Archive for September, 2010

There are different words for that special quality Benny Sapp demonstrated in his two years as a member of the Minnesota Vikings. “Swagger” would be one.  “Knuckleheadedness” might be another. Whatever you want to call Benny’s particular intangibles, there’s no doubt the Dolphins got a good, feisty, entertaining player when they acquired him from the Vikings for receiver Greg Camarillo.  Benny’s new coach Tony Sparano certainly appreciates what he brings to the team. “He fits in really well,” Sparano said of Sapp during Wednesday’s conference call with the Minnesota media.  “He’s an aggressive player that has a little swagger to [...]

Count Ricky Williams among those who admire the skills and abilities of new Vikings receiver Greg Camarillo.  Ricky should know too – he played with Camarillo for three years on the Dolphins, before Camarillo was traded this preseason for cornerback Benny Sapp. In a conference call Wednesday afternoon with reporters, Williams spoke about the blow the Dolphins received when Camarillo was dealt. “It really hurt a lot of us to see him leave,” Ricky said.  “He’s money.” The “money” remark is a reference to Camarillo’s hands, which are among the surest in the league.  Camarillo also has a reputation as [...]

Former Golden Gopher Rhys Lloyd is employed again.  That’s right, he’s back to being a member of the Carolina Panthers.  Supposedly Lloyd was going to be the Vikings version of David Buehler and give loyal purple fans a free souvenir.  And this was suppose to happen multiple times a game kicking the ball out of the back of the endzone after our KAO put 7 points on the board.    Well, that idea crashed and burned before it ever got going.  Touchbacks via Lloyd were a rarity in the preseason, Vikings decided that one roster spot on a kicker is enough and now we can [...]

The Vikings‘ lack of secondary depth became a big story going into last Thursday’s opening game against the Saints.  As it turned out, the Vikes were able to overcome having only 3 healthy cornerbacks on the roster, and held the normally explosive Saints’ passing game to a relatively low total of 229 yards. That being said, I’m sure Leslie Frazier would feel better knowing there was someone to turn to on the bench in the event of injury. Thankfully for Leslie and his peace of mind, it appears CB Chris Cook is taking strides toward returning to action.  After being [...]

The passing game was clearly not in top form Thursday night when the Vikings lost to the Saints.  Despite this, Brad Childress said afterward that the team wasn’t looking to sign/trade for more wide receivers. “I’m not thinking that way right now,” the coach said when asked if he would look bolster the receiver corps. “I’m not thinking about adding another body. I know those guys weren’t as involved as we would have liked them involved. But I think it had something to do with how they were kind of playing their coverage.” Apparently, Childress changed his mind shortly after [...]

Last night wasn’t pretty and this offense needs work.  Favre missed his gameday dish of Sticky Rice more than most anticipated.  Sticky was an absolute nightmare last year in one-on-one matchups.  Without hesitation Favre would throw to him in coverage with Sticky oftentimes coming down with the ball.  Hold on while I bang my head against the keyboard for memories of one miserable pass ending the ’09 season… Done.  Double teaming Sticky left someone open and Favre (unlike TJax) would go through all of his reads before letting it fly.  I’m also fully aware that Vincent Jackson has more potential [...]

The Vikings‘ offense was far from being in top form last night against the Saints, but does this mean the Vikings must now try for a major fix, or can they simply wait for Brett Favre and his receivers to get on the same page? The Vikings do have talent at receiver, even without Sidney Rice.  However, on the evidence of last night’s game, neither Bernard Berrian nor Percy Harvin is likely to ascend to #1 status anytime soon.  Outside of those guys, the team has only journeyman-types like Greg Lewis and Greg Camarillo to rely on. Favre has a [...]

Bryant McKinnie got a ton of grief on Twitter last night when he left the game in the fourth quarter with a dislocated finger, abandoning his team while they were trying to mount a desperate late comeback. Actually, the grief wasn’t so much about him leaving the game, it was the fact that he had to be driven off on a cart when it was “only” a finger injury. I won’t repeat some of the things Bryant was called.  Suffice it to say, fans were not thrilled with what they perceived to be a lack of toughness on McKinnie’s part. [...]

Don’t tell the Vikings‘ defense about the Saints‘ high-powered offense. For the second straight meeting, the Vikings tamed the Saints’ offensive beast, holding them well under their average yardage.  Last night, the Saints gained a relatively meager 308 total yards, 229 by the pass and 62 by the run. Unfortunately, the Saints were able to put together two tremendous bursts, one at the start of the game, and one in their first possession of the second half.  They closed both drives with touchdowns, and those 14 points were enough to win. The Saints’ first possession of the first quarter was [...]

It’s safe to say, the Vikings’ offense needs work. A lot of work. In last night’s 14-9 loss to the Saints, the Vikes mustered only 253 total yards – 222 fewer than they put up against the Saints in last year’s NFC Championship Game.  They put together only two good drives all night, both in the second quarter. They scored only one touchdown, on a 20-yard pass from Brett Favre to Visanthe Shiancoe.  Shank would wind up the top receiver of the night, catching 4 balls for 76 yards. Things did not go so well for some of Favre’s other [...]