May 5, 2011
May 1, 2011
More about Christian Ponder
Some highly complimentary things about the Vikings’ new quarterback from Sid Hartman:
Greg Hudson, as good a defensive coordinator as the Gophers have ever had and who has the same role at Florida State, describes Vikings first-round draft choice Christian Ponder as the next Roger Staubach.
Staubach, the great Cowboys quarterback, was Hudson’s idol as he grew up, and so the Gophers defensive coordinator from 2002 to ’04 is paying the young man a huge compliment. Hudson said Ponder gave him headaches during Seminoles practices last year.
“I’m not telling you that he is [Staubach] right now, but he has the attributes to be a Roger Staubach-type of player,” said Hudson, who went to Florida State to work with head coach Jimbo Fisher after five years at East Carolina with Skip Holtz. “… Roger Staubach was my idol growing up in Cincinnati, that’s where [Staubach] is from. Christian Ponder could have been a Navy graduate [as Staubach was], high academic, very educated. Christian just has a lot of the attributes that Roger Staubach had.”
Hudson said the injuries that Ponder has suffered primarily have been self-inflicted because of how hard he played.
“The kid, at some point, just like [Jets coach] Rex Ryan got mad at [quarterback Mark] Sanchez for not learning how to slide. Christian Ponder’s got to learn how to protect himself. He plays quarterback like he’s a linebacker,” Hudson said.
[. . .]
Hudson said he had seen all the top quarterbacks, including the ones taken ahead of Ponder, on film, and he is sure the Vikings got the best QB in the draft.
“Here’s the thing, Christian Ponder is made for the NFL game,” Hudson said. “His mentality, his physical attributes, the kid’s mindset is made for the NFL game. That’s what separates him. He is prepared for the NFL in our offense, pro-style.
“We didn’t have great wide receivers. We had good, not great. He had to make things happen. His passing percentage was down because kids couldn’t run routes right.”
Hudson is confident that Ponder could start as a rookie.
“I think one because he can handle it physically, but No. 2 he can handle it mentally over other kids,” Hudson said. “You can’t evaluate based on the team’s record. Because if you look at Troy Aikman and [Peyton] Manning, they both had losing records their first year as [NFL] starters. But they were able to run the offense. Ponder will be able to run the offense. He’ll have to take his rookie growing pains, but man, I’d put the saddle on him and ride him all the way.
Vikings finish draft with 10 new players
After having only two picks over the first two days of the draft, the Vikings were much busier on the final day of the draft:
- Round 4 (106th pick overall) — Christian Ballard, Defensive lineman, Iowa.
With the Vikings’ Kevin Williams potentially facing a four-game suspension (and Pat Williams now a free agent), Ballard will have a chance to showcase his abilities early in the season. He was initially projected as a second round pick, but he slid down to the fourth round due to a reported failed drug test. - Round 5 (139th pick overall) — Brandon Burton, Cornerback, Utah.
Cornerback is definitely a position that needs bolstering: Griffin and Cook both ended last season on injured reserve, and Winfield (while still a great player) is nearing the end of his career. Burton may push Asher Allen for a roster spot, although he has a reputation for a soft playing style according to Pro Football Weekly. - Round 6 (168th pick overall) — DeMarcus Love, Offensive tackle/guard, Arkansas.
Another player who may have a chance to work his way into the starting line-up. Protecting the quarterback is always important, but with either Joe Webb or Christian Ponder under centre, it becomes that much more necessary. According to Chip Scoggins, his versatility along the line is probably why the Vikings chose to draft him. - Round 6 (170th pick overall) — Mistral Raymond, Defensive back, South Florida.
Safety is another area in need of more depth. Raymond could push the incumbent players, or even displace one of them with a strong showing in training camp. Raymond has had a tough time in his family life over the last few years. - Round 6 (172nd pick overall) — Brandon Fusco, Center/guard, Slippery Rock.
Another versatile offensive line player can always find a roster spot. Sullivan played injured for most of last season, so having a backup centre who can also play other line positions is great for depth. Judd Zulgad believes he’s going to end up on the practice squad this season. - Round 6 (200th pick overall) — Ross Homan, Linebacker, Ohio State.
The Vikings may lose outside linebacker Ben Leber to free agency (once that starts), so having another linebacker in camp is a need they address with this pick. - Round 7 (215th pick overall) — D’Aundre Reed, Defensive end, Arizona.
Another position that may be opening due to free agency loss. Judd Zulgad isn’t too impressed: “All I can think is the Vikings are either convinced Griffen is going to get his act together, they are planning on starting Robison at left end or they are convinced we’re going to play under the 2010 CBA and Edwards will be back because if that’s the case he will be a restricted free agent. Reed looks like a practice squad guy to me.” - Round 7 (236th pick overall) — Stephen Burton, Wide receiver, West Texas A&M.
With Sidney Rice potentially leaving in free agency, the Vikings have a need for another receiver. Brief write-up on Burton here.
Unlike in previous years, where the draft is immediately followed by teams signing lots of undrafted free agents, the NFL’s labour situation prevents that until the new Collective Bargaining Agreement is in place (or the courts rule in a way to allow free agency to begin).
April 30, 2011
Vikings take TE Kyle Rudolph with 2nd round pick
I didn’t expect the Vikings to pick a tight end until much later in the draft (if at all, given all their other needs), but according to Judd Zulgad, they picked the best player rather than drafting for need:
The Vikings were accused of reaching by some on Thursday night when they selected quarterback Christian Ponder with the 12th pick in the first round of the NFL draft. The selection seemed to run contrary to the team’s long-standing philosophy of taking the best player available.
On Friday night, the Vikings returned to their usual means of operation and stayed true to their board by selecting Notre Dame tight end Kyle Rudolph in the second round. However, the decision was a bit of a surprise considering that of the Vikings’ many positional needs, tight end didn’t seem to be near the top of the list.
“We felt that he was too good of a player to pass up,” said Rick Spielman, the Vikings vice president of player personnel. “We felt that he has a lot of unique skills as a tight end and we wanted to stay true to our board. That was a situation where there was a player that normally, if he hadn’t had that hamstring injury [last season], we wouldn’t even had a shot to get. We feel that we got great value when we got Kyle.”
April 29, 2011
QotD: The NFL draft is “The Oscars for Straight Men”
Some comedian once called the NFL Draft “The Oscars for Straight Men,” and there is something to that label. While everyone will “grade” the teams’ drafts, and fans will argue and kibitz about who their team should have drafted, there are no definitive winners or losers. One of the more ridiculous aspects of the day is how every team claims to have gotten the players they wanted or rated highest. Just once, it would be thrilling to hear a general manager come out and say, “Look, we know he’s a reach, but all of the guys we rated highest were picked already, the coach and head scout got into a screaming match, the clock was ticking down and so I flipped a coin. Knowing his pain-in-the-tush agent, he’s probably going to hold out most of training camp, anyway.”
Jim Geraghty, “Why Is the Draft So Engrossing to NFL Fans?”, National Review, 2011-04-29
The first round of the NFL draft
As I’ve said every year, the NFL draft is not a huge fascination for me because I don’t follow college football. I don’t know enough about any of the players, and after you’ve read two or three mock drafts, you know even less. Once the draft is over, you still won’t know whether your team was a big winner or a big loser in the draft . . . it really does take a few years to put perspective on it.
This year, the Vikings had the 12th pick in the draft and an immediate need for a quarterback, which meant they took Christian Ponder of Florida State. Joe Webb, who was a late-round draft choice last year got the chance to start a couple of games late in the season after Brett Favre was injured. He did fairly well, but he’s not widely considered ready to be a regular starter yet. Ponder will have a good chance to show what he can do in training camp (assuming that the labour situation is resolved fairly soon after the draft).
Here’s Judd Zulgad’s take on the Vikings’ draft choice:
Vikings executive Rick Spielman, coach Leslie Frazier and offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave were among the members of the Vikings brass who spent a day-and-a-half with Christian Ponder last month in Tallahassee, Fla., putting the Florida State quarterback through various drills and evaluating his football smarts during a private workout.
“I thought the whole interview went great, the whole process,” Ponder said. “I was impressed by Musgrave and what he was doing on offense [and] Coach Frazier. I’m not sure how interested they were going to be, but I thought the whole process went well.”
[. . .]
While the Vikings could attempt to sign a veteran free agent to play in front of Ponder for a season, there also is the chance he will step in as the team’s starter. Frazier attempted to frame it as if Ponder will be competing with Joe Webb and Rhett Bomar for the job, but that’s a bit hard to believe considering the commitment the Vikings have made.
“I want it to still be an open competition with the guys that are on our roster,” Frazier said. “It will be those three. What happens with free agency? Who knows? We’ll eventually get to that point. But right now it’s a competition between those three and we’ll line up with the best guy when we get ready to line up against the Chargers [on Sept. 11 in the regular-season opener].”
In addition to a quarterback, the team has lots of other needs that could not be addressed in free agency, including both offensive and defensive linemen, linebacker, corner, safety, wide receiver, and tight end.
Update: Jim Souhan thinks that the jeering fans at the Winter Park draft party should give Spielman and Frazier a break:
The inebriated might wind up being right. Ponder might prove too fragile for the NFL and might become one of the many first-round quarterback busts in recent league history.
But this is one of those moments when it might be best to invest a little hope in the Vikings’ brain trust, because there is no greater thrill for the modern-day sports fan than to watch the development of a good, young quarterback, and there is no better template for winning than a coach and a young quarterback growing into their jobs together.
Let’s skip the usual draft-day analysis. It doesn’t matter whether the draft experts think the Vikings reached. Or think there were better quarterbacks available than Ponder. Or think there were better players at other positions available at No. 12.
Draft experts and NFL teams alike are often wrong, not because of a lack of due diligence but because projecting young quarterbacks is an inherently risky business.
[. . .]
What we know is this: Vikings coach Leslie Frazier was desperate to draft a quarterback who could lead his team, and he seemed very happy at the lectern late Thursday night.
Why not? This is a day for hope, and Ponder gives Vikings fans reason to do so.
The consensus: He’s smart, diligent and tough. His injuries gave his detractors reason to question him; the Vikings say they liked his toughness in trying to overcome them.
What we know for sure is that Frazier has tied his future to Ponder. So has personnel boss Spielman.
If Ponder develops into a star, Frazier and Spielman will be here a while. If he proves to be a bust, Zygi Wilf probably will be hiring a new personnel guru and coach within three years.
April 4, 2011
Tweet of the day: Charlie Sheen
Faux John Madden: Charlie Sheen has bombed in Chicago and Detroit. All that’s left is for him to bomb in Green Bay and he’s duplicated the Vikings season.
April 1, 2011
Rating Vikings drafts in the last decade
Bleacher Report ranks the 2000-2009 drafts for Minnesota:
- 2007: Adrian Peterson, Sidney Rice, Marcus McCauley, Brian Robison, Aundrae Allison, Rufus Alexander, Tyler Thigpen, Chandler Williams. Without a doubt, the best draft of the decade: Adrian Peterson by himself would make it, but add in Sidney Rice and Brian Robison and this was an excellent draft. Thigpen might have been a contributor, but he was grabbed off waivers and never played a game for the Vikings.
- 2006: Chad Greenway, Cedric Griffin, Ryan Cook, Tavaris Jackson, Ray Edwards, Greg Blue. A very good draft, by anyone’s standards. Both Greenway and Edwards have been great contributors, while Cedric Griffin has been very good when not battling injury. Jackson showed flashes of brilliance at QB, but never could beat the consistency problem.
- 2003: Kevin Williams, E.J. Henderson, Nate Burleson, Onterrio Smith, Eddie Johnson, Michael Nattiel, Keenan Howry. Williams and Henderson were great draft choices. Burleson and Smith were good contributors, but Burleson was lured away to Seattle, while Smith left the league after the “Whizzinator” incident.
- 2009: Percy Harvin, Phil Loadhalt, Asher Allen, Jasper Brinkley, Jamarca Sanford. It’s too soon to make a permanent judgement about such a recent draft, but Harvin and Loadholt were both major contributors in their rookie seasons, while the others have been good in backup or situational roles.
- 2002: Bryant McKinnie, Raonall Smith, Willie Offord, Brian Williams, Ed Ta’amu, Nick Rogers, Chad Beasley. Other than McKinnie, the rest of this draft class fade quickly out of memory.
- 2008: Tyrell Johnson, John David Booty, Letroy Guion, John Sullivan, Jaymar Johnson. The best part of this draft was trading the first-round pick to obtain Jared Allen. Tyrell Johnson and Jaymar Johnson are both still with the team, although neither has really made a name for himself. Guion has played well and should be a bigger contributor this year.
- 2004: Kenechi Udeze, Dontarrious Thomas, Darrion Scott, Nat Dorsey, Mewelde Moore, Rod Davis, Deandre’ Eiland, Jeff Dugan. Moore and Dugan were good picks, but the rest were forgettable. Moore still does good work . . . for the Steelers.
- 2000: Chris Hovan, Fred Robbins, Michael Boireau, Doug Chapman, Antonio Wilson, Tyrone Carter, Troy Walters, Mike Malano, Giles Cole, Lewis Kelly. Hovan was a player who seemed to be a legend in his own mind. Robbins did some good work, but not for the Vikings.
- 2001: Michael Bennett, Willie Howard, Eric Kelly, Shawn Worthen, Cedric James, Patrick Chukwurah, Carey Scott, Brian Crawford. The best that could be said of this draft class was that Michael Bennet, when healthy, could be good. The key words there were “when healthy”.
- 2005: Troy Williamson, Erasmas James, Marcus Johnson, Dustin Fox, Ciatrick Fason, C.J. Mosely, Adrian Ward. A flat-out terrible draft on any level. Two first-round picks, both wasted.
March 18, 2011
Adrian Peterson changes the tone, but not in a good way
Tom Powers thinks that Adrian Peterson has accomplished what many thought to have been impossible: improving the public view of the NFL owners.
With one slip of the tongue, Adrian Peterson irrevocably has altered public perception with regard to the NFL labor situation. A.P. has accomplished the seemingly impossible: He has made the bad guys look good. Or at least better.
Suddenly, NFL owners, the greediest group of cutthroat, self-indulgent operators since Al Capone’s gang ran roughshod over Chicago, stand in a more favorable public light. And they can wave a disapproving finger at the players and announce to the fans: “Now do you see what we’re dealing with here?”
The other day, Peterson called the owners’ treatment of the players “modern-day slavery.” He was making a lot of sense right up until he uttered those magic words. He had talked about the unmitigated greed of the owners and about how they were trying to wring more money from their employees. Then he made the slavery comparison. Since A.P. is due a base salary of close to $11 million next season, it’s not hard to imagine how all the working stiffs out there viewed those comments.
Because of the impasse, Powers now thinks the best solution is pretty drastic:
It’s too bad because, make no mistake about it, if NFL football goes missing this fall, it’s the owners’ doing and not the players.’ The players are the good guys in these negotiations.
Their careers are short. They get beat up more than any other athletes. They have lingering injuries that hamper them for the rest of their lives. Meanwhile, the filthy-rich owners want a bigger percentage of the revenue pie. In fact, they want a big fat slice right off the top.
OK, what’s done is done. Now everybody looks bad. And just like the 1994 negotiations that almost killed baseball, both sides are so busy trying to gouge each other that they are displaying precious little regard for the cash customers who, in reality, fund the whole damn operation. They are the ones who buy the tickets and merchandise. They are the ones who send the TV ratings — and thus the advertising revenue — through the roof.
So now I think the best thing that could possibly happen is for the NFL to disappear for a year. I hope the labor negotiations reach an impasse and the season is canceled. Then maybe reality will set in for all concerned. The mighty need to be humbled. In a year, with luck, they’ll all realize that the sun doesn’t rise and set on their fannies. They’ll realize that everyone survived just fine without them. And then maybe they won’t take it all for granted anymore.
March 12, 2011
Len Pasquarelli calls for a new leader for the NFL player negotiations
You’d have to say that Len Pasquarelli really isn’t a fan of the current leader of the players’ negotiation efforts:
As the NFL and the group formerly known as the union continue to point fingers, it appears one man was focused on celebrity status more than negotiating. DeMaurice Smith’s predecessor knew how to cut a deal, something Smith could have learned from.
Paraphrasing the old joke about how one might characterize a thousand attorneys buried at the bottom of the ocean floor: What do you call a fast-talkin’ lawyer with a decertified union, no pulpit from which to preach to a congregation and technically no association to executively direct?
A good start.
At the risk of alienating the rank-and-file — and less important, since I wasn’t on the Twitter or fax accounts of assistant executive director/minister of propaganda George Attallah, the NFLPA brass — the Friday afternoon decertification maneuver by the players’ association was the move DeMaurice Smith has had in mind for a long time. And now the fait has met the accompli, and it’s time for the NFLPA to turn to someone who knows how to cut a deal.
We’re not smart enough, or well enough versed in labor law, to have prepared any suggestions. But there has got to be, somewhere, anywhere, a viable alternative to Smith, essentially Elmer Gantry in a business suit and goofy hat. Smith exponentially raised the ante with his incendiary rhetoric, demonizing the league and its owners and their financial statements, declaring the negotiations a war.
Well, on Friday afternoon, he may have won a battle. But in egotistically rejecting a treaty that would have ended the war for another half-dozen years or so, and made his constituents a lot of money, he may have led his mesmerized charges to the brink of football hell.
NFL Players’ union moves to decertify
The negotiations between the NFL and the players’ union went down to the wire and then past it:
A week of extended negotiations between the National Football League and the NFL Players Association have failed to produce a new labor contract.
The team owners have threatened to lock out the players — a move that could affect the scheduled start of the season this coming fall. There is even a chance that the entire season could be lost. Although most experts see that as unlikely, rating agency Standard & Poor’s has said it believes the owners have the financial wherewithal to go a full year without games being played.
With the failure of the talks, the union immediately moved to decertify itself Friday afternoon. That opened the door for a antitrust lawsuit against the league by some of the union’s star players, including quarterbacks Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
The players hope to win their arguments in court rather than at the negotiating table. But now that there is no longer a union to negotiate with the owners, resuming talks and reaching a new agreement are much more problematic.
March 9, 2011
Players’ union rejects owners’ offer of limited financial data disclosure
It’s not surprising that the union hasn’t leaped at the owners’ small gesture of financial openness:
N.F.L. players union officials on Tuesday rejected an offer from the owners to turn over audited profitability data from all 32 teams for the past several years. The offer, made Monday night, was the first time the owners indicated a willingness to share financial information with the players beyond what is required by the collective bargaining agreement.
Union leaders told the owners’ negotiating committee that they wanted each club’s audited full financial statements, according to two people who were briefed on the talks.
The standoff could significantly hamper negotiations because union officials have indicated they will not make any more financial concessions without receiving fully audited financial statements, data it has been seeking for nearly two years.
One person involved in the negotiations called full financial disclosure a potential “silver bullet” in the negotiations.
Negotiations on football matters like the drug-testing policy and off-season camps had taken place Tuesday morning, but the split of the $9 billion in annual revenue the N.F.L. takes in remains the biggest stumbling block toward reaching a new collective bargaining agreement before the Friday night deadline.
The financial situation may indeed be as dire as the owners are claiming, but it’s hard to believe them when they won’t actually show the full financial picture to prove it. The continuing refusal to open the books has a strong appearance of deception.
March 4, 2011
The complicated NFL labour situation
Update: Twitter rumours are now that the CBA will be extended for another week to allow further negotiations. New deadline is Friday March 11 at 5pm Eastern time.
March 3, 2011
It’s down to the wire for NFL lockout
Mark Craig summarizes the labour situation between the NFL and its players:
A moment incomprehensible to fans of North America’s most popular and profitable sports league is now, finally, upon us.
At a tick past 11 p.m. Thursday, the three-year standoff between billionaire owners and millionaire players could result in the NFL’s first work stoppage since 1987. Barring a new collective bargaining agreement or a temporary extension of the current one, all NFL business except next month’s draft is expected to cease as the owners lock out the players. Meanwhile, all concerns for the 2011 offseason, preseason, regular season and Super Bowl XLVI officially shift to threat level Orange.[. . .]
Owners claim the status quo is a recipe for financial destruction of the league but resist the players’ request to open the books and prove it. Owners possess franchises worth an average of $1.02 billion, charge fans in some cities up to five figures just for the license to buy season tickets, and oversee a thriving empire that drew a record 111 million TV viewers for last month’s Super Bowl.
The two major stumbling blocks since the owners opted out of the current CBA in 2008 are dividing revenue and extending the regular season from 16 to 18 games. The owners get $1 billion off the top before giving the players 59.5 percent of the remaining $8 billion. The owners now want another $1 billion off the top.
Yesterday’s news of the decision in David Doty’s court room may force the owners to negotiate with more urgency, as they were depending on having access to the billions in TV revenue even if no games were played.
Update: Rumour on Twitter is that the players and the owners have agreed to a 24-hour extension of the CBA. Hopefully this time will be used to make progress, not merely postures.
March 2, 2011
NFL owners lose key legal battle with players’ union
The looming lockout of NFL players may not be looming quite as large, due to a legal outcome in a Minnesota District Court:
In his ruling, Doty said the NFL breached its union contract by accepting below-established market contracts for their TV deals in 2011 that not only produced less revenue to share with players, but also protected the owners by guaranteeing the payment whether a lockout potentially canceled the season entirely.
In his 28-page opinion, Doty said the record showed the NFL entered contract negotiations with the TV networks with the expressed idea that, if there was no 2011 season, the owners would still get paid while the players would not, creating an imbalance used to “advance its own interests and harm the players.”
Doty overruled Burbank’s decision and ordered another hearing to determine if the owners are liable to paying damages to the NFLPA, which, given the current cost split, would give the players half of the $150 million each team would receive from the TV deal, or to block the owners from collecting any of the TV money without a product on the field. The NFLPA is asking Doty to issue an injunction to put the TV money in escrow until a new labor agreement is worked out.
This money might well have been a useful war-chest for the NFL owners to sit out a long work stoppage (whether a strike by the players’ union or a lockout), but thanks to the decision by David Doty they won’t have that money available until after some agreement is reached.
