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***Official 2021 Vikings***

We've got two of the three necessary dominos down. Thankfully we'll have new GM and coach prior to the draft. They've got a year to figure out the QB before Cousins is shown the door.
Let's see what the new brain trust can do with the rest of the team (maybe w/o Barr and Pierce) before we worry about guys like Hunter, Thielen, and Jefferson.
 
Moving Thielen would be a ballsy ******* move. I have my doubts any Vikings player has their jersey in the crowd more than 19. If that didn't play out with a huge return to the Vikings that GM is toast for either cutting or trading away the golden boy. Its a business certainly...but Thielen is still more than just a football player for the Vikings.
 
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I'm not a huge Vikings fan but definitely follow them more than any other team. I don't get the people that are saying this thing needs rebuilt. They are not far away at all and have the pieces to be a top 5 offense. That alone is enough to be competitive in the NFL right now. NFL isn't like MLB where you can trade away your guys for superstar prospects. You can only get draft picks and most teams are very reluctant to give up 1st and 2nd round picks
 
Here's an article discussing how ugly things appear to have been with Zim behind the scenes.

defector.com

Mike Zimmer’s Tenure Was Even Uglier Than It Looked | Defector

Mike Zimmer was long a master of disguise. His defensive trademark was showing a Double A Gap blitz at the line of scrimmage, with two linebackers looming directly over the center, prior to the snap. This is a look that leaves the quarterback unsure as to whether or not those blitzers will drop...
defector.com defector.com
 
Mr Janny said:
Here's an article discussing how ugly things appear to have been with Zim behind the scenes.

defector.com

Mike Zimmer’s Tenure Was Even Uglier Than It Looked | Defector

Mike Zimmer was long a master of disguise. His defensive trademark was showing a Double A Gap blitz at the line of scrimmage, with two linebackers looming directly over the center, prior to the snap. This is a look that leaves the quarterback unsure as to whether or not those blitzers will drop...
defector.com defector.com
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Startribune ran the similar story and I think it was a common knowledge that Zimmer meddled with the offense. His preferred philosophy of running the ball first caused Stefon Diggs wanting to leave. IIRC there was a discussion in a local radio station here that Zimmer basically ran the offense and defense.
 
I agree about a total rebuild maybe not being necessary but to know where I'd lean we'll have to see who they hire as GM and coach.
They can definitely cut salary on D, as they were paying for nothing. I wouldn't seek to cut Adam as he is an absolute favorite, but he'd have to take a reasonable deal. I suppose you could probably push that decision one year as when on field he is very productive, but that's less and less. I don't think you can get value for JJ enough to even try that move but more than anything you have to ensure it doesn't go like Diggs went!

I heard some talking heads showing Pedersen love and I dont know quite why either. A SB is really nice but that was it and a quick flame out. I suppose if you think he can do that again, everyone should want him but the SB seemed like the fluke.
 
drmwevr08 said:
I agree about a total rebuild maybe not being necessary but to know where I'd lean we'll have to see who they hire as GM and coach.
They can definitely cut salary on D, as they were paying for nothing. I wouldn't seek to cut Adam as he is an absolute favorite, but he'd have to take a reasonable deal. I suppose you could probably push that decision one year as when on field he is very productive, but that's less and less. I don't think you can get value for JJ enough to even try that move but more than anything you have to ensure it doesn't go like Diggs went!
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Zimmer was an extremely impatient coach; especially with kickers and OCs. His inability to handle the psychology of kickers was a huge issue on this team. He would openly doubt their ability/call them out for missing, then be shocked when they missed more kicks and looked to be without any confidence. Or, in Carlson's case, cut him after one really bad performance (and after wasting a draft pick on him) only to have him go on a be a fine/stable kicker for LV.

I can't access that article, but I wouldn't be shocked to learn a lot of the offensive problems the last few years were due to Zim, not the OC. If he's a defensive "guru," he should know better than to meddle in the offense. It doesn't matter how good your OC is if the HC won't give him some freedom to run the plays he wants.
 
throwittoblythe said:
Zimmer was an extremely impatient coach; especially with kickers and OCs. His inability to handle the psychology of kickers was a huge issue on this team. He would openly doubt their ability/call them out for missing, then be shocked when they missed more kicks and looked to be without any confidence. Or, in Carlson's case, cut him after one really bad performance (and after wasting a draft pick on him) only to have him go on a be a fine/stable kicker for LV.

I can't access that article, but I wouldn't be shocked to learn a lot of the offensive problems the last few years were due to Zim, not the OC. If he's a defensive "guru," he should know better than to meddle in the offense. It doesn't matter how good your OC is if the HC won't give him some freedom to run the plays he wants.
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Zimmer's handling of kickers drove me nuts. The Minneapolis sports shows would laugh about it all "hurdur kickers aren't people lol" and it's like no one could see how ******* detrimental that mentality was.
 
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cyclone13 said:
Startribune ran the similar story and I think it was a common knowledge that Zimmer meddled with the offense. His preferred philosophy of running the ball first caused Stefon Diggs wanting to leave. IIRC there was a discussion in a local radio station here that Zimmer basically ran the offense and defense.
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This would probably explain the rash of coordinators that seemed to be hired every year, only to leave or be released shortly after. John DeFilippo comes to mind of the hot name on the hiring list after the Eagles won their Super Bowl, only to completely flame out in Minnesota and not even make it though the season. The same could probably be said about Kevin Stefansky.
 
Al_4_State said:
Zimmer's handling of kickers drove me nuts. The Minneapolis sports shows would laugh about it all "hurdur kickers aren't people lol" and it's like no one could see how ******* detrimental that mentality was.
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Agreed. I understand fans having strong reactions to kicking problems. But coaches need to be more level headed than that. Cutting Daniel Carlson was a drastic move at the time, and has only proved to be moreso after seeing his career arc since then.
 
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Al_4_State said:
Zimmer's handling of kickers drove me nuts. The Minneapolis sports shows would laugh about it all "hurdur kickers aren't people lol" and it's like no one could see how ******* detrimental that mentality was.
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Yes. I know he got burned a few times by kickers, but acting like an impatient child was not the response. Anytime they missed an important kick, the media knew they could get a quote from him about how much he hated kickers and had no confidence in them. I'm not saying you should baby them, but calling them out to the media was not being a good coach, either.
 
throwittoblythe said:
Yes. I know he got burned a few times by kickers, but acting like an impatient child was not the response. Anytime they missed an important kick, the media knew they could get a quote from him about how much he hated kickers and had no confidence in them. I'm not saying you should baby them, but calling them out to the media was not being a good coach, either.
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Right. You just treat them like every other member of the team. You don't elevate or baby them, but don't openly make them 2nd class citizens.
 
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throwittoblythe said:
Yes. I know he got burned a few times by kickers, but acting like an impatient child was not the response. Anytime they missed an important kick, the media knew they could get a quote from him about how much he hated kickers and had no confidence in them. I'm not saying you should baby them, but calling them out to the media was not being a good coach, either.
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Al_4_State said:
Right. You just treat them like every other member of the team. You don't elevate or baby them, but don't openly make them 2nd class citizens.
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What irked me the most were fans trying to tie it all back to Gary Anderson and how that's just been that way for the Vikings ever since.....you know, like no other team has ever missed a critical field goal during the game; it was purely a Vikings thing.
 
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Mr Janny said:
Agreed. I understand fans having strong reactions to kicking problems. But coaches need to be more level headed than that. Cutting Daniel Carlson was a drastic move at the time, and has only proved to be moreso after seeing his career arc since then.
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This is probably one of the "fear-based culture" that Kendrick mentioned. Should players make mistakes at this level? No. Do players make mistakes? Sure. There is a fine line between punishing and asking for accountability.
 
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