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Feeds
So, When is it Gonna be Official?
by Anthony21
on Jul 2, 2009 10:08 PM CDT
in Favregeddon
20 comments
Here we are. The beginning of July. Many have tried predicting when Favre will officially become a Viking, with some even pinpointing the end of this week and most picking anywhere between now and around the middle of the month.
As Tom Curran points out, there are a couple factors dictating when it could happen:
- Chilly's daughter is getting married on Saturday, July 11th -- so you can rule out the end of next week, at the very least. Incidentally, that's the day I'm returning from some traveling (I'll be disappearing from here for the next week), and it would be truly flattering if they held off on an announcement until I got back to a computer. Chilly might obviously want to delay making the Favre acquisition official until the family stuff is out of the way.
- Monday, July 20th is the day single game tickets go on sale. It's easy to see how that could impact the timing of an announcement, as demand for tickets will skyrocket once Favre is officially a Viking.
With those factors taken into consideration, it's prediction time. Here's the question: On which date will Brett Favre officially become a Viking? My prediction: Friday, July 17th. It generates buzz at the right moment for the Vikings, but the circus will have a couple weeks to calm down before the team heads to Mankato.
And besides, any announcement that comes on a Friday will generate less of a media circus than an announcement made earlier in the work week, and I have little doubt the team will try to walk the tightrope between generating buzz to sell jerseys and tickets while avoiding a complete media free-for-all in Winter Park.
Make no mistake about it: If you want Vikings tickets, and the announcement of Favre joining the team is placed close to the 20th, you're gonna need to act fast to score some seats. And I mean fast.
Folks who were predicting July 3rd for the announcement (*cough* Mike Florio *cough*) will probably end up being off by a couple weeks. As much as I'd like Favregeddon to conclude ASAP, it just doesn't make sense from a business standpoint to make an announcement so far in advance of tickets going on sale. But hey, we've made it this far and, for the most part, kept our sanity intact. If it's gonna take another week or two, that's just fine with me.
20 comments
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Vikings 89th in ESPN's Ultimate Standings
by Anthony21
on Jul 2, 2009 1:34 PM CDT
in Vikings
16 comments
I always enjoy ESPN's Ultimate Standings because we don't often see direct comparisons among the 122 professional sports franchises in the four major leagues. If you haven't read the Ultimate Standings before, they simply rank all 122 teams based on ownership, coaching, players, stadium experience, etc. Here's the homepage of the rankings and here's the page for the Vikings.
Of the 122 professional sports teams, the Vikings came in 89th this year -- up from 110th last year. "Bang for the buck" and "players" were the categories they scored strongly in, but "coaching," "fan relations" and "stadium experience" all brought the overall ranking down.
Can't argue with the lousy "stadium experience" ranking (117th -- I'm actually surprised ESPN thinks there are five stadium experiences worse than the Metrodome, expect perhaps the Metrodome for baseball). The horrible ranking for Brad Childress' staff (111th) seems to be based on fan voting, so while it's clearly unreasonable to say there are only 11 coaches in professional sports worse than Chilly, it's pretty easy to see why he ended up as low as he did. "Fan relations" is considered "ease of access to players, coaches and management" -- they placed 97th in this category, but I do think they've been making an effort to improve in this regard. The "State of the Vikings" roundtable we covered a couple weeks ago with Chilly, Spielman, Wilf and Greenway immediately comes to mind.
I had no idea the Dome's $3 hot dogs are tied for the cheapest in the NFL. Still, according to the article, the stadium was criticized by fans for "uncomfortable seats and lack of on-site parking." I'd add narrow concourses, horrible sound, and an overall dreary atmosphere to that list of complaints.
16 comments
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One. . .MILLION. . .Hits!
by Gonzo
on Jul 1, 2009 6:20 PM CDT
in Site Stuff
29 comments
At 5:28 PM Central time, this site welcomed its one millionth visitor.
One million. Good lord, that's a lot.
When I was first blessed with the opportunity to run this site nearly three years ago. . .our third birthday is a week from Friday, if you're scoring at home (or even if you're by yourself). . .I never in my wildest, craziest dreams thought that it would ever grow into something this size. I had no idea that a website that I was the driving force behind could ever become what I think is the standard-bearer for the Minnesota Vikings' corner of the blogosphere. Really, there are so many things that are going through my mind about this at the moment, but I'm so completely humbled by the size of this that I really don't have the words to express them all.
A little more than three years ago, I came across SBNation. . .and more specifically Windy City Gridiron. . .while I was looking for stuff about the NFC North. As I read WCG, I said to myself, "You know, I think I could do something like this." Not because I thought I was a better writer than the guys at WCG, mind you. . .they've done outstanding work over on their site. . .but because I thought that I was the sort of passionate fan that could talk about the Vikings pretty much all year, on just about any topic that related to the Beloved Purple. So I found a contact address and asked if they had any interest in a guy that would love to do a Minnesota Vikings' blog for the network.
Tyler, one of the head guys at SBNation and the founder of SBNation's first ever blog (Athletics Nation), wrote me back and asked if I had anything that I could submit as sort of a writing sample. And so I had to turn to my personal blog, which I had been toiling on in relative obscurity, to see if I had anything. I had put together a lot of rants about the Vikings on that site, but I wasn't sure if I had anything that was worthy of something as big as SBNation. I dug through my archives, and I found this story about my reaction to learning that Daunte Culpepper had been carted off the field in Carolina. It wasn't a very long story, but I thought it pretty well summed up how I felt about the situation.
After a few days, Tyler wrote me back and told me that they were willing to give me a shot. On 10 July 2006, I made the first post on this website. This was followed by the first actual Vikings post on the morning of 11 July.
And now, the odometer has rolled past the one million mark. It's mind-blowing. I really have no other way to describe it.
There are so many people that need to be thanked at this point. I didn't get here by myself. . .after all, I'm sure that no more than 500,000 of those 1,000,000 hits belong to me.
The first would definitely have to be my wife Casey. . .who I lovingly refer to as Mrs. Gonzo around these parts. . .who has given me more encouragement to pursue this website than anybody. I couldn't ask for a more wonderful, understanding wife than her. Three full seasons of my ranting and raving about the Vikings. . .she actually hears the ranting and the raving, while you all get the benefits of getting to read my thoughts in relative silence. And, yet, she puts up with me anyway. She truly is something special, and she deserves every bit as much credit as I do for this site being where it is today.
I have to thank Tyler and the rest of the folks behind the scenes at SBNation. They took a chance on some guy who had no more formal writing experience than writing for his school newspaper in high school and his ranting and raving on his own personal website, and gave him the keys to the car, the gas to get to where he needed to go, and money for munchies along the way. There is not a better company on the internet to work for than SBNation, and anybody that's spent any length of time on any of the 201 sites that make up this network would likely have to agree.
I need to thank the rest of the SBNation writers, and in particular the ones that comprise SBNation's NFL community. From e-mail exchanges to rivalries with other sites to discussions about football in general to podcasting and everything in-between, the people that write for the other 31 NFL blogs in this network make up the most talented group of individuals that I've ever been associated with. Having managed to stumble my way into this group of people is akin to Zach Morris pulling a 1502 on his SATs and actually getting into Harvard.
(Yeah, a Saved By the Bell reference. Yeah, I'm old. I've learned to deal with it.)
I need to thank all my co-writers that have contributed to the site to this point. Eric, Andrew, Mike, and Anthony have all done outstanding jobs to this point. Sadly, other opportunities have opened up for Andrew at this point, and he will no longer be a contributing writer to the site. Well, it's sad for us, I mean, but it's great news for Andrew, obviously. However, Anthony, Eric, Mike, and myself will continue to carry the flag for this site for as long as SBNation will have all of us.
Most of all, I need to thank each and every one of you readers out there. Everyone that's ever put up a FanPost. Everyone that's ever typed up a FanShot. Anyone that's sat here with us through the 49 game threads this site has seen in three seasons of Vikings football. Anyone that's ever commented on any other story on the site. Heck, anyone that's even just lurked here and read what we've had to offer. Every single one of you is what makes this site what it is. Your praise, your criticism, your feedback. . .those are the things that make a blog great, and you guys come through in that regard every single day. From the bottom of my heart, thanks to each and every one of you for making this possible.
I've been told that the first million hits are the toughest to get. The road to the second million has already started. And I hope that each and every one of you out there will help us get to that point.
Thank you again, Viking Nation.
29 comments
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Pick the Stat Lines: Receivers
by Anthony21
on Jun 30, 2009 3:49 PM CDT
in Vikings
18 comments
I've locked in my predictions for the stats I expect the Vikings quarterbacks and running backs to put up this season, so it's time to move on to the receivers. As usual, we're disregarding the possibility of injury and projecting these numbers over the course of a complete 16-game season -- and we're also assuming Favre's the starting quarterback.
I pegged Favre's numbers as: 3,700 passing yards, 26 TDs, 18 INTs, 65% completion. Now, I'll go ahead and try to predict how those stats will be distributed among the main factors in the team's receiving corps:
Berrian: 65 receptions, 1,100 receiving yards, 8 touchdowns
Harvin: 50 receptions, 700 receiving yards, 4 touchdowns
Rice: 35 receptions, 350 receiving yards, 3 touchdowns
Wade: 40 receptions, 400 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns
Shiancoe: 50 receptions, 650 receiving yards, 6 touchdowns
Taylor: 50 receptions, 400 receiving yards, 3 touchdowns
Harvin's obviously the wild card in this bunch -- but with the stats I predicted, he'd be averaging roughly three receptions and 41 receiving yards per game. He'll get more touches on the ground, as he caught 133 passes and carried the ball 194 times during his three seasons with the Gators.
I see Berrian breaking the 1,000-yard mark quite comfortably with Favre at the helm -- it certainly wouldn't be surprising to see him become a top-10 or top-15 receiver, yardage wise. Of all the receivers, he'll be a big winner with the switch to Favre. I'm also predicting Taylor's receiving numbers to stay more or less consistent with last season's, but I see Wade's numbers dipping a bit and I'm reluctant to predict a huge comeback effort for Rice. I'm expecting a modest bump in receiving yards for Shiancoe, who noted that Favre does indeed love throwing the ball to the tight end.
And on a final note, it's entirely possible I lowballed Favre when I predicted his numbers, as I ended up with just 100 yards to spare for Adrian Peterson, Jimmy Kleinsasser, Aundrae Allison, etc. after making my predictions for the six receivers above. I also failed to account for one-yard dump-offs to Tahi.
So these certainly aren't perfect predictions, but they're roughly what I'm expecting to see from the receiving corps this season. Feel free to make your own predictions in the comments.
18 comments
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Two Down, Three to Go
by Anthony21
on Jun 30, 2009 12:50 PM CDT
in News
2 comments
Seventh-round pick Jamarca Sanford inked a deal with the Vikings last week, becoming the first player in the team's 2009 draft class to sign -- and now, we have another player to add to that list. The team announced today that fifth-round pick Jasper Brinkley, a linebacker, has reached a contract agreement:
The Vikings thought enough of Brinkley that they traded a fifth- and seventh-round pick to Washington in order to move up in the fifth round and grab him. The Vikings project Brinkley as the backup to E.J. Henderson at middle linebacker, a position they had to scramble to fill last season after Henderson was lost early in the season because of injury. Brinkley also should play a significant role on special teams this season.
If he can contribute on special teams this season, it'd be fair to call the selection of Brinkley a good one in my book. As you may recall, he went down with a devastating knee injury in 2007 -- he returned to the field in 2008 but wasn't quite up to par with his pre-injury level of performance. Here's hoping his rebound from the injury continues this season, because if it does, Brinkley could turn out to be an excellent value from the fifth round.
Based on the pattern so far -- starting with the seventh-round pick and working backwards -- Asher Allen would logically be the next member of the draft class to sign. We'll have to wait and see if that ends up being the case.
2 comments
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Let's Panic About Percy Harvin!
Face the facts, Vikings fans: Percy Harvin's already looking like a bust. He got sick for the second time this offseason and was sent home from the rookie symposium. Next thing you know, he'll be sitting out games due to illness. Should have gone with Oher. The sky is falling! Ahhhhh!
If one of the above thoughts has entered your mind, I'd suggest relaxing a bit. People get sick all the time -- and this news about Harvin isn't a big deal.
4 days ago
Anthony21
5 comments
0 recs
Pick the Stat Lines: Running Backs
by Anthony21
on Jun 29, 2009 1:03 PM CDT
in Vikings
16 comments
We've taken care of the quarterbacks, so let's move on to the running backs. Couple ground rules for this one: Based on the overwhelming evidence that Favre will be under center for the Vikings this season, let's assume these stats will occur with Brett as the starting quarterback, and let's also assume both Peterson and Taylor play 16 games.
With that out of the way, here are my predicted stat lines for Peterson and Taylor this season:
Peterson: 1,850 rushing yards, 5.2 yards per carry, 14 touchdowns
Taylor: 400 rushing yards, 4.3 yards per carry, 4 touchdowns
I think it's fair to say Peterson would see a bump in his yards per carry average with Favre as the team's starter -- Adrian is coming off a 4.8 yards per carry average last season. Still, despite the reduced pressure he'll face with a respected quarterback under center, I'm not willing to take the plunge and predict a 2,000 yard season. I'd like to make that prediction, but the Vikings will, after all, be throwing the ball more with Favre starting.
Just as I had a tough time predicting T-Jack's stats if he were to play a 16-game season as starting quarterback, Chester Taylor's a tough guy to peg for this season. In the end, I just wimped out and predicted essentially the same rushing stats that he put up from last year -- largely because I expect him to be a focal point of the passing attack this year. If they're not going to give him more touches on the ground, I'd like to see him get the ball more through the air.
So that's my take -- your turn!
16 comments
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Pick the Stat Lines: Quarterbacks
by Anthony21
on Jun 28, 2009 8:24 PM CDT
in Vikings
119 comments
It's quiet right now. There has literally been nothing new in the news lately, so I'll throw this topic out there: What would be your predicted stat lines for the three Vikings quarterbacks who have all been, at some point, a possible starter? If they were to play all 16 games this season, what numbers would we see from T-Jack, Rosenfels and Favre?
I'll get things started with my predictions...
Jackson: 3,000 passing yards, 20 TDs, 9 INTs, 61% completion
Rosenfels: 3,500 passing yards, 23 TDs, 16 INTs, 64% completion
Favre: 3,700 passing yards, 26 TDs, 18 INTs, 65% completion
I see Favre ending up somewhere between his 2007 and 2008 passing yardage totals (4,155 in 2007 and 3,472 in 2008), and yes, I also see him breaking the one interception per game mark. But that just comes with the Brett Favre territory, and his ability to put up more yardage through the air than Jackson or Rosenfels should make up for that.
When making my predictions, I especially struggled with T-Jack's stat line -- when you take a look back at his numbers from last season, you've gotta be impressed with the lack of turnovers you see in the game logs, but I'm just not sure I could expect him to finish the season with a 200 yard per game average. I'm interested to see what folks in the comments come up with for Action Jackson's stat totals if he were to start all 16 games this season.
So, with that, what are your predicted stat lines for these three quarterbacks?
Update:
A couple commenters have noted my ommission of any win-loss records, so let's throw this one out there as well: What record do the Vikings finish the season with if each of these quarterbacks is at the helm for a 16-game season? I'd say 10-6 under either T-Jack or Rosenfels, with Favre being worth an additional win or two.
119 comments
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