Biggest questions heading into next year

[mansquatch]

There will always be a place for a power runner. 4th and 1, 1 yard goal line dives, or when you need 3 yards in the 4Q and a first down to seal the victory against a high powered opposing offense. first downs and eating clock in the 4th quarter are keys to closing a win against a tough opponent. That is all about the run and why playoff defenses HAVE to be able to defend the run.

[chicagopurple]

current league rules totally favor a passing offense.
any running back that is going to have a huge impact on his team MUST be a good receiver and a skilled run pass blocker. AP is neither. He no longer is the prototype RB that can be the foundation of a Super Bowl team. I bet a lot of people never thought the Fullback would become relatively unimportant either.......

[Nunin]

The O-line is clearly a chronic concern, but I find it a little too early to define this group. Only one guy playing the same position, a coupla new guys, new coach and 3 different QBs in less than a month. Add in the injury to Kalil and it's the epitome of instability to start the season with...but like Mansquatch posted, they will improve. It's a mater of degree though.
It's on Turner to help them through the first month or so by the way he scripts the gameplan and calls plays. Obviously it's up to them to execute, but the OC can help a lot.
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I think a power running game can be a devastating weapon as long as it's complimented with a QB who can put the team on his back when needed. I don't think you can consistently win in the playoffs having just one or the other. And I think it's short sighted to build your team around a RB. Doesn't matter how talented they are. No RB hs ever carried his team to a SB IMO. If Emmitt Smith had AD's supporting cast instead of Aikman and Co. and had to face all those stacked boxes, he wouldn't have ever sniffed the rushing record. AD is the exception not the rule...
Most of todays teams struggle to find decent offensive linemen because of how the game is being played at the collegiate level. I feel that is mostly what is effecting the evolution of the NFL RB position. The solution is not to mail it in as far as who or what kind of back you draft, but to find guys who are multifaceted.
I hope AD is ready for the playoffs and that he gets a full season with Bradford next year.
It's unfortunate that the writing on the wall clearly puts that possibilty on the hunks of meat we are being forced to call an offensive line.
AD/McKinnon/Bradford/Diggs/Rudolph/Treadwell is a formidable cast.
Losing Phil and Sully really skrewed things up, but I feel they should have seen that coming and made better plans.
It is what it is, and speculation doesn't count for crap.
I'm rooting for Clemmings on Sunday!

[slapnut19]

it's obvious that just throwing money at our o line isn't going to fix it. we have the highest o line payroll in the league after having the 2nd highest last season. what boggles my mind is that guys like osemele, mack and mitchell schwartz were deemed to be too expensive, but paying guys like kalil and smith were thought to be suitable options. rick is a smart gm and he has to see that the organizations approach to scouting and developing o lineman just isn't working. sparano has a track record of success, and i'm willing to give him some time with guys like clemmings and fusco, but something has to change going forward.

[mansquatch]

This keeps coming up...

Cult of the QB
Cult of the QB
Cult of the QB

Do you need a QB who can make plays and not make mistakes: Yes!

Do you need a HOF QB to win it all? Not necessarily. Ask Dan Marino about this.

Teams need Defense to win championships. AZ has the most prolific passing game in the NFL right now. Didn't make it to the SB in 2015. GB has had one of the most impressive passing offenses from 2010-2014. Only went to the big dance once. The 15-1 team didn't even win a playoff game.

You need a good QB who can make plays, but you also need a strong roster and good to great defense to win it all. We've been yammering on here a lot about QB needs due to the state of the position, justifiably so, but right now QB is not the biggest problem facing the Vikings. It might not even be top 3. (that could change in a nano second...)

[Nunin]

I would suggest that one of the biggest issues facing this current edition of the Vikings outside of the o-line, which has been dogging them for a decade, is having the right players for the system. It has just so happened that the most iffy component in that equation has been at QB, the most important component. It's been that way from the moment Turner and TB hooked up. Another guy is CP, does he fit this system or not? If not why not trade him for pick or part of a package for a decent lineman rather than letting him walk when his contract expires?
An example of a serious talent that got wasted due to this dynamic is Mike Wallace.
This team goes nearly 3 full games without scoring an offensive TD. Something changed. I'm not saying Teddy wouldn't have or couldn't have been doing great thus far....but his knee is absolutely wrecked right now.
It makes no sense not to rally behind Bradford.

[autobon7]

The O-line is clearly a chronic concern, but I find it a little too early to define this group. Only one guy playing the same position, a coupla new guys, new coach and 3 different QBs in less than a month. Add in the injury to Kalil and it's the epitome of instability to start the season with...but like Mansquatch posted, they will improve. It's a mater of degree though.
It's on Turner to help them through the first month or so by the way he scripts the gameplan and calls plays. Obviously it's up to them to execute, but the OC can help a lot.
-
I think a power running game can be a devastating weapon as long as it's complimented with a QB who can put the team on his back when needed. I don't think you can consistently win in the playoffs having just one or the other. And I think it's short sighted to build your team around a RB. Doesn't matter how talented they are. No RB hs ever carried his team to a SB IMO. If Emmitt Smith had AD's supporting cast instead of Aikman and Co. and had to face all those stacked boxes, he wouldn't have ever sniffed the rushing record. AD is the exception not the rule...
Most of todays teams struggle to find decent offensive linemen because of how the game is being played at the collegiate level. I feel that is mostly what is effecting the evolution of the NFL RB position. The solution is not to mail it in as far as who or what kind of back you draft, but to find guys who are multifaceted.
I hope AD is ready for the playoffs and that he gets a full season with Bradford next year.
It's unfortunate that the writing on the wall clearly puts that possibilty on the hunks of meat we are being forced to call an offensive line.
AD/McKinnon/Bradford/Diggs/Rudolph/Treadwell is a formidable cast.
Losing Phil and Sully really skrewed things up, but I feel they should have seen that coming and made better plans.
It is what it is, and speculation doesn't count for crap.
I'm rooting for Clemmings on Sunday!

Really solid post......

[mansquatch]

I think some of what we are seeing is a philosophy shift at work. The over arching philosophy with the OL until this offseason was "continuity". This year we have thrown that out completely and are basically starting over, albeit with a few old pieces and a few new. (I think this explains Fusco's contract, BTW)

Of course, last year 4/5 of the continuity wasn't playing. Fusco was at LG, not RG. Berger replaced Sullivan. Clemmings replaced Loadholt, and Harris took over at RG. This year only Kalil and Berger were the same and Kalil is now on IR. Fusco is back at RG, and LG/RT are both guys who were not on the team last year. Also new coach with new philosophy. IMO, them struggling really isn't a surprise although the degree to which they've stuggled probably is. (At least to us fans, maybe the coaches expected it?)

[J. Kapp 11]

If he goes out and has a great season, not only would trading him in favor of starting Bridgewater not make sense, it would be somewhat mindboggling. This team has been looking for answers at QB for a long time. If Bradford plays at a high level and looks like a genuinely viable solution after this season, trading him to go with a QB coming off a devastating knee injury (the kind that has ended careers) and still hasn't really proven himself a viable long term starter would be a very reckless roll of the dice.

I'm with you, Jim. I think it would be a very questionable move.

It's impossible to know whether Sam Bradford can play at the level he did this past Sunday for a whole season. What I do know is that he was making throws that we haven't seen since a certain Number 4 was doing a redneck rendition of "Pants On The Ground" in the Vikings locker room. The long pass to Diggs was an amazing throw, and the TDs to Rudolph and Diggs were absolute lasers, delivered under intense pressure from Green Bay. Teddy MIGHT be able to make those throws, but in the regular season, he hasn't done it so far. If Bradford continues to play like this, I don't see how you can deal him.

As you also said -- these ARE the Vikings.

[VikingPaul73]

That's not even close to true. Approaches to the position may be changing but the position itself isn't going anywhere.

Agreed. It's cyclical.

Look how important BeastMode was to the Seahawks SB

[Mothman]

Agreed. It's cyclical.

Look how important BeastMode was to the Seahawks SB

Exactly. The position remains important and that's a very recent example of a team that actually had a power running back at the center of it's offense... and won a Super Bowl (almost 2 in a row). He wasn't a highly skilled receiver out of the backfield either.

[mansquatch]

The biggest question going into next year is whether or not Jim grows back the hair he loses watching our OL this season.

[MikethePurple]

The biggest question going into next year is whether or not Jim grows back the hair he loses watching our OL this season.

Haha, when I first read that I read "whether or not Jim grows the back hair he loses watching our OL this season." I just thought to myself, is it well known around the messageboard that Jim has an extraordinarily hairy back? And that it sheds uncontrollably during times of high stress?

[Dames]

Haha, when I first read that I read "whether or not Jim grows the back hair he loses watching our OL this season." I just thought to myself, is it well known around the messageboard that Jim has an extraordinarily hairy back? And that it sheds uncontrollably during times of high stress?

Jim is a huge Bradford fan:

[Mothman]

I'll have you know my back is smoooth...