Archive for February, 2011

Remember when Sidney Rice was hurt last November and refused to speak with local media on if his hip would allow him to play versus the Green Bay Packers… And then within the same hour he told ESPN’s Ed Werder that he would indeed suit up? It was diva-esque and left us confused. And what’s ironic is the first three years of having Sidney in purple he wasn’t seen as a “me first” type of wide receiver that the position so tends to be associated with. Well here we are all over again. The world of Sidney Rice has been [...]

It doesn’t take much to change people’s perceptions. Before today’s combine press appearances, Cam Newton was the potential first round quarterback facing the most heat from critics. After the pressers, the heat is somewhat off Newton, but squarely on Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett who withered under the hot glare of media questioning. Mallett’s main enemy may have been the timing of today’s pressers. Newton was expected to speak yesterday, but postponed his appearance until today. Circumstance placed Newton one spot behind Mallett, who provided the perfect opening act for a quarterback looking to atone after some ill-considered earlier remarks. Mallett [...]

The single most important question the Vikings need to answer this off-season is, “Who will play quarterback in 2011 and beyond?” The beyond part may be answered by the draft, depending on how the chips fall. The 2011 part? Maybe there’s a rookie phenom among this year’s draft prospects at QB, but I wouldn’t bet the house on this being the case. Given the long odds against the Vikings finding a Matt Ryan among this year’s QB crop, the likelihood is that the Vikings’ starter for 2011 will be someone with at least a small amount of NFL experience. The [...]

Jaymar Johnson will be back with the Vikings in 2011 after agreeing to a one-year deal with the team. Johnson was drafted in 2008 but has actually played only one year with the team, spending 2008 on the practice squad and 2010 on IR after breaking his thumb in preseason. Things can only get better for Jaymar in 2011. Hopefully he will stay healthy, make the team and dramatically improve his career reception total which right now stands at 1. The way things look now, Johnson could wind up being the Vikings’ #3 receiver behind Percy Harvin and Greg Camarillo. [...]

There is actual sort-of news to report this afternoon on the status of Sidney Rice. This news comes straight from the mouth of coach Leslie Frazier, who this morning said the Vikings have extended a contract offer to Rice and are involved in “on-going” negotiations with the player. Rice’s agent Drew Rosenhaus has refused to confirm the contract offer. Speculation is that the offer is a restricted free agent tender, which would entitle the Vikings to draft pick compensation in the event Rice receives an offer sheet from another team and they elect not to match. The usual “the new [...]

Let’s take a quick whip around the other Fansided Minnesota blogs and see what’s happening: Dunking With Wolves offers an All-Star Weekend recap. Gone Puck Wild discusses the loss of Mikko Koivu. Puckett’s Pond talks Twins on Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects List. Follow FanSided on Facebook. Follow The Viking Age on Twitter.

We already knew about Cam Newton‘s talent on the football field, but now we know about his other great gift: he’s great at making an ass of himself in interviews. Cam displayed this talent yesterday to Dan Wetzel of Yahoo!, who was happy to share the Heisman-winning QB’s less-than-humble remarks about himself with all of NFL fandom. In one short interview, Cam managed to make not one but two statements that had the whole sports world talking and, more importantly, tweeting. First off, he said this about his future career: I see myself as an entertainer-slash-icon. Modesty, thy name is Cam [...]

We’ve debated it all off-season. Should the Vikings use their franchise tag on Chad Greenway? Sidney Rice? Should they even use it at all? Should we really care that much when we know the expiration of the CBA might wipe out all the tags anyway? Now the debate can end. The Vikings have announced that they will place the franchise tag on linebacker Chad Greenway, guaranteeing that he will remain a Viking at least through 2011 (barring some team doing something really, really silly). According to the wonks, the franchise tag will guarantee Greenway around $10 million for 2011. Assuming [...]

It’s no secret that Bryant McKinnie likes to party. His love of getting his groove on became only too apparent during Pro Bowl week a couple years ago when he elected to enjoy himself rather than practice, a shuffling of priorities that ended up getting him thrown off the team. Given Bryant’s free-spirited nature and show-biz connections, it should be no shock that he was among the revelers at a wild NBA All-Star Weekend shindig in Hollywood hosted by rapper Rick Ross and model Rosa Acosta. What might shock some, though, is the way McKinnie threw money around at that [...]

The solution to some of the Vikings‘ secondary woes may have just fallen into their lap. If they’re willing to take a chance on a veteran safety who is as well-known for tearing his own body parts as he is for tearing up offenses. The oft-injured veteran safety I refer to is Bob Sanders, who today was cut by the Indianapolis Colts. Actually “oft-injured’ may be an understatement in Sanders’ case: the former Defensive Player of the Year has appeared in only nine games the last three seasons due to various physical problems. Both his 2009 and 2010 seasons were [...]