12 Days of Vikings Hype - Day 5

On the twelfth day of Vikings hype we took a look at Linval Hungry

On the eleventh day of Vikings hype we took a look at our QB

On the tenth day of Vikings hype we took a look at the defense

On the ninth day of Vikings hype we took a look a a trailer for the year

On the eighth day of Vikings hype we look at all three phases of the team

One week people!

On the seventh day of Vikings hype we looked backward and forward.

On the sixth day of Vikings hype we looked at a top player in the NFL.

On the fifth day of Vikings we take a look at the defense, again.

A Summer Summary

As I've traveled and enjoyed the Summer my attention to the sports scene has been diminished. That's far from a unique circumstance this time of year, but has been compounded by the fact that the Twins have been somewhere between abysmal and forgettable.

In addition to that, the addition I have put toward sports over the last week has been to prioritized the soon coming positivity.

Football is almost back folks. That is an annual fact that brings nothing but positive emotions. If not for the product on the field, for the hardcore fantasy football that can once again breath.

But I digress because this is not about football, at least not mostly.

12 Days of Vikings Hype - Day 6

On the twelfth day of Vikings hype we took a look at Linval Hungry

On the eleventh day of Vikings hype we took a look at our QB

On the tenth day of Vikings hype we took a look at the defense

On the ninth day of Vikings hype we took a look a a trailer for the year

On the eighth day of Vikings hype we look at all three phases of the team

One week people!

On the seventh day of Vikings hype we looked backward and forward.

12 Days of Vikings Hype - Day 7

On the twelfth day of Vikings hype we took a look at Linval Hungry

On the eleventh day of Vikings hype we took a look at our QB

On the tenth day of Vikings hype we took a look at the defense

On the ninth day of Vikings hype we took a look a a trailer for the year

On the eighth day of Vikings hype we highlight all three phases of the team

One week people!

On the seventh day of Vikings hype we look backward and forward at the same time.

12 Days of Vikings Hype - Day 8

On the twelfth day of Vikings hype we took a look at Linval Hungry

On the eleventh day of Vikings hype we took a look at our QB

On the tenth day of Vikings hype we took a look at the defense

On the ninth day of Vikings hype we took a look a a trailer for the year

Onward and forward we go!

On the eighth day of Vikings hype we highlight all three phases of the team

So here goes!

12 Days of Vikings Hype Videos - Day 12

If you aren't yet excited for the rapidly approaching NFL season then the videos I'm going to be incorporating over the next 12 days may not make a difference but since there are 12 days of Christmas, why can't there be at least 12 days of turning up the excitement level on the team?!

The order of the videos isn't intended to be a ranking, but I will try to do the best ones the nearer time comes to the opening of camp.

First up are a couple of videos about one of our beef eaters who, like others, is starting to get some national attention.

Coach Speak

The Minnesota sports teams have had an array of coaches over the years. Some of them were pitiful, some excellent. I think that the current lot of coaches is as good as there has ever been in this area.

Bruce Boudreau
Mike Zimmer
Tom Thibodeau
Cheryl Reeve

I'm not a hockey fan so I'm going to give my take on Boudreau first. Much to my chagrin the NHL season still hasn't even wrapped so making any postulations about a new coach is premature and foolish but reflecting on his past work may point toward future results. He's been the head coach for
the Washington Capitals and the Anaheim Ducks. Every year he's been in charge have resulted in his team's having a winning record. That's an impressive statistic on it's own but within that is one that is most impressive. In 2011 he was fired by the Capitals 21 games into the season. He had a 12 and nine record but there must have been extenuating circumstances which resulted in his release. It seems that it was only a problem with Caps and not with him because in-season the Ducks hired him as their head man. With no off season or training camp he was able to guide the Ducks to a 27 - 23 record. Not the most impressive win loss ever but when adding in those details its a good showing of who he has been and hopefully who he will continue to be for the hockey lovers out there.

But on to the other three now

Fast Break

So there have been some big local news breaks over the past couple days but none of them merit a post alone so I'm gonna go with a quick wrap on everything.

• The Lynx are undefeated. 7 - 0 with more double digit wins then single digit victories. This is what champions do. Great job ladies!

• Rumor has it the Timberwolves will pursue Joakim Noah from the Bulls. That's not especially surprising since he played very well under Thibs during the Bulls recent run of success. I'm not sure he has longevity or athleticism to merit a starting roll type contract for the pups but his experience will probably deride that to some degree if he signs here.

• A few days ago Vegas put out odds on every NBA's team chance to win the 2017 championship. The local five were eleventh. A team that hasn't made the playoffs since I was frosh in high school is in the top 11!!!! There are only four Western Conference teams above them. It's unbelievable! Fairness in facts, they're tied with three other West teams so as not to mislead. Do I think they're a contender? No. But Vegas gets these things wrong so rarely. Even they're putting money on our squad making the playoffs!

Flash off

Option day has come and from what I can tell, the right decisions have been made.

Xavier Rhodes and Shariff Floyd had their 5th year contract options picked up by the Vikings. Their first round running mate, Cordarelle Patterson did not.

So CP - "Flash" - is now in a contract year.

I despise contract year players. So many times players break out in a big way in the last year of their contracts. It happens in the NBA & NFL on a nearly yearly basis.

The only ones who deserve big contract extensions or contracts with other teams are those who have multiple years of high level production. Or just consistent levels of productivity.

That does not include the aforementioned Flash Patterson.

Maybe he'll have a spectacular year. Which I can only imagine would mean great things for the entire team but flash off.

I don't want him on the Vikings next season. Not as a kick returner. Not as a "wide receiver".

Go away CP, just flash off.

Rube Rant

Not everything that happens in the world of sports is blue skies and bunnies, even when the scope of focus is limited to the area which I desire to cover. So when a rant is required because of stupid or annoying things happen this will be the format. I can't quite say I hope it's a weekly thing but I plan on it being a recurring post.

And in case you were wondering, no there won't be profanity or coarse use of language.

The thing that has my ire from this past week is the approach that the GM took. In general I approve of and enjoy the players that Rick Spielman takes with the draft. He has brought in many good players, more successful draft selection and free agent acquisitions then failed ones. He has also made good trades along the way, look no further then the trade he made with the Dolphins to flip a third round pick for a third and fourth next year and sixth yesterday.

But then he just made an obnoxious number of silly trades in the later rounds. Thanks to one Christopher Gates over at The Daily Norseman the trades were deciphered.

Essentially, what the Vikings did was

-Move down two spots in Round 6 (from 186 to 188)
-Move up thirteen spots in Round 7 (from 240 to 227)
-Pick up two mid-round picks in the 2017 NFL Draft from Miami (third round pick, conditional fourth round pick)

I'll get to the rant after the break

Vikings Draft recap - round 1

The Tread is on the tires.
The Well is surely full.

We got the man I wanted all along. Laquon Treadwell is a Minnesota Viking.

I think I just heard someone say "Super Bowl home boi." Oh wait, that was just in my head.

The rounds not done and I'm hoping that GM Spielman can find a way to get back into the first round but if not it's already a success.

Prisoner of the moment, looking at it within minutes of the pick I'm giving it an A+.

14 - 2 just got a little bit more likely & we didn't even have to give up four picks to get him...

If anything else happens or comes to mind it'll be below the fold!

Vikings draft - stage 4

We're a few minutes under 8 days to the draft. I've gone through the bottom six picks and finally have gotten to the second round.

That has been plenty of action by other teams but none yet by the Purple. Getting into the top of the draft there are more potential fits then guys who could be excluded. I've already repeatedly noted the areas which could use attention, and will do so again next Thursday pre draft before my make my prediction of the first round but I think now is the right time to firmly eliminate some positions.

Running back
With the Texan Terminator still at the top of the position I don't think a running back needs to be added at all during this draft and especially not in the top rounds. As others have already identified, running back is one, if not the only position where there are more capable players then there are starting positions in the league. So maybe bringing one in as an URFA would bare dividends for the team down the road but not with the 8 picks currently in possession.

Vikings Draft - Stage 1

Last night I went off about a couple NBA draft prospect that I want to see added to the Timberwolves. Well now I'm going to go deep on the NFL draft.

I'm going to go from the bottom to the top and layout which positions I'd like to see addressed with each pick. To stretch the topic out, I'm also going to space it out over the next five weeks.

There's no way to know what Trader Rick will do as far as trades go so I'm just going to ignore the possibility...certainty... of a trade happening. We have 8 picks as of now. Today I'll do the bottom 2 picks. Then move up by 2 for the next 2 times, finishing up with the top 2 picks as individual sets.

I don't plan on pin pointing any certain player for each pick but more so a position that could use bolstering.

So here goes, our 7th round pick, number 212 overall should be a....

Find out after the break!