March 2012 - Minnesota Vikings Wiretap

Patriots, Packers, Giants, Steelers Have Been NFL's Smartest Spenders

Oct 23, 2014 12:01 PM

The New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints have been the smartest spenders in the NFL over the past five seasons, according to a study by Bloomberg.

Bloomberg calculates how much teams spent per win and added bonuses for playoffs wins and championships.

1. New England Patriots
2. Green Bay Packers
3. New York Giants
4. Pittsburgh Steelers
5. New Orleans Saints
6. Baltimore Ravens
7. Indianapolis Colts
8. San Diego Chargers
9. Atlanta Falcons
10. Philadelphia Eagles
11. Arizona Cardinals
12. Tennessee Titans 
13. New York Jets
14. Dallas Cowboys
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
16. Chicago Bears
17. Jacksonville Jaguars
18. San Francisco 49ers
19. Houston Texans
20. Minnesota Vikings
21. Denver Broncos
22. Cincinnati Bengals
23. Seattle Seahawks
24. Carolina Panthers
25. Kansas City Chiefs
26. Miami Dolphins
27. Buffalo Bills
28. Cleveland Browns
29. Washington Redskins
30. Oakland Raiders
31. Detroit Lions
32. St. Louis Rams 

Bloomberg

Tags: Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, New York Jets, Las Vegas Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans, Washington Football Team, Atlanta Falcons, Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, Cincinnati Bengals, Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, IQ

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Vikings Release Sage Rosenfels

Oct 31, 2014 7:22 AM

The Minnesota Vikings have released Sage Rosenfels in what was a surprising move.

McLeod Bethel-Thompson will be the Vikings' third-string quarterback behind Christian Ponder and Joe Webb.

The Vikings agreed to a deal with Rosenfels in March with $500,000 in guaranteed money.

Jeremy Fowler/Pioneer Press

Tags: Minnesota Vikings, Misc Rumor, Waiver

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Adrian Peterson Likely Game-Time Decision For Opener

May 17, 2014 11:20 PM

Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier said Thursday night that star running back Adrian Peterson probably will be a game-time decision for next week's regular season opener against the Jaguars, according to an ESPN.com report.

ESPN.com

Tags: Minnesota Vikings, Injury

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Ranking The NFL's Oldest, Youngest Starters By Team

Oct 31, 2014 2:22 PM

The Atlanta Falcons, San Diego Chargers and Baltimore Ravens have the three oldest collections of starters in the NFL. 

The Kansas City Chiefs, Seattle Seahawks and Cincinnati Bengals are the youngest.

Former Vikings head coach Bud Grant had a popular saying that "for every young guy you start, you lose a game."

Pete Carroll worked for Grant early in his coaching career, but has had one of the youngest teams in the NFL during his tenure with the Seahawks.

"I was of that mindset in classic fashion until I had to be in charge of calling all the shots and then it just flipped in me that we don't know where we're going unless we find these guys out," Carroll said. "One of the really exciting things about playing guys early is ... by the middle and to the end of the season, you’ve developed players that fit into your rotations now that add to your depth and also add to the opportunity to not over-play your older guys." 

Below is a full list with the rank in offense/defense in parenthesis.

1. Atlanta Falcons (2/5)
2. San Diego Chargers (7/3)
3. Baltimore Ravens (1/15)
4. Chicago Bears (11/4)
5. Pittsburgh Steelers (25/1)
6. New York Jets (23/2)
7. New York Giants (9/2)
8. Detroit Lions (3/20)
9. New Orleans Saints (6/13)
10. San Francisco 49ers (8/8)
11. Denver Broncos (14/7)
12. Houston Texans (4/23)
13. Oakland Raiders (13/11)
14. Buffalo Bills (12/17)
15. Arizona Cardinals (16/14)
16. Washington Redskins (21/9)
17. Dallas Cowboys (18/16)
18. New England Patriots (5/28)
19. Green Bay Packers (17/21)
20. Jacksonville Jaguars (24/19)
21. Miami Dolphins (26/18)
22. Carolina Panthers (15/26)
23. Indianapolis Colts (28/10)
24. Philadelphia Eagles (19/25)
25. Tennessee Titans (10/31)
26. Minnesota Vikings (30/12)
27. St. Louis Rams (22/27)
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (20/30)
29. Cleveland Browns (31/24)
30. Cincinnati Bengals (32/22)
31. Seattle Seahawks (29/29)
32. Kansas City Chiefs (27/32) 

Mike Sando/ESPN

Tags: Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, New York Jets, Las Vegas Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans, Washington Football Team, Arizona Cardinals, IQ

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Vikings Allowing Peterson To Take Hits During Practice

Oct 31, 2014 7:37 AM

The Vikings are now allowing Adrian Peterson to take hits in practice as he approaches a full recovery from his anterior cruciate ligament surgery.

Peterson was hit on Monday for the first time this summer.

"There were times there was nowhere to go and he had to run into people, and he responded well," coach Leslier Frazier said. "That was good to see. There were some good, hard hits. Nothing to the ground, just guys thudding him."

NFL.com

Tags: Minnesota Vikings, Injury

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Half Of NFL's Dozen 24 Or Under QB Starters Came From Texas

Aug 11, 2014 10:16 PM

The NFL has 12 starting quarterbacks who are 24 years old or young.

Six of those 12 played high school football in the state of Texas.

Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Andy Dalton, Ryan Tannehill, Christian Ponder and Matthew Stafford all played in Texas.

Bruce Feldman/CBS (via Twitter)

Tags: Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Football Team, IQ

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Vikings Want Ponder To Slide Head First

Oct 28, 2014 12:20 PM

Vikings offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave wants Christian Ponder to slide head first.

Ponder suffered a concussion on a hit by Redskins linebacker London Fletcher after a feet first slide last season.

Musgrave is fine with sliding feet first when there’s no one around, but he thinks Ponder gets to the ground more quickly if he leads with his head in traffic.

"We don't want to expose ourselves by being a periscope up -- exposing all our vital organs. We want to give them a very minimal surface," Musgrave said.

Dave Campbell/Star Tribune

Tags: Minnesota Vikings

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Bears, Packers, Steelers, Raiders Rated As Having Best Uniforms

Nov 30, 2014 8:24 AM

The Bears have the best uniforms in the NFL, according to Paul Lukas of Uni Watch.

"True, the helmet design is starting to look a tad dated," writes Lukas. "But the striped sleeves, striped socks (now a rarity in the NFL, alas), unique number font, and even the perma-memorial to Papa Bear all score major points, and the Bears may be the only team in the league who look as sharp on the road as they do at home. The cream of the NFL crop."

The Packers, Steelers, Raiders and Eagles round out the top-five.

"Just suit up, baby," writes Lukas about the Raiders. "Silver and black look just as good today as they did when Al Davis came up with them. There's probably some marketer out there who wants the team to dress up like the fans in the Black Hole (and hey, that actually could be fun as a one-off thing), but you don't mess with something this elemental. Also: The Raiders are among the few NFL teams that wisely have declined to adopt the new Nike collar format."

6. Cowboys
7. Bills
8. 49ers
9. Dolphins
19. Buccaneers
11. Chiefs
12. Chargers
13. Jets
14. Colts
15. Patriots
16. Browns
17. Redskins
18. Giants
19. Titans 
20. Texans
21. Rams
22. Saints
23. Ravens
24. Broncos
25. Falcons
26. Lions
27. Seahawks
28. Jaguars
29. Cardinals
30. PAnthers
31. Vikings
32. Bengals 

Paul Lukas/ESPN

Tags: Chicago Bears, Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Jets, New York Giants, New Orleans Saints, Las Vegas Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, San Diego Chargers, Tennessee Titans, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, Washington Football Team

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Peterson Amongst Five Vikings On ESPN's Top-200

Oct 26, 2014 4:50 AM

The Vikings have five players in ESPN's Top-200, led by Adrian Peterson at No. 7.

Jared Allen (24), Percy Harvin (62), Chad Greenway (128) and Kevin Williams (170) are Minnesota's other representatives.

Matt Williamson/ESPN

Tags: Minnesota Vikings, IQ

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Gerhart Developing Better Pass Protection

Oct 26, 2014 4:50 AM

Toby Gerhart figures to have a bigger role with the Vikings in 2012 regardless of the health status of Adrian Peterson. 

"I think Toby has made strides in the pass protection realm of his game," said offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave. "He has always been smart, but I think his technique has been better this year. He is playing with lower pad level. Running the ball too, he seems to be a little bit more assertive, a little bit quicker to hit the hole and I think that comes primarily from familiarity with our blocking schemes and our system.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Minnesota Vikings, IQ

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Vikings Employ Peterson Rules At Camp; Touch Him, Get Cut
The Vikings want Adrian Peterson to avoid contact on the practice field as he comes off major knee surgery.

NFL.com

Michael Jenkins Cuts Pay For Vikings
Michael Jenkins made the move to increase his chances of making the Vikings' roster.

NFL.com

Jerry Rice Worried Peterson Coming Back Too Soon From Surgery
Adrian Peterson has defied original timetables, returning to active duty with the Vikings this week.

NFL.com

Vikings Activate Peterson From PUP List
Leslie Frazier credited the running back's hard work for the quick return.

Associated Press

Vikings Could Activate Peterson By Sunday
Adrian Peterson has worked his way back after tearing anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee.

NFL.com

Adrian Peterson To Be Evaluated Next Week
Adrian Peterson could join the Vikings in practice as soon as next week.

Associated Press

Adrian Peterson Remains On Schedule To Play Week 1
Adrian Peterson is on schedule to be available for Week 1 when the Vikings host the Jaguars.

RealGM Staff Report

Greg Childs Tears Tendons In Both Knees
Vikings rookie wide receiver Greg Childs suffered patella tendon tears in both knees.

ESPN.com

Ponder Stronger, More Confident Entering Second Season
The Vikings are encouraged by the progress being made by Christian Ponder, who begins his second NFL season as the team's starting quarterback.

Dan Pompei/Chicago Tribune