Former Viking wide receiver Bobby Wade’s 4-yard touchdown catch against the Bucs in Week 11 of 2008 made him the 40th player to catch a scoring pass from Gus Frerotte throughout his career.

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Your Daily Piece of Minnesota Vikings History

 

Former Viking wide receiver Bobby Wade’s 4-yard touchdown catch against the Bucs in Week 11 of 2008 made him the 40th player to catch a scoring pass from Gus Frerotte throughout his career.

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The Dallas Cowboys beat the Minnesota Vikings by a score of 23 – 17 in the Week 3 Preseason matchup.

Donovan McNabb and the first team offense hadn’t scored any touchdowns coming into this week, but that quickly changed when [...]]]>

The Minnesota Vikings are now 1-2 in the 2011 NFL Preseason.

The Dallas Cowboys beat the Minnesota Vikings by a score of 23 – 17 in the Week 3 Preseason matchup.

The First Team Offense Scored!

Donovan McNabb and the first team offense hadn’t scored any touchdowns coming into this week, but that quickly changed when McNabb found Bernard Berrian for a 49 yard strike into the end zone.  That was the only touchdown for the first team, but they again moved the ball, having one drive end on an interception from McNabb (his only really bad throw of the game) and one drive end on a blocked field goal.

Bernard Berrian Was Part Of The Offense!

Possibly the biggest pleasant surprise for me was how often Bernard Berrian was targeted by McNabb.  Berrian had a huge year in 2008 when the was being thrown to by Tarvaris Jackson and Gus Frerotte, but he seemed to get lost in the shuffle during the last two seasons with Bret Favre.  Many people (myself included) felt that Berrian would not be brought back to the Vikings this season, but when Sidney Rice left the Vikings for the Seattle Seahawks, Berrian was given a spot on the team.

Donovan McNabb #5..." src="http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0fuLg4sebD1fq/150x107.jpg" alt="MINNEAPOLIS, MN - AUGUST 27: Donovan McNabb #5..." width="150" height="107" />

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Bernard Berrian could be a potential weapon.  He has good speed down field, and can give the Vikings the deep threat they need.  Of course that only works if he gets passes thrown at him.  McNabb made it clear right away that he wanted to take advantage of Berrian’s speed.

Adrian Peterson Was… Well.. Adrian Peterson

We saw Saturday night what could happen when A). the Vikings abandoned the idea of Zone Blocking, and B). the Vikings show that they’re willing to take shots down field.

When those two things happened, Adrian Peterson had room to run.  Peterson’s longest run was only 15 yards, but he carried the ball 14 times for 81 yards… and he even gave up some of his first-half carries to Lorenzo Booker.

Had this been a regular season game, it would have been one of Peterson’s big ones.  He was running that well.

Joe Webb Showed He Needs To Be Included

Joe Webb once again showed his athleticism as he took off and ran the ball a couple of times Saturday night.  One was a 10 yard run for a touchdown, and the other was a 36 yard scramble down field.

The guy is a freak of nature, and he has to give defensive coordinators nightmares.

Bill Musgrave and Leslie Frazier need to find creative ways of getting him on the field… and that doesn’t mean just lining him up as an ordinary wide receiver.  I’m talking about finding some way to make him a dual threat weapon.

Christian Ponder Showed Some Poise

Ponder didn’t get to play much Saturday (it will be made up to him Thursday night), and when he first took the field, he looked a bit shaky.  His last possession, however, was virtually a “1 Minute Drive”, and Ponder stepped up and showed poise and leadership in that situation.

Ponder led the Vikings down the field, even sprinting to the line and getting the team set to spike the ball once.  Had his receiver gotten an inch closer to the sideline, Ponder would have given the Vikings a chance to take a last second shot at the end zone.

He still has a long way to go, but I like what I saw.

Yet again, the Vikings are bringing in an older veteran quarterback who many people think might be past his prime to take charge of our team.

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

I’m really fascinated by numbers and stats, so I thought I’d do some comparisons between McNabb and our [...]]]>

Yet again, the Vikings are bringing in an older veteran quarterback who many people think might be past his prime to take charge of our team.

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

I’m really fascinated by numbers and stats, so I thought I’d do some comparisons between McNabb and our most recent veteran QB Brett Favre.

I’m not really trying to make any kind of point with these numbers.  I’m just putting them out there because they are interesting to me.  I hope they interest some of you, too.

1.  If Donovan McNabb starts in Week 1, he’ll be just the third guy in the Super Bowl era to start at quarterback for three different teams in 3 consecutive years (Eagles 2009, Redskins 2010, Vikings 2011).  Brett Favre was one of the other two (Packers 2007, Jets 2008, Vikings 2009).

2.  If Donovan starts in week one, the Vikings will have gotten 7 years younger at starting QB from week 1 of

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2010, despite the fact that McNabb is 34 years old.

3.  If McNabb wants to wear #5 (which he has through his entire career), he will have to mention Punter Chris Kluwe’s band at least 5 different times when talking to the media.  When Favre wanted #4, it was thought he’d have to pay to get it… but John David Booty probably knew he was getting cut after preseason anyway.

4.  Donovan McNabb has been to the playoffs 8 times in a 12 year career… the same number of times Brett Favre had been to the playoffs at that point.

5.  McNabb has played in 5 conference championship games in 12 years.  After 12 years, Favre had played in 3.  It took Favre 19 years to play in his 5th.

6.  McNabb is behind Favre’s pace in yards and touchdowns.  After 12 seasons, McNabb has thrown for 36,250 yards and 230 touchdowns.  At the same point in his career, Favre had thrown for 42,285 yards and 320 touchdowns.

7.  McNabb hasn’t been as durable as Favre (who has??… besides Peyton Manning, that is)  McNabb has played in 161 games after 12 years.  Favre played in 177 games by this point, despite only appearing in 2 games during his rookie year.  McNabb has only appeared in 16 games 4 times in his 12 year career.  There were only 3 times that Favre did NOT appear in all 16 games throughout his 20 year career, and 2 of those times were his first 2 seasons when he was not the opening day starter.

8.  Donovan has definitely been more mobile than Favre.  In a 12 year career, McNabb has rushed for 3,400 yards.  After 12 years Favre’s rushing total was at 1,632 yards.  After 20 years it was at 1,844.

9.  McNabb is also more of a threat at the goal line.  In his 12 years he has rushed for 28 touchdowns.  Favre rushed for 14 in his entire career.

10.  If McNabb starts any games this season, it will be the 5th year in a 6 year period that the Vikings have given the starting job to a veteran QB who had been a Pro Bowler for another team.  At 34 McNabb will be the youngest of those quarterbacks. (Brad Johnson – 2006 – Age 38, Gus Frerotte – 2008 – Age 37, Brett Favre – 2009 – Age 40, Brett Favre – 2010 – Age 41)

Before I get going, let me just say that I bleed Purple and Gold.  If Donovan McNabb is a Minnesota Vikings quarterback this coming season, I will root for him every second that he’s on the field.

That being said, I don’t like this deal, and I’m liking [...]]]>

Before I get going, let me just say that I bleed Purple and Gold.  If Donovan McNabb is a Minnesota Vikings quarterback this coming season, I will root for him every second that he’s on the field.

That being said, I don’t like this deal, and I’m liking it less and less as time goes on.

Yet Another Band-Aid

First of all, I’ve been a Vikings fan for as long as I was able to at least partially understand the game of football.

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I’ve rooted for the Vikings through tons of cast-offs and old men playing at the quarterback position.

Jim McMahon

Warren Moon

Randall Cunningham

Jeff George

Brad Johnson (part 2)

Gus Frerotte (part 2)

Brett Favre

Even though some of those men had good seasons with the Vikings, we always knew it was a temporary fix.  When Jim McMahon played for the Vikings, it was obvious that most of his good days were behind him.  Warren Moon had a productive career in Minnesota, but at his age we knew it wouldn’t last long.  We didn’t expect Randall Cunningham to even play!  He was brought in as a veteran backup to help a young QB by the name of Brad Johnson.  Cunningham ended up being great for a season, but again, we knew he was too old for it to last.  Although Jeff George was fun to watch 11 years ago (and although he still thinks he can play today), he wasn’t a spring chicken when he played for the Vikings.  Brad Johnson (part 2) and Gus Frerotte (part 2) should have never been allowed to step on a field as a starting QB.  Favre, of course, had one magical season, but looked every bit of his age last year.

Donovan McNabb at 35 years old would simply be the next name on this list.

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For one, he’s a “mobile” quarterback who didn’t look so mobile last year.

And two, even the team knows that they want to put their future in the hands of either Joe Webb or Christian Ponder.

Here is a statement that head coach Leslie Frazier made early in June:

“In our situation if we were to go that route to bring a veteran in — whatever time that would be — that veteran has to understand how important the chemistry of it is because eventually either Joe or Christian is going to be our long-term answer,” Frazier said. “So it would have to be the right veteran. It goes beyond just knowing the system and playing in the National Football League, because you’re trying to build the right locker room also. There are more dynamics involved than just a fact he’s a veteran quarterback.”

So will McNabb be willing to be a temporary fix?  Will he understand that the most important thing is getting Webb and Ponder ready for the future?

Apparently, he has already voiced his “concerns” that the Vikings were also interested in re-acquiring QB Tyler Thigpen (who has since agreed to sign with the Buffalo Bills).

To me, if it bothers McNabb that the Vikings were also looking at a QB who is 7 years younger than him, he really doesn’t understand the idea of “temporary fix”.

Is McNabb Worth The Money?

Donovan is  also “concerned” because the trade hinges on his willingness to sign a contract for substantially less money than the $14.8 million that Washington owes him this year.

The Vikings currently have to decide how much they are willing to spend on bringing back Sidney Rice.  They have to fill a lot of holes in their depth.  They will probably have to replace starters Bernard Berrian (WR), Pat Williams (DT), and Maddieu Williams (Saftey).  They have to think about renegotiating contracts for Adrian Peterson and Chad Greenway.

Needless to say, they have to think about long term financial concerns.

How is paying a band-aid quarterback almost a million dollars per game going to affect those things?

McNabb needs to understand that he is an aging quarterback coming off of a terrible year.

You know, had Brett Favre left the Packers after 2006 when the team went 8-8 and he didn’t look so good, the Jets might not have been so high on getting him.  Instead he left the Packers coming off an NFC Championship appearance.

After his NFC Championship game with the Vikings, Brett was given $20 million to come back for another season.  After his beat-up season last year, no one will be offering him that kind of money.

McNabb is coming off a terrible season with the Redskins in which he was benched for Rex Grossman.  Yes… Rex Grossman.  He has only had 1 injury free season in the last 8 years.

Are those things going to improve at 35 years old?  Is he really worth almost one million per game?

Ponder and Webb Have Big Advantages With Learning The System

The Vikings have a completely new system this year.  Christian Ponder got his hands on a play book the day after he was drafted.

He spent his summer trying to work out with as many teammates as he could.  He spent time in Kinkos personally making copies of the playbook for those teammates.

Joe Webb was one of those teammates.

That means that Ponder and Webb have had access to the playbook for over 3 months, and have actually spent time with teammates trying to digest it and figure it out as best they could without coaches involved.

Not only that, Ponder got to talk with coaches for a day (while the lockout was temporarily lifted) and said that the system is very similar to what he ran at Florida State, and most of the verbage is identical.

So with Ponder, you have a kid who obviously studies well and retains information (he got a Masters Degree in 5 years while starting at QB for a major school in a major conference) who is already familiar with the offensive system, and has had a chance to digest it over the summer.

Donovan McNabb played every year of his career except last year in Philadelphia’s system, which is COMPLETELY different from what the Vikings are going to run.

Not only that, but Star Tribune writer Judd Zugland tweeted this today:

From NFL: If a veteran player is acquired via trade and his contract is re-worked, he cannot practice with his new team until Aug. 4.

What that means is that if the Vikings do get McNabb, he won’t be able to practice with the team until Thursday.

Vikings training camp starts Sunday.

Ponder and Webb, who already know the plays and some of the players, will have been practicing with the team and coaches for 4 days before McNabb would be allowed.   Donovan McNabb would have a total of 9 days to learn an entirely new system before the first preseason game.

I know what some of you are going to say…

“Favre came in after the first preseason game in 2009 and did fine”.

That’s true.  The HUGE difference is that Childress ran a system that was nearly identical to the system that Favre had ran with the Green Bay Packers for years.  Favre knew the system well.  He probably knew it better than Brad Childress.

And… you can’t leave out the fact that while Donovan McNabb has been one of the best QBs in the NFL over the past decade, Brett Favre was one of the best QBs in the league over it’s history.

I’m Ready For Christian Ponder… Or At Least Joe Webb

I know Ponder would likely struggle through a lot of the year.  Most rookies do.

But if he really is the future of the Minnesota Vikings, let him accelerate his learning by letting him do it on the field.  We’ve rookie QBs succeed in VERY recent history… Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Mark Sanchez.  Let’s see if Ponder can do it.  He played a pro-style offense in college.  He’s a smart kid…

… and, like the teams that started those other QBs, the Vikings have a lot of talent on defense and at the running back position.

But if the Vikings aren’t ready for Christian Ponder… at least give the ball to Joe Webb and give him a chance.  He’s familiar with the players and coaches, he’s tons more athletic than McNabb at this point, and he did a decent job at the end of last year despite being practically thrown to the wolves.  He won his first start against the Philadelphia Eagles, who had a very good season last year.

If Ponder isn’t ready to play at NFL speeds, give Joe Webb a chance.

Hey Vikings fans… welcome to the Monday Wednesday morning History Lesson.

Today we’ll take a quick look at the list of starting Quarterbacks throughout the Vikings NFL history. Here is the brief list…

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Fran Tarkenton     1961-1966 Joe Kapp         1967-1969 Gary Cuozzo         1970-1971 Fran Tarkenton [...]]]>

Hey Vikings fans… welcome to the Monday Wednesday morning History Lesson.

Today we’ll take a quick look at the list of starting Quarterbacks throughout the Vikings NFL history. Here is the brief list…

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Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Fran Tarkenton     1961-1966
Joe Kapp         1967-1969
Gary Cuozzo         1970-1971
Fran Tarkenton (2)     1972-1978
Tommy Kramer     1979-1984
Wade Wilson         1985
Tommy Kramer (2)     1986-1987
Wade Wilson (2)     1988-1989
Rich Gannon         1990-1992
Jim McMahon         1993
Warren Moon         1994-1996
Brad Johnson         1997
Randall Cunningham     1998
Jeff George         1999
Daunte Culpepper     2000-2005
Brad Johnson (2)     2006
Tarvaris Jackson     2007-2008
Gus Frerotte                 2008
Tarvaris Jackson (2)     2008
Brett Favre        2009-2010

This list is only looking at the quarterbacks who were officially named starters, so we’re ignoring the fact that Tarvaris Jackson and Joe Webb started games when Brett Favre was injured last season, and that Brooks Bollinger and Kelly Holcomb started games in 2007 when Jackson was injured, and so on.

I find a few facts pretty interesting when looking at this list.

Only 2 quarterbacks have ever taken the Vikings to the Super Bowl.
Those two, of course, being Joe Kapp and Fran Tarkenton.

Wade Wilson (as a backup), Randall Cunningham, Daunte Culpepper, and Brett Favre all took the team as far as the NFC championship game.

5 different QBs have been the official team starter on two different occasions
Those 5 being Tarkenton, Tommy Kramer, Wade Wilson, Brad Johnson, and Tarvaris Jackson.  Tarkenton, however, only lost his starting job because he was traded.  Kramer, Wilson, and Johnson were shifted around because of injuries.  Tarvaris Jackson lost his job in 2008 due to being benched.

3 different QBs have been Vikings on two different occasions.
Those 3 being Tarkenton, Johnson, and Gus Frerotte.  Tarkenton was traded away from the Vikings and played for the Giants for several years.  Frerotte and Johnson both left the Vikings, played for several teams each, and then returned to the Vikings to get a starting job.  Both came back originally as backups.  Frerotte was never an official starter during his first term with the Vikings.

In 50 years of Franchise history, only 15 different men have been the official starting QB for the Vikings.
That’s even more amazing when you realize that several of these men had 1 or 2 year stints as the starter

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Former Vikings Quarterback Gus Frerotte was a Pro Bowler for the Washington Redskins in 1996.

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Durning the 12-10 victory over Detroit in Week 6 of 2008, Quarterback Gus Frerotte surpassed 20,000 career passing yards.

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The vast majority of Vikings fans assume Brett Favre is returning to the Minnesota Vikings for the 2010 season.   There are some eternal pessimists out there that always assume the absolute worst, and a lot of us writers, both professional and amateur, try [...]]]>

What If Brett Favre Does Not Play In 2010?

The vast majority of Vikings fans assume Brett Favre is returning to the Minnesota Vikings for the 2010 season.   There are some eternal pessimists out there that always assume the absolute worst, and a lot of us writers, both professional and amateur, try to seem impartial by saying things like “if Favre plays” and stuff like that, but most of us expect number 4 to be under center in New Orleans on September 9th.

But what happens if we are all wrong?  What happens to the Minnesota Vikings if Brett Favre is not their quarterback in 2010?

Most fans’ first thought would be “there goes the season”.

It is probably my first thought.

But trying to look at the situation more logically, is that the case?

In 2008 the Vikings split their quarterback time between Tarvaris Jackson and Gus Frerotte.  The Vikings finished 10-6 that year, even after starting the season 1-3.  Their worst loss of the year was a 13 point loss to the Tennessee Titans, who finished that season at 13-3.  They beat the Panthers who were 12-4.  The beat the Cardinals who were the NFC Champions.

If Brett Favre doesn’t play this year, besides him, the only significant starters that the Vikings would not have from that 2008 season are Darren Sharper and Matt Birk.  Every other position would either be the same, or improved (like Loadholt over Ryan Cook).  Sidney Rice has improved significantly since that season, and the Vikings did not have Percy Harvin that year.

The big question would be Tarvaris Jackson at quarterback.  While it’s very true that none of us really want to see that after getting to watch Favre last year, it’s hard to imaging Tarvaris Jackson got worse after playing behind one of the all-time greats for a season.

The downside to all of this is that the Vikings have a very tough schedule this season.  Because of the schedule rotation, the Vikings are stuck playing arguably the two toughest divisions that they could be matched up against in the AFC East (Patriots, Dolphins, Jets, and Bills) and the NFC East (Cowboys, Eagles, Redskins, Giants).

But because of that, the Vikings might not be as good as they were last year even WITH Brett Favre.  I’m not taking anything away from last year’s Vikings team, but keep in mind that the did have a schedule that featured the Rams, Seahawks, 49ers, and Browns.

I think the big problem that the Vikings would face without Brett Favre would come in the playoffs.  Last year the NFC playoffs featured teams that had great quarterbacks:  Brett Favre, Tony Romo, Aaron Rogers, Kurt Warner, Drew Brees, and Donovan McNabb.

Tarvaris Jackson is not in that class of quarterbacks.  While I do think that he could get the Vikings to the playoffs, I really have my doubts that he could get them very far.

All in all, I do expect Brett Favre to come back.  But if by chance he was wrong, I don’t think that Vikings fans are looking at having to endure a losing season with Tarvaris Jackson under center.

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On November 30, 2008 in the Metrodome against the Chicago Bears, Gus Frerotte, quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings, threw a 99-yard touchdown pass to Bernard Berrian which tied the record in the NFL.

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