As we all know, the Minnesota Vikings, outside the ownership and direction of Zygi and Mark Wilf, have largely been run by a three-headed committee: Brad Childress, Rick Spielman, and Rob Brzezinski. Unlike most other teams, there is no actual GM (although many see Spielman at times as such, he doesn’t actually hold the title or in fact the authority that comes with it), and the three are given their respective positions and powers and expected to work together towards the goal of the betterment of the team.
And of course, there’s been a change- Leslie Frazier as the new head coach and the new third of this chimera-style leadership, replacing Brad Childress. Another significant change of note is that Frazier does not have the full power that Childress had over the 53-man roster: most likely a result of some regret on Zygi Wilf’s part stemming from the whole Randy Moss fiasco.
While at times this complex manner of running things seemed to work just fine, there were obviously a lot of bumps in the road- and for every ‘incident’ the public and media were aware of, it’s probably safe to say there were three we didn’t. NFL.These difficulties became especially exacerbated during last season, highlighted in particular again by Mossaggedon.
So, with a positional change in the leadership, but the structure remaining essentially otherwise the same, how will the Vikings fare in the future under this system? Let’s explore after the jump.
Tag Archives: Minnesota Vikings
How Will The Minnesota Vikings’ Triumvirate Fare?
Posted by admin
on March 5, 2011
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Minnesota Vikings (6-9) vs. Detroit Lions (5-10)
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on March 3, 2011
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The Detriot Lions are finishing this season strong as they have won three games in a row. Despite only being 3-4 at home this season the Lions have really fought hard at Ford Field this year. Leslie Frazier has the Vikings playing solid football as they are 3-2 with him in charge. Here is a look at the matchups in this game:When the Lions have the ball: The Lions are going to come out passing this Sunday. Shaun Hill never really got a shot from the Vikings in his time with them so he will want to stick it to them this Sunday. If the Lions’ O-Line keeps Hill upright, he is going to make some plays down the field with Calvin Johnson and Brandon Pettigrew getting most of the action. The Lions will only run the ball to keep the Vikings’ D honest. When the Minnesota Vikings have the ball: The Vikings are going to be starting rookie QB Joe Webb again. With that in mind the Lions have to try to stop Adrian Peterson and force Webb to have to beat them with his arm. That will be easier said than done as Peterson will be targeting a Lions’ D that is giving up 128.3 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry. The Vikings will also have to keep an eye on Percy Harvin who appears to be Webb’s WR of choice when throwing the ball.
The Green Bay Packers: The best team you’ve been ignoring
Posted by admin
on November 24, 2010
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Now that Brad Childress has walked the plank, and we can assume Brett
Favre(notes) will soon follow, the long and inevitable reconstruction
of the Minnesota Vikings can commence. And with that, it’s past time
to look past the disaster and give a few props to the team that is
clearly the NFC’s best.
Wait — haven’t we already been talking about the Atlanta Falcons,
Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants? Not so fast, Cheesehead-
breath. We’re talking about the Green Bay Packers. You know, the team
which went over to Minnesota and started these events in motion with a
31-3 beatdown, two weeks after it “welcomed” the Dallas Cowboys to
Lambeau Field and tore through them to the tune of a 45-7 margin,
leading directly to the firing of Wade Phillips.
(Note: The San Francisco 49ers play the Packers in two weeks. Watch
out, Mike Singletary…)
We know that the Vikings drama has monopolized talk of the NFC North,
and we’re partially responsible for this, but we really need to start
talking more about the Packers and the season they’re putting
together. Not only did they whack the Vikings in a season sweep
(making up for the Minnesota sweep in 2009), they’re two overtime wins
from a 9-1 record. Each of their three defeats have come by just three
points.
Aaron Rodgers(notes) is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, and
he deserves a higher status than the eternal title of “Brett Favre’s
Replacement.” This is what Mike Shanahan could never find in Denver
after John Elway retired, and what the Arizona Cardinals may spend
years looking for in the wake of Kurt Warner’s(notes) new dual career
as a TV dancing star and NFL color analyst — the franchise
quarterback to replace the franchise quarterback. Short of the
Montana-to-Young succession plan, perhaps no team in the modern era
has done a better job of replacing such an iconic quarterback.
Rodgers finished in the top 10 in Football Outsiders’ quarterback
efficiency metrics in 2008 and 2009 (something Favre can’t claim), and
he currently ranks fifth, behind Kyle Orton(notes), Tom Brady(notes),
Philip Rivers(notes) and Peyton Manning(notes). Everyone mentions
Brady and Manning when talking about the league’s best quarterbacks,
and most people will add in Rivers and Drew Brees(notes) after that,
but it’s absolutely time to put Rodgers in that mix. He’s done what
he’s done despite an offensive line in flux, the lack of a No. 1
receiver at times, and the lack of a running game — the same things
that would upend most quarterbacks and did upend Favre in 2010.
The story goes far past Rodgers. “Endbacker” Clay Matthews(notes) is a
near-shoo-in for the Defensive Player of the Year award. Cornerback
Tramon Williams(notes) is one of the league’s most improved players.
Nose tackle B.J. Raji(notes) is playing at a Pro Bowl level, and
Charles Woodson(notes) is still one of the more versatile defenders in
the game. General manager Ted Thompson, the man who pulled the trigger
on the decisions that led to Favre’s departure from Green Bay, now
looks like a Wile E. Coyote-level “Super Genius” after everything that
has happened with his former quarterback. Head coach Mike McCarthy is
one of the game’s better playcallers and more adept handlers of
people, and defensive coordinator Dom Capers has brought every bit of
his brilliance to the team. Most teams which go from a 4-3 to a 3-4
defense tend to falter (hello, Washington Redskins!), but the Packers’
defense is more dynamic than it’s been in years.
So, get the Vikings out of your system, America. And once you’re done,
come back and reward excellence by paying more attention to what’s
going on in Green Bay. It is the best underreported story in the NFL.
Favre’s NFL swan song: It’s downright ugly
Posted by admin
on November 24, 2010
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This is not what Brett Favre expected. He could really use a hug. Give, give, give, all he does is give, and what does he get in return? Not what he expected. Oh, the suffering, the repeated blows to his dignity, to be paid $16 million for one more season of perpetual, unending, exasperating boyhood.
“I would never have expected to be in this situation,” Favre said after the Minnesota Vikings fell to 3-7 on Sunday. He didn’t expect what? To age? To be exposed as a juvenile Peter Pan narcissist, on and off the field? He didn’t expect his offseason lassitude to result in losses, quarrels and a league-leading number of interceptions? He didn’t expect to be investigated for seedy stalking, allegedly sending inappropriate messages and images to Jenn Sterger as an attempt at seduction? Mainly, it seems Favre didn’t expect to be denied the abject hero worship and Super Bowl he believes is his perennial due.
Here’s Favre, throwing his 17th interception Sunday, and yet he has the nerve to argue with and wave off offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell on the sideline. Here’s Favre, dragging a whole franchise into his retirement psychodrama for the past two summers, and helping to cost Brad Childress his job as coach. Yet he has the effrontery to suggest it’s a personal sacrifice for him to play out this losing season, as if 20 years in the league should have entitled him to some sort of get-out-of-adversity-free card.
If there is a theme in the NFL this week, it’s the heavy, heavy toll a team pays when a quarterback’s ego runs amok. By the time last Sunday was over, after watching the histrionics of Favre and Vince Young, I half-enjoyed seeing Richard Seymour drop Ben Roethlisberger with one punch.
You can say what you want about Donovan McNabb and “My Way” Mike Shanahan, but they’ve kept the Redskins from becoming the circus that the Vikings and the Titans are. Shanahan, with his clandestine ministry-of-information routine, doesn’t always strike the right note, and McNabb has struggled in the offense, but whatever their issues, McNabb isn’t tossing his uniform into the stands like Young. Or throwing the coach under the bus with muttered quotes such as “It’s a damn shame,” as Favre did with Childress. That’s a tribute to McNabb, who is obviously determined to resolve his problems in an adult-like manner. Give the edge to the Redskins over the Vikings this Sunday, if only because the other team’s dysfunction outstrips their own. Refreshing, for Redskins Park.
Favre’s season has become embarrassing to watch, not because of his age or physical failings, but because of his naked self-pity. It’s not that Favre’s body has broken down; his character has. Last season his un-retirement paid off with an appearance in the NFC championship, but things haven’t gone according to his Super Bowl plan this season, and that seems to have struck at his vanity. There is a needy undertone, a begging for adulation, as each week after another loss, Favre publicly weeps for himself.
“If the arm comes off, it comes off,” he told ESPN. “If I can’t throw anymore, I can’t throw anymore. I’ve got nothing to save myself for now.”
In the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 31-3 beating by the Green Bay Packers, Favre’s teammates, Ryan Longwell and Steve Hutchinson, tried to comfort him. Afterward, Favre’s self-absorption reached its zenith. He actually insinuated that they helped get him into this mess, by visiting Mississippi and talking him into playing again against his better judgment.
“They just came over and said, ‘Keep your head up. I know it’s not what we envisioned when we were at your place,’ ” Favre said. “But I’m not going to say, ‘I told you guys,’ or ‘I shouldn’t have come back.’ I’m here. We’re in this thing together.”
Except Favre’s definition of “together” doesn’t include Childress. Ultimately, Childress paid the heaviest price for Favre’s decision to come back, yet skip training camp and preseason. But then, that’s what happens when the head coach turns into a luggage handler.
Childress was obviously unpopular, and his method of calling out Favre publicly for interceptions wasn’t politic, but he also coached the Vikings to two division titles. His real mistake was flying to Mississippi to pay court to Favre’s swollen self-image and then picking him up at the airport.
Favre repaid him with tension and demands for latitude on the field, which can’t have helped matters inside the locker room. Nor could his insistence on playing hurt, so he can pursue his goal of a record 300 starts.
New interim head coach Leslie Frazier was nothing if not politic in his introductory news conference Monday, but it was interesting that his firmest remarks were about whether he would accommodate Favre.
“If you ask Brett that question, I’m sure he would say, ‘Give me all the latitude in the world,’ ” Frazier said. “We do have a system in place. There may be some tweaks to the system. We’re going to talk about that. But Brett, like all of our players, has to play within the scheme of our defense, our offense, our special teams. One of the things that we talked to our players about at the 1 o’clock meeting is that no one individual, regardless of name or accolades, is bigger than our team.”
Favre has six games to go before he walks away for good, and his retirement doesn’t have to be this ugly. There can be enormous dignity in great athletes who reach the end of their abilities. There’s nothing wrong with playing until they’re past it; it’s the price for Hall of Fame longevity, and often they reward us with epic third acts.
But Favre has moved into a fourth act, and behind it seems a reluctance to grow up and accept life after football, to surrender his specialness and to slip into the more ordinary world. Pretty much all of Favre’s statements can be boiled down to this: I don’t know what to do without fame and football.
And that’s indeed pitiable.
NFL NOTEBOOK: McNabb not assured of $40M
Posted by admin
on November 17, 2010
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November 17, 2010
It turns out the $40 million Washington Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb is supposed to be guaranteed in his new contract might turn out to be $3.5 million.
McNabb’s agent, Fletcher Smith, clarified some of the details of McNabb’s deal Tuesday. He said that while the contract is worded so that it has ”$40 million in guarantees,” the Redskins have an option to cut McNabb at the end of the season with no further money due.
McNabb, who will turn 34 this month, will receive a $3.5 million bonus this year as part of the new agreement, but the rest of the five-year, $78 million package would come to naught if the Redskins decide to cut ties with him.
Asked about his chances of not being with the Redskins next season, McNabb said on his weekly radio show: ”I will be here next year. … Not just next year, but after that as well.”
Thigpen runs Dolphins’ practice
Quarterback Tyler Thigpen ran the Miami Dolphins‘ offense for the first time this season during the team’s only practice in preparation for the game Thursday against the Bears. Thigpen is likely to make his first NFL start since 2008 after Chad Pennington and Chad Henne were injured Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.
Pennington is out for the season with an injured right shoulder, but Dolphins coach Tony Sparano wouldn’t rule out Henne completely, saying his injured left knee was feeling better.
”[Henne] has made some progress,” Sparano said. ”We’ll see.”
Steelers cut kicker Reed
The Pittsburgh Steelers cut kicker Jeff Reed and replaced him with former Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys kicker Shaun Suisham.
Reed has missed seven of his 22 field-goal attempts this season, including all four between 40 and 49 yards. He already has nearly as many misses this season as he did in 2008 and 2009 combined (eight).
He wants to keep playing
Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Pat Williams said he plans to play ”a couple of more years” beyond this season. Williams, 38, is the oldest defensive player in the NFL and is in the last year of his contract.
Moss not mad at Childress, Vikings
Posted by admin
on November 11, 2010
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Randy Moss said he’s sorry things didn’t work out in Minnesota and isn’t upset with the Vikings or coach Brad Childress for waiving him.
“I made Minnesota my home. I loved being there, and it just didn’t work out,’’ Moss said yesterday in Nashville after his second practice with the Titans, the only team to claim him. “Just I had my own beliefs in what I believe, and coach had his. Am I bitter or mad that he let me go or the organization? No. You never know what the future holds. Right now I’m a Tennessee Titan. I’m here to do whatever coach [Jeff] Fisher wants me to do.’’
Moss began his media session with a statement, but did take four questions — the entire exchange lasted 3 minutes and 4 seconds. Two questions concerned what effort the Titans can expect from him play to play. Moss asked the reporter what he expected from him, and the reporter said he didn’t know what to expect.
“I don’t know what to expect neither,’’ Moss said.
It was a change for Moss, who blew off the media in Minnesota several times and drew a $25,000 fine from the NFL Cheap football jerseys . He last spoke publicly Oct. 31 after his last game with the Vikings, a 28-18 loss to New England. He refused to take questions, instead going on a bizarre rant gushing about the Patriots and coach Bill Belichick and criticizing Vikings coaching.
Childress told his players the next day Moss was being waived, and the team actually put him on waivers a day later on Nov. 2. Tennessee claimed him 24 hours later.
“I’ve been through a lot in the last couple of weeks,’’ Moss said. “I’ve got these broad shoulders. I can carry a lot of weight. I feel good about the acquisition of coach Fisher getting me here. The process of getting here has been kind of crazy.’’
The 13-year veteran started the season with New England before being traded to Minnesota Oct. 6, only for Moss to be waived less than a month later.
“I said it before, I didn’t want to go to Minnesota and mess anything up,’’ Moss said. “I guess everybody blamed me for it. I’m going to say it again. I’m not coming here to start no trouble. I’m just coming here to work every day and hopefully win.’’
Pennington to start Dolphins coach Tony Sparano named 34-year-old Chad Pennington his starting quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Titans, replacing Chad Henne.
“They both have strengths, and certainly weaknesses,’’ Sparano said. “At this particular time, my decision is Chad Pennington’s strengths might be suited a little bit more for where we need to be.’’Continued…
Miami Dolphins mulling Randy Moss possibility
Posted by admin
on November 3, 2010
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The Vikings took the necessary steps Tuesday to formalize the release of wide receiver Randy Moss, which means any team now can file a waiver claim with the league if interested in acquiring him.
Count the Dolphins as one of the teams giving the situation serious consideration, a source said Tuesday.
Miami is intrigued by Moss’ size and downfield threat — who isn’t? — and the source said any organization would be “foolish” to not at least give him consideration for a roster spot.
If the Dolphins do decide to put in a claim for Moss, which would need to happen by 4 p.m. Wednesday, they would land him only if the 17 teams with worse records all decide against doing the same.
Waived players are awarded to the interested teams based on their records at the time the player is released, from least to best.
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Oakland Raiders’ Nnamdi Asomugha has ankle sprain; prognosis undetermined
Posted by admin
on November 2, 2010
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Raiders coach Tom Cable on Monday wasn’t ruling out the possibility that injured cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha will be able to play Sunday. Nor was he ruling out the possibility of Randy Moss becoming a Raider again.
An MRI exam performed on Asomugha’s right ankle revealed a sprain, but Cable said the team won’t know the severity until Wednesday.
“We’re doing all the tests and everything so we know exactly what’s going on,” Cable said. “It just appears to be an ankle sprain. How long that means “… We won’t know here for about 48 hours.”
Asomugha suffered the injury early in the fourth quarter Sunday when he stepped on the right foot of Seattle Seahawks receiver Golden Tate as they battled for a deep pass during the Raiders’ 33-3 victory.
Asomugha was helped off the field by medical personnel and has been unavailable for comment.
The resurgent Raiders (4-4) have other injury concerns heading into their showdown with the AFC West-leading Kansas City Chiefs (5-2) on Sunday. Wide receiver Louis Murphy probably will miss his second consecutive game as he continues to recover from a bruised chest, and tight end Zach Miller was on crutches after aggravating an injury to his right arch, though Cable said the crutches were precautionary.
Coincidentally, as two of the Raiders’ best pass-catchers are hobbled, one of the best ever is about to be placed on the waiver wire.
Moss reportedly was in the process of being waived by the
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Minnesota Vikings on Monday. Though his name was not on the league’s official waiver wire, his agent, Joel Segal, said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that it is “merely a technical thing” before Moss is officially waived.
Teams have 24 hours from the time a player is waived to place a claim. The team with the worst record that places a claim gets the rights to that player.
Cable said the Raiders “have an interest in anyone we think can help us,” but, he added, “It hasn’t been a discussion yet, and then the fact that it just happened, and there’s so much that has to go on.”
When asked if placing a claim on Moss was a distinct possibility, Cable said: “Well, I wouldn’t (rule it out). I don’t think you ever do if you think it can make your team better.”
Moss played for the Raiders in 2005-06. He was traded before the 2007 season to the New England Patriots for a fourth-round draft pick, which turned out to be cornerback John Bowie.
Managing general partner Al Davis has blamed former Raiders coaches Norv Turner and Art Shell for the way Moss failed to produce the kind of results with Oakland the way that he did for the Vikings in his first stint there and for the Patriots.
“Randy Moss was great here for us,” Davis said Sept. 12, 2009. “We couldn’t satisfy Randy. That was our fault. He’s a truly great player. The idea when you get a great player is to make him happy and satisfy him.”
Moss has $3.38 million left on the $6.4 million he is due this season.
Miller was unavailable for comment Monday, though Cable said the tight end isn’t any worse than he was before the Seahawks game.
Miller leads the Raiders in receptions (34), receiving yards (461) and receiving touchdowns (four). But he caught only one pass for 8 yards against the Seahawks, missing part of the game so he could get treated in the locker room and on the sideline.
Brandon Myers is the only other tight end on Oakland’s 53-man roster.
Murphy said he is making progress from the bruised chest he suffered against the Denver Broncos on Oct. 24. However, he probably won’t play Sunday, Cable said.
Murphy collided with fullback Marcel Reece on a pass play while getting drilled in the back by cornerback Perrish Cox.
Murphy said he coughed up blood for a short spell as a result of the play. That prompted team doctors to sit him out Sunday against the Seahawks.
“They just held me out, even though I felt fine and my chest felt fine,” Murphy said. “But with me coughing up blood and having internal bleeding, they didn’t want to take any chances with that.”
Murphy leads all Raiders wide receivers with 21 receptions for 337 yards and one touchdown.