second bite of the cherry

Thinking back on the last 20+ years of Vikings history, the team has been to four NFC Championship games. They should have won in 99 and 2010. (the 98 and 2009 seasons) They would have been competitive in both Super Bowls. And they got blown out in the other two games.

The losses in OT were disappointing because each of those teams had a good chance to win the Super Bowl. I'm actually more disappointed by the blowouts because the Vikings should have been more competitive in those games. If the problem was lack of preparation and poor game plans, the problem is Coaching.

Zero in on Vikings-Eagles. The offense moved the ball, had chances, and made costly mistakes. But the defense got crushed by Nick Foles, a good O-line, and some decent receivers. Philly found the Viking D's weaknesses and exploited them. You could blame an emotional letdown after the Miracle finish, but that is an excuse. The Viking D gave up way too many big plays to Nick Foles!

The Eagles also beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl, so you can say they beat the Coach whose D usually has the right game plan in big games. So maybe the Eagles were just a little better than the Vikings, and a better game plan made the game a blowout.

But if you are an owner or a GM, you have to have confidence that your Coaches will have game plans and contingencies that help you compete and win. Zimmer has been competitive against the Saints and the Seahawks in the playoffs, but the blowouts in Philly and San Fran raise legitimate questions about the ability to game plan against good teams. Coaching matters, and I'm not sold on Zimmer and his staff's ability to game plan and win big games. It would be a shame if the Vikings build a roster that can contend and still lose because of coaching.

Regarding the team's ability to actually contend in 2021, I see the chance as close to zero. The O-line has two rookies that are unproven in the NFL, and the defense has many new players and major questions about the pass rush. Not something to bet on. If things go really well in 2021, then 2022 might be a possibility if the Vikings choose to keep Cousins and all of the other key players whose contracts are up after 2021. I don't expect things to go so well in 2021 that they decide to contend in 2022 with Cousins. I expect them to trade Cousins after 2021, build a stronger team for 2022-2024, and contend with Mond. Obviously Mond has to prove in 2021 that he has enough to take this risk.

Finally, we all know the difference between winning and losing in the NFL is often small. The Vikings have been unfortunate to lose two pretty good QBs to devastating knee injuries. (Culpepper and Bridgewater) With a great team around them, they probably could have won Super Bowls. How much better would the Vikings be with a 1st round draft pick in 2017 because they did not make a desperation trade for Bradford? If they drafted a dud, no better. If they lucked out and got a stud, maybe that guy makes a difference in 2017 and later years. It is all speculation, and it shows how a decent plan can get derailed by a devastating injury. My point is that while Spielman is far from perfect, he may be capable of building a championship roster. I'm not sure Zimmer can win the big games.

I always stay tuned to the Viking whether they are serious or not. This team appeared primed to win a SB at 13-3. We have not been a serious contender before or since. One time serious in 7 seasons. However I am still hopeful this coach will do it. Lack of big game victories is making it harder ever year.
I believe he will do enough this year to get another. That won't mean he's got a serious contender till they are. The team they built the 1st time couldn't do it. Do we keep blaming the players for big game let downs. It looks like the schedule has provided plenty of opportunities to prove they belong among the contenders.

Stay tuned.

This team Ricky and Zimmer have been putting together the past 2 years could be much better all around.   

Last season sucked. There's no 2 ways about it. The main reason IMO was our DL and OL. It all starts there for me as a fan. If you have good play from both your lines it usually makes other things easier on your team. Things get even better when you have a decent QB and weapons on offense. I believe we have both. 

Special Teams was another area where we were poor last season. That's a huge question mark going into 2021. It looks like we signed and drafted quite a few players for this unit this past offseason. Good luck to Ryan Ficken.    

I just looked into my crystal ball and saw a 6 game winning streak for us so it won't be long before you're a happy Viking fan......   

I gave you a like for your optimism.  I however do not see what stretch of this schedule we run off 6 straight. I'd be happy with 4. That could be enough if they get 6 of the other 13 to get us in.  If we start slow which is very possible we could be in trouble already by the bye. I don't like our late schedule for making up the lost opportunities early. 

Not ridiculous.
I thought it was that Ed Thorp trophy thing. The one they say we lost but have never actually proven we ever received it. Yet the Packers have it in their case and it wasn't etched from a year they won it. Story goes when they retired the trophy after the merger they gave to them because they won it most or just because they are the Packers. They are having a good laugh at us thinking the curse of the lost trophy is our problem.  

I’m not a Minnesotan so I’ll admit to being outside the loop of the politics of the Minnesota Vikings. But if I’m a NJ billionaire with no football background whatsoever, and bought an NFL franchise, I did that for one reason only: to make $$, lots of $$

The people of MN paid the bulk of building a new stadium, albeit one they can be damn proud of. As a businessman my goal is to put a team on the field that is competitive enough to put butts in the bleachers and keep the fan interest high, therefore keeping the $$ rolling in.

Imo it isn’t about winning Super Bowls. It’s about turning a profit worth the investment. You don’t need to win a Super Bowl to do that.