Injuries

Chris Carr Could Be A Starter

June 26, 2012, by 1 comment

When you look at this offseason’s free agent class for the Minnesota Vikings, you will be hard pressed to find a likely starter in the bunch besides fullback Jerome Felton.  Jerome Simpson is likely, too, but not during the first three weeks when he will be serving his suspension.

After those two guys, I think the most free agent signing most likely to win a starting job has to be cornerback Chris Carr (setting aside injury scenarios).

The 29 year old cornerback has had a solid seven year career up until last season’s hamstring injury ended a 96 game playing streak.

“If you’re out of the mix long enough, you might just be left out,” Carr said about his demotion in Baltimore last season. “It’s like you have to reprove yourself all over again. It feels pretty good now that I have that chance.”

Carr knew he had the skills to continue playing in the NFL, however.

“If you’re versatile, you’ll always find a job somewhere,” Carr said.

By “versatility” Carr means that he can play both inside and outside effectively, and he could be asked to do just that in Minnesota.  Chris Cook seems certain to man one of the starting spots on the outside, but a combination of Antoine Winfield and Carr seems likely for the other outside spot and nickel duties.

There has been some good debate in the comments section about what exactly Winfield’s role will be this year, and I personally believe that the answer will greatly depend on Carr’s ability to step up as a solid starter.

Spielman Admits He Is Concerned About Brinkley

June 24, 2012, by 7 comments

Rick Spielman had a chance to sign one of the many proven middle linebackers that hit the open market back in March.

He passed.

Instead, the team has decided to move forward with Jasper Brinkley, a fifth round selection in 2009, to take over the position that E.J. Henderson has held for so long.  Brinkley filled in for Henderson quite well during his rookie season, but last year he missed every game due to a hip injury that is apparently still lingering.

“I know what we saw when he came in as a rookie and when he came in and filled in for E.J. and the potential we saw there,” Spielman recently told 1500 ESPN.  “He’s a big banger, physical inside middle linebacker that probably doesn’t get enough credit for his athletic skill set as well.”

Spielman can’t help but admit that Brinkley’s health concerns could be a problem, however.

“But again, the durability is a question right now,” continued Spielman, “just because he hasn’t played in a year and hasn’t played much at all hardly through this offseason.”

The Vikings are keeping Brinkley in Minnesota between now and training camp and Spielman says the goal is to make sure he is 100% ready to go by the time training camp rolls around.  Rookie Audie Cole, practice squad player Tyrone MCKenzie and free agent pickup Marvin Mitchell make up the depth chart behind Brinkley and have been seeing increased reps during his absence.

“There’s no question Jasper’s slated in there, but there is some competition going on,” Spielman said of the starting position. “Jasper has to show that he can be on the field, and if not, like I said, we’ll monitor where our young guys are, where some of our backups are and can they do it, and if not, we’ll definitely have to explore the market outside.”

“It’s a big year for him as well, I know, because he’s going into the last year of his contract,” noted Spielman.  “So, he wants — he needs to get on the field.”

I find the timing of Spielman expressing his concerns kind of puzzling.  When free agency opened up he watched guys like Curtis Lofton, Stephen Tulloch, David Hawthorne, and Dan Connor sign with other teams despite their proven talent and fairly ideal age.

If Brinkley doesn’t pan out because of injuries, and the depth behind him proves to be inadequate, then the decision to make middle linebacker a non-priority could be one that comes back and bites Spielman in the ass.

Winfield Says He Is 100% Healthy

June 24, 2012, by 7 comments

Antoine Winfield is the team’s oldest cornerback.  He’s the team’s oldest defender, actually.  Check that… yes, he is the oldest player the Vikings have on the roster, and he knows it.

“I think I’m the oldest player on the team now,” Winfield said in this interview.  “Of course, young guys come and ask me after a play, ‘Which technique did I look good (on)?’ During film study, they sit by me and ask questions, and I answer them.”

Despite his age and the possibility of being relegated to more of a nickel back role, Winfield says he is ready to go.

“I’m 100 percent, Winfield said.  “I think I was cleared the end of March. The last couple of months I’m running around, getting into shape and getting ready for training camp.”

Winfield also said that while he thinks he could play free safety, his body will hold up better at cornerback and it sounds like he plans to finish his career the same way he began it.

Brinkley Is Still Sidelined

June 19, 2012, by 1 comment

Jasper Brinkley made was all set to be E.J. Henderson’s primary backup at middle linebacker in 2011, but a preseason hip injury sent him to injured reserve which meant he didn’t play a single snap in the regular season.

This year, the stakes are even higher as he is in line to outright replace Henderson as the team’s starting middle linebacker, but once again injures are casting a shadow of doubt over his ability to successfully man the position.

In the middle of the OTA schedule Brinkley suffered a groin injury.  He opened Tuesday’s minicamp on the sideline, but Brinkley says the reason is not his groin injury, but rather is related to the hip injury from last year.

“Just a process with the hip, still keep going so hopefully I’ll be out at practice one day before (minicamp is over),” Brinkley said on Tuesday. “This goes back to the hip. Other than that, though, everything is good.”

Brinkley described the decision to sit out as “precautionary” and said if this were a regular season game he would be playing.

“The first couple of OTAs, I was able to do a little bit. I was able to show what I could do,” Brinkley said. “I’m pretty sure if the coaches weren’t satisfied they would bring somebody else in. It’s still a work in progress.”

Brinkley is probably right about that.  The Vikings passed on a chance to sign Rocky McIntosh, who has now signed with the Rams, but other options still exist if they don’t think Brinkley is a true solution.

One of those options?  E.J. Henderson.

Tyrone McKenzie has been playing as the first team middle linebacker during Brinkley’s absence.

Smith, Burton, And Others Get Time With The First Team

June 13, 2012, by 6 comments

Here are some interesting tidbits for how the depth chart looked during Tuesday’s OTA practices:

SAFETY:  It didn’t take long for first round pick Harrison Smith to “work his way up” the depth chart and received mostly first team reps on Tuesday.  Across from him, Mistral Raymond and Jamarca Sanford rotated first team reps.

“I saw a play (Tuesday) where he really got angry,” Leslie Frazier said of Smith. “He got pretty fired up, and you kind of need that out of your defensive backs. You need them to have a little something about them, and it was good to see.”

CORNERBACK:  Smith and Matt Kalil aren’t the only rookies to be getting first team reps at this point.  Third round cornerback Josh Robinson received some reps as the starting right corner.  It isn’t clear why, but Antoine Winfield missed Tuesday’s practice, and it is equally unclear if Winfield’s absence resulted in Robinson getting his chances with the first team.

LINEBACKER:  Jasper Brinkley suffered a minor groin injury last week and, while he is expected to be fine, has missed some time.  Chad Greenway has been in South Dakota dealing with his family matters and Solomon Elimimian has had to sit out with a hamstring injury.  That means that the starting group of linebackers has looked like this:  Erin Henderson, Larry Dean, and Tyrone McKenzie.

WIDE RECEIVER:  With the absence of Percy Harvin, Stephen Burton has been filling in as the go-to flanker with the first team.  Burton has generated a lot of offseason buzz, along with Jerome Simpson, and these reps with Christian Ponder could give him the inside track to a roster spot.

OFFENSIVE LINE:  Matt Kalil, Charlie Johnson, John Sullivan and Phil Loadholt.  These guys are assumed to be occupying four of the starting spots along the offensive line from day one, which means there should be one hell of a competition for the starting gig at right guard.  Right now, Brandon Fusco is acting as the starting right guard with Geoff Schwartz getting reps with the second team.

KICKER:  Blair Walsh has been handed the kickers position on a silver gold platinum platter.  On Tuesday, during 11-on-11 drills, Walsh made four of six field goal attempts.  He missed from 42 and 44 yards.

Some Wide Receiver News On Tuesday

June 5, 2012, by 8 comments

In filling their last remaining roster spot, the Vikings signed South Florida receiver A.J. Love as an undrafted free agent on Tuesday.

This isn’t really anything earth shattering, but I can remember in the flurry of UDFA signings right after the Draft finished it was reported by numerous outlets at that time that Love was signing with the Vikings.  At the end of the day those reports were erroneous, but in the long run I guess they turned out to be correct.

Love stands at 6’ 2” and weighs 208 pounds.  In 2008 and 2009, combined, he managed 56 catches for 843 yards and six scores.  In 2010, he had to sit out due to a knee injury, and his production lacked big time in 2011 where he only had nine grabs for 122 yards and a lone touchdown.

The story sounds similar to that of Greg Childs, which we discussed here, and Love could end up having some upside.  Childs, coincidentally enough, has not been participating in OTA practices due to a calf strain.

Some good news, however, is that Percy Harvin has rejoined the team during practices after initially sitting out and rehabbing as a result of his bone spur procedure from April.  Chad Greenway has also reportedly joined the team after dealing with a family issue.

Wobschall Is The Guy To Follow Through OTA’s

May 31, 2012, by 17 comments

Mike Wobschall makes a living by being one of the Vikings biggest cheerleaders in writing and in front of the camera, so you won’t get much of the disappointing news from his stuff at Vikings.com, but he is also one of the best in the business.  Plus, when other media outlets are not allowed access to practices or other events, he is right there to make sure he keeps us informed.

Through the first two days of Minnesota’s OTA’s, Wobschall has been there to keep us updated on everything.  Here are some highlights, accompanied by links, as to how the first two days have been going.

DAY ONE OBSERVATIONS:  Wobschall tells us that cornerback Antoine Winfield looks to be 100% this offseason and describes him as “spry,” while wide receiver Jerome Simpson showed his capabilities stretching the field, receiver Bryan Walters looked very sharp.  More notes about which players looked good can be found at this link, too.

IMPROVEMENT ON OFFENSE:  The offense, led by quarterback Christian Ponder, is bound to take their lumps as the installation process progresses.  As noted by both Wobschall and Ponder, however, the offense showed marked improvement from day one to day two.

DAY TWO OBSERVATIONS:  Cornerback Chris Cook made one of the best plays of the session and it could have been a defensive score, defensive coordinator Alan Williams is making a Frazier-like impression on his players, middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley is bound and determined to show his critics that he can defend the pass, undrafted cornerback Bobby Felder is a name to keep an eye on as a sleeper candidate, while fullback Matt Asiata turned some heads by making a diving catch way down field.

VIDEO LINKS

Leslie Frazier press conference on Wednesday:  LINK

Christian Ponder press conference on Wednesday:  LINK

Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin continue their rehabilitation by pushing each other:  LINK

An NFL Network report from Minnesota’s OTA’s:  LINK