Monthly archive: March, 2013

Links Of The Week: Draft Month Is Here

March 31, 2013, by 11 comments

Alright, what better way to catch up on the news and kick off Draft Month than to send you towards all of the best articles across the internet?  Enjoy!

VT Is Giving Away Some Prizes This Month!

March 31, 2013, by 9 comments

As promised, we are thanking you all for giving us our best month ever (and trying to top it) by giving away some prizes during the month of April!

The prizes are some Amazon.com gift cards, which you could use at our Fan Cave page if you wanted, or on anything you wanted at all.  There are four gift cards available, with the top prize being a $25 gift card, and there are a number of ways to enter tickets.

You can gain extra entries by liking us on FaceBook or following us on Twitter.  You can leave a comment.  You can even add an entry every single day by simply asking the top question.  Hop to it and check back often!  The Drawing will take place shortly after the NFL Draft ends later this month.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Easter From VT

March 31, 2013, by No comments yet

Happy Easter, everyone!

I hope you are like us and taking the Holiday Weekend to spend quality time with family and friends!

Thank all of you for what has been by far our best month ever since starting up this page.  We are talking three times more traffic than any other month in our history, and we appreciate each and every visitor.

Big things are planned for April, which happens to be Draft Month, and that includes a little token of our appreciation.  We’ll soon be announcing the details of a giveaway prize and information on how you can win.  Keep checking back.

Also, we will be picking up the pace on our Draft coverage as we endeavour to make March our second best month ever!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, we’ll see you in the comments!

Vikings Make It Official: New Uniforms Are Coming

March 29, 2013, by 22 comments

There were a few clues following the Greg Jennings signing, including the lack of a jersey presentation, that suggested the Vikings would be getting new uniforms in 2013.

The Vikings have now made it clear that new jerseys are on their way.

The team plans to reveal the new uniforms at their April 25th Draft Party and are also promoting their “Vikings Uniform Insider” campaign to help generate interest.  You can learn more about the whole deal by visiting this link to the official site.

Jared Allen Has Two Surgeries Heading Into Contract Year

March 27, 2013, by 16 comments

Jared Allen has said that the surgery to repair his torn labrum, which we already knew about, was the first surgery he’s had during his entire professional career.  In fact, he said it was the first surgery he’s had since getting his tonsils out at the age of five.

According to Tom Pelissero, however, Allen got two surgeries done on the same day.

In addition to the torn labrum, Allen had a “minor” knee issue taken care of on the same day, and is expected to be ready for June’s minicamp.

Allen will be 31 years old in a couple of days and is entering the final year of his contract.  He is set to make a base salary of $14.28 million, with a cap hit of $17.06 million, and these facts have led some to wonder if Allen could be a candidate for a contract extension or even as a trade possibility.

The free agent market this offseason has been flooded with big name veteran pass rushers, and the Draft is very talented and deep in this area, so it seems highly unlikely the Vikings would find any offers of interest on the trade market.

Allen’s age and injuries, as well as the overabundant market, may cause the Vikings to balk at the idea of giving Allen any sort of lucrative extension.  An extension would surely mean they have to invest more guaranteed money into Allen, or else he would have little motivation to sign it, and the Vikings may just not feel comfortable with the idea of making such a commitment.

The idea of convincing Allen to take any sort of pay cut is laughable, considering the only reason he is a Viking in the first place was the stubborn stance he took with the Chiefs after they applied the franchise tag to him so many years ago, and he would surely have all the leverage in this situation, as well.

With Everson Griffen and Brian Robison still on the team, the Vikings could theoretically decide to release Allen and begin the process of developing younger talent, but I just don’t see that happening despite the salary cap benefits that would result in the move.  Allen is a beloved figure in Minnesota and his dip in productivity last season has, by many, been attributed to his shoulder issue.

Don’t be surprised if Allen plays out his current contract, under his current salary, and then decides to test the market in 2014 when maybe defensive end options won’t be as plentiful for needy teams.

Post-Free Agency Mock Draft

March 26, 2013, by 17 comments

Hello, everybody. Brett here back from the dead. I apologize for being so M.IA. lately… “Real life” stuff has been non-stop and it’s been difficult to find time to even think about football. I’ve stayed in the loop as much as I can and have been lurking but just really haven’t had time to contribute. Hopefully things will be slowing down though as the 2013 draft ramps up and I can dedicate more time here.

I’m back today with an updated Mock Draft. This is my second of the year and I’m feeling a little bit better about this one. My last one was posted all the way back in January and [obviously] there were still a lot of unknowns at that point. Of course, there are still unknowns. But at least we’ve gotten through important events that could impact things come draft day like free agency, the combine and some pro days.

This is also the first mock I’ve done since we acquired pick 1.25 from the Seahawks as a result of the Harvin trade. Boy, does having two first round back-t0-back picks sure make things exciting!

There are a lot of different directions the Vikings can go come April 25th and I think the signing of Greg Jennings and the addition of pick #25 really opens things up for the Vikings and they are no longer pidgeon-holed into basically having to go wide receiver in the first round.

Nevertheless, that is exactly what I did. What happened with pick #25 I’m sure you all will find a little more interesting.

I’ll just say this – the closer and closer I got to mocking the Vikings picks, the more I realized that there is a lot of great talent that could potentially fall to us. And there are a lot of different routes we can take.

Of course, it’s impossible to predict what’s going to happen a month from today but it sure is fun to try. Click here to check out my new mock draft and make sure to let me know what you think. Good to be back.

Mitchell Is Latest Viking To Come Back

March 26, 2013, by 12 comments

The linebacker is largely considered to be the most glaring need for the Minnesota Vikings as April’s Draft edges closer, but their decision to bring back veteran Marvin Mitchell on Tuesday helps provide them with an insurance plan in case the instant-starter they surely covet in the first two rounds next month doesn’t pan out.

Mitchell signed a one year deal with the Vikings after spending 2012 with the team as a special teams contributor and a two-week starter in place of the injured Erin Henderson.  In those two weeks Mitchell made four tackles, and added five tackles plus a forced fumble on special teams over the course of the year.

Chad Greenway and Erin Henderson are expected to return as starters at their respective outside linebacker spots, but the drama lies in the middle after previous starter Jasper Brinkley was allowed to leave via free agency this offseason.  Mitchell joins a depth chart that includes Audie Cole, Tyrone McKenzie, and Larry Dean.

According to Dan Wiederer of Access Vikings, the team “has not closed the door” on the possibility of Cole competing for the remaining starting spot.  Cole, a seventh round selection last year out of North Carolina State, made his biggest splash last season when he returned interceptions for touchdowns on back-to-back plays against the Buffalo Bills.  He was inactive for 11 games in 2012 and registered no stats, but you have to remember that receiver Jarius Wright was also kept inactive as a rookie until Percy Harvin’s injury forced the Vikings to play him, and he now figures to be a key part of the offense.

The Vikings have reportedly flirted with the idea of bring in Brian Urlacher, which I thought made no sense, but have otherwise not let word leak about any interest in other possible linebackers.  Larry Grant and Karlos Dansby are a few free agents still available that might make sense, but it otherwise looks like the Vikings will be looking to the Draft for that guy capable of leading their defense.

I currently have the Vikings drafting Manti Te’o in the first round of my Mock Draft.