Posts tagged: minnesota vikings

Minnesota Vikings Losing Fat, Gaining Muscle

June 13, 2014, by 11 comments

The Minnesota Vikings are working to be a more fit, more agile, and more productive team.  According to an ESPN article, the Vikings have collectively shed 170 pounds of body fat and gained 70 pounds of muscle.

Earlier this spring, buzz surrounded rookie defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd as he worked to build a healthier lifestyle. Floyd is preparing to compete for the starting nose tackle job previously held by Kevin Williams. You can view a video highlighting his efforts here.

Floyd isn’t the only member of the franchise making changes, however. One of the first things Coach Mike Zimmer did when joining Minnesota was take high-fat items out of the Vikings’ menu. “I’m eating fish every day for lunch,” said Zimmer. “That’s a new thing for me.”

In addition to diet changes, the team has also changed its offseason weight-lifting program. The new regiment is helping players trim the fat while building muscle.

Zimmer acknowledges that the extra adjustments have been a “collective effort” by the team, and it seems like everyone is on board. Thus far, Floyd is showing the most significant results. Since starting his personal lifestyle changes and also taking part with Zimmer’s program tweaks, the tackle has lost 25 pounds from where he was at the end of the 2013-14 season.

Floyd said the following:

“I changed a lot of things this offseason. I stopped eating meat. I started eating just seafood and really focusing on my diet, and everything leads into what I do on Sunday. [Giving up meat was] really hard. I lived off pork. I thought pork made the world go around. [...] That was just me [making the decision]. Do I want to keep putting this stuff in my body or do I want to get right? So I decided to give up things that I love that are not really good for me right now. My body feels great. I’ve been telling people my body hasn’t felt this way since I first started playing football.”

With the roster working together to follow Floyd’s example, Vikings fan can be assured that these guys will be ready to go come September 7.

Upcoming EJ Henderson Event: Kids Fitness Workshop

June 11, 2014, by No comments yet

In an earlier VT feature, we talked to EJ Henderson about his time as a Viking and where his life has taken him post-football. As a follow-up to that piece, I would like to highlight an upcoming event hosted by Henderson and his Youth Pro Fitness organization. The event is FREE for kids, but there is limited registration available.

The goal of YoPro Fitness is to focus on the overall health and fitness of kids ages 7-13. It partners with local community education and youth programs and is a mobile organization that travels to a location and uses its gym or field space to run the program.

“Any organization that wants to run a health and fitness program for their kids, we’ll provide,” Henderson said. “We’re mobile—we’ll come to you.”

On June 25, YoPro Fitness is hosting a two-hour event that will give fitness assessments to 125 youth throughout the Twin Cities. According to the website, results will be captured by using state-of-the-art technology to objectively quantify and house the physical testing metrics for individual participants.

“A baseline understanding of your fitness levels is crucial if improvement is to occur,” Henderson emphasized.

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Purple for the Win: First Podcast Experience

June 11, 2014, by No comments yet

On Monday, I had the privilege of joining Andy Carlson as a guest on his Purple for the Win podcast.

The “on-air” experience proved a brand new one for me, as I naturally prefer written communication over verbal. However, Andy calmed my nerves, convinced me to be a part of it, and I had an absolute riot talking all things Vikings football. I only made one or two minor blunders—giving away my Father’s Day gift … before Father’s Day—and enjoyed the overall experience. You can listen to the entire podcast on purpleftw.com or on YouTube.

If you’re looking for a great source of Vikings news and also entertaining banter, make sure to follow Andy on Twitter @PurpleForTheWin.

Another big thanks to Andy for having me on the podcast—tune in to Purple FTW next Tuesday, June 17 to hear the next VT podcast guest, THE Arif Hasan!

Roster Evaluation: DB Robert Blanton

June 3, 2014, by 5 comments

My roster evaluation series focusing on reserve players that earned some significant playing time for the Vikings in 2013 continues with the spotlight pointed on defensive back Robert Blanton.

Blanton has the size at 6’1 200 pounds that you look for in versatile defensive back. Mike Zimmer likes length and Blanton certainly has that with 31 1/4 inch arms that he uses extremely well especially when playing the run.

Blanton was one of the top high school cornerbacks in the country and went on to play in 50 of 51 games for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He finished his NCAA career with eight interceptions, 19.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and nearly 200 total tackles.

Blanton has above average agility but lacks blazing straight line speed. Upon drafting the cornerback in the 5th round of the 2012 draft, the Vikings converted him to safety. But, with the injury bug hitting the cornerback position in 2013, the Vikings were forced to use Blanton as a nickel corner for 275 snaps compared to only 128 snaps at safety.

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Minnesota Vikings Rookie Training Camp: 5 Midwest Players Get a Chance This Weekend

May 15, 2014, by 6 comments

The Minnesota Vikings are hosting their rookie training camp this weekend, and several Midwest football players will get a chance to show what they have to offer. Five of these young men are represented by Greg Johnson of Origin Sports Management in Minneapolis:

  1. John Oyloe, DL — University of Mary (North Dakota)
  2. Michael Walker, RB — St. Cloud State
  3. Jeremy Reierson, TE — University of Minnesota, Duluth
  4. Seth Mathis, ILB — Bethel University
  5. Jon Wolf, QB/WR — Minnesota State University, Mankato

“We’re very excited that all of our rookie clients are in an NFL camp this year,” Johnson said. “Our five clients in the Vikings camp have been an extremely dedicated and hard-working group — training at ETS Gym (in Woodbury) and totally changing their nutrition regimen over the past four months. Their ready to take advantage of their opportunity.”

Current Vikings RB Zach Line personally recognizes the honor and significance of being invited to the training camp. He’s been there. In 2013, Line joined the rookie training camp weekend as an undrafted free agent; he proved to the coaches what he could bring to the table, and on Opening Day, Line was the only undrafted rookie from his class to make Minnesota’s roster.

Line experienced an initial shock and disappointment over not finding a team through the Draft, but he knew that wouldn’t be the end for him. “I knew I belonged on the field and had the ability and work ethic to play this game at its highest level,” Line said. “The draft is only the beginning. It’s not where you start —  it’s where you finish!”

For Oyloe, Walker, Reierson, Mathis and Wolf, their journey begins today at the start of mini camp. For the next three days, these guys hope to show Minnesota that they have what it takes to make this team better.  As Line explains, the rookie camp puts young players on an even playing field and allows coaches to see which players are able to learn the playbook.

Line offers the following advice for these players:

“Accentuate your talents. Whatever it is that you are really good at do it really well every time. Coaches can then depend on you and find a spot for you. If you don’t have talent in other areas you need to be able to learn and not repeat the same mistake day after day. Put the draft behind you, check your pride at the door and play ball [...] Once you’re on the field, everyone is an equal. Just because one guy was drafted does not mean he now has more power, more speed, or more heart than you. ‘You earn the right to play this game at its higher level on the practice field.’ Notice — this quote has nothing to do with the draft.”

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To see individual articles on the five prospects, view upcoming Vikings Territory posts. 

 

The Anthony Barr Project

May 8, 2014, by 65 comments

 Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer has a great track record of getting the most out of his linebackers. After the Vikings selected Anthony Barr with 9th pick in the 2014 NFL draft, Zimmer is certainly excited to get an opportunity to mold Barr into the dynamic playmaker he thinks he can be. Zimmer has never had a linebacker with the size, speed and athleticism of the 6-5 255 pound UCLA product. Barr has extreme potential but he is very raw and still learning the linebacker position. Barr was not used as an off-the-line backer nor was he asked to drop into coverage often. 

Anthony Barr had some monster hits and big plays last season, but for the most part he didn’t show up on tape as often as expected. Part of that is because he spent a good chunk of time lined up on the line of scrimmage, sometimes in a three point stance trying to bull rush offensive tackles. Barr is not a strength power player, he is more of a finesse speed guy that will benefit when moved to a more traditional linebacker position. Continue Reading →

Mock: Twofer Tradition Hits Crazed Proportions

May 6, 2014, by 13 comments

General Manager Rick Spielman said at the 19th Annual Arctic Blast in February, “I really, really think we’re going to do a lot of movement in the draft.”

Well, with the draft just hours away, not much has really changed. The idea that the 8th pick is flexible and the thought of Spielman trading back to aggressively peruse more picks is still very much on the table. The Vikings have eight picks in the 2014 NFL Draft, and Spielman has gone on record saying the goal is to compile 10 selections annually.

 Eight of Rick Spielman’s 61 draft picks since 2006 have earned Pro Bowl honors. A 13 percent Pro Bowl success rate for a team committed to building through the draft is a strong number. As good as Spielman is at directing a war room and doing his due diligence, he unfortunately has never successfully struck gold at the quarterback position. Viking fans are hopeful that 2014 will be the draft that Spielman strikes it rich at the most important position in professional football.

 How much influence will new Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer and new offensive coordinator Norv Turner have in Spielman draft strategy? And will Zimmer encourage Spielman to continue his recent tradition of drafting two players from the same school?

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