Minnesota Vikings: What's Goin' On?

by Gonzo on Feb 29, 2008 9:57 PM CST in News Comment 7 comments

Here's what's happened so far for the Beloved Purple:

S Madieu Williams - Agreed to terms on a 6-year, $33 million contract. The contract contains just under $13 million in guaranteed money.

FB Thomas Tapeh - Agreed to a 5-year deal worth $6 million total, with approximately $1 million guaranteed.

Here's what's happening right now:

WR Bernard Berrian is in Minneapolis right now. According to the folks at Access Vikings, he'll continue meeting with the Vikings tomorrow, and the Vikings hope to have him signed by tomorrow afternoon.

DE Justin Smith is in the process of meeting with the San Francisco 49ers on the left coast. He's scheduled to meet with the Vikings tomorrow. . .whether or not he gets out of the Bay Area without a contract remains to be seen.

Here's what's going to be happening tomorrow:

Hell, I don't know. Neither does anyone else, quite frankly. But I DO know that Mrs. Gonzo and I are celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary tomorrow, so if a story breaks and I don't have it here right away, don't freak out or anything. But hey, if anything DOES come up, don't be afraid to throw a diary into the diaries section to announce it to the world and/or discuss it with everyone.

Also, today has been the biggest day in terms of hits in the history of this humble little website, with the total number for today currently sitting at 1,207 for the day. To show you how far this site has come, in February '07. . .for the entire month, mind you. . .this site got 3,147 hits. This WEEK, we've received 4,647 hits. So thanks to all of you out there for making The Daily Norseman a part of your regular Vikings reading regimen. I do truly appreciate it, and I hope you guys have as much fun reading what's put on this site as I do writing it.

Have a good Saturday, folks, and I'll see you all here sometime Sunday. Over the course of the upcoming week, we'll have a chance to "get to know" the newest members of the Beloved Purple, and get some impressions of them from the guys that blog their former teams here at SBNation. Until then, SKOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL VIKINGS!!!!

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so far not bad

First grats on the Anniversary hopefully many more.
I like the Williams pickup,though confused on Richardson not being offered at least a year offer.
Berrian reminds me of Williamson dropping balls when the catch is needed most.I would have thought Stallworth or Hackett would be better pick ups.

by speedlod on Feb 29, 2008 10:47 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Berrian fits our scheme the best.

Hackett is a possesion guy, not a field stretcher like Berrian. As for Stallworth, he's never impressed me, has character issues as well in his suitcase. Berrian, on a crap team, with a crap run game and a crap QB still caught 71 balls and was a legit deep threat. He might not be a prototypical #1 wr, but line him up wth Sidney and AD in the backfield and suddenly our offense isn't so one dimensional anymore.

VikeGuru is a doofus!!

by Unclebillybonz on Mar 1, 2008 8:28 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Justin Smith...

ESPN has reported that Smith signed a 6 year deal worth 45 Million with San Francisco, 20 Mil in Guarantees...

by A Festivus Miracle on Mar 1, 2008 10:28 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Grade: F

How do you drop that kind of money on Mad Williams? You simply don't spend that kind of money on a safety unless you are talking about a game-changer like Ed Reed. Oh well, I guess when you are under the cap, you spend more freely.

Berrian is a slight upgrade over Williamson. Sure, he caught 71 passes a year ago, but Chicago threw the ball to him 129 times. His 54% conversion rate was one of the lowest in the league for WR's averaging 5 or more balls thrown their way a game. Sure, the QB's in Chicago were miserable, but Berrian drops balls, doesn't make the "tough catch", gets knocked off his route against press coverage and he's a below average blocker. Does that sound like a guy to invest $20MM in? What a waste.

Mr. Viking

by BiggestVikingFanEver on Mar 1, 2008 5:54 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

So, then according to you, the Vikings should

not have signed these guys and kept Dwight Smith and Troy Williamson?

It's apparent you don;t understand the landscape of NFL free agency.

the fact is, the Vikings have upgraded two positions of need and not by a small margin either. The saftey position lacked pass coverage ability, Williams is known for his coverage skills. Smith was known for smoking hooch.
Berrian is a legit deep threat at wr something the Vikings were sorely lacking last year. Troy was and will continue to remain terrible.

the Vikings have done a very good job so far.

VikeGuru is a doofus!!

by Unclebillybonz on Mar 1, 2008 8:05 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

You have to see through the Purple Haze...

We can't let our love for the Vikings influence our thinking. I'm trying to stay open minded about the signings.

The Thomas Tepah sign was a good one. Young, solid player and a very reasonable contract.

We overpaid for Berrian and Williams. Sure, we need to get better but this isn't always the best way to do things (long-term)....it's really more of a sign of desperation (IMO).

Williams is not a HUGE upgrade over Smith either.

Mr. Viking

by BiggestVikingFanEver on Mar 2, 2008 11:54 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Williams is a HUGE upgrade over Dwight Smith

Our safties lacked coverage ability. Williams who was regarded as the best available player is known most for his coverage ability. Dwight Smith was most well known for his off the field shenanigans. Williams is good character guy by all accounts. Very active in the community (in a good way). Smith while active in the community but for undersirable reasons, and also couldn't cover receivers much at all and thats when he tried. We all saw what he was like when he half assed it. It was terrible.

VikeGuru is a doofus!!

by Unclebillybonz on Mar 3, 2008 11:36 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs