Senior Bowl

Senior Bowl
Date:Saturday January 28, 2012
Time: 3PM CST
Where: Mobile, Alabama
Channel: NFL Network

With the Senior Bowl about to kick off this weekend, many seniors will be trying to move up teams draft boards. The Vikings are fortunate to be able to coach the north squad after a 3-13 season and have many holes to address this off season. I had a bunch of notes and players to watch BUT my laptop decided that it had enough and broke this week, losing all my work. I apologize for not being able to get that to you. Instead I’ll give you all some of my favorite places to check out what happened this week at practices and some players to watch on Saturday.

Optimum Scouting

National Football Post

Tom Melton’s Draft Blog

Wilf Thinks a New Stadium Could Go On the Metrodome Site

Zygi Wilf said Wednesday he was “optimistic” that the team could agree on a new stadium at the Metrodome site, although the Vikings at least publicly held out hope that the project could still be built in Ramsey County according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

That was a change in tone from earlier in the week, when Vikings officials described themselves as “frustrated” over being told by state officials that only the Metrodome was considered a viable site.

With Gov. Mark Dayton trying to shepherd the Vikings and Minneapolis toward a new $918 million stadium at the Metrodome, city officials and key legislators met with Wilf and Dayton for three hours Wednesday. Afterward they announced they had made progress but came to no agreement.

GM Rick Spielman Open To Trading Vikings No. 3 Overall Draft Pick

Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said Wednesday during Senior Bowl practice that the Minnesota Vikings are open to trading the third overall pick in the NFL draft, according to Simon Samano of NFL.com.

Spielman said in an interview on the NFL Network set. “We’re the third overall pick, so we’ll be looking at all the options. If someone wants to come up and get our pick, we’re going to be more than willing to listen.”

Visit NFL Draft Gab to find out who we have the Vikings selecting third overall in April.

Vikings Owner “Optimistic” About New Stadium

Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf said Wednesday he was “optimistic” that the team could agree on a new stadium at the Metrodome site, although the Vikings at least publicly held out hope that the project could still be built in Ramsey County according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

That was a change in tone from earlier in the week, when Vikings officials described themselves as “frustrated” over being told by state officials that only the Metrodome was considered a viable site.

With Gov. Mark Dayton trying to shepherd the Vikings and Minneapolis toward a new $918 million stadium at the Metrodome, city officials and key legislators met with Wilf and Dayton for three hours Wednesday. Afterward they announced they had made progress but came to no agreement.

Vikings Sign CFL Linebacker

The Vikings have signed 25 year old CFL standout linebacker Solomon Elimimian of the BC Lions to a 2 year contract.

Elimimian played college ball at Hawaii and set the school record with 434 tackles. After going undrafted, he spent time on the Bills roster during training camp before signing and playing in the CFL the past 2 seasons. In 2 seasons, Elimimian finished with 175 tackles, 9 sacks, 2 interceptions, rookie of the year award and an all star appearance. Elimimian was also voted by the players as the hardest hitting player in the CFL.

According to Tom Pelissero, Elimimian should have a shot at making the roster and wouldn’t be surprised if he took free agent Kenny Onatolu’s spot on the roster. Vikings also have MLB E.J. Henderson, OLB Erin Henderson and backup Xavier Adibi set to become free agents in March.

If interested here’s a YouTube video of Solomon Elimimian highlights
Solomon Elimimian Highlights

We’ll see if the kid can make it in the NFL but either way i’ll take someone who can hit like this anyday on my team.

 

Vikings Frustrated About New Stadium Situation

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton told the owners of the Vikings on Monday that the team’s new stadium will have to be at the Metrodome site if a stadium bill is to pass the Legislature this year, and the team is not happy according to Doug Belden of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press.

“We were told by the governor’s office that the Linden Avenue site is not viable at least in the short run,” said team vice president Lester Bagley. “Vikings ownership is extremely frustrated with the situation.”

He declined to say what if anything the team intends to do about its displeasure.

The Vikings’ lease at the Metrodome expires Feb. 1, and team owners are asking for public money to replace a 30-year-old facility they say is no longer profitable enough compared with other NFL facilities. Fans fear that no new stadium could drive the team to another city.

East-West Shrine Game

As Free Agency and the Draft gets closer, we’ll be rolling out plenty to get prepared for it. For all you draft nuts, the East-West Shrine game will be played this weekend. The game will showcase some of the players entering the draft in April. The Shrine game has featured 62 Hall of Fame players including John Elway, Brett Favre and Tom Brady. The league currently has 50+ players in it that have participated in the game.

If there’s one thing for certain, we have a lot of holes we need to fill and Spielman will need to work some magic this draft to pull out some talent out of the later rounds. The Shrine game will be a good start to look at some later round guys for this upcoming draft.

I asked Eric Galko from Optimum Scouting if he could give us a few names for us Vikings fans to look at in this weekends game. Make sure you also check out his site for more in depth analysis and draft information at Optimum Scouting

East-West Shrine Game
When: Saturday January 21, 2012
Where:.Tropicana Field – St. Petersburg, FL
Time: 3 PM-Central
Channel: NFL Network

5 players to keep an eye on with some quick notes from this weeks practices from Optimum Scouting:

CB -Josh Norman, Coastal Carolina – He has great length, seemed fluid enough to transition with multiple receivers, and showed great ball skills. Positions his body well and making plays on the ball. He seemed patient in coverage as well.

WR – Devon Wylie, Fresno State – He’s got a powerful, developed lower half, he’s explosive with the ball in his hands, but maybe most impressive that I didn’t always see on film was how well he tracked the ball and saw it to his hands.

WR – Tim Benford, Tennessee Tech – He’s very sudden, explodes very well in his cuts, and was able to plant, flip and comeback to the ball very well. If he can show some shake in the open field too, he might get himself firmly in the draft-mix.

ILB – Shawn Loiseau, Merrimack – The lone Division II non-kicker at the event, Loiseau should not be overlooked as a linebacker at this event: He’s the clear leader in my eyes. He’s an instictive, physical inside blitzer, takes on blockers and drives back downhill in a hurry, and stays low in tackles and in his scrapes across the line. He can be a bit overaggressive at times and doesn’t have much pass coverage fluidity, but he certainly belongs here.

RB – Tauren Poole, Tenn – A runner who does everything well but nothing great, Poole is the featured back in an entire Shrine game that doesn’t feature many intriguing Top 5 rounders. His ability out of the backfield will be tested this week, but if he can show his versatility in a draft that lacks it at the running back position, he could secure himself a draft selection.

Super Bowl Parties – Creating Memories for a Lifetime

Family parties around the NFL have always been a staple in my family. My first memory from a family party was Super Bowl XVII on January 30th 1983.

While that was fun, finally in 2006 it was my turn to host my first Super Bowl party, a bash complete with food, games, and the two best teams that season in the league.

The menu was pretty basic, yet effective. Pizza, wings, pasta, red potatoes, a veggie and cheese tray, and even fruit salad. The party kicked off with some squares, a football tradition, and even some football bingo with some small prizes for those lucky enough to take home a game. Finally at 6:25pm, it was kickoff of Super Bowl XL.

While I have gone back and watched the game probably about 3-5 times, the real memories of that party is not the game, but the fact that it was all about the people that attended.

We had a number of people rooting for both teams, so the game vibe was pretty solid, which was a cool element to the party. Add to the fact the game was close, there was a lot of rooting during the contest.

There was a healthy mix of people that included relatives and friends. The conversation during the game centered not just on football, but on the holidays that had passed just a few weeks before, new jobs, new relationships, and even about other sports like baseball and basketball.

That’s the best part about football parties. It’s the games, the food, and most important, the people that make the game great, like the family and friends you spend it with.

Vikings fans have had to sit back and watch a ton of other teams celebrate Super Bowl parties for all the other teams in the league for quite some time. While folks in Minnesota can throw some massive parties, I can only imagine the parties if the team can finally make it to the dance in the next few seasons!

February 6th is another chance to create memories at yet another Super Bowl party, and now there’s a perfect way to figure out just who to invite!

Visa has come out with the Visa’s YOU+TEN Draft app, and it’s a perfect way to have some fun figuring out who to invite over for the big game on the first Sunday in February, or if your actually lucky enough to win the sweepstakes – WHO to take to the game!

Super Bowl XLVI – another chance to create that connection with family and friends once again. Don’t miss out on it.

Disclosure: We received compensation from Visa for sharing our views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely ours, not Visa or the NFL’s. For more information about Visa’s YOU+TEN Draft App, please visit:
http://www.facebook.com/VisaNFL?sk=app_259824094080710

Vikings Find D-Line Coach

Well the Vikings keep adding pieces to their defensive coaching staff. The Vikings have found a replacement for D-Line coach Karl Dunbar after he was let go last week. The Vikings will bring back Brendan Daly who was the D-Line coach for the Rams last year. Daly was an assistant for the Vikings from 2006-2008 and had a hand in the Vikings defense that led the league in run defense for 3 straight seasons.

It’s not totally clear why Dunbar was let go this year and as of now is the only defensive coach that has been fired. I wouldn’t be suprised if defensive backs coach Joe Woods gets let go but as of now he looks safe.

Video: Allen, Suggs, Ware, Smith – Who is the NFL Defensive MVP This Season?

With Jared Allen nearly breaking the sack record and DeMarcus Ware and Jason Pierre-Paul not far behind, Terrell Suggs takes the prize as the top defensive player of 2011.