Monthly archive: January, 2012

Eli Burgett Is The “Biggest Vikings Fan”

January 16, 2012, by No comments yet

Us hardcore fans tend to become jaded from time to time, something in which we are particularly vulnerable to following a miserable season like this one, but it is always nice to know that the men occupying the uniforms we choose to root for can have a great impact on a life at just the right time.

I won’t get into it too much, but I encourage everyone here to read the simple yet heartwarming story of Eli Burgett, as presented by the Pioneer Press. 

Put one extra notch in the win column for the Vikings this year, as they did right by me in this one.

If the story inspires you to give a little extra this January, please consider visiting my “Highlighted Charities” page and signing up as a member of Vikings Territory’s official Donors Choose Giving Page.

Another Candidate Name Surfaces

January 16, 2012, by No comments yet

Yet another name has surfaced in the Vikings somewhat bizarre effort to fill the role of Defensive Coordinator.

Here is what we know so far:  Fred Pagac is out, but may return as the linebackers coach.  Raheem Morris and Mel Tucker were interviewed, but accepted other jobs.  Steve Spagnuolo may have the Vikings interested, but he is likely to return to Philadelphia after being dismissed by the Rams.  Finally, Mike Singletary is thought to be a candidate and things could get interesting since Pagac was offered his job with the linebackers.

Phew!

Okay, onto the new news.

According to Jason LaConfora’s Twitter account, the Vikings are expected to interview Colts defensive backs coach Alan Williams on Tuesday morning.  After all, an organization that promotes a guy to General Manager after a 3-13 season would logically be interested in a guy that coached for an organization that just went 2-14.

Williams has worked with Leslie Frazier in the past, having been with the Colts for 10 years, and as Judd Zulgad points out he has a lot of similarities to former Vikings coordinator Mike Tomlin.  Williams is a Tampa-2 guy, which is something that is likely to sit well with Frazier and his vision for his defense.

This search for a Defensive Coordinator is bordering on goofy, as the Vikings seem to be having trouble convincing candidates to join a coach that will enter 2012 on the hot seat in coaching a team that may or may not have a place in which they can, you know, play football. 

It is an understandable challenge.

However, I can’t help but wonder if one or more other things aren’t at play here.

First, if Mike Singletary were a serious candidate for this job, why is Frazier continuing to bring in candidates now that Singletary’s previous position has been offered to Pagac?  If I had to guess, I would say Singletary and his 3-4 scheme is not the direction that Frazier wants to go, and that he is doing his buddy a solid by trying to put out there into the universe the idea that Singletary is actually coveted by at least one NFL team.

Secondly, I can’t help but wonder if Frazier is purposely not pulling the trigger because he actually wants to talk to a coach that is still a part of a team that is alive in the playoffs.  Perhaps Frazier expected this guy’s team to already have lost their playoff game and that he would now be available for an interview?  Perhaps this guy’s defense recently held the 2012 Super Bowl Champion Packers to 388 yards and 20 points while employing a 4-3 defense?

Perhaps.

Why else would it be taking so long for Frazier to fill a position that has unofficially, at least for practical reasons, been vacant for nearly two months now?

Word Of The Day Is “Rehab”

January 16, 2012, by No comments yet

The Vikings entered the offseason with their fanbase in a panic.

Adrian Peterson had a potentially career altering knee injury that left a lot of uncertainty, and backup running back Toby Gerhart had an MCL injury that had many wondering how effective the Vikings running game would be in 2012.

Peterson put some minds at ease this week by putting forward a positive message regarding his rehab, and it sounds like he is already ahead of schedule.

Meanwhile, Tom Peslissero reports that Gerhart has returned from his Hawaiian vacation and the evaluation of his MCL is such that surgery will not be required.  It has been determined that rehabilitation and rest will be the appropriate remedy for his injury.

Peterson has also entered the rehabilitation phase, following his surgery, and it sounds like he is determined to commit to the process 100%.  One potential problem, however, is that the Vikings are assumed to want their $100 million running back rehabbing in Minnesota at Winter Park where they can keep an eye on him, but it appears Peterson may have different plans.  Judd Zulgad has more details on this pseudo-story.

Introducing the VT Vikings Tweet GRIDiron

January 15, 2012, by 31 comments

Vikings Territory Tweet GRIDiron

When Adam and I set out to completely redesign Vikings Territory, one of my personal goals was to bring it up to date with a lot of the technologies out there today – specifically social media. While I know some of you are hesitant to buy in, so to speak, into “that Twitter thing,” its importance in today’s society can’t be denied. Furthermore, the role it plays in sports is something that I felt we could kind of harbor here to bring you guys the most up to date news about our Vikings.

One of the most direct ways to find out what is going on with the team is to go directly to the source… the team itself. I’ve been following most of the Vikings players on Twitter for a while. While I would see something that Adrian Peterson, Percy Harvin, etc… would ‘tweet’ occasionally, there was really no place to see what all of the Vikings were saying at once in one, neatly organized way. Enter the “Vikings Territory Tweet GRIDiron.”

What we’ve done for you all is put together a page where you can go to see the three most recent tweets of every Vikings player (that is currently on Twitter). While, most of the time, there really isn’t anything incredibly informative the guys are saying, it can be entertaining. For example, I used the Tweet GRIDiron last night and noticed that our favorite wide receiver, Percy Harvin, was enjoying some moonshine for the first time. You could also see that most of the guys were watching the divisional playoffs and get their inside perspective of the games. Visanthe Shiancoe and Kyle Rudolph both admired the importance of the tight ends in the New England/Denver game while Kluwe choose to mess with Tim Tebow instead.

So, go on over and check it out. You can click this link, or you can just click the [fancy!] image above.

Pagac Is Officially Out

January 15, 2012, by 12 comments

The Vikings had been interviewing candidates for a Defensive Coordinator position that was still held by Fred Pagac.

That ends today.

The team has not hired a new defensive coordinator yet, and the list of candidates has again grown and now includes Miami Dolphins interim head coach Todd Bowles, but they did officially remove the title from Pagac.

The Vikings offered for Pagac to return to his previous job of coaching the team’s linebackers, but it is unknown if he will be willing to accept the demotion.  The linebackers job currently is held by Mike Singletary, a candidate for the defensive coordinator position himself.

This move is thought to be a sign the Singletary will be moving to the coordinator position.

A CFL Update

January 13, 2012, by 1 comment

As I have previously noted, the Vikings are currently scouring the CFL for potential talent that may be able to contribute to this team’s eventual turnaround.

Offensive tackle Jovan Olafioye and linebacker Solomon Elimimian have yet to sign with any NFL teams, and defensive tackle Khalif Mitchell signed a futures contract with the Miami Dolphins.

A new CFL name has emerged on the Vikings radar, however.

Edmonton Eskimos tailback Jerome Messam is expected to work out for the Vikings in the near future.  The Bengals and the Dolphins are also expected to work him out.

At 6’ 3” and 245 pounds, the bruising back rushed for 1,149 yards in 2011 prior to tearing his meniscus in a semifinal game.

[UPDATE:  Mitchell, who seems like he might have a screw a little bit loose according to this article, actually ended up re-signing with the B.C. Lions.]

This Is Getting Silly

January 13, 2012, by 2 comments

You think the Vikings search for a Defensive Coordinator is a tired and boring storyline to follow?

Just remember how long you have been hearing about the stadium battle.

Governor Mark Dayton called for all final proposals to be submitted by this week’s deadline and the finally tally is in.  The governor received nine, yes nine, proposals to solve the team’s stadium woes.

Some of them are doozies.

Charles Hollom (pictured here with Al Franken) offered to pay the entire $1 billion cost of a stadium if it is built on the University of Minnesota farm school, but I’m not sure he know exactly how much a billion dollars is given his constant misuse of commas in his letter to the Governor.  Needless-to-say, Mr. Hollom of The World Desert Reclamation Society provides little detail in his letter and is unlikely to be taken seriously, but he promises more details to be provided in the coming weeks.

Mr. Hollom shouldn’t let his feelings get hurt, however, as there are a few ideas that might be tossed aside even quicker than his generous offer.

Minneapolis architect Robert Roscoe designed a retractable roof stadium that could be built for only $300,000 with all of the materials coming from your local Menard’s hardware store.  In fact, Roscoe’s vision involves an enlarged truck topper on sawhorses with wheels that can be rolled on and off the field of play depending on weather.

“You can make a huge camper stadium cover in the form of a camper top, and put it on sawhorses,” said Roscoe about his idea. “That’s on wheels on rails so you can roll it back and forth depending on the weather.”

It is hard to take Roscoe seriously at all, especially since he refers to iconic Viking heavyweights as “Ziggi Wilf” and “coach Buck Grant” in his letter to the Governor.

Other proposals include the insane idea of building the world’s largest iPOD, a stadium in the parking lot near the Mall of America, a special Vikings promotional card, and an Eagan gaming proposal.

The truth of the matter is there are only two and half proposals that will be taken seriously.  Here they are with links to their official submittals:

Arden Hills

Minneapolis

Shakopee

With nine proposals on the table, the clock continues to do nothing but tick.