Speculation

Top 25 Free Agency Targets

February 29, 2012, by 5 comments

Gregg Rosenthal of Pro Football Talk managed to create a minor stir amongst Vikings fans on Monday when he tweeted a rumor he had heard at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

“Heard at Combine the Vikings are in mix for a few of biggest FA names,” read Rosenthal’s tweet.  “Ready to spend. Bucs as well.”

Fans should probably reign in their expectations a little as the Vikings don’t have a ton of spending power, especially when being compared to Tampa Bay, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we start to see quite a bit of action on March 13th.

So, I decided to dust off my old free agency rankings and make another list of who I think should be the Vikings top targets.  The list takes everything into consideration including salary range, age, talent level, scheme, likelihood of actually hitting the open market, and so on.

Read more after the jump.

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OFFSEASON PREVIEW: The Specialists

February 29, 2012, by 3 comments

[NOTE FROM ADAM:  This is the final installation of my position-by-position breakdown of the Vikings offseason.  You can click the links to view previous installments:  The Passers, The Runners, The Wide Outs, The Tight Ends, The Offensive Line, The Defensive Tackles, The Defensive Ends, The Linebackers, The Cornerbacks, and The Safeties.]

This is the shortest and quickest of my Offseason Preview because I really only focus on three roster spots.  That isn’t to say that long snapper, kicker, and punter aren’t important positions… there just isn’t a whole lot to talk about here.

In fact, I will keep this really short.  So short, I won’t even add the little “read more” tab that takes you to a new page.

Long snapper Cullen Loeffler signed a four year extension on October 7th and then a crack back block cracked his back in November and he landed on injured reserve.  Matt Katula was signed to replace him on special teams but was awful.  Loeffler’s surgery on his back is said to have gone well, and he will be back in plenty of time for the regular season.  Katula is set to become an unrestricted free agent and is highly unlikely to get a job in Minnesota again.  The Vikings may, however, decide to sign a long snapper to join them in Mankato after evaluating Loeffler’s health in August and to make sure he stays rested.

Punter Chris Kluwe had an average length per punt of 45.7 yards which was 19th in the NFL.  His net average on those punts (i.e. where the ball was downed) was only 38 yards per attempt which dropped him down to 26th in the NFL, but blown assignments on the coverage team accounts for plenty of that yardage.  He placed 22 punts inside the 20 yard line, which ranks 19th in the NFL, and 19 of his punts were fair caught which is good for a ranking of 12th.  Despite ineptitude on offense, Kluwe only punted 77 times in 2011 which was 16th among all NFL punters.

Overall, Kluwe was getting decent hang time and distance on his punts for another season, and will almost certainly be back for 2012.  He is entering the sixth year of his seven year contract and will earn $1.3 million.  The team has way too many pressing needs to mess around with the punter position, so the social media tycoon will be back at it.  He is also a pretty decent holder on place kicks.

Rick Spielman has not made it any secret that he wants this roster to get younger.  Those looking at the roster with a reasonable amount of logic expect them to trim some fat by cutting or restructuring expensive veterans.  Ryan Longwell’s production at kicker dropped way off in 2011.  So why isn’t his name being thrown around as somebody who might be on the chopping block?

Last offseason the Vikings inexplicably committed (this didn’t come out until later in the season) $12 million over four years to a 37 year old kicker that was clearly losing leg strength.  $3.5 million of that contract is guaranteed.

Longwell had a kickoff average of 64.8 yards (21st in the NFL), managed a career high 19 touchbacks (23rd) thanks to the NFL rule change on kickoff position, and attempted only one onside kick which failed.

Longwell was given the contract extension mainly because he was the league’s most accurate field goal kicker over the previous two years, but that was not the case in 2011.  He made only 79% of his field goals (26th in the NFL), was two for three from beyond 50 yards, and even missed on an extra point.

Partly due to reputation and partly due to his contract, I do think Longwell will be back, but the Vikings shouldn’t keep themselves closed off from other options.  Connor Barth (age 26), Matt Prater (28), and Josh Scobee (30) would all represent younger options with stronger legs should they become unrestricted free agents.  Also, with the Vikings expecting to have a bunch of late round picks, a guy like Blair Walsh of Georgia or Randy Bullock of Texas A&M might fit right in with the Vikings long term rebuilding plans.

In the end, however, I suspect we will see zero turnover in these three positions.  Expect Cullen Loeffler, Chris Kluwe, and Ryan Longwell to be your specialists once again in 2012.

McNabb To Ponder Meant Expanded Playbook

February 28, 2012, by 1 comment

Donovan McNabb has been all over the place recently in an effort to defend his reputation, ask for teams to give him a chance to compete, and to possibly develop a career as an analyst.

McNabb recently admitted that the negativity that has followed him in recent years is something he takes personally.  He says that is only him being a human.

Meanwhile, he has gone to great lengths to try and dispel reports that his conditioning and work ethic are not where they need to be for a starting NFL quarterback.

“There are always going to be haters out there,” McNabb stated.

He went on to argue that all one would have to do is ask his former coaches and teammates about his work ethic and they would learn the truth.  Leslie Frazier did the right thing by speaking highly of the veteran following his release by the Vikings.

Still, it is hard to imagine these issues didn’t factor into his early demise in Minnesota, and one unnamed Vikings player pretty much confirms that for us with a quote given to Viking Update.

“Not to say anything on McNabb, but from when (Ponder took) over, the expansion our playbook that they were able to add just because of his knowledge and him being able to take so much in at once and being able to turn it onto the field – he’s one of the smartest guys.”

This player doesn’t exactly rip on McNabb directly, but the idea that a rookie hindered by the NFL’s lockout was able to grasp Bill Musgrave’s offense better than a supposedly savvy veteran is ridiculous.

Or at least it was ridiculous… prior to 2011.

Some Names Surface

February 27, 2012, by 2 comments

Just like at the Senior Bowl, the Vikings are going to use the NFL Scouting Combine as an opportunity to meet and interview as many of the prospects as possible.  While we will probably never know the entire list of whom they have met with, a few have been uncovered and I’ll discuss them here.

Chris Rainey, RB, Florida

The Vikings reportedly interviewed the speedy pass catching back this weekend at some point.  It really shouldn’t be too much of a surprise as his skill set matches up exactly with the type of third down scat back the Vikings offense has been missing for years now.  I singled out Rainey in my Offseason Preview of running backs as a potential target for the Vikings in the later rounds of the Draft.

Rainey did not have a great showing in Indianapolis as his 4.37 second dash was less impressive than anticipated and he dropped a number of passes during the drills portion.  He has an injury history combined with some off the field issues that could keep him from being drafted at all.  Still, outside of Percy Harvin, this Vikings offense lacks breakaway speed and Rainey could bring a homerun potential from the backfield, out of the slot position, or even in the return game.  He might be worth a late round flier if the Vikings liked what they saw in his interview.

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OFFSEASON PREVIEW: Last Line Of Defense

February 26, 2012, by No comments yet
Abdullah

[NOTE FROM ADAM:  This is the second-to-last installation of my position-by-position breakdown of the Vikings offseason.  The specialists will be the final segment, coming up soon.  You can click the links to view previous installments:  The Passers, The Runners, The Wide Outs, The Tight Ends, The Offensive Line, The Defensive Tackles, The Defensive Ends, The Linebackers, and The Cornerbacks.]

Members of the Vikings coaching staff and front office have made a habit of defending their safeties as fans and the media often pick on them for a lack of production.

This offseason, however, the team faces a crossroads at the position and we will find out just how much they really think of their current group of safeties. 

Let’s take a closer look.

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Cost Of McNabb Disaster Cut In Half

February 25, 2012, by 1 comment

Donovan McNabb was sent to Minnesota by Washington in exchange for a 2012 sixth round pick and a conditional 2013 sixth round pick.

The conditional pick was reportedly based around playing time, and according to Tom Pelissero of 1500 ESPN, McNabb did not play enough snaps to trigger the condition.  McNabb played 348 of the team’s 1,037 snaps which is 33.6% and thought to be just under the amount needed to trigger the condition.

So, while the Vikings are one sixth rounder shy this offseason due to the McNabb trade, 2013 will not be affected.  This year, the Vikings have six of their regular picks (rounds 1-5 and round 7) and two extra picks (rounds 6 & 7) that came via the Sage Rosenfels and Jayme Mitchell trades.

Pelissero predicts the Vikings will get two fourth round conditional picks for losing Ray Edwards and Sidney Rice to free agency last offseason.  I have long been predicting a slightly less optimistic scenario for the compensatory picks in which the team nets one pick from the fourth, sixth and seventh rounds each.

Kalil Looks The Part

February 25, 2012, by No comments yet

Speculation surrounding the Vikings first round pick has been mostly centered around USC left tackle Matt Kalil ever since it became obvious their 2011 season was going nowhere.

Fans tuning into the combine this weekend were treated to a display of strength and athleticism that should confirm Kalil’s status as the top left tackle of this Draft prospect, ahead of Iowa’s Riley Reiff and Stanford’s Jonathan Martin.

Kalil had the second fastest 40-time of all the offensive linemen with a 4.99 official time.  He had 30 reps on the bench press, which is plenty respectable for an outside lineman.  He (and guard David DeCastro) blazed through the 3-cone drill posting a time of 7.33 seconds. 

He did post some disappointing results on the high jump and broad jump, which could lead to some worries about his burst off the line, but overall Kalil should have solidified his status as the top tackle in Indy.

It remains to be seen if the Vikings will draft Kalil, somebody else, or trade out of the three spot, but it is comforting to know that there will be such a talented option available in the top three this April.