Monthly archive: March, 2012

Vikings “Excited” Chris Cook Will Be Back

March 25, 2012, by 7 comments

The Vikings took a fairly big gamble with how they handled Chris Cook and the allegations that he assaulted and attempted to strangle his girlfriend, causing him to miss a game against Green Bay while he was jailed for the incident.

Recently, Cook was acquitted of all charges and the Vikings appear ready to get him back on the field.

“We are very excited about getting Chris Cook back,” Rick Spielman said, “not only to help us on the football field, but we think Chris Cook is a very good person, and we really believe that he’s moving on and going to be a better person.”

“We’re pleased that this has all come to a resolution, and now we’re looking forward to what Chris has learned, and he’s looking forward to moving on,” Spielman said. “I know he’s grown from this experience. He was very proactive in doing some things and making sure that he’s going to be not only a better football player but a better person as well.

“Sometimes you have to go through some hard lessons to give you a wake-up call, if there was a wake-up call. But you go through some tough times sometimes, and sometimes coming out of those situations really makes you a stronger and better person.”

Cook is no stranger to misconduct.  His Draft stock took a hit when he was suspended at Virginia for academic reasons.  In May of 2011, a Virginia judge cleared him of any wrongdoing resulting from an incident in which he was accused of brandishing a firearm.  He latest acquittal ended with rumors that he was celebrating the “victory” at the same strip club that he visited the night the allegations were made.

Spielman sounds hopeful that his third year player will finally get his act together, but the pattern emerging here is not only more obvious, but growing incrementally more serious.  Cook has shown fans of the Vikings no reason to believe he is a changed man, other than shaving his dreadlocks, so hopefully behind closed doors at Winter Park he has really given Spielman and Frazier true reasons to place trust in him again.

If not, they may be short handed at cornerback on Sunday again in the near future.

Brad Culpepper: Vikes Were Coached To Hurt Quarterbacks

March 24, 2012, by 2 comments

My reaction to the Saints “BountyGate” scandal has been pretty measured, considering the venomous reaction from most Vikings fan, and I recently penned that I was merely glad it wasn’t the Vikings being accused of such heinous actions.

As it turns out, a former defensive lineman of the Vikings remembers a time in which he was instructed to hit opposing quarterbacks in such a way that they leave the game prematurely.

“If you pull on their arm and land on their shoulder, you can dislocate (the shoulder),” said Brad Culpepper.  “And then they’re out. We used to practice that, too.”

Culpepper played for the Vikings the two years prior to the 1994 season in which the team was constantly under fire from those around the league for their reputation as one of the dirtiest defensive lines in the NFL.

Defensive Line Coach John Teerlinck, Defensive Coordinator Tony Dungy, and Head Coach Dennis Green were all at the center of the controversy.

“We practiced techniques to injure players,” said Culpepper.

This is pretty damning evidence to support the notion that the Vikings of the mid-nineties were not the cleanest of football players.  There will be denials and there have been no accusations of bounties specically, and this is sure to be in the rear-view mirror soon enough, but it goes to further illustrate the point that the New Orleans Saints were simply caught playing dirty in a modern era that will not tolerate such actions.

As for Culpepper, he has now had his fun, and it seems likely that he’ll just go back to doing whatever it was he doing before feeling the need to get some random attention on an Orlando radio station.

Top Tackle Prospect To Visit

March 24, 2012, by 1 comment

Some in the media think Rick Spielman should undergo a brain scan should he pass on USC left tackle Matt Kalil in April.  Others think writers that aren’t qualified to have such opinions should keep quiet.

The Vikings seem hell bent on making sure other teams don’t know exactly who they plan on selecting third overall, while also keeping their options open in terms of trading back.

With so many options available, it makes sense that the Vikings do their due diligence with as many prospects as they possibly can.

Thus, it should come as no surprise that the Vikings are reportedly hosting Stanford tackle Jonathan Martin to a pre-Draft visit.

Martin (6’ 5” – 312 pounds) was part of a star-studded Stanford team and he was tasked with protecting Andrew Luck’s blind side.  He is known as an athletic left tackle, plenty capable of blocking for the passer and a dominant run blocker.

He joins Luck, tight end Coby Fleener, and guard David DeCastro as a Stanford product seemingly destined to be selected in the first round next month.

Community Mock: Day Fourteen

March 24, 2012, by 4 comments

Running back Trent Richardson finally gets selected by the Arizona Cardinals after falling to the thirteenth pick in our 2012 Community Mock Draft. While running back isn’t particularly a need for the Cardinals, our readers must have felt that if Richardson falling that far is just too hard to pass up for the Cardinals. One of our readers Malte said, “Why Trent Richardson is still not taken is beyond my mind. He is by far BPA. The Cardinals would be wise to pick up this great talent, or trade…”

Now, it is pick #14 and the Dallas Cowboys are on the clock. After addressing one of their bigger needs at corner back through free agency (by signing Brandon Carr), the Cowboys could still use depth there and also have a huge need on their offensive line.

Use the poll below to select who you think the Cowboys will select with their fourteen pick.

And don’t forget to check out previous picks by clicking here.

Vikings Territory can be followed on Twitter @vikingterritory.

Vikings Re-Sign Erin Henderon and Devin Aromashodu

March 24, 2012, by 10 comments
Erin Henderson

(Sorry we didn’t provide any update on this news yesterday – Adam is a under the weather and I was gone all day on a business trip.)

I assume most of you know now that yesterday, the Vikings re-signed linebacker Erin Henderson and wide receiver Devin Aromashodu.

Erin Henderson, who had taken to Twitter to express his frustration with the lack of contract talks with the Minnesota Vikings, was signed to a one-year, 2 million dollar deal. Henderson, considered to be of a top 5 linebacker in this year’s free agency by some, did not play every down last year and still managed to record 70 tackles, 1.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. He is young, coming out of his first contract and has lots of potential to be great (exactly what Spielman says he is looking for).

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Links Of The Week: Free Agency, Round 1 Edition

March 23, 2012, by 4 comments

We’ll start this thing off with something that happened yesterday that we really didn’t touch on here at VT… Tedd Ginn Jr. is staying with the 49ers.

Our ever-loquacious punter believes Jonathan Vilma should be banned from the NFL for life.

Rick Spielman seems to be trying to throw everyone off and put up smoke screens regarding our #3 pick. They are smoke screens, right? Right…?!

“In Attempt Not to ‘Spend to Spend,’ Vikings Seemingly Already Spending to Spend,” states this Vikings writer.

In the never-ending-stadium-story, it looks like the Vikings may be getting a sign-off by the Minneapolis City Council.

Over at KAB, our friends get a little crazy and question where the franchise would be had it used Rosenfels instead of Favre in 2010 (amongst many other things).

Do the referees deserve some of the blame for the bounties placed on Favre and how it affected the 2009 NFC Championship game?

Jared Allen thinks the Saints got what they deserved.

Chris Kluwe stands up for “snitches” and goes on (expletive-filled) Twitter rant.

Now, I don’t have any videos to show for the “moment of zen” that Adam typically does here… I do have a story though. (One I told Adam yesterday after he brought up his concern that WR prospect Stephen Hill reminded him of another ex-Viking who bolted up in the draft due to great workouts. He insisted that I try to fit this little story in somewhere and I guess right here is as good as anywhere.)

A few years ago, my family and I went to a buffet (they’re in every casino here in Vegas) around the corner for breakfast on a Sunday morning. Of course, I was in my big, purple, #28 jersey; I wore it proudly (the Vikes were hot stuff at the time). We all sat down and waited for our waiter to greet us and take our drink orders so we could be unleashed and pounce upon the endless spread of food. Our waiter came and this is the short exchange that followed:

“Good morning, I’m [Derek] and I’ll be your waiter this morning. Oh! You a Vikings fan?”

“Yep!”

“Cool! My little nephew actually used to play for the Vikings a while back.”

“Really?! Who was he?”

“Troy Williamson!”

“…”

“…”

“Oh, cool…”

“…”

“Iced tea, please.”

“Moment of zen?” I think not… And yes, Adam compared Stephen Hill to Troy Williamson. Hold your tongue, Adam!

Extra Details Regarding Contracts

March 22, 2012, by 13 comments

Outside of tight end John Carlson, the Vikings have yet to commit to any free agent contracts that could potentially make them look uber-foolish, mainly because none of the contracts handed out are of major consequence.

Courtesy of Judd Zulgad, we have some more details regarding contracts for some player signings:

OT GEOFF SCHWARTZ:  A one year deal that has a maximum value of $1.5 million, and contained a signing bonus of $150,000.  Schwartz is expected to use 2012 to prove his health and competence with hopes of signing a longer, more lucrative deal in 2013.

FB JEROME FELTON:  A one year deal worth $700,000, which included a $50,000 bonus for workouts and making the 53-man roster.

RB/FB LEX HILLIARD:  A one year deal worth $615,000.

NT LETROY GUION:  A three year deal that came with a $1.5 million signing bonus.  His base salary this year will only be $950,000.  In 2013 that number jumps to $2.45 million, and jumps again to $3.95 million in 2014.  In other words, Guion will only realize the full value of his deal if he develops into a reliable contributor.

NT FRED EVANS:  A two year contract with an unknown signing bonus.  His base salary this year is $700,000 and jumps to $1.45 million in 2013.

Overall, each of these deals can be classified as “low risk” in terms of finances.  Whether or not any of these players can add value on gameday, however, remains to be seen.