Off-The-Field Issues

Hurry Up And Punish Them

March 2, 2012, by 5 comments

New Orleans is the center of the latest, greatest controversy in the NFL as it has been uncovered by an NFL investigation that the Saints, led by defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, paid bounties out to players on defense for injuring opponents.  Brett Favre, not to anyone’s surprise, was obviously a target during the 2009 NFC Championship game.

Now, I’m really not that surprised, shocked, and quite honestly not all that upset.

Bounties have long been rumored to be a part of the NFL, and the Saints were just dumb enough to get caught.  I think bounties are likely an unspoken truth similar to taping opponents signals (spygate) and tampering just prior to free agency.

Still, being dumb enough to get caught partaking in such a barbaric practice means you must be punished.  Rumor has it that punishments could include cash fines, suspensions, and the loss of draft picks.

I have a better idea, but the league needs to act fast.

Take away their right to use a franchise tag this year.  If you do that, then Drew Brees might just hit the open market, which would surely doom the franchise to years of awful play at the quarterback position.

There, I said it.

Top 25 Free Agency Targets

February 29, 2012, by 5 comments

Gregg Rosenthal of Pro Football Talk managed to create a minor stir amongst Vikings fans on Monday when he tweeted a rumor he had heard at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

“Heard at Combine the Vikings are in mix for a few of biggest FA names,” read Rosenthal’s tweet.  “Ready to spend. Bucs as well.”

Fans should probably reign in their expectations a little as the Vikings don’t have a ton of spending power, especially when being compared to Tampa Bay, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we start to see quite a bit of action on March 13th.

So, I decided to dust off my old free agency rankings and make another list of who I think should be the Vikings top targets.  The list takes everything into consideration including salary range, age, talent level, scheme, likelihood of actually hitting the open market, and so on.

Read more after the jump.

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Some Names Surface

February 27, 2012, by 2 comments

Just like at the Senior Bowl, the Vikings are going to use the NFL Scouting Combine as an opportunity to meet and interview as many of the prospects as possible.  While we will probably never know the entire list of whom they have met with, a few have been uncovered and I’ll discuss them here.

Chris Rainey, RB, Florida

The Vikings reportedly interviewed the speedy pass catching back this weekend at some point.  It really shouldn’t be too much of a surprise as his skill set matches up exactly with the type of third down scat back the Vikings offense has been missing for years now.  I singled out Rainey in my Offseason Preview of running backs as a potential target for the Vikings in the later rounds of the Draft.

Rainey did not have a great showing in Indianapolis as his 4.37 second dash was less impressive than anticipated and he dropped a number of passes during the drills portion.  He has an injury history combined with some off the field issues that could keep him from being drafted at all.  Still, outside of Percy Harvin, this Vikings offense lacks breakaway speed and Rainey could bring a homerun potential from the backfield, out of the slot position, or even in the return game.  He might be worth a late round flier if the Vikings liked what they saw in his interview.

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OFFSEASON PREVIEW: Last Line Of Defense

February 26, 2012, by No comments yet
Abdullah

[NOTE FROM ADAM:  This is the second-to-last installation of my position-by-position breakdown of the Vikings offseason.  The specialists will be the final segment, coming up soon.  You can click the links to view previous installments:  The Passers, The Runners, The Wide Outs, The Tight Ends, The Offensive Line, The Defensive Tackles, The Defensive Ends, The Linebackers, and The Cornerbacks.]

Members of the Vikings coaching staff and front office have made a habit of defending their safeties as fans and the media often pick on them for a lack of production.

This offseason, however, the team faces a crossroads at the position and we will find out just how much they really think of their current group of safeties. 

Let’s take a closer look.

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OFFSEASON PREVIEW: The Corners

February 19, 2012, by 8 comments
Calvin Johnson, Chris Cook

[NOTE FROM ADAM:  This is another installation of my position-by-position breakdown of the Vikings offseason.  You can click the links to view previous installments:  The Passers, The Runners, The Wide Outs, The Tight Ends, The Offensive Line, The Defensive Tackles, The Defensive Ends, and The Linebackers.]

Injuries.  Legal troubles.  Age.  Confidence.  Salary Cap numbers.  Talent.

These are all issues facing the various members of this Vikings secondary, which is why fans would just assume the team clean the slate, fire them all, and start over.

While the changes might be drastic, they probably won’t be that drastic, but things could get very interesting, especially within this group of cornerbacks that each come with their own dramatic storylines.

Let’s take a closer look.

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The Freak Wants To Play

February 13, 2012, by 5 comments

He’ll play when he wants to play, and apparently he again wants to play.

Randy Moss took advantage of a slow news week, and the name power he still possesses with NFL fans, to make a splash and announce his desire to unretire from football and make a return to the NFL.

“I just wanna go to a team and play some football,” Moss announced in a Monday webcast that marked his 35th birthday.  “Faith, family, and football, that’s my M.O., bro.  Your boy be back for the upcoming season.”

“I’m coming to tear somebody’s heads off, man,” Moss said via another webcast in the evening.  “I got something on my shoulder and it’s a chip that I need to get it off.”

A Randy Moss with a chip on the shoulder has proven to be the best kind of Randy Moss over the years, but he has a personality that seems to always be forgetting the lessons he had to learn along the way.  Specifically, Moss sounded as if he genuinely would have liked things to end differently when he got his second chance in Minnesota.

“I got regrets of how I left New England, I got regrets of how I left Minnesota, and I got regrets of how I retired,” Moss said.

I’ll admit that I have a soft spot for Randy Moss, as he will always be one of the top receivers to ever play for the Vikings, but if I am willing to put aside sentiment and hope for E.J. Henderson to be replaced then I am certainly able to ignore my desire to see #84 suit up once again in purple.  This team needs to get younger talent on both sides of the ball, and Moss doesn’t fit that description.

The good news for the Vikings is that the already deep free agent class at wide receiver just gained one more name.  Of course, this comes on the heels of a report that the Eagles will franchise DeSean Jackson, so the free agent pickings will continue to get slimmer between now and March.

Still, I will enjoy seeing Moss play again if a team is willing to give him yet another chance… as long as that team isn’t the Chicago Bears.

OFFSEASON PREVIEW: The Pass Rushers

February 10, 2012, by 6 comments
Minnesota Vikings v New York Jets

[NOTE FROM ADAM:  This is another installation of my position-by-position breakdown of the Vikings offseason.  You can click the links to view previous installments:  The Passers, The Runners, The Wide Outs, The Tight Ends, The Offensive Line, and The Defensive Tackles.]

Perhaps the most exciting thing about the Minnesota Vikings in 2011 was their ability to get to opposing quarterbacks.  The team was tied with the Eagles for the most sacks with an even 50, and Jared Allen came within mere inches of breaking the all time sack record.

There is no doubt that the Vikings defense needs some serious work, but the defensive end position is fairly solidified.  Still, there are options the Vikings have, and evaluations to take place.

Let’s take a closer look.

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