Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress received a contract extension offer from the team today. Notice I said offer—because nothing has been agreed to yet. Coach Childress said after practice today that not only has he not signed the offer, he hasn’t even read it.
I’m going to go out on a limb and assume the deal gets done, though. This was a make-or-break season for coach Childress. He pulled out all the stops by getting quarterback Brett Favre to unretire for a second time and join the Vikes. And at 8-1, he answered his critics by having his best year …read more

Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress says Brett Favre has been throwing “pain free” during his workouts at a high school in Mississippi. And the coach of that high school football team, Neville Barr, said Brett “had a lot of velocity and zip” on his passes. That’s good news for Vikings fans who hope to see Brett in a purple uniform this season.
Coach Childress had some comments about Brett’s ongoing rehab:
“Does he have the endurance and the stamina in that arm yet? He doesn’t know that yet. It’s no different than grabbing a golf club for the first time during …read more

Well, the latest in the “Brett Favre Unretirement Watch” has revealed that Brett plans to remain retired. This is according to “a source close to the team.” Apparently Brett had a phone conversation with Vikings head coach Brad Childress and saved coach the airfare to Hattiesburg, Miss. by declaring his desire to remain retired. It was also reported that Brett will explain his decision soon.
I am beginning to find the whole media frenzy surrounding Brett’s return to the game amusing. And kind of irritating. One day you hear one story, the next day you hear a completely different story. And …read more

Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress and Brett Favre will meet to discuss the possibility of Brett playing for the Vikings this season. This information is from to a source with direct knowledge of discussions between Brett and the Vikings. With all the recent speculation that Brett might wind up in Minnesota for the 2009 season, this get together was pretty much inevitable. Coach Childress and Brett will meet in an undisclosed location (top secret) later this week. I wonder how long it will be before the undisclosed location becomes public knowledge?
Here are five good reasons — in no particular …read more

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The Minnesota Vikings have had an uneventful offseason thus far, but the contract extension they gave cornerback Cedric Griffin yesterday was definitely one of the team’s highlights. Terms of the extension were not immediately disclosed. Last season, Ced ranked second on the team with 100 tackles plus he had 13 passes defensed, three forced fumbles and one interception. He also had four solo tackles and had an INT in a playoff game against Philadelphia. He was more than grateful for the new deal:
“I’m definitely excited to get an extension done with the Vikings. I thank …read more

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Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress won’t say who his starting quarterback will be this weekend in a pivotal NFC showdown against the Atlanta Falcons. But he would have to be out of his mind to keep Tarvaris Jackson out of the lineup after TJack walked away with NFC Offensive Player-of-the-Week honors today. Facing the NFC West champion Arizona Cardinals Sunday, Tarvaris passed for a career-high four touchdowns in the Vikings’ 35-14 win. For the day, TJack completed 11-of-17 passes (64.7%) for 163 yards and a 135.5 passer rating. Still, coach Childress wasn’t committing:
“I’m looking …read more

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For avid readers of EMQB, you know I’ve always been a Tarvaris Jackson supporter. Until I couldn’t take anymore, that is. For all the promise and potential the Minnesota Vikings quarterback had, he was a monumental disappointment with his poor mechanics and often terrible decision-making, culminating in his benching after only the second week of this 2008 season. Many wondered if head coach Brad Childress’ choice was premature or even forced by the Vikings front office. After all, the team had spent several years touting TJack as their quarterback of the future. But the truth …read more

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Minnesota Vikings defensive tackles Kevin and Pat Williams were back at practice today. They returned from several days of meetings and hearings without a verdict in their appeal regarding four-game suspensions for violating the league’s policy on steroids and related substances. The “Williams Wall” had nothing to say about the matter and Vikings head coach Brad Childress couldn’t offer much input, either:
“Because I wasn’t there, I don’t know. I have no idea. I just know that they had a forum and it was pretty comprehensive.”
As it turns out, Kevin and Pat did not travel alone. …read more

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With key offseason acquisitions like defensive end Jared Allen and receiver Bernard Berrian, the Minnesota Vikings had the kind of 2008 expectations worthy of a Super Bowl contender. As it turns out, the first half of this season didn’t quite go as planned. But coming off one of their most complete games of the season, a 28-21 win over the Houston Texans, the Vikings are back to .500 and close to playing the kind of football they expected of themselves in training camp. I interviewed Vikings cornerback (and 2nd leading tackler) Cedric Griffin from …read more

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I knew Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe (the guy Reggie Bush returned two kicks on a couple nights ago) was a rock ‘n’ roll rebel. Vikes head coach Brad Childress told him to kick the ball out of bounds on MNF against the New Orleans Saints and he didn’t. Apparently, like all true rockers, Chris has a problem with authority. So the team tried out four punters (Adam Crossett from Missouri, Glenn Pakulak from Kentucky, Sam Paulescu from Oregon State and Ryan Plackemeier formerly with the Seahawks) after practice today at Winter Park. I wonder …read more