Just realized the practice squad isn't easy to find so I'll list the players here:
Bobby Felder - CB - 6'1", 200 lbs (Nicholls State)
Chase Baker - DT - 6'1", 298 lbs (Boise State)
Jordan Todman - RB - 5'9", 195 (UConn)
Kevin Murphy - OL - 6'5", 295 (Harvard)
Chris Summers - WR - 6'5", 215 (Liberty)
Ernest Owusu - DE - 6'4", 277 (Cal)
Troy Kropog - OT - 6'6", 315 (Tulane)
Allen Reisner - TE - 6'3", 248 (Iowa)
Friday, October 26, 2012
Chris Cook Injury Update
The Vikings have placed Cook on the IR (injured/reserve) list with a "designated to return" tag - which means he is eligible to start practicing with the team again in 6 weeks and can be "active" in 8 weeks. Assuming that's what happens, Cook can start practicing the week of the 12/9 home game versus Chicago, and (hopefully) play our second-to-last game at Houston on 12/23.
All I have to say is that Josh Robinson had better step his game up! I imagine there'll be some rearranging, but if this means Sherels and Burton get more time, or if we pick up Felder from the practice squad I couldn't say. Of course, AJ Jefferson is Cook's immediate backup on the Vikings depth chart (according to their website), but I'm not sure he's really ready to take on full-time duties. I would LOVE it if the Vikings managed to pull of a Gators-like rotation where two or three defenders come off the field every five or six plays, to be replaced by fresh backups for a couple plays. I swear that and our conditioning are why the Gators are undefeated right now.
Of course, if we just shove AJ Jefferson into Cook's spot and rotate either him or Robinson out every few series with Sherels and Burton, this could change up our special teams assignments too. Percy can't take back every kick or punt (we've GOT to keep him healthy so that we can run slants - hell, I'd be happy with a freaking bubble-screen on occasion, the way things are going!), so it's possible Jarius Wright might get a lot more touches in the foreseeable future. Clearly with Simpson on the mend and Ponder's penchant for targeting him even when Percy and Rhett Ellison are wide open, Wright isn't going to do much in the offense except block.
SKOL!
All I have to say is that Josh Robinson had better step his game up! I imagine there'll be some rearranging, but if this means Sherels and Burton get more time, or if we pick up Felder from the practice squad I couldn't say. Of course, AJ Jefferson is Cook's immediate backup on the Vikings depth chart (according to their website), but I'm not sure he's really ready to take on full-time duties. I would LOVE it if the Vikings managed to pull of a Gators-like rotation where two or three defenders come off the field every five or six plays, to be replaced by fresh backups for a couple plays. I swear that and our conditioning are why the Gators are undefeated right now.
Of course, if we just shove AJ Jefferson into Cook's spot and rotate either him or Robinson out every few series with Sherels and Burton, this could change up our special teams assignments too. Percy can't take back every kick or punt (we've GOT to keep him healthy so that we can run slants - hell, I'd be happy with a freaking bubble-screen on occasion, the way things are going!), so it's possible Jarius Wright might get a lot more touches in the foreseeable future. Clearly with Simpson on the mend and Ponder's penchant for targeting him even when Percy and Rhett Ellison are wide open, Wright isn't going to do much in the offense except block.
SKOL!
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Vikings lose to Tampa Bay - Initial Reaction
Well, my actual initial reaction could only be spelled with capitals and asterisks, so I'm not posting that.
Frankly, I'm devastated. I know we had an extremely short week after a horrific win. I know that we have injuries, both fresh and nagging.
But this was our last "easy" game - unless Detroit all gets the flu and goes belly-up while we play them in two weeks - until St. Louis on December 16th. We NEEDED this game, and we got blown out of the water.
One of the talking heads - don't remember who, my eyes were full of blood from screaming obscenities at the television - said something that makes a lot of sense. That we're a young group, a fresh group, and we need time to become a team before we can make a legitimate playoff run. A team, a cohesive unit that works together and plays together and has a rhythm.
One or two things that made me happy - our boys kept trying all game long. I was particularly encouraged by Harrison Smith hitting harder and harder as the game went on. He was not going to roll over and he let Tampa know it. Jared Allen made some spectacular plays - and so did Everson Griffin. I'm so proud of him, he never gets the slightest bit of recognition, and he continues to go out there and kick some ass. I didn't notice Robison at all (except for what SHOULD have been an interception, ahem), which really is quite a good thing.
I feel we reduced the stupid penalties a teeny bit, at least they weren't quite as blatant as on Sunday.
One thing that encourages me is the tweets from the team after the game:
chris cook @Cook_Isle
Thanks everyone ! We gotta bounce back next week tho!!!
(N.B. Chris Cook has a broken wrist, which is also devastating - no idea when he'll be back.)
TreyTrey @sanford33
Sorry for the way we played tonight. No excuse for the way we played. Back to the drawing board tomorrow. #SkolVikes
(I'm glad he feels the pain of this loss...means he'll work harder, and I love that about these guys.)
Aj Mansour @AjMansourKFAN
Frazier seemed dejected during his post game presser. Said he didn't do a good job getting his team ready for tonight. #Vikings
(Glad he recognizes that.)
Geoff Schwartz @GeoffSchwartz76
Disappointing game tonight. We will bounce back. The Dome was rocking tonight and we do notice that. Love it. #SkolVikings
(Glad he acknowledges the fans, if I had been there I would've appreciated it a lot. Hell, I just watched at home and I still appreciate it a lot.)
Chris Kluwe @ChrisWarcraft
Would like to thank all the fans for staying loud and into it for as long as possible though. You guys showed up, and we appreciate it.
(Again, the appreciation is appreciated.)
So to sum it all up - we have a nice long break, I want them to all go home feeling horrible, and wake up in the morning feeling angry and determined and ready to kick some ass at Seattle.
SKOL!
Frankly, I'm devastated. I know we had an extremely short week after a horrific win. I know that we have injuries, both fresh and nagging.
But this was our last "easy" game - unless Detroit all gets the flu and goes belly-up while we play them in two weeks - until St. Louis on December 16th. We NEEDED this game, and we got blown out of the water.
One of the talking heads - don't remember who, my eyes were full of blood from screaming obscenities at the television - said something that makes a lot of sense. That we're a young group, a fresh group, and we need time to become a team before we can make a legitimate playoff run. A team, a cohesive unit that works together and plays together and has a rhythm.
One or two things that made me happy - our boys kept trying all game long. I was particularly encouraged by Harrison Smith hitting harder and harder as the game went on. He was not going to roll over and he let Tampa know it. Jared Allen made some spectacular plays - and so did Everson Griffin. I'm so proud of him, he never gets the slightest bit of recognition, and he continues to go out there and kick some ass. I didn't notice Robison at all (except for what SHOULD have been an interception, ahem), which really is quite a good thing.
I feel we reduced the stupid penalties a teeny bit, at least they weren't quite as blatant as on Sunday.
One thing that encourages me is the tweets from the team after the game:
chris cook @Cook_Isle
Thanks everyone ! We gotta bounce back next week tho!!!
(N.B. Chris Cook has a broken wrist, which is also devastating - no idea when he'll be back.)
TreyTrey @sanford33
Sorry for the way we played tonight. No excuse for the way we played. Back to the drawing board tomorrow. #SkolVikes
(I'm glad he feels the pain of this loss...means he'll work harder, and I love that about these guys.)
Aj Mansour @AjMansourKFAN
Frazier seemed dejected during his post game presser. Said he didn't do a good job getting his team ready for tonight. #Vikings
(Glad he recognizes that.)
Geoff Schwartz @GeoffSchwartz76
Disappointing game tonight. We will bounce back. The Dome was rocking tonight and we do notice that. Love it. #SkolVikings
(Glad he acknowledges the fans, if I had been there I would've appreciated it a lot. Hell, I just watched at home and I still appreciate it a lot.)
Chris Kluwe @ChrisWarcraft
Would like to thank all the fans for staying loud and into it for as long as possible though. You guys showed up, and we appreciate it.
(Again, the appreciation is appreciated.)
So to sum it all up - we have a nice long break, I want them to all go home feeling horrible, and wake up in the morning feeling angry and determined and ready to kick some ass at Seattle.
SKOL!
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Arizona @ Minnesota Recap
What a relief to squeak out this win! And believe me, it was a SQUEAK despite the score.
Thank goodness for Adrian Peterson! Without his 153 rushing yards, we'd be sunk. Without that ass-busting first down at the very end of the game to stop the Cardinals from getting the ball back, we'd be sunk. Heck, let's also throw a shout-out to Harrison Smith for his quick hands and presence of mind - that pick-six turned out to be the game winner! Not to mention it happening so early in the second half gave us a boost that our defense held on to, despite our offense looking lost and confused.
Game ball definitely goes to our defense. They never gave up, even when our offense couldn't stay on the field and give them a breather. They held Arizona to a missed field goal after some SERIOUSLY questionable penalties, Antoine Winfield managed to force a stop on a 4th-and-1, Smith's pick-six, and they only gave up two touchdowns after being on the field for 69 plays (the Vikings offense only managed 47 plays). Brian Robison was also quietly awesome for us - I believe he had 8 tackles?
That said, enough already with the missed tackles - I realize you're trying to avoid a FedEx envelope from Goodell, but if I had to watch one more Arizona Cardinal run past a Viking falling down and grabbing at his ankles last Sunday...I might have had to punch something.
Special teams were also great - too bad a block in the back negated Percy Harvin's kickoff return for a touchdown. I think it devastated our offense to go from a touchdown to a 3-and-out. Chris Kluwe had 7 punts and that Peterson guy only managed to return 4 of them, which is pretty damn good. He had a rough day with snaps - don't know which one it was, but one of Cullen Loeffler's snaps came up to about his shoulder and he still punted it off. I hope the two of them get back in sync pronto. We can't afford our special teams to get slipshod, because we WILL lose if that happens.
The offense...it offends me. Two stupid, needless interceptions from Ponder - one with 5 seconds left in the half! Mr. Ponder, I realize you're having a great time in that "early stages lovey dovey" relationship with Miss Steele, but when you're on the field, please forget she exists. At the very least, learn how to throw the football away. The word "uncatchable" needs to be engraved on your eyeballs.
And the stupid penalties!! THIS GOES FOR ALL OF THE PLAYERS - ENOUGH WITH THE STUPID PENALTIES!!!
I am also pissed at the playcalling. Three consecutive passes when Ponder is in such a non-rhythm he couldn't hit the wide side of a barn? His name is Adrian Peterson. He can run the football. We also have a young man named Toby Gerhart, who also has some minimal experience in this area. Keep defenses honest. Also, stretch the damn field!! Percy Harvin can catch long bombs, he did it plenty at the University of Florida, and Simpson is getting better.
I can only hope we keep winning. But these ugly wins are scaring me worse than any haunted house ever could!
Thank goodness for Adrian Peterson! Without his 153 rushing yards, we'd be sunk. Without that ass-busting first down at the very end of the game to stop the Cardinals from getting the ball back, we'd be sunk. Heck, let's also throw a shout-out to Harrison Smith for his quick hands and presence of mind - that pick-six turned out to be the game winner! Not to mention it happening so early in the second half gave us a boost that our defense held on to, despite our offense looking lost and confused.
Game ball definitely goes to our defense. They never gave up, even when our offense couldn't stay on the field and give them a breather. They held Arizona to a missed field goal after some SERIOUSLY questionable penalties, Antoine Winfield managed to force a stop on a 4th-and-1, Smith's pick-six, and they only gave up two touchdowns after being on the field for 69 plays (the Vikings offense only managed 47 plays). Brian Robison was also quietly awesome for us - I believe he had 8 tackles?
That said, enough already with the missed tackles - I realize you're trying to avoid a FedEx envelope from Goodell, but if I had to watch one more Arizona Cardinal run past a Viking falling down and grabbing at his ankles last Sunday...I might have had to punch something.
Special teams were also great - too bad a block in the back negated Percy Harvin's kickoff return for a touchdown. I think it devastated our offense to go from a touchdown to a 3-and-out. Chris Kluwe had 7 punts and that Peterson guy only managed to return 4 of them, which is pretty damn good. He had a rough day with snaps - don't know which one it was, but one of Cullen Loeffler's snaps came up to about his shoulder and he still punted it off. I hope the two of them get back in sync pronto. We can't afford our special teams to get slipshod, because we WILL lose if that happens.
The offense...it offends me. Two stupid, needless interceptions from Ponder - one with 5 seconds left in the half! Mr. Ponder, I realize you're having a great time in that "early stages lovey dovey" relationship with Miss Steele, but when you're on the field, please forget she exists. At the very least, learn how to throw the football away. The word "uncatchable" needs to be engraved on your eyeballs.
And the stupid penalties!! THIS GOES FOR ALL OF THE PLAYERS - ENOUGH WITH THE STUPID PENALTIES!!!
I am also pissed at the playcalling. Three consecutive passes when Ponder is in such a non-rhythm he couldn't hit the wide side of a barn? His name is Adrian Peterson. He can run the football. We also have a young man named Toby Gerhart, who also has some minimal experience in this area. Keep defenses honest. Also, stretch the damn field!! Percy Harvin can catch long bombs, he did it plenty at the University of Florida, and Simpson is getting better.
I can only hope we keep winning. But these ugly wins are scaring me worse than any haunted house ever could!
Monday, October 15, 2012
Vikings @ Washington recap
I think "fiasco" sums it up adequately.
Don't get me wrong - the Skins did indeed deserve to win. But they deserved to win because they executed where we didn't.
I want to know HOW and WHY Leslie Frazier allows our team to dink, dunk, fail during the second and third quarters (hell, we failed in the first quarter too, by scoring FGs instead of TDs), and then suddenly we begin to execute in the fourth - where unfortunately, it's too little, too late. If they want to hire me to jump up and down, scream, and get in peoples' faces to fire the team up during games, Mr. Frazier, Mr. Wilf, I am available!
I think what irritated me most was seeing Jared Allen laughing on the sideline during the fourth quarter during a nailbiter drive by our offense. In my gimpy opinion, when you let a rookie quarterback sneak on past you for a 76 yard rushing touchdown...don't laugh.
What irritated me second-most was Ponder. The man tried hard, and I give him a great deal of credit for not throwing in the towel and giving up. But he has got to work on those desperation plays - three picks thrown when he was flustered and didn't know where to go! I'll tell you where to go - the sideline, ten yards away! NOT over the middle!
N.B. Madieu Williams - really? Can't tie his own shoelaces when he's with us, and he plays against us and suddenly he's an interception machine?!
On the offense, Peterson tried hard, Percy tried hard, and quite a few others - Jenkins, Aromashodu, Kalil, and Fusco did what we asked of them. Rudolph definitely had a few things to work on, but I have faith that he'll bust his ass to get better, because that's the kind of player he is.
On the defense, can I take a moment to applaud Everson Griffin? His mother dies suddenly and unexpectedly while she's visiting him - he finds out while he's at a practice, and four days later he not only comes to the game, but he dresses out and performs?? The man is incredible, and I take my hat off for him, I can't imagine I'd be able to do the same in his place.
Other than that, the defense made some good stands, but some terribly crucial errors as well. I'm wondering just what kind of nagging injury Chris Cook has got, because his coverages have been soft and his ballhawking negligible this season, and it's starting to concern me. Jared Allen has had a very slow season - at least he got one sack yesterday - and the lack of pressure on RGIII was unacceptable. Our D is better than this!
Our special teams were decent, but the only real notes I have are that I'm glad Percy isn't on as many kickoff returns (he was pretty gimpy yesterday), and a standing ovation for Sherels for hanging onto that ball when he got a boneshattering hit from a Skin that made his helmet fly off. I cannot say enough about how important it was he hung onto the ball right there!
Frankly, I want to see if our team can come back from this loss the way we did from a devastating Indianapolis loss to beat a rather good San Francisco (I say good, not great, because of the way they got trounced by the Giants yesterday...now THAT must've been humiliating!), and then rival Detroit and upstart Tennessee. Arizona aren't exactly pushovers, even with talk of Kolb being out with an injury, and we need to want this to win.
Look on the bright side - we're 4-2 and the Packers are 3-3! 4-2 isn't bad, especially when you consider our record from last season.
SKOL!
Don't get me wrong - the Skins did indeed deserve to win. But they deserved to win because they executed where we didn't.
I want to know HOW and WHY Leslie Frazier allows our team to dink, dunk, fail during the second and third quarters (hell, we failed in the first quarter too, by scoring FGs instead of TDs), and then suddenly we begin to execute in the fourth - where unfortunately, it's too little, too late. If they want to hire me to jump up and down, scream, and get in peoples' faces to fire the team up during games, Mr. Frazier, Mr. Wilf, I am available!
I think what irritated me most was seeing Jared Allen laughing on the sideline during the fourth quarter during a nailbiter drive by our offense. In my gimpy opinion, when you let a rookie quarterback sneak on past you for a 76 yard rushing touchdown...don't laugh.
What irritated me second-most was Ponder. The man tried hard, and I give him a great deal of credit for not throwing in the towel and giving up. But he has got to work on those desperation plays - three picks thrown when he was flustered and didn't know where to go! I'll tell you where to go - the sideline, ten yards away! NOT over the middle!
N.B. Madieu Williams - really? Can't tie his own shoelaces when he's with us, and he plays against us and suddenly he's an interception machine?!
On the offense, Peterson tried hard, Percy tried hard, and quite a few others - Jenkins, Aromashodu, Kalil, and Fusco did what we asked of them. Rudolph definitely had a few things to work on, but I have faith that he'll bust his ass to get better, because that's the kind of player he is.
On the defense, can I take a moment to applaud Everson Griffin? His mother dies suddenly and unexpectedly while she's visiting him - he finds out while he's at a practice, and four days later he not only comes to the game, but he dresses out and performs?? The man is incredible, and I take my hat off for him, I can't imagine I'd be able to do the same in his place.
Other than that, the defense made some good stands, but some terribly crucial errors as well. I'm wondering just what kind of nagging injury Chris Cook has got, because his coverages have been soft and his ballhawking negligible this season, and it's starting to concern me. Jared Allen has had a very slow season - at least he got one sack yesterday - and the lack of pressure on RGIII was unacceptable. Our D is better than this!
Our special teams were decent, but the only real notes I have are that I'm glad Percy isn't on as many kickoff returns (he was pretty gimpy yesterday), and a standing ovation for Sherels for hanging onto that ball when he got a boneshattering hit from a Skin that made his helmet fly off. I cannot say enough about how important it was he hung onto the ball right there!
Frankly, I want to see if our team can come back from this loss the way we did from a devastating Indianapolis loss to beat a rather good San Francisco (I say good, not great, because of the way they got trounced by the Giants yesterday...now THAT must've been humiliating!), and then rival Detroit and upstart Tennessee. Arizona aren't exactly pushovers, even with talk of Kolb being out with an injury, and we need to want this to win.
Look on the bright side - we're 4-2 and the Packers are 3-3! 4-2 isn't bad, especially when you consider our record from last season.
SKOL!
Thursday, October 11, 2012
DeJon Gomes vs Adrian Peterson
Peterson: "I’ll make sure I have my shoulders low. (Gomes) might be trying to go for the ankles."
SKOL!
SKOL!
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Hiatus
So I haven't updated lately - my life is a shambles, and I haven't had the energy to read for fun, let alone dissect the Vikings' performances.
So here's a quick rundown - I'm overjoyed with our record, pleased with our performance (mostly), and interested to see we come out of the next five games before our bye. They're all extremely winnable on paper, but if we come out as low as 3-2, that could still be enough to secure a playoff berth if we bust ass against our brutal conference post-bye stretch.
I'm loving the way our team is growing together, and amazed by our defense's performance in the last couple games. Ponder is trying a little too hard sometimes, but he's a second-year QB. He'll learn.
Enough for now, I'll try to update more regularly later.
SKOL!
So here's a quick rundown - I'm overjoyed with our record, pleased with our performance (mostly), and interested to see we come out of the next five games before our bye. They're all extremely winnable on paper, but if we come out as low as 3-2, that could still be enough to secure a playoff berth if we bust ass against our brutal conference post-bye stretch.
I'm loving the way our team is growing together, and amazed by our defense's performance in the last couple games. Ponder is trying a little too hard sometimes, but he's a second-year QB. He'll learn.
Enough for now, I'll try to update more regularly later.
SKOL!
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