Vikings Message Board.Com

dead_poet wrote: Sure, but that's hardly a big commitment. What's the problem with taking a shot?

We only want future Hall of Famers. Duh.

Do you guys think that signing this Polish dude will change AD's mind?

vatusay wrote:Soooooooooo how far does Randy Gregory slide......

Hopefully to #11.

I am still not over the Vikes passing on Sapp in '95. Had they taken him, they'd have won the Super Bowl in '98.

Derrick Alexander

dead_poet wrote: Sure, but that's hardly a big commitment. What's the problem with taking a shot?

Well ... if we are going to take flyers at OL, I'd rather we do it with players who have played the game at a higher level (and proven they can play against decent competition) and on players who are younger who we can develop (not someone who is 27 years old). This Polish guy played in the German Football League and the Polish Football League. That's it. I'm not even sure I'd put it at the low end of Div III. If you put someone who is 6-8 / 350 on the Macalester football team at OT (and assuming he's just reasonably athletic), he's probably going to overpower guys playing for Hamline, Carleton and the other schools in that division. Does it mean anything? Not really.

It looks like we are signing this guy almost entirely based on his size and the fact that he can run around some cones reasonably well. Lots of fans get all enamored with size and start projecting good things based on nothing else. I remember when we traded a 7th round pick for Toniu Fonoti. He was a massive guy at 6'4" 350 coming out of college (Nebraska). When we acquired him he was closer to 400 pounds but that didn't stop lots of Viking fans posting on message boards about how his size was going to enable him to pancake his way through the schedule. Think he played one or two games (badly) and that was it.

Aside from this Polish dude's size what exactly is the appeal? I noticed that in his YouTube highlight video there wasn't a single down that showed him in pass coverage. Wonder why?

The only position this guy projects to is RT. There is no way he would be suitable to move inside at OG; not at that height and his lower body isn't that well developed. Somebody that projects to only one position on the OL isn't the type of guy you want to carry on your roster as a backup.

You can say we're taking a flyer on a guy so what's the problem with that. I guess I just see it differently. There will be lots of street free agent OL after the draft that are going to have a much better chance at making it in the NFL than this guy (and at 22 or 23 they'll be worth putting on the practice squad as development projects). This behemoth from the GFL will be taking one of those spots away. It just looks like a gimmick signing and a waste of a roster spot.

Pseudo Everything...has there been a post yet where people have claimed he was going to even be a starter? I think everybody has said he's a long shot with some potential. Based on potential, I think he's worth giving a look.

It would have been easy to say the Fusco was nothing to be excited about coming out of Slippery Rock because he was playing against scrubs. We can't hold his competition against him if he played extremely well against them.

You can't coach his size. You might be able to coach technique. Nothing is guaranteed and nobody is declaring him the next great player in the NFL, so I don't understand your frustration.

Two last things: you asked why there aren't any pass protection highlights in the video. 1) It is REALLY hard to look flashy in pass protection. 2) There were two clips of him protecting the QB, although on one play the QB ended up running after Babs threw the defender to the ground.

This happens every year, I wouldn't get too caught up in it either way. He's freakishly big and athletic so they're giving him a shot. It happens. Who was the receiver with the ridiculous 40 time, vertical, etc.? Lowber I think? Never heard from him again but you still take low risk/potential high reward shots because you never know.

do you guys remember when the Vikes signed Brock Lesnar? This reminds me of that. No risk.

The upside possibly far outweighs the expense a few hundred thousand for a massive athlete
with some pretty impressive numbers. I love these kind of guys Charles Johnson, Tom Johnson,
etc etc ... to get a top performer for nothing makes the difference between a winner and
losing franchise.

http://www.nfl.com/player/terencenewman ... areerstats

Newman had one pick 48 solo tackles and 25 Assist tackles ... Better than I thought

DK Sweets wrote:Pseudo Everything...has there been a post yet where people have claimed he was going to even be a starter?

No but none of my posts suggested that either so I'm not sure what you're getting at here.

It would have been easy to say the Fusco was nothing to be excited about coming out of Slippery Rock because he was playing against scrubs. We can't hold his competition against him if he played extremely well against them.

Fusco (Slippery Rock) played in Div II and he was the cream of the crop as an All American first team. I'd say that Fusco played against considerably better competition than what the Polish behemoth saw in the GFL and PFL. Fusco was good enough to be drafted in the 6th round. If the Polish behemoth were in this year's draft I don't think he would have any chance at all at being drafted.

Pseudo Everything wrote: No but none of my posts suggested that either so I'm not sure what you're getting at here.

Of course you're not saying that. You're saying the opposite of that. I'm sorry if I worded that poorly.

I'm questioning why you seem to be upset with the signing/fan excitement. We're not that excited. It's the offseason; we've talked about everything from potential stadium-related bird deaths to Adrian Peterson riding a camel. An actual player with a fun video to watch is just something to talk about.

Summary: You seem upset that fans are really excited about him and we're wasting a roster spot. We're not actually very excited and he's not guaranteed a roster spot by any means. Why does this move bother you?

Fusco (Slippery Rock) played in Div II and he was the cream of the crop as an All American first team. I'd say that Fusco played against considerably better competition than what the Polish behemoth saw in the GFL and PFL. Fusco was good enough to be drafted in the 6th round. If the Polish behemoth were in this year's draft I don't think he would have any chance at all at being drafted.

You're missing the point. Fusco ended up being better than a ton of players who were drafted before him, but he was held back because of who he played against. I'm not saying this guy is the next Fusco, I'm just saying there are possible parallels and there's no harm in seeing what he can do.

DK Sweets wrote:Of course you're not saying that. You're saying the opposite of that. I'm sorry if I worded that poorly. I'm questioning why you seem to be upset with the signing/fan excitement. We're not that excited. It's the offseason; we've talked about everything from potential stadium-related bird deaths to Adrian Peterson riding a camel. An actual player with a fun video to watch is just something to talk about.Summary: You seem upset that fans are really excited about him and we're wasting a roster spot. We're not actually very excited and he's not guaranteed a roster spot by any means. Why does this move bother you?

I agree that it's something to talk about. I thought that was what I was doing. It's a discussion ... not everyone has the same opinion. I wouldn't have signed the guy for the reasons I laid out (not going to re-hash all that). Just because I don't agree with something the Vikings front office did doesn't mean I'm upset (I'm not).

DK Sweets wrote:You're missing the point. Fusco ended up being better than a ton of players who were drafted before him, but he was held back because of who he played against. I'm not saying this guy is the next Fusco, I'm just saying there are possible parallels and there's no harm in seeing what he can do.

I thought Fusco was drafted right about where he should have been. Same with Jim Kleinsasser who we drafted in the 2nd round and who played at then Div II North Dakota. The Polish behemoth played in what looks to me like a couple of glorified beer leagues. If there's a parallel between Fusco and the Polish dude, it's an extremely thin one. I'm pretty confident that there will be several undrafted OL free agents that will be better prospects than this guy. So if he's taking one of our 90 roster spots to the exclusion of someone who is a better prospect that would not be a good thing ... right?

I can't help but think of this, when I think of Terrance Newman.




I really hope we don't see a lot of that this year. Though I believe he is still better than Munnerlyn or Robinson on the outside. He has definitely lost a step, though. If we draft a CB in the first round or second round, I would like to see some rotation between him and whoever is behind him.

More of "Babs." I know he's going up against smaller guys than he'll traditionally see in the NFL but some of these blocks are lol hilariously awesome. After watching some of his blocks I found myself saying in a deep Hulk voice "puny human."



What I take away is he's finishing blocks and plays, he's got some speed on him for a mountain and he's always looking for someone to smash. I'm going to be rooting hard for this guy in camp. If he can do even half of what he did overseas he could be a contributor. I'll be anxious to see how he does against Everson and some other fast/agile pass rushers.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Newman start on the outside, pushing Captain into the slot where he's better suited.

Robinson would be a decent #4 CB although I think Price could push him for that spot.