Free agency

[FISHINGURU]

the part you don't understand is that these free agents would of got this kind of money from the next team...there's teams disappointed that these guys didn't make it to their place even after they seen what the team signed them for...some of these guys are even taking less money to play where they want or in a better situation.....it's not hope it's called improving your team.

[LMITOUT]

Nice 'chise!

aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh Vikings will win aaaaaaahhahhaaaaa they will go to the playoffs aaaaaahhhaaaaaa they have a great free agency mind aaaahhhhaaaaa

[Caesarfishinguytoo]

Here are the winners and losers so far:

Winners

Minnesota Vikings: Former Bengal Madieu Williams was the first to sign, giving the defense more coverage ability at safety. Former Bear Bernard Berrian was costly at $7 million a year, but he has deep speed and should be a steady 1,000-yard receiver. Thomas Tapeh will help at fullback and knows the system -- he played for Brad Childress when he was in Philadelphia. The next mission is to find help at defensive end because of the health concerns of Erasmus James and Kenechi Udeze

Losers

Chicago Bears: Rex Grossman and the Bears reunited for one more fling at quarterback, but he doesn't have a starting receiver to help him. The release of Muhsin Muhammad was expected, but the loss of Bernard Berrian to the Vikings could be hard to overcome. Options in the free-agent market are dwindling, and it's the offense that needs the biggest boost. Many fans wanted former Charger Michael Turner for the running game, but he went to Atlanta. Lovie Smith talks about making Devin Hester a starting receiver, but is he ready for that full-time action?

As reported by John Clayton of ESPN

[196thDLR]

I hope you are right t-11, but I do not think Mt. McKinnie will be that lucky. This is the second time he has been charged in three years. I believe for a second league violation it is a four game suspension, that will be at best. I think Goodell is going to dole out an additional 4 games, making a total of eight, IF McKinnie is found guilty of jaywalking, much less aggravated assault.

[FISHINGURU]

WINNERS-MINNESOTA VIKINGS

The Vikings paid a pretty penny for safety Madieu Williams and wide receiver Bernard Berrian, but at least they got two guys who were considered among the top 2 at their respective positions in the open market. Williams is a consistent tackler and gives the Vikings an upgrade in terms of speed in the secondary. Both of those were critical to helping a defense that had holes in pass coverage. Berrian has iffy hands, but he’s a huge upgrade over Troy Williamson, the failed former first-round pick who had bad hands and made poor adjustments to the ball. Even more, the loss of Berrian ravages the Bears’ receiving corps, which could also lose Rashied Davis.

LOSERS- CHICAGO BEARS

An already faulty offense lost its top two receivers in Berrian and Muhsin Muhammad. That’s 111 catches out the door. Throw in the potential loss of restricted free agent Davis and that’s more critical depth gone on a team that was already struggling in the passing game. The Bears are saying that Devin Hester will pick up a lot of the slack. Good luck on that. Hester has never been able to learn a position other than return man. He doesn’t have the patience to pick up the nuances of being a receiver. Yes, he’ll come up with a few long catches that will tease everyone, but he’s not the answer and the Bears better come up with some in a hurry!

COPIED FROM JASON COLE

[Coach1310]

My take on the Vikes...

Did we overpay for Berrian?? Sure we did, but it really comes down to supply and demand. Who else was out there and what did we need. We got a fairly talented, speedy receiver and there is not questioning he makes our team better. Do I think he is headed to the pro bowl or hall of fame, NO, but he makes us better.

They need to make a splash with any weapons they can get. We are in a weird situation where as our Defense is built to win now while our offense needs to to mature, add some pieces and figure it out.

It should be fun watching the squad come together, I'm just not convinced "Old Man Childress" is the answer.

[FISHINGURU]

i hear ya on childress but the thing is you gotta give a coach a few years to bring in some players to fit his style.

when he arrived here the team was a dump...it's hard to play your style of football with lacking talent...i think his job will be easier as we get better as a complete unit...the plus side of childress is our team has got better since he got here and he has good connections.

the only thing that concerns me is he's gonna ride and die with t-jack just to prove he's not wrong....hopefully t-jack pans out though cause he's got alot of upside....t-jack hasn't had much to work with either....he started getting some rythem with wade and rice but then rice got hurt during crunch time....williamson dropped every nice bomb he threw which hurt t-jacks stats and confidence....only a couple qb's in the league would of looked good with our wr core...we didn't exactly have the amount of talent needed surrounded around an inexperienced qb.

this is the year to show us what childress's scheme is and if t-jack is our future....anything less then a playoff birth would be a failure imo.

[tisosy11]

Guru - that is exactly right.

This year is the year we need to make a decisive playoff run...anything short of 10 wins will not be acceptable!

[Fishing_High]

Anyone see John Clayton on ESPN he said his winners were the Browns and Jaguars. He mentioned the Jags traded for a good big receiver in Porter then he goes on to say and get a good speed wr in Troy Williamson the replay they show for Williamson when Clayton mentions him is him misjudging that deep ball that was right in his hands in Denver lol.

[Windy City Walleye Hunter]

Wandering,

To answer your history comment, I can only say this:

My 2005 White Sox are a lot closer in the rear view mirror than your "Bell Bottom Jeans" Era Twinks and my 85 Bears Prom Queen might be a little long in the tooth but your Vikings have never taken home the Prom Queen. They have been to the dance but all they have gone home with is "Rosey Palm and here five sisters"

Put that in your Viking Horn and blow it!

Windy

[196thDLR]

I think the Vikings have had a very, very credable free agent signing year. Williams at saftey is a upgrade over Smith and Doss. Williams does not hit as hard as they do, but he has much better coverage skills than they do. Did the Vikes over pay for him? Yeah.

Tapeh has been the fullback for Westbrook for two years and both of those years Westbrook has gained more than 1100 yards per year. We get 26 yrs old vs 37 yrs old. The experience level takes a hit, but I think it is a good signing. Over paid? Naaa.

Berrian gives our receiving corps some credibility. Further, it hurts a division rival big time. Over paid? Yeah, somewhat.

"The Freak," if he shows up in purple would be a good signing. I think he has a couple of good years left. I believe that it takes longer to recover from severe leg injuries than 13 or 14 months.

However this plays out this fall it will be a very interesting Fall. GO VIKES!!

[icehole10]

I also caught that segment on espn this morning. I had to chuckle. It don't matter how fast you are you still have to catch the ball

[tisosy11]

Welp...looks like the Vikes might be the team to beat in the North!!!

Lord knows the Lions and Bears don't have a prayer!!!

[Coach1310]

 Originally Posted By: FISHINGURU

when he arrived here the team was a dump...

I'm not a Mike Tice lover, but the team he left did finish 9-7... a far cry from "when he arrived the team was a dump.." If I remember right I think the Vikings job was by far the best job out there for head coaching candidates as they weren't in complete disarray. I understand we need to give him time and I hope I am wrong, but I just don't think he is the answer. I really like how he keeps bringing in the former Eagles.... did Ziggy tell him we need more of a fan following on the east coast? He has done alright so far. Thankfully we got a gift in the draft last year. Mike Tice in his first two years.. 6-10 & 9-7... Chilli's first 2 years 6-10 & 8-8... I guess we'll see.

[Scott K]

Chilli didnt have much to work with. This year he does, so this will be the year if we dont go into atleast the second round of the playoffs, they should sit down and think very hard before bringing him back for another year beyond that! Although it seems the front office people want this team to win, unlike RED, so I can only see this team getting better and better as the years go on until we win it all!

[tisosy11]

Maurice Hicks signs with the vikes to replace MeMo and return kicks (and punts?)...

A no glamour signing, but still a nice pick up because i am sure he came on the cheap...

[Coach1310]

Good call on the "Red" thing. Ziggy is definitely an asset Tice didn't have. An owner willing to spend some $$$

[tisosy11]

This year is pretty make or break for the Chilli experiment and all signs are looking good so far.

I do like what T-jack has done and how he is progressing.

I ask this question...Why is T-jack so hated as our QB and Vince Young is adored in Tennessee??? Both were very similiar last year, statistics wise...

[koonie]

Tisosy why do you think we have to make our run this year. I'd hate to see us mortgage our future for a one year run. I'd like to see us get set ourselves up for the long run.

As long as the team improves this year I'm willing to give Childress the benefit of the doubt. If TJack doesn't take the next step we won't go anywhere. It isn't just our recieving corp that needs to step up or get upgraded, our QB back play needs to step up to the next level as well. That said, Childress' job hinges on Tjacks development.

[FISHINGURU]

well we improved at wr with berrian...rice is gonna be good...bobby will be in the slot like he should be...we got a couple decent options at TE...tapeh can catch and has some wheels...we got the screen options with AP and CT...our o-line and running game are top knotch....there's no excuse if tjack doesn't step up this season....i hope he does but we better have a back up plan if he doesn't.

[ozzie]

why is t-jack hated and V Young adored......V. Young has proven that he is a winner.....T- jack hasn't proved a thing!!

[Sandmannd]

T-jack had no one to catch very well. Now he's got a year under him. Let's see what he does this year. If he falls on his face, might be the end of him and chilli.

[tisosy11]

He throws up the lob...Vince Young - 2007 as a starter...9-6 (career 16-12) T-Jack 7-4 in 07 including the dallas & detroit games he left with the lead with injuries (7-6 career)

Lets just look at the 2007 stats...

Vince Young and T-Jack both Combined for 12 touchdowns each and 9 interceptions each.

Young had about 250 more passing yards and 150 more rushing yards. T-Jacks average yards per completion was 6.5 (Young 6.7). T-Jacks average rush per attempt was 4.8 (Youngs 4.2).

Vince Young came from a big time NCAA program and was definately a few steps ahead of T-Jack.

But as far as NFL progression goes...T-Jack is coming along quite nicely for a guy with 13 career starts. He doesn't even have a full season under his belt.

Right now I would take what we have with Tarvaris Jackson rather than Vince Young...both are completely unproven commodities. Vince Young has been a run first pass second guy...T-Jack isn't a run first guy. If Jackson can get his accuracy down and timing with his receivers - he could be real nice!

[tisosy11]

Oh yeah...Bernard Berrian is now the 6th highest paid receiver in the league!

I tell you what...I'd rather pay the 42 million (16 guaranteed) for B-Twice and his potential. Then 55 million (16 guaranteed) for J-Walkers blown knee risk/reward...

[Bluegill1510]

Anyone else see that Jevon Walker signed with the Raiders for big money...Jabar Gaffney resigned with the Pats, and Tyler Brayton DE signed with Carolina, and the Bears signed Marty Booker to help shore up their WR corps. Kearse is suppose to visit the Titans today, so if the vikes want to give him a deal they better soon.

Also trading for DeAngelo Hall or Jared Allen are to much to give up for, when mortgaging the future on 1st round picks and locking up lump somes of money for these guys who would demand more than a Berrian. The vikes will need their picks not just this year but in the next 2 years as well. The o-line is good now, but Birk's age and health is always an issue, he really isn't as fast as he once was before his hip surgeries, plus we don't know what to expect with McKinnie, and Hutchinson isnt the youngest as well. It sounds all great now to trade for either one in Allen or in Hall is just to costly, and to compare this team's coaching staff and front office to the patroits is comparing apples to oranges.

I'd like us to keep our 1st round pick and take another DE or the best player available. I think Kenny Phillips would be ideally a good 1st round pick because there is real pressure on him to produce right away and can learn from Madieu Williams and Darren Sharper, but there are some talented DE's in this year's draft so we could go that route as well. And nobody can plan the health issues that have happen recently with Kenechi Udeze, which is to bad for him and his family. Erasmus James was a risk coming out of Wisconsin with his knee injury, but thats the risk you take in the draft, and is not a draft pick under this coaching regime.