COIN TOSS: The Arguments Are Back!

Image courtesy of Vikings.com

I know the staff of writers here at Vikings Territory all seem like a happy-go-lucky, friendly, jolly, and devilishly good looking bunch that only ever have great things to say about each other, but we do have differing viewpoints on plenty of occasions.

Many of these opposing opinions surface during our “Question of the Week” segments, but there’s never much teeth behind the conflicts, at least not that you readers can see.

Well, we hope to fix that by dusting off an old bit that Brett Anderson and myself created some time ago that pulls the curtains back and takes you behind the scenes to witness for yourself the heated, venomous, and irrationally tense cat fights that happen every day between the incredibly handsome group of writers that put this site together.

So, here’s how “Coin Toss” works:

  1. An opinion is stated by writer and underwear model A.
  2. Writer and underwear model B then disagrees with that opinion and “throws the challenge flag.”
  3. The arguments are put on paper and posted here on Vikings Territory (along with stunning profile pictures) for you to enjoy.
  4. At the end, you decide who won the “Coin Toss” argument by casting your vote in the poll at the bottom.

Clear? Great, let’s get started!

I was the first among the group to “throw the challenge flag” and I did so after reading “Most Tradable Vikings” by Adam Patrick.

ADAM WARWAS: You stated that 23 year old running back Jerick McKinnon and 23 year old defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd are each legitimate trade bait options for the Vikings. You didn’t merely state “hey, anything is possible.” You listed them in an article titled “Most Tradable Vikings.”

I don’t think I even need to make an argument here and will just assume you’ve sobered up and are ready to concede.

ADAM PATRICK: Oh wow. No booze was consumed during the creation of that article. My mind may have still been a little flustered from the Blair Walsh missed kick, but not enough to affect my thought process.

Although both players are very young, they still carry a significant amount of trade value for the Vikings heading into the offseason. The chance that either of these two could actually be traded is slim, but the point of my article was to state the players who had the best chance at being traded and at no point did I say the team should do their best to trade any of the players I listed.

As for McKinnon and Floyd, McKinnon is easier to argue for a trade than Floyd is (although what happened to Floyd when Linval was out?). I do not see McKinnon as Adrian Peterson’s replacement and to imagine that Minnesota general manager would include McKinnon in a package deal to get more draft picks is not the far fetched idea that some may think it would be.

ADAM WARWAS: I gave you an easy out, Adam. You should’ve blamed it on the Wild Turkey and ran.

“The chance that either of these two could actually be traded is slim…” is what you just wrote in the very same sentence as “…the point of my article was to state the players who had the best chance at being traded…”

Don’t you hate it when the author of the post you wrote doesn’t grasp the point of your article?

Anyways, being a carbon copy of Adrian Peterson is not a requirement for being a replacement for Adrian Peterson. McKinnon has done plenty to earn my respect as an NFL running back thus far, but you’re kidding yourself if you think the succession plan for Adrian Peterson doesn’t include a committee of running backs… of which McKinnon would make a fine member, if not leader. With Peterson’s status with the team somewhat questionable, and Matt Asiata set to be an unrestricted free agent, there is simply no way that Spielman is shipping out the only legitimate and youthful runner on his roster right now.

Where did Sharrif Floyd go when Linval Joseph was out with injury? Well, he moved out of his native position to cover for Joseph, and I thought he did a damn fine job of it.

ADAM PATRICK: All right, I am going to eliminate Floyd from the rest of this conversation. We can both pretty much agree that the chance of the Vikings trading him is slim to none.

So let’s focus on McKinnon. Second to Cordarrelle Patterson, I still believe that McKinnon has one of the best shots at being dealt this offseason.

The idea of a running back by committee with McKinnon and someone else after Peterson is gone is not a good enough reason for the Vikings to prevent anyone from acquiring McKinnon. Plus, many of today’s best rushing offenses in the NFL still rely on one back doing a majority of the carries (Peterson, Gurley, Martin, Ivory, etc.). Some of the league’s worst rushing offenses this season (New England, Detroit, San Diego) had a more committee style rushing attack.

I would love for McKinnon to prove me wrong and become a very good starting running back for this team, but there is still a nagging, gut feeling that does not believe that is possible. If the Vikings have a shot at drafting a player like Ezekiel Elliott or Derrick Henry, there is no doubt in my mind that Spielman and Zimmer would not jump at that opportunity.

For a guy that traded into back into the first round to select an offensive player in two of the last three drafts, a similar move by Spielman this year should not come as a surprise to anyone. If Minnesota is able to select Elliott or Henry, the odd man out likely becomes McKinnon especially with Asiata already being a free agent.

ADAM WARWAS: Okay, you’ve conceded on the Floyd front. I accept your apology.

So, the situation is that the Vikings eventually need to replace their Hall of Fame running back, perhaps sooner than we realize. Just like any season where he might be held out due to injury, or the more recent issue of suspension, the Vikings would benefit from having quality depth and talent behind him.

As you state, Matt Asiata is no guarantee to return, which leaves McKinnon as the only legitimate running back behind Peterson on the current roster. So we should trade him away?

I know Vikings fans have fantasies about finding the next Adrian Peterson in this upcoming Draft or the next one, but the odds of that are so incredibly long that it should not be depended on. Even if they did somehow figure out a way to land an Adrian Version 2.0 why would they not still want McKinnon as a high quality option behind him?

If every running back that isn’t Adrian Peterson should be dismissed then I think we better just plan on passing every down after he makes his exit from Minnesota.

McKinnon isn’t going anywhere. Spielman won’t be packaging him in a trade. It isn’t even a question.

Instead, we should be wondering if Spielman could pull another Cassel out of his hat and turn Shaun Hill into an extra late round pick. That is actually a realistic option.

ADAM PATRICK: I like the Shaun Hill idea. Although, the Vikings would be lucky if they could get a sandwich in exchange for him.

I do agree that it would not be wise for Minnesota to deal McKinnon since he does have the potential to develop into a really good player. But, (big emphasis on the “but”) the main point of my article was to name the current Vikings players that had the best chance at being traded based on their current abilities and potential.

Never did I say Minnesota should or should not trade this player or that player. We both know that Spielman is not afraid to make the bold moves in the offseason, so I just wanted to bring to light the possible players that could become former Vikings.

As much as it would be the less favorable choice for Minnesota to trade McKinnon, the Vikings cannot be the only team that has seen his impressive progression in the past two seasons. Another team could actually pull the trigger and make Spielman an offer that he cannot turn down.

But then again, there is a reason why Spielman has garnered the nickname Slick Rick…

COIN TOSS

Now that both Adams have stated their cases, you all get to play the jury on this, and let us know who wins this round of what will hopefully be many “Coin Toss” segments.

Was Patrick on the mark when he included Floyd and McKinnon on his list of tradable Vikings, or did I successfully prove that he missed wide left on this one? You decide below!

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