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A Sideline in "Total Disarray"

By Anthony Hall | January 7, 2009 | Vikings War Cry

Yesterday, I mentioned the Frerotte quote from Michael Silver's latest article, which was probably the most notable bit of news from the column. However, I caught two other things worth noting from Silver's comments on the Vikes: Jackson, as another Vikings player later told me, had a "deer-in-headlights" look about him during his long afternoon, which saw him complete only 15 of 35 passes for 164 yards and throw a ruinous interception that Philly's Asante Samuel returned for a game-changing touchdown late in the second quarter. Meanwhile Childress, the Eagles' offensive coordinator before taking the Minnesota job at the end...

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Gus Frerotte's Parting Shot

By Anthony Hall | January 6, 2009 | Vikings War Cry

Well, I'll go out on a limb and say that Gus Frerotte will not, in fact, be spending the final season of his two-year contract in a Vikings uniform. Access Vikings reports on an interview Frerotte did with Yahoo's Michael Silver:"I just don't know what to think right now," Frerotte told Silver on Sunday night. "It was a very frustrating experience, because I felt like I should've been the one playing. That might sound selfish, but I think I would've given us the best chance to win. I'm going home to St. Louis [on Monday] to be with my family...

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Eagles Win Brutal Chess Match...

By Thomas Jackson | January 5, 2009 | Eagles Eye

It was a mad game of chess played in an echo chamber in a medieval courtyard filled with screaming minions. The actual-size chess pieces were human action figures. From my seat in the gallery with the other crazy minstrels from my village, I cringed as Sir Adrian Peterson blasted his Viking path to yet another big run for a score. The Eagles were beginning to crumble under the weight of the Vikes' pressure on the line of scrimmage. A large sign seemed to flutter down on the Eagles' bench from the bread-and-circus section above: NO RUN TODAY! Mercifully, the first half ended: Eagles 16, Vikings 14. And I thought to myself, we're going to need some 2nd-half magic to get out of here alive. The struggle continued. Individual playmaking kept the Eagles in the game. Even though the Vikings' DT Pat Williams and DE Ray Edwards could not play as it...

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More Thoughts on Vikings-Eagles

By Anthony Hall | January 5, 2009 | Vikings War Cry

Obviously, in addition to the performance of Tarvaris Jackson, the special teams are at the top of the list of storylines from Sunday's game. I have no idea how special teams coordinator Paul Ferraro has held on to his job for so long, but needless to say, the Vikings' playoff game should be his last with the team. It's a problem that's plagued this team all season: The punt coverage has been absolutely horrendous, and the kickoff coverage hasn't been a whole lot better. We saw that on Sunday. Desean Jackson finished the game with 109 yards on five punt...

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NFL WILDCARD WEEKEND PREDICTIONS PART 2

By Pete1020 | January 4, 2009 | Community

After Day 1 of the NFL Wildcard Weekend, we have seen the MVP and the Rookie of the Year eliminated, while the division winners of the worst divisions in the NFL have advanced. Day 2 of Wildcard Weekend gives us...

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NFL Power Rankings: Ranking the 12 Playoff Teams

By Greg Trippiedi | January 4, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Knowing the outcome of Saturday's games makes this a bit tougher to do, because I have to act like I don't know the outcomes of those games to rank the 12 teams pre playoffs. It would be easy to put Atlanta or Indy on bottom, but I had both teams reaching the round of eight. So, with that in mind, here's how MVN saw the Playoff Power Poll as of yesterday.1. Pittsburgh SteelersThe Steelers never led the MVN Power Rankings in any week but they are the most battle-tested, injury resistant team in the post season. Ben Roethlisberger had his best month in December, and figures to play in the AFC Divisional round coming off a concussion, but even if backup Byron Leftwich has to play, the Steelers might be in even better hands.2. Tennessee TitansHard to say how effective DT Albert Haynesworth and DE Kyle Vanden Bosch will be...

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That's All She Wrote

By Anthony Hall | January 4, 2009 | Vikings War Cry

It was a gutsy performance. It wasn't a winning performance.A lot went wrong for the Vikings in their final game of the season. I'll get to that soon enough. Right now, let's talk about what worked for the Vikings in their first playoff game since the 2004 season.For one, I can't say enough about the job the defensive line did today. Brian Robison turned in an outstanding performance in his first career playoff game, and he made a good case for himself to receive a larger role in 2009. Jared Allen was literally all over the field.As a whole, the...

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As Sunday's Game Nears, Vikings Avoid Blackout

By Anthony Hall | January 3, 2009 | Vikings War Cry

It's been the big story all week -- the Vikings were surprisingly close to having their playoff game blacked out in Twin Cities television markets, but thanks to a couple extensions from the NFL, 62,000 tickets have been sold and a blackout has been avoided:This didn't come without quite a bit of effort. Because only 55 percent of the Vikings' season-ticket holders elected to purchase playoff tickets, the Vikings had 20,000 tickets to sell last Monday. That was a day after the Vikings clinched the NFC North title and a playoff berth with a victory over the New York Giants.What...

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NFL Power Rankings: Ranking the 12 Playoff Teams

By Greg Trippiedi | January 4, 2009 | MVN Outsider

MVN Previews the NFL's Wild Card Round

By Anthony Hall | January 2, 2009 | MVN Outsider

To preview the four games slated for this weekend's Wild Card Round of the NFL Playoffs, MVN asked a variety of bloggers who cover the teams involved to chime in with a few quick thoughts on their game and a prediction...Atlanta at Arizona:Saturday's late game marks the return to the playoffs for two teams that have been suffering from postseason drought. The 11-5 Atlanta Falcons have not seen a week 18 game since 2004 and the 9-7 Arizona Cardinals haven't been past the regular season since 1998. While the Cards come in as NFC West Division Champs, don't think for a second that they are the stronger team. Limping past Seattle this past Sunday after being slaughtered by the Patriots the prior week, the Cards aren't the team to be reckoned with this Wild Card weekend. That distinction goes to the NFC's hottest team, the Falcons. Riding a three game...Read more

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Fantasy Football: Looking Ahead to 2009-Third-Year WRs

By Brad Berreman | December 30, 2008 | MVN Outsider

A common theory in fantasy football is that wide receivers tend to emerge in their third NFL season. Some recent examples include Cleveland's Braylon Edwards (2007) and Denver's Brandon Marshall (2008). With that in mind, here's a look at some notable WRs that will be in their third NFL season in 2009. 1. Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions- Despite the disfunction in Detroit, Johnson had a terrific 2008 season. He had 78 receptions for 1,331 yards and 12 touchdowns. Imagine what he could do if he had consistent QB play. The potential upside is huge. 2. Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City Chiefs- Bowe followed up a solid rookie season with 86 catches for over 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns in 2008. If the Chiefs can find a competent QB of the future, he should continue to post nice numbers for years to come. 3. Anthony Gonzalez, Indianapolis Colts- Gonzalez had a somewhat...Read more

Read more | 1 Comment | Tags: Anthony Gonzalez, Arizona Cardinals, Calvin Johson, Detroit Lions, Dwayne Bowe, Fantasy, Fantasy Football, Fantasy Outsider, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, Oakland Raiders

NFL Power Rankings Week 16: Pennsylvania teams eventually rise to top

By Greg Trippiedi | December 18, 2008 | MVN Outsider

1. Tennessee Titans (12-2) The Titans hold the top spot at least one more week through the loss, but they will have to beat Pittsburgh at home without Albert Haynesworth and Kyle VandenBosch to hold it any further. Good luck guys.2. Philadelphia Eagles (8-5-1)The Eagles jump up to number two this week behind the strength of a third consecutive win, and the Steelers knocking off the Ravens, who beat the Eagles back when this was a team in turmoil. 3. Pittsburgh Steelers (11-3) Do the Steelers have the greatest defense of all time? Only a championship would validate this. The offense apparently isn't going to assist them until the final two minutes of every game.4. Baltimore Ravens (9-5) The Ravens aren't going to fall too far, falling victim to the "Tuck Rule curse". They should have taken care of business in Pittsburgh, and then it wouldn't have come down to...Read more

Read more | 4 Comments | Tags: Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, power poll, Tennessee Titans

Notable pro-bowl snubs; 2008 Edition

By Greg Trippiedi | December 17, 2008 | MVN Outsider

It's because of the way that the pro bowl selection process works that makes snubs inevitable. The fans get one third of the vote. The players get one third of the vote. And the coaches get one third of the vote. Herein lies the problem: no one knows anything. The coaches and players are too busy watching film on their opponents to be able to accurately grade players on teams they don't play. Same with the players. And don't get me started on the fans: who if they would have had their way would have sent Redskins K Shaun Suisham to Honolulu, and he's one of the larger reasons the Redskins have lost 5 out of their last 6 games.With all that out of the way, the selection trio from hell actually did a relatively good job this year. But they still inexcusably omitted some overqualified players in order to...Read more

Read more | 1 Comment | Tags: Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, Pro Bowl, San Diego Chargers, Seattle Seahawks, Snubs, Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins

Anatomy of an Upset: Vikings over Cardinals

By Greg Trippiedi | December 13, 2008 | MVN Outsider

Admittedly, I'm not making a huge sweeping social statement when I take an 8-5 team to beat another 8-5 team as my upset of the week. But with the Cardinals a favorite in this game, I can tell you I'm confident that the Minnesota Vikings will win this game and move back into a comfortable lead in the NFC North. Whether or not the Vikings will actually win the NFC North is heavily dependent on them winning in one of the other two games down the stretch. If they beat the Atlanta Falcons, they will clinch the tiebreaker over the Chicago Bears, and make Week 17 academic. The Vikings need to lose twice in their last three games, and probably all three times, in order to cough up the division lead.I think that the Giants and Falcons are both better teams than the Vikings, but that the Vikings should win...Read more

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NFL Stock Market Week 15: Eagles soar while Jets grounded

By Greg Trippiedi | December 9, 2008 | MVN Outsider

This week, we're going to change around the structure of the NFL Stock Market. We're looking for teams, players, coaches who are down right now, but for the rest of this year, you should buy, buy, buy what they are selling. And for other teams, players, and coaches, it's time to sell their stock while you still can.Buy LowWashington Redskins -- the Redskins have played five games versus elite NFL teams this year, Philadelphia, New York (twice), Pittsburgh and Baltimore, and have gone 1-4 in those games. The Redskins still have to finish out against the Eagles, in a game that will likely determine who, besides the Giants, from the NFC East will make the playoffs. But the other two games are against the Bengals and the 49ers. The Redskins have been a remarkably consistent slightly above average team ever since upsetting the Eagles in Week 5, and above average...Read more

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Monday Overtime: Giants are in, Steelers are men, Packers in sin

By Anthony Brown | December 8, 2008 | MVN Outsider

Philadelphia Eagles 20, New York Giants 14The Philadelphia Eagles are the only NFC East team to win over the weekend; thank you very much Brian Westbrook. They climbed into third place in the division and kept their faint playoff hopes alive. New York's Domenik Hixon impressed as a reserve. So, Plaxico Burress just seemed like another player the Giants wouldn't miss with Hixon as starter. That's probably, almost certainly might still be true. Or not. With the Cowboys' loss, the G-men clinched the NFC Beast anyway.Pittsburgh Steelers 20, Dallas Cowboys 13The Steelers started something when they found and hired Mike Tomlin. It's not just that there are excellent black assistant coaches who are head coach material. It's that owners should be mining young coaching talent within the pro ranks rather than college coaches. College coaches (Spurrier, Saban, Petrino) will quit on you. Tomlin is 20-9 since becoming Steelers head coach....Read more

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