It might take me a bit to get to my ultimate point in this article

Mike Remmers Jersey , but first, I have some things to say the readers and writers of Daily Norseman.The day after the Vikings lost in Chicago, I wrote a piece for DN saying that Mike Zimmer should be on the hot seat. While some of our readers agreed with me, other did not and were quite vocal about it. Even the head of DN and another DN writer here threw me under the bus on Twitter. It was appalling to see how many of you readers laughed at me and ridiculed me for my criticism.Well, I have to say, you’re not laughing now, are you?A season that began with ‘Super Bowl or bust’ expectations crashed down harder than the stock market in 2008. Mr. $84 million dollar quarterback looked absolutely horrified to play quarterback in an elimination game, in the last week of the season, at home, against a division rival. The defense let the Bears march down the field in the 4th quarter to put the Vikings season on ice, clearly putting on display another game where Mike Zimmer did not prepare his team for a big game. During the broadcast, Aikman talked about the Vikings failures in big games between that week 17 game, and of course, last year’s NFC title game. The lack of fight in this team in 2018 was disturbing, bordering incompetence, much like Mike Zimmer’s teams after the bye week in his first 5 years as head coach. 2-3? Please, stop telling me how good a defensive coach he is, or even that he’s an elite coach. Enough already.As a Vikings fan living outside of Minnesota, I’ve had to socially educate myself on Vikings fans. Who they are, what they think of their team, and how they approach being fans. The biggest thing I’ve learned is that very few Vikings fans actually have championship aspirations for this team. They’re happy just to be a fan, and if a coach or player is likable, they don’t feel the need to question their position within the organization.If that doesn’t epitomize why the Vikings have never won the Super Bowl, nothing ever will.To be clear, until this franchise finally wins the trophy named after a head coach of a division rival, everything they do should be under a microscope constantly. Nothing they do should go without question, and not be on a short leash. This goes top to bottom for the whole organization. So I guess the only thing to do now is to look to 2019, right?The 2 big losses in terms of players seem to be those of Anthony Barr and Sheldon Richardson. Honestly, a defensive tackle and/or a linebacker have not been the reason a team has or has not won a Super Bowl since the dinosaurs walked the earth, so any of you fans getting ready to use that as an excuse next season, grow up. When Barr missed games in 2018 http://www.thevikingslockerroom.com/authentic-marcus-sherels-jersey , the difference in the defense was minimal at best. I don’t really fault Barr for this, as he’s never been used right since he was Mike Zimmer’s (not Rick Spielman’s) first draft pick. For reference, go back and watch his performance against the Rams in week 4.Restructuring of contracts has to be a pivotal part of this offseason. Lots of fans and writers speak of Everson Griffen taking a pay cut, which he should. The Vikings have stuck with him through thick and thin, and now is the time for him to pay the franchise back. But the player not spoken about as much to take a pay cut is Xavier Rhodes. This is someone labeled an elite corner that was constantly shredded and injured this year. Granted, Vikings corner’s don’t like to look back for the ball when covering receivers downfield, which is more on the coaching than anything else. Still, you want elite corner money, play like it. Rhodes did anything but in 2018.The same thing goes for Linval Joseph. Other than his big touchdown in Philadelphia, Joseph did very little to impact the line of scrimmage. He was given a big contract to play the game in the opponents backfield. Where was that this year? Was it him? Maybe Mike Zimmer can answer, even though he didn’t answer enough questions about too many poor showings from his ‘prized’ defense in 2018. Why couldn’t his defense do to people what the Bears did to the Vikings TWICE? Let me know.Riley Reiff, Mike Remmers, and Tom Compton are three players who all need pay cuts, or to just be outright released from the team. It was clear all season they have no business being NFL offensive linemen, especially to protect a quarterback who doesn’t remotely look like an athlete when he tries to run. Cousins also fumbles more balls than anybody in the league, which makes rebuilding the offensive line essential. As was said in the show ‘Blue Mountain State’, “A quarterback is like being in a whore house, you’re only as good as your protection.” This will also require the Vikings to establish a formidable running game this year, which is where Gary Kubiak comes in.Matt Schaub and Joe Flacco had their best seasons under Kubiak. Neither quarterback is classified as among the elite, so the fact they performed under him leaves the offense, especially Cousins, without any excuses. Thus, any offensive linemen brought in will have all the tools around them to be successful. Honestly though, New England changes players on their offensive line each year, and nothing changes. Why? Because their offensive line coach, Dante Scarnecchia, knows what he’s doing, as does Belichick of course. It’d be nice if Zimmer and his assistants would do the same. Let me be very clear, I firmly believe the Vikings have good players. I don’t necessarily believed they’ve been coached to reach their maximum potential. Too many times on defense, they don’t pressure the quarterback. Their season total of sacks is really inflated from their 2 home wins against Detroit and Miami. The games against Chicago and New England tell much different tales. Offensively, how does a team with Cook Womens Brian O'Neill Jersey , Thielen and Diggs not make the playoffs? Even the average NFL ponders this. A poor offensive isn’t a reasonable excuse, sorry/not sorry. The poor showings fall on COACHING. If Zimmer isn’t competent enough to know how to get the best out of his team on BOTH SIDES of the ball, then he isn’t fit to be the head coach, period.As for Rick Spielman, there is no question he has brought some tremendous players to the Vikings, but has also made some baffling errors. Taking a corner in the first round of the 2018 draft was about the dumbest draft pick the Vikings have made since selecting Christian Ponder. Along with that, he let go of a quarterback that took his team to the NFC title, and paid $84 million for a quarterback proven to be terrible in big games, destroying the team’s cap space along with it.This roster screamed of title contender before the 2018 season for a reason. Enough of the team is returning that they should have the same expectations in 2019. If they don’t, the Wilf’s must move on from Spielman, Zimmer, and many of the players. It’s very clear that their time is now or never. In the case of the Vikings, they still have NEVER won the Super Bowl, and it would behoove many within the organization to do so next year, or look for work elsewhere. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Kirk Cousins was happy with the victory, of course — a road win against a team Minnesota had never beaten away from home.But the star quarterback knows the Vikings‘ offense can be even better.Cousins threw two touchdown passes, Latavius Murray ran for two scores, and the Vikings pulled away in the second half to beat the New York Jets 37-17 on Sunday for their third straight victory.“Any time you score 37 points on the road, you’re doing something right,” Cousins said. “But there are times where it wasn’t good enough. We are so grateful for defense and special teams today because it gave us the opportunity to go out and score points.”The Vikings (4-2-1) intercepted Jets rookie Sam Darnold three times and also recovered a fumbled snap to help lift them to their first road win against the Jets after losing the first five meetings away from home.“We did some good things, but there are a lot of things we can work on,” wide receiver Adam Thielen said. “We were not moving the ball enough and there were a lot of plays I want back, but it’s always good to get a win.”Minnesota couldn’t get much going consistently on offense, mostly because of going 2 of 15 on third downs.In his first game against the Jets (3-4) since spurning their massive offer in free agency, Cousins was far from spectacular, but made some big plays late. With the game still hanging in the balance and the Vikings facing fourth-and-8 from the 34, Cousins connected with Aldrick Robinson for a TD to seal it.“We had so many opportunities to put that game away earlier in the game, and didn’t do it,” coach Mike Zimmer said. “We have to overcome ourselves on some of those things.”Cousins, 25 of 40 for 241 yards Rashod Hill Jersey , opted to turn down New York’s three-year, $90 million deal in the offseason and instead chose to go to Minnesota, which signed him to a deal worth $6 million less.After Cousins’ decision, the Jets turned their attention to the draft, where they selected Darnold with the No. 3 overall pick.As expected, Cousins was the target of criticism of Jets fans and New York-area media.“I never read it, so I don’t even have any knowledge to process it or incorporate it into my approach,” Cousins said. “I believe ignorance is bliss and I try to stay as ignorant as possible.”Here are some other things to know about the Vikings’ win over the Jets:SAM STRUGGLESIn their first meeting, Cousins came out on top — while Darnold had arguably his worst game on a cold, windy day .The rookie was 17 of 42 for 206 yards with a TD pass to Chris Herndon and a TD run, but was intercepted three times as New York’s two-game winning streak ended.After going 6 of 9 for 87 yards and a touchdown with a 135.0 quarterback rating in the opening quarter, Darnold finished with the three INTs and a dismal 34.4 rating.“I’ve just got to find completions,” Darnold said. “That’s really it. And, we’ve got to do a better job executing.”THIELEN STILL DEALIN’Thielen became the fifth player in NFL history to get at least 100 yards receiving in seven consecutive games, catching nine passes for 110 yards and a touchdown.He reached the milestone with a 21-yard catch in the fourth quarter. He joined Detroit’s Calvin Johnson (eight, 2012), Denver’s Demaryius Thomas (seven, 2014), Dallas’ Michael Irvin (seven, 1995) and Houston’s Charley Hennigan (seven, 1961) to accomplish the feat.He and Hennigan are the only players to do so in his team’s first seven games to open the season.“Stats don’t necessarily say how good you played,” Thielen said. “I’m looking forward to looking at the film and making sure I continue to get better.”THIRD-DOWN TERRORSBoth the Vikings and Jets will need to improve in third-down situations after this one.Minnesota was 2 of 15, while New York was 2 of 13.The Vikings’ first conversion didn’t come until midway through the third quarter on Thielen’s 13-yard catch after being 0 for 8 up to that point. The Jets’ first conversion came late in the third on Darnold’s 6-yard run on third-and-5.HURTINGJets running back Bilal Powell (neck) and safety Doug Middleton (chest/shoulder) left with injuries and were scheduled to undergo tests.New York could be severely short-handed at safety. Middleton was starting in place of Marcus Maye, who’s sidelined with a broken thumb. That leaves only Jamal Adams and Terrence Brooks as healthy players at the position.Minnesota cornerback Xavier Rhodes left with a sprained ankle, but Zimmer said, “I don’t think it’s a big deal.” Same for linebacker Anthony Barr, who injured a hamstring.WHOOPSJets receiver Robby Anderson apologized for tossing the ball at an official late in the fourth quarter after an incompletion, drawing a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty — and a possible fine from the NFL later in the week.“It was just frustration and wanting to make a play and us losing a pretty tough game,” Anderson said, adding that he didn’t intend to hit the official with the ball. “It wasn’t anything malicious. It was just a reaction.”