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My hope is that the labor situation remains unsettled into the offseason and results in a ton of 1-year deals...sort of prolonging the inevitable. Pretty much the same way we were able to bring Ray back last offseason.
MUST re-sign Chad Greenway, Sidney Rice, and Ryan Longwell. When healthy, both are arguably the best playmakers we have on either side of the all. I expect Zygi to fork over plenty of cash to both. Longwell's opportunities were slim this seaon but he's one of those guys whose gotten better with age. Placekickers are becoming less and less reliable these days...so keeping Ryan in purple is a must.
HOPE to re-sign Ray Edwards and Ben Leber. I love Ray, he compliments Jared perfectly, and it took so long to get a pair of pro bowl caliber DE's back in town. Ray will get a nice payday, I almost feel like we'll franchise him, worst case. Robison (also a FA) is a valuable member to our team but he's too undersized to be an everydown DE. Griffen is also something to look at but I feel he's better utilized underneath and I didn't see enough of him to believe he's ready for a promotion.
GOODBYE to Ryan Cook, Lito Sheppard, Eric Frampton, Ben Leber, and Tarvaris Jackson. I think Chris DeGeare is more than capable of filling the void at RG & he's holding up well in place of Hutchinson right now. Lito is old...he was a filler anyways. Framption, meh, he's nothing to brag about. Losing Leber sort of hurts, he's gotten better with each start, but I just can't imagine us being able to re-sign every key free agent. Going by order of precedence, Leber isn't at the top. Between Farwell, Erin Henderson, and Onatalu, we will be okay. Let's not forget that our defense still managed to play at high levels when Greenway was missing earlier in his career. Sorry to Tarvaris, I supported him for a long time but I have finally given in. He looked too much like the same in his few opportunities to fill in for Brett and he was Chilly's boy anyways. We go with Joe Webb and either draft Locker/Mallet, or go after McNabb in the offseason.
UNSURE of Pat Williams, Fred Evans, Hussain Abdullah, Brian Robison, Greg Lewis, and Naufatu Tahi. Pat had a change of heart and wants 2 more years, leaving us in a precurious position. Pat is a shadow of his former self and barely plays 60% of a game these days. I was really impressed at how well guys like Guion and Evans played in place of Pat; however, neither can still fill a hole and command as much attention from an o-line as Pat. I have to imagine Pat would prefer to finish it out in Minnesota but how much money he commands will be the deciding factor for the Wilf's. Re-signing Fred Evans will hang on everything I just said about Pat. Abdullah won the starting job but starting safety in Minnesota hasn't been the most difficult position to claim. Abdullah looked pretty good against Philadelphia but I just don't see it from him as a whole. He'll come back unless we find a better option. I'd like him at the #2, definitely shaky at #1. Robison is excellent on special teams and certain defensive situations. I'd love to have him back and if we can't re-sign Edwards, he will be back. Not sure how much Zygi will spend on Robision nor am I sure how much he'll want. Greg Lewis is wash, I really don't think he makes or breaks our WR depth. My guess, he's replaced by a healthy Jaymar Johnson anyways. I really like Tahi but this is an interchangeable position for the Vikings. I think AD runs better w/o a fullback in front of him and I'm also lead to believe D'Imperio is given a serious look at the job next season.
DUMP Bernard Berrian, Toby Gerhart, Madieu Williams, and Tyrell Johnson. Getting rid of Berrian is almost of consensus among fans and we will be more than okay with Sidney, Percy, Camarillo, and Baskett/Jaymar, in 2011. Toby Gerhart just doesn't do it for me. I refuse to overrate his pair of starts and he just wasn't doing what we brought him in for. Toby can catch but he's not cut out to fill the void left by Chester Taylor. I can't see the point in Gerhart being nothing more than a mere backup to Adrian. I am really high on Lorenzo Booker and I think Booker is the better situational back, while I'll take Adrian Peterson in the passing game over a lot of other backs in this league. We invested a lot to move up and draft him but that was under Childress and b/c he's gone, such a move is almost excuseable. Madieu Williams has spent all of his time in Minnesota blowing coverage and on the injury report, enough said. Tyrell Johnson...utter fail of a draft pick.
THINK ABOUT EJ Henderson and Bryant McKinnie. A coule of wildly unpopular ideas but let's take off our fan hats and put on the business cap. If moving EJ freed up the salary to allow us to re-sign: Sidney, Greenway, Ray, and Leber...would you pull the trigger? EJ will always be a favorite of Viking Nation but agian, business decision here. Jasper Brinkley handled himself during the 2009 post-season, he's heading into year 3, and as long as he's in the middle of a predominantly veteran defense, we will live. Bryant McKinnie is about as much of a waste of $7M-$8M per year as one can get. He plays like he doesn't give a damn and he's looking more and more like that overrated LT many accused him of being last season. Look at our games versus the Bears and its no wonder why Julius Peppers opted to stay lined up across from McKinnie for most of the game. Loadholt handled Peppers way better than McKinnie and its time for a change. If our offensive line is going to be as bad in 2011, we might as well make it cheaper, younger, and use the money elsewhere. Anyone care to argue that Loadholt can't be moved to the left side and play as mediocre as McKinnie did in 2010?
MUST re-sign Chad Greenway, Sidney Rice, and Ryan Longwell. When healthy, both are arguably the best playmakers we have on either side of the all. I expect Zygi to fork over plenty of cash to both. Longwell's opportunities were slim this seaon but he's one of those guys whose gotten better with age. Placekickers are becoming less and less reliable these days...so keeping Ryan in purple is a must.
HOPE to re-sign Ray Edwards and Ben Leber. I love Ray, he compliments Jared perfectly, and it took so long to get a pair of pro bowl caliber DE's back in town. Ray will get a nice payday, I almost feel like we'll franchise him, worst case. Robison (also a FA) is a valuable member to our team but he's too undersized to be an everydown DE. Griffen is also something to look at but I feel he's better utilized underneath and I didn't see enough of him to believe he's ready for a promotion.
GOODBYE to Ryan Cook, Lito Sheppard, Eric Frampton, Ben Leber, and Tarvaris Jackson. I think Chris DeGeare is more than capable of filling the void at RG & he's holding up well in place of Hutchinson right now. Lito is old...he was a filler anyways. Framption, meh, he's nothing to brag about. Losing Leber sort of hurts, he's gotten better with each start, but I just can't imagine us being able to re-sign every key free agent. Going by order of precedence, Leber isn't at the top. Between Farwell, Erin Henderson, and Onatalu, we will be okay. Let's not forget that our defense still managed to play at high levels when Greenway was missing earlier in his career. Sorry to Tarvaris, I supported him for a long time but I have finally given in. He looked too much like the same in his few opportunities to fill in for Brett and he was Chilly's boy anyways. We go with Joe Webb and either draft Locker/Mallet, or go after McNabb in the offseason.
UNSURE of Pat Williams, Fred Evans, Hussain Abdullah, Brian Robison, Greg Lewis, and Naufatu Tahi. Pat had a change of heart and wants 2 more years, leaving us in a precurious position. Pat is a shadow of his former self and barely plays 60% of a game these days. I was really impressed at how well guys like Guion and Evans played in place of Pat; however, neither can still fill a hole and command as much attention from an o-line as Pat. I have to imagine Pat would prefer to finish it out in Minnesota but how much money he commands will be the deciding factor for the Wilf's. Re-signing Fred Evans will hang on everything I just said about Pat. Abdullah won the starting job but starting safety in Minnesota hasn't been the most difficult position to claim. Abdullah looked pretty good against Philadelphia but I just don't see it from him as a whole. He'll come back unless we find a better option. I'd like him at the #2, definitely shaky at #1. Robison is excellent on special teams and certain defensive situations. I'd love to have him back and if we can't re-sign Edwards, he will be back. Not sure how much Zygi will spend on Robision nor am I sure how much he'll want. Greg Lewis is wash, I really don't think he makes or breaks our WR depth. My guess, he's replaced by a healthy Jaymar Johnson anyways. I really like Tahi but this is an interchangeable position for the Vikings. I think AD runs better w/o a fullback in front of him and I'm also lead to believe D'Imperio is given a serious look at the job next season.
DUMP Bernard Berrian, Toby Gerhart, Madieu Williams, and Tyrell Johnson. Getting rid of Berrian is almost of consensus among fans and we will be more than okay with Sidney, Percy, Camarillo, and Baskett/Jaymar, in 2011. Toby Gerhart just doesn't do it for me. I refuse to overrate his pair of starts and he just wasn't doing what we brought him in for. Toby can catch but he's not cut out to fill the void left by Chester Taylor. I can't see the point in Gerhart being nothing more than a mere backup to Adrian. I am really high on Lorenzo Booker and I think Booker is the better situational back, while I'll take Adrian Peterson in the passing game over a lot of other backs in this league. We invested a lot to move up and draft him but that was under Childress and b/c he's gone, such a move is almost excuseable. Madieu Williams has spent all of his time in Minnesota blowing coverage and on the injury report, enough said. Tyrell Johnson...utter fail of a draft pick.
THINK ABOUT EJ Henderson and Bryant McKinnie. A coule of wildly unpopular ideas but let's take off our fan hats and put on the business cap. If moving EJ freed up the salary to allow us to re-sign: Sidney, Greenway, Ray, and Leber...would you pull the trigger? EJ will always be a favorite of Viking Nation but agian, business decision here. Jasper Brinkley handled himself during the 2009 post-season, he's heading into year 3, and as long as he's in the middle of a predominantly veteran defense, we will live. Bryant McKinnie is about as much of a waste of $7M-$8M per year as one can get. He plays like he doesn't give a damn and he's looking more and more like that overrated LT many accused him of being last season. Look at our games versus the Bears and its no wonder why Julius Peppers opted to stay lined up across from McKinnie for most of the game. Loadholt handled Peppers way better than McKinnie and its time for a change. If our offensive line is going to be as bad in 2011, we might as well make it cheaper, younger, and use the money elsewhere. Anyone care to argue that Loadholt can't be moved to the left side and play as mediocre as McKinnie did in 2010?
