Between now and the season opener, the Minnesota media will follow a very specific formula to make sure their sports pages are still interesting despite the relatively boring period of time that is the middle of the offseason.
I am, of course, referring to the strategy creating a scattershot of “fluff” pieces that will profile a player, perhaps give us a snapshot of their personal history, and leave us all with a hopeful message: This guy could be the answer at his respective position.
I’m not saying these articles don’t serve a worthwhile purpose, and aren’t interesting to those of us that love our Vikings football, but I just want to help you temper your expectations by reminding you that these articles come and go every year. Sometimes the player turns out to be a nobody (i.e. Logan Payne) and sometimes the player actually does become a contributor (i.e. Marcus Sherels) despite the stacked odds.
I’m not trying to be the poster child of pessimism. Rather, I am just trying to keep your expectations in check, as it is always a dangerous time when the hopes of Vikings fans begin to rise.
Okay, so with all of that said, I want to highlight some stories about the pre-camp Vikings and how they are doing. After the jump.
JEROME SIMPSON, WR
Tom Pelissero of 1500 ESPN writes that the Vikings are “downright giddy” about getting a speedster like Jerome Simpson in such a bargain deal, despite his three-game suspension to start off the season. Bill Musgrave thinks Simpson will prove to be a legitimate field-stretching threat that could play the part far better than Bernard Berrian was ever able to.
Meanwhile, Kevin Siefert of ESPN’s NFC North Blog caught up with Simpson to talk to him about the drug charges that landed him 15 days in jail and his suspension. Simpson describes jail as “terrible,” talks about his character, and says that “the man upstairs wanted me to change.”
SOLOMON ELIMIMIAN, LB
The Vikings snatched the CFL linebacker that was voted “hardest hitter” by his fellow players in the league after last season ended. Solomon Elimimian will have to overcome the fact that he is undersized (5’ 11” – 230 pounds) to be successful at the NFL level. His once-again teammate Emmanuel Arceneaux recalled a story that illustrates just how hard Elimimian hits.
“I played with Solly up there (in the CFL) in 2010,” said Arceneaux according to this Viking Update article. “Toronto had a running back, Cory Boyd, from South Carolina. Solly hit him one time and Cory was asleep by the time he hit the ground.”
KYLE RUDOLPH, TE
The tight end is entering his second years with high expectations not only from the fans, but from himself. He feels that his rookie season allowed him to learn what will be demanded of him at the NFL level and that experience will set him up for success moving forward, according to Viking Update.
“There’s just a lot more comfort this time around,” Rudolph said. “I feel a lot more comfortable. I’ve gone through it all once. Last year with the lockout, our first crack at it was in training camp and everything we did was new. It’s a lot like going into your sophomore year of college. Everything is familiar. The offense is second nature. I don’t have to learn the offense. Now I can focus on the little nuances and become a better player.”
Rudolph, John Carlson, and rookie Rhett Ellison have the potential to emerge as one of the NFL’s most effective tight end groups, especially in Bill Musgrave’s offense. Rudolph will undoubtedly be the premier player of the group, and should prove to be a very solid target for Christian Ponder.
CHRISTIAN PONDER, QB
Christian Ponder will almost certainly have to show growth and improvement on the football field this season if he wants to survive the highly competitive business of being an NFL quarterback.
Jeremy Fowler of the Pioneer Press recently caught up with Tom Kanavy, the Vikings strength and conditioning coordinator, and Kavany went out of his way to praise Ponder for his offseason work and leadership in strength building drills.
Ponder is supposedly bigger than he was at the end of last season, an effort to prevent the injuries that made his rookie season so tough.
“He knows the rest of the guys are looking to him,” Kanavy said. “Even before coaches working with him, he was organizing workouts and being a vocal presence.”
“I think the players respect the weight-room leaders more than the guys that talk in the locker room or at the end of practice,” Kanavy continued. “Of course, normally it ends up being the same guy. But what players look for in the weight room, no matter what a guy is dealing with, injury, personal issue, they are always here, always on time, always working hard. We have a lot of guys like that right now.”
That is all for today, but we’ll be sure to find out more interesting notes about dozens of the players on this roster between now and when they start playing real football.
View Comments
I wouldn't call you a Pessimist but a Realist .
A stadium deal and watching the team grow together will be a good year regardless of our record,
How that for positive thinking!
I like that line of thinking PC!
I would apply the old adage for this article "Rome wasn't built in a day."
percy saw this headline and thought he'd been busted
berrian could play the fart par better than most know
seriously, this is ponder's team now, if he's good enough. sure hope he can pull it off.
getting this stadium deal finished feels really great, just waiting for the 25th to get here
Elimimian was a good player here at UH. Not a stand out, but solid. Hope he makes it with the Vikings. His brother Abraham was a d-back and was considered a better player, now Abe is an assistant coach at SMU with former UH coach June Jones. Funny how these things turn out.
didn't he have a nickname, like 'the elimimator' or something?
nickname is Solly. hope we get a chance to give Elim another nickname
I know the pre-camp workouts are usually not mandatory for veterans... but can anyone tell me why Mike Jenkins isn't working out with the team? How is his knee injury? Don't injured players usually rehab some with the trainers and strength coaches?
He had a minor knee injury, worked it the same way as Gerhart I believe. He should be fine to go when training camp comes around. So far only rookies have had a camp if I recall.
Jared Allen also always train away from team facility untill training camp comes around
One thing I did not like hearing this past week was is in a interview, Childs said "he could be the steal of the draft." I like confident players but I would rather see action instead of words. Does the name Onterrio Smith sound familiar to anybody?
Ah yes the whizzinator guy. Dude was actually pretty good too bad he didn't have much North of the shoulders.
The Original Whizzinator
I knew the whizzinator would conjure up some memories. Not so good ones, but they're memories.
Btw a big happy birthday to Coach. The sly old guy turns a mere 85 today.
Wow!!, He types like a guy not a day over 84!
cool. happy birthday, coach! keep kickin azz, buddy!
What are the odds that Coach is on the lake trying to land that prize walleye today?
The odds were very good, johnny, but this weekend belonged to grandchildren. Five in the house and two more in the oven. I gotta say, these young ones can really be entertaining. Makes landing a walleye a consolation prize. Even so, sure would like to latch on to a couple feet of fish here soon.
Some good updates, Adam. Nothing wrong with heading into the season with some real optimism. I always said, winners expect to win.
Isn't football season here yet!? I know it's May, but I am already working on my drafting strategy for my Fantasy Football teams.
Happy birthday Coach Grant, A Many more...