General News

Two Days Before Camp, Vikes Make A Move

July 24, 2012, by 2 comments

A number of fairly substantial moves have been made around the league in recent days, but none of them have involved the Vikings.

Still, don’t think that the front office is just sleeping on the job.

As proof of their consciousness, the Vikings opted to sign offensive tackle Kevin Murphy for the second time this offseason.

The Niners picked up the Harvard player as an undrafted free agent but then waived him.  I actually got pretty excited when the Vikings used their waiver priority to beat out the Texans and the Lions to nab Murphy off the wires.

A day later, however, the Vikings waived Murphy because of some health issue that came up during his physical.  Today’s signing, however, should indicate that Murphy is now healthy enough to compete for a backup position on the offensive line.

The Vikings waived offensive tackle Darrion Weems to make room for Murphy.

Top Five TC Storylines: The Offense

July 24, 2012, by 11 comments

I’ve said it a number of times before, and I’ll gladly say it again:  I am looking forward to this season more than any in recent history.

I can’t wait to watch the Vikings (hopefully) begin to take strides towards a rebuild and (hopefully) grow and develop into what will (hopefully) become a true Super Bowl contender in the somewhat near future.

All of that begins in Mankato on Thursday, and here are the five things I will be keeping the closest eye on when the offense takes their training camp reps.

5.  Adrian Peterson’s Health

I’ll be honest, I still haven’t figured out any upside to rushing Peterson back into action for a season that is likely to end with the Vikings looking at the playoffs from the outside.  Still, the Vikings invested an astronomical amount of money into their superstar running back, and seeing the same old Adrian at some point this season would please many fans.

So, in training camp, it is natural that a number of stories will be written about Peterson’s participation or lack thereof.  Don’t get your hopes up too high, however, as Toby Gerhart is likely to carry the load while his young backups gain some experience with the twos and threes.

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Allen Says Vikings Can “fly below the radar”

July 21, 2012, by 10 comments

Jared Allen seems to be plenty aware of the incredibly low expectations that fans, the media, and analysts have for the Vikings in 2012.  Allen, however, doesn’t seem to think of low expectations as a particularly bad thing.

“I truly don’t know what our expectations are,” Allen said. “That can actually be a good thing. There are no preconceived notions of where you have to get, so you just work your butt off and everybody goes out there and lays it on the line. Everybody is working toward one common goal and that’s to win this game.”

“When we had Brett, you’re expectation goes through the roof that you’re going to make it to the Super Bowl,” Allen continued. “Anything less than that is unsatisfactory. Coming off a 3-13 season, no one expects us to do anything. So, we can fly below the radar and focus on being a solid team and just try to put win after win together.”

I have iterated a number of times that I am genuinely looking forward to watching this young Vikings team play, grow, and improve over the course of the 2012 season.  “Win after win” isn’t a phrase you hear projected very often, but it isn’t out of the realm of possibility and it is nice to hear the leader of the defense express it as a possibility.

Favre: “…The Money Was Too Good”

July 20, 2012, by 2 comments

In 2009, despite the disgust from many fans and at least one hack blogger, Brett Favre joined the Minnesota Vikings and provided some of the most memorable moments in franchise history.  Months after that faithful game in New Orleans, Favre appeared set to retire for good.

So, what changed his mind?

“First of all, the money was too good,” Favre recently said on NFL Network. “The money was too good, and I hate to say it’s about money. But, you know, I felt the money was a lot.”

It is hard to remember all of the twists and turns of the circus that was the 2010 season, but I remember clearly the day that reports surfaced that Favre texted that Favre was hanging the cleats up for good.  In the middle of training camp, with Tarvaris Jackson taking reps as the starter, the Vikings brass pulled together on the field and found a way to raise Favre’s salary.  A trip in Zygi Wilf’s private jet was taken by Jared Allen, Steve Hutchinson, and Ryan Longwell in an attempt to bring Favre back into the fold.

The whole thing was a mess and it should have been a sign of things to come.  The 2010 season turned out to be one of the worst (and weirdest) in franchise history, and Favre claims he knew the magic from 2009 wouldn’t be regained.

“Now, that’s not to say I didn’t give my all,” Favre said. “It just wasn’t to be, and I think I knew that. I really know it now.”

I’m not one to pull punches when it comes to ragging on Favre, but I can hardly blame him for playing another NFL season for over $16 million.  Being on a losing team may not be much fun, but most people would do much less enjoyable jobs for that kind of money.

Vikings Try To Head Off Off-Field Trouble With Untraditional Approach

July 15, 2012, by 8 comments

If you are a professional athlete with the financial ability to spend tens of thousands of dollars in one weekend, and happen to enjoy seeing naked women, then you are the stuff dreams are made of for strip club owners.

Of course, you are also the stuff police blotters are made of.

The Vikings are constantly struggling to keep their players out of trouble (hey, facts are facts) so their efforts to do so have now reached unprecedented heights.

Sean Bishop, a felon and former strip club owner (and current strip club worker) is flown to Winter Park every year to let the team’s rookies know some blunt truths about the industry.

“I don’t need their money,” Bishop said. “I tell them I am a scumbag club owner who will use and abuse you. I just don’t want to see any of them ruin their lives. They need to be protected from themselves.”

So how does a guy with such questionable morals make his way into the locker room of an NFL team?  Well, Bishop himself was once a football player that was coached by Les Pico.  Pico is the executive director of player development for the Vikings.  Oh, and Zygi Wilf is happy to sign the checks to make it happen.

“He’s not a choirboy by any means,” Pico said about Bishop. “I can’t legislate morality. Sean’s a guy who isn’t afraid to talk negatively about the business he’s in. Our owners give us great latitude allowing us to run these programs and put a convicted felon on a plane to come here and talk to our rookies about why they shouldn’t be in strip clubs.”

“We have two gentlemen who own car dealerships in Pennsylvania and lumberyards in North Carolina who don’t pay for anything here, but average about $15,000 per night in tips (and dances), and they’ll do it for 10 straight nights,” Bishop continued. “There’s plenty of money out there. I don’t need (players’) money. I’m in a dark business. It’s almost sad. They’re too easy to push into trouble.”

Bishop also explained why strip clubs can become such traps for young athletes.

“These guys get comfortable in the VIP section and think they’re not being seen and forget where they’re at,” he said. “Being a competitive athlete, it’s hard for them to turn the other cheek or swallow their pride and walk away from bad situations. Instead, they make a scene and forget where they’re at because the owner’s treating them like a king, they’re young and think they’re invincible when all it takes is one snapshot and you’re done.”

Anytime I hear of the Vikings going to extra lengths to keep their players out of trouble it makes me happy.

Maybe one of these days it will start working.

Vikings News Roundup

July 12, 2012, by 6 comments

Let’s do a little synopsis, if you will, of what’s been going in Vikings world. There hasn’t been tons happening that doesn’t involve the Houston Police Department, but I thought it would be a good idea to cover some of the smaller stories that we haven’t really touched on yet here at Vikings Territory.

So, here we go:

New Stadium Retractable Roof

It’s been a while since we’ve talked about the stadium here. There hasn’t been tons happening since the stadium bill was passed a couple months ago, but there is some news regarding the roof. Yesterday, Lester Bagley, Vikings VP, told Bob Sansevere of the Pioneer Press that while, as of right now, the design is for a fixed-roof facility, if they can cut costs their goal is to have a retractable roof feature. Now, while that sounds great, I probably wouldn’t get your hopes up. If the retractable roof is not currently in the (almost) 1 billion dollar budget, it probably won’t find its way in unless it gets funded some other way. These things almost always come in over budget and stuff ends up getting value engineered out (not in). While it would be nice to have a “portion of the roof that can be opened to view downtown,” I just don’t know how likely it is since it wasn’t in the original scope.

McKinnie Says Vikings Exaggerated About His Weight

Bryant McKinnie is trying to melt off his extra weight before training camp… again. It seems like this is a yearly story with this guy. Anyway, when speaking with a reporter from the Baltimore Sun about being released by the Vikings because he “weighed 400 pounds at the time,” McKinnie said, “I never was… That was exaggerated by the Vikings.” Instead, McKinnie claims he was only 386 pounds when he was at his highest. That is a huge difference!

Josh Gordon Via Supplemental Draft

The Supplemental Draft takes place this afternoon and it is unknown how involved the Vikings will be. What is known, though, is that the organization has shown interest in a receiver named Josh Gordon who will likely cost a third round pick to obtain. The Vikings attended the wide out’s “pro day” earlier this week and, despite having made multiple moves during the offseason at the position, still have a need for a sure deep threat receiver who can stretch the field. Gordon, the former Baylor receiver, is 6’4”, 200 pounds and has been said to have 4.3 speed. Those are the type of intangibles that are sure to catch any teams’ eye. Gordon does not come without some concerns, though. While at Baylor, he was arrested for marijuana possession. That infraction got him transferred to Utah where he sat out the entire 2011 season.

We’ll know later this afternoon whether or not the Vikings obtain Gordon’s services. I’m going to predict the Vikings will pass on this one, though. While the Vikings took a similar risk on, future Hall of Famer, Cris Carter, I’m not sure the organization will be willing to give up a third round pick for an unproven receiver with character concerns after just spending two fourth round picks on young receivers as well as signing Jerome Simpson over the offseason. Stay tuned on this one, though.

Everson Griffen At Linebacker

Tom Pelissero from ESPN 1500 is reporting that when Everson Griffen reports to training camp in a few weeks, it will be as a linebacker.

AP & HPD: More Details

There are some new details in the Adrian Peterson case involving high-profile attorneys, black eyes, denials, etc… If you’re interested, this article by Dan Wiederer at the Star Tribune does a good job of outlining everything that’s happened so far.

Roll Call

Not really Vikings related but, one of our readers had a good idea to host a little “roll call” at the VT Forums. You should head over and let everyone know where you’re from. It would be cool to know a little bit more about our great readers.

That’s it for now. We’ll keep you updated if anything happens this afternoon in the Supplemental Draft.

Adam Gives His Opinion On Leslie Frazier

July 6, 2012, by 10 comments

I am heading out for the weekend, off to meet long-time internet friend and fellow Vikings fan “Fran the Man” to do some fishing on the famous Tangle Lakes (pictured  above). 

Before trekking off into the wild, however, I wanted to get one last post up as sort of a response to a comment received under my recent post on Leslie Frazier’s USO Tour.

B. Grant wrote:  “Nice piece here, Adam. Shows some real class on Leslie’s part (and on your part for pointing it out to us). Gonna put you on the spot, now…  What’s your true gut feeling about Leslie Frazier as an NFL head coach? Is he gonna have a long term and eventually successful run here in Minnesota, or will we be looking at a different head coach in the not-too-distant future? Can Leslie be a Super Bowl champion head coach? Go ahead, give us your honest take on this.”

Okay, it has been a while since I have taken a real hard stance on something and made foolish predictions, so now seems like a fitting time to rekindle my old love for hack bloggering.

Yes!  I think Leslie Frazier can be a Super Bowl winning head coach.

Now, there is a long laundry list of reasons to doubt Frazier.  He mistakenly hung his hat on washed up veterans like Donovan McNabb and Bernard Berrian last season.  Chris Cook’s disasterous arrest prior to a Packers game and Adrian Peterson’s horrible injury during a garbage game, both happened under his watch.  Bill Musgrave, under Frazier’s authority, seemed to greatly underutilize players like Percy Harvin, Kyle Rudolph, and even Adrian Peterson at various points last season.  There was even some unexpected wishy-washy decision making at the end of the season when a hobbled Christian Ponder, who perhaps shouldn’t have been playing to start with, was replaced a number of times by Joe Webb.  Familiarity led to jobs being handed to Fred Pagac and Mike Singletary but the results were not at all favorable.  Botched challenges and too many penalties were just more signs of a dismal season.

More aggravating to me than anything listed above, and also more worrisome, were some very questionable play calls that ended up deciding games… and not to the Vikings benefit.  Who can forget Toby Gerhart’s fourth down carries against Detroit and Atlanta, both of which screamed “desperation” and signaled to the fans that the 2011 was forever lost.

Still, despite all of the negatives, I think that this is not only a new season but also a very different season and Frazier will make improvements that show exactly why he is an asset to the team.

First, there is no lockout.  Taking over a roster with a shortened offseason and two new quarterbacks as a first year head coach is not an enviable position to be in.  The negative consequences of the craziness that was the 2011 offseason were evident throughout the season, but I think we have already started to see (outside of Percy Harvin) a cohesiveness this year that just simply wasn’t there last year.

Secondly, Frazier gets to be a coach.  He put his name on enough poor personnel decisions last offseason that the Vikings ended up essentially demoting him and giving sole authority over the roster to General Manager Rick Spielman.  I think this will take a lot of pressure off of Frazier and allow him to sit back and do the two things he does best:  coach football and mentor young men.  What we saw this offseason, in the way Frazier and Spielman handled the sudden eruption from Percy Harvin, was a refreshing change from the days of Brad Childress and, while we don’t know all the details, this is the first true evidence we have to suggest the new power structure is an improvement over the old Triangle of Authority.

Cutting down on off-the-field problems, instilling a sense of discipline on this young roster, and seeing progressive improvement and development in all phases of the game are essential to Frazier’s future with the team.  No single factor will have more weight, however, than the progression of Christian Ponder.

If Ponder excels, Frazier has a future.  If he stumbles, Frazier likely doesn’t.  Fair or unfair, right or wrong, I think that will be the case regardless of how Frazier does in all the other aspects of coaching this season.  Ponder and Frazier (and possibly Spielman) are tied together with a knot that is too tight to undo.  Ponder’s improvement and success are paramount to the future of this young team, and the employment status of Leslie Frazier and his staff.

So far, all signs are pointing towards an improved quarterback situation, so right now I have no reason to doubt Frazier or his ability to turn this mess around and get started down the right track.

Okay, have a good weekend everyone!

I’m off to catch some fish.