tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51397097427884331162024-02-19T05:26:04.810-06:00VikesKing's VillageVikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-51717536049614923282009-08-10T23:15:00.017-05:002009-08-11T12:40:02.625-05:00Former Vikings Honored<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.profootballhof.com/assets/photo_galleries/630x536/9B60567D2F6A48C19213BEEDA163A14F.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 286px; height: 242px;" src="http://www.profootballhof.com/assets/photo_galleries/630x536/9B60567D2F6A48C19213BEEDA163A14F.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />12 time Pro Bowler Randall McDaniel was inducted into the 2009 Class of the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on Saturday. Randall played 12 of his 14 seasons with the Vikings, finishing the final two years of his career in Tampa Bay. He was known as a modest man, who came into the league undersized for a guard and quickly became dominant at the position. During his speech, Randall commented on how it didn't feel right being up there with out his fellow linemen. He also stated:<br /><br /><blockquote>I was blessed to play 14 years in the NFL. I spent 12 seasons with the Vikings, and I'll always bleed purple and gold."</blockquote>The entire transcript of the speech may be found here: <a href="http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nflnation/0-10-86/Randall-McDaniel-s-Hall-of-Fame-speech.html">McDaniel <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">HoF</span> Speech</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.profootballhof.com/photos/541/2009/5/14/">Other Vikings in the HoF</a>: Carl Eller (Class of 2004), Jim Finks (Class of 1995), Bud Grant (Class of 1994), Paul Krause (Class of 1998), Alan Page (Class of 1988), Fran Tarkenton (Class of 1985), Ron Yary (Class of 2001), and Gary Zimmerman (Class of 2008)<br /><br /><br />On Saturday, the Vikings continued to honor Vikings greats by announcing that Scott Studwell will join the Viking Elite on the Ring of Honor, the highest honor the team awards, becoming the 18th inductee. Scott Studwell has been with the organization for 33 years, as a linebacker from 1977 through 1990, and is currently working in the front office as the Director of College Scouting.<br /><br />Studwell is the Vikings career leader in combined tackles (1,981), <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://larsmatt.googlepages.com/stud.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 158px; height: 250px;" src="http://larsmatt.googlepages.com/stud.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>defensive tackles (1,928), single-season tackles (230 - 1981) and single-game tackles (24 @ Detroit 11/17/85). A 9<sup>th</sup> round pick out of Illinois in 1977, Studwell was a 2-time Pro Bowler and was also named to the Vikings 25th and 40th Anniversary All-Time Teams. Source: <a href="http://www.vikings.com/news/article-1/studwell-to-join-vikings-ring-of-honor/223a14f2-d0ab-465a-a561-0d3628777489">Vikings.com</a><br /><br />He will be inducted during half time of the Vikings-Bears game on November 29th. Click the following link for an entire list of past inductees: <a href="http://www.vikings.com/team/history/ring-of-honor.html">Vikings Ring of Honor</a>VikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-21645607984156712972009-08-04T12:44:00.003-05:002009-08-04T13:32:48.999-05:00Morning Practice: August 4, 2009First off, I won't be able to make it to today's afternoon practice afterall.. got called into work. Nevertheless, here's some tidbits from earlier this morning:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Injury Updates</span><br /><ul><li>DE Brian Robison was present, but did not practice</li><li>QB Tavaris Jackson was not on the field initially, but later did some jogging and conditioning with a trainer along the sidelines and later tossed the ball around with Shiancoe. He did not practice</li><li>CB Benny Sapp was present, but limited in practice</li><li>Rookie RB Khalil Bell did not practice, showing up with out pads, just the jersey and shorts</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Individual Drills: WR</span><br />WR's run routes and receiving passes from the Coach<br /><ul><li>Jaymar, Bernard, and Sidney were catching pretty consistently<br /></li><li>Bobby Wade always seems to drop one of the first tosses, he's not a morning person and lets the crowd know it</li><li>Vinny Perretta dropped an easy one, letting it bounce right out of his hands. He ran the route immediately again, making the catch</li><li>Percy Harvin started off slow, missing 2 out of 3 catches</li><li>Bobby Williams continues to struggle, I can hardly even tell if he's trying - he's the only WR that doesn't insist on rerunning a route after messing up</li></ul>After the initial drills, the QB's came over and tossed the ball to the WR's, no defenders. Sage at times seemed to underestimate some players' speed, often causing the wideout to slow down to make the catch. Booty overthrew Harvin by about 5 yards, he claimed his palms were sweaty. (It was 65 degrees).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Full Offense Drills </span>(No defenders)<br /><br />Not too much exciting happens here, but there were a few notes I figured I'd share. On some plays, RB Eric Bieniemy would act like he was rushing the QB to help Adrian Peterson practice pass blocking. Bieniemy seemed to be giving him some praise after.<br /><br /><ul><li>Jaymar Johnson is quickly becoming a fan favorite, he makes at least one great catch per practice.<br /></li><li>Nick Moore let a pass from John David Booty fly between his hands, the pass was thrown high, but catchable.<br /></li><li>The QB's seem to be going to the check down man way too often.</li></ul><br />One play in particular looked intriguing, which involved the QB signally Percy Harvin into motion, lining up in the backfield. The hand off was faked to Harvin, and Peterson took the rock. <br /> <br />Could be a fun one to see ran during preseason.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1-on-1 CB/WR Drills</span><br /><ul><li>Vinny Perretta got the better of Marcus Walker</li><li>Percy Harvin is clearly way too quick for Karl Paymah, every time he made a cut he'd be wide open</li><li>Benny Sapp had a much better day than previously in camp. He was playing very well, and very psychical - especially vs Berrian</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">7-on-7's</span><br /><ul><li>With Griffin limited, Winfield, Asher Allen, and Marcus McCauley were in during nickel packages</li><li>Asher Allen isn't playing like a rookie. He was beat on one play be Berrian, but later made up for it - big time. Berrian appeared to catch a pass from Sage along the sideline, but Allen got his hands on the ball also. Allen wrestled the ball from his hands and toss Berrian to the ground and took it to the house.<br /></li><li>Marcus Walker nearly picked off a Rosenfels pass intended for Berrian, who somehow still made the catch</li><li>Sidney Rice beat Benny Sapp on a 3rd and short situation, catching a Booty pass right next to the marker for a first down</li><li>Ian Johnson made a very nice move to make Linebacker Kenny Onatolu miss for the last play of this drill</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Full Team Drills (11-on-11's)</span><br /><ul><li>Asher Allen played with the 1st team defense, making a great read on the first play, getting to Adrian Peterson right at the line of scrimmage on a swing pass</li><li>With E.J. and Leber blitzing, Sage attempted to rush up the middle. If it were full contact and you were allowed to hit the QB, we would probably have two injured QB's right now</li><li>Visanthe Shiancoe was slow to get up after running a play, but returned to practice</li><li>Bobby Wade made a great catch on a horrible throw from Sage, the pass was low and behind him. Wade had to reach behind him and hauled it in with one hand</li><li>With Robison out, the 2nd team DL consisted of Jayme Mitchell, Fred Evans, Letroy Guion, and Otis Grigsby</li><li>David Herron saw time as 2nd team MLB, with Erin Henderson and Heath Farwell as OLB's. Lot of talent behind our starters</li><li>Jeff Dugan had a very good morning practice, making a great grab over Erin Henderson and a pass from Booty.<br /></li><li>Booty quickly made us forget about the previous pass, making an awful throw over the head of Glenn Holt</li><li>Bernard Berrian stumbled making a cut, but quickly recovered and beat his man. He made a great jumping catch, but paid for it as it was met in the air by Madieu Williams. He was slow to get up, but it was clear he just had the wind knocked out of him. Adrian Peterson came over and kicked him a couple times taunting him to get up, the training tried to shove him back</li><li>Rosenfels once again threw the ball away while rolling out of the pocket. This time I don't blame him though, Erin Henderson was hot on his trail.</li><li>Albert Young made some nice moves picking up some extra yardage today, as much as it pains me to say it.<br /></li></ul>VikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-83907084566255296902009-08-03T11:07:00.002-05:002009-08-03T11:32:43.715-05:00Morning Practice: Monday August 3rd, 2009Glad I decided to get out of bed this morning, as the first sight that I saw on the field was the players in pads. I knew right then that I'd be seeing a little bit of contact for the first time this camp. A few alumni were in attendance along with the Cheerleaders. Chuck Foreman and Rufus Bess were both around signing autographs. Still no Jackson.<br /><br />The team spent the first portion of practice working on punt return drills, Aundrae Allison and Percy Harvin getting almost exclusive looks as return men. Harvin muffed his second attempt back there, and later let another ball soar above his head as he jumped for it. He seems to be misjudging where the ball is going at times. When on the field, Heath Farwell was often the first man to the returner.<br /><br />And now... onto some thoughts & observations:<br /><br /><ul><li>The QB's spent time tossing the ball into the nets, Sage looked very accurate on his first drill, can't say the same about his second attempt</li><li>Erin Henderson looks impressive, both in 11-on-11's and PR drills</li><li>Percy Harvin dropped his first pass from Sage in individual drills, he caught the next one, much to the delight of the crowd</li><li>Wade had a misstep running his route and joked with the crowd, "It's early man, need to warm up or something"</li><li>Sage and Chester Taylor had a miscue during 11 on 11's, it appeared Sage was the one at fault, letting the ball sail far wide on a simple dump off route</li><li>Albert Young had a few nice cuts, hitting the holes quickly<br /></li><li>Harvin saw a little more success on end-arounds today, gaining around 10 yards on the first attempt</li><li>Cedric Griffin was beat twice by Bernard Berrian for TD receptions from Rosenfels</li><li>The play of the day came on an 80 yard TD pass from Sage to Jaymar Johnson, who beat Marcus Walker and De'von Hall on the play</li><li>On a play where Adrian Peterson was lined up in a Wide Receiver slot, Cedric Griffin made a nice play breaking up a pass over the middle intended for Berrian</li><li>Sage Rosenfels tried hitting Bernard Berrian deep, but slightly over threw him. Asher Allen was in coverage, who could be heard saying "You aint gettin by me, I told you". Love the Rookie's confidence</li><li>Visanthe Shiancoe had another great leaping catch today during 11 on 11's, I think I'm starting to sound like I'm repeating myself.</li><li>Bernard Berrian was joking with Wade on the sidelines, doing push ups when he wasn't on the field</li><li>Rookie RB Khalil Bell showed great effort during full contact 11 on 11's, refusing to go down until the whistle was blown</li><li>1st team defense vs 1st team offense during the Red Zone drills... talk about a battle. Peterson was stopped cold on two consecutive plays, put finally punched it in on the final attempt</li><li>Rookie Center Jon Cooper did a great job blocking down field on screens, knocking his man out of the picture</li><li>Albert Young had another nice play during full contact drills, showing some quick cuts, but was brought down by Brian Robison<br /></li><li>Marcus McCauley making his case for Nickleback. He broke up a pass along the sideline, and followed it up by picking off Booty on the next play. On the same play, Robison looked like he almost got his hand on the ball trying to strip it from the QB</li><li>Karl Paymah also is making his bid for the job, completely shutting down Vinny Perretta</li><li>Rookie Jarmarca Sanford had the biggest hit of the day, demolishing Darius Reynaud, who gained around 10 yards on the end around</li><li>The last play came on 3rd & 16, and it was a short pass to Ian Johnson. Johnson made a nice effort, but was still about 8 yards from a 1st down. KOA at its finest</li></ul><br />That's it for today Ladies & Gents. I won't be at the afternoon practice, but should make both practices the next two days.VikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-55040956206238050192009-08-03T06:28:00.002-05:002009-08-03T06:53:41.288-05:00Afternoon Practice: Sunday August 2, 2009Well, its only two and a half hours until morning practice begins, but I guess I'll give you guys something to read until I get back from there. Sorry about the delay with this one, had to go straight from camp to work.<br /><br />The Vikings started out the day working a lot on Kickoffs. In addition to the guys that have already been getting reps back there, Glenn Holt and Chester Taylor also spent some time with the return units. Oh, and some guy named Percy Harvin too. The team spent a lot of time today working on reverses on returns, the most intriguing pair back there being Jaymar Johnson fielding the kick, and handing it off to Percy. Talk about a speedy combination. Aundrae Allison continues his poor camp, fumbling when attempting to receive a hand off on a reverse, and later almost falling down when cutting on a return.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes & Observations: </span><br /><ul><li>Sidney Rice is looking like a solid starter. During individual drills, Rice made a nice leaping grab in the endzone . The next pass, on the very same play, rookie Nick Moore attempted to do the same - and failed</li><li>Percy Harvin is already getting different looks. The Vikings have been practicing a lot of end arounds with Harvin and Reynaud being the beneficiaries. In addition, Harvin was set in motion and lined up next to the QB and received a direct hand off</li><li>Peterson continues his woes in the passing game, both with his mediocre pass blocking and his constant dropping of short passes. He did, however, make a very nice grab from Sage during red zone drills</li><li>Booty needs to step up his game. He had consecutive passes broken up by defenders, and two plays later had a play whistled dead for hesitating much too long.</li><li>Rookie Phil Loadholt vs incumbent starter Ray Edwards is turning into a real battle</li><li>Heath Farwell is back to last years form, it seems like he's making plays every time he touches the field</li><li>Speaking of linebackers, E.J. Henderson is looking great, showed his speed getting to the ball to break up a pass intended for Kleinsasser<br /></li><li>Ben Leber and Benny Sapp collided during 11 on 11's, Leber laid on the ground for a few seconds, it understandably took Sapp a little bit longer</li><li>Visanthe Shiancoe and Marcus McCauley are probably the two having the best camp so far. Aundrae Allison needs to step it up: Darius Reynaud, Jaymar Johnson, and Glenn Holt are all making bids for his place on the team</li></ul><br />Again, sorry about the delay getting this post up. Morning Practice begins in two hours, that post should be up before 12 noon CST.VikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-62707902058346879422009-08-01T11:22:00.002-05:002009-08-01T11:47:40.102-05:00Morning Practice: August 1, 2009Today was a good day for practice, nice and cool - could have done with out the wind though. The players were showing a lot of intensity, much more contact than is usual when they're wearing shorts, but nothing too serious. Tavaris Jackson was on the ground for a bit giving everyone a scare, but appears that everything is alright. Also on the subject of injuries, Jayme Mitchell seems to be healthy after his season ending injury last preseason, we may need him this season with Udeze officially retiring. Heath Farwell also seems to be pretty quick on his feet, the knee doesn't appear to be bothering him even the slightest.<br /><br />There might be a little bit of a rivalry forming between #11 Jaymar Johnson and #22 Benny Sapp. It seems like every time Johnson gets the better of him, Sapp makes a play the next time around. Much like last year, a favorite battle to watch is McKinnie vs Allen, its just simply a clash of the Titans. Allen did get the better of McKinnie on one play, which would have resulted in a sack on Rosenfels, but other than the one play, McKinnie did a pretty good job today. However, I suppose I should mention Allen is seeing much more double teams during camp this year, Kleinsasser laid him on his back on one play.<br /><br />Rice remains on a roller coaster. While I've noticed he's getting open much more often, he hasn't made enough out of some of the opportunities, failing to come down with a pair of leaping grabs. On another play, he beat the coverage by so much that he had to slow down to catch a pass from Sage, and later made a fantastic grab snatching the ball from over Winfields head. Bernard Berrian seemed to get a lot of looks today as well, having the ball thrown his way quite often. He did a good job coming down with most of them, but had one pass swatted out of his hands under incredible coverage by Marcus McCauley.<br /><br />Rookie Asher Allen continues to impress me. He made quite a few plays today, sticking with his man very well and getting a few break ups, including one pass deflection that caused the defense to erupt in cheers. There was one blemish on his day, which came when rookie WR Vinny Perretta nearly juked him out of his shoes at the line of scrimmage. Erin Henderson made it up by leveling Perretta right after coming down with the catch.<br /><br />John David Booty seemed a little more comfortable today, getting rid of the ball much quicker and was moving around in the pocket well. During 11 on 11's, Booty threw an absolutely ugly pass, aiming wide of an open Aundrae Allison. He made up for it quickly though, hooking up with Reynaud on what had to be one of the best plays of the day.<br /><br />Adrian Peterson spent a lot of time 1 on 1 practicing with running backs coach Eric Bieniemy. I have a feeling he's going to be spending a lot more with him soon, Peterson continued his problem of not coming down with the short passes. <br /><br /><br />That's all I've got for you today, look for more in the coming days, and as always, thanks for reading.VikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-90243810526638105252009-07-31T11:20:00.002-05:002009-07-31T12:01:46.195-05:00Morning Practice: July 31, 2009Training camp is officially underway. The first practice of camp was kind of a break in day. Players were wearing shorts and practice pads. First off, since I know you're all wondering. No, Percy Harvin is not yet present. With no real major story of the day, I'll just break it down for you by sessions & observations:<br /><br /><ul><li>Jaymar Johnson, Aundrae Allison, Darius Reynaud, and rookie WR Nick Moore spent time fielding Kicks & Punts, with Jaymar seeing most of the looks</li><li>The cornerbacks and some wide receivers spent time doing hand drills and gunner drills. Berrian and Wade didn't participate much for the first hour, mainly playing catch on the sidelines near Peterson and Taylor</li><li>Anthony Herrera appears to have lost some weight since last year<br /></li><li>Ian Johnson is now the owner of #42</li><li>Karl Paymah is wearing #41 in place of Gordon<br /></li><li>During FG drills, as always, Longwell didn't miss a single kick</li><li>Aundrae Allison was wearing Yellow Cleats, Berrian was wearing Purple. Everyone else had black and white<br /></li></ul><ul><li>Individual WR Drills: Jaymar Johnson had the most impressive catch during this session, making an great one-handed grab that appeared out of reach. Rookie Nick Moore had 2 consecutive drops, and was forced to run the route four times. He dropped his first pass on the next route as well. During 1 on 1's, Rice beat his man and made an incredible, Carter-esque grab keeping his feet in bounds and leaning out to make the catch.</li><li>When running offensive drills (no defense), the first two plays called were fakes to Peterson, with the WR coming around and taking the handoff. <br /></li><li>John Sullivan was getting off the snap quick and pulling well on screens. <br /></li><li>Loadholt took every snap with the first team</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">1 on 1 WR Drill Highlights</span><br /><ol><li>Cornerback Derrick Roberson was having a start, getting beat consecutively and falling down at the line of scrimmage on a cut. He later made up for it with one of the best plays of the day, making a terrific interception over the head of Jaymar Johnson on a deep pass</li><li>Glenn Holt beat his man and was wide open over the middle, the ball hit him directly in the hands - and then it hit the ground.</li><li>Rookie WR Bobby Williams had Griffin beat for a sure TD. He laid out trying to make the grab, but came up just short. He stood yelling "Sh*t!". The ball was slightly over thrown.</li><li>Rice had the lone TD reception during 1-on-1's, making a cut and blowing by Marcus Walker</li><li>When lined up against Berrian, 3rd Round pick Asher Allen had great coverage, swatting a perfectly placed ball out of his hands</li><li>Holt later made up for drop, coming down with the play of the day versus Griffin. Griffin had fantastic coverage and they both got their hands on the ball. Holt came up with it, then while sitting on the ground, rose his arms up and the stands erupted with applause </li><li>Jaymar got a chance to make up for the picked ball, making a great cut to beat Benny Sapp on the sideline. Sapp had a rough first day, getting beat often</li></ol><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><ul><li>Sage Rosenfels took the initial snaps with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd teams during 7-on-7's, Jackson took the first snaps during 11-on-11's.<br /></li><li>Griffin looked impressive covering Berrian, making a great play to break up a pass over the middle</li><li>There were a lot of underneath throws today, dumping the ball off to the RB/TEs much too often</li><li>Jackson and Berrian hooked up for a 40 yard TD play during full team drills</li><li>Loadholt was impressive today, doing a great job and sealing off the edge</li><li>DT Letroy Guion had the loan (obvious) sack on Sage Rosenfels</li><li>DE Martial Burnett got good pressure on Booty, swatting down a pass at the line</li><li>Robison is trying to make a statement early, he gave the QB's their exercise early in camp with all that running they were doing.</li></ul>Overall it was a decent first day, just good to see them back in town. It's seemed like much more than a year since they were last here. I'll do my best to keep you updated with the on-goings here in Kato, but won't be at the next two afternoon practices. More to come tomorrow around the same time. <br /><br />Thanks for reading!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>VikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-80315171457801498922009-07-31T01:53:00.003-05:002009-07-31T02:07:40.561-05:00Kenechi Udeze Announces RetirementUdeze announced his retirement Thursday, just one day before the first practice of Training Camp, effectively ending his inspirational comeback from Leukemia. The fact that he made it this close to camp so soon after undergoing radiation treatments and a bone marrow transplant is nothing short of miraculous.<br /><br />Picked in the first round of the 2004 draft, Kenechi was a starting defensive end for the Vikings for four years. After being diagnosed with Leukemia, he was placed on Non-Football Related Injured Reserve - which means the team didn't have to pay him. However, they still gave him his base salary of $807,500 so that he could worry solely about his recovery, and not about how he would afford all the treatment. At the end of the 2008 season, he was awarded the Ed Block Courage Award and took place in this off-season minicamps.<br /><br />Don't ever say the disease got the better of him, Kenechi is expected to be graduating from his alma matter with a degree in Sociology, takes part in cancer research events, and made it a day away from another NFL training camp. The physical stress of the NFL is enough to get the better of some of the best athletes out there, its not made for just anyone. The fact he made it this close, a year removed from his transplant, is just plain inspirational. I will never forget his story.<br /><br />In my eyes, he will go down as one of the toughest players to ever wear purple. Thank you for sharing your story with all of us, Kenechi.<br /><br />Good luck & God Bless. Enjoy your new lease on life.VikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-33926711370789008662009-07-29T00:31:00.002-05:002009-07-29T00:44:51.148-05:00Camp Draws NearIts close. The energy is high in town, you can feel the Vikings presence already. Riverfront strewn with the Purple and Gold and businesses preparing for the invasion drawing upon our city. The Vikings are coming. Not to pillage and plunder, but to practice. 80 roster hopefuls will come to compete and train for the 44th year in Mankato, and to me, it couldn't have come sooner.<br /><br />With the announcement earlier today of Favre continuing his retirement, I'll be adding QB to the list of close battles going on during camp. Tavaris & Sage will be battling it out. Ryan Cook is fighting for his job with a young second round draft pick vying for his job. A plethora of hungry defensive backs, rookie and vet, will be fighting for the nickle spot. An inexperienced John Sullivan is expected to step up in a big way for the departed Pro Bowler and beloved Minnesotan man Matt Birk. Is Harvin the sprinkles we needed to add to the Vikings Vanilla offense? If the Williams Wall is torn down like the Berlin, do we have the guys to step up and take their place? Can an young Tyrell replace the veteran ballhawk seamlessly? <br /><br />There's a lot of questions, and a lot of competition going into this year. Its going to be exciting, so get ready. Vikings season is almost here!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />--- I expected to have a new website up by the dawn of camp, but its coming soon. Until then, keep an eye out here for my updates, and I'll keep you posted on the new site! Thanks for reading.VikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-91195017336130780912009-05-19T02:28:00.003-05:002009-05-19T02:36:01.240-05:00Official Website NearOk, so I know the blogging fell off on this website, during the season I was working two jobs and getting back into the grind of school. Just didn't have the time or the means to put into doing my game reviews on here.<br /><br />BUT! With in a week or two I will have my own professional website up and running. The site will have interviews, constant updates on the latest from the Vikings and around the league, my personal blog page, forums, polls, etc.<br /><br />The webpage will be http://www.VKVillage.com<br /><br />Until its up and running, you may also find me here:<br /><br />http://www.twitter.com/King718<br />http://www.wearevikingsfans.com/Community.aspx?id=461<br />http://affiliate.kickapps.com/92076/Vikes_King<br /><br />Kenechi Udeze Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=10483923833&ref=ts<br /><br />And of course, I'm always reading and posting on PurplePride.Org, KFAN.com, and other fan pages.<br /><br />SKOL & Thanks for your support!VikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-23765073682154578562008-09-09T18:30:00.003-05:002008-09-09T19:55:41.640-05:00The Season is Here: Game 1 Updates & ObservationsHello once again everyone, sorry about the stint of inactivity for a while there, been a busy time for me, but we're back! Well, the regular season is officially underway, the world is at peace, the birds are singing, and life is once again worth living. A bit dramatic? I suppose, but thats up for debate.<br /> Like many of you, I've been waiting for last night (Monday, Sept. 8th), since December 30, 2007, when our Vikings walked off the field following a 19-22 loss to the Denver Broncos. Expectations are sky high for our beloved Vikings this year following our spending spree during an active offseason, which landed us Bernard Berrian, Madieu Williams, Thomas Tapeh, and Jared Allen. Not to mention the Vikings' strong finish (despite losing their final two games) and six out of seven Pro-Bowlers returning.<br /> After quite a drama filled offseason, the season finally arrived and the Vikings were ready to kickoff their 2008 season on Monday Night Football versus the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Talk about a season opener, huh? <span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /> <br /> When the teams took the field, some might have noticed, there was a guy wearing a #12 jersey lined up behind center. No, I'm not talking about Gus Frerotte for the Vikings, but some kid named Aaron Rodgers for the Packers (the first time since 1992 its been anything but #4, might I add). I really hate to say it, and it actually hurts my fingers to type this, but Rodgers played well and looked very efficient in his first career start. <br /> Two things were very clear while watching this game. One: it was the first game of the season. The two teams combined for 21 penalties equaling 160 yards. It should have been much more... but I won't go into that. Two: it was a rivalry game. You could just see it in the players faces and reactions. Sure, there was some pushing and shoving here and there after the plays, but nothing really said it more than the emotion showed by both Quarterbacks. Rodgers and Jackson both got very heated at times when they played poorly, Jackson threw his helmet down on the sideline and Rodgers was visibly saying some less than cheery words. <br /> Following the game, many fans are disheartened and upset, I am not one of them. Sure I really, really wanted to win this game, but believe it or not theres some upside to how our boys played last night. Here are some observations and statistics for you guys<br /><br /><ul><li>The Rushing D looks just as strong as it has the past two years. I know, I know, we gave up a total of 139 rushing yards and a touchdown at an average of around 5.1 yards a carry. Now, need to look at it from a different stand point besides just "the facts". You take away that disheartening 57 yard rushing play by Ryan Grant, and those numbers drop down to 82 rushing yards and a touchdown at an average of around 3.1 yards a carry. The lone touchdown allowed on the ground came on a second attempt from the one yard line on a QB sneak. The defense recorded four tackles for a loss.</li><li>The rushing <span style="font-style: italic;">attack</span>, while not recording the numbers we all love to see, still looked strong in the opener (especially missing the bulldozer Bryant McKinnie. The Vikings RBs & QBs rushed 33 times for 187 yards and a touchdown, at 5.7 yards per carry. <br /></li><li>The Offense showed promise, putting up 355 net yards. Tavaris Jackson had a slow start, but did wind up making some plays, leading the offense to scoring drives of 79 and 80 yards. They totaled 21 first downs, converted 7 out of 16 3rd downs, and 2 out of 2 4th downs. Now, I know they weren't perfect, but I look for these numbers to improve while we begin to utilize the right weapons. I expect Bobby Wade and Sidney Rice to become reliable, consistent weapons for Jackson, with Peterson and Berrian opening up the lanes for them.<br /></li><li>Speaking of weapons, it was good to see Garrett Mills used in the passing game, hauling in three catches for 49 yards. While I do like Mills, I'm not completely abandoning hope on Shiancoe. Yes, he did tip that pass in the endzone that Berrian might have hauled in. Yes, he did wind up having a pass bounce out of his hands after hitting the ground (which still should have been ruled a catch), but other than that... he wasn't all bad, was he? If he doesn't step it up in the upcoming games, look for Mills to get more and more action</li><li>Special Teams needs to step it up. Here, I blame the omnipresent Injury Bug. Of course losing Heath Farwell for the season really hurts, but one man can't make an entire unit. I don't think I even need to talk about how horrible the punt coverage was when we gave up the TD, so thats as much as I'm saying about that play. One thing that I think affected this game (maybe not dramatically, but at least somewhat) is Maurice Hicks' absence due to an injured foot. Hick is a known special teams ace from his days in San Francisco, where he led the team in special teams tackles two years running, while being a reliable return man. Allison was used as the primary punt and kickoff return man, who I personally really would like to see become a contributor in the passing game instead.</li><li>The sacks will come. Allen drew holds on him twice this game when he had his man beat. Yes, it doesn't give him the sack, but a ten yard penalty is almost as good as 6 yard sack. Allen and Edwards both showed their ability to get into the backfield, now its going to be about turning hurries into hits. <br /></li><li>Another plus on D, we only gave up 178 yards through the air. I know, it was versus Aaron Rodgers during his first career start, but while we did give up some gains we shouldn't have, our pass defense looks improved in my opinion. Yes, Winfield ran a bad route covering Donald Driver on a play that was called back due to a penalty, but they still did well. The defense caused two 3-and-outs, and only gave up 15 first downs. I also could mention, as we all know, Madieu Williams is out with a neck injury. What this means, is we had a rookie Tyrell Johnson starting in his first ever NFL game. Johnson will continue to improve and when Williams returns Sharper will once again (presumably) be able to freelance more and make more plays. Also, this could open up the possibility of Johnson getting play time at Corner.<br /></li></ul>As Brad Childress says, this game was only 1/16 of our season, we've got a long ways to go ladies and gentlemen, so lets not dwell on this one game. Next up the Indianapolis Colts come to town, with out starting Center Jeff Saturday. Look for a hungry Vikings team try and prove something this week against a strong AFC team, which lost to a division rival Chicago Bears. Until then, keep on checking for more Vikings and players updates right here, as always, thanks for reading!VikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-47509089138439955622008-08-11T18:55:00.001-05:002008-08-11T18:55:59.594-05:00August 11th -- PM Practice PicturesClick the thumbnail to view entire album<br /><br /><table style="width:194px;"><tr><td align="center" style="height:194px;background:url(http://picasaweb.google.com/f/img/transparent_album_background.gif) no-repeat left"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/grubs718/811082"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/grubs718/SKDMPYM358E/AAAAAAAAAYk/bGaNuCGjK44/s160-c/811082.jpg" width="160" height="160" style="margin:1px 0 0 4px;" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align:center;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/grubs718/811082" style="color:#4D4D4D;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;">8-11-08-2</a></td></tr></table>VikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-16445789207506076872008-08-11T17:51:00.002-05:002008-08-11T18:28:15.341-05:00August 11th -- PM PracticeToday was a short practice, scheduled from 2:45 to 3:45. At first it was really dull to me, the same old same old for afternoon practices. Started out with the usual running drills, featuring the back up offensive players holding up pads and just simulating plays. For a while I thought it was just going to just consist of that, luckily it picked up and I've got a lot of highlights for you guys, along with some pretty good pictures.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Observations<br /></span><ul><li>As I mentioned earlier this morning, there was a different #66 on the field, wearing a white jersey instead of the Mike Jones normally wearing the purple. Along with DE Chris Norwood (#66), there were two #73's and two #61's on the field. The new comers were offensive linemen Sean Dumford and Brock Pasteur, brough in after Farwell, Jones, and Mitchell were placed on IR. (the other 73 and 61 are Otis Grigsby and Martial Burnett)</li><li>Tyrell Johnson and Madieu Williams were both absent from the afternoon practice, after sitting out of the morning practice</li><li>Robison showed up later on walking around the field talking to a team staff member, he was limping as he walked, but thats expected for a guy who just had surgery on his calf</li></ul><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">11 on 11s</span><br />Today I had a very good view point of these practices, so I've got a lot of play by plays for you guys. <br /><br /><ul><li>First up, the first team offense took the field vs the second team defense. <br /></li><li>On the first place from scrimmage, Adrian Peterson completely burned the LB's in coverage while running a short route, picking up a big gain on the play</li><li>Tavaris Jackson had a very errant throw to Bobby Wade, which sailed wide left over the sidelines. However, Jackson came right back, finding Bobby Wade again, this time hitting him in stride on the same route for a touchdown</li><li>Robert Ferguson had a nice leaping catch over Charles Gordon with the Safety closing in (didn't catch the number), easy 20+ yard gain on the play</li><li>Sidney Rice looked reminiscent of the #80 of old, coming to a stop along the sidelines and leaning over and hauling in a Jackson pass for a first down on a 2nd & 6 drill</li><li>Gus Frerotte took center and immediately found Martin Nance on a play action pass, gaining around 15 on the play. On the next play, Frerotte went back to Nance, who let the ball bounce right off of his hands on a slant route over the middle</li><li>Naufahu Tahi had a 35 yard touchdown reception, and went untouched to the endzone</li></ul>The switched things up here, running drills as 1st & 10 from their own 20.<br /><ul><li>Brooks Bollinger had a beautiful pass to Branden Jones for about a 15 yard gain. However, if it was full speed/full contact, Bollinger would have already been on the turf courtesy of Jared Allen, who seemed to immediately be in the backfield</li><li>Darius Reynaud had a great leaping catch over Eric Frampton on the next play</li><li>On a Tight End Wing, Albert Young ran wide right, he made it about 5 yards up field, but once again, if it was full contact, Rufus Alexander would have blown him up for about a 3 yard loss</li></ul>At this point they flipped it around, setting the offense up in different Red Zone situations<br /><ul><li>They started out as 1st and 10 from the 12</li><ul><li>On the first play, Shiancoe let a ball sail pass him (which would have hit me if I didn't step to the side, I was about 2 feet behind the endzone) drawing criticism from Brad Childress</li></ul><li>Next up was 1st and goal from<br /></li><ul><li>Tavaris Jackson dropped back, and found Bobby Wade for a quick TD strike</li></ul><li>1st and goal from the 3</li><ul><li>Martin Nance had a great TD reception with Cornerback Marcus Walker draped all over him. Nance reached over Walker and tipped the ball up in the air, then was able to come down with it. Nance received praise from the crowd and Walker received praise from the coaches for sticking with him</li></ul><li>2nd and goal from the 4</li><ul><li>Aundrae Allison hauled in the first TD reception</li><li>Shiancoe got his TD this time, running to the far back right corner of the endzone</li><li>Allison picked up one more TD reception, this time beating Marcus McCauley on the play</li></ul><li>To finish things out, they flipped it around again, going from the 22 yard line I believe. Booty took center and started things out with a screen to Albert Young. Ray Edwards was already dancing in front of Booty, and at the risk of sounding repetitive, would have impaled him in a full contact situation</li><li>Leger Douzable had a nice play from Defensive End position today, rushing Booty to get rid of the ball, who almost placed the ball right in Marcus McCauley's hands</li><li>They seem to like running the reverse with Booty under center, this time going to Jaymar Johnson, who was nearly tackled for about a five yard loss by #73 (either Dumford or Pasteur, not sure which is which)</li><li>On another play, #61 had what would be a "touch sack", again its either Dumford or Pasteur, good to see these prospects each making a play on their first day here</li><li>For the final play of the practice, they went to the reverse one more time. This time, the entire defense bit just enough for speedy WR Darius Reynaud to beat the safeties deep, and pick up around an 80 yard TD. He even cut right across the field after having the whole D beat deep along the left sideline. He still went untouched.</li></ul>Overall turned out to be a good practice this afternoon, after a boring first half hour or so. I'll have those pictures up for you guys as soon as they're done uploading. Skol!VikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-12542394747098680032008-08-11T13:22:00.001-05:002008-08-11T13:22:46.728-05:00August 11th - AM Practice PicturesGot some good views of the DLine this morning since I was able to walk a couple feet from them.<br /><br />Enjoy.<br /><br />(Click the thumbnail to view the album)<br /><table style="width:194px;"><tr><td align="center" style="height:194px;background:url(http://picasaweb.google.com/f/img/transparent_album_background.gif) no-repeat left"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/grubs718/81108"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/grubs718/SKCA4qYytZE/AAAAAAAAARc/a3GahttlTJM/s160-c/81108.jpg" width="160" height="160" style="margin:1px 0 0 4px;" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align:center;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/grubs718/81108" style="color:#4D4D4D;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;">8-11-08</a></td></tr></table>VikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-9993403104010656462008-08-11T11:15:00.002-05:002008-08-11T11:36:12.254-05:00Monday August 11th -- AM PracticeToday was the first time I was able to make it to an AM practice in a long time, took off work since a friend hooked me up with a field pass. You can definitely tell the regular season is drawing near just by looking at how many people are out with nicks and bruises. Players were in shells and shorts today, keeping it relaxed after a rough preseason opener.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Injury Report<br /></span><ul><li>Naufahu Tahi was back and practicing after sitting yesterday out</li><li>Robison, Mitchell, Farwell, and K. Allen were all missing from practice</li><li>Radovich was present, but did not participate in team drills</li><li>After suffering a minor concussion on Friday night, Safety Michael Boulware was back and practicing</li><li>Tyrell Johnson and Madieu Williams both sat out today</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Observations<br /></span><ul><li>Anthony Herrera came onto the field late, jogging on at 9:08, after stretches</li><li>Gordon, Allison, and Jaymar Johnson all dropped the ball once during Punt Return drills</li><li>As some speculated, DT Leger Douzable saw time with the 2nd team D as a DE</li><li>A new face was at camp today, DE Chris Norwell, who was brought in because of our injuries at DE. He was seen wearing #66, which means Guard Mike Jones was released from the team</li><li>#32, Cornerback Dee McCann was practicing as a safety today, since they were short a couple bodies in that unit</li><li>As of right now, the depth chart for LDE is looking like this; Edwards, Douzable, Norwell. Can't afford another injury</li><li>Steven Hauschka had another rough date, kicking a few balls wide right of the goal post. To his credit, it was a <span style="font-style: italic;">little</span> windy<br /></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">CB/WR 1 on 1 Drills<br /></span><ul><li>Darren Sharper got faked out by Martin Nance on one play, slipping and falling over. Gus Frerrotte found him for a 20 yard gain.</li><li>Marcus Walker had a nice play, jumping in front of a Jackson thrown ball intended for Daniel Davis, almost picking it off</li><li>The next time Davis and Walker faced off, Davis got the better of him, as Walker hit the turf after slipping while cutting. Booty connected with him down the field</li><li>Robert Ferguson had a nice one handed grab, didn't catch who was on coverage</li><li>Aundrae Allison had another big play today, hooking up with Brooks Bollinger for a big play, which would have gone for a TD. Benny Sapp was in coverage</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">11 on 11 Drills<br /></span><ul><li>Bobby Wade had a rough day today, letting two balls hit the turf after bouncing off his hands</li><li>They continued to mix things up in the secondary, specifically with the Safeties, giving different people looks. Today Husain Abdullah saw time with the first team unit opposite Darren Sharper</li><li>Sidney Rice had a nice grab as he slipped and was going down, still managed to get underneath it</li><li>Here's one you guys will like... Shiancoe had another drop</li></ul><br /> Thats more or less it for today's morning practice, I'll be attending this afternoon's Special Teams practice as well, so check back for that later. As always, thanks for reading. Pictures to followVikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-42400542273819290372008-08-10T17:51:00.001-05:002008-08-10T17:52:11.842-05:00August 10th PicturesSorry some of the aren't the best quality, as you can tell from some of them it was very bright today.<br /><br /><br />Click on the thumbnail to view the entire album<br /><table style="width: 194px;"><tbody><tr><td style="background: transparent url(http://picasaweb.google.com/f/img/transparent_album_background.gif) no-repeat scroll left center; height: 194px; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="center"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/grubs718/81008"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/grubs718/SJ9wPDdJqoE/AAAAAAAAAMY/1svHA_dH5HU/s160-c/81008.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0pt 0pt 4px;" height="160" width="160" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/grubs718/81008" style="color: rgb(77, 77, 77); font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">8-10-08</a></td></tr></tbody></table>VikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-90604752573596517572008-08-10T16:54:00.000-05:002008-08-10T17:44:46.379-05:00The Boys Are Back In TownToday the Vikings were back in Mankato for their second and final Sunday practice after having their day off following their first exhibition game of the season vs. the Seahawks. Good news right off the bat, no news of any of the guys engaging in drunken shenanigans or causing a ruckus on their night off (granted there wasn't much to celebrate after that game). Speaking of which... many players were spotted spending their night off at the Target Center, where former WWE star, U of M wrestler, and wannabe Vikings defensive lineman Brock Lesnar was taking on Heath Herring in only his 3rd MMA contest. (In case you care, he won)<br /><br />Anyways, on to the stuff you care about, heres today's observations from training camp.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Injury Report</span><br /><ul><li>Heath Farwell was no where to be seen after his assumed season-ending ACL tear</li><li>Backup Defensive Tackle Kendrick Allen was not practicing, couldn't tell you why though</li><li>Backup Fullback Naufahu Tahi was also not practicing</li><li>Marcus McCauley was back on the field and participating in all team drills<br /></li><li>Garrett Mills is back after sitting out a big portion of training camp, he'll have some work to do to beat out Branden Jones - who has really taken advantage of Mills' injury<br /></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Observations<br /></span><ul><li>Practice was cut about 20 minutes short<br /></li><li>Maurice Hicks, Aundrae Allison, Albert Young, and Darius Reynaud, respectively, saw time as Kick Returners.<br /></li><li>#97 Ellis Wyms was seeing time in with the first team defense in place of Pat Williams on 3rd and medium situations</li><li>They continued to switch things up on defense today giving more people shots with the first team, my guess to see how people work together and get different looks. This time they switched up both the CBs & Safeties. During one drill Cedric Griffin and Charles Gordon were the CBs with the first team D, along with Frampton opposite Sharper</li><li>Rufus Alexander is the only winner in the wake of the Heath Farwell injury, seeing time with the second team defense along side Ciurciu and Pope<br /></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Highlights<br /></span><ul><li>E.J. Henderson had a great pass deflection, jumping the route and swatting down a ball intended for Adrian Peterson</li><li>Charles Gordon had the only interception of the day during a 3rd & five drill, picking off a Tavaris Jackson pass -- the first one I've seen TJack throw since in I believe practices</li><li>Ciurcui put his hands up and tipped the ball away on the line of scrimmage coming off of a blitz, followed by Rookie Defensive End Martail Burnett jumping up and picking it off</li><li>Speaking of Burnett, he had a very solid camp today. This is the best time of training camp with only a couple more days left, you can tell the young guys are really fighting to keep their jobs. Burnett had his way with starting Right Tackle Ryan Cook, beating him on a couple plays and causing havoc in the pocket. Not good news to hear about Cook, but to his credit Martail was just on fire today</li><li>E.J. Henderson came soaring across the line off scrimmage on a blitz, but the highlight goes to Jackson, who remained completely calm, and did what you never saw in that situation last year - he stepped up in the pocket and completed a ~12 yard gain to Shiancoe</li><li>The starting defensive definitely came to play today, completely whipping around the second team offense. On one play Jared Allen, Ben Leber, and E.J. Henderson were all chasing down Frerotte, who was forced to throw the ball away. On the very next play, E.J. came exploding through the offensive line and was immediately in Frerotte's face running full speed. Henderson yelled as he ran, causing #12 to jump. I'm not positive... but I think Frerotte had to go to the lockroom to change his pants after that one. I'll just put it this way, if it was a full contact game, I don't think old Gus would have walked away from that one...</li><li>Jared Allen completely destroyed Artis Hicks on one play, basically shoving him to the side out of his way</li><li>Aundrae Allison had a great diving catch off of a Tavaris Jackson throw, who was forced to once again step up in the pocket, as both defensive ends on the play where in the backfield</li><li>Bobby Wade had the biggest reception of the day, hauling in a pass on a slant which hit him 25 yards down the field. He then got a key block down field (didn't catch who it was from) and ran it the next 25 yards into the endzone</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lowlights<br /></span><ul><li>Aundrae Allison, who so far has been having a great camp, let a pass go straight through his hands and bounce of his knee. I'll give him <span style="font-style: italic;">some</span> slack since it was a little low, but it was still a very catchable ball</li><li>As mentioned, Cook really had his hands full versus Martail Burnett, he's been doing very well so far in camp so normally don't expect him to get beat by a guy three slots down on the depth chart</li><li>Sidney Rice surprisingly had the worst play of the day, who dropped a perfectly thrown Jackson pass, which sailed right over his shoulder and in between his hands after beating Marcus McCauley on the play</li></ul><br />Thats pretty much all I've got for you guys today, I'll be uploaded the pictures as soon as I click "Publish Post" so be sure to check those out. Once again, thanks for reading.<br /><br />SKOL!VikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-73397027074516806652008-08-06T20:32:00.001-05:002008-08-06T20:35:41.671-05:00August 6th PicturesClick on the picture below to view the album.<br /><br /><table style="width: 194px;"><tbody><tr><td style="background: transparent url(http://picasaweb.google.com/f/img/transparent_album_background.gif) no-repeat scroll left center; height: 194px; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="center"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/grubs718/8608"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/grubs718/SJpP1q1TxBE/AAAAAAAAAIY/WrQ2iolFlfM/s160-c/8608.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0pt 0pt 4px;" height="160" width="160" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/grubs718/8608" style="color: rgb(77, 77, 77); font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">8-6-08</a></td></tr></tbody></table>VikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-78557538156814455382008-08-06T16:44:00.000-05:002008-08-06T17:33:29.834-05:00Wednesday, August 6th - AfternoonThe afternoon practice today was more or less the same as yesterday. Started out with the same drills, all four Quarterbacks and Running backs running simple drills. From there the Offense takes the first practice field and the defense takes the second. During this drill its basically just familiarity training, they only run a couple different rushing plays, perfecting blocking placement etc. Definitely was kind of funny watching Rufus Alexander lined up as a RB taking the snap from a coach.<br /><br /> These practices are getting much more relaxed, I'm assuming because of our first preseason game looming right around the corner. After stretching, they did some quick 11 on 11s, the first team offense taking on the second team defense. Once again, Jackson looked sharp in these drills, not missing a throw. However, I don't think he lined up against the first team Defense once the whole afternoon, which is where the real test is. Nevertheless.. heres some plays from the first set of 11 on 11s.<br /><br /><ul><li>The first snap, Tavaris Jackson drops back, looks left, passes deep to Sidney Rice running along the right sideline for a long TD.</li><li>Two plays later, Jackson rolls out right and finds Rice again for a 10 yard gain</li><li>From here on out for Jackson it was RBs & TEs all the way, with a screen pass to Peterson, a 6 yard shot to Braden Jones over the middle, a short pass to AD for 5, and finally a play action play hooking up with Shiancoe for about 12 yards. <br /></li><li>Jaymar Johnson continues to be a favorite of the other QBs when on the field. Frerotte targeted him on the first play, but the pass fell short. On the next two plays, Jaymar was the recipient of Frerotte and Booty passes, for 11 and 8 yards respectively.<br /></li></ul>Next up the third team offense went up against the first team defense. The interesting part however, was that Booty was under center. Bollinger saw virtually no play time in 11 on 11s, even though he was previously lined up with the 3rd team in the earlier QB/RB drills. The defense definitely showed up here:<br /><br /><ul><li>Booty finds Daniel Davis for a short gain up the left side</li><li>Booty finds Darius Reynaud over the middle for about a 15 yard gain, who made a great jumping catch over Antoine Winfield. Reynaud will still have to impress the coaches more in preseason if he has any shot to make the team after having a serious case of the dropsies earlier in camp</li><li>Booty connect with Jaymar Johnson for a (very) short gain, although if the play was full contact, Booty would have already been on the turf from Jared Allen, who seemed to almost instantly be in his face</li><li>On Booty's last play vs the first team D, he attempted a pass to Albert Young, but Darren Sharper jumped in and swatted the ball down</li><li>The second team defense took the field for a couple plays, nothing too spectacular to report here, the best play was about a 15 yard catch by Darius Reynaud, but it was a really poorly thrown ball by Booty, wobbling through the air.<br /></li><li>Vinny Cuircui, Derrick Pope, and Heath Farwell played as the second team defense. J Leeman, David Herron, Erin Henderson, and Rufus Alexander will all need to make a strong showing if they expect to make the roster</li><li>Benny Sapp and Charles Gordon continue to take advantage of Marcus McCauley's absence, both of whom played on the second team</li></ul> Taking a break from the 11 on 11s, they went back to focusing on special teams, this time running situational punting drills. The first punt was practicing punting from the endzone, backed up to the 2 yard line. From here they moved to the 10 yard line, the second punt sailing 61 yards to Jaymar Johnson, who had to call for a fair catch. Nothing too exciting, but Kluwe definitely showed his length strength on a number of punts, with only one "bad" one, which bounced over the fence into the bleachers. <br /> Jaymar Johnson once again took on the PR role exclusively. Aundrae Allison and Robert Ferguson definitely are having a friendly competition on special teams, both kind of jarring at each other, pushing one another. Ferguson once again showed up, making a couple good plays when the ball was bouncing towards the endzone, receiving praise from Paul Ferraro. <br /><br /> They went back to 11 on 11s to wrap up practice, starting up the same way, first team offense vs second team defense. While the entire starting offensive line and Jackson would stay on the field, they would keep on switching up TEs, RBs, FBs, and WRs, I'm assuming to see who works well together. Here's a summary of the final drill<br /><br /><ul><li>Tavaris came out and quickly found Tapeh underneath for a short gain. <br /></li><li>On the next play, Jackson connected with Bernard Berrian, who leaped over the defender to make the catch (sorry, couldn't see who it was)</li><li>Branden Jones is really becoming a favorite target for the QBs, who received two of Jackson's next four passes, the other two going to Ferguson and Allison</li><li>The brought out the sticks to do some situational drills, one of which Gus Frerotte connected with Jaymar Johnson for about a 20 yard pick up on 2nd & 6.</li><li>Booty took center to wrap it up, nothing too notable, but I did notice they tried two reverses, both to Darius Reynaud. Reynaud showed his speed on one play, picking up about 10 yards vs the first team D</li><li>Otis Grigsby again saw the majority of the time with the 2nd team defensive line, lined up with Jayme Mitchell, Fred Evans, and Ellis Wyms. Martail Burnett saw a couple snaps in Grigsby's stead on a couple plays</li></ul><br />That pretty much covers this afternoon practice, like I said, nothing too major going on. One thing I did notice, however, at one point during practice, Rice was noticeably limped and rubbing his ankle on the sideline, he appeared fine later.<br /><br />Pictures up soonVikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-3212790376381614262008-08-05T20:56:00.000-05:002008-08-05T21:05:25.020-05:00August 5th PicturesSorry there's not too many of them, practice was only an hour long, most are the same old same old, and a lot of the practice was on the further fields<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhDPsanJsO5APM_xaSScKaCMN7wJ2xA4GxQx2JS5dIB0VQ-HOpB3X2jFY8V7x-gO3CdM-qF7jIL30EO4-VkYmYJUh4s9aJs0gvX5pQRqrocyHvEGROQwCTXX9XHtL8MDrbvqC4d38UQO8/s1600-h/DSC01069.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhDPsanJsO5APM_xaSScKaCMN7wJ2xA4GxQx2JS5dIB0VQ-HOpB3X2jFY8V7x-gO3CdM-qF7jIL30EO4-VkYmYJUh4s9aJs0gvX5pQRqrocyHvEGROQwCTXX9XHtL8MDrbvqC4d38UQO8/s320/DSC01069.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231219427566024338" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg68Pp6bbwc9GEgHowtBx3J03Yuxdfqoh7wyR06bW0BuB7D7jQ2B20gwkBQaxNV_7MRoGxftiXWSoXfW7rDZP73mhHjiQmr1q7wtnq439UeinFkpjXLdlTPwppF98ajY3JaAr11MN3gxSU/s1600-h/DSC01072.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg68Pp6bbwc9GEgHowtBx3J03Yuxdfqoh7wyR06bW0BuB7D7jQ2B20gwkBQaxNV_7MRoGxftiXWSoXfW7rDZP73mhHjiQmr1q7wtnq439UeinFkpjXLdlTPwppF98ajY3JaAr11MN3gxSU/s320/DSC01072.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231219430455825586" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjCWM0uXdu0QArKxAIZ0AdjbhyQTLb3VmI0hGn5aSMMDrNH9x2K8IprRDMzRPm6FTwqmqfCFdTA0ztnafDcGeFMnC9SUHqz16vPed5OgqUt3xYmEZ6RSaywGPQqb_Ph-fzyP5BV6O2JxM/s1600-h/DSC01074.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjCWM0uXdu0QArKxAIZ0AdjbhyQTLb3VmI0hGn5aSMMDrNH9x2K8IprRDMzRPm6FTwqmqfCFdTA0ztnafDcGeFMnC9SUHqz16vPed5OgqUt3xYmEZ6RSaywGPQqb_Ph-fzyP5BV6O2JxM/s320/DSC01074.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231219434854287074" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipx3qW8e-rvYo6IbacreipbK7VgeVAi3aY5jIOfhhmIWLjlYW5j1Z5gxhY_H2kdvgbbTf6hbBYxmEEhna-ff7MY_raCsgtpKE-Klh_hgdjhwaMKWe0KK36qzRpNWBBPCNscFt4Kn0tqWg/s1600-h/DSC01068.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipx3qW8e-rvYo6IbacreipbK7VgeVAi3aY5jIOfhhmIWLjlYW5j1Z5gxhY_H2kdvgbbTf6hbBYxmEEhna-ff7MY_raCsgtpKE-Klh_hgdjhwaMKWe0KK36qzRpNWBBPCNscFt4Kn0tqWg/s320/DSC01068.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231218536197105602" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoea2kqgkgS5a4JoznA4p-3tdiKsYs9HYLbrxzNlk7X2JHAX7VsAyvaoePYef8ykmv_w_I-mxIUovR0eNSlDaAwbcAdE8pU5X1q4uDQs0c0f6Tq-2RYnN4fB84E2XOzz8LqrhcV_p83iA/s1600-h/DSC01067.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoea2kqgkgS5a4JoznA4p-3tdiKsYs9HYLbrxzNlk7X2JHAX7VsAyvaoePYef8ykmv_w_I-mxIUovR0eNSlDaAwbcAdE8pU5X1q4uDQs0c0f6Tq-2RYnN4fB84E2XOzz8LqrhcV_p83iA/s320/DSC01067.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231218223022628018" border="0" /></a>VikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-66481764524347242382008-08-05T17:06:00.000-05:002008-08-05T18:46:00.272-05:00August 5th - Afternoon PracticeToday's practice was scheduled from 2:45 to 3:45, and lasted around 10 minutes extra this afternoon. Garrett Mills was still M.I.A. from camp, and no new word on Robison.<br /> When the players came out one of the first drills was running drills with the QBs, Centers, RBs, and FBs. They seemed to emphasize draw plays during a portion of this drill, otherwise just all up the middle runs. All four teams were lined up on the same yard line, in order of (current) depth chart position. Only the first and second teams have FBs participate (Tapeh and Tahi, respectively), Jeff Dugan participated in Tight End drills exclusively. Heres how the rest looked:<br /><br /><ul><li>QBs: Jackson, Frerotte, Bollinger, Booty. Pretty much all expected</li><li> RBs: Peterson, Taylor, Hicks, Young</li><li> Centers: Birk, Sullivan, Brian Daniels, and Dan Mozes and Tim Mattran shared time in the fourth team.</li></ul> Next up, there was a small 11 on 11 drill. Jackson looked decent in this drill, hitting 3 different receivers and going 4 of 5. Before Bollinger Stepped in.<br /><br /><ul><li>Jackson hit Bernard Berrian over the middle, picking up about 15.</li><li>Jackson to Wade down the left side, gain of about 20</li><li>Pass incomplete. Jackson under threw the intended receiver, didn't catch the game</li><li>Jackson goes back to Wade for another completion</li><li>Finally, he his Tapeh on a screen going to the right, picking up about 6.</li><ul><li>Bollinger had one great play, hitting Jaymar Johnson about 35+ yards down the field, who had to slow down and go up between two CBs</li></ul></ul><br /><br /> Special Teams took the field at this portion of practice. It got difficult to see what was going on in the middle field, but I'm pretty sure the bulk of it was blocking assignments/positioning. On the near field, place kicker Ryan Longer was showing rookie Kicker Steven Hauschka the tricks of the trade on how to do Onside Kicks. Lets just say for the most part he wasn't turning any heads, with a few balls only going a couple yards.<br /> Sidney Rice, Bobby Wade, and Martin Nance saw the bulk of the time as the "hands team", which the majority being in favor of Rice. Visanthe Shiance and Maurice Hicks saw time as well.<br /> <br /> As I thought training camp was coming to an end, the came together one more time for some 11-on 11 drills, and Tavaris was on target, hittin 7 or 8 in a row. Here's how that looked:<br /><br /><ul><li>Very large amount of passes hitting the Tightends and Running Backs</li><li> Jackson hit Kleinsausser with Heath Farwell closing in on him fast on a blitz</li><li> Next play, Jackson hit Branden Jones perfect for about 20+ yards, who had to go up over Tyrell Johnson for the catch</li><li> Chester Taylor hauled in the next catch along the left sideline, for 10+ yards</li><li> The next pass went to Robert Ferguson on a slant route</li><li> Jeff Dugan got in on the mix next, putting up around 12 yards</li><li> Jackson again went back back to Taylor on this play, for a pick up of around 6</li><li> Tavaris found free agent acquisition Bernard Berrian over the middle for around 10</li><li> And finally, Jackson hit Maurice Hicks, who made a great one handed grab</li><ul><li>Next up, Booty took center</li></ul><li>Jimmy K got back in the mix, hauling in the first pass from John David</li><li> On a play-action pass, Booty rolled out to his left and hit 6th round draft pick Jaymar Johnson for about 10 yards</li><li> Booty went back to Johnson for his final throw, who had to slow down and leap up, stealing the ball from the air in double coverage</li></ul>Thats all for now. One last observation was that after going to the locker room, WR Bobby Wade was seen making his way back to the dorms on foot, with a large ice pack around his left leg.<br /><br />Will post some pictures soon if any are worth while (most of the practice took place on the middle field). Also, I will be posting another Q&A within a day or so, this time from Vikings Alumni Running Back Oscar Reed.<br /><br />Thanks for reading.VikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-24755433691831722022008-08-05T00:10:00.000-05:002008-08-05T21:32:04.964-05:00Q&A With Chris Kluwe<span style="font-family:lucida grande;">First off, thanks a lot for agreeing to do this with me. Like I said I have been reporting my training camp observations on a fan site, just started up my blog today. The reason you were the first I approached is I have seen you up at training camp numerous times, always signing autographs for the fans, and you thank them for coming out just as often as they thank you for your time. Because of this you are a highly liked player all over the place, truly a "fan's player".</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Now to the questions.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">VK:</span> First off, you grew up playing </span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1217912600_3" style="border-bottom: medium none; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial;">High School</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> and College ball in California. Was it hard getting used to our winters? </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">CK: </span>Well, it wasn't too bad since I grew up with some ski vacations, but the first couple of negative temperature days took some getting used to. I think the hardest thing was having to park my car outside that first year, and I didn't have a remote starter for it. Definitely had some chilly mornings that I had to layer up just to get in the car. </span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">VK:</span> When did you know you wanted to play football?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CK:</span> <span style="font-family:lucida grande;">When I discovered I was good at it :) Actually, I initially started playing football because I needed a fall sport in high school (played baseball in the spring and soccer in the winter). Guess it's lucky for me the soccer team didn't let me practice with them my freshman year. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">VK:</span> <span style="font-family:lucida grande;">What is your favorite memory, thus far, as a Viking?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CK:</span> <span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Probably getting Special Teams Player of the month my rookie year. That's a pretty noteworthy honor and to get it as a rookie was pretty cool. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">VK: </span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">What is a more frightening situation as a punter, in your opinion. That someone might break through and hit you before you have a chance to get the ball off, or when you have to try and engage a return man/blocker?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">CK:</span> Kicking to </span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1217912600_4" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial;">Devin Hester</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">. In all seriousness though, it's definitely taking on a blocker. My guys do a great job of protecting me up front so I've never really worried about having anything blocked, but when a 250 lb guy is running </span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1217912600_5" style="border-bottom: medium none; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial;">full tilt</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> at me with the returner behind him, it's tough not to think about whether or not you've updated your will lately.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">VK:</span> We all know you like your video games, whats your highest score on </span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1217912600_6" style="font-family:lucida grande;">Guitar Hero</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">CK: </span>To be honest, I don't know. I play Guitar Hero to have fun and I've never really felt the need to track my score. I just like hitting all the notes so the song sounds good.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">VK:</span> <span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Besides Devin Hester, who do you think is the hardest person to punt to?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">CK:</span> Devin Hester.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">VK:</span> We all know you're an ace at placing the ball inside the 20 and directional punts, about what % of your kicks do you think are with a reverse spin on the ball?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">CK: </span>Heh, I don't think I've ever knowingly put a reverse spin on a ball in my life. The +50 punts I tend to kick with a higher trajectory so usually when they come down they bounce backwards, but you can't ever predict exactly where the ball is going to go. That's what makes the game so much fun.</span><br /><br /><br /><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1217912600_7" style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">VK: </span>Family Guy</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> vs the Simpsons, who's better?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">CK:</span> Tough question. I like that the Family Guy throws in some outrageous skits and 'wtf' moments, but for classic comedy you just can't beat the Simpsons.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">VK:</span> Who are you closest with on the team?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">CK: </span>Probably my snapper Cullen and kicker Ryan. We hang out all day and there's not much to do besides talk to each other during practice so we spend a lot of quality time together.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">VK:</span> What is your favorite thing (if any) about coming to Mankato?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">CK:</span> Ummmm, leaving? I jest, I jest (kind of). The people here do a great job making sure that we have everything we need, but let's face it, it's fall camp. It's not ever going to be fun no matter where you're at.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">VK: </span>Which game are you most looking forward to this season?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">CK:</span> The Monday Night opener against Green Bay. It's going to set the tone for the rest of the season, and it'll be nice to play in Green Bay without having to layer 8 different types of clothes.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">VK:</span> Finally, I have to ask. Horde or Alliance?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">CK:</span> Horde. Alliance are a bunch of *expletive*<censored></censored></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">VK:</span> Thank you very much for your time</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">CK:</span> Not a problem, hope this is what you needed.</span>VikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-3591811288238882992008-08-04T23:36:00.000-05:002008-08-04T23:46:43.049-05:00Robison may need surgery.Brian Robison, our DE playing behind Jared Allen, could potentially be out as long as week 2-3 of the regular season. It was reported this morning that Robison was up in Minneapolis talking to doctors about a varicose vein in his left leg (a varicose vein is one that has become enlarged and twisted). According to a quote from Access Vikings, Robison had this to say:<br /><br />“It’s been something that has been there for a while and it’s just kind of flared up on me,” he said. ”I have a varicose vein on my left leg. It’s something they are looking at and we went and got it looked at again today. So we’ll find out tomorrow what we need to do with it.” (http://ww3.startribune.com/vikingsblog/?p=1778#more-1778)<br /><br />According to the report, he's had the condition since High School, but it just recently started to bother him. Thats all we know as of now, and should hopefully know more tomorrow. I should be at camp in the afternoon, and I'll see if he's even on the field at all. Thats it for now, if he does need surgery, heres to a quick recovery with no fall off, Robison has really came off strong this camp and showed flashes of his pass rushing ability last season. He's really worked on becoming more of a complete back. Look for the update in the camp report.VikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-91456107961350168772008-08-04T16:57:00.000-05:002008-12-08T22:10:02.739-06:00August 4th Pictures<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOgKiqQbeKnJYhOMIqXDGmc5ZFLgzIlcilsRa4F15ykJt3t0sN7u3jcGIH0QHXxFnZJoM8DyUbwnyWtnFQ1KB8FPerq79M8ldxLiACYiWKXdgau_JbYPrbsG7yLJNasLz84bwPtJaSjA8/s1600-h/DSC01058.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOgKiqQbeKnJYhOMIqXDGmc5ZFLgzIlcilsRa4F15ykJt3t0sN7u3jcGIH0QHXxFnZJoM8DyUbwnyWtnFQ1KB8FPerq79M8ldxLiACYiWKXdgau_JbYPrbsG7yLJNasLz84bwPtJaSjA8/s320/DSC01058.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230786306638026434" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEindwjm7xMvEG5nfX0Yil2FsYjMaucOuGTzHiRBVlWqeYVeGBnWO7Kz9LK8lPYlWgitJR0VH0RBhWH28eAGR5FHXqumUDyZZFqyXD9wJQej-fadPfQ7OAbSeYpkrXTDAhCmyd2Z3b4w6Bo/s1600-h/DSC01059.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEindwjm7xMvEG5nfX0Yil2FsYjMaucOuGTzHiRBVlWqeYVeGBnWO7Kz9LK8lPYlWgitJR0VH0RBhWH28eAGR5FHXqumUDyZZFqyXD9wJQej-fadPfQ7OAbSeYpkrXTDAhCmyd2Z3b4w6Bo/s320/DSC01059.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230786310884851794" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWwPS9uML8WlT4_7fKn0zxmJ66gPwotDPG0o1MkbowEzjep2pSzLwmIxc_B_80GfeTDf2izRt3zZLBc-WGRCnL1bkfKZuwtcZ_T0DLfDs87WH8aYJhGK-3gUSXGyE5OAgzHCW3EVQny_Y/s1600-h/DSC01060.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWwPS9uML8WlT4_7fKn0zxmJ66gPwotDPG0o1MkbowEzjep2pSzLwmIxc_B_80GfeTDf2izRt3zZLBc-WGRCnL1bkfKZuwtcZ_T0DLfDs87WH8aYJhGK-3gUSXGyE5OAgzHCW3EVQny_Y/s320/DSC01060.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230786313554329490" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLkN8ptOj4DYf8pLtKSqa2UVToXxhmBHvAkEa_ABdNKTr8G8brCqsQP1sIcfvXSKy0Aq1B8__0wjAC1siYOrwfcnMSOJfw5TCFDvmJ-rMsNMMvk3_tQYRO38vegPBhQP7NEtd1IdQmvoY/s1600-h/DSC01063.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLkN8ptOj4DYf8pLtKSqa2UVToXxhmBHvAkEa_ABdNKTr8G8brCqsQP1sIcfvXSKy0Aq1B8__0wjAC1siYOrwfcnMSOJfw5TCFDvmJ-rMsNMMvk3_tQYRO38vegPBhQP7NEtd1IdQmvoY/s320/DSC01063.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230786319277731554" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj05tPkfXQ7RfwR8wRQsfYIvfYPNSno68dZedeJwcWSWaOQra7Vt8HncVFf_E1773NqQ53h4v4VE0mvjeR1o2RSbVTb0Eyh3mc0NENr80SrL6s0aEFDzmEYu4eCN2n6iH3K6lgwwwBrjxA/s1600-h/DSC01064.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj05tPkfXQ7RfwR8wRQsfYIvfYPNSno68dZedeJwcWSWaOQra7Vt8HncVFf_E1773NqQ53h4v4VE0mvjeR1o2RSbVTb0Eyh3mc0NENr80SrL6s0aEFDzmEYu4eCN2n6iH3K6lgwwwBrjxA/s320/DSC01064.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230786328223360018" border="0" /></a>VikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-7975753809666435982008-08-04T15:54:00.000-05:002008-08-04T16:05:59.198-05:00August 4th: Afternoon Practice - Special TeamsLike the title says, today's afternoon practice was focused on Special Teams, which in turn means it was a short practice (about an hour). Now these definitely aren't the most exciting practices, but hey, they give me my Vikings fix for the day. Heres what I saw:<br /><br /><ul><li>Like expected, Rice was present for the afternoon drills, although at first he just sat on the sidelines and played catch with Darren Sharper (very poorly might I add, they both kept throwing the ball short), but did see action a little later.</li><li>Maurice Hicks and Aundrae Allison saw the bulk of the time out of the kick returners, with Jaymar Johnson and even Visanthe Shiancoe mixed in. Dugan and Tapeh were the short returnmen</li><li>Ferguson, Allison, Rice, Dee McCann, Gordon, and Frampton all saw time practicing in the gunner slots</li><li>Jaymar Johnson was pretty much exclusively the Punt Return man today</li><li>No one dropped any balls in any of the Kickoff or Punt drills, at least that I saw</li><li>The punting unit looked solid on directional/goal line punts while running drills to pin the ball inside the 10. One punt hit the 6 yard line, and bounced right out of bounds. Aundrae Allison had a great grab, yanking the ball out of the endzone, that Charles Gordon downed at the 5. Sidney Rice had a good grab at the 2 yard line, followed by rookie Nate Jones stopping it right by the goal line. The only bad play came up when Rice was making a play on the ball and Eric Frampton tried to do the same.. knocking it out of Rices hands in the process.<br /></li></ul>VikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5139709742788433116.post-50150875901732780212008-08-04T13:17:00.000-05:002008-08-04T13:58:26.896-05:00Minnesota Vikings Dance TeamSince I just noticed I can upload videos straight to this account, heres that video I took Saturday night, since I know some of you couldn't access it on facebook. Enjoy!<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwOe8RTo8bs-rCOheTlfNz8-bpEFLafvcJI1NWsCe51qjJptIoUQOQeNwfGut6UToVoIMTR5yJZJNd-lhEQcQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>VikesKinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16578509782382417863noreply@blogger.com0