Are you pondering for a new Vikings QB? If yes, CALM DOWN!

Take a deep breath, everyone. Step away from the edge. It’s going to be okay.

After Sunday’s (mostly) terrible loss to NFC North rival Green Bay 23-14 on their turf, Minnesota Vikings fans are looking for someone to blame. And all those fingers are pointing at Christian Ponder.

Ponder, who admittedly had a less-than-stellar game, went 12 of 25 for 119 yards and two interceptions. These two interceptions were each at crucial points in the game, when the Vikings were driving.

“This one definitely hurts. With what‘s at stake in the season this game was important,” said Ponder. “For what this games means to the team, the state, with how Adrian [Peterson] played, it’s disappointing to go out and throw two interceptions.”

Running back Adrian Peterson had an incredible game, running for 210 yards, including an 82-yard touchdown run – the longest of his career. Ponder pessimists are pushing for an immediate benching of the second-year quarterback. But Vikings fans need to take a step back for a moment and look at the big picture.

Keeping in mind we’ve got four games left in the 2012 season, Ponder has 14 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 2,305 yards and averages 6.0 yards per completion. Looking for comparison? Drew Brees in his second year at the San Diego Chargers helm had 11 touchdowns, 15 interceptions, 2,108 yards and averaged 5.9 yards per completion.

» Continue reading “Pondering a New Quarterback? You Aren’t the Only One..”

WR Percy Harvin remains sidelined with a sprain ankle

The Minnesota Vikings returned to Winter Park today following their bye week in order to begin preparation for their Sunday match-up against division leader Chicago Bears.  Below are some headlines heading into the week:

Vikings return with not everyone 100% healthy: It was said before the bye that everyone who was dealing with injuries should be good to go upon their return to Winter Park for practice in preparation for the Chicago Bears this week, however, this was not the case.

When the Vikings returned to the practice field on Monday, star WR Percy Harvin was still missing due to a sprained ankle that kept him out of the win against the Detroit Lions before the bye.

“Most of the swelling is gone,” Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said. “It’s just sore and pretty tender right now. So, we’ll see how he feels when we come back on Wednesday.”

Asked on Monday if Harvin had a setback, Frazier said, “No setback. Just hasn’t made enough progress to put him out there yet. So, we’ll see how he does on Wednesday. I was hoping that he would have been ready to go and get a little work (Monday), but that wasn’t the case.”

Other injury notes: WR Michael Jenkins miss Monday’s practice after complaining of sore foot during the bye.  DT Letroy Guion returned to practice in a limited fashion after missing the  Detroit game with turf toe.

» Continue reading “News Bulletin: Vikings Return From Their Bye Week”

Adrian Peterson returned to scene of knee injury, but couldn’t come away with a Vikings victory

Vikings fall to Redskins in dominant fashion 38-26, ending Washington’s eight-game home losing streak.

Christian Ponder led the Vikings on a second-half comeback, but it wasn’t quite enough to stop Robert Griffin III. The Vikings jumped out to a 9-0 lead, kicking three field goals in the first quarter, but never making it to the end zone. The Redskins then scored 24 unanswered points, their defense stopping the Minnesota offense until late in the third quarter, when Blair Walsh booted his fourth field goal of the game.

“We definitely had some opportunities early in that game to alter the approach of our opponent, but we didn’t capitalize on some early opportunities in that first quarter and they ended up coming back to haunt us late on,” said head coach Leslie Frazier.

The 12-point deficit wasn’t insurmountable, until ex-Vikings safety Madieu Williams picked off Ponder and ran it back for six, giving the Redskins a 31-12 lead. Ponder did make things interesting, leading the Vikings to back-to-back touchdowns. The first was a 9-yard pass to wide receiver Michael Jenkins and a two point conversion to tight end Kyle Rudolf, the second was a 1-yard pass to Kyle Rudolf, making the game 31-26. The Vikings defense made good stops on the Redskins’ offense, but on their final try, Griffin III put the Vikings down for good, with a 76-yard touchdown run. » Continue reading “Vikings Fall To Redskins, End Three-Game Win Streak”

LB Erin Henderson is expected to return to the field on Sunday after missing two games with concussion symptoms

The Minnesota Vikings head into their week five match up versus the banged up Tennessee Titans relatively healthy.

Below is the latest injury news from both the Minnesota Vikings and their opponent, the Tennessee Titans:

Minnesota Vikings:

• OUT: Safety Andrew Sendejo (ankle) and safety Mistral Raymond (ankle)
• DOUBTFUL: Linebacker Marvin Mitchell (calf)
• QUESTIONABLE: Linebacker Erin Henderson (concussion) and wide receiver Michael Jenkins (rib)

According to head coach Leslie Frazier, Henderson “looks like he’s going to be fine” for Sunday after missing two games while dealing with lingering concussion symptoms.

Although Henderson will resume his starting role, Frazier said the Vikings will use Jasper Brinkley in their nickle package this Sunday to allow Erin a “chance to kind of get his legs back under him.”

» Continue reading “Minnesota Vikings Friday Injury Report Heading Into Sunday’s Game”

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.

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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”

The Minnesota Vikings concluded their 2012 training camp in Mankato on Wednesday.  The highlight of the final week of training camp was the activation of Adrian Peterson and his first practice with pads on Tuesday.

Adrian Peterson Update: Adrian Peterson is back with his teammates on the football field after having a season ending knee injury last year.  Although he wasn’t ready for the first day of camp, Peterson progressed in his rehab during the first two weeks and was activated off the PUP list for the final week in Mankato.  Peterson described his return to the football field like a “kid in a candy shop.”

However, his teammates, especially those on defense, are under strict restrictions when it comes to #28.

“The rules are simple,” said safety Jamarca Sanford. “Do not touch 28.   If you touch him, you’re cut.”

However, the Vikings star running back isn’t thrilled with his teammates taking it easy on him.

“I’m still going to lower my shoulder, so those guys are probably going to get tired of touching off and tired of me putting my shoulder into them,” Peterson said upon his return to the football field with pads.  ”They’ll end up firing back.”

The “Do not touch 28″ rule will eventually ease up as AP progresses, according to Frazier.

» Continue reading “News Bulletin: Vikings Wrap-Up Training Camp”

Training camp starts on Thursday for the Minnesota Vikings and one area of improvement for the 2012 must be the passing game.

Percy Harvin

With Adrian Peterson injured, Percy Harvin become the Vikings biggest threat on offensive.  He requested a trade but the Vikings declined any interest of doing such action.

“The Minnesota Vikings have no interest at all in trading Percy Harvin,” said GM Rick Spielman. “We drafted Percy Harvin here. He’s a key part of our organization, he’s a key part of our football team and any issues that are out there or reported, we always handle those internally and we’ll continue to handle those internally.”

It seems like the issues between the Vikings and Harvin has been worked out and he will report to training camp on Thursday.

2011 stats:

• 87 receptions — 967 yards — 11.1 yards/catch
• 6 receiving touchdowns
• 52 rushing attempts — 345 yards — 6.6 yards/rush
• 2 rushing touchdowns — 2 fumbles

On Wednesday June 13th, the Minnesota Vikings hosted a golf tournament at the Rush Creek Golf Club in Maple Grove, MN, according to Vikings.com.

The tournament featured 30 Vikings players, including QB Christian Ponder, RB Toby Gerhart and TE Kyle Rudolph.  The entire coaching staff, executives, Victor the Vikings mascot, and the Vikings cheerleaders were also in attendance.

Proceeds of the event will benefit the Vikings Children’s Fund.

“Good chance for us to go out and do something in the community and raise some funds for some kids and people who are less fortunate than we are,” Vikings Head Coach Leslie Frazier said.

Below are pictures and tweets from the event: » Continue reading “Vikings Go Golfing For Charity”

Final product | Credit: Ann Carroll

Following day three of OTAs, the Minnesota Vikings helped construct a playground alongside  Toro Company and KaBOOM!  This year, their efforts helped Sheridan Arts Magnet School in Northeast Minneapolis.

“Just finished our last OTA for the week – offense looked great today. A lot of improvement through the week,” tweeted QB Christian Ponder. “Now we are heading to help build a playground in Minneapolis.  Excited to give back to those who give so much to us.”

According to Vikings.com Mike Wobschall, more than 250 volunteers, including 100+ Vikings staff members, team executives, Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders, Head Coach Leslie Frazier, the Vikings coaching staff and current Vikings players were in attendance.

“Going to do a playground build,” tweeted Brian Robinson. “Feels good doing good deeds for the community that rallies around us.”

Below are pictures of the Vikings giving back to the community:

» Continue reading “Vikings Give Back To Minnesota”