The Viking Age » lito sheppard

Cedric Griffin Returns for Vikings

Dan Zinski — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 00:48:51 +0000

Cedric Griffin will suit up for the Vikings and play tonight, his first action since tearing his ACL against the Jets on October 11, 2010. If Griffin is able to make it all the way back, he will have the distinction of returning from not one but two ACL tears, his first having come in the latter stages of the nightmarish NFC title game against the Saints. The Vikings are banking on Griffin returning to the form he showed in 2009 when he developed into one of the better cornerbacks in the league, and helped the Vikes to a 12-4 record and a runner-up finish in the NFC.

When healthy Griffin is a sure tackler and a capable coverage man. After losing Griffin in 2010 the Vikings tried to fill in with a combination of youthful Asher Allen and veterans Frank Walker and Lito Sheppard, but no one they tried was able to give the consistent, solid effort they saw from Griffin before the injury. Needless to say, Griffin’s health is key to the Vikings in 2011. With Griffin they have a shot at fielding a decent professional secondary, but without him they will be in trouble.

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Vikings Will Face Bad Weather in Philadelphia

Dan Zinski — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 03:17:57 +0000

The Vikings just can’t catch a break when it comes to the weather. Sunday night in Philadelphia the team is expected to see blizzard conditions with winds blowing up to 40 mph…this less than one week after playing at TCF Bank Stadium in sub-freezing temperatures on frozen turf, and only two weeks after a huge snowstorm collapsed the roof of the Metrodome, forcing the team to play a “home” game in Detroit.

The Vikings, I don’t need to remind anyone, are 0-2 in their two weather-impacted games. Most expect that record to drop to 0-3 by the time the Super Bowl contending Eagles and their MVP-caliber QB Michael Vick are done shredding a Vikings secondary that will feature Jamarca Sanford and Husain Abdullah at safety, Asher Allen at starting corner and Lito Sheppard at nickelback.

This season cannot end fast enough.

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Vikings Overcome Familiar Problems in Beating Arizona

Dan Zinski — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 17:50:00 +0000

Anyone wanting to know what has been wrong with the Vikings in 2010 need only look at the tape of Sunday’s 27-24 win over the Cardinals. Nearly every issue that has plagued the team this year cropped up during the course of that game: penalties, turnovers, special teams breakdowns, lack of pass pressure, pass protection failures including missed blitz pick-ups by running backs, inconsistent quarterbacking, questionable playcalling. By the mid-point of the fourth quarter it appeared the Vikings had finally crumbled under the weight of all these accumulated problems – most of which, I don’t need to point out, were not the direct responsibility of embattled head coach Brad Childress. The Cardinals, playing a brand of loose and opportunistic football that stood in stark contrast to the Vikings’ slogging, gaffe-ridden approach, built a 24-10 lead with only 4:39 left in the game, and seemed well on their way to sticking a dagger in the Vikings’ hopes for a 2010 playoff run. And then something magical happened: the Vikings seemed to slough off all that long-accumulating garbage and, for the first time all season, just played football. The fans who remained in Metrodome – you know, the loyal ones who didn’t all leave when they thought it was over – were treated to one of the great comebacks in Vikings history, a furious offensive and defensive rally resulting in 17 unanswered points through the last 4 minutes of the fourth quarter plus overtime. Game won, season saved…Brad Childress not fired (for now).
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