Opinion

Felton’s Arrest Provides Another Challenge For Frazier

June 2, 2012, by 6 comments

When Leslie Frazier was promoted to head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, fans of the organization thought they would at least be getting a leader capable of keeping a group of young men out of trouble.

With Chris Cook, Caleb King, Rhett Bomar, Tyrell Johnson, and Everson Griffen all having gotten into trouble under Frazier’s watch it is now fullback Jerome Felton that continues the trend.

Felton, a free agent signing this offseason, was arrested on a second degree DWI charge after refusing to submit to a chemical test.  Felton landed in Hennepin County Jail early on Saturday morning, but was released later in the day after making a $12,000 bond.

“We are aware of the situation and working to gather more information,” a Vikings statement read. “We’ll have no further comment at this time.”  Felton’s agent also declined to comment.

Felton has no prior known incidents with the law and will likely escape punishment from the NFL, but to Vikings fans this is just another case of a completely preventable embarrassment occuring when it shouldn’t have.

According to Tom Pelissero of 1500 ESPN, the Vikings offer a car service to their players to utilize in instances that they should not be driving.  Apparently, Felton had a reason (a good one or otherwise) for not utilizing the service and is now on the hook for embarrassing himself and the team.

Felton was penciled in by many, including myself, as the presumed starting fullback this upcoming season and it remains to be seen if this incident impacts his chances in any way.

All I know is that these guys have to get their act together.

There is not enough talent on this team, or any NFL team for that matter, to have starters sitting in jail cells on Sundays, or sitting at home on suspensions.

Oh, and as if my disgust isn’t making itself known enough:  Driving drunk is a selfish, dangerous, and idiotic thing to do… no matter who you are.

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

Checking In With Packer Joe

May 26, 2012, by 12 comments

Dear Packer Joe,

I know it has been quite a while since we last spoke.  After all, we can barely stand each other, but I thought I should pass along some good news that is now officially official.

After almost a decade of rumors surrounding my parents’ desire to move our family, it turns out that the youngest kid on the block will be hanging around for quite some time.  Dad decided to build a new house on top of our current one, and while we’ll have to live out of a university dorm room for a while, we are staying in the neighborhood.

Now, I am sure you have mixed feeling about this, but I’m writing this letter to you because our love/hate relationship gives us a special bond.  Sure, we only play together twice a year (three if we’re both having a particularly good year), and it always ends with one of us crying as we take the football and stomp home, but those are still the best of times.  Our snowball fights, our mud battles, and our down-to-the-whistle wars are the stuff legends are made of and I am glad they will continue.

So, get your popcorn cheese curds ready you stinky, old bum.  It’s going to be a fun thirty years!

I’m looking forward to it… especially those two days out of every year that you and I cross paths.

Sincerely,

The Vikings

A Fantastic Must-Read Account Of The Stadium Happenings

May 24, 2012, by 16 comments

Nothing makes me like a Vikings article more than when I get to end and I say to myself, “damn it, why didn’t I write something that cool?”

That’s when I know I found something I have to share with the rest of you.

Now, as you have already gathered, this is a stadium related article I’m about to point you towards.  If you are like me, you are more than a tad stadiumed out and have grown tired of the dry accounts of the daily “twists” and “turns” and perhaps have even grown tired of the endless attempts at humor and wit regarding the situation.  This article involves none of the above.

I had never heard of Grantland.com (apparently a Bill Simmons offshoot of ESPN), or writer Steve Marsh, until today.  However, Mr. Marsh has produced an account of the stadium bill’s rise to certainty in an article that will fit quite nicely with the group of readers we have here at VT.

The article is entitled “The House That Christian Ponder Built” and I strongly encourage you to go to the bathroom, grab a high quality root beer, and settle in to read it.  Click right here for the full article.

It is bar none the best stadium article I have read ever.

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.

Where Adam Takes An Early Stab At The 53 Man Roster

May 22, 2012, by 21 comments

It is early.  I repeat:  It is early.  I know this, I understand this… I get it.

Still, we could continue to beat ourselves up over the gory stadium details and fret about rookie contracts that are not (and never will be) a problem, or we can have some fun around here.  Of course, we could probably do all of that, but I’m feeling kind of lazy tonight so I’ll just stick to the fun stuff.

After the jump, I’m going to take a look at the 89 guys on the roster and attempt to predict (again, I know, it is early) the 53 man roster on opening day.  Feel free to give me your feedback, whether it is nice or not, in the comments section.

Enjoy!

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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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