General News

Slow News Day Drums Up Some Joe Webb Chatter

April 14, 2013, by 3 comments

Report:  Sometimes headlines are misleading.

An NFL.com article was headlined “Joe Webb will switch to wideout for Minnesota Vikings” on Sunday which led many to assume, you know, that the Minnesota Vikings were going to switch Joe Webb to wideout again.

That, however, may not be the case.

The source for this “report” comes from a Sid Hartman article in which Leslie Frazier gave a typical non-committal non-answer answer when asked about the possibility of once again moving Webb to another role in the offense.

“[Webb] is such a talented athlete that we want to make sure that we’re doing the right thing by him and our team, as well,” Hartman quoted Frazier. “That’s something we’ll continue to discuss as we go forward.”

Perhaps the league’s official site should have written a more responsible headline.  ”Frazier Doesn’t Rule Out Webb At WR” would’ve been a little less deceiving.

Regardless, things are a little slow right now, so bring on some good old Joe Webb debate!

Antoine Winfield Signs With Seahawks

April 12, 2013, by 30 comments

ESPN.com reports that veteran Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield has signed with the Seattle Seahawks.

“It was a very tough decision for me because of the relationships that I have in Minnesota,” Winfield told Anderson. “I’ve been there nine years. I’ve had some really great coaches, teammates and fans there. I’m very grateful to the Vikings organization for my experience.

“I’m definitely excited about the opportunity to play in Seattle. They’re a great football team. Those guys did an excellent job last season. They’re young, athletic and energetic. I’m excited to play with Richard (Sherman), Brandon (Browner), Kam (Chancellor) and Earl (Thomas) because they’re some of the most talented players on defense in the NFL right now.”

Winfield was released last month suddenly by the Vikings and thus was an unrestricted free agent. The initial report is that the two parties agreed to a one-year deal. The details of the contract are not known at this time.

The Seahawks, who already boasted arguably the NFL’s best secondary, will likely utilize Antoine Winfield in nickel situations.

The loss of Antoine Winfield leaves the Vikings depth chart at cornerback with Chris Cook, Josh Robinson, A.J. Jefferson, Marcus Sherels and Brandon Burton. While middle linebacker likely still remains the number one priority for the Vikings less than two-weeks before the 2013 NFL Draft, cornerback is now definitely a very, very close second.

Antoine Winfield A Seahawk?

April 10, 2013, by 5 comments

According to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, veteran cornerback and expert tackler Antoine Winfield is now deciding between the Seattle Seahawks and the Minnesota Vikings.

Reports that surfaced earlier today suggested that he may be closer to signing with Seahawks than resigning with the Vikings. Those reports may have been premature as now it looks like Winfield is somewhere in the middle of the two.

Winfield was abruptly released early March – a move that caught the experienced cornerback, his teammates, Vikings personnel and fans all off guard.

The Seahawks (also  known as the Vikings of the West) look to reunite Winfield with ex-Vikings Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin.

Antoine Winfield is expected to make a decision soon.

Edit: Found a pretty interesting story about the last time Winfield was a free agent and stuck between two teams from John Holler over at vikingsupdate.com. Never heard this story before – fun read. (Here’s to hoping for a similar outcome!)

 

Links Of The Week: Getting Closer To Draft Time

April 8, 2013, by 9 comments

You know the drill, here is the best of the best:

Winfield Is Still On The Move

April 7, 2013, by No comments yet

Despite being on vacation, 1500 ESPN writer Tom Pelissero is still scooping everyone else.

Pelissero reports that former Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield is scheduled to meet with the Seattle Seahawks, where all former Vikings seem to end up, on Wednesday.  Winfield has also been on vacation, which has played a part in the delay of him signing with any team.  Winfield previously met with the Washington Redskins’ brass, but no deal was reached and the have since re-signed DeAngelo Hall.

Winfield was surprisingly released by the Vikings do to a salary that exceeded $7 million, but even at age 35 can provide an NFL team with great veteran leadership and some of the best overall play at his position.

The Vikings have reportedly maintained contact with Winfield’s representatives and a return to Minnesota is not totally out of the question.

Opening Up The Ol’ Mailbag

April 7, 2013, by 6 comments

To shake things up a little this weekend I decided to solicit questions from the audience for the first time in a long time.  As the Draft approaches, there is always an increase in questions from those that for some reason find this hack blogger’s opinion to be relevant, and I wanted to give the opportunity to ask as many as possible before the pre-Draft craziness fully sets in.  Below are the results.

There have been some recent questions about our tradition of our Draft Weekend Live Chat and whether it will live on in 2013.

Our normal software avenue has decided to start charging for their services.  They are now charging by the number of readers that use the live chat services and VT has really started to take off recently, which is a great problem to have, and we expect thousands of people to visit our site on Draft Weekend.  This means it could be a pretty expensive proposition for this little blog to consider.

Still, Brett and I are currently evaluating alternatives, and we are sure to come up with something.

One of our loyal readers very generously offered to set up a chat room for us here at VT free-of-charge and we’ve been testing it out.  There are some pros and cons to it, and it won’t look as slick as what you’ve grown used to, but I think it will get the job done.  Stay tuned!

A number of people asked about us updating our mock drafts and releasing some sort of positional rankings prior to the Draft.

Yes, my mock will be updated at least once (probably more) prior to the draft taking place.  I’m hoping to find the time to add a second round fairly soon, as well.

I am also working on creating a VT-unique “Big Board” of about 300 players.  Last year Brett worked hard to make our Big Board update somewhat instantly as the Draft progressed, crossing off players as they were selected on Draft Weekend.  Preferably we’ll be able to get something like that together again.  That’s the goal.

Okay, now onto some more interesting questions.  SKOL12 wanted to know what type of defensive tackle the Vikings are in need of.  Do they need a big run stuffer, and athletic pass rusher, or someone a little more balanced?

I think it is clear that the Vikings don’t have a massive run stuffer and could benefit from grabbing one like John Jenkins or Jesse Williams.  Given the age, possible regression, and heavy cap hit of Kevin Williams I also can’t see the downside of drafting a very well balanced defensive tackle like Sylvester Williams.  With the Vikings defense struggling greatly against mobile quarterbacks last season, and about 10 of them on the schedule this season, getting more athletic in the middle of the defense needs to be a priority, as well, which is why a guy like Sheldon Richardson appeals to me so much.

Ideally, Letroy Guion and Christian Ballard can step up to the plate in 2013, and Kevin Williams regains some of his previous spark.  That might be a lot to bank on, however, and the Vikings need to add some competition via the Draft regardless of the type of lineman they are eyeballing.

Reader SB wants to know if trading up into the late teens to grab Sheldon Richardson would appeal to me if it only costs a fourth or fifth rounder to pull off.

Yes!  I consider Richardson to be a special talent and any team in that range will be interested in him.  It will likely cost a lot more than that to move up in the first round, but if this deal presented itself I would certainly move up and get my guy.

Continue Reading →

Preseason Schedule Is Somewhat Known

April 4, 2013, by 1 comment

On Thursday, the Minnesota Vikings announced their preseason schedule, minus the exact dates and times.

In week one (August 8-10th) the Vikings will open the preseason by hosting the Houston Texans.

In week two (August 15-17) the Vikings will travel to Buffalo and then will travel all the way to the west coast to face the NFC Champion Forty-Niners on August 25th, which we do know will be broadcast nationally on NBC at 7:00 p.m. Central Time.  Normally a coast-to-coast trip like this would be viewed as a disservice from the schedule makers, but in this case it may serve as welcomed preparation for the regular season trip to London to face the Steelers.

The Vikings will then close out the preseason, getting one last look at their roster prior to final cuts, by hosting the Tennessee Titans.

Other than the travel, and perhaps an extended look at former Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson in Buffalo, there aren’t really any obvious storylines that jump out at you with this preseason schedule.