Category Archives: Minnesota Vikings
Yes or No: McNabb says he’s a Hall of Famer, but is he?
Donovan McNabb has played in five NFC Championship games with a Super Bowl appearance, voted to six Pro Bowls, has thrown for 37,276 yards, 234 touchdowns, 117 interceptions, and has career passer rating of 85.6 but he’s currently unemployed. If McNabb never plays another down of football in the NFL , is he a Hall of Famer? According to him, he is.
2012 NFL Draft: 5 teams who should trade with Vikings
The 2012 NFL Draft is just 16 days away and as we know the top two picks, what we don’t know is how the rest of the draft will shakeout. Right now it seems most around the NFL have a set order in how the draft is going to play out within the first several picks, but the Minnesota Vikings may look to throw a wrench into things as they are shopping the third overall pick.
Breaking: Sanchez wants out, Vikings interested?
The Jets continue to be the center of pre draft talk. They have already traded for Tim Tebow, and it was just a matter of time before Mark Sanchez requested a trade.
Teams who need to take advantage of Compensatory Picks
The NFL has announced the compensatory picks for the 2012 Draft, and now 32 extra picks were distributed to 23 different teams on Monday. For those who don’t know, Compensatory picks are handed out to teams based on the number of free agents lost and gained during Free Agency. The Oakland Raiders were the big winners as they didn’t have any picks in the first four rounds of the 2012 Draft.
2012 Mock Draft: NFC North edition
The Divisional Mock breakdown continues with the NFC North and AFC South this week as I get closer to revealing my first 32 team first round mock in just a couple weeks. It was a rough first season for Leslie Frazier as the Head Coach of the Minnesota Vikings that has left them with the third overall pick in the 2012 Draft. It started out as a promising season for the Chicago Bears but injuries suffered by Jay Cutler & Matt Forte killed any chances that they had to reach the playoffs. The Detroit Lions partied like it was 1999 as they made the playoffs for the first time since 1999. The Green Bay Packers were on their way to perfection until the Kansas City Chiefs derailed their plans and a loss to the New York Giants ended any hopes of a repeat. What can each team do to make sure they get back to the playoffs or continue rebuilding?
Spreading the Wealth: What Teams Could Adopt the Spread Offense in 2012
“Conventional knowledge” has always said that the spread offenses featured in the college game would never work in the NFL. However, the Denver Broncos, under Coach John Fox, proved different this year. The Broncos adopted the new system to better compliment quarterback Tim Tebow and ended up winning the AFC West and upsetting the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wildcard round of the playoffs this year. Make no mistake, there are other teams in the NFL that could excel by utilizing this new trend of offense, especially teams with quarterbacks that have had trouble adapting to the pro-style. Here are some teams that would not surprise anyone if they used this new offense in 2012.
Carolina Panthers
- Cam Newton greatly excelled in college and junior college running this scheme, and since he has already established himself as a threat both throwing and running the ball teams would be put into a sticky situation trying to defend him. Compliment that with the one-two punch of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart running the ball and Steve Smith outside could be lethal. One catch here is that they are a fan of the two tight end sets with Jeremy Shockey and Greg Olsen, so the spread could be used as a compliment to their already established offense.
Philadelphia Eagles
- This would be the perfect way to get the fans excited and light a spark underneath the offense. Not to mention that Michael Vick and LeSean McCoy would give defenses nightmares! Also, arguably their top receiver, Jeremy Maclin, had success in the system in college. Inadvertently, this would help out their defense too if they decide to stick with their hybrid-nickel scheme with three corners.
Cleveland Browns
- Considering that Colt McCoy and their suspected target in the draft, Robert Griffin III, both had success in college running the spread, the change would make sense. The hang up here is that Pat Shurmur was the offensive coordinator for Sam Bradford in St. Louis and insisted on running the pro-style. Also, new offensive coordinator Brad Childress is also an advocate for the more conventional offensive scheme. However, with an offense that has Greg Little as its top receiver and a running game that will most likely be without Peyton Hillis, creativity is necessary to have success in the AFC North.
New England Patriots
- When have we ever known Bill Belichick to not love new trends, especially when it condones spreading the ball around in the passing game! In no way do I suggest that they will completely scrap the offense they have featured this year, but with Bill O’Brien leaving for Penn State some minor changes could occur. The most likely replacement for O’Brien is former offensive coordinator and Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels. McDaniels is already on the Patriots’ staff and started to feature the spread last year with the Rams to help out Sam Bradford.
Minnesota Vikings
- This could be an interesting endeavor for the Vikings. Christian Ponder showed signs of being a solid starter in this league, but they greatly overworked Adrian Peterson to make the rookie quarterback’s transition easier. With the spread, it would help Ponder in the passing game, give Adrian Peterson less but more effective carries, and would be better suited to fully utilize the skill set of Percy Harvin. Either way, they need to find a way to limit Peterson’s carries and further Ponder’s fragile progression as a starter in the NFL.
Detroit Lions
- How scary could this be? The passing game would open up further for Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson while also making the running load easier for Jahvid Best. In games against high powered offenses, the Lions seem to convert to a pass-first scheme anyway.
Miami Dolphins
- This is very contingent of them not signing Peyton Manning, but if they decide to stick it out with Matt Moore or sign Matt Flynn this could be a good option. The main reason is because this team had success running the Wildcat in the past and now with personnel like Reggie Bush and Steve Slaton, if they re-sign him, they could run the legs off of teams. Also, with the development of Devone Bess and Brian Hartline alongside Brandon Marshall this offense could put up some serious numbers.
St Louis Rams
- Josh McDaniels tried to implement this offense last year but wasn’t very successful. New coach, Jeff Fisher might try the same moving forward to cater to quarterback Sam Bradford’s strengths. Surely, there will still be pro-style sets since Fisher is old school and favors a run-first offense, which is well-equipped with running backs Stephen Jackson and Cadillac Williams. However, in the modern game you need your quarterback to be productive and the spread would seem to be the answer.
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Blaine Gabbert had a rough time showing any consistency in his rookie season, but coach Mike Mularkey is known for creating unique ways to get production out of his offenses. He will probably try to implement the same style of offense he featured in Atlanta, but considering the Jaguars biggest threat in the receiving game is tight end Marcedes Lewis they will have to effectively utilize the ground game. Also, Gabbert had success running the spread at the University of Missouri.
Steve Gross is a Featured Journalist for The Penalty Flag and can be contacted at SGross@ThePenaltyFlagBlog.com
Related articles
- Like Tebow, Patriots Sharpened Spread Offense at Florida (nytimes.com)
- Rams Hire Brian Schottenheimer (thepenaltyflagblog.com)
- NFL Mock Draft: Predicting Landing Spots for Top Prospects (bleacherreport.com)
Which NFL rookie QB is head of the class in 2011?
“With the first pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the Carolina Panthers select, Cam Newton, quarterback, Auburn.” With those words the Carolina Panthers hoped that they had selected a quarterback in which they could build their future and franchise around. The truth of the matter is that there are no guarantees when it comes to any NFL Draft pick. Joe Montana was drafted in the third round by the San Francisco 49ers and Tom Brady was the 199th pick overall taken by the New England Patriots in the sixth round. Combined Montana and Brady have played in eight Super Bowls with seven titles between them. On the other hand, Tim Couch, David Carr, and JaMarcus Russell, were all taken No. 1 overall and their careers never amounted to anything. This season, four rookie quarterbacks drafted in the first two rounds are starting for their respective NFL teams. At the halfway point of their inaugural season, who’s head of the class and who’s barely making the grade? You might be somewhat surprised.
Donovan McNabb to the Minnesota Vikings delayed by Brett Favre
NFL.com has reported that the Minnesota Vikings have traded with the Washington Redskins for QB Donovan McNabb.
What a difference a year makes for the now “journey man” Donovan McNabb, whose trip to Minnesota was put on hold due to an aging Brett Favre wanting to give it one more try.
The NFL draft is like a box of chocolates
The 2011 NFL Draft is a box of chocolates and each team just received a gift-wrapped box.
NFL lockout is a slap in the face to the hard working American
NFL owners and players have left the most popular sport in jeopardy as they were unable how to divide nine billion dollars a year and broke off labor negotiations hours before their collective bargaining agreement expired.
Madden 2012 to simulate game’s debilitating concussions
While the television show “SportsDome” may have been just kidding around with it’s Madden 2012 helmet simulators it actually proposes and interesting question.
Are we insane enough to buy this video game?
