Yardbarker: Minnesota Vikings

Possible Favre Trade Ramifications

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:59:28 -0500

Chris Mortensen says the Green Bay Packers have given Brett Favre permission to talk to the New York Jets about a trade. A Packers source says both the Jets and Buccaneers have expressed interest in Favre. The quarterback himself is reportedly set to join Packers training camp, possibly as a way of forcing the team's hand. It appears a Favre trade is inevitable. Obviously, the Vikings will not be his destination. However, were Favre to be traded to either the Jets or Bucs, it would set up interesting scenarios that could impact the Vikings' QB situation. Either of those teams would, in the event of a Favre acquisition, be left with a surplus of quarterbacks (the Bucs already have one actually - theirs' would just get worse), meaning someone would have to get cut. The Jets would almost certainly jettison Chad Pennington - a quarterback who's been linked to the Vikings in the past. And what about Tampa Bay? They're sure to get rid of Chris Simms…but if Favre were added to the mix, what would they do with Jeff Garcia? Keep him around as a back-up? How would that sit with him? Might the Bucs be compelled to trade or release him? The Vikings aren't getting Favre…but a Favre trade could still wind up netting the Vikes a new, veteran quarterback.

ESPN: Jets Get Permission to Speak to Favre

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:11:45 -0500

Brett Favre has told the Packers that he does not want to talk about going to another team, but it appears apparent that he will have to play in another uniform in 2008 if he wants to take the field. The two teams that reportedly want to talk to Favre the most are the New York Jets and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Chris Mortensen of ESPN says that the Jets have been given permission to talk to Favre, while it's not known if the Bucs have been given the same permission. Favre spoke to Packers GM Ted Thompson on Thursday, and told him that he is planning on being at Packers training camp over the weekend. He will have to officially apply for reinstatement before he shows up at the camp, and to date he has yet to do that, meaning he may not stroll in till Monday or Tuesday. The Packers will look for a trading partner for Brett, but the other team they make a deal with will have to have already spoke to Favre to make sure he wants to play for them. The Vikings, along with Tampa Bay, the Bears and Jets have appeared from day one to be the front runners for the QB, and there was also some thoughts to the Panthers being in the mix as well.

Mortensen: Jets w/ Permission to Speak to Favre

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:10:24 -0500

Training Camp

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:47:07 -0500

Today is the first day of training camp for the Vikings. Things got off to a rocky start as a torrential downpour forced the team to delay the start of practice. Hopefully this is not an omen. Anyway, the real stuff is here…two-a-days, fights, injuries, idiotic Antoine Winfield statements. Should be fun.

Bruno Boys Q & A - Fantasy Football Draft Day Advice (Pt. 2)

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:13:32 -0500

As always we here at the Bruno Boys want to do our best to help you out there in Bruno Boys Nation claim your fantasy football league's championship. To do so, we know you have to have a solid fantasy draft and we know as those all precious drafts approach you have plenty of questions that you need answering. Don't worry, Bruno Boys Ziza has you covered. Check out part two of this Bruno Boys Q & A, which is focused on Draft Day Advice. If you use this Q & A along with the Bruno Boys 2008 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets, message boards and everything else that the Bruno Boys site has to offer, we have no doubt that your draft will be very successful! With that being said, click below for your draft day help.

Breaking down the Jeremy Shockey Trade and Its Fantasy Football Impact

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:04:07 -0500

An impact trade did happen this week. The defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants traded four time pro bowl tight end Jeremy Shockey to the New Orleans Saints in return for draft picks. The Giants will receive the Saints 2nd and 5th round picks in the 2009 draft. But, how will this trade effect fantasy football? To find out, click below.

Audio released of Favre's "inappropriate contact" with Vikings

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:12:15 -0500

This is clearly a strange time for Brett Favre, he's visibly confused, hurt, distraught and apparently pretty lonely since retiring. OK, make that reeeeeeeeeally lonely. Disturbing audio can be found here, but you've been warned, this isn't for faint-of-heart. Let's...

Adrian Peterson Madden ‘09 Game Stop Ad

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:40:15 -0500

Adrian Peterson's all over the place. Well, okay, this is only virtual Adrian starring in a Game Stop ad touting the coupon book you can get for pre-ordering Madden '09. Cris Collinsworth?

ESPN's "Favre Fest 2008" Might Be In Jeopardy

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:23:07 -0500

YES! More Brett Favre news!!! Actually this tidbit is somewhat interesting if you consider that one of the main reasons ESPN picked the Vikings at Packers for its MNF opener was because of the impending Favre ceremony. ESPN's move of its entire core of NFL reporters and personalities to Green Bay this September could be in jeopardy because the Packers might be calling the whole thing off.

PFT caught part of a press conference with President Mark Murphy and the current plan of a retirement ceremony has been put on hold....

Packers president Mark Murphy announced moments ago at a press conference held in conjunction with the team's annual shareholders meeting that plans to retire Brett Favre's jersey are now on hold.

Earlier this year, the team had announced that Favre's No. 4 would be retired on the first game of the regular season, on the evening of September 8 against the Vikings.

This development could mean several things. Maybe the Packers now think Favre will be playing for them on September 8. Or maybe he'll be playing elsewhere, and they now want to wait for him to finish his career. Or maybe he'll be wearing a white-and-purple jersey during said September 8 game.

Very interesting. This thing has turned into the biggest pissing match ever, but it's still making me laugh occasionally. This is also pretty damning to ESPN whose stable of "Favre Lovers" are going to be left out in the cold. Well let's be honest, they probably would have sent that many to Lambeau anyway, but they just wouldn't have the retirement angle to play with anymore.

Plans To Retire Favre's Jersey On Hold (Pro Football Talk)

Top 10 Fantasy QB Preview - Photo Gallery

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:17:50 -0500

Who are the top-10 fantasy quarterbacks? Fantasy writer Roger Rotter reveals his list, along with a possible wild card contender that could unretire and join the list.

Roster Watch

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:24:10 -0500

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.

MSM's Erroneous Reporting

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:14:54 -0500

On Tuesday we cited a Milwaukee Sentinel-Journal report that Brett Favre had used his "Packers issued" cell phone to communicate (illegally) with the Minnesota Viking staff. Well shame on us for assuming the Sentinel-Journal was a legitimate source. Today, ESPN is reporting "Packers didn't give Favre team-issued cell phone" according to sources of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. We'd expect this kind of irresponsible reporting from "full of sh*t" bloggers, not from genuine newsman.

Antoine Winfield - Please Shut Up

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:11:40 -0500

Most Viking veterans are saying the right things about the Brett Favre speculation…and then there's Antoine Winfield, who has officially endorsed the idea of the Purple adding old number 4, and essentially thrown Tarvaris Jackson under the bus at the same time. Said Antoine: I think [getting Favre] would be a great move for us, but I don't know if Green Bay would trade him to a division rival. Favre is still a great player. That's what you want to do in this league is add as many great players as you can. I think Tarvaris will do a great job for us if it doesn't happen. He tried softening the blow with that last sentence but I'm not falling for it. Antoine held himself out of voluntary activities before last season precisely because he didn't think Tarvaris Jackson could get the job done…because he thought the team wasn't taking enough of a win-now approach, which would've meant signing a more experienced QB (like Jeff Garcia). Winfield has been quiet this off-season, but you had to believe he still wasn't 100% sold on Tarvaris. And now we know he isn't. Otherwise he wouldn't have been so up-front about his hard-on for Favre. Let me clarify…I'm not ripping Winfield for wanting Favre. I'm sure all the veterans on the team, in their heart of hearts, would prefer to have #4 taking the snaps when the season opens in Lambeau. But most of the veterans understand that this is unrealistic…that Tarvaris Jackson is going to be the QB, and it thus behooves them to endorse Tarvaris publicly and help his confidence. Only Antoine doesn't seem to get this, and that's why I'm ripping him. He thinks he's being refreshingly honest…but he's actually being selfish and counter-productive. I really wish someone would take him aside and explain what it means to be a team player.

Be a Part of Vikings Gab in 2008!

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:43:06 -0500

The Vikings are looking to get back to the playoffs, and here at VikingsGab, we are looking for fans and writers who would be interested in joining our staff in 2008. The site is growing by leaps and bounds, and we're looking for dedicated Vikings fans that want to be a part. How much you write and exactly what you'd like to write about is all up to you! Compensation for your work will be discussed, and your work will be seen by some of the biggest sites in the country! If interested, drop us an email at matt@nflgridirongab.com with your name and basic info. Get on board today as the 2008 season closes in!

Fantasy Football - Committing to a Running Back By Committee

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:40:00 -0500

So how do we beat the RBBC conundrum? Knowledge! I know, I sound like a bad public service announcement but in fantasy football, knowledge really is power. And there's just not enough info out there on all the various committees. I applaud the few sites out there that have attacked the RBBC analysis...though I can't say I really blame the experts out there for not wanting to talk about them. But now it's time we face committees head on and do our best to take a gamble and figure out which guys might pull to the front of the committee battles. Trust me, some of those guys might even be a top 10 back by the time the season is over. With that being said, let's take a look at 3 under-discussed teams and their backfield situation heading into 2008: