NFL’s Old Guard

sure did the hair on the backs of some executives. The that the rhetorical temperature got hot enough for Vikings owner Zygi Wilf to defend the signing and his vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski.

quotes NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue saying he thinks the Hutchinson and Burleson offer sheets’ "poison pill" provisions are a loophole that he’ll address with the player’s association.

But it was , that  carried quotes from some disgruntled NFL heavies. They quoted quoting head coach Mike Holmgren, saying

They quotes owner Jeff Lurie saying

All this huffing sounds sooooo Old Guard. It’s just not done!!

Please.

If Mike Holmgren had thought of it first, you think he wouldn’t of done it? He just wasn’t creative enough and, as Wilf points out, the Hutchinson offer was entire within the rules.

Technorati tags: | | | | | | | | | | |

NFL’s Old Guard

sure did the hair on the backs of some executives. The that the rhetorical temperature got hot enough for Vikings owner Zygi Wilf to defend the signing and his vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski.

quotes NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue saying he thinks the Hutchinson and Burleson offer sheets’ "poison pill" provisions are a loophole that he’ll address with the player’s association.

But it was , that  carried quotes from some disgruntled NFL heavies. They quoted quoting head coach Mike Holmgren, saying

They quotes owner Jeff Lurie saying

All this huffing sounds sooooo Old Guard. It’s just not done!!

Please.

If Mike Holmgren had thought of it first, you think he wouldn’t of done it? He just wasn’t creative enough and, as Wilf points out, the Hutchinson offer was entire within the rules.

Technorati tags: | | | | | | | | | | |

Losing Nate Burleson

restricted free agent reciever is in Seattle for a two-day visit with the . Burleson is from Seattle. If the Seahawks sign him, it will cost them a third-round pick.

I think Burleson is worth more than a third-round pick, but I wouldn’t mind it so much if we lose him.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Burleson a lot but last year he was given the opportunity to be the featured reciever and he didn’t run away with the job, and then he got hurt. As a smallish receiver, his durability was a question he failed to dispell.

He’s not a featured reciever. He’s a slot receiver.

Then you look at our other recievers and it’s hard to find a place for him. We just signed to a lucrative contract to be the big-play guy. proved to be a great slot receiver last year, just catching anything thrown his way. You’ve got to get last year’s seventh overall pick on the field a lot more this year, so you know ‘s role will expand greatly. And then you’ve got still in the mix, probably as a red-zone specialist.

There’s not a hell of a lot left for Nate.

So if the Seahawks sign him, I’m fine with that, and good luck to him.

Lastly, an extra pick has great appeal to me in this year’s linebacker-rich draft.

Technorati tags: | | | | | | | | |

Steve Hutchinson Signed

Now we know for sure that Zygi Wilf is serious about spending what it takes to win a championship. The and offered Pro Bowl guard a deal that will hopefully be so prohibitively expensive that the Seahawks will decline to match it immediately, rather than taking the seven days that are allotted for them to respond.

that the Vikings offer would make Hutchinson the highest paid guard in NFL history: Seven years for $49 million with $16 million in guarantees.

The article states that it is believed the Seahawks were offering Hutchinson an average of $5.8 million before free agency started, while the Vikings’  offer averages $7 million.

Hutchinson is 6′ 5" and weighs 313 pounds. He was a first-round draft choice in 2001 and is a three-time Pro Bowler. He has started every game he’s played, but in 2002 was limited to four games because of a broken leg.

Hutchinson would give the Vikings an enormously powerful left side by adding him next to left tackle Bryant McKinney.

You can .

Technorati tags: | | | |

Vikings First Day Of Free Agency

Not a bad first day of free agency for the .

They signed former kicker , former running back , and former linebacker .

As expected, they lost cornerback , who reunited with by signing with the for six years for $32 million, including a $10 million signing bonus. was reunited with former Vikings offensive coordinator and now head coach, . Chavous a five-year deal worth $16 million that includes a $4 million signing bonus.

Losing is tough but he deserves the big contract. The Jags made a good move.

I liked Corey Chavous but he wasn’t all that great last year; he was out of position so often. You gotta wonder what happened. He was amazing in 2003, making the Pro Bowl with 108 tackles, eight interceptions and 15 passes defensed. Maybe he’s lost a step since then or maybe he’ll return to form with the Rams where he will apparently play free safety, instead of the strong safety position he played last year.

Thirty minutes before free agency began the Vikings signed wide receiver to a three-year deal is worth $12.7 million with a $1 million signing bonus.

Chester Taylor’s four-year contract is worth $14.1 million and includes $5.6 million in guaranteed bonuses. From , it appears Taylor’s slated to carry the load for us in the backfield, getting 20 to 30 touches a game. That probably means we’re not going after a first round running back. Too bad; I would’ve like to see Maroney in Purple.

Ryan Longwell signed a five-year deal for $10 million that included $3 million in guaranteed bonuses. I liked but Longwell is definitely an improvement; he’ll improve in the Dome and he knows how to kick in inclement weather as well.

Ben Leber’s deal is for five years, $20 million and includes guaranteed bonuses of more than $4 million. The Vikings must see something about this guy beyond what’s on paper because, well, there’s not much there on paper. It is disappointing that it appears is not in the Vikings plans because, gawd, that would’ve been fan-tast-ic! But even though this is a great draft for linebackers, I don’t see how the Vikings can’t sign another veteran linebacker or two when you consider that is probably a goner and definitely is. The other top-ranked linebackers available are the Julian Peterson and the Redskins .

The Seattle Seahawks’ Pro Bowl guard is supposed to be in town today. He’s a transitional player, so if the Vikings want him (and I really hope they do, considering the Cleveland Browns landed the other superstar free agent lineman, ), they’ll need to make him an offer that the Seahawks will not even want to consider matching so we don’t have to continue to shop for a guard).

Also visiting today is safety and on Monday, ‘ safety will visit.

Dexter Jackson by intercepting two passes. With Tampa, the 6′ 10" 210 pound Jackson played free safety under Vikings defensive coordinator . The seven-year veteran had 32 tackles last year with 13 assists, one sack, one interception, and four passes defended. He’s played his entire career with Tampa Bay except for 2003, when he played for the . That was his best year, statistically: He made 75 tackles with 13 assists, six intereceptions and seven passes defended. 

Will Demps has his own web site (). He’s a four-year veteran stands 6′ 0" and weighs in at 205 pounds. Last year he had 48 tackles with four assists and two passes defended. The year before he had 66 tackles with 19 assists, 2.5 sacks, one interception, and six passes defended.

It is interesting that both safeties played free safety, which tells me they want a swifter, more roaming type defensive back to fill their strong safety position.

Check out the Vikings site for .

Technorati tags: | | | | | | | | | | | |

Chargers LB Ben Leber To Visit Today

that outside linebacker will visit the Vikings today and probably sign.

Craig quotes Leber’s agent– Jeff Nalley–saying: “The way we work is the first team we visit is the team we feel we’ll get a deal
done with that day…Seven teams called us [Friday] night. The Vikings are No. 1
on our list.”

Leber is a four year veteran. He’s 6′ 3" and weighs 244 pounds. He played only nine games last year because of a foot injury, Craig reports. The previous three years, he played in all sixteen games. He had a career-high 69 tackles in 2003 and 5 sacks in his rookie year, 2002. He has never intercepted a pass.

He was picked by the Chargers in the third round–71st overall–in 2002.

The Chargers’ Web site has some in-depth, year-by-year, as well as .

Technorati tags: | | | | | |

Koren Robinson Signs, Chester Taylor To Visit

The signed to a three-year deal and will have running back in for a visit today. .

The Koren Robinson signing is big because in addition to being our best reciever, he’s a great return man, something we haven’t had in a long time. Robinson would certainly have garnered quite a bit of interest because he would’ve been among the best of a thin free agency field of receivers. I would’ve hated to lose him.

‘ backup his entire career, Taylor’s best season was 2004 when he played in all 16 games and started four. He finished second on the team in rushing and made a career high 160 carries for 714 yards, averaging 4.5 yards per carry. He scored two touchdowns and caught 30 receptions for 184 yards.

Though he gained on 487 yards on 117 carries last year, that was still good enough for a 4.2 yard per carry average. He upped his reception total to 41, gaining 292 yards.

Taylor was used primarily as a third-down and change of pace back by the Ravens.

that the Vikings are trying to arrange a visit with guard .

Technorati tags: | | | | | | | |

Javon Walker As A Viking?

Way to go, FAV-rah.

quarterback has chased away the team’s star wide receiver by criticizing for holding out last season, breaking an unwritten rule among NFL players that you don’t mess with a man’s livelihood. He wants no part of the Packers as a result, .

It looks like Walker is trying to force a trade or his release.

Thanks, Brett: He’d look damn good in Purple!

Technorati tags: | | | | |

2006 Minnesota Vikings Free Agency Guide

Updated 4/12/06: Also check out my and my constantly updated page.

For local coverage, in addition to and , you’ll want to check and –you can also .

The Vikings themselves have on their site that includes where they post clips of news conferences.

Probably the most useful free agency tool is ; it allows you to sort NFL free agents by position, lists what type of free agent they are, gives vital statistics, their current team, and ranks them according to talent. I do, however, take their rankings with a grain of salt. You gotta wonder how they figure cornerback Brian Williams merits only three stars.

The next best place for free agency information is the . And it’s not just a fanboy site. They’ll run negative as well as positive stories in thier and they’ve got daily video as well.

should be, of course, a staple of your free agent news diet. I love their for up-to-date football news but they also have and .

also has to go along with their extensive coverage.

MSNBC provides in-depth .

does a great job in general and the NFL is no exception. They have and you can also .

Sports Illustrated offers great , of course. They have and even .

includes as well as .

includes great columnists and so you can get an idea of team needs.

For rumors, of course, keep an eye on .

Technorati tags: | | | |

Free Agency Delayed

On the positive side, the delay of till, at the earlies, Monday, gives me some extra time to put together my 2006 NFL Free Agency Resources post. On the downside, damn, we gotta wait!

Had talks broken down for good, as they appeared they had, the would have been in the sweet position of being $24 million below the cap while most other teams would have to cut high-priced veterans, flooding the market with talent, lowering the asking prices for all free agents, in an environment when only a couple of teams–the Vikes and most prominent among them–would be in a position to pay anyone anything.

The Vikes could practically have had their choice of free agents at bargain prices. That would have put them in the enviable positon of not only being positioned to get the top picks of the free agent litter, but it would have also greatly reduced the bargaining leverage of such players as and .

But had that happened, the Vikings had better win the Super Bowl because with a lack of an agreement and, as a result, a salary-capless 2007 season, the Vikings would all of a sudden have transformed into the of football, a small market team trying to compete against major media market free spenders such as the .

The downside would have been far to dire; let’s count ourselves luck for the repreive.

Technorati tags: | | | | | | | | | | | |