Sorry for the late start gang, lots of stuff going on at work. This is essentially a modified Holy Trnity Roundup, with some other news going around the NFC North.
First up, let's point at another player arrest and rejoice that it wasn't a Viking: Detroit CB Aaron Berry got arrested...again...in Harrisburg PA on suspicion of DUI, and was subsequently released by the Lions. And if there's one team that could've used another player arrest less than our beloved Purple and Gold, it's the Lions.
So, who wants him to be signed by the Vikings? Anyone?
Minneapolis curmudgeon Patrick Reusse take a look at what could've been with Daunte Culpepper. What was your favorite Daunte moment? Was it his 200 Thanksgiving Game against Dallas? How about his playoff victory at Lambeau? How about a boat ride? Anyone?
Has any Viking with so much talent and such a bright future disappeared off the radar as fast as Culpepper did? The only comparison I can think of is maybe Chuck Foreman. Foreman was a dominant back from 1973-1978, but after he hurt his knee we was released, tried a comeback with New England, and quietly retired. But Foreman left an indelible stamp on the Vikings for all time.
Culpepper? I don't think you can say that, save for maybe two really good years.
Think about it for a minute. In 2004, he had an MVP type year and was talked about in the same circle as Peyton Manning. One year later his knee exploded in Carolina, less than a year after that he was traded to Miami for a song, and we never really heard from him again.
The Godfather gives us a look back on the Mike Lynn era. It's pretty a pretty positive recollection. C'mon, it's Sid. What else would you expect?
Tom Powers also looks back at the Lynn era. When the first sentence in the column is " It was once said of Mike Lynn that he'd slip a snake in your pocket, then ask to borrow a quarter, just so you had to reach in there", I don't know that you can call it strewn with Godfather positivity. But it's still a good read.
And finally, Charley Walters has what we would call the balancing act to the Godfather's piece. He quotes Benchwarmer Bob Lurtsema, who was no fan of Mike Lynn.
A former temp got a new gig coaching high school kids. Seriously, although it would be cool as anything to have a guy like Favre as my coach, I'm pretty sure I'd tune him out the second he said "don't ever throw into the middle of the field, across your body, off your back foot."
Vikings single game tickets will go on sale Wednesday, according to Judd Zulgad of 1500 ESPN.
John Holler over at VikingUpdate.com gives us a nice piece about personal favorite Sage Rosenfels.
Finally, the hardest working beat writer in show business, Tom Pelissero, talks defensive line as he continues his excellent scouting report series.