Posts tagged: pierre garcon

Sunday’s Inactives

October 14, 2012, by 1 comment

Gosh, is it just me or was this an incredibly boring set of early games?  At the time I am writing this, the Eagles are beating the Lions, so there’s that.

VIKINGS:  QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson, WR Jairus Wright, CB Brandon Burton, S Mistral Raymond, LB Marvin Mitchell, OL Mark Asper, WR Jerome Simpson

REDSKINS:  WR Pierre Garçon, S Brandon Meriweather, QB Rex Grossman, G Josh LeRibeus, CB Cedric Griffin, G Adam Gettis, DE Doug Worthington

 

Jerome Simpson and Pierre Garcon both being inactive is huge for both defenses.  The downfield game could really suffer, and both teams will be focused on each other’s running backs and tight ends. Expect a lot of today’s action to take place between the hash marks.

NOTE:  Unfortunately, there will be no live chat today, enjoy the game everybody!  SKOL!

Vikes Missed On Three Free Agents

March 28, 2012, by No comments yet

The Vikings have had a slow free agency.  Some have theories (some ridiculous theories, some not as much) about why Rick Spielman is being conservative with the free agent offers, but reports are now coming out that suggest the Vikings, while not real fruitful, have been more active than originally thought.

Specifically, I have found reports of three different free agents that the Vikings pursued but eventually pulled out of the bidding as the price got higher than they were willing to spend.

PIERRE GARCON, WR:  The Vikings were reportedly one of the final three teams bidding for the services of the young, speedy receiver.  He eventually signed a five year deal with the Redskins worth up to $42.5 million, with $21.5 million.  It is easy to see why the Vikings had interest in signing the 25 year old standout from a miserable Colts team, but it is also easy to see why they weren’t willing to top Washington’s offer.  The Cleveland Browns were the other team involved.

DONNIE AVERY, WR:  Donnie Avery made headlines recently by claiming he ran a 4.25 forty yard dash on grass.  If that is truly the case, then he could be the steal of this year’s free agency class, if he can manage to stay healthy.  Health has been Avery’s problem following his very solid rookie season, but apparently the Vikings were still intrigued by his upside.  The Vikings, Chicago Bears, and Miami Dolphins were all in conversations with Avery’s agent when Indianapolis called up and asked, “What would it take for you to sign and give me a verbal commitment on the phone?”  That level of interest from the Colts piqued Avery’s interest and it didn’t take long for him to make that commitment.

COREY GRAHAM, CB:  As we discussed on Monday, the Vikings signed Bears cornerback Zackary Bowman to a one year deal.  Apparently, however, he wasn’t the only Bears corner of interest.  Corey Graham, a special teams ace, was of interest to the Vikings and the Detroit Lions.  He ended up signing a two year deal with the Ravens.

Front Office Doesn’t Dive Right In, While Fans Jump From Cliffs

March 13, 2012, by 14 comments

Did you know the sky is falling?

Seriously… look outside your window.  That’s what it looks like when the sky is falling, not to be confused with what it looks like when a giant Teflon roof is falling.

I’ll admit it.  I had high hopes that the Vikings could land cornerback Brandon Carr and wide receiver Vincent Jackson on day one of free agency.  I will also admit, however, that I had in no way anticipated the all-out madness that was day one of the NFL’s free agency period.

Seriously, if I could just have one percent of the money that was tossed around on Tuesday, I would buy all of you season tickets and just name that section “Vikings Territory Seating Only.”

The Vikings are in a rebuilding mode, which will probably span multiple seasons, and their strategy was evident on Tuesday:  We won’t designate too much of our valuable cap space to one player, because no one player can fix what is wrong here.

I’m not saying it will work out for Rick Spielman, and some of these high profile studs will probably continue to play like high profile studs, but to dismiss the strategy as invalid is just plain silly.

The Redskins and the Cowboys have spent enough money in recent offseason’s to make Mitt Romney choke on his caviar.  And where has that got them?

Meanwhile, the Packers haven’t signed an unrestricted free agent in years, and most of them are wearing a big shiny ring right now.  Not only should Vikings fans not feel lonely, they should consider themselves in pretty good company.  The Ravens, Falcons, Patriots, Lions, Giants, and Steelers were all fairly quiet, too.  Let’s face it… the Ravens know how to run a ball club better than the Redskins, so I would much rather see Spielman acting like them instead of Dan Snyder.

In fact, as of this posting only about 14 notable signings have occurred, so there is plenty of players left to spend money on and there should be little doubt that the Vikings can now make their $23 million in cap space stretch further than they would have been able to on Tuesday.  I mean, paying Pierre Garcon $8 million per year makes sense and all, but…

We talked about rumors that the Vikings are interested in offensive lineman Scott Wells and tight end John Carlson.  While no official visits have been reported, it is obvious that Spielman and company are just letting the funny money fly and will take a well-reasoned approach to filling as many of the numerous holes on this roster as possible with quality football players.

So, when the you wake up Wednesday morning and the sun is shining, and you realize the sky has indeed not fallen, get your ass back here to Vikings Territory and we’ll talk some more about the five hundred (give or take) free agents that are still available.