Free Agency Stays Interesting

It was good to see on Viking Update this morning that DT Jimmy Kennedy has signed a new deal. I know he wanted something longer than 2 years, but that is a start. I thought he did a great job last year and was hoping he would get resigned. He has only been in the league for 7 years, so he should have a few years left in him. Hopefully he will continue to thrive in our system and will be able to take over for Big Pat when he retires.

I found it funny that CB Karl Paymah left the Vikings for San Francisco. He came to the Vikings spouting his abilities and how good he was going to be for us, only to have a very lackluster season and even being inactive for the last 4 games plus the playoffs. The Vikings didn't even have a tender on him and made no offer to him to stay. His biggest complaint was the weather...I always knew the winters up North kept the riff-raff out!

And a final note...I am very curious to see how Tim Tebow goes in the draft next month. It looks like he impressed a lot of people with the changes he made to his throwing motion. Personally, I think he would be better used in a position other than quarterback, but we shall see.

Hate to See Him Go!

Well...we lost him! I hate to see Chester Taylor leave the Vikings. I have always been a huge fan of his. He fit our system well and was a very productive and reliable player. I think what stinks the most is the fact that he went to the Bears. I think he will help them improve quite a bit, which is not good for us. We do have some young backs on the team that I hope to see do well. One in particular is Ian Johnson. He was amazing in the preseason last year. He was running bubbas OVER! I would love to see him make the regular squad.

Not too sure what I think about the Vikings flirting with signing Tomlinson. He has been losing productivity for the past few years and I personally think his ego will get in the way of his being an asset to the team.

I Hate What-ifs!

This time of year always brings out the "what-ifs" in the NFL. For the Vikings this year, the be one is Favre. So many people want him back for another year...even those who didn't want him in the first place. One fan from Wisconsin actually took out a full-page letter in a newspaper in Favre's hometown asking him to come back. Hopefully we find out his desires soon.

The other is Chester Taylor. To me this one is as big as Favre. He fits our system so well and gives us a back with very little drop-off in performance when Peterson is out. Options being mentioned now are Westbrook or Tomlinson, with Westbrook being the best replacement for Taylor. My attitude is just keep Taylor.

I want to know about Henderson too. His loss was quite significant and I'm not sure Brinkley is the answer as his replacement. Granted, he is young and learning and could turn into a great LB with some more experience. I just hope that if Henderson returns, he is able to play at the level he was playing at.

Draft day should be interesting. I still think we need some better corner backs. Our defensive backfield wasn't as porous as past years, but it still left a bit to be desired.

This time of year is tough...football withdrawal is bad. Is it August yet?