MINNESOTA VIKINGS
After Housecleaning Effort, A Team Full of Fresh Faces
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Last season, Minnesota devolved into the land of 10,000 distractions. So this season, the organization underwent the mother of all house-cleanings, dumping its coach (Mike Tice) and quarterback (Daunte Culpepper) and signing 10 free agents, including Pro Bowl guard Steve Hutchinson, a key cog in Seattle's Super Bowl run last season.
Even the uniforms weren't spared from changes.
The Vikings have added side stripes to their jerseys, made the helmet horn symbol look more three-dimensional and changed their field logos in an effort reflect the legacy of the "Purple People Eaters" days.
Hey, anything to get rid of the "Party Boat Gone Wild" days.
New coach Brad Childress, formerly the Eagles' offensive coordinator, will call the plays in a West Coast offense. Brad Johnson takes over as the full-time No. 1 quarterback after starting the final nine games last season. While he's boring, Johnson will benefit from the style of offense being installed.
The Vikings released Koren Robinson, expected to be their first option at wide receiver, during the preseason. The move came 11 days after he led police on a high-speed chase in Mankato, Minn., and was arrested and cited with drunken driving and fleeing police.
The defense has some young players who have a chance to develop even more, including former University of Maryland all-American linebacker E.J. Henderson.
Even with the Vikings in the midst of so much transition, a .500 season isn't out of reach, especially in the soft NFC North.
