Injuries

So… About That Asher Allen Fella…

May 30, 2012, by 3 comments

Earlier this offseason I predicted that cornerback Asher Allen, a 2009 third round selection out of Georgia, would not be on the opening day roster in 2012.

What I didn’t predict:  That it would be his choice.

By now, (I know, I know, I’m late on this… Happy Memorial Day everybody!) most of you have heard that Asher Allen informed the Vikings last Thursday that he will be retiring from football after having played three seasons with the team.

At age 24, the decision is a curious one, but Leslie Frazier thinks that in time Allen will explain that decision in full.  As of right now, however, both the team and the player are leaving it up to us to speculate as to the reasons why he retired.

“He’ll talk about it more at some point, but he explained to me that this was something he wanted to do. He had given it a lot of thought and that’s what he wanted to do,” Frazier said when he announced Allen’s decision on Wednesday.

With an onslaught of concussion coverage plaguing our normal enjoyment of the NFL these days, it is reasonable to suspect that Allen had worries about his life after football.  Allen has suffered two known concussions in his three year career, including one in week 15 of last season.

“Surprised. I didn’t see that coming,” admitted Frazier, “but everybody has to make decisions that are best for them.”

While I was admittedly not sold on Allen as any sort of reliable option at the corner position, he had plenty of supporters that were hopeful he would break out in 2012, and now we will never know the extent to which he could have produced on the NFL stage.

Gerhart Preparing To Be “The Guy”

May 24, 2012, by 1 comment

I have been pretty critical over the last two years of the Vikings trade forwards in the 2010 NFL Draft to select running back Toby Gerhart.

With Adrian Peterson being one of this offseason’s biggest question marks, however, it is comforting to know that the Vikings have such a quality option to lean on if Peterson needs a limited role, or if they need a full time starter.

“I’m just preparing to be the guy,” Gerhart said of the situation. “I try to do that every year, but this year it’s a little more prevalent. I’m doing everything I can to be here, work hard, work with the new guys we have coming in, pushing everybody and getting pushed by other guys. Preparing to be the guy, depending on whether Adrian comes back.”

Gerhart has six career starts, with five of them coming last season, and his numbers are nothing to scoff at.  Over 109 attempts Gerhart averaged 4.9 yards per carry, and also grabbed 23 passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns.  Despite last season’s increased in touches, he improved upon the fumbling issues that worried us in his rookie season, and only fumbled once last season.

“I feel I’ve been able to work through it pretty nicely,” Gerhart said of his own, less serious knee injury from last year. “Coming back, it’s getting better and better, just rehabbing the last few months. Got out here for a little bit; being back out here taking care of it, and its feeling good running around.”

Despite Gerhart’s favorable numbers from last season, he said he sees plenty of room for improvement and will work on these items throughout OTA’s and training camp.

“For me, I’d like to be a little more agile in the second level,” he said.  “There were a couple of times coming through, about six to seven yards, if I can make a safety miss, it can be a bigger gain. Working on my feet a little bit, getting a little quicker, little shiftier left to right.”

Whether or not Gerhart gets his full time gig for any period of time remains to be seen.  Peterson not only seems hell bent on being back for week one of the regular season, but he even describes himself as “50-50” for training camp.

Links Of The Week: Slow Going

May 24, 2012, by No comments yet

This hasn’t been the most exciting week in the world of Vikings football, but I’ve always thought that in the least active portions of the offseason no news is good news.  Despite the lack of news, I have once again set out to scrounge up some reading material to occupy your work day.

Pre-Camp Buzz

May 19, 2012, by 23 comments

Between now and the season opener, the Minnesota media will follow a very specific formula to make sure their sports pages are still interesting despite the relatively boring period of time that is the middle of the offseason.

I am, of course, referring to the strategy creating a scattershot of “fluff” pieces that will profile a player, perhaps give us a snapshot of their personal history, and leave us all with a hopeful message:  This guy could be the answer at his respective position.

I’m not saying these articles don’t serve a worthwhile purpose, and aren’t interesting to those of us that love our Vikings football, but I just want to help you temper your expectations by reminding you that these articles come and go every year.  Sometimes the player turns out to be a nobody (i.e. Logan Payne) and sometimes the player actually does become a contributor (i.e. Marcus Sherels) despite the stacked odds.

I’m not trying to be the poster child of pessimism.  Rather, I am just trying to keep your expectations in check, as it is always a dangerous time when the hopes of Vikings fans begin to rise.

Okay, so with all of that said, I want to highlight some stories about the pre-camp Vikings and how they are doing.  After the jump.

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Sid: E.J. Could Be Coming Back

May 18, 2012, by 7 comments

As pointed out by The Viking Age, Sid Hartman recently stated that there is a “good chance” that middle linebacker E.J. Henderson re-signs with the Vikings this offseason.

Now, E.J. has been one of my favorite Vikings to watch for a number of years now (and I would love to still wear his jersey on game day without feeling silly), but even I wouldn’t have predicted that the elder Henderson somehow worked into the Vikings offseason plan of getting younger, healthier, and less expensive.

Jasper Brinkley might not fit the Tampa-2 scheme real great, as some media outlets have been quick to opine, but the right rotation of Brinkley, Erin Henderson and Chad Greenway could make them a very effective group.

Hartman writes that Henderson is not wavering from his demand to be paid the same as last season for his services, which would bring his salary in at $6.7 million.

That isn’t going to happen.  If it was, it already would have.

Henderson is on the wrong side of thirty, has had trouble staying on the field in consecutive seasons, and is a major liability in pass coverage.  If the Vikings planned to give that type of money to a veteran linebacker this offseason, that too would have already happened.

In fact, looking back at how the offseason has played, one of my only real complaints is that the Vikings didn’t pony up for a stud linebacker when they had the chance.  Stephen Tulloch (signed with Lions), Curtis Lofton (Saints), Dan Connor (Cowboys), and David Hawthorne (Seahawks) all could have been sure-fire upgrades at the linebacker position.

I like Brinkley’s potential, but the linebacker position is one to keep an eye on as the offseason progresses.

Murphy Was A Wanted Man… Version 2.0

May 18, 2012, by 1 comment

Yesterday I made a big deal out of the fact that the Vikings used their waiver power to land Harvard offensive tackle Kevin Murphy, grabbing him ahead of two other teams that put in a claim on him.

The headline ran said “Murphy Was A Wanted Man.”

As it turns out, I should have emphasized the past tense.

Apparently Murphy was unable to pass his physical with the Vikings so he was immediately waives by the team.  Also waived on Thursday was South Carolina defensive back C.C. Whitlock who was signed by the Vikings as an undrafted free agent soon after the Draft ended.

The Vikings currently have two vacant roster spots and it’ll be interesting to see how they fill them.  Signing a kicker could make for some minor drama while my eyes keep gravitating towards a few free agent runners that might fit the low risk and low cost mold that Spielman seems to covet.  And, yes, I am talking about Mewelde Moore.

WELCOME TO THE BIG SHOW: Greg Childs

May 16, 2012, by 9 comments

Welcome to part six of our ten part series entitled “Welcome to the Big Show” where we attempt to bring you a comprehensive, in-depth look at each of the Vikings ten Draft selections of 2012. In case you missed them, here are links to the first five: Matt Kalil, Harrison Smith, Josh Robinson, Rhett Ellison, and Jarius Wright.

Make sure to go back and check out Brett’s fine article on Wright.  As we all know by now, Wright and Greg Childs have been friends and teammates since a very young age.  Childs is the subject of today’s “Welcome to the Big Show” segment.

PERSONAL HISTORY

During his junior year at Warren High School in Arkansas he put up 65 receptions and made 15 of them count for touchdowns, and earned a spot on the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s all-Junior team.  In 2007, he was an all-State selection as a senior.

Childs left high school as one of the most heavily recruited players in the nation.  He received scholarship offers from Tennessee, Ole Miss, Colorado, Mississippi State, and Texas Tech before deciding to stay close to home and become a Razorback.

Childs turned 22 on March 10th of this year which makes him the youngest receiver on the Vikings roster.

He met fellow Viking rookie Jarius Wright in the third grade when he moved to Warren.  Wright was a popular kid at the elementary school and they decided to target Childs for some old fashioned bullying.  It took about two years for them to finally become friends, and they have been teammates ever since the seventh grade.

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