Posts by Brett Anderson

Vikings New Uniforms Revealed

April 3, 2012, by 3 comments

Today, the NFL and Nike revealed the new, redesigned uniforms for all 32 NFL teams. Some of the uniform changes were more drastic than others (see: Seahawks), but overall, the uniforms manage to maintain their previous look while becoming more ‘modern’ and ‘sleek’. While most of the upgrades come in the form of performance and ‘uniform technology upgrades’, some of the new ideas are pretty fun. Most noticeably, the new gloves which form the team logo when the hands are laid over each other.

The biggest change to the Vikings actual uniform, apart from it’s performance upgrades, is the redesigned collar. Personally, after seeing the original concepts done by Nike a while back, I was expecting (hoping for) something a little more ‘forward’, but to be honest, the Vikings uniforms were already one of the more progressive ones in the league. I know there are some jersey purists out there, guess I’m just not one of them.

Check out a few shots of the new uniforms below and visit Vikings.com to see the rest of them. To see every team’s redesigned gear, visit NFL.com.

Jerseys will be available for purchase April 26th, the first day of draft weekend. So who’s going to be rocking a brand spanking-new Kalil jersey next year!?

New Vikings Nike Uniforms

New “Minnesota Sports Complex” Concept Images

April 3, 2012, by 9 comments

I have to admit, I was probably more excited than most when the three images below were released to the public yesterday. Having a background in architecture, I have a soft spot for beautiful buildings and breathtaking renderings. It’s always been incredibly fascinating to me how realistic these drawings can look. And having slaved over these types of concepts and drawings myself, I definitely respect the hard work and time that goes into making these works of art (they truly are).

New Stadium Fan Promenade

New Stadium Downtown View

New Stadium Night View

In my opinion, the first image of the “fan promenade” is the most intriguing. I can imagine being there on game day and the excitement building as you walk towards the stadium with all the other Vikings fans after having spent the last few hours tailgating. (Although slightly concerned about intoxicated individuals walking so closely to a speeding tram!) And of course, the last image of the stadium at night is great too. These types of renderings tend to suggest a sort of utopian environment. The Vikings just blew out the Packers at home on Monday night and the fireworks go off, stadium roaring. The office down the block gave all of it’s employees the day off but coordinated which office lights to leave on to spell “Go Vikes,” etc… Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that. One of the purposes of these types of renderings is to create buzz and increase excitement. A billion dollars is a lot. Especially when you can’t visualize what the end product will be.

I can assure you that the parties in charge released these pictures at a specifically chosen time to ignite the fan base and give the stadium that last little push it needs to get over the hill.

I don’t know about you guys, but it worked on me. The images have me pumped up!

What about you all?

Percy Harvin To Have Shoulder Surgery

April 2, 2012, by 4 comments

We’re still doing April Fools jokes, right? I’m hoping that’s what is behind a recent tweet sent out by Percy Harvin.

According to Jeremy Fowler, a person with direct knowledge of the situation said it is a minor arthroscopic shoulder surgery and it looks like Harvin should not miss any time because of the procedure. This news is just breaking so we will make sure to keep you up-to-date with any further details.

Links Of The Week: Draft Month Is Upon Us!

April 2, 2012, by 1 comment

Howdy, everybody. It’s been kind of slow as far as Vikings news goes the past couple days. Nevertheless, we wanted to supply everyone with some of our favorite articles of the week during this little dry spell. So, here we go:

First things first, Donovan McNabb is hilarious. First he proclaims that Robert Griffin III isn’t going to work out in Washington. Now, in response to the declaration that Tim Tebow is the most criticized quarterback in the NFL, McNabb vehemently insisted that, in fact, he [himself] is.

Chris Kluwe is getting his #5 jersey back.

Rick Spielman recently did a pretty lengthy, insightful interview with PFT Live. Check it out.

And then, for some analysis on Spielman’s various interviews and smokescreens, the Vikings Age has a nice little article wondering if Spielman maybe tipped his hand on Kalil.

Could someone really want to come up and take the Vikings #3 spot for Ryan Tannehill?! Some believe it is quite possible.

There were some rule changes decided upon at the recent Owner’s meeting. Still no 18 game season, though.

Ugh… Is this stadium issue ever going to end? I know you have heard it before, but it seems like it is closer than ever with things supposedly ramping up this week in the House of Representatives.

Check out who the Vikings have scheduled private workouts with so far. What, no receivers?

Much like we did a few days ago, The Vikings Age have put together their own report card of sorts for how the Vikings (and Spielman) have done so far this offseason.

I’m going to miss Visanthe on this team. Here’s a short video of him recently signing autographs for fans (a goodbye of sorts) and answering a few questions (including how he feels about Darren Sharper and the bounty scandal, if he “Twitters from the throne”, and more).

Now that we are officially in draft month, check out the most recent Mock Draft of Walter Football. It includes five full rounds so you can see more than the [inevitable] Kalil selection.

And finally, an official announcement: Vikings Territory will be participants in the best community Mock Draft on the internet right now representing the Minnesota Vikings along with two other “GMs”. You can check out the previous mocks (we’ll be #MockThree) at the #MockOne website. We’ll have more info and details on this as it starts up.

 

Jared Allen Advances In Madden Cover Contest

March 30, 2012, by 7 comments

A couple days ago, Jared Allen beat Cowboy Demarcus Ware in the first round of the EA Madden Cover Vote Contest. For those that aren’t familiar, every year (or for the last couple years at least), ESPN hosts a contest to see who will get to be on the cover of that year’s Madden game. Stud players across the NFL are pitted against each other in a bracket-style tournament. This week, Allen faces of against New England tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Now, I should say that I am not a superstitious person. Not in the slightest sense. But, when going through the different matches and voting for who I think should win, I hesitate when I get to Jared Allen’s match-up. Do I really want to subject our all-pro defensive end to the “Madden Curse”? Do I really want to risk it?

You see, in my eyes, the Madden Curse isn’t a myth… It is real and it is scary. This article by Bleacher Report does a great job of outlining the history of the Madden Curse and it’s “victims.” I understand that it’s an invalid argument to suggest that simply being on the cover of a game could cause an injury or a drop in production… But still, there’s just part of me that is hesitant to risk it.

Head over to ESPN to cast your vote in the contest. Whether you vote for or against our favorite defensive end is entirely up to you!

Adrian Peterson On Track, Will Start Running

March 30, 2012, by 6 comments

In an update given by head coach Leslie Frazier yesterday, it was announced that Adrian Peterson’s recovery is slightly ahead of schedule and he will begin running on land this week. As we all know unfortunately, Peterson tore both his ACL and MCL on Christmas Eve last season in a game against the Washington Redskins. While the injury was quite serious and “career-ending” for some, Peterson set an incredibly optimistic goal for himself to play the first game of the 2012 season. Well, it looks like that just may happen.

When prompted about the possibility of Peterson returning for game #1, Frazier said, “That’s what we’re aiming for. That’s what he wants to see happen. That’s what we’d all love to see happen. At the same time, we’ll have to be smart and see where he is. This is the beginning stages of his running. So we’ll have a better gauge in another one or two weeks as to what kind of progress he’s going to make.”

It’s great to see that Peterson may be able to return and immediately contribute at the start of the 2012 season. It is even better to see that Frazier seems determined not to rush the franchise running back into action to quickly. Forcing the issue would be very dangerous for Peterson and the overall future of the team.

I said it shortly after Peterson sustained the injury: “If anyone can come back from this injury stronger than before, Adrian can.” And not only do I still stand by that statement, but it seems that proving he can be better than before the injury is one of Peterson’s bigger motivations. In an interview Thursday, GM Rick Spielman said, “He’s not like most running backs that I’ve been around through my career… He is just a freak athletically and you can see that in his rehab and how quickly he’s coming back from this ACL and I know he wants to go out there and prove to everybody he’s a better Adrian Peterson than he was before the injury.”

While the odds are definitely stacked against #28, it will be a storyline we watch closely here at Vikings Territory throughout the offseason and up to kickoff of the first game of the 2012 season.

What do you all think? Will Adrian Peterson be back for the 2012 opener?

Early Offseason Report Card

March 28, 2012, by 13 comments

Free agency took off like a rocket. We were all anxious for what the Vikings would do. After all, they had a good chunk of cap room available. There were also rumors floating around from the combine that the team was going to be very active. And, let’s face it; there weren’t any shortage of holes to fill.

But nothing happened on that first day. The Vikings were quiet… Eerily quiet. Fans were not. Almost immediately, people were calling for Spielman’s head. How could he not acquire Vincent Jackson. How could he not get Pierre Garcon? How could we just sit on so much money when there so many voids to fill in this team to make it a contender again?

Finally, the Vikings started making some moves. Now, that’s not to say fans pulled back and gave Spielman some breathing room. The acquisitions were questionable… Questionable players signed to deals for amounts that were somewhat puzzling to most fans. We were signing people who were injured (and hadn’t played in a year), fullbacks, and… point guards.

While the offseason is far from over, two weeks in, we now have a fair amount of information to look at and develop more comprehensive opinions on how the team has done. What I wanted to do here is recap what the Vikings have done so far this offseason while giving my personal opinion of each move and an overall grade. If you’re ready (it’s long!), continue reading by clicking the button below.

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