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qb: B-
there were some ups and downs (understandable with a rookie playing most of the year and ponder) but teddy really made strides at the end of the year and i saw a lot of good things and learning from his mistakes (for the most part) which was impressive especially considering his at times uncertain cast

rb: B
considering everything (losing ap, injuries) i thought these guys played well. i really like mckinnon and think they can do some really cool things with him. and maybe its just how he is but i liked asiata more and more as the season went on (maybe because he was the only one left) but he does a decent job in pass protection, he's not winning any footraces but he runs hard and is a fantastic short yardage back

wr: B-
bit of a mixed bag depending on who you look at, patterson was bad and had limited time, but johnson came on in a big way, once teddy started getting going things were looking up for wright and jennings too. thielen was good in spots

te: B
rudolph was in and out but i like the group of guys we have, they didn't get a ton of action because we don't really throw it that often - though i thought they did alright when called upon.

oline: C
not good, tons of injuries (and matt kalil) but teddy was getting killed in the early/middle part of the year, improved as it went on but still not what you'd like to see

kicker: C-
what happened to poor blair? is it just being outside more? maybe just an off year for him and he works on it in the offseason

dline: A-
i thought these guys were great, based on free agency last summer it was an immediate point of emphasis for zimmer and spielman and i think they nailed it. lot of pressure and sacks (although it tailed off near the end), good rotation keeping people fresh. griffen and floyd stepped up in a big ways. johnson, joseph and stephen were great signings

lbs: B
barr is great and going to be a monster, hodges and cole did fairly good stepping in when needed. greenway was solid as usual, brinkley was ok i think, don't remember a lot from him which i guess means not messing up but not making a lot of big plays either

secondary: B-
improved a lot from last year but still got some things to work on, lot of people running free at times. rhodes is going to be really good, smith is great, the captain was solid for the most part. blanton and sandejo were good, and robinson wasn't getting lit up all the time so that is good

punter: B
locke was good i think, nothing much to report

coverage: B
pretty good kick coverage this year, don't remember a lot of big returns allowed anyway

returns: C+
what happened to patterson, he had no pop this year, i was shocked to hear that he was like 6th or something in return average this year at like 25 yards. he rarely gets past the 20 it seems (although when he's starting from deep in the endzone most of the time). i think there was one time all year he had a decent return where i halfway thought he might take it all the way

Bridgewater was fantastic the last 5 games. Before the bears, the last 4 games he had the highest completion percentage.
Good to see kalil finish strong. Audie Cole and Gerald Hodges have been pleasant surprises. Rhodes also improved a tremendous amount. McKinnon was good to, not sure if he is a future #1 though.

Munnerlyn was disappointing. I'm all for cutting AP and using the cash elsewhere. Linebackers, offensive line, or saving it to extend Harrison Smith and Xavier Rhodes.


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hermes wrote:qb: B-
there were some ups and downs (understandable with a rookie playing most of the year and ponder) but teddy really made strides at the end of the year and i saw a lot of good things and learning from his mistakes (for the most part) which was impressive especially considering his at times uncertain cast

Fair grade for what he accomplished compared to other QB's, but in terms of creating optimism for the future he's an A/A-.

hermes wrote:
kicker: C-
what happened to poor blair? is it just being outside more? maybe just an off year for him and he works on it in the offseason

Seems a little bit harsh. Maybe expectations were considered. I think Blair is a better kicker than Locke is a punter.

blair is the best kicker, i think he's going to make everything - so this year hit me hard

Teddy set 91 rookie records for the vikings! Too bad he didnt get 3000 yards... but he's got a lot of talent and poise... something Ponder lacked... I feel hopeful with him

jon33km wrote:Teddy set 91 rookie records for the vikings! Too bad he didnt get 3000 yards... but he's got a lot of talent and poise... something Ponder lacked... I feel hopeful with him

The last 4 or 5 games made me really optimistic. His accuracy looked so much better at the end of the season.