2018 Minnesota Vikings failed season.

[CharVike]

Nobody is questioning Case as a person or anything along those lines. However, he isnt a good QB. Elway couldnt see a good QB if they slapped him in the face. And yeah, Flacco is just another mistake on his

However, you cant tell me that Keenum would have done equivalent or better than Cousins this year in a pass heavy "non-Pat Shurmur" scheme. He threw 15 INTs this year in a much more balanced scheme than Flips in Denver. What do you think he would be doing when he's throwing the ball 45 times a game?? Not making good decisions I can tell you that. Case had 125 LESS passing attempts with us last year compared to Cousins this year? That's like 4 games worth of pass attempts? You're telling me that Case is going to be throwing dimes all day and leading us to the playoffs..... you're dreaming. No less against 7 playoff teams and 2 Packers/with Rodgers games. Compared to the whopping 4 playoff teams he had on his schedule last year and 2 Rodger-less packer games.

All I've heard on here is "Yeah, I think letting Case walk last year was the right decision", but those same guys are the first to shred Cousins. Well if you think Cousins sucks, thought it was smart to let Keenum walk and are sitting at 30th in the first round then who in the hell did you want as our QB this year?? lol. Because not one person has answered that question. A couple of you love to shred Cousins and act like you have all the answers but dont have the slightest answer to a better QB option for us this past offseason. Weird.

I already mentioned that your obsessed with Case. He doesn't play on the team anymore.
This post proves it.
Bottom line what has Cousins done in his career? Nothing
Except taken a lot of money from the Vikings. To me 8-7-1 record is unacceptable.

He has 2 years to prove us wrong. Lets hope he does.

And what is proving us wrong? Winning the SB. We don't have the roster for that. And our best two defensive players, Griff and Rhodes, really set the world on fire. They were monsters during the 13-3 season and this year well do I need to spell it out. I will. They were worthless and pulled a ton of CAP. At the end of the day most experts had us as a 500 team. We beat that.

[StumpHunter]

I already mentioned that your obsessed with Case. He doesn't play on the team anymore.
This post proves it.
Bottom line what has Cousins done in his career? Nothing
Except taken a lot of money from the Vikings. To me 8-7-1 record is unacceptable.

He has 2 years to prove us wrong. Lets hope he does.

And what is proving us wrong? Winning the SB. We don't have the roster for that. And our best two defensive players, Griff and Rhodes, really set the world on fire. They were monsters during the 13-3 season and this year well do I need to spell it out. I will. They were worthless and pulled a ton of CAP. At the end of the day most experts had us as a 500 team. We beat that.

Going 13-3 with a backup QB proves we had the roster to win a SB. Maybe not this upcoming season as I don't see anyway this team improves over last year with the guys leaving and the cap space we have, but we did in 2018.

[fiestavike]

And what is proving us wrong? Winning the SB. We don't have the roster for that. And our best two defensive players, Griff and Rhodes, really set the world on fire. They were monsters during the 13-3 season and this year well do I need to spell it out. I will. They were worthless and pulled a ton of CAP. At the end of the day most experts had us as a 500 team. We beat that.

Going 13-3 with a backup QB proves we had the roster to win a SB. Maybe not this upcoming season as I don't see anyway this team improves over last year with the guys leaving and the cap space we have, but we did in 2018.

I think this team still has superbowl potential. The key is getting the offense to play a more complimentary style (that is, be able to run, avoid negative plays, convert on 3rd downs). Can Kirk Cousins do that? I think he can in a simplified system like the one I anticipate we'll be running under Kubiak. The defense will be solid once again, and has the potential to be notably better with young DL pieces developing, young DBs developing, and adding a force LB whose motor runs more than intermittently. Losing Griffin would hurt, but he may be lost already due to mental health/medication side effects.

[Pondering Her Percy]

Nobody is questioning Case as a person or anything along those lines. However, he isnt a good QB. Elway couldnt see a good QB if they slapped him in the face. And yeah, Flacco is just another mistake on his

However, you cant tell me that Keenum would have done equivalent or better than Cousins this year in a pass heavy "non-Pat Shurmur" scheme. He threw 15 INTs this year in a much more balanced scheme than Flips in Denver. What do you think he would be doing when he's throwing the ball 45 times a game?? Not making good decisions I can tell you that. Case had 125 LESS passing attempts with us last year compared to Cousins this year? That's like 4 games worth of pass attempts? You're telling me that Case is going to be throwing dimes all day and leading us to the playoffs..... you're dreaming. No less against 7 playoff teams and 2 Packers/with Rodgers games. Compared to the whopping 4 playoff teams he had on his schedule last year and 2 Rodger-less packer games.

All I've heard on here is "Yeah, I think letting Case walk last year was the right decision", but those same guys are the first to shred Cousins. Well if you think Cousins sucks, thought it was smart to let Keenum walk and are sitting at 30th in the first round then who in the hell did you want as our QB this year?? lol. Because not one person has answered that question. A couple of you love to shred Cousins and act like you have all the answers but dont have the slightest answer to a better QB option for us this past offseason. Weird.

I already mentioned that your obsessed with Case. He doesn't play on the team anymore.
This post proves it.
Bottom line what has Cousins done in his career? Nothing
Except taken a lot of money from the Vikings. To me 8-7-1 record is unacceptable.

He has 2 years to prove us wrong. Lets hope he does.

Idk why you keep saying I’m “obsessed with case”? I’m simply saying he’s not a good QB.

As for cousins, nobody is saying 8-7-1 is acceptable. I know I’m not. But again, that’s not solely Kirk Cousins record. The team failed in multiple aspects. Everyone is to blame. The year case was here nearly every part of this team and coaches were doing their jobs. The D was #1 in the league, our running game was top 10. It’s one of the better OLs we’ve seen in a while, Diggs and Thielen were being Diggs and Thielen. Rudy played well. Forbath was decent. Our OC was legit. Our schedule was weak. Like what more could you ask for if you were case. Explain to me what cousins had going in his favor this year? A dip in the defense. A terrible OC, terrible ST, terrible OL, a non-existent and non-utilized run game, a non existent TE, a schedule that consisted of 7 playoff teams and 2 games vs Aaron Rodgers, etc. The two seasons aren’t even comparable. Forget the QBs. Outside of our WRs, every aspect of this team took a step back from last year. So blame cousins all you want. It goes so far beyond that it’s not even funny

[StumpHunter]

Going 13-3 with a backup QB proves we had the roster to win a SB. Maybe not this upcoming season as I don't see anyway this team improves over last year with the guys leaving and the cap space we have, but we did in 2018.

I think this team still has superbowl potential. The key is getting the offense to play a more complimentary style (that is, be able to run, avoid negative plays, convert on 3rd downs). Can Kirk Cousins do that? I think he can in a simplified system like the one I anticipate we'll be running under Kubiak. The defense will be solid once again, and has the potential to be notably better with young DL pieces developing, young DBs developing, and adding a force LB whose motor runs more than intermittently. Losing Griffin would hurt, but he may be lost already due to mental health/medication side effects.

I hope you are right, but the defense improving over last year seems very unlikely. Even if the Vikings draft players who are better than Barr and Richardson in the long run, the odds of them being better as rookies are slim to none.

The offense should improve. It really has nowhere to go but up at this point. To get back to what it was in 2017 is a massive leap though, and that offense wasn't good enough.

[PurpleKoolaid]

I think this team still has superbowl potential. The key is getting the offense to play a more complimentary style (that is, be able to run, avoid negative plays, convert on 3rd downs). Can Kirk Cousins do that? I think he can in a simplified system like the one I anticipate we'll be running under Kubiak. The defense will be solid once again, and has the potential to be notably better with young DL pieces developing, young DBs developing, and adding a force LB whose motor runs more than intermittently. Losing Griffin would hurt, but he may be lost already due to mental health/medication side effects.

I hope you are right, but the defense improving over last year seems very unlikely. Even if the Vikings draft players who are better than Barr and Richardson in the long run, the odds of them being better as rookies are slim to none.

The offense should improve. It really has nowhere to go but up at this point. To get back to what it was in 2017 is a massive leap though, and that offense wasn't good enough.

The D will be more then aqueduct to win a SB. The offense is not. Rick has less of an idea on what good linemen are than he does what a good QB is, through the draft or FA. Cousins can only play well under perfect circumstances, any QB could. Rick has been screwing up this team far too long, and the fact Zimmer isnt a good HC doesnt help. Hes a great DC, maybe the best in the NFL. But he isnt a good HC. Zimmer can take a 7th rd DB and make him into a starter in 2 years.

[CharVike]

And what is proving us wrong? Winning the SB. We don't have the roster for that. And our best two defensive players, Griff and Rhodes, really set the world on fire. They were monsters during the 13-3 season and this year well do I need to spell it out. I will. They were worthless and pulled a ton of CAP. At the end of the day most experts had us as a 500 team. We beat that.

Going 13-3 with a backup QB proves we had the roster to win a SB. Maybe not this upcoming season as I don't see anyway this team improves over last year with the guys leaving and the cap space we have, but we did in 2018.

That 13-3 record was very good no doubt. We caught some breaks and stayed healthy. The Bears were a joke, the Packers are horrible without Rodgers. That was 4 wins right off the bat. We did beat the Rams but the Steelers had no problem. We couldn't move the ball and Case had a 65 rating. That SB roster won a home playoff game with a miracle. We should have been done at that point. I thought that would give us momentum. Then the next week. In 2018 our 2 best defensive players didn't do anything. If they were cut our record would have been the same. If the Bears cut Mack they don't make the playoffs. If they played as in 2017 we would have been in the playoffs. I assume Griff won't be back. Too much CAP and his mental condition won't help. As for Rhodes I also think it's too much CAP for what he done. He needs to prove he's the man again. I hope he is. If not see ya. And I don't expect Hughes back day one and be the same. If he comes back this year it would be considered and outstanding achievement. So we have many more questions than we did last year. Is Elf going to be back and playing at a decent level. Or will he be a joke. Who knows. I hope all these guys are back and rebound to prior form. But what's the chance of that? It's not good. In the NFL prior seasons don't hold much water especially with a CAP.

[CharVike]

I think this team still has superbowl potential. The key is getting the offense to play a more complimentary style (that is, be able to run, avoid negative plays, convert on 3rd downs). Can Kirk Cousins do that? I think he can in a simplified system like the one I anticipate we'll be running under Kubiak. The defense will be solid once again, and has the potential to be notably better with young DL pieces developing, young DBs developing, and adding a force LB whose motor runs more than intermittently. Losing Griffin would hurt, but he may be lost already due to mental health/medication side effects.

I hope you are right, but the defense improving over last year seems very unlikely. Even if the Vikings draft players who are better than Barr and Richardson in the long run, the odds of them being better as rookies are slim to none.

The offense should improve. It really has nowhere to go but up at this point. To get back to what it was in 2017 is a massive leap though, and that offense wasn't good enough.

Bingo. People think we can draft guys and just plug them in. Sometimes that works but overall guys need a few seasons to get it. But this team won't challenge this year. The best hope would be for the Bears to be garbage again, Rodgers not to play and a cake walk schedule. We also need to stay healthy, Griff and Rhodes being monsters again. A rookie starting on the O line and playing decent. That will get us to 2017 again. But OH the breaks need to go our way and a few miracles would be nice also. Now it's 2017 again. Good luck with all of that going right. And the new OC we hired, Stan???, is an absolute worst hire there was. We haven't played a game and I know that's true. Yes Kubiak will help Sloter. That does zero for this year. I guess they will attempt to bang Cook into the ground and if Murray leaves who will spell Cook and fill in when he's out. Nobody. So Cousins will go down as a loser. What QB could take this roster to the SB? Brees? Nope. Brady? Nope. Rodgers? Nope. Rothlisberger? Nope. All losers I guess.

[fiestavike]

Bingo. People think we can draft guys and just plug them in. Sometimes that works but overall guys need a few seasons to get it.

That's exactly not what I asserted.

[Pondering Her Percy]

I hope you are right, but the defense improving over last year seems very unlikely. Even if the Vikings draft players who are better than Barr and Richardson in the long run, the odds of them being better as rookies are slim to none.

The offense should improve. It really has nowhere to go but up at this point. To get back to what it was in 2017 is a massive leap though, and that offense wasn't good enough.

Bingo. People think we can draft guys and just plug them in. Sometimes that works but overall guys need a few seasons to get it. But this team won't challenge this year. The best hope would be for the Bears to be garbage again, Rodgers not to play and a cake walk schedule. We also need to stay healthy, Griff and Rhodes being monsters again. A rookie starting on the O line and playing decent. That will get us to 2017 again. But OH the breaks need to go our way and a few miracles would be nice also. Now it's 2017 again. Good luck with all of that going right. And the new OC we hired, Stan???, is an absolute worst hire there was. We haven't played a game and I know that's true. Yes Kubiak will help Sloter. That does zero for this year. I guess they will attempt to bang Cook into the ground and if Murray leaves who will spell Cook and fill in when he's out. Nobody. So Cousins will go down as a loser. What QB could take this roster to the SB? Brees? Nope. Brady? Nope. Rodgers? Nope. Rothlisberger? Nope. All losers I guess.

lol dude you lost me here. Some of your posts really just baffle me.....

1.) Idk why everyone drools over Rodgers. He just went 6-9-1 but somehow claimed to be the best in the game. And he's the highest paid QB in the NFL. He was outplayed by Cousins twice this year and IMO, lost both games, if we only had a kicker. The guy has been to and won ONE SB in like 12 years. Brady has 6 SBs but the media and fans drool over Rodgers? I dont get it. If you think we're going to somehow "not challenge" this year and we need Rodgers to not play, what do you possibly think the Packers are going to do? They have holes all over their roster and a completely new coaching staff. Coming off a 6 win season no less with the "almighty" one playing QB. Zim has had Rodgers number for quite some time now. The last thing I'm worried about is the Packers.

2.) Idk who Stan is but I just got done saying Stefanski is the one that pushed for Kubiak the most. How is he the absolute worst hire there was? You're the one saying we've barely played a game yet so how can you make that assumption? And who did you want us to hire? Because I've yet to hear that. Do you really think they brought in Gary Kubiak to "help Sloter"? Come on dude lets be realistic here.

3.) Why are you continuing to freak out over Cook being the only RB here and Murray leaving? Free agency hasnt even started yet and the draft is still over a month away. Do you expect them to just have their roster set right now? Clearly if they are losing Murray they are going to go get someone else.

And 4.) No, nobody expects that we will just bring some rookies and free agents in and walk to a SB. But explain to me how the Vikings went from 8-8 in 2016 to 13-3 the following year? Or how the Falcons went from 8-8 to the SB the following year. Or how the Bears went from 5-11 to 12-4 and winning the North? Or how the Eagles went from 7-9 to winning the SB the following year? Bottom line is, this team DOES HAVE the talent it NEEDS to contend. Those teams all had the talent they needed. It's about if they put it together as a TEAM though. Defense is playing at a high level, Offense is playing at a high level, ST is doing their job, etc. Anything can happen any year. It's not like we're the Jets and practically stripped of any talent. It's all about how we play as a TEAM. I mean the Eagles literally went from SB champions to barely making the playoffs this year (and literally wouldnt have if Daniel Carlson made that kick for us vs. GB). Anything can happen. And so far, we have made changes for the better as a team IMO

[StumpHunter]

And 4.) No, nobody expects that we will just bring some rookies and free agents in and walk to a SB. But explain to me how the Vikings went from 8-8 in 2016 to 13-3 the following year? Or how the Falcons went from 8-8 to the SB the following year. Or how the Bears went from 5-11 to 12-4 and winning the North? Or how the Eagles went from 7-9 to winning the SB the following year? Bottom line is, this team DOES HAVE the talent it NEEDS to contend. Those teams all had the talent they needed. It's about if they put it together as a TEAM though. Defense is playing at a high level, Offense is playing at a high level, ST is doing their job, etc. Anything can happen any year. It's not like we're the Jets and practically stripped of any talent. It's all about how we play as a TEAM. I mean the Eagles literally went from SB champions to barely making the playoffs this year (and literally wouldnt have if Daniel Carlson made that kick for us vs. GB). Anything can happen. And so far, we have made changes for the better as a team IMO

I am not going to pretend to be an expert on how Atlanta went from 8-8 to one of the best teams in the NFL, but the Vikings went from 8-8 to 13-3 because they got healthy and they got better QB play. They also had some young players who made huge leaps in 2017 (Barr, Kendricks and Hunter).

The Vikings in 2019 will likely not be healthier than 2018, and will not upgrade their QB. I also don't see the young players who will jump from tons of potential, to being near elite at their positions. Harris maybe could take a big jump?

I think there is an opportunity for the offense to improve, with a new OC, and an opportunity for the line to improve dramatically at run blocking, but it seems much more likely the defense regresses than it improves with who are losing in FAs and with key players getting older.

[Pondering Her Percy]

And 4.) No, nobody expects that we will just bring some rookies and free agents in and walk to a SB. But explain to me how the Vikings went from 8-8 in 2016 to 13-3 the following year? Or how the Falcons went from 8-8 to the SB the following year. Or how the Bears went from 5-11 to 12-4 and winning the North? Or how the Eagles went from 7-9 to winning the SB the following year? Bottom line is, this team DOES HAVE the talent it NEEDS to contend. Those teams all had the talent they needed. It's about if they put it together as a TEAM though. Defense is playing at a high level, Offense is playing at a high level, ST is doing their job, etc. Anything can happen any year. It's not like we're the Jets and practically stripped of any talent. It's all about how we play as a TEAM. I mean the Eagles literally went from SB champions to barely making the playoffs this year (and literally wouldnt have if Daniel Carlson made that kick for us vs. GB). Anything can happen. And so far, we have made changes for the better as a team IMO

I am not going to pretend to be an expert on how Atlanta went from 8-8 to one of the best teams in the NFL, but the Vikings went from 8-8 to 13-3 because they got healthy and they got better QB play. They also had some young players who made huge leaps in 2017 (Barr, Kendricks and Hunter).

The Vikings in 2019 will likely not be healthier than 2018, and will not upgrade their QB. I also don't see the young players who will jump from tons of potential, to being near elite at their positions. Harris maybe could take a big jump?

I think there is an opportunity for the offense to improve, with a new OC, and an opportunity for the line to improve dramatically at run blocking, but it seems much more likely the defense regresses than it improves with who are losing in FAs and with key players getting older.

The 2017 Vikings had:

-4 new starters on the OL. Reiff, Remmers, Easton and Elflein.
-We had a new OC that was legit.
-Murray/McKinnon combo vs Asiata/Mckinnon combo
-Better (and lucky) QB play
-Better overall defensive play

....it wasnt just "we got healthy and had better QB play". There were some HUGE changes.

As for this coming season, why would we not be healthier or just as healthy? They will upgrade their OL. They now know what they are doing on offense and what their identity will be and that will be to be balanced. Cousins will have a better year under this system IMO. And no matter who we lose on defense, Mike Zimmer has never had a "bad" defense. They are always going to be good enough to win us games regardless.

[StumpHunter]

....it wasnt just "we got healthy and had better QB play". There were some HUGE changes.

Let me help you out a little.

They also had some young players who made huge leaps in 2017 (Barr, Kendricks and Hunter).

The Vikings in 2019 will likely not be healthier than 2018, and will not upgrade their QB. I also don't see the young players who will jump from tons of potential, to being near elite at their positions. Harris maybe could take a big jump?

So yes, it wasn't just that they got healthy and had better QB play. I never said it was, and that is in fact the exact opposite of the argument I was making. There were significant changes from 2016 to 2017. There will not be from 2018 to 2019.

The 2017 Vikings had:

-4 new starters on the OL. Reiff, Remmers, Easton and Elflein.
-We had a new OC that was legit.
-Murray/McKinnon combo vs Asiata/Mckinnon combo
-Better (and lucky) QB play
-Better overall defensive play

....it wasnt just "we got healthy and had better QB play". There were some HUGE changes.

As for this coming season, why would we not be healthier or just as healthy? They will upgrade their OL. They now know what they are doing on offense and what their identity will be and that will be to be balanced. Cousins will have a better year under this system IMO. And no matter who we lose on defense, Mike Zimmer has never had a "bad" defense. They are always going to be good enough to win us games regardless.

The jump to 13-3 required improvement on both defense and offense. A healthy offensive line (the Vikings were on their 3rd LT and RT by the end of the season and starting a backup at center, moving Berger to RG), essentially the same OC as the previous year, a healthy starting caliber RB, and better QB play. I think they could improve on Oline this year, but it will require a rookie to play really well for that to happen. I think it is more likely that a change in scheme will help the offense, but even with that it is another new system for the offense to learn and there is no guarantee the Vikings improve right away.

[CharVike]

Interesting note



Courtney Cronin espn

This was my problem when Cousins rumors started. We don't need a billion dollar QB. No one does. You need a good one who has the intangibles that Cousins clearly doesn't have we could have saved at least $10 million per season had we retained Keenum.

Keenum is a backup. The guy can't get it done long term. Many teams were after Cousins. How many will go after Keenum. Your the typical blame it all on Cousins guy. Maybe if Griff decided to play and earn his CAP hit perhaps things would have been different. If Rhodes earned his CAP hit perhaps things would have been different. If Elf would have helped just a little perhaps things would be different. If we had a FG kicker perhaps things would be different. The ifs go on and on. Maybe if we had Turbisky we would have won it all. I doubt we would have won it all with Brady or Goff. But maybe it would have been easy. Goff only made it because of some BS call or non call in the playoffs. Then couldn't do a thing in the show. Basically couldn't even move his team against a lower tier defense. Maybe Case would have blown that below average defense apart. I doubt it. And what is an intangible? That's a new one. Could it be to move your team on the road against a top divisional rival and then a FG kicker that couldn't make an extra point length FG. Is that the intangible your talking about? Very few teams have won a SB with a bum at QB.
The Ravens did but that defense could be the greatest of all time. That defense also scored points. The offense was only there to take time off the clock.

[CharVike]

I felt the same also.Especially after getting a decent QB. I know most think he's a bum and Case was the better option at 18 million. Case is a backup and paying 18 million is double a backup salary. But during the off season most of the experts had us falling backwards. I thought they were stupid. I should have known better. Well we have the same 500 roster and coaches right now That can't be changed in one off season. Some guys won't be back with Griff being at the top of the list. How will he be replaced? Rhodes is near the end if not there now. He's no 25 year old. And Hughes along with Eflein who knows about them. Some come back some don't but they better get guys just in case. Elf looks to be done. And Hughes first year back so he won't be the same year 1. Maybe year 2 maybe. That's 4 players just to replace the question marks. And two of those were top guys. So we need bodies just to stay even. So I don't think we can improve. There's no QB out there that's better than what we have. The Bears D is much better than ours so they will beat the crap teams including us again. We won't move the ball on them. But they have a RB playing QB. He's worse than our guy. But he's a winner and our guy isn't. I guess that will be the difference. To me we will be 500 maybe again.

One "bad" year from Rhodes and a down year from Elflein coming off an injury, and they are both done? I really dont understand your logic sometimes. If you were an NFL GM and gave up on guys so quickly like you are, you'd be out of a job awfully fast.

If you wait 3 years for a turn around your done also. How long can a GM wait on a guy. What if Elf blows this year? I guess it's best to wait another year. See that never ends and another player could get hurt badly from his poor play. And Rhodes isn't a developmental guy. He has peaked. Will he hit a 2017 season again? That's a hard one to answer.