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Yours truly has been a bachelor for about the last three weeks.  Mrs. Warwas and Baby Gates have been touring the country and are finally due to return home later on tonight.

Not surprisingly, I have missed the heck out of them both and am looking forward to their return.  That is why I am not hosting a live chat tomorrow, as I am hoping for the misery of watching another 2011 Vikings game to be a good father-son bonding experience.

I’ll make sure to have an “Open Thread” posted for all game time comments.

Have a great football Sunday everybody!

Football is designed as a team sport, which is unfortunate for Adrian Peterson and Jared Allen, the only two Vikings that are likely to make the Pro Bowl roster this season.

Peterson has the fourth most Pro Bowl votes, according to PFT, of all NFL players with 469,117.  Allen leads all other defensive ends in the NFC.

Following the bye week and a tough game against Green Bay, Peterson has dropped out of the NFL’s lead for rushing yards, and now sits at fifth with 846 yards.  Fred Jackson is in the lead with 917 yards.  Peterson is tied with LeSean McCoy for a league high of 10 rushing touchdowns.  Fans that are voting seem to notice that Peterson’s efforts are keeping the Vikings rushing attack within the top five in the league, despite some very poor blocking ahead of him.

Allen is currently the league’s leading sacker with 13.5 which puts him on pave for 24 sacks this season.  He also leads all Vikings linemen with 41 combined tackles and boasts a team high of three forced fumbles.  Three batted passes, one interception, and three fumble recoveries are icing on the cake.

Both of these guys are having outstanding individual seasons, making the fact that our Vikings are sitting at 2-7 right now all the more frustrating.

When it comes to most things in life I have the patience of a chopping block.  However, when it comes to computers not doing what I want them to, I have the patience of a 13 year old girl waiting in line at a Bieber concert.

So, I recently came to terms with the fact that I suck really badly at this whole creating a website thing and decided take the next logical step one would take after realizing they suck, and I brought in some help.  So, everybody, please join me in welcoming the newest member of Vikings Territory.

Benny Sapp.

Wait, that seems to fit, but it doesn’t.

Everybody, please join me in welcoming the newest member of Vikings Territory, Brett Anderson.

Brett will not only bring his vast knowledge of the Vikings to the table in his writing, but will also help me with the technical nitty-gritty that has been bogging me down of late.  We have talked extensively about the “vision” for the site (robust yet simple) and I think he is the right man to make this happen.

It won’t all happen at once, of course, but I have great faith in Brett and his ability to make this the best damn Vikings site around.

As always, we want your help in making this the best site for you, so feel free anytime to send us feedback, concerns, questions, comments, or ideas by clicking the “contact” button on the top bar.

To read more about Brett head on over to the “about” page.

At the beginning of the Vikings bye week, Leslie Frazier himself suggested that the Vikings should look outside the organization for help in the secondary and most fans seemed to agree with that assessment, especially with the Green Bay Packers next on the schedule.

At the time, I mentioned two names to consider, one being Leigh Bodden who ended up needing surgery which made him not much use.

The other name I mentioned was Benny Sapp who was traded two years ago to Miami in exchange for Greg Camarillo.  Sapp was cut by the Fins after a week one disaster against New England.

Sapp, in his eighth year, is expected to be signed on Wednesday.

While the Vikings adding an average-at-best cornerback will do little to solve any of their problems on defense, it is an obvious choice considering Antoine Winfield’s season ending injury.

Oh, and it doesn’t help that the Vikings are paying the alleged domestic abuser Chris Cook to sit at home and cut his hair… probably in an attempt to distance himself from his mug shot.

At the beginning of Monday’s live chat I also expressed surprise and concern that the Vikings did not activate rookie cornerback Brandon Burton.  Hopefully, we will soon be able to get a look at this young cornerback, and hopefully he will show us something to be excited about.

(UPDATE:  The signing is official.  Sapp could play against Oakland on Sunday.)

Are you in the mood for some good news following the Vikings embarrassing 45-7 loss to the Packers?

Well, too bad.

ESPN 1500 reports that cornerback Antoine Winfield fractured his clavicle and is done for the season.

“I don’t think we’ll get him back,” Leslie Frazier said. “I’ll learn more, but I don’t see him being able to come back from that.”

Already without Chris Cook, the Vikings secondary could barely field a team at all, let alone a talented one, and Winfield’s absence will do little to help matters.

“Very thin, so we’ll have to look at some options there,” Leslie Frazier said.

With the Vikings season officially six feet under, it is likely that one of those options is rookie Brandon Burton.

Christian Ponder’s non-throwing hand got stepped on during the game but he is expected to be fine.  Safeties Husain Abdullah and Mistral Raymond also left the game with a concussion for Abdullah and cramps for Raymond.

Left tackle Charlie Johnson hurt his finger but only had to leave the game breifly.

At a 2-7 record, the Vikings injuries don’t exactly matter in terms of playoff hopes, but it is hard to see them even being competitive between now and the end of the season.

It was reported this week that Zygi Wilf was only willing to contribute $400 million to a Minnesota Stadium if the location was Arden Hills.  It is believed that the reason for this is that it provides him, and the Vikings, more potential for purchasing and developing surrounding lands than, say, Minneapolis.

The Vikings made these stipulations official recently by sending the following letter to Governor Mark Dayton:

Dear Governor Dayton:

Thank you for your continued leadership in the discussions to build a new publicly-owned, multi-purpose stadium in Minnesota. The Vikings are encouraged by the fact that you and all four caucus leaders are having serious conversations about resolving this issue and that State leaders recognize the urgency for reaching a resolution. As we have seen in our seven seasons as owners, the strategy of avoiding this issue does not work. Further delays not only increase the overall costs to both the State and the Vikings, but also make the project much more difficult to resolve and prevent thousands of construction workers from getting back on the job.

While we are disappointed with the decision to eliminate the local sales tax option after being told for many years to pursue a local partner and funding source, we believe the most positive news is that State leaders are now focused on viable revenue streams that are sufficient to fund the project. The Vikings are open to how State leaders choose to finance the public portion of the equation, and we look forward to working with you on a comprehensive stadium finance plan.

We continue to believe Arden Hills is the ideal stadium site for the State and the team. It is also the site that is preferred by our fans, as it will provide the game day experience and a Vikings destination that makes this location superior. The Vikings have spent more than a year working with Ramsey County on the analysis of this site and we are confident that it will serve the State and our fans extremely well. As you know, the Metropolitan Council study completed in October found no new concerns that should prohibit the project at this site from moving forward. In fact, Ramsey County now plans to vote next week to approve a Purchase Offer negotiated with the Army that will provide for a fixed cost and timeline to acquire and remediate the land in accordance with the 2015 project schedule and budget.

Furthermore, the Vikings private investment of more than $400 million is specific to the Arden Hills location because of the opportunities that exist with that site. Any other location would not justify anywhere near the level of commitment we have made in Arden Hills. By building at this site, the State can leverage the maximum amount of private dollars toward this publicly-owned project, clean up the largest Superfund site in Minnesota, and improve roads in the region that need attention and will benefit the entire State. For your benefit, we have attached the most up-to-date images of the potential of a new multi-purpose facility in Arden Hills.

The Vikings stand ready to work with you and State leaders during a special legislative session this fall or winter. By doing so, we can put thousands of people back to work now and prevent further cost delays. We look forward to reviewing the State’s proposed financing package and to reaching a solution that fits Minnesota and works for the State and the Vikings.