Kyle Sloter
Our #1 Draft pick, selected 11th in
1999 out of Central Florida was Daunte Culpepper. His draft stats
indicated that he was 6'4", weighed 255#, had a 9.5" hand size &
had a wonderlick score of 18. In wet weather those small hands cost us
dearly and his wonderlick score might help to explain why he never developed into that
god-like player that we always wanted. In other words Daunte's success might
have been attributed to having the resources of players like Jake Reed, Cris Carter
& Randy Moss rather than in his abilities to master a Bill Walsh's West Coast
Offense.
In all of 1999, Daunte had three rushing attempts for a grand total of 9
yards. Then in the pre-season of 2000 we hear that Denis Green chucked Jeff George and his antics
for this Dante guy that ran our scout team in 1999. Daunte hadn't thrown a pass
& he was our starter???? What happened next was truly remarkable as
Daunte still ranks 14th in quarterback career passer rating at 87.8 & still
holds the record for the 7th best quarterback rating for a season at
110.9. So why is all this history important?
Could it be that the Minnesota Vikings just might have their franchise
quarterback of their future on their roster right now? What are you
talking about ... you might say? We have two potential franchise quarterbacks
on our roster with
broken knees & neither one of them can play at present. After several seasons & numerous
opportunities, Sam Bradford has never demonstrated that he's a unquestioned
winner ... when it comes down to brass tacks ... and now he has a questionable
knee that should prevent the Vikings from acting rashly. With Bradford it
has to be a wait & see approach. This franchises sacrificed of a #1
draft pick in 2017 which allows us to franchise tag Bradford to secure our
franchises position
either way. Although Teddy is absolutely
an unquestioned winner, he now has several glaring shortcomings. Foremost
is that he may not have an NFL caliber knee any more. Secondly, his
downfield accuracy, although improved, has not been proven to be deadly accurate
during clutch moments. Last of all, although we Viking fans love Teddy to
death, we refuse to admit that when it comes to taking an NFL caliber hit ... we're
afraid that he just might not ever get up again. Think back to how many
times we've seen that body collapse. His knee issue doesn't make that
final concern any better because he simply won't be able to escape like Wilson
& he doesn't posses Tarkenton 6th sense. Of course there is also Case Keenum, who had a
remarkable day on Sunday where we are lucky to have him as our back up ... but
is he a franchise
quarterback? What is absolutely clear is that there is something that
lit a fire under Keenum's hind quarters & it might have everything to do
with Kyle Sloter's being activated to the 53 man roster.
Sloter is 6'4.8" tall & weighs 210#. He has 9.8" hands and
runs 4.65 in the 40. All these number are comparable to Daunte
Culpepper. Although he's fast, he's not Marcus Mariota quick, but he can escape.
Now here is the what is remarkable, Kyle Sloter scored a 38 in the wonderlick as
compared to Daunte's score of 18 & there is one other very important
distinction. His high wonderlick, like that of Christian Ponder, doesn't
hinder him as it did Ponder, as he appears to be a natural on the field ...
just like Kurt Warner ... coming out of no where. Now go take a look at Kyle Sloter's highlight films on
U-tube. I don't care if it is for high school, for his 1 year of college
where he started at quarterback or when he played
pre-season ball for the Bronco's. This kid is deadly accurate where he
hits receivers down the field in stride. He can make all the throws ...
most importantly over the middle ... without fear and he's doing it without any real
experience coming from the same conference that brought us Carson Wentz ...
which resulted in the
Sam Bradford trade. This kid Kyle Sloter is the real deal & he is running our scout team
just like Daunte did those many years ago back in that 1999 season.
Like Kurt Warner in 1999, Sloter is one Case Keenum injury away from walking on
that field. If Mike Zimmer is listening ... you may not have a choice here
... so you better get this kid some game reps ... and soon. When Sloter
walks onto that NFL field, the entire NFL just might look like complete idiots for missing
him in the draft as he was an undrafted free agent of the Denver Bronco's ...
just like Tony Romo. John Elway just let him walk out the door ... sliming
his roster to 53 men ... to enable him
to fall into our laps like Cris Carter (but without the drug history that bound
old Buddy Ryan up into knots).
What I can tell you without question is that Kyle Sloter should never see the
wavier wire ever again & that is saying a bunch knowing that we also have
Bradford, Keenum & Bridgewater on our rosters. Case Keenum ...
take heart ... as of all the quarterbacks on our roster, as a backup you have
the most secure role which was solidified on Sunday.
OTHER NOTES:
It was interesting to note that Coach Zimmer was questioned by the media in
regard to resting Xavier Rhodes in favor of inserting Tramaine Brock Sr. at
corner, which led to a touchdown & a bit of a momentum shift for the Bucs.
In fact, that was a brilliant move for a few reasons. Tramaine Sr. was probably
driving his coaches crazy in getting his first opportunity to play with this
group ... which is an awesome defense and much better than Seatle's... but there was much
more at stake. From that
touchdown that he gave up it is clear that his coverage skills may be more than adequate
for the slot but maybe longing in regard to playing corner. The most
important aspect is that although Tramaine maybe a skilled player ... he is not
adept at playing with this group ... at least not
yet. So why is Mike Zimmer a genius ... well that's because now he
has tape on Tramaine Brock Sr. ... specifically in how he works with his
defensive unit ... which Zimmer can now try to begin to correct so that Brock
Sr. evolves into his destined role.
Brock Sr. was the latest in our 2017 Order of Appearance, as he wasn't even
included as part of our upcoming reinforcements in our 2017 schedule. From
here on out the order of appearance will become even more significant ... to
maybe ... unbelievable.
Mike Zimmer did make a mistake on Sunday, as he was unprepared & caught up
in the moment reacting to how well Case Keenum played. When Brock Sr. went
in, that was Mike's opportunity of also inserting Kyle Sloter behind
center. Mike, you are one injury away of being given no choice in this
matter ... so heed this warning. Kyle needs live reps if for no other
reason that to feel that first NFL hit where he brings his body development to
another level. It was also our attempt to see Kyle in action without the
necessary time to work with this veteran group. God wants the NFL humbled
at his feet ... as again ... you don't get to choose.
Rick Spielman, let's not make the same mistake that we made with Darrell Bevell
... allowing a briliant mind to just walk away & join another
franchise. We need to raise Pat Shurmur to the Assistant Head Coaching
level so that if we do lose him, it will only be for another head coaching
gig. It would be nice to lock up this 52 year old coach for our future
& you can clearly see that he loves what he's being allowed to build in
Minnesota. Although we may want Mike Zimmer leading these Vikings forever
we have to be realistic as Mike got a very late start to the head coaching
ranks. Again, you don't get to choose Mike's destiny but you can make
him very happy. Check Zim for a Chubby!
The Viking Ghost Writer
http://MyVikingBlood.org
Date: September 26, 2017
