Questions Answered: 8.5 Wins, Best Vikings Draft Pick Ever, Week 5 Bye
Dustin Baker
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The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by PurplePTSD. Today is the May 6th edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].
Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum.
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Q: The Vikings are pegged by sportsbooks to win 8.5 games. Why aren’t they getting any respect?
A: Kirk Daniel Cousins — is the answer.
Cousins will forever be viewed as a Derek Carr, pre-2021 Matthew Stafford, or Andy Dalton type until he breaks through to an NFC Championship and beyond. Eli Manning, as well, was an average quarterback — with an above-average last name — until his defense carried him to a championship.
Whenever oddsmakers or folks who author power rankings examine teams, they see the Cousins name leading the enterprise and interpret his team’s ceiling as eight or nine wins.
It’s up to Cousins — and his teammates — to fix this reputation.
Q: Who is the best Minnesota Vikings draft pick ever?
A: This is between Fran Tarkenton, Alan Page, Carl Eller, Randall McDaniel, and Randy Moss (although Moss’ longevity with the team was puny compared to Tarkenton, Page, Eller, and McDaniel).
It’s probably Randall McDaniel. He has more 1st-Team All-Pro selections (seven) and Pro Bowls (12) than any Vikings player in franchise history.
But he was an offensive lineman, so fans are mostly like, “oh, cool” when they hear his name in a conversation like this. Most of the masses would say Moss, Tarkenton, or Page.
Q: Is it guaranteed the Vikings have an early bye week because of the trip to London?
A: Virtually guaranteed, yes.
Twenty-one of the last 22 teams to play in London encountered a bye week immediately after the England trip. The 2021 Miami Dolphins, for some reason, were the outlier.
Both the Saints and Vikings will likely have Week 5 byes in 2022.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
