Is It 2001 All Over Again?

 We remember. It was a season coming off of one of the harshest losses the Minnesota Vikings had ever suffered in an NFC Championship. Beaten on the road after a decisive win at home in the previous round. Fans who disliked the coach for his lack of playoff success grew. But their was hope by many as the team had a new quarterback who had played very well in getting the team to the NFC Championship.



And Then, Tragedy Struck.



A player would not be available to start the season. It would be a blow to the offense, who had counted on this player for its' success. They would start poorly without him, losing their first two games. Then they would win one they should at home to be 1-2 in the standings. A tough schedule lay ahead.



The 2010 Minnesota Vikings you say?



Or maybe the 2001-02 Vikings. Back then it was Daunte Culpepper, fresh off his successful first year with the team. The much maligned Denny Green had disappointed in the playoffs again. The New York Giants disposed of Minnesota 41-0 at the end. During the following training camp, Korey Stringer died tragically, and the team was scrambling to replace such an important member of the offense.



They started the season by losing 24-13 to Carolina. The Panthers would win only one game the entire year. Next, Minnesota lost 17-10 to Chicago. After a 31-26 win over Tampa Bay, they stood at 1-2. The city was nervous. Things were not clicking like they had in the previous year. And they were right to be nervous. Minnesota would make it to 3-3, and then proceed to lose nine of the last eleven games, to finish at 5-11.



Dennis Green was let go before the end of the year. He had not done enough with the talent he was given. That final year, Minnesota had an exceptionally poor Draft, with Michael Bennnett being the top selection with the 27th pick. Mike Tice replaced Green in the final game, and would go on to a mediocre few years before being let go. Both Green Bay and Chicago had success in those years while Minnesota floundered.



Flash forward.



The loss of Sidney Rice just before the season has had an obvious impact on Minnesota. The Vikings are 29th in total offense. Brett Favre, who tore the league up in 2009, has a 60.4 passer rating (that's really low). He has only 597 yards and two touchdowns in his first three games. Despite the number two rusher in the NFL, the offense is just not getting it done.



Brad Childress is a coach walking the plank, so to speak. He has had improved success in regular season each year, but little in the playoffs. Minnesota fans are not happy with just getting there. Childress has been given plenty of talent to obtain that elusive first Super Bowl. Positive drafts have yielded players like Adrian Peterson, Rice, Percy Harvin and much more. Acquisitions, like Favre and Steve Hutchinson, have given the team elite offensive talent. Their are many veterans on the defense who are candidates for All-Pro consideration this year. It is now or never for the coach.



Some are hoping that Childress' trend of improvement every year will also apply to the playoffs. Most fans would concede that the Vikings certainly had the team necessary to win one. The humbling of the Cowboys and the strong effort in New Orleans demonstrated just that. But this year's slow start, or more specifically, the loss to the Dolphins at home, has fans on edge. The Childress haters are convinced we have no chance. The realists see a very tough schedule in the upcoming weeks and more talent on both the Bears and Packers than a true Viking fan could stand. And the optimist correctly assessing available talent, is sure that this is still the strongest team in the NFC North. They remember that this team was a play (or huddle) away from winning the NFC Championship. And they have faith that Brett Favre will begin to return to last year's form.



We did experience 2001. It was not fun. This season's start has been somewhat depressing, given the talent and expectation coming into the opener in New Orleans. If it is to be deja vous all over again, it will probably come at the expense of a head coach. Many would like that. Sacrifice a season to get a new head coach. But what if the next one is Mike Tice? I think we should just start winning again with the same coach.



We will find out soon after the bye week is over.

Vikings Deal Rosenfels And Reynaud To Giants

Sage Rosenfels

Madieu Williams

NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Giants have acquired QB Sage Rosenfels and RB Darius Reynaud from the Minnesota Vikings for undisclosed draft picks.

A person within the league who is familiar with the trade confirmed the Giants have dealt for Rosenfels to back up Eli Manning. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not officially been announced.

The Giants lost backup Jim Sorgi with a shoulder injury and he was placed on injured reserve, leaving untested Rhett Bomar as the only other quarterback.

Rosenfels was third string behind Brett Favre and Tarvaris Jackson in Minnesota. He is entering his 10th NFL season as a backup quarterback.

The Vikings acquired Rosenfels from Houston in a trade before last season and signed him to a two-year deal worth $9 million to compete with Tarvaris Jackson for the starting job.

At the time, Rosenfels was thrilled to be coming to a team giving him a legitimate shot at winning the job for the first time. After an offseason of working out and learning the system, however, Rosenfels' big shot was dashed when Favre waltzed in to take over.

Rosenfels spent all of last season as the No. 3 quarterback behind Favre and Jackson.

``If it's true sad to c you go sage good QB great teammate,'' Vikings receiver Greg Lewis tweeted on Friday night. ``Good luck in new York.''

There was a brief glimmer of hope for Rosenfels this summer when Favre was considering retirement. Once again, that ended after the first preseason game, when the Vikings flew three high-profile teammates to Mississippi to persuade Favre to return for one more year.

Time was running out for the 32-year-old Rosenfels, who clearly grew more frustrated with his position on the team.

He had an impressive preseason opener at St. Louis, completing 23 of 34 passes for 310 yards and three touchdowns. But he was just 8 for 17 for 92 yards with one TD in the next three games combined, and coach Brad Childress said after the preseason finale that Jackson would be Favre's backup again this season.

The move means that the Vikings likely will keep rookie Joe Webb as the third quarterback.

Sorgi signed with New York as a free agent after six seasons as Peyton Manning's backup in Indianapolis.

Minnesota Vikings Outlook For The 2010-2011 Season

Vikings Favorites To Win NFC North

Greg Camarillo [Mr. Reliable]

Favre With A Whole New Receiving Crew

Jevon Walker Now With Vikings

 













Despite having the third toughest schedule this year in the league, The Sporting News picked the Vikings to win the NFC North by a small margin and hailed several of the team’s players as the best at their position in division.

Predictions for the 2010 season are starting to roll in and The Sporting News is the latest to trot out their predictions.

Despite putting Packers QB Aaron Rodgers on the cover, the magazine predicts the Vikings to win the NFC North for a third straight year. The Vikings are picked to finish 11-5, the same record as Green Bay, but the publication gives the Vikings the tie-breaker edge and the division crown.

While the magazine itself picks the Jets and Cowboys in the Super Bowl, in a poll of its four in-house experts, two of them have the Cowboys beating the Packers in the NFC Championship Game and the other two have the Vikings beating Dallas. Of the two that pick the Vikings to go to the Super Bowl, one has the Vikings beating the Jets and the other has the Vikings losing to Baltimore.

However, of the 32 team correspondents that voted, 20 of them picked Green Bay to win the division, while 12 picked the Vikings – none picked the Bears or Lions. Those same correspondents overwhelmingly think Rodgers is the division Offensive MVP, earning 25 votes. Of the other seven votes, five went to Adrian Peterson and two to Brett Favre. On the defensive side, Jared Allen earned 20 votes for Defensive MVP.

The success of the Vikings, however, doesn’t translate to respect for Brad Childress. He received only seven votes for the division’s best coach – Mike McCarthy got 23 votes and Lovie Smith somehow got two. In a related ranking of the NFL’s 32 coaches, Childress ranked 14th.

The All-Division Team, picked by former Lions coach Bobby Ross, was dominated by Vikings, including Favre (over Rodgers), Peterson, Steve Hutchinson, Bryant McKinnie and Percy Harvin on offense, Jared Allen, Kevin Williams, Chad Greenway and Antoine Winfield on defense and Harvin as the division’s kickoff returner.

While the Vikings have some issues that need to be solved before they can begin the process of building momentum as they did last year, they have a lot more believers among those who follow the NFL.

FRIDAY NOTES

• Harvin, who was hoping to play Saturday, sat out Thursday’s practice and, if there was an injury report for the preseason, would likely be viewed as questionable or doubtful for tomorrow’s game.

• The Vikings practiced at Mall of America Field Thursday to get a feel for the new turf that has been laid on the Metrodome floor.

•  Rookie Chris Cook is expected to get the start at right cornerback Saturday, the game in which the starters see the most action of the preseason. There is a growing sentiment that, if Cook performs well in his test Saturday, he could supplant Lito Sheppard or Asher Allen in the starting lineup when the regular season begins.

•  Favre and the rest of the starters are expected to play the entire first half and, most likely, a series or two in the second half as well.

•  Some teams are already taking the third preseason game quite seriously. The Patriots played Tom Brady into the fourth quarter in their loss to the Rams.

•  If the third week of preseason games comes close to mirroring the first two played Thursday, it could be a wild weekend. The Patriots and Rams combined to score 71 points, which was dwarfed by the 83 combined points scored by the Packers and Colts.

Brett Favre Speaks After 1st Vikings Practice

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 MINNESOTA VIKINGS SUPERBOWL!!

Brett Favre News Conference

After Vikings Practice, today in Eden Prairie, Brett Favre got ready to lay down an insprirational, coaxing, and humbling speech about his decision making to come back or not after the game Vs the New Orleans Saints where he threw an interception to lose it all. "Part of me gave out after I came so close and the other part felt that I owe it to the guys to give it another shot." This was Brett's  main aggression for coming back,; not for his love and joy of football this time, not for the money [although he negotiated an extra 7 million dollar 20 million dollars 1 year contract],  but for another shot to win the Superbowkl with the guys. After Losing the NFC Championship game to the Saints Brett said that as he drove home he saw billboards asking him to come back and be the Vikings  QB the next year and texts and messages via his best friends and teammates telling him that we're in this together. We're in this together, we either win or go out swinging is the mood that Favre felt fro his fellow Viking Teammates. Favre mentioned that when Allen, Longwell, and Hutchinson came down to see him that that's when he couldn't ignore the feeling that he owed it to the guys to come back. Brett Favre said that the main reason for his return was his teammates and what he owed to them for supporting him through the whole season. "This is the best lot of guys that I've ever been with and the feeling is generally mutual,"Favre said compassionately.

Right after the 2009 season Brett also got a sincere message from Sage Rosenfels telling him that he's love to play next year but he didn't want to admit it but watching him [play and what he learned from Favre was a blast.T=Jack also respectively treated the situation respectively and took his return well. Indeed, the main motivation for Brett Favre's return was his teammates. The main reason why he returned was because of the amount of fun he had playing last year and the strong supporting team that the Vikings return with this year. Only this year our destiny isn't in stone, but in blood. After loosing a heart breaker to  the New Orleans Saints Brett Favre comes back as strong as ever and finishes off his definite last year with a Superbowl victory. Thin about it, last year he had a few weeks to learn the timing of each receiver, the plays, the inclinations of his line and receivers, as well as adapting to a whole new environment and he ended up having the best year of his career with , a passer rating of 108.0, 7 interceptions, over 4,000 years, and 33 touchdowns. He also had the best red zone conversion percentage with 25 touchdowns coming in the regular season. So, Brett can only build upon last year's acclamations and experiences and come back this year with more swagger, confidence, and connection with his teammates. As for Brett's humble attitude about his return and doubts about whether he can put up the same numbers! No sweat!! All he needs to do is keep his interceptions under ten again, throw for around 3,000 yards, and 20 touchdowns. The rest will be up to our star-studded defense and wealthy offensive line. This year can only be better because the overall teamwork and lining of our team is tighter and one more year experienced. Our players are going to be more confident and hungry this year due to last season's outcome and we added some good depth to back up some potential injury problems during the season.



Throughout Favre's speech he was humble, inspirational,well-spoken, and serene. Favre reported that after his followup with Dr. Andrews on Thursday that they told him not to expect a miracle like his shoulder a few years ago.Favre said that overall his ankle felt a little "stuck" but it was as good as it was at the start of last season This is  a good omen for the season and I think that Brett has the skill and tools even more at his disposal than last year making it a picture perfect setting for a Superbowl.


Favre said that today in practice he jumped right in and everything flowed pretty good. He said that he recalled all of the plays and his main priority is to get the timing of the Blitzes and familiar with his receivers again. Favre also said that he needed to get rid of the initial soreness that usually lingers until after the 1st week. Favre told reporters that he wanted to be, a durable quarterback that can perform at high levels." Not just a quarterback that can perform at a high level and is not durable. So, what this meant to me is that Brett is looking to complete the whole football season, and after that probably retire.

Favre's press conference will go down in sports as a true testament to the love of the game and devotion to one's teammates. Favre made it the point of his press conference to give all of the reason to himself returning to the great teammates he had and the fact that he knows that he still can play at a high level. Favre gave us the feeling that he's ready to give 100% and is going to push himself to get back to performing at a high level each game of the season. Minnesota can start to function normally again because now we have the gunslinger back and something to look forward to this winter,VIKINGS FOOTBALL.



"After this , I'm done,." Favre reported about the possibility of playing next year. So, if this is the last year that Favre is playing in the NFL then hopefully Favre has a strong supporting crew. Peterson can't fumble,  andLoadholt has to use his length and strength effectively. As far as injuries are concerned were blacklisted for season problems:  Harvin; migraines, Rice Hip, Griffin ankle, and Favre ankle. Any one of these losses could set back our Superbowl chances so let's pray that these guys stay healthy. If Favre can play through 21 season in the brutal NFL and take hits every game so can they fight through some pain. Let's brace ourselves for this season regardless because the excitement level in Minnesota just made the Winter a little more bearable!!  This is our last shot Vikings fans for a while so strap up and bring a six pack.

 So, this is your last chance to get a Vintage Brett Favre Jersey to remember his legacy by here: 

Still No Favre, But Percy Harvin Returns

Adrian Peterson Back

Sidney Rice Still Injured

Percy Harvin Returns

Cedric Griffin Readt to Play

Monday Morning Practice Notes:

The Vikings practiced for about an hour and 20 minutes late Monday morning on the outdoor practice fields at Winter Park as they recuperate from Saturday night’s game and get ready for Sunday night’s contest at San Francisco. Temperatures were moderate and the breeze was brisk, providing a nice change from the conditions that came with training camp in Mankato.

The big news of the day was that WR Percy Harvin was back with the team after an extended absence due to the death of his Grandmother and another battle with migraines. Harvin looked fit while practicing and was targeted by QB Tarvaris Jackson several times. Harvin did not meet with reporters following practice but will likely do so later this week.

Sidney Rice, who hasn’t practiced with the team during training camp because a hip injury has him on the PUP list, worked with trainers and strength staff on the side. In speaking with reporters following practice, Rice said he’s had a setback or two in his recovery but that he continues to improve and feels comfortable running in a straight line. He declined to put a percentage on his health at this point.

Another guy on the PUP list – CB Cedric Griffin (knee) – was also working out on the side, as he’s been doing all of training camp. Vikings Head Coach Brad Childress described Griffin’s progress recently as rapid and said it’s almost to the point where they’d like to remove him from the PUP list so he can participate in individual drills during practice, something he’s prohibited from doing under the rules of the PUP list. Childress also said Griffin is “chomping at the bit” to get back, something that became apparent near the commencement of training camp when Griffin disclosed he was hopefully he’d be able to participate in camp rather than go on the PUP list.

It was good to see so many of the players putting in extra time after practice, working on various areas of the game. Harvin and Greg Lewis were running routes with Jackson throwing to them, TEs Jeff Dugan and Garrett Mills were hitting a blocking sled, various players were fielding kicks, Marko Mitchell was working with WRs coach George Stewart and TEs Visanthe Shiancoe and Mickey Shuler were doing drill work with TEs coach Jimmie Johnson.

The team will have lunch and meetings the rest of the afternoon and will return to the practice fields late Tuesday morning.

Still no sign of Brett Favre, but give him a few more weeks and he'll be here... he has to. Looking at uour roster the only position that doesn't speak Superbowl is Quarterback, with no offense to Rosenfels or Jackson.

   Favre, get off your John Deere tractor and hang up those fishing lines because we need you to win the Superbowl. Looking at the past five Superbowl's;  it's not defense that won it,  but  the top quarterbacks in the league outscoring the adversary. Look at the past winners: Roethlisburger , Manning, Brees, Manning, and Tom Brady. Without the gunslinger we can't shoot only defend. Point is, without Brett Favre there's no silver lining on our year; Jackson nor Rosenfels can't produce the points lie Brett Favre and we will end up in another streak of 1st round playoff losses to Philly,Cincinnati, Dallas, etc. We have everyone but Favre ,but he's our ticket to the Superbowl. Pray with me Viking fans.

Brett Favre On His John Deere Mower