“A pretty frisky team:” NFL Execs Comment on Vikings Offseason
K. Joudry
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Mike Sando of The Athletic, quite evidently, has some strong connections within the league. His recent piece draws on opinions from various NFL executives to comment on every team’s offseason. The Vikings, of course, are part of this group, and the executives’ opinions mirror the fanbase insofar as both are divided in their perspective on the purple offseason.
The first opinion suggests Minnesota remains in a mid-tier position while also indicating there could be some hope:
We have lost our ability to sit there in the middle class. The Chargers were on the fringe of the playoffs, make some moves and suddenly are contenders. The Vikings were in the exact same spot, they do some of the same things and people are like, ‘Oh my God, they are so stupid.’ And I fully get the Cousins fatigue.
Another looks at the situation in a more optimistic manner:
There is so much talk about Cousins, the new head coach and new GM that we are missing the point […] They have talent sitting on their defense and a veteran defensive coordinator (Ed Donatell) who knows how to utilize it. They lose (Anthony) Barr but gain Za’Darius Smith, who will be more disruptive to the passer. (Danielle) Hunter is the key to the whole thing. If he stays healthy, they are formidable and to be reckoned with.
While another expresses skepticism about the decision to “run it back and see if the new coach makes a difference,” another wants to give Kwesi Adofo-Mensah more time for evaluation:
They basically said they don’t know enough about their team, the way it was coached, the way it was injured, to blow it up right now. If they want to blow it up next year, great. I actually think come November, December, that could be a pretty frisky team.
Late-season frisky would be a welcome change.
Obviously, there is very little consensus about the Vikings offseason. When he was first hired, Kwesi spoke at length about the importance of building consensus within the Vikings organization. Being able to do so is a laudable task, one that will only be achieved through commitment and effort. Achieving a similar degree of consensus around the rest of the NFL, quite frankly, is both impossible and without merit.
The wise team will invest its resources in ensuring the folks internal the organization have bought in. So far, KAM seems committed to precisely that approach. If the Vikings show on the field that they’re capable of being an elite team, then all of these offseason opinions won’t matter.
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