Vikings Sign LB Marvin Mitchell

April 10, 2012, by No comments yet

Per Jeremy Fowler of the Pioneer Press, the Minnesota Vikings added linebacker Marvin Mitchell. Details of the contract are currently unknown, but if a majority off the free agency signings this offseason are any indication, it is probably a low-risk, minimum, short-term contract.

Mitchell, the former Miami Dolphin, entered the NFL in 2007 when he was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the seventh round. Last season with the Dolphins, Mitchell “recorded 30 tacles, one sack, one interception and one forced fumble…”

Do not expect Mitchell to be an instant fix at linebacker. Instead, the signing is probably just an attempt to add depth to a thin position and bring in some special teams assistance.

An interesting note: Marvin Mitchell was a member of the Saints during the [horrid] 2009 NFC Championship Game. In other words, Mitchell may have been involved in the ‘Bountygate’ scandal. The move suggests that maybe Remi Ayodele really was released for reasons other than his [supposed] involvement in ‘Bountygate.’

Harvin’s Past Is Again Under Scrutiny

April 9, 2012, by 6 comments

I remember giving the selection of Percy Harvin in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft a “C” grade due mostly to the character concerns following him out of Florida.

After three seasons of breath-taking plays, Harvin’s character concerns have never reared their ugly in any big way, and he has actually grown into a sort of leadership role on the offense.

Now, however, stories about Urban Meyer’s mismanagement of the Florida program are now uncovering new details of Harvin’s checkered past.  According to the reports from Sporting News, Harvin “epitomized the climate” created by Meyer that entitled certain players and led to practices that placed stars like Harvin into a special category, allegedly allowing them to get away with things they should not have.

In 2008, Meyer told the press that Harvin and two other players missed four games due to injury.  In reality, it appears that Harvin missed those games as a result of a failed drug test and the University required the four game suspension but Meyer made sure to cover for his players.  Harvin also reportedly failed a drug test at the NFL Scouting Combine prior to the Vikings drafting him.

The report continues to recall a story where Harvin grew tired of doing stadium runs and decided to just stop.  When told to keep moving he exclaimed, “This (bad word) end now.”  The following day conditioning did not include stadium runs, and instead the players played basketball.

The most troubling story is the one that tells of Harvin assaulting wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales by throwing him to the ground and putting his hands around his neck.  Meyers never let the truth about that incident become public, saying only that “something did happen,” and Gonzales himself claims that the incident was blown out of proportion.

Harvin, in November of 2010, reportedly got into a verbal altercation with Brad Childress that nearly turned physical but stopped just short.

Harvin has not yet commented on the article by Sporting News and with his surgery scheduled for Tuesday, it is unlikely he will grant media access any time real soon.

At the end of this latest season, Harvin won the Korey Stringer Good Guy Award for his professionalism in dealing with the media.  Outside of the Childress incident and some mild pouting about the sudden release of teammate Randy Moss, Harvin seems to have his life under control and appears to be the exact type of player the Vikings were hoping to get when they selected him.

In fact, if it wasn’t for recent scandals following Urban Meyer around, Harvin’s character concerns would still be just a thing of the past.

Inside Our War Room – Rounds Two & Three

April 9, 2012, by 10 comments

For those that don’t already know here, over the past few days, I’ve been participating in an online community mock draft called #MockOne. It just so happens that this particular iteration is the third time it’s been done, making it #MockThree. And, of course, I am one of the lucky people representing the Minnesota Vikings. For a more in depth explanation of how the draft works, check out my previous post explaining what we did in the first round. Today, I will be reporting back the moves we made (or didn’t make) in the second and third rounds. The reason I am combining these two rounds is because, if you remember, we traded our second round pick to move up and grab Dre Kirkpatrick towards the end of the first round. Or, in other words, we didn’t have a second round pick. We did have a third round pick though, and in just a moment, I will tell you who we targeted and who we actually ended up selecting.

As you’ll remember from my previous post, I was partial to not trading picks to move up into the second round. It’s not that I don’t like Dre Kirkpatrick; I believe he would make a great addition to the team and immediately bolster our secondary. Rather, for a team with so many needs, I felt that we should be hanging on tightly to the large amount of picks we already had and potentially even trading down to amass more. Again, I don’t think it was a bad move, it just wasn’t the ideal move in my mind.

It hurt to watch so many great players go off the board in the second round – a round in which we didn’t have any picks. Granted, Dre Kirkpatrick was essentially our second pick, but still… Wide receiver Stephen Hill, a prospect I would have pushed hard for, didn’t make it to the pick we would have had in the second round which made me feel a tad bit better. Hill was acquired by the St. Louis Rams with the first pick of the second round. And Hill was just one of many wide receivers to come off the board. Alshon Jeffery, Mohamed Sanu, Brian Quick, Joe Adams and Marvin Jones were also selected in the second round, in that order.

So, by the time our third round pick rolled around, taking any of the remaining wide receivers in the draft would have been a huge reach. So, instead, we used the pick to address one of the Vikings other biggest needs (arguably the biggest, according to Adam), safety.

With the third pick in the third round of the 2012 #MockThree draft…

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Ranking The Vikings Draft Needs

April 9, 2012, by 4 comments

I am a big fan of drafting best player available, regardless of need, and building your team around solid, young players instead of reaching to fill a void.  After all, there is nothing wrong with having good depth at a position and/or getting better at something you are already good at.

Still, teams have needs and the Minnesota Vikings are quite obviously no exception. 

With that, I present you with my rankings of how the Vikings needs stack up going into this year’s Draft:

1.      Safety

There is perhaps no positional group on any team in the NFL that needs upgrading more than the Vikings need to upgrade their safeties.  Heck, at this point I would say the Vikings have a greater need at safety than the Dolphins do at quarterback.  The thought of Jamarca Sanford and Mistral Raymond being starters instead of depth players, especially in our division, should worry even the most enthusiastic optimists.

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Notre Dame And The Vikings

April 9, 2012, by 5 comments

While perusing the internet, I came across this article written by Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press.  In it, Walters offers up very little reason outside of the obvious needs of this roster to surmise that there is “little doubt” the Vikings front office will “pounce” on Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith if he is available when they are on the clock in the second round.

One thing Walters wrote did jump out to me, however, of something that might actually have some meat behind it.  He noted that Rick Spielman seems to have a thing for Notre Dame players.  Considering that within less than a year he drafted tight end Kyle Rudolph, gave a hefty contract to center John Sullivan, and signed tight end John Carlson it seems that Walters might be on to something.

In fact, a quick scan of the Vikings roster indeed showed that the only other college to occupy three roster spots on this team is Iowa.  Then, Brett passed along the news that Notre Dame receiver Michael Floyd seems to have caught the eye of the Vikings, and I decided we should take a look at what all Notre Dame is offering up this year and examine their prospects a little closer.  Soon, I will take a look at Iowa, too.

Here are the major prospects that could be selected in a couple of weeks and some information on each:

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Michael Floyd To Meet With Vikings

April 8, 2012, by 2 comments

According to NFL.com, Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd is scheduled to meet with the Vikings in the upcoming week. Floyd is just one of the many prospects that the Vikings are sure to host in the upcoming days to the NFL draft.

Michael Floyd is considered by many to be the second best wide receiver in this draft class, only preceded by Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon.

The Vikings, who have the third pick in the draft, are highly unlikely to draft Floyd unless they trade down later into the first round or trade back up into the first round if they really like him.

Interestingly enough, the visit to the Vikings serves somewhat as a homecoming for Floyd who attended, and played football floor, Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Free Agency Did Little To Increase Super Bowl Odds, Vegas Says

April 8, 2012, by 1 comment

I’m not a betting man, but if I was I would probably put some money on the Minnesota Vikings every single year just out of principle.

That illustrates the exact reason I am not, and should not be, a betting man.

Still, it is interesting to note that the Vikings were not a good bet, according to Vegas, prior to free agency.  Vegas gave the Vikings 75/1 odds to win the Super Bowl prior to free agency beginning in March.

Now, it appears that the house doesn’t view Rick Spielman’s approach to free agency as a good thing, at least in the short term.  They now have 100/1 odds of winning the Super Bowl, according to the National Football Post.

The Green Bay Packers are currently the odds makers’ favorite team, giving them 13/2 odds of winning a ring for the second time in three years.