Sid: E.J. Could Be Coming Back

May 18, 2012, by 6 comments

As pointed out by The Viking Age, Sid Hartman recently stated that there is a “good chance” that middle linebacker E.J. Henderson re-signs with the Vikings this offseason.

Now, E.J. has been one of my favorite Vikings to watch for a number of years now (and I would love to still wear his jersey on game day without feeling silly), but even I wouldn’t have predicted that the elder Henderson somehow worked into the Vikings offseason plan of getting younger, healthier, and less expensive.

Jasper Brinkley might not fit the Tampa-2 scheme real great, as some media outlets have been quick to opine, but the right rotation of Brinkley, Erin Henderson and Chad Greenway could make them a very effective group.

Hartman writes that Henderson is not wavering from his demand to be paid the same as last season for his services, which would bring his salary in at $6.7 million.

That isn’t going to happen.  If it was, it already would have.

Henderson is on the wrong side of thirty, has had trouble staying on the field in consecutive seasons, and is a major liability in pass coverage.  If the Vikings planned to give that type of money to a veteran linebacker this offseason, that too would have already happened.

In fact, looking back at how the offseason has played, one of my only real complaints is that the Vikings didn’t pony up for a stud linebacker when they had the chance.  Stephen Tulloch (signed with Lions), Curtis Lofton (Saints), Dan Connor (Cowboys), and David Hawthorne (Seahawks) all could have been sure-fire upgrades at the linebacker position.

I like Brinkley’s potential, but the linebacker position is one to keep an eye on as the offseason progresses.

“Hard Knocks” Not On The Vikings Agenda

May 18, 2012, by 2 comments

Long gone (umm, I hope) are the dramatic twists and turns that came with a certain ex-Packer quarterback, a inflatable roof refusing to stay inflated, mysterious hip injuries, a cross dressing head coach, a left tackle who thought he was the third sister of the famous tennis playing Williams duo, and… well, you get the point.

Apparently, the current Vikings regime would like to keep it that way.

Judd Zulgad of 1500 ESPN reports that the Vikings have turned down, for the second year in a row, the chance to appear on HBO’s awesome series titled Hard Knocks.

While it would be a blast to have that much access to our beloved Vikings as they go through the rest of the offseason, it is easy to see why Leslie Frazier and the gang would prefer to remain under the radar and low key.

Other than perhaps some financial gain, I’m not sure any team that has appeared on a season of the show could point out any actual benefit to doing so.  However, we need not look any further than Rex Ryan to understand there are plenty of reasons not to do it.

So, if you are a cheapskate like yours truly, there is no immediate need to upgrade to a premium television service.

Murphy Was A Wanted Man… Version 2.0

May 18, 2012, by 1 comment

Yesterday I made a big deal out of the fact that the Vikings used their waiver power to land Harvard offensive tackle Kevin Murphy, grabbing him ahead of two other teams that put in a claim on him.

The headline ran said “Murphy Was A Wanted Man.”

As it turns out, I should have emphasized the past tense.

Apparently Murphy was unable to pass his physical with the Vikings so he was immediately waives by the team.  Also waived on Thursday was South Carolina defensive back C.C. Whitlock who was signed by the Vikings as an undrafted free agent soon after the Draft ended.

The Vikings currently have two vacant roster spots and it’ll be interesting to see how they fill them.  Signing a kicker could make for some minor drama while my eyes keep gravitating towards a few free agent runners that might fit the low risk and low cost mold that Spielman seems to covet.  And, yes, I am talking about Mewelde Moore.

An Extra Week At Mankato? Sweet!

May 17, 2012, by 9 comments

The Vikings have announced their training camp schedule and the most notable thing to pass along is that they plan to stay in Mankato for three weeks this year instead of two.

Usually the Vikings would go back to Winter Park for week three of training camp, but the ability to stay put is expected to be a welcomed change this year as players and coaches can stay in the nearby dorms and literally do nothing but focus on football every minute that they aren’t sleeping.

The elongated period of time is thought to be a result of the school’s lack of need for the dorm rooms and also frustration over Leslie Frazier’s decision to only hold camp in Mankato for 10 days last offseason.

The three week training camp is scheduled to start on July 26th and the team will soon be listing a full schedule of practice sessions.

Murphy Was A Wanted Man

May 17, 2012, by 5 comments

The Vikings have made some fairly low level moves over the last few days, and the most intriguing is their decision to claim Harvard offensive lineman Kevin Murphy, which we mentioned yesterday.

Us fans are always on the lookout for training camp “sleepers” and signs point towards Murphy as a candidate to keep an eye on.  What signs?  Well, for starters, the Vikings weren’t the only team that wanted the young tackle after he was cut by the 49ers.

According to a Scout.com source, both the Detroit Lions and the Houston Texans put in a waiver claim on the 6’ 7” rookie.  So, it should at least be an encouraging sign that Rick Spielman wasn’t the only NFL G.M. that wanted this guy on the roster.

One of the most intriguing things about the remainder of this offseason will surely revolve around Spielman’s willingness to use his waiver priority (the Vikings are third) when other teams part ways with players.  Murphy is surely not the last guy that will join the Vikings via this route between now and the season opener.

WELCOME TO THE BIG SHOW: Greg Childs

May 16, 2012, by 9 comments

Welcome to part six of our ten part series entitled “Welcome to the Big Show” where we attempt to bring you a comprehensive, in-depth look at each of the Vikings ten Draft selections of 2012. In case you missed them, here are links to the first five: Matt Kalil, Harrison Smith, Josh Robinson, Rhett Ellison, and Jarius Wright.

Make sure to go back and check out Brett’s fine article on Wright.  As we all know by now, Wright and Greg Childs have been friends and teammates since a very young age.  Childs is the subject of today’s “Welcome to the Big Show” segment.

PERSONAL HISTORY

During his junior year at Warren High School in Arkansas he put up 65 receptions and made 15 of them count for touchdowns, and earned a spot on the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s all-Junior team.  In 2007, he was an all-State selection as a senior.

Childs left high school as one of the most heavily recruited players in the nation.  He received scholarship offers from Tennessee, Ole Miss, Colorado, Mississippi State, and Texas Tech before deciding to stay close to home and become a Razorback.

Childs turned 22 on March 10th of this year which makes him the youngest receiver on the Vikings roster.

He met fellow Viking rookie Jarius Wright in the third grade when he moved to Warren.  Wright was a popular kid at the elementary school and they decided to target Childs for some old fashioned bullying.  It took about two years for them to finally become friends, and they have been teammates ever since the seventh grade.

Continue Reading →

Don’t Expect Rookie Contracts This Week

May 16, 2012, by No comments yet

This is the time of year where Vikings fans get annoyed as they see other teams get their rookies under contract while nothing louder than a cricket is coming out of Winter Park on this front.

According to CBS Sports, we will continue to wait until at least next week before any rookie contracts are finalized according to a team source.

It is not exactly clear why the Vikings are always seemingly behind other teams in regards to signing their rookies, but the truth is that it isn’t that big of a deal.  The team will almost certainly have all of their rookies under contract soon enough and they have great attendance at their offseason workouts.