Fantasy Football Crystal Ball: Bernard Berrian

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Excerpt: Minnesota Vikings wideout Bernard Berrian is no stranger to the big play. Last season, his yards-per-catch average of 20.1 was second in the NFL. But that was last year with Gus Frerotte, who, despite his faults, has always had a good arm. This season, he’ll be catching the ball from either a quarterback named after a plant, or a quarterback who is less consistent than Jamie Lee Curtis when she forgets to eat her Activia yogurt. For Berrian and his potential fantasy football owners, whoever wins the quarterback job could have a rather large impact on Berrian’s value. During the 2008...

Michael Vick to the Vikings Would Create an Intriguing Situation for Minnesota

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Excerpt: Nobody really has any idea at this point where Michael Vick is going to end up this season. Some people have said the Pittsburgh Steelers or even the New England Patriots are the top contenders for him. Others don't even think he'll play in the NFL and that he'll go tear up the UFL for six to seven weeks as sort of a tryout. There are also a number of questions surrounding his return, most notably his ability to play after almost two years away from the sport. His off-field issues are also something teams pursuing Vick need to be concerned about, not...

Brett Favre Tells the Minnesota Vikings No Thanks, but Is He Really Retired

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Excerpt: Future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre told the Vikings that he will not return at this time…But will he really stay retired The never-ending saga of quarterback Brett Favre’s retirement/unretirement that has exacerbated sports headlines—and quite frankly my nerves—since mid May just “might” have taken it’s final turn on July 28th.  The 39-year old surefire Hall of Fame passer announced via Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress that his body was too broken and battered to attempt a comeback with the Vikings this season. Favre’s announcement ended the second straight summer where the NFL community had to endure his ego-driven unretirement talk...

Vikes Quarterbacks Likely Won’t Pay Off, Hoping Brad Childress Kept His Receipt

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Excerpt: First and foremost, regardless of any "No chance" quotes coming from Brad Childress, let's all agree that this whole "Favre thing" isn't quite dead yet. There have been tiny birds chirping from tall trees about a possible Favre signing mid-way through August, rather than mid-season. But biting on hearsay, a coach's words that you can never trust, or even the word of the great one (Favre) is nothing short of letting yourself get knee deep in a wild goose chase. No, instead, let's drop the drama off at the pool, let it sit a while, and get back to what we know. What is...

Danged If You Do: Managing Personnel in The NFL

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Excerpt: Stop me if you've heard this one before. It's July, and there's some question as to whether or not quarterback Brett Favre will be returning to play football this season. Familiar, right? Of course, Favre's decision this summer was whether or not to join the Minnesota Vikings, not the Green Bay Packers.  The most recent news on the Favre front is that he's still retired.  No condominiums in Minneapolis.  No family booking hotels in Green Bay during Vikings week. With that news, Brad Childress and the Vikings are getting slammed by the press and the blogs for not being more strict with Favre. Jim...

Kenechi Udeze: Saying Goodbye Is Never Easy.

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Excerpt: The Minnesota Vikings have announced the retirement of defensive end Kenechi Udeze, ending his bid for a comeback this year with the club. In February of 2008, Udeze was diagnosed with leukemia. And despite receiving a bone marrow transplant and being able, initially, to participate in OTAs, Udeze’s decision was mainly due to side effects associated with the treatment which hindered his progress. The first-round draft pick by the Vikings was enjoying what was building up to be a rather impressive campaign with the club. Udeze recorded 117 tackles and 11 sacks in 47 starts as a Viking. His current bout with leukemia, which is in...

Farewell Kenechi Udeze, You Will Always Be In Our Hearts

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Excerpt: Here's an article that I dedicate to the 26-year-old Kenechi Udeze. Kenechi fought to make his journy back to the NFL, but the battle against leukemia kept it short. He's a tough man that deserves everyone's love and prayers. I'll start off with his career: Udeze attended the University of Southern California, and was a three-year starter and helped his team to a 2004 Rose Bowl victory as a junior. He finished his college career with 135 tackles; 51 of them for a loss, 28 sacks; which was a school record, 14 forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, one interception, five pass...

The Minnesota Vikings Shouldn’t Burn the Brett Favre Bridge Yet

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Excerpt: Driving, e-mails to your boss, and quarterback decisions: It's best to steer clear of all three when angry.Right now, the Minnesota Vikings have plenty of reasons to be angry.They've been jilted at the altar by The Indecider himself. They've got too little quarterback talent on the depth chart and too many purple No. 4 jerseys on backorder. They just spent an entire summer making locker room-wrecking overtures, only to become the crash test dummies for the newest phrase in Brett Favre's vocabulary: "No more."And the fans? If you stick your head out the window in Minneapolis, that sound you'll hear...

Brett Favre Saga: Time To Move on Minnesota Vikings

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Excerpt: There is no doubt when Brett Favre announced that he would stay retired instead of signing with the Minnesota Vikings, his former teams' biggest archrival, Minnesota Viking fans' hearts were crushed. I, too, will admit that Favre's decision on Tuesday, as displeasing as it was, not only shocked me but also made the dreams I had of No. 4 donning a purple jersey and leading the Vikes all but disappear. In the end, Favre chose what he felt was best for him, even if it did take almost the entire summer to make that decision—not to mention the amount of time the...

Brett Favre Cheated The Minnesota Vikings

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Excerpt: Well, Brett Favre has finally retired. For now. With the whirlwind he created, I beg the question if he robbed the Minnesota Vikings. It truly seems Brett Favre was to the Minnesota Vikings as Hurricane Katrina was to New Orleans in 2005. Favre has left the Vikings in shambles. Actually, he didn’t ever “land” with Minnesota; he stormed through the organization like a raging tornado and left it as quick as Usain Bolt to deal with the problems. Toying with the Vikings for the entirety of the postseason is one thing. But to turn your back on them, and announce that he is staying retired...