ckparrothead
Premium Member
The title of this thread is intended to look like the thread I started back in October of 2005 about Daunte Culpepper in Miami (see my sig).
Ok, so maybe I'm just pushing my luck trying to make another prediction like this.
Or, maybe I just know the Vikings really really effing well. I don't know what it is here, but I just seem to usually be right about this organization.
Last year, the Vikings had two 1st round picks. I nailed them both (Troy Williamson and Erasmus James) in my FinHeaven Mock Draft. This year, I nailed the Chad Greenway pick in my mock draft.
In October of 2005, approximately six months before the Daunte Culpepper trade, before his knee injury and before his being busted at the love boat incident, I pretty much laid out near to exact the circumstances, that ended up coming true, for Daunte Culpepper to end up traded from the Vikings to the Dolphins...as unbelievable as it sounded at the time (and still sounds).
And now I'm pushing my luck, and saying that I see a STRONG possibility that Bryant McKinnie ends up in Miami by 2008.
I could be just full of ****, you know.
Here's my thinking:
1. Childish Dilemma Part I: I've been speculating for a while that Brad Childish's treatment of Daunte Culpepper had to be alienating some people in the locker room. Huge talent has a profound effect on teammates. When they see a guy launch a 10 megaton warhead 50 yards down the field on a rope, their heads perk up like prairie dogs. They know how talented Culpepper was, the team is generally only one year removed from seeing Daunte have one of the best single seasons in NFL quarterback history. And now they know that their new head coach traded that kind of talent for Ryan Cook in the 2nd round...who was, by the way, a really big reach. There is very little doubt who was the most instrumental influence in having Daunte ousted from Minnesota. This means that they will have very little respect for Brad Childish as a decision maker and personnel influence.
2. Childish Dilemma Part II: We all know about Brad's inability to keep his big mouth shut after trading Daunte. He underwent a campaign of blatant character assassination in order to justify his own actions. We all have seen how incredibly friendly Daunte has been with all of the players on Miami's roster, how he's made it a real point to make fast friends with them all and is now organizing team activities with guys on offense, attending basketball games with guys on offense and defense, approaching everyone to get to know them. Those familiar with Daunte as a person from high school through UCF through his pro days are not surprised by this. He is literally one of the nicest guys you will meet in this game. So tell me, who on the Vikings roster hates Daunte Culpepper? I really don't think it's very possible that even one player on that roster hates him, and the way we've seen him make friends and make efforts, the way we've seen him be active in the community and in players' social lives...there's a strong possibility that a lot of players liked Daunte Culpepper a whole lot and would go to bat for the man. So how many of these guys that respected Daunte as a person, even revered him, take a look at Childish's campaign of blatant character assassination and say to themselves...I don't think I can be here under this guy. How many of them look at the situation and say to themselves, couldn that be me, if it just fits that bald @ssholes whim to one day think I should be gone? Will he do me like that, talking about me like that to everyone trying to bring me down? This, will make them lose respect for Childish as a PERSON.
3. Childish Dilemma Part III: Brad Childish is supposed to be a pretty good X's and O's guy. But...is he really? It's pretty darn hard to tell, because Andy Reid has had his hands all over that offense since the day they arrived in Philly. Brad Childish has never been a head coach before at any level. He has never even been the man responsible for calling the plays in Philadelphia, that has always been Andy Reid's job. His offensive game plans over the past couple of years have become something to laugh at because they have gone so pass-heavy. Will he try to run that kind of pass-heavy attack with Brad Johnson at the helm? If he does, he's got a wake up call coming. Take a look at BJ's production in 2005 and you'll see that he did most of his damage against BAD defenses. When he faced good defenses, he either sucked, or did something slightly below mediocre. The waning fortunes of the Vikings, combined with the rising fortunes of the Dolphins and Daunte Culpepper, should complete the destruction of Childish' reputation in the locker room by taking away their respect for him as a planner.
4. The Confirmation: Thanks to HOF13 for pointing this article out to me. Many of you will not be able to read it. It is dated February 23rd, 2006. Here is the link:
http://vikings.scout.com/2/502046.html
And here is a synopsis of the relevant portion:
Those are strong words for him to go on record like that. First off, the crowd of players rushing to Daunte's defense is telling...they are all high impact players, and team leaders. Every single one of them has been to at least one Pro Bowl. They know talent, and they are talent. This to me shows that I'm not just whistlin dixie when I keep outlining the ripple effects the trade of Daunte Culpepper could have within the locker room. You have a gaggle of team leaders there speaking up for Daunte. One of them it appears, may have gone a little too far with his statements to the press. What exactly do you think Mr. Childish is going to conclude when he sees what his left tackle said about the Culpepper trade? For a coach that keeps wanting to focus on the players that "want to be here" what do you think he'll do when he sees a player basically say that if Daunte leaves I don't think I want to be here?
5. The Legal Issues: Bryant McKinnie was on that boat. Heck, he wasn't just on it, supposedly he may have helped organize it. And, many witnesses saw the man engaging in oral sex with naked strippers...giving and I believe receiving. Then again, supposedly there were witnesses claiming they saw Daunte receive a lap dance, and Daunte produced his own witnesses that confirmed he was in the back the whole time shooting craps. Well, either way Mount McKinnie wasn't shootin no craps. I'm going to leave the moral issues alone for a moment. Think what you want about Mount McKinnie gettin it on with some strippers on a rented party boat. He's going to be convicted of something, although it will probably just be a slap on the wrist because the FBI didn't pursue "white slavery" charges for importing strippers from other states to commit sexual acts. The thing that is hard to deny, is that if Daunte Culpepper can be tossed from Minnesota in part just because he was THERE playing some craps in the back of the boat...imagine what could happen to McKinnie?
6. The History: I don't know if you guys remember but Mount McKinnie never felt like a wanted man in Minnesota...for good reason. Some draft day hooey went down in the first round that year. It was two years in a row where the Vikes had strange happenings occur to them at the draft. In 2003 everyone remembers the whole thing where their time expired and the Jaguars rushed up to take Byron Leftwich and then the Panthers rushed up to take Jordan Gross. Not a whole lot of people though remember what happened in 2002 when the Dallas Cowboys' time expired at pick #6 as they attempted to work out a trade down with the Kansas City Chiefs so that the Chiefs could take Ryan Sims. The Vikings really, really, really wanted Ryan Sims in that draft. When the Cowboys' time expired, all the Vikes had to do was get their card up with Ryan Sims' name on it and he would have been theirs. There were rumors that someone from the Chiefs' organization bodily blocked the Vikings' man on the floor from getting the card in while the Boys and Chiefs finalized the trade. Crazy stuff, right? Anyway, McKinnie wasn't really the guy they wanted, but they took him. The feeling showed in their contract negotiations as they did their best to screw him in the contract negotiations by offering a full million dollars below what the man drafted after McKinnie got, which led to an amazing 100-day holdout in which it genuinely looked like McKinnie would end up waiting out the whole year and re-declaring in 2003. Yeah, it got THAT bad. I had a good post on it back in 2002...here's the link:
http://www.finheaven.com/boardvb2/showpost.php?p=73417&postcount=8
7. The Contract Part I: McKinnie's salary this year is about $900k. His bonus should have been somewhere around $9 million. After this year that would mean about $6.5 million of his bonus has been amortized already. So after 2006 he'll have a salary of $1.4 million, a cap figure of about $2.7 million, and if they cut him, they suffer about $2.6 million of cap acceleration. In other words, 2007 is the first year in which they could cut him, and actually save money by doing so. If they cut him prior to the 2008 season, that would save them even more money, as much as $1.5 million or so.
8. The Contract Part II: This isn't just going to be about Mount McKinnie's contract. This is also about Steve Hutchinson's contract. Steve Hutchinson has a poison pill clause in his contract, designed to prevent the Seahawks from matching the offer, which GUARANTEES him to be the highest paid offensive lineman at any given year, otherwise his entire contract is guaranteed. What does that tell you about the Vikings' intentions where it concerns their two current elite level linemen, Bryant McKinnie and Matt Birk? Bryant McKinnie's next contract is not going to be any small change. He's earned that as a premier left tackle in the NFL, even with the whole love boat thing. How do you think he'll react in a year or two if the Vikings try and extend his contract and they have the contract of Steve Hutchinson, a guard signed in 2006 (where McKinnie's contract negotiations could be taking place as late as prior to the 2008 season), as a ceiling on McKinnie's compensation? The truth of the matter is I think the Vikings signed that deal with Steve Hutchinson knowing full well that McKinnie will not be receiving a contract extension.
9. Replacements: When the Vikes signed Hutchinson to that mega-contract there was speculation that they felt the 6'7" standout could move to LT. Considering the size of the contract, that could be true. It has been speculated before that Hutch could move, but it was obviously never an issue in Seattle with Walter Jones around. It is obviously not an issue now with Mount McKinnie at LT...but what if that's not always going to be the case? Also, I found it telling who the Vikes used the 2nd round pick they acquired from Miami on...Ryan Cook. Many are evaluating him at a Center but I've never bought it. I've seen a lot of draftniks correctly evaluating him as a tackle prospect. He's 6' 6.5" tall, 328 pounds. Sound kind of big for a center? He's a guy that has moved around and I believe he tried both Center and Tackle at the Senior Bowl. He was a pancake master at New Mexico and constantly graded out over 87 percent in blocking through his career, and graded 93.1 percent with 120 knockdowns in 2004. As a Center, Ryan Cook was the reach of the entire draft at #51. As a Tackle, if the Vikings really were convinced he could be a tackle in the NFL, that could be why the Vikes felt the need to take him at #51.
10. The Miami Effect: We've seen it before. Players do want to come to Miami. It's sunny. Weather's great. Team's great. Coaches are great. No state taxes. Bryant McKinnie has to be ESPECIALLY drawn to Miami now for a number of reasons. One is the obvious, he went to school here. He was JUCO at Lackawanna, and came to UM. His home is New Jersey. Think the Jersey Jets will be interested in him now that they've got D'Brickashaw Ferguson? Doubtful. If Childish hates McKinnie, would the Eagles go after him now that they have Andrews and Justice? Maybe the Giants go after him though. But then there's the other factor. Remember his words about Culpepper. If he sees Daunte having success in Miami, there's a good chance he'll want to follow Daunte down here and work under a guy like Hudson Houck. So will Miami want McKinnie? I don't see why not. The contract they gave LJ Shelton really is not all that big at all in the grand scheme of things, and I'm not all that bullish on Shelton's prospects here in Miami. I don't think he's an automatic upgrade over Damion McIntosh...he is potentially an upgrade. I don't know much about Mount McKinnie's performance metrics, but I do know he measured in 6'8" and 350 pounds and ran a 5.15 in the 40. That tells me enough to know that Houck would probably salivate on such a big frame with such great mobility.
All in all, I think in a year or two you could see Bryant McKinnie reunited with Daunte Culpepper blocking his blind side for him. That would be a huge upgrade at a franchise position, left tackle. Championships are made with cornerstones at key positions.
Ok, so maybe I'm just pushing my luck trying to make another prediction like this.
Or, maybe I just know the Vikings really really effing well. I don't know what it is here, but I just seem to usually be right about this organization.
Last year, the Vikings had two 1st round picks. I nailed them both (Troy Williamson and Erasmus James) in my FinHeaven Mock Draft. This year, I nailed the Chad Greenway pick in my mock draft.
In October of 2005, approximately six months before the Daunte Culpepper trade, before his knee injury and before his being busted at the love boat incident, I pretty much laid out near to exact the circumstances, that ended up coming true, for Daunte Culpepper to end up traded from the Vikings to the Dolphins...as unbelievable as it sounded at the time (and still sounds).
And now I'm pushing my luck, and saying that I see a STRONG possibility that Bryant McKinnie ends up in Miami by 2008.
I could be just full of ****, you know.
Here's my thinking:
1. Childish Dilemma Part I: I've been speculating for a while that Brad Childish's treatment of Daunte Culpepper had to be alienating some people in the locker room. Huge talent has a profound effect on teammates. When they see a guy launch a 10 megaton warhead 50 yards down the field on a rope, their heads perk up like prairie dogs. They know how talented Culpepper was, the team is generally only one year removed from seeing Daunte have one of the best single seasons in NFL quarterback history. And now they know that their new head coach traded that kind of talent for Ryan Cook in the 2nd round...who was, by the way, a really big reach. There is very little doubt who was the most instrumental influence in having Daunte ousted from Minnesota. This means that they will have very little respect for Brad Childish as a decision maker and personnel influence.
2. Childish Dilemma Part II: We all know about Brad's inability to keep his big mouth shut after trading Daunte. He underwent a campaign of blatant character assassination in order to justify his own actions. We all have seen how incredibly friendly Daunte has been with all of the players on Miami's roster, how he's made it a real point to make fast friends with them all and is now organizing team activities with guys on offense, attending basketball games with guys on offense and defense, approaching everyone to get to know them. Those familiar with Daunte as a person from high school through UCF through his pro days are not surprised by this. He is literally one of the nicest guys you will meet in this game. So tell me, who on the Vikings roster hates Daunte Culpepper? I really don't think it's very possible that even one player on that roster hates him, and the way we've seen him make friends and make efforts, the way we've seen him be active in the community and in players' social lives...there's a strong possibility that a lot of players liked Daunte Culpepper a whole lot and would go to bat for the man. So how many of these guys that respected Daunte as a person, even revered him, take a look at Childish's campaign of blatant character assassination and say to themselves...I don't think I can be here under this guy. How many of them look at the situation and say to themselves, couldn that be me, if it just fits that bald @ssholes whim to one day think I should be gone? Will he do me like that, talking about me like that to everyone trying to bring me down? This, will make them lose respect for Childish as a PERSON.
3. Childish Dilemma Part III: Brad Childish is supposed to be a pretty good X's and O's guy. But...is he really? It's pretty darn hard to tell, because Andy Reid has had his hands all over that offense since the day they arrived in Philly. Brad Childish has never been a head coach before at any level. He has never even been the man responsible for calling the plays in Philadelphia, that has always been Andy Reid's job. His offensive game plans over the past couple of years have become something to laugh at because they have gone so pass-heavy. Will he try to run that kind of pass-heavy attack with Brad Johnson at the helm? If he does, he's got a wake up call coming. Take a look at BJ's production in 2005 and you'll see that he did most of his damage against BAD defenses. When he faced good defenses, he either sucked, or did something slightly below mediocre. The waning fortunes of the Vikings, combined with the rising fortunes of the Dolphins and Daunte Culpepper, should complete the destruction of Childish' reputation in the locker room by taking away their respect for him as a planner.
4. The Confirmation: Thanks to HOF13 for pointing this article out to me. Many of you will not be able to read it. It is dated February 23rd, 2006. Here is the link:
http://vikings.scout.com/2/502046.html
And here is a synopsis of the relevant portion:
Those are strong words for him to go on record like that. First off, the crowd of players rushing to Daunte's defense is telling...they are all high impact players, and team leaders. Every single one of them has been to at least one Pro Bowl. They know talent, and they are talent. This to me shows that I'm not just whistlin dixie when I keep outlining the ripple effects the trade of Daunte Culpepper could have within the locker room. You have a gaggle of team leaders there speaking up for Daunte. One of them it appears, may have gone a little too far with his statements to the press. What exactly do you think Mr. Childish is going to conclude when he sees what his left tackle said about the Culpepper trade? For a coach that keeps wanting to focus on the players that "want to be here" what do you think he'll do when he sees a player basically say that if Daunte leaves I don't think I want to be here?
5. The Legal Issues: Bryant McKinnie was on that boat. Heck, he wasn't just on it, supposedly he may have helped organize it. And, many witnesses saw the man engaging in oral sex with naked strippers...giving and I believe receiving. Then again, supposedly there were witnesses claiming they saw Daunte receive a lap dance, and Daunte produced his own witnesses that confirmed he was in the back the whole time shooting craps. Well, either way Mount McKinnie wasn't shootin no craps. I'm going to leave the moral issues alone for a moment. Think what you want about Mount McKinnie gettin it on with some strippers on a rented party boat. He's going to be convicted of something, although it will probably just be a slap on the wrist because the FBI didn't pursue "white slavery" charges for importing strippers from other states to commit sexual acts. The thing that is hard to deny, is that if Daunte Culpepper can be tossed from Minnesota in part just because he was THERE playing some craps in the back of the boat...imagine what could happen to McKinnie?
6. The History: I don't know if you guys remember but Mount McKinnie never felt like a wanted man in Minnesota...for good reason. Some draft day hooey went down in the first round that year. It was two years in a row where the Vikes had strange happenings occur to them at the draft. In 2003 everyone remembers the whole thing where their time expired and the Jaguars rushed up to take Byron Leftwich and then the Panthers rushed up to take Jordan Gross. Not a whole lot of people though remember what happened in 2002 when the Dallas Cowboys' time expired at pick #6 as they attempted to work out a trade down with the Kansas City Chiefs so that the Chiefs could take Ryan Sims. The Vikings really, really, really wanted Ryan Sims in that draft. When the Cowboys' time expired, all the Vikes had to do was get their card up with Ryan Sims' name on it and he would have been theirs. There were rumors that someone from the Chiefs' organization bodily blocked the Vikings' man on the floor from getting the card in while the Boys and Chiefs finalized the trade. Crazy stuff, right? Anyway, McKinnie wasn't really the guy they wanted, but they took him. The feeling showed in their contract negotiations as they did their best to screw him in the contract negotiations by offering a full million dollars below what the man drafted after McKinnie got, which led to an amazing 100-day holdout in which it genuinely looked like McKinnie would end up waiting out the whole year and re-declaring in 2003. Yeah, it got THAT bad. I had a good post on it back in 2002...here's the link:
http://www.finheaven.com/boardvb2/showpost.php?p=73417&postcount=8
7. The Contract Part I: McKinnie's salary this year is about $900k. His bonus should have been somewhere around $9 million. After this year that would mean about $6.5 million of his bonus has been amortized already. So after 2006 he'll have a salary of $1.4 million, a cap figure of about $2.7 million, and if they cut him, they suffer about $2.6 million of cap acceleration. In other words, 2007 is the first year in which they could cut him, and actually save money by doing so. If they cut him prior to the 2008 season, that would save them even more money, as much as $1.5 million or so.
8. The Contract Part II: This isn't just going to be about Mount McKinnie's contract. This is also about Steve Hutchinson's contract. Steve Hutchinson has a poison pill clause in his contract, designed to prevent the Seahawks from matching the offer, which GUARANTEES him to be the highest paid offensive lineman at any given year, otherwise his entire contract is guaranteed. What does that tell you about the Vikings' intentions where it concerns their two current elite level linemen, Bryant McKinnie and Matt Birk? Bryant McKinnie's next contract is not going to be any small change. He's earned that as a premier left tackle in the NFL, even with the whole love boat thing. How do you think he'll react in a year or two if the Vikings try and extend his contract and they have the contract of Steve Hutchinson, a guard signed in 2006 (where McKinnie's contract negotiations could be taking place as late as prior to the 2008 season), as a ceiling on McKinnie's compensation? The truth of the matter is I think the Vikings signed that deal with Steve Hutchinson knowing full well that McKinnie will not be receiving a contract extension.
9. Replacements: When the Vikes signed Hutchinson to that mega-contract there was speculation that they felt the 6'7" standout could move to LT. Considering the size of the contract, that could be true. It has been speculated before that Hutch could move, but it was obviously never an issue in Seattle with Walter Jones around. It is obviously not an issue now with Mount McKinnie at LT...but what if that's not always going to be the case? Also, I found it telling who the Vikes used the 2nd round pick they acquired from Miami on...Ryan Cook. Many are evaluating him at a Center but I've never bought it. I've seen a lot of draftniks correctly evaluating him as a tackle prospect. He's 6' 6.5" tall, 328 pounds. Sound kind of big for a center? He's a guy that has moved around and I believe he tried both Center and Tackle at the Senior Bowl. He was a pancake master at New Mexico and constantly graded out over 87 percent in blocking through his career, and graded 93.1 percent with 120 knockdowns in 2004. As a Center, Ryan Cook was the reach of the entire draft at #51. As a Tackle, if the Vikings really were convinced he could be a tackle in the NFL, that could be why the Vikes felt the need to take him at #51.
10. The Miami Effect: We've seen it before. Players do want to come to Miami. It's sunny. Weather's great. Team's great. Coaches are great. No state taxes. Bryant McKinnie has to be ESPECIALLY drawn to Miami now for a number of reasons. One is the obvious, he went to school here. He was JUCO at Lackawanna, and came to UM. His home is New Jersey. Think the Jersey Jets will be interested in him now that they've got D'Brickashaw Ferguson? Doubtful. If Childish hates McKinnie, would the Eagles go after him now that they have Andrews and Justice? Maybe the Giants go after him though. But then there's the other factor. Remember his words about Culpepper. If he sees Daunte having success in Miami, there's a good chance he'll want to follow Daunte down here and work under a guy like Hudson Houck. So will Miami want McKinnie? I don't see why not. The contract they gave LJ Shelton really is not all that big at all in the grand scheme of things, and I'm not all that bullish on Shelton's prospects here in Miami. I don't think he's an automatic upgrade over Damion McIntosh...he is potentially an upgrade. I don't know much about Mount McKinnie's performance metrics, but I do know he measured in 6'8" and 350 pounds and ran a 5.15 in the 40. That tells me enough to know that Houck would probably salivate on such a big frame with such great mobility.
All in all, I think in a year or two you could see Bryant McKinnie reunited with Daunte Culpepper blocking his blind side for him. That would be a huge upgrade at a franchise position, left tackle. Championships are made with cornerstones at key positions.
