December 24th, 2008 
Matt Loede 
Posted in From: Pioneer Press
Vikings coach Brad Childress said Visanthe Shiancoe’s improvement this season is a result of several factors, including the tight end’s thorough understanding of the offense. “He understands the system forward and backward,” Childress said. “It’s not just the nuts and bolts. We’ve been able to expand the menu in what we are able to do with him offensively because he understands where he fits. So you see him playing full speed and you see him playing at a high level.” Shiancoe agreed that his mastery of the playbook is paramount to his success.
“I know the playbook so good now,” he said. “Now I’m thinking, ‘OK, how am I going to beat this defender within the play or within the route?’ ” Shiancoe said the players have wiggle room within routes to make adjustments or changes. That allows them to add wrinkles to the plays. “You can double-move somebody or maybe you can stretch them out a little wider,” Shiancoe said. … The Vikings signed Shiancoe in 2007 to be an elite tight end and now he’s playing like it, living up to the five-year, $18.2 million contract with $7 million in guaranteed money.
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