Vikings CB Chris Cook underwent successful wrist surgery and will miss six to eight weeks

After a few days off after their Thursday night loss to the Tampa Bay Bucs, the Vikings were back at work on Monday in order to prepare for a Sunday match-up at Seattle.

Below are some quick hits from head coach Leslie Frazier’s Monday presser:

• WR Michael Jenkins was absent from practice for personal reasons, but is expected to return on Wednesday
• Monday’s extra practice was to focus on fundamentals and techniques “ that we think we need to improve on and if we can improve on some of those things we think we’ll be a better team in this second half.”
• CB Chris Cook underwent surgery and is expected to miss six to eight weeks, which would put him up against the end of the season, if the Vikings miss the playoffs
• A roster move will likely occur to fill Cook’s roster spot
• S Mistral Raymond would likely be available on Sunday after missing a few weeks with an ankle injury, but a final decision will be made later in the week
• Frazier is concerned with the Vikings’ run defense, especially with them facing RB Marshawn Lynch on Sunday

HEADLINES:

• Vikings will rely on Robinson and Jefferson to step up in Chris Cook’s absence. Read more at 1500ESPN
• Percy Harvin blames fundamentals for Vikings poor passing game of late. Read more at 1500ESPN
• The young Vikings team will to bounce back will be put to test this week. Read more at 1500ESPN
• Goodbye first half, HELLO SECOND HALF of the 2012 NFL season. Read more at Startribune

RB Adrian Peterson was the only bright spot during Thursday’s loss

The Vikings fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home tonight, losing by the final score of 36-17.

The loss came as a team effort tonight, even Adrian Peterson, who ran for 123 yards on 15 carries with a touchdown had a costly fumble in the third quarter. The only other offensive player to have a decent night was Percy Harvin, who had 7 receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown. Another bright spot of the game was the 51-yard field goal by rookie kicker, Blair Walsh.  He is now 4-4 on the season from beyond 50 yards.

Although he didn’t have a great night, Christian Ponder did have a better week than last, completing 19 of 35 passes for 251 yards with one touchdown and one interception.  His best throw was an 18-yard pass to Percy Harvin in the end zone. » Continue reading “Vikings Fall (Hard) To Buccaneers, Lose 2 Of Last 3″

Vikings Percy Harvin is all smiles as Greenway claims he’s the leagues best WR

Vikings make roster move: With the activation of WR Jerome Simpson, the Vikings were required to cut a player to get down to 53 players.  To make room, the Minnesota Vikings announced they cut TE Allen Reisner, who didn’t see any game-time action during the first three weeks of the regular season.

Percy Harvin — league’s best WR?: It’s clear Percy Harvin is the Vikings biggest offensive threat, especially with RB Adrian Peterson still working his way back to full strength following knee surgery.  However, Vikings LB Chad Greenway stated Harvin is the best WR in the NFL:

“Percy’s the best player in the NFL right now,” Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway said. “I’d like to see anybody challenge that with the way he’s carrying the football and the way he’s really driving our team along.”

In three games, Percy Harvin leads the NFL with 27 receptions.

AP Continues to Knock Rust Off: Adrian Peterson continues to work himself towards a 100 percent following his season-ending knee injury.   » Continue reading “Vikings News Bulletin: Prep Continues For Sunday’s Match Up Versus Detroit”

CB Antoine Winfield returned to practice on Friday

The young Minnesota Vikings team should be fully tested in their first road game on the 2012 season.  The Vikings will play the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday with the hopes of going 2-0 to start the season.

Below are some notes from the Vikings final practice of week two:

Vikings injury report: 

• Probable — Center John Sullivan (ankle), cornerbacks Chris Cook (biceps) and Josh Robinson (hip), safety Andrew Sendejo (ankle), tight end Rhett Ellison (ankle), and running back Adrian Peterson (knee)
• Questionable — Linebacker Marvin Mitchell (ankle) and wide receiver Jarius Wright (ankle)

Colts injury report:

• Probable — Right tackle Winston Justice (head)
• Questionable — Wide receiver T.Y. Hilton (shoulder)
• Doubtful — Wide receiver Austin Collie (concussion)
• Out — Linebackers Dwight Freeney (ankle) and Pat Angerer (foot), left guard Joe Reitz (knee)

CB Antoine Winfield returns to practice: Vikings veteran returned to practice on Friday after missing Thursday’s practice to attend his brother’s funeral, who was tragically murdered last Wednesday in Aron, Ohio.

» Continue reading “Vikings News Bulletin: MN Looks Towards First Road Game”

Vikings center John Sullivan missed practice on Thursday

The Minnesota Vikings remain relatively healthy while preparing for the Indianapolis Colts.

Below are some health updates from Thursday’s practice, via 1500ESPN:

•  Center John Sullivan missed Thursday’s practice with an ankle injury, but Leslie Frazier expects him to play on Sunday
• Cornerback Chris Cook, who missed Wednesday’s practice with a biceps injury, practiced in full on Thursday
• Tight end Rhett Ellison (ankle), running back Adrian Peterson (knee), and cornerback Josh Robinson (hip) all participated in Thursday’s practice
• Players who missed Sunday’s season opener, cornerback Andrew Sendejo (ankle), wide receiver Jarius Wright (ankle), and linebacker Marvin Mitchell practiced in a limited fashion on Thursday

Vikings veteran cornerback Antoine Winfield was absent during Thursday’s practice to attend his brother’s funeral.

» Continue reading “Vikings Injury News From Thursday Practice”

Christian Ponder’s poise on the field compared to last year is night and day

The Minnesota Vikings will play the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.  The Vikings will travel for their first away game in hopes to go 2-0 to start the season.

Vikings health:  The Vikings are surprisingly really healthy.  On Wednesday, every player on the 53 roster participated in practice.  Andrew Sendejo, Jarius Wright, and Marvin Mitchell who were out for the season opener because of ankle injuries all practiced and are expected to play on Sunday.

***

Quick hits from Leslie Frazier’s press conference:

• The Vikings plan to get John Carlson more involved this week after his return to action last week was a quite one.
• Frazier said he believes Adrian Peterson was just happy that he was able to play and stay healthy

“I think he’s pretty close (to his 2011 form)…He may not be quite where he was prior to the injury but he’s pretty close.”

» Continue reading “Vikings Begin Preparations For Colts”

Christian Ponder needs to prove in 2012 he is the Vikings quarterback for years to come

Hey NFL fans, FOOTBALL IS BACK Tomorrow, So ya gotta hang on ‘Til tomorrow … Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love ya Tomorrow! 

Below are five things I will be keeping an eye on tomorrow when the Vikings open their season at home versus the Jacksonville Jaguars at noon C.T.:

1. Christian Ponder

The development of second year QB Christian Ponder will be something to keep an eye on all year.  It’s important for Ponder to show he is fully capable of being a starter in this league and that the Vikings have found their quarterback for years and years to come.

Ponder’s first year with the Vikings had some bright spots, but nothing to say, “WOW, this is our guy!.”  Ponder’s rookie season was greatly affected by the lockout so he didn’t even have a real offseason before his first season.  Once a CBA agreement came about, the Vikings had traded for Donovan McNabb, who got the majority of first team reps in training camp.  When the Vikings realized things weren’t working out with McNabb at QB, Ponder was thrown in there without a lot of practice with the first team offense.

The weapons around Ponder were also unimpressive for the most part so it’s hard to judge Ponder’s performance.  For this season, the Vikings brought in a deep threat in Jerome Simpson, but with Simpson’s three game suspension, Ponder will be without a real deep threat for three games.

Ponder’s number one target will be Percy Harvin, but Harvin needs other threats on the field in order to get some attention of the other team off of him.  The Vikings also brought in John Carlson who will form a 1-2 TE combo with second year TE Kyle Rudolph.

If Ponder does what the Vikings expect of him, he’ll settle into the Vikings quarterback position for years to come.

2. Secondary

» Continue reading “Five Things To Look For During Vikings Season Opener”

The Vikings were victorious in their second preseason game on Friday night against the Buffalo Bills in the Metrodome.  The Vikings and Bills played a close game for majority of the night before Vikings rookie Audie Cole scored returned two interceptions for touchdowns to seal the Vikings 36 to 14 victory over the Bills.

Five things we learned:

First team offense clicked

Christian Ponder and the first team offense were on the field for three drives on Friday night with two of them resulting in putting points on the board.  The offense’s first drive of the night finished with a two yard pass completion to Jerome Felton for a touchdown.  The following two drives stalled, but resulted in Blair Walsh going one-of-two in his field goal attempts.  Overall, Ponder finished 10-of13 passing for 136 yards and a touchdown.

“Offense is clicking and doing very well and we’re putting up points,” said QB Christian Ponder in his post game presser. “There are still some plays we gotta fix and get better at….(But) it’s a good starting point.”

For all the talk of the Vikings lack of receivers, Ponder connected with eight different receivers.

“There are so many weapons on this offense,” Ponder said.  ”Guys are getting open and making my job easy.”

Defense improved from rough outing last week

After last weeks loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the Vikings made an emphasis that their run defense needed to improve.

“We wanted to see improvement and we did,” said head coach Leslie Frazier.  ”Our first unit in particular did a great job of stuffing the run…We have to be able to stop the run and we did a much better job of it tonight.”

» Continue reading “Recapping The Vikings 36-14 Win Over The Bills”

Newcomer Jerome Simpson pushes Percy Harvin: Percy Harvin was far and beyond the Vikings best wide receiver last season.  Although Harvin is still likely the number one receiver, Jerome Simpson has the ability to push Harvin to be better.

“It’s been great to have Jerome here,” Ponder said Thursday, Aug. 2. “He’s been pushing Percy a little bit. I think Percy’s been a lot better. It’s almost like a competition to see who’s the better receiver. They’ve got a great relationship. They’re hanging out a lot off the field. They both look good. It’s exciting.”

Greg Childs with the play of the day on offense: “With the second unit offense and defense on the field, Childs’ 26-yard touchdown catch from Joe Webb came on a play during which cornerback Brandon Burton had near-perfect coverage..Childs leaped, reached both arms around Burton and managed to pin the ball on the cornerback’s back long enough to haul it in,” as described by Dan Wiedner.

Added head coach Leslie Frazier: “That was a nice play. We saw him do that in college as well. That was a real nice play. Great concentration. That’s what we need. We need a guy to make that hard catch for us even when he’s covered. That’s good to see.”

Chris Cook the standout on defense: Cook stood out on 11-on-11 drills where he intercepted Christian Ponder on a pass intended for Percy Harvin.  Then in drill work, Cook picked off a Sage Rosenfels pass for Jarius Wright.

» Continue reading “Vikings Training Camp News Bulletin: August 2nd”

Adrian Peterson is ready to go: Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is coming back from an knee surgery that shortened his 2011 season, but he is determined to get on the field as soon as coaches and trainers allow him too.

“I’m going to try to fight against (going on the PUP list) so I can get out there and be involved,” he said. “But ultimately, I know these guys are going to do what’s best for this team.”

“It feels good just to be around the guys and be around everyone who has supported me through this process, and even more importantly it’s going to feel good to be able to participate and do some things with the guys,” Peterson said. “So I’m just excited to be here. I’m excited to get things going.”

Peterson is an important part of the Vikings’ offense but it’s not worth rushing him back and him sustaining another injury.  The Vikings have Toby Gerhart to carry the load in the backfield until AP is ready.

Peterson also re-emphasized his innocence relating to an arrest in Houston.

“That’s something I’m letting my attorney handle. I’ll know when that time comes around, so hopefully it gets dismissed,” Peterson said.

» Continue reading “Vikings News Bulletin: Players And Coaches Arrive At Training Camp”