And, is it just me, or has Barr been pretty much invisible this far?

He's been invisible since his rookie year, frankly. My expectations certainly aren't met from a pass rushing perspective. I'm fine with him moving on after the season.

WR does take awhile it seems. If we target anyone it'd have to be someone that Cousins is familiar with, otherwise I'm not sure it matters.

 

Brooks and others have been right - they want to put Thielen in the slot. So they need someone who can play that outside technique. Like it or not, Treadwell is the best fit for that. But I'll bet Coley and Zylstra get some run out there in practice this week.

It appears the coaching staff agrees on Treadwell, and they are certainly smarter than me, but I just don't get it.

 

I understand he's a good blocker, but the position is wide receiver, not wide blocker. Doesn't he have to show at least some ability to actually receive the ball?

 

It appears the coaching staff agrees on Treadwell, and they are certainly smarter than me, but I just don't get it.

I understand he's a good blocker, but the position is wide receiver, not wide blocker. Doesn't he have to show at least some ability to actually receive the ball?

 

You would think so.  He appears to be a decent route runner.  In the game he also seemed to find areas in the zone and sat down in them.  He just twice ran without the catch, which is a strange issue to suddenly develop in the NFL.  

 

I don't get it.  I always thought his lack of top-end athleticism and size would hold him back from being worth a first round pick.  Now I just don't get what the kid's deal is.

You would think so. He appears to be a decent route runner. In the game he also seemed to find areas in the zone and sat down in them. He just twice ran without the catch, which is a strange issue to suddenly develop in the NFL.

 

I don't get it. I always thought his lack of top-end athleticism and size would hold him back from being worth a first round pick. Now I just don't get what the kid's deal is.

Prior to last week (when yes, he was open a lot), the knock was that he was not a good route runner. That would explain why he played a pretty high amount of snaps last year, with very little targets.

I don't think we should assume he's a good route runner based on one game against a young GB secondary. I think we are going to need to see a few more games of that before we determine that he's figured that part out.

Do we really have to see him in more games?

The Seahawks cut Tom Johnson in an effort to re-sign him to different terms (allegedly) and the Vikings swooped in and brought him back. 

 

Not a lot of playing time to be had at DT most likely as they are already running a four man rotation, but I'm more than happy to have Johnson as depth and really happy to pull one over on Seattle.

Coley is the odd man out to make room for Dan Bailey. Hope they give Zylstra a look at 3rd WR.

 

https://twitter.com/Vikings/status/1042139565493047298

Edited September 18, 20188 yr by Musk21

Bailey apparently had offers from other teams, turned them down waiting for a better opportunity.

 

It is nice that he views the Vikings as that opportunity.

 

One thing I have to give the Vikes, from ownership on down...they at the very least give the appearance that winning a SB is the ultimate goal.

 

I'm sure Ziggy is not inclined to give money away, but at least from a distance I don't get the impression he puts money ahead of winning.

 

Which is a refreshing change from the Twins.

Bailey apparently had offers from other teams, turned them down waiting for a better opportunity.

 

It is nice that he views the Vikings as that opportunity.

 

One thing I have to give the Vikes, from ownership on down...they at the very least give the appearance that winning a SB is the ultimate goal.

 

I'm sure Ziggy is not inclined to give money away, but at least from a distance I don't get the impression he puts money ahead of winning.

 

Which is a refreshing change from the Twins.

No doubt about it. Of course there are differences in the sports (salary cap vs. no salary cap, revenue sharing, etc.) but throughout his tenure as owner, he's never shied away from large FA signings and spending up to the last dollar on their salary cap.

 

The pieces are in place to go for a Super Bowl over the next 3 years while Kirk is here. Should be a blast to follow along.

We hardly knew ya, Carlson.

Kind of bummed about Coley, I thought he looked like he had some talent. Is Zylstra going to be the #3? I can't imagine Robinson is anything more than the 5th guy at least for a few weeks. He surely doesn't know the system.

We hardly knew ya, Carlson.

Cruel but fair.

The OL looks way too similar to 2016... It's going to be a shame if they can't turn it around.

 

The OL looks way too similar to 2016... It's going to be a shame if they can't turn it around.

 

Every early pick but 1 lately has ignored their biggest issue......

Can they respond on the national stage? Shut down the Rams and prove they can play. This is a big f game imo.

https://kstp.com/sports/source-viking-everson-griffen-involved-in-incident-at-minneapolis-hotel-team-concerned-about-well-being/5083092/?cat=7

 

Not good.

 

https://kstp.com/sports/source-viking-everson-griffen-involved-in-incident-at-minneapolis-hotel-team-concerned-about-well-being/5083092/?cat=7

Not good.

UUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH.

UUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH.

Scary, honestly. I hope it's not CTE related... That is not normal behavior.

Scary, honestly. I hope it's not CTE related... That is not normal behavior.

Yup. Getting his life in order comes first, way before football.

I hope the best for Everson's health physically and mentally.  Sounds like something really rough happened (is happening) in his life.

 

I hope the best for Everson's health physically and mentally.  Sounds like something really rough happened (is happening) in his life.

 

Maybe something overly stressful was a catalyst. Sometimes mental health issues just percolate out of nowhere though. Perhaps his pre-draft red flags were based on this? 

 

It kind of sounds like he thought he was staying at that hotel, yet obviously the rest of the team wasn't there. He sure sounded confused. 

 

The team likely would have heard about this Sunday morning, perhaps this was such a heavy load that they didn't play well. It would also explain why Zimmer was uncharacteristically NOT upset about how the team performed. I suggest this not as an excuse for the loss, but if the team played like crap because they were too concerned with Griffen, that's a good sign that he's got a lot of teammates who care about him. That's got to count for something as far as recovery goes.

I know this was awhile ago, but wasn't the reason Griffen slid to the 4th round because of character concerns?

 

His entire Vikings tenure seems to have been positive, but I seem to recall that being the case.  It could be, as you say Nick, that something was a catalyst to bring up some long buried issues.  

I mean, those character concerns were 10 years ago and he's never been in trouble throughout his tenure with the team.

 

This incident is not normal behavior, and I hope it's not early onset CTE...

I don't know enough about mental health, but I'd think it's not a completely predictable science. I wouldn't be surprised if someone with mental health issues is able to reign in the problem for a decade but it somehow resurfaces later. If so, that should be the outcome I'd hope for as he was able to overcome it previously. As suggested, if it was CTE or something degenerative, that's not reversible at this time, so got to pray it's not that.

I guess I'm out of free Strib articles but this was also syndicated so here's a non-Strib link:

 

http://www.inforum.com/sports/football/4504236-struggling-weeks-explosive-griffen-was-asked-stay-away-vikings

 

Man, this is just sad. He's battling something heavy, I really hope he's able to return to his previous level of functionality. I feel terrible for his wife and family as well.

They had to send him away on Saturday and banned him from the facility.  Suddenly that loss on Sunday has a lot more context.  

 

I know there will be those that say there are no excuses, but these are human beings and this sounds like it was a major issue within the walls of the Vikings.  

 

I hope the best for Everson and his family.

This is the kind of thing that could derail the whole season. He was one of the few veteran leaders on the team... Now I would be surprised if he played another down in the NFL.

 

Devastating news.

More context here.

 

I know we can't rule out CTE, but this does seem to be a cause/challenge known to Griffen. 

I guess I'm out of free Strib articles

FYI, you can open them in a new private/incognito tab/window in your browser to circumvent most newspaper limits.