Well, in the last 24 hours or so, we've learned that we've got a spineless moron for a head coach.  Actually, we covered spineless yesterday, and at today's press conference, we got the moron part covered, too.  When asked at his press conference today why he chose to punt the ball away on 4th and 13 with no time outs and about 2:30 left on the clock, Brad Childress gave the following answer, verbatim:

"Based on the way we were playing defense, I thought we’d have a chance to get it back."

What. . .in the blue hell. . .are you talking about?  You thought you were going to get the ball back?  How?  Did you think that the Titans were going to fumble the ball DURING THE KNEELDOWN!?  Good lord, just because a team coached by you is capable of something that stupid doesn't mean that a team with even an iota of discipline is capable of the same thing.

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Alrighty. . .we've got 8 spots left to fill on this roster, and we've already started Training Camp, so let's get them filled, shall we?

Here are all of Minnesota's current defensive backs:

The biggest addition to this list, in my opinion, is Madieu Williams.  He was signed away from the Cincinnati Bengals during the off-season to replace Dwight Smith, basically because he's everything that Dwight Smith is not.  He's good in coverage (and don't let Smith's interception numbers from last year fool you. . .he's not good in coverage), he can actually tackle, and he's a great community guy.  He should provide a massive upgrade in coverage in 2008, and with the improved pass rush that the Vikings are going to have, I can see him justifying his big contract early and often.

He'll be starting next to the greatest safety in Green Bay Packers history, Darren Sharper.  Sharper, who was "too old" and "too slow" when he signed with the Vikings, has only managed to make the Pro Bowl twice during his three seasons in Minnesota, while his former team is still trying to replace him with someone that can even be considered "slightly below average."  Sharper certainly doesn't appear to have lost a step at all, and has kept himself in great shape, so I don't expect any drop off from him in 2008.  To the contrary, much like I mentioned with Madieu Williams, the Vikings' improved pass rush should allow him to have an even better year in 2008.

At the corners, we start with one of the best in Antoine Winfield.  Winfield is, hands down, the best run support corner in the National Football League, and really has been for a very long time.  His coverage skills might be a bit suspect at times, but he (like most of the Vikings' DBs) has been a victim of the Vikings' lack of defensive pressure on opposing quarterbacks.  One has to wonder how much longer #26 is going to be able to keep up his physical style of play before his body starts to betray him.  He missed six games last season with various injuries. . .there were a couple of games where the team played well in his absence (particularly the San Diego game) and games where the team performed poorly in his absence (particularly the second Green Bay game).  Here's hoping that he can stay on the field all season.

The other starting CB slot may or may not be up for grabs, depending on who you listen to.  Cedric Griffin is currently manning the starting spot, and we can all agree that Griffin had a pretty rough 2007 after showing a lot of promise in his rookie season.  It seemed like he was always a step or two behind in coverage, and missed way more tackles than he probably should have.  It's kind of frustrating to see Antoine Winfield (who's listed at 5'9" and 180 pounds. . .and I think that 5'9" is being kind to Antoine) being able to destroy anything in his path when it comes to tackling, but Griffin (6', 205) constantly having opposing players slip out of his grasp.  He really needs to put it together and have a good season.  He certainly has the talent to do it. . .it's just a matter of seeing if it can happen.

The guy that he might be fighting for that spot with, from the sounds of things, is Charles Gordon.  Gordon, who the Vikings put on the practice squad as an undrafted free agent a few years back, has fought his way up through the ranks, and ended last season as the team's nickel corner.  Though he doesn't have great size, he asserted himself very well against slot receivers in 2007, and showed enough ability to make the coaching staff think that he's going to be able to handle even more responsibility in 2008.  Gordon v. Griffin is going to be one of the more interesting battles of this camp season.  Gordon could also double as a returner if necessary, as he excelled at that when he was at the University of Kansas.

Marcus McCauley was an absolute roller coaster for the Vikings in his rookie season.  Like many first-year players, he had times where he looked great and showed off his natural CB skills. . .and he had times where he looked completely clueless.  McCauley, like Griffin, has good size and good ability, but needs a lot more seasoning at the NFL level.  He's in a tough situation, as it appears right now that he's the #4 cornerback.  I'm not sure how much he's going to get on the field. . .but I'm also not sure if the Vikings would trade him at this early stage, either.  We'll have to see what happens.

The other big new addition to the DB corps is Tyrell Johnson, the Vikings' first selection in the 2008 draft out of Arkansas State.  Depending on which source you looked at, Johnson was either the #1 or #2 safety available in the 2008 draft class.  (Since I'm hopelessly biased, let's just go ahead and assume that he was #1.)  I, personally, can't wait to get a good look at this guy.  At this point in the game, he appears to be more of an "in the box" type of safety, which is good. . .but he has all the physical tools to become a pretty good all-around player, and he's already not to shabby in coverage if the scouting reports are to be believed.  There's also talk of him being involved in "big nickel" package, in which the Vikings would bring in a third safety rather than a third corner in passing situations.  A big contribution from Tyrell Johnson this year would be a huge addition to the Beloved Purple.

Michael Boulware is a part of one of the more infamous moments in recent Vikings history, as he intercepted Randy Moss' end-around pass back in 2004 while he was with the Seattle Seahawks in a game the Vikings really had a great shot at winning.  After showing a lot of promise in his first couple of seasons in Seattle, he wound up with the Houston Texans, and proceeded to pretty much fall off the map as a safety.  He has, however, been a very good special teamer the past couple of years, and I think that's what his primary contribution will be to the 2008 Vikings.  He might see some action as a DB as well, but I think it's going to take some injuries to make that happen.

And that's everyone that I think is going to make the Vikings' roster from a DB standpoint.  During the off-season, we signed Benny Sapp away from the Kansas City Chiefs, but with the guys that are already on the depth chart ahead of him, he's going to have a very hard time sticking on this roster.  If the Vikings decide to keep 5 CBs, he's the guy, I think.

Eric Frampton really came alive on special teams last season, but with the addition of Boulware, he's pretty expendable.  (I just wanted to use the "Frampton Comes Alive" joke again. . .I'm not sure how many more opportunities I'll have.)  A couple of the UDFAs might have a shot at landing on the practice squad, but I wouldn't expect any of them to make any serious contributions in 2008.

So, here's pretty much what we have:

Starters - Antoine Winfield, Cedric Griffin (for now), Darren Sharper, Madieu Williams
Backups - Charles Gordon, Marcus McCauley, Tyrell Johnson, Michael Boulware
Cut - Benny Sapp, Marcus Walker, Dee McCann, Brandon Sumrall, Eric Frampton, Husain Abdullah

And that rounds out my projection for the 2008 Vikings' roster.  Give me just a few minutes, and I'll be opening up another thread to discuss the entire thing.

Yes, I apologize. . .I'm sort of taking the easy way out on this one.  Hey, it's the weekend, and this one still has to be done, so let's get it out of the way, shall we?  The Vikings are pretty well set at all of the special teams positions.  Ryan Longwell is going to be the kicker, Chris Kluwe is going to be the punter, and Cullen Loeffler is going to be the long snapper.

I know that Steven Hauschika, a rookie from North Carolina State, is currently on the roster as a kicker, but he's pretty much just there to give Ryan Longwell a break during the pre-season.  I don't think he's a serious threat to Longwell's job security or anything.  Nor should he be, considering that Longwell has been pretty outstanding for us in the two seasons he's been in a Viking uniform.  Since escaping Green Bay for the much, much greener pastures of the Twin Cities, Longwell is 41/49 in the field goal department (missing 4 field goals in each season), and 5 of his 8 misses have been from 50+ yards out.  He's even thrown a TD pass since joining the Vikings (Week 2 against Carolina in 2006).  Longwell has also managed to improve his kickoffs since coming to Minnesota as well.  He'll continue to be the Vikings' kicker for the foreseeable future.

On the other hand, nobody has been brought in to compete with Chris Kluwe as of yet, and I'd be surprised if anybody was. . .although the Vikings DID work out an Australian punter by the name of Shane Phillips, according to the blog of former Vikings' special teams coach Gary Zauner.  However, Kluwe isn't going anywhere.  The best Vikings' rookie of 2005. . .which is sad, considering he was a UDFA and not part of our actual draft class. . .has done a solid job for the Vikings thus far.  I've got a soft spot in my heart for anyone that can go out and punt with a torn knee ligament, which is what Kluwe did towards the end of his rookie season after getting injured.  The Vikings signed him to a long-term deal not too long ago, so they obviously think he's the answer at punter.  With the way he's performed in his three seasons in Minnesota, I see no reason to disagree.

Cullen Loeffler is the long snapper.  He. . .ummmmm. . .snaps the ball.  Long.  He's been doing the job for Minnesota since 2004, and to be honest, I can't remember very many bad snaps during that time, if there have been any at all.  Long snappers are like baseball umpires. . .we don't notice them unless they screw something up.  The fact that I don't have a whole lot to say about Loeffler means that I haven't noticed him much. . .which, in this case, can only be considered a good thing.

So now that we've talked about the specialists, let's take a look at a couple of positions that need to be filled by guys that we've already discussed.  I'm referring to the positions of kick returner and punt returner.

I've mentioned my confusion over the signing of Maurice Hicks before, because from all of the reports that have been out there, the guy was primarily signed for his return skills.  It's puzzling because I thought that Aundrae Allison had done an outstanding job in that role for Minnesota in 2007, with his 3 returns of 60+ yards and 28.7 yard return average.  Hicks is also the #3 running back, but come on. . .barring injuries to both Chester Taylor and Adrian Peterson, how many snaps is he actually going to get back there?

I guess that I really, really just don't understand the role Maurice Hicks fills on this football team at the moment.  Allison is our best kick returner, in my opinion, and is the best choice to stay there.  I know that Allison's role in the offense might be increasing, but he's still, at best, the #4 guy on the depth chart right now (behind Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice, and Bobby Wade), and possibly lower depending on your opinion of Robert Ferguson.  Allison has great speed, good moves, and seems to be a natural returner.  If I'm the Vikings, I'm not sure I want to mess with that.

As far as punt returning goes, our main guy last year was Mewelde Moore, who has since moved on to Pittsburgh.  The only other guy on the roster that returned any punts last year was Bobby Wade.  Neither of them have met a fair catch that they didn't like.  Hicks, again, doesn't seem to fit in here either, as he hasn't returned a single punt in his 4 years in the NFL.  This will be one of the more intriguing positions to watch in training camp this year.  Is this going to be how rookie Jaymar Johnson makes his way on to the roster?  Will the Vikings give someone like Charles Gordon (who was an outstanding college return man) a chance to win the job?  Or will they stick with the one real proven commodity they have and let Wade keep the job?  To be honest, I think that with Johnson's speed, I hope he can handle the role.  It would be nice to have explosive young returners on both the kick and punt return units.

What do you folks think about out special teams?  Go ahead and discuss it right here, and we'll be back either later today or tomorrow morning.  Continue enjoying your Saturday, everybody!