This is the latest from Vikings Now, the St. Paul Pioneer Press blog, about the Allen situation.

The post goes on to say that Allen's agent is unsure whether or not his client will proceed with his scheduled visit to Tampa Bay early next week.

Now, I might be reading a little too much into this, but what that tells me is that the problem with this whole thing is not the Vikings coming to terms with Allen on a deal.  The problem appears to be coming from the Kansas City end of the equation, he said in a totally unbiased manner.

Okay, I'm not really unbiased.  But you knew that already.

However, Arrowhead Pride is reporting that Warpaint Illustrated, a Chiefs magazine, is reporting that the Vikings are no longer negotiating with Chiefs' general manager Carl Peterson.  Rather, they're now dealing with Chiefs' owner Clark Hunt.  Arrowhead Pride is also reporting that, based on what the folks at Warpaint Illustrated have told him, that Hunt's demands in a trade for Allen will be not only Minnesota's first and second round picks this season, but their second round pick NEXT season as well.

If that's the tact they're going to take, then at the risk of sounding a bit blunt, the Chiefs can go get bent.  If they don't want to play fair or play nice, then the consequences will be on them.

See, the more I think about it, the more it becomes apparent that the Chiefs don't care what sort of deal Allen signs with another team.  Allen's compensation, in the grand scheme of things, is rather meaningless.  This is all about what the Chiefs can put in THEIR pockets in a trade for their defensive end.  Kansas City doesn't care about how much salary cap space the Vikings have or the Buccaneers have or any other team that might want to acquire Allen has.  This is about Kansas City getting the best possible deal they can to start rebuilding their team. . .and frankly, that's understandable.

The humorous part comes from the folks at places like the Warpaint Illustrated forums and Arrowhead Addict that seem to be under the impression that the Chiefs are going to bend the Vikings over the proverbial table on a potential Allen trade.  To those people, I'll just say "sorry," because that's not happening.  To my knowledge, Mike Lynn has NOT been re-hired to be Minnesota's GM, so the odds of the Beloved Purple getting screwed over on a trade like this are pretty remote.

A lot of these folks also fail to take into consideration that Jared Allen, from all accounts, doesn't want to play in Kansas City any more because he hates Carl Peterson's guts.  Frankly, I can see where he's coming from. . .if the Chiefs were THAT interested in signing him long-term, they could have done so a long time ago OR put the "exclusive rights" franchise tag on him.  But they didn't.  Much the same as when the Seahawks put the transition tag on Steve Hutchinson (rather than the franchise tag) and the Vikings came in and signed him away, the Chiefs apparently didn't take the potential consequences of their actions seriously, and now they expect other teams to pay the price for their error in judgement.

Well, I can tell you that that team certainly won't be the Minnesota Vikings.  The Chiefs are a team in re-building mode. . .shoot, in the article from the Kansas City Star linked above, one of their own beat writers says himself that they need

They need players. . .they need lots of players. . .and if they're going to be competitive, they're going to need those players sooner rather than later.  So, basically, Carl Peterson or Clark Hunt or whoever is running things on the Chiefs' end now has a choice.  They can either accept the deal that the Vikings have on the table for them now. . .which, by all accounts, is more than fair. . .or they can wait, let the Vikings keep all of their picks from this year, let Minnesota sign Allen to an offer sheet that the Chiefs can't match, and take the picks when Minnesota is darn good and ready to give them up.

The bottom line is that the Chiefs will NOT be dictating anything to the Vikings in this situation.  They have a player that doesn't want to play for them any more and negotiating for his rights with a team that he and his agent have been very impressed by.  They don't hold nearly the leverage that they seem to think they do.

After all this, I still think that it's not a matter of "if" Jared Allen will be wearing purple and gold, but a matter of "when."

Oh, and going back to Allen's character again. . .here's another good story about that that was pointed out to me by "kennyrogers" in the comments section of Access Vikings.  My personal favorite part is this one:

To take a line from latter-day American philosopher Ace Ventura, it appears that Allen has EXORCIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISED THE DEMONS!!  Hey, if the Vikings don't appear to be worried about it, then why should I be?

That's all for now, folks. . .man, this weekend has flown by.  Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, and we'll see you back here if anything new develops.

Jared Allen will be leaving the Twin Cities, per NFL rules which say that a player can't spend more than 48 hours visiting a team.

OH MY GOD EVERYBODY PANIC!!!!

Or not.

Allen has a trip to Tampa Bay scheduled for early next week, and the Bucs and Vikings have been the only teams mentioned thus far that are in the running for Allen's services.  Frankly, I don't think the Bucs can offer nearly as good a deal to Allen as the Vikings can, nor can they offer the Chiefs the same level of compensation.  I'm not sure on the former, because I'm not sure how much cap room the Bucs currently have.

However, I am sure about the level of compensation that the Bucs can offer the Chiefs compared to what the Vikings can offer them.  Why?  Here are the picks that each team has in the upcoming draft:

Round	Minnesota	Tampa Bay
1	#17	#20
2	#47	#52
3	#73 (from DEN), #82	#83
4	#117	#120
5	#150	#153
6	#182, #193 (from JAC)	No Picks
7	#209	No Picks

So, as you can see, not only do the Vikings have more picks to draw from than the Buccaneers do, but all of their picks in every round are higher than what Tampa Bay has to offer.  Since the Chiefs seem to be insisting on picks in this year's draft, if the rumors are to be believed, this is a big selling point.

From reading various Chiefs sites around the internet, including our own Arrowhead Pride, it seems that Chiefs' general manager Carl Peterson is more popular than syphilis, but only marginally so.  If he were to somehow let Jared Allen go without getting a return in the 2008 Draft for him, then the public relations backlash could get a little messy for someone who, from all indications, really can't afford to deal with something like that.

But that, fortunately for the Vikings, is a card that they hold.  Lest you think that the Chiefs hold all the cards in this poker game, let me once again refer you to the folks at Pro Football Talk:

Basically, if Carl Peterson wants to play hardball with this, it's going to come back to bite him.  Even if he does get Minnesota's first-round selections in '09 and '10. . .if he screws up a deal for the team's best defensive player, he might not be around long enough to exercise those picks for the Chiefs.

Peterson has to know that not all of the onus to get this done falls on the Minnesota Vikings.  If the Vikings feel like it, they can select someone with the 17th pick in this year's draft at 7:00 PM on Saturday and sign Allen to a loaded offer sheet at 7:01.  He knows this. . .at least, I think he knows this.  And if the Vikings put a specific clause in the contract like. . .oh, I don't know. . ."player, if physically healthy, must play at least eight games a year in domed stadiums". . .then Peterson will just have to stand there and take it.  But he won't just be taking it from the Vikings. . .he'll be taking it from the Kansas City faithful, too.

(And if you think the "games played in domed stadiums" thing is outrageous, I find it to be no more so than Nate Burleson's "no more than five games a year in the state of Minnesota" clause from the battle with Seattle a couple years back.)

So please, nobody freak out over Jared Allen leaving the Twin Cities before a contract is done.  He's leaving because league rules mandate that he has to.  I have a feeling that he'll still be wearing the purple and gold before too much longer.  It might not be pretty, but I have a feeling that it will get done.

And with that, it's time to call it a night.  Have a good Sat. . .er, Sunday, ladies and gentlemen, and we'll be back bright and early tomorrow with any new developments, should any arise.

From their Rumor Mill tidbit about the ongoing discussions between the Vikings and the Chiefs concerning Jared Allen:

And you know something?  That idea is so damn crazy that it just. . .might. . .work.

I'd have to put a little more thought into the whole thing, but looking at it on the surface, I don't think I'd be completely opposed to this.  If the Chiefs don't want to come to terms on a deal, then we keep all our picks in this year's draft, load up on talent/depth, and sign Allen to a contract on Monday, 28 April after the draft is over.

Also, I'm sure that if a poison pill were to be inserted like there was in the Hutchinson contract a couple of years ago, the whining from the national media would be damn near unbearable for a while. . .but, like I said with the Hutchinson contract, Zygi Wilf isn't running a charity.  He's not putting together an update of "How to Make Friends and Influence People."  He's attempting to make his football team the best that it can be.  Getting Jared Allen onto this roster would be a huge step in making that happen.

What say you, folks?  If a deal isn't worked out prior to the draft, would you be adverse to that scenario?

Just caught this on Access Vikings in the process of looking for more Jared Allen news:

Awesome.  Really, what more can I say?

To everyone that's coming to the site looking for the latest Jared Allen trade rumors. . .well, just like a lot of you, I've been frantically refreshing Access Vikings every few minutes for the last few hours now, so I know just about as much as you do about the matter.

Apparently Allen is still at Winter Park, and the deal is either not even close or on the cusp of completion, depending on your source (the NFL Network being the source of the former, Pro Football Talk being the source of the latter).

I have seen the future. . .and the future, it is good. (Photo work done by "Enrage" from the Vikings' forum at Football's Future)

Now, I briefly discussed this with Chris from Arrowhead Pride this morning, and he flat-out told me that if the Vikes should acquire Allen, they'll be getting one heck of a player, and it would be foolish not to agree with him.  Surprisingly, he also said that not only is Allen an outstanding pass rusher, but he's also very good against the run, which is also (obviously) a hallmark of the Minnesota defense.  I'm damn near giddy just thinking about acquiring a guy of this caliber.

Of course. . .there are nay-sayers out there.

Nay-sayers will point out that he's one DUI away from a one-year NFL suspension.  Yes, the Vikings got burned by the last guy they took that kind of gamble on.  But to be honest, I never heard anything like this from Koren Robinson when he was in Minnesota:

Obviously, part of the offseason had to be spent taking care of the fallout from the trouble I got myself into last year. And I did. You just have to pay the piper, man. I got my suspension reduced by two games, which was just awesome, you know, that we got the appeal to work for us. It was kind of nice, just as a reward for myself, for my own personal view, it was nice for me to just catch a break on this stuff. I put myself in those situations, but, you know, to finally get a reward for the right things I've been doing - it's not like that was what I was looking for, but it's nice to get a little pat on the back for your changes. Like making the right decisions hasn't gone unnoticed.

Life's been great, though - I haven't had a drink in over 10 months. Just living right and having fun, you know. I still go out and stuff. Enjoying life, working out, eating healthy, and trying to stay as fit as possible. Just excited for the season to come up.

Allen, it appears, truly gets it.  That article is dated August '07, which means the guy has been sober since October of '06. . .and, assuming that the facts of said article still hold true, he'll be two years sober by the time training camp comes around.  The guy is on the verge of signing a deal that could, potentially, make him the highest-paid defensive player in the history of the National Football League, and allow him to line up with the undisputed best pair of defensive tackles in the league today.

Will he screw up again?  Not bloody likely.  Even if he does. . .if you think the Vikings aren't going to include a clause in the contract to protect themselves from such a thing, you obviously haven't been paying attention.

I've also gotten a few nice e-mails comparing this to the Herschel Walker trade. . .mostly from mouth-breathers from the other side of the Minnesota/Wisconsin border that realize their team's chance of winning the division this year is slowly approaching "zero."

The Walker trade?  Really?  The Vikings are on the verge of acquiring one of the top 4-5 defensive ends in the league, and all you've got is the Walker trade?  Seriously, shut up.  This isn't 11-for-1.  It's two draft picks.  Idiots.

I didn't mention this earlier in the off-season because I didn't think it was feasible that the Vikings. . .OUR Minnesota Vikings. . .would attempt to make such a bold move.  This is the kind of thing that we watch other teams do and say to ourselves, "Damn, why doesn't OUR team do something like that?"  I mean, we've talked about Jason Taylor and Julius Peppers, both of whom would also have to be acquired via trade, but nothing about Allen.

The differences between acquiring Allen and acquiring either Peppers or Taylor are these.

-The age factor.  Jason Taylor is 34 years old.  Peppers is 28.  Jared Allen just turned 26.

-The production factor.  All of these players have been productive, yes.  But here are their numbers for the last four seasons (the time that Allen has been in the NFL):

Taylor - 257 total tackles, 46 sacks, 30 passes defended, 4 INT
Peppers - 209 total tackles, 37 sacks, 24 passes defended, 3 INT
Allen - 227 total tackles, 43 sacks, 25 passes defended, 1 INT

Allen has also never had fewer than 7.5 sacks in a season, and he's produced those kinds of numbers on a defensive line that, honestly, didn't have a hell of a lot else to offer.  Yes, Taylor has been slightly more productive than Allen has. . .but, again, he's also 8 years older.  Nobody knows how much longer Taylor will be able to continue his level of play, while Allen should just be coming into the prime of his career.

Seriously, folks. . .bringing Jared Allen in would give us the best defensive line this team has seen since the days of Doleman-Millard-Thomas-Noga.  That line was part of a defense that put up 71 sacks in 1989.  The parallels are there, too. . .Allen fits nicely into the Doleman mold, and might even be a little better in run defense.  The Irresistable Force (Kevin Williams, if you've forgotten) is Keith Millard without the "my arms are bigger than your guns" level of crazy.  The Immovable Object slots into the Henry Thomas spot, and. . .well, some combination of Ray Edwards, Brian Robison, and Erasmus James (for the five minutes he's healthy) can play the role of Al Noga.

Do I expect 71 sacks for the Vikings if this trade goes down?  No, because that kind of expectation would be insane.  But I DO expect a lot of scared quarterbacks.  I DO expect a lot of hurried and forced throws.  And I DO expect a defense that makes the leap from "average" to the upper eschelon of defenses in the NFL.

Keep it tuned here, folks. . .if we find anything new on the Allen situation, we'll have it right here as soon as it hits our ears.  Keep enjoying your Friday, everybody!

Update [2008-4-18 20:28:3 by Gonzo]:

And by "anything new," this qualifies. . .this is piggybacked onto the Udeze post that's linked above.

Go, Zygi, go!

Okay. . .quick disclaimer before I do this here. . .

I have no link to this.  It's coming from something that was said by Michael Smith on ESPN's NFL Live.  I'm checking on ESPN's site for some sort of link to said video, but I've yet to find it, and NFL Live isn't re-running on ESPN television until the wee hours of the morning.

So, again, we could call this an REO Speedwagon rumor. . .as in "heard it from a friend who heard it from a friend who. . ."

(Yeah, REO Speedwagon. . .I went there.)

Anyway, Michael Smith has said on NFL Live that Jared Allen to the Vikings is "virtually a done deal."  It's said that the deal will be for Minnesota's first rounder this year (#17 overall) and the third round pick they've received from the Denver Broncos (#73 overall) in exchange for Allen, who would sign a long-term extension.  The Vikings originally offered #17 this year and their second rounder in 2009, but it appears that the Chiefs want picks THIS season.

Now, I don't want to jinx anything here. . .but so help me, if this goes through. . .

NOW WE ARE SO HAPPY, WE DO THE DANCE OF JOY!  DA DA DA DA, DA DA DA DA! (Picture courtesy of TVGuide.com)

Jared Allen led the NFL last season with 16 sacks.  He did this in 14 games, having served a two-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy.  He also did this lined up along side of two guys in the middle named Ron Edwards and Alfonso Boone.  You might remember Boone from his time in Chicago. . .then again, nobody would be surprised if you didn't.

Jared Allen on the fast track in Minnesota lined up next to the Irresistable Force and the Immovable Object for 16 games?  Ummmmmm. . .yes, please!  After all, we got to see first-hand what Jared Allen is capable of last year.  In the first game back from his suspension, Allen had 8 tackles, 2 sacks, a forced fumble, and basically spent his entire afternoon abusing Bryant McKinnie in Kansas City's 13-10 victory at Arrowhead Stadium.

I will be freaking ecstatic if this deal happens.  Somewhere, Aaron Rodgers is curled up in the fetal position, sucking his thumb.  I can't imagine what he'll look like after this trade happens.

More on this tomorrow when I have more time to digest it.  Enjoy the rest of your Thursday, ladies and gentlemen.

Poll

Would you be in favor of the Vikings acquiring Kansas City DE Jared Allen via either of the rumored trades?

29%

Yes, for #17 and #73 in the 2008 Draft

310 votes

7%

Yes, for #17 in the 2008 Draft and a second-rounder in 2009

80 votes

59%

Yes, I would do that for either of those deals

627 votes

3%

No, neither of those deals would interest me if I was the Vikings' GM

42 votes

1059 votes | Poll has closed

Despite the fact that we're still nearly five months away from Kickoff Weekend in the National Football League, it's a pretty slow time for Vikings news. . .so, let's take a look at Minnesota's 2008 schedule.

Opening Night at Green Bay - I guess the Vikings are supposed to be scared of a quarterback that's never done anything at the NFL level and a flash in the pan running back.  Maybe I'm just being a homer, but I don't see it.  Watching Aaron Rodgers get destroyed in his first ever NFL start. . .provided he actually makes it through the pre-season healthy. . .should be a fine way to kick off the 2008 season.

Projected Record:  1-0

Indianapolis at Minnesota - Man, tough draw for the home opener.  I guess it would be better to get the Colts early in the season than later on. . .but I don't know if I can project a win here.  It's not going to be the blowout that a lot of people probably think it's going to be, but I think the Vikes lose this one.

Projected Record:  1-1

Carolina at Minnesota - The Panthers' QB situation is pretty unsettled with Jake Delhomme coming off of an injury and. . .well, I'm not sure who's behind him right now.  (Bad Gonzo. . .bad fan!)  The last time these two teams got together, it was a defensive slugfest.  I wouldn't expect anything different this time around. . .I wouldn't expect a different result, either.

Projected Record:  2-1

Minnesota at Tennessee - Tennessee is an interesting team, in my opinion.  Their defense is outstanding, and they manage to get it done offensively with less than outstanding personnel. . .yes, Vince Young, I'm looking at you.  They're truly a testament to Jeff Fisher's coaching ability, I think.  This should be a pretty good ball game.  In fact, I might have to flip a coin here.

flips coin

Heads. . .outstanding.

Projected Record:  3-1

Minnesota at New Orleans - The Vikings' second prime time game of 2008, and it pits them against a team that could be classed as one of 2007's bigger disappointments.  The Saints have as much offensive talent as any team in the league, but their defense is quite questionable.  Unfortunately, they have the kind of offense that promises to give the Vikings fits.  It'll be a close one, but I have to chalk up the second loss for the Beloved Purple here.

Projected Record:  3-2

Detroit at Minnesota - You know, the last time the Lions came into the Metrodome and beat the Vikings was the year before the Vikings drafted Randy Moss.  I can't project that to change until the Lions give me reason to.  In a related story, Kenoy Kennedy is still trying to figure out where Adrian Peterson went to.

Projected Record:  4-2

Minnesota at Chicago - A quick overview of the Chicago offense. . .

-Their quarterbacks are terrible
-Their running backs are terrible
-Their wide receivers are terrible
-Their offensive line is terrible

Other than that, the Bears are pretty well set offensively.

Look for Adrian Peterson to return to the scene of his breakout game and put together AP 2:  Electric Boogaloo.

Projected Record:  5-2

Houston at Minnesota - The Texans' first ever trip to the Metrodome should be interesting.  Houston is a team on the cusp, much like Minnesota is.  Both teams have a lot of good, if raw, young talent.  Being at home for this one could be enough to give the Vikings the edge.

Projected Record:  6-2

Green Bay at Minnesota - looks above

Nope. . .still not scared, still not impressed.  I wonder if some guy will announce his unretirement soon enough to play in this one.  Oh, well. . .even if he does, it won't matter.

Projected Record:  7-2

Minnesota at Tampa Bay - No word yet on which of the 27 quarterbacks Jon Gruden will have in camp this year will start for the Bucs this year. . .but with the defense that Tampa has, it might not matter.  Also, there's something about the state of Florida that doesn't agree with the Beloved Purple. . .the last time the Vikings won a game in the state of Florida was 1997 at. . .Tampa Bay.  Again, no reason to change a trend without a good reason to change it.

Projected Record:  7-3

Minnesota at Jacksonville - Two consecutive games in Florida. . .another thing that might not work out well for Minnesota.  Throw in the fact that Jacksonville is one of the best teams in football, and it looks like we might have the makings of an actual losing streak here.

Projected Record:  7-4

Chicago at Minnesota - Fortunately, after our back-to-back games in Florida, we get what former Chicago Cubs' first baseman Mark Grace used to refer to as a "slumpbuster."

(What?  What do mean that that's not what Grace meant?)

Projected Record:  8-4

Minnesota at Detroit - Say what you will about Minnesota's coaching staff or front office or whatever. . .at least we don't have Matt Millen.

Projected Record:  9-4

Minnesota at Arizona - No Nathan Poole this time.  Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin are slightly better than Poole. . .but, you know, screw him anyway.

Projected Record:  10-4

Atlanta at Minnesota - I know we're pretty far away from the start of the season, but does a Detroit/Arizona/Atlanta trifecta going down the stretch make anybody else feel at least a little bit fuzzy inside?

(Yes, this is one of those sort of comments that invariably comes back to bite me in the ass.)

Projected Record:  11-4

New York Giants at Minnesota - Having wrapped up the division and a playoff spot looooooooooooong before this, the Vikings will be resting starters.  There's a very good chance the Giants will be, too.  So, since I gave the Vikings' the last "coin flip," I'll show some respect to the World Champs by giving them this one.

Projected Record:  11-5

So, there you have it. . .an obscenely early look at Minnesota's 2008 season.  I don't see a reason that this team should be worse than 10-6, but your mileage may vary.

Thoughts?  Agreements?  Disagreements?  Air them out here!

Update [2008-4-15 14:16:27 by Gonzo]:

Here is the complete Minnesota Vikings 2008 Schedule.

Monday, 8 September - Minnesota at Green Bay (Monday Night)
Sunday, 14 September - Indianapolis at Minnesota
Sunday, 21 September - Carolina at Minnesota
Sunday, 28 September - Minnesota at Tennessee
Monday, 6 October - Minnesota at New Orleans (Monday Night)
Sunday, 12 October - Detroit at Minnesota
Sunday, 19 October - Minnesota at Chicago
BYE WEEK
Sunday, 2 November - Houston at Minnesota
Sunday, 9 November - Green Bay at Minnesota
Sunday, 16 November - Minnesota at Tampa Bay
Sunday, 23 November - Minnesota at Jacksonville
Sunday, 30 November - Chicago at Minnesota (Sunday Night)
Sunday, 7 December - Minnesota at Detroit
Sunday, 14 December - Minnesota at Arizona
Sunday, 21 December - Atlanta at Minnesota
Sunday, 28 December - New York Giants at Minnesota

Discuss!!

The NFL will be formally announcing the 2008 NFL Schedule this afternoon on NFL Network at 1 PM Central time.  We'll use this thread to discuss the schedule for the Beloved Purple.

But, according to Access Vikings, the leaks have already started coming. . .and this is one that I'm particularly interested in.

On one hand. . .I am so totally going to this game.  On the other hand. . .with it being a Monday night, it makes it a bit tough to have any sort of get together for any readers that might be in the New Orleans area and also attending the game.

But I'm still totally going, with or without you.  (-:

Got about an hour and 45 minutes until the schedule is formally announced. . .and as soon as it's available, it will be right here at The Daily Norseman!

Update [2008-4-15 12:29:35 by Gonzo]:

Another announcement from the same Star-Tribune blog entry. . .the Beloved Purple will also host the Carolina Panthers in Week 3.

More as it becomes available.

Update [2008-4-15 12:53:16 by Gonzo]:

Same post is now reporting that it looks like the Vikings' home opener might be on 14 Sep against the Indianapolis Colts.

Update [2008-4-15 13:24:12 by Gonzo]:

The Vikings' home date with the Chicago Bears is tenatively scheduled for Sunday night, 30 November, in Minneapolis. I say "tenatively" because that's a game that could potentially become the victim of the "flex" scheduling by the NFL.