2007 Vikings

[Don Wassall]

In his second season as head coach, Brad Childress has moved the Vikings away from their memorable "love boat" era under Mike Tice -- but not by much.


Demographically, the Vikings have 17 white players on the 53 man roster (counting of course the long snapper, kicker and punter), up one from last year, but just five white starters, six depending on who's starting at tight end any given week.


Two of those starters are on defense at linebacker, and the Vikings even have two white backup LBs, giving them an astonishing four altogether.


Ben Leber is the starting strongside linebacker for the second season after coming over to Minnesota from the Chargers. The weakside LB is Chad Greenway, coming off a blown knee suffered early in training camp last summer after being the Vikings' number one draft pick. By all accounts Greenway is completely healthy and should become one of the best in the league at his position as he gains experience.


Heath Farwell and Vinny Ciurciu are the team's other white linebackers.


'07 fourth round draft pick Brian Robison has looked great at end, the only question being whether he will have to serve the long "apprenticeship" that so many white players do before being "allowed" to start. Robison had the fastest 40 time of any defensive end at the 2007 Combine. He also led all d-linemen with a phenomenal 40" vertical, had the best score in the three cone drill, did 27 bench press reps of 225 pounds, and broad jumped 10 feet 1 inch. Oh, and he also has the obligatory "non-stop motor." Let the kid start!


On offense, LG Steve Hutchinson is the best guard in the league bar none. He's joined by Harvard grad and Pro-Bowler Matt Birk at center, and second year man Ryan Cook out of New Mexico at RG.


Jeff Dugan and Jim Kleinsasser are in the mix at (blocking) tight end, but a key pick-up may turn out to be Garrett Mills. Mills was waived by New England in the final round of roster cuts and promptly snagged by Minnesota, even though Patriots head coach Bill Bellichik reportedly called Childress and asked him not to take Mills so that the Patriots could try to sign him to their practice squad.


At Tulsa, Mills was the most prolific receiving tight end in I-A history. Not a big guy, he should slim down by 10-20 pounds and be used as a wide receiver, but the NFL doesn't work that way -- whites routinely are made to beef up to "fit" a position but never to slim down -- so Mills, coming off an injury-plagued 2006 rookie season, will have to find a niche as some sort of tight end or H-back. There's no question that with his top-notch receiving skills he can be an impact player if used the right way.


Two white quarterbacks back up black starter Tarvaris Jackson, who looked atrocious in limited action last season. It's possible that Jackson may turn out to be a good quarterback, but the fact that so few pundits and fans seem to think so is an indication that they are starting to catch on to the fact that despite all the opportunities presented them, most black QBs in the NFL have been either flops or constantly injured. Wisconsin grad Brooks Bollinger has nice mobility and touch but will probably never get a long look at starter in the league. Veteran Kelly Holcomb is a pure pocket passer.


NUMBER OF WHITE STARTERS: 5 (or 6 depending on the starter at TE)


APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF WHITE PLAYERS ON 53 MAN ROSTER: 17


GRADE: F+

 

[Don Wassall]

Brad Childress is as bad as Mike "Lurch" Tice in running a thug first operation. He drafted the dreadful black QB experiment named Tarvaris Jackson way too high and almost immediately made him a starter, while an obvious talent like Brian Robison still plays backup DE despite making one impact play after another when he's in the game.
<DIV =articleTitle>Minnesota Vikings' fight dubbed a 'misunderstanding'
<DIV =articleTitle>
<DIV =articleSubTitle>James says 'everything is good' after tiff
<DIV =articleByline>BY SEAN JENSEN and DON SEEHOLZER
Pioneer Press
<DIV =articleDate>Article Last Updated:10/12/2007 11:55:53 PM CDT

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Vikings defensive end Erasmus James called it "a little misunderstanding." Coach Brad Childress said there are "a lot of tiffs" in a football locker room. And running back Chester Taylor only wanted to talk about the Chicago Bears.


But two days after the incident, the Vikings acknowledged a locker room fight that ended with James landing a punch to Taylor's right eye and Taylor tossing a chair that struck bystander Bryant McKinnie, requiring stitches over his right eye.


"Everything is good," James said Friday. "It was a little misunderstanding, but we all cleared it up. It's all good. We're ready to move on."


Taylor said, "You want to talk about the Chicago game?" He declined to talk about the fight with James.


Said Childress: "When you have 53 type-A personalities that play an aggressive game, that are as competitive as (heck), that stuff happens."


But Childress said he called an unscheduled team meeting after the fight because "that's what you do on a team.


"I don't know if you've ever been involved on a team, but you don't stick your head in the sand and act like nothing occurred," he said. "You talk about it."


Asked if the players would be disciplined, Childress said, "It happens.


"If I disciplined everybody, you wouldn't have a football team," he said. "I mean, guys push and shove. It's a competitive game. It's a type-A game."


The lockers of McKinnie, Taylor and James are all next to one another.


"I know it was an accident,"


McKinnie said. "It's all right."


Childress said James' shoulder injury occurred on the field, not in the fight. James was listed as questionable for Sunday's game.


http://www.twincities.com/ci_7165044?source=rss

 

[reclaimsocal]

Funny, I don't ever recall there being a fight between type A personalites like say.... Jim Kleinsasser and Matt Birk, but hey, maybe they just solve their misunderstandings in a different manner.

Hey at least on a positive note, Bryant McKinnie inadvertantly made his first block of the year. Word on the street is that the chair is very embarrassed by this fact and is asking to be traded to Chicago so it can take another run at him.

 

[Don Wassall]

Garrett Mills is inactive again today, via coaches' decision not because he's injured. What a waste of a talent who could be a dominant wide receiver or tight end. Way to go Childress -- meet the new boss same as the old boss.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Won't Get Fooled Again, now that is a cool song! One of the first I learned to play on guitar.

 

[Don Wassall]

Here's the old racial double standard at work again in this article -- "Receivers Coach Hasn't Given Up on Williamson." Troy Williamson was the 7th pick of the first round in 2005, the same draft in which Matt Jones went 19th to Jax. Williamson has been one of the biggest receiving busts of recent years -- all he can do is run fast in a straight line; he has maybe the worst hands in the entire league, can't run routes, and just generally looks lost. In three seasons he has a total of just 1,067 yards and despite his speed only 3 TDs.


Jones has been Jerry Rice compared to Williamson yet Williamson has received only a fraction of the criticism and ridicule Jones has to put up with, including from his own coaching staff and teammates. By contrast, the Vikings' receivers coach says Williamson "wants to be a success and that he would love a chance to work with him again." The article adds "Stewart said he believes that it's unfair to judge Williamson and what he can do in the NFL, because he never has had the same position coach two years in a row."


A lot of times success in the NFL is about creating an environment where a player can thrive, and even then many turn out to be busts. Matt Jones has been under the gun from day one because of his race and his laid back personalitywhile Williamson will be another of those black receivers who hangs around the league for years getting opportunity after opportunity even though he is miscast as anything other thanpossibly a special teams demon.


http://www.startribune.com/sports/15704672.html

 

[reclaimsocal]

The Vikings make me sick. Troy Williamson and Tarvaris Jackson are right there for the worst overall starters at their respective positions in the NFL and I'd even venture some major D1A teams, yet they are both being given another season (at this point, hopefully that can change). I sadly have to blame the overwhelmingly White fanbase for buying the party line on this matter. It sickens me how the majority of fans blindly follow these guys because they are told by disingenous coaches and administrators that its best for the team. You can add Bryant McKinnie to the group as well, he has to be the one of the worst Starting LT's in the league, and yet you never hear much about his poor play on the field where he does a great impression of a matador. I wish I had the resources to break down gamefilm and put together a lowlight reel for these guys, to forever put to rest the myth that they are deserving of their jobs.

 

[Don Wassall]

Way over-rated Bryant McKinnie arrested for aggravated battery:


[url]http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/football/nfl/02/24/mck innie.arrest.ap/index.html[/url]

 

[Don Wassall]

The Caste clowns at The Sporting News report this week thatMinnesota has"been unable to sign a free agent to fill its glaring need at defensive end. That puts enormous pressure on the club to come up with a starter in the draft. Although the Vikings say they don't draft for need, they might have no choice but to take an end such as Florida's Derrick Harvey at number 17."


The "crisis" at DE was spurred by Kenechi Udeze being diagnosed with leukemia. But Udeze has been a bust, and the other starter, Ray Edwards, sucks. In fact, Brian Robison was nearly as productive as both of them last year in very limited playing time as a rookie, recording 24 tackles, 4.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Robison's productivity and obvious big play ability followed his excellent showing at the '07 Combine, where he was the most athletic d-linemen there, similar to Chris Long at this year's Combine.


But in Caste-happy Minnesota, the answer isn't to do the obvious and make Robison a starter, instead the team must waste its first round draft pick on an afflete and then cross their fingers that he isn't a bust like so many highly rated black d-linemen end up being. Even in the wake of whites dominating at defensive end the past couple of seasons in their limited opportunities to start, Robison apparently must still go through the ridiculous and demeaninglong apprenticeship that so many white players are put through if they play any position other than quarterback or offensive lineman.

 

[reclaimsocal]

Don, an almost equally sickening situation has played out at the Linebacking position where the Vikings signed journeyman special teamer Derrick Pope from the Dolphins to be the primary backup at all three spots. The Vikings have Heath Farwell and Vinny Circiu on their roster with equal credentials, yet they will not be given the opportunity to move into the regular defensive rotation.


It stinks of last year when the Vikings signed backup TE Visanthe Shianco and publically inserted him into the starting lineup over longtime starter Jim Kleinsasser. Shianco became somewhat of a joke as the season progressed and Kleinsasser regained the job.


There is something about Brad Childress and not wanting to allow guys to compete for jobs. He has consistently named unqualified blacks to starting positions without bringing in or allowing in-house prospects to compete. If there is one bright spot in all of this, it is that he will lose his job due to his manlove for Tarvaris Jackson and his unwillingness to allow anyone a shot to replace him.

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

Don great post, so true. It reminds me also of when some idiot at ESPN said about the Rams WRs in the summer of 2004 that "McDonald and Washington will be a great option at 3rd and 4th WR for the coming year."

The idiot, didn't even mention athletic freak and 3rd round draft pick Kevin Curtis as an option when he had performed brilliantly in training camp and Pre-season in his rookie year of 2003 before breaking his leg.

 

[Don Wassall]

Mike Mamula was a Hall of Famer compared to the Vikings' first round pick in 2005, DE Erasmus James, who was released today. Will James now be appearing onlists of"all-time NFL busts," a favorite media ritual to engage in white bashing? Hardly; a year from now none of the drunk white fans will even remember his name.


In fact, the entire '05 draft was a bust for the Vikings, as the article linked to below notes. Also picked in the first round that year was WR Troy Williamson, another hugebust who is still getting ample opportunities to "develop," this season with Jacksonville. The only white player selectedby Minnesotain 2005was (inexplicably) Dustin Fox, who was never going to get a fair shot at cornerback under Mike Tice, or with any other team for that matter.
<H1>Vikings waive DE Erasmus James </H1>


The Minnesota Vikings cut ties with former first-round pick Erasmus James on Friday, essentially tying a bow on a monumentally disappointing 2005 draft.


Rest of article: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/football/nfl/05/23/vik ings.james.ap/index.htmlEdited by: Don Wassall

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

The Caste clowns at The Sporting News report this week that Minnesota has "been unable to sign a free agent to fill its glaring need at defensive end. That puts enormous pressure on the club to come up with a starter in the draft. Although the Vikings say they don't draft for need, they might have no choice but to take an end such as Florida's Derrick Harvey at number 17."


The "crisis" at DE was spurred by Kenechi Udeze being diagnosed with leukemia. But Udeze has been a bust, and the other starter, Ray Edwards, sucks. In fact, Brian Robison was nearly as productive as both of them last year in very limited playing time as a rookie, recording 24 tackles, 4.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Robison's productivity and obvious big play ability followed his excellent showing at the '07 Combine, where he was the most athletic d-linemen there, similar to Chris Long at this year's Combine.


But in Caste-happy Minnesota, the answer isn't to do the obvious and make Robison a starter, instead the team must waste its first round draft pick on an afflete and then cross their fingers that he isn't a bust like so many highly rated black d-linemen end up being. Even in the wake of whites dominating at defensive end the past couple of seasons in their limited opportunities to start, Robison apparently must still go through the ridiculous and demeaning long apprenticeship that so many white players are put through if they play any position other than quarterback or offensive lineman.

Black players continue to get a pass from fans. Erasmus James just released by the Vikings after being the 18th pick in the 2005 draft, I'm sure, was given many more chances to succeed in his first 3 years than Brian Robison ever will. Brian Robison, as the 3rd pick of the 4th round, definitely has his work cut out for him as a mid round drafted white. Robison should definitely have been drafted higher than he was. I'm actually surprised James was released after 3 seasons in the die hard caste NFL. Black bust high draft picks usually get 4 years before they are released or traded to show any flashes of performance ability.

Brian Robison was the most athletic DE at the 2007 NFL Combine. And he also put together quite an impressive rookie season in limited opportunity. Erasmus James is a bigger bust than Mike Mamula for sure, who actually played solid for a starter before injuries ended his career.

Sure for the 7th pick of the draft Mamula definitely underperformed, but he is not even close to as big a bust as players like Erasmus James. Or how about the Giant's Cedric Jones pick? He was picked at pick number 5 in the first round in 1996 one year after Mamula and did absolutely nothing for the Giants. He hurt his eye his rookie season and than never showed any signs of talent afterward. He appears to be a bigger bust than Mamula, but his performances went incognito, blending in with the others on the field from his black skin! Cedric Jones finished with 15 sacks in his short 5 year NFL career.

With Jared Allen now a Viking, I doubt caste whore Brad Childress will have the guts to allow Brian Robison to start even though he will prove once again that he deserves it.

Brad Childress's thoughts: "Two white Defensive Ends starting for my team, how could I. Can't stand out like that in the coal black defense NFL! The drunken white fans might crucify me if we don't make the playoffs again and they will blame it on any small error Robison commits on the field in his first season starting. It's obvious that we have a got a shot to make the playoffs this year with "sparkling star" Tarvaris Jackson as the signal caller! I've got to do everything to protect my reputation!"

What a delusional coach Childress is!

 

[Guest]

He appears to be a bigger bust than Mamula, but his performances went incognito, blending in with the others on the field from his black skin!

This is the most important thing to understand.

Most of the players are black, so people do not notice when black players suck.

For white players, anything but stellar play game in and game out is noticed immediately. A few bad games in a row is all it takes for people to start calling for an average black player to come and blend into the background.