Questions Answered: Captain Snubs, PFT Power Rankings, The New Duke
Dustin Baker
|
The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by PurplePTSD. Today is the September 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.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”1088499″ player=”26281″ title=”8%20Humongous%20Things%20We%20Learned%20about%20the%20Vikings%20This%20Summer” duration=”1177″ description=”With the Vikings summer in the rearview, Dustin Baker chats about what we learned.” uploaddate=”2022-09-01″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19439/snapshot/1088499_th_1662053788.jpg” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19439/sd/1088499.mp4″ width=”16″ height=”9″]
Q: Do you consider any Vikings players snubbed by the team’s captain announcements?
A: Why, yes. Arguably the two best players on the team — Justin Jefferson and Danielle Hunter — are not captains.
Of course, this is not a big deal, but it is a little odd. Jefferson is likely not “qualified” due to lack of experience compared to the rest. And who knows why Hunter was not nominated?
These are the 2022 captains:
- Dalvin Cook (RB)
- Kirk Cousins (QB)
- C.J. Ham (FB)
- Eric Kendricks (LB)
- Brian O’Neill (RT)
- Patrick Peterson (CB)
- Harrison Smith (S)
- Adam Thielen (WR)
It’s a nothingburger for controversy, but no Jefferson and Hunter would’ve made folks lose bets.
Q: Mike Florio ranked the Vikings as the NFL’s 22nd-best team. Is that too low?
A: It is indeed low, but it’s one of those things where the beholder asks, “Do I really care about this?”
And the answer is no. It does not matter what “some guy” thinks about the 2022 Vikings. Power rankings are merely thermometers of public opinion, holding no bearing on eventual outcome.
Florio is actually a Vikings fan, so he might be inherently a bit cynical about his favorite team. But rankings around 20th, 21st, or 22nd have persisted all offseason. It’s only recently that some pundits became excited about the new-look Vikings.
Q: Will the new guy, Duke Shelley, see any playing time in 2022?
A: No, probably not.
Shelley is a slot cornerback. He could be called upon if Chandon Sullivan is injured, but Shelley lives on the practice squad with Parry Nickerson and Tay Gowan. He’s played 30 games for the Bears in his three-season career. In that vein, he does have experience.
The Vikings have six active cornerbacks — Patrick Peterson, Cameron Dantzler, Chandon Sullivan, Andrew Booth, Kris Boyd, Akayleb Evans. They likely won’t need Shelley unless it’s an emergency.
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).
Purple PTSD: Armon Watts Ends Up with a Division Rival