Quotulatiousness

August 16, 2013

Vikings at Bills round-up (just after the half)

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 20:12

Perhaps I dodged a bullet, not being able to watch this preseason game between the Buffalo Bills and the Minnesota Vikings:

Oh, and Jarius Wright is reportedly out with a concussion. On that happy note, I’m going to close Janetter and ignore the game until tomorrow morning. Unless McLeod Bethel-Thompson puts in a QB performance for the ages, I’m guessing the press summary I end up putting together will be equal parts hilarity and doom-mongering.

That figures … Bills vs. Vikings to be blacked out tonight

Filed under: Football, Media — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 08:10

The second pre-season game isn’t usually all that exciting: teams are still trying to evaluate a lot of the players further down the depth chart before the first cut-down date, so you don’t expect to see too much of the starters. That being said, it’s been a long time since the last time I was able to watch the Vikings play, so I was really looking forward to tonight’s game in Buffalo. Until I saw this little piece of news:

And as I discovered last week, even radio feeds are territory-locked, so I can’t even listen to the stream over the web. Well, it’s not like I had important plans for Saturday night…

Update: The Daily Norseman‘s Arif Hasan (who has pretty much taken over as my preferred source of detailed Vikings information from Tom Pelissero) looks at how the Bills will test the Vikings tonight.

Anyone watching the Bills may eventually get tired of hearing about the high-tempo “no-huddle” offense that teams around the league have increasingly adopted. What’s interesting is that Doug Marrone and Nathaniel Hackett have decided not just to implement some of their Syracuse playbook, but dig into the K-gun that made Jim Kelly famous and quickly allowed the Bills to join the Vikings as having four unsuccessful Super Bowl appearances.

Hey, 0-4 is better than 0-0.

But it would be lazy to describe their offense as a no-huddle. That’s not an offense, it’s a tactic.

The Bills will bring a variety of offensive formations and tactics, but will likely keep a philosophy similar to Jim Kelly’s offense in Buffalo, which is fundamentally the Run and Shoot Offense that people think died in the 1980s. Somewhat similar to the scheme run in New York under former ‘Shoot coordinator Kevin Gilbride, I wouldn’t be surprised if the modern twist on the Buffalo offense is also designed to be entirely reactive.

Given that Marrone has spent some time with a heavy ‘Shoot offense like the Saints, don’t be shocked to see similar concepts.

August 11, 2013

Christian Ponder’s light workload in preseason opener

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 00:01

For the record, I actually like Judd Zulgad’s view of the Minnesota Vikings (although I’m already missing the wonderful point/counterpoint fencing of Tom Pelissero and Zulgad in their traditional post-game videos). That being said, Judd Zulgad would have to be counted as one of Christian Ponder’s chorus of detractors:

Christian Ponder will have at least one thing going for him as he prepares for the Minnesota Vikings’ second preseason game on Friday night at Buffalo. The third-year quarterback will be extremely well rested.

Ponder played only two snaps in the Vikings’ 27-13 exhibition loss on Friday to Houston at the Metrodome, completing his first pass for 15 yards to Jerome Simpson and then having his second pass intercepted after it was tipped by Simpson.

A check of the NFL game books from the 15 other preseason games that had been played through Friday showed no other quarterback took as few snaps as Ponder.

In fact, the Texans’ Matt Schaub was next on the list, having been under center for six snaps in one series. In games not involving the Vikings, the lightest workload went to the Broncos’ Peyton Manning, who handled seven snaps in a series before being pulled.

There were seven quarterbacks, including Ponder, Schaub and Manning, who were pulled after only one drive. That list included Dallas’ Kyle Orton, who started the Hall of Fame game in place of Tony Romo; San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick; Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers; and Kansas City’s Alex Smith.

Despite Zulgad’s clear anti-Ponder bias, he’s quite right that Ponder should have been granted at least another series in the first preseason game. I’m not completely convinced that Ponder is the answer to the Vikings’ needs, but he deserved better than being pulled after an incredibly short series. Whether the blame for the interception belongs to Ponder or to Jerome Simpson, I think the coaching staff short-changed Ponder by sticking to the “one series then out” philosophy. There’s the risk of injury in a meaningless game, but there’s also the psychological need to establish whether Ponder has the chops to be the starting quarterback for this team (I have nothing against Matt Cassel, and I’m glad he’s our backup QB, but I want Ponder to be given the opportunity to prove that he’s learned from both the positive and negative aspects of the 2012 season.)

Ponder and the rest of the Vikings first team should see at least a full quarter of action against the Buffalo Bills — which should be available in the Toronto TV-viewing area — in next week’s match-up.

August 10, 2013

Vikings lose preseason opener to the Texans

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

With it being just a preseason game, I knew there was little chance of watching this game on TV, but I thought the live radio coverage might be available. I was surprised to find that even radio feeds are now territory-locked so that you can’t listen to them outside the US. Instead, I followed the course of the game on Twitter. It allowed me to keep playing Guild Wars 2 between checking for updated tweets, so that was positive.

Not so positive was the game’s outcome, where the Texans scored two unanswered touchdowns in the second half to put the game out of reach. You can watch the game highlights here. Starting quarterback Christian Ponder was only in for one series that ended prematurely on an interception:

Christian Ponder has made strides this offseason and training camp, and he’s poised to take another step forward in his career development now that he has more experience under his belt and the weapons around him in the passing game are more lethal. Friday night was his first chance to showcase this improvement on the big stage, but it was too short-lived for the casual observer to glean much. He connected with Jerome Simpson in impressive fashion for 15 yards on his first passing attempt, but he went back to Simpson on the next play and the offering went off the receiver’s fingertips and into the arms of a waiting defender. Ponder’s stat line won’t blow anyone away, and the stat line of his backup will cause some to wonder if there should be a quarterback controversy, but we are nowhere near that at this point and now we’ll just have to wait another week to see Ponder in a game situation.

Despite the final score, the wide receiving corps does seem to have improved since last year:

On Friday night, the receivers made good on that praise by performing well. Burton hauled in three catches for 67 yards, Patterson had four for 54 and even Joe Webb made a couple of impressive grabs in important situations. He had two receptions for 11 yards on three targets, which included a tough behind-the-body catch on 3rd and 2. Greg Jennings didn’t play and Jarius Wright made a quick exit, but the receivers had a strong showing and the Vikings will rest on Friday night knowing this group has made huge progress since the end of the 2012 season.

[…]

It was a great night for Patterson. The Vikings won the toss and received, and Patterson took the opening kickoff and dashed 50 yards through Houston’s coverage group, taking a few easy strides toward the middle before sticking his foot in the ground and turning upfield with an extra burst you just don’t see in a lot of football players. After that, Patterson made plays in the passing game, including receptions of 22 and 18 yards. In total, Patterson had five touches for an average of 20.8 yards per touch. He broke a few tackles, refused to go down and displayed a playmaking quality that tempted the Vikings into trading back up into the 1st round to draft him.

Christopher Gates has a few “knee-jerk reactions” as he calls them:

-Nice job by Zach Line on his touchdown reception. As PA pointed out numerous times on the broadcast, he had more all-purpose yards at SMU than Eric Dickerson (but not Craig James), so he has some ability with the football. Will it be enough for him to make the team? We’ll have to see.

[…]

-Bobby Felder had an up-and-down night, giving up the Texans’ first touchdown to DeAndre Hopkins on a play where he actually had pretty solid coverage. He also made a couple of nice plays in goal-line defense in the third quarter that forced the Texans to settle for a tying field goal. Then he got caught in no man’s land on the Texans’ second touchdown.

-It’s going to sound like a cliche, but Michael Mauti just looks like an NFL middle linebacker. As we’ve said before, if the guy stays healthy, he was an absolute steal where the Vikings got him.

-Sharrif Floyd had a decent night with a tackle for loss and a batted pass (somehow, what with those short arms), before leaving with a knee issue. He’s not going to miss any practice time, according to the reports, so his being held out the rest of the game was strictly precautionary.

August 9, 2013

Greg Jennings trolls the Packers yet again

Filed under: Football, Media — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 08:40

Greg Jennings was Minnesota’s big name signing over the offseason. He was brought in from the Green Bay Packers (who have a surplus of good receivers) to at least partially fill the hole in the roster from the departure of Percy Harvin. Since he arrived in Minnesota, Jennings has been a veritable cornucopia of media-worthy gems of casual abuse directed at his former team (and Aaron Rodgers in particular). Jim Souhan says this is a good thing:

It began as a strange and unnatural occurrence, like one of those unverified online photos of a chimp hanging out with a bird. Now it’s threatening to become a bizarre tradition, or, as the kids so eloquently put it, “a thing.”

Every four years or so, the Vikings should steal one of the Packers’ best offensive players, just to create the kind of sideshow that can make even training camp interesting.

In 2009, and 2010, and into 2011, Brett Favre turned the already fascinating Vikings-Packers rivalry into something it had never before been on any meaningful level: incestuous.

In 2013, Greg Jennings is one-upping Favre, not in terms of existential angst and passive aggressiveness, but with new-age, self-aware, YouTube-able, Twitter-ready, Facebook-enflaming, border-crossing Scud missiles designed to invoke an emotional response even if they miss the target.

Jennings, the new Viking and former Packer receiver, is, as the kids say, “trolling” his former team. If you’re too young to know what “trolling” is, just listen to Jennings a few times, and you’ll get the idea.

In July, in an interview with the Star Tribune’s Dan Wiederer, he poked holes in the flawless image of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, raising or confirming questions about Rodgers’ ego and leadership skills.

This week, Jennings told KFAN that the Packers had “brainwashed” him into believing that Green Bay was the land of milk and honey-flavored cheddar, that operations such as the Vikings were inherently flawed.

If true, that’s fascinating. If not, Jennings is fascinating.

July 31, 2013

Vikings training camp in full swing … and evil genius Rick Spielman is proven right again

Filed under: Football, Media — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 08:58

The Vikings are at their off-site training camp in Mankato this week, and the various fan blogs are doing a great job of covering the event (especially The Daily Norseman which has bloggers accredited and attending all open sessions). 1500ESPN has filled the void left when the great Tom Pelissero moved on to USA Today‘s sports department with Andrew Krammer (to team up with Judd Zulgad), while the main ESPN coverage is by Kevin Seifert. I hit my “maximum number of articles viewed” limit at the Minneapolis Star Tribune earlier this week, so the coverage from the St. Paul Pioneer Press is filling that gap for me until rollover.

I know most of you don’t much care for sports chatter, so I’ll put the rest of this post behind the curtain…

(more…)

June 9, 2013

Jim Souhan has drunk the Purple Kool-Aid

Filed under: Football, Media — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 09:24

In the Twin Cities, Jim Souhan has always been a voice of reason among the sports writers, rarely falling into the trap of optimism about the Minnesota Vikings. His carefully cynical, humourous approach has always set him apart from the herd. Until now…

For decades, when you left the Vikings’ Winter Park facility, you needed a long shower. Maybe even a luffa.

You were constantly confronted with the ugly realities of an ugly business, from ownership and management infighting to angry and sometimes felonious players. Paranoia often ruled, and often for good reason. The Vikings had a lot to hide.

These days, the franchise that brought you such great hits as Denny Green’s Basement Tapes, The Love Boat, the Original Whizzinator and “Straight Cash, Homey,” has become the kind of place you wouldn’t mind bringing your children.

Wednesday, while enjoying 100 percent player attendance at an OTA for the first time in memory, the Vikings played host to a bunch of Special Olympic athletes, kids who are competing in Punt, Pass & Kick. While that’s not exactly a new development — Green pushed players to be active in the community — the atmosphere at Winter Park has changed.

It used to be like “Game of Thrones.” Now it’s more “Cheers,” with Jared Allen as Norm.

Winter Park has become a place of genial professionalism. The organization has achieved remarkable stability among key employees on all levels, and the team’s best players also tend to be their most gracious representatives when dealing with the public and media. Leslie Frazier might be the friendliest coach in football, and Adrian Peterson might be the friendliest superstar in sports.

May 14, 2013

Minnesota Vikings unveil new stadium design

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 10:31

It’s the Minnesota answer to the Crystal Palace:

New Vikings stadium 1

From the official press release:

The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority (MSFA), the Minnesota Vikings and HKS Sports & Entertainment Group together unveiled the design of the State’s new multi-purpose stadium Monday evening in Minneapolis, a major milestone in getting the $975 million stadium built on time and on budget. The design package will now be submitted to the Minneapolis Stadium Implementation Committee and the City of Minneapolis for review.

Described as an authentic structure influenced by its Minnesota location, the new stadium exhibits a bold, progressive design that combines efficient functionality with stunning architecture. With a soaring prow, the largest transparent roof in the world, and operable doors that open to the downtown skyline, the facility’s openness and sleek geometric exterior will make it unlike any other stadium in the country.

Update, 15 May: Even though Bud Grant himself has approved the new design, the St. Paul Pioneer Press has at least one doubter on staff:

Sometimes the box that stuff comes in is more fancy and artsy and intriguing than the stuff. Football, for example, is dirty and gritty and brutally plain. But the new ballpark looks like one of those boxes made of space-age material with the acrylic cover and the item purchased, a watch or electronic device, settled into a bed of crushed velvet.

[. . .]

Football keeps doing this, building grand establishments that are antithetical to the game. The Vikings are named for, well, Vikings, who sailed around in crude boats and hit people over the head with clubs and chewed furiously on fermented shark meat. A real Viking would no more be at home in this glass palace than a group of Cub Scouts in a biker bar.

It looks like a glass palace, with so much roof acreage, but it isn’t even glass. The southern half of the roof will be made of a transparent ETFE ethylene tetrafluoroethylene membrane supported by steel. I hope so. The northern half of the roof will be made of a hard, opaque material. And to think, seven levels. Seven? Children have games that are designed to encourage their wonder and dexterity by allowing them to drop a colored ball at the top of a layered acrylic box and watch as the ball finds its way to the bottom. How many people will be lost in this place and left there overnight because they got lost trying to get from Level Seven to Level One with a little too much boutique beer on board?

May 11, 2013

Early betting line implies Vikings have gotten worse since 2012 playoffs

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 00:02

This is the sort of thing that gets pinned up on the locker room wall. Last season, the Vikings were a playoff team with a 10-6 record, including a win over the Green Bay Packers in week 17 that clinched the playoff berth. Early betting lines from Las Vegas have them favoured to win only five of the first 15 games of the season:

Week 1: Vikings are 2-1/2-point underdogs at Lions.

Week 2: Vikings are 2-1/2-point underdogs at Bears.

Week 3: Vikings are 6-1/2-point favorites vs. Browns.

Week 4: Vikings are 1-1/2-point underdogs vs. Steelers (in London).

Week 5: Vikings bye week.

Week 6: Vikings are 2-1/2-point favorites vs. Panthers.

Week 7: Vikings are 3-point underdogs at Giants.

Week 8: Vikings are 1-point underdogs vs. Packers.

Week 9: Vikings are 1-1/2-point underdogs at Cowboys.

Week 10: Vikings are 1-1/2-point favorites vs. Redskins.

Week 11: Vikings are 6-point underdogs at Seahawks.

Week 12: Vikings are 4-1/2-point underdogs at Packers.

Week 13: Vikings are 1-1/2-point favorites vs. Bears.

Week 14: Vikings are 3-1/2-point underdogs at Ravens.

Week 15: Vikings are 3-1/2-point favorites vs. Eagles.

Week 16: Vikings are 2-1/2-point underdogs at Bengals.

The Cantor folks did not issue early lines on Week 17, mostly because they have NO idea which players will be sitting out that week in anticipation of the playoffs. So your guess is as good as theirs who will be favored when the Vikings play host to the Lions on Dec. 29.

I’m not saying that going into the final week of the 2013 season at 5-10 is impossible, but if it gets that bad, Rick Spielman, Leslie Frazier and company will all be polishing their resumés because they won’t be back for the 2014 season. A result like that would pretty much require all of the following conditions to be met: Adrian Peterson has a career-worst year, Christian Ponder has a similarly bad year, none of the three 2013 first round picks turns out to be NFL-quality at their draft position, and Greg Jennings turns out to be too old and frail to play football any more.

May 6, 2013

Vikings release punter Chris Kluwe

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 12:37

Another case of not a surprise, but still a disappointment. Chris Kluwe has been released by the Minnesota Vikings after they drafted a punter in the fifth round of the April draft.

ESPN’s Kevin Seifert ponders whether Kluwe’s outspoken character and public support of gay marriage and other causes played the prime role in the decision:

Here’s the key question to consider after the Minnesota Vikings made it official Monday and released punter Chris Kluwe: Would Kluwe be an ex-Viking today if he had never campaigned for gay rights, Hall of Fame candidacies and other issues?

My informed guess: Probably.

So what impact did Kluwe’s public advocacy play in the Vikings’ decision? It moved the odds from “probably” to “certainty,” erasing any equity his eight-career with the franchise might otherwise have built.

I know that explanation won’t satisfy those of you who are convinced the Vikings targeted Kluwe because he took on a politically and socially sensitive issue. It’s easy to see this move, contextualize it with the Baltimore Ravens’ release of special-teams ace Brendon Ayanbadejo, and suspect an agenda against NFL players who get involved in the gay rights issue.

I just don’t think it’s that simple. When viewed through the bigger picture of NFL business, and in the context of the Vikings’ personnel approach over the past 16 months, you realize that Kluwe’s off-field life was at best the final shove at the end of the plank.

With last season’s kicker drama as the Vikings drafted “The Blair Walsh Project” and then quickly cut Ryan Longwell, and Kluwe’s exit, one has to wonder if Cullen Loeffler’s time as the team’s long-snapper is also coming to a close (it doesn’t help that he had a bad season in 2012).

April 28, 2013

Vikings picks on the third day of the draft

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 10:34

I was off in wine country yesterday, attending a meeting of the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway Historical Society, so I didn’t follow the draft closely. And even if I had, as I’ve mentioned before, I don’t have much information about college football players (especially in the later rounds), so my interest was more along the lines of how the Vikings drafted to fill needs on their roster rather than on the actual individual players.

In the first day of the draft, the Vikings picked up defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd, cornerback Xavier Rhodes, and wide receiver Cordarelle Patterson. To get Patterson, they traded all their second day picks plus a seventh rounder to the New England Patriots. Some fans were eager to see GM Rick Spielman somehow pull another rabbit out of the hat and trade back into the third round to grab a middle linebacker, but they were disappointed as the Vikings only monitored the second day activities and updated their draft board for the final day.

With their first pick on Saturday, the Vikings selected Penn State linebacker Gerald Hodges with pick 120. Brief profile from Tom Pelissero’s draft class roundup:

A converted safety, Hodges (6-1, 243) looks like a classic Tampa-2 will linebacker — small, fast enough and at his best in space. He’ll primarily compete for time outside and could get a look in the middle, too.

Next was punter Jeff Locke from UCLA, taken in the fifth round with the 155th pick. This is a clear shot across the bows of incumbent punter Chris Kluwe, and the second year in a row that the team has drafted a specialist despite having a high-quality veteran already on the roster.

A left-footer, Locke (6-0, 209) also handled kickoffs in college, though he won’t do that here. He immediately becomes the favorite to beat out veteran incumbent Chris Kluwe, who says he wants to compete for the job but may not even make it to camp.

The sixth round pick was UCLA guard Jeff Baca:

An aggressive blocker with some impressive physical traits, Baca (6-3, 302) split his 45 college starts between guard and tackle. He played some center at the East-West Shrine Game and figures to compete at the three inside positions.

Arif Hasan has a longer profile of Baca here.

In the seventh round, the Vikings had three picks, starting with another Penn State linebacker, this time Michael Mauti:

A productive outside linebacker whose father, Rich, played eight NFL seasons as a receiver, Mauti (6-2, 243) is coming off his third torn ACL in four years. He projects as a mike in the NFL and will compete at the Vikings’ most unsettled position once he’s fully healed.

Christopher Gates’ profile of Mauti here.

Followed by North Carolina guard Travis Bond:

A mammoth inside presence who has dealt with weight issues, Bond (6-6, 329) could get a chance to compete at both guard and tackle.

Christopher Gates on Bond here.

And finally Florida State defensive tackle Everett Dawkins:

A smallish three-technique, Dawkins (6-2, 292) enters an uphill battle competing for a spot behind Williams, Floyd and Christian Ballard.

Arif Hasan’s profile of Dawkins is here.

(more…)

April 26, 2013

Vikings make three picks in the first round of the draft

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 09:32

As I mentioned yesterday, the Vikings had 11 picks in the 2013 NFL draft to begin with, but that the number of picks might change frequently during the three day event. It changed even more than I expected, as after using their first pick on defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd and their second pick on cornerback Xavier Rhodes, the Vikings traded back into the first round and selected wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson.

Of course, you don’t get the 29th pick in the draft for free: Minnesota sent their 2nd, 3rd, one of their two picks in the 4th, and the last of their 7th round picks to the New England Patriots. It sounds like a terrible rate of exchange, but according to the unofficial draft value chart the 29th pick is worth 640 points, while the bundle of picks the Vikings gave up is worth 649.5 points.

The Vikings moved up 23 spots from 52 overall to 29, and if you’re a fan of the NFL trade value chart, it was an even trade. The 29 pick is worth 640 points, and the Vikings gave up picks that are valued at about 600. Everyone is going on about four picks for one, but the Vikes still have a fourth round pick, and really, who gives a hoot about a 7th round throwaway pick?

So let’s calm down on the ‘Vikings got fleeced’ talk for a bit, because right now they added three starters in positions of need that will immediately pay dividends.

But Rick Spielman has officially become Crazy Uncle Rick The Riverboat Gambler, and by God, I love it. This 2013 first round will be the turning point for the Vikings: they’re either heading towards the elite of the NFL or into oblivion, but they aren’t treading water. Isn’t that right, Kenny Rogers?

So, on the first day of the draft, the Vikings addressed three of the their top four needs, but it will be tough to find a starting-quality middle linebacker in the 4th round (and I doubt they have enough picks left to trade up very far unless they start shopping next year’s draft picks, too). Yesterday, I identified what I considered to be the team’s top requirements and MLB was the one I thought most urgent. It’s going to be fascinating to see what they do in that area, given that their next pick isn’t until Saturday…

(more…)

April 25, 2013

Predict the draft?

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 10:21

As I say every year around this time, I don’t follow college football so except for the odd name I kinda-sorta recognize, I don’t have particularly strong feelings about who the Vikings should be drafting this year. Before the first round starts this evening, they hold two first-round picks and nine picks in the other six rounds. This number will almost certainly change several times over the weekend as teams swap picks to move up or down in the draft order.

One constant everyone seems to understand is that the can’t miss top-tier players are limited, and they are pretty much guaranteed to be gone just before your team is on the clock. This is what drives fans crazy: their stubborn general manager/owner won’t trade up to get that one last blue-chip player that would guarantee your team the Lombardi Trophy for years to come.

I don’t know who the Vikings will end up drafting over the next three days, but there are some positional needs that pretty much demand to be attended to — either in the draft itself or in the free agent market that will heat up again once the draft is finished. Here are what I think are the Vikings’ most urgent needs:

  1. Middle linebacker. With the departure of Jasper Brinkley in free agency, the only middle linebacker on the roster right now is Audie Cole. Cole played well in very limited preseason action (recording back-to-back interceptions returned for touchdowns) and special teams work in the regular season. It’s not anticipated that he’d be ready to step in to a starting role this year. Arif Hasan at the Daily Norseman says the top linebackers who would fit the Vikings’ scheme are Jarvis Jones, Alec Ogletree, Arthur Brown, and Manti Te’o.
  2. Wide receiver. Last year’s receiving corps was one of the weakest in the NFL, and most of the receivers who saw extended playing time have left (Harvin traded to Seattle, Jenkins released and signed with New England, Aromashodu an untendered free agent). Signing Greg Jennings from the Packers is a major upgrade, but a deep-threat receiver is still needed. Arif’s choices would be DeAndre Hopkins, Keenan Allen, Robert Woods, and Da’Rick Rogers
  3. Cornerback. This wasn’t an urgent need until the team unexpectedly cut Antoine Winfield to clear salary cap room to re-sign Phil Loadholt. Now, it means the Vikings should try to find a starting-calibre player early in the draft (or hope that first-year player Josh Robinson develops enough to step in to Winfield’s shoes). Arif suggests Dee Milliner, Desmond Trufant, Johnthan Banks, and Xavier Rhodes.
  4. Defensive tackle. Kevin Williams has been a great player for the Vikings, but he’s not what he was a few years back. Guion and Evans are both adequate at nose tackle, but as Tom Pelissero would put it, they’re just guys. (Technically the other half of the Williams Wall is rejoining the team, but Pat Williams is only going to be a Viking for one day so he can retire.) Arif’s preferred picks would be Star Lotulelei, Sharrif Floyd, Sheldon Richardson, and Johnathan Jenkins.
  5. Offensive guard. 2012 starters Brandon Fusco and Charlie Johnson remain with the team (although Johnson is in the final year of his contract), so this isn’t an urgent need now. This would be a luxury pick compared to the higher-priority needs listed above. Arif would pick Chance Warmack, Jonathan Cooper, or Larry Warford.
  6. Defensive end. This is one of the undoubted strengths of the team. For this year, anyway: the top three ends (Jared Allen, Brian Robison, and Everson Griffin) all have contracts that expire at the end of this season. It’s unlikely the team will re-sign all three, so drafting a potential replacement this year would be prudent. Arif says Dion Jordan, Bjoern Werner, Ezekiel Ansah, Cornelius “Tank” Carradine, or Datone Jones would be the best choices for the Vikings.

Interpreting what NFL coaches and general managers say leading up to the draft

Filed under: Business, Football, Humour — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 00:02

It’s a time of the year when pretty much nothing coming out of the mouths of team officials can be taken at face value … GMs and coaches don’t want to tip their hands in advance of making their selections on draft day, so lots of misinformation is spread. For example, the Daily Norseman‘s Ted Glover goes through yesterday’s press conference by Vikings general manager Rick Spielman and tries to give us an interpretation of what was said (and not said):

Vikings GM Rick Spielman has become known for his amazing ability to fill up a notebook saying anything…unless one is willing to read between the lines.

Here at DN, I got drunk one night and started posting, I was tasked with deciphering what we’ve come to know as Rick Speak, and take his paragraphs of nothing, non- denials, and unequivocal statements that really are equivocal, and turn them into some useful information.

[. . .]

    Rick Says: I think this is going to be one of most intriguing drafts I’ve been associated with because of the depth of the draft.

What that means: There’s not a lot of top shelf talent, and GM’s across the league would cut their grandma’s achilles tendons if they could get a good deal. We’re moving up to get an impact player, because he’s got two draft picks and and they’re BURNIN’ A HOLE IN MAH POCKET WOOOOOOOOOO!

    Rick Says: And to be honest with you (Ed note: LOLWUT), where we’re picking at 23 and 25, we’re looking at all our needs, from the whole defensive side of the ball to needs on the offensive side of the ball, trying to distinguish what makes this potential receiver better than this corner, better than this linebacker, better than this defensive end, better than this defensive tackle.

What that means: None of our scouts agree on anyone, and that means no matter who we draft, a sizeable portion of our fanbase is going to be disappointed and call for my head on a platter. If we stay where we are many of you will IMMEDIATELY draw comparisons to 2005. But hey…new uniforms WOOO!

[. . .]

Rick also talked about a couple positions and position players, and how that might relate to the upcoming draft.

    Tom P says Rick says: Asked if Erin Henderson was strictly considered a weak-side linebacker at this point, Spielman said, “No, that’s flexible. That depends on what happens in the draft. If we go outside, Erin can slide inside or if we go inside Erin can play outside. That’s what is great about this linebacker thing. We have the flexibility to go either way.”

What that means: We’re so gooned at linebacker right now. There’s nothing great about not having a starting MLB on the roster, and we have to be so flexible because we’re currently gooned. Did I mention we’re gooned at the linebacker position right now?

April 13, 2013

Antoine Winfield signs with the Seattle Seahawks, official day of mourning declared by Vikings fans

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 10:52

Okay, I’m exaggerating the impact a bit in the headline, as it was highly unlikely that the Vikings would be able to re-sign Winfield after their abrupt decision to cut him in order to make room under the salary cap to re-sign Phil Loadholt. However, it is true that he was one of the faces of the franchise and will definitely be missed now that he’s going to be playing for the “Vikings West”:

It wasn’t exactly protracted as these things go. Just a little two-day mini-drama. And it ended just the way most of us expected. Antoine Winfield ultimately chose Seattle over Minnesota. The Seahawks picked up the former Viking cornerback on a one-year, $3 million contract with $1 million guaranteed. Three million for one year is not a bad score for a 36-year-old defensive back coming off an injury. Good job for Antoine.

We could now sit here dissecting the way this played out and asking lots of questions. Did Rick Spielman’s alleged snubbing of Winfield play into the decision? Were the Vikings ever really players for Winfield after the way he was apparently dissed? The Vikings were reportedly still in on it in the last hours but who knows if they really were. Who knows if Winfield was just trying to get more money out of Seattle by acting like the Vikes still had a shot.

There’s a lot we’ll never know about how this played out. But here’s something we do know. Veteran players on the Vikings are not happy. Several older players expressed their wish to have Winfield come back. How do they feel now that another major piece of the 2012 surprise playoff run team has been let go for money reasons? They certainly appreciate the realities of the salary cap. But they also know that Rick Spielman has been on a frugality kick and there are probably some other guys who are wondering if they will be next to either get cut or be asked to re-negotiate.

The economics of the situation made the release of one of the older, highly paid veterans likely when free agency opened. Many were expecting the victim to be defensive tackle Kevin Williams (who had already indicated he’d be open to renegotiating his contract), or even getting defensive end Jared Allen to sign a new longer-term contract, but it was the way Winfield was treated that shocked most fans. Many of us were hoping that he could somehow be brought back on a cap-friendly deal and finish his career as a Viking, but we all knew that was unlikely after he was released in such a cavalier manner.

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