Minnesota Sports Forum

I think it will come down to how much the Vikings line the guys on the roster especially the young guys. If you add Mathis or some other vet that likely means you let go of another young Olineman they may like. The line was pretty set except at RG so it's probably tough to know how they feel about other guys but there is time to figure things out.

Mathis is probably asking for a lot of money to play this year. I can't blame him. He is old enough and made enough money why play for like 3 million or something?

Clemmings was supposed to be drafted much higher so maybe he will be the answer at RT. another option would be to just move Harris over and Plug Berger in at RG. That hurts depth a lot which is what really hurts with the Loadholt injury. He wasn't having his best season last year but now you have to likely rely on a young guy either as a starter or of another guy goes down. The Vikings picked up Harris at the end of August last year so their may be some other decent options down the road. My guess is they will roll with what they have for now and see what they have in some of the young guys and see how Harris does at RG where it sounds like he has been at least solid which is good enough all things considered.

1. I have no problem with Kalil having trouble with Griffin. I don't think a lot of Vikings fans appreciate how good he is, or the Viking's pass rush as a whole. They had the fifth fewest dropbacks against last year. Yeah, that means the yards against number is kind of overstated (I believe it was 7th). But when you get an average amount of sacks/INT's against hardly any dropbacks, that's a positive sign.

2. Mathis is 32, and kind of wandered the league until he found his niche (zone blocking). I might be wrong, but the Vikings don't seem like a zone blocking scheme.

That being said, I think the Vikes are one of the 5 best teams in the NFC. GB first, then some combination of MIN, DAL, SEA, and ARZ. Thoughts?

JasonIsDaMan wrote:1. I have no problem with Kalil having trouble with Griffin. I don't think a lot of Vikings fans appreciate how good he is, or the Viking's pass rush as a whole. They had the fifth fewest dropbacks against last year. Yeah, that means the yards against number is kind of overstated (I believe it was 7th). But when you get an average amount of sacks/INT's against hardly any dropbacks, that's a positive sign.

2. Mathis is 32, and kind of wandered the league until he found his niche (zone blocking). I might be wrong, but the Vikings don't seem like a zone blocking scheme.

That being said, I think the Vikes are one of the 5 best teams in the NFC. GB first, then some combination of MIN, DAL, SEA, and ARZ. Thoughts?

Good point about Griffin. I have been a huge fan for a few years. I found it a little amusing his "down" year where he had 5.5 sacks as a backup. Dude is a beast.

Mathis is a zone blocker so that's likely a big reason why he isn't signed. Also the money how much is it really worth it to him to suit up? Jason you would probably know some of the numbers how much roughly take home $$ do guys get out of these contracts? 50%? I know it will depend on state taxes etc but the agent gets a cut too.

Monster: Taxes are a double-edged sword for athletes. As federal goes, they can incorportate, which lowers their top rate from 39.6% down to (I believe) 28%. As far as state goes, if they are a Viking, half their salary is taxed at 11%, because they play half their games in MIN. The salary for each road game (1/16 of their total salary) is taxed based on the rate for that state and goes to that state. Players love road games in Tampa/Miami/Jax. SanDiego/Oakland/SanFrancisco? Not so much.

Note: as big a headache as this would be to manage this for an NFL player, it is five times worse for a NBA/NHL guy and 10 times worse for MLB guy. These rules are a function of the various state legislatures, and some states mandate that the money goes to "sink" (or buy back) the bonds sold for the construction of the stadium. One of the underrated moves by CityofMPLS/StateofMN was to tie the Target Center refurbish money to the Vikings stadium. Now for the next 30 years, the taxes from the Vikings players AND Wolves players will go to pay for the bonds, not just the Vikes.

As far as agents, they generally get 4% of the contracts with the team, and 10% of everything else. So when Kent Hrbek said "Man. They're experts.", Ron Simon got 10% of that. He must have been proud.

Also, beware when you read that a player fired agent X and replaced him with agent Y. Agent X gets paid for the entire time the player plays under the contract he or she negotiated, which is why so many times the player yells "renegotiate" right after this type of move.

In terms of Mathis, yeah the guy might be a headache. He was scheduled to make $5.5m for the Eagles and complained the whole time, so I don't know if $1m would get him excited.

Thanks for that reply Jason lots of good info there.

Mathis signed with the Broncos so that's over. It seems like the line performed pretty well last preseason game so they may feel pretty good there.

I think it's clear the Vikings like a lot of the young guys they have. Zac Kerin seems to be getting a good look at C. He is a guy they have obviously liked as they had him on the PS all year and used a top 30 visit on him in preparation for the 2014 draft. If they think he could be an option as a backup C that really helps them because then Berger can be their top backup at either guard spot. It seems to me that 10 guys are in the mix to make the roster the starters Kerin, Berger Thompson, Shepard and Yanky. It's going to be interesting how things shake out.

monsterpile wrote:Mathis signed with the Broncos so that's over. It seems like the line performed pretty well last preseason game so they may feel pretty good there.

I think it's clear the Vikings like a lot of the young guys they have. Zac Kerin seems to be getting a good look at C. He is a guy they have obviously liked as they had him on the PS all year and used a top 30 visit on him in preparation for the 2014 draft. If they think he could be an option as a backup C that really helps them because then Berger can be their top backup at either guard spot. It seems to me that 10 guys are in the mix to make the roster the starters Kerin, Berger Thompson, Shepard and Yanky. It's going to be interesting how things shake out.

I'm a little worried how little McKinnon has had to work with in these games. The pass protection has been there, but the run blocking hasn't been doing so great.

I am very worried about our OL. Teddy is not going to have much time and we won't be able to get many shots down field to Wallace with this line.

bleedspeed177 wrote:I am very worried about our OL. Teddy is not going to have much time and we won't be able to get many shots down field to Wallace with this line.

Idk they seem pretty happy with the line except depth. It is a legit worry but Clemmings is a legit talent and Harrisbis obviously a guy they like a lot.

I like the Sirles aquisition. He is on the Local Huskers radio show from time to time and seems like a great guy and is very good on the radio. He said before TC they were going to work him in at C so he has worked at pretty much every spot on the line. He will fit right in with the Vikings he really hates Wisconsin. Lol

monsterpile wrote:

bleedspeed177 wrote:I am very worried about our OL. Teddy is not going to have much time and we won't be able to get many shots down field to Wallace with this line.

Idk they seem pretty happy with the line except depth. It is a legit worry but Clemmings is a legit talent and Harrisbis obviously a guy they like a lot.

I like the Sirles aquisition. He is on the Local Huskers radio show from time to time and seems like a great guy and is very good on the radio. He said before TC they were going to work him in at C so he has worked at pretty much every spot on the line. He will fit right in with the Vikings he really hates Wisconsin. Lol

I think they have enough options that the OL will be fine. The left side could be really good, especially with Kalil healthy and playing like he did his rookie year. He's big, athletic and mean...and most important, seemingly healthy. The right side of the line is going to have to be patched together, but as monster said, they like Clemmings and Harris a lot. I worry about Sullivan missing three weeks with back spasms, but I don't really see that much of a dropoff to Berger is Sully can't go. I was surprised to see two guys I liked in the past 2 drafts, Yankey and Thompson, not make the 53-man roster, but I look at it as a sign of good OL depth.

Anyway, we know our offensive line will be a lot better than our opponent's in week 1...SF appers to be in disarray. The starters didn't scored a TD all preseason. The betting line has moved more than any I can ever remember...opened at +3 1/2 and has moved 6 points to - 2 1/2...it appears the betting public laves the Vikes and hates the 49ers!