Slow news day, so I wanted to touch on something we missed earlier in the week. Peter King went to Mankato last week to watch Percy Harvin -- and Harvin did not disappoint:
I expect Harvin to have the opportunity to be the Offensive Rookie of the Year. He's too talented, and he has Peterson to take the pressure off him. And vice versa.
After seeing a bit of Harvin myself this week, I have to agree with King: Percy is amazingly fast and has a unique chance to succeed with the Vikings that he couldn't have elsewhere. King wondered in the article about who the faster player is between Peterson and Harvin, but I don't really care. The bottom line is that both will help each other considerably.
If Harvin fails to compete for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award, it's hard to believe that he'd be personally responsible for that failure. Instead, it would come from two possible places: The quarterback position or the coaching staff. He has the talent to win the award. It's just a matter of a) getting him the ball, and b) utilizing him correctly. If I had to pick out one concern about how Chilly and Bevell intend to utilize Harvin, it's that they won't use him on the ground enough (Harvin had far more carries than receptions with Florida). He averaged 9.5 yards per carry in nearly 200 career rushing attempts -- you HAVE to regularly give him the ball on the ground.
Anyway, remember when Chilly went down to Gainesville right before the draft to personally visit with Harvin? Here's what he wanted to accomplish during the visit:
"I wanted to be in his car, and I wanted to smell the car,'' Childress said.