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Fear Factor
Free agency is a funny thing and so are coaches. Take for instance Mike Zimmer
who knows exactly what he needs to do however, in the back of his mind he knows
that all head coaches get fired ... just some sooner than others. The ones
that do get tossed sooner than later are the ones that make bad decisions
(Christian Ponder). In my opinion, failure comes from listening to the
wrong people rather than to listen to one self.-
After the opening round of free agency one might
think that we've solved our issues on the offensive line and at safety,
especially securing a former #1 pick however we need to reel ourselves in a bit
to understand that Mike Zimmer's moves we to solidify a weakness rather than to
secure our future. To do so, Mike Zimmer needs to complete his plan by
inserting long term solutions into the mix and that can only come from building
within the draft. In other words, Mike Zimmer needs to get beyond
the fear factor facing every coach and complete his plan
Today, we hear the shouts and screams telling this
Vikings franchise to draft a wide receiver in the first round. Mind you
that we've been overpaying for receivers such as Barnyard Barrian and Mike
Wallace, so that we can stretch the field, meanwhile Denver wins the Super Bowl
with defense and a couple of sub standard quarterbacks. Keep in mind that
while Randy Moss filled the seats of the Metrodome, we didn't secure one
championship season. Said another way, having Randy Moss made thing a
whole lot easier for Daunte Culpepper but overall it crippled his development
far away from someone like Peyton Manning.
Sometimes free agency can be a rouge. Of all the free agents maybe Boone
at left guard maybe our only long term solution. Paying Kalil in the 5th
year of his deal is at best a stop gap reflex move. He is going to want to
continue being overpaid for his services and that is just not going to
happen. Both Loadholt and Sullivan have serious injury histories where
neither can be counted on to return playing at an elite level. It may
happen and it may not. Berger is not a long term solution due to his
age. T.J Clemmings became this lines scape goat where his future is
ominous although I thought he did a decent job as a rookie that wasn't supposed
to play. Andre Smith played 7 years for the Bengals but he was beat out at
right tackle so will he be a starter or needed depth? Mike Harris is much like
Berger, in that they played very well but is he just a very valuable cog or a
long term solution? Either way, in our present draft position, there may
not be a viable #1 offensive line pick available but it is clear that the
Vikings need to find real value within the draft to develop long term solutions
along our offensive line.
As for our #1 pick, maybe it should be at safety and Karl Joseph might be the
perfect compliment to Zimmers 2 lineback defensive set. Here is the
problem with drafting Joseph. If Zimmer drafts another defender with his
first pick there maybe effigies of him hanging throughout the land of
purple. They will be calling for his head but that's ok as it will be his
decision to do so rather than someone else's decision. Take heart all you
idiots in draft land because you don't know if this is a ploy to drive you off
someone the Viking's covet or if it is a message. To put it all in
perspective, I thought we were drafting a Notre Dame quarterback ... not Adrian
Peterson ... so what do I know. It was in response to not having an
elite quarterback dating back to Fran Tarkenton. Maybe it is just a
message to enable Mike Zimmer to get beyond the fear factor and maybe it's to
prepare Rick Speilman to go down a road that will require a leap of
faith.
The Viking Ghost Writer
http://MyVikingBlood.org
Date: April 5, 2016
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