According to Adam Schefter's twitter, the Vikings have signed cornerback Lito Sheppard.

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According to Judd Zulgad's Twitter, it "Sounds like the Vikings might move WR Darius Reynaud to running back."

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Pretty self explanatory. Some good stuff, some wit. I like it. It's from UltimateNYG, a Giants blog, and I found it courtesy of our friends at Windy City Gridiron.

The Rules For Winning in the NFL

Some key points:

1) Do not draft a “versatile” player in Round 1 of the draft. “Dominant” should be there, not versatile.

8) Do the unpredictable. Once you are predictable you are dead.

15) The only thing the prevent defense prevents you from doing is winning.

16) The only thing the prevent offense prevents you from doing is winning.

16a) The Kenny Holmes Rule- the only thing worse than the prevent offense is the prevent offense when your defense is exhausted/impaired by injury.

17) Players are told to play for 60 minutes. Yet who benches the head coach when he only coaches for 50?

18) The Fassel Rule of Prevent: It is always the coach’s fault when a large lead is blown/the game is lost.

24) # of headcases <= strong head coaches. (If you have a strong head coach you can have up to 1 head case in the locker room. If you have a weak head coach you cannot have any. A strong head coach with 2 head cases means a locker room infestation and problems.)

25) The Phil Simms Rule- You must stretch the field on offense. If you do not/cannot pass the ball >20 yards down field, LBers and Safeties will choke off your offense.

Thanks Chilly. Hell of a guy, that man.

Well sports fans, let's be glad that this is not the be-all, nor the end-all. I mean, we have Adrian Peterson. He alone makes up for at least half of those points, right?

In this article (http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nfcnorth/0-10-37/The-merits-and-perils-of-passing-in-the-draft.html), ESPN's Kevin Seifert discusses the unlikely but intriguing possibility of the Lion's passing on their first draft pick, a la Vikings 2003. Well, seeing as how there is no forseeable clear-cut favorite for the Vikings either, I thought, "Gee, what if the Vikings did this(again)?"

Now, I don't know what real value there would be in doing it except to save money. And obviously if we were able to trade down we wouldn't pass the pick, but trade it. So this isn't going to happen.

But you know what? I don't care. Talking about unlikey scenarios that have absolutely no basis in reality is what we do a lot of the time anyways, and so I have taken this unlikely scenario and made it even unlikely-er. At the very least, it's an intriguing option for the Lions, which makes it slightly relevant to us.

Hate to simply copy and paste, but I have to get to Geology :D. From Kevin Seifert at ESPN.com:

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nfcnorth/0-9-132/Vikings-closing-in-on-Winfield-deal.html 

Minnesota is attempting to address the contract status of Pro Bowl cornerback Antoine Winfield after locking up his counterpart last week.

The Vikings signed fellow cornerback Cedric Griffin to a five-year contract extension worth a little more than $25 million and are now focusing on Winfield, whose deal is set to expire after this season. If he doesn't sign a new contract before then, he would be eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2010 -- which could be the first year the NFL operates without a salary cap. There are mixed opinions about how much of a bonanza an uncapped offseason would be, but you would imagine someone would offer significant money to a cornerback of Winfield's caliber.

The Vikings could always place the franchise tag on him, but that's never the preferred option for either side.

Coach Brad Childress, who normally is reticent to discuss negotiating progress, said Wednesday at the NFL owners' meeting that the Vikings are "having a pretty good dialogue" with Winfield's agent. That's a pretty good sign that a deal is within reach. Winfield had the best season of his career at age 32 and there is no reason to think he can't play at least another three years.

That's right, as reported by Kevin Seifert at ESPN, two days after the Minnesota Vikings signed former Bengal's wide receiver/kick returner Glenn Holt, the Cincinnati Bengals have retaliated by signing Minnesota's fullback Naufahu Tahi. A fan favorite, especially here at Daily Norseman, Tahi and his two yard dump off receptions will surely be missed.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nfcnorth/0-9-95/Bengals-sign-Tahi-to-an-offer-sheet.html 

I thought there was supposed to be a conspiracy.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nfcnorth/0-7-170/The-commissioner-weighs-in.html

From Kevin Seifert at ESPN: Goodell backed Minnesota's pursuit of a new stadium to replace the Metrodome and noted the Vikings have been patient in waiting for the Minnesota Twins and University of Minnesota to get facilities approved first. There have been strong indications that the Minnesota Legislature isn't interested in dealing with this issue in 2009, but Goodell said: "I think we have to continue to work with the governor and the leadership in that community to understand those priorities and figure out how we get a new stadium built. That is necessary for the Vikings. We all want the Vikings to be there in the long term, successfully. They need a new stadium, that's clear. I think it's recognized by all parties and we need to get down to the difficult business of figuring out how to do it."

Then again, the devil is the father of lies... ;D

This was, as far as I know, an unexpected turn of events. The St. Loius Rams, who passed over Leslie Frazier in their search for a head coach, are now interested in... Paul Ferraro!

No, this is not a joke, and yes, I am just as shocked by this development as everyone else. Many of us have been calling for his head all season, and now, out of nowhere, the Rams show up and offer to take it. While he is by no means gone yet, if he does leave us, Vikings fans all over the nation will be overjoyed.

From Kevin Seifert at ESPN.com:

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nfcnorth/0-7-126/Rams-seeking-Vikings--special-teams-coach.html?post=true

Rams seeking Vikings' special teams coach

Minnesota coach Brad Childress said earlier this month that he had no plans to fire special teams coordinator Paul Ferraro, even after the Vikings set an NFL record by giving up seven touchdowns in 2008. But we'll soon find out if he's willing to let Ferraro out of his contract to make a lateral move. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday that new Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo has requested permission to interview Ferraro. The two were teammates at Springfield (Mass.) College, and it's fair to say that Spagnuolo wouldn't have requested permission if he didn't have Ferraro high on his list. Childress can decide whether to grant permission or keep Ferraro under contract. As Judd Zulgad of the Star Tribune points out, Vikings assistant special teams coach Brian Murphy would be a candidate to replace Ferraro if he departs.

First of all, SKOL Vikings on the division crown! I never doubted them over the last couple of weeks. Sure, they scared the hell out of me, but I believed they would come through. The "choking" stops here.

Also, thanks to the Texans for having our backs just in case we had... never mind, won't even go there.

That being said, now that the regular season is out of the way, what was your favorite play or moment of the regular season?

Among my favorites: Tjack's emergence, beating the Packers the 2nd time around, anything having to do with Jared Allen.

But for my favorite play, I'm going with Madieu hustling across the field and knocking the RB out of bounds at the 1, setting up the goal line stand and the 99 yard TD pass that not only turned that game, but our whole season.

What did all of you like best?

This Sunday I will go to my first Vikings game ever. Unfortunately it's not at the Metrodome, but I am PUMPED regardless. I don't know how many other Vikings fans will be there, but I am going to be standing the whole time, proudly sporting my AP jersey and cheering my Vikings to a (blowout) victory.

I wish now that I had gotten a KWill or Phat Pat jersey in the past, but oh well. I was thinking about bringing a sign with some witty zinger about Goodell or the steroid abuse policy, but then I realized that the game, being a Lions home game, will probably be blacked out. Oh well. I'm get to see it in person!!! I am so EXCITED!!! SKOL VIKINGS!!!

According to ESPN blogger Kevin Seifert, the Vikings are looking into adding Dline depth (no surprise). The name he brings up is Jimmy Kennedy, formerly of Jacksonville. Does anybody know anything about him? Also, who else is out there that we might look to sign?

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nfcnorth/0-6-262/Vikings-move-on.html 

Oh, I need 75 words. Well..... I like pizza, I enjoy debating sports with my friend Gibby, a Lions fan (hahaha), and the collective bargaining agreement sucks.

This bit of news has showed up concerning comments made by Berrian about the hotline, saying that he couldn't get a hold of them the first few times he called. I doubt this affects the Williams at all, but I will take whatever I can get in the way of hope. Here's the article and link if interested:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3670883

NFL to follow up after Berrian says he didn't get calls back from hotline

ESPN.com news services

<!-- promo plug --> <!-- end promo plug --> <!-- end story header --><!-- begin left column --> <!-- begin page tools -->

Updated: October 29, 2008, 2:09 PM

The NFL provides a hotline for players to contact if they want to find out if supplements contain ingredients banned by the league. However, Minnesota Vikings receiver Bernard Berrian said sometimes there's nobody at the other end of the line.

In an interview with Sirius satellite radio, Berrian said he had tried twice to call the hotline and never got a call back, before getting a reply on his third attempt.

In an e-mail to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league would "follow up" on Berrian's comments to make sure the hotline is operating properly.

"You've got to take some responsibility and call into that hotline [to inquire about the legality of certain products]," Berrian said. "But I know one thing about that hotline. I've called twice before and actually never gotten a hold of anybody sometimes. So even when you try to do the right thing sometimes it is still hard to get a hold of somebody and really find out what you're really taking."

Berrian talked about the hotline after being asked about teammates Pat Williams and Kevin Williams, both of whom reportedly are facing suspensions for taking a banned weight-loss diuretic.

In the e-mail to the Star Tribune, Aiello said the hotline is maintained by an independent group and it is open during "extended business hours." Players who leave messages are supposed to get calls back, something the league will investigate after hearing Berrian's comments.

Earlier this week, Vikings coach Brad Childress said it's on the players to know what they are putting in their bodies.

"They get a list of what's in and what's out," Childress said. "But it's up to them, once again, whether they're reading labels. I mean, strict liability is strict liability."

Fox Sports has reported that the Williamses, who both made the Pro Bowl last season and anchor the Vikings' stout run defense, are facing a four-game suspension for failing a drug test.

In all, six to eight players around the league are appealing findings that they took a weight-loss diuretic that also is considered a masking agent for steroids.

Four players have already received four-game suspensions for violating the policy this season, and all of them claimed they unknowingly took products that were illegal. But the NFL's guidelines don't appear to allow for any grace for maintained innocence.

Safety Darren Sharper, the team's union rep, concurred with his coach.

"That's up to us. That's our job. You have to look at the list and see what's on it," Sharper said. "Mistakes can't happen."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

This is an article from cbssportsline.com by Charley Casserly (whom I honestly don't know anything about, but I thought I should mention who wrote it), and seeing as how many of us are shouting for a shakeup, I thought I'd post it here to see what everyone thinks of it, whether we meet his criteria for a midseason firing or not, and so on. Now, this could be a bad idea. Negativity, beating a dead horse, and all that, but oh well. Also, this does not necessarily reflect my personal opinion. Right now I am anti-Childress/Clueless, but my hatred has a abated the last couple of weeks to a low boil. Here's the article, your thoughts please:

http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/11051924 

Once again we are hearing the familiar demands to have certain coaches of losing teams removed from their position during the season. I have never been involved in a situation where a coach was let go in season and have never believed in firing a coach in season, and still don't.

The first thing you have to do as a general manager when evaluating the situation is examine why you are losing and if the players are still listening to the head coach.

You could be losing for a variety of reasons. Among those could be injuries to key players, who and where you have played teams during the beginning of the season. Specifically why you lost games, was it a bad break, and blown call by an official or a lucky play by the opponent? And most of all, do you have the talent to beat the opponents who beat you? It is a long season and many times teams will get off to a slow start for one or more of the variety of reasons I listed only to turn it around during the second half of the season and gain momentum into the following year. As long as the players are playing hard and listening to the coaches I would let the season play out.

A classic example of a coach being fired in the media was Tom Coughlin of the Giants in 2006. The media will live week-to-week along with the fans. A general manager and owner have to look at the big picture of the season as well as the past year(s) and what options are available in finding a new coach.

The Giants believed Coughlin was a good coach. At the end of the season, Coughlin sat down with Giants ownership and discussed what changes he felt were needed to improve the program. Some of those changes involved changing his coordinators. Every coach has this sit-down evaluation each year and decisions made there are often critical to the success or failure of the team in the next season or seasons to come.

Switching coaches in-season rarely works in the long run and often only gets the media off the back of the team for the rest of the season. If you believed in your head coach in the offseason when you constructed the team, then you should let him finish the season. Give him and his staff a chance to work their way out of the slow start.

The reason to be slow to make this decision other than the example of Coughlin is when you change a coach, you often end up changing your systems on offense and defense. That means you are going to have to mix up your personnel and that has salary cap ramifications.

Another reason to be cautious about making a move in-season is that by naming an interim coach, you may have eliminated that man from possibly staying on the staff as a coordinator. A new head coach rarely keeps the interim coach in a reduced capacity. You also are limiting who you can hire at that point because you can't take a coach from another NFL team or college.

However, there a couple of instances I would consider making an in-season change. One of them is if you realize it is not going to work with your head coach and you have his successor on staff.

Then to me, you go ahead and make the move and start on rebuilding your program but with the Rooney Rule, you would still have to interview a minority candidate at the end of the season, but at least you would have a feel for the man you think is your first choice.

However, the Rooney Rule could put you in an awkward position during those interviews when the other candidates ask you if they have the same shot at the job as the interim head coach who may have posted a good record or at least gotten the team playing significantly better. You do have to be careful if you do have success when evaluating the interim: What is the reason for the turnaround? Is it improved coaching, easier schedule, a healthier team or some other reason for the team's turnaround?

The other instance to make the change would be if you had a situation that Al Davis said he had in Oakland where he claimed his head coach was insubordinate or if you had total mutiny in the locker room. But you have to be careful with judging that because players are going to complain about things, and if they sense management is going to react to them that could set a bad precedent.

In the case of Mike Nolan, if the 49ers felt he deserved another year to see if he could improve the program after their offseason meetings, he should have been given the year to do it.