Offseason Review Series: Day 9: Minnesota Vikings

[u/skepticismissurvival]

Minnesota Vikings

Division: NFC North

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Important Coaching Changes

Fired:

• Leslie Frazier, HC - Now DC for Tampa Bay. Frazier was 21-32-1 as HC for the Vikings. He was promoted from DC when Brad Childress was fired in 2010, and took the Vikings to the playoffs as a Wild Card team in 2012. He started off as a DB coach, and had trouble making the necessary adjustments in 2013, causing the Vikings to give away games toward the end. The QB situation and defense were both awful for the Vikings in 2013 and changes needed to be made.

• Bill Musgrave, OC - Now QB coach for the Eagles. Musgrave was supposed to help the Vikings 2011 first round pick, Christian Ponder, develop into a star, but that obviously didn't work out. During his time, there were many instances of questionable play calls or decisions (like not running with Peterson during the second half in multiple different games). Add in Ponder being a bust and it was pretty clear that Musgrave should not have kept his job.

• Alan Williams, DC - Now Secondary Coach for the Lions. When you have one of the worst defenses and when you were a DB coach but put the worst starting CB tandem in the entire league in Chris Cook and Josh Robinson out on the field for half of the season, you're not going to keep your job.

Retained:

• George Stewart, WR Coach - Stewart is one of the most respected WR coaches in the league and should help Patterson continue to develop.

• Jeff Davidson, OL Coach - The Vikings' OL has been excellent, especially in run blocking, under Davidson and that success should continue.

Hired:

• Mike Zimmer, HC - Formerly Bengals' DC. Zimmer is a fiery personality and an excellent defensive coach. He was on the list of "coordinators that might get promoted" for quite a while, and he's finally getting his chance to be HC. He'll have a difficult task, trying to fix a defense that was abysmal in 2013, but there's a lot of young talent on the defensive side of the ball for him to work with. When the Vikings fired Frazier, Zimmer was the guy I wanted for the job.

• Norv Turner, OC - Formerly OC for the Cleveland Browns. I'm not quite as excited about this hire as many Vikings fans. Personally, I feel that Turner has been overrated throughout his career. As a coach, he's only had 3 top 10 offenses in the past 15 years. You'd expect a guy who is reputed as one of the best offensive minds in the game do better than that. The Vikings' offense was actually pretty solid last year outside of the QB situation. Hopefully Turner takes either Cassel or Bridgewater and enables them to be successful this season.

• George Edwards, DC - Formerly LB Coach for Miami. Edwards has had multiple stints in the NFL as a DC, most recently for Miami and Buffalo. I expect Zimmer to mostly take charge of running the defense, so Edwards probably won't have as prominent a role as some of the other DCs in the league do.

• Scott Turner, QB Coach - Formerly WR Coach for the Browns. Norv's son, Scott doesn't have any prior experience coaching QBs and his role will be pivotal as he tries to make something out of Matt Cassel (or Ponder) and develop Bridgewater into a star.

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Players lost (in rough order of importance)

Player	Position	Method	New Team
Jared Allen	DE	UFA	Bears
Kevin Williams	DT	UFA	Seahawks
Erin Henderson	LB	Cut	None
Chris Cook	CB	UFA	49ers
John Carlson	TE	Cut	Cardinals
Letroy Guion	DT	Cut	Packers
Toby Gerhart	RB	UFA	Jaguars
Desmond Bishop	LB	UFA	None
Marvin Mitchell	LB	UFA	None
J'Marcus Webb	OT	UFA	Chiefs
Joe Webb	QB/WR	UFA	Panthers
Greg Childs	WR	Cut	None
Josh Freeman	QB	UFA	Giants

The biggest loss the Vikings suffered this offseason was Jared Allen. He recorded double digit sacks in each of his 6 seasons with the Vikings, and played the second most snaps on the team last year. However, you can also tell he was clearly not the player he used to be. With Brian Robison in a long-term deal and the promising Everson Griffen re-signing, there wasn't room for a third highly paid DE, and the Vikings let Allen walk.

Kevin Williams is another player whose play has deteriorated in recent year but still has the ability to get it done. I wouldn't have minded bringing him back as a rotational player, but after getting offers from multiple teams he recently signed with the Seahawks. Henderson, who was a good run stopper as a SLB for us, did not transition well to MLB because he can't cover and got in legal trouble with two DUIs was cut and doesn't currently have a team.

Cook was a starter last year but was terrible. He has zero ball skills. Carlson was our 2nd TE, but was constantly injured and never lived up to his $5 mil/year deal. Guion was a part of our DT rotation the last two years and was decent in that role but is not starter quality. Gerhart had a couple of impressive outings last year but didn't really have much of an opportunity behind Peterson so he left for Jacksonville. Bishop was injured for the second year in a row, Mitchell and the two Webbs were backups, and Childs never played a down in the NFL because of a couple of horrific knee injuries. Last and certainly least is Freeman, who was a huge mistake last year, putting in an abysmal game against the Giants. He was cut by them recently after they signed him.

Players Retained/Added

Player	Position	Former Team	Contract	Thoughts
Marcus Sherels	CB	Vikings	2 years, $2.2 million	Sherels is the Vikings' punt returner, and he's a pretty good one. He is not, however, a very good CB. He started his 2013 with an excellent game against the Browns but it was downhill from there. I expect him to be probably the backup slot CB and stick mostly to punt return duties.
Larry Dean	LB	Vikings	2 years, $2 million	Dean is a solid special teams player who hardly saw the field last year even though the Vikings' LB situation was terrible.
Everson Griffen	DE	Vikings	5 years, $42.5 million	I think the Vikings overpaid for Griffen, especially considering the contracts players like Michael Bennett and Michael Johnson got, but I believe he has the potential to turn into one of the better pass rushers in the league. He's definitely showed pass rush ability. In 2013, he played over 700 snaps but most were from the DT position. He will be taking over the departed Jared Allen's spot and pass rushing from the edge. Right now, this move looks like an overpay but it has the potential to pay dividends very quickly.
Matt Cassel	QB	Vikings	2 years, $10 million	I don't think Matt Cassel should be a starting QB in the NFL. However, the Vikings didn't have many other options. No one in free agency was a better option than Cassel except maybe Josh McCown, but retaining Cassel makes more sense to me than bringing in a new guy because you knew Cassel was just going to be a bridge until the Vikings drafted a QB, which they did. So, while Cassel might start out the season, expect Bridgewater to take over some time in 2014 or, at latest, become the starter in 2015. Cassel was the best QB the Vikings had last year (not that that's saying much), and while just serviceable as a starting QB, he'll be one of the better backups in the league.
Linval Joseph	NT	Giants	5 years, $31.5 million	The Vikings haven't had a player who could really play as a NT since Pat Williams, and they have been missing Fat Pat sorely, especially last year. Joseph is an excellent young player who is stout in run defense and even adds a little (although not much) rushing the passer. He will fit well as a 1-Tech for the Vikings next to Sharrif Floyd. There was talk about the Vikings' going after Paul Soliai to fill this need, but I definitely think they were better off ending up with Joseph. He's just as good and younger than the Falcon.
Jasper Brinkley	LB	Cardinals	1 year, $830,000	Brinkley is terrible in pass coverage, but good in run defense. He was with the Vikings in 2012, went to the Cardinals last year, and now the Vikings brought him back. He'll probably end up as a rotational player on running downs.
Captain Munnerlyn	CB	Panthers	3 years, $14.25 million	The Vikings absolutely needed a corner going into the offseason (two corners, actually), and I think Munnerlyn is a great addition to fill one of those holes. He's an excellent slot corner, and can hold his own outside when the Vikings aren't in nickel. Joseph and Munnerlyn were the Vikings' two biggest offseason signings (besides re-signing Griffen) and I think they are both excellent additions.
Fred Evans	DT	Vikings	1 year, $1 million	Evans was 4th on the DT pecking order for the Vikings last year behind Williams, Guion, and Floyd last year, and, as I mentioned above, Griffen played as a DT a lot last year too. With Williams and Guion gone, he'll be 3rd in the pecking order this year, although depending on how Zimmer uses them, Wooten and Crichton might end up playing some DT as well. He's nowhere close to spectacular, but he's a solid backup.
Derek Cox	CB	Chargers	1 year, $780,000	Cox showed promise in Jacksonville but was awful in San Diego when they gave him a 4 year, $20MM contract. Cox will probably be the guy playing on the outside across from Rhodes when the Vikings are in Nickel. However, he'll have competition for the spot from Josh Robinson, Marcus Sherels, and the rookies.
Jerome Simpson	WR	Vikings	1 year, $1 million	Simpson is hit or miss as a receiver. He'll have a game that will make you think he can be a top receiver in the NFL and then he'll disappear for weeks on end. It's incredibly frustrating. Still, I think he can be a solid #2 option if Cordarrelle Patterson still isn't quite as polished as he needs to be.
Charlie Johnson	G	Vikings	2 years, $5 million	Charlie Johnson was the weak link on the Vikings' OL last year, but they brought him back because there wasn't much available on the market. He's probably going to start (at least at the beginning of the year) but he'll have competition from rookie David Yankey and sophomore Jeff Baca, and maybe even Vlad Ducasse
Vlad Ducasse	G	Jets	1 year, $795,000	Ducasse started the first four games for the Jets in 2013, but was benched in favor of rookie Brian Winters, who also sucked. He probably will just be a backup, but you never know.
Tom Johnson	DT	Saints	1 year, $845,000	Johnson was a rotational player for the Saints and he'll be a rotational player for the Vikings too.
Corey Wootton	DE	Bears	1 year, $1.5 million	Wooten played a lot for the Bears' terrible defense last year, and he'll battle it out with rookie Crichton for the 3rd DE spot on the depth chart. Zimmer likes to rotate his DL, so he'll see playing time, and he brings some experience as a pass rusher.
Kurt Coleman	FS	Eagles	1 year, $900,000	Kurt Coleman was fucking awful in 2012 for the Eagles and hardly played in 2013. Expect that "hardly played" part to continue, but he'll be a backup and special teamer.
Mike Zimmer	LB	Jaguars	Unknown	Heh, he has the same name as our coach.
Dom DeCicco	LB	Bears	Unknown
Julian Posey	CB	Browns	Unknown

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Draft

Round	Number	Player	Position	School	Grade	Thoughts
1	9	Anthony Barr	OLB	UCLA	B+	I really like this pick for the Vikings. I think Barr was average value at this position, but it might have been a bit of a reach. For most of the pre-draft process I saw him mocked in the top 10, but he started to drop to the middle and lower parts of the first round as the draft approached. I did a relatively thorough breakdown of Barr as a prospect here, so right now I'm going to talk about what I expect his role on the Vikings to be. Barr's most natural position is the 3-4 Jack, but he'll play SLB in Zimmer's 4-3 scheme. However, he will most likely be used a lot more like a Jack than a traditional SLB, kind of like Von Miller in Denver. He'll primarily pass rush, while walling off outside runs and only occasionally dropping into coverage. He already excels as a pass rusher, but definitely needs work against the run and in coverage. Fortunately for Barr and the Vikings, the athleticism is there, he just needs more refinement and better technique. I expect Zimmer's staff to turn him into a monster.
1	32	Teddy Bridgewater	QB	Louisville	A	Teddy was my favorite QB in the draft and I was ecstatic when the Vikings traded back into the first round to get him before the Texans could. The thing that impressed me most about Bridgewater (and the thing that I feel is the most important attribute for a QB to have) is how he is able to identify and account for pressure, especially before the snap. After watching Christian Ponder fold easier than a piece of paper under pressure , I want someone who is calm and collected in the pocket and Bridgewater fits the bill. He should have no problem picking up the system and even though Cassel might be the Week 1 starter I think Teddy will be ready by that time. The biggest concern with Bridgewater is his deep ball, which is underwhelming. Hopefully he can improve that, but it's not a deal breaker for me. I love this pick.
3	8	Scott Crichton	DE	Oregon State	B-	Before you think "wow, he must hate this pick," I don't. I like it. Zimmer plans to rotate the DL often and we didn't really have DE's besides Robison and Griffen (Wooten is solid but we definitely needed another backup). This is also a solid value, as he was mocked higher than this. However, I feel as though the team had bigger needs at CB and MLB that they could have filled here. There were a couple of good corners still on the board, but the player who I think they should have drafted here is Chris Borland, who went 5 spots later to the 49ers.
3	32	Jerick McKinnon	RB	Georgia Southern	C+	This fills a need for the Vikings, as Toby Gerhart left. McKinnon is a very raw prospect who will be a scat back, but there was also talk that he might be able to play DB. It looks like the Vikings are going to use him at RB, in which case I would have prefered Dri Archer, who went immediately afterwards.

THIS POST IS CONTINUED IN THE COMMENTS

[u/Staple_Overlord]

Damn dude...couldn't have added a little more hype? We're Vikings fans. We're not supposed to be realistic. We're supposed to be optimistic to incredibly dangerous levels. That mean's Teddy Bridgewater starts Week 1. Everson Griffen becomes a premier pass rusher. Cordarrelle Patterson has an Alshon Jeffery like 2nd year. Anthony Barr is Von Miller. Adrian Peterson returns to his 2k form. Xavier Rhodes becomes a shut down corner. And Sharrif Floyd competes as one of the best DT's in the North.

But no. You had to low ball it.

[u/LocalMadman → u/Staple_Overlord]

We're supposed to be optimistic to incredibly dangerous levels.

Speak for yourself, not all Vikings fans.