The 2012 Vikings roster thread (Small News, Discussion of players on the team(2)

[Killerjug]

opps haha my bad

[tripleplayer543]

I don't buy the whole re-building thing...we have a team that can go out and compete! Our team will once again have a good chance to win every Sunday i really believe that...When you put a team out there with talent and they are competing, it's any given sunday baby

ask the 49ers how their rebuilding process turned out last year

i agree thier is a lot of talent on the team this is not a bad teamtrhey lost the first four games three of which they had huge half time leads then late ikn the season they had little or no defensive back field help and teams like atlanta ,new orleansa and green bay exploited that. im not saying they are ready to win a championship but heck the friggen giants just won another and they shouldent have been in the play offs less for a fivew or six game run at the end of the season the vikings have an escpecialy easy schedule and could suprise some teams that look at therir record and say this game is a gimmie .

[tripleplayer543]

Good point.

Spielman said, "He was No. 1 in the league in red-zone efficiency. I think he was [also] 14th or 15th in third-down efficiency, in quarterback rating. Those are the things that you see in this kid; he does perform in pressure situations. The rest of the game will eventually come to him the more reps and the more development he gets."

Spielman said that he is very excited about where Ponder is, "as far as his development and where he's going to be as we go forward and how he ranks with some of the great quarterbacks in their early years."

"I think when you sit there and you analyze these rookie quarterbacks and you look at all the rookie quarterbacks that are great now -- all the way back when you look at Drew Brees and his rookie year, to Matthew Stafford and even where he was at his rookie year, (Josh Freeman too) and you see where Christian Ponder is, those guys are all going to have mistakes and they're going to take time to develop.

He added, "But as they develop and they continue to develop and progress in Year 2 and Year 3 and Year 4, Christian shows a lot of those same traits that some of those great quarterbacks showed when they were rookies."

I'de also like to point out that Ponder had more passes under pressure than almost any NFL quarterback at 35.1% (He’s ranked third amongst QBs with over 300 passing snaps). Even quarterbacks who wait SEVEN SECONDS before throwing (Roethlisberger) don’t have as many passes under pressure (Roethlisberger had a relatively high mark of 32.6%).

Ponder was worse under pressure than most NFL quarterbacks, sure. But so are most rookies. I think Kalil, Schwartz and the rest of the offensive line changes could help him out a lot in this regard. I know Ponder’s development is tied more closely to his ability alone and not who's surrounding him but I have faith he'll take that step forward this season.

and on top of every thing else ponder has a whole off season to get ready for next year not just a few weeks

[vikingsfan0845]

Guys we are in a rebuilding year. I am one of the guys who believes we can be competitive and win some games but we are still rebuilding. We have a lot of young guys we need to step up and develop. Ponder, Kalil, Rudolph, Greg Childs Childs, Jarius Wright, Guion, Brinkley, Chris Cook, Mistral Raymond, Harrison Smith, and Josh Robinson. Those could all step up and we could surprise some teams but were still another year away from being a legit playoff contender. Right now were on the outside looking in but the potential is there. Yes this is a rebuilding year but things are looking up for us, finally.

[tripleplayer543]

dont count out this kid they picked up from the cfl he might not have prototypical size but he is a hard hitter

[birdlegs]

I haven't been this excited about a draft and the offseason since we drafted Randy Moss. Instead of using that triangle of authority, I think having a GM to make all the decisions is going to make a big positive difference.

[100%CHEESE FREE]

Jerome Simpson: Everybody makes mistakes, I want people to forgive

New Vikings receiver Jerome Simpson thinks people in Minnesota may have the wrong idea about him because he’s coming to the team after a 15-day jail term for a felony drug charge, and he says he wants people to get to know him as a person.

“I made a poor decision. I got caught in something that wasn’t really my personality or me,” Simpson told Bob Sansevere of the Pioneer Press. “Everybody makes mistakes. I just want people to kind of forgive me.”

While he was playing for the Bengals, Simpson had two pounds of marijuana delivered to his home. He says that’s not indicative of his character.

“I’m not a drug dealer or anything. I’m not out there like that. I just made a poor decision,” Simpson said. “I paid my debt to society. I want to help people not make the same decision I made. One of my goals is to help people not go down that path like I did.”

Simpson, who will serve a three-game suspension at the start of the regular season, said that 15-day jail term was enough to teach him a valuable lesson.

“Those 15 days I spent in jail, it was terrible,” Simpson said. “It sucked. Any kids out there, that’s a place you don’t want to be. Somebody tells you when to wake up, when to make your bed, when to take a shower, when you can have a snack. That’s an obstacle you don’t want to face. I want all kids to learn not to go down that path and to learn from me. Things happen for a reason. The man upstairs wanted me to change. It sucked I had to go through it that way. It made me a stronger, better person.”

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...le-to-forgive/

He's saying all the right things anyways. Lets hope that he puts his money where his mouth is as far as his work ethic goes.

[natelpete]

Jerome Simpson: Jail 'was terrible'

His 15-day jail sentence for a drug-related charge now completed, receiver Jerome Simpson is asking for forgiveness from Minnesota Vikings fans and vows he's a good person who just made a poor decision.

Jerome Simpson took to the air in December, flipping over a Cardinals defender and into the end zone to score a memorable touchdown last season.
"Things happen for a reason. The man upstairs wanted me to change. It sucked I had to go through it that way. It made me a stronger, better person," Simpson said in an interview with the Pioneer Press.

Simpson pleaded guilty March 1 to a felony charge resulting from about 2 pounds of marijuana being shipped to his northern Kentucky home in September when he was a member of the Cincinnati Bengals. He also was sentenced to three years' probation.

"Everybody makes mistakes. I just want people to kind of forgive me," Simpson told the newspaper.

He will serve a three-game suspension at the start of the 2012 season as a result of the incident. He signed a one-year contract with the Vikings this offseason as a free agent.

"Those 15 days I spent in jail, it was terrible. It sucked," Simpson told the newspaper. "Any kids out there, that's a place you don't want to be. Somebody tells you when to wake up, when to make your bed, when to take a shower, when you can have a snack. That's an obstacle you don't want to face. I want all kids to learn not to go down that path and to learn from me."

Simpson made perhaps the play of the 2011 season when he flipped over Arizona Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington and landed on both feet in the end zone to score a touchdown. He finished the season with a 50 receptions, 725 yards and four touchdowns. But his September arrest made his NFL future uncertain before he signed with Minnesota last month.

"I'm not a drug dealer or anything. I'm not out there like that. I just made a poor decision," Simpson told the Pioneer Press.

He said he wants to help others not make the same mistake he did.

"I paid my debt to society. I want to help people not make the same decision I made," he told the newspaper. "One of my goals is to help people not go down that path like I did."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

LINK

[100%CHEESE FREE]

Kris Adams - WR - Vikings

Vikings waived WR Kris Adams.
An undrafted free agent out of UTEP last season, Adams was signed to a reserve/future deal in January. The fact that he was waived at this stage of the offseason suggests he'll struggle to latch on elsewhere as a camp body.

rotoworld

[100%CHEESE FREE]

Kevin Murphy - T - Vikings

Vikings claimed OT Kevin Murphy off waivers from the 49ers.
A 20-game starter at left tackle for Harvard, Murphy was signed by the 49ers after the draft. At 6'7" and under 300 pounds, Murphy will have to bulk up before he earns a roster spot in Minnesota.

rotoworld

Nick Reed - DL - Vikings

Vikings signed DE Nick Reed to a two-year contract.
A seventh-round pick by Seattle in 2009, Reed is small pass rusher with a relentless motor. The former Oregon Duck has 23 tackles in 16 career games with the Seahawks, Bears, and Bucs.

rotoworld

[VCU4LIFEGOVIKS]

Jose Valdez - G - Vikings
May 15 - 5:33 PM

Vikings waived OL Jose Valdez.

Valdez was a training camp darling for a couple of years in Atlanta after going undrafted out Arkansas. Valdez does have decent size and footwork, but he's yet to see regular-season action.

Source: Tom Pelissero on Twitter
http://www.rotoworld.com/playernews/nfl/football/

[vikingsfan0845]

Kevin Murphy - T - Vikings

rotoworld

Nick Reed - DL - Vikings

rotoworld

Jose Valdez - G - Vikings
May 15 - 5:33 PM

[BigB4570]

Kris Adams - WR - Vikings

Vikings waived WR Kris Adams.
An undrafted free agent out of UTEP last season, Adams was signed to a reserve/future deal in January. The fact that he was waived at this stage of the offseason suggests he'll struggle to latch on elsewhere as a camp body.

rotoworld

Ok not sure how many WR's we carried last year. Any early predictions on who makes the team at WR's?

Current WR's listed on roster

Percy Harvin exp 4
Jerome Simpson exp 5
Michael Jenkins exp 9
Devin Aromashodu exp 5
Emmanuel Arceneaux exp 1
Brian Walters exp 2
Stephen Burton exp 1
Kerry Taylor exp 1
Greg Childs exp R
Jarius Wright exp R
Kamar Jorden exp R

[natelpete]

Ok not sure how many WR's we carried last year. Any early predictions on who makes the team at WR's?

Current WR's listed on roster

Percy Harvin exp 4
Jerome Simpson exp 5
Michael Jenkins exp 9
Devin Aromashodu exp 5
Emmanuel Arceneaux exp 1
Brian Walters exp 2
Stephen Burton exp 1
Kerry Taylor exp 1
Greg Childs exp R
Jarius Wright exp R
Kamar Jorden exp R

It really depends on how many they want to keep on the final roster.
I think is comes down to Harvin, Simpson, Aromashodu, Jenkins, Childs, Wright, and Arceneaux. My guess is that Arceneaux will be the odd man out if we carry six.

[SalisBurySteak]

I think Reed might be a candidate for a switch to LB, although he seems to be an excellent pass-rusher. This is a pre-season game I believe but he appears to be quite a handful!

Apparently he returned a fumble for a TD against Jacksonville a couple years back, and when Mike Sando asked Lofa Tatupu who the best pass-rushers on the team were back in the 2010 training camp, Tatupu responded Chris Clemons was first, Nick Reed second. Link.

I really wouldn't be surprised if he found a way onto the final roster... He seems very talented and racked up a lot of TFL's in college... I like the underdog types! Maybe he can even push D'Aundre Reed for a spot in the rotation?!