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

If you had told me a year ago that Minnesota Vikings receiver Sidney Rice would be one of the National Football League’s best at his position this season, I would’ve raised my eyebrows in disbelief. Sure, he appeared to have all the physical tools necessary for success. And after two seasons—when he wasn’t injured—he showed flashes of what might someday be. But predicting he would be anything better than a third option for any NFL team was probably being rather generous.
Nevertheless, after nine games, there can really be no question that Sidney ranks among the NFL’s best receivers. With today’s …read more

Remember the Vikings-Packers game last Sunday? Of course you do. It was former Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre’s much-anticipated return to Lambeau Field, wearing the uniform of the arch rival Vikings. The stage was set for an incredible game. And it did turn out to be a good one, with the Vikes winning 38-26.
Well, as expected, a lot of people watched on Fox—29.8 million viewers, in fact. That made the game the most-watched program on television since the Academy Awards back on February 22 (36.3 million viewers). The Vikings-Packers viewership tops that of the season finales of popular prime …read more

After a week of saying and doing all the right things preceding today’s game against the Green Bay Packers, Brett Favre returned to the place where he is a living legend—where he quarterbacked and led a team for 16 years, Lambeau Field—and exacted revenge beat his former team 38-26. As with his previous win over Green Bay just four weeks ago, Brett was outstanding. He was 17-of-28 passing for 244 yards and four touchdowns this afternoon as the Vikings improved to 7-1 heading into their bye week and the halfway point of this 2009 season.
I couldn’t be more impressed with …read more

Before Brett Favre finally signed a contract with the Minnesota Vikings this past summer, the very idea of him running onto Lambeau Field dressed in purple sent a shockwave of hysteria throughout the National Football League—not to mention throughout the national media, who figured such an occurrence would rank right up there with the parting of the Red Sea. But here we are, a mere four days from this event actually happening, and the excitement is somewhat less than what I had anticipated it would be. Sure, there’s a buzz. A lot of people are talking about the Vikings vs. …read more

Cornerback Antoine Winfield is the heart and soul of the Minnesota Vikings defense. Not only is he a classic shutdown corner—thus virtually eliminating the opposing team’s top receiver—he is also a staunch run defender with no fear of facing much larger offensive linemen or taking on running backs of any size. He plays the game the way it’s supposed to be played—with guts and grit. That’s why the Vikings gave him a four-year, $36 million contract extension back in July.
Unfortunately for the Vikings, they will be without arguably their best defensive player for not only tomorrow’s game against the Pittsburgh …read more

It seems with each passing week of this 2009 National Football League season, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre is reaching a new milestone. Yesterday, Brett turned 40-years-old. Today, in leading the Vikes to a 38-10 thumping of the St. Louis Rams, Brett is part of a team that is 5-0 for the first time in his 19-year NFL career.
After putting in an impressive 18-of-24 passing performance (with 232 yards and one touchdown) this afternoon, Brett proclaimed this Vikings team the best he has ever played for:
“From a talent level, this is the best team I’ve ever been on. Now, I’ve …read more

With his impressive three touchdown performance in leading the Minnesota Vikings to a 30-23 win over the Green Bay Packers last night, quarterback Brett Favre became the first QB in NFL history to have beaten every team at least once. A record Monday Night Football audience watched as Brett exacted revenge beat the team he had become synonymous with for 16 seasons. Brett was an impressive 23-of-31 for 271 yards, finding eight different receivers and throwing the ball as well as I have seen him throw it in his Hall of Fame career as the Vikes improved to 4-0.
Brett has …read more

As Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre makes his 273rd consecutive start tonight, it’s a much-anticipated game that comes against the team he was a legendary member of for 16 seasons—the Green Bay Packers. It will be the first time Brett has played against his former team and if he wins the game, he will have beaten every team in the National Football League.
The media hype behind this game has been extraordinary. But one game does not a season make. Sure, it’s an NFC North division game and a win would give the Vikes an early two game lead on the …read more

To follow-up my NFL Supports Breast Cancer Awareness Month post from yesterday, here is a photo sent to me by the Minnesota Vikings. Linebacker Chad Greenway is the team’s breast cancer spokesperson. And during the month of October—along with teammates Antoine Winfield, Brett Favre and Chester Taylor—Chad will be donning these pink cleats (along with other pink-themed equipment) in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Chad’s wife Jenni is also getting involved. She will be one of many volunteers handing out pink ribbons and towels Monday night at the Metrodome when the Vikes host the Green Bay Packers.
Chad was …read more