Free Agency Frenzy

Well, boys and girls, it's Spring Break and one of the best parts is that free agency is open for business!

In extremely sad news, I have to report the loss of Jared Allen and Toby Gerhart.  Jared Allen is testing free agency for the first time, presumably in hopes of getting a ring before he retires.  Toby Gerhart, who has so nobly and patiently waited for minutes behind Adrian Peterson has signed a 3 year, $10.5 million deal with Jacksonville, with the Jaguars guaranteeing a whopping $4.5 million!  I'm happy for Gerhart, and Allen certainly deserves a good deal...but how I HATE losing them both!

This of course brings us to Everson Griffen and Matt Cassel, both of whom were (reportedly) very eager to re-sign with the Vikings.  I'm THRILLED we keep Cassel, because in my opinion, he's the best FA QB out there, and I'm hoping this means we dump Freeman (didn't he just have a 1 year contract anyway?) and get a rookie to train up.  Cassel's new contract is for 2 years, not sure how long Griffen's contract is for.

I'm happy to keep Griffen too, especially since he seemed to excited to stay with the Vikings and become a starting DE under our new coach Mike Zimmer.

We've also signed a former Giant - nose tackle Linval Joseph for a 5-year, $31.5 million dollar deal.  Dude is 6'4" and 323 pounds (holy crap!), and apparently the Giants really wanted to keep him but didn't make their offer sweet enough.  He's 25, and been a starter for the last three seasons for the Giants, with 59 tackles in each of the last two seasons!!  Also had 7 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 3 fumble recoveries in the last two years.  I am liking this signing.  Hopefully he fits in well with the team, staff, and picks up our game plan fast.

In ex-Viking news, Geoff Schwartz has joined the NY Giants.  He seems quite excited at the prospect...I would have thought he would be sad to leave the Chiefs after their season last season.

I'll try to keep up with what else is going on in free agency but I do have a thesis to write.  Hopefully we address enough line issues in FA that we can go BPA and big playmaker in the draft!  SKOL!

Sharper

I know I've been incommunicado lately - grad school is ridiculous.

Anyway I wanted to stop in and say I'm so disappointed with Darren Sharper.  Dude is very good-looking, and there's something so twisted in his head he's allegedly drugged and raped up to seven women??

I don't know if it's true.  (I don't want it to be, but the evidence against him seems overwhelming.)

We have GOT to stop idolizing football players, most of all in middle/high school, and yes, in college.  If you let minor infractions (shop-lifting, fighting, etc) slide when they're kids they are going to think they can get away with anything once they get the big bucks.  And it usually happens too.   This is ridiculous and has to be stopped.  If kids want their football career to happen, they have to learn to not rape, steal, and kill.  Sorry boys, that's just the way it needs to be.

Tidbit

Adrian Peterson is happy with our (still unannounced - officially anyway) hire of Norv Turner as OC.  (So am I for that matter, but my opinion doesn't matter as much as his does.)

Says it's just what this offense needs to click.

Please, oh, please Viking Gods, let that be true!

And then there were three?

Okay, taking a closer look at things since the Saints-Seahawks game is starting to bore me.

It seems we have three guys "slated" (per the rumor mill) for second interviews: Todd Bowles (DC for the Cardinals), Mike Zimmer (DC for the Bengals) and Greg Roman (OC for the 49ers).  No real talk about Wisenhunt anymore which makes me think he's negotiating with another team and I just haven't heard about it.

Still, it has JUST come out that Dan Quinn will be the next head coach of the Tennessee Titans, per anonymous "sources" so maybe we're still in the running for Wisenhunt?

Hmm.

Chef Michael Symon is tweeting that he wants Darrell Bevell for his Browns.  We had a little exchange about it, but he's welcome to Bevell.  We lost that NFC championship game because he didn't adjust (okay, that Peterson fumble and the Saints playing dirty had a lot to do with it too) and I don't want a coach who doesn't adjust.  As I told Chef Symon, Urban Meyer doesn't adjust either, and look at his nasty, big-game losses recently.

I do not like big-game losses.

Hell, I don't like any losses.

I just want to know who will be our new coach - and our  new quarterback!!

SKOL!

Vikings Coaching Tidbit

We're bringing Zimmer in for a second interview.  No peeps about Wisenhunt. 

As one of the guys on the Hoop's Viking board pointed out, Speilman wants to clean house, so it's unlikely Bevell gets the top job.

Guessing Zimmer looks like our man right about now?

It's Official!

Leslie Frazier IS going to be the Tampa Bay DC, even though people were talking about Rod Marinelli (a Cowboys assistant coach) but apparently Dallas wouldn't let the Bucs talk to him.  I wonder what Rod thinks about that?

I guess I'm happy for Frazier.  But after what Chris Kluwe has been alleging...if he really just sat back and let Priefer rule the locker room with bias and discrimination...blah.  I hope the Vikings take these allegations seriously.  Look at the Dolphins, Vikings.  Look at the Dolphins hard.

Vikings Thought of the Day

I've seen a lot of bitching - a LOT - about how the Vikings need to "trade up" and "pick the right guy right away".

Look.

It's not about the highest pick.  The reason the Detroit Loins have Calvin Johnson is because he was there at #2 when the Oakland Raiders took JaMarcus Russell #1.  It's about the RIGHT pick in the RIGHT spot at the RIGHT time.

Hell, even the right trade.  Remember how we got Jared Allen?
The Steelers and the Patriots almost always do well, so they invariably get "bad" (aka, low) picks, and somehow they keep getting studs and keep winning and keep performing!

Do you know WHY?

It's because they have good quarterbacks, that's why.

Same with Green Bay.  They lost Rodgers, and look what happened?  A demoralized Vikings team tied them!

The Vikings are exactly 3 players away from contending for the #1 spot in the NFC North: a QB, an MLB and an OLB.

I say we can get all of those.

We just need STUDS. 

And I say we can get those.


SKOL!