Because the national coverage and/or perception of the Vikings has been overwhelmingly positive over the course of the past few days.  Don't worry. . .as we get closer to the start of the season and the media remembers who we open the season with, I'm sure the positive coverage will come to a screeching halt.  But I'm sure as heck going to enjoy it while it lasts!

We'll start out with a little tidbit from the Sporting News, in which they gathered a consensus as to which team in the NFC has the best safeties. . .and you'll never believe what team came out on top:

1. Minnesota Vikings

Darren Sharper and Madieu Williams are strong playmakers. Williams adds sticky coverage skills. Michael Boulware provides experienced depth, and rookie Tyrell Johnson could get time in the nickel package.

Boy. . .for a guy that, according to "fans" from the other side of the border, has been washed up for. . .let's see. . .exactly three years, two months, and three days, ol' #42 sure seems to be getting along okay.  I guess that Pro Bowl berth he earned last year wasn't just based on past merits after all.

The article also goes on to name Sharper as the best safety in the NFC.  Note how none of the other NFC North teams can even crack the top half of the list.  With the improved pass rush that we'll be seeing this season, it would be silly not to project another Pro Bowl berth for Sharper at this point.

The next bit of praise comes from Fox Sports' John Czarnecki, who sites five teams that he feels have made enough improvement to contend for the Super Bowl. . .and, boy howdy, you'll never guess who made this list, too!

Vikings

By spending more than $70 million on new talent, Vikings owner Zygi Wilf is telling Coach Brad Childress that his third season better include a playoff berth. Unless Tavaris Jackson doesn't improve a lick, the Vikings have the team to beat in the NFC North. If Jackson continues to make strides along with runner Adrian Peterson, Minnesota will be better equipped to control every game's tempo because their defensive pass rush should be the NFL's best. Yes, ex-Chief Jared Allen is that good, plus he's being teamed with Kevin and Pat Williams, already the game's best duo at defensive tackle.

The quarterback position has been upgraded with the arrival of veteran Gus Frerotte, who can win in a reserve role, and with USC rookie John David Booty who played on college's biggest stage with the Trojans. Ex-Bear Bernard Berrian gives Childress a bonafide deep threat opposite Sidney Rice. The defense is a lot more than Allen, too, because E.J. Henderson and Chad Greenway are above-average linebackers and ex-Bengal safety Madieu Williams is a lot better player and more reliable than the departed Dwight Smith. With the retirement of Brett Favre, the Packers won't be favored to repeat as division champions. The Vikings have two big tests this season — home to Peyton Manning and the Colts and at Jacksonville in late November. If they win one of those, watch out!

That highlighted part of the first paragraph is the key there.  See, Jackson doesn't have to turn into Peyton Manning or Tom Brady or anything like that. . .he simply needs to become more consistent.  You really can't argue with the fact that he went 8-4 as a starter last year. . .and should have been 9-3 (screw you very much, Troy Williamson). . .and the fact that he was throwing to what might have been the worst WR corps in the NFL couldn't have helped his development, either.  Don't tell me that he "didn't have anything to do with the victories," either.  It's the NFL. . .every player on the team contributes to every victory, and every player on the team contributes to every loss.

But yes. . .quite frankly, the Vikings are the team to beat in the NFC North in 2008.  If you have issues with my assessment. . .well, that's a you problem, not a me problem.

Speaking of young Mr. Jackson. . .no less an authority than former NFL MVP Rich Gannon says that he's expecting some pretty big things from the Vikings' QB in 2008:

"I'm excited. I got a chance to go out there a little bit, and I watched -- really, I wanted to look at Tarvaris and see where he has come in just the one short year -- and I got a chance to watch some film and sit down with [coach Brad] Childress and really look at him, and talk about him, and evaluate him," said Gannon.

"I think he's made great strides. I think he's a very athletic guy, very gifted, and the big thing for him this year is just consistency."

...

"He's got to play 16 games, he only finished 12 games a year ago, he needs to play 16 games," Gannon said. "He needs to be more efficient and more consistent. And if he can do those two things -- with the running game they have, the offensive line, they've upgraded their receivers, they're going to be better defensively -- there's no reason why that team cannot win the NFC North."

Yep. . .it's all about consistency for #7 this year.  And, hopefully, having a more consistent WR corps with the addition of Bernard Berrian, the maturation of Sidney Rice, and the steadiness of Bobby Wade (particularly now that he's the real #3 guy and not a #3 masquerading as a #1) will be a big part of that.

I think it's kind of funny that there are so many "experts" out there that have made the determination that the Vikings should be looking to abandon Jackson after 14 career NFL starts because they've already drawn the conclusion that he isn't ready.  How many QBs in NFL history have looked like garbage in their first 14 NFL starts?  Now, if Jackson goes out THIS season and stinks up the joint, the team should start looking in another direction. . .and I'm sure they will be, because if Jackson is terrible in 2008, Brad Childress will be looking for a job.

The other funny thing as it relates to the NFC North is that so many of these same "experts" that declare Tarvaris Jackson to be useless are completely sold on Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers.  So, apparently, a guy that goes 8-4 in his first full year as a starter while throwing to an awful receiving corps doesn't impress some people. . .but a guy who, in three NFL seasons, has as many trips to IR as he does TD passes while playing exclusively garbage time football is, somehow, the second coming.

Honestly, you couldn't make that up if you tried.

Like I said, folks. . .enjoy it while it lasts.  I can't guarantee how much longer that will be or anything, but it's nice to see for a little bit, anyway.

I occasionally open my e-mail box and find inspiration for an idea for a post, or for the site in general, inside. . .particularly during this long, dark tea time of the off-season when news is relatively scarce.  Today was one of those days.  I received an e-mail from a man by the name of Jory Dyvig inquiring about my interest in this print that he had created:

As you can see, it's a print of the Vikings' 40th Anniversary team.  Very nicely done.  I, personally, can't wait to receive mine, get it framed, and put it up on the wall of my Vikings room here in my house.  (If any of you are interested in acquiring a print of your own, you can check out Jory's site for more information.)

After looking at the print for a bit, an idea finally dawned on me for something that you, the readers of this site, can use to help us get through the off-season and get us geared up for an outstanding 2008 NFL season for our Beloved Purple.

Starting this Monday, we're going to be determining our own all-time Vikings' team.  Through voting on polls on the sidebar, we'll be determining which players would make the best team in Minnesota Vikings history.  We'll see how much it differs from the 40th Anniversary team (if at all), and just have some good, spirited debate to support our views on the subject.

What's the roster going to consist of, you might ask?  Well, obviously, there's going to be a few no-brainers.  For some positions, we might only be voting for one spot as opposed to two.  For others, we might be voting for backups.  The roster will have the following make-up, with the names of the players that are mortal locks for the team already included.

QB - Fran Tarkenton, Backup QB
HB - 1 Starting RB
FB - 1 Starting FB
WR - Cris Carter, Randy Moss, #3 WR
TE - 1 Starting TE
C - 1 Starting C
G - Randall McDaniel, Starting G
T - 2 Starting Ts

DE - Jim Marshall, Starting DE
DT - Alan Page, Starting DT
MLB - 1 Starting MLB
OLB - 2 Starting OLBs
CB - 2 Starting CBs
S - 2 Starting Ss

K - 1 Starting K
P - 1 Starting P

And we can throw in backups based on the voting to fill out the roster.

For positions that we're looking for one guy for, the voting will likely last for an entire week.  For positions that we're looking for two guys for, Monday - Wednesday will be devoted to finding the #1 guy at that position, and the remaining players will be re-racked and voted on from Thursday - Saturday, with the winner being announced on Sunday.

Sometime before Monday, I'll announce the dates that we'll be voting on each position.  There should be enough spots up for grabs to take us nearly right up to the season opener.

So that's the big news for today, folks. . .I hope that you all are going to enjoy voting on these things as much as I'm going to enjoy putting it together.  Continue enjoying your evening, ladies and gentlemen, and we'll see you back here tomorrow!

I'd love to fire off an absolutely outstanding football story for all of you this evening, but we had a hellacious workout this afternoon for PT, and right now I'm stiffer than a virgin at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

So, with that, let's take a look at what the rest of our friends in the Viking blogosphere are saying about the Beloved Purple.

-Grant's Tomb wants us to temper our enthusiasm about the Jared Allen signing. . .but only a little bit, so that's okay.

-Pacifist Viking is always a must-read.  Also, PV has gotten a gig as the Vikings' correspondent over at 10,000 Takes, another of our favorite Minnesota sports sites.

-Vikes Geek takes a look at the bigger picture as it relates to the Vikings' moves this off-season.

-Vikings Valhalla tells us about Steve Hutchinson and Jim Kleinsasser taking in the Minnesota fishing opener.  (Yes, you have to register.  It takes all of two seconds, and they're good people, so it's okay.)

-Vike Vision has started doing what I intend to start doing very soon. . .yes, seriously. . .in previewing the 2008 season.

And that's it for tonight.  Good stuff coming tomorrow, so stay tuned!

As I read the comments in the fanpost over on the side connected to the Jared Allen interview posted by FSU Viking, I said I'd be curious to see a breakdown of the number of run plays and pass plays used by KC opponents in the games that Jared Allen played in last season.

Well, curiosity killed the. . .something or other. So, I set about breaking this down myself.  Keeping in mind that Allen missed the Chiefs' first two games last season, here's how the fourth quarters of the 14 games the Chiefs played in 2007 looked like.

Opponent	Score after 3	Opp. Pass Plays	Opp. Run Plays	Final Score
MIN	MIN 10, KC 6	12	3	KC 13, MIN 10
@ SD	KC 16, SD 16	12	2	KC 30, SD 16
JAC	JAC 10, KC 0	9	11	JAC 17, KC 7
CIN	KC 20, CIN 7	21	2	KC 27, CIN 20
@ OAK	OAK 7, KC 6	8	4	KC 12, OAK 10
GB	GB 13, KC 7	6	5	GB 33, KC 22
DEN	DEN 20, KC 11	5	13	DEN 27, KC 11
@ IND	KC 10, IND 10	9	7	IND 13, KC 10
OAK	KC 17, OAK 13	5	6	OAK 20, KC 17
SD	SD 17, KC 10	4	11	SD 24, KC 10
@ DEN	DEN 41, KC 7	3	4	DEN 41, KC 7
TEN	TEN 20, KC 17	1	15	TEN 26, KC 17
@ DET	DET 22, KC 14	6	11	DET 25, KC 20
@ NYJ	NYJ 10, KC 3	7	17	NYJ 13, KC 10 (OT)

By my count, that's 108 pass plays and 111 run plays faced by the Chiefs' defense in the 14 games that Jared Allen participated in.  However, if you look at the games that they lost, those numbers change to 55 pass plays and 100 run plays, a nearly 2:1 ratio in favor of the run.  It's relatively tough to get sacks when the other team isn't. . .you know. . .throwing the football.  Looking at the play-by-play stuff I sifted through in order to put that table together, I didn't see a lot of other Kansas City Chiefs racking up sacks in the fourth quarters of ball games either, and we know that Allen was the only guy on that line that was worthy of being double-teamed.

In addition, there's more to Allen's pass-rushing than just sacks.  Last season, he also had 24 quarterback hurries, which is a pretty significant number.  To put that in perspective, Minnesota's leader in that department. . .Kenechi Udeze. . .had 15.  E.J. Henderson was next in line with 11.  So Allen had almost as many quarterback hurries in 2007. . .in two fewer games, mind you. . .than the Vikings' top two players in that category combined.  And, again, he did it on a defensive line that didn't have a whole lot else.  Tamba Hali is a nice player, but with Allen out of the picture, I expect to see him getting more of those double teams until Glenn Dorsey can establish himself in the middle.

I expect Allen to be in a much different situation with the Vikings this season.  As the Vikings' offense prepares to take another step forward in its development, I expect them to have the lead going into the fourth quarter on many, many occasions in 2008.  Since he'll be lining up next to the Irresistible Force and the Immovable Object on the Vikings' defensive line, he'll also be seeing. . .and destroying. . .more one-on-one blocking.  There have been a couple of places I've seen predicting a possible 20-sack season for Allen.  Honestly?  I'd love to see it.  I don't know if I'd predict as many as 20, what with there no longer being any spineless QBs in the NFC North that might be willing to take a dive for him, but he should get a significant number of sacks in 2008. . .and plenty in the fourth quarter, too.

Former Vikings' DE Darrion Scott. . .with a heavy emphasis on FORMER. . .was formally charged with third degree assault, domestic assault by strangulation, and child endangerment.  The first two are felonies, the last one a gross misdemeanor.  For what, you may be wondering?  Well, according to Kevin Seifert . . .

The mother of the child involved reported to police last Monday that she found Scott holding a dry cleaning bag over the boy’s head in Scott’s Eden Prairie townhome. Scott is the boy’s biological father.

According to the complaint: “[The mother] walked through the unlocked door and heard [the boy] crying. She reported that the crying was muffled. She went into the room and found [the boy] lying on his back on the floor, kicking his legs, with [Scott] leaning over him. [Scott] has a dry cleaning bag over his head and [Scott] was holding the bag tight around [the boy’s] neck.”

Scott told police that the two were playing and that he wantd to see if the boy could get the bag off his head by himself.

So yes. . .apparently Darrion Scott's favorite game to play with his 4-year old son is "Can Junior Get the Plastic Bag Off His Head?"  No word on whether or not some of his other favorites include "How Many Of These Lead Paint Chips Can Junior Eat Before He Goes Blind" or "How Long Can Junior Be Held Underwater Before He Goes Limp?"

If even a little bit of this is true, I hope that he goes away for a long, long time.  And not to some white collar resort, either. . .but instead to. . .well, I'll let my friends explain:

Then again, we already knew that.  But this article from Yahoo! Sports confirms it.

One of the key elements to Allen’s six-year, $74 million contract is a provision, pre-approved by the player, that allows the Vikings to convert an $8 million roster bonus Allen is due to receive in 2010 into a signing bonus. In such a case, the team would recoup its money from the player and the signing bonus would count under the salary cap for the remaining years of his contract. Under rules of the collective bargaining agreement, signing bonuses can be recovered by a team when a player violates his contract; a roster bonus can’t.

That was a key issue in Vick winning the right to keep approximately $16.25 million in a federal court judgment handed down in February. That ruling came after the Atlanta Falcons had initially won the right to recover the money because Vick was sentenced to federal prison on charges related to dog fighting last year.

In light of the Vick decision, which the NFL has appealed, Minnesota has come up with this provision in contracts signed by multiple big-money acquisitions this offseason. According to an NFL Players Association source, several other franchises have utilized this practice, though specific examples were not provided. Minnesota included the provision in contracts for safety Madieu Williams and wide receiver Bernard Berrian, which made the clause acceptable to Allen, said his agent Ken Harris.

“This is something the Vikings did with other players they signed this offseason, so it was consistent with everyone,” Harris said. “Jared was not being singled out, so we were willing to do that.”

So to everyone that said the Vikings didn't put any protections for themselves into the Jared Allen contract, it would appear as though the joke is on you.

Yet another brilliant manuever from the best damn cap guy in the National Football League.  This guy is worth every penny that Zygi Wilf is paying him and then some.

Well, it looks like someone on the other side of enemy lines likes what the Beloved Purple did after the draft, as Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune has declared the Vikings' UDFA class as the best in the NFL.

The consensus among NFL scouts is the Chiefs added the most talent in the draft. And the team that added the most talent after the draft was the Vikings.

Because the Vikings had only five picks, they decided to be more aggressive than usual with undrafted free agents, paying as much as $20,000 apiece in bonus money to those players.

A source said the Vikings signed eight undrafted free agents who they rated as draftable: wide receiver Darius Reynaud, guard Drew Radovich, linebackers Erin Henderson and J Leman, safeties Marcus Griffin and Husain Abdullah, and cornerbacks Brandon Sumrall and Marcus Walker.

Don't be surprised if a number of them contribute.

We'll take a closer look this week at which of those free agents have the best chance of making the roster, as well as breaking down the roster as a whole and what we should expect.  I don't know if I'd say that any of the UDFAs are stone cold locks or anything. . .but I'll be very, VERY surprised if we don't have two Hendersons on the roster come early September.

Still not a whole lot written by anyone about the mini-camp.  According to our good pal Mr. Cheer or Die, the Vikings will be having OTAs from 20-22 May, 27-28 May, and a mini-camp from 6-8 June.  Players will then report to training camp on 23 July, with camp formally kicking off on 25 July.

Shoot, I just saw an ad somewhere that says that the NFL preview issues are going to start hitting newsstands in early June.  EARLY. . .JUNE!  It does get earlier every year, doesn't it?  And I'll be at Barnes & Noble looking for them every darn day.  Unless, of course, I order the ones with the Viking-related covers from the various sites.

That's all for tonight, ladies and gentlemen. . .take care, stay off Cedric Benson's boat, and we'll see you back here tomorrow.

But then, we'd pretty much already figured that out, hadn't we?

However, in a very classy move, the Vikings are going to pay Udeze's 2008 salary, even though they are under no obligation to do so after moving #95 to the reserve/non-football injury list.

Under NFL rules, teams are not required to pay players on the NFI list because the "injury" is not football-related. But Childress said that owner Zygi Wilf authorized the payment so that Udeze can "focus on getting well."

Childress added: "He's done a great job with that so far. He's been positive. He's been upbeat. What that does is obviously clear his mind of any financial issues, and the organization, particularly the Wilfs, have taken care of that."

Looks like the Vikings have learned from the whole debacle that took place with Troy Williamson and his grandmother's funeral last November, haven't they?

In a couple of other news tidbits. . .

-Former Viking and current Original Wizzinator spokesman Onterrio Smith was arrested for DUI  in Sacramento last week.  Seriously, did we ever find out whether or not there was an "Imitation Wizzinator" or an "Unoriginal Wizzinator?"  Although I suppose that "Unoriginal Wizzinator" could be used in reference to Dane Cook.

-Smilin' Jimmy Souhan is. . .actually smilin'?  About. . .the Vikings' quarterback situation?  Really?  Is that one of the seven seals I just heard being opened?

-Randall McDaniel will be enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in celebration of his career at Arizona State, in which he was almost as dominant as he was in the National Football League.  Also enshrined will be Lou Holtz.  If you plan on attending the ceremony, please be advised if you're in the first couple of rows, you'll be given a Gallagher-style tarp for use during Holtz's induction speech.

-The Ragnarok has some stories up about the Vikings' 2008 Draft, as well as the undrafted free agents that the Beloved Purple are bringing in.

 -Vike Vision is back, as well as a new site called Virginia Viking.  Be sure to check them both out!

That's all for right now, folks.  More tomorrow!

Okay, we're finally going to get back into the football side of things here.  I've got a few different things planned for the off-season, but let's take a good look at some of the newest Vikings, starting with the guy that was selected first by the Beloved Purple in last weekend's draft.

Tyrell Johnson was considered by scouts to be one of the two best available safeties in the 2008 NFL Draft, along with Kenny Phillips out of Miami (FL), who was selected with the last pick of Round 1 by the New York Football Giants.  While safety might not have looked like an absolute need for the Vikings at first blush, the Vikings could afford to take a chance on someone like Johnson because. . .well, because there just aren't going to be a lot of roster spots available on this year's squad.  In addition, with Darren Sharper in the last year of his contract with the Vikings, someone was needed that can be paired with Madieu Williams for the long-term future, and Johnson has all the makings of that guy.

Here is Johnson's NFL.com combine report.

Positives: Adequate size and toughness to play the run and pass in the NFL. ... Good upper-body build, strong inside the box as a wrap-up tackler. ... Smart, hard-working player who leads the defense. ... Good athleticism, showing closing speed to the ball or ballcarrier and nice hops in coverage. ... Adjusts well to the ball in the air. ... Takes good angles to minimize longer plays. ... Brings it hard on special teams.

Negatives: Could be considered a free/strong 'tweener by some teams looking for more of a linebacker mentality in their strong safety or man-cover abilities in their free safety. ... May have the athleticism to handle downfield responsibilities, but looks better reacting to plays in front of him than in man coverage. ... Not really an explosive tackler, catching players as they run by. ... Does not take on blocks often enough. ... Does not always break down in space, allowing ballcarriers to make a cut to get by him.

While the signing of Madieu Williams gave us more of a coverage type of safety, Johnson appears to be more of a strong safety/in the box type.  While it doesn't sound like Johnson's coverage skills are all the way there yet, it doesn't appear as though he's Roy Williams or anything, either.  He had 13 interceptions in his college career, including six as a senior in 2007, so the ability is clearly there.  He sounds like a pretty good Cover-2 safety, which is exactly what we need.  I also like the part about his special teams ability, since that's where he's going to be seeing a lot of time in 2008.

Johnson is also very athletic, measuring in at 6' and 205 pounds.  He ran a 4.43 40-yard dash at the combine, and his 27 repetitions of the 225-pound bench press were more than any other safety that participated in the Indianapolis workouts.

I'll admit, I didn't know a lot about Tyrell Johnson before last weekend. . .but the more I read about him, the more it appears he's just another good, solid young piece to a defense that's being built for the long haul.  It will be exciting to see him on the field on Sundays.

Oh, and if you want to go jersey hunting/ordering, Johnson has been assigned #25.

More news tidbits later on. . .continue enjoying your weekend, everybody!

The Minnesota Vikings have assigned jersey numbers to everyone they acquired at the draft last week, as well as their unsigned free agents.  The list can be found here at Access Vikings.  Only two things really stand out to me from the list.

#1 - Daunte Culpepper's old #11 has been assigned to a 6th round wide receiver that, in my opinion, has very little chance of making the team unless he shows he's the second coming of Devin Hester or something.

#2 - The thought of seeing this leading our team down the field in the relatively near future makes me throw up in my mouth a little.

Did I say "a little?"  Because if I did, I meant to say "a lot."

Not because it's John David Booty, mind you.  I like Booty a lot.  (Consider that the first in a string of "Booty" jokes that will never get old.)  I also understand that Booty couldn't have his old college number, #10, because the Vikings retired it years ago in honor of one of the five greatest quarterbacks in the history of the National Football League.

But seriously?  #4?  This is the best you could do?  Argh.  Oh, well. . .I guess that as long as he doesn't turn out to be a self-absorbed, me first, attention whoring drama queen, I'll be able to adjust eventually.

I apologize again for the lack of real content over the past couple of days. . .had a rough week at the "day job," and it translated over to here.  Hopefully with the weekend being here I can get myself back to the level of quality you all have come to expect from this site.  Keep enjoying your Friday, ladies and gentlemen!