Frerotte, Cassel and the Vikes' Future

After a surprisingly successful 2008 season -- one in which he amassed an 8-3 record -- Gus Frerotte, 37 years young, thinks he deserves a shot at the Vikings' starting quarterback gig.

Maybe he has, particularly if you assume Tarvaris Jackson won't improve and he's the only other viable option on the roster come training camp. I don't expect either to be the case. Not only that, but just because Minnesota won eight of 11 with Frerotte under center doesn't mean a whole lot out of context. Via Pacifist Viking:

I regularly see people point out that the Vikings were 8-3 with Frerotte as starter last season. But we could also point out that in his 11 starts, Frerotte threw 15 interceptions. We might also point out that the Vikings scored non-offensive points in five of their wins under Frerotte (in three of those wins, the non-offensive points were responsible for the margin of victory).

I don't want to dismiss the positive things Gus Frerotte did for the Vikings in 2008. He did some good things, and he played well in several Viking victories. But I think it would be a mistake for the Vikings to be satisfied with his level of quarterback play in 2009.

Which means that Minnesota should be in the quarterback business this offseason, either via free agency or the draft. The most obvious name, perhaps, is Matt Cassel. "I think some of [free-agent QBs] come with a high price tag," Frerotte said. "Do you pay all that money for Matt Cassel in New England?"

Maybe.

Cassel certainly benefitted from playing in Josh McDaniels' scheme and having Randy Moss and Wes Welker as targets. The Vikings don't anything approaching either player at wideout, but they do have Adrian Peterson. More than that, as NFL Films' Greg Cosell writes, if a head coach (like, say, Brad Childress) is willing to build his offense around Cassel's strengths, he could continue to be a very successful NFL quarterback, something I've certainly been skeptical of in the past.

In the last seven weeks of the [2008] season, the Patriots were primarily a shotgun passing team. They did not call a lot of drop-back plays. Why? Because Cassel was simply not very good at it.

When the Patriots wanted to get the ball deeper down the field, they put Cassel under center and went play-action. In those situations, they always used seven- or eight-man protection schemes to make certain Cassel had time and space. ...

If Cassel becomes available in a trade before the 2009 season, it is imperative that interested teams perform a methodical and systematic breakdown of his play and tendencies from this past season. They must have a complete understanding of what Cassel is and what he is not, what he does well, and what he struggles with.

This doesn't sound much like the version of the West Coast offense Childress runs, but it's not like the Vikings have been lighting up the scoreboard in recent seasons, either. But none of this may matter -- it's going to be expensive for any team to pry Cassel from the Patriots. That's potentially good news for Frerotte, but it doesn't do much for the Vikes' chances of making the postseason.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

2-17-2009 @ 3:17PM

VIKES REVIEW said...

"I'll make a gentleman's bet of $1k with Ziggy that if he sticks with Jackson, the Vikes won't make the playoffs this coming season!" The Vikes best chance is a true talented QB! No 'disrespect' to Gus but it's time for Ziggy and the Vikes to......'Make A Move!"

2-17-2009 @ 8:39PM

blondeviking64 said...

I think that Frerrotte actually played better than T-Jack. Not according to the numbers but realistically he is a better team leader and more willing to take shots down the field. That being said, niether QB is a starting quality player in this league right now. Something has to be done but realistically there isnt much to do. I do not think Cassel is worth much to any team other than the Pats. They just proved this last year that you can get away with having a bad QB if you have easy targets. The best determining factor for success in the NFL has been the amount of college starts in a career. Hmmm, Cassell has NONE. I woiuldnt touch him with a 10ft pole. Better off with Garcia, Frerrotte, Anderson via trade, or Jackson for one more year while continuing to build through the draft.

2-18-2009 @ 12:24AM

yungyung said...

I think the Vikes can make the playoffs with T-jack or Ferotte, trading for Anderson is an mistake and it is just getting more of what you have on your qb roster, but I think thats the best move. They should have them battle it out in training camp, but I think Jackson or Ferotte will win the job. For that dude that thinks Vikings should build around Cassell's strengths, get the f out of here, who is Cassell? Some dude that looked good playing in the spread offense, but is terrible under center like I said before. You dont build around Cassell you build around Adrian Peterson period.