Posts by Adam Warwas

Monday Night Football: Live Chat With Us

October 21, 2013, by 91 comments

Okay, Vikings fans, our team is down.  They are almost out.  In prime time they are playing an 0-6 football team that were Super Bowl champions just 21 months ago.  They have to play their most hated enemies six days from now.  They have a new quarterback taking the wheel and Adrian Peterson is still the best that the NFL has to offer.  The drama is bursting at the seams and we have plenty to chat about.

So, let’s chat.

Be sure to join us, and the best Vikings fans in the world, on our live chat page.  You can join by CLICKING HERE.

Ponder Active, Cassel Not

October 21, 2013, by 1 comment

The Vikings will get their first look at Josh Freeman as the leader this offseason, but last week’s starter will have to watch from the bench, while Christian Ponder checks in at #2 on the quarterback depth chart.

Matt Cassel will be inactive tonight and so will:  guard Jeff Baca, linebacker Gerald Hodges, cornerback A.J. Jefferson, wide out Rodney Smith, defensive tackle Chase Baker, and defensive end Justin Trattou.  I’m a little surprised Hodges couldn’t find his way into the lineup given Desmond Bishop’s season ending injury, and also surprising is that Jacob Lacey is active after re-signing with the team just a few days ago.

The Giants have plenty of injuries on their team, as well, and the most noticeable aspect about their active roster is that they are down to their third string running back and newly signed Peyton Hillis to line up behind behind Eli Manning.

With Nothing To Lose, Vikes Are In A Win-Win Situation

October 18, 2013, by 24 comments

With Harrison Smith being placed on Injured Reserve (designated to return), the Vikings have signed cornerback Jacob Lacey.  Andrew Sendejo will start at safety in Smith’s place.  Desmond Bishop also was placed on injured reserve this week and Rodney Smith was promoted from the practice squad to take his place.  Meanwhile, quarterback Josh Freeman will be rushed into action Monday night as the starter, with neither Christian Ponder or Matt Cassel showing the organization they have what it takes to command a championship-quality offense.

The mess is widespread.  There are clearly more problems than there are viable solutions.  With four losses to their one win, and the toughest part of the schedule yet to come, things are worse than bleak for the Vikings in 2013.  We are no longer witnessing a slow start, but instead are witnessing a quick death, and their final breath could end up coming on Monday Night Football against the winless Giants.

With nothing less to lose, however, the Vikings can really only win from this point forward.

Perhaps Josh Freeman jumpstarts this team.  Maybe they make a very interesting run at a wild card spot.  Maybe his height and strong arm will finally open up the running game in a way Adrian Peterson’s biggest fans have only dreamed of.  Maybe he knows what it takes to win, to lead a group of winners, and maybe the Vikings have one of the biggest free agency steals of all time on their hands.  Maybe they finally have a franchise quarterback.

Of course, maybe not.

Maybe Freeman doesn’t show us anything special and serves up more of the same.  Maybe the defense struggles even more than they already are with their stud safety sidelined with an injury.  Maybe the coaching and scheme are just not going to get it done.  Maybe this team continues to spiral further into the abyss.  Maybe the are destined to be one of the NFL’s worst this year.

Either way, it is hard to see the downside for this team as the season progresses, outside of (knock on wood) devastating injuries.  Either they get their collective act together and see some promise out of their new, young quarterback or they get closer and closer to securing one of the top picks in a very quarterback-heavy Draft.

We would all prefer they win games.  But, they haven’t been able to do that, and I don’t think it is too early to start eyeballing those consolation prizes.

Eight Things I Hate About You

October 14, 2013, by 21 comments

The Vikings were once again embarrassed at home by a team that, on paper, should have been very beatable.  The 35-10 beatdown delivered by the Panthers was frustrating to watch and served as a loss of all hope for many Vikings fans this season.  The mess that is the 2013 Minnesota Vikings has so many problems that are so widespread, it is difficult to sift through it all and diagnose any problems, but here are eight things that have stuck out to me through the first five games of the season.  Sorry for focusing solely on the negative, but even hack bloggers need to vent.

1.  Musgrave Is Tripping Over Himself

Bill Musgrave made a Monday Night Countdown appearance on the “C’mon Man” segment thanks to his incredibly undersized play card.  I think ESPN deserves the award, however, as there are about 99 other things that Musgrave should be called out on before the size of his playbook.  For starters, how is it that Adrian Peterson only gets 10 carries against Carolina?  Think about what the acronym “MVP” stands for and then tell me that it is truly, honestly, absolutely possible for an opposing team to neutralize him that quickly and that early in a game.  He’s a true game changer and the Vikings should never stop feeding him the ball.  The team abandoning the run game was magnified by the ineptness of Musgrave’s passing game.

Perhaps even worse is the fact that Pro Bowl fullback Jerome Felton only saw six snaps all game long.  That’s right, the same Vikings team that had no answer for incoming power blitzes intentionally kept a Pro Bowl caliber blocker on the sideline.  I can’t imagine the reasoning here and it is just the latest example of Musgrave, who had already shown an inability to deal with these types of blitz schemes in the preseason against Buffalo, shooting himself in the foot for no apparent reason.

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Vikings Inactives Include Freeman

October 13, 2013, by 53 comments

The Vikings are set to host Carolina this afternoon and I want to remind everyone interested to join us for a Live Chat during the action.

The inactives for today include recently acquired quarterback Josh Freeman, as Matt Cassel will remain the starter, with Christian Ponder playing the role of backup.

The other inactives today are:  Safety Mistral Raymond, Linebacker Gerald Hodges, Linebacker Audie Cole, Defensive Tackle Chase Baker, Defensive End Justin Trattou, and Guard Jeff Baca.

The Vikings are much healthier coming out of the bye and Chris Cook will be welcomed back into this struggling secondary as they prepare to face Cam Newton.

Adrian Peterson Endures Senseless Tragedy

October 11, 2013, by 12 comments

Anyone ever looking for proof that I don’t have what it takes to be a “real” journalist need not look any further than this post right here.

I am not a talented enough wordsmith to accurately depict the sorrow Adrian Peterson and his family are feeling this evening.  I don’t have any facts regarding his family dynamics and don’t have an ego that requires me to pretend that I do.  I am not heartless enough to talk about how today’s events impact Sunday’s game or #28′s fantasy value, but am also not in a spiteful enough mood to call out those who are (although one of them has been deleted from our Blogroll forever).  I’m not emotionally strong enough to bring up my own experiences growing up, or my views on fatherhood, in an attempt to relate to Adrian and the horrific way in which his son was taken from him.  I also just don’t have any interest in following every “twist and turn” regarding the ongoing investigation.

What I am capable of telling you is that Peterson, someone that never seems to have a bad word uttered about him by anyone, had already endured a lifetime’s worth of tragedy prior to today’s news that his son was taken from this world far, far too early.  I know that his son perished due to alleged abuse, which is unfathomable to think about a two year old having to suffer through, and that the person responsible for this should pay dearly.  Peterson today let us all know that he appreciates the support he has received from everyone, including you fans, and he plans on playing Sunday.

What I also know is that Peterson made a lone request:  that everyone please respect his privacy during this time of grief.  He has done nothing to deserve otherwise and I plan to respect his wishes in whatever way possible, so you may want to visit another site if you are interested in further details about the ongoing investigation.

Adrian, our hearts go out to you and yours during this difficult time.  I hope playing in Sunday’s game provides you with the distraction from life’s hardest of times just as watching you play has done for us fans on so many Sunday’s previous to this week, and will on so many Sunday’s to come.

I encourage all of our visitors to donate, if you can, to Adrian’s “All Day Foundation.”  His foundation has a mission of breaking the cycle of domestic abuse in the home, with a special interest in children and at-risk youth.  For more information you can click here.

 

Wednesday Full Of Moves: MBT, Robison & Trattou

October 9, 2013, by 8 comments

Josh Freeman stole most of the headlines regarding the Vikings this week, but Wednesday brought a flurry of activity from Winter Park, and here are your resulting roster updates:

McLeod Bethel-Thompson:  Many Minnesota fans hoped to see “MBT” sneak onto the practice squad after he was the casualty cut following the Freeman signing.  Not only would retaining him have allowed the Vikings to continue developing him, but it could have provided them greater flexibility and leverage in potential trade scenarios involving either Christian Ponder or Matt Cassel.  Instead, the San Francisco Forty-Niners claimed him off waivers.  MBT started his career with the Niners, but has yet to see any regular season playing time with any of the teams he has signed with since 2011.

Brian Robison:  One of my favorite Vikings is defensive end Brian Robison, mainly because of his unheralded consistency on the left side, so I was elated to hear that the Vikings signed him to a four year contract extension.  The deal is reportedly worth $28.3 million, with $13.1 million in guarantees and a $5 million signing bonus.  Robison has been one of the best 4-3 left ends in the NFL, particularly in the pass rushing department, so it is no surprise that the contract incentives are tied directly to sack numbers.  Robison, the class act that he is, joked with reporters that the quality of bass fishing in Minnesota was a major factor in his decision to re-up.  Defensive ends Jared Allen and Everson Griffen are also in contract years.

Justin Trattou:  The Vikings also made a waiver claim on Wednesday and they were awarded defensive end Justin Trattou who was recently released by the New York Giants.  Trattou was undrafted out of Florida in 2011 and has bounced around the Giants practice squad and active roster over the last couple of years.  He has very limited playing time and is mostly an unknown at this point.  Still, the Vikings front office thought highly enough of his potential that they jettisoned defensive end George Johnson to make room for him.