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Mothman wrote: Exactly and that risk is even higher when you commit 4 picks to one player. It's not just a crapshoot. It's an exercise in team-building as well as risk and resource management, the culmination of months (or in some cases, years) of scouting. There are ramifications to making a BIG roll of the dice like the Patterson trade and getting it wrong. There are also ramifications to knowingly devoting those resources to a player the team knows is raw and relatively unskilled and then failing to adequately follow-through on development. Spielman and the Vikings blew this big time and they have continually made poor-to-questionable decisions at WR. That's why they just selected a wide receiver in the first round for the third time in 8 years. I can't just let then off the hook and call it bad luck. I just hope Treadwell helps solve this problem.
It's possible but I've run out of optimism on this front. I think Zimmer and Turner washed their hands of Patterson as a receiving option a year and half ago. At this point, he's a return man until the end of his rookie deal (if that long) and then they'll cut him. I'll be shocked if it turns out any other way.
I fully expect Treadwell to be installed as a starter and to start in week 1.
My apologies for griping a bit. It's been difficult to watch this team's passing game and choices associated with it for the past decade. My frustration with it boils over easily!
I get the frustration though. We've not done well selecting WRs in the first round. It seems like we scout D better. 
Soon. Like around 3 pm CDTHardcoreVikesFan wrote:Any word if the team is doing an introductory presser for Treadwell today? Just curious.
Texas Vike wrote:Obviously it isn't literally a crap shoot, Jim! I thought my point was obvious: sometimes you hit, sometimes you don't. It isn't so tragic... it's just football.
I'm laughing at the absurdity of it all because on the one hand, it's just football. On the other, like many of us, I've made a nearly lifelong investment in supporting the Vikings so naturally, this stuff matters to me. It doesn't at all. I'm frustrated by the necessity to make the pick but not by the player they chose. I sure hope they learn from their mistake though.I understand that this has been a hot button issue here and I've stayed out of those debates (I simply don't have the time, nor do I see it as a fruitful exercise), but I really hope your disappointment with how the Patterson situation has turned out so far doesn't prevent you from being excited about Treadwell.
I hope so too!BTW, what a great name for a WR: I hope he does, indeed, tread well on our new field.
I doubt Zimmer will care.S197 wrote:So who will be brave enough to tell Zimmer that PFF gave the pick a C+ but the redskins who leapt in front an A.
Chris Tomasson @christomasson 3h3 hours ago
Mike Wallace wore No. 11 last season for the #Vikings. Now it goes to Laquon Treadwell.
I'd lay the reason for the Vikings not returning to a Superbowl in almost 40 years on a combination of bad luck/bad coaching decisions more than poor drafting or personnel decisions.Mothman wrote: I knew you weren't being so literal. I just wanted to make my point about the ramifications of such decisions because to me, it's practically the story of how the Vikings have gone almost 40 years without returning to the Super Bowl. They keep making blunders, complicating them with other blunders and there's a cumulative cost. It actually is a bit tragic!
I would pin it mostly on bad ownership/management and poor coaching. This organization has never been a serious contender since the Bud Grant days. Teams like Pittsburg and NYG have been steady contenders in part because they give a long enough leash to their coaching regimes to allow them to make smart decisions instead of short term decisions and they have the credibility and stability at the top to pull that off. The Vikings were a headless mess for years, then were run into the ground by a cheapskate owner, and went through a long series of coaches who had no business in that role, and tried a "triangle of authority" with a coach who was not a people person... that was a disaster.VikingLord wrote: I'd lay the reason for the Vikings not returning to a Superbowl in almost 40 years on a combination of bad luck/bad coaching decisions more than poor drafting or personnel decisions.
In 1987, they were an inopportune dropped pass from getting back to the Superbowl (or at the very least having a very good chance to get back).
In 1998, they were a only-miss-of-the-season field goal attempt from getting back.
In 2001, they were a "I think the Giants were stealing the offensive playcalls" from getting back (OK, well maybe not, but I like to tell myself that anyway).
In 2009, they were coin flip and a crazy late INT from getting back.
OK, granted, that isn't a ton of chances, but neither can I lay those failures at the feet of draft-day or personnel decisions per se. They obviously had the personnel to get to, and in 3 of the 4, nearly earn, a trip back to the Superbowl.
As far as Patterson goes, I don't see that as quite as costly as some other draft blunders made over the years. It stinks that he hasn't panned out, but as a fan I want Spielman to try to find difference-makers with every pick. Patterson showed real potential to be a difference-maker (and he has been as a kick returner), so while it was a risky and costly gamble, I'm not going to hold Spielman to account on it. For me, the decision to use the 12th pick of the first round on Christian Ponder was a far more egregious error than trading up to snag Patterson. Ponder had never shown enough to merit a 1st round selection, much less a high first round selection, while Patterson displayed runninging abilities that clearly created serious problems for defenders. Ponder was a need gamble with a low chance of hitting, while Patterson was a moderate need gamble with a reasonable chance of hitting.
Anyway, the team is on the right track again IMHO and provided Bridgewater continues to improve, I think Spielman and Zimmer have them on track to get back into the Superbowl picture soon, perhaps even as soon as this year.
I'd attribute to all of the above and more. When I referred to blunders, I wasn't just referring to draft blunders but all of their missteps have ramifications and often, one impacts another.VikingLord wrote:I'd lay the reason for the Vikings not returning to a Superbowl in almost 40 years on a combination of bad luck/bad coaching decisions more than poor drafting or personnel decisions.
Those are just the 4 closest calls. Every year since 1976 represents a year in which they failed to get back to the Super Bowl. It's 4 decades, not just 4 seasons. Better ownership, better management, better personnel and coaching decisions (and yes, better luck) all could have led to more opportunities and an actual Super Bowl appearance. Maybe even a win.In 1987, they were an inopportune dropped pass from getting back to the Superbowl (or at the very least having a very good chance to get back).
In 1998, they were a only-miss-of-the-season field goal attempt from getting back.
In 2001, they were a "I think the Giants were stealing the offensive playcalls" from getting back (OK, well maybe not, but I like to tell myself that anyway).
In 2009, they were coin flip and a crazy late INT from getting back.
OK, granted, that isn't a ton of chances, but neither can I lay those failures at the feet of draft-day or personnel decisions per se. They obviously had the personnel to get to, and in 3 of the 4, nearly earn, a trip back to the Superbowl.
I think it's had an obvious and substantial cost, easily seen and measured. I'll leave it at that.As far as Patterson goes, I don't see that as quite as costly as some other draft blunders made over the years.
