Friday September 9, 2005

Vikings Thoughts/Predictions

Your Vikings Thoughts and Predictions

Twins Thoughts

Snappers Bites

NFL "EXPERT" Picks  

 

VIKINGS, TWINS and SNAPPERS, Oh My!

 

Good Morning! Well, today is kind of a full issue of SethSpeaks. We've got a little bit of everything. I am going to lead off with my Vikings Thoughts and Predictions. I am going to invite you to send me your thoughts and predictions on the Vikings 2005 season. I will post any that I receive before game time on Sunday, so if you're interested in being published, be sure to e-mail me. I have a couple of Twins Thoughts today and the pitching matchups for their weekend series in Cleveland. What do you think is going to happen with the Kyle Lohse situation? Will he start again for the Twins? Will Francisco Liriano take his spot in the rotation starting on Monday? The Beloit Snappers played Game 2 of their best of three series. Did they close out the series, or will it require a Game 3? See below. Finally, the NFL "Expert" Picks are back here today. I still am waiting for two response, but as soon as I receive them, they will be posted.

 

 

OK, that's enough, let's get started!

 

VIKINGS THOUGHTS AND PREDICTIONS

Well, the preseason has seemingly been going on forever, but it is now finally time to start the regular season. Maybe it seems like so long just because of all of the changes that took place in the offseason. Sunday at noon, the Vikings will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the season opener. People often ask what I expect from the Vikings this year. So, let's take a look:

 

OFFENSE

When talking about the Vikings, the positive is the offense, has been for quite some time.

QUARTERBACK - Daunte Culpepper is the best QB in the NFL! OK, that might be just a little bit much, but he is certainly in the Top 2. So much talent and athleticism, and clearly his leadership skills really started showing last season. He not only led the NFL in passing yard with 4,717, but he also led in completion percentage. His passer ranking was the 4th best in NFL history. He also only threw 11 interceptions. Culpepper is a definite league MVP candidate again this year. If not for Peyton Manning's incredible 2004 season, he would have been MVP last year.

RUNNING BACK – This position is again a huge question mark heading into the season. Of course, Onterrio Smith is out for the season with his suspension. Michael Bennett will start and has huge big play potential, but he is always an injury risk. Mewelde Moore was impressive in his starts last year. He is probably the most talented back, but he has suffered from injury in training camp too. Moe Williams is Moe Williams. He is going to give you everything he has and will still likely score some touchdowns again. And, don't forget Ciatrick Fason. From everything I read, the team really feels like he could contribute this season.

WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS - Randy Moss is gone, and as big a headache as he was made out to be, he will be missed because he is the best WR in the game. But Nate Burleson is ready to take over as a Pro Bowl caliber receiver. He had over 1,000 yards last year and clearly Culpepper is comfortable throwing to him. Travis Taylor seems to be the #2 going into the season. This was an intriguing free agent signing in the offseason. Taylor never lived up to his 10th pick in the 2000 draft status, but he played in Baltimore where he never really played with a decent QB. Marcus Robinson is the #3 receiver meaning plenty of playing time, and as long as he stays healthy, he is always an option near the goal line! Troy Williamson, the team's first 1st round pick could be the #4 receiver, but the signing of Koren Robinson tells us that Williamson is not quite ready yet. But we have seen that his potential is huge. Robinson, like Taylor, was a top pick who after one huge season in Seattle has done very little since, other than get in trouble. If he can keep himself clean, this was another good signing. At TE, the Vikings have an excellent combination. Jermaine Wiggins will likely be the receiving tight end. He had 71 catches a year ago as Culpepper frequently dumped the ball off to him. Kleinsasser will primarily be the blocking back. If he can stay healthy, he is the best blocking "back" in football. He is also athletic enough to contribute some receptions. Even with the loss of Moss, Culpepper is not without options in the passing game this year. 

OFFENSIVE LINE - Matt Birk is out for the season after having another surgery. That means that Cory Withrow finally gets the starting job. He has played all over the line. Can you believe that the Vikings first signed him as a free agent in 1998. Having Ken Rosenthal back this year at right tackle will also be a huge help. Losing him and Kleinsasser really hurt the team last year. The Vikings 2nd round pick this spring, Marcus Johnson, will be starting at right guard in place of the retired David Dixon. He is 6-6 and 321 pounds. On the left side of the line, Mount (Bryant) McKinnie is at tackle. Hopefully he really comes to play this year because he should be dominant. Chris Liweinski will be the starter at left guard. He has started every game since the start of the 2001 season. Adam Goldberg will likely be the backup at all five positions.     

DEFENSE

When talking about the Vikings, the negative is always the defense, has been for quite some time.

DEFENSIVE LINE - Chris Hovan is gone. After one good year, he did very little after that. Luckily, Kevin Williams became a Pro Bowl defensive tackle. Williams is quick with his 305 pound size, able to record 11.5 sacks last year. The team also brought in another Williams to play defensive tackle. Pat Williams will likely serve a different role than Kevin. Pat is a big, Jerry Ball-sized nose tackle who will really help in stopping the run. 2nd year DE Kenechi Udeze really improved over the course of the season last year and expectations are high for him this year. Darrion Scott will start on the other end, at least to start the season. The Vikings second 1st round pick, Erasmus James of Wisconsin, likely will take over starting duties early in the season. Spencer Johnson and Lance Johnstone both also received plenty of playing time and will again this year.   

LINEBACKERS - Starting in the middle, veteran Sam Cowart was acquired from the Jets for a 7th round draft choice this spring. He played for defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell during his time with both the Jets and the Bills. The strong side linebacker will be Napolean Harris who could be one of the most scrutinized players on the team. Remember, he was the player included in the Randy Moss trade. EJ Henderson will likely start on the weak side. I expect a lot of players to get playing time at linebacker including Dontarrius Thomas, Raonall Smith, Keith Newman and Rod Davis. All are athletic, but aside from Cowart, all are young too. This is probably still the area of concern for the Vikings this season.

DEFENSIVE BACKS - Last year, the Vikings signed Antoine Winfield as a free agent. He was incredible until a late season injury slowed him down. This offseason, the Vikings signed another top cover corner in Fred Smoot. Unfortunately, Smoot has been hurt most of training camp. But if he is healthy, the team is strong at the corner. I like Brian Williams, but if he can be a nickleback or just depth, that just means the team is strong at the corners. Safety was another problem position last year. Neither Corey Chavous or Brian Russell did well. Russell was jettisoned, and the team thinks that Chavous was trying to do too much last year and will be better this year, just doing his own job. The team brought in Darren Sharper this year to play free safety. The veteran will certainly improve the defensive backfield. Again, the key here is depth and both Ken Irvin and Willie Offord will come off the bench having played much the last couple of seasons.

SPECIAL TEAMS

KICKER - Paul Edinger beat out Aaron Elling to be the team's kicker. He has always been solid when he was with the bears. I am pretty confident that he will be just fine. 

PUNTER - This is certainly the big question for the Vikings, it seems. (am I wrong in thinking that if your biggest question mark is at punter, you might be alright?) At the moment, Chris Kluwe seems to be the kicker. The Vikings signed him after he was released by the Seahawks last week. By Sunday, they may have someone else.

KICKOFF RETURNER - Another question mark. My guess is that Koren Robinson will be the primary kick returner and Mewelde Moore will also be back there, probably with Moe Williams in the ready position.

PUNT RETURNER - Keenan Howry is probably the guy for now. Because he's good at it? Not really. Mainly just because he is the only guy who can do it. Maybe Robinson will be able to at some point.

But, the key with Special Teams is the defensive side of it. Who will be the players who are the big kickoff and punt team players? Again, because of some of the depth of talent the defense has, some of the guys like Rod Davis and Willie Offord will be important. Moe Williams will likely be part of it too. 

PURPLE PREDICTIONS -

On Offense - Daunte Culpepper will be the league's MVP. Nate Burleson and Travis Taylor will have over 1,000 yards. I fear that at no point will the team pick a starting running back, unless their is injury. That said, I can see both Michael Bennett and Mewelde Moore account for over 800 yards in total offense, if used correctly. As always though, it completely depends on the health and effectiveness of the offensive line. 

On Defense - Likewise, I feel that the play of the defensive line is most important to the success of a defense. If they can 1.) Stop the run and 2.) pressure the quarterback, it makes playing the other positions much easier. The line will be fine, and Kevin Williams will be joined by Kenechi Udeze in the Pro Bowl. The linebackers will continue to struggle and are probably a year away. Hopefully Fred Smoot and Antoine Winfield will be healthy all season. If so, they will be able to shut down team's top receivers. I do believe that the Vikings defense will be in the top half of all NFL defenses.

Prediction - The team gets to play in the NFC North, which obviously helps then some. If the team doesn't win this incredibly week division, big changes will be in store, including the certain firing of Mike Tice. I predict an 11-5 season, with a chance at a 12-4. As I have said before, if the defense can be just average, this team could be dangerous in the NFC. Along with the Eagles, Panthers and Falcons, the Vikings have to considered as a likely representative of the NFC in the Super Bowl.

I would love to hear your thoughts and predictions on the Vikings. Actually, I will post any predictions I receive about this Vikings team in this space. So, e-mail me your thoughts on the Vikings before Sunday and they will be posted here. It will then be fun to look back at the end of the season to see how well we pick.

 

YOUR VIKINGS THOUGHTS AND PREDICTIONS

 

From James:

The Vikings will be better, but they will not be a lot better until the defense gels, which could be toward the end of the season. The last two years the offense carried them to a great first half record but the defense let the team down down the stretch. This year, if the defense can start gelling and the team can peak right before the playoffs, they can win the NFC. They have the talent to be a great team. They just need to play more together to become a great team.

As for receivers, I think it will be a better four man crew than last year, whether our bad boy fifth man is Robinson or Campbell. One thing Robinson brings is a return threat, which the Vikings have lacked for years. Campbell couldn't do that consistently. And he was just a deep threat, with no possession in him. Robinson is potentially more versatile and will give the team more depth, if he can stay sober.

From Lohaus:

Here is my opinion on this years Vikes squad.  I am a sports junkie!!!!! I love the Gophs, Wild, T-pups and Twins, but the Vikes are my true love.  The first game of any sort I remember watching was the Vikes in 76’.

The offense will be fine.  Pepper is one of the top 2-3 qb’s in the game, enjoy watching him while he is here because before we know it he will be 37 and retiring.  Our WR are good to great.  Our TE are above average.  Our RB’s are a MAJOR question mark.  If Bennett goes down once, the job will be MeMos for good and I think that would be wise.  My major question mark is OL.  With Birk out we loose a top flight center and we are starting a rook at RG and our RT is coming off of injury.

Our D is going to surprise some teams and it is going to get SMOKED by some teams.  We still don’t have the athletes we need at OLB to contain swing passes and the outside run.  Our DL should be fine and I hope to the good Lord that James can be something close to Doleman.  Our DB’s are as good as any in the NFL and only coaching can stop them from shutting down teams.

Our special teams SUCK!!!!!!!!  We can’t get the ball to the end zone!  Who the heck is our punter????  We can’t return the ball and our coverage SUCKS!!! Please have someone fire Tilman.

Overall though this team is WAY better than any other team in the NFC (north) and will battle Carolina for the honor of going to the 2006 Super Bowl (hopefully it isn’t in New Orleans).

 

 

  

TWINS THOUGHTS

This weekend, the Twins will play the Indians in a three game series against at Jacobs Field in Cleveland. Of course, I want the Twins to win every game they play, but I am a little torn. You see, if the Twins don't make the playoffs as the Wild Card, I would much prefer the Indians make it over the Yankees and the A's/Angels. I wrote more than a year ago that I thought that the Indians had built their team similarly to the Twins. They didn't go out and spend wildly on free agents. They made some great trades for young players and some minor leaguers and developed the players. Then, they gave them playing time in the big leagues and they have now responded. This is a strong lineup led by North Dakota native Travis Hafner. Grady Sizemore and Coco Crisp are doing a great job setting the table. After winning the International League MVP (and finishing second to Jason Kubel in batting average), Jhonny Peralta got off to a slow start but has really come on strong in the second half. Likewise, Victor Martinez has turned it on in the second half, re-staking his claim on the best 'offensive' catcher in the league. Although not stars, Casey Blake, Aaron Boone, Ronnie Belliard and Ben Broussard have all contributed. This is a very strong offense that took off right after they fired Eddie Murray as their hitting coach.

And the pitching is no slouch either. I never thought that Bob Wickman would have the year he is having. Jake Westbrook kept pitching through no run support early in the season to now be at .500. Cliff Lee is getting run support, but also pitching quietly well. CC Sabathia continues to frustrate. He can look so good, but then why is his ERA in the mid-4's? Kevin Millwood is having a quiet, excellent season. Of course, his record does not show that either.

This is a good young team. Seriously, why would anyone not with the Yankees or A's not want the Indians to represent the AL as its Wild Card. This is a new team. Yes, the A's are primarily a new team too. They really did things the right way too with trades of veterans for young players. OK, now I'm talking in circles. Maybe my main point is just that I don't want the Yankees to make the playoffs.

Why? You may think it is because the media wants them to make it. Maybe you think that I don't want them to make it because of their group of All-Star caliber players. That's not it either. You may guess that it is their gigantic payroll. And yes, that is it. However, it isn't because of the payroll as much as what it stands for. Before every year, we continue to hear that money buys them division championships. Well, if they don't make the playoffs, any talk of baseball's economic discrepancies has to stop. We can say that the money buys nothing. The last four years, we have been able to say that all the money hasn't bought a World Series championship. But they still won their division. If they don't make the playoffs, maybe people will finally quit whining about their salaries!

Anyway, here are the pitching matchups for this series:

Friday - 6:05 pm - Johan Santana (13-6, 3.07, 0.97, .212) vs Jake Westbrook (13-14, 4.54, 1.32, .270)

Saturday - 6:05 pm - Scott Baker (1-1, 2.49, 0.99, .217) vs Scott Elarton (8-7, 4.87, 1.33, .267)

Sunday - 7:05 pm - Carlos Silva (9-7, 3.27, 1.16, .287) vs Cliff Lee (15-4, 3.72, 1.54, .251)    

Any thoughts on the Twins, Indians, the playoffs or anything, please e-mail me.

 

SNAPPER BITES

The Beloit Snappers got into the Midwest League playoffs as a Wild Card team. They won Game 1 behind the strong-armed effort of Kyle Aselton. Last night, they played Game 2 and it didn't go so well. They lost 9-1 to Wisconsin. Here are some thoughts:

Do you have any thoughts on the Snappers, or any of the Twins affiliates, please e-mail me.

 

 

NFL "EXPERT" PICKS

Last night, Randy Moss and the Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots collide in the NFL's first regular season game of the year. It is the second straight year that the defending champs will be playing the season's first game. So, it is time to bring back our NFL "Expert" Picks. This year, we have added a couple of more 'experts' so it should be a lot of fun. Last year, Ryan Maus, who wrote Twins Chatter until earlier this summer, beat out Melissa Olson and Mike Brasel by just one game, and Aaron Gleeman (who won it two years ago) by two games in the overall record.

 

For 2005, we have added a couple new Twins bloggers. However, I am especially excited to announce two celebrities who will be making picks each week. I feel very fortunate to announce that Twins reliever Grant Balfour, and Kevin Slowey, the Twins 2nd round pick in June, will be on this panel. Here is a quick look at them and the rest of our panelists:

Seth Stohs - Me. I am the writer of this site, www.SethSpeaks.net - Please read the About Me section for a mini-bio of me.

Stick and Ball Guy - writer of the site, you guessed it, Stick and Ball Guy - SBG is one of my favorite writers online. His thoughts and opinions are always smart and sharp and incredibly interesting and thought-provoking. He talks baseball, football and basketball knowledgeably. This is his first year on this panel and will do a good job.

Ben Jacobs - Fantasy Sports Writer at The Hardball Times - If you want great information or ideas about fantasy sports, baseball in particular, your should definitely check out Ben's articles. Ben returns in an attempt to improve over his 157-99 (61%) 2004 season. In 2003, he was accurate on 68% of his picks.

Aaron Gleeman - writer of Aaron's Baseball Blog and the co-creator of and contributor to The Hardball Times. He can also be read at FoxSports.com, Rotoworld and Insider Baseball - In the world of Baseball blogging, there is one name that stands out above all others, and that is Aaron Gleeman. His thoughts and statistical analysis are so well written and thought out that it is a must-read. The 22 year old college student takes classes and still writes up multiple articles a day for his sites. Gleeman returns this year to reclaim his lost title. In 2003, he accurately chose almost 69% of games. Last year, he correctly picked 67% of games and finished in 4th, just two games behind the winner.

Grant Balfour - Relief Pitcher for the Minnesota Twins - Recently, Balfour was kind enough to agree to pick games for this site for the whole year. That is very kind of him. As you can imagine, he has quite the schedule rehabbing from Tommy John surgery that he had in March. In 2004, we saw the incredible pitching ability that he possesses, especially in Game 4 of their playoff series against the Yankees. The 27 year old from Sydney, Australia, will hopefully be back in time for the 2006 season opener to make an already strong Twins bullpen even stronger!

Kevin Slowey - Twins Starting Pitching Prospect - currently pitching for the Beloit Snappers of the Midwest League - Slowey was the Twins 2nd round pick (73rd overall) just this past June after a stellar three year career at Winthrop University. He signed quickly and appeared out of the bullpen in four games for Elizabethton where he struck out 15 in 7.2 innings. He was promoted to Beloit where he stayed in the bullpen for a few outings before entering the starting rotation. He pitched in 13 games (9 starts) there and was 3-2 with a 2.24 ERA. In 64.1 innings, he struck out a very impressive 69 batters while walking just eight. He could be the next Twins 2nd round pick to rise quickly through the organization like Jesse Crain and Scott Baker before him.

Will Young - writer of Will's Minnesota Twins Site - Will's site is great. He has really been making use of the Win Probability charts on his site of late. His incites on the Twins are great. His infamous "Matt LeCroy is my non-sexual man crush" t-shirt got him a few meetings with the Twins burly righty. Will also updates the Twins Organizational Big Board. This is Will's first year making football picks for this site and I am thrilled that he is doing this!

Trevor Born - writer of The Twins Junkie - Trevor is a 16 year old high school student who started his website last year. He has done an excellent job on his site, particularly in securing some very good interviews. I met Trevor and The Twins Geek down at the State Fair as they invited us to appear on-air for part of the Twins Talk show. He tells me that football ranks as his third favorite sport behind baseball and basketball. He prefers the Gophers, but is still a rabid NFL fan.

Brent Hanson - writer of BrentNet - I coached Brent in baseball about ten years ago when he was a 13 year old in Perham, MN. A couple of years ago, he started his blog, BrentNet, which discusses sports, the Twins, the Vikings, politics, music, and pretty much anything and everything. It is certainly a site I check daily. Currently, Brent is working on another blog, the Minnesota Sports Blog (click here if you want a quick preview of what you can expect. Understand that the site is still under construction) which will cover all Minnesota sports from professional to the college ranks and probably more. I look forward to seeing that site!

Cory Hepola - Sports Anchor at KTVH-TV in Helena, Montana, also see coryhepola.com - I coached Cory for a few years, from Little League through Babe Ruth. He was one of the good kids. He was also quite the basketball player in high school. After four years at my alma mater, Concordia College, Cory is now a sports anchor. He has a strong relationship with members of Helena's rookie league team. But it does seem that football is Cory's best sport. How much does he know? Well, last March, when I was vacationing in Florida, Cory wrote a guest column for me in which he discussed the Vikings offseason moves at that time. Well, I guess we'll see how he did. This is Cory's first year on the panel.

Mike Brasel - One of my best friends since we were both about 6. He is listed as the left fielder for my Best Players I’ve Played Ball With team. After serving in the Navy for 6 years, Mike went back to school and became an engineer.  He’s also a pretty smart football person, who I turn to for fantasy football advice!!

Melissa Lien - editor, proofreader of www.SethSpeaks.net - Missy is a great friend and big football fan. She was instrumental in the development of this site and originally was the publisher of the site. After finishing eighth out of nine two year ago, Missy came back to finish just one game behind the winner last year.

 

 

  Seth Stohs Stick & Ball Guy Ben Jacobs Aaron Gleeman Grant Balfour Kevin Slowey
  SethSpeaks.net Stick & Ball Guy Hardball Times Aaron's BB Blog Minnesota Twins Pitcher Twins Pitching Prospect
Oakland @ New England Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots
Chicago @ Washington Redskins Redskins Bears Redskins Bears Redskins
Cincinnati @ Cleveland Bengals Browns Bengals Bengals Bengals Browns
Denver @ Miami Broncos Broncos Broncos Broncos Broncos Broncos
Houston @ Buffalo Bills Bills Bills Texans Texans Bills
New Orleans @ Carolina Panthers Panthers Panthers Panthers Panthers Panthers
NY Jets @ Kansas City Chiefs Jets Chiefs Chiefs Jets Chiefs
Seattle @ Jacksonville Seahawks Jaguars Jaguars Jaguars Jaguars Jaguars
Tampa Bay @ Minnesota Vikings Vikings Vikings Vikings Vikings Vikings
Tennessee @ Pittsburgh Titans Steelers Steelers Steelers Steelers Steelers
Arizona @ NY Giants Cardinals Giants Cardinals Giants Giants Giants
Dallas @ San Diego Chargers Chargers Chargers Chargers Cowboys Chargers
Green Bay @ Detroit Lions Packers Packers Packers Packers Lions
St. Louis @ San Francisco Rams Rams Rams Rams Rams Rams
Indianapolis @ Baltimore Colts Colts Ravens Colts Colts Ravens
Philadelphia @ Atlanta Falcons Falcons Eagles Eagles Eagles Falcons
 

 
  Will Young Trevor Born Brent Hanson Cory Hepola Mike Brasel Melissa Lien
  Will's Twins Weblog Twins Junkie BrentNet KTVH-TV Fantasy FB Guru SethSpeaks.net
Oakland @ New England Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots
Chicago @ Washington Redskins Redskins Redskins Redskins Redskins Redskins
Cincinnati @ Cleveland Bengals Bengals Bengals Bengals Bengals Bengals
Denver @ Miami Broncos Broncos Broncos Broncos Broncos Broncos
Houston @ Buffalo Bills Bills Bills Bills Bills Bills
New Orleans @ Carolina Panthers Panthers Panthers Panthers Panthers Panthers
NY Jets @ Kansas City Chiefs Chiefs Chiefs Chiefs Jets Jets
Seattle @ Jacksonville Jaguars Jaguars Seahawks Jaguars Jaguars Jaguars
Tampa Bay @ Minnesota Vikings Vikings Vikings Vikings Vikings Vikings
Tennessee @ Pittsburgh Steelers Steelers Steelers Steelers Steelers Steelers
Arizona @ NY Giants Cardinals Giants Giants Giants Giants Giants
Dallas @ San Diego Cowboys Chargers Chargers Chargers Chargers Chargers
Green Bay @ Detroit Packers Lions Packers Packers Lions Packers
St. Louis @ San Francisco Rams Rams Rams Rams Rams Rams
Indianapolis @ Baltimore Colts Colts Colts Ravens Colts Colts
Philadelphia @ Atlanta Eagles Eagles Eagles Falcons Falcons Falcons

 

 

Summary

Looking at the selections of the 12 panelists, here is who the collective "We" think will win each game:

 

Oakland @ New England - Patriots 12-0
Chicago @ Washington -Redskins 10-2
Cincinnati @ Cleveland - Bengals 10-2
Denver @ Miami - Broncos 12-0
Houston @ Buffalo - Bills 10-2
New Orleans @ Carolina - Panthers 12-0
NY Jets @ Kansas City - Chiefs 8-4
Seattle @ Jacksonville - Jaguars 10-2
Tampa Bay @ Minnesota - Vikings 12-0
Tennessee @ Pittsburgh - Steelers 11-1
Arizona @ NY Giants - Giants 9-3
Dallas @ San Diego - Chargers 10-2
Green Bay @ Detroit - Packers 8-4
St. Louis @ San Francisco - Rams 12-0
Indianapolis @ Baltimore - Colts 10-2
Philadelphia @ Falcons - Eagles 6-6

 

 

And on that note, I shall call it a day. If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail me.

 

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