Between now and the season opener, the Minnesota media will follow a very specific formula to make sure their sports pages are still interesting despite the relatively boring period of time that is the middle of the offseason.
I am, of course, referring to the strategy creating a scattershot of “fluff” pieces that will profile a player, perhaps give us a snapshot of their personal history, and leave us all with a hopeful message: This guy could be the answer at his respective position.
I’m not saying these articles don’t serve a worthwhile purpose, and aren’t interesting to those of us that love our Vikings football, but I just want to help you temper your expectations by reminding you that these articles come and go every year. Sometimes the player turns out to be a nobody (i.e. Logan Payne) and sometimes the player actually does become a contributor (i.e. Marcus Sherels) despite the stacked odds.
I’m not trying to be the poster child of pessimism. Rather, I am just trying to keep your expectations in check, as it is always a dangerous time when the hopes of Vikings fans begin to rise.
Okay, so with all of that said, I want to highlight some stories about the pre-camp Vikings and how they are doing. After the jump.
Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder knows that the upcoming season will be all about him.
A little of confidence mixed with a little bit of realism has him predicting and eight or nine win season for the Vikings. Ponder says there will be a lot of pressure on him this season, but feels that tight ends Kyle Rudolph and John Carlson will aide him in his efforts to turn this team around.
“The guy is a freak,” Ponder said of Rudolph in a recent 1500 ESPN interview. “For how big he is (6-foot-6, 258 pounds) and how well he moves, and his hands are unbelievable. A tight end really is a quarterback’s best friend, especially when he’s a young guy. I think the sky’s the limit for him.
“I think he’ll be a Pro Bowl guy within the next two years, and I think by adding another tight end, John Carlson, You realize how important the tight end is in our system, Musgrave’s system. Kyle’s going to be getting the ball a lot more and I’m excited for him. I’m excited for myself. Having a target like that makes it a lot easier for me.”
Ponder sees confident that the Vikings can turn things around quickly under his leadership and seems plenty aware that the offense can only go as far as he can take them.
“If I play well, then things will build off of me, and I realize that. Yeah, it’s a lot of pressure on me, and we’ll see. We did get some good guys through free agency, and we’ll get a lot of good guys in the draft and we’ll see how it goes.”
Once upon a time, I would get ridiculed on an annual basis for drafting Seahawks tight end John Carlson about four rounds too early in my fantasy league. I would get laughed out of the room, in fact.
“Quit it, you guys,” I would whine. “He’s got the potential and skill set to be the best tight end in the NFL, mark my words.”
Umm, yeah… he was usually on the waiver wires by week six.
Now, Rick Spielman finds himself on the defensive as a result of a very similar move, except the stakes are much higher.
News is spreading the Vikings have signed Carlson to a five year deal worth $25 million, with $11 million of that being guaranteed. The move will put former Notre Dame stars Carlson and Kyle Rudolph atop the tight end depth chart in Minnesota for years to come.
A Minnesota native, Carlson was selected 38th overall by the Seahawks in 2008. He got off to a good start, playing in all 16 games of his rookie season and catching 55 passes for 627 yards and five scores.
In his second season, he started all 16 games and caught 51 passes for 574 yards and seven touchdowns. In 2010, the poor condition of Seattle’s offensive line meant Carlson spent a lot more time being a blocker in the offense, and his production dipped down to 31 catches, 318 yards, and only one score.
In 2011, Carlson missed the entire season due to a torn labrum.
Now, as you can tell from the opening paragraphs of this article, I think Carlson has the potential to be a star and I went so far as to single him out in my Offseason Preview of the tight ends. However, I concluded that segment with the following warning:
“I think patience will have to be key here. The Vikings cannot panic and overpay or reach on a Draft choice to fill their needs at tight end.
Building around Rudolph should involve nabbing a few players that present the team with low cost. They cannot panic and offer a ton of money to Shiancoe. They cannot panic and overpay a free agent. They cannot panic and reach on a guy in the Draft.”
Some might view this signing as Rick Spielman panicking and overpaying, while others might view this signing as Spielman targeting the guy he coveted and making sure he got his guy, but I don’t think anyone envisioned this type of deal for Carlson. In fact, the rumor mill suggests that Carlson was so blown away by the offer that he cancelled a trip to Kansas City and rerouted himself to Winter Park.
The Vikings obviously have placed an emphasis on finding the players that will best fit Bill Musgrave’s offensive vision, which includes a lot of two tight end sets, as they have invested one high draft pick and plenty of money into the position in the last two offseasons. So, while the Vikings are very high on second year player Kyle Rudolph, don’t think of Carlson as a true backup player just yet, he will probably see a lot of action.
Carlson is often referred to as a poor blocker, but he was called upon to block quite a bit in Seattle and seemingly improved in this area, and his pass catching skills are fairly elite. Christian Ponder should benefit from having one more solid pass catcher in his arsenal, and also a fairly dependable blocker when needed. Also, Carlson is 27 years old, which is a full four years younger than Visanthe Shiancoe.
I don’t agree with those that think the Vikings didn’t have a need at the tight end position. I don’t agree with those that think Carlson is a terrible player.
As far as whether or not they overpaid to obtain Carlson, however, I am on the fence. A lot will depend on how the contract is structured and whether or not he can finally live up to the expectations that followed him from Notre Dame.
I will put it this way though: I’m still not drafting him in my fantasy league this year.
The Vikings got a jump start on the crossroads they knew they would face at the tight end position when the drafted Kyle Rudolph in the second round of last year’s Draft.
This year, they still have to fill some needs at the position, and for now they reportedly have fixed their eyes on former Seahawks tight end John Carlson.
According to this tweet from PFT, the Vikings are not the only team interested in the veteran tight end. The Colts, Bucs, Bears, Cowboys, and Seahawks have all been in contact while he is set to visit the Chiefs first.
Carlson has never truly lived up to his potential, but it seems most football minds agree that, at the very least, the potential is still there.
[NOTE FROM ADAM: This is another installation of my position-by-position breakdown of the Vikings offseason. You can click there links to view previous installments: The Passers, The Runners, and The Wide Outs.]
The Vikings knew that the end of the 2011 season would signal a crossroads when it came to the tight end position. They got a head start on addressing the situation by drafting Kyle Rudolph in the second round of the 2011 Draft, but work still needs doing.
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