The Dream is Over. Boehringer Cut by Vikings…

Moritz Boehringer released by the Vikings

Long time followers of this site know two things about me. The first is that I was essentially run off of Reddit for my beliefs (I feel like a pilgrim!) about the Team and secondly that I love me some Moritz Boehringer. I wrote an article before the draft last year with the headline “Forget Treadwell or Thomas, the WR I want the Vikings to Draft is…” (It has since been lost as VikingsJournal.com no longer exists, which is probably a good thing, for my reputation (despite the fact that I’m bringing it up again, right now)), I also had the chance to “interview” him as somehow we can DM one another on Twitter (still haven’t figured that out). So, I’ll definitely be reaching out to him again once the pain of being cut resides a bit and it doesn’t feel as rude to do so.

https://twitter.com/GoesslingStrib/status/903719418240360448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthevikingage.com%2F2017%2F09%2F01%2Fmoritz-bohringer-experiment-minnesota-vikings%2F

But, I really thought he had a great chance to make the squad and now that people are labeling the fact that the Vikings took him with their sixth round pick as a “bad” pick, I feel like I should stick up for the guy a bit. The obvious response is that he was a sixth round pick and that’s typically a pick that you can’t rely on anyway. Just take a look at this infograph from September of 2016 (from USA Today’s FTW!) , a few months after the draft.

As you can see, 11 of the 32 sixth round picks had been cut by that point, that’s essentially a third of them (more than any other round, as well). Also, considering the fact that Boehrigner had first round measurables, it was a risk/reward type pick and obviously it didn’t end up with that reward but you can’t be mad at Spielman for making a move on a guy who if he had panned out, would’ve been a beast in the NFL. That’s not necessarily Boehringers fault, either, as he really had a lot going against him.

Sure, there’s the competition level (he was playing in the equivalent of a D-III league at most over in Germany, so the speed and strength of the defenders he was going against were something he clearly would’ve struggled with at the outset). However, because of his size/speed advantage, I don’t really think that’s what doomed his career as a Viking. I mean, sure it would’ve been different and not as easy at first but there’s a reason that his measurables were good enough to land him in the NFL and that’s because he had the best measurables (across the board) as any NFL receiver I could find on MockDraftables.com (even better than Calvin Johnson (their graphs only go back to 1999, the year after Randy Moss was drafted by the Vikings)).

The real issue, I believe, is that the NFL playbook and play calling system is extremely complex and something that a player needs to have some familiarity with before entering the NFL (meaning that they should’ve been introduced to that form of play-calling in college). I’m not sure how they call plays over in Germany but it’s clear that they don’t run nearly as many plays or need to conceal those plays in as many different ways as they do in the NFL). Outside of that, when you listen to a coach or quarterback call a play, as someone who grew up in the United States and speaks perfect English, it sounds like a bunch of nonsense that’s quickly blurted out. Imagine hearing the following, as told by former head coach and current Chucky Doll impersonator John Gruden, as someone who doesn’t speak English as a first language (and thus thinks in German):

“You know some of the verbiage in the NFL, I don’t know how it was at Auburn, but it gets long. You’ve got the shifts, the plays, the protections, the snap count, the alerts, the check-with-me’s. I mean, ‘flip right double-X jet 36 counter naked wagglet seven X quarter.’ Call something at Auburn that’s a little verbal. What would be a little verbal? Any recollection on that? Give me something. What does an Auburn play sound like?”

It was because of that, and the sheer amount of routes that hurt Boehringer. You could see that he wasn’t really using his full speed on routes as he was thinking too much instead of just doing. And while that improved after a full season and off-season with the Vikes, it was just a bridge too far for him. While he could get picked up by another team and very well may (as there’s nothing NFL coaches love more than untapped potential), it’s too bad that it didn’t work out in Minnesota. However, he is a great guy and the fact that he took time out of reading his playbook and making strudel to speak with me showed that. So, here’s to you MoBo. We will never forget you and wish you the best with your future endeavors!

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