Phat Praise for Phat Pat

Here's an interesting little column from Gregg Easterbrook, the man behind ESPN.com's "Tuesday Morning Quarterback," where he names his "All-Unwanted All-Pros."  It's a team. . .two teams, actually. . .comprised of players that were waived or otherwise ignored by other teams and are now experiencing great success at the NFL level.

The Beloved Purple place two members on Easterbrooks' squad, both of them on the first team.  Punter Chris Kluwe is one of them. . .remember, Kluwe was originally cut by the Seattle Seahawks in favor of Leo Araguz prior to the 2005 season, and took the Vikings' punting chores away from a struggling Darren Bennett.  Easterbrook highlights that Kluwe had 34 punts killed inside the 20 this year, one of the best numbers in the NFL.

But the icing on the cake is the recognition for the man that we've come to know as The Immovable Object.  Here's what Easterbrook had to say about one Pat Williams:

Yes, it's hard to believe that the man that's now mentioned among the best defensive tackles in the NFL. . .and is easily the league's best run-stopping force. . .was run out of Buffalo a couple of years ago by Tom Donahoe.  Now he's signed with Minnesota for the foreseeable future, and will hopefully continue his level of play for a very long time.

Oh, and Gregg. . .we've been laughing at the "317 pounds" thing for as long as #94 has been in Minnesota.  He and Kevin Williams are both listed at the same weight. . .and since there are many pictures of the two of them standing side by side, anyone that's watched the Vikings over the last three seasons knows just how ludicrous that is.

Keep enjoying your week, ladies and gentlemen!  Oh, and in case you haven't already noticed, the first-round draft order is now over on the right-hand sidebar, and the NFC North standings have also been updated to reflect each team's current station.