Some Hope For a Secondary In Need

SerenityNow! · Joined: 13 Oct 2010 Posts: 49 Location: Twin Cities

I thought this was a pretty interesting read and didn't see that anyone had posted it yet. Not sure if this warrants its own topic or not but here goes nothing. I thought that Chris Cook was by far our best corner last year prior to his suspension. His off the field issues aside I think he has the potential to really help our pass defense, particularly against the tall receivers of the North. The eye opening stat for me was the opponents QB rating with and without him. Obviously there are several factors that go into the large disparity but interesting none the less. What do you guys expect from Chris Cook this year?

Realized that the six games included the Arizona game where Kolb seemed to be throwing blindfolded so that will skew the stats quite a bit but I do think he kept some good receivers in check during the stretch.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_/id/43634/vikings-time-for-chris-cook-to-pay-forward

vikingsrule · Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 3:42 pm Post subject:

Chris cook was well on his way in showing that he could be a #1 LCB. When you look at the first six games of the year, the secondary was not that bad. The team was competitive in each and every game, despite horrible QB play from McNabb. You get that 6 game effort from the defense, combined with improved QB play (from Ponder), MN probably wouldnt have been a bottom 5 team. Once Cook left the lineup, the secondary fell apart. Throw in the injury to Antoine Winfield, I honestly never thought the CB group was as bad as it truly was, both players were huge losses. If Cook can continue to show steady progress, he should be an above average starting CB.

My biggest issue, and has been this offseason, was the play of the Safety. Im actually quite confident that Mistral Raymond can develop into a good starter, and with the first round selection of Harrison Smith, hopefully the team did not enough to really shore things up in the secondary.

+Chris Cook +Antoine Winfield +Harrison Smith +Josh Robinson; that is one heck of an offseason.

As for questioning the effort against a QB like Kevin Kolb, why?

Look at some of the QBS the Vikes play next year:

Blaine Gabbert
Andrew Luck (2nd NFL start)
Alex Smith
Jake Locker?
Robert Griffin (6th NFL Start)
Kevin Kolb
Josh Freeman
Matt Flynn?
Sam Bradford

That is 9 games against inexperienced or below average to poor QBs. In terms of scheduling, MN caught a break in 2012.

This isnt factoring in T.J. Yates as Matt Schaub has missed significant playing time in 3 out of 5 years in Houston so far.

milanb · Joined: 04 Jan 2008 Posts: 5174 Location: Ottawa, Ontario

I have this sinking feeling that we have not seen the last of Chris Cook's off-field incidents.

Sad

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vikingsrule · Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 3:52 pm Post subject:

The secondary doesnt even have to be good next year for their to be progress. As long as they arent giving up big play after big play and blowing assignments, ill be pretty content as MN should atleast be a bit more competitive, similar to the first six games of last year.

Heck, even at the end of the last year, it wasnt the offense that was the problem, it was the defense constantly putting the young offense in difficult situations having to play catchup.

That Broncos game was a prime example.

milanb · Joined: 04 Jan 2008 Posts: 5174 Location: Ottawa, Ontario

Lil Uno · Joined: 17 Sep 2007 Posts: 5277

I remember Cook making some incredible plays on the ball during Senior Bowl week and I was excited when we took two years ago.

The Lions game is where he demonstrated what he showed at the Senior Bowl. I was convinced he was a true #1 after that game. With the hiring of Alan Williams and the talent we have added and regained our defense could be fun to watch this year.

EDIT: heres Chris Cook in that game against the Lions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wGdzodKreg
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vikingsrule · Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 9:29 pm Post subject:

^ i agree, the way Cook played against Calvin Johnson, i was convinced that he was turning the corner. Its really unfortunate that he couldnt finish the season and continue to build on that progression. Hopefully he can pick up where he left off.

Captain Viking · Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Posts: 2610

milanb · Joined: 04 Jan 2008 Posts: 5174 Location: Ottawa, Ontario

disaacs · Joined: 13 Dec 2005 Posts: 19982 Location: Brownbackistan

I expect Chris Cook to be the 2nd-best CB in the division this year...behind only Charles Woodson (who might finally hit the downslope of his career).
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Frank Costello · Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 12:54 pm Post subject:

I forget the exact number but we averaged like 22 or 23 points a game given up when Cook was in the lineup. Add in the fact that we've got better depth this year, our secondary is on the way out of the cellar. But having two rookies in the backfield will bite us in the rear quite a bit this year.
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SteelKing728 · Joined: 23 Aug 2008 Posts: 10874 Location: Pittsburgh