Minnesota Vikings

• We have a quarterback that can be described as "better than half-assed" -- the Vikings just traded a fourth round draft pick to Houston and got Sage Rosenfels in return.
• T.J. Houshmandzadeh, a great receiving threat, has expressed interest in playing in Minnesota. With him, we'd have a deep-threat tandem that you'd have to commit to one-on-one coverage, because of Purple Jesus in the backfield. If I were the Vikes, I'd be trying to land this guy -- if for no other reason than to drive sportswriters and editors nuts, trying to spell his last name.
• Sharper, Kleinsasser, and Birk are all likely going to be casualties of the free agency market. Sharper's lost a step and his ball-hawking is way down, Kleinsasser can't catch the way a TE should be able to in a West Coast offense, and Birk is slowing with age and has a replacement waiting in the wings.

If you were running the show over at Winter Park what would you do at this point?

With God as my witness, I swear that if the Vikings somehow end up signing Brett Favre in the off-season that I will buy a purple-and-gold jersey so that I can wear it to work every Friday in order to taunt my Packers-loving cow-orkers.

Anyone else notice that our last two games are against the teams that we've lost our last two NFC Championship bids against? In order?

Atlanta - '99 NFC Champions
NYG - '01 NFC Champions

Meaningless, but interesting.

The more I think about the Favre-as-a-Viking thing, the more it grows on me. I used to revile the concept, but now, I think we might be okay with something like that. Here's my reasoning:

1. Jackson needs to spend some more time behind a mentor -- let Favre start this year on the understanding that the following season, he'll be the backup, and that the entire time, he'll be coaching Jackson.
2. We're already strong contenders to go deep into the playoffs. Favre would give us a real shot at making the Superbowl, and dare I say it? Winning it, finally.
3. A big name like that, with a record of going deep into the playoffs would give the team some leverage with the new stadium concept.
4. Any team that stacks up against the run would definitely get burned by the pass. Any team that stacked deep against the pass would get eaten alive by A.P. The kid could break the single-season rushing record if teams were worried about Favre going deep.

Thoughts?

Anybody ever attend the Dome for the Single Game Tickets On Sale day? My plan was to head over to the dome at about 6:30 a.m.

Anybody got any practical experience as far as expectations of a line? If need be, I could take a camping chair and go even earlier (like Midnight.)

Suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

I hope it's okay to do this here... If not, I apologize in advance.

Since I love the Vikings, and since I love to write my thoughts (and since my friends think my emails are too long already), I thought I'd make a Vikings blog to try to give myself another outlet.

Obviously it's a slow time of the year for football fans, but I thought maybe some of you would want to check it out. If so, it's at vikingsthoughts.blogspot.com. I'll try to post content a couple times a week throughout the summer, but I'm sure once football season hits I'll be posting constantly.

...in the coffin for the rest of the NFC North would be if we'd shuffle out some draft picks to Cincy and put ol' Ocho Cinco on the roster. Seriously, at this point he's only dragging the Bungles Bengals backward, Minnesota needs a no-questions-asked-shut-down-kick-ass-gold-toof-havin'-showboatin'-celebratin' wide receiver.

Dear Vikes, sign him. Now.

I see Bret finally quit over at GB. Maybe, just maybe we'll be able to beat the Pack this coming season...

I have a pretty sad theory when it comes to the Purple. As much as I love this team, and as much as it's really going to suck... I think the Vikings' days in MN are numbered.

The state budget forecast is showing us almost $1 billion in the red for the next year and a half. A major transportation bill was just passed. It was needed big time, as you may have noticed from the fact that one of our major freeway bridges collapsed last summer. The economy is weak, and the entire nation might be headed for a bleak recession.

The Vikings' lease at the Metrodome runs out in 2011. Do the math. The modern NFL will not tolerate the Dome after the 2011 season. It's a dated relic, and the biggest reason the Purple are perennially at the bottom of the league revenue list. It takes 2-3 years to build a modern football stadium. A deal would have to be struck in the next year in order get construction going on time.

The Wilf family or the league will not pay out of pocket for the billion-dollar dream stadium they want on the Dome lot. Minnesota certainly can't afford to pay for the kind of slice they would likely be asked to front.

As much as Zygi would hate to move this team, circumstances will likely leave him little choice. It blows, but it's the nature of pro sports. The North Stars are a prime example of a team that took advantage of a more lucrative opportunity when it came knocking. The good news is that we will be a major suitor for a new NFL team in happier, richer times a few years down the road.

The Twins got things done at the right time. I'm normally not a naysayer when it comes to things like this, but the future looks bad for Purple fans. Let's enjoy the Vikings while we can.

Here's who I'm thinking we should target:

1. Jevon Kearse. The freak just got cut by Philly, probably needs a new change of scenery, and with his reduced performance in '06 and '07, we can probably get him for a low sticker price with an incentives-laden contract.
2. Donté Stallworth. The Vikes need a good receiver threat, and Stallworth is a proven case. Bernard Berrian's availability should be overlooked as he's been in a situation where there's a revolving door at QB and no way to know just how solid a threat he is. DJ Hackett has never played more than 6 games in a season and his average YPC has dropped each season for the last three years.
3. Asante Samuel. The Vikes still need help in the secondary. Yes, our first and second year guys are looking like pretty good choices, but we need to have someone lined-up across from Winfield that can flat-out ball. Unless someone can convince the Vikes to cough up their 1st and 3rd round picks to take Marcus Trufant from Seattle, Samuel might be our best choice. And given the taste in Seattle's mouth from the Steve Hutchinson debacle, I can imagine that there's not a lot of interest in doing business with Minnesota.