SB Nation User Blog: MilCardFan

Cards acquire DeRosa!!!!

MilCardFan — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 03:02:25 -0000

Just heard on BBTN and MLB Network that the Cards acquire Mark DeRosa from the Indians for Chris Perez and a player to be named later!!!!

This is GREAT news, and depending on who the player to be named later is, phenomenal trade for the Cards as the first shot across the bow is made in 2009!!

I think Perez has a great future, but between Motte and Perez, I like Motte better and one of them was expendable. Anyone think Matt holiday is just around the corner as well?

[AZ update: Funnelling everyone to the main thread.]

Schadenfreude

MilCardFan — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:21:14 -0000

Brett Favre ~~will be is~~ is going to be a Viking.

Embrace it, Accept it, ~~Love it~~ deal with it.

No, not my monkey, you perverts, but the fact that Brett Favre, statistically the greatest quarterback ever to play in the NFL, will be a Minnesota Viking for the 2009 season. As the late, great, Ed McMahon would say:

YES!

Look, I know there’s a lot of anger towards the Vikings in this, and I get that. Some people feel that it’s similar to the Allies hiring Erwin Rommel to close out WWII; it’s just not natural. We’ve grown up to not like Green Bay and their players; hell, about the only thing that ever came out of the entire state of Wisconsin that I care about is Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat Beer (Honey Weiss will do in a pinch). I’ve never liked the Packers, I’ve never liked Favre, but I always respected his talents and ability, and I secretly wished the Vikings had a QB as good as him for a good portion of his career. We had a brief glimmer of hope with Daunte Culpepper, but that disappeared as quickly as the business end of a dildo did on the Love Boat that he captained.

And I think this is what half of the Vikings fans feel as well, and that’s okay. The other half is just pissed off that Brett Effing Favre is going to be the quarterback of their beloved purple, and can’t get over the fact that the former Packers great is going to be a current Vikings great. Maybe I can help you at least deal with your anger, and channel it in a direction that will help you deal with Favre calling the signals this year.

I have one word for you: ‘schadenfreude’.

As a cap tip to the aforementioned Field Marshall, it’s German, and essentially it means enjoying someone else’s misery. Turn your anger into schadenfreude towards the average Green Bay Packer fan. Think about how betrayed, hurt, and angry they feel towards their idol, now that he’s playing for the hated Vikings. I turned on the TV this weekend and I saw people rioting in the streets, soccer players wearing green in solidarity of their people back home, and endless coverage of said events on TV. Naturally, I assumed I had stumbled across Milwaukee Public Access TV and I was watching the unraveling of Packer nation. Sadly, it was only a popular uprising in Iran. As an aside, for a brutal, oppressive dictatorship, I’m not impressed with the mullahs in Iran. Voting, press coverage, street protests, candy ass crackdown, keeping Internet access open—rookie mistakes that they cover in Dictatorship 101. You won’t see any of this shit in Kim Jong-Il’s North Korea, I’ll tell you that much. But I digress.

If, for some reason, you want to somehow cheer for AND against Brett Favre simultaneously, cheer like hell for him to lead the league in passing yards, passing TD’s, fewest interceptions thrown, completion percentage, and a Super Bowl victory. Because the more success Brett has with the Vikings the more his standing with the Packers and their fans drops, and if he has his best statistical season in his career while leading the Vikings to the Holy Grail, he will be burned in effigy in Green Bay and will NEVER be welcomed back there. He would be Green Bay’s baseball’s equivalent to a steroids user, banned as a pariah and when he was spoken of, it would only be in whispers, like that crazy ass uncle that’s in prison for being a kiddie diddler.

The more success Favre has as the Vikings quarterback, the worse he does for his legacy in Green Bay, and the less the loyal fans of the Packers want anything to do with him.

Schadenfreude bitches, schadenfreude.

PS--If anyone else gets a Vikes #4 jersey with 'Schadenfreude' on the back like I just did, you rock.

Big 10 expansion and Nebraska

MilCardFan — Wed, 27 May 2009 01:16:47 -0000

Hello Cornhusker nation! Over at the Ohio State SB website We Will Always Have Tempe, we've got a pretty good discussion going on about Big 10 expansion, and a dark horse candidate I've mentioned is Nebraska. I'm just wondering what you guys think of that idea. I realize it's not even on the horizon, or a possibility, but just idle speculation and something to ruminate about while we await the beginning of the 2009 season. So, with that in mind, please enjoy (or fume and rip me, lol):

I’ve enjoyed reading the possibilities of who might become the mythical 12th team if the Big 10 were to, you know, jump into the 21st century and all, so I want to make my case for Nebraska. I talked about my vision for realignment in an earlier post, and although the consensus seems to be that Notre Dame would be the logical fit, that doesn’t necessarily make it so. At face value, getting an independent team to join a conference would seem to be easier than luring a team to leave one BCS conference for another, but there are a few things that make Nebraska a prime target of opportunity, if the Big 10 thinks outside of the box.

Benefits for the Conference:

It’s freaking Nebraska, one of the most storied programs in college football, with rich tradition and history. I’m all about living in the now, but there’s nothing wrong with respecting the past and honoring tradition. It’s one of the things that make college football so special. And Nebraska, with the Blackshirts, Tom Osborne, four national championships, and a rabid fan base every bit as passionate as what you’ll find in Columbus, fits the bill perfectly. As for living in the now, they went through their own ‘Rich Rodriguez era’ with Bill Callahan, and have gone through the fire and come out on the other side with Bo Pelini (OSU alum, BTW), who guided them to a 10-4 record and a New Year’s Day Gator Bowl win over Clemson.

And oh by the way, the wrestling program is top notch, and would add to the Big 10’s dominance in that sport. As far as basketball goes, it’s a mid-level program that last made an NCAA tournament appearance in 1998, but is consistently competitive. Those would be nice additions to the conference, but make no mistake that if this overture were made it would be to attract the football program.

Monetarily, it’s a boon for both the conference and the school. You add Nebraska to the Big 10, and the Big 10 Network gets another look from cable companies currently fighting about where to place them in their lineup, and you add an entire swath of the Midwest to the coverage area. It means conference championship game, it means playing later in the season, and all that adds up to is money. Nebraska in the Big 10 means more games on ESPN and ABC, as opposed to the Fox Sports Network, which helps national exposure and recruiting for the school and the conference. Quick, name the last time you saw Nebraska on TV, other than a bowl game?

Drawbacks for the conference:

I can see the criticism coming fast and furious from all corners of the sports world, except maybe Fox…and the Big XII. I can see Herbie, Corso, and Fowler lamenting that the Big 10 looked backward, not forward, in looking towards a new conference member; that the conference looked at a team based on past accomplishments, and not future capabilities, and that’s been the problem with the Big 10 for the last 10 years or so. But if they’re adding a 12th team for a conference championship, they are looking forward, are they not?

Academically, they would rank last in the Big 10 in the US News and World Report list of top colleges. The top school, Northwestern, is ranked 12th. The lowest ranked school is Iowa, ranked 66. Nebraska? Um, well…89. Granted, it’s not Ivy League, but if the Big 10 wanted a 12th team to dominate the NCAA Intramural Chess Championships, they’d call MIT. Call me crazy, but I don’t think that draws as well as football.

Will it Happen?

It’s a longshot, but not out of the realm of possibility.

A great point was brought up when looking at Missouri that a move from the Big XII to the Big 10 would be a lateral one at best. For Missouri, I agree. They have their rivalry with Kansas, and that’s a rivalry as intense as OSU-UM and as old as Minnesota-Wisconsin. We just don’t know or care about it because it’s a rivalry we didn’t grow up around to appreciate. Missouri won’t leave the Big 12 for that reason alone. Nebraska, on the other hand, really has no loyalties or ties to the Big XII, because their rivalry died with the Big 8. You could make an argument for Nebraska-Missouri, but is it really a rivalry if one team has won only six times since 1975? You want to jump up and down and say Nebraska-Oklahoma, but that rivalry became all but forgotten when the Big 8 and SWC merged and the new Big XII placed them in separate divisions. But it was, arguably, the greatest rivalry in college football for a generation, right up there with the 10 Year War. The winner of the Nebraska-Oklahoma game almost always won the Big 8, and was on the short list for national championship talk, much like the OSU-UM game. When the Big XII was formed, the thinking at the time could have been to put them in separate divisions because they’ll play each other every year in the conference championship, but how has that worked out? Well, Texas has eclipsed Nebraska as Oklahoma’s arch rival, and Nebraska’s is…no one. (As an aside, I think this is the primary example of why Ohio State and Michigan MUST stay in the same division if the conference does expand).

If you add Nebraska and you split the conference geographically, I would put Nebraska in the Great Plains (west) division with Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Northwestern, and Illinois. At first glance, Iowa jumps out as a natural, geographic rival which could easily supplant Missouri, and Wisconsin, along with the Hawkeyes, seem like the teams they will perennially contend with for the division crown. While I doubt that will rise to the level of the old Oklahoma-Nebraska rivalry, it's a start. And if they do align them in a division with OSU and/or Michigan, boom! Instant rivalry.

The last thing I want to look at is the dynamics of the Big XII as it stands today. Remember, the Big XII merged the Big 8 (midwest/northern schools) with four Texas schools from the Southwest Conference, and it was more a marriage of convenience that allowed them to go toe to toe with the SEC. Old SWC member Arkansas bolted in 1990 for the SEC, and shortly after the SEC began their conference championship game. The peace has been kept in the Big XII by rotating the conference championship game between the midwest (KC and St Louis) and Texas. When the conference was formed, the headquarters took the old Big 8 office buildings and stayed in Kansas City, because most of the teams are closer geographically to KC. In the last several years, the conference has taken a decidedly southern tack, with the conference headquarters moving to Dallas, and now there is a move afoot to relocate the conference championship game in Jerry Jones’ new billion dollar playground…in Texas. This does not sit well with the football fans in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, or Colorado. The olive branch compromise that’s being floated is that if the football championship moves to Texas permanently, the basketball championship will move to Kansas City permanently. That might soothe Kansas and Missouri fans, but Nebraska fans? Basketball is nice filler between the bowl game and spring practice in Lincoln, and football has been and always will be king, which makes this plan unpopular in Cornhusker land. Nebraska carried the torch for the Big XII in the early days, and now they seem to be an afterthought to the Texas teams and to Oklahoma.

On the surface Nebraska is ‘gettable’, and outside of Notre Dame this would be the best solution for the Big 10’s 12th team conundrum.

Darkhorse Contender: Nebraska?

MilCardFan — Tue, 26 May 2009 17:37:40 -0000

(Ed. note: The "Contendah" series has really caught on, and has spawned some great discussions over the past week or so. Here, MilCardFan shares his thoughts on an out-of-the-box suggestion; the Nebraska Cornhuskers, currently coached by ex-Buckeye Bo Pelini)

I’ve enjoyed reading the possibilities of who might become the mythical 12th team if the Big 10 were to, you know, jump into the 21st century and all, so I want to make my case for Nebraska. I talked about my vision for realignment in an earlier post, and although the consensus seems to be that Notre Dame would be the logical fit, that doesn’t necessarily make it so. At face value, getting an independent team to join a conference would seem to be easier than luring a team to leave one BCS conference for another, but there are a few things that make Nebraska a prime target of opportunity, if the Big 10 thinks outside of the box.

Benefits for the Conference:

It’s freaking Nebraska, one of the most storied programs in college football, with rich tradition and history. I’m all about living in the now, but there’s nothing wrong with respecting the past and honoring tradition. It’s one of the things that make college football so special. And Nebraska, with the Blackshirts, Tom Osborne, four national championships, and a rabid fan base every bit as passionate as what you’ll find in Columbus, fits the bill perfectly. As for living in the now, they went through their own ‘Rich Rodriguez era’ with Bill Callahan, and have gone through the fire and come out on the other side with Bo Pelini (OSU alum, BTW), who guided them to a 10-4 record and a New Year’s Day Gator Bowl win over Clemson.

Drawbacks for the conference:

Academically, they would rank last in the Big 10 in the US News and World Report list of top colleges. The top school, Northwestern, is ranked 12th. The lowest ranked school is Iowa, ranked 66. Nebraska? Um, well…89. Granted, it’s not Ivy League, but if the Big 10 wanted a 12th team to dominate the NCAA Intramural Chess Championships, they’d call MIT. Call me crazy, but I don’t think that draws as well as football.

Will it Happen?

It’s a longshot, but not out of the realm of possibility.

A great point was brought up when looking at Missouri that a move from the Big XII to the Big 10 would be a lateral one at best. For Missouri, I agree. They have their rivalry with Kansas, and that’s a rivalry as intense as OSU-UM and as old as Minnesota-Wisconsin. We just don’t know or care about it because it’s a rivalry we didn’t grow up around to appreciate. Missouri won’t leave the Big 12 for that reason alone. Nebraska, on the other hand, really has no loyalties or ties to the Big XII, because their rivalry died with the Big 8. You could make an argument for Nebraska-Missouri, but is it really a rivalry if one team has won only six times since 1975? You want to jump up and down and say Nebraska-Oklahoma, but that rivalry became all but forgotten when the Big 8 and SWC merged and the new Big XII placed them in separate divisions. But it was, arguably, the greatest rivalry in college football for a generation, right up there with the 10 Year War. The winner of the Nebraska-Oklahoma game almost always won the Big 8, and was on the short list for national championship talk, much like the OSU-UM game. When the Big XII was formed, the thinking at the time could have been to put them in separate divisions because they’ll play each other every year in the conference championship, but how has that worked out? Well, Texas has eclipsed Nebraska as Oklahoma’s arch rival, and Nebraska’s is…no one. (As an aside, I think this is the primary example of why Ohio State and Michigan MUST stay in the same division if the conference does expand).

On the surface Nebraska is ‘gettable’, and outside of Notre Dame this would be the best solution for the Big 10’s 12th team conundrum.

Window of Opportunity, Part II

MilCardFan — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:30:20 -0000

A few days ago, I looked at what kind of window of opportunity the Vikings had for a serious championship run. Today, I want to continue down that path with a look at the defense.

DL:

Pat Williams, 37

Kevin Williams, 28

Jared Allen, 27

Kenechi Udeze, 26

Fred Evans, 26

Jimmy Kennedy, 30

Brian Robison, 26

Ray Edwards, 24

The Vikings defensive line is almost as dominant as the halcyon days of the legendary Purple People Eaters. You don’t run on them, and quarterbacks drop back to pass at their own risk. They are at least as effective as the Keith Millard-Chris Doleman defensive lines of the early 1990’s, but the anchor of the line, Pat Williams, is going to be 37. This line didn’t become dominant until ‘Phat Pat’ was signed, and it became elite when the Vikes traded for Jared Allen. Pat Williams seems ageless, but he isn’t, and the Vikings need to look towards his eventual replacement. There isn’t another Pat Williams currently on the roster, so something will need to be done. When he is out of the lineup, the Vikings are not dominant as a run defense. The rest of the line is in their prime, and if Kenechi Udeze can get back his strength and quickness, he will be a force in 2009, and will take this defensive line to another level. Kevin Williams and Jared Allen have at least 5 more years playing together at an elite level; throw in a healthy Udeze, and these guys will be a lot of fun to watch.

Projection: 1-2 years, as the next Pat Williams needs to be identified. If the Williams transition is seamless, 5-7 years of high end productivity.

LB:

Chad Greenway, 26

EJ Henderson, 29

Ben Leber, 31

Heath Farwell, 28

David Herron, 25

The front line starters for the Vikings are one of the best LB tandems in the NFL. They complement each other well, and are a solid mix of youth and veteran leadership. But the replacements currently on the roster are not considered NFL-caliber starters, as the signings of ex-Vikings Napoleon Harris and Dontarrious Thomas showed. Ben Leber is north of 30, EJ Henderson is approaching 30 and has an injury history, and Chad Greenway has developed into a quality NFL LB after a season ending knee injury as a rookie. I thought that LB would be addressed early in the 2009 draft, but you can’t argue with Percy Harvin and Phil Loadholt. LB’s can be had in free agency, and it should be a position of need next year in the draft.

Projection: 2 years, but they need depth right now. Not re-signing Harris or Thomas could turn out to be a big mistake if one of the top three goes down.

DB:

Antoine Winfield, 32

Cedric Griffin, 27

Marcus McCauley, 26

Tyrell Johnson, 24

Madieu Williams, 28

Karl Paymah, 27

Asher Allen, 21

I love Antoine Winfield. I mean, I started a blog called The Purple Buckeye, for God Sakes. Winfield has been a mainstay in the defensive backfield, and has been the best all-around CB in the NFL for about his entire time in Minnesota. I hope he retires a Viking, but with contract extension talks stalled, that seems up in the air. But he’s north of 30, and the Vikings used a third round pick on Asher Allen, so Minnesota is laying the groundwork for Winfield’s eventual replacement. The Vikings wisely inked Cedric Griffin to an extension, meaning that his productive years will be spent as a Viking. For the safeties, Tyrell Johnson has already taken over for Darren Sharper and will be a fixture for several years, and Madieu Williams has 3-4 years of above average production left. Overall, this unit looks pretty good, as long as Allen can get close to the level of THE Antoine Winfield, a tall order indeed.

Projection: Winfield will probably be replaced after 2009, 3-5 years after that.

There is no need to raise the alarm yet, but the defense, which has done most of the heavy lifting on this team during the Brad Childress era, is the side of the ball where the window opening is currently the smallest. The line, linebackers, and defensive backfield will need to be addressed, both for front-line starters and depth, especially in the linebacking corps. If the starters can stay relatively healthy in 2009 and 2010, this defense, with a ferocious defensive line that can neuter a running game and punish a quarterback that dare try to pass, can take this team a long way. But Ben Leber, Antoine Winfield, and Pat Williams, key veterans that made this defense what it is, will be replaced in the next few years, and who comes in behind them will largely determine how competitive the Vikings will be.

Along with the play of the quarterback.

Who Left the Window (of Opportunity) Open?

MilCardFan — Wed, 13 May 2009 03:19:24 -0000

I feel the Vikings 'window of opportunity' to win a Super Bowl is open.

But for for how long?

Some teams, through good drafting, player retention, trading, and free agency keep their window perpetually open, like the Pittsburgh Steelers or the New England Patriots. Most teams go through cycles, kind of like the Vikings are right now, where they amass enough talent to seem like a legitimate championship caliber team, then fall into mediocrity for a period of time, and then rise again. Other than the Vikings, Tennessee, the New York Giants, and Seattle seem to best fit this mold—but there are a lot of teams that seem to go through these cycles. There are one year wonder teams, like the Arizona Cardinals and Chicago Bears. Finally, there are teams that seem like their window of opportunity has been nailed shut and sealed with epoxy; Detroit fans, I’m looking your way.

So how long will the Vikings window of opportunity stay open with this current roster?

Let’s try and figure it out. I’m going to look at the current starters, and most of the primary back-ups. I’ll consider their age and then project when they might need to draft a player to look at as eventual replacement. I’m also going to throw in the first three draft picks from the 2009 class, as everyone after round three is what I consider a complementary player, whereas the top end guys are expected to start at some point. If you disagree with the methodology, I’m open to hearing another way to figure it out.

This post will look at the offensive side of the ball, and the next post will address defense.

QB:
Tarvaris Jackson, 26
Sage Rosenfels, 31
John David Booty (he said booty), 24

A good quarterback, along with effective roster replenishment, is the key component for maintaining an extended window of opportunity. Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning, and Donovan McNabb have been the common ingredient in their respective teams’ sustained runs of excellence. If Jackson or Booty pan out and raise their game to an elite level, the Vikings will be in business for years to come, especially when you consider the relative youth at the rest of the skill positions. The window will be smaller if it’s Rosenfels, simply for the fact he is older. If not, then they may explore other options. Like, ahem, He Who Shall Not Be Named, trying to draft a franchise QB, trying to trade for one, or hoping one becomes available in free agency.

Projection: If Jackson works out, 7 years. If Rosenfels works out, 4 years. If neither works out, QB window is year to year, if not closed.

RB:

Adrian Peterson, 23
Chester Taylor, 30
Naufahu Tahi, 29

At his current rate Adrian Peterson will go down as one of the greatest running backs in NFL history, and he’s only 23. Running backs take an enormous amount of punishment, though, and their shelf life is shorter than other position players. LaDainian Tomlinson is approaching the dreaded age of 30, and he has begun the long, slow, decline. His numbers are down, and his injuries are up. Let’s say Peterson has 3-4 tremendous seasons left in him, 6-7 productive seasons. As good as Peterson has been, it’s easy to overlook the contributions of Chester Taylor. Brought in to be ‘the Guy’ by Chilly in 2006, Taylor had one of the most productive seasons ever for a Vikings running back, including the longest run from scrimmage in the NFL, a 95 yard TD scamper in a romp over Seattle. More importantly, when the Vikings drafted Taylor, he could’ve been a dick about it and demanded a trade, but he’s been a team guy and excelled in the role of the third down/change of pace back. In his current role, Taylor has a couple of years left, but will probably want one last chance as a starter somewhere, so depth will be an issue in a year or two. And as exciting as the one yard swing pass to Naufau Tahi is, the NFL fullback is becoming about as irrelevant as the Republican Party these days. Yeah, they’ll need someone to eventually replace Tahi, but in this day and age it’s a fairly nameless, faceless position.

Projection: 5-7 years for frontline production, two years for depth.

WR/TE:
Bernard Berrian, 29
Sidney Rice, 23
Percy Harvin, 21
Bobby Wade, 28
Visanthe Shiancoe, 29
Jim Kleinsasser, 32
Garrett Mills, 25

I like the mix of youth and experience that the Vikings have at both receiver positions. With the WR corps, the Vikings have the potential for long term success. Percy Harvin can be a legitimate deep threat, and Sidney Rice has the physical tools to be a devastating possession/ red zone threat in the mold of Cris Carter. He had the typical sophomore slump last season, but he was also battling a knee injury for most of the season. He needs to step up and take control of the #2 WR position in training camp this season. Bernard Berrian is the current deep threat, and brought legitimacy to the Vikings WR corps not seen since the days of Moss and Carter. He has a few good years left, and is the type of veteran presence that should be beneficial to the skilled but raw Harvin. Bobby Wade has developed into a decent slot guy. He’s not ever going to be a game changer, or a consistent move-the-chains type guy, but he’s a good complimentary player that has several years of decent production left. Harvin is the wildcard. He can either be a Troy Williamson flame-out, or a Randy Moss jackpot. My guess is that he’ll be somewhere in between; a plus Reggie Bush. Worst case is Harvin is a bust and Rice never figures it out, I give it three years with Berrian and Wade as the top guys with a constant parade of the Derrick Alexander and Robert Ferguson-types trying to fill in as required. Tight end is a similar situation. I tip my cap to Brad Childress on the Shiancoe signing; he has emerged as a reliable, legitimate target after having what seemed like an incurable case of the dropsies when he first took the field. He still has three or four years of solid production left, and Garrett Mills is a guy that has that ’it’ about him. He has limited experience, but on the rare occasion he caught a pass, or I noticed him on the field, he stood out. I love Jim Kleinsasser, but he’s never been an offensive threat. His job is to block, and he does it quite well. He’s on the downside of his fine career, and I think it’s right and appropriate that he will probably retire as a Minnesota Viking.

WR Projection: If Harvin and Rice get untracked, the Vikings have 10 years of production at wide receiver. If Harvin is a bust and Rice never figures it out, I give it three years with Berrian and Wade as the top guys, and a constant parade of the Derrick Alexander and Robert Ferguson-types trying to fill in as required.

TE Projection: Shiancoe has anywhere from 3-5 years with Garrett Mills on the rise to make a seamless transition. Call it 8-10 years with a big, blocking TE type to take over for Kleinsasser in the next two years.

Offensive Line:

Bryant McKinnie, 30
Steve Hutchinson, 32
John Sullivan, 24
Anthony Herrera, 29
Ryan Cook, 26
Phil Loadholt, 23
Artis Hicks, 31

A solid offensive line is the unsung but critical ingredient to take a team to the next level. The Vikings have one of the five best offensive lines in the NFL, but if you look, it’s getting up there in age. Initially, I was against letting Matt Birk go, but if he had stayed, 80% of the starting line would have been either 29 or older. Time marches on in the NFL, and in looking at this through the age prism, letting Birk go and letting Sullivan transition in with experience to his immediate right and left is pretty smart…as long as Sullivan pans out. McKinnie and Hutch each have about 3-5 years left. For whatever reason, linemen take as much punishment as anyone, but (at least anecdotally to me) seem to have a more prolonged career. Sullivan has 10 years, Herrera 5 or 6, and Loadholt and Cook will be around 7-10 years as well. Hutch is a road grader, but I would look for the Vikings to find his replacement in the next draft or two.

OL Projection: Short term, the line will begin the left side transition in the next 2 years, with full turnover of all five positions (counting Birk and assuming Loadholt replaces Cook) in four. So until the next generation of snot blowin’ big uglies line up and hit someone, this is the shortest window. I’ll give it three years average, with the big hits coming in the McKinnie and Hutch replacements. But assuming the replacements adequately fill in for the current crop, this will be one of the most stable units in the NFL for years to come.

So looking at the offense, the Minnesota Vikings are averaging about a three or four year window, but it has one huge caveat: effective, championship-caliber quarterback play. If the Vikings cannot get that from Jackson, Rosenfels, or somebody else, this will be a talented team that will not advance far in the playoffs.

If they do get it, you have to consider the Vikings on the short list of teams with legitimate championship aspirations.

My last Favre post until it's settled

MilCardFan — Sun, 10 May 2009 04:03:11 -0000

The Brett Favre saga is sucking the oxygen out of the Vikings room, so let me pipe in on why, once and for all, the Vikings should sign him. And I promise, this will be the last I mention it until he either signs or stays retired.

There is one segment of the fanbase that wants nothing to do with Brett Favre, largely because he played for the arch rival Packers. They feel that if Favre were to take the Vikings to and win the Super Bowl, it would somehow be tainted, and all credit would go to Favre. Others think that cheering for Favre would be akin to rooting for the Taliban or Al Qaeda. The other segment of the non-Favre camp doesn't want to buy in and cheer for him because they fear he will throw an interception to lose to the Packers, or lose in the NFC championship, or God Forbid, the Super Bowl.

Read the rest over at

http://www.purplebuckeye.blogspot.com/

Mercenaries-R-Us

MilCardFan — Wed, 06 May 2009 01:00:54 -0000

Let’s put our cards on the table here when it comes to Brett Favre and his desire to come to Minnesota. His reason for playing isn’t to play for the Vikings, it’s to play against the Packers. He hates Ted Thompson. He wants to stick it up Ted Thompson’s ass and break it off. Sideways. Twice. His is a completely selfish and mercenarial reason to come to Minnesota.

Brad Childress needs to win and make a deep playoff run to keep his job, at least I think so. He’s had incrementally better seasons in three years, and with solid drafting, smart trades, and good free agent acquisitions, the Vikings are poised to be able to do that. Except that they need a proven quarterback to take them on that run. Childress has said that he likes his quarterback situation, but Favre at age 40 is still better than Sagevaris Jacksonfels. So if he were to sign Favre, it would be for one reason and one reason only: To try and win the Super Bowl and prove he is as smart as he claims to be. His is a completely selfish and mercenarial reason to bring Favre to Minnesota.

Zygi Wilf needs a new stadium to keep the Vikings viable in the state of Minnesota. He has Adrian Peterson and little else. He needs that elusive ‘buzz’, and a guy like Favre with the NFC North backdrop is something that cannot be ignored. Would it be enough to finagle financing for a new stadium out of the State Legislature? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, his is a completely selfish and mercenarial reason to bring Favre to Minnesota.

As my good buddy Luft Krigare pointed out in his blog, I was all about Favre coming to Minnesota last season, but I have some reservations this year. But the bottom line is simple:

Do I want the Vikings to essentially hire a mercenary who excelled on a team I can’t stand come in and lead the team that I have loved since birth, and go all out to try and win a Super Bowl?

Yes.

Once I separate the facts from the emotion, the fact for me is this: Brett Favre, as long as he is healthy, is better than Sagevaris Jacksonfels, and all the hand-wringing I have about team chemistry will be rendered moot on the first Favre to Harvin touchdown pass.

But that's just me.

Why the Vikes will draft a LB in round 1

MilCardFan — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:06:16 -0000

Okay, so after looking at all the draft stuff I can stand, I think the Vikes are going to go with a LB, I really do. Let me walk this logic backwards:

Percy Harvin is probably off the board, and Childress said before the draft last season, I think it was, that WR’s in general are really a crap shoot in the first round, and I agree, so I don’t see them going in that direction. RB is not a need, and I think the TOA doesn’t believe QB is. I must grudgingly give it up for Shiancoe, as he really emerged last season, so TE is off the board, eliminating all skill positions.

That leaves the o-line. Sullivan looks to be the next Matt Birk, and Herrera and Hutch are a pretty good guard tandem. McKinnie is locked in at LT, and I think with Ryan Cook you have what I call Tarvaris Jackson syndrome. Cook was a high round Childress pick, like Jackson, and Childress has a lot in terms of reputation on the line to see the kid succeed, much like Jackson, albeit not as much as he has invested with TJ. Many detractors think he was taken too high, like Jackson, and as a player, Cook has yet to achieve what the coaches envisioned him doing when drafted, much like Jackson. He’s also shown flashes of good play with maddening periods of mediocrity and inconsistency, also like Jackson. And I think Cook showed enough last year to warrant giving him ample opportunity to remain the RT, but he has got to cut down on his penalties.

On the d-line, DE appears to be set, especially with Kenechi Udeze coming back, which will be a huge emotional lift. DT looks good as well. After re-signing Jimmy Kennedy and Fred Evans, there’s really no room for a new guy. You can make an argument for DB, especially with Antoine Winfield getting up there, but they re-signed Benny Sapp, signed Carl Paymah as a FA, and already had decent depth for both CB and S. I can see adding a guy in the later rounds, but I don’t see DB as a first round pick, especially when you factor in who’s probably available.

That leaves LB. EJ’s coming off of an injury, Ben Leber is good, but is north of 30, and after Chad Greenway, there really isn’t anyone that can jump in and start. Erin Henderson? No. Heath Farwell? Good special teams guy, but not really. I mean, they had to bring Napoleon Harris back after EJ got hurt. Nap did a great job as a stopgap, but they let him go again. So LB is very thin after you get past the starters. Almost every mock draft I see has either James Laurinaitis, Ray Maualuga, or both available at that spot. Both are high character guys, both have great college pedigrees, and yeah, you think I want them to pick Laurinaitis because he’s a Buckeye, but he can also play on the outside, and he’s a local Minnesota kid. Childress hit the jackpot with the ‘local kid, Big 10 LB, high character guy’ trifecta with Greenway in 2006, and that has to be factored in as well.

So with everyone screaming for the Vikes to take a tackle, I think the Vikes mildly surprise some folks and go with either Maualuga or Laurinaitis. If they’re both on the board, it’s Laurinaitis.

In defense of Childress drafts

MilCardFan — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 04:02:54 -0000

Looks like the Vikings, as with most NFL teams, are hunkering down and are focusing in on the draft, now less than two weeks away. Although many fans might disagree, the Vikings feel that their quarterback situation was adequately addressed during free agency, and Sagevaris Jacksonfels is their guy. So, what direction do the Vikings go? I was pretty high on Percy Harvin until revelations hit the presses about a positive drug test (high, get it?) at the NFL combine. Oh, MERCY Percy! (If you’ve never heard U of F radio announcer Mick Hurbert call a game, it’s a treat. Oh, my!) Anyways, if recent track record is any indication, there’s a good chance Harvin has been crossed off the Vikings draft board, along with 77 other turds, malcontents, or injury risks. They’ve been red-dotted, much in the same way the Navy Seals red-dotted the Somali pirates, the AAA affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

As much grief as Brad Childress received for his drafting of Tarvaris Jackson, the quality of Vikings drafts has been as good as anyone in the NFL since they bottomed out with Mike Tice’s last draft in 2005, with not one, but two first round busts in Troy Williamson and Erasmus James. 2006 brought Chad Greenway, Cedric Griffin, Ryan Cook, and Ray Edwards. Greenway and Griffin have become key components for a top notch defense, and Cook has become a false start machine at RT. Seriously, in fairness to Cook, the kid never played tackle before the NFL, and he managed to beat out two veteran NFL tackles to win the job. He’s no All-Pro, but he’s not terrible, either. Give him a little slack. 2007 brought us Purple Jesus, Marcus McCauley, Brian Robison, and Sidney Rice. Rice had a promising rookie season and emerged as a serious red zone threat. He was slowed by a knee injury last season and never looked comfortable, but I think he has the ability to be a solid NFL receiver. Robison and Edwards rotated in at both defensive end positions, and have provided quality depth in Kenechi Udeze’s absence, combining for 9.5 and 7.5 sacks in two seasons. 2008 was a draft that was highlighted by the Jared Allen trade. It was costly, yes, but it netted…Jared…Allen. With their remaining picks, the Vikings drafted Tyrell Johnson in the second round, who looks to take over in the secondary for the now departed Darren Sharper. They also snagged backup QB JD Booty and the heir apparent at center in John Sullivan, a 6th rounder who will try to fill some might big shoes of another 6th round center that anchored the Vikings line for 10 years or so.

So all in all, I have no worries in the Vikings ability to manage the draft. I expect a starter or two, and quality throughout. It has become the trademark for Childress, Spielman, and Studwell, and I tip my cap to them.