15 Reasons Brad Childress Is Not A Football Personnel Genius

Yesterday, I discussed Brad Childress,
so I need not address those players here. Let’s look at the personnel that Childress is responsible for bringing to the purple and
gold through free agency or the waiver wire.

Chili’s Guys

  • Guard . Fantastic acquisition, even though he wasn’t all that last year.
  • Running Back . Not very fast but a tough runner who was worth the investment. Great acquisition.
  • Kicker . Last year he had a hell of a time getting kickoffs to the one yard line or beyond but he’s fixed that this year with a vengeance. Great pickup, even though we have to listen to him talk about golf ad nauseum.
  • Safety . He was more of an import from Mike Tomlin‘s Tampa Bay days, but Childress gets credit for him. He’s been a hard hitter and has generally played well. Good acquisition.
  • Fullback .
    He only started seven games last year due to injury, so that was a bit
    of a waste, but he’s a damn good run blocker and has laid some people
    out. Good pickup.
  • Wide Receiver . I was absolutely skeptical but I’m happy to say he’s proved me wrong. Wade is a good possession receiver who can make yards after the catch but he’s not the number one he was acquired to be. Still, good acquisition.
  • Wide Receiver .
    He’s been good when he’s gotten the ball in his hands, but he doesn’t
    get a lot of touches. By our standards for Wide Receiver, good pickup.
  • Tight End . Was brought in to be a receiving tight end who could stretch the field on seam routes. When he’s gotten down field for apparent big gains, his quarterbacks have failed to get him the ball (). Remains to be seen.
  • Fullback .
    This guy’s got some quickness for a fullback. I’ve liked what I’ve seen
    but I’ve seen too little to really judge. Decent pickup.
  • Defensive End . Not bad. He hasn’t really been able to show what he can do, but hasn’t been disastrous, either.
  • Safety . Eh. He was more defensive coordinator Leslie Fraizer‘s pick, than Childress’. Hasn’t played much so it’s tough to tell.
  • Defensive Tackle . Eh. Hasn’t played enough to truly judge.
  • Linebacker . Was brought in to be a special teams ace. His most memorable play was getting juked out by a punter. I see in on more plays than Ciurciu.
  • Wide receiver : Eh.
  • Wide receiver : Sure handed possession receiver who was just that but nothing special. We traded the speedy, six foot four to the Eagles to get him, though. McMullen is no longer on our roster but Baskett is still making plays for the Eagles.
  • Definite Chili guy Defensive tackle : Eh.
  • Kick Returner . Though he made the Pro Bowl for us last year, he had to be cut because of his off-field problems, so at the end of the day, he’s go to be counted as a bust, though he wasn’t a very expensive bust. It should be noted, too, though, that Childress was depending on him to be our number one receiver this year even though Robinson had proved in the past that you shouldn’t depend on him. Result: We had to scramble to find receivers.
  • Guard from Philadelphia; the Vikes could have gone after the Eagles’ , one of the better guards in the league. But, no, we got Hicks who was average at best and lost his starting job.
  • Cornerback . Whitaker was given a spot on the roster even though he was outplayed by the quick .Last
    year, Whitaker distinguished himself as an eminently exploitable
    nickleback. He’s still on the team but plays only as a special teamer.
    Keeping Edwards would have been a vast improvement.
  • Tackle . Who knows? Has he even played?
  • Tight End . Again, who knows?

So what’s the verdict? Childress has brought in three rock stars in Hutchinson, Taylor, and Longwell; three solid contributors in Smith, Wade, and Richardson. There are six guys–Ferguson, Shiancoe,  Tahi, Mitchell, Doss, and Evans–who, ehhhhhh, who may or may not prove to be contributors. Three guys–Ciurciu, Johnson, and McMullen–are nothing special. Four guys are busts: Robinson, Kolodziej, Hicks (who was brought in to start and is not), and Whitaker; and two guys–Chase Johnson and Mills–haven’t really had a chance to prove themselves.

Out of the 21 free agent/waiver wire players Childress picked up, six contribute consistently and meaningfully. Five of those–Hutchinson, Taylor, Longwell, Smith, and Richardson are integral parts of the team. That leaves 15 of Childress’ players who haven’t contributed significantly during the coach’s two-year rule.

We don’t know if our pathetic passing game is a result of a substandard receiving corps, substandard quarterbacking, or both.

Still, six of 21 ain’t that great.

Losing Nate Burleson

restricted free agent reciever is in Seattle for a two-day visit with the . Burleson is from Seattle. If the Seahawks sign him, it will cost them a third-round pick.

I think Burleson is worth more than a third-round pick, but I wouldn’t mind it so much if we lose him.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Burleson a lot but last year he was given the opportunity to be the featured reciever and he didn’t run away with the job, and then he got hurt. As a smallish receiver, his durability was a question he failed to dispell.

He’s not a featured reciever. He’s a slot receiver.

Then you look at our other recievers and it’s hard to find a place for him. We just signed to a lucrative contract to be the big-play guy. proved to be a great slot receiver last year, just catching anything thrown his way. You’ve got to get last year’s seventh overall pick on the field a lot more this year, so you know ‘s role will expand greatly. And then you’ve got still in the mix, probably as a red-zone specialist.

There’s not a hell of a lot left for Nate.

So if the Seahawks sign him, I’m fine with that, and good luck to him.

Lastly, an extra pick has great appeal to me in this year’s linebacker-rich draft.

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Koren Robinson Signs, Chester Taylor To Visit

The signed to a three-year deal and will have running back in for a visit today. .

The Koren Robinson signing is big because in addition to being our best reciever, he’s a great return man, something we haven’t had in a long time. Robinson would certainly have garnered quite a bit of interest because he would’ve been among the best of a thin free agency field of receivers. I would’ve hated to lose him.

‘ backup his entire career, Taylor’s best season was 2004 when he played in all 16 games and started four. He finished second on the team in rushing and made a career high 160 carries for 714 yards, averaging 4.5 yards per carry. He scored two touchdowns and caught 30 receptions for 184 yards.

Though he gained on 487 yards on 117 carries last year, that was still good enough for a 4.2 yard per carry average. He upped his reception total to 41, gaining 292 yards.

Taylor was used primarily as a third-down and change of pace back by the Ravens.

that the Vikings are trying to arrange a visit with guard .

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Free Agency Delayed

On the positive side, the delay of till, at the earlies, Monday, gives me some extra time to put together my 2006 NFL Free Agency Resources post. On the downside, damn, we gotta wait!

Had talks broken down for good, as they appeared they had, the would have been in the sweet position of being $24 million below the cap while most other teams would have to cut high-priced veterans, flooding the market with talent, lowering the asking prices for all free agents, in an environment when only a couple of teams–the Vikes and most prominent among them–would be in a position to pay anyone anything.

The Vikes could practically have had their choice of free agents at bargain prices. That would have put them in the enviable positon of not only being positioned to get the top picks of the free agent litter, but it would have also greatly reduced the bargaining leverage of such players as and .

But had that happened, the Vikings had better win the Super Bowl because with a lack of an agreement and, as a result, a salary-capless 2007 season, the Vikings would all of a sudden have transformed into the of football, a small market team trying to compete against major media market free spenders such as the .

The downside would have been far to dire; let’s count ourselves luck for the repreive.

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