Posts by Adam Warwas

Greenway To Play In The Pro Bowl

January 10, 2012, by 3 comments

Sorry for being a little behind on the updates, life is getting tough to keep up with at the moment.

However, I wanted to put the shovel down for a minute and pass along some good news.

Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway will play in his first Pro Bowl as an alternate selection, replacing Lance Briggs of Chicago.

“On behalf of the entire Vikings organization, our congratulations go to Chad for this great honor,” Vikings Head Coach Leslie Frazier said. “Chad is a vital part of our team, and the fact that he led our team in tackles and was also third in tackles for loss this season is proof of that. His production on the field has been matched only by his leadership in the locker room and off the field. Hopefully this is the first of many more Pro Bowls for Chad.”

Greenway admits this has not been his best season, but there is little doubt he has the skills and the experience to be a true difference maker on this defense moving forward.

In Tampa, It Is Kind Of Chilly For This Time Of Year

January 8, 2012, by 9 comments

More than a year removed from the Brad Childress era of Minnesota’s football history, I debated whether or not this news was worth passing on.

The “Chuckle Factor” made me decide it is.

Chris Mortensen reports that Brad Childress is a candidate for the Head Coach vacancy in Tampa Bay.  The Bucs recently fired Raheem Morris, who interviewed on Friday for the Vikings unsettled defensive coordinator position.

Tampa wouldn’t be the worst situation to for a guy like Childress to fall into. 

Hey, as long as the guy isn’t coaching the Vikings, I wouldn’t mind being entertained by Brad Childress and his “streams of consciousness” for another couple of years.

Good Luck, Brad.

Vikes Bring Back Fullback Asiata

January 7, 2012, by 11 comments

Fullback Matt Asiata was signed by the Vikings as an undrafted free agent following last year’s NFL Draft. 

The Utah product was apparently impressive enough that the Vikings decided to extend him a two year futures contract offer, and Asiata accepted.

Asiata was cut prior to the 2011 season but then signed with the practice squad.  He spent one week on the practice squad before hip issues caused him some problems and the Vikings let him go.

As it stands right now, Asiata would again be competing with Ryan D’Imperio for playing time at the fullback position.

Spagnuolo, Tucker, and Singletary To Interview

January 7, 2012, by 21 comments

It looks like Raheem Morris is not the only guy the Vikings are interested in talking to about their Defensive Coordinator position, according to this report from Clark Judge at CBS Sports.

The report goes on to say that Steve Spagnuolo, the recently fired head coach of the St. Louis Rams, appears to be the front runner at this point.  Of course, Spagnuolo is well respected in the NFL as a defensive strategist, so it would not be surprising to see the Vikings getting stiff competition for his services.  It is somewhat expected that he will rejoin Andy Reid and the Eagles.

Mel Tucker, the interim head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, is another name mentioned along with Mike Singletary.

Morris is the only guy that is really known for running the Tampa-2 defense that Frazier holds in high esteem.  Both Singletary and Tucker could possibly be the first step towards a 3-4 defense, should one of them get the job.

Fred Pagac still is employed as the current Defensive Coordinator.  It is unknown if he will rejoin the team in a lesser role.

Morris interviewed for the position on Friday, but left Minnesota without a contract.

Leslie Frazier will want to have his coaching staff solidified soon, as it is now official that they will be coaching the Senior Bowl’s North Team starting about January 23rd.  The Redskins will coach the South team.

Dunbar: “They Didn’t Kill My Family”

January 6, 2012, by 10 comments

Karl Dunbar responded to being fired by the Vikings in this article at Access Vikings.

At points, Dunbar seemed perplexed that he was being fired since his defensive line played fairly well this season, but refuses to suggest he is getting a raw deal.

The reason he doesn’t think he’s getting a raw deal?

“They didn’t kill my wife and they didn’t kill my family,” Dunbar explained.  “They took care of my family. So no, I didn’t get a raw deal.”

I think Karl may want to redefine his personal meaning of the phrase “fair treatment,” as merely letting your family live does not qualify as fair treatment on its own.

All joking aside, Dunbar seemed grateful for his six years in Minnesota, and seems to have a fairly positive attitude about moving on to the next opportunity, which he will surely have his pick of.

What did strike me as an interesting statement from Dunbar suggests that Frazier’s supposedly complete control over his coaching staff may not be quite as complete as we have all been led to believe.

“Coach Frazier told me the ownership wanted to go in a different direction,” Dunbar said.

Ownership? 

I thought ownership gave Frazier control of his coaching staff.

Sounds Like Dunbar Is Out

January 6, 2012, by No comments yet

Reports are starting to surface that the Vikings have, as expected, officially parted ways with defensive line coach Karl Dunbar.

Some may find it funny that Dunbar, a fairly longstanding and respected member of the coaching staff, is being fired after one of his key players nearly broke the single season sack record.

The problem Leslie Frazier has with Dunbar may never be made public, but there are a few things to point towards when wondering why this has happened.

First, in May, Dunbar was charged with sexual assault and he received a restraining order as a result of the woman’s complaints.  That type of thing will never sit well with an organization trying to maintain a positive public image.

Secondly, I found it interesting that Jared Allen recently came out and enthusiastically defended defensive coordinator Fred Pagac but never said a word (that I heard or read, anyways) about what a great job Dunbar, his position coach, had been doing.  Allen is seemingly willing to fight tooth and nail for Pagac, which makes his silence on Dunbar even more telling.

Dunbar is likely the first of multiple coaching changes to be made on defense.

Pagac may or may not stay in his current role and may even be bound to leave the team all together.  We already passed along the fact that the Vikings are talking to Raheem Morris about a role on the defense.

Another interesting thing to throw into all of that, Larry Fitzgerald Sr. is a fairly connected guy within the Minnesota sports community, and he is under the impression that Mike Singletary will be the next defensive coordinator of your Minnesota Vikings.

Landry Jones Makes His Decision, Possible Impact On Vikings Draft

January 6, 2012, by 1 comment

One month ago today, I discussed the impact that decisions from junior quarterbacks could have on the Vikings 2012 Draft, even though they are unlikely to be seeking one of them for themselves.

Yesterday, Landry Jones announced he will remain at Oklahoma for his senior season, which could impact the trade value the Vikings have at the #3 spot.

The first round quarterback prospects are expected to consist of Andrew Luck of Stanford and Robert Griffen III of Baylor, with a bit of a drop off to Texas A&M’s Ryan Tannehill who is currently projected as a late first round pick by most draftniks.

Assuming Andrew Luck is drafted first overall as widely anticipated, this could leave all other quarterback needy teams in a position in which they scramble to trade up with either the Rams or the Vikings to select the highly touted Griffen. 

If a team doesn’t trade upwards, they will risk coming away from the first round empty handed at their most important position.

Of course, the Rams themselves could be interested in selecting Griffen since they have a new regime coming in and Sam Bradford’s ridiculous rookie contract is now a thing of the past.