Posts tagged: chad greenway

Smith, Burton, And Others Get Time With The First Team

June 13, 2012, by 6 comments

Here are some interesting tidbits for how the depth chart looked during Tuesday’s OTA practices:

SAFETY:  It didn’t take long for first round pick Harrison Smith to “work his way up” the depth chart and received mostly first team reps on Tuesday.  Across from him, Mistral Raymond and Jamarca Sanford rotated first team reps.

“I saw a play (Tuesday) where he really got angry,” Leslie Frazier said of Smith. “He got pretty fired up, and you kind of need that out of your defensive backs. You need them to have a little something about them, and it was good to see.”

CORNERBACK:  Smith and Matt Kalil aren’t the only rookies to be getting first team reps at this point.  Third round cornerback Josh Robinson received some reps as the starting right corner.  It isn’t clear why, but Antoine Winfield missed Tuesday’s practice, and it is equally unclear if Winfield’s absence resulted in Robinson getting his chances with the first team.

LINEBACKER:  Jasper Brinkley suffered a minor groin injury last week and, while he is expected to be fine, has missed some time.  Chad Greenway has been in South Dakota dealing with his family matters and Solomon Elimimian has had to sit out with a hamstring injury.  That means that the starting group of linebackers has looked like this:  Erin Henderson, Larry Dean, and Tyrone McKenzie.

WIDE RECEIVER:  With the absence of Percy Harvin, Stephen Burton has been filling in as the go-to flanker with the first team.  Burton has generated a lot of offseason buzz, along with Jerome Simpson, and these reps with Christian Ponder could give him the inside track to a roster spot.

OFFENSIVE LINE:  Matt Kalil, Charlie Johnson, John Sullivan and Phil Loadholt.  These guys are assumed to be occupying four of the starting spots along the offensive line from day one, which means there should be one hell of a competition for the starting gig at right guard.  Right now, Brandon Fusco is acting as the starting right guard with Geoff Schwartz getting reps with the second team.

KICKER:  Blair Walsh has been handed the kickers position on a silver gold platinum platter.  On Tuesday, during 11-on-11 drills, Walsh made four of six field goal attempts.  He missed from 42 and 44 yards.

Greenway’s Absence Understandably Due To Father’s Illness

June 13, 2012, by 4 comments

The Minnesota Vikings have had good, spirited attendance at OTA’s so far this year by all accounts.  A few veterans have stayed away, including Percy Harvin after his shoulder presumably started to act up after attending the very beginning of OTA’s.  Jared Allen has also been away, which is not really a surprise given that is pretty much the norm for number 69.

One player that has been somewhat of a mystery has been Chad Greenway whose absence has been attributed to the vague reason of “family situation” up until this point.

According to reports, however, Greenway is indeed dealing with an unenviable and difficult situation.  His father, whom we can all remember for his words after Greenway was drafted, has been battling leukemia and is currently getting hospice care.

“I talked with him a few days ago and I don’t know if we’ll have him back for mandatory minicamp,” Leslie Frazier said. “His family situation is something he’s dealing with so we may or may not have him back for that but it’s understandable, what he’s experiencing.”

According to the reports, a number of South Dakota farmers have banded together to help Alan Greenway out by bailing his hay this season.

We here at VT would like to pass along our best wishes to Alan, Chad, and the whole Greenway family. This is surely the most trying of times for the Greenway family, and I know many of you would be eager to help out, but I have been unable to find any sort of fund being organized for Mr. Greenway.  If I find one I will be sure to pass that along.

In the meantime, Pennies for Patients has always been a standup organization to support in the battle against leukemia.

[UPDATE: It should be noted that the sixth annual Greenway's Gridiron Gallup will be held this Sunday, Father's Day, in Minneapolis.  The 5k run helps to raise funds for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board youth athletic programming.  For more details, you can click here.]

Ponder and Greenway Take On Unusual (But Worthwhile) Cause

April 29, 2012, by 1 comment

Financial Literacy.

Now, there is a term that one doesn’t hear about too often, especially in relation to professional football players.  Players that sign big contracts will often take part in some sort of charity work or civic service that warms the heart or helps somebody with an incredible need.

VISA and the NFL have teamed up, however, to unroll a program teaching kids about their personal finances and Ponder enlisted to unroll the program in Minnesota while Greenway has done the same in Iowa.  The intent is to warn students of the dangers that exist with debt and also how to properly invest and safeguard their money.

As someone who listens religiously to the wise words of Dave Ramsey, I am glad to see that financial literacy is being brought to the forefront of America’s mind, and am proud to see our Vikings players getting involved.

“Kids need to know how to make smart money management decisions early in life,” said Ponder. “It takes the combined efforts of parents, teachers and mentors within the community to give teenagers a strong background in personal finance.”

The financial education center around an NFL video game called Financial Football.  In the game, students have to answer questions in order to gain yardage and score touchdowns.  When the players go to the classrooms, they split into two teams and face off with each other using Financial Football as the tool.

Greenway gave students a warning not to repeat his mistakes when they go to college.  Greenway told a story of piling up credit card debt and, were it not for his football career, it could have just snowballed from there.

“I eventually paid it off and I pay it off every month now,” Greenway told the students. “It’s important to learn how to manage money, and in the future, hopefully, to watch your budget grow.”

Kudos to Ponder and Greenway for representing the team very well and taking time to make a difference for these kids in the mid-west.

If you have interest in giving the Financial Football video game a try (I did, its… okay) you can do so by clicking here.  At the very least, your kids might be interested in giving it a shot.

OFFSEASON PREVIEW: The Second Level

February 12, 2012, by 2 comments
Greenway

[NOTE FROM ADAM:  This is another installation of my position-by-position breakdown of the Vikings offseason.  You can click the links to view previous installments:  The Passers, The Runners, The Wide Outs, The Tight Ends, The Offensive Line, The Defensive Tackles, and The Defensive Ends.]

Last offseason, the Vikings faced a crossroads with former first round pick Chad Greenway, and they decided to invest heavily in the outside linebacker by placing the franchise tag on him and then giving him a huge contract extension.

This year, the Vikings face similar decisions with the other two linebackers slots, and the position could be headed for major transition this offseason.

Let’s take a closer look.

Continue Reading →

Greenway To Play In The Pro Bowl

January 10, 2012, by 3 comments

Sorry for being a little behind on the updates, life is getting tough to keep up with at the moment.

However, I wanted to put the shovel down for a minute and pass along some good news.

Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway will play in his first Pro Bowl as an alternate selection, replacing Lance Briggs of Chicago.

“On behalf of the entire Vikings organization, our congratulations go to Chad for this great honor,” Vikings Head Coach Leslie Frazier said. “Chad is a vital part of our team, and the fact that he led our team in tackles and was also third in tackles for loss this season is proof of that. His production on the field has been matched only by his leadership in the locker room and off the field. Hopefully this is the first of many more Pro Bowls for Chad.”

Greenway admits this has not been his best season, but there is little doubt he has the skills and the experience to be a true difference maker on this defense moving forward.

Final (Miscellaneous) Notes Of 2011

December 30, 2011, by No comments yet

Today, Adrian Peterson underwent surgery to repair the ACL and MCL ligaments in his left knee. The procedure was performed by Dr. James Andrews, a well-known orthopedic surgeon who has helped mend many knees, shoulders and elbows of big name athletes. According to Coach Leslie Frazier, the operation was “successful” and Peterson is somewhere “resting comfortably.”

Chad Greenway will be a Pro Bowl alternate at linebacker this year. The only other Viking that will represent our team in this year’s Pro Bowl is Jared Allen, who currently leads the league in sacks with 18.5. Although alternates only play if one of the Pro Bowl starters can’t play, it’s good to see Greenway get some recognition after racking up 165 tackles, 11 being for a loss, this season.

At the beginning of the season, Vikings punter Chris Kluwe made a deal with temporary, fill-in quarterback Donovan McNabb that allowed McNabb to wear Kluwe’s number 5 jersey. The deal, among other things, required McNabb make a $5,000 donation to Kick for a Cure, Kluwe’s preferred charity. Well, about a week ago, everyone’s favorite Vikings blogger, Adam Warwas exclaimed, “McNabb needs to pay up!” as he had not yet made the donation. Today, Kluwe put the story to rest by tweeting, “ATTENTION MEDIA VULTURES – I talked to Donovan and he’s more than happy to write the check to Kick For a Cure, since he’s a standup guy…Like I said originally, this was on me because I hadn’t had a chance to ask him since midseason. You may now return to pecking at the dead horse carcass of Tim Tebow.” Kluwe has such a way with words…

In an odd coincidence (or is it…?!), Mike Tice returns to Minnesota 6 years after he was fired as head coach of the Vikings. Tice, who is now the offensive line coach for the Bears, was fired immediately after a win in the final game of the 2005 season… over the Bears… who the Vikings play this Sunday… who Tice is a coach for now… Strange how things work out. If I were Frazier, I’d be a little worried and would probably hide somewhere for an hour or two after the game (Tice was fired thirty minutes after his final game).

This Sunday, Jim Kleinsasser will play his 181st and last game as a Viking. Coach Frazier made it no secret that, if the opportunity presents itself, the team plans on trying to thank him with one final touchdown. Frazier said, “I’m not letting out any secrets there. If we get down to the 1 [yard line], Chicago, you better stop number 40. We’re going to find a way to try to get him into the end zone if we can.”