Opinion

Spielman Admits Ayodele Was A Mistake

March 26, 2012, by No comments yet

I always think it takes a big man to admit his mistakes.

On Sunday, Rick Spielman earned a point or two in my book by admitting that it was his mistake to sign defensive tackle Remi Ayodele following the NFL Lockout last offseason.

“That’s something where we made a mistake,” Spielman said, “and I’ll put that on me making a mistake, as far as making sure that the players that we sign fit the scheme that we’re trying to run.”

Ayodele was cut by the Vikings on March 21st, only hours after the NFL announced its plan to punish the New Orleans Saints and management involved in the “BountyGate” scandal.  Ayodele, of course, was a member of the Saints during the time under scrutiny, placed a very questionable hit on Brett Favre during the 2009 NFC Championship Game, and may face a suspension as a result.

Spielman, however, says that “BountyGate” had nothing to do with the decision to release him and instead was a result of him not fitting the scheme.

“It had nothing to do with the other circumstances,” Spielman said of Ayodele’s release.  “This was purely based on a decision that didn’t live up to the billing and how he would fit into the scheme like we thought he would. Then, when we were able to sign Letroy back and Fred Evans back, we felt those guys were a better fit in what we were trying to do defensively than what Remi was for us last year.”

It was reported last season that it was Spielman’s decision to bring in Ayodele while Head Coach Leslie Frazier preferred to see long-time Viking Pat Williams return.  Ayodele was ultimately signed to a three year deal worth up to $9 million.

Just prior to Ayodele’s release, the Vikings re-signed Letroy Guion and Fred Evans and hope to see them take command of the nose tackle position moving forward.

It is inevitable that an NFL General Manager is going to make mistakes.  It is a rarity to hear one actually admit to it.  The best thing Spielman can do, however, is to learn from it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Large, Speedy DB Johnson To Visit

March 25, 2012, by 9 comments

The Vikings just got back their young, lanky, talented cornerback with off-the-field issues when Chris Cook was acquitted of his most recent troubles.

As it turns out, the Vikings want to take a closer look at a young, lanky, talented cornerback with off-the-field issues prior to April’s NFL Draft.

Montana defensive back (he could end up at either corner or free safety) Trumaine Johnson will reportedly take part in a pre-Draft visit with the Vikings.

At 6’ 2” and 204 pounds, Johnson ran a 4.50 forty time at the Scouting Combine.  At the Combine, he also had to answer questions about an October incident in which he was tased by police and arrested.  He was charged with obstructing an officer, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest.

In addition to his big frame, Johnson has solid instincts as a ballhawk, and is a very solid tackler.  It is expected that Johnson will be targeted around the second or third rounds of the Draft.

In addition to Johnson, so far we know that the Vikings will meet prior to the Draft with offensive tackle Jonathan Martin, cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, and safety D.J. Campbell.

Vikings “Excited” Chris Cook Will Be Back

March 25, 2012, by 7 comments

The Vikings took a fairly big gamble with how they handled Chris Cook and the allegations that he assaulted and attempted to strangle his girlfriend, causing him to miss a game against Green Bay while he was jailed for the incident.

Recently, Cook was acquitted of all charges and the Vikings appear ready to get him back on the field.

“We are very excited about getting Chris Cook back,” Rick Spielman said, “not only to help us on the football field, but we think Chris Cook is a very good person, and we really believe that he’s moving on and going to be a better person.”

“We’re pleased that this has all come to a resolution, and now we’re looking forward to what Chris has learned, and he’s looking forward to moving on,” Spielman said. “I know he’s grown from this experience. He was very proactive in doing some things and making sure that he’s going to be not only a better football player but a better person as well.

“Sometimes you have to go through some hard lessons to give you a wake-up call, if there was a wake-up call. But you go through some tough times sometimes, and sometimes coming out of those situations really makes you a stronger and better person.”

Cook is no stranger to misconduct.  His Draft stock took a hit when he was suspended at Virginia for academic reasons.  In May of 2011, a Virginia judge cleared him of any wrongdoing resulting from an incident in which he was accused of brandishing a firearm.  He latest acquittal ended with rumors that he was celebrating the “victory” at the same strip club that he visited the night the allegations were made.

Spielman sounds hopeful that his third year player will finally get his act together, but the pattern emerging here is not only more obvious, but growing incrementally more serious.  Cook has shown fans of the Vikings no reason to believe he is a changed man, other than shaving his dreadlocks, so hopefully behind closed doors at Winter Park he has really given Spielman and Frazier true reasons to place trust in him again.

If not, they may be short handed at cornerback on Sunday again in the near future.

Brad Culpepper: Vikes Were Coached To Hurt Quarterbacks

March 24, 2012, by 2 comments

My reaction to the Saints “BountyGate” scandal has been pretty measured, considering the venomous reaction from most Vikings fan, and I recently penned that I was merely glad it wasn’t the Vikings being accused of such heinous actions.

As it turns out, a former defensive lineman of the Vikings remembers a time in which he was instructed to hit opposing quarterbacks in such a way that they leave the game prematurely.

“If you pull on their arm and land on their shoulder, you can dislocate (the shoulder),” said Brad Culpepper.  “And then they’re out. We used to practice that, too.”

Culpepper played for the Vikings the two years prior to the 1994 season in which the team was constantly under fire from those around the league for their reputation as one of the dirtiest defensive lines in the NFL.

Defensive Line Coach John Teerlinck, Defensive Coordinator Tony Dungy, and Head Coach Dennis Green were all at the center of the controversy.

“We practiced techniques to injure players,” said Culpepper.

This is pretty damning evidence to support the notion that the Vikings of the mid-nineties were not the cleanest of football players.  There will be denials and there have been no accusations of bounties specically, and this is sure to be in the rear-view mirror soon enough, but it goes to further illustrate the point that the New Orleans Saints were simply caught playing dirty in a modern era that will not tolerate such actions.

As for Culpepper, he has now had his fun, and it seems likely that he’ll just go back to doing whatever it was he doing before feeling the need to get some random attention on an Orlando radio station.

Links Of The Week: Free Agency, Round 1 Edition

March 23, 2012, by 4 comments

We’ll start this thing off with something that happened yesterday that we really didn’t touch on here at VT… Tedd Ginn Jr. is staying with the 49ers.

Our ever-loquacious punter believes Jonathan Vilma should be banned from the NFL for life.

Rick Spielman seems to be trying to throw everyone off and put up smoke screens regarding our #3 pick. They are smoke screens, right? Right…?!

“In Attempt Not to ‘Spend to Spend,’ Vikings Seemingly Already Spending to Spend,” states this Vikings writer.

In the never-ending-stadium-story, it looks like the Vikings may be getting a sign-off by the Minneapolis City Council.

Over at KAB, our friends get a little crazy and question where the franchise would be had it used Rosenfels instead of Favre in 2010 (amongst many other things).

Do the referees deserve some of the blame for the bounties placed on Favre and how it affected the 2009 NFC Championship game?

Jared Allen thinks the Saints got what they deserved.

Chris Kluwe stands up for “snitches” and goes on (expletive-filled) Twitter rant.

Now, I don’t have any videos to show for the “moment of zen” that Adam typically does here… I do have a story though. (One I told Adam yesterday after he brought up his concern that WR prospect Stephen Hill reminded him of another ex-Viking who bolted up in the draft due to great workouts. He insisted that I try to fit this little story in somewhere and I guess right here is as good as anywhere.)

A few years ago, my family and I went to a buffet (they’re in every casino here in Vegas) around the corner for breakfast on a Sunday morning. Of course, I was in my big, purple, #28 jersey; I wore it proudly (the Vikes were hot stuff at the time). We all sat down and waited for our waiter to greet us and take our drink orders so we could be unleashed and pounce upon the endless spread of food. Our waiter came and this is the short exchange that followed:

“Good morning, I’m [Derek] and I’ll be your waiter this morning. Oh! You a Vikings fan?”

“Yep!”

“Cool! My little nephew actually used to play for the Vikings a while back.”

“Really?! Who was he?”

“Troy Williamson!”

“…”

“…”

“Oh, cool…”

“…”

“Iced tea, please.”

“Moment of zen?” I think not… And yes, Adam compared Stephen Hill to Troy Williamson. Hold your tongue, Adam!

Former Raven Chris Carr To Visit

March 22, 2012, by 3 comments

The Vikings are continuing to take a slow, drawn out approach to free agency and nine days in they have finally set up a visit with a free agent defensive back (at least one that has, you know, played professional football).

According to 1500 ESPN, the veteran cornerback Chris Carr will visit the Vikings on Thursday night after already having visited the Chiefs.

After three seasons with the Ravens, Carr was released earlier in March.  Last season, he missed seven games due to a back injury, and fell down the depth chart with the emergences of Ladarius Webb and others.  Prior to last year, however, Carr didn’t miss a game in six seasons.

The Vikings were interested in Carr back in 2009, when the Ravens signed him.

Chris Cook seems likely to return without suspension following his acquittal from recent charges.  Antoine Winfield should also be returning, but will likely be spending most of his time as a nickel back.

Carr, who will be 29 years old when the season starts, would be a decent pickup for a team that desperately needs stability in the secondary.  He may not be the best that was available during free agency, and he may not be the best of who is still available at this point, but right now Vikings fans will welcome just about anybody that seems like they could help out.

Mock Draft Update

March 22, 2012, by 9 comments

This is just a quick note to let you all know that I have updated my 2012 NFL Mock Draft.

There are some major changes that might interest you, but the Vikings third overall selection has not changed, despite Rick Spielman’s best efforts to convince us he wants to select Morris Claiborne.

Click here to check it out, and feel free to question/criticize/praise my choices in the comments section.