Leslie Frazier Pads My Ego

At the NFL Scouting Combine on Friday, Leslie Frazier talked with the media about a number of subjects, two of which I have taken recent interest in and discussed in articles.

The first has to do with how the Vikings plan to use dynamic playmaker Joe Webb from here on out.  On Tuesday I penned an item over at Grant’s Tomb in which I laid out a plan that boiled down to three basic steps:

  1. Give up on Webb as a wide out.
  2. Minimize his other duties such as the “Blazer” package.
  3. Let him settle in and focus on being a backup quarterback.

On Friday, Leslie Frazier broke down his thoughts on how Webb should be used in the future and it looked a little like this:

  1. Give up on Webb as a wide out.
  2. Minimize his other duties such as the “Blazer” package.
  3. Let him settle in and focus on being a backup quarterback.

Okay, had to toot my horn a little bit there, sorry about that.

“We’ve talked about that as the season ended, and we’ve kind of settled on Joe being in that quarterback role,” Frazier said. “Although he can do a lot of different things, we really want to see him develop at the quarterback position. We’re leaning, as we speak today, moving away from some of those other things he’s capable of doing.”

Also, back in December when the Minnesota media was already writing Cedric Griffin’s obituary, I argued that the Vikings would not be so quick to jettison the cornerback and I reiterated those thoughts in my recent preview of the position.

On Friday, Frazier expressed optimism that Griffin could finally put his ACL injuries behind him in 2012 and return to form.  He cited Griffin’s good performances in the final two games of the season as a sign of things to come.

“He was coming off a major knee surgery a year ago, and sometimes guys need a year under their belt before they can really get back to (production) they had before,” Frazier said. “It remains to be seen if he’s one of those guys.”

It sounds like Frazier might be willing to give Griffin another shot, but it remains to be seen if Rick Spielman agrees.  It is thought that the Vikings have internally discussed both a restructured contract for Griffin and also the possibility of moving him to safety.

Share: