Hey there, folks!

After 30+ years of having my heart broken by our beloved purple, I'm finally making it out to Mankato for a little training camp action. Unfortunately, I'll only be there for the first weekend. From the schedule it looks like there's a lot of down time.

I'll be staying with my good friend in Minneapolis and driving out there each day - is there enough stuff to do to kill 7+ hours on the 31st between practices? Can someone who's been there tell me what sort of (if any) activities there might be during that down time? Autographs? Fan contests/competitions? KFAN talk show interviews? Vikings war-weapon exhibitions? Cheerleader dance contests? Anything.....?

 I greatly appreciate any and all tips about how to get the best experience I can!

July 30: 4-5:10 p.m.

July 31: 9-11:15 a.m. and 7-8:55 p.m. 

Aug. 1: 3-4:55 pm                     

Aug. 2: 9-11:15 a.m. and 3-4:55 p.m. (click the link above for the rest of the schedule)

From what I've read this offseason, most fans seem to agree that our offensive line and secondary are the weaker parts of this team. Our OL situation didn't get any better this weekend after Hicks signed with the Redskins.

After Peppers destroyed McKinnie this year, I'm definitely concerned about facing him twice/year. I thought Hicks was reliable and performed pretty well when his number was called.

The loss of Chester Taylor on passing downs hurts our ability to protect the QB, too.

Until we shore up our O-Line with FAs or the draft, I'm definitely going to be a little concerned!

GO VIKES!!!!

Regarding the QB "situation" the VIkes have, one of the arguments I keep reading is that the Vikings are "built for now," so need to have Favre return or get McNabb, or whomever (personally, I'm a TJ fan).

Anyway, this got me to thinking about this argument, since I know we have a lot of young talent.

Assumptions

1.  I didn't take into account when contracts end.

2. It seems most folks are in agreement that we need to work on the O-line and the secondary, so I left them out of the picture as well.

3. Info from here. I added 1 year to each age, since we're looking at next year.

OFFENSE

Player	Pos	Age	Exp
Favre	QB	41	19
AD	RB	25	3
Berrian	WR	30	6
Sydney	WR	24	3
Shank	TE	30	7
Avg		30.0

In the wings:

TJax	27
Percy	22
Jaymar	26
Reynaud	24
Chester	31
Avg	26

It seems to me like we're ok there.

DEFENSE

Player	Pos	Age	Exp
Jared	DRE	28	6
Edwards	DLE	26	4
KWil	DRT	30	7
Phat Pat	DLT	38	13
Chad	SLB	28	4
EJ	LB	30	7
Leber	WLB	32	8
Avg		30.3

In the wings:

Player	Pos	Age	Exp
Evans	DLT	27	4
Letroy	DRT	23	2
Kennedy	DRT	31	7
Mitchell	DLE	26	4
Robison	DRE	27	3
Jasper	MLB	25	R
Avg		26.5

We're a little more susceptible on D, I think. The LB corps isn't very deep; EJ might not make it back, but Jaspar was reasonable given the circumstances. Leber's getting up there.

Phat Pat (is he really going to be 38?) is definitely old for tackle. KWill has a good year or two left. Kennedy has been very good in substitution. Robison and Mitchell might start on a lot of other teams.

Longwell is getting up there, and Kluwe and Loeffler will be pushing 30, but I don't think people are taking them into account when saying we're "built for now."

With our younger to mid-range players having one more year of experience, an away NFC championship game under their belts, our front office's ability to nail the draft, and Zygi's propensity to spend money to fill holes, I'm just not seeing the sense of urgency that we have to go all-in regarding any particular position. That being said, I definitely don't want to go with a draft QB and wait around 3-4 years for development.

What are the major concerns of you Vikes fans out there? Which players do you feel are pushing the upper limit of age vs effectiveness? I'm just not seeing that angle.

SKOL!

Hey Vikes fans!

Alright, I'm totally stoked after today's win. The offensive play calling seemed pretty good, but I guess it always seems that way when you win, right?

I don't have too much to say, but feel like Sydney Rice deserves a post to extoll his awesomeness. There were whispers last year and this off season about him being a bust. Last year he was hurt and never quite came back from that.

This offseason, he worked his friggin' butt off at a camp with Larry Fitzgerald, Chris Carter (I think), and some other guys. Sydney has a blog, and there was a post about how he never worked out so hard and was throwing up after some of those workouts.

He's made some great catches this season. Last week's last TD against the Bears was a great throw, but also a great, leaping catch while going backward. Today, he had some great grabs. In particular, I LOVE that second TD. You could almost hear him say "THAT BALL IS MINE!" as he took control of it.

I have a newsflash for Bevell and Chilly: when in the Red Zone, at least one play every set of downs should go to Sydney. I don't think they'd be disappointed at all, double coverage or not. The man catches everything.

Great work ethic, great player, good person, and I'm psyched he's a Viking.

SKOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know we should be concentrating on the Giants, but who can pass up an opportunity to chide our neighbors to the east? I got this from the Washington Post Express (inside the brackets is me).

Which Packers do you think you were involved???

We run items from all over the country, but Wisconsin is a magnet for strange/stupid occurrences. Here are five of the state’s oddest 2009 happenings:

 

1. Sticky Situation: A 37-year old Fond u Lac man went to a motel room for a romantic tryst, but instead was assaulted by four women who used Krazy Glue to attach his penis to his stomach. [Johnny Jolly was told there was a sale on pills? The women are linked to the MVC.]

 

2. Logo Fail #1: The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, which runs elections and oversees ethics laws, was forced to defend its new logo from claims that it resembled the classic symbol for anarchy.

 

3. Logo Fail #2: After being made fun of on Web sites and blogs, the Wisconsin Tourism Federation decided to change its name because its initials – WTF – form a crude acronym.

 

4. Banana Binge: In Fond du Lac, a man wearing an ape costume attempted to steal banana displays from inside local gas stations. Police weren’t sure what his motive was. [Mike McCarthy after the Vikings acquired #4?]

 

5. Hot-dog Hijinks: The Oscar Meyer Wienermobile crashed into a Mount Pleasant home after the 22-year-old driver of the vehicle hit the gas thinking it was in drive. It was actually in reverse, sending the Wienermobile into the deck and garage of the home. [AJ Hawk, b/c you are what you eat!]

Hey folks. Santa was ok to me for Christmas, and today I'm catching up on Vikes news.

There's an Associated Press article about McKinnie saying he was just "thinking too much" after getting penalties, and after the rumblings about how his position was tipping off opponents. (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4771664)

I used to be a Chilly basher, then relented after the Vikingks continual improvement. I figured that since I'm on the couch on Sundays, and he's on the sidelines, he must know what he's doing, right? But this one line in the article got me all fired up again: "We didn't do a good enough job with getting him help, whether it was chip help or tight end help or fading a guard in that direction," Childress said."

Really? REALLY??? The announcers and 99.5% of the fans came up with that idea by the end of the 2nd quarter. I don't want to just bash the Chilly and say he's stupid, or doesn't know what he's talking about. I'd seriously like to know what his thought process was. Did he ask McKinnie at halftime about it, and based on McKinnie's response, think that #74 would step it up in the 2nd half? Were the coaches so focused on other concerns in the game, that nobody was even aware there was a problem? Did they think they'd be more successful sending the RBs/TE out on a pattern before Peppers could hit Favre? Did they ignore it because we were winning? Give Favre a lesson by getting him hammered b/c he wouldn't come out of the game? Seriously, what in the world was going through Chilly's/Bevell's minds to NOT give McKinnie help?

I can't wait until Monday. I hope we run 40, pass 25, and AD gets 160yds, 2 TDs.

GO VIKES!

I am absolutely LIVID at the pathetic attitude of our players and coaches tonight. &^*^%(@&#%&*%$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whew. Ok, now that I got that out of the way, can someone with a vivid imagination or some serious football smarts let me know why the heck don't we run left? Since I'm not paid to be an NFL coach, I always try to give the coaching staff the benefit of the doubt - that they know something I don't. But this is one I just can't figure out.

We have Mt. McKinnie, and the best left guard in football. On the LEFT. Here's the breakdown of our whopping 14 run plays tonight:

	Left		Middle		Right
	Plays	Yards	Plays	Yards	Plays	Yards
AD	2	17	5	14	5	4
CT	1	7	1	-1
Avg		8		2.17		0.8

Without simply saying the coaches suck, what could the reasons be that we don't run to the highly paid, pro-bowl left? I always hear that to slow a pass rush (e.g. Peppers), you run at it. Peppers was on our left. That would seem to reinforce the concept of running to our left. So what is it?

Does AD's left ankle hurt, so he wouldn't be able to cut upfield? Fumble-prone AD always runs with the ball in his right hand and doesn't exercise the fundamental of switching the ball to his outside hand, so we're afraid he'll fumble running left? Hutch's back hurting? McKinnie injured?

I haven't broken down every game, but it seems to me that when we run left, we move the ball. When we toss out, stretch, or do anything to the right, it's usually for minimal gain. What's the deal?

(btw, the TD was up the middle, but AD was hit by 2+ Panthers in the backfield. Not indicative of a strong point of attack.)

Thanks for your time.

Go Vikes.

The latest injury report for the Vikes has me worried. Our pass D has been sketchy enough the past few years, but our secondary is really hurting this week. Tyrell Johnson (concussion) will likely be out. I know a lot of peeps on here don't like him anyway, but if he's our starter you have to assume he's the best we have back there.

Judd and Chip at the Strib are saying Antoine still feels pain when he plants, so he won't be 100% even if he plays. Griffin (questionable?) has a neck injury, Paymeh (knee) won't be 100% (and I think we all know how bad he covered when he WAS 100%). That leaves us Madieu and Jamarca (Rookie) at Safety, Benny Sapp, Asher Allen (Rookie), and our special teams guys Frampton and Abdullah. If you add the obvious loss of EJ, being replaced by a Rookie, things could be rough.

Questions: as a defense, how do you gameplan to account for these losses? It's fine to say the front 4 have to step up, but since that didn't happen last week it's no gaurantee for this week. Do you blitz? Just stay in base defenses and keep everything in front, with the hopes our offense will take care of business?

From the Cincy Offensive side, do you do anything different to take advantage of the inexperience at Safety and MLB? Run up the middle on us? Play action to get Jasper to bite? Double moves to leave Jamarca in the dust?  What are we most susceptible to?

Thanks for reading - GO VIKES!!!!

Alrighty, folks, I do love me some Adrian Peterson. The guy is an animal, without question. But I do have enough concerns that I'm not so sure he's the best running back in the NFL anymore. The fumbles are obviously one issue, though he didn't fumble tonight.

Tonight he dropped a pass or two that should've/could've been caught, and he didn't go out of bounds on the two minute drill (doesn't everyone who plays football learn to go out of bounds during hurry-up unless there's a clear field in front of you? WTF, AD????). That was only one small play of the game, but I think, along with not keeping the ball in the outside arm, the fumbles, etc, just denotes a lack of overall solid football play.

Tonight he ran for 19 yards on 13 carries. His longest carry was 11 yards. That means he only got 8 yards on 12 other carries? Really, Adrian??? On several plays, I only counted 7 in the box. The best RB in the game should be able to tear that up! What do you guys think - am I missing something? Were there still 8 or 9 in the box on most plays?

If there were only 7 in the box, does it turn to the coaches being at fault for throwing 45 times and only running 20? Did the coaches fail to adjust? What the heck is going on with our run game????

From an AV article (or maybe it was from the main STrib site - it's tough to tell the difference with their new and "improved" site...)

Anyway, Favre said, "I am just going to try and play the game the way we are asked to play it here. Make no mistake the horse on this team is Adrian. Everyone else knows that, too. We just have to be able to counter that." (emphasis mine)

That's pretty comforting to read.

There was also a Favre quote praising AD's work ethic and athletic ability, but also said that AD is a good guy, and people *want* to block for him. Does that mean that there are running backs out there who are d-bags, and teammates don't really give 100% when blocking for those guys? Curious....

For the KC game, one of you savy fans posted a link in the gamethread to a webcast of the game on a KC blog.

Does anyone know of one for tonight's game? Crap - I need 41 more words.

What's the deal with roster cuts? Why do they have to cut only, like, 4 players a week ago, then cut 22 now. it seems kind of silly. Why doesn't the NFL just require a cut of 26 now? Or 13 a week ago, and 13 now?

Alright. Favre played ok tonight, but did the way the announcers view him through their love goggles annoy anyone other than me?

Favre gets sacked, it's a "coverage sack." If TJ gets sacked, he needs to develop "pocket presence."

Favre threw a horrible deep ball that wasn't within 2 feet of the receiver and was almost intercepted. Favre "read the defense" and knew where to throw it. TJ wouldn't be able to "complete the deep ball."

Favre didn't connect with Harvin on that TD pass, it was Percy's fault (though it looked like his arms were extended as far as they could go). If it was TJ, he wouldn't have "touch."

Favre's not even playing, and THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT HIM NON-STOP!!!! This is going to be a long season for me. Sigh...

Is this just me, or does anyone else notice this too?

According to a Tweet from Judd, Antoine is at a funeral for a good friend's mother, and isn't expected at camp all weekend.

Good stuff:

http://twitter.com/chipscoggins1

http://twitter.com/zulgad

Sorry - I have to babble for 40 more words. We shouldn't break the bank for Winfield, but he is seriously a part of the reason our run D is so good. The man can tackle!

I loved the one Tweet that mentioned TJ hit Berrian in stride on a bomb. Also some comments about Harvin - he sounds like a very exciting addition.

GO VIKES!

For those who don't know, Sydney has a blog. He doesn't update it much, but it's interesting to read things straight from a player with no media filter.

http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_OTAs-Today/BLOG/282688/92076.html?widgetId=132393

About his knee: "I’m pretty much over my injury, I’m running routes at full speed, I just need to get my strength back to 100%. I’ll be working with the trainers on that starting today and I’ll be there long after practice for extra work just to get up to speed."

He also talks a little about Percy Harvin and all the attention, but says he (Rice) will do whatever it takes to help Percy even though they're competing for the the same position, because they're teammates. He writes, "Everybody helps out everybody here, this team has that kind of chemistry."

That quote, that sentiment, is a large part of the reason I do NOT want a certain circus coming to town.

Sydney RIce sounds like a fine young man.

The end of the first half.

Vikes ball, 1st and 10 on our own 13. 1:10 left. Eagles have one timeout.

I figure as conservative as Chilly is, we'll run out the clock and go into half-time down by two. No biggie.

Play 1: Run Chester up the middle, no gain. Cool - we sure don't want to punt down here and give Philly a chance to score before half!

Play 2 (2nd and 10, :37): Pass short right, incomplete, clock stops. Wait... what?? A pass? A SHORT pass??? Did the coaching staff think that the run up the middle on 1st down was going to fool the Eagles and go for 20-30 yards? Did they hope Wade would get out of bounds gaining 3 yards so they could push it up the field in 15 3-yd increments in 37 seconds? Did they hope to run out the clock with a short pass...?

Play 3 (3rd & 10, :34): Well, the incomplete pass gobbled up all of 3 seconds. Since 2nd down wasn't a run to keep the clock rolling,  I guess Chilly & Co are going to try to be aggressive here and move the ball. Might as well try to get a first down since the Eagles still have one time out. Wrong! Let's fool everyone and run it off the left tackle! Oh, wait - only 3 yards on that play. Timeout, Eagles.

Vikes punt, leaving the Eagles at their 44. They need about 20 yards to get into field goal range, with :18 left. It came down to a diving tackle by Greenway to keep Westbrook in bounds to avoid giving up a potential FG.

Does anyone agree with the call for the Vikes to pass it on second down? Can someone please give me some insight into the potential gain of a short pass in that situation? Sure, it might have been the checkdown guy that TJ went to, but why not just run the clock out?

 

Longwell got the NFC special teams player of the week. He's 6-6 this year from 50+ yards. Bad. Ass.

Saw this from the STrib: "The Vikings finished first in the NFL with 18 touchdowns on plays that covered at least 20 yards, according to Stats, Inc. Of those plays, 13 were passes, which also tied for first in the league."

Wow. Maybe the KAO really is explosive. Childress' play calling and clock management are mind boggling to me, but we're 10-6, won the division, in the playoffs, and have the above stat. Maybe I'm wrong about this guy...???

Is it Sunday yet?

GO VIKES!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, here's the recipe for a purple Jesus (who almost became a purple Judas with yet another fumble):

Take a large glass (maybe 20 oz?)

1) Ice

2) Vodka

3) Triple Sec

4) Chumburg (sp? This is what gives it the purple color.)

Touch of lime juice.

Shaken, not stirred.

If you're in w/ the bartender, it's about 10 ozs of vodka, and he makes more than 20 ozs and waits for you to drink a few gulps then tops off the glass.

I had four today.

I'm smoked!

GO.VIKES.

Can anyone explain to me what I obviously don't get?  With 1:11 left in the game, from the Giants 38 yard line, it seems that Brad Childress & Co. decided the Vikes were in field goal range and hardly even tried to gain an extra yard.

I'm totally and completely stoked that Longwell made that 50 yd FG, but should it really have come down to that?

I really don't get the play calling/clock management in the final two minutes. Help?

Folks, I am utterly disgusted.

Once again, the Vikings controlled their destiny.

Once again, the Vikings are the better team.

Once again, they found a way to blow it. FOUR turnovers. Bad snaps. Piss poor clock management.

I lay this loss at the feet of Brad Childress. I was swallowing my pride and coming around to the guy. But none of the 4 fumbles came from devastating hits. Fumbling the opening kickoff. Fumbling and losing the punt. Fumbling and losing a handoff exchange. The missed/bad snap that pushed us back 20 yards. These plays stem from poor focus, and poor focus stems from poor preparation, and that comes from the coach.

Can anyone tell me why, when you need 3 scores with only 13 minutes left in the game, you take your time in the huddle? Anyone? I would think you'd want to move with some sense of purpose.

The Vikes played tonight like a team that was believing the talk about playoffs and #2 seeds, instead of a team that needed to win a big game.

I love me some AD, but that guy has GOT to quit fumbling the damn ball. His fumbles tonight were NOT b/c of his style of play, fighting for extra yards. It was horrible ball control, period; end of story.

On positive notes, TJ played very well, I thought. Threw the ball away - didn't force things, and kept *several* plays alive where Gus would've broken a hip.

Visanthe - I take away every bad thing I said about you. Though true at the time, you have stepped up to the plate and have made plays.

I actually think I want the Giants to lose tonight, and the Bears to win tomorrow. I want the Vikings to HAVE to win next week and EARN their spot in the playoffs. Because the way they played tonight, I don't think they deserve it.

COME ON, VIKES!!!!!

I don't mind that Gus is upset that he's not starting. Every player at that level should want, and believe they have the skills, to start every game.

And I love that he's still saying he'll do whatever he can to support TJ and the team to win.

But when he talks about being away from his family and how hard it is, I wish someone would follow up with the questions: 1. When did you report to training camp? 2. When the season ends and you don't have to play a game work, how much time do you spend with your family then?

If I could make $500 g's and work (at most) half the year away from my family, I'd jump all over it.

--

How about TJ and AD sweeping the FedEx Air and Ground players of the week???? BOO YAH!!!!!!!

GO VIKES!

Inspired by some of the banter on other fanposts, I decided to check out the Windy City Gridiron. I found this little gem - it made me smile and fall in love with our defense all over again, so I thought I'd share.

Kreutz on the failed goal-line stand:

 

“I know you can't write they kicked our ass, but whatever you want to write for that, they did on that series. They beat us up bad. This is no excuse, but they have three Pro Bowlers among those four positions and it showed.”

Man, that goaline stand was awesome. 1st & Goal from the 1.

Props to WCG for even posting things like that.

GO VIKES!!!!!!!!