NFL Draft 2012

It Is Official, A Mock Draft Has Been Posted

December 15, 2012, by 24 comments

Yup, it is getting to be that time of the year.  We are hoping it is many weeks from now before we, as Vikings fans, cast our gaze completely towards 2013 but I couldn’t hold off any longer.

As many of you know, my mock Drafts often times go against the grain and can cause some passionate fans to either disagree or (on rare occasions) agree with enthusiasm.  I ended up getting more picks correct than your average bear last year (you can view 2012’s right here) and never wavered from my Vikings pick of Matt Kalil.

This year, with the Vikings picking somewhere in the neighborhood of the late-teens and early-twenties makes things far more unpredictable, and my choice is likely to change a number of times between now and April.

Heck, we are still waiting to hear exactly which players will elect to enter 2013’s NFL Draft.

Right now, however, I picked Missouri defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson in an attempt to bolster a defensive middle that has fallen from the elite category over the last couple of years.

Richardson strikes me as the perfect complement to Everson Griffen, both being incredibly fast and athletic defensive lineman, providing the Vikings with an exciting youth movement along their defensive line.  We saw the Vikings struggle greatly with mobile quarterbacks in 2012 so Richardson’s sideline-to-sideline abilities would be a welcomed addition to the defensive tackle position.

At 6’ 4” and only 295 pounds, and plenty of college experience playing end, Richardson wouldn’t be the run stuffing nose that the Vikings really need Letroy Guion to become, but he would provide a very disruptive force in the middle of the line regardless.  After all, Kevin Williams isn’t getting any younger and the Vikings could decide he is no longer worth the large salary as soon as this coming offseason.

Richardson was suspended for one game this year for refusing to show up to one of his classes, and also refusing the punishment given to him for that, so teams will certainly want to explore this kid’s attitude and character to see if he is worthy of such an early pick.

Please, view the rest of my first 2013 Mock Draft by clicking right here.

Links Of The Bye Week

November 15, 2012, by 12 comments

Coming off of a big win, the Vikings bye week has not been completely quiet, and I have plenty of great reads to share with you:

Answering Questions From The Floor

November 10, 2012, by 6 comments

Yesterday, mainly out of boredom, I solicited questions from the readers and promised to answer as many as possible.  So, for whatever the answers might be worth, here we go:

Who’s the MVP of the season so far?

Adam Says:  Starting me off with an easy one, sweet!  Percy Harvin has been incredible this season.  62 catches for 677 yards three touchdowns.  22 rushing attempts for 96 yards and a touchdown.  Averaging 35.9 yards on 16 kick returns and a touchdown.  The guy has been elite in every sense of the word.  Watching guys like Larry Fitzgerald struggle with poor quarterback play, it makes Harvin’s production even more impressive considering the current state of the offense.

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Vikings Grab Another Win, But It Wasn’t Pretty

October 21, 2012, by 32 comments

When Percy Harvin took the opening kickoff for 103 yards for a touchdown, the tone of this game was set when the referees announced that Marvin Mitchell’s block to the back was getting it called back.  Despite a number of bad mistakes, missed opportunities, and questionable play calls the Vikings were able to beat the hapless Cardinals by a score of 21 – 14.

Here are some post-game thoughts:

Peterson Looked Fantastic

Adrian had a great game, point blank.  He ran the ball 23 times for 153 yards (6.6 yard average), and scored the first touchdown of the day on a beautiful 13 yarder.  He tacked on two catches for six yards.

Peterson had his best game of the season and finally truly looked to be back to his old self.  He was making quick cuts, had some getup in his step, and put on an impressive display of power running on a number of occasions.

On a day when the offense couldn’t seem to move through the air at all, Peterson’s dominance couldn’t have come at a better time.

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WEEK SIX PREVIEW: The Redskins

October 13, 2012, by 5 comments

Last week, I predicted that the Vikings would beat the Titans by a score of 30-19 and Brett predicted a score of 27–21.  As we all know, they exceeded even these lofty expectations and ended up thumping the Titans 30-7.

This moved Minnesota to a surprising 4-1 record and they are now drawing the national attention that we never thought we would get this season.

Meanwhile, the Redskins put up a good fight against the high flying Falcons but ultimately fell to 2-3 after Robert Griffin III got knocked out of the game with a concussion.

Now, these two upstart squads face each other in D.C. and we want to explore all the different items of note that could impact the outcome.

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Love And Childs Look Forward To Finally Playing Their Rookie Seasons… Next Year

October 11, 2012, by 13 comments

This preseason, the Vikings lost two young offensive players to injury that have yet to play in a regular season NFL game.

Offensive tackle DeMarcus Love has to have a torn pectoral muscle operated on last month and only recently regained full motion and will soon begin his rehabilitation.  Love was a sixth round selection from Arkansas in 2011.

“This is my last week in my sling,” Love said on Thursday. “So, now, it’s just basically starting the rehab and getting everything back stronger.”

“It’s frustrating, but I can’t dwell on it,” Love continued. “Got to go ahead and move forward. It is what it is.”

Fourth round 2012 selection Greg Childs, also out of Arkansas, tore the patellar tendons in both knees on the same play this preseason.  He was spotted this week rehabbing his knees at Winter Park, and by all accounts was walking well with a positive attitude.

“I like to do things that people think other people can’t do,” Childs told reporters. “I’ve got a strong head. You can ask any of the players in here. I come in here attitude good every day and trying to get right, trying to get back on the field. I’m going to do everything I can to step back on the field for next season.”

The Vikings will certainly welcome that added competition that Love and Childs would bring to their respective positions next preseason, and if their rehabs go as well as these two hope they will then the two might be ready to legitimately compete for roster spots next August.

Vikings Improve Record By Rolling Past The Titans

October 7, 2012, by 20 comments

The bad news?  The Chicago Bears won again.

The good news?  Everything else that happened on Sunday.

That’s right, folks.  Your Minnesota Vikings are now a 4-1 football team that absolutely dominated the Tennessee Titans in every facet of the game.  They won by a score of 30-7.  They had seven more first downs than the Titans.  They had 123 more rushing yards and 43 more passing yards.  Plus, they won the time-of-possession battle by six minutes.

It was just an all around good day for the Vikings (including that glorious loss Green Bay suffered!) and here are some main points of interest following the team’s latest victory.

Harrison Smith’s Ejection

Harrison Smith had already made an impact early in Sunday’s matchup by recovering a Chris Johnson fumble and on a couple of nice hits.  What will be most remembered, however, is the look on his face when he realized he was being booted from the game when he decided to get too physical with an official following an Antoine Winfield interception.

“I really dont know,” Harrison said of his status for next week.  “I hope to be out there. But I made a stupid decision and I have to accept the consequences.”

“Stupid by me,” Smith admitted to Tom Pelissero.  “I should never put the officials in a position like that. I should never touch them. I know that. I’ve lost my head before, but I’ve never had an incident with an official. I completely apologize for that.”

Smith deserves credited for owning his mistake, and it is easier to forgive provided the outcome of this game, but we all will hope this event never repeats itself.  His intensity needs to be contained between the whistles on a weekly basis.  I’d like to say this was just a rookie mistake, but those rules are the same in college and high school and even earlier.

I would be shocked if Smith gets any sort of suspension, but he can certainly be expected to be nailed with a fine upwards of $20,000.

Ponder Makes Some Progress

Christian Ponder sandwiched some very poor decisions with a great start to this game and a strong finish.  He ended up completing 25 of 35 passes for 258 yards and two scores.  He also tacked on a trio of good looking runs for 31 yards.

His first two interceptions of the year came on back-to-back pass attempts, one at the end of the first half and one to begin the second half.  The first resulted in a missed opportunity to add points and the second could have shifted momentum greatly had the Vikings defense not been so dominant today.

Ponder hit eight different pass catchers today, though, and looked mostly comfortable in the pocket, confident, and like he is making strides in the right direction.

Harvin Continues Incredible 2012 Campaign

Last week, Harvin willed his team to a victory by making the most of his special teams opportunities against the Lions, and this week he didn’t get to return a single kickoff.

Instead, he ran the ball twice for eight yards and a score, and hauled in eight catches for 108 yards and a touchdown.

I am becoming more and more convinced that no single player, especially non-quarterback, is as important to his football team as Percy Harvin is to the Vikings right now.  His ten yard touchdown catch and run is something I could watch over and over and over and over.

Walsh Leads Impressive Rookie Class

Six rookies registered stats in the box score today, but perhaps none is quite as important than Blair Walsh’s three field goals in as many attempts.  Not to mention his five kickoffs for touchbacks, neutralizing the return unit of the Titans.

Rookie cornerback Josh Robinson led the defense with six solo tackles and held up well considering how much the Titans tried to pick on him today.

Rick Spielman and his staff deserve credit for this rookie class coming in and helping in ways, both big and small, to get the Vikings to where they are now.