocate, who knows!
Baca: no clue right now, didn't see much of him between the agony and tears that come with watching this team the majority of the time.
Mauti: healed from acl, looked great on special teams, showed some promise when he was in on a few goal line plays. I think he is the hidden gem on this roster if he is healthy. Will start unless injured or we draft a mlb early
Bond: not on the roster, so bad pick but kinda expected for a 7th rounder
Dawkins: not on the roster, 7th rounder

so if you ask me, I would say that is one damn good job by Spielman. So you are wrong about his ability to draft talent.

Well done!
I do think this is a key year for Spielman. This will be his third year in control of the draft. It will also be interesting to see what Zimmer does with the starting roles this year. A lot of Spielmans picks from the last couple of years didn't start until late and I actually look for Zimmer to be starting a lot of the guys that didn't start last year. But we'll see. This team is talking about going in a new direction which will mean large changes in how this team has operated in the past. I look forward to seeing more of what these young guys can do under a different system and coaching.

[HardcoreVikesFan]

This has to be one of the most unpredictable drafts in recent history. Honestly, I have no idea what Houston will do number one, let alone Minnesota. My biggest fear is that this team is going to reach for a QB. I just don't trust Rick Spielman to draft BPA and skip a QB if there is a run on QB in the first 7 picks. Who knows though. Maybe we trade up for a QB? Maybe we trade down. It is just too hard to say right now.

[Eli]

This has to be one of the most unpredictable drafts in recent history. Honestly, I have no idea what Houston will do number one, let alone Minnesota. My biggest fear is that this team is going to reach for a QB. I just don't trust Rick Spielman to draft BPA and skip a QB if there is a run on QB in the first 7 picks. Who knows though. Maybe we trade up for a QB? Maybe we trade down. It is just too hard to say right now.

I think the Vikings would be less likely to reach for a QB if there _is_ a run in the first seven picks, although it's unlikely that there will be such a run. What fans have to worry about is not what happens in those first seven picks. What they should be worried about is Spielman trying to out-guess all the teams that come between their #8 and their #40 pick. It could prompt him to either reach badly with the #8 pick, or else to waste a couple of mid-round draft picks trying to move the #40 pick up into the first round.

[PurpleHalo]

I don't agree with saying, no chance Adrian gets traded. Even tho I realize it's unlikely based on the contract. You have to be open to anything that might help the franchise, it's his job on the line too. You wanna be successful in the NFL, you need to have the mindset to trade anyone that will not help when the team is ready to win. They could have traded Jarred 2 years ago rather than wasting him, now he walks for nothing but some sandwich pick.

[Purple bruise]

I don't agree with saying, no chance Adrian gets traded. Even tho I realize it's unlikely based on the contract. You have to be open to anything that might help the franchise, it's his job on the line too. You wanna be successful in the NFL, you need to have the mindset to trade anyone that will not help when the team is ready to win. They could have traded Jarred 2 years ago rather than wasting him, now he walks for nothing but some sandwich pick.

Yeah his job is always on the line and the surest way to get canned would be to dump the franchise's best, most popular player.