Thread: Pre-TC Look at Vikings' 2012 Roster

Pelissero: Vikings may look better on paper, but division is daunting | 1500 ESPN Twin Cities ? Minnesota Sports News & Opinion (Twins, Vikings, Wolves, Wild, Gophers)

Kind of a nice update on the who's who of our 90 man offseason roster, where the battles are taking place, and where injuries already look like a problem (ie. MLB)

On Sunday, Spielman pointed to the Vikings' defensive backs, receivers, tight ends and offensive line as four groups that looked significantly improved at last week's minicamp than they did at the end of last season.

Pretty sure he had that same list of positions in front of him before FA and the draft, so that comment seems a lil like a slap on his own back!

But, it does look better on paper, especially the competition at DB and WR, where there looks to be some tough cuts coming. I don't see Jenkins getting cut tho, as he fits his role so well, as the big, blocking/possession guy who did have a lot of catches for us last year. IF we keep him with Harvin and Simpson, that leaves only 2 (maybe 3) spots open with 9 guys fighting for them!!

Right now, MLB looks to be our biggest remaining HOLE. The heir-apparent hasn't been on the field and I can't imagine we're going to roll into the season with a rookie starting. Might be time to go ahead and bring back EJ, or take a look at Gary Brackett or ??? Thing is, those guys are the same age with the same years in the league...why wouldn't we stick with the guy who already knows "the language?"

Here is what I was working on before OTA's.

	Rookie Free Agents (13)
	DE Kevin Cyrille, CB Bobby Felder, WR Kamar Jorden, DE Eric Latimore, LB Tyler Nielson, DE Ernest Owusu, LB Corey Paredes, OG Austin Pasztor, DT Tydreke Powell, DT Terrell Resonno, C Quentin Saulsberry, OT Darrion Weems, CB C.C. Whitlock
	Pro/College Tryouts (4)
	DT Chase Baker, RB Derrick Coleman, G Tyler Holmes, DE Anthony Jacobs
	Pre-Draft Signees (6)
	FB Matt Asiata, QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson, LB Solomon Elimimian, WR Kerry Taylor, CB Nick Taylor, OL Jose Valdez
	Returning Veterans (47)
	CB Asher Allen, DE Jared Allen, WR Manny Arceneaux, WR Devin Aromashodu, DL Christian Ballard, OL Joe Berger, LB Jasper Brinkley, OL Pat Brown, CB Brandon Burton, WR Stephen Burton, CB Chris Cook, LB Larry Dean, OG Chris DeGeare, FB Ryan D’Imperio, DT Fred Evans, S Eric Frampton, OL Brandon Fusco, RB Toby Gerhart, LB Chad Greenway, DE Everson Griffen, DT Letroy Guion, WR Percy Harvin, LB Erin Henderson, WR Michael Jenkins, OL Charlie Johnson, P Chris Kluwe, RT Phil Loadholt, LS Cullen Loeffler, OT DeMarcus Love, LB Tyrone McKenzie, RB Adrian Peterson, QB Christian Ponder, S Mistral Raymond, DE D’Aundre Reed, TE Allen Reisner, DE Brian Robison, QB Sage Rosenfels, TE Kyle Rudolph, S Jamarca Sanford, S Andrew Sendejo, CB Marcus Sherels, TE Mickey Shuler, C John Sullivan, RB Jordan Todman, QB Joe Webb, DT Kevin Williams, CB Antoine Winfield

To big for one post.......

	53 Man Roster/Starters/Backups	Cut
	QB
1	Christian Ponder
2	Joe Webb
3	Sage Rosenfels	Bethel-Thompson, McLeod	QB
	RB
4	Adrian Peterson	Todman, Jordan	RB
5	Toby Gerhart	Coleman, Derrick	RB
6	Lex Hilliard
		D'Imperio, Ryan	LB
	Fullbacks/H-Backs	Felton, Jerome	RB/FB
7	Rhett Ellison	Asiata, Matt	RB/FB
	WR
8	Percy Harvin	Taylor, Kerry	WR
9	Michael Jenkins	Walters, Bryan	WR
10	Jerome Simpson	Arceneaux, Emmanuel	WR
11	Greg Childs	Aromashodu, Devin	WR
12	Jarius Wright	Jorden, Kamar	WR
		Burton, Stephen	WR
	TE
13	Kyle Rudolph	Shuler, Mickey	TE
14	John Carlson
15	Allen Reisner
	Tackles
17	Matt Kalil	Murphy., Kevin	T
18	Phil Loadholt	Weems, Darrion	T
19	DeMarcus Love	Holmes, Tyler	T /G
20	Patrick Brown
	Guards
21	Charlie Johnson	Pasztor, Austin	G
22	Geoff Schwartz	Saulsberry, Quentin	G /C
23	Chris DeGeare	Brandon Fusco	G/C
	Centers
24	John Sullivan
25	Joe Berger

	Cornerbacks
26	Chris Cook	Taylor, Nick	CB
27	Antoine Winfield	Felder, Bobby	DB
28	Josh Robinson	Sherels, Marcus	DB
28	Chris Carr	Jones, Reggie	DB
29	Zack Bowman	Burton, Brandon	DB
30	Asher Allen	Whitlock, C.C.	DB
	Safeties
31	Harrison Smith	Sendejo, Andrew	S
32	Mistral Raymond
33	Robert Blanton
34	Jamarca Sanford
35	Eric Frampton
	Defensive Ends
36	Jared Allen	Cyrille, Kevin	DE
37	Brian Robison	Owusu, Ernest	DE
38	Everson Griffen	Jacobs, Anthony	DE
39	DeAundre Reed	Latimore, Eric	DE
		Reed, Nick	DE
	Defensive Tackles
40	Kevin Williams	Powell, Tydreke	DT
41	Letroy Guion	Resonno, Terrell	DT
42	Christian Ballard	Baker, Chase	DT
43	Fred Evans
44	Guyton, Trevor
	Middle Linebackers
45	Jasper Brinkley	Dean, Larry	LB
46	Audie Cole	McKenzie, Tyrone	LB
		Mitchell, Marvin	LB
	Outside Linebackers	Paredes, Corey	LB
47	Chad Greenway	D'Imperio, Ryan	LB/FB
48	Erin Henderson
49	Tyler Nielsen
50	Solomon Elimimian
	ST's
51	Blair Walsh
52	Chris Kluwe
53	Cullen Loeffler
	Practice Squad
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

After breaking that up, I tend to agree with the Mountain Man that the Mike might be about the only position this year that concerns me, but I like some of the options we have there. Really excited to see what Cole looks like.

Audie Cole*|*North Carolina State,*ILB*:*2012 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile

Audie Cole, ILB, North Carolina State, NFL Draft - CBSSports.com - NFLDraftScout.com

Scout.com: Draft in-depth: LB Audie Cole

One thing to consider when we talk about LB'rs and depth. If you take a look at our new D-coord, I think you might see that we will see a small tweak to our defense. It won't be in the base, we will still see the 4-3, but I think he is going to insert "Packages" that won't have the Mike on the field very much.

Everything I'm seeing has Fusco getting all the no.1 reps at RG so far, but it could be partially due to giving Schwartz more time to heal...? Still, he also plays Center, and you know how we like multi OL backups. I think he sticks from what I'm seeing at the moment.

Cole sounds intriguing with his pass defense skills, but his speed might not be as effective vs. NFL caliber players. He does have the size tho, so with some coaching up...maybe next year?

I think Everson Griffen could be a cool fit for some MLB. He's bigger and faster than Cole, and maybe Brinkley too, and would give us a lil bit of potential for a versatile 3-4/4-3 look. On blitz packages he's got better pass rush moves than either of the other candidates too.

Hasn't Erin Henderson already called some plays for us? I swear I heard about him doing some of that last year...? IF our CBs can stay healthy for a change, more nickel might be a good idea. Gotta love how well Winfield plays vs. the slot, and we might actually have better speed outside with the other guys at this point.

SKOL VIKINGS!!!

...hmm, Cole played much of last year with a broken right hand in a cast. That could likely make your tape look a lil loose and drop you come draft day...could be a bargain.

Another gamble on an injured player tho...seems we've done a ton of that this off season: Gamble on guy's returns from injury and/or suspensions. It's one way to pull off a quick turn around, if enough of your bets win. But I wouldn't want to dip my hand in that pot too often.

Asher Allen retired. The 5-6 cornerback spots should be pretty open, with Zack being vulnerable. He probably does make it though due to experience.

The linebacker positions seem to be the least emphasized this offseason (MLB and depth). No doubt there is concern, just focused on higher priority areas first...secondary, WR, OL.

Originally Posted by mountainviking

...hmm, Cole played much of last year with a broken right hand in a cast. That could likely make your tape look a lil loose and drop you come draft day...could be a bargain.

Another gamble on an injured player tho...seems we've done a ton of that this off season: Gamble on guy's returns from injury and/or suspensions. It's one way to pull off a quick turn around, if enough of your bets win. But I wouldn't want to dip my hand in that pot too often.

I think he will get plenty of opportunity for playing time due to current roster. If he's capable, he'll get his chance. Good situation for him.

Originally Posted by Marrdro

After breaking that up, I tend to agree with the Mountain Man that the Mike might be about the only position this year that concerns me, but I like some of the options we have there. Really excited to see what Cole looks like.

Audie Cole*|*North Carolina State,*ILB*:*2012 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile

Audie Cole, ILB, North Carolina State, NFL Draft - CBSSports.com - NFLDraftScout.com

Scout.com: Draft in-depth: LB Audie Cole

One thing to consider when we talk about LB'rs and depth. If you take a look at our new D-coord, I think you might see that we will see a small tweak to our defense. It won't be in the base, we will still see the 4-3, but I think he is going to insert "Packages" that won't have the Mike on the field very much.

You are already kind of forced to play so much nickle with all the pass heavy teams especially in our division.