Vikings: Free Agent Wednesday Extravaganza!

Okay, let's recap this exciting day shall we!? Class is in session so let's get some grades on the new students at Vikings University of Minnesota Awesomeness!  Starting with the top grades.

(Associated Press: Ben Margot)

Alex Boone: Guard: formerly of San Fransisco.
A+
I give the signing of Alex Boone an A+ not only because we fill a huge need on the line, but we can also move players around to positions that better suit them.  You get arguably one of the best guards in free agency, as well as a top rated guard from 2011-2014. In 2015 he had a bit of a down year after moving to the left guard position, but the hope is that he will emerge again as his former self at right guard for the Vikings.  This also allows Brendon Fusco to move back to his original position at left guard where he flourished as a starter and ranked high on the PFF scale at that position.  This signing could be like a double signing letting both guards play their original spot. (Also, he wants to punch Clay Matthews in the face, which is fuggin awesome. That moved my A rating to the + area.)

Emmanuel Lamur: Outside Linebacker: formerly of Cincinnati.
A
That's right.  I'm giving this signing an A.  Want to know why? Because he's a former Zimmer project, had a stellar year in 2014 (92 tackles, 2 INT, 7 PDef), and has been said to make athletic, game-busting plays.  I believe if healthy, Lamur will take over opposite Barr in Zimmer's defense.  He's still young at 27 and it's a great move if he can return to his play from a year ago. I think this is a better option than starting aging Greenway, who still might be signed to one more year.

Audie Cole: Linebacker: Vikings.
B
This is a "oh okay, cool" type signing.  Isn't anything to write home about, but is a great depth and special teams signing.  I've always liked the guy, but he's never taken that next step to be a legit starter.  Still, good move by the Purple.  Can't give a bad grade for a good special team guy.

Mike Harris: Guard: formerly of ... oh the Vikings.
B-
This was a smart move considering he will be a solid back up and competition to the starters in Fusco and Boone.  You can never be too deep at a position like offensive line and the Vikings found this out last year the hard way.  A nice one year deal will keep our line in tact for a little longer.

Travis Lewis: Linebacker: formerly of Detroit.
B-
I always like signings for depth and special teams, and this was just that.  Lewis was a core special teamer for the lions and will fit in nicely with the Vikings in this spot. Like Cole, I assume Zimmer will love him as a back up in his young linebacking core moving forward.   In Zimmer We Trust!

Andrew Sendejo: Safety: Vikings.
C-
I'm torn on this.  Not because he wasn't horrible.  Not because he wasn't good.  Because we gave him way too much money to be a mediocre guy.  I understand Reggie Nelson might have been asking for too much money or an undesirable amount of years, but this...was just odd.  $16 million over 4 years. Ouch. My head hurts on this one.  In Zimmer We Trust?

Michael Griffin: Safety: formerly of Tennessee.
C-
A part of me loves the player he used to be.  A part knows he's not that same player. A part of me doesn't care and thinks Zimmer can make him play like a top 15 safety again.  A part of me knows that's wrong.  Maybe he's just here as a camp body, because I honestly don't see him beating out Sendejo (I know, weak) but there is hope.  We will see what he still has left in the tank, but I'm still sour the Vikings didn't get Reggie Nelson.

Overall I give the Vikings a solid B+.  They didn't sit back and let other teams make all the moves, filled a lot of holes that they had needs at, and didn't reach and over pay for players that other teams have done (exception Sendejo).  Good day to be a Vikings fan!

Skol!

Vikings: It's Teddy Time

So, as I've mentioned before and now Rick Spielman agrees: Teddy Bridgewater needs to take over the Vikings offense.  He says "Teddy needs to be more aggressive" but I say, take the whole ship over.  There has rarely been a time in NFL history where a running back is the leader of an offense. Since Peterson seems to be nothing of a leader, I think now is a better time than ever for everyone to start expecting a Teddy Time turnover in Minnesota.  

(Getty Images: Hannah Foslien)

My issues before on the offense was the play calling (Norv, I'm still here complaining and you can't get rid of me) and the offensive line.  As of today, the Vikings signed Alex "The Rhino" Boone out of San Fransisco.  Huge signing. This allows the Vikings to move Fusco back to right guard where he belongs.  With Kalil in a contract year (and history shows contract years usually make players realize they like and enjoy money), Sullivan and Loadholt coming back from injury, this once weakness now could be a strength.  This is all hoping, I know.  But hope is a good thing according to the end of The Shawshank Redemption.  And that movie was amazing, so maybe the Viking's line will be amazing because of the connection? Makes sense? Science!

With that being in line (pun) all that's left is for Teddy to make that next step.  I believe he has the ability to, so lets look at the numbers so we can get all excited about what could be if everything goes to the Vikings dastardly plan! Mwahahahaha. (On a lighter note: Mwaha.)

Now, I've read this article saying Teddy was the most accurate quarterback last year.  Take a look.

"What the traditional stats don’t show, however, is just how accurate Bridgewater is. The Viking led the NFL in 2015 with an accuracy percentage of 79.3. While this number is inflated by the large amount of short throws required by the Minnesota offense, it is no small feat to be the most accurate in the league. In fact, Teddy scored his best passing grades on throws between 10–19 yards, and broke even on throws over 20 yards.

You have to wonder if Bridgewater’s modest touchdown and yardage totals are more a product of the Vikings’ offensive style, rather than an indictment of the QB’s abilities."

-ProFootballFocus - Ryan Jenson

Knowledge bombs. Took out our entire civilization of smarts and replaced them will more advanced, well informed smarts.  This is a pretty eye opening piece to read, and being an avid watcher of Teddy and the Vikings, I could totally accept it.  He is remarkably accurate on short to medium length throws.  Which also makes me wonder if he had more time to pass (due to better line play) and wasn't forced to go by a run-first style, what kind of quarterback could Teddy be?  

Hopefully we find out in 2016 because this needs to be a better scoring offense and I don't think this negative weight is on Teddy's shoulders.  And yeah, I get that 28 touchdowns to 21 interceptions in his career isn't much to look at, but when you look at the play calling he's had to deal with you understand. And knowing is half the battle. 

If Norv took a dose of reality and relieved himself of his "Childress Syndrome", he could be a great “offensive mind” again.  Right now...it’s not happening so let's hope it changes.

Teddy has shown that without a player like Peterson on the field, he can be up there with the top 10 quarterbacks in the league.  He proved in games where Peterson was removed that he could handle himself way beyond what people expect.  Remember the game against the Bears on December 12, 2015? 231 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 1 rushing touchdown ring a bell? I remember.  I also remember many 4^th quarters where he march us down the field to set us up for a win without Peterson in (because of his lack of abilities to pass protect or run out of the shot gun).

(Pioneer Press: Ben Garvin)

I believe that if he is able to take over as the true leader of the offense, the face of the offense, the face of the team, and not just the "guy who hands off to Peterson"; he will shine. Even in the Preseason (without Peterson playing one down), Teddy was 29 of 35 (82.9%) with a touchdown.  Granted it is the preseason, but he looked crisp and was able to spread out defenses because he wasn’t forced to rely on Peterson.  Teddy Time is now if the Vikings want to be a legitimate contender.  Let's take this ship to the championship!

Skol!

T'Wolves: Can Wiggins be a Hall of Fame Type Player?

When looking at Wiggins, one can obviously see that he is a spectacular player.  He can score any way he wants to, draws a lot of fouls, and has begun to hit crucial shots at the end of games.  But is that really enough to get him to the Hall of Fame? Is he on the road to be that kind of player?

(Getty Images: Elsa)

My answer is no.

While Wiggins is becoming a star in this league, he has many flaws that can't be overlooked.  When you look at the greatest of the great players like Jordan or LeBron, you see they fill the stat sheet with everything, not just points.  Looking at Jordan's olds stats, I found a pizza and a Mountain Dew because he could fill his stat sheet with everything; even a full meal for an adult male who still lives in his parents basement.  I mean, I'm not breaking ground on any new science or anything here.  It's a very basic thing that everyone in the league sees. If Wiggins wants to become what everyone knows he can be, he needs to start playing an all around game.

Points (20.5 PPG) : There's no question here that Wiggins can score.  He's got a elite jumper, ability to finish at the rim, and gets fouled a lot (which is something the great scorers can do).  However, sometimes he settles too easily for jumpers instead of taking the ball to a unprotected rim, gives up a open 3 opportunity to move in closer for a contested 2 point shot, or looses control of his dribble driving through traffic.  This are all parts of his game that he needs to work on either mentally or physically if he truly wants to be an elite scorer and player.  Not saying 20.5 points a game is bad by any means (which I totally am and I'm a hypocrite), but he could do so much more if he put in the work. 44.5% shooting percentage needs to move up and his 75% free throw shooting should be around 80-84%.  Like I said, these are just nit picks in his game, but shouldn't be overlooked if we are talking about a Hall of Fame type player.

(Getty Images: David Sherman)

"When I was young, I had to learn the fundamentals of basketball.  You can have all the physical ability in the world, but you still have to know the fundamentals." 

-Michael Jordan

"Now onto the gross statistics on Andrew Wiggins."

-K.E. Smith

Assists (1.9 APG): Now I get he isn't a point guard so assists with a player like Rubio on the team isn't a big deal, but it totally is.  The amount of attention that he gets on the offensive side of the ball is great enough that it always leaves a man open when the inevitable double team comes.  Far too many times Wiggins will lose control of the ball because he hangs on too long and doesn't recognize the double team fast enough.  That, of course, leads to low assists per game because he's missing opportunities to have someone else score wide open off his passing and vision of the court.  He also doesn't see the floor well when he drives to the hoop which is because of his poor protection of the ball.  If he can't handle the ball properly, he'll likely be focusing too much on not loosing the ball than keeping his eyes open for potential shooters and lanes.  When he crashes the rim, unless it's a wide open lay up, there is always someone open.  This is another part of his game that I would like to see develop in the next few years.  If you look at the great players, even ones who are 2 guards and forwards, average around 4-5 assists a game because they understand their ability to draw the attention of the defense. This must come into Wiggins game if he wants to be considered Hall of Fame worthy.

Rebounds (3.6 RPG): Another underachieving statistic for Wiggins.  Being a 6'8" guard/forward playing 35 minutes a game, this can be seen as pretty bad area of his game.  Too many times has Wiggins had games where he scores 20 points and the rest of his line is filled with goose eggs. (I guess he too can fill the stat sheet with food. Huh!)  He needs to learn how to box out his own guy better as well as crash the boards when he has an open lane to do so.  I could look over this stat if I wanted to, but it's becoming an issue when his team gets out rebounded night in and night out. Everyone isn't fighting on each possession as if it isn't meaningful, but it completely is.

Turnovers (2.2 TOPG): This comes back to his lack of dribbling and protecting the ball correctly.  If he could push himself to become better in that area, this blemish of a statistic would slowly move down so he wouldn't be at a .85 AST/TO ratio.  Anything under a one is hard to watch, and this...is harder to watch at than the movie Glitter starring Mariah Carey.  At least for the type of player that would get to the Hall of Fame.

(AP Photo: Jim Mone)

"My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, Then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength."

-Michael Jordan

"Michael Jordan, can I have your pizza and Mountain Dew?"

-K.E. Smith

Defense (.8 SPG .6 BPG): Yikes.  Barf.  Yikes and barf.  This right here is a huge grey area. I may be overreacting here, but I'm not (humble) and this is Wiggins biggest weakness.  He seems to get outmatched on the defensive side of the ball and players aren't afraid to attack him here.  Simply put; his effort lacks therefor he's an easy target on defense.

He needs to work on his game that doesn't include scoring the basketball and I know the biggest reason for all of his downfalls: effort and passion. 

When he plays the game, he doesn't play it with any kind of urgency or attitude.  This is why he underperforms. If you look at his teammate Karl-Anthony Towns who wears his heart on his sleeve you can tell the difference between the players and who want to win and the ones who just play the game.  Karl has that passion, that drive, and that pain when he loses.  Wiggins just seems as if this is a job of his and he just goes to work and does minimum effort to get by, which is sad to say because he's such a great player with an unlimited about of potential. His effort and passion is the reason he loses the ball to the rim, why he doesn't crash for rebounds and why his defense is so poor.  He lacks that will and desire to win. Heck, he hits game winning shots and gets to the line in the final minutes, but he doesn't attack the way he could.  The way a winner would.  The way a Hall a Fame type player should.

(Getty Images: David Sherman)

Can Wiggins become a Hall of Fame guy? Of course!  But he needs to realize that it will take a lot of hard work, effort and passion day in and day out.  Jordan once said, "play every possession like it's your last." Wiggins needs to read those words every time he walks on to the court if he wants to be "the guy."  

Vikings: Hands on with the Hands Crew

We now get to talk about one of the more exciting areas of the Vikings roster: the receivers. I just get tingles in my nether regions thinking about it.  Mostly because it's the glamour position on the offense with all the dazzling speed moves and spectacular catches.  I mean, while the offensive line is the sole of the offense, the receivers are the outer beauty that people tend to gush over while watching games.   Typical Americans, all about outer appearances. 

(Associated Press)

Tight End: TE Kyle Rudolph (26), TE Mycole Pruitt (23), TE Rhett Ellison (27)

I honestly don’t see us moving any pieces here and I don’t really think we need to.  The ability of all of these players were under appreciated until later in the year.  Rudolph showed he still had great hands when thrown to and decent block to boot.  He always has a size advantage over most defenders and Norv Turner seems to always over look this (which is odd because he used to work with Antonio Gates).   I still think he has many good years in front of him.  The Vikings just need to put him to better use so he can be a top 5 type of tight end once again.  (I mean, we are paying him as the 5th highest paid tight end in the league, and it wasn't just for blocking, Norv.)

(USA TODAY Sports: Andrew Weber)

Pruitt looks to be more of a passing weapon than blocker once he gets the system down. I like the Vikings put him to use at the end of the year and I'm excited to see what he can do with more snaps.  

Short and simple: Ellison is going to remain a blocker with a small upside of catching 10-15 passes a year.  Neat!

I don’t think the vikings will do anything with this spot.

(See, I can go a whole section about tight ends without making a joke about butts.)

Wide Receivers: WR Stephon Diggs (22), WR Mike Wallace (29), WR Jarius Wright (26), WR Charles Johnson (26), WR Cordarrelle Patterson (24), WR Adam Thiele  (25)

This is an amazingly athletic, but overwhelmingly underachieving group to say the least.  Diggs is the only one I can actually see staying on the team, but I don’t see many of the other guys going anywhere just yet: except for Patterson.

(Associated Press)

Diggs will be our #1 guy, and he should be.  He proved once given a chance he could be a baller (720 yards and 4 touchdowns as a rookie) even without starting the whole year due to rotation and experience.  The ability to get open and make guys miss after the catch is something the Vikings haven't seen in awhile.  Hopefully with hard work in the offseason we can finally see another 1,000 receiver on the roster.

Wallace I still think can be a decent 2^nd/3^rd guy on our team. I feel his productivity wasn’t his fault this year, and that comes back to Norv Turner and the development of Teddy Bridgewater.  I feel given another year in the system, along with other changes, he could be a threat again. This is completely my own opinion, but on how Zimmer is talking is still about him, he admitted that he has talent that wasn't used correctly.

Wright has always been consistent as a 3^rd/4^th option and I don’t see him moving unless it’s farther down the bench.  He's shown solid hands and clean routes his entire time being a Viking and that will be helpful if they really want Teddy to "let it loose" in 2016.

Patterson needs to go.  I’m over the whole “I’m the Flash” gimmick and I hope Zimmer is, too.  He is speedily moving himself to 'Harvin status' as a failed WR who has all the tools to be great. He has shown no consistency to be a legit receiver. As a return man, his last big run followed by a fumble turned me against him, because of his nonchalant reaction on the sideline.  It was a big game, and he was just laughing it off like it didn't matter.  His lack of effort combined with his apparent superstar attitude is annoying and childish.  He won’t become a threat at wide receiver unless he puts in hard work and I just don’t see that happening.  I get we'd lose a special weapon on kick offs, but with the move to the 35 yard line, the art of returns has turned almost useless.  There is no reason to dump anymore money into a position like this.

(Associated Press)

Johnson is odd.  I thought he would be a solid 1^st/2^nd option and quickly got moved to nothingness. Does anyone else find this completely questionable and shocking? I honestly don’t remember seeing him on the sideline.  After averaging 60 yards a game the final 7 games of 2014, he Houdini-ed. It is extremely confusing to see someone go from a great option to an afterthought.  I don’t know if we will see him again or not, but his tale so far is very confusing.  

I could see the Vikings picking up another option for Teddy in this department. Probably from the draft which is great to get young guys to develop like Diggs, whom they took in the 5th round.  I have faith they will grab another play maker here instead of putting money into a free agent.

Skol!

Twins: Why We Should Say Goodbye to Mauer

I remember in 2001 right before the MLB Draft, I was sitting at my friend’s house looking up Joe Mauer’s high school statistics online and completely geeking out. He was hitting over well over .600 in his senior year, hit 7 home runs in 7 consecutive games (which was a record), only struck out once in high school; just gaudy numbers. He also played for the Team USA Junior National team from 1998-2000 to add fuel to that fire.  Paul Molitor, his present coach and former 4 time silver slugger award winner even said of his swing in high school as “the best swing he had ever seen.” He looked to be a remarkable baseball talent and best of all he was home grown.   And the Twins had the #1 pick.

(Getty Images: Tom Dahlin)

Side Note: I had such a love for Mauer at the time that I wanted him to play for the Vikings as well.  That’s right.  Bo Jackson, where you at? In high school he played quarterback and was pretty wonderful.  And by wonderful, I mean he was the Gatorade National Player of the Year, USA Today’s Player of the Year, Reebok/ESPN High School All-American, and Player of the Year for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.  I was tickled poopless he decided to play in the MLB knowing the Twins would select him #1 overall.

The rest is now history, but I remember how incredible it felt when we first drafted him and how uplifting the first 5 years felt as he played for the Twins.  He still had that gusto of being one of the greats because of his batting and catching prowess so no one really cared much about his lack of power at the time. He was just so damn good at commanding the plate with his bat.  Any open area on the field was fair game and he would use all of it like a painter using all of the canvas. He had it.

(USA TODAY Sports: Jesse Johnson)

From the years 2006-2009 reporters and analysts a-like were all on the small but hopeful boat of Mauer pulling off the golden bar of hitting over .400.   I too was on that boat, sink or swim. 

After all in 2009 which Mauer had 28 homeruns, 30 doubles, 96 RBIs, 1.21 walk/SO ratio, and a .365 AVG it looked as if we were getting to see the true potential we all dreamed of.  Mauer was 25 and one of the best catchers in the league and was beginning to get the Hall of Fame talk.  Why wouldn’t he? His future was astoundingly bright.  No question that he had a legitimate shot at .400.  Then that boat sprung a leak.

(USA TODAY Sports: Jesse Johnson)

The next 4 years he had 33 homeruns.  Not the next year of 2010.  2010-2013 he had a total of 33 homeruns.  His “Mauer Power” completely disappeared. His average dropped to (a still impressive) .314 over those years (.050 drop from the 2009 campaign), but wasn’t what Twins fans were expecting.  He didn’t improve much on his doubles or triples.  He didn’t become the clutch hitter they wanted.  He averaged an single RBI every 7.61 at bats in that time while hitting in a mix between the 2-4 spots in the line up.  That’s pretty atrocious for a spot in the lineup that’s purpose is production.  He was widely known within the circle of Twins fans as a fluff AVG hitter, only getting squeak singles and the occasional double.  That boat of people thinking he could hit over .400 is at the bottom of the ocean next to the Titanic.  I luckily found a small door frame to float to which I was later saved.  Sorry Jack, I did let go.

However, amazingly he has quickly became a champion in a way: the Double Play Champion. And I know that might be a little much, and his average at the department isn’t dreadful, but when you drop off immensely at all your other positive categories that one sticks out a lot more.

The last two years hasn’t changed much and it’s time I said it loud and proud: Get rid of Joe Mauer.

(Associated Press: Ann Heisenfelt)

I know many people love their hometown boy, but I feel like after he got his 8 year, 184 million dollar contract, his production has all but disappeared.  It’s as if he almost settled down and gave up his on passion after he got his contract, which obviously happens to a lot athletes after they get paid.  I really didn’t want it to happen to Mauer, but it obviously did.  No more hard work equals no more production, folks.  As of now, all he is just a hometown boy we are paying 23 million this year.  So ask your self, till 2019 is he worth that much each year? 

Pick me! Pick me! I know! I’ll answer the question, teach! No!  Hell no!  Unless he starts proving he is worth that much extremely soon, why waste the money for the next coming years on a player who is about to turn 33 and not showing any signs of his 2009 season?  That’s what we paid for.  Not $44,401 per at bat for a .265 AVG.  Not $191,666 per game with 59.2 at bats per homerun.  Not $5,750,000 per homerun like last season.  Just read those numbers again.  It’s painful.  Last year that was 25.79% of the team’s payroll for 8.4% of the team’s on field performance.  

I don’t know how the Twins are going to go about this, but he needs to be removed from the team, and fast.  We could get a player who has decent potential or even the same stats as Mauer for a fraction of his price.  Sano could play first as well as Park, Plouffe; anyone else really.  I’m just sick of seeing 23 million stuck in a person who isn’t worth 5 million right now. 

Do you have and ideas or thoughts on this subject? Let me know and we can have a civil discussion on why Joe Mauer is a disease for this team and why we haven’t used the cure to get rid of it completely is beyond me.

T'Wolves: How High is Zach LaVine's Ceiling?

(Getty Images: Jeff Gross)

Remember when we took that skinny backup combo guard with the 13th pick in the 2014 draft? Completely raw? Overwhelmingly athletic? Unproven?

As of today: he has the possibility of being one of the greatest Timberwolves of all time. Yeah, I said it.  You read correctly. 

I'm not even close to joking.  LaVine has the talent to be great.  Not only because of his dunks, which still are pretty amazing.  Look here:

Mmm. Feels so good.  

Anyways, let me explain my man crush.  LaVine over the last year and a half has shown me something just as great as his dunks: his jump shot. His jump shot is marvelous.  I mean, his form is astounding, the rotation on his ball is crisp, and his elevation (obviously) is perfect.  Of course, his shooting percentage isn’t there yet, but with all young shooters that happens.  Just watching where he releases the ball in his jump and the arc of the shot is incredible.  I honestly think in a few years he will be one of the top "average percentage" shooters in the league for guards. 

(Getty Images: Gary Dineen)

Best part is, no one even thought he was going to be that good of an outside shooter.  You know that feeling you get when you watch someone shoot a 3 pointer like 4 feet behind the line and you scream, “What are you doing? Get a better shot!”  Well with LaVine, I always have a feeling the ball will drop which is a nice feeling to have.  So, other than his freakish dunks and silky-smooth jump shot (that will continue to increase in percentage), what else is there?  Oh, I have the answers. Calm down, grasshopper.

LaVine, with time, will be built enough to match up with shooting guards.  He’s a twig of a man right now, but he’s also 20 years old.  He will fill out into his own and be able to body up the shooting guard position. I know this because I am not a grasshopper, you are.  So let's continue.

(USA TODAY Sports: Brad Rempel)

Why does that matter, you ask?  Because he’s been seen as a point guard for most of his career but I don’t think that’s the right spot for him and the Timberwolves are now finding that out by moving him to shooting guard.  This matters, because now you have a point guard mindset in a shooting guard body.  He will, in a few years, be able to get you 20-25 points a night as well as get you 5-7 assists and 4-6 rebounds.  He looks to pass as well as score.  Many players…(Wiggins, I’m looking at you, bro) don’t do the small things to win games.  I remember watching a behind the scenes clip of Michael Jordan talking to Carmelo Anthony about stats.  Jordan told Melo, “points will always come, but it’s all the rest of the stats that matter.” Boom.  The greatest dropping knowledge.  Rebounds, assists, steals, blocks: All matter.  You need to play a complete game to be a complete player.

I think LaVine has shown he can do those other things with the opportunities he is given.  He will score.  He will make mind-blowing dunks.  But he knows the other things matter just as much.

If LaVine does what I know he can, from the ages of 22-34 a consistent average of 20-25 points, 5-7 assists and 4-6 rebounds being reached= Greatest Timberwolves Shooting Guard.  Jigga Whaa? Isn't that a great thought combining him with possibly the greatest small forward and center the T'Wolves will probably ever have?  Ahhh.  The feels right now. 

Don’t think so or you don’t agree with me.  Well let’s just watch and find out.