VT News

Time To Step Up For Oklahoma

May 20, 2013, by 11 comments

Once again we are left feeling like any football related topic being posted in this space would be utterly meaningless and inappropriate.  Mother nature showed her ugliest side today in Oklahoma, with tornadoes sweeping across the land and leaving a wake of tragedy behind, and we want to use our little corner of the internet to stand beside those in need.

So, while we will surely hear stories in the near future of our Vikings with Oklahoma ties making grand gestures of generosity to help with the recovery, I now ask you to at least make a small contribution.  If you can, please consider donating to the Red Cross to help those that are injured, faced with rebuilding their homes, or lost loved ones today.

Click here to donate.

Vikings Territory Invades Middie Territory To See Cris Carter Honored By The Pro Football Hall Of Fame and Allstate Insurance

May 7, 2013, by 30 comments

I showed up to Middletown High School this morning about an hour ahead of schedule.  As I pulled into the main entrance there was artwork on the fence surrounding the school’s track that read “WELCOME BACK CRIS!!” with the two exclamation points fitting perfectly with the excitement I felt about today’s events from the moment I set foot in the parking lot.

The Middletown Middies had decorated the front door with purple balloons, which are the school’s color, but fit great with Cris Carter’s Hall of Fame career with the Minnesota Vikings.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame and Allstate Insurance were honoring Carter as a part of their “Hometown Hall of Famer” program that celebrates the roots of the greatest players, coaches, and contributors with special community events and plaque dedications.  I was thrilled to get the press release and invitation to the event and even more thrilled when I realized I was going to be able to attend.

When I walked through the front door of the school I checked into the front desk.  The lady asked who I was and when I told her she grabbed a list of names that said “VIP’s” in bold letters at the top and quickly scanned it before looking at me sheepishly.  I had a slight moment of panic, hoping she had another list that said “Hack Bloggers” at the top, and that I hadn’t wasted a day off and four hours of drive time for no reason.

She was nice enough to let me through and directed me towards the modest gymnasium that was filled with purple balloons, a purple stage, a “red carpet” that was actually purple, and purple chairs.  It was also full of people wearing the previously mentioned VIP badges, cameramen, and a power suit or two.  I quickly planted myself against the nearest wall, close to the back of the room, and just started observing.

I listened to a group of men standing near me, who I later found out were some of Carter’s old buddies from school, talk about their time playing football together.  I was amazed at how well they remembered every last detail; who was lined up where, who got out in front with a lead block, and which guy got knocked out on which play.  Almost every time Carter’s name came up in the conversation the words “reversed the field” were used immediately in front of the word “touchdown.”

After taking in as much of that conversation as possible, I wandered about for awhile, admiring the equipment and professionalism that NFL Films brought to the event along with some of the other big-time news outlets that were setting up to cover the occasion.  Somehow, the iPhone and pencil I had in my pockets made me feel like perhaps I had underdone it a bit.

An announcement came over the loudspeaker releasing students from class.  Pretty soon the Middies cheerleader squad was front and center, the pep band was warming up, and students began to fill the bleachers.  They filed in until the gym was filled to the max. The event was preceded by a very enthusiastic pep rally and I decided to step into the hallway to see if I could get a better vantage point from another entrance.

In the hallway was where I first saw Carter, standing in a stylish tan suit talking with somebody with NFL Films hovering around to catch every move.  I stood there for a moment and my immediate impression of him, a man I had never met before, was that he is a professional entertainer to the Nth degree.  If today was any indication, I suspect that Carter goes through life displaying the impeccable blocking and open stance that would make the most refined Broadway actors at least a little bit jealous.  Running routes and being in front of a camera aren’t the same thing, but Carter has clearly mastered the latter just like he had the former.

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Giveaway Winners Have Been Notified!

April 28, 2013, by 2 comments

We wanted to thank everyone for making Vikings Territory a destination during the offseason, and late last night we drew four winning names for our Giveaway Promotion.

We gave away a $25 Amazon gift card, and three more of the $10 variety, which isn’t much but hopefully was a large enough gesture to let you all know how much we appreciate being a part of your daily Vikings fix.

The four winners have been notified via email, so please be sure to check you inbox and get back to us with instructions on how to get you your prize!

Oh, and if the winners feel so inclined, spending that dough in our FanCave would be greatly appreciated!

HouseCleaning: GiveAway, Big Board, and Live Chat

April 18, 2013, by 3 comments

A few things I wanted to update our readers on while I was thinking about it:

GIVEAWAY:  Don’t forget to take advantage of our “thank you” giveaway.  There are nine days left to enter, and you can enter every day, for your chance to win some Amazon.com gift cards compliments of… well… us.  Don’t forget to get your daily entries in by visiting our Giveaway Page.

BIG BOARD:  Yes, we plan on releasing a Vikings-specific Big Board once again this year, and Brett is lined up to work hard throughout Draft weekend updating it in real time by crossing off players as they are selected.  Our Big Board is very close to being finalized, and I would guess we’ll be ready to post it sometime this weekend.

For those that don’t remember, our VT Big Board is made up in a somewhat complicated manner.  We essentially spend tons of time doing data entry in a spreadsheet, using other prominent big boards from the leading experts, and put them side-by-side with our own big boards.  We then use a weighted formula to create a big board that is 100% unique.  It includes input from all of the experts as well as the Vikings-specific rankings we put together.

We’re excited to share that with you and it is coming soon.

LIVE CHAT:  Yes!  We plan to have a place to chat live with other Vikings all set up for you during Draft Weekend.

For a number of reasons, we were looking for an alternative to our normal format, and one VT reader stepped up to the plate to help out.  The reader many of you know as “Harvest” has generously volunteered to set up a chat room which will be hosted here at VT.  It will look very different, has it’s pros and cons, but should provide a great experience for all of us on Draft Weekend.  Even more generous of “Harvest,” he has volunteered to provide us with tech support throughout the entire event which will allow Brett and I to focus on normal content for the site.  I am excited about this and can’t wait to see you all there!

Boston Marathon Explosions Create All-Too-Familiar Feeling

April 15, 2013, by 2 comments

Sports are supposed to be our pleasant distraction from real life woes and events, such as the Boston Marathon, are supposed to be a celebration of our ability to triumph as individuals, as communities, and as a world full of diverse people capable of coming together.

Today, some sort of evil decided to invade these great moments and attacked the great international event, and details are still being gathered about what happened and how we might be able to help.

In the meantime, we’re going to take a short break from our normal ongoings here at VT, and we encourage all of our readers to find a way to help those impacted by these events.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Boston, and the families around the world that are certainly worried about their loved ones in attendance today.

Opening Up The Ol’ Mailbag

April 7, 2013, by 6 comments

To shake things up a little this weekend I decided to solicit questions from the audience for the first time in a long time.  As the Draft approaches, there is always an increase in questions from those that for some reason find this hack blogger’s opinion to be relevant, and I wanted to give the opportunity to ask as many as possible before the pre-Draft craziness fully sets in.  Below are the results.

There have been some recent questions about our tradition of our Draft Weekend Live Chat and whether it will live on in 2013.

Our normal software avenue has decided to start charging for their services.  They are now charging by the number of readers that use the live chat services and VT has really started to take off recently, which is a great problem to have, and we expect thousands of people to visit our site on Draft Weekend.  This means it could be a pretty expensive proposition for this little blog to consider.

Still, Brett and I are currently evaluating alternatives, and we are sure to come up with something.

One of our loyal readers very generously offered to set up a chat room for us here at VT free-of-charge and we’ve been testing it out.  There are some pros and cons to it, and it won’t look as slick as what you’ve grown used to, but I think it will get the job done.  Stay tuned!

A number of people asked about us updating our mock drafts and releasing some sort of positional rankings prior to the Draft.

Yes, my mock will be updated at least once (probably more) prior to the draft taking place.  I’m hoping to find the time to add a second round fairly soon, as well.

I am also working on creating a VT-unique “Big Board” of about 300 players.  Last year Brett worked hard to make our Big Board update somewhat instantly as the Draft progressed, crossing off players as they were selected on Draft Weekend.  Preferably we’ll be able to get something like that together again.  That’s the goal.

Okay, now onto some more interesting questions.  SKOL12 wanted to know what type of defensive tackle the Vikings are in need of.  Do they need a big run stuffer, and athletic pass rusher, or someone a little more balanced?

I think it is clear that the Vikings don’t have a massive run stuffer and could benefit from grabbing one like John Jenkins or Jesse Williams.  Given the age, possible regression, and heavy cap hit of Kevin Williams I also can’t see the downside of drafting a very well balanced defensive tackle like Sylvester Williams.  With the Vikings defense struggling greatly against mobile quarterbacks last season, and about 10 of them on the schedule this season, getting more athletic in the middle of the defense needs to be a priority, as well, which is why a guy like Sheldon Richardson appeals to me so much.

Ideally, Letroy Guion and Christian Ballard can step up to the plate in 2013, and Kevin Williams regains some of his previous spark.  That might be a lot to bank on, however, and the Vikings need to add some competition via the Draft regardless of the type of lineman they are eyeballing.

Reader SB wants to know if trading up into the late teens to grab Sheldon Richardson would appeal to me if it only costs a fourth or fifth rounder to pull off.

Yes!  I consider Richardson to be a special talent and any team in that range will be interested in him.  It will likely cost a lot more than that to move up in the first round, but if this deal presented itself I would certainly move up and get my guy.

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Let’s Open Things Up Again, For The First Time In A Long Time

April 4, 2013, by 36 comments

Hey Everyone!

So, I have noticed an increase in questions in the comments section and through all the business I fear I haven’t gotten to all of them.

I thought I’d create this post as a place for you all to feel free to drop questions into this weekend and I’ll take time this weekend to answer as many of them as possible.

Have at it!