Childress, Why moss?

Childress On Bubble Of Being Let Go

Say it ain't so!



After a five year absence, Randy Moss was finally back wearing the famed Minnesota Viking "84" jersey. The jersey, many Viking fans longed to see him in.



After four games back where he belongs, Brad Childress, you mean to report that you have waived him? Why? Was your ego jilted? Was your ultra-thinned skin damaged by the truth?



After your Minnesota Viking team was defeated in New England 28-18 last Sunday, were you left in envy of a franchise that is everything yours is not? A winner?



Yes, the Patriots, winners of three Super Bowls in four appearances during the 2000's, also currently stand at 6-1, the best record in the league. Your team is 2-5 and sinking fast.



You have more talent on your roster than they do, but they have a great head coach on their sideline and you Brad Childress, are no great head coach. Frankly, you are not even a good one.



In Moss' post-game press conference when he referred to Bill Belichick as the best coach of all time, were you insulted because he did not bestow that title upon you? Perhaps you feel your 1-2 playoff record outshines Belichick's 15-5 playoff record?



Maybe you acted in haste, because during that press conference, Moss revealed to everyone, how even with him explaining the Patriots offense to you and your coaching staff, you still could not stop them.



Or, could it be you wasted a future third round draft pick, because you are upset about Moss' alledged outburst over a locker room meal? Is that why you suddenly decided to waive the second most prolific receiver in Viking history?



Currently, do you not have a quarterback on your roster being investigated by the NFL for possible misconduct that could result in a lawsuit? Is he getting ready to be waived also, or is his 29th ranked quarterback passer rating so impressive it warrants him receiving preferrential treatment?



Oh that's right, you said that you want "good people" on your team. Really? Seriously? Are you not the one who cut Marcus Robinson on Christmas Eve? Yes, Christmas Eve, because the receiver - who led the team in touchdown receptions at the time - dared to speak out about your dreadful offense that was so predictable, it would not have been able to outsmart a fifth grader.



You are such a "good person", that a few years ago you simply could not resist fining Troy Williamson for taking too long in South Carolina, attending the funeral of his grandmother who raised him, and taking care of her affairs. Yes, such a wonderful show of compassion on your part.



During last season's playoffs, your "class act" was on full display as you had an- already-selfish, stat-driven quarterback throw two unnecessary late fourth-quarter touchdowns to drub your outmatched Dallas Cowboy opponent 34-3.



Zygi Wilf, you own the Vikings, it is time for you to break your silence, and begin cleaning up this mess that is your franchise. It is time to acknowledge that your first and only coaching hire thus far, has been a mistake. A big one. Cut your losses.



When you hired Childress in 2006, his first order of business was alienating Daunte Culpepper, the third most prolific passer in Viking history. He unceremoniously cut Culpepper, the franchise quarterback at the time, just prior to the start of that season.



Now the latest fiasco has Moss being cut suddenly without any reasonable explanation being provided. What sense does this make? Here says that Moss will one day be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and that Childress will not.



Moss has played on the two highest scoring offenses in NFL history, the '98 Vikings and the '07 Patriots. This year, in the four games he played in, Moss boosted the per game scoring average from a paltry average of 14, to a respectable average of 21. Yet, just like that, he is gone, and realistically, so is this season.



The time has come that Brad Childress should be fired. The team is in total turmoil, there is no present indication that a turnaround is soon on its way. So why wait? The Vikings need a fresh start.



Remember Mr. Owner, how on New Year's Day, 2006, you didn't even wait until then Head Coach, Mike Tice, could even make it to the locker room to address his players after the victorious season finale? You fired him right on the spot in a room off of the tunnel. You certainly did not wait then, why wait now?



Your current coach has turned your organization into a joke, that lacks humor. It is unimaginable how there could be any respect for him in that locker room now.



In his four and a half seasons, at most a handful of teams have had as many Pro Bowl players on their rosters as he has had on his, yet Childress has only been able to produce a mediocre overall regular season record of 38-33.



As Brad Childress continues to run the organization into the ground, his ineptitude begins to reflect more and more upon the ownership. Just curious to know Mr. Wilf, what is the ownership going to do about it?

Vikings Return To Work

It will begin a bit of an odd week because the Vikings do not play again until Monday night, Oct. 11 when they will face the New York Jets at the New Meadowlands Stadium. It's likely the Vikings will have a light workout Tuesday and then take Wednesday off before getting back into the full swing of things on Thursday.



Vikings executives, coaches and players should be in a very good mood when we see them next. The reason is simple: If this bye week did anything for them it should have made them feel good about their chances despite a 1-2 start.



The NFL likes to paint itself as a league that is all about parity but the word it should be using is mediocrity. Right now, the NFC North might be the best example of this, although the NFC East and NFC West also are in the running.



Chicago and Green Bay are off to 3-1 starts, but the success that appears to indicate will be temporary unless those clubs start to play much better football.



Last Monday night, the Bears beat the Packers, 20-17, thanks in large part to the fact Green Bay was assessed a franchise-record 18 penalties. It also didn't hurt Chicago that without Ryan Grant the Packers didn't have any real threat of a run game.



On Sunday, the Packers held on to beat the Lions, 28-26, at Lambeau Field, extending Detroit's winless streak on the road to 23 games. Even Packers coach Mike McCarthy admitted afterward it didn't feel like his team was 3-1 and had just won a game.



Imagine then how the Bears felt later Sunday when they lost, 17-3, to the Giants at the New Meadowlands. The Bears gave up nine first-half sacks, lost starting quarterback Jay Cutler to a concussion and were limited to 110 total yards. The Giants finished with 10 sacks and also chased veteran backup quarterback Todd Collins (stinger) from the game in the fourth quarter.



None of this was very pleasing to watch, but the Vikings have to know if they can get their vertical passing game going they have an excellent chance of getting right back in this thing.

Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings Defense Carry Team To Win...Get Used To It

AP Rushed For Over 160 Yards Vs Lions

  The Vikings finally turned over a new leaf on Sunday, collecting their first victory of the season.



It started out rocky, as Brett Favre threw an early interception that led to a Detroit Lions touchdown. Favre didn't look terrible, but again looked fairly rusty facing a poor Lions pass defense.



Favre mustered just 201 yards on 34 attempts with a touchdown and two interceptions. He continues to look his age in 2010.



Granted, Favre was a slow starter last season and can obviously still play at a high level. But we can't expect 2009 from him. It's not going to happen.



Sunday was the beginning of a pattern we can expect for the rest of the season: Adrian Peterson and the stout Vikings defense will carry this team.



Peterson continues to run with tenacity while protecting the football. He has zero fumbles through three games to go with 392 yards, three touchdowns, and a Peterson-of-old 5.6 yards per carry.



In reality, the run blocking has not really been better than last year, it has been merely adequate.



However, Peterson has run like the best running back in football. No disrespect to Chris Johnson, who had a solid day on Sunday, but Peterson looks unstoppable right now.





He cannot be tackled.



On Peterson's 80-yard touchdown run, he weaved through traffic, delivered a ferocious stiff arm, then simply outran the Lions secondary.



On multiple occasions through the first three games, Peterson has delivered impossible broken tackles, jukes, and bursts of speed. He simply will not go down without at least three defenders getting a lick in.



Not to mention, on Sunday, Peterson faced eight men in the box nearly all game long. Something Peterson saw less and less of last year with Favre and Sidney Rice connecting on deep passes.



Hats off to Peterson, who obviously put in a lot of hard work this offseason to get better. It will take a whole season to show it, but he looks like the best running back in football right now.



Another hats off to the Vikings defense. This unit looks much better than anticipated before the season.



Even when the offense falters, the defense is picking up the slack.



While they delivered just one sack, the Vikings hit quarterback Shaun Hill six times. They also forced two interceptions while giving up just 237 yards through the air. This despite the Lions attempting 43 passes.





The Vikings also gave up just 63 yards on the ground, despite a 21-yard reverse play by the Lions.



Overall, the Vikings secondary looks vastly improved. The front four have not produced a consistently nagging pass rush like last year, but coverage downfield has been excellent.



Rookie cornerback Chris Cook did a great job in his first major action and Cedric Griffin looked healthy after returning from a torn ACL.



A first-year starter at safety, Hussain Abdullah looked significantly improved over his first two games. He was on-time to the ball for the most part and made a couple big plays.



Overall, the Vikings defense did a great job on Sunday, as they have through each game this season.



Granted, this first victory came against the lowly Lions. There is no reason to immediately start dreaming of the Super Bowl, but there is hope.



Despite losing their first three games, the Lions played close with the 2-0 Chicago Bears and the 3-0 Philadelphia Eagles. This is a significantly improved Lions team. Beating the Lions in 2010 means more than beating them in 2009.



However, the Vikings need to show they can beat a legitimate contender. They'll have that chance in weeks five through eight.





The Vikings will face difficult tasks when they meet up with the New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, and New England Patriots in consecutive weeks.



Three of those games are on the road as well.



To win those games, the Vikings need to take note of Sunday's game against the Lions:



Rely on the defense and Adrian Peterson to win football games. Hope for the occasional Favre-to-Harvin or Favre-to-Shiancoe hook-up, but above all, rely on Peterson and the defense.



The defense is certainly good enough to hold up against any team in football. They showed that when they held Drew Brees and the Saints to just 14 points.



The Vikings can win their next few games, but they will have to play their best football and avoid costly turnovers. Favre needs to protect the ball better and quit making risky throws.



If the Vikings can get away from relying on Favre to win every game, dish the rock to Peterson, and hit opponents in the mouth on both sides of the ball, they will have success. Just like they did on Sunday.

Chris Cook Says He's Ready; Cedric Griffin Getting Closer



Chris Cook Vikings Rookie CB



Cedric Griffin

Rookie cornerback Chris Cook appears set to make his NFL debut Sunday against the Detroit Lions after being sidelined since the Vikings' third preseason game because of a knee injury.

Cook, who had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, said he worked with the first-team defense this week in the nickel package and also rotated in with the first-team base defense. Cook said that rotation also included cornerback Cedric Griffin, who is working to return after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last January in the NFC title game.



Both Cook and Griffin are listed as questionable on the injury report, meaning there is a 50-50 chance they will play.



"I feel pretty good," Cook said Friday. "I had three good days of practice. I feel like my movements are good and I'm just waiting for the green light. ... I feel like I'm game-ready and I feel like I can do anything that the coaches ask me to do as far as our defensive calls. I'm just waiting on somebody to tell me what the word is."



Cook said his workload in practice this week was considerably more than last week.



"I'm doing way more," he said. "Last week I wasn't taking reps with the defense. This week I took reps. That was pretty successful because I felt pretty good running around out there."



Griffin, who has been practicing for three weeks, said he's getting increased reps, too. He was listed as "limited" in all practices this week.



"I feel really comfortable right now," he said. "My confidence is high. I feel good with my legs, my wind is great right now. I think I'll get in the game one of these weeks and see how it goes from there."



Refresher Course :

Veteran wide receiver Hank Baskett started his career with the Vikings and has experience in the West Coast system so he said learning the offense this week hasn't been too difficult. Baskett, who signed with the team on Wednesday, said the coaching staff gave him the entire Lions game plan.

Vikings Running Out Of Time To Make A Deal For Vincent Jackson

Vikings running out of time to make a deal for Vincent Jackson

Vincent Jackson

ShareretweetEmailPrintAt this point, it looks like it will take a Hail Mary to get a Vincent Jackson(notes) trade done before this afternoon’s 4 p.m. deadline.





The Minnesota Vikings need to address their problems at wide receiver, but Jackson has high salary demands and the San Diego Chargers aren’t about to give away the suspended star. That leaves the situation hanging in the balance.





Rumors have been flying for a couple of days and it’s impossible to rule anything out, but once Sidney Rice(notes) returns, the Vikings will have two players who are pretty much the same. Is that what they need?





So, the Vikings went a less costly route, at least for now, signing Hank Baskett(notes) after he was cut loose by the Philadelphia Eagles. Baskett was released by the Eagles so they would have room to sign running back Joique Bell(notes) off the practice squad of the Buffalo Bills.





Rice is out until at least midseason for the Vikings and now Percy Harvin(notes) is battling a hip injury that could keep him on the sideline for a bit. The Vikings’ defense has played very well through two games but the offense needs some help for Brett Favre(notes), who has been misfiring.





Baskett has experience with the Vikings in the past. He can also help on special teams. The big question is whether or not big help will arrive in the form of Jackson, who would be eligible to play after two more games on the suspended list in Week 5.