Mocking the Mock and Montying Monty?!?

Just what is the point of Mock Drafts? Every time I read one I end up asking myself the same question. And after reading this one I just want to hit someone, probably JP Frederick with a big “Duh!” sign. The thing is that if you are the top team, pretty much everyone knows who you are going to pick, you pick the best player, whether it’s an unpronouncable DT or a possible franchise QB you take the best player in the position you need.  But beyond about the top 5 things get cloudy as teams begin to chop and change based on their opinions of certain players and weighing that up against what they need. This always happens, so why in bloody hell do analysts bother wasting their time predicting it and writing pointless articles pointing out what fans already know?

In the article I linked to it says that if Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford, a potential superstar, was still unpicked we’d grab him in place of tightening up the defence. Well of course we’ll grab someone that good if they are still available! But that’s like asking, if someone offered you free money would you take it? Trouble is that it ain’t gonna happen! And the mock draft offered up in the article is just a waste of space, as are pretty much all of them out there which either consist of a standard list, or a cookie cutter explanation of the choice, for example:

Rnd 1 – #30 – Vikings pick: Jeff Crapinthehead, CB from Dingletown. I like Jeff, he’s big, he’s got nice hair, he listens to Justin Beiber and his mom said to my sister’s friend’s dog that he really wanted to go to play basketball for the Wizards but the Vikings need a 6’7″ tall bloke to jump up and down and wave his hands cos Winfield’s leg fell off after McKinnie took him for a night out with some diseased transvestite donkey witch (SJP). But he might be picked higher up by the Raiders who might pick this other guy who looks like John Travolta.

If I really had some spare time on my hands, I’d get the list of all 7bn players in the draft this year, and put Ndkkkkaamaamamaoo, McCoy and Bradford at the top and then pick the rest out of a hat, and I’d probably get the same amount right as most mocks out there because you just can’t predict them. Look at Percy Harvin, I saw pages out there last year that had him going to the 49ers, and Colts, that’s #7 and #28! Yeah there were some other places who got it right, and fair play but I think time is much better spent analysing the needs of a team and coming out with a nice healthy list rather than making a mock for the whole bloody league.

Phew! Sorry if that didn’t make any sense whatsoever, I just needed to let off some steam. I also am going to try to concentrate on only reading draft talk from Viking sites rather than NFL-wide places to try and get a better idea of who is available to suit our needs. I know mocks can be entertaining, but I just don’t see the point, especially when they are openly pointless, playing about with the most unlikely situations in which a team is able to pick the second-second coming (the first is All-Day).

On the side of real news, we’ve signed that Montgomery chap. He’ll be there to back up Ray Edwards but as the Gab points out, he’s one of 4 defensive ends who’s 2010 will also be a contract year, should make things interesting at least.

We’re also looking at veteran corner, Tye Hill, who is due to make his mind up about either the Vikes or the Titans today. More experience in defence should be a good thing, I wonder if it also means we are going to be less active on defence in the draft now though… maybe I should make a mock draft to reflect this.

I’ll end today with a brief ode to FAVRE WATCH which has been a little quiet of late, and today is no exception. My link today is from an article on Vikings Update, in particular point 2. Ed Thompson things the Vikes and Favre should end their silly charade, man up, admit Farve is coming back, and just say that he isn’t going to be attending the opening training camps because they are about as useful as a football to the groin, “rather than hide behind what appears to be a poorly conceived charade that opens up integrity questions for everyone involved.” Hmmmmmm….. very interesting point. I think a lot of us out there would be very happy/relieved if you are right on this one.

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Tuesday morning – McKinnie loses the power of speech, and Chester is beginning to Bore me.

Good morning Purple Nation! It’s another glorious day in London, there is a giant box of fine Belgian chocolates next to my desk, my chair is creaking under the weight of a man who nom’d his way through an epic Wing Night @ The Maple Leaf in Covent Garden, and it seems that Bryant McKinnie has lost the power of speech!

This morning the news on the great lummox is that he has plantar fasciitis in his feet. What I love most about this is how the silly bugger announced the news to the world. Not through his agent, not on Leno, not through Captain Janks from the Howard Stern show calling ESPN; no, it seems the only way Big Mac can communicate with the outside world is through twitter. This is all starting to make perfect sense; I mean the silly-fat-wanker is probably only capable of stringing a sentence together which contains under 140 characters, and he can do it with the least possible effort whilst simultaneously chugging down $25k worth of champers alongside the finest ladies in Miami.

Truth be told I’ve actually enjoyed following his antics on twitter the past month, much in the same way I love watching fat people fall through a frozen lake, it’s painful, but hilarious to behold.

But I’ve finally had enough. The difference between McKinnie and the fat bloke is that as soon as that guy hit the freezing water, he realised he was a total plonker. But Bryant seems to like acting like a complete gimptard every single day and then broadcasting his stupidity to the world and expecting to be worshiped for it. On an early post I announced that he was already in my Boo Box, well he’s also made my Stephen Colbert – On Notice List:

Just be glad you're not "Dead To Me" yet...

Now that’s off my chest, on with other business. PJD reports on the Chester Taylor situation, who, according to his insider knowledge (courtesy of ESPN) is a target for the Chicago Bores…Don’t do it Chester! Seriously, you’ll be in close proximity to Jay Cutler and probably contract Chinballitis.

For today’s FAVRE WATCH, just a single story today with more fans taking out newspaper ads. Please stop, no seriously, please just stop. At first I quite liked the whole “Let’s show Brett how much we want him back”, but now it’s just a pathetic game of one-upmanship from people who really should be doing something better with their time. Hell, they could donate the money spent on the ad to the Favre Foundation with a message. Stop being so bloody pathetic people, I know that most of us want Favre back, but there are ways of getting your message across without looking like a Michael Jackson fan.

Keep on rocking it people! It’s been a very slow start to the week, but hopefully we’ll soon have something interesting to get stuck into.

My Top 10 Vikings’ moments of 2009 #7 – Percy Harvin

Good morning people of the Purple! It’s a gorgeous morning here in London, and to compliment the sunshine is a glowing review of our rookie, Percy Harvin, coming up in just a moment in my Top 10 Moments of 2009.

But before that there are a couple of links worth visiting. First off is a review on the Vikings’ official blog of Adrian Peterson’s season and how it wasn’t a failure, contrary to what many of us saw. There’s also a good article on Ray Edwards v Brian Robison on Bleacher Report which is worth a look. And if you still care, there’s a McKinnie update… No, didn’t think you did.

In today’s FAVRE WATCH the old man’s charity has been doing good at a Children’s Charity in South Mississippi. Otherwise it’s very quite on the Silver Fox front.

Okay here’s my number 7 moment of 2009 and it’s another player tribute here rather than just one moment. This time it goes to the NFL Rookie of the Year, Percy Harvin.

Picked up in the first round of the 2009 Draft, Harvin’s stock in the draft had fizzled out a bit, mainly due to questions over his character. During the Combine, he’d tested positive for marijuana, and a lot of teams had therefore decided to pass on him, going instead for a safer choice. Not the Vikings however, a team that likes to take rough diamonds and make them shine. Not that Percy really needed much work.

In his first game against Cleveland, Harvin caught the first ever Purple touchdown pass from Brett Favre. With a 101 yard kickoff return against San Francisco Harvin became the first ever Vikings’ rookie to score in his first 3 games, and the second youngest to return a kickoff for a TD. By the time the season was over, he’d scored 8 times, 2 from kickoff returns (the other was a magnificent effort in our loss to Pittsburgh which brought us back into the game). I particularly loved his TD @ Green Bay, where his incredible agility caused 3 cheeseheads to collide and fall like skittles, allowing him to simply run around their strewn carcasses on his way to the end zone. He was a target to the tune of 60 receptions, and averaged 9 yards per carry on the ground. He was selected to the Pro Bowl, though didn’t play, and was voted the NFL Rookie of the Year. Not bad, not bad at all.

He was also a wonderful age counter balance to our 40 year old Silver Fox, and the two hit it off big time. I dare say that Harvin learned a great deal from Favre, and he wasn’t afraid to give the old man a taste of his own medicine when he slapped Brett’s arse during the Pants on the Ground rendition.

Even with the fact that he had to endure migraine headaches throughout the season, which caused him to miss training and some games, Harvin, whenever he’s been out on the field has proved to be a threat in all areas, showing daring and an iron will which made him such a great target in the air, despite his relatively short stature. He was the perfect addtion to a Vikings’ offence and will help it become more and more lethal in the coming years.

Percy Harvin. We salute you!

Mundane Monday – EJ’s Leg, Disappointing Bryant, and Favre Watch is too honest…

Top of the morning to all you Vikings’ fans our there wherever you may be. It’s a very quiet Monday morning it must be said with very little news out there to nourish us. The Rick Spielman quotes which were fresh yesterday, are already starting to smell like the dodgy sushi which made me very ill last week.

But the show must go on, and there is still a smattering of news out there which must be brought to the masses…  Aside from the obvious statements of intent to keep key players. Rick Spielman also touched on the recovery of MLB E.J. Henderson, who broke his leg against Arizona last year. The news is generally very good. E.J. has been at Winter Park, working as hard as possible to be in perfect shape for  when he is finally able to start training again in May. Whilst Jasper Brinkley filled in honourably at the end of the season, as a rookie he still needs some time to learn his position a bit more, and whilst game experience will be essential in his development, he also needs time to sit behind out starters when they are on top of their game. Fingers crossed that E.J. will be firing on all cylinders when the 2010 season starts, if his dedication to recovery is anything to go by, he should be raring to go.

Sorry to keep bringing this old hag of a story up, but there’s more mumbling about Bryant McKinnie. Again, Rick Spielman is at the centre of this, and he said that the Vikings were “disappointed” with him… Is that it? Looks like we’re going to be kept guessing as to the future of our rather dim witted OT. It’s certainly not a vote of confidence in the man though, which means this could well be a very diplomatic way of saying “On your bike son!” Much like the dreaded “Vote of Confidence” that soccer managers in the UK get about a week before they are given the boot. But who knows?

Do you think this is a clevery worded “Vote of Confidence” from Vikings’ management before they remove Big Mac? Either way, I will endeavour not to mention him again this year, at least until we cut the silly bugger, and let him join the Rams.

And finally to wrap up today’s post, it’s FAVRE WATCH. Only today there is nothing, zip, zilch, nadda, niente, nowt, bugger all!

So far I’m actually very surprised at the lack of tabloid interest in Favre. If this we’re happening in Blighty, there’d be at least 4 stories a week analysing every last movement of the Silver Fox. For example, Favre’s agent would be asked at a presser whether Favre liked KFC, if the answer was “Yes”, it would be reported that he was considering offers from the New York Giants because Tom Coughlin once dressed up as Col. Sanders at a Halloween ball. If the answer was “No”, the headlines would read that Favre is moments away from taking a 7 year contract with the Miami Heat because his agent sneezed after saying no and the reporter could have sworn that Mr Agent simultaneously mouthed “Brett’s always wanted to shoot hoops, and is also considering retiring somewhere warm where he can chill with Horatio.”

But alas there is none of this so far… Instead we are left to make up our own wonderous stories about what the Old Man will do, or just wait for tomorrow’s edition of Favre Watch…

So that’s it then? The Vikings enter the wilderness, Favre watch hots up, and there’s a smiling dog to cheer you up

So, the exclusive, yet sorry “Never Won a Super Bowl Club” is now one member lighter. Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints, 2010 Super Bowl Champions.

Okay now the niceties are out of the way, we can get on with day one in the offseason wilderness. We have a few stories to keep an eye on and help pass the time, the main one being the classic will he/won’t he over the Silver Fox. There’s also going to be some stories around both Warren Sapp and Bryant McKinnie who appear to be in varying degrees of trouble. After all that blows over, it’s draft time, and between April 22nd and April 24th the Vikings will acquire (hopefully) the players we need to sustain another Super Bowl campaign. And then there’s going to be another empty patch before the teams come back for training camp and then a totally pointless but nourishing 4 pre-season games. It’s going to be a very long summer indeed.

Now that the Saints are Super Bowl Champions, there’s already talk that we will be their first opponent as the first prime time game of the season. Our 50th year as an NFL franchise, playing the team that edged us out of the NFC Championship in a thoroughly heartbreaking game and went on to win the Super Bowl makes for the perfect headline, and if Favre comes back it could be an even bigger draw. If this game is scheduled, it’s going to make the build up to next season even bigger, and more nerve racking. We want revenge, we all want revenge! we want to beat the living hell out of all of them, especially Brees who escaped our O-Line, while Favre endured a beating which could still trigger his retirement. We owe them, and a win would re-galvanize the team in the wake of that crushing defeat. Basically what I’m saying is, bring it on!

The Vikes Geek blog has run a story about the Saints win and how it could bolster the likelihood of Favre’s return. Running along the lines of, the Saints were better than the Colts, and we were better than the Saints (despite turnovers we ran them all over their pitch), Favre would be mad to pass up the chance to play with these guys again. We can therefore take some comfort in the Saints win… Now personally I’d have much rather the Colts won because I’m just plain bitter about losing to New Orleans, and they’re a dirty bunch of )(*&^%$$ £^*($&(£*£IO£( £&^%£”^ $!”£$”$ *****, but this is a positive way of looking at last night’s result. In time I hope I can come to share the same point of view. But until then, like many Vikings’ fans, I’m left to wonder what could have been had we managed to beat the Saints, rather than throwing it away, because let’s face it, we would have decimated the Colts.

There are more details emerging about Bryant McKinnie’s and his partying habits. Dan Le Batard of the Miami Herald has an extensive report detailing the time he met McKinnie, along with a report on all the other shenanigans that out OT has been embroiled in. It is not a very shining report, and it does make me wonder whether this guy should just be gotten rid of, because he seems to care more about partying and spending $20,000 a night, rather than repairing his image.

On the Twin Cities Pioneer Press, there is a report on the Vikings’ low revenue stream and how some NFL owners are trying to dissolve the current revenue sharing scheme which sees around $15-20 mil being transferred to the Vikings’ from other clubs every year. Of course it is concerning that we need the money in the first place, but something which could see this disappear is surely a wake up call to get a new, higher capacity stadium built, and improve the franchise so it can compete financially with the rest of the NFL.

Rick Alonso, also from the Twin Cities Pioneer Press reckons we are a strong team even without Favre.  He cites the fact that we would still have a high number of Pro Bowlers even if Favre left, and possibly Pat Williams too. Despite these potential losses, and Chester Taylor too to free agency, our key offensive players are still developing so the future is a bright one… So there’s more to be cheery about!

And that’s about it for today. The only thing left is FAVRE WATCH

After announcing it on the site last week, here it finally is: Brett Favre as the 2020 MVP!

KFAN radio in the Twin Cities have also launched their own Billboard for Brett campaign. Check out TheVikingShip for a pic… I’m now wondering if I should stick one up here in London, just in case Brett decided to vacation here.

And finally, in case the blues have got you by the short and curlies, and you can’t make it through; here’s a little something which might cheer you up… it’s a Japanese dog who really loves his owner:

All glory to the smiling dog

Friday roundup. Harvin is Rookie of the Year, McKinnie still doesn’t get it, Rice is waiting and Jared needs saving!

One of the few advantages of being a Vikings’ fan in the UK is that following our loss to the Saints it was quite easy for me to avoid being reminded of that painful night. I could avoid the NFL website altogether, very few of my friends know anything about the game so there was no talk about the Super Bowl from them, and as the game isn’t that big of a deal here, TV station and news papers stuck to reporting on how our Soccer Captain is a cheating piece of scum.
I was doing so well, and then out of the blue, on BBC Breakfast on came a very badly put together promo for the Super Bowl. Any illusion I was under about being over the game disappeared, and now I’m back to feeling like crap, having been reminded that we aren’t and yet should be in the Super Bowl! A crap start to the day! Still, at least it’s Friday!
One person who should be feeling a darn soft better than me is the new NFL Rookie of the Year. Ladies and Gentlemen, show your horns for Mr Percy Harvin! I actually posted a video tribute to this guy a few days ago, so check it out, just in case you needed reminding of how awesome he is!

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Bryant “I ain’t getting on no Pro Bowl fool” McKinnie doesn’t think missing the Pro Bowl was that big of a deal… yadda yadda yadda, bla bla bla, something something something… My gawd this bloke is really starting to do my head in! Please just admit that you were a bit of a silly boy, apologise and stop being such a gimptard!

Thankfully, if, like me you are sick of hearing about McKinnie, Vikings Gab reckons that the new stadium story is going to take off in the coming days/weeks/months. This should prove a lot more interesting than anything BigMac can throw at us (am I tempting fate there?). Also worth checking out on Vikings Gab is a smorgasboard of articles assessing every position on the Vikings’ roster, and how it holds up for next season, so do check it out.

So it seems that, quite rightly, the stadium is going to be a massive priority for Vikings’ management this offseason. But, looking at the poll I ran earlier in the week, 54% of fans would rather see Favre re-signed for next year, whilst only 26% would want a new stadium with a mechanical roof confirmed. It’ll be interesting to see whether this changes in the coming months as talk of the new stadium increases. Personally I think that re-signing Favre is more important at this point, as I can’t see the people of Minnesota embracing the team in the same way if Favre isn’t part of it next year, and they will be a huge factor in swinging political favour towards a new ground. But time is running out on the Metrodome, and whilst I was lucky enough to go there last year, and I fell in love with the place, it is about time we got a new home.

On a totally different note, the head of the Mullet Mullitia, Jared Allen is one of 3 players up for the cover of Madden NFL 2011. But as pretty much everyone is pointing out, it would be a curse to put him on there, so make sure you get voting to keep him off the cover. Personally my vote is going to the Mardi Gras Runt, Drew Brees.

And that’s today’s news… Now time for Friday’s edition of FAVRE WATCH!

The Star Tribune has expanded on the Billboard Campaign to get the Silver Fox back in Purple.

And whilst the fans can’t wait to tell Brett they want him back, Wide Reciever Sidney Rice told ESPN that he is going to give it a couple of weeks before giving the old man a call.

And that’s really about it for now, a very quiet day on the watch… Starting tomorrow, I’ll be running down my Top 10 moments from this season, so do drop by to take a look.

Favre is battered and bruised and more critical assessments of the Vikings’ O-Line!

Good Morning Vikings Fans!

Usually I’ll end my post with the daily FAVRE WATCH, but today it only seems right that I open with it. At some point yesterday, pictures started appearing of what is claimed to be Favre’s leg and his ankle following the Saints game. They are not for the faint hearted!

So it’s a tip of the hat to the Silver Fox, quite how he managed to play through that I don’t know, but it certainly puts a lot of athletes (particularly soccer players) to shame when you hear them moaning about breaking a nail. Brett Favre, Ironman extraordinaire, we salute you!

And the man himself will be making an appearance at this year’s Super Bowl… at least during the 2nd quarter commercial break, playing a 50 year old version of himself to advertise Hyundai’s 10 year warranty!

And finally in the Star Tribune, there’s an article on the financial impact of Favre this season, and the implication of whether he does or doesn’t return for another year.

And that’s your FAVRE WATCH for today…

Yesterday, I picked out a very negative view of our O-Line, and since then I’ve found a couple more views on why it should be one of our top priorities this offseason.

On Bleacher Report, Randall Granlund picks apart our starters, particularly McKinnie and Loadholt, and really hits home to everyone reading why it is so important that these concerns are addressed. He also suggests that we should switch from a zonal to man system which would make our boys a lot more effective. For me the key to our offence is keeping Peterson productive because he can control games. Favre was able to orchestrate big plays to get us back into games, but in the clutch, we need All Day to be productive and not wondering whether the line is going to make a hole for him to run through.

There’s also more heat on Bryant McKinnie, Andy Rarick reckons we need to get rid of the guy, and makes a very convincing argument, though I still doubt whether anyone at this point would be willing to take him off our hands, unless he really starts to make amends for his Pro Bowl boo boo!

I do wonder whether these stinging verdicts on our O-Line would have been as intense, had McKinnie just pulled out properly from the Pro Bowl or just shut up and played. But I guess we’ll never know. The O-Line has been sub par, particularly towards the end of the season however, and it is hard to deny this when you look at the beating Favre took against the Saints, and the reduced productivity and increased frustration on the part of Adrian Peterson. I am willing to give most of the players a little more time to improve. Sullivan in particular is still playing in the shadow of Matt Birk who was legendary at centre for us, and will have learnt a lot from this season. Time will tell on this matter, and the draft will shed some light on Chilly’s plans for the O-Line next season.

There’s been more talk about Tim Tebow, and why he’s the perfect fit for the Vikings. Now living in the UK, I don’t get any College Football, so all I really have to go on is what the press says. As a result I’m going to avoid assessing our draft options and instead try to give the best overview of them based on what I find around the web, so expect a compilation of mock drafts in the coming weeks. But that said, it is an interesting opinion on Tebow, who has gone all over the place in draft orders that I’ve seen so far, and there is no denying that with or without Favre, we need a prospect for the future. Could Tebow be that man?

And last of all this week, Tiki Barber has been giving his opinions on Adrian Peterson’s fumbling problems. His main piece of advice is that All Day needs someone to tell him that he needs to fix this, an authority figure who can hammer the point home, much like Tom Coughlin did with Barber. So come on Chilly, do your stuff!

And that’s it for today. Tomorrow, I’ll be taking a look at the results of my poll on the QB v Stadium situation. Once again, have a vote if you haven’t already, and feel free to comment if you think there is something else more important than either of these issues.

Tuesday morning, and it looks like the Bores missed a trick…

Just like my bus to work this morning, Vikings news is very, very slow at the moment. But ask and ye shall receive, so here is the best of what’s on offer from the Purple world today:

The Chicago Bores have turned down the opportunity to sign our QB coach Kevin Rogers, opting instead for Mike Martz as their offensive co-ordinator. What this means for us, is that we should now have all the same coaches back for the 2010 season, and whilst there have been some complaints about the way certain areas of the team have played (particularly our secondary and O-Line), by keeping our coaching staff, we are hopefully keeping the spirit of last year’s team together.

On The Viking Age blog today, there’s a good article in their series on how to improve the team for next year. The O-Line is the subject of scrutiny today, and it’s hard to disagree with much of what is said.

There are obvious dilemmas in this area, particularly the furore surrounding Bryant McKinnie. Let’s be honest, he has acted like a total plank this past week, and whilst I feel the Pro Bowl is a total waste of time, McKinnie is senior enough to know better, and should have just pulled out rather than acting like a 16 year old with a fake ID. And there are many Vikings fans who are a lot more pissed off with him than I am (See Vikings Gab and PJD *parental advisory, particularly for PJD), but the fact remains that we don’t have many other options in his position, so if the Vikes do stick with him we shouldn’t act surprised. On his twitter, McKinnie says that he’s going to be stronger as a result of all the “haters”, hopefully he’ll also be a little wiser.

But the Vikings aren’t all in the Boo Box this week. In fact 2 of our current roster, and 2 former playersannounced to the NFL’s all-decade team. #93 Pat Williams and #76 Steve Hutchinson, along with Randy Moss and Darren Sharper. Huzzah!

Percy Harvin is up for NFL’s Rookie of the Year, so if you haven’t voted yet, do it now! And if you have, do it again. Percy was immense for us this season, and should be honored!

And that’s it for today. Nothing left to do but get comfortable for another edition of FAVRE WATCH

And…. well, nothing is actually happening at the moment. It’s so quiet that all I can do is point you in the direction of the poll I’m running, on the subject of what you want more this offseason, the QB situation resolved or a new stadium confirmed. We’ve had a fair few votes already, but I want to give it a few more days, and then I’ll report on the findings.

Hey, at least I’m being honest that there’s nothing. If this were happening in England, Sky Sports News would have their copter circling the Silver Fox 24/7, and they’d employ forensics teams to dissect his left over KFC buckets to determine his mood based on whether he ate the skins or not…

Vikings Pro Bowl Preview, McKinnie-Gate dominates headlines

A very good morning to all you Vikings fans on this beautifully crisp Sunday morning. Apologies for no entry yesterday, damn did I miss a lot of gossip!

Well one story anyway, involving our “Pro Bowl’ offensive tackle, Bryant McKinnie. Following his earlier tweets that he wants to get in the best shape of his life, it seems that old Big Mac has spent most of his time in South Beach living it up in the club, rather than training with the rest of the NFC ahead of the Pro Bowl today.

Consequently he’s been kicked off the team. Now McKinnie has gone into damage control, posting all sorts of explanations onto his twitter page, mostly along the lines that he’s wasn’t feeling strong enough to play in the game and had been in touch with his trainer about this and was looking to pull out anyway.

There has been plenty of opinion on this from all over the web, but from where I’m sitting (In bed with a hot chocolate, watching Federer destroy Murray), the issue of what McKinnie was actually doing in Florida is irrelevant, though he could have been a little less obvious about what he was doing on his twitter. It’s more the fact that he should have just not turned up for the Pro Bowl in the first place. If he was injured, then pull out and let someone else take your place. McKinnie’s actions could well damage the reputation an event which was already struggling for recognition within the grander scheme of the NFL, and it’s certainly rattled a few cages within the game.

In contrast to McKinnie’s Pro Bowl attitude, our All-Pro, and 7th consecutive Pro Bowl selected guard, Steve Hutchinson is raring to go tonight, despite having shoulder surgery lined up in two weeks time. His “old school” view on the game centres mostly around the game just being plain old fun, and an opportunity to see a lot of players who you might not see on a given season. The Star Tribune also reports in the same article that Jared Allen is also looking to pick up a few sacks in this game. I think it would really be a hoot though if he lined up on both the AFC and NFC D-Lines just so he’d have another shot at killing Aaron Rodgers, who starts for the NFC team.

In that same article there’s some info on the 2010 season with regards free agency. It reports that if the new Collective Bargaining Agreement isn’t in place by March 5th, then the Vikings will not be able to acquire any Unrestricted Free Agents unless we offload some of ours first because we made it to the NFC Championship game. This could prove both interesting and potentially damaging, as free agency is something we’ve come to use to our advantage in recent years. There are more details on this story here too…

There’s a very good interview with Fran Tarkenton by Ryan Michael. There isn’t any real Favre-bashing in there, it’s more of a good interview with one of the greatest players ever to wear purple so check it out.

The Star Tribune have a good interview with Jon Gruden, who coached the Bucks to Super Bowl glory in 2002, and is now on Monday Night Football duty. Obviously Favre is the subject of the day, but he also addresses the age old question of what we have to do to get over the hump and finally win a championship.

The Saints have been fined a total of $30,000 for 4 late hits last week, 3 of which were on Favre. How about fining the referees for missing those calls too? Just sayin’…

And finally it’s time for a very muted FAVRE WATCH

And pretty much all there is today is comparisons to a “Classy” Kurt Warner who retired yesterday. I must say that Warner has earned the right to retire, but to call him classier than a 40 year old legend of the game who got beat to crap last Sunday and came back for more is a bit of a cheap shot in my opinion.

And that’s it, it’s b-fast time now!

Friday Morning Roundup – It’s Vikings Appreciation Day, Peterson talks about dropping it, Fran is not a fan, and Paul Allen is in therapy…

Maybe it’s because I’m 6’5″ and hovering around 215lbs, but I just can’t seem to sit in the average cinema seat for any longer than 90 minutes any more. Not great when you’re trying to watch Avatar.

Yes, it’s Friday people, and I’m nursing a numb bum! But thankfully there’s plenty of Purple goodness out there today so it should take my mind off the dull ache in my behindus. And thanks to the Mayor of Minneapolis, it’s not just any old Friday, it’s Vikings Appreciation Day!! Huzzah! so get your purple out, get your gold out, and wear it with pride people! And here’s a little bit of retro pride just cos I’m feeling generous!

The object of much of our Purple Pride, Adrian “Purple Jesus”  Peterson was has been interview by ESPN follow Sunday’s game. There’s some pretty standard stuff about us not “crossing all our T’s and dotting all our I’s” during the Saints game, and the usual replies about Favre’s return, but more interesting is the question about his issues with fumbling:

“No, it’s not [anything] that really concerns me at all. It’s something I look forward to working on more during the offseason. Especially with my running style, how I run so aggressive. The majority of time guys are hitting at the ball instead of trying to hit me. That’s something that I’m just more aware of now and I’ll do a better job coming into [next season].”

Now, I know this guy can walk on water, and is still one of our key offensive weapons, but after a sub-par season both in terms of yards and fumbles, this is something he needs to work on. My knee jerk reaction to this quote, was that All Day was being a bit casual about the fumbling saying that it’s not something that concerns him. But in another interview with Sean Jensen of the Sun Times, Peterson certainly seemed more determined to work on the problem:

“Guys would rather hit the ball than tackle me. I put it on myself. That comes with the way I run. It’s something I’m going to focus on, as far as switch it up a little bit, and carry it higher, or what not. But there’s some things I’m going to correct.”

Now that’s more like it, especially after Chilly stood up and took responsibility for the 12th man, and Favre admitted he should have run it. If the team can acknowledge their weaknesses, then they can be addressed properly. Peterson, it goes without saying, is a key player for us, perhaps the most important player in the future of the franchise, and if he can correct his holding, then he could be one of the greatest! Let’s hope the offseason is kind to him.

Speaking of the offseason, I had the honour of having our awesome OT, Bryant McKinnie, reply to one of my tweets yesterday. On what he’s looking forward to doing during the offseason he replied: “@vikingsukblog getting n the best shape of my life. I start with my nutritionist on Monday.” Well good luck to you sir. It’s great to see that he’s already looking forward to next season, and if the rest of the team can stay that positive, then I think we’ll be ready and raring to go in September.

Now, I’m sure you’ve all heard Paul Allen’s radio call of Favre’s interception pass, well the great man was on the phone to a psychotherapists to try and ease the pain of the loss on his KFAN radio show yesterday. The rage is still very much there, and it’s a very entertaining listen, which could also help your own recovery after the loss. Paul Allen’s Therapy Session can be downloaded here or you can stream it here.

In other news there’s some stadium news today, sadly not on a new one, but instead on the Vikings’ management sitting down with the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission to see how to get as much out of the Metrodome for the 2 years remaining on the lease.

Also, all the NFC Champions clothing that was made for the Vikings in the event that we beat the Saints is going to Haiti.

The Star Tribune has a good article about the Vikings’ lesser known rookies who featured this year, Jasper Brinkley, Asher Allen and Jamarca Stanford. The experience they gained this season should give them a good foundation for their careers, and they all put in solid performances when they were called on, so they should be future stars for the team.

And that’s it for Friday. All that’s left is… FAVRE WATCH!!!

The Vikings’ legendary Quarterback, Fran Tarkenton, who was very anti-Favre at the start of the season, has labelled his intercepted pass on Sunday night as a “stupid play” during an interview with Philadelphia Radio.

ESPN agree, placing that pass at the top of their 10 worst playoff passes. In fact the Silver Fox dominates the rankings, taking the top 3 spots! We still love you though Brett!

Aaron Rodgers says the press should “give [Favre Watch] a rest for a while. You don’t need to do an update every day.” Well I think Aaron should fornicate himself with a rusty bread knife, but that’s never going to happen. Why don’t you just go back to fumbling in overtime you total gimptard? (aaahhh, now I feel better)

The Favre situation seem to have affected Sage Rosenfels much. In an interview with The Associated Press, he said that he hasn’t even considered requesting a trade.