Posts by Adam Warwas

LeGarrette Blount Slams Toby Gerhart

June 4, 2014, by 11 comments

LeGarrette Blount was arguably the most talented rusher in the 2010 draft class at the time and he arguably still is at the NFL level.  Punching out an opponent on the field, however, was one of a few reasons he went undrafted and had to watch teams trade around in the first two rounds to get the rusher they wanted.

One of those trades was between the Vikings and the Texans when the Vikings moved up to get Toby Gerhart.  In the moments following the draft there were unconfirmed reports that Blount agreed to an undrafted free agent contract with both the Vikings and the Niners, but he ended up signing with the Titans.  He then became the second undrafted rookie to ever run for 1,000 yards when he was claimed off waivers by Tampa Bay.

There were other character concerns surrounding Blount in Tampa.  There was a report of him leading an attack on a Bucs fan.  In 2013, the New England Patriots sent a seventh rounder to Tampa and added Blount to their stable of running backs where he flashed his usual toughness, but often got lost in the mix.

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Poll Of The Week: How Will Vikes Fare In The NFC North?

June 4, 2014, by 8 comments

As Arif pointed out today, the powerhouse analytics website Pro Football Focus released depth charts for NFL teams that used colors and their analysis to show where the talent was for each team.  They base their rankings off of their own numbers, and talent will always be something up for debate, but the Vikings actually fared pretty well.

If you look at their depth chart for the Vikings and compare them to the other NFC North teams (all the depth charts can be found here) you will see that the Vikings have more starters listed as being above the “average” category than any other team in the North.  I hate ever bragging about being some sort of offseason champion, but it is at least nice to see that someone is noticing we have a talented roster, and that evidence could lead to a quick turnaround.

How quick?  Well, you tell me.  Use our Poll of the Week to let me know just where you think the Vikings currently sit within their own division at the moment.

Mike Zimmer Reveals He Almost Withdrew His Name From Minnesota’s Coaching Search

June 2, 2014, by 8 comments

When Mike Zimmer was announced as the newest head coach of the Minnesota Vikings there seemed to be a league-wide reaction of “it is about damned time” from just about everyone.

The well-respected and productive defensive coach had been passed up for heading coaching gigs for so many years that the 2014 offseason was nearly the last straw for him.  When a team, presumably the Tennessee Titans, filled their vacancy by passing on Zimmer he said he thought about just giving up on his quest for a head coaching position.

“I almost didn’t go (on the second interview with Minnesota), yeah. I was so disappointed,” Zimmer recently told the media. “It was like, ‘Why even do this?’ It was to that point. I figured I was getting too old. I thought, ‘Forget this.’ ”

Of course, Zimmer ended up being the top choice for the Wilf family and immediately became a guy Minnesota fans are generally excited to see at the helm.

The hope here is that the Vikings are the biggest beneficiaries of the delay Zimmer experienced in trying to climb the NFL coaching ladder.

Rudolph & Fusco Highlight Contract Year Concerns

June 1, 2014, by 4 comments

16 games of football, and maybe even a post-season appearance, can change the way we look at the makeup of a roster and the value of an individual player.  With that being said, as I glance towards what drama might be in store for next offseason, Rick Spielman doesn’t appear to have many paramount decisions waiting for him on the horizon.

Most of the current players that are set to see their contracts expire after this season were signed (or re-signed) this offseason to one year deals.  The hope is that they will produce quite nicely and be worthy of another contract next offseason, but they really won’t be priorities until that production actually happens.

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Don’t Expect Many Compensatory Picks In 2015

May 31, 2014, by 3 comments

For some reason I am overly obsessed with the free agency nuance that is the NFL’s compensatory draft pick formula.  It is a fairly secretive formula that seems to throw speculators a curveball right about the time they think they have it figured out.  The formula looks at unrestricted free agents (not restricted, released, traded or retired) and the contracts they sign, in addition to a year’s worth of performance, to decide how the 32 compensatory picks will be awarded.

In short, the picks will go to teams that lose more free agents than they sign, with the value of those picks increasing with the formulaic value of the players lost.  There are still plenty of unknowns at this point to truly give an accurate prediction, but I’m attempting to decipher the Vikings odds of getting an extra pick or two in the 2015 NFL Draft.

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Links of the Week: OTA’s Are Underway

May 29, 2014, by 4 comments

The Vikings have, to our knowledge, made it through the holiday weekend without any embarrassing incidents off the field and are now conducting their Organized Team Activities.  We’ve had a lot of good content right here lately (scroll down, you can’t miss it), but here is what is being said from all of our friends around the web.

Go there.  Read it.  Tell ‘em who sent ya.

  • Mike Wobschall of Vikings.com is on the other side of this interesting interview where a variety of topics are covered.
  • As if you needed more optimism about the 2014 Vikings draft class.
  • Geesh, will they let anyone on the internet these days?  Good Loadholt article here.
  • Cordarrelle Patterson is quickly turning out to be one of Minnesota’s favorite professional athletes.
  • This isn’t factually accurate, and it isn’t something I agree with, but it is worthy of consideration:  Will the money given to Everson Griffen prove to be a big mistake?
  • ‘Tis the season for making lists, throwing out lofty claims, and crowing GOATs.
  • Undrafted wide out Donte Foster says he has a chip on his shoulder and is learning from Greg Jennings.
  • Five reasons why a late bye week is a benefit to the Vikings this season.
  • Chad Greenway is feeling like a younger player having to learn a new defensive scheme and play a different role.
  • Minnesota Vikings Mike Zimmer claims he can’t even Google himself because of that pesky Minnesota Viking Mike Zimmer.
  • Jared Allen says Minnesota headed in a different direction than he wanted to go in and hopes Chicago never regrets signing him.
  • Adrian Peterson says you can see Teddy Bridgewater is hungry when you look into his eyes.
  • It is sounding like the new regime are running faster and more intense practice sessions than Minnesota has seen in a while.
  • Mike Zimmer provided some insight as to why it is so difficult to find quality prospects at the safety position in recent years.
  • A lot of nuts and bolts about the Minnesota Super Bowl bid and logistics can be found right here.
  • Erin Henderson is under the impression that Rick Spielman might be willing to give him another chance at a roster spot.
  • Somewhere there is someone who just bought something that I (and most of you) once peed in.
  • More pass catching is an idea Adrian Peterson seems to welcome.
  • And, here it is, your moment of Zen:

 

POLL OF THE WEEK: CUTTING CORNERS

May 28, 2014, by 4 comments

Cornerback has been a consistent problem for the Minnesota Vikings ever since, well… I kind of want to say “forever.”  If the struggles continue over the next few seasons, however, it will not be due to a lack of investment.

Xavier Rhodes was a first round selection last year and Captain Munnerlyn will make his Vikings debut with high hopes after signing a lucrative free agent deal.  This month, the Vikings used later draft picks to select Kendall James and Jabari Price.  Marcus Sherels was retained on a nice two year deal and Josh Robinson hopes to move outside and rebound from a troubled sophomore campaign.  Veteran Shaun Prater was also retained while Derek Cox joined Minnesota with hopes of reestablishing himself as an NFL-quality cornerback.

The competition at cornerback is almost certain to be much discussed from today (first day of OTA’s) until the final cut.  For the sake of discussion and interesting debate, I’ve created a poll that will allow you to predict up to six cornerbacks to make this roster, so cast your votes now.  Rhodes and Munnerlyn are locks, and Sherels is close to a lock I’m betting, but after that the vote counts have a potential to get a little interesting.