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I Believe Favre Will Be in Minnesota. Tomlinson? Not so Much.

Posted on March 13, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

On the bright side for Minnesota Vikings fans, the Vikes should get quarterback Brett Favre back.

It’s true, if you believe Larry Fitzgerald Sr., the sports editor of the Minneapolis Spokesman-Recorder, who looked me right in the eye last Sunday on press row at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul and said, “Yeah, he’ll be back. Of course, he’ll be back.”

That’s the good news for Vikings (and, yes, I believe Larry because he probably has the best NFL contacts of any media guy in, well, maybe the world).

Now the bad news. After losing versatile runningback Chester Taylor to the Chicago Bears, it’s very likely the Vikings won’t get veteran LaDainian Tomlinson either.

Tomlinson, who was released by the San Diego Chargers after an injury-plagued 2009 season, visited with the Vikings on Wednesday night and Thursday morning and then moved on to visit with the New York Jets.

And the Jets didn’t spend any time fooling around.

After visiting New York on Thursday evening and Friday morning, Tomlinson had planned to return home to San Diego on Friday afternoon. But the Jets convinced him to stay and according to fanhouse.com, Tomlinson, 30, will be offered a two-year $5 million contract that could be made even sweeter with as much as $3.5 million in incentives.

Tomlinson, who ranks eighth on the NFL’s all-time rushing list with 12,490 yards and second with 138 career rushing touchdowns, told the Jets he would go back to San Diego on Friday night, speak with his wife and make a decision. It’s likely he’ll choose the Jets where he will be the No. 1 back. He will not be No. 1 in Minnesota. That role belongs to Adrian Peterson and it isn’t going to change soon.

However, Tomlinson told reporters in the Twin Cities on Friday: “This is not the end of the road at all. I’m not retiring. So I am very excited. I really believe I am going to have that opportunity to win a championship.”

With Favre back, the Vikings are certainly as much a threat to win it all as the Jets next season. When it comes to acquiring Tomlinson as a No. 2 back, Favre is probably the only thing the Vikes have in their favor.

*               *            *

8:30 a.m., Sunday, May 14: The San Diego Union-Tribune is reporting that it is “100 per cent certain,” that LaDainian Tomlinson will sign with the New York Jets.

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Favre Spectacular. Rice Wonderful. Defence Solid. Vikings Ready for Post-Season.

Posted on January 4, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

MINNEAPOLIS — While the Indianapolis Colts were blown out again and the New Orleans Saints lost their third straight, the Minnesota Vikings prepared for the NFL post-season by destroying the New York Giants.

A final score of 44-7 is one thing. The surgical beauty of Sunday’s evisceration of the Jints was even more impressive, now that the post-season looms.

And there is no doubt that the Vikes are ready for the post-season. On Sunday, Favre completed 25 of 31 passes for 316 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and an eye-popping 148.7 passer rating. He was replaced by Tarvaris Jackson with the Vikings leading 41-0 with 4 minutes, 39 seconds left in the third quarter.

The four touchdown passes tied Favre’s season high, and it was the sixth time he’s thrown for 300-plus yards this season. Since the end of the first half at Chicago last Monday night, Favre put up 71 points in a little more than four quarters. He completed 46 of 62 passes for 601 yards, six touchdowns and no INTs.

Funny, but it appears the mainstream media has forgotten the bullshit story it created two weeks ago, suggesting there was dissent in Minnesota. The big numbers have chased the fiction away.

Meanwhile, Favre’s brilliance — along with the brilliance of Chester Taylor, Visanthe Shiancoe, Sidney Rice, Bernard Berrian, the offensive line and a defence that appears to be adjusting to the loss E.J. Henderson –  provided the Vikings faithful fans, the 65,000 that sell out Mall of America Field at the Metrodome every single week, with something to get all giddy about.

Now that’s professional sports.

There was no coaching scared, no worry that precious Brett might get his undies dirty. This wasn’t the candy-assed approach of the lily-livered Indianapolis Colts (have they returned the ticket money from Week 15′s dishonorable debacle yet?). Vikes head coach Brad Childress sent the playoff-bound Vikings out to win a football game on Sunday and he got all $12.5 million worth out of his 40-year-old quarterback.

“It would appear that we picked up right where we left off (in the second half in Chicago),” Favre said during his post-game news conference. “I thought that what we did at the start of the game was what we needed to do. I think it’s proof of what we are capable of doing. For whatever reason we have been inconsistent at times. I think there were 20 first downs in the first half and 22 in the second half of last week’s game. That’s 42 first downs in a game or so. Not that you would expect that all of the time, but that’s what we are capable of doing.”

Nobody is quite sure what some of the other playoff-bound teams are capable of doing. The Colts, the team that threw Game 15 and allowed the New York Jets to eliminate the Houston Texans from the playoffs, were just brutal for the second straight week. Fact is, the Colts were  lucky to get past such powerhouse teams as Jacksonville (the Colts beat the Jags 14-12 and 35-31), Miami, Baltimore, New England and San Francisco, it’s hard to imagine they’ll be ready for anyone in two weeks time.

In fact, by the time the Colts play a post-season game (on Jan. 16 or 17), they will not have won since Dec. 17.

Of course, it could be worse. The New Orleans Saints have lost three straight and when they play again on Jan. 16 or 17, they will not have won a game in five weeks. The Colts and Saints will essentially be starting a new season (and not just in the hyperbolic sense) when they play their next game.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Arizona were dreadful this week, but while Arizona played nobody in the butt-kicking they took at home against Green Bay, the Eagles went all-out in the 24-0 shellacking they received in Dallas while the Bengals played all their stars in that 37-0 whooping they suffered in New York.

Right now, the best teams in the NFC are Minnesota, Dallas and Green Bay while the best teams in the AFC are San Diego, Baltimore and the Jets.

And if anybody suggests even for one second that the signing of Brett Favre was a mistake — no matter what happens in the playoffs — then that person knows absolutely nothing about football or professional sports. Favre is spectacular and the Vikings are great to watch.

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How Good is This Guy?

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

I knew it when I declared back in July that Brett Favre would indeed sign with the Minnesota Vikings (which, of course he did), but I must admit, after Sunday afternoon’s performance against the Seattle Seahawks not even I thought he’d be this good.

Sunday at Mall of America Field, Favre completed 22-of-25 passes (88 per cent) for 213 yards, no interceptions and four TDs as he led the Vikes to a 35-9 shellacking of the Seahawks. Those numbers are beyond remarkable. Eighty-eight per cent is the highest single-game percentage in Favre’s career. He threw touchdown passes to four different receivers — Sidney Rice, Visanthe Shiancoe, Bernard Berrian and Percy Harvin.

NFL.com reported that Favre’s previous career high was an 85.2 percent completion mark against Detroit on Sept. 20 of this year. But, amazingly, he has only completed at least 80 percent of his passes in a single game, two other times in his previous 18 seasons in the league.

Having had the opportunity to interview Favre (albeit in news conferences and scrums) on a number of occasions this season, I’ve concluded that the 40-year-old quarterback has reached a stage in his career in which every down is a bonus. As a result, he’s become more likable, more respected (if that’s possible) and perhaps even more skilled that he was when he was leading the Green Bay Packers to the Super Bowl.

In fact, on Sunday, Favre set an NFL record with his 22nd career game with at at least four touchdown passes. He and Dan Marino were tied at 21 each.

When Favre’s achievement was announced to the sellout crowd during the fourth quarter at the Metrodome on Sunday, he received a standing ovation and yet looked like a guy who had no idea what he’d done.

One gets the sense he no longer cares. At 40, he’s playing on perhaps the best team he’s ever seen — let alone been part of. In fact, if you base greatness on the number of weapons a team has, then Favre’s Minnesota Vikings might be the greatest team in the NFL today.

Frankly, it’s extremely unlikely even the unbeaten New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts can claim to have seven of the most potent weapons in all of football, but Bret Favre can. In fact, does any team have more great offensive players than Minnesota: Favre, Harvin, Rice, Berrian, Peterson, Taylor and Shiancoe. No team in the NFL can touch that group.

The post-season is going to be fantastic.

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Crowd Aflutter All Day. Waiting for “Their” Brett.

Posted on August 21, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Brett Favre will wear No. 4 for the Minnesota Vikings tonight when the Vikes meet the Kansas City Chiefs at the Metrodome.

The myth that “most” Vikings fans don’t want Favre to be their favourite team’s quarterback appears to be just that: a big, giant, stupid myth.

“I’m going to watch Brett throw seven or eight touchdown passes against the Packers this season and wallow in it,” said Doug Spooner, who has been tailgating outside the Metrodome since 7 a.m. “I hated him in Green Bay, but he’s not in Green Bay anymore. Professional football is a business. It’s kind of like marriages. He had 15 or 16 years married to the Packers and good for him. But he’s divorced from the Packers now and after a brief fling with the Jets, he’s married to us. We love him. And to Packers fans I say, ‘Enjoy Aaron Rodgers.’ This isn’t personal, it’s a business.”

Or a marriage. Or whatever.

Tonight, Favre will make his debut in Minnesota and fans are hoping for two things to happen (a) that he starts and (b) that head coach Brad Childress introduces the offence before the game so the fans can cheer their lungs out for their new hero.

It was suggested earlier today, by an older fan tailgating in front of the Dome, that he would have liked to see Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels get a chance to be the team’s WB, but when it was presented to him that the Vikings don’t have a chance to go to the Super Bowl with Rosenfels or Jackson at the helm and at least they have some chance with Favre, he relented.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he said. “this could be a really good team.”

In Minnesota this year, with the signing of Brett Favre, it’s already being billed as “Mission: Miami.”

That’s because, with Favre, alongside Chester Taylor, Adrian Peterson, Bobby Wade, Bernard Berrian, Percy Harvin, Sidney Rice, Visanthe Shiancoe and that monster defence led by Jared Allen and Antoine Winfield, the Vikings have a legitimate chance to get to the Super Bowl.

And it all starts tonight.

We’ll have reports throughout the evening.

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Three things rattling around in my cranium…

Posted on January 6, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Yet again, after a hard day at the radio/internet/selling/consulting/newspaper grind, here are three things banging inside my gray matter…

 

(1) In the end, the Minnesota Vikings just didn’t have enough offence on Sunday. Defensively, the Vikings were not embarrassed in that 26-14 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, but on offence, quarterback Tarvaris Jackson just couldn’t get it done. 

 

However, in fairness, his receivers didn’t do much to get open, and that’s probably because Jackson had virtually no time to throw. On Sunday, the Vikings mediocre offensive line didn’t even reach mediocrity. Jackson went 15-for-35 For 164 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. On Monday and Tuesday, all the pundits in the Twin Cities were calling for his head.

 

And that’s fine, but if the Vikings don’t fix the right side of the offensive line and don’t find a better left tackle than Bryant (Where’d he go?) McKinnie, it won’t matter if the Vikings make a trade to get Peyton Frickin’ Manning next season. Before poor Jackson got set on Sunday, his pocket had already collapsed. That offensive line was embarrassing.

 

Still, overall, it was a good season for the Vikes. Brad Childress isn’t much of a coach and while his offensive line is terrible and his defensive secondary is thin, it’s apparent you can build an offence around Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor. There might be a future yet.

 

(2) Happy to see Canada beat Sweden 5-1 in the gold medal final at the 2009 IIHF World Junior Men’s Hockey Championship. Somewhat disturbed to see the Swedes live up to every Don Cherry stereotype.

 

I really thought, after Thomas Steen, Nick Lidstrom, Johan Franzen, Tomas Holmstrom, Mats Sundin and Peter Forsberg, that whole “Chicken Swede” thing had gone the way of the dinosaurs. After Monday night’s Canada-Sweden junior final, however, Cherry’s jingoistic rants about “Euro-hockey” might have been true.

 

If your goalie dives whenever someone comes within three strides of his crease and when your players spend every stoppage of play checking for blood, you’ve regressed back to the days when Swedish hockey players were so frightened of Canadians they almost always seemed on the verge of filing assault charges.

 

Sadly, the real gold medal final at the World Junior was Saturday night’s Canada-Russia semi. That was a great game featuring the two best teams in the tournament.

 

(3) Why is it, whenever I turn on a hockey game on Canadian television, I get Mike Milbury? Milbury is a Yank who singlehandedly destroyed the New York Islanders franchise, now he’s telling Canadians how the game should be played. Thank gawd for the mute button.

 

To make matters worse this week, former Detroit Lions president and franchise destroyer Matt Millen is now a TV football analyst and on Monday, he told the New York Times that he liked his new job. He also told the Times, he didn’t regret one thing about his eight seasons ruining the Detroit Lions and if he had to do it over again, he’d do it exactly the same way. That’s a moronic statement.

 

Sadly, that’s what passes for a TV football analyst these days.

 

Again, thank gawd for the mute button. 

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Could the Vikings be the best team in the NFC? Probably not, but they should be around in January.

Posted on August 20, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Comments Off

When your quarterback is Tarvaris Jackson and you’re thin at half-a-dozen important positions, it’s unlikely you’ll be the team to beat in any league. Even if you happen to reside in the less-than-frightening NFC North.

 

However, all things being equal, the Minnesota Vikings should make some noise this coming National Football League season. After all…

 

The Vikings made an outstanding off-season acquisition by getting defensive end Jared Allen, the league’s sack king, from the Kansas City Chiefs for a couple of first-round picks. It was a good deal for the Vikings, a team that believes it can win right now. First round picks are obviously important, but if a team can acquire a player who can help it win right now, it’s a deal that has to be done. As most NFL coaches know, there might not be a next year, at least if you don’t win now.

 

The Vikings also acquired unrestricted free agents Bernard Berrian from the Chicago Bears and  unrestricted free agent Madieu Williams from the Cincinnati Bengals. Throw Berrian into the mix with Sidney Rice and Bobby Wade and the Vikings receiving corps is solid. Toss in Chester Taylor and Adrian Peterson at runningback and there might not be enough footballs in the Twin Cities to make everyone happy. 

 

The offensive line of Jim Kleinsasser or Visanthe Shiancoe at tight end, Ryan Cook at right tackle, Anthony Herrera at right guard, Matt Birk at centre, Steve Hutchinson at left guard and Bryant McKinnie at left tackle is well above average and the kick and punt return teams are passable.

 

On defence, the front seven is very good with Jared Allen at left end, Pat Williams at left tackle, Kevin Williams at right tackle, and Ray Edwards at right end. The linebackers are Ben Leber at WILL, E.J. Henderson at MAC and Chad Greenway at SAM. However, lose one starter and the whole thing could come apart. The Vikings defensive front seven — healthy — is very, very good. It’s so thin and unproven, however, that injuries could rip it apart 

 

The defensive secondary is led by Darren Sharper at strong safety, with Madieu Williams at free safety and Antoine Winfield and Cedric Griffin on the corners. Marcus McCauley will see a lot of time in nickel and dime packages.

 

On the surface, and on paper, this team is pretty good. The key to the Vikings’ 2008 season, however, is health. If Tarvaris Jackson is healthy (he was 8-4 when he started last year), if Adrian Peterson stays healthy and if the defence stays healthy, the Vikings will challenge the Giants, Bucs, Seahawks and Redskins in the NFC.

 

If injuries strike down the important players on this team, the Vikings will find themselves battling Detroit for .500 and a trip to Giants Stadium to get smoked in the opening round of the playoffs.

 

Thousands of Winnipeggers head to the Twin Cities for Vikings football every year and I must admit, it’s been a few years since I liked my regional team at the start of a season.  

 

But I do like a healthy Minnesota Vikings team. In fact, I like them to challenge in the NFC.

 

Injuries? Well, then it could get ugly.

 

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