OFFICIAL MINNESOTA VIKINGS OFFSEASON THREAD vol. With the 22nd Pick....

[moneymike9]

Gonna be another long offseason.

I know we all don't like Childress, or at least most of us don't. I really wouldn't mind seeing a new coach next season.

Secondly, we need to decide what we are gonna do with the QB position...Like i said in the eagles thread, TJ is a hit or miss. One game he's balling, thenext he's back to JV status. We need some damn consistency. Although he really came through when Gus went down.

One thing's for sure, we need a better insurance at the QB position. Y'all think Cassel is for real? How bout in the draft? Bradford, Stafford?

Another thing is, we don't have a true number 1 receiver and haven't had one since Moss left. I love Berrian, but he's not a true number 1receiver. Wade's good but we need another guy to come in. Rice hasn't lived up to expectations thus far. Them Gamecocks stays flopping on us

We also need a new Safety to replace Sharper. He's a FA isn't he? I think it was pretty obvious this year that he's getting there in age...andTyrell Johnson isn't the answer.

Speaking of defense, we need to keep Frazier. He's a very good DC...i hope he sticks around.

Overall, pretty decent season. Philly was just the more veteran team in the end. We have the peices to be a great team...we just need a few more changes and weall know that Wilf is pretty generous with his money.

 

[rash]

No reason to invest another high pick in a WR. Berrian sure isn't a number one but he still is a threat that keeps the safeties honest. I really like whatI see in Sidney Rice. Hes very talented (especially in the red zone because of the body control and vertical). Don't give up on the dude yet. Look forSidney to be one of those "late bloomers" like Vincent Jackson and Roddy White (atleast thats what I think).

The defense seems good. I think you guys need to invest a high pick in a TE. Kleinsasser is good but hes been around forever and hes just a forgotten man. TJhas potential but he can't have 1000000 different coordinators like Alex Smith. I really think a great TE can do the job.

 

[nnarum]

Trade for Matt Cassell or Derek Anderson.

Need better play calling. What the hell was that at the end of the first half?

Fire Paul Ferraro. Special teams for us this year were horrible.

 

[651akathepaul]

Bottom line...New coach.

 

[jpzx]

-Fire Childress and promote Frazier or hire a someone that has proven he can coach in this league
-I would have no problem going after Favre if the Jets cut him, as long as we draft a QB like Sanchez or Harrell this year. Getting Hasselbeck isn't areach either.
-Don't bring Sharper back..he's obviously lost a step and he's a glimmer of what he once was..good riddance.
-Figure out ST, that's really all I can say.
-Keep T-Jack for '09, but don't keep him as the starter. Have him compete with Booty or the '09 draft pick for the #2 spot.

There's a lot of other things I could say...for now that's it though.

 

[RyGuy45]

I come back from a week vacation to see this...

Win or lose, Sunday's game would have done nothing to change my mind....I will not root for this team until the staff is gone. I find so much moreenjoyment watching them continue to find new ways to fail and then have the media search for all the answers. I didnt peep one minute of the game yesterdaybecause I was on my flight but wow it was REAL surprising to read my local papers today and the headlines were about "Childress' questionable decisionmaking."

Nothing changes.

And you can look forward to next season of the same underachieving garbage, the same games where Coaching Clinic gets his @%+ handed to him by the opposingcoach, and the same dumb quotes that come out of his mouth afterwards. The only better news is that now he is in line for an extension because his contract ison the tail end.....so have fun with that one fellas.

Childress' job ineptitude is only further masked by having an owner who gives him whatever he wants (Not many coaches get to say that). This continues tobe overlooked by most. He was handed a pretty good base when he came in here....and in 3 years has lost almost no one while also being given Steve Hutchinson,Bernard Berrian, Chester Taylor, Jared Allen, and Adrian Peterson. And has had 8 different players named as pro bowl starters just in the past 2 seasons (andthat list isnt including Madieu Williams, Berrian, Greenway, EJ Henderson, McKinnie, or Chester). And you are a middle of the road NFL team.

Congrats.

 

[jpzx]

[h2]http://blogs.nfl.com/2008/11/23/hasselbecks-time-in-seattle-may-be-limited/[/h2]

[h2]Hasselbeck's time in Seattle may be limited [/h2]

Posted: Adam Schefter | Adam Schefter | Tags: Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle Seahawks

For multiple reasons, Seattle is starting to ponder life without quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.

Hasselbeck's biggest supporter, head coach Mike Holmgren, is leaving the team next season and the dynamics of the team will be different. Plus, next season is the last season of Hasselbeck's contract. It carries a $9.5 million salary-cap number next season.

If Seattle traded or cut Hassebeck, he would count $3.2 million against their salary cap but, more important, he also would free up $6.3 million worth of salary-cap space. The problem is, which quarterback would fill it?

The Seahawks don't have a QB-in-waiting the way Philadelphia does. If they did, they would have the type of options the Eagles now do with Donovan McNabb. But Seattle has not groomed Hasselbeck's successor, so the Seahawks might have little choice but to stick with their veteran for one more season.

But the team will explore ways to upgrade the position and, even with all its needs, is expected to draft a young quarterback.


I know it's just a rumor..but it's something to discuss because when healthy Hasselbeck is a pro-bowl caliber QB. We'd have to shell out a lot of $ to get him + I don't think the Seahawks have very many options other than Hasselbeck..so all this might be nothing but whatever.

 

[rash]

Hasselbeck would really improve the offense, though I still think TJ can be the next Quincy Carter lol

 

[651akathepaul]

Jackson needs a coach who is no bull and calls plays that play to the ability of TJ. With Tarvaris' athleticism, there is no way the Vikings tookadvantage, with a lack of roll out and designed run packages. It would have dramatically took pressure off his shoulders and as we saw against Atlanta,completely opens up the offfense. I'm stumped at how inept Childress is, in realizing the strengths and weakness of his team let alone his QB. This teamsolely won through their talent. I'm interested to see just how good this team can be with a coach. They better make this move soon though, because theprospect of hall of fame coaches these next two years is not going to happen again. If they don't make a move soon, I fear the stud players we do have willbolt.

 

[RyGuy45]

Michael Silver
Yahoo! Sports

Vikings coach Brad Childress told Gus Frerotte, the veteran quarterback who guided Minnesota to an 8-3 record as a starter before losing his job late in the season because of injury, that he had decided to go with Jackson down the stretch because of a "gut feeling." I wonder how Coach Chilly's gut is feeling after Jackson looked overwhelmed and ineffective in Sunday's defeat to the Eagles while Frerotte, who was cleared to return three weeks ago, stood on the sideline feeling helpless and frustrated. Jackson, as another Vikings player later told me, had a "deer-in-headlights" look about him during his long afternoon, which saw him complete only 15 of 35 passes for 164 yards and throw a ruinous interception that Philly's Asante Samuel returned for a game-changing touchdown late in the second quarter. Meanwhile Childress, the Eagles' offensive coordinator before taking the Minnesota job at the end of the '05 season, got totally schooled by Philly defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, who made it look, said one Viking, "as though we were one play behind all day." Especially pathetic was the way Jackson, theoretically trying to overcome a 12-point deficit in the final two minutes, was loathe to throw downfield, instead checking the ball down to outlet receivers in what amounted to a total surrender. Late in the game, another Vikings player said, "our sideline was in total disarray." For Frerotte, who had planned to retire last spring before Childress pursued him and offered a two-year deal, it was a long afternoon that left him pondering his future. "I just don't know what to think right now," he said Sunday night. "It was a very frustrating experience, because I felt like I should've been the one playing. That might sound selfish, but I think I would've given us the best chance to win. I'm going home to St. Louis [on Monday] to be with my family and figure out where things stand, but the way things played out at the end really makes me question things." Meanwhile, I have a new nickname for that large block of Vikings season-ticket holders (45 percent) that elected not to purchase playoff tickets: visionaries.

Tuesday Morning Quarterback
ESPN.com

Philadelphia at Minnesota Analysis:

Two weeks ago, TMQ warned that, for good or ill, Adrian Peterson is the Vikings' meal ticket -- and it would be a big mistake to think the team has a better chance to win with Tarvaris Jackson passing than with Peterson running. So what happened Sunday? With Philadelphia leading 16-14 and Minnesota facing second-and-13 on its own 35 with 7:12 remaining, Peterson came out of the game. The Vikes went incompletion, incompletion, punt. Philadelphia scored in one snap; then Minnesota got another possession and went incompletion, incompletion, incompletion, punt, with Peterson still sitting out. Up to the point with 7:12 remaining when Minnesota abandoned the run, the Vikings had 131 yards rushing and 123 yards passing. Peterson didn't carry the ball again, or even catch a screen pass. He couldn't, because the meal ticket was off the field for much of the fourth quarter.

When I checked the stats at the end of the game, I saw two touchdowns by Peterson and no touchdowns by any other Viking. Sure, he is a feast-or-famine meal ticket, often getting bottled up or even losing yardage before popping a big gain, such as his 40-yard scoring run Sunday. But Jackson had yet another awful day passing the ball -- Minnesota would have been better off handing the ball to Peterson, especially since he often performs best in the fourth quarter when defenders are tired. Defensing Peterson requires "stringing out" -- a lot of fast lateral motion -- which is more tiring than defensing runs up the middle. Yet Peterson stood on the sideline as Minnesota crumbled. The Vikings finished the regular season fifth in the NFL in rushing, and 25th in passing, yet the Vikings went pass-wacky when down by just two points in the third quarter. And Peterson was the -- what's the phrase I am looking for? -- oh yes, the NFL's leading rusher in 2008. If I had the NFL's leading rusher on my team, my super-sophisticated strategy would be to let him play. Minnesota's second-half possession results: punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, fumble, end of game.

 

[dirtylicious]

OP warned - don't abuse the search tags

 

[RyGuy45]

[h1]Gus Frerotte says if he returns to Minnesota Vikings in 2009, he wants to be starting QB[/h1]
If not, he's unsure he'll return to Vikings

Sean Jensen
Pioneer Press

Gus Frerotte wants to return to the Vikings next season - if he is the starting quarterback.

How about as the backup? Or in competition for the starting job?

He was noncommittal about those possibilities.

"I would think, as a competitor, as you get older, knowing the talent we have, I would love to be the starter," Frerotte told the Pioneer Press in a phone interview Tuesday while driving back to his home in St. Louis to spend the offseason with his family. "A lot of people, when they get my age (37), start breaking down. But my arm is still able to wing it pretty good."

Frerotte, who signed a two-year contract before the 2008 season, was the team's backup until Tarvaris Jackson was benched following an 0-2 start. Frerotte started the next 11 games, during which the Vikings went 8-3, but he was hurt during the first half of the Dec. 7 game against Detroit. Jackson relieved him, rallying the Vikings over the Lions in the second half.

Jackson started the rest of the regular season - even after Frerotte had recovered enough from his two broken transverse processes in his back to play - winning two of three games, then started Sunday's wild-card playoff loss to Philadelphia.

Frerotte was evasive Tuesday when asked three times if he would return to the Vikings as the backup next season.

"I don't know if that's enough after playing this year," Frerotte said. "I think being away from my family was tough on me."

Frerotte was equally iffy when asked if he would return if promised a chance to compete for the starting job in training camp.

"To compete at training camp? I don't know," he said. "That's all up in the air. It'll be a family decision again."

His option would be to retire after 15 NFL seasons or ask for his release.

[h1]Charley Walters: New quarterback would be costly for Minnesota Vikings[/h1]
Before Sunday's playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Tarvaris Jackson was expected to be the Vikings' top quarterback heading into training camp next season.

Now, though, Jackson's status is unclear. The Vikings might have options to find a starting quarterback, but those, too, are unclear.

If team owner Zygi Wilf, who invested $60 million in guaranteed contracts this season, is willing to guarantee an additional $30 million or so, the team might be able to pry Matt Cassel away from the New England Patriots.

Besides a new contract for Cassel, 26, the price of a trade would be high - perhaps first-round and second-round draft picks. It's unclear whether New England would be willing to trade Cassel, an unrestricted free agent who is expected to be designated a franchise player, thus guaranteeing him about $14.5 million for the coming season.

But the Vikings were able to trade with Kansas City last year for defensive end Jared Allen, who also had been franchised, for a first-round and two third-round draft picks.

Cassel would provide hope for Vikings rooters, retain the team's visibility and might even enhance Wilf's effort for a new stadium.

A more realistic and practical objective, though, might be to trade with Seattle for Matt Hasselbeck, 33, who probably would be available for a second-round draft pick. The Seahawks, 4-12 this season, need to rebuild.

Hasselbeck has run a pure West Coast offense, which Vikings coach Brad Childress likes to run.

Houston's Sage Rosenfels, 30, for whom the Vikings were rumored to have offered a third-round draft pick last season, might be a third option and seemingly would compete with Jackson in training camp.

A fourth option could be the Rams' Marc Bulger, 31, a veteran who might want out of St. Louis but would cost a lot more money.

If Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier gets the Rams' job, which is a distinct possibility, he could try to bring Vikings quarterback Gus Frerotte, who lives in St. Louis, with him, maybe as part of a trade for Bulger.

It's unlikely that Frerotte, 37, will be back with the Vikings, although he is signed for next season.

Over the past three seasons, the Vikings, by far, have had the lowest cumulative payroll for quarterbacks in the NFL.

 

[651akathepaul]

I would almost rather see a new coach try out Tarvaris then I would a new QB with Childress.


I think looking down the road, we might need both, but I just can't stand Childress anymore.

 

[651akathepaul]

So, Garcia is done in Tampa Bay, Cassel is still an option, and Frerotte wants a shot at starting next year.




I'd say to Frerotte to hit the road. I'm interest to see what happens, because you have to believe, a team as stacked as Minnesota, needs a QB if theywant any chance at a SB next year. So who's it going to be?

 

[jpzx]

I don't know where Frerotte's head's at...sure he went 8-3 as a starter but he proved that in situations where we need him the most he's notreliable..

Not to mention, there were certain games where we would win DESPITE of him. The 8-3 record that he posted during his stint as the starter should be credited tothe rest of the team, not him.

I wouldn't mind going after Garcia...I've kind of gone cold on D. Anderson and I don't think we'll see Cassel here because the price is toohigh but we'll see how it all unfolds.

 

[RyGuy45]

Vikes passed on Garcia two years ago when he was ready to come here. He's two years older now. I would still take him.

As we know Childress has to win now. He has to overreach. I fully expect the team to go get someone. If he does go into next year with Jack as his starter Iwill sit back and watch another season for the books. And it will be TJack's fourth straight season being a starter without technically earning it.They've ruined his career thus far.

I still say Frazier interim coach by about Week 8 regardless.

 

[moneymike9]

Had to dig this up from the grave

I even forgot I made this thread

Anyhow, PERCY HARVIN & AD

I'm excited as hell

 

[sfn 155]

am i the only one who doesn't like harvin?

 

[moneymike9]

^why not?

 

[jpzx]

Time for Brad to get that "kick-*@* offense" goin

 

[moneymike9]

^I know right

Anyway, can y'all school me on Phil Loadholt? I don't follow CFB like that....did we get a potential starter for the next 5-7 years type player withthis pick? I know we needed an OT so i get the pick...just wanna know what type of player this guy is.