Monthly archive: June, 2012

Spielman Admits He Is Concerned About Brinkley

June 24, 2012, by 7 comments

Rick Spielman had a chance to sign one of the many proven middle linebackers that hit the open market back in March.

He passed.

Instead, the team has decided to move forward with Jasper Brinkley, a fifth round selection in 2009, to take over the position that E.J. Henderson has held for so long.  Brinkley filled in for Henderson quite well during his rookie season, but last year he missed every game due to a hip injury that is apparently still lingering.

“I know what we saw when he came in as a rookie and when he came in and filled in for E.J. and the potential we saw there,” Spielman recently told 1500 ESPN.  “He’s a big banger, physical inside middle linebacker that probably doesn’t get enough credit for his athletic skill set as well.”

Spielman can’t help but admit that Brinkley’s health concerns could be a problem, however.

“But again, the durability is a question right now,” continued Spielman, “just because he hasn’t played in a year and hasn’t played much at all hardly through this offseason.”

The Vikings are keeping Brinkley in Minnesota between now and training camp and Spielman says the goal is to make sure he is 100% ready to go by the time training camp rolls around.  Rookie Audie Cole, practice squad player Tyrone MCKenzie and free agent pickup Marvin Mitchell make up the depth chart behind Brinkley and have been seeing increased reps during his absence.

“There’s no question Jasper’s slated in there, but there is some competition going on,” Spielman said of the starting position. “Jasper has to show that he can be on the field, and if not, like I said, we’ll monitor where our young guys are, where some of our backups are and can they do it, and if not, we’ll definitely have to explore the market outside.”

“It’s a big year for him as well, I know, because he’s going into the last year of his contract,” noted Spielman.  “So, he wants — he needs to get on the field.”

I find the timing of Spielman expressing his concerns kind of puzzling.  When free agency opened up he watched guys like Curtis Lofton, Stephen Tulloch, David Hawthorne, and Dan Connor sign with other teams despite their proven talent and fairly ideal age.

If Brinkley doesn’t pan out because of injuries, and the depth behind him proves to be inadequate, then the decision to make middle linebacker a non-priority could be one that comes back and bites Spielman in the ass.

Winfield Says He Is 100% Healthy

June 24, 2012, by 7 comments

Antoine Winfield is the team’s oldest cornerback.  He’s the team’s oldest defender, actually.  Check that… yes, he is the oldest player the Vikings have on the roster, and he knows it.

“I think I’m the oldest player on the team now,” Winfield said in this interview.  “Of course, young guys come and ask me after a play, ‘Which technique did I look good (on)?’ During film study, they sit by me and ask questions, and I answer them.”

Despite his age and the possibility of being relegated to more of a nickel back role, Winfield says he is ready to go.

“I’m 100 percent, Winfield said.  “I think I was cleared the end of March. The last couple of months I’m running around, getting into shape and getting ready for training camp.”

Winfield also said that while he thinks he could play free safety, his body will hold up better at cornerback and it sounds like he plans to finish his career the same way he began it.

Priefer Thinks Walsh Has What It Takes

June 24, 2012, by 4 comments

Competition.

It is widely regarded as the best thing to have at any given position this time of year, but the Vikings have none at the kicker position and do not plan on bringing any in.

The Vikings drafted Georgia kicker Blair Walsh in the sixth round of April’s NFL Draft, subsequently waived veteran Ryan Longwell, and it appears that the team’s Special Teams Coordinator could be tying his fate to that of his new rookie kicker.

Mike Preifer had a number of conversations with Walsh at the Scouting Combine, he put Walsh through a pre-Draft workout, and watched a lot of film.  According to Judd Zulgad, Preifer thinks he knows why Walsh missed those 14 field goals as a senior and wants to coach this kid into a premier NFL kicker.

“He was rushing every kick,” Priefer said of Walsh’s senior season. “Every kick he missed, he hit them well, but he was much too fast with his get off time. I don’t know if that was what he was coached to do, maybe that’s what he wanted to do. Usually you watch the ball get snapped to start (the) approach. I have him watching the holder’s hands. When the holder lifts up his left hand, that’s when he’s going. That’s what I’ve been coaching for years.”

“You’re not giving the holder time to even give you a good hold and that’s another part of the deal,” continued Priefer. “You want to make sure that the holder can get it down, on the spot with the laces, with the tilt that he wants. He couldn’t get that last year when he goes too fast and even here we’ve had to slow him down a little bit. I don’t mind him being slow right now in that we can get him back up to where we need him by the season.”

According to Zulgad, Walsh made 14 of 15 field goal attempts during the Wednesday and Thursday minicamp sessions.

“Every situation they’ve put me in has been good,” Walsh said of the practices. “We did some last-minute situations last week and we executed them well.”

Walsh also seems plenty open to suggestions from Preifer and understands the pressure that is going to be placed on him at the NFL level, both on the field and from a business standpoint.

“Football is a pressure-packed sport,” he said. “Especially being a kicker. There are certain instances where you’re the only guy on the field that’s performing at that certain time. Whether it be a kick or a (point-after attempt). But it’s a pressure situation and if you’re not ready to handle it you probably shouldn’t be playing. You’ve got to enjoy it and realize that it’s still a game and while it’s very important you’ve still got to have fun with it.”

“Ryan (Longwell) left big shoes to fill, that’s for sure,” Walsh said. “I’m just trying to come in here and focus in on what I’ve got to do for game one and go on from there. Those two guys have been great helping me. They’ve been professional about it like I expected they would. They couldn’t have handled it any better.”

So, does Preifer think that handing the job to a rookie without any competition is the right way to go about this?

“I think competition is a great thing to be honest with you,” Priefer said. “I don’t mind competition, but I think with what we’re trying to accomplish with Blair and the chemistry between Cullen, Chris and Blair, to me, is extremely important. If we had another kicker in camp, I think you’re going to share that a little bit. I don’t think he’d be worried about the competition. I wouldn’t be worried about competition because he’s been very successful kickoff-wise. He’s got a big-time leg. I wanted to make sure that field-goal wise we have the chemistry between those guys rolling even before we got to camp. I think we’re doing a good job in that respect.”

So, in this case, the team is aiming for chemistry over competition.  That is not the conventional way to go about things at this point in the offseason, but it is hard to argue that it makes sense…

After all, the job was pretty much Walsh’s to lose from the moment his name was announced in April, and that hasn’t changed.

An Updated Salary Cap Number

June 23, 2012, by 4 comments

While Percy Harvin continues to, umm, dispel the notion that he gained the title “entitled” while playing under Urban Meyer at Florida by, umm, taking advantage of his opportunity to become a leader on a young and developing team, there is indeed an entire roster of other players to worry about.

I have been saying this ever since it became clear that the front office had no designs on making a big splash in free agency:  Watch for the late-offseason signings.

Teams will begin to cut players, even some good ones, when training camp rolls around and even a few weeks into the regular season.  The Vikings, armed with third priority on the waiver wire, are in good position to snatch some of them up.

But can they afford to?

Maybe.

According to ProFootballTalk, the Vikings have $10.59 million in cap space left this year.  They do still have to sign fourth overall selection Matt Kalil and third rounder Josh Robinson, but even then they should still have some spending cash left over.

If a player ends up on the waiver wire that they covet (and that they can afford) the roster could surely get a last minute boost of talent if they pounce.

The money could also be spent to retain certain valuable players like Harvin should they choose to do so.  Harvin, however, may want to wait until next offseason to go for gold as the team will get an extra $1.6 million in cap space next offseason from the Redskins and Cowboys debacle, the team is set to have about 18 player contracts expire after this season, and will generally be in even better financial standing.

Phil Loadholt could also someone that the team could consider extending now using some of their available cap space.

Abdullah Brothers Take Break From Football

June 22, 2012, by No comments yet

Husain Abdullah has had somewhat of a rollercoaster of a career in the NFL.  The Washington State safety went undrafted in 2008, climbed the Vikings depth chart, was the team’s best safety in 2011, nearly decided to hang up the cleats, and then declared that he planned to continue his career and was fielding multiple offers for his services.

Now, however, Husain and his brother Hamza have decided to forego their NFL careers, at least for now, to make a religious pilgrimage.

The two brothers plan to “deconstruct” the negative connotations associated with the Islam faith.

While I would love to see Abdullah back in the mix with the Vikings this offseason, one can’t help but have respect for a guy whose convictions are the most important thing to him.

Good luck to them both.

Harvin’s Happiness And My Inner Turmoil

June 22, 2012, by 5 comments

For those that don’t visit Vikings Territory often, we do a segment here every now and then called “Coin Toss.” My cohort Adam and I debate various topics that we disagree on. Readers then vote for who they agree with more (or, in other words, who won the Coin Toss). Typically I walk away the victor. But every now and then, Adam has been known to squeak out a win.

Well, the past couple of days, I’ve been having a Coin Toss of my own. Yep, right in my own head – no opponent needed.

You see, this whole Percy Harvin situation has me a little torn. And every single time I think I’ve wrapped my head around my opinion of this whole controversy, a new piece of information comes out that completely throws a wrench in my stance. So, I’ve come to accept that maybe I don’t have to have a definite stance on this. And instead of forming an opinion and only sharing that perspective, I’d relay both views and just let it play itself out.

But first, let’s recap this whole thing.

Continue Reading →

Good News For Greenway’s Dad

June 20, 2012, by 15 comments

As we previously mentioned, Chad Greenway has had a rough go of it this offseason coping with a hard truth that would not be anywhere close to easy for the toughest of men.

On that front, however, we have some good news to pass along.  Alan Greenway, Chad’s father, is currently at Mayo Clinic (not hospice care) and his leukemia is in remission.

Greenway had previously been excused from the Vikings minicamp, but the linebacker was indeed present given the improved condition of his father.

Greenway admits his father is on his mind constantly, but that going to practice with his teammates can provide some solace, too.

“Yeah, every day and every minute you’re thinking about it,” Greenway recently said, “but at the same point you have to go to work, and it is a reprieve to be at work, and be around my friends and do something that I love.”

We, as Vikings fans, have high hopes for Chad Greenway in 2012.  However, the biggest wish of all is for his father to continue to improve health-wise and that the Greenway family has a fantastic year in general.