General News

Vikings Make A Pair Of Moves

May 16, 2012, by 1 comment

Rick Spielman continues to tool around with the bottom of his roster, hoping the depth moves will provide adequate competition in training camp.

On Tuesday, the team signed defensive end Nick Reed (24 years old) is 6’ 1” and 248 pounds.  He played in 16 games as a rookie in 2009 with the Seahawks where he totaled 17 tackles, a sack, two batted passes, and two fumble recoveries (one of which he returned for a touchdown).

Reed was out of the game in 2010 but returned last season and spent time with the Bears and the Bucs, having a minimal impact.  The Oregon product seems like a guy capable of turning some heads in camp, as he has been productive in the past, and fits the mold of the type of player Spielman is seeking out these days.

Harvard offensive tackle Kevin Murphy (22 years old) stands at a massive 6’ 7” and 295 pounds.  The 49ers picked him up as an undrafted free agent in April but they waived him earlier this week, and the Vikings claimed him off of waivers.

Murphy is likely not the last time the Vikings utilize the waiver system in an attempt to upgrade their roster.  Remember, they get the third priority because of their 3-13 record in 2011, so only the Colts and the Rams will have a higher priority.

The Vikings waived offensive lineman Jose Valdez and another yet-to-be-named player to keep their roster size at 90.  As soon as we know the other player that was waived, we will be sure to pass that along.

[UPDATE:  It turns out that the second player cut was defensive end Kevin Cyrille who signed with the team in April as an undrafted free agent out of Florida Atlantic.]

Links Of The Weekend: Stadium Euphoria

May 12, 2012, by 2 comments

Well, we all know what topic has dominated Vikings news this week, and we’ll get back to assessing the ongoing roster transformation soon, but in the meantime let’s highlight some of best articles available right now.  Most are stadium related, but I tried to find a good mix.

Spielman Indicates Longwell Decision Was Made In January

May 9, 2012, by 5 comments

I wasn’t all that surprised when the Vikings decided to select a kicker in the 2012 NFL Draft.  I wasn’t surprised that they cut Ryan Longwell.

Most surprising to me, however, was the timing of the move to waive Longwell.  That timing, as General Manager Rick Spielman explains it, was a matter of respect for Longwell.  Spielman wants to give him the best chance possible to find a good fit with another team.

“We felt that Ryan deserved an opportunity to go out and get employment instead of waiting through training camp,” said Spielman.  “Once we made the decision to go with Blair [Walsh], it was the only fair thing to do with Ryan, to give him an opportunity to potentially get hooked on with another team instead of waiting until the end.”

Spielman also indicated that the decision to move on from Longwell was one that was made when he gained full control of the roster.

“I think it all goes back to when we started our whole process of evaluating our roster back in January, when we started our meetings and evaluating everybody on our roster and making those difficult decisions on, like I said, some very good veteran football players,” Spielman said. “It makes it even more difficult because of the type of people they are as well.”

Longwell has always been a class act, at least until he came to his senses and left Green Bay (wink), and I look forward to seeing him kick a game winner or two in 2012… as long as it isn’t against us.

Vikings: “The Wilfs have stepped up and made a huge commitment to Minnesota and a huge commitment to the fans”

May 9, 2012, by 2 comments

One of the biggest questions over the last few days has been how the Minnesota Vikings, particularly the Wilf family, would respond to the public squeezing that the State Legislature has put on them.

The House tried to get an extra $105 million out of them in their version of the stadium bill, while the Senate wanted an extra $25 million.

The Conference Committee met late on Wednesday night and the Vikings have agreed to pay what amounts to a compromise, an increase of $50 million.  That bring the Vikings (and NFL’s) contribution to the new stadium up to $477 million.

“The Wilfs have stepped up and made a huge commitment to Minnesota and a huge commitment to the fans,” Vikings vice president Lester Bagley said to the Committee.

At this point, it is kind of hard to argue with him.

Now, it is time to see if the State is willing to show the same level of commitment.

The House and the Senate should have final votes completed by Thursday night at the very latest.

Peterson Shows His Determination

May 9, 2012, by 2 comments

On December 24th, Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson suffered a major knee injury and had to celebrate the new year while recovering from reconstructive surgery.

On Wednesday, Peterson and head trainer Eric Sugarman met with Minneapolis media to show that both the player and team are cautiously optimistic that he will be able to return to playing meaningful football early in the 2012 season, perhaps even the opening game.

“That first game against Jacksonville, I plan on being back, so that will be disappointing if I’m not,” said Peterson.

“I’ve been ahead of the schedule since Day One,” Peterson continued. “The staff here, the staff down in Houston, they’ve been doing a great job with just pushing me, pushing me, but having that limit on it and knowing that, ‘Hey, Adrian, I know you want to do this, but you’ve just got to play it slow and it will come.’ ”

“You know, he’s to the point now where he’s really safe to do just about anything,” Sugarman said. “We gradually ramp him up to functional activity, and when we get to the point where he’s comfortable and has normal strength back to the other side — or better than the other side — and can function as he needs to, then we make that decision.

“He realizes now that there’s too much to lose by doing something foolish,” Sugarman added. “He has been pretty good. Now you have to pull back on the reins every once in a while and just remind him. But he has been pretty good about it, and I’m on the record as saying that he’ll continue.”

Peterson worked out in front of the media on Wednesday, performing a litany of drills and exercises to show just how far he has come.  He wore a brace on his knee for everything except for straight-line running.  Cutting and deceleration are the hardest things to do for Peterson at this point.

While Peterson showed a willingness to appease trainers by taking things as slow as his ultra-competitive personality will let him, he said that he has no intentions of playing second fiddle to Toby Gerhart once he does make it onto the field in the regular season.

“I’m not going to see myself in a limited role,” he said. “I want to be out there full throttle. … I feel like I’ll be able to go out there and help my team. That’s where my mind-set is going to be at.”

Once Again, Cris Carter Talks While Vikings Fans Cringe

May 9, 2012, by 13 comments

With the Saints player suspension less than a week old, former Vikings receiver Cris Carter re-confirmed what many of us already knew, or at least believed, about the sport of football:  “bounties” have long been a part of the game.

“I’m guilty of it,” Carter said of using bounties. “It’s the first time I’ve ever admitted it. But I put a bounty on guys before. I put bounties on guys. And the guys tried to take me out, a guy tried to take a cheap shot on me, I put a bounty on him, right now.”

Carter insisted that he used bounties strictly as a defense mechanism, but also witnessed times when bounties were use to target specific players on opposing teams.

“Protect me. . . . Protect me from him. . . . Especially if he’s playing a different position where I can’t protect myself,” Carter said. “I’d tell one of them guards, ‘Hey man, this dude is after me, man. Bill Romanowski.’ He told me he’s gonna me out before the game, in warmups. No problem. ‘I’m gonna end your career, Carter.’ No problem. I put a little change on his head before the game. Protect myself, protect my family. That’s the league that I grew up in.”

Since the day the news of “Bounty Gate” first broke I have maintained a pretty uninspired stance on the matter, despite some very emotional reactions from other Vikings faithful, but part of my measured response to this story has to do with the assumption that this troubling practice was not isolated within the City of New Orleans, with a Gregg Williams defense, or even just within the NFL.

Instead, it is becoming clear that this was a widespread problem that Roger Goodell has decided there is no room for in a league run by him.

The Saints will take the fall, but bounties have been around for a long time and have infiltrated many locker rooms.

Including, apparently, the Vikings locker room.

Longwell’s Release Leaves A Spielman-Shaped Mark

May 8, 2012, by 2 comments

After a long day of work, I was expecting to settle into my laptop and try to motivate myself to write about my two least favorite subjects to cover:  Stadiums & Politics.

Of course, that is all big and important news, but luckily there is some actual football activity to discuss, as well, albeit bitter-sweet.

As Brett mentioned earlier, Ryan Longwell was released by the Vikings and he made a very gracious statement to fans about his time in Minnesota.

Now, on the surface, the move can make little sense.  He has been a special teams captain.  He has been a leader.  He has been one of the most reliable field goal kickers in the NFL.  He has been classy.  He is charitable.

He has been a very well liked Viking for six seasons.

Plus, last offseason, the Vikings gave Longwell a four year deal worth $12 million, with $3.5 million in guarantees.

However, as I eluded to back in February (I even mention Blair Walsh by name), the writing has been on the wall for a while now.

Longwell is a 38 year old kicker on a team that is rebuilding.  His kickoffs averaged 64.8 yards (21st in the NFL), his 19 touchbacks (23rd in the NFL) were a career high but mainly the result of a rule change, and his 79% field goal accuracy (26th in the NFL) were all stats that suggested that not only was Longwell’s leg strength beginning to greatly lack but that his skills were also degrading in general.

There is an old adage in NFL front offices that goes something like this: “It is better to give up on a player one year too early than one year too late.”

The Vikings had the chance, last offseason, to part ways with Longwell at exactly the right time but instead will be parting with him one year too late.

Judd Zulgad of 1500ESPN, suggests that the move to extend Longwell last offseason was possibly a result of Leslie Frazier still having a say in the final roster and now that Rick Spielman has full control he was able to impose his will on the kicker position.

Zulgad calls it a reminder that Spielman will not hesitate to “retool” this roster regardless of what it means for the win column in 2012.

I would argue that the move makes sense for not only the future, but for 2012, too.  The Vikings may not be able to rely on the young Blair Walsh on clutch kicks until he proves otherwise, but they should put their defense in a much better position on a regular basis via Walsh’s strong leg pinning opponents deeper into their own territory.  The stronger leg will help the field position battle on a regular basis, which will help both the offense and the defense, and the hope will be he can eventually also develop into a trustworthy field goal kicker.

The Vikings should probably sign another kicker to provide Walsh with some competition, and to have another leg for special teams reps in training camp, but it is clear that the Vikings feel confident in his abilities to replace Longwell not only in the future, but right now.