Preseason Matchups Announced

April 4, 2012, by 3 comments

While specific dates and times are not yet available, and while none of the games are expected to be televised nationally, it is still worth noting the NFL has announced who the Vikings will play in the upcoming preseason.

The schedule is as follows:

WEEK ONE:  At San Francisco 49ers

WEEK TWO:  Hosting Buffalo Bills

WEEK THREE:  Hosting San Diego Chargers

WEEK FOUR:  At Houston Texans

At this point, there are not any particular storylines that jump to mind as an extra incentive to watch these games.  Interest will mainly center on the progression of quarterback Christian Ponder, a few position battles, and monitoring the performances of the 2012 rookie class.

Reports Fly Regarding Vikings Interest In Parcells

April 4, 2012, by 6 comments

Thanks to a report from the New York Post, the Vikings and Saints are once again intertwined in one of the bigger headlines dominating the news.

The report claims that the Vikings currently want Bill Parcells to run their football team, a dot that was connected by Vikings fans months ago since it is well known that owner Zygi Wilf was a long-time Giants fan prior to owning his own team.

The news was a bit shocking but it didn’t take long for our local beat writers to step up and provide some clarity.

According to Tom Pelissero, yes, the Vikings expressed interest in Parcells to run their football team.  No, that did not happen recently.

Instead, the Vikings approached Parcells prior to hiring Rick Spielman as their General Manager and recommitting to Leslie Frazier as their Head Coach.  The Vikings say that the original report’s suggestion that the Wilf’s told Parcells to “name his price” is erroneous. 

“There is no truth to the media reports,” said public relations director Bob Hagan.

It is fairly evident that Parcells is simply trying to gain some leverage as the New Orleans Saints try to woo him out of retirement as a one-year replacement for the suspended Sean Payton.  After all, this is a terrible time of the year for any head coach or G.M. candidate to try and negotiate a contract.

The news, however, that the Vikings did indeed pursue Parcells prior to promoting Rick Spielman and keeping Leslie Frazier should only increase the pressure applied to their job performances.  The previous appearance that the Wilf family simply promoted from within without looking outside the organization is now dead, and they may be willing to look outside Winter Park once again should the Vikings continue to occupy the last place seat in the NFC North.

Vikings New Uniforms Revealed

April 3, 2012, by 3 comments

Today, the NFL and Nike revealed the new, redesigned uniforms for all 32 NFL teams. Some of the uniform changes were more drastic than others (see: Seahawks), but overall, the uniforms manage to maintain their previous look while becoming more ‘modern’ and ‘sleek’. While most of the upgrades come in the form of performance and ‘uniform technology upgrades’, some of the new ideas are pretty fun. Most noticeably, the new gloves which form the team logo when the hands are laid over each other.

The biggest change to the Vikings actual uniform, apart from it’s performance upgrades, is the redesigned collar. Personally, after seeing the original concepts done by Nike a while back, I was expecting (hoping for) something a little more ‘forward’, but to be honest, the Vikings uniforms were already one of the more progressive ones in the league. I know there are some jersey purists out there, guess I’m just not one of them.

Check out a few shots of the new uniforms below and visit Vikings.com to see the rest of them. To see every team’s redesigned gear, visit NFL.com.

Jerseys will be available for purchase April 26th, the first day of draft weekend. So who’s going to be rocking a brand spanking-new Kalil jersey next year!?

New Vikings Nike Uniforms

Peterson Back To Doing What He Does Best… Running

April 3, 2012, by 4 comments

Vikings fans were all up in arms when star running back Adrian Peterson suffered a scary knee injury in what was essentially a meaningless game last season.

Now, however, the fan base seems to be somewhat excited about his rehabilitation progress and the idea of him making back for what very easily could end up being a meaningless season.

Last week, Peterson reached a major milestone when he was able to run on dry land for the first time since suffering the injury.  This keeps him on track with a timeline that would put him in the lineup during week one of the 2012 season.

“Did a great job and everybody was impressed,” Leslie Frazier said on Tuesday. “Our trainer, (Eric) Sugarman, was impressed with his movement and the things he was able to do. He’s on schedule. He’s doing well.”

Fraizer continued to stress, as he has all offseason, the importance of Peterson’s ability to restrain himself and not push the issue and create a situation in which he could do further damage.

“We had that conversation, too,” Frazier said. “He said, ‘How fast should I go?’ We’re just trying to judge movement, and he wants to run a 4.3 40. But he has to let that graft continue to heal. He understands there’s a time frame he’s working within, and so far, so good.”

While the Vikings are sure to be tickled pink if Peterson can set a new standard for rehab and return for the start of the season, it would be completely shocking if they let him run wild right out of the gate.  Even if he makes it back on time, expect to see Peterson on a strict pitch count with Toby Gerhart getting plenty of action.

New “Minnesota Sports Complex” Concept Images

April 3, 2012, by 9 comments

I have to admit, I was probably more excited than most when the three images below were released to the public yesterday. Having a background in architecture, I have a soft spot for beautiful buildings and breathtaking renderings. It’s always been incredibly fascinating to me how realistic these drawings can look. And having slaved over these types of concepts and drawings myself, I definitely respect the hard work and time that goes into making these works of art (they truly are).

New Stadium Fan Promenade

New Stadium Downtown View

New Stadium Night View

In my opinion, the first image of the “fan promenade” is the most intriguing. I can imagine being there on game day and the excitement building as you walk towards the stadium with all the other Vikings fans after having spent the last few hours tailgating. (Although slightly concerned about intoxicated individuals walking so closely to a speeding tram!) And of course, the last image of the stadium at night is great too. These types of renderings tend to suggest a sort of utopian environment. The Vikings just blew out the Packers at home on Monday night and the fireworks go off, stadium roaring. The office down the block gave all of it’s employees the day off but coordinated which office lights to leave on to spell “Go Vikes,” etc… Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that. One of the purposes of these types of renderings is to create buzz and increase excitement. A billion dollars is a lot. Especially when you can’t visualize what the end product will be.

I can assure you that the parties in charge released these pictures at a specifically chosen time to ignite the fan base and give the stadium that last little push it needs to get over the hill.

I don’t know about you guys, but it worked on me. The images have me pumped up!

What about you all?

Claiborne’s Red Flags Are Piling Up

April 3, 2012, by 7 comments

Over the last month or so Vikings G.M. Rick Spielman has used the media to suggest he is open to taking LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne with the third overall selection.

That notion has flown in the face of what almost every draftnik in the world thinks they will do: select USC left tackle Matt Kalil.

It may never be truly known whether or not Spielman’s professed love for Claiborne was a smokescreen or just him telling the truth (my money is on the former), but as we draw nearer to the NFL Draft it is becoming increasingly difficult to imagine Claiborne being the selection.

Two red flags have recently popped up that should prevent the Vikings from taking the risk at the three spot. 

First, at his Pro Day, it was revealed that Claiborne’s career in the NFL will start with a surgery.  A torn ligament in his left wrist needs to be repaired and it should give teams pause when considering the young corner.  However, Claiborne did continue to play through the injury in college, so maybe some teams will view his toughness as a plus that outweighs the negative that is the injury itself.  At third overall, however, it’d be a tough sell to select a player that immediately has medical questions.

Second, reports have emerged today that Claiborne bombed the Wonderlic Test with a shockingly low score of 4 (out of 50).  The weight scouts should put into Wonderlic scores, and the validity of the reports themselves, can be questioned and argued.  However, this information cannot be ignored by any front office.

So, while Morris Claiborne has accumulated a pair of troubling headlines over the last month, Kalil continues to be regarded as one of the safest selections in the upcoming Draft.

On Tuesday, offensive line coach Jeff Davidson was asked if he thought Kalil had a ceiling in the NFL.

“Do I think he has a ceiling? No,” he said in response.  “I think he’s a pretty good player. I’m going to leave it just at that.”

As I have been all offseason long, I am convinced the Vikings will select Kalil third overall if they stay put in that spot.

Vikes Show Serious Interest In Kicker Zuerlin

April 2, 2012, by 2 comments

I’ve mentioned it before, and I’ll mention it again:  If the Vikings get the chance to find a young talented kicker and preemptively replace Ryan Longwell they should pounce.

It appears they are doing their due diligence with one of this Draft class’s best legs.

On Tuesday, the Vikings will meet with Missouri Western kicker Greg Zuerlin.  This will be the second time the Vikings have met privately with Zuerlin.

Zuerlin led the nation in field goals made per game with 2.3 and also broke NCAA and MIAA records by making 21 consecutive field goals.  During a recent private workout with the Bengals Zuerlin impressed onlookers by nailing a 57 yard try.

Amazingly, Zuerlin was not invited to the NFL Scouting Combine earlier this offseason, so his pro day and private workouts are likely to warrant plenty of attention.