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Fail Safe August 31, 2022
How did Bill
Parcells phrase that quote, "I just want the ability to shop for some of
the groceries". As it turns out, this was an explicit metaphor that
can now be applied to this franchise.
Sure, Mike Zimmerman had developed a long list of enemies over the years where
it became quite easy to take "pot-shots" at him but has anyone even begun to
consider the impact of Rick Spielman on this organization. Rick became
this teams vice president of player personnel from 2006 to 2011 seasons & then was
promoted in 2012 thru 2021 to this teams general manager. As you
might recall, Mike Zimmer worked for Rick Spielman which means the buck stopped
there ... not the other way around.
Due to the debacle of the Troy Williamson selection at #1 in 2005, the net
result was that we would eventually inherit Spielman from Miami. In 2006, under Rick Spielman we selected Chad
Greenway who blew out his knee playing special teams in the pre-season. In 2007
we select "All World Adrian Peterson". Doing fine so far except we didn't
have the long term pairings to mirror his career ... especially at quarterback. In 2008 we have no #1 pick but we do
acquire Percy Harvin
& Bret Favre in 2009 ... followed by a trip to the NFC Championship ... to
see someone else hoist our trophy. We have no #1 pick in
2010 which ends up becoming a dysfunctional disaster. 2011 bring us the 4th
selected quarterback in that years draft ... "A REACH" ... the disaster known as
Christian Ponder which seals the fate of Adrian Peterson's prime. In 2012
we select Matt Kalil & Harrison Smith. In 2013 Sharrif Floyd, Xavier
Rhodes & Cordarrell Patterson, In 2014 Anthony Barr & Teddy
Bridgewater (under Mike Zimmer). In 2015 Trae Waynes. In 2016 Laquon
Treadwell. In 2017 we had no #1 pick. In 2018 Mike Hughes, In 2019
Garrett Bradbury. In 2020 Justin Jefferson & in 2021 Christian
Darrisaw.
If we consider that Justin Jefferson should not have been on the board for this
franchise in 2020, something becomes clearly apparent. Where we too nice
... full of naiveté ... to objectively differentiate between "The Analytics" &
the ability to select "Pure & Simple Horse Flesh"? Did we not possess the
ability to objectively
separate the simply average or flawed personnel from the real deal? Sure,
it is now easy to identify
all these flaws & issues now having hind sight but are we missing the point? You might
be thinking ... what the hell is this narrator talking about? People ... Spielman ...
16 years (2006 thru 2021) ... did we cut our own throats by buying into his very
flawed reasoning?
Do I blame Mike Zimmer & his coaches for all of this? No, as his
legacy is still on that field. What I recall is an abundance of numerous
almost impossible situations. The problem is that you can't cry wolf ...
to your boss ... as that is a recipe leading to unemployment. Zimmer
needed relief to an impossible situation ... tantamount to whaling into the
abyss. Compared to the other prior Viking regimes, excluding Bud Grant,
they would have "chucked it in", where Zim never gave up the fight
getting his head handed to him, regardless of the cards that he was
played. This is not to diminish either Kwesi or Coach O'Connell but if
their recent insight results in something really special, then they would be
wise to remember their predecessor. Zimmer & his crew went through
hell & back & hopefully those seasoned veterans will
lead-on.
Let's start with an absolute fact. The Los Angeles Rams don't even get a
sniff at last years Super Bowl without Aaron Donald. Although Mike Zimmer
did have Danielle Hunter for part of 2021 we also had the worst DB in the league
"Breeland" playing on that same defense. It is a shame Zimmer
cliffed down that rabbit hole. Danielle achieves the NFL record of being
the quickest to 50 sacks in the entire NFL only to hear that he's not
happy. What follows is two years (2020 & 2021) of tumult. How
could have this been very different? In other words, sometimes things
happen for a reason where better & more solid decisions might have had a
very different outcome.
Then the writing begins to appear on that wall. Spielman sends what would
end up being this years 45th draft pick for Yannick Ngakoue, a desperation move to
secure some sort of a pass rush, which absolutely blows up on us. It
became the prelude to the 2021 draft class, which still has some bright spots
remaining (Darrisaw, Nwangwu & Bynum) but is now filled with
"wouda-shoulda-coulda's". If we hadn't followed Green Bays lead
of selecting Love to motivate MVP Rodgers, what might Zimmer's defensive staff
come up with instead of Mond, Surratt, Wyatt Davis & now Smith Marsette) as
one player selected here influence all that follows. Was that thought so
overwhelming that it influenced how these players were ultimately handled, where
that thought becomes:
For some ... "I'll play ... JUST NOT FOR YOU!!!" In other words,
gone was their advocate ... where they will work to resurrect their careers somewhere
else.
What is certain was that the walls were caving in on Kirk Cousins under Mike
Zimmer as our quarterback was clearly running out of real estate. The
question becomes, is this new regime providing Cousins with his one last &
final opportunity to elevate his game to the strata of Mathew Stafford & has
this franchise now been built with a new set of fail safes. Jimmy
Garoppolo & Mathew Stafford are the antithesis of A. A. Ron, which proves
that you can win with or without the elite, if the team finds its foundational
edge. Anyone that can best Brett Favre's Mississippi records just might be
more than a simple smell test.
This team isn't just hoping that players like Irv Jr & Danielle stay healthy
in this 2022 season ... they are actively lashing out with massive intent to
make it so. Too much on just one plate is just too old school as it will
never justify success.
All we can do is observe the moves of these key chess pieces ... as the plan
unfolds. It's funny how things have changed from I hope you can lead us to
success to we are ensuring that success, however its just a matter of whether
you will chose to lead us there. A great change from the days of ensuring
that one player take the incentive ... to sink our ship.
As for Jalen Reagor, it is clear that due to the very real potential in regard
to the salary cap, this could be Thielen's last year in Minnesota. Of
course we all hope that's not true however it poses a dilemma. Was
Smith-Marsette the answer or did they need to generate a very different
answer/outcome. Remembering that statement, "All he does is catch
touchdowns", leading to a hall of fame career. Might it be possible
to have the opportunity of "working-in" two elite wide receivers side
by side (in the very same time line). It is clear that money is never
enough to keep one player happy but the thought of working within the perfect
storm just might be intriguing enough to keep the "Snatcherson
Brothers" together for a long time to come.
The Viking Ghost Writer
http://MyVikingBlood.org
Date: August 31, 2022
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