About the Labor — Episode 46
BJ Reidell and Drew Mahowald discuss Adrian Peterson, the Franchise Tag and speculate on some upcoming free agency scenarios.
"I hate failure with a passion."
The Minnesota Vikings tumbled to an 8-8 season in 2016 after an impressive 5-0 start. When meeting with local beat reporters on Thursday, general manager Rick Spielman was fired up about not letting that kind of collapse happen again.
“To be honest with you,” Spielman said, “I wake up every morning ticked off that we’re 8-8 because I know that is not acceptable by the standards that we place on ourselves. We have to do everything we can heading into this offseason to address the needs and areas we [can improve].”
“I hate failure with a passion,” Spielman later added.
Allow me to momentarily interrupt the ever-present and ongoing Teddy vs. Sam debate (Mobility! Winner! Accuracy! Smile!) with another edition of Links of the Week. Perhaps the only Vikings-related topic discussed as much as the quarterback dilemma (which, until both are healthy, is not a dilemma at all) the last few weeks is the potential landing place for Adrian Peterson. Peterson is still under contract with the Vikings for one more year, but with an $18 million cap hit, there’s a high likelihood the team will cut bait. The Vikings could of course bring him back at a lower dollar amount, but as our first bullet points out, the Adrian Peterson speculation knows no bounds:
ATL Culture: Body Odor, Breaking Chairs and Boneless Wings — Episode 44
BJ Reidell and Drew Mahowald decide to go rogue on the 44th installment of the About the Labor podcast.
Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer still can’t see out of his right eye, but an offseason surgery should fix his ailing vision. Despite the impairment, Zimmer missed just one game during the regular season and coached the Vikings to an 8-8 record.
While he recovers from the impending surgery, general manager Rick Spielman will have his hands full with another arduous task; mending a depleted offensive line and restocking a talented, if underperforming 2016 roster.
Difficult as it may be, Spielman has the salary cap flexibility to make wholesale changes in free agency and the proven craftiness to recoup draft picks lost in the Sam Bradford trade. How he does that, though, remains to be seen. And how he implements those changes in 2017 is a question no one can answer until at least August.
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