I'm so glad that the Four Norsemen of the Apocalypse will get to pummel this guy all game twice this season.  What a douchetwat.

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Try not to think too hard about the misogyny here. Or do. Mostly think about Brett Favre. And goats. Think of purple and gold goats, stuffed into trunks, with numbers four shaved into their sides.

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Check this out.

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The Packers, say the AP, have not ruled out interest in Michael Vick.

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I recently had an opportunity to play a game of Madden 07.  It seems ancient.

I was surprised how many names were on the roster that aren't there anymore, some good, and some bad:

Fred Smoot

Koren Robinson

Marcus Taylor

Jerome Wiggins

Mewelde Moore

Erasmus James

Napoleon Harris

Darren Sharper

Brad Johnson

Matt Birk

Tank Williams

Marcus Robinson

and... Troy Williamson.

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The spread offense isn't something we're used to with Chilly and Bevel at the helm.  But get this: the Vikes' offense might be so loaded with talent at wide receiver, that we could field a squad with both Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor on the bench.  Shank can sit this one out, too.

With Berrian and Rice split wide, Wade and Johnson in the slot and Harvin in the backfield, an opposing defense is going to have problems.  A dime defense (6 defensive backs) to cover those 4 (or 5?) wide-outs leaves only 5 defenders in the box.  Try stopping Percy Harvin with 5 in the box. Or motion Harvin out of the backfield and dare a linebacker to cover him.  Bring it, Lance Briggs.  The four guys on the outside will test the deepest of secondaries, too.  An explosive passing offense from the Minnesota Vikings?  What decade is this?

Now, if only a fleet-footed quarterback could step up to the plate and add another rushing threat to the mix.  Tarvaris Jackson, you've got the preseason to show that you're worth keeping on the roster this year--not to mention another chance at the keys to the KAO in 2010, after your rookie contract comes to a close.  We've seen Farve run a spread very effectively, and we'll probably see him do it this year, too.  This time, old man Farve might be in a purple throwback jersey when the green and gold come to town.

Two things I hope about Brad Childress's offensive accumen: he's got some good ideas about how to use Percy Harvin; his evil plan to steal Garrett Mills off the Patriots' practice squad back in 2007 pans out.

Why?  These two players have the potential to add too much versatility to the KAO for defenses to handle. Percy Harvin's a rookie, who's yet to even attend a min-camp, and Garrett Mills, though he's been on the team for two years now, has yet to see a whole lot of time on the field.  Last year, he caught 5 passes for 65 yards.

Harvin, as we all know, can do a lot of things on offense.  His skills could be put to good use in the backfield, in the slot, and split wide.  Who covers him?  He's definitely too quick for any NFL linebacker in space, and can (hopefully) beat most sub-package defensive backs, too.  Devoting a safety or a top corner to covering him weakens coverage on the Vikes' X and Y receivers.  Seeing him and the NFL's best running back in the backfield pretty much demands an eight-man front.

What about this Mills kid?  As much as I was happy to see Shank bust out last season (pun intended), I was a little disappointed that we didn't see more of #45.  Maybe he's too small to line up on the line very much.  I still can't forget, though, that he set a NCAA record for 1,235 receiving yards by a tight end in 2005 for the U of Tulsa as an All-American.  Clearly, the guy knows how to catch a football.  Apparently, he knows how to run a few fullback dive plays, too.

This is what the Patriots media said after Belichick and Co. drafted him in the fourth round a couple of years ago.  What Mills's college position coach, Matt Wells, said about him after the draft--"They have a plan for him. A team like that doesn’t draft someone without having a plan"--strikes a familiar note, doesn't it?  Obviously, the Patriots' plan got derailed when Brad Childress claimed Mills off of waivers in 2007.

So, we've got two guys on the roster that are kinda tweeners, but were really, really productive football players in college.  What do we do?

Well, imagine this: It's, say, 2nd and 7 midfield, and the Vikes come off the bench with their starting QB (whoever that turns out to be), Adrian Peterson, Bernard Berrian, and Sidney Rice.  No surprises so far; these guys come out almost every play.  Then, #12 and #45 start huddling up, too.  What defensive personel do you send out?

With Harvin and Mills, the Purple could show a 3- or 4-wide set, or even a 3-back formation like the wishbone or power-i.  What defense can resonably defend against both possibilities?

The problem with Brad Childress has always been that he thinks he's the smartest guy in the room.  It's not a terrible quality in a head coach, actually.  The Hoodie has that complex in spades.  That particular coach picked right after the Vikings last weekend, and skeddadled right out of the first round after Harvin disappeared from the board.  In 2007, Belichick got so pissed that he lost Mills on waivers that he stole... some back-up linebacker whose name I don't remember from our practice squad.  In any case, Brad seems to enjoy beating Bill to versatile, exciting college prospects. 

Let's just hope that Mr. Smarty Pants can figure out how to use them in the NFL.

always make me chuckle.  We got four guys named Percy, Phil, Asher, and Jasper this weekend.  Imagine: Percy, Adrian, Sage, Sidney, Visanthe, and Bernard striking fear into NFC North defences.

Loadholt, as in, "man, is he a load to get holt of," is the perfect name for a guy 6'8" 340lbs.

Don't mess with the PH unless you want to get burnt.

I sure hope the announcers have as much fun with this as I do.