Outspoken views not only reason for Kluwe’s release

by | May 8, 2013 | NFL Random Thoughts

It’s not often that one of the week’s loudest and most frequently cited headlines involves the release of a punter.

But when the Minnesota Vikings dropped Chris Kluwe earlier this week, it ensured that during this relatively news less post-draft time, that a special teamer would be in the headlines for awhile.

Kluwe spent eight years in Minnesota, being best known alternatively between booming punts and a booming voice in favor of allowing gay people to get married. He’s largely been very good at both. His political involvement has garnered national attention and earned him Salon’s Sexiest Man of the Year Award.

He has never been to a Pro Bowl, but he’s generally been seen as one of the best punters in Vikings history. So yes, his release garnered some attention.

But the Vikings, in some quarters, are being skewered by those who believe his release means the team is cracking down on free speech and standing up against the support of gay marriage.

Kluwe is entitled to his opinion, whether I agree with it or not. To me, the bigger issue with Kluwe is how he expresses said opinion. I thought he was a bit obnoxious in the profanity-laced rant in Deadspin where he first got national attention for his views. In subsequent articles and interviews, both on gay marriage and other issues, he was much more reasoned. When he takes a more thoughtful, intellectual approach to making his argument, you can tell he is a really intelligent, albeit perhaps sometimes polarizing, guy. He acknowledges and embraces that and he is right when he says there are issues facing society that are much more important than kicking a football. (more…)

In depth 2013: Minnesota Vikings

by | Apr 5, 2013 | 2012 season, 2013 season, NFL Draft, NFL Free Agency, NFL Random Thoughts

Heading into the 2012 season, most experts thought six or seven wins would be a good season for the Minnesota Vikings. But the purple shocked the world, moving from three to 10 wins in the blink of one offseason. The team’s still present shortcomings were exposed in the first round of the playoffs with a loss to rival Green Bay, but the seven-game improvement has observers excited about the future.

But the Vikings also play in a tough division, with Chicago and Green Bay highly competitive and Detroit making moves to get better. So can Minnesota keep moving forward? And what does the 2013 version of the Vikings have to do to make another playoff appearance?

Jon Merckle, senior blogger for The Viking Age, tells Zoneblitz he thinks if quarterback Christian Ponder continues developing, the team could stack up well with any of its rivals in the NFC North.

Zoneblitz: The Vikings were one of the league’s surprise turnaround teams in 2012. Were you surprised by the 10-6 result and to what do you attribute the quick improvement? (more…)

49ers, Seahawks strengthen positions as NFC elite

by | Mar 11, 2013 | 2013 season, NFL Breaking News, NFL Random Thoughts

 

The new NFL league year kicked off with a bang today as word leaked around lunchtime that the Vikings were shipping Percy Harvin to Seattle.

That made Seattle the early leader in the race for “who had the best offseason” as long as the Seahawks can get Harvin signed to a contract that will keep the diva wideout’s whining to a minimum.

Not to be outdone, Super Bowl runner up San Francisco pulled the trigger a couple hours later on a deal that brought Anquan Boldin to the Bay Area in exchange for a sixth round pick.

Minnesota understandably got a better package for Harvin (A first and a seventh this year and, reportedly, a third next year) than Baltimore got for Boldin, but it was stunning to me that the Ravens couldn’t get more than they got for Anquan, who stepped up his play big time once Cam Cameron was replaced as offensive coordinator.

But the Ravens, coming off of a Super Bowl win, are cash-strapped and they got something for someone they otherwise would have cut. They are the day’s biggest loser, but they made a move they likely had to – the only question now is, with the Boldin trade and the retirements of Matt Birk and Ray Lewis, how far do they fall into rebuilding mode in 2013? (more…)

Are Birk, Saturday Hall of Famers

by | Feb 22, 2013 | Hall of Fame

Jeff Saturday & Matt Birk

Jeff Saturday & Matt Birk

Matt Birk announced his retirement today meaning that the 2012 season was the last for two of the NFL’s most prominent centers over the last decade and change.

Birk joins Jeff Saturday in hanging up his cleats. The Vikings and Ravens center goes out on top, having helped Baltimore to its second Super Bowl championship. It was his only ring despite having played for 15 years.

In addition to winning the Super Bowl once, Birk finishes his career with six Pro Bowl appearances. Saturday leaves the league after a 14 year career that was primarily spent in Indianapolis. He made six Pro Bowl appearances, though the last one this season (with Green Bay) was earned despite his having been benched toward the end of the season. Saturday adds two appearances on the Associated Press NFL All Pro First Team.

So, where do these two greats fall on the all-time list of NFL centers? Both of them were very good to great players but I’m uncertain whether they belong in the Hall of Fame. Using Pro Bowls as a comparative stat has its shortcomings because of fan involvement and all the guys these days who are getting appearances due to superior players pulling out of the game. But offensive linemen are particularly difficult to judge, so comparing their postseason profiles with respect to Pro Bowls and AP All Pro appearances with counterparts who were on the last three NFL All-Decade teams seems a logical place to start. (more…)

Are the Vikings actually good?

by | Dec 28, 2012 | 2012 season, NFL Random Thoughts

I had a successful run for a brief few games during the middle of this season betting and picking against my hometown team, the Minnesota Vikings. I picked up that strategy in 2010, when gambling against the purple was extremely profitable during a lost 3-13 season.

For the most part this year, however, Minnesota has been surprisingly solid. The defense, with the addition of safety Harrison Smith, is much improved. Adrian Peterson has had a monster season. And Christian Ponder has been maddeningly inconsistent, but has shown, at times, flashes that he might not be a complete dud.

After Sunday’s dismantling of Houston – the second time this season the seemingly outmanned Vikings have physically dominated a supposedly far superior foe – I texted my brother and asked: “Are the Vikings actually good?”

His response: “Been trying to figure that out for some time now myself. Suspect Texans aren’t quite as good as earlier thought, but Vikings are better than I gave them credit for.”

That makes two of us. We went on to agree that this team has the talent to potentially stick with any team on a good day and the shortcomings where on a bad one it could lose to any dreg of a team. But given last season and the predictions going in – few “experts” had the Vikings winning six games this year and I would have thought that a reasonable level of improvement myself back on opening day – how has this team improved to the point where it can be considered a legitimate playoff contender? (more…)