SB Nation User Blog: Anthony Carter

Wildcat with Jackson

Anthony Carter — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:49:11 -0000

So, lots to look forward to this year. With the eventual arrival of Favre, the question of Jackson as a starter is moot (barring injury to Favre). But, I wonder, nevertheless, whether he might not function in an untapped, creative dimension once our offense begins to employ the Wildcat/Loki scheme. With Favre as our quarterback, I wouldn't argue for bringing in TJack to execute the Wildcat. The risk/benefit equation is not in our favor. But, "if" he were the starter, I think it could be quite a threat to throw a couple of Wildcat plays into the mix with him lined up in the shotgun. Anthony21's most recent post about quarterback stat predictions, and the replies to it said nothing about the yardage on the ground TJack, Rosencopter, and Favre were expected to accumulate. I think that with the arrival of the Wildcat, it would only make us more unpredictable to have Jackson as a threat in that capacity.

Where's Forty-Four?

Anthony Carter — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:51:23 -0000

A bit of a friendly nudge here. In a somewhat lengthy post at the end of March Forty-Four predicted that the Vikings would not pick a WR in the first round based on the philosophy that Chilly inherited from Andy Reid in Philly: WRs are always better to acquire in the second round and later. Just wondering what Forty-Four makes of the assertive moves both the Vikes and Eagles made this year to acquire flashy talent at the receiver position.

Other teams who wanted Harvin...

Anthony Carter — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:51:22 -0000

I'm linking to a Trib article I found to be illuminating. Yesterday on the live feed someone made the comment that Baltimore's drafting of Oher immediately after us demonstrated that Oher was the best available pick at #22. Never mind the impossibility of knowing that, since once Harvin was off the board, we have no idea of knowing where he would have gone next.

This article, however, makes it very clear that NE was essentially chomping at the bit to get Harvin, and almost certainly wouldn't have traded away #23 if Harvin was still on the board. For those who've heroized Belicheck's unparalleled wisdom in the draft, it also suggests that we've got some brain trust of our own working the front office. Finally, it is worth noting that teams were also dealing with Philly to get ahead of us before they moved up to get Maclin.

All of this, I think, points to the value we got at #22. And, I hope, it is clear how much value we also got at #54, the ideal place in the draft to go after arguably the top RT prospect in the draft.

Kenny Britt

Anthony Carter — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:23:02 -0000

What do folks think about Kenny Britt? I watched this video last night on NFL.com and was kind of taken by him. I've raised the idea in a couple of places that our best bet might be to shop our #22 for an extra pick and slide down the board a bit for a better talent/slot ratio at one of our top two need positions WR or OT. Britt is projected to be a late first round or, more likely, early second round pick. He seems like he could be an ideal candidate for this kind of a move, though there seems to be some concern about his (gasp) "character." Not sure what that means in his case: I'm inclined to like stud receivers with a bit of swagger.

Tavaris Poll

Anthony Carter — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:57:33 -0000

I've never generated a poll here, but found myself surprised that the majority of people in the recent Jay Cutler aftermath poll believe we're in a better position for not having given up as much as the Broncos were asking. I found myself curious to know what the general census is around Tarvaris. I feel like a lot of strong opinions get expressed about him, but I can't always gauge where people generally stand, whether in support (or not) of him. Limiting the poll to just three choices was a bit artificial. Feel free to add complexity to the choices I've offered with your comments below.

And, I guess I should also add that I've (perhaps wrongly) worded the question as if Tarvaris is our team's quarterback. Of course, we're being told that there is competition at the position this year. But, unless we go after young talent in the draft, I think it's safe to assume that the team is still putting its stock behind Tarvaris' development.

Poll

How do you rate your level of optimism and/or pessimism about Tarvaris' ability to lead and/or accompany the Beloved Purple to a Super Bowl?

I believe Tarvaris has the tools and will show within the next two years why he's been worth our investment.

55 votes

I'm undecided and am willing to live with him until something better comes along.

66 votes

The biggest mistake the Vikings have made this offseason has been their decision not to pursue a legitimate starter in Tarvaris' stead.

141 votes

262 votes | Poll has closed

And, Gonzo picks...

Anthony Carter — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:08:04 -0000

There you have it folks, Percy Harvin! Sanchez, indeed, fell to us and Gonzo employs the "win now" attitude of Vikings fans to justify why he wasn't chosen. I'm inclined to agree with him here, though not because I driven by a "win now" attitude. I think the upgrade Harvin gives us at WR is more substantial than the upgrade Sanchez would give us at quarterback (and he would doubtless take some time to develop). I'd be interested to hear from Gonzo whether trade options would be available to the Vikings with these players available to them, where he thinks a trade might come from, and what that would position us to do differently.

Childress-isms

Anthony Carter — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:05:28 -0000

Here's a direct quote from Brad Childress in today's Access Vikings Blog, responding to the infamous conversation between Housh and Jackson.

“It’s interesting because I can’t speak to any of T.J. Houshmandzadeh’s comments. But I’m the one who dialed the phone and put the phone in his hand and I listened to the conversation, which wasn’t more than, tops, a minute and 10 seconds. It was in our locker room. He handed the phone back to me and I had a dialogue about it and I could probably name the four conversations. I was there. I wasn’t patched into the conversation. So I’m not speaking for T.J. Houshmandzadeh, but I couldn’t paint that conversation in that litmus.”

As someone who thinks that words matter, and should be used accurately, I'm constantly impressed by Childress' utterly inability to speak in coherent sentences. One can "paint" a conversation a certain way. Or "cast" it in a certain "light" (which may be the word he intended to use, who knows?). But, Childress "paints" in "that litmus." A litmus test is a way of measuring the pH of a liquid, metaphorically, it can be used to talk about testing for the presence of something that is otherwise undetectable. But there is no proper usage known to humans of painting in litmus.

This wouldn't be such a big deal if it were just an occasional slip, or if they were buffered by an easygoing personality. But, I feel like every time I read a quote from Childress there are one or two sentences that simply baffle me. Not that he has to be a Rhodes Scholar. Most of the time, the stuff he's saying just isn't that complicated. But, his inability to speak straightforwardly simply adds to the impression I already have of him as a person who doesn't process the world the way the rest of us do, and who's ineffective as a communicator.

Torry Holt?

Anthony Carter — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:58:59 -0000

Does anyone have a theory on Torry Holt? I would have thought that acquiring him would be a no-brainer for the Beloved Purple. His price tag is well within our $30-some million available cap room. We wouldn't need to sign him long-term, thus leaving plenty of space for future signings. And, notwithstanding the belabored quarterback discussion, we (in my opinion) have huge needs at receiver. I don't think that anyone can confidently say that Rice is our answer. And few would argue that Berrian alone can frighten a defense. Holt would seem to add instant flair, practice wisdom, and depth. I've been awaiting the news of his signing and am surprised by the general silence, not only on our part, but across the league. Any ideas?

Mock Draft Muncher

Anthony Carter — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:28:34 -0000

Scout.com is offering a pretty cool tool that combines the opinions of multiple mock drafts into one. Currently 40 mock drafts are being fed into the engine.

Check out the Mock Draft Muncher (which, in the aggregate, has us selecting Harvin):

http://www.theobr.com/public/mdm/

By drilling into "click here" you can also look at mock draft timelines to track the rising and falling stock of players. In the case of our beloved team, the trends look like this:

http://www.theobr.com/public/mdm/posTrendDisplay2.asp?pos=22

A fun time waster as we all await news on where Cutler will end up...

Rolle hits the market, along with Holt

Anthony Carter — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:29:48 -0000

In addition to a RT (either Shaffer or Pace would be nice) and and WR (Holt?), I think we can absolutely get stronger at CB in the FA market this offseason. And, we wouldn't have to trade away any picks. I was a big critic of Griffin last year, becoming more moderate toward the last three games, when he showed improvement. But, our secondary is unquestionably weak. Line Rolle up on the other side of Winfield and I think we instantly become a robust defense. With our cap room, we could go after all three of these positions, adding immediate quality. And use the draft to add youth, which will take a couple of years to develop.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3977690