Quotulatiousness

September 24, 2010

You know your football season is in trouble when . . .

Filed under: Football, Media — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 10:24

. . . even the funny guys are picking Detroit to beat you:

Detroit (plus 10.5) at Minnesota

Feschuk: Did you get a good look at Brett Favre last week? He looked as utterly dazed and defeated as Frodo climbing Mount Doom or Robert DeNiro suddenly realizing he was starring in The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. I haven’t seen anyone regret a decision so intensely since the last eight women to marry Larry King. Conventional wisdom holds that the Vikes will turn it all around this week. But the Lions have 10 sacks in their first two games and — just as important — a talent for scoring late, otherwise inconsequential touchdowns that result in a cover. Pick: Detroit.

Reid: According to a new book, evidence has recently been uncovered that it was a crew member who mistakenly steered the Titanic into the iceberg, guaranteeing its doom. Any resemblance to Brett Favre is coincidental. Brad Childress? That resemblance is better described as entirely accurate. Pick: Detroit.

Okay, to be fair, they’re just picking Detroit to do better than lose by 10.5 point, but still . . .

If Detroit’s new defensive line is as good as they’ve been in the first two games, Brett Favre will not have fun in this game. Better ensure that Tarvaris Jackson (and even Joe Webb) get properly warmed up.

September 23, 2010

Chargers don’t get sweet enough offer for Vincent Jackson

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 09:23

The Minnesota Vikings still don’t have an answer for their wide receiver woes: the San Diego Chargers decided not to accept any of the offers for their disgruntled-but-talented Vincent Jackson. The NFL had set a deadline of 3pm yesterday for a deal to be struck, but San Diego didn’t get what they wanted from the Vikings or other teams, so Jackson will have to serve the full six game suspension and may not play at all this year.

As Judd Zulgad points out, this leaves the Vikings even thinner going in to this weekend’s matchup with the improving Detroit Lions:

The Vikings were hoping to end Wednesday with Pro Bowl wide receiver Vincent Jackson in tow. Instead, their receiver situation became even more unsettled as Jackson remained a holdout in San Diego and injury issues continued to mount.

Percy Harvin, already battling a hip strain, missed practice after another recurrence of migraines, and Bernard Berrian was limited because of an issue with his knee.

[. . .]

Jackson would not have been an immediate help to the Vikings, but he could have been on the field as early as Oct. 17 against Dallas, if a trade could have been worked out. Coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons, Jackson was considered a potential short-term replacement for the injured Sidney Rice.

Jackson, who is 6-5, would have given Favre the type of big target that he’s lacking, with the 6-4 Rice expected to miss half the season after having hip surgery.

The Vikings reportedly had agreed to a one-year deal with Jackson’s agents that would have been worth more than $6 million for 12 games of work. There also was believed to be a potential option year in the contract. However, the Vikings, and other teams, were unable to reach an agreement on trade terms with the Chargers by a 3 p.m. deadline Wednesday.

I’m in two minds about the deal: the Vikings are getting desperate enough at wide receiver to suit up Brad Childress or perhaps give Pat Williams a chance, but the Jackson situation had the potential to bring as much trouble to the team off the field as his play might have helped on the field.

With so many of their talented players coming up on the end of their contracts, it would send a terrible signal to reward a player like Jackson for his behaviour. I have to assume that’s why the Vikings didn’t pony up the kind of offer San Diego was looking for, and in the long term, I think it was the right decision. Brett Favre may have a different opinion, however.

September 22, 2010

NFL still not setting the right example for concussed players

Filed under: Football, Health — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 07:20

Gregg Easterbrook shows that the NFL’s thoughts about the proper way to address concussions still haven’t changed:

The core problem is that football coaches at the high school, college and professional levels are rewarded for winning games but not penalized for allowing their players to be harmed. A coach who sits a player down out of concern for the player’s health may pay a price, if a game is lost. A coach who sends a concussed player onto the field may never be penalized in any way if that player suffers another concussion. Human beings respond to incentives, and right now the coaches’ incentive is to be irresponsible with players’ health.

Yes, the culture of football macho contributes to the problem: Many players ask to return to action when battling injury, including neurological harm. But coaches are the ones who make the decisions. They’re the adults in charge. And their incentive structure is all wrong.

Coaches receive money and accolades if they mistreat players and win; they are not disciplined, or seemingly even criticized, if players are harmed. Same for the front office in the NFL, the athletic department in college and the athletic director in high school. If the team loses, the fans and boosters are furious. If players suffer harm, there are no consequences whatsoever for the people making the decisions. And at the high school level, legally they are caring for children!

September 20, 2010

Vikings put themselves deeper in the hole

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 09:35

I didn’t see yesterday’s game . . . and it sounds as if I missed a really disappointing viewing opportunity:

Sunday’s loss came down to missed opportunities for the Vikings, who wasted Adrian Peterson’s first regular-season 100-yard rushing performance since last Nov. 15 against Detroit.

The stats indicate this was a one-sided game — in the Vikings’ favor.

They ran 72 offensive plays to 46 for the Dolphins. They had 364 total yards to 226 for Miami and controlled the ball for 35 minutes, 48 seconds.

But when faced with crucial situations, the Vikings failed. They converted five of 14 third-down opportunities and were unsuccessful on three of four fourth-down attempts. The Vikings brought the ball into the red zone five times but came away with only one touchdown.

Favre threw three interceptions — one more than all of last season at home — and committed a crucial fumble in the third quarter, recovered by Miami linebacker Koa Misi in the end zone for a touchdown and a 14-0 Dolphins lead.

Tom Powers wonders how long it’ll be before the team (or the fans) reach for that panic button:

The magic is gone. Or at least it has been misplaced.

Brett Favre and the Vikings’ offense had labored all game Sunday at the Metrodome. But with 1:42 left, they took the field, trailing by four points, 55 yards from victory. Favre has made a career out of situations such as these. And not one soul from among the sellout crowd for the season’s first home game had dared move toward the exit. This was Favre time.

On the sideline, coach Brad Childress felt confident. Despite watching Favre occasionally misfire against the Dolphins and watching a sub-par receiving corps struggle to make plays, he was convinced something good was about to happen. He could sense it.

“You do,” he agreed afterward. “And we had a timeout left.”

Not this time. What in the past would have been a final, glorious Vikings touchdown drive fizzled. The last play was a raggedy-looking short pass toward Visanthe Shiancoe over the middle. Then the Vikings walked off the field, heads down, staring at an oh and two record after their 14-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

Somewhere in Vikings Land there is a big red button just waiting to be pushed. Then sirens will wail and buzzers will bellow. Then it officially will be time to panic. Can that button be pushed after just two games?

So, Brett Favre has now had his post-pre-season workout . . . will he be back in synch with his receivers next week? It took three regular season games last year, against weaker opponents than the first two this year. The defence is in late-season form: they’ve been doing more than their share of the fighting, it’s the other guys in the passing attack who haven’t been picking up the slack.

Bernard Berrian is making a case for him not being with the team next year: this was his big opportunity to prove that he’s a number one receiver, but he’s not making the case (Powers is even harsher, “Bernard Berrian is about as useful as a hood ornament”). Visanthe Shiancoe once again was the leading receiver, and Adrian Peterson had his best running performance in more than a year . . . but the wide receivers didn’t show up on the stat sheet.

It’s not impossible for the Vikings to right the ship and sail on to a division title . . . it’s just the next thing to impossible at 0-2 with the Packers doing everything right.

September 15, 2010

Fantasy football strategies

Filed under: Football — Tags: — Nicholas @ 07:28

I’ve been participating in simple fantasy football pools for a while, although the closest I’ve come to winning was a tie for second place in the first year I took part. Picking winners and losers isn’t too hard — except when lots of upsets occur (see, for example, opening weekend this year) — but picking against the spread is much tougher. If you’re not doing as well as you’d like in your fantasy football picks, Gregg Easterbrook has a formula you might be interested in trying:

The Isaacson-Tarbell Postulate, proposed by TMQ readers Eric Isaacson of Indiana University and Catey Tarbell of Kirkland, Wash., holds: Best Record Wins Unless Records Equal, Then Home Team Wins. If you’d picked 2009 NFL games using this simple algorithm, you would have picked 167 of 267 contests correctly, a better performance record than many professional touts. The Isaacson-Tarbell Postulate is a huge time-saver because you don’t have to think about picks — you don’t even need to know who’s playing! Eric and Catey’s system works well except in the first week of the season, when the formula simply chooses the home team, and in Week 17, when many winning teams have locked in their highest seed and are resting starters. So last year I tested a Transformed Isaacson-Tarbell Postulate, which uses the formula except in Week 1 and Week 17; those I forecast the old-fashioned way, by thinking. Using the Transformed approach, I called 174 games correctly. That beat nearly all NFL writers and television personalities; the only one I saw who did better was Pete O’Brien of USA Today, who got 176 right.

This year TMQ will test a new auto-predictor, proposed by Tom Davis of Las Vegas. Davis writes, “A while back you noted in a column, ‘Studies have shown that the prediction most likely to be correct is simply forecasting that existing trends will continue.’ Why not apply this to the NFL? If a team won the previous week, predict them to win the following week; if they lost, predict them to lose again. If you have two teams who won last week or two teams who lost last week playing each other, default to the generic and choose the home team. It’s basically a tit-for-tat strategy, but I’d assume it would be as accurate as any of the ‘experts’ out there. And it does not require time-consuming thinking.”

The Davis Postulate holds: Existing Trends Continue; If Trends Same, Home Team Wins. I will track games using this predictor and also using a Transformed Davis Postulate in which I predict the first and final weeks of the season the old-fashioned way, by thinking.

I went 9-7 on the opening weekend (could have gotten 10, but I always take the Vikings to win). I may try the Isaacson-Tarbell Postulate this week, to make up lost ground.

September 12, 2010

Vikings face uphill struggle in new season

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 00:08

The acid-penned Jim Souhan points out the difficulties facing the Vikings this season:

For months, the Vikings’ opener at New Orleans, in a rematch of an epic NFC title game, in the home of a city believing the Saints offered proof of its rebirth, felt as consequential and symbolic as Christmas.

Turns out it was more like Halloween — a holiday signifying little, featuring loud costumes and leaving half the participants with queasy stomachs.

Ugly and overhyped as it was, the Vikings’ 14-9 loss to the Saints doesn’t mean much. Losing on the road to a championship team early in the season is hardly fatal. It was just another Fleur de Loss in “The City That Doesn’t Sleep In Its Own Bed.”

What the loss means is that the Vikings suddenly have little margin for error. They haven’t dealt with this predicament previously with Favre at their helm.

Last year, they started with easy victories over Cleveland and Detroit, stole one from the 49ers and started the season 6-0. The early winning streak gave them immense confidence and a cushion in the NFC North that allowed them to survive unsightly late-season losses at Arizona, Carolina and Chicago.

In fact, that early winning streak obscured the Vikings’ struggles on the road under Favre. Including the end of last season, the playoff loss at New Orleans and Thursday’s loss, the Vikings have lost six of their past seven road games with Favre under center, a strange occurrence given his experience.

As I’ve enumerated before, the Vikings were lucky to return so many of their 2009 starting players and key backups, but luck had a lot to do with their early season last year. They’re not as lucky this time around, and it’ll be easy for bandwagoners to bail in coming weeks. The Vikings still have the talent to go deep into the playoffs — once Favre gets into synchronization with his wide receivers. That will take a few more games, if last year is a guide.

September 10, 2010

Saints 14, Vikings 9

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 08:38

It wasn’t a pretty game, aside from the opening New Orleans drive. Drew Brees had a great start, making the Viking backfield look like statues, but that was the only really “magic” part of the game. From that point onwards, it was a very pedestrian performance by both teams.

This is similar to the start of last season: Brett Favre came in after training camp and only had the playing time in preseason games to learn about his new teammates. The difference is that last season, the Vikings had an easy start to their schedule.

Both Favre and Percy Harvin showed the effects of too little practice, and appeared to be on different pages of the playbook for too much of the game. It’s not surprising that they both have rust, especially for Harvin, who suffered from migraines all through training camp (and had other medical issues). At one point during the game, TV reporter Andrea Kramer reported that Harvin’s heart had stopped after he collapsed on the practice field during training camp, and that he’d then been diagnosed with sleep apnea (the migraine medication may have caused the collapse).

In spite of the early problems, the Vikings went in to the locker room at the half holding a 9-7 lead, thanks to a drive that showed what they’re capable of (given more time to gel). Visanthe Shiancoe got behind the covering linebacker for a touchdown, and Ryan Longwell had put the Vikings on the board with a field goal earlier. A blocked extra point kept the Vikings at 9.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the game was how well the Vikings’ patched-together-with-string-and-bailing-wire defensive backfield held up under the pressure:

Despite a few lapses, it’s hard to complain with a Vikings defense that held the NFL’s best offense to 14 points. In the first half, the Vikings showed they are still one of the league’s best at stopping the run. In the second half, the Saints managed to methodically push through the game. After the ugly first drive, the cornerbacks held their own. Lito Sheppard played well after a quiet training camp.

But the Vikings offense has 10 days to work out the offensive rustiness in time for Miami next Sunday in the Metrodome.

“This won’t get us derailed from our goal of the Super Bowl,” said Shiancoe, who finished with a team-high four catches for 76 yards. “It’s nothing to panic over.”

Update: Jim Souhan isn’t as kind:

Thursday night, in their season-opening, 14-9 loss in New Orleans, the Vikings’ skill-position players performed as if they needed nametags on the front of their jerseys, as if they should have taken time in the first huddle of the season to reacquaint themselves.

As in, “My name’s Brett, I’m from Hattiesburg, and I’m real sorry I held out for more money.”

On this visit to New Orleans, the Vikings needed a 12th man in the huddle just to make introductions.

Favre lived a charmed existence in 2009. He didn’t pay for his belated arrival because the Vikings started the season against Cleveland and Detroit, enabling him to make more warmup tosses than Mariano Rivera.

By the time the Vikings began facing real teams, Favre had developed a bond with Sidney Rice and a football version of telepathy with Percy Harvin.

Thursday, Favre played as if he had just driven over from his hometown of Kiln, Miss. On his tractor. With a cattail between his teeth.

September 9, 2010

QotD: Why football is king in America

Filed under: Football, Quotations, USA — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 09:37

You probably remember the pain, the feeling of deja voodoo.

You probably remember a sense of disbelief, as the Vikings and Brett Favre blew another epic game.

If you can forgive the Vikings their sins of that day — the 12th man in the huddle, the five turnovers, that fateful Favre pass — what you should remember is this:

The Vikings’ 31-28 loss to the Saints in the NFC Championship Game stands as the latest, best demonstration of why football is king in America.

Baseball is a beautiful and comforting game. Basketball showcases the world’s most spectacular athletes. Football reaches into our guts, reaches into the most evolved and most prehistoric portions of our brain, combining all of the elements of our greatest dramas, from violence to pathos to unpredictability to intricately interwoven plots.

What happened in the Superdome on Jan. 24 was Shakespearean. Not Shakespearean in the popular use of the word, meaning “effete” or “intellectual.” Shakespeare became popular by writing plays filled with blood and revenge, lust and greed.

And tragedy.

Shakespeare would have loved Favre.

Jim Souhan, “Take your seat, the big show is about to resume”, Star Tribune, 2010-09-09

Vikings-Saints preview

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 08:49

The 2010 NFL season starts tonight with a rematch of the NFC Championship between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints. Last time the teams faced one another, the Vikings had all the advantages, except in turnovers, and that was what eventually decided the outcome. A late interception prevented the Vikings from attempting a field goal for the win, and the Saints got the ball in overtime, driving for the winning score.

The Vikings need no further encouragement than the opportunity to prove that the Championship game really was a fluke. Not all the same players will be on the field tonight: Sidney Rice had surgery that has him sidelined until the middle of the season, and other players are still recovering from injuries (Cedric Griffin and rookie Chris Cook for the Vikings, and Darren Sharper for the Saints).

The stakes aren’t as high as last time, but each team wants to set the tone for the new season.

Of course, it being the official kick-off of the new season, the game is getting a lot of analysis. I’ll summarize what most coverage is saying:

  • Quarterbacks: Drew Brees is still one of the top five in the league. Brett Favre is 87 years old. Edge: Saints.
  • Wide Receivers: New Orleans loves to play four wide: Minnesota only has four receivers on the entire roster, and their best one is recovering from surgery. Edge: Saints.
  • Running Backs: New Orleans has Reggie Bush, a very elusive, dangerous back. Minnesota has some guy who’s best known for fumbling the ball. Edge: Saints.
  • Offensive line: New Orleans won the Superbowl. Minnesota didn’t. Edge: Saints.
  • Defensive line: The Vikings may have a few guys who are well known, but they only sacked Drew Brees once in the NFC Championship. New Orleans nearly disassembled Brett Favre into separate pieces. Edge: New Orleans.
  • Defensive backfield: Finally, an area of weakness for the Saints. They’re not fielding the same four guys as last season. Minnesota had to round up the vagrants down at the bus station to man their corner and safety positions for this game. Edge: Saints.
  • Special teams: Minnesota just traded away a top punt return guy to the Giants. Brad Childress may have to suit up for punt return duties. Edge: Saints.

As you can see, the media is pretty uniform in their opinion. The game is being played in New Orleans, which is a very loud stadium. The Vikings don’t have a chance to win. That’s why I think it’ll be the Saints who’ll disappoint their fans in the opener.

September 4, 2010

Cut-down day for NFL teams

Filed under: Football — Tags: , — Nicholas @ 10:50

Today is probably the most tense day for NFL players — it’s when all NFL teams must cut down to their final 53-man rosters. Every team in the league must cut about a third of the players who’ve been in training camp and playing in preseason games.

Some of the open questions for the Vikings were resolved yesterday with the trade of Sage Rosenfels and Darius Reynaud to the New York Giants. The quarterback situation is now clear, and including Reynaud in the deal implies that the team feels that Percy Harvin will be healthy enough to return kicks this season (still a question about who’ll be the punt returner). Other areas of interest are almost all competition for backup and special teams roles: the Vikings got all their 2009 starting players back this season, and most of them will continue to hold their top slots for the start of the 2010 season.

The sportswriters at the Pioneer Press put together their predictions on the Vikings final roster before the news broke about the trade with the Giants. Aside from that I think it’s a pretty good guess.

After the trade, the Vikings may try to bring in a cornerback to shore up that position (with two starting-quality players injured, they lack depth for the first few games of the season). It may also mean a stay of execution for one of the receivers not listed in the Pioneer Press, like Taye Biddle or Logan Payne (assuming that Javon Walker has made enough of an impression to stick with the final team).

Judd Zulgad and Chip Scoggins also provide their best guesses at who’ll still be with the team after 5:00 Central time today. As you’d expect, they generally agree with the Pioneer Press predictions, with a few minor points of difference.

Update: With 90 minute left before the deadline here are the players reported waived or released at the Star Tribune blog:

  • DeAndre Wright, CB
  • Garrett Mills, TE. A bit of a surprise here, as Mills is a solid receiver.
  • Ryan D’Imperio, FB. Late draft choice, hopefully he’ll make it onto the practice squad.
  • Marcus Sherels, CB. Another possible practice squad player if he makes it through waivers.
  • Tremaine Johnson, DT.
  • Thomas Austin, OL.
  • Ian Johnson, RB.
  • Chris Clark, OT. His goose may have been cooked by letting a couple of defensive linemen get past him for sacks in the preseason games.
  • Freddie Brown, WR.
  • Logan Payne, WR. A bit surprised he didn’t stick, but he should make the practice squad.
  • Mike Montgomery, DE.
  • Adrian Battles, LG.
  • Rhys Lloyd, K. Signed with high hopes of improving the number of touchbacks, but only managed one two during the preseason.
  • Javon Walker, WR. I thought he’d salvaged his position in the last preseason game. He’s a veteran, so he’s not eligible for signing to the practice squad.
  • Drew Radovich, LT.
  • Colt Anderson, S.
  • Patrick Brown, OT.
  • Marquis Hamilton, WR.
  • Nate Triplett, LB.
  • Taye Biddle, WR.

September 3, 2010

Fox reports that Sage Rosenfels has been traded to the Giants

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 21:30

Fox Sports has a report up saying that the Giants have traded for Minnesota’s Sage Rosenfels:

The Giants had searched for a new backup since Jim Sorgi suffered a season-ending shoulder injury earlier in the preseason. Third-stringer Rhett Bomar, a 2009 fifth-round pick, proved incapable of handling the role when starting in place of the injured Manning (laceration).

A 10-year NFL veteran with 12 career starts, Rosenfels will provide New York with a veteran presence. Rosenfels was acquired by Minnesota via trade with Houston in 2009 and signed to a three-year, $9 million contract extension. But any chance of competing for a starting spot was derailed when Minnesota signed Brett Favre.

Rosenfels has remained mired in a third-string role in Minneapolis behind backup Tarvaris Jackson despite an outstanding preseason statistically. Rosenfels completed 60.8 percent of his passes with four touchdowns and no interceptions compared with Jackson, who posted a 46.2 completion percentage.

I’m sorry to see Sage go (I thought it would be Tarvaris Jackson who’d be leaving), but hopefully he’s got a good situation in New York. Still, that means it’s pretty much certain that the Vikings will be keeping Joe Webb on the roster, rather than trying to get him past waivers and onto the practice squad.

Update: Judd Zulgad reports that the deal included running back/returner Darius Reynaud and that the Vikings will receive draft picks in the 2011 and 2012 drafts:

Sage Rosenfels apparently was being showcased after all.

The Vikings traded the veteran quarterback and running back Darius Reynaud to the New York Giants on Friday evening for an undisclosed draft choice in the 2011 NFL Draft and a conditional draft choice in the 2012 NFL Draft. The Vikings announced the trade on their website.
The deal is contingent upon both Rosenfels and Reynaud passing physical examinations with the Giants. The trade leaves the Vikings with 73 players, meaning they must cut 20 more by 5 p.m. Saturday.

The trade ends a frustrating season-plus stint in Minnesota for Rosenfels, who arrived in a trade with Houston in February 2009 expecting to compete with Tarvaris Jackson for the starting job but ended up being the No. 3 quarterback last season behind Brett Favre and Jackson.

Is Tarvaris Jackson on the bubble?

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 07:32

Jeremy Fowler seems to think so:

Jackson swears he’s playing well in practice, where coach Brad Childress says he’s seen “an evolution” in Brett Favre’s backup.

But the work simply hasn’t translated in four preseason games, fueling an already intriguing Vikings quarterback situation.

Jackson is still No. 2 ahead of Sage Rosenfels and Joe Webb, Childress said. Through four preseason games, that No. 2 spot has produced 60 yards on 12-of-26 passing, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions.

That’s 2.3 yards per completion after Thursday’s 2-of-8 passing performance for 2 yards. His two completions were screens of 4 and -2 yards to running back Albert Young.

When the athletic, electric Webb keeps inspiring the crowd with 40-plus-yard runs and improving accuracy, the juxtaposition is hard to ignore.

When asked Thursday night whether Jackson is still the No. 2, Childress said “as it stands right now.” Rosenfels, after all, might be the odd man out despite a solid preseason. The Vikings likely won’t carry four quarterbacks into the season, and Webb, a rookie out of Alabama-Birmingham, might have too much potential to throw to waivers.

With Joe Webb having an impressive preseason, there’s no chance he could slip through waivers and get signed to the practice squad. Many other teams in the conference would probably be willing to snap him up. Sage Rosenfels is under contract for another year, while Jackson and Favre both are out of contract at the end of this season. I’ve always liked Jackson, but his inconsistent play may force Brad Childress to go with Rosenfels and Webb as the second and third quarterbacks. I still doubt it, as Childress has been very loyal to Jackson through all the criticisms, but it’s a stronger possibility now than it was just a week ago.

Fowler also likes what he’s seen from Joe Webb:

Tarvaris Jackson might have played poorly, but Joe Webb took over the second half with 5-of-9 passing for 100 yards, a touchdown, an interception and 48 rushing yards.

The Vikings must cut the roster from 75 to 53 players on Saturday, and Webb says he’s still confident in his chances to stick.

The Metrodome erupted the moment Webb entered the game. Webb’s only disappointment was an interception by the sideline, but even his touchdown-saving tackle was impressive athletically.

The last time the Vikings tried to sneak a promising rookie quarterback onto their practice squad, Kansas City signed him (Tyler Thigpen). Within the first half of the season, Thigpen was starting for KC. Hopefully, Minnesota learned that lesson.

August 29, 2010

Vikings beat Seahawks 24-13 in 3rd preseason game

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 09:39

I didn’t get to watch this game, so I’m depending on the nice folks at the Star-Tribune to fill in the details for me:

Brad Childress has taken to describing the Vikings’ offense as being “in flux.” Exhibit A came with 4 minutes, 22 seconds left in the first quarter of the Vikings’ 24-13 preseason victory over Seattle on Saturday night at Mall of America Field at the Metrodome.

Wide receiver Greg Camarillo, who arrived on Wednesday in a trade with the Dolphins, caught a 12-yard pass from Brett Favre on third-and-8 to put the ball at the Seahawks 6. The play looked to be perfectly executed. Afterward offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell admitted there was one problem: Camarillo wasn’t in the right spot when he made the catch.

That’s what happens when two receivers, Camarillo and Javon Walker, arrived in the past five days, beating the quarterback to town by only a week. That’s what happens when another receiver, Percy Harvin, plays in his first preseason game after participating in only six training camp practices because of issues with migraines. That’s what happen when the starting center, John Sullivan, remains sidelined by a calf injury and the starting right guard, Anthony Herrera, is shifted to center and a rookie, Chris DeGeare, takes over at guard.

So, with all that flux, how the heck did they win the game?

Is Haynesworth going to live down to expectations?

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 09:23

Mark Craig doesn’t think the Washington Redskins are going to get anything like their money’s worth from a mega-paid player this season:

Other than not being a billionaire, here’s another reason I couldn’t own an NFL team: Albert Haynesworth. The Haynesworth-Mike Shanahan feud, to me, reached an even more serious level now that Shanahan announced Baby Huey won’t play with the first-team defense in Friday’s preseason game against the Jets. The third preseason game is really the only important preseason game the NFL has. It’s when coaches and players actually try to simulate an NFL contest.

If I’m an NFL owner, I cut my losses with Haynesworth right now. He’s not worth it. The $100 million man was a major disappointment as a happy camper playing in the 4-3 last year. Now, he’s a cancer who hates the 3-4, doesn’t practice and plays with the scrubs.

Haynesworth isn’t the difference between the Redskins finishing last or first in the NFC East. He’s simply not worth the headache.

August 24, 2010

Sidney Rice has hip surgery, won’t be ready to play until November

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 12:39

In what many are claiming is a contract-related move, Vikings wide receiver Sidney Rice had hip surgery yesterday for an injury he took in the NFC Championship game:

There has been a lot of controversy concerning that injured hip of Sidney Rice, primarily questions about when the injury happened and why it wasn’t reported until a Twitter-related confession from his agent.

Rice was at the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colo. No, not to try to pull John Elway out of retirement but to have his injured hip examined by a new set of eyes. Rice confirmed to the Star Tribune he had surgery that is expected to sideline him for the first half of the 2009 season.

What makes the situation curious is that Rice, whose contract calls for $550,000 for the 2010 season, went through minicamp without any obvious hindrances and now needs surgery. The injury is said to have happened during the NFC Championship Game vs. the Saints in January.

If he had been in a scenario that would need surgery, the team clearly would have preferred to have the procedure done much earlier so that he would be ready for the start of the season. As it stands, he could be sidelined until November.

This is a very odd development: as John Holler points out above, this is an old injury and if surgery was required, it could have been done earlier in the year. If the Vikings had indicated that they weren’t willing to pay Rice extra for the breakout season he had last year, it could easily be interpreted as a deliberate move to punish the team for being unwilling to reward Rice.

Update: The Vikings have signed Javon Walker, who played with Brett Favre in Green Bay:

Walker worked out for the coaches Friday and, contrary to Walker’s recent body of work, there seems to be enough left in his 31-year-old body to give them depth at a position that has none.

We’ll see. Until Walker has a chance to prove himself, it would be a shame to see him move ahead of younger players such as Logan Payne. Payne, 25, played in two games with Seattle in ‘08 but has potential. Walker is a household name with a Pro Bowl past, but he also has been beaten down by injuries and off-field trouble the past four seasons.

The last pass Favre threw to him was in the ‘05 season opener. Walker tore an ACL on the play and has had only one productive season since. Heading into that season, a rift developed between Favre and Walker because Favre publicly criticized Walker’s decision to stage a contract holdout. The Favre-Walker relationship obviously has been mended because the Vikings never would bring in a receiver Favre didn’t want.

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