After Adrian Peterson overcame his gruesome knee injury last offseason to lead the league in rushing, I suspect many people have actually forgotten he had surgery this offseason, and have no concerns about his ability to recover.
Still, after carrying the ball 20-plus times in his last five games after suffering a sports hernia, we shouldn’t neglect how important he an his health are to this team. According to Leslie Frazier, however, Peterson is coming along nicely following his hernia surgery.
“It’s kind of happened not by his choice. As you know, he had the abdominal strain late in the season and that’s kind of slowed him this offseason as far as being able to kick it into overdrive and being able to do things the way he wants to do it,” Frazier told NFL Network this week. “So that’s kind of slowed him down a little bit, but he’s just about back to 100 percent, doing everything that he needs to be able to do to be in the best shape he can possibly be for this season.”
Frazier didn’t sound at all worried about Peterson’s ability to be fully ready when the regular season rolls around, but he did indicate the team wants to be more balanced regardless of Peterson’s medical status, and expects his team to be better in the passing game than they have been in the recent past.
Some Hack Blogger tried to predict five guys the Vikings will target in a couple of weeks.
I’ve been making the case for a new punter all offseason, most recently profiling LSU punter Brad Wing, and it appears that the Vikings had him in for a workout.
Alabama offensive tackle D.J. Fluker reportedly visited Winter Park last week, and it just might have been to see how he performs lining up at guard.
There are a number of reasons the Vikings should consider quarterback Geno Smith if he, somehow, begins to slide on Draft Day.
If the need at middle linebacker wasn’t so painfully obvious then Leslie Frazier’s recent comments might feel like a smokescreen.
Back in my pre-children Madden playing days, I used to think it was unfair that my truck stick allowed me to run for 2,000 yards a season with Adrian Peterson, but if I still gamed that guilt would’ve gone away after the season he had last year.
Adrian Peterson is famous for giving defenders “the business” during a run, lowering his head and trucking whomever is in his way, as he was raised to believe that if he were hitting them harder than they were hitting him, then he would not only be a better running back but he would remain a healthier one.
The NFL approved a new rule today that will create a spot penalty (that is, penalized from the spot of the infraction, not the line of scrimmage) of 15 yards if a call carrier uses the “crown” of their helmet when engaging a defender.
The Vikings, for obvious reasons surrounding their $100 million running back, opposed the rule vocally at first. However, citing an overwhelming amount of evidence at the owners meetings, they ended up being one of the 31 teams to vote in favor of the rule change. Leslie Frazier said the vote was cast with player safety in mind.
Many other news outlets will dissect the new rule, and I am content leaving that to them, and how it might impact the game.
All I wanted to say is this: Thanks for giving Adrian Peterson yet another obstacle to truck.
Are you a wide receiver that has declared for the 2013 NFL Draft? You are? Well, then you can fully expect that between now and Draft Day you will be the subject of my “Draft Target” series at some point because, well, the Vikings need help at the position.
Quinton Patton, you are up next!
Patton hails from Louisiana Tech where he played for his junior and senior seasons after playing his first two seasons for the football powerhouse that is Coffeyville Community College. Patton stands at 6′ 0″ and 200 pounds and combined for 2,594 yards and 24 touchdowns in his final two seasons.
The Vikings reportedly met with Patton during this week’s Combine, which isn’t anything surprising, but they are sure to be interested in a wide out with his skill set to try and boost their offensive production. A guy like Patton is of particular interest because he is not expected to require a first round investment to obtain.
Patton doesn’t have elite size and he didn’t burn up the forty yard dash in Indy (4.53), but he has very soft hands and is perhaps the most refined route runner in this class. In fact, Patton didn’t finish among the best at any Combine event other than the 20 yard shuffle, which somewhat aligns with his pedigree.
Where Patton might lack elite he speed he makes up for it with excellent fundamentals. He gets of the line very quick which prevents an opposing corner from jamming him with success, he displays very good acceleration and body control throughout his route, and has enough wiggle after the catch to make great things happen. Perhaps my favorite trait he possesses is his ability and willingness to go across the middle on a route with a toughness and attitude that reminds me of a young Brandon Marshall.
He also has a reputation as a player that never takes a play off, is very instinctive and intelligent on the field, and is a rare college prospect that is a proven down field blocker. One of the best cornerbacks in this Draft class, Johnthan Banks from Mississippi State, says that Patton is the best and most complete wide out he played against in college.
“I feel like (Patton) from Louisiana Tech is the best receiver I’ve played against since I’ve been here,” said Banks. “I’ve gone against some good ones in the SEC, too, but he’s probably the most complete.”
Complete. Now there is a word that is sure to appeal to Rick Spielman after his Head Coach’s recent comments about what he is looking for in a wide out.
“You’re always looking for speed at the wide receiver position,” said Frazier in Indianapolis. “We need an all-encompassing guy — can run by some people, make a difficult catch, run with the ball after he catches it.”
Patton just might be the “all-encompassing guy” that Frazier is after to take his passing game to the next level, and Spielman may not have to use up his first rounder to get him.
Oh, plus the guy can return kicks pretty darn good, too.
It was only a matter of time, with no NFL team really wanting to have their head coach become a lame duck, before word would emerge that Leslie Frazier received an extension from the Vikings.
Frazier took a 3-13 football team and helped transform them into a 10-6 playoff team in the span of just one year. He received votes for the Coach of the Year Award and has been praised for his calm demeanor when facing some very tough issues.
Tuesday, word of his extension did indeed hit the internet, and some that doubt Frazier’s ability to lead a team to a Super Bowl will be relieved to hear that his contract only runs through 2014. However, Frazier’s advocates amongst the fan base might feel like the team didn’t give him a big enough vote of confidence.
The Associated Press erroneously reported that Frazier received a multi-year extension, but the truth is that the team simply picked up an option contained within his current deal that tacks on one more year.
The Vikings announced the move Tuesday evening.
“Coach Frazier has done a remarkable job in building a strong foundation for the Minnesota Vikings and creating a very positive future,” Vikings president Mark Wilf said in the statement. “We value his leadership and look forward to working with him for many years to come.”
Financial terms are not known, but since there is no impact on the salary cap in regards to coaching salaries, most fans will not care at all what the Vikings are paying Frazier.
Unless another deal is reached between Frazier and the Vikings, we can plan on being right back in this same position at this time next year, with Frazier once again approaching a lame duck season.
What a great day Saturday turned out to be for Vikings fans.
Cris Carter getting elected into the Hall of Fame was just the beginning.
The NFL hosted their second annual awards show on Saturday night, and oddly chose to air it after everyone knew who won what, but it was still well worth watching for those of us wanting to see Adrian Peterson get what he deserved.
Peterson took home the NFL.com Fantasy Player of the Year Award, the Fed Ex Ground Player of the Year Award, and the Offensive Player of the Year Award.
The big question, however, was whether or not Peterson would win the Most Valuable Player Award with considerable competition coming out of Denver in the form of Peyton Manning. By a tally of 30.5 to 19.5 votes, Peterson indeed won the prestigious award for the first time in his decorated career.
Peterson put doubters in the corner by rehabbing his knee and then rushing for 2,097 yards and 12 touchdowns. As we all know, he fell only nine yards shy of having the greatest season of any running back in history.
Peterson did lose out to Manning in the voting for the much debated Comeback Player of the Year Award.
This may not be the last time Peterson wins this award, however, as he has recently stated that his goal for next season is to rush for 2,500 yards. At this point, it is hard to doubt the man.
Leslie Frazier also managed to get three votes in the Coach of the Year category, which ended up going to Bruce Arians for his work as an interim coach in Indianapolis.
Congratulations to Peterson on his final achievement of the 2012 season!
Today, Leslie Frazier did exactly what every head coach begins a season hoping he doesn’t have to do, he gave his end of the season press conference without being able to boast an NFL Championship.
That doesn’t mean, however, that this three-win team from a year ago doesn’t have plenty of positives to hang their hat on as they leave Winter Park and Frazier made sure to point out each of those.
As anyone could predict, Frazier said all of the right things that one would expect him to say at the presser, which you can watch by clicking here. Because of these expectations, I hardly feel that things he said are really newsworthy because we all knew exactly what would be said.
Christian Ponder is the starter next year. Frazier would like to see everybody back to training camp no matter how old they are getting, how much they are getting paid, or how little they produced this season. Joe Webb will compete for a backup spot again. Percy Harvin has no attitude problems and has no reason to not come back next season.
All positive… but all predictable.
I’m not suggesting he is not genuine when touching on the positives, I simply mean to point out that not much stock should be put into his words when it comes to the touchier subjects.
I will say this, however, I cannot remember a Vikings head coach in my lifetime that presents himself as well as Leslie Frazier. The guy is pure class, and I am excited about him getting his contract extension, which both he and Zygi Wilf indicated would be worked out at some point this offseason.
Leslie Frazier improved greatly in his second season as Head Coach and he represents the Minnesota Vikings organization about as well as, if not better than, any coach in the NFL represents their respective teams.
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