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Path to the Playoffs: Week 15, Do or Die

December 15, 2012, by 10 comments

The Vikings are still very much in this thing. I know some of you out there don’t believe that. I know as a Vikings fan it’s hard to be an optimist and you feel like we have no chance with Christian Ponder at the helm, but the Vikings still have a good chance to make the playoffs.

Obviously, they will have to win out. That alone is going to be difficult. While the Vikings have what some consider to be a ‘winnable’ game this week against the St. Louis Rams, it is an away game. And we are a horrible visiting team for whatever reason. But if the Vikings want to make it to the postseason, they’ll have to not lose another game in the 2012 season. I don’t think that they could take a loss and still be in the race – mathematically… I haven’t verified that information, but I think it’s pretty safe to say that with a loss at St. Louis Sunday, the Vikings have been eliminated from the picture.

The Vikings could even win the NFC North. I know, crazy right? But it is very possible if the Vikings win out and a couple of things happen.

So, instead of doing the usual where we just go through what teams we want to lose, let’s talk about how the Vikings could actually walk away from this season the NFC North Champions. (And then we’ll wake up and move on to the wild card.)

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Lambeau Inactives List

December 2, 2012, by No comments yet

The inactives are in for today’s matchup in Green Bay:

VIKINGS:  WR Harvin, QB Bethel-Thompson, CB Burton, LB Cole, OL Asper, TE Reisner, and DE Reed.

THE OTHER TEAM:  LB Matthews, S Woodson, CB Shields, DE Wilson, RB White, WR Driver, LB Manning

There are not any surprises for those that have been paying attention during the week, and while the Vikings will miss Percy Harvin once again, it is notable that the other team is dealing with an awful lot of injuries to some of their best players.

Harvin’s Importance Recognized In A Big Way

October 4, 2012, by 3 comments

Just the other day, talking with Brett on Gmail chat as I often do to make plans for VT, I mentioned that I thought that after a quarter of the regular season went by that Percy Harvin should be in the conversation for league MVP.

I even went so far as to suggest he should be in second place, behind only Matt Ryan, because of the important role Harvin has played in the Vikings three wins, and the fact that he was the only offensive player worth a hoot in their one loss.

Thursday, Harvin was recognized not as the league’s best player, but was bestowed a pretty high honor.  Harvin won the NFC’s special teams player of September.

Harvin is averaging 38.3 yards on nine kickoff returns and set the tone for an upset win against Detroit by returning the opening kickoff for 105 yards and a score.  That return caused the Lions to kickoff short for the rest of the game, as they were scared to death he would do it twice… or more.

Interestingly enough, the AFC’s special teams player of the month is Titans return man Darius Reynaud, who is a former Viking.

Erin Henderson Out Against The 49ers

September 21, 2012, by 15 comments

According to Tom Pelissero of ESPN 1500, linebacker Erin Henderson will not be starting for the Vikings this weekend as they host the San Francisco 49ers.

Notice that last part: “Audie Cole will be active too.” The possibility of Cole getting to play a few snaps on the starting lineup will probably have some Vikings fans excited. Perhaps it’s a slight consolation to the fact that the Vikings will be without their leading tackler in what could very well be their toughest game of the season.

Now, if this is the first time you’ve heard about Erin Henderson being injured, you wouldn’t be alone. Henderson missed practice this week due to a concussion he suffered in last week’s match-up. The concussion went unnoticed though until Wednesday when Henderson came out for practice and “did not feel right.”

Apart from a blown coverage last week against the Colts Reggie Wayne, Erin Henderson has looked great so far this season. Not only is he tied for 6th place in tackles in the league with an exceptional 22 combined tackles but he also leads the Vikings in sacks (2).

Marvin Mitchell, who will start in Erin Henderson’s place, was signed in the offseason by the Vikings for his “experience not only on special teams but also on defense.”

Defensive coordinator Alan Williams was asked about whether or not he was comfortable starting Mitchell this weekend.

“Marvin has been in ball games as a starter, he’s been in ball games as a backup, he’s played a lot of football so everything that happens is not new to him out there. That gives me comfort and when he’s been in ball games, he’s performed well so that gives me comfort that it’s not all new to him and we’re not playing guys that have not played a lot of football. Marvin has so I feel good about that,” Williams said.

It goes without saying that Marvin Mitchell will have big shoes to fill this Sunday and will be expected to step in and play a prominent role on the defense. The Vikings defense already had their hands full going up against a passing attack with a bunch of weapons in the 49ers. What was already a difficult task now seems even more daunting.

Alas, all we can do is hope for the best. Maybe even an interception? Nah…

 

Adrian Peterson Arrested

July 7, 2012, by 9 comments

Just a couple days ago, Adam and I were discussing the lack of any substantial Vikings news lately. I reminded him that sometimes, during this slow part of the offseason, “no news is good news.” He agreed and we pretty much dropped the subject.

Well, folks, unfortunately I have some major offseason news this morning: Adrian Peterson has been arrested.

Jerome Solomon, a columnist for the Houston Chronicle broke the news via Twitter earlier this morning.

According to Mike Florio, of Pro Football Talk, Adrian Peterson was with his girlfriend and some family members at a Houston nightclub late last night/this morning. Police, for unknown reasons at this point, entered the club at its closing hours and began instructing people to leave. Adrian Peterson attempted to get some water before he left the club and Peterson was again instructed that he needed to leave. He then supposedly walked to the exit with a couple of the club’s bouncers. Then, according to Florio and a ‘source’, “It’s believed that one of the officers then jumped on Peterson’s back from behind and tried to take him down. (Key word: “tried.”) Other officers then joined the fray and completed the arrest.”

At this point, there really aren’t any other details of the incident but it is believed that is was captured on video by multiple subjects. (When these videos become public you can be sure we’ll share them here.)

As of right now, it is believed that Adrian Peterson is still in jail with bail set at $1,000.

While this isn’t the first time AP has had  a run-in with the law (with other various traffic violations), in my opinion, something seems a little fishy here. While I’m sure more details will become available soon, I’m not sure why an officer “jumped on Peterson’s back.” Either way, probably wasn’t a very good idea for the cop to try and tackle a football player who is known for not being tackled…

Well, I guess we got our big piece of offseason drama. Wouldn’t be a Vikings offseason without some, now would it?

Coin Toss: 2012 Fantasy D/ST Rankings

July 1, 2012, by 6 comments

It’s that time of year. As we get closer and closer to the start of the NFL season, Fantasy Football enthusiasts begin preparing for their league’s draft by putting together their own rankings and cheat sheets. So, we thought it might be fun to publicize our own rankings and then point out how off the other person is.

In the weeks leading up to the start of the 2012 season, we will highlight each of the major fantasy football positions. This week, we start off with a position that’s not the biggest point scorer fantasy wise, but still very important to a successful championship run, D/ST, or defense/special teams.

Adam’s D/ST Rankings

  1. San Francisco 49ers
  2. New York Giants
  3. Green Bay Packers
  4. Houston Texans
  5. Baltimore Ravens
  6. Detroit Lions
  7. New England Patriots
  8. Philadelphia Eagles
  9. New York Jets
  10. Cincinnati Bengals

Brett’s D/ST Rankings

  1. San Francisco 49ers
  2. Baltimore Ravens
  3. Detroit Lions
  4. Green Bay Packers
  5. Pittsburgh Steelers
  6. Philadelphia Eagles
  7. Chicago Bears
  8. New York Jets
  9. Houston Texans
  10. Minnesota Vikings

Continue reading to see Adam and I duke it out on these rankings.

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House Passes The Bill

May 10, 2012, by 17 comments

In the wee hours of the morning, Mrs. Warwas couldn’t believe I was watching Minnesota’s equivelant of C-SPAN, but I just couldn’t help myself.

In the end, the Vikings stadium bill passed through the Minnesota House of Representatives and it will now move on to the State Senate.

Should the Senate also approve the bill, it will then need to go through the Governor’s office and the City of Minneapolis will also need to approve the plan with an official vote.

The bill passed at about 3:32 a.m. (Central Lutefisk Time) by a vote of 71 – 60.