Opinion

Dennard & Adams Could Be Off The Board

April 21, 2012, by 18 comments

Nebraska cornerback Alfonzo Dennard once looked like a possible first round pick.  With the possible ability to switch over to safety at the next level, he was often connected to the Vikings second round pick in many mock drafts a few months back.

His draft stock has been on a slide ever since he had an unremarkable Senior Bowl week and NFL Scouting Combine.  Now, however, it seems that he could slide clear out of the Draft all together.

Dennard was reportedly arrested, now just days before the NFL Draft takes place, in Nebraska for allegedly assaulting a police officer.  Police say that a 2:00 a.m. bar fight resulted in police intervention which ended up seeing Dennard shove an officer and then punching the officer in the face.  It took four officers to restrain and arrest Dennard.

While Dennard and defensive end Everson Griffen could surely have fun comparing stories, he is clearly not of the character that one should purposely seek out in the NFL Draft until the prospect falls far enough to make the risk potentially worthwhile.

Speaking of prospects that could be on the Vikings radar getting into trouble, Ohio State tackle Mike Adams reportedly tested positive for marijuana at the NFL Scouting Combine.  Keep in mind that the Vikings are the same franchise that drafted Percy Harvin despite the same pre-Draft reports coming out about him and they are the same organization that brought drug trafficking felon Jerome Simpson in for a visit on 4/20.  Still, the report will not help Adams’ chances of being drafted in the first round, by the Vikings at 35, and could even help the case for seeing the Vikes draft Matt Kalil at the three spot.

Oh, and just to continue the theme of this post:  Vontaze Burfict is still an idiot.

A Time Of Crisis Is A Time Of Action

April 20, 2012, by 8 comments

With perceived threats of relocation keeping Vikings fans awake at night, a certain jet landing in L.A., and a bevy of quotes from legislators suggesting there is little hope, we have officially entered a collective state of crisis regarding the future of the Minnesota Vikings.

Which is exactly where we need to be.

For years now, my reporter of choice regarding all things stadium has been Kevin Seifert over at ESPN.  His logic, from the very beginning, just seemed to have a consistent and matter-of-fact style to it that, to me, came across as the most realistic and reasonable.

For years now, Seifert has played the part of the pessimist.  When there appeared to be a positive turn of events surrounding the stadium situation, Seifert was there to tell us not to get our hopes up, and insisted that nothing would actually get done on this front until we actually entered “crisis mode.”  This always made sense to me, even when I wanted to believe we were seeing significant strides towards a done deal.

Now, with everyone else claiming the sky is falling, Seifert appears to be steadfast and consistent in his realization that this situation would have to reach this level of immediacy before a resolution is found.  Coincidentally, in the current state of affairs, that reverses his role and makes him more of an optimist than a pessimist.

Seifert contends that it had to reach this point all along in order for something to actually happen. 

With NFL heavy hitters Roger Goodell and Art Rooney currently in Minnesota providing officials with a “reality check” it is clear that neither the franchise nor the league is willing, unless they are bluffing, to start this process up again next year.

That officially makes the window of opportunity small enough that we can start to call this “crisis mode” and feel certain that we will soon get a finalized answer on the issue, for better or worse.

Action, whether we like the outcome or not, finally appears to be imminent.

Spielman Declares His Options

April 19, 2012, by 18 comments

The Vikings as an organization are suddenly faced with very limited options when it comes to their future inside the boundaries of the State of Minnesota.

The future of the roster, however, is one week away from getting a facelift and General Manager Rick Spielman admits that his options for the third overall selection have been narrowed to three:  tackle Matt Kalil, receiver Justin Blackmon, and corner Morris Claiborne.

Some might argue that Spielman listing those three players is actually an expansion of options, considering Matt Kalil is largely viewed as the only viable prospect to select at that point.

The Pioneer Press reports that the Vikings have given equal grades to all three of these prospects and have not yet decided on who they would select should they decide to stay put and not trade backwards.

“What you’re saying (to the staff) is, ‘All these guys have equal ability,’ ” Spielman said.  “What do you want? Do you want the receiver? Do you want the tackle? Do you want the corner?’”

The Vikings plan to “run the cards” on Wednesday, which essentially means everyone involved will take part in one giant mock draft and see some of the different ways things could play out on Draft Weekend.

Personally, I find it hard to believe that the Vikings would select anyone other than Kalil third overall.  The reason is simple:  a complete lack of red flags.  So, unless Kalil scored a “4” on his Wonderlic Exam or is a closet diva that got his wrist slapped by the NCAA, it should be fairly obvious who the choice is.

Still, there are some (like Adam Schefter) who believe the Vikings will choose someone other than the popular choice that has become Kalil.  If this actually happens, be ready for water cooler chat time at the office to look more like a demolition derby if you work in the Twin Cities.

Spielman did say that he has received some preliminary calls from other teams (which quite possibly means he hasn’t at all) regarding the possibility of the Vikings trading backwards.  Spielman, however, said he would wait until Thursday night to make any sort of decision about that topic.

Vikings Say “There Is No Next Year”

April 17, 2012, by 15 comments

While football enthusiasts eagerly await the shaping of the future that will be the 2012 NFL Draft, Vikings fans are not-so-suddenly having to consider the mortality of their entire franchise.

The most recent defeat of their Minneapolis stadium bill at the hands of a House committee is sending shockwaves through the Vikings fanbase, and those shock waves seem likely to continue as the rhetoric becomes increasingly harsh.

While Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton was forced to put his tail between his legs and nearly concede that his plan failed, he wants the Vikings to be patient and stick around for another year.

The Vikings don’t sound like they are in the sticking around mood these days.

“There is no next year.”

Those five words, uttered by a team official, should resonate with us Vikings fans.

“The last governor said in 2006 we’ll come back and work on yours next year. That was six years ago,” said Lester Bagley, Vikings vice president of public affairs and stadium development. “No action this year is a decision.”

It is not super clear whether or not there is any glimmer of hope for the stadium bill still pressing through this year, but optimism seems to have faded from all the public speeches being given.

The Vikings, under the watchful eye of Zygi Wilf, have been pretty darn nice about this whole thing without ever implying relocation as an option.  The gloves are off now, and it is likely that we will see plenty of quotes from Vikings officials threatening a move to L.A.

If we don’t see those quotes, then we should all be worried… because that means they have already made up their mind.

Initial Reaction To The 2012 Schedule

April 17, 2012, by 5 comments

After having roughly 30 seconds to digest the Vikings regular season schedule, I wanted to pass along some of my initial thoughts.  Be sure to chime in yourself in the comments section!

Don’t Sleep In!:  Not too surprisingly, the 2012 schedule makers didn’t see the Vikings as an attractive option for prime time matchups.  In fact, the only nighttime game scheduled is the week 8 game against Tampa.  That will be on the NFLN’s Thursday Night Football.  13 of their games are scheduled to be played in the early time slots.

Hopes Up:  Jacksonville and Indianapolis aren’t exactly the world’s most dangerous football teams.  Even with the additions of high draft picks, such as Andrew Luck, the Vikings might be able to get our hopes up by starting the season 2-0 against a soft beginning to the schedule.

Resting Late:  The Vikings have a week 11 bye week.  I personally like the late byes, as that is when most rosters could really use the opportunity to rest and heal. 

In The Hunt Until Late:  Things would have to go very poorly for the Vikings in the first half of the season in order for us to feel fully eliminated from the playoffs heading into week 10.  Of the last seven games of the season, five of those will be played against divisional opponents.  Beating our NFC North foes is the best way to climb into playoff contention, so hope is likely to cling for quite some time this season.

Bring Your Boot Warmers:  In the winter months of November and December the Vikings will be playing outdoor football at Seattle, Chicago, and Green Bay.  This equates to a pretty darn good chance that they will need to prepare themselves for some cold old fashioned snow bowls. 

Last Ever?:  The Vikings are not expected to be playoff contenders.  They also aren’t expected, at this point, to have a stadium deal in place in 2012.  That could (could) mean that the December 30th game would be the last Vikings game ever to be played in Minnesota.  Who do we play?  The Packers.  How nice.

Let’s (Perhaps Not) Make A Deal

April 15, 2012, by 62 comments

Owner and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts Jim Irsay is suddenly no stranger to the “Quarterback Carousel” game that haunts many NFL teams.

For the first time in a very long time, he has had to evaluate this Draft class’ top quarterback prospects after giving away the identity of his franchise, Peyton Manning.  While it is widely expected that Irsay and company will ultimately select Stanford star Andrew Luck with the first overall pick, he recently made comments about Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill that would suggest the Vikings will at least receive some inquiries about the availability of the third overall selection.

Irsay’s recent tweet said, “Tannehill is a hidden gem in this draft, a quiet secret who was always sneaking up to #3..you want him, you better talk to Zigi The Biggie!”

Former Colts G.M. Bill Polian also took to the airwaves to suggest that the path to Tannehill will run through the third overall selection.  He predicted that the Miami Dolphins would trade up to the third spot giving the Vikings their eighth overall selection, their second rounder, and their third rounder to secure Tannehill.

Since trade speculation is starting to pick , Brett and I, who have somewhat different opinions on the topic, decided to create a debate post to start the conversation. We hope it will continue into the comments section with opinions from you all.

According to this post-lockout chart, the Vikings third overall selection is worth 401.3 points of value.  The eighth overall pick (318 points), second round pick (159.1), and third rounder (119.4) total 596.5 as a package which suggests the Vikings would be getting the better end of the deal.

Okay, on to the debate!

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Trade Jared Allen? We Should Talk About That

April 14, 2012, by 16 comments

A number of weeks ago, Brett and I had a little side discussion about the possibility of the Vikings trading Jared Allen this offseason.  We were even thinking about doing a little back-and-forth feature at the time, as we knew it was inevitable that some other media outlet would bring up this possibility, but we never quite managed to get around to it.

Now that I am back from a long work week, however, I took some time to review all the comments from the last few days and one jumped out to me.

In the comment, a reader says that he heard on a local radio station that a rumor is making the rounds that the Vikings are possibly (could be, maybe, potentially, maybe) considering entertaining offers for their stud right end.

Earlier this offseason, Rick Spielman went out of his way to say that Adrian Peterson was the only player that was off the table in terms of an early departure, which makes sense considering the blockbuster deal they just signed him to.  He easily could have included Jared Allen in that statement, but didn’t.

So, it makes sense that the Vikings won’t trade Peterson, but would an Allen trade make sense?

First, let’s take a look at some possible reasons to consider it an option:

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