Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings / Image: Zuma Press

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 ever—so far. There are still seven games to play and perhaps there is some wording in that contract that refers directly to those last seven games and beyond—as in how the team fares in them and the impending playoffs. I wonder. At any rate, coach Childress has some paperwork to look over and his future is looking secure in Minnesota.

UPDATE: It didn’t take long for coach Childress to read and agree to the extension. The new deal runs through 2013 at a salary of $4-5 million per year. In a statement released by the team, coach Childress said:

“My family and I are very fortunate to be a part of the Minnesota Vikings organization. I value the opportunity to continue to lead this team over the next several years as we work toward our ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl for our passionate fans everywhere.”

Sources: Vikings.com, ESPN.com, NFL.com

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Brad Childress Gets Contract Extension

Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings / Image: Zuma Press

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 the year when you rip 18 holes around and you wake up the next day and your side hurts. You say, ‘Geez, I haven’t felt that muscle in a while.’ So he’s got to build some endurance in that and see if he thinks he can get it back to where he wants to get it to.”

I can attest to the golf analogy. I hit balls for an hour and a half straight the other night and felt it for three days afterward. And I thought I was in pretty decent shape. The more Brett continues to throw passes and get that arm ready (at a reasonable pace, of course), the better off he’ll probably be.

Source: SI.com

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Brad Childress: Brett Favre is ‘Pain Free’

Brett Favre / Photo: Newscom

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 every media outlet has a “source.” Who’s to say the Yahoo! Sports “source” referred to in this post has any clue what he/she is talking about? I mean, yesterday we heard that coach Childress was on his way to Brett’s home to talk about his supposed return to the game. Some reports already had him in Mississippi. NFL Network had reporters at the Hattiesburg airport and in Brett’s front yard for God’s sake. Today we have a completely different story. Tomorrow the situation could take an entirely different turn. From an entirely different “source” no less.

I enjoy being part of the hype surrounding information that is actually true. But when you have one conflicting report after another to try to follow, it gets very exasperating. So, at this time, Brett is supposedly happy being retired and doesn’t plan to join the Vikings. Whatever. If that’s the truth, do I expect Brett to change his mind? Of course. I don’t think this is the last we’ve heard of Brett Favre’s “unretirement.”

Source: Yahoo! Sports

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Brett Favre Plans to Stay Retired?

Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings / Photo: Newscom

Here are five good reasons — in no particular order — why Brett will be the Vikings’ starting quarterback this season (somewhere in Seattle, T.J. Houshmandzadeh is having second thoughts):

1. In Minnesota, Brett will be running a similar offense to the one he ran in Green Bay. Comfy.
2. With Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor in the offensive backfield, the Vikings have one of the NFL’s strongest running games. Minnesota is a run-first offense so Brett won’t be asked to throw the ball 30-40 times a game for 16 weeks. But when it comes time to win a few, Brett Favre can still do that.
3. The Vikings have one of the NFL’s strongest defenses (sixth overall last season giving up just 292 yards/game) — and a great defense is every quarterback’s best friend.
4. Minnesota plays in the NFC North so Brett will be able to get his much-desired revenge on the Packers twice this season. Maybe more if the two meet in the playoffs.
5. The Vikings are a legitimate Super Bowl contender with Brett at quarterback. The team is arguably a starting QB away from being a serious threat in the NFC. Sage Rosenfels, Tarvaris Jackson or John David Booty won’t cut it. The Vikings will be lucky to win eight games with one of those three at starting QB.
6. OK, I thought of a sixth reason — the Vikings had a hard time selling out their playoff game against the Eagles last season and the team’s future in Minnesota is on shaky ground. How many seats do you think Brett Favre can fill? He’ll re-energize the organization and city.

Source: ESPN.com

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Brad Childress to Meet With Brett Favre

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

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 God for all I’ve been blessed with and thank my family for all the support they have given me to help me reach this point. I wanted to stay with the Vikings because I think we have an opportunity to continue building on what we have started there. I think the defense has gotten better every year and I just love the coaches there — Coach Childress, Coach Frazier and Joe Woods especially. I have a great respect for how Joe prepares us every week and love playing for him. There’s a real family atmosphere at the Vikings and a real feeling that people care about you.”

The Vikes do have a solid defense and Cedric is a big reason why. With veteran Antoine Winfield on the other side of the field, Minnesota has two excellent cover corners who also actually enjoy playing the run and hitting people. Neither Ced nor Antoine is very big, but they more than make up for their size with their tenacity. It’s not the size of the dog in the fight but the … You know how it goes. I think Cedric has learned a lot from playing with Antoine and the Vikings defense is better for having both on the field.

Check out my 2008 season interview with Cedric Griffin.

UPDATE: I’ve got the numbers on Ced’s contract extension — a little over $25 million over five years with $10 million guaranteed. (Source)

Source: Vikings.com, Photo: Newscom

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Vikings, Cedric Griffin Make a New Deal

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

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 at medical issues here as much as anything. There’s no downside to having both those guys playing well, coming in to replace, then starting a game and playing well. I think you just never know. Guys get knocked around, and you don’t want your expectations to lower for this team when the next guy comes in.”

Coach Childress is just being coy. He knows who his starter is, but it’s his prerogative to keep it quiet, forcing the Falcons to prep for two QBs. Of course, the Falcons know what’s up and if they’re smart, they’ll be ready for the challenges the NFC Offensive Player-of-the-Week brings to the game.

Source: NFL.com, Photo: Newscom

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Tarvaris Jackson or Gus Frerotte?

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

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 be known, then-backup Gus Frerotte actually gave the Vikings their best chance of winning football games. And maybe he still does.

But following this afternoon’s 20-16 win over the Detroit Lions, there’s cause to rethink the whole thing. Tarvaris played the entire second half after Gus left with a back injury and managed 8-of-10 passing for 105 yards and a touchdown. His QB rating was off the charts at 143. He looked like a completely different player, confidently making great reads and precise throws. Granted, he was playing against the winless Lions, owners of the NFL’s second worst defense, but I think Tarvaris deserves another chance to start and my guess is that he’ll get that chance next weekend at Arizona. After all, Gus is not the future of the Minnesota Vikings. But Tarvaris still could be.

Source: NFL.com, Photo: Newscom

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Tarvaris Jackson Ready to Start Again?

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. Vikings owner Zygi Wilf went with them. If that doesn’t show how important these two players are to the organization, I don’t know what would. The Vikings’ 2008 season is pretty much in jeopardy based on the league’s decision here. Currently tied for first in the NFC North with Chicago and Green Bay, the Minnesota defense (and strength of their team) would be crushed by the loss of either starting defensive tackle. A decision is expected the first week in December.

Source: StarTribune.com

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Kevin and Pat Williams Back at Practice

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

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 the team’s weight room after practice today.

• 0:12 – Week 9 win over Houston was one of the best Vikings performances
• 0:42 – Limiting Texans receiver Andre Johnson to just four catches
• 1:20 – Welcoming veteran safety Madieu Williams to the secondary
• 2:00 – Packer week, Cedric and coach Childress have never beaten Green Bay
• 2:48 – Facing QB Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ multiple formations
• 3:40 – Interceptions (and returns) aren’t happening this season … yet
• 4:20 – Cedric’s hit on Saints receiver Billy Miller last month a YouTube favorite
• 5:02 – Vikings coaching staff awards Grape Crush soda for biggest hits
• 5:41 – The increasingly difficult task of playing defensive football in the NFL
• 7:02 – Facing fines and possible suspensions for playing “tackle” football
• 8:02 – Re-evaluate the rules and process of punishment in the offseason?

Links: Vikings.com, NFL Players, NFL.com

Note: My apologies for the snap, crackle, pop coming from Cedric’s phone.

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EMQB Interview: Cedric Griffin

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

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 if there’s any money at being good at Guitar Hero if Chris loses his job with the Vikes? This is America. There’s got to be a way.

Source: TwinCities.com

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Minnesota Vikings Audition Punters Who Know How to Kick a Football Out of Bounds