RUN Adrian Peterson RUN!

The Vikings defense shined Sunday against a lackluster Tennessee Titans team, pushing the Vikings to 4-1 and keeping their share of first place in the NFC North.

The defense led the Vikings to a dominating 30-7 win at Mall of America Field, aided by a stellar game by Percy Harvin. The Titans (1-4) received the ball to begin the game and moved the ball downfield with 17-yard and 12-yard gains. But that’s as much as the Vikings defense would give up, not allowing more than 26 yards of offense in the next eight Titans’ possessions. The first nine Titans’ possessions ended punt, punt, fumble, interception, punt, punt, end of half, punt, punt.

“Tremendous improvement and continued improvement of our defense,” said head coach Leslie Frazier. “I think we have to credit Alan (Williams) and our defensive staff, along with our players, who have prepared extremely well every week and then go out and execute the game plan and believe in the things we’re trying to get done. I can’t say enough about their effort. They want to be the best defense in the league.” » Continue reading “Vikings Crush Titans, Move to 4-1″

Christian Ponder versus a tough Niners D should be a thing to keep your eye on

On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings will host San Francisco 49ers in the Metrodome, with kick-off at noon C.T.  This game marks the return of WR Randy Moss to Minnesota after their “nasty break-up” in 2010.

Below are five things to keep an eye on:

1. Performance of wide receivers – For the first two weeks of the Vikings’ season, they have lacked a deep threat down the field to compliment WR Percy Harvin.  Sunday’s game will be Jerome Simpson’s final game sitting out due to a three-game suspension.  When Simpson is activated, it would see likely that a non-producing WR will get the ax.  Sunday’s game is essentially their final opportunity to prove to the Vikings that they belong on the team.  Who will step up, if anyone does, is yet to be seen. » Continue reading “Five Things To Watch In Sunday’s Vikings-49ers Game”

How could anyone possibly say “No!” to this guy

The Vikings biggest story line heading into the 2012 season is the health of running back Adrian Peterson.  He spent the first few weeks of training camp on the PUP list and when he was activated he never saw any action in a preseason game.

Head coach Leslie Frazier initially had restrictions for his defenders when it came to contact with AP, but that all has been lifted this week.

The general consensus is that Peterson will see the field in some capacity on Sunday, but the Vikings refuse to fully commit to allowing AP suit up:

Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave, in fact, told reporters Thursday that there is “not too much doubt” that Peterson will be ready to play in some capacity Sunday. “I think he has stayed on schedule and I’ve seen progress every day,” Musgrave added.

Adrian Peterson has had his mind set on being ready for week one of the regular season since he was hurt.

Week one is now upon us and AP still has the mindset that he is ready to go:

“I’m ready to play,” Peterson told reporters. “If that’s 10 snaps or five or 25 or 30, I’m ready to roll. That’s my mindset and how I feel about it. So I’m going to keep my mindset pointed in that direction.”

If I was a betting girl, I would put my money on Peterson playing, but with Toby Gerhart will get most of the load at running back on Sunday afternoon at the Metrodome.

Will he or won’t he play: Adrian Peterson edition

The first week of regular season is upon us and the biggest question that remains is whether star running back Adrian Peterson will be activated for Sundays game versus Jacksonville.  And if you thought we’d have the answer by now, HA HA HA.

But when may we have the answer? Lemme hand things over to head coach Leslie Frazier,

“Yes without question (the decision will take us right down to Sunday.  We’re going to give him and give our team every chance possible before we make the decision.”

Since AP’s knee injury occurred, it has been his goal to get back on the field with his teammate for week one of the regular season.  Although Peterson wants to see the field, the Vikings will do what is in his best interest.

“You really have to take the emotion out of it.  You have to really hone in on what’s best for him, what’s best for our team,” Frazier said on Monday.  “Adrian is not just another guy on our team; he is in so many ways the face of what we try to do.  We have to be able to see the big picture when it comes to him and that’s the way we’ll approach it.”

The worst thing possible would be for the Vikings to bring back Peterson and him re-injure his knee.

» Continue reading “Frazier: AP Will Be A Game-Time Decision”

WR Stephen Burton hauls in a 52 yard completion from QB Christian Ponder

Well, the good thing is football is back.  The bad thing is the Vikings lost their preseason opener.  Thankfully, it is only preseason and these games don’t count so there is no need to panic….yet!

These four preseason games are used to evaluate the players the Vikings have and who they will keep when the cut the roster down to 53 men.

On Friday night, all of Vikings’ fans’ eyes were on second year quarterback Christian Ponder.  Fans could notice a great deal of improvement in Ponder’s play during the first two drives of the game with the first team offense.

Ponder finished 4-of-9 for 80 yards.  Although Ponder had more incompletions then completions, three of the five incompletions were “drops” that hit the receivers on their hands and the other two were intended throwaways.   After the game, head coach Leslie Frazier complimented Ponder’s decision making.

» Continue reading “Recapping The Vikings 17-6 Loss To San Francisco”

Well, football is FINALLY back tonight for Minnesota.  The Vikings kickoff their preseason tonight in San Francisco versus Randy Moss and the 49ers.  Although the starters won’t be getting much playing time, football is still back! YIPPIE.

Basic game information:

Who: Minnesota Vikings versus San Francisco 49ers

What: Preseason opener

Where: Candelstick Park in San Francisco, California

When: Friday at 8 p.m. CT and can be seen on CW channel in Minneapolis

What Coach was saying heading into the game:

• Who won’t be playing: Robert Blanton (hamstring), John Carlson (knee), Kamar Jorden (hand), DeMarcus Love (pectoral), Geoff Schwartz (sports hernia), Jordan Todman (ankle), Josh Robinson (hamstring), and of course Adrian Peterson (knee).
• How long will the first unit offense be on the field: “We are not going to keep them in that long, but we do want to get them maybe a little bit more than what we have done in the past.” — look for the first team offense to be on the field for a series or two, it depends on how the first one goes
• Vikings will be cautious with RB Toby Gerhart, who is coming off his own knee injury

Defensive line gets work in on their first day with pads
Credit: Fox9 Sports

Monday marked the Vikings third day of practice, but the first practice with pads.  Below are some highlights from those in Mankato covering training camp.

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”

Two Vikings draft picks remain unsigned: The Vikings report to training camp tomorrow and their top draft pick, Matt Kalil remains unsigned due to the Vikings wish to include offset language.

With training camp a day away and negotiations seemingly stuck between the Minnesota Vikings and top draft pick Matt Kalil, the so-called “offset” language in what will be a four-year, $20 million contract with a fifth-year option continues to be the most pressing of several issues the sides must work out.

Kalil’s agents, Tom Condon and Ben Dogra of CAA, don’t want to set a precedent of taking a seemingly lesser deal when several players drafted around the athletic left tackle … already have signed deals that don’t include offset language, AKA an insurance policy that offsets guarantees in a player’s contract if he gets cut and signs elsewhere.

Hopefully the issue will be resolved by the Vikings first practice on Friday.  Matt Kalil plays the important position of protecting Christian Ponder’s blindside and it’s best if his contract situation can be solved sooner rather than later.

CB Josh Robinson out of Central Florida also remains unsigned, but 1500ESPN reports that the Vikings are said to be close to a deal with their third round draft pick.

» Continue reading “Vikings News Bulletin: Players Report To Training Camp Tomorrow”

The Minnesota Vikings report to training camp on Thursday.  The best way to prepare for the upcoming season is to look at who may be on the team going forward.  Today, we’ll analyze the Vikings’ running back options.

Adrian Peterson

2011 stats (12 games):

• Totaled 970 yards — 1st season with 1,00+ yards
• 208 attempts — 4.7 yards/carry
• 12 rushing touchdowns — 1 fumble
• 18 receptions — 139 yards — 7.7 yards/catch

Adrian Peterson battled injuries during the 2011 season with missed games for ankle and knee injuries.  AP’s season was cut short on December 24th, 2011 when he tore his ACL.

As of now, Adrian Peterson aims to be ready for week one of the regular season but it is unknown until he attempts full football activities.

“Just in hearing (head athletic trainer) Eric Sugarman talk about him today and somethings he”s doing, he really is still on course and doing well but we need to see him cut, be able to explode out of a cut and change direction without having any residual effects from that,” said head coach Leslie Frazier on June 20th. “Then the net [step] would be maybe putting some shoulder pads on and seeing how he takes contact and seeing how he cuts with people coming at him but we’ve got to get to the point…There are some things we need to see before we say, ‘Okay, let’s put the pads on and go to work.”

» Continue reading “Training Camp Preview: A Glimpse At The Running Backs”