Posts tagged: jared allen

Jared Allen Advances In Madden Cover Contest

March 30, 2012, by 7 comments

A couple days ago, Jared Allen beat Cowboy Demarcus Ware in the first round of the EA Madden Cover Vote Contest. For those that aren’t familiar, every year (or for the last couple years at least), ESPN hosts a contest to see who will get to be on the cover of that year’s Madden game. Stud players across the NFL are pitted against each other in a bracket-style tournament. This week, Allen faces of against New England tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Now, I should say that I am not a superstitious person. Not in the slightest sense. But, when going through the different matches and voting for who I think should win, I hesitate when I get to Jared Allen’s match-up. Do I really want to subject our all-pro defensive end to the “Madden Curse”? Do I really want to risk it?

You see, in my eyes, the Madden Curse isn’t a myth… It is real and it is scary. This article by Bleacher Report does a great job of outlining the history of the Madden Curse and it’s “victims.” I understand that it’s an invalid argument to suggest that simply being on the cover of a game could cause an injury or a drop in production… But still, there’s just part of me that is hesitant to risk it.

Head over to ESPN to cast your vote in the contest. Whether you vote for or against our favorite defensive end is entirely up to you!

Links Of The Week: Free Agency, Round 1 Edition

March 23, 2012, by 4 comments

We’ll start this thing off with something that happened yesterday that we really didn’t touch on here at VT… Tedd Ginn Jr. is staying with the 49ers.

Our ever-loquacious punter believes Jonathan Vilma should be banned from the NFL for life.

Rick Spielman seems to be trying to throw everyone off and put up smoke screens regarding our #3 pick. They are smoke screens, right? Right…?!

“In Attempt Not to ‘Spend to Spend,’ Vikings Seemingly Already Spending to Spend,” states this Vikings writer.

In the never-ending-stadium-story, it looks like the Vikings may be getting a sign-off by the Minneapolis City Council.

Over at KAB, our friends get a little crazy and question where the franchise would be had it used Rosenfels instead of Favre in 2010 (amongst many other things).

Do the referees deserve some of the blame for the bounties placed on Favre and how it affected the 2009 NFC Championship game?

Jared Allen thinks the Saints got what they deserved.

Chris Kluwe stands up for “snitches” and goes on (expletive-filled) Twitter rant.

Now, I don’t have any videos to show for the “moment of zen” that Adam typically does here… I do have a story though. (One I told Adam yesterday after he brought up his concern that WR prospect Stephen Hill reminded him of another ex-Viking who bolted up in the draft due to great workouts. He insisted that I try to fit this little story in somewhere and I guess right here is as good as anywhere.)

A few years ago, my family and I went to a buffet (they’re in every casino here in Vegas) around the corner for breakfast on a Sunday morning. Of course, I was in my big, purple, #28 jersey; I wore it proudly (the Vikes were hot stuff at the time). We all sat down and waited for our waiter to greet us and take our drink orders so we could be unleashed and pounce upon the endless spread of food. Our waiter came and this is the short exchange that followed:

“Good morning, I’m [Derek] and I’ll be your waiter this morning. Oh! You a Vikings fan?”

“Yep!”

“Cool! My little nephew actually used to play for the Vikings a while back.”

“Really?! Who was he?”

“Troy Williamson!”

“…”

“…”

“Oh, cool…”

“…”

“Iced tea, please.”

“Moment of zen?” I think not… And yes, Adam compared Stephen Hill to Troy Williamson. Hold your tongue, Adam!

OFFSEASON PREVIEW: The Pass Rushers

February 10, 2012, by 6 comments
Minnesota Vikings v New York Jets

[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, and The Defensive Tackles.]

Perhaps the most exciting thing about the Minnesota Vikings in 2011 was their ability to get to opposing quarterbacks.  The team was tied with the Eagles for the most sacks with an even 50, and Jared Allen came within mere inches of breaking the all time sack record.

There is no doubt that the Vikings defense needs some serious work, but the defensive end position is fairly solidified.  Still, there are options the Vikings have, and evaluations to take place.

Let’s take a closer look.

Continue Reading →

Doleman Honored, Carter And Allen Robbed

February 5, 2012, by 7 comments
Vikings Defensive End Chris Doleman

A couple of months ago, I had the pleasure of visiting the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. I told some of our regular visitors on Vikings Territory that I would write about my experience and report back at how amazing it all was. Unfortunately, it was during holiday season, I was visiting family, stuff came up and I just never got around to it.

Needless to say, the Hall of Fame was incredible.

Being surrounded by so much history and the legacies of so many football greats was really humbling and enriched my appreciation for the great sport of football. As an avid Vikings fan, upon entering the actual hall itself, I immediately began scouring the walls for all the Minnesota greats. Fran Tarkenton, Bud Grant, Alan Page, John Randle… I saw all of them. And while I am not lucky enough to have experienced watching [most] them while they were still playing, I stood in front of each – paying my respects.

You can’t help but be bothered by it, though. You know what I’m talking about… Vikings fans know what I’m talking about. How in the world is Cris Carter not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? How is Chris Doleman not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

Well yesterday, one of those questions was addressed while the other went unanswered. Chris Doleman, Vikings defensive end great,  has officially been announced as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2012. He will be accompanied by center Dermontti Dawson, defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy, running back Curtis Martin, cornerback Jack Butler and offensive tackle Willie Roaf (notice the name “Cris Carter” is nowhere to be found in that list).

Obviously, it is awesome that Chris Doleman is receiving such a great honor. Unfortunately (at least for me anyway), the disappointment of Cris Carter being overlooked again dampers the occasion a bit. I’m sure Carter will end up in the Hall of Fame eventually – it would be an outrage if he somehow didn’t. But one has to wonder, why hasn’t it happened yet? Carter is undeniably one of the NFL’s greatest receivers of all-time. Only Jerry Rice has surpassed him in career receiving yards. Carter was never able to win a championship, but that isn’t really a reflection of his greatness. Isn’t being granted entrance into the Hall of Fame an acknowledgement of personal achievement (not to suggest that the team doesn’t matter… but you know what I mean)?

I would love to hear the reasoning behind Cris Carter being snubbed entry… again.

And guess what? It doesn’t end there…

Jared Allen, the man who fell short a half a sack behind breaking New York Giants Michael Strahan’s single-season sack record with 22 sacks, was not selected as the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year. Instead, the Ravens Terrell Suggs, who totaled 14 sacks on the year, was bestowed the honor; leaving another Vikings player high-and-dry. Obviously, I’m biased here, but when comparing the stats of these two players, it seems obvious to me that Allen had the better year. Unfortunately, these awards for individual achievement tend to be majorly influenced by how well their team did – a category Allen did not fare well in.

How do you all feel? Is there any justification for Carter being denied (again) entry into the Hall of Fame? Did Suggs deserve the Defensive MVP award more then Jared Allen? Try and be objective (if you can – it’s tough) and tell us what you think in the comments.

Jared Allen Is All-Pro

January 6, 2012, by 6 comments

The results are in for the AP’s All-Pro voting and it should come as no surprise that defensive end Jared Allen is the only representative from Minnesota to make the team.

Allen was a nearly unanimous choice with 49 votes.

The only other Viking to get receive a vote was center John Sullivan.  He received one vote.

The full listing of the voting results can be found by clicking here.

Jared Allen Makes The Pro Bowl

December 27, 2011, by No comments yet

I personally find it a bit odd that the Pro Bowl roster is determined when there is one full week of football left to be played, but never-the-less it is done that way, and today the results were announced.

With Adrian Peterson’s various injuries derailing the second half of his season, Jared Allen is the lone Viking to make the Pro Bowl roster this season.

Jared Allen bested himself this season and enters the final week with a league high 18.5 sacks.  Allen also has 61 tackles, a safety, three defended passes, an interception, and four forced fumbles to his name this season.  This is his fourth Pro Bowl selection in eight NFL seasons.

It is possible that more Vikings end up playing in the game as alternates, but at this point I can’t think of anyone besides Percy Harvin that may be worthy of being named an alternate.

You can see the entire Pro Bowl roster by clicking here.