Post by Purple Pain on Apr 17, 2020 12:52:38 GMT -6
With only one year on his current contract and up to five outright starting positions to fill in the NFL college draft and the remainder of free agency, Minnesota Vikings GM Rick Spielman cannot afford any mistakes in his decision making in 2020.
Who’s to fault when players decide to leave a football team in free agency, or compel a front office to trade them? And who is culpable when a superlative player absolutely plummets in on-the-field performance once he’s signed a career contract? The answer to that question has to be the team’s general manager, despite the circumstances that might implicate the coaching staff or other circumstances.
To date, Rick Spielman then has the office desk where “the buck stops” on the loss of three starting cornerbacks, two starting defensive linemen and an elite wide receiver this season. Whatever the reason–Spielman is the man that Zygi and Mark Wilf ask to come to their office when the chips are down. And man, they are down.
Spielman Needs To Score Big In This Draft
A dozen picks are in front of the Viking War Room next week. And that’s five in the first three rounds unless something happens between now and then. Looking at the sundry of athletes on the full college board, there is no room for error if the Vikings aspire to challenge for the NFC North and another playoff berth in 2020, and it’s pretty safe to assume that Spielman’s job is contingent on those two accomplishments.
Draft grades for Minnesota were good last year, though they only added one official starter in first-round pick center Garrett Bradbury. This year, draft pundits have the Vikings all over the board with their priorities on both sides of the ball. Does the offensive line that failed them in their NFC Divisional Playoff Game take precedence? What about Stefon Diggs’ spot? Who will be your number two receiver on a team that thrives on play-action passing?
The Vikings cupboards are nearly bare when it comes to cornerbacks. Reports on 2018 first-round CB Mike Hughes’s health are promising, but it behooves fans to remember that he is now recovering from an ACL tear and a broken vertebrae in his neck in two NFL seasons. Spielman must pluck no less that three corners in his 12 picks and continue to search for athletes beyond the draft to give Mike Zimmer a platoon of players he can work with. To say that such a thing is a tall task is an understatement.
Can ‘Slick Rick’ Pull It All Off?
The answer to this question is hardly an automatic ‘no.’ Spielman–ever before Mike Zimmer became head coach of this team–has proved that he has an eye for defensive talent in the draft; bringing athletes like Harrison Smith, Everson Griffen, and Xavier Rhodes into the Viking fold even before 2014. What remains to be seen is high aptitude on the offensive side of the ball, most especially in regard to the offensive line where the Vikings have struggled in crucial games for all of Zimmer’s tenure in Minnesota.
Who’s to fault when players decide to leave a football team in free agency, or compel a front office to trade them? And who is culpable when a superlative player absolutely plummets in on-the-field performance once he’s signed a career contract? The answer to that question has to be the team’s general manager, despite the circumstances that might implicate the coaching staff or other circumstances.
To date, Rick Spielman then has the office desk where “the buck stops” on the loss of three starting cornerbacks, two starting defensive linemen and an elite wide receiver this season. Whatever the reason–Spielman is the man that Zygi and Mark Wilf ask to come to their office when the chips are down. And man, they are down.
Spielman Needs To Score Big In This Draft
A dozen picks are in front of the Viking War Room next week. And that’s five in the first three rounds unless something happens between now and then. Looking at the sundry of athletes on the full college board, there is no room for error if the Vikings aspire to challenge for the NFC North and another playoff berth in 2020, and it’s pretty safe to assume that Spielman’s job is contingent on those two accomplishments.
Draft grades for Minnesota were good last year, though they only added one official starter in first-round pick center Garrett Bradbury. This year, draft pundits have the Vikings all over the board with their priorities on both sides of the ball. Does the offensive line that failed them in their NFC Divisional Playoff Game take precedence? What about Stefon Diggs’ spot? Who will be your number two receiver on a team that thrives on play-action passing?
The Vikings cupboards are nearly bare when it comes to cornerbacks. Reports on 2018 first-round CB Mike Hughes’s health are promising, but it behooves fans to remember that he is now recovering from an ACL tear and a broken vertebrae in his neck in two NFL seasons. Spielman must pluck no less that three corners in his 12 picks and continue to search for athletes beyond the draft to give Mike Zimmer a platoon of players he can work with. To say that such a thing is a tall task is an understatement.
Can ‘Slick Rick’ Pull It All Off?
The answer to this question is hardly an automatic ‘no.’ Spielman–ever before Mike Zimmer became head coach of this team–has proved that he has an eye for defensive talent in the draft; bringing athletes like Harrison Smith, Everson Griffen, and Xavier Rhodes into the Viking fold even before 2014. What remains to be seen is high aptitude on the offensive side of the ball, most especially in regard to the offensive line where the Vikings have struggled in crucial games for all of Zimmer’s tenure in Minnesota.
Parcells said: “hire good people and let them do their job.” It has now come time that Rick Spielman, hired to do that job, does it with acumen, insight, and perhaps a nice dash of luck. Professionally, he can’t afford to have another checkered draft card when it comes to the Minnesota Vikings roster, and neither can Mike Zimmer. The reason it’s full of holes–no matter the variables involved–have transpired from their decisions.
Ultimately, the Wilfs, as owners of this team, have a job to do themselves.
Ultimately, the Wilfs, as owners of this team, have a job to do themselves.
But, that was my point. It's not like either of those "holes" are the huge and gaping type that create the risk of our D taking a huge step backwards. You can't have all-pros at every position, so it's always a collection of tradeoffs. The author seemed to be suggesting that Rick is under the gun because we've lost "up to" five starters. One loss creates a big hole. The others (and it probably should have been six total) are just as much creation of opportunity for improvement as risk of performance drop off.
... and neither is this Chris guy.