Vikings: “The Wilfs have stepped up and made a huge commitment to Minnesota and a huge commitment to the fans”

May 9, 2012, by 2 comments

One of the biggest questions over the last few days has been how the Minnesota Vikings, particularly the Wilf family, would respond to the public squeezing that the State Legislature has put on them.

The House tried to get an extra $105 million out of them in their version of the stadium bill, while the Senate wanted an extra $25 million.

The Conference Committee met late on Wednesday night and the Vikings have agreed to pay what amounts to a compromise, an increase of $50 million.  That bring the Vikings (and NFL’s) contribution to the new stadium up to $477 million.

“The Wilfs have stepped up and made a huge commitment to Minnesota and a huge commitment to the fans,” Vikings vice president Lester Bagley said to the Committee.

At this point, it is kind of hard to argue with him.

Now, it is time to see if the State is willing to show the same level of commitment.

The House and the Senate should have final votes completed by Thursday night at the very latest.

Peterson Shows His Determination

May 9, 2012, by 2 comments

On December 24th, Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson suffered a major knee injury and had to celebrate the new year while recovering from reconstructive surgery.

On Wednesday, Peterson and head trainer Eric Sugarman met with Minneapolis media to show that both the player and team are cautiously optimistic that he will be able to return to playing meaningful football early in the 2012 season, perhaps even the opening game.

“That first game against Jacksonville, I plan on being back, so that will be disappointing if I’m not,” said Peterson.

“I’ve been ahead of the schedule since Day One,” Peterson continued. “The staff here, the staff down in Houston, they’ve been doing a great job with just pushing me, pushing me, but having that limit on it and knowing that, ‘Hey, Adrian, I know you want to do this, but you’ve just got to play it slow and it will come.’ ”

“You know, he’s to the point now where he’s really safe to do just about anything,” Sugarman said. “We gradually ramp him up to functional activity, and when we get to the point where he’s comfortable and has normal strength back to the other side — or better than the other side — and can function as he needs to, then we make that decision.

“He realizes now that there’s too much to lose by doing something foolish,” Sugarman added. “He has been pretty good. Now you have to pull back on the reins every once in a while and just remind him. But he has been pretty good about it, and I’m on the record as saying that he’ll continue.”

Peterson worked out in front of the media on Wednesday, performing a litany of drills and exercises to show just how far he has come.  He wore a brace on his knee for everything except for straight-line running.  Cutting and deceleration are the hardest things to do for Peterson at this point.

While Peterson showed a willingness to appease trainers by taking things as slow as his ultra-competitive personality will let him, he said that he has no intentions of playing second fiddle to Toby Gerhart once he does make it onto the field in the regular season.

“I’m not going to see myself in a limited role,” he said. “I want to be out there full throttle. … I feel like I’ll be able to go out there and help my team. That’s where my mind-set is going to be at.”

Conference Committee Produces A Merged Bill

May 9, 2012, by 1 comment

The Conference Committee settled the differences between the State House and State Senate bills regarding the Vikings new stadium deal.

The product is the bill found by clicking this link.

The House had previously wanted to see the Vikings and NFL’s portion of the funding increase by $105 million while the Senate had it increasing by $25 million.  This version is a “compromise” of sorts and sees the private funding portion increase by $50 million, which leaves the team and the league with a $477 million price tag.

At this time, it is unknown whether the Vikings and the NFL have agreed to fund the increased amount.

Final votes are expected to take place on Thursday.

Once Again, Cris Carter Talks While Vikings Fans Cringe

May 9, 2012, by 13 comments

With the Saints player suspension less than a week old, former Vikings receiver Cris Carter re-confirmed what many of us already knew, or at least believed, about the sport of football:  “bounties” have long been a part of the game.

“I’m guilty of it,” Carter said of using bounties. “It’s the first time I’ve ever admitted it. But I put a bounty on guys before. I put bounties on guys. And the guys tried to take me out, a guy tried to take a cheap shot on me, I put a bounty on him, right now.”

Carter insisted that he used bounties strictly as a defense mechanism, but also witnessed times when bounties were use to target specific players on opposing teams.

“Protect me. . . . Protect me from him. . . . Especially if he’s playing a different position where I can’t protect myself,” Carter said. “I’d tell one of them guards, ‘Hey man, this dude is after me, man. Bill Romanowski.’ He told me he’s gonna me out before the game, in warmups. No problem. ‘I’m gonna end your career, Carter.’ No problem. I put a little change on his head before the game. Protect myself, protect my family. That’s the league that I grew up in.”

Since the day the news of “Bounty Gate” first broke I have maintained a pretty uninspired stance on the matter, despite some very emotional reactions from other Vikings faithful, but part of my measured response to this story has to do with the assumption that this troubling practice was not isolated within the City of New Orleans, with a Gregg Williams defense, or even just within the NFL.

Instead, it is becoming clear that this was a widespread problem that Roger Goodell has decided there is no room for in a league run by him.

The Saints will take the fall, but bounties have been around for a long time and have infiltrated many locker rooms.

Including, apparently, the Vikings locker room.

McIntosh Can Only Help

May 8, 2012, by No comments yet

Wouldn’t it be fun to have a linebacker named Rocky on the roster?

Yeah, I agree.

On Tuesday, reports surfaced that the Vikings brought in veteran linebacker Rocky McIntosh for a workout.  McIntosh could end up joining seventh round pick Audie Cole, CFL standout Solomon Elimimian, and undrafted rookie Tyler Nielson in Rick Spielman’s effort to solidify the linebacker depth.

McIntosh is 29 years old and played all six of his NFL seasons with the Redskins.  He has racked up 471 tackles, eight sacks, eight forced fumbles, and three interceptions.  Last year, in Washington’s 3-4 defense, McIntosh saw his production slip off and he lost his starting spot.

McIntosh could provide solid depth at every linebacker spot and also be a solid special teams contributor.  Don’t be surprised if McIntosh is offered a one-year (you guessed it) “prove it” deal by Rick Spielman.

The Bill Passes The Senate

May 8, 2012, by 5 comments

By a vote of 38 to 28, the Vikings stadium bill passed through the Minnesota Senate after another exhausting day of debates and re-debates.

After amendments succeeded only to later fail, the Senate ended up including two major amendments to the original bill.

The first amendment ups the Vikings and NFL’s contribution by $25 million, which is considerably less than the $105 million increase that the House called for on Monday.

Second, the Senate’s version of the bill demands no blackouts occur for games played by the Vikings in their new stadium.

Neither the increase in private contribution nor the ultimatum on blackouts are likely to sit well with the NFL, but the fact that this thing has cleared its latest hurdle is only a positive for those that want to see the Vikings tradition upheld.

The House-Senate Conference Committee will now have to find a compromise between the two versions of the bill.  Then it needs to go back to both the House and the Senate for another up or down vote.

Vikings Sign Former Gopher

May 8, 2012, by No comments yet

With the release of Ryan Longwell came an open roster spot.

That spot was filled on Tuesday by Minnesota Gopher defensive end Anthony Jacobs who had joined the Vikings for the rookie minicamp on a tryout basis.

Jacobs is listed at 6’ 2” and 291 pounds which makes him a little undersized at any of the defensive line positions.  Scouting reports say he manages to achieve productive stretches due to an explosive first step, a competitive streak that keeps him moving until the whistle, and by utilizing his feet.

He is a long shot to make the roster, but it is possible that he makes his mark on special teams and is able to stick like Marcus Sherels has done thus far in his career.

Of course, Scout.com thinks he could play fullback.  So, yeah… there’s always that.