Well it seems Brad Childress has made up his mind. Sage Rosenfels was traded to the New York Giants along with promising return man Darius Reynaud for a pair of draft picks. The Vikings decided to go with the inconsistent Tarvaris Jackson as Favre’s backup and Joe Webb as their number three.
Rosenfels complete 31 of 51 for 402 yards, 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions for a passer rating of 111.7 in the preseason. Jackson on the other hand was 12 of 26 for 46 yads, no touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 53.0.
For some unknown reason Childress is absolutely convinced that Jackson has the potential to be a star quarterback in the NFL, regardless of what anyone or any stats can tell him.
Vikings Pro Bowler Sidney Rice might miss the first half of the season after hip surgery. Rice had missed all of training camp due to the nagging injury but he also declined the same surgery early in the off season which is now going to cost him, and the Vikings this year.
Rice was one of Favre’s top targets last year with 83 catches, over 1,300 yards and eight touchdowns.
The Vikings are expected to sign veteran WR Javon Walker to add a bit of depth to their depleted wide receiving core. Walker played with Favre in Green Bay but their relationship was anything but positive.
The Vikings were already dealing with the uncertainty of WR Percy Harvin and now with the loss of Sidney Rice and potential addition of Javon Walker the season seems more uncertain now than even before Favre announced his return. What good is a top QB without his top targets?
ESPN is reporting that Brett Favre will not return to the Vikings for a 20th season after choosing to retire. Neither Brett Favre or the Vikings have confirmed if the story is true as of yet but multiple sources are.
This would be a fairly surprising announcement as it seemed all signs were pointing to him returning for at least one more year with Vikings after how last year’s season ended. Favre had a career year last year with the Vikings with 33 touchdown passes and over 4,200 yards only to lose to the Saints in the NFC Championship game.
This should make for a much less exciting season for the Vikings with either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels at the helm. I guess we could always hold out hope that he changes his mind…again.
Brett Favre confirmed on his website today that he had surgery on his left ankle to remove bone spurs and scar tissue. The statement by Favre reads:
“This is to confirm that I did have a procedure to remove some scar tissue and bone spurs from my ankle which had been bothering me for a period of time. I appreciate your concerns.”
The surgery was performed by Dr. James Andrews who seems to be the go to guy for everything sports injury related. Favre is reportedly going to need four to six weeks of rehab before he will regain his full range of motion.
Who really needs ankle surgery if they don’t plan on returning to the NFL? Hint hint, nudge nudge.
Running back LaDainian Tomlinson will have his first meeting with the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday. This is LT’s first meeting with any team since being released after nine seasons with the San Diego Chargers last month.
This is the first step by the Vikings to look into filling the void left by Chester Taylor’s departure to the Chicago Bears. LT is a fantastic option for the Vikings in comparison to the fumble prone Adrian Peterson.
AP lost 6 fumbles in 314 carries last season while LT has lost just 7 in his last 2,541 carries. AP has already accumulated 19 fumbles in his three seasons which matches LT’s career total.
LaDainian Career Stats
| G | ATT | YDS | AVG | FUM | TD |
| 141 | 2,880 | 12,490 | 4.3 | 19 | 138 |
Adrian Career Stats
| G | ATT | YDS | AVG | FUM | TD |
| 46 | 314 | 4,484 | 4.4 | 19 | 40 |
Chester Taylor provided the perfect 1,2 punch for the Vikings along side Adrian Peterson but now that dynamic duo has shifted to another NFC rival. According to ESPN, Taylor signed a four-year, $12.5 million deal with the Chicago Bears. Taylor will be splitting time again with Matt Forte but it remains to see if that will be as their primary back or if he’ll be stuck in the same number two position.
The 31 year old Taylor, is fairly lucky himself that he found this sort of deal at his age when former star backs over 30 like LaDainian Tomlinson are still looking for work. This also leaves a hole in the Minnesota backfield to add to their list of uncertainties for next season.
Minnesota Sports Blog
Chester Taylor Career Stats
| G | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD |
| 123 | 1,028 | 4,396 | 4.3 | 22 |
The Minnesota Vikings beat themselves last night 31-28. A 40 yard field goal in overtime may have sealed the deal for the Vikings, but they decided their own fate much earlier. In a game where the stats suggest it could’ve been, would’ve been and should’ve been a dominant performance by the Vikings, the Vikings beat themselves on key and frequent turnovers.
Adrian Peterson led the implosion with 3 gigantic fumbles, one of which he was lucky enough to recover. One of his fumbles was charged to Brett Favre on a hand-off blunder but I’ll be generous and leave it with AP.
Favre did his part in the effort throwing two interceptions, one that eliminated the Vikings opportunity to kick a game winning field goal nearing the end of the fourth quarter. Bernard Berrian also fumbled away some momentum when the Vikings were charging down to the Saints ten yard line.
The Minnesota Vikings dominated nearly every offensive category but the 5 turnovers (3 fumbles, 2 INTs) spelled disaster. In a flashback to Favre’s last appearance in the Championship game against the New York Giants he threw a key late pick that eventually led to an opposing game winning field goal. This is the 5th Conference Championship game in a row the Vikings have unfortunately lost.
Offensive Stat Comparison
| TEAM | 1st Downs | Passing Yards | Rushing Yards | Total Yards | Time of Possession | Turnovers |
| Vikings | 27 | 310 | 165 | 475 | 36:49 | 5 |
| Saints | 12 | 189 | 68 | 257 | 27:56 | 1 |
Full box score
Those that are so quick to jump off the bandwagon and search for blame look to Brett Favre and Adrian Peterson. Obviously this was not the ending to the fantastic season we were hoping for but it doesn’t take away from one of the best Vikings season in a long time. Favre had a remarkable year, one of the best of his career, and he put the team in a position to win.
AP has his struggles with hanging on to the ball but keep in mind the Saints are an extremely aggressive team that thrives on ripping the ball out at any given chance. Some times turnovers are a matter of right place right time and there is probably no one more upset than Adrian. He is still an incredible, explosive player that has had an extraordinary impact on the Vikings. Here’s to looking forward to an incredible 2010 season!
Minnesota Sports Blog
The Vikings return to the NFC Championship game for the first time since 2000 where they were embarrassed by the New York Giants 41-0. The Vikings will take on the explosive offense of the New Orleans Saints led by Drew Brees and the resurgent Reggie Bush. The Vikings have a fairly impressive offensive duo themselves in Brett Favre and Adrian Peterson. The offensive side of the ball is nearly a sure thing for both teams but what the game is going to come down to is defense, which is where the Vikings have the sure edge.
Here is a breakdown of how each team ranked during the regular season in all of the NFL.
Offense
- Total Offense ( YPG): Saints 1st (403.8) vs. Vikings 5th (379.6)
- Passing (YPG): Saints 4th (272.2) vs. Vikings 8th (259.8)
- Rushing (YPG): Saints 6th (131.6) vs. Vikings 13th (119.9)
- Averaged ranking: Saints 5.5 vs Vikings 8.6
Defense
- Total Defense (YPG): Vikings 6th (305.5) vs. Saints 25th (357.8)
- Pass Defense (YPG): Vikings 19th (218.4) vs. Saints 26th (235.6)
- Rush Defense (YPG): Vikings 2nd (87.1) vs. Saints 21st (122.2)
- Averaged Ranking: Vikings 9th vs Saints 24th
Numbers can be deceiving but clearly the Saints and Vikings have very high powered offenses but only the Vikings have the shut down defense needed to win Championships. A huge challenge for the Vikings will be winning on the road in the incredibly loud dome of New Orleans. The Vikings were a perfect 9-0 at home this year but all 4 losses came on the road.
Playing for the NFC title and the right to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl will hopefully prove to be all the motivation the Vikings need to shut down the Saints on Sunday.
Sunday’s Game: Kick-off 5:30CT on FOX
Minnesota Sports Blog
The accolades for the Minnesota Vikings continue to pour in with the announcement that Vikings wide receiver/kick returner Percy Harvin was the offensive Rookie of the Year. Harvin had a huge impact on the Vikings return game with over 1,150 return yards including a 101 yard return with 2 touchdowns.
Harvin’s overall number could have been even more impressive if he hadn’t struggled with severe migraine troubles in the middle of the season.
Harvin set the single season franchise record with 2,081 all-purpose yards and tied the Colts’ Austin Collie with most receptions by a rookie with 60. Harvin was added to the Pro Bowl roster on Monday as the NFC’s kick returner bringing the Vikes total to 9 players in the Pro Bowl. The Eagles’ DeSean Jackson was originally chosen to the be the NFC’s return man but he was also selected as a wide receiver.
Harvin joins 2007 Rookie of the Year Adrian Peterson, Randy Moss in 1998, Sammy White in 1976, Chuck Foreman in 1973 and Paul Flatley in 1963.
Receiving Stats
| G | REC | YDS | AVG | TD |
| 15 | 60 | 790 | 13.2 | 6 |
Return Stats
| G | KR | YDS | AVG | TD |
| 15 | 42 | 1,156 | 27.5 | 2 |
Minnesota Sports Blog
The Minnesota Vikings (11-3) take on the lackluster Chicago Bears (5-9) tonight in Chicago. The NFC Playoffs are decided but the seeding is still up in the air. The Vikings are fighting for their position and here if the Vikings win their next two (vs. Chicago & New York Giants (8-7) remain) and the Saints lose their final game against Carolina then the Vikings would hold the number one seed. The number one seed of course has home field advantage through the playoffs.
The number one & two seeds have first round byes. The Vikings also need to win at least one of the two to hold on to their number two seed. If the Vikings lose one and win one and the Eagles beat the Cowboys next week the Eagles can jump ahead of the Vikings.
The Bears hold no real stake in tonight’s game but they may enjoy playing spoiler against a divisional rival. Jay Cutler has been one of the biggest let downs in the league this year leading all of the NFL with 25 interceptions (versus 19 TDs). The Vikings are fighting their own drama with the Favre/Childress shenanigans. All eyes will be on the sidelines tonight to see who will run the show. Both sides claim they issue has been resolved but both will need to prove that tonight to show the Vikings foundation isn’t really cracking.
Favre has struggled in the last three games with 4 interceptions with 3 touchdown passes with an average passer rating of 75.43 over that span. Favre needs to come out strong tonight in trying to recover from last weeks embarrassment against the Carolina Panthers. He is also fighting to prove that this recent decline in performance isn’t resembling last year’s falloff with the Jets.
Tonights Game: Vikings @ Bears – 7:30PM CT on ESPN
Minnesota Sports Blog
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