Alright, it's that time of the week again. . .time to check out who's going to be out of this Monday night's game for both teams involved.

The Saints have the longest injury report of any team the Beloved Purple have faced to this point in the season.  Honestly, this thing is massive, and a lot of guys are already listed as "out."  The Saints are still a pretty good team, but it's clear that the Vikings won't be seeing a New Orleans team that's at 100%.  The Vikings, as we've documented throughout the week, have their own injury problems to worry about.

Let's start with the Saints.

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Well, folks, it's Friday, and that means it's time for a check of the injury reports for both of the teams involved in this Sunday's clash at the Metrodome.  Oh, and there's one name on the injury reports that Vikings fans probably aren't going to like too terribly much.

We'll start with the visiting Carolina Panthers.

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Alrighty, folks, since we're stuck waiting until TOMORROW to watch the Beloved Purple win their first game of the season and everyone else gets to have fun today (well, except for Bronco and Raider fans), let me get something up here that I've had sitting in my inbox since before all of my hurricane-related fun and excitement got started.

Bill Barnwell is one of the Football Outsiders.  I'm a big fan of their site, as anyone that's come here for any length of time already knows, and they've really taken football statistical analysis to a higher level.  They're also the folks behind the Pro Football Prospectus, where they take the statistics they generate and apply them to the upcoming NFL season.  The 2008 PFP is probably on a shelf at a bookstore near you. . .but, as I've said before, you can get it for less than $15 if you grab it through Amazon.com.

I had the opportunity to send Mr. Barnwell five questions about the Minnesota Vikings and their 2008 prospects.  Here, now, are those questions and their answers.

Gonzo:  The Vikings made one major acquisition on each side of the ball during this past off-season, signing Bernard Berrian on offense and trading for Jared Allen just before the draft.  Whose effect on the team will be more profoundly felt. . .Allen's or Berrian's?  And, as an off-shoot from that question, which will improve the Vikings' offense more. . .acquiring Bernard Berrian or getting rid of Troy Williamson?

Bill Barnwell:  If they both stay healthy, Allen by far. Berrian isn't a #1 receiver. He's yet to put up a positive DVOA as a full-time starter, and although he hasn't played with a great quarterback, well...he won't be playing with one this year, either. Berrian's a downfield target that keeps safeties honest -- essentially, what Troy Williamson was supposed to be. He might catch those bombs that Williamson dropped, and that'll add a few extra scores, but he's not a great fit for the West Coast Offense -- he is neither the route-runner nor the middle-range technician that the team needs.

Allen, on the other hand, is an elite defensive end. He takes a situation that was an absolute weakness (Minnesota ranked 28th in our Adjusted Sack Rate statistic last year, which takes into account context and opponent) and turns it into a strength singlehandedly. Allen will suffer some from not having Tamba Hali across from him, but there's every reason to think that Allen also creates separation for the Williamses and should benefit from being single-teamed more frequently. Certainly, at the end of the year, I think Vikings fans will be much more excited about having Jared Allen in purple and gold.

I pretty much have the tendency to agree here, although I think a bit more highly of Bernard Berrian than Bill does.  We have a couple of route-running technicians in Bobby Wade and Sidney Rice.  What the offense lacks is a guy to get open downfield and not have the ball clang off of his face mask.

G:  Tarvaris Jackson was selected by the Vikings in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft.  In that same year, the Tennessee Titans drafted Vince Young #3 overall, and the Arizona Cardinals selected Matt Leinart with the 10th overall pick.  After two years of putting up fairly similar numbers, why are Young and Leinart still viewed by many as potential franchise quarterbacks while Jackson is largely seen as some schlub that barely belongs on an NFL roster?

BB:  Well, because they haven't played at the same level. Using our stat, DYAR, Leinart's averaged 18.16 DYAR per game, Young's averaged 8 DYAR per game, and Jackson's averaged... -2.75 DYAR per game, despite having a much better offense around him than either player. Now, granted, Jackson was way better in 2007 than 2006. He also had more DYAR and a higher DVOA than Eli Manning.

The bigger factor for us, though, in doubting Jackson's future is our Lewin Career Forecast for Jackson. One of our writers, Dave Lewin, has found that the two biggest indicators for a quarterback's success in the NFL are their games started in college and the player's completion percentage in those games. Jackson couldn't beat out Matt Jones (albeit with a shoulder injury) in college, and he completed 55% of his passes on the I-AA level. It's almost impossible to find a quarterback who succeeded with similar statistics in college.

Stats and forecasts be damned. . .right now, I'll take Tarvaris Jackson over either Vince Young OR Matt Leinart.  I may be the only person in America that thinks that way, and I'm fine with that.

G:  As someone who's a bit further removed from the situation than most of us Viking fans are, what do you think of what Brad Childress has done in Minnesota in his first two seasons?  He talked about how great the Vikings' job was when he took it, yet he's spent the past two seasons leading this team to records at or below .500.  Do you think he can get it done over the long term, or is this team just treading water under the tutelage of the man who once beat Gerald McRaney in a Gerald McRaney look-alike contest?

BB:  It's hard to detach Childress' performance from the new level of spending undertaken by Zygi Wilf. That being said, there are many good indicators. Childress has hit on both his first round picks. He hit on his biggest free agent signing; it was unheard of to offer a guard $49 million for seven years when Childress offered it to Hutchinson, but a year later, every free agent guard was getting that much, and Childress had already gathered the best. His obsession with Tarvaris Jackson might be his weakest point, but it's still up for debate whether that's going to be a failure or not. I don't see a coach who would've done a particularly better job with what he's been handed and/or working with player personnel to acquire the right guys.

Many Viking fans, including myself, have had a love/hate relationship with Brad Childress over the last couple of years.  I think that this season, however, Zygi Wilf's patience with Dr. Funke Major Dad Coach Childress will be rewarded.

G:  We've been made well aware that the Vikings were "ranked last against the pass" in 2006 and 2007 in terms of yards allowed.  However, anyone that's read Football Outsiders or the Pro Football Prospectus knows that you folks look beyond yardage numbers when determining how good or bad different units are.  So, has the Minnesota pass defense really been as bad over the past two seasons as many people are led to believe, and have you seen anything that would lead you to believe that there will be an improvement in 2008?

BB:  It's been slightly below-average. In 2006, it ranked 15th in the league; in 2007, it was down to 23rd. The thing that we stress is that the relationship between a secondary's ability to cover and a pass rush are symbiotic; take the Giants, for example. A great pass rush masked up the deficiencies of a mediocre secondary who, because of the rush, only had to cover for three, maybe four seconds on a good amount of plays. How long did Vikings' corners have to hold their coverage? Realistically, it's a longer period of time. Adding Allen will improve the secondary, even though he doesn't play there.

G:  The Vikings are a chic pick to make a lot of noise in the NFC in 2008.  In your view, what's the realistic best-case scenario for the Vikings?  How do you see them faring in terms of the NFC North, and the NFC as a whole?

BB:  I think the Vikings could win anywhere from six to 14 games and I wouldn't be surprised. Honest. There's a huge level of variance in their performance dependent upon the difficulty of their schedule (specifically the four games against Chicago and Green Bay) and how healthy they stay. Our book projects them to win 10.1 games, and that sounds just about right to me.

I would like to thank Mr. Barnwell for taking the time to answer these questions for me, and I apologize to him and to everybody else for taking so long to get them on the site.

Back with more as the afternoon progresses!

Alrighty, the first pre-season game of the year is in the books, which means that we can officially look back on what went well and what didn't.

Let's clarify one thing before we get started. . .it's the first pre-season game.  Therefore, it's too darn early to really judge anything, and it's certainly too darn early to panic.  However, while we can't really judge anything in the bigger picture at this point, we CAN take a look at this game as a whole, because it did have its ups and downs for the Beloved Purple.

(And, yes, I will probably come up with a snappy theme for this sort of thing like the Scarlett/Rosie deal I experimented with last season.  It's pre-season for me, too, darn it.)

What Was Good

Tarvaris Jackson - Any discussion of what went well last night against Seattle needs to begin wtih #7.  In the first two pre-season games of 2007, Tarvaris Jackson threw a total of 15 passes.  Last night, he threw 13.  In fact, here's how the play calling went on the drives that Jackson led the team, all against Seattle's #1 defense:

Pass to Kleinsasser (13 yards)
Pass to Berrian (10 yards, brought back by penalty)
Pass to Shiancoe (10 yards, fumble lost)

Pass to Berrian (24 yards)
Pass to Rice (incomplete)
Pass to Wade (incomplete)
Pass to Berrian (19 yards)
Pass to Tapeh (6 yard TD)

Pass to Rice (9 yards)
Pass to Berrian (incomplete, but a nice deep ball)
Pass to Wade (28 yards)
Pass to Wade (10 yards)
Pass to Rice (incomplete, drew pass interference flag from Marcus Trufant. . .would have been a 20-yard TD without the mugging on another beautifully thrown ball)

And then Chester Taylor took 3 tries to get 1 yard for Minnesota's second touchdown.

Jackson's overall numbers were 8/11 for 118 yards and a touchdown, and he looked about as comfortable as one could hope for the first pre-season game of the year.  He showed much better presence than he did in 2007, much greater patience, and really only made one bad throw that I saw (the first incompletion to Rice where he almost threw it right to Marcus Trufant).  I certainly hope that this carries over, but if the play-action passing game can work as well as it did last night, things are going to be quite different this year for #7.

Great game plan, too. . .we know we can run the football.  Hell, the entire world knows we can run the football.  No point in putting Adrian Peterson's neck on the line in the first pre-season game.  From all the camp reports, #28 is already in mid-season form.  Besides, he needs to work on his pass blocking, too.

Minnesota's New WR Corps - I was quite impressed by the receivers at the top of the depth chart last night.  I'm not sure if Trufant was mailing it in last night or what, but every time he lined up across from Berrian, #87 appeared to abuse him pretty good.  Sidney Rice looks to be bigger and stronger than he was last year, and I hope we see many more attempted fade passes/jump balls to him in the red zone this year.  With the running game this offense has, there's no reason that Rice can't double his output from 2007, when he had 31 catches and 4 TD receptions.  I think that, by the end of the year, we'll see Berrian and Rice less as a #1 and #2 and as more of a #1 and a #1a.  Bobby Wade also had a couple of nice grabs.

Young Return Men - The Vikings, by and large, had rookies handling the return duties last night, and they looked fairly impressive.  Darius Reynaud had a great 53-yard kick return on the kickoff following Seattle's first TD.  (Note to Darius, if he's reading out there. . .run AROUND the kicker.  Seriously.)  Fellow rookie Jaymar Johnson looked pretty good on a 23-yard punt return in the second half as well.  Both of these youngsters have to know that they're probably fighting for one roster spot, so they need to make all the positive impressions that they can get.

Jared Allen - I haven't seen anyone in purple get off the ball as quickly as this guy since Chris Doleman was roaming the Dome.  Allen spent the night lined up against Walter Jones, one of the NFL's better LTs, and there were quite a few plays that #69 just flat out whooped Jones and wound up in the Seattle backfield.  This guy is going to be fun to watch this year, folks, and is going to end up being a very prudent investment by Zygi Wilf and company.

What Wasn't Good

Heath Farwell's Injury - In what's becoming an annual tradition, it appears that the Vikings have lost a linebacker for the year in their first pre-season game for the third consecutive season.  After Chad Greenway and Rufus Alexander tore ACLs in 2006 and 2007, respectively, it appears that we might be looking at the same fate for Heath Farwell in 2008.  He got carted off of the field last night, and Vikings sideline reporter Greg Coleman said that it appeared that Farwell's knee was "shot."  Never a good sign.  Farwell, who was the Vikings' special teams MVP in 2006 and 2007, would be a big loss for the Vikings if he can't come back.  He's scheduled to have an MRI done today sometime, and as soon as anything is available, we'll pass it along.

Hold On to the Damn Football - The Vikings turned the football over 5 times on Friday night, leading directly to 20 Seahawk points.  When you basically hand the opposition 20 points, it becomes very hard to win football games.  Three of Minnesota's four lost fumbles came inside of Viking territory.  Regardless of whether it's the first pre-season game or whether the people that fumbled are going to make the roster or not, fumbling five times in a game and losing four is pretty unacceptable.  I realize that the Vikings aren't going to fumble five times in EVERY game they play this season, but it's still kind of frustrating to watch.

The Rest of the Defense in General - I don't know if the Vikings defenders are guilty of buying into their own hype a little but, but outside of Jared Allen, the entire unit. . .first team, second team, third team. . .just got abused by the Seattle offense.  I realize that Pat Williams and Madieu Williams were healthy scratches, but we still shouldn't have looked THAT bad.  It's vanilla, we didn't blitz much, and it's still early in the pre-season, but this is probably the aspect of last night's game I was the most disappointed with.  But, fortunately, I also think that it will get much better as the pre-season rolls on, and by the time we hit the regular season, the Vikings' defense should be exactly what we're anticipating them to be. . .outstanding.

You all saw the game last night. . .well, most of you did, hopefully.  What are your impressions of what happened under the teflon sky last night?  Talk about it right here!  And be sure to check out Field Gulls, SBNation's Seahawks site, for their perspectives on last night's clash.

The first training camp practice of 2008 is in the books (with the second one taking place as we speak), and the team has managed to make it through Day One with no significant injuries.  (Well, no NEW injuries, anyway.)  If you want to get yourself a nice little football fix, check out KFAN's PA & Dubay page and click on the "7/25 - Final Hour" podcast link.  It's not much, but it IS Paul Allen calling the plays that are taking place at Training Camp.  Say what you will about PA, but I really like the guy as a play-by-play announcer.  I like him largely because he's a gigantic homer, just like I am, and an announcer for your local team should have just that quality.  Guys that work for the "big networks" have to be impartial. . .guys that cover the games for your local market really shouldn't be.

Just my opinion, anyway. . .your mileage may vary on that one.

You can certainly tell that the season has started, because the Star-Tribune's Vikings page and the Pioneer Press' Vikings page both have all kinds of stories about the Beloved Purple.  And not a moment too soon.

A couple of developments from the first day of camp, via various sources:

-Pat Williams showed up to camp with a fairly sizeable brace on his elbow.  Right after the Pro Bowl this year, Williams had surgery to have his elbow "cleaned out."  His participation in various camp activities is going to be limited.  However, he'll still be ready to kick ass and take names when the time comes.  Why?  Because he's Phat Pat, that's why.  In the meantime, Fred "BZZZZZZZZT" Evans was taking #94's place in team drills.
-Adrian Peterson is still awesome.  Like you had to ask.
-Sidney Rice (the official wide receiver of The Daily Norseman) has, from all appearances, put on about 10 pounds of muscle this off-season.  Rice is another guy that I'm expecting big things from in 2008, and it sounds like he's already off to a good start.
-Tarvaris Jackson looks pretty good thus far in drills.  Yes, I know, we won't REALLY know about T-Jack until the bullets start flying, but this is already more encouraging than the reports we got early in camp about him last season.

Man, I wish I was significantly closer to the action than I am right now.  It's still 13 days until the first pre-season game, and 44 days until the Vikings defeat the Green Bay Packers in the 2008 season opener.  But, at last, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel from here.

If any of you are attending or have attended any portion of this year's Training Camp, you're encouraged to leave links, pictures, or anything else in the FanPosts to give those of us that are less fortunate a little taste of what's going on at Winter Park.  I thank you in advance for your contributions.

That's all for now. . .and, yes, I know that I STILL need to get the roster projection done.  I'll have to see if I can't get that knocked out this afternoon or this evening sometime.  Keep enjoying your weekend, folks!

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!

Okay, back into the swing of the roster projection here.  Thus far we've filled 9 roster spots out of our 53.  Here's who's in so far:

QB Tarvaris Jackson
QB Gus Frerotte
QB John David Booty
HB Adrian Peterson
HB Chester Taylor
HB Maurice Hicks
FB Thomas Tapeh
FB Naufahu Tahi
FB Jeff Dugan

And yes, I did debate whether to put Dugan in the FB category or the TE category.  I finally placed him with the FBs because I think that's more or less what his role is.  Unless my memory is bad, I seem to remember him lining up in the backfield more frequently than as an in-line blocker, but it's entirely possible that I'm wrong there.

Now we get to a position that might actually have some intrigue involved with it, the Minnesota wide receivers.  We'll start with the wide receivers.  Here's a quick little riddle for everybody.  What do Troy Williamson, Koren Robinson, Travis Taylor, Billy McMullen, Bethel Johnson, and Marcus Robinson have in common?

Give up?  I'll accept one of two answers:

1)  They were the wide receivers that the Vikings had when Brad Childress took the reins before the 2006 season.
2)  None of them are drawing a paycheck from the Minnesota Vikings any more.

In fact, here's everyone that IS currently getting paychecks from the Beloved Purple at the WR position:

Now, the intrigue isn't so much at the top of the depth chart in this case as it is at the bottom.  But, naturally, we'll start out at the top.

Obviously, the Vikings didn't bring Bernard Berrian in at the money they gave him so that he could "compete for playing time."  Berrian is going to be a big part of establishing the legitimacy of the Minnesota passing game in 2008.  When one takes into consideration what he was surrounded by in Chicago, it's pretty amazing that Berrian was able to compile the sort of numbers that he did in 2007 (71 catches, 951 yards, 5 TDs).  Now, if teams decide they're going to try to stuff 8 or 9 guys into the proverbial "box" to attempt to slow down Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor, it's going to be Berrian's job to make them pay for it.  Hopefully Tarvaris Jackson has been working on the accuracy of his deep passes, because I've got a sneaky suspicion that #87 is going to be open a lot in 2008.

The next name on the depth chart should be equally obvious.  That name is Sidney Rice, the official receiver of The Daily Norseman.  Rice led the Vikings in touchdown receptions in 2007 with. . .ummm, 4.  Yeah, not spectacular, but also not bad for a guy that just reached the legal drinking age a week before the season opener.  Watching Rice on the field (when he's healthy), it's very hard to not be impressed with his physical skills.  He's got outstanding size and leaping ability, as well as nice, soft hands.  The Minnesota passing game suffered significantly when Rice wasn't on the field in 2007, and I certainly hope that he can stay healthy in 2008 so he can show us what he's truly capable of.

The third and final lock for a roster spot from this group is Bobby Wade.  You have to love the effort that Wade put forward in 2007 when he led the Beloved Purple in both receptions and receiving yards, but he was also the definition of a #3 WR masquerading as a #1 option.  Now, with Berrian and Rice set up on the outsides, he can play the role he's best suited to. . .that being a slot/underneath option with the ability to create yardage after the catch.  As the Vikings' returning receiver from last year, you can bet that he already has a decent rapport with Tarvaris Jackson, as was evident in his two TD catches in the season finale against Denver.  That will only make him a bigger asset to the offense in 2008.

This is the point where things get a little murky.  This is going to depend on whether or not Brad Childress decides that he's going to keep 5 or 6 wide receivers on the roster this season.

In my little world where I have the final say, the next receiver on the depth chart is Aundrae Allison.  I love Allison for his return abilities as much as I love his potential as a receiver, but I think that he should get an increased look on offense based on what he showed last year.  He's got some serious speed, as we saw in his contributions to the return game in 2007, but he's also got decent hands and some shiftiness, too.  He's listed at 200 pounds, which makes him about 10 pounds heavier than I thought he was, and he might end up being a bigger version of Bobby Wade.  I like the guy's potential, though.

Next up would probably have to be the old graybeard, Robert Ferguson.  Anyone that's followed the site knows that I really wasn't a big proponent of the Ferguson signing when it took place, and I'm still not sure how great a receiver he is. . .but, boy howdy, the guy can block downfield better than darn near anybody in the league, and that's HUGE in this offense.  He was second on the Vikings last season in receptions (32, one more than Sidney Rice, who missed numerous games with injuries), but I hope we won't have to rely quite as heavily on his pass-catching skills in 2007.  His blocking skills and his ability to be a sort of mentor to a relatively young receiving corps should be enough to get him a roster spot.

For now, I think I'm going to keep six receivers on board. . .though I reserve the right to "cut" one later if I feel a roster spot is better used elsewhere.  (These are the decisions I have to make, people.)  Fighting for that #6 spot in our scenario here is a collection of rookies, undrafted free agents, and practice squad players.  When Mr. Cheer or Die was at the Vikings' mini-camp last week, he seemed to be very impressed by the pure speed of Jaymar Johnson, one of Minnesota's sixth-round selections in the 2008 Draft.  From the highlights I've seen of him, I can't argue with him about Johnson's speed, but it does come with the tradeoff of being very thinly built, at least as far as I can tell.  He's got an adjustment to make to the speed of the NFL game, but he's a pretty intriguing prospect.

Quick, who was the leading receiver for the University of Texas in 2007?  If you said Limas Sweed, you are. . .completely and totally wrong.  It was, in fact, Nate Jones, who the Vikings signed as an undrafted free agent shortly after the conclusion of the 2008 Draft.  After Sweed went down with an injury, Jones stepped up and led the Longhorns in both receptions (70) and receiving yards (795) while tying for the team lead in TD receptions (5).  He's got decent size, but he has his work cut out for him if he's going to fight for a spot on this roster.

As will another high-profile UDFA. . .or as high-profile as UDFAs can get, anyway. . .Darius Reynaud out of West Virginia.  Reynaud was considered by many sources to be the best receiver not to be selected in the 2008 Draft.  He's a short, quick receiver with some pretty good return abilities.

As for the rest of the people listed. . .I don't see any of them really having an impact or having much of a chance to make the roster.  I know that I, along with frequent commenter UncleBillyBonz, have been on the Martin Nance bandwagon for a while, but that ship has either sailed or is never going to get out of port. . .I'm not sure which.  (I'm Air Force, not Navy.)  Justin Surrency has spent a couple of years on the practice squad, and Brent Little and Daniel Davis are pretty much just there to play the fourth quarter of the first pre-season game before getting cut.

I think that, in the end, the Vikings are going to end up being just intrigued enough with the pure speed of Jaymar Johnson that they'll keep him around on the final roster.  Which would leave the wide receiver depth chart looking like this:

Starters:  Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice
Backups:  Bobby Wade, Aundrae Allison, Robert Ferguson, Jaymar Johnson
Practice Squad Candidates:  Nate Jones, Darius Reynaud
Buh-Bye:  Brent Little, Daniel Davis, Justin Surrency, Martin Nance

What do you think, everybody?  Do any of you out there have any more info on guys like Nate Jones or Darius Reynaud or anyone else that I've missed or that you think could sway the decision process one way or another?  I thought about including the tight ends here, too, but after further review I think they deserve their own post.

We'll get to that post tomorrow. . .until then, enjoy the rest of your Thursday night, everybody!

With Organized Team Activites officially underway, the battles for position have officially started.  The Vikings don't have a lot of intrigue as far as who the starters are going to be in many cases, but the battle for roster spots should prove to be fairly interesting at a few positions.  We'll start by taking a look at the quarterback position.

Quarterback

This is one of those positions where there's not a lot of intrigue taking place.  We know that Tarvaris Jackson is the starter, that Gus Frerotte is the primary backup, and that John David Booty is going to be the third-string.

Honestly, there's no reason for Jackson to not be productive in 2008.  He's got the best rushing attack in the NFC, if not the entire NFL, at his disposal.  He's got a neat new toy to play with in the passing game in Bernard Berrian.  He's got a budding superstar on the other side in Sidney Rice.  But most importantly, he's got a full year of experience in this offense, as does pretty much everyone around him.  Think about it. . .with the exception of Stone Hands Williamson, every receiver that took the field for the Vikings in 2007 was brand new to the offense.  Bobby Wade, Sidney Rice, Aundrae Allison, Robert Ferguson. . .all either rookies or guys brought in from other teams.  Now they've all been in the system for a year and are familiar with each other, and I can't possibly see that being anything but a help to their productivity.

Gus Frerotte. . .say what you will about the guy headbutting concrete walls and stuff like that, but when I filled out the table above, I couldn't believe it when I read that he's been in the NFL for 15 years.  He's the embodiment of a journeyman quarterback, having played for roughly half the teams in the NFL over those 15 years. . .or, at least, it seems that way. . .but that's part of the reason he's here.  He's going to help mentor the two youngsters on the Vikings' roster and help them become better quarterbacks.  Also, he won't whine about his station on the team, unlike some other backup-caliber quarterbacks in recent Vikings history.  *cough*BradJohnson*cough*

John David Booty was an outstanding choice for the Vikings in the 5th round of this year's draft.  He's accurate, he's got a quick release, and he was very productive at Southern Cal.  While it's fairly insane to suggest that he's going to push for playing time in 2008, he's clearly the best long-term developmental type that the Vikings have.

As any of you that have read this site for a while know, I'm not a huge Brooks Bollinger fan.  With Jackson, Frerotte, and Booty in the fold, I just don't see anything earth-shattering that Bollinger can bring to the table for the Vikings at this point, and this team would be crazy to keep four quarterbacks, so I'm pretty sure that he's not long for the roster.  Whether he just gets outright cut or the Vikings manage to deal him for a low round draft choice somewhere down the line is something to watch for, but I'd be very surprised if he has any trade value.

Kyle Wright. . .well, unless the Vikings want to try to get him onto the practice squad, I don't think he's got much of a future in Minnesota.  He was highly recruited in high school, and managed to parlay that into, really, a whole lot of nothing down at the U.  I don't see a whole lot to get excited about with him.

So, to review:

Starter:  Tarvaris Jackson
Backup:  Obi-Wan Frerotte
Long-Term Project:  John David Booty
Trade Bait:  Brooks Bollinger
Practice Squad (if he's lucky):  Kyle Wright

So there's three spots on the roster. . .only 50 more to project!  Tomorrow we'll come back with the running backs, which should be incredibly tough to sort out as well (he said sarcastically).

I hope that everyone's long weekend has started off well, and we'll see you back here as the weekend progresses!

Here you see Sidney Rice (sponsored by The Daily Norseman) playing a nice, casual game of catch with Adrian Peterson.

Of all of the positives that the Vikings' offense has going for it this season, I think that the development of Sidney Rice could end up being the biggest non-Adrian Peterson story to come from that side of the ball this year for the Beloved Purple.  Think about it. . .Rice spent what was supposed to be his junior year at the University of South Carolina playing for the Vikings in 2007.  He's gotten a year to get familiar with the offense, a year to work with Tarvaris Jackson, and he's got a legitimate deep threat on the other side of him.

Take a quick look at the wide receiver class from the 2008 NFL Draft.  Seriously, now. . .do you think ANY of those guys would have gone ahead of #18 if he had stayed with the Gamecocks for another year and put up big numbers in Steve Spurrier's offense?  Not a chance.  This guy is so physically talented and gifted, and I'll once again admit that I was completely and totally wrong for wanting the Vikings to take Dwayne Jarrett instead of him.

And, of course, we would be remiss if we forgot to talk about our own. . .Purple. . .Jesus.  (Thank you, Depeche Mode.)

I know the guy gets a ton of hype, but it's all completely and totally deserved.  This guy slammed himself into a brick wall, essentially, for the second half of the 2007 season, and still ended up leading the conference in rushing, not to mention putting on two of the all-time great individual performances in Minnesota Vikings history.  We've heard all the records, we've heard all the praise, and I know that I can't wait to see him do it all again.  Just imagine what he's going to be able to do without having to look across the line and see 8 or 9 guys in the box on nearly every play. . .not to mention getting worked more into the passing game.

I can't remember the last time I was this geeked for a season to get underway.  We're STILL three and a half months away from the Slaughter in 'Sconnie, and I don't know if I'm going to physically be able to handle it.

That's all for tonight, folks. . .keep enjoying your Thursday night, and we'll see you back here tomorrow!

Oh, and once again, a big SKOL to Mr. Cheer or Die for supplying the photos used in this post.

The Vikings' official website has a blog now, and it's currently being used to document some stuff from the Vikings Organized Team Activities (OTAs).  There's not a heck of a lot there at the moment, but damn it, it's better than nothing.

A couple of particularly encouraging passages:

The last play of highlight-caliber also came from Jackson, only this time he hooked up with second-year receiver Sidney Rice. On the play, Jackson dropped back and looked at a few different options, only to find all of them were covered by defenders. Finally he looked down the middle of the field and noticed a streaking Rice, hitting him almost in stride for what would’ve been a touchdown. Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell was so excited he nearly jumped out of his shoes and then gave Jackson a big high-five on his way back to the huddle.

I asked Jackson after practice what was going on with all the excitement following that play, and here was his response:

“Last year we didn’t make that throw,” Jackson said. “We didn’t even bother to make that read. It was an alert, so we (Jackson and Rice) were on the same page and we knew that he (Rice) would have a legitimate chance to make that play. We didn’t make that throw last year and it’s been a big emphasis this offseason to make that read and make that throw. We got what we wanted out of the coverage, and we were able to make the throw and the catch.”

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. . .anyone that feels compelled to just write Tarvaris Jackson off is going to end up looking really stupid, and they'll end up looking that way sooner rather than later.

And this second one:

Allen’s physical presence is imposing and it would’ve been interesting to see the results had today’s practice been a typical training camp workout. Several times during full-team drills, Allen found his way through or around the offensive line and in the backfield, either flushing the quarterback out or ending a running play prematurely.

With personalities like Allen, Pat Williams and Brian Robison, there was always plenty of chatter coming from the defensive line. But often times the lineman weren’t chastising players in other positions, they were giving each other a hard time, in a joking manner.

“It’s a great group of guys and we just have fun out there,” Allen said. “It’s football, and if you can’t have fun then you shouldn’t be playing.”

Yeah. . .I look forward to seeing Jared and Pat and Kevin having a lot of fun this year, starting on 9 September when they take turns planting Aaron Rodgers like a tulip bulb.  Nice to seeing the best pass-rushing DE in the game picking up right where he left off last season.

Man, is it August yet?  It needs to be here very soon. . .I hate this waiting garbage.

That's all for tonight, folks. . .enjoy the rest of your Monday, and we'll see you back here again tomorrow!