Monthly archive: June, 2012

Loadholt Searching For Consistency

June 20, 2012, by 5 comments

As Vikings minicamp gets underway, the team’s offensive line is expected to have a new look and improved production.

One position that is not expected to see turnover at the starting spot is right tackle, manned by Phil Loadholt who is in a contract year.  Leslie Frazier complimented Loadholts pass and run blocking abilities, but said that he needed to be more consistent.

Loadholt didn’t seem to mind Frazier’s public assessment and admitted that Frazier was exactly right.

“He hit it right on the head,” Loadholt said. “It’s something I am going to work on. In this league, anytime you do anything wrong with technique you can look bad. So I will continue to work on my technique and get all those things right.”

If Matt Kalil can improve the left tackle position and Loadholt does indeed progress his play, Christian Ponder and company could indeed be in for a fun season.

If not, well…

… It is June, I don’t want to think about that.

Jared Allen Plots Another Run At Sack Record

June 20, 2012, by 3 comments

Jared Allen, as per usual, stayed away from the organized team activities earlier this offseason.  He did, however, show up for the mandatory minicamp that got underway on Tuesday.

Now that he is back and talking to reporters, it is clear that Allen still has the taste of “sack record” in his mouth and is hungry to give it another shot.

“Absolutely (it’s a goal),” said Allen on Tuesday.  “Before you get that close, you’re not really sure if it’s attainable. You always think it is because you always think, ‘If someone did it, I can do it.’ But being right there and actually leaving some stuff on the field … they took the one away in Green Bay and made it a team sack and there were a couple in my arms I didn’t get and there were the ones where I was that close. At the end of the year, I was kind of bummed out. Now I’m 23 away versus one away. But when you start working out again, it’s motivation. It’s, ‘How can I push myself just a little farther?’ I always think it comes down to conditioning. Maybe if I take one more step, or one this, this, that. So you go back and watch film and you try to correct technique and use it as motivation. It’s always a personal goal, and if I’m fortunate enough and blessed enough to break it one day, I’m going to try to break it again. It’s always a personal goal, but personal goals never get in the way of team goals.  Our ultimate goal is to win a (Super Bowl) championship. Otherwise, there’s no point in playing the game.”

Allen spoke to Bob Sansevere about the topic of the sack record in greater detail, and you can read the rest of the transcript by clicking here.

(Almost) Perfect Attendance At Minicamp

June 19, 2012, by 2 comments

We are suddenly being flooded with all sorts of news nuggets flowing from the Vikings mandatory minicamp that got underway on Tuesday morning.

One important fact is largely being overlooked, however.

The Vikings have had near-perfect attendance with Eric Frampton being the only player missing.  Frampton’s absence isn’t thought to be a big deal, however, as it is being attributed to an illness.  He is expected to be present on Wednesday.

The Vikings have a number of young safeties that could surely use the extra attention during Frampton’s absence, but they may also be interested in bringing in even more help at the position.  The team has been rumored recently to have interest in former Colts safety Melvin Bullitt, for instance.

Regardless of future roster moves, however, the fact that the Vikings have great attendance at minicamp is an encouraging sign.

Brinkley Is Still Sidelined

June 19, 2012, by 1 comment

Jasper Brinkley made was all set to be E.J. Henderson’s primary backup at middle linebacker in 2011, but a preseason hip injury sent him to injured reserve which meant he didn’t play a single snap in the regular season.

This year, the stakes are even higher as he is in line to outright replace Henderson as the team’s starting middle linebacker, but once again injures are casting a shadow of doubt over his ability to successfully man the position.

In the middle of the OTA schedule Brinkley suffered a groin injury.  He opened Tuesday’s minicamp on the sideline, but Brinkley says the reason is not his groin injury, but rather is related to the hip injury from last year.

“Just a process with the hip, still keep going so hopefully I’ll be out at practice one day before (minicamp is over),” Brinkley said on Tuesday. “This goes back to the hip. Other than that, though, everything is good.”

Brinkley described the decision to sit out as “precautionary” and said if this were a regular season game he would be playing.

“The first couple of OTAs, I was able to do a little bit. I was able to show what I could do,” Brinkley said. “I’m pretty sure if the coaches weren’t satisfied they would bring somebody else in. It’s still a work in progress.”

Brinkley is probably right about that.  The Vikings passed on a chance to sign Rocky McIntosh, who has now signed with the Rams, but other options still exist if they don’t think Brinkley is a true solution.

One of those options?  E.J. Henderson.

Tyrone McKenzie has been playing as the first team middle linebacker during Brinkley’s absence.

HARVIN: “I’m Not Happy”

June 19, 2012, by 4 comments

The good news:  Percy Harvin has reported to minicamp.

The bad news:  He doesn’t plan on practicing much.

The worse news:  He has hinted that a holdout could be in the near future.

According to multiple reports (transcript here), Harvin is unhappy with a number of different issues and insists that those issues need to be resolved prior to training camp.  He did not go into specifics, but it is understandably assumed by media types that Harvin’s main issue surrounds his contract status.

Harvin is set to make $915,000 this year and $1.55 million in 2013, his final year from the rookie deal he signed.  The money obviously does not match up with his on-field importance, as is often the case in situations where a rookie performs at a high level.

“I’ll just put it this way — it’s a lot of different things that have to be sorted out,” Harvin said. “Just haven’t been real happy lately. So, we’ve got a couple things to work on. I’m here in the classroom, so we’ll go from here.”

Leslie Frazier made some comments that pretty much just sidestepped the issue all together and he just said he was glad to have Harvin at the minicamp, and that he expects all of his players to report to minicamp.

I can understand the motivation for Harvin, who has had his fair share of health problems, to want to cash in on his success thus far in the NFL.  I can also see why the front office might be hesitant to invest a ton of money into an injury-prone receiver, especially when they can retain his rights for another two years or possibly even three.

Assuming that the issues really are contract related (key word: assuming), then I don’t really see how Harvin will win this battle if he decides to take the holdout route.  The Vikings are likely not going to have many qualms about getting their young receivers extra reps during practice periods (remember, Jarius Wright is thought to be capable of playing a similar role as Harvin), and Harvin will almost certainly have to report if the Vikings start docking his pay in the event of a lengthy holdout.

I see this less as something that is an issue right now and more of a preview of things to come… next offseason.

But, who knows, maybe this turns really ugly really fast.

I hope not.

We Need Your Help!

June 19, 2012, by 19 comments

Okay ladies and gents, Brett and I have been talking about how to make this site better (as we always do) and we decided to reach out and see if any of you were interested in helping out.

Specifically, we are hoping to get some help with the forums.  Fran’s Forums are all set up and working well, but the conversation isn’t super regular these days.  So, what we are thinking is to see if anyone had any interest in being a “Moderator” for Fran’s Forums.  The duties would include:

-          Approving new users

-          Keeping scumbag spammers away

-          Posting content to keep things active

Brett and I both fear that we are not able to keep you as up-to-date as we want to and were thinking the forums are a great place for you all to keep each other informed on a daily basis, especially when things are slow on the blog.

You don’t need to be super “tech savvy” to be a good Mod and Brett will help guide you through what needs to be done.

If you have any interest in joining the team, then please visit our “contact us” page and let us know!

Vikings Territory Now On Android

June 17, 2012, by 7 comments

Vikings Territory Android App Screenshots

As you know, we are always striving here at Vikings Territory to bring all of you the best spot on the internet for your Vikings news. Well, we took it a step further today with the addition of our very own mobile app.

The app currently is only being offered on Android phones and, of course, it is free. We may make our way into the Apple store eventually but they require a hefty payment and have an array of hoops to jump through.

If you would like to download the app, just go to the app store (Google Play) on your Android phone and search for “Vikings Territory“. Or, you could visit the following link on your phone and download it from there.

You will then be able to access the most recent Vikings Territory posts from your phone without having to visit the website. (The most recent posts/tweets from the VT Facebook and Twitter accounts are there as well.)

So, if you are an Android user, check out the app and let us know what you think.

Enjoy!