Monday, March 13, 2006
Purple Promptitude
The Zygified version of the Vikings has clearly demonstrated one thing: they know what they want, and they'll go after it in a hurry. Firing Tice, hiring Childress, attempting to move Daunte, and signing free agents have all been done aggressively and quickly.
Dave's post earlier this week addressed the needs of the Purple as the signing period for free agents finally arrived. We Minnesota sports fans are conditioned to not give a crap about free agents; instead we look forward to the draft, where we can (usually) afford to sign the guys we want. This year's different, as Zygi and the gang seem determined to make us forget all about Red McDuck.
Re-signing Koren Robinson was the first move, and I like it a lot. If he returns to his beer-drinking, hell-raising ways, the Vikes are protected- they didn't fork over much guaranteed money. Robinson was a playmaker on special teams, and his receiving stats should improve drastically (2005: 22 catches, 347 yds, 1 TD)- Mike Tice eased Robinson into the game plan last year.
The Vikings then proceeded to wine, dine, and sign three players almost immediately after the 11:01 PM kickoff to free agency '06.
Chester Taylor
With the Vikings finally willing to spend that extra cap money, some of the Purple faithful were having visions of Edgerrin James running wild on the Metrodome turf. Others speculated that a young stud RB might be selected in the first round of the upcoming draft. The Vikings surprised us all by signing Chester the Molester. Taylor caught 41 balls last year, and has looked good running the ball in limited work with the Ravens over the past four seasons. I love this move. Childress is implementing the West Coast Offense, and Taylor seems like a great fit. He's young and hungry, but has four years of NFL experience, unlike an unproven rookie. Don't be surprised if Taylor is the 2006 version of LaMont Jordan. Of course, Fran Foley is making comparisons to Priest Holmes!
The best part about the Taylor signing? The money. The Vikings gave him a 4 year, $14.1 million deal, with $5.6 million guaranteed. Denny Green's Cardinals gave Edgerrin James a 4 year, $30 million contract, with $11.5 million up front! I'm not suggesting that Taylor's a better RB than Edge, but he has 1815 fewer NFL carries, and one less major knee surgery.
Ryan Longwell
Rather than go after the top dog (Viniateri), the Vikings quickly signed former arch-nemesis Longwell. Sure, it was a lot of money to invest in a kicker, but Vikings fans are happy to finally have a kicker who is both reliable AND has range. Much has been made about his career-low FG % last year, but Longwell was 4-5 from 50+. Good kickers can be successful for decades, and they all have off years. Longwell must be salivating at the thought of exchanging those Lambeau games for Dome games.
Ben Leber
I don't know much about this one, other than the fact that Napoleon Harris was not the answer at linebacker last year. An improved Vikings defense was fun to watch, but the linebackers were brutal. Childress and new defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin seem to think Leber is a good fit for our new defensive scheme. I assume another LB or two will be drafted next month.
Steve Hutchinson
If it goes through, this will be the biggest move the Vikings make this off-season. Daunte sure would have liked to have this guy blocking for him at the beginning of last season! Adam Schefter says that there's a clause in the offer sheet that all but assures that Hutchinson will be a Viking. The contract-to-be dictates that Hutchinson be the highest-paid O-lineman on his team. This means that the Seahawks would have to pay him more than Walter Jones, if they match the offer. Sounds phishy to me. In any case, Hutchinson would be a huge addition (pun intended) to the Vikings' line- a Minnesota team adding a young, All-Pro player via free agency? Pinch me...
What about the QB position? With the big-time prospects gone by the time the Vikings' pick comes around, the draft probably won't yield a long-term solution. Childress seems fine with letting Brad Johnson steer the ship for a while. There are rumors that a veteran backup (Fiedler, Detmer, Weinke, Frerotte) will be signed, which would be fine for this year, but what happens in '07? '08? I'm holding out hope that the Vikings can land Josh McCown, or even Patrick Ramsey or Matt Schaub. Of course, the smart move would be to hold onto Daunte, and see how his rehab goes. At this point, the rumors say that no one will even surrender a second-round pick for The Inferno. Releasing him seems counter-productive. If Childress and Daunte can kiss and make up, he could be our QB of the future, or at least net the Vikings something in return.
Dave's post earlier this week addressed the needs of the Purple as the signing period for free agents finally arrived. We Minnesota sports fans are conditioned to not give a crap about free agents; instead we look forward to the draft, where we can (usually) afford to sign the guys we want. This year's different, as Zygi and the gang seem determined to make us forget all about Red McDuck.
Re-signing Koren Robinson was the first move, and I like it a lot. If he returns to his beer-drinking, hell-raising ways, the Vikes are protected- they didn't fork over much guaranteed money. Robinson was a playmaker on special teams, and his receiving stats should improve drastically (2005: 22 catches, 347 yds, 1 TD)- Mike Tice eased Robinson into the game plan last year.
The Vikings then proceeded to wine, dine, and sign three players almost immediately after the 11:01 PM kickoff to free agency '06.
Chester Taylor
With the Vikings finally willing to spend that extra cap money, some of the Purple faithful were having visions of Edgerrin James running wild on the Metrodome turf. Others speculated that a young stud RB might be selected in the first round of the upcoming draft. The Vikings surprised us all by signing Chester the Molester. Taylor caught 41 balls last year, and has looked good running the ball in limited work with the Ravens over the past four seasons. I love this move. Childress is implementing the West Coast Offense, and Taylor seems like a great fit. He's young and hungry, but has four years of NFL experience, unlike an unproven rookie. Don't be surprised if Taylor is the 2006 version of LaMont Jordan. Of course, Fran Foley is making comparisons to Priest Holmes!
The best part about the Taylor signing? The money. The Vikings gave him a 4 year, $14.1 million deal, with $5.6 million guaranteed. Denny Green's Cardinals gave Edgerrin James a 4 year, $30 million contract, with $11.5 million up front! I'm not suggesting that Taylor's a better RB than Edge, but he has 1815 fewer NFL carries, and one less major knee surgery.
Ryan Longwell
Rather than go after the top dog (Viniateri), the Vikings quickly signed former arch-nemesis Longwell. Sure, it was a lot of money to invest in a kicker, but Vikings fans are happy to finally have a kicker who is both reliable AND has range. Much has been made about his career-low FG % last year, but Longwell was 4-5 from 50+. Good kickers can be successful for decades, and they all have off years. Longwell must be salivating at the thought of exchanging those Lambeau games for Dome games.
Ben Leber
I don't know much about this one, other than the fact that Napoleon Harris was not the answer at linebacker last year. An improved Vikings defense was fun to watch, but the linebackers were brutal. Childress and new defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin seem to think Leber is a good fit for our new defensive scheme. I assume another LB or two will be drafted next month.
Steve Hutchinson
If it goes through, this will be the biggest move the Vikings make this off-season. Daunte sure would have liked to have this guy blocking for him at the beginning of last season! Adam Schefter says that there's a clause in the offer sheet that all but assures that Hutchinson will be a Viking. The contract-to-be dictates that Hutchinson be the highest-paid O-lineman on his team. This means that the Seahawks would have to pay him more than Walter Jones, if they match the offer. Sounds phishy to me. In any case, Hutchinson would be a huge addition (pun intended) to the Vikings' line- a Minnesota team adding a young, All-Pro player via free agency? Pinch me...
What about the QB position? With the big-time prospects gone by the time the Vikings' pick comes around, the draft probably won't yield a long-term solution. Childress seems fine with letting Brad Johnson steer the ship for a while. There are rumors that a veteran backup (Fiedler, Detmer, Weinke, Frerotte) will be signed, which would be fine for this year, but what happens in '07? '08? I'm holding out hope that the Vikings can land Josh McCown, or even Patrick Ramsey or Matt Schaub. Of course, the smart move would be to hold onto Daunte, and see how his rehab goes. At this point, the rumors say that no one will even surrender a second-round pick for The Inferno. Releasing him seems counter-productive. If Childress and Daunte can kiss and make up, he could be our QB of the future, or at least net the Vikings something in return.
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http://www.startribune.com/510/story/305156.html
We're looking at the third-string QB from Green Bay- how exciting! If New Orleans signs Brees, there may still be a deal with the Dolphins in the works. I just hope we're not dumping Daunte for a 3rd or 4th-round pick. This reminds me of the Moss trade, where the Vikings waited until his trade value was as low as it would ever get, and made it clear that they were desperate to trade him- not a good way to ensure a fair deal.
The Hutchinson scenario will be interesting to watch. According to Schefter, Seattle could appeal the terms of the offer sheet, but would have to match the offer first. It all seems pretty strange. There could be a major precedent set here. If this is allowable, it pretty much means that transition players can easily be signed away by other teams- the team would just have to include specific contract language that forces the original team to not match the offer.
If Peyton Manning is ever designated with the transition tag, I suggest the Vikes write up a contract stating "If Manning's home games take place in Indiana, he will be compensated with a brand new Hummer every Friday."
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We're looking at the third-string QB from Green Bay- how exciting! If New Orleans signs Brees, there may still be a deal with the Dolphins in the works. I just hope we're not dumping Daunte for a 3rd or 4th-round pick. This reminds me of the Moss trade, where the Vikings waited until his trade value was as low as it would ever get, and made it clear that they were desperate to trade him- not a good way to ensure a fair deal.
The Hutchinson scenario will be interesting to watch. According to Schefter, Seattle could appeal the terms of the offer sheet, but would have to match the offer first. It all seems pretty strange. There could be a major precedent set here. If this is allowable, it pretty much means that transition players can easily be signed away by other teams- the team would just have to include specific contract language that forces the original team to not match the offer.
If Peyton Manning is ever designated with the transition tag, I suggest the Vikes write up a contract stating "If Manning's home games take place in Indiana, he will be compensated with a brand new Hummer every Friday."
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