http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/2215 Recent articles about Maurice Hicks en-us Sat, 20 Sep 2008 14:38:06 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/335772 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/335772 Artis Hicks and Maurice Hicks will both be game-time decisions according to Brad Childress. Artis hurt his elbow in the Green Bay game and was replaced (competently) by Marcus Johnson, while Maurice has been nursing a bad foot since preseason. Madieu Williams remains out with a bad neck but he did Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:32:22 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/332100 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/332100 Two guys named Hicks had limited reps during yesterday's Vikings practice at Winter Park in Eden Prairie.  Kick returner Maurice Hicks is bothered by a foot injury, while offensive lineman Artis Hicks hurt his elbow during Monday's loss at Green Bay.  Both are expected to be ready to play in Sunday's home game against Indianapolis.  Not taking part in practice was safety Madieu Williams, who's bothered by a neck injury that's kept him sidelined since early in training camp. Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:40:32 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/331378 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/331378 Two guys named Hicks had limited reps during yesterday's Vikings practice at Winter Park in Eden Prairie.  Kick returner Maurice Hicks is bothered by a foot injury, while offensive lineman Artis Hicks hurt his elbow during Monday's loss at Green Bay.  Both are expected to be ready to play in Sunday's home game against Indianapolis.  Not taking part in practice was safety Madieu Williams, who's bothered by a neck injury that's kept him sidelined since early in training camp. Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:40:32 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/331378 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/331378 Minnesota Vikings @ Green Bay Packers Here's my attempt at a pseudo-live blog, as the Cover It Live blog I wanted to do did not get set up. Injury Report @ 6:46 EST Vikings Madieu Williams - Out Maurice Hicks - Doubtful Tarvaris Jackson - Probable Robert Ferguson - Probable Packers Josh Sitton - Out James Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:16:43 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/329957 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/329957 MINNESOTA VIKINGS Practice Report (Team Did Not Practice on Wednesday) Wednesday WR Robert Ferguson (ankle), RB Maurice Hicks (foot), QB Tarvaris Jackson (knee), S Madieu Williams (neck) GREEN BAY PACKERS Practice Report (Team Did Not Practice on Wednesday) Wednesday S Atari Bigby (ankle), T Chad Clifton (knees, chest), DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (knee), RB Ryan Grant (hamstring), LB A.J. Hawk (chest), WR James Jones (knee), S Charlie Peprah (hamstring), G Josh Sitton (knee), DE Jeremy Thompson (groin), C Scott Wells (back), LB Tracy White (ankle) Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:54:24 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/318173 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/318173 MINNESOTA VIKINGS Practice Report (Team Did Not Practice on Wednesday) Wednesday WR Robert Ferguson (ankle), RB Maurice Hicks (foot), QB Tarvaris Jackson (knee), S Madieu Williams (neck) GREEN BAY PACKERS Practice Report (Team Did Not Practice on Wednesday) Wednesday S Atari Bigby (ankle), T Chad Clifton (knees, chest), DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (knee), RB Ryan Grant (hamstring), LB A.J. Hawk (chest), WR James Jones (knee), S Charlie Peprah (hamstring), G Josh Sitton (knee), DE Jeremy Thompson (groin), C Scott Wells (back), LB Tracy White (ankle) Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:38:43 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/318073 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/318073 The finalized 2008 53-man roster was just released on Vikings.com (in PDF format for some screwed up reason).  Here it is all sorted by position (don't say I don't work hard for you) followed by the final cut list: Offense Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson Gus Frerotte John David Booty Running Back Adrian Sat, 30 Aug 2008 17:28:47 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/315794 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/315794 The Vikings announced four cuts today and none of them are particularly exciting (unless you were really rooting for Derrick Pope to unseat Vinny Ciurciu).  The jettisoned players are: LB Derrick Pope OT Sean Dumford OT Brock Pasteur WR Daniel Davis This gives me a chance to post a revised roster plus Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:45:40 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/312464 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/312464 The third preseason game is generally regarded as the most significant, given the amount of playing time the starters see.  The Vikings kept their first strings in throughout the first half and the offense into the third quarter, allowing us to learn a few things about our starting units.  To wit: Sun, 24 Aug 2008 10:44:54 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/311833 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/311833 The Vikings go into camp with 80 men on their roster, and will have to trim that to 53 by the time the season starts.  The current position-by-position breakdown follows the jump (depth chart positions subject to debate in some cases; starters in italics): Offense Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson Gus Frerotte John David Booty Brooks Bollinger Running Back Adrian Peterson Chester Taylor Maurice Hicks Albert Young Fullback Thomas Tapeh Jeff Dugan Naufahu Tahi Tackle Ryan Cook Bryant McKinnie Marcus Johnson Chase Johnson Drew Radovich Guard Steve Hutchinson Anthony Herrera Artis Hicks Brian Daniels Mike Jones Center Matt Birk John Sullivan Dan Mozes Tim Mattran Tight End Visanthe Shiancoe Jim Kleinsasser Garrett Mills Braden Jones Wide Receiver Bernard Berrian Bobby Wade Sidney Rice Robert Ferguson Aundrae Allison Jaymar Johnson Martin Nance Nate Jones Darius Reynaud Daniel Davis Defense/Special Teams Defensive End Jared Allen Ray Edwards Brian Robison Jayme Mitchell Ellis Wyms Otis Grigsby Martail Burnett Defensive Tackle Kevin Williams Pat Williams Fred Evans Letroy Guiron Kenderick Allen Leger Douzable Linebacker E.J. Henderson Ben Leber Chad Greenway Heath Farwell Vinny Ciurciu Derrick Pope Rufus Alexander David Herron Erin Henderson Jeremy Leman Cornerback Antoine Winfield Cedric Griffin Marcus McCauley Charles Gordon Benny Sapp Dee McCann Marcus Walker Brandon Sumrall Safety Darren Sharper Madieu Williams Michael Boulware Tyrell Johnson Eric Frampton Jusain Abdullah Kicker Ryan Longwell Steven Hauschka Punter Chris Kluwe Long Snapper Cullen Loeffler Hard to find any real positional battles there.  The best one is probably at tight end, where I'm hoping Garrett Mills, who showed flashes in the final game of last season, will push Visanthe Shiancoe.  Maybe Marcus McCauley or Charles Gordon can make things uncomfortable for Cedric Griffin?  Everything else looks set, barring injury or guys suddenly forgetting how to play.  I'll continue to update this as camp progresses, reflecting cuts, and any changes in depth chart position. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:24:10 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294950 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294950 Cleaning up some business from the past week… Kenechi Udeze, who has been stricken with leukemia, announced on KFAN host Dan Barreiro's show Friday that he will have a bone marrow transplant early next month. Udeze will receive the donor marrow from his older brother Thomas Barnes who is a 100% match.  Obviously, we wish Kenechi well.  But from a heartless pragmatic strictly-business point-of-view? Udeze's loss became irrelevant when we traded for Jared Allen. On the legal front:  Bryant McKinnie learned Friday that his criminal case will be continued. McKinnie's lawyers have been trying to get the assault charges dismissed by convincing the judge to let him enter a pretrial diversion program.  The next court date is September 24, but it won't interfere with Bryant's football schedule because he doesn't have to show. It somewhat sucks having the McKinnie thing hanging over the team, especially given all the enthusiasm we feel over Jared Allen and Bernard Berrian and a second season of Adrian Peterson.  But that's how it is when you have an overgrown juvenile delinquent on your squad. On the personnel front:  The Vikings pared their roster down closer to the 80-man limit by cutting RB Arkee Whitlock and WR Justin Surrency.  I like the name Arkee.  It reminds me of legendary B-movie producer Samuel Z. Arkoff. Darren Sharper participated in an NFL broadcasting bootcamp. Said Darren of the experience: It's excellent. I'm learning a lot about all the different areas of broadcasting from script writing, to reporting, to interviewing guys. It's a great because I'm meeting a lot of great contacts and learning things that will help you grow to be in whatever type of broadcasting that you want to get into. Darren will one day work for ESPN I suppose.  They have a never-ending need for ex-players who have nothing to say, and are willing to become pure corporate stooges. A final item of interest:  USA Today says Maurice Hicks is the favorite to return kicks.  Well, that's why they signed him.  Cripes, USA Today is really on top of things, hey?  I bet they'll soon report that Steve Hutchinson is the favorite to start at left guard. Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:45:37 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/281395 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/281395 The 49ers are said to have signed Allen Rossum and are on the verge of signing Deshaun Foster. Do these signings spell the end for Michael Robinson, Maurice Hicks or Thomas Clayton? Tue, 26 Feb 2008 03:53:09 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/167021 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/167021 Hey it's a list of players that could provide your fantasy football team with some immediate help or depth on your bench. Go check it out. Mon, 05 Nov 2007 13:27:13 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/34522 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/34522 San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore has broken a bone in his right hand the first day of padded practice. Gore had over 1500 yards last year and set his goal to get 2000 this year. If he misses any time, Maurice Hicks or Michael Robinson could challenge for the starting job. Hicks has had most of his experience at kick returner. Robinson who was a rookie last year, got lots of experience as a goal line back as Gore had trouble holding on to the ball in the red zone. One guy not to count out is 6th round pick Thomas Clayton who is a physical freak but had some character issues at Kansas State. Clayton should probably make the team on special teams. Even though this injury could affect him early on in the season, Gore is still a good option as a no.1 fantasy back. Tue, 31 Jul 2007 03:54:11 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/21616 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/21616