It's a rare occurrence where I talk up a player from another team, and an ever rarer occurrence when that player happens to play for a division rival. However, I would like to take the opportunity to give a big "atta boy" to someone that plays for one of those teams that Viking fans love to hate.

That man would be Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs.

Briggs received red, white, and blue cleats and gloves from the folks at Reebok, and plans on wearing them on for Sunday's opener despite the NFL's strict rules on players wearing anything other than the officially sanctioned uniform pieces. Sunday, of course, also marks the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and as you can see from the picture linked there, the gloves make note of that.

He knows that the fine is coming, but he has stated that it is by far "the best fine he'll ever pay."

I have to give some major respect to Lance Briggs for taking a stand and doing this. As he points out on his Twitter account, players can wear pink for the NFL's breast cancer awareness campaign, and he doesn't feel that this is any different. I'm quite inclined to agree with him. The nation will be recognizing the 10th anniversary of 9/11 on Sunday, and the league will be recognizing it as well. There shouldn't be any issue at all with Briggs doing this to show his respect for everything that took place on that fateful day.

So a big shout out from yours truly to Mr. Briggs. I still hope that the Vikings can make you and your teammates look foolish both times that they meet on the field this year, but taking a stand on something like this sure as hell is impressive, in my opinion.

What could make the NFL's thinnest-skinned fans even more cordial and enjoyable?

Letting them bring guns to the stadium, of course.

What. . .you thought that headline was a parody? Oh, no. . .it most certainly is not.

Wisconsin is expected to become the 49th state that allows concealed carry. That means adults with permits and proper training can bring a concealed hand gun into public buildings and state parks but what about Lambeau Field?

 "I don't know enough about Wisconsin's specific law to know if the stadiums are exempt or not or can be exempt," said Stadium district Executive Director, Pat Webb.

Seriously, how in the heck does this guy not know? Is it too hard just to say, "Ummmmm, no, you will not be bringing your firearms into the stadium?" Apparently, it is. Really, is there any other stadium in the NFL where this would even potentially come up?

(Okay, I'll concede Oakland, but that's the obvious answer. Think outside of the box, people.)

I can't believe this is even an issue. . .I can't take a Swiss Army knife onto an airplane because OMG IT HAS SHARP POINTY THINGS ON IT, but yeah, let's let Carl Gerbschmidt bring his Glock to a place where tempers regularly flare and confrontations regularly take place. Just for fun, let's throw in copious amounts of alcohol, too. Really, what could go wrong?

Honestly, I love my Second Amendment rights as much as anyone. . .but for crying out loud, draw a freaking line in the sand already.

In a related story. . .this ought to put a screeching halt to any rumors of Brett Favre's potential unretirement, eh?

(Hat tip to Pro Football Talk for originally discussing the story.)

Everyone knows about the pending suspensions of Pat Williams and Kevin Williams as a result of the StarCaps saga, and how their names have been dragged through the mud as steroid abusers and cheaters and so forth.

But about six months before the whole StarCaps mess came to light, there was an NFC North player that was facing potential federal felony drug charges. . .which, you know, one would think would be a little more serious than taking a pill to cut weight that didn't list all its ingredients, but while the whining about Pat and Kevin Williams has persisted for two and a half years, this case has been pretty much forgotten.

Yesterday, the dummy in question made sure that we remembered.

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One of the most underrated pieces of one of the greatest defenses in NFL history has passed away. . .and, sadly, it was by his own hand.

Former Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson, who was a part of the great 1985 Chicago Bears defense that went 15-1 and crushed the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX, was found dead in his home on Thursday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. He was 50 years of age.

Duerson was a two-time All-American at Notre Dame before being drafted by the Bears in the third round of the 1983 NFL Draft. Even though he was a part of the great 1985 Bears' defense, his best individual season may have come in 1986, when he set what was then a record for sacks by a defensive back with seven, as well as intercepting six passes. He was also named the NFL's Man of the Year for 1987 (the same award that Vikings' safety Madieu Williams won this season). He also went on to win a second Super Bowl ring with the New York Giants in 1990.

With the backdrop of the labor negotiations that are ongoing with the National Football League, Duerson's death is likely to put a focus back onto potential traumatic brain injuries and their lingering effects on players after they retire from the game. Duerson had sent a text message to members of his family prior to his death saying that he wanted his brain to be examined after he passed on, emphasizing that he particularly wanted the left side to be examined. Chris Nowinski, the former WWE wrestler who is now the co-director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University, has said that Duerson's brain will be studied for the potential presence of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), which is more commonly referred to as being "punch drunk."

With cases such as Duerson's (potentially) as well as those of former players like Philadelphia Eagles' safety Andre Waters and Pittsburgh Steelers center Mike Webster, it does make it a bit hard to see the merits of an 18-game regular season that would serve no purpose other than to do more damage to the brains of NFL players. We have a tendency to forget players after they leave the NFL, but they still have families to support and lives to lead once they leave the game. . .sadly, it generally takes something like this to make a lot of us remember that, and it generally passes without anything being done to change things.

I really don't have a side in the labor negotiations at this point. . .but, in my opinion, one of the top priorities has to be the after-career care of the people that the NFL has built an empire on the backs of.

I've always liked Mike Tice. . .he may not be the most eloquent speaker, and when he does speak he has a tendency to say things that he shouldn't (see also: The "Randy Ratio"), but I always thought he got a bit of a raw deal in Minnesota. He was unfortunate enough to be the head coach during the tenure of Red McCombs, who did everything with the Vikings on the cheap. For crying out loud, in Tice's final season here, Steve Loney was serving as both the offensive coordinator and the offensive line coach at the same time, because McCombs wouldn't let Tice hire more people to his staff. He also did a pretty damn fine job during the tumultuous 2005 season of steering the Vikings to a winning record despite all the things that went on.

This past season, he was with the Chicago Bears as their offensive line coach, and though the Bears' offensive line was a disaster when the season started. . .witness Jay Cutler getting sacked nine times in a half against the New York Giants if you want visual proof. . .Tice moved some parts around and adjusted a few schemes, and the Chicago offensive line got markedly better over the course of the season.

Now, our friends over at Music City Miracles are reporting that Tice is a serious candidate for the Tennessee Titans' offensive coordinator job under their new head coach, Mike Munchak.

Personally. . .and, again, I might be biased, since I've already said that I'm a huge Tice fan. . .but I think that losing Mike Tice would be a huge blow to the Chicago Bears. Brian Billick declared that what Tice had done with the Bears' offensive line over the course of the 2010 season was "nothing less than miraculous," and I tend to agree. There were few assistant coaches anywhere that did the job that Tice did last year with the Bears. Whoever Chicago would get to replace Tice in the position of offensive line coach would undoubtedly be a downgrade. . .and, hey, any advantage that the Bears want to give us in our efforts to catch them for the NFC North title is a welcome one, in my book.

So, that's two good reasons to hope that Mike Tice gets this job as the Titans' offensive coordinator. . .not only does the guy deserve a shot to climb the ladder, but it would definitely be a blow to one of our closest rivals.

I've been pretty quiet around these parts since the 2010 season mercifully came to an end for the Vikings. While my output was naturally bound to dwindle since it is the offseason and all, I've half-avoided posting here for the last few weeks due to three main reasons:

1. I've been really busy at work. I know, lame excuse, but fellow computer nerds know that the weeks leading up to a big software release aren't exactly a fun time.
2. Every time I'm about to post a newsworthy item and my opinion about said item, one of my co-writers has already beaten me to the punch. This isn't a complaint at all--as Ron Burgundy said to Baxter after he pooped in the refrigerator and ate the whole wheel of cheese, "I'm not even mad; I'm impressed!" My colleagues are no joke, people. If you want dibs on a story here, you best be on top of your Twitter game.
3. While we're wallowing in sorrow over another season gone by the wayside, one of our two biggest rivals is guaranteed a spot in this year's Super Bowl.

Yeah, it's mostly because of that last one. It's hard to write about your favorite team when the two teams you hate the most are still gleefully pillaging through he playoffs. I saw Green Bay vs. Chicago coming as soon as the Seahawks beat the Saints--I even tweeted it a couple weeks ago--but it doesn't make it any easier on us Viking fans. I'd rather drink a liter of hot tub water from the Jersey Shore house than listen to another Bears or (especially) Packers fan gloat about how their team is just one step away from the Super Bowl.

No doubt most of you know plenty of Packers or Bears fans that have been completely insufferable this season. It sucks. There's no getting around it--both teams were much better than the Vikings in 2010. We should probably just sit idly by and take our lumps from the Cheeseheads and Da Ditkas until next year. But that's just not my style. Instead, allow me to extend a metaphorical middle finger to each team and tell their fans why they should shut up.

Let's start in Chicago.

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A few years ago, my family just got hit with one gut punch after another.  Between illnesses, layoffs, and a couple people not seeing eye to eye on some things, it just seemed like no one on my side of the family could catch a break.  Towards the end of the year, we were in my sister's backyard around a bonfire, and we threw a calendar into the pit, because that year just needed to be killed with fire.

It was a catharsis for us, and although the problems we faced were still there, it symbolized that we can forget about what's behind us, and it gave us energy to face what was on the horizon.  What's done is done.  Pick up the pieces and move on. 

And so it is with the 2010 NFL season for Vikings fans.  What began with such promise ended with an indifferent loss to Detroit in the season finale.  In between we were asked to face a myriad of issues--The Hip That Wouldn't Heal, The Secret Flight of the Three to Make Four, The Prodigal Son Returning, said Prodigal Son not being a Schematic Fit, whatever the hell that means, Chilly's Firing, The Vikings Becoming Homeless, 1-5 in the Division, and I'm sure I'm missing something.  Now that we've had time to decompress, I would think some, if not most of us, should file for disability, because if you're not suffering from a Vikings induced PTSD, then by God, you're not really a fan of the Purple and Gold.  And with the lockout and stadium fight looming, it's not over.

The phrase 'that which does not kill you makes you stronger' keeps rolling around in my head, but I don't know why.

But we are Vikings fans.  We keep our chin up and we move forward into the fire, humming our own personal Sturm und Drang along the way.

But c'mon, Lord, could you let up on us just a little?  Did you really have to put the Bears AND the Packers in the NFC Championship?

Really?

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Since Free Agency began at Midnight EST Friday, there has been a flurry of activity, most notably among two of our NFC North division rivals, the Bears and the Lions.  It's easy to take a look at a few signings by one team, or a loss of free agents by another, and then proclaim that one team is all of a sudden better, another team is worse, and the football world as we know it has been flipped on it's ear.  Well, it's not always that simple.  If we break things down a little more, I think we'll see that the Vikings aren't as bad as we think, and that the Bears and Lions still have a way to go to catch the purple...with one notable exception, of course.  But to read some places on the Internet, the Vikings are worse and getting worse with each passing day.  I'd like to present my rebuttal, after the jump.

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