Prudence or Overreaction: Vikings’ fans losing faith in Spielman; frustration mounts
After disastrous tenures in Detroit and Miami, in which he left the Lions’ and Dolphins’ franchises in shambles, Minnesota Vikings’ general manager, Rick Spielman, appears to be at it again. His moves thus far in free agency are suspect at best as the Vikings’ roster is falling apart at the seams; faster than a cheap pull-over at an ugly Christmas-sweater-party.
Players are fleeing Minnesota more rapidly than rats on a burning and sinking ship. At this point, the Vikings’ 2017 roster hardly resembles its 2016 counterpart, that was considered an early Super Bowl contender.
The team looks to be playing for the first overall pick in next year’s draft more so than the rights to be the first team to host and play in a Super Bowl. This has caused quite the stir among Vikings’ fans who have begun to question, “just what in the hell is Spielman doing?”
AROUND COVER32
Purple Update: Vikings sign two offensive tackles
Vikings’ Today: Could Xavier Rhodes be in line to receive a big payday
Vike’s Bite: Are the Vikings done in free agency?
Vikings’ Weekly: Greatest 2017 offseason concerns
2017 Draft: Vikings’ early round prospects: offensive lineman
What’s Trending: Patterson signs with Raiders as another Viking is lost
Seriously though, as anyone can tell from the #VikingsTwitter account these days, purple pride is fading fast due in large part to Spielman’s free agency strategy. After once again losing another Vikings’ staple, this time in the form of Cordarrelle Patterson, Spielman rushed to respond and quickly brought in former Oakland Raiders’ running back, Latavius Murray, for a visit on Tuesday.
With a career NFL record of 90-101-1, as a general manager, during more than 12 years spent between the Vikings and Dolphins, it is a testament that Spielman needs to attempt to incorporate a different approach.
On the same day we honor Albert Einstein’s birth, we appeal to Spielman with a quote from the extraordinary genius, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Spielman would not come under such due scrutiny and criticism for employing the same or similar tactic, year after year, if only he succeeded the majority of the time. The 2017 regular season has yet to even begin and already fans have started questioning Spielman’s decisions of what he is or is not doing.
It does not bode well for Minnesota this year if last season was any indication, when Spielman’s failures came back to bite the Vikings, with his offseason moves derailing the start to a perfect season.
Is it all on Spielman that the offensive line physically crumbled and was decimated by injuries; absolutely not. He could have, however, attempted to sign top tier linemen that went on to bolster playoff-caliber teams such as the Atlanta Falcons and Raiders.
Obviously free agency is not over, but Spielman has given little indication that he intends to conduct business any differently, after losing out on free agency’s marquee players and top-tier talent yet again, while overpaying for mediocrity. If the Vikings are to take the next big step in the winning direction, either Spielman has to change or Minnesota has to quit settling for complacency and move on from more of the same.
— Justin Ekstrom covers the NFL and Minnesota Vikings for cover32 and can be reached on Twitter @thesportscrib21. Be sure to follow and comment on Facebook and Twitter.
The post Prudence or Overreaction: Vikings’ fans losing faith in Spielman; frustration mounts appeared first on Cover32.
