The Viking Age » jaymar johnson

Cardinals Will Sign Larry Fitzgerald to 8-Year, $120 Million Contract

Dan Zinski — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 01:01:49 +0000

Not long ago Cardinals wide receiver and former Vikings ball boy Larry Fitzgerald was quoted as saying it would be a “dream come true” for him to jump from Arizona to his home town team in Minnesota. But you know what’s an ever better dream? Signing an 8-year deal worth $120 million including $50 million guaranteed.

According to Adam Schefter, Fitzgerald has opted for the better dream. The ESPN insider and possible leprechaun says Fitzgerald will take the huge money to stay in the desert, dashing Viking fans’ hopes of a Ponder/Fitzgerald/Peterson/Harvin super-combo in 2012 and beyond.

Fitzgerald always said the Cardinals would get the first shot at him in free agency, but Arizona decided not to wait that long. Had Fitzgerald reached free agency at the end of 2011 the Cardinals would not have been able to franchise tag him, per the terms of his previous contract.

Of course the Vikings could still have a shot at Fitzgerald – years down the road when he is old and not worth a damn. Not to worry though Viking fans. I’m sure Jaymar Johnson will end up being just as good as Fitzgerald before it’s over. Yes, I have been drinking.

Follow FanSided on Facebook.
Follow Dan Zinski on Twitter.

Vikings Drop Preseason Opener to Titans

Dan Zinski — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 03:22:03 +0000

The score (14-3) doesn’t matter and neither does the record (0-1). Here’s what matters: Donovan McNabb looked sharp in his debut, going 6-for-11 in two series before handing the baton to Joe Webb. Here’s what else matters: The first team defense looked bad in every aspect of the game. They didn’t tackle, they showed poor discipline and they didn’t cover. In a quick TV interview before the second half Leslie Frazier looked and sounded miffed about the defensive effort. There were several glaring breakdowns, the biggest one coming courtesy of Chris Cook, who lost Yamon Figurs on a crazy play where Jake Locker fumbled the snap but recovered in time to find his receiver…who by this time was two steps behind Cook, the result being a 45-yard TD. Cook also missed a couple tackles and was burned another time up the right sideline (thankfully that particular pass was incomplete).

Cook had a terrible game – not an encouraging sign for the man the Vikings hope can hold down the LCB position in nickel, with Cedric Griffin at RCB and Antoine Winfield guarding the slot – but he certainly wasn’t alone. By-and-large the first team defense looked awful, struggling to get off blocks, missing tackles and suffering breakdowns in coverage. The only solace for Viking fans on this night of defensive ineptitude was the knowledge that Jared Allen, Kevin Williams, Antoine Winfield and Cedric Griffin all got the evening off. The D should look better with those guys in. It will have to look a lot better than tonight or the Vikings will be in some trouble.

Beyond McNabb the passing game was basically non-existent. Joe Webb did almost nothing through the air during his time in the game, preferring to pull the ball down and run rather than hang in the pocket and go through his reads. On a couple of occasions a scrambling Webb seemed to miss wide open receivers, including Kyle Rudolph twice. Christian Ponder showed a little more improvisational ability than Webb, even completing a nifty shovel pass, but for the most part he looked every bit the green rookie. As things stand now, there is no compelling reason for Leslie Frazier to promote Christian Ponder above Joe Webb. Ponder clearly has a lot of work to do. We should all feel very lucky Donovan McNabb is on this team, because neither of his understudies looks ready to lead an NFL offense.

There were positives mixed in with all the struggles. Lorenzo Booker and Toby Gerhart both looked good in the running game, outside of one Booker fumble. Jaymar Johnson staked a claim to the punt returner job by running one back for 40 yards. Juaquin Iglesias made the longest reception of the night for Minnesota, a 26-yarder from Ponder. For the most part, however, it was a sloppy, undisciplined, not-especially-encouraging effort from the Purple. Let’s see if they do any better next week against the Seahawks.

Follow FanSided on Facebook. Follow The Viking Age on Twitter.

Things We Learned From Saturday’s Vikings Night Practice

Dan Zinski — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 14:09:27 +0000

There are lots of Viking fans with nothing better to do on a Saturday night than sit and watch millionaire football players practice. Also, Donovan McNabb is really good for training camp attendance. Imagine if Favre had ever shown up for camp. They might’ve had to install extra seating.

The new offense has a ways to go. Leslie Frazier wants us not to worry though. “As our offense puts more things in, they’ll catch up in that regard. But in most cases, early in camp, the defense is usually a little ahead,” the coach reassured. Adrian Peterson put it this way: ”We’re putting in a new offense, I don’t think the defense is putting in a new defense.”

We have some feisty undrafted rookies. David Akinniyi and Ed Barham got into it during a 9-on-7 drill, then Seth Olson and draft pick DeMarcus Love joined the fray. Frazier said of the dust-up, ”I don’t mind seeing it, as long as we know how to get it ended as quickly as we did.” Yeah, wouldn’t want a rookie scrum spilling into the seats. Be a shame for one of our young guys to get knifed by a drunk.

Fireworks are preeeeeeeetty.

Charlie Johnson can’t block Jared Allen. Actually we already knew that. Now we know it more.

Jaymar Johnson looks sharp. Fun fact: “Look Sharp” was an album by the ’80 Scandanavian pop duo Roxette.

Everson Griffen wants to become more powerful. In an athletic sense, not a supervillain-conquering-the-world sense.

Follow FanSided on Facebook. Follow The Viking Age on Twitter.