Vikings Chiefs Preview

The Minnesota Vikings have held double-digit leads going into the second half of every game this year. The Kansas City Chiefs haven't held a lead at any point.

However, the teams have more in common than you would think: both sit at 0-3 and at the bottom of their respective division.

The Vikings are looking to pick up a win and avoid their first 0-4 start since 2002. This 0-4 team is the best first half team in the game so far this year, outscoring their opponents 54-7 in the first half while losing 6-67 in the second half.

The Chiefs who started 3-0 last year are staring an 0-4 start in the face for the first time in three years. They have given up an NFL-leading 109 points and have scored a league-low 27.

Both these teams look pathetic on paper and desperate on the field. I was at both the Vikings-Buccaneers and the Vikings-Lions games and trust me, the crowd turned ugly at the sight of our Vikings throwing away double-digit leads.

Minnesota has lost all three of its visits to Kansas City since winning its first one in 1974... at least they'll be on the road. Vikings fans shouldn't have to put up with anymore opposition cheering in the ugly Dome.

Minnesota Vikings Make No Progress on New Stadium

Here are some things that haven't changed regarding the potentially-new Minnesota Vikings stadium:

-The Vikings still want it.

-A new stadium still costs at least a billion dollars.

-People still don't want to pay for it.

-The current Vikings lease runs out at the end of the current season.


Here are some updates on the potentially-new Minnesota Vikings stadium:

-The new tax proposes a .5% sales tax hike

-The new tax proposal was shot down, throwing a wrench in the Vikings' dreams.

-Several citizens are disgruntled at the idea of just Ramsey County paying for the whole portion, because they assert the Vikings call the whole state 'home'.-According to the Washington Post, a resident of St. Paul, Bob Thayer, was quoted, "Ramsey County is having trouble filling potholes and keeping their libraries open. The people who have the smallest chance of attending a Vikings game are going to give the biggest percent of their income to pay this tax."


Soooo... basically we've gotten no where in the new developments. Stay tuned for more not-news.

Vikings Lions Game Preview

How the times have changed.

Two years ago the Vikings were on their way to their 6-0 start that led to a NFC North Title. Two years ago it wasn't rare to see Vikings tees everywhere, to have your best friend regularly paint his face purple or to actually have fans like our quarterback. The Lions were scrambling for a win. The Lions were the only team to go winless during a 16-game season in 2008.

Today the Vikings are heading into week three attempting to avoid a 0-3 start and are among 7 winless teams. The Lions are looking to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 1980! They are just coming off a 48-3 win over Kansas City.

Tyrell Johnson must be thinking the situation is pretty dire. He was arrested on suspicion of driving while impaired this week. Johnson's blood alcohol limit was .12, well over the state legal limit of .08. Things are falling apart.

Come on Vikes, I can't handle anymore of this Minnesota sports slump.

Vikings Coaching Staff Loses Second Half

Thanks to a friend, I was at the Vikings game on Sunday. No thanks to the coaching staff, the Vikings lost that game.

Heading into halftime, the Vikings held a great lead. The Vikings were then outscored 24-3 in the second-half.

I firmly believe that the second half is controlled more so by the coaching staff than it is by the offense and defense. In the first half, you have a game plan already firmly established and the talent is in the position where it is their responsibility to carry the team towards a win. If you have an effective game plan that is poorly executed, the talent is at fault. When the plan is executed, the team should be competitive if not ahead. The Vikings were the latter.

During halftime, the coaches quickly review film to see what happened in the first half - what worked and what didn't, what we did and what they did. From there, the coaches should be determining what will work in the next half. This is where a bit of game theory comes into play. Because our coaches review film, they should assume the rival staff is as well and take that into consideration when creating a second-half game plan. The Buccaneers did that. The Vikings did not.

The Bucs figured out what the Vikings were doing in the first half and formulated a plan to counteract and stop the Vikings in the second. The Vikings didn't change one thing and it cost them the 'W'.

I'm disappointed in Leslie Frazier. We need to have a better plan if there is any hope at salvaging our 0-2 start. I think he is a strong coach that has the blessing of good talent, no matter how young (or old) that talent is, but that's where the coach-player contact has to strengthen during halftime.

Talent runs the first half. Coaches run the second.

Adrian Peterson Deserves His Contract

All Day.

I'm very happy to see Adrian Peterson decided to accept a deal with the Minnesota Vikings. Rumor has it, he wanted to stay in the city where his super-successful NFL career began, but that never means anything is for sure.

Now we have him inked. While it is rare to pay a running back like a premier player, AP certainly deserves his $100 million contract. AP is in a position that already takes a big toll on a player's body, but with the way the Vikings' offense is constructed, AP plays that already-demanding decision with a huge target on his back for the defense. It's tough to put up the big numbers he does.

All Day is one of the best players at his position as well as being one of the best players in the league overall.

Congratulations to AP!

Minnesota Vikings Could Dump Over $500 M on Stadium

If you've been in Minnesota at all during the last year and pay even a nod to sports, you know the Vikings are in negotiations with the State to build a new stadium. Currently the Vikings are in the cave of a Dome, but are looking to move out to the 'burbs, in particular Arden Hills. This move has been dubbed 'Plan A'. Clever.

As of the last public figure released, the Vikings were set to pour in $407 million in addition to any project overrun costs. The state would pick up the remainder, however the divying up of road improvement costs has remained up in the air.

Recently, however, the price tag for the Vikings has been raised to half a billion dollars. That's right; $500 million.

Another figure I heard the other day... 25% of U.S. jobs have disappeared for good, permanently. That means the job market is only 80% of what it used to be.

The bright side of spending so much to build a new stadium? An influx of the supply of jobs for local Minnesotans. Let's just hope the Vikings hire locally for as much of the work as possible. Minnesota has been a sort of 'safe spot' for the recession and it would be in society's best interest to keep it that way.

As for the money, I would look in the couch cushions...

Minnesota Vikings Final Roster Cuts

INJURED RESERVE

Player POS. EXP. COLLEGE

Jasper Brinkley................ LB....................... 3........... South Carolina

TERMINATION – VESTED VETERAN

Player POS. EXP. COLLEGE

Ryan Cook...................... OL....................... 6............... New Mexico

Jeff Dugan....................... TE....................... 8.................... Maryland

Heath Farwell................... LB....................... 7......... San Diego State

Stylez G White................ DE....................... 5.................. Minnesota

WAIVED

Player POS. EXP. COLLEGE

David Akinniyi................. DE...................... R................... N.C.State

Emmanuel Arceneaux... WR...................... R............... Alcorn State

Matt Asiata....................... FB...................... R........................... Utah

Stephen Burton.............. WR...................... R....... West Texas A&M

Tony Carter..................... DB....................... 2............... Florida State

Tristan Davis................... RB....................... 1....................... Auburn

Ryan D’Imperio............... FB....................... 1...................... Rutgers

Chris DeGeare................ OL....................... 2.............. Wake Forest

David Herron................... LB....................... 3........... Michigan State

Ryan Hill.......................... DB...................... R......................... Miami

Ross Homan.................... LB...................... R.................. Ohio State

Juaquin Iglesias.............. WR....................... 1.................. Oklahoma

Bryon Isom...................... OL...................... R....................... Auburn

Jaymar Johnson............ WR....................... 2............ Jackson State

Tremaine Johnson.......... DT....................... 1.......... Louisiana State

Caleb King....................... RB...................... R...................... Georgia

Cedric McKinley............. DE....................... 1.................. Minnesota

Cord Parks (Injured)....... DB....................... 1.............. Northeastern

Alexander Robinson........ RB...................... R.................. Iowa State

Devon Torrence.............. DB...................... R.................. Ohio State

Thomas Welch................ OL....................... 1................... Vanderbilt

Minnesota Vikings Depth Chart Update

Wondering who won training camp battles for the Minnesota Vikings? Here's an update of who won what battles at the end of the preseason.

Strong Safety - Jamarca Sanford will start over Tyrell Johnson. Johnson will still play some

Backup QB - Christian Ponder over Joe Webb.

Offensive Line - Patrick Brown is the first tackle off the bench, Seth Olsen is the first guard off the bench.

Vikings Give Chad Greenway 5 Year Extension

The Minnesota Vikings have awarded linebacker Chad Greenway with a 5 year, 40 million dollar extension. Greenway will now be a Viking through the 2015 season. Greenway, only 28 years old, has led the Vikings in tackles each of the last three seasons.

The Vikings plan on focusing on a contract extension for Adrian Peterson now that the extension for Greenway is done.