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Vikings to open season with rookie FS?


Randall
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With Madieu Williams out they may turn to the rookie.

 

The Packers will help break in the rookie. :wacko:

 

 

 

 

"A six-week absence would mean Williams would not return until the fourth game of the regular season. The Vikings could look outside the organization for help -- Oakland released veteran safety Greg Wesley this week -- or turn to rookie second-round pick Tyrell Johnson.

 

Childress said he feels his team is "OK" at the safety position and doesn't expect to sign someone to play opposite Sharper. That means Johnson almost certainly would start in the Vikings' first three games against Green Bay, Indianapolis and Carolina.

 

Johnson has been working as the No. 2 strong safety to Sharper, but in the Tampa-2 scheme the Vikings run the safety positions are interchangeable. "It's been tough. It's just a mental strain because there are so many plays and so many gaps you've got to remember on every play," Johnson said of making the adjustment from Arkansas State to the Vikings.

 

Sharper expressed confidence in Johnson and said the key thing for him will be to make sure he's in the proper position. "With what we like to do, we have to make sure everyone is in a certain area and you have a certain area you have to cover," Sharper said. "You never have to do anyone else's job.

 

"That's probably the main thing. Being a star player in college, a lot of times you're asked to do a lot more things. Here in the NFL, with the defense that we have, you just need to do your job and everything will take care of itself."

 

As for Williams, it still remains unclear when he got hurt. Childress said he has a "pretty good idea" of when it happened but didn't get into specifics.

 

Sharper, for one, isn't concerned about when it happened but rather when Williams will return. Sharper has even offered Williams the use of his hyperbaric oxygen chamber to expedite the recovery process.

 

"I told him I'd let him get in my hyperbaric chamber as much as he wants to get in it," Sharper said. "He has one so he's just waiting for his to get fixed. I said, 'Until yours gets fixed, get in mine and sleep as long as you can because we need you back.'"

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Childress is being very quiet about the injury... it wouldn't completely surprise me if Williams showed up ready to start in week 1.

 

ESPN thinks he's quiet for another reason:

 

An issue of depth

 

August 12, 2008 2:29 PM

 

Posted by ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert

 

ESPN.com colleague John Clayton came up with this statistic during a conversation Monday night: The Minnesota Vikings have 17 undrafted rookies on their 80-man roster, the most among all NFL teams.

 

What does that figure mean? Considered one way, it is a reflection of the Vikings' diminishing depth after a run of injuries in the past few days. Monday, for example, the Vikings placed linebacker Heath Farwell and defensive end Jayme Mitchell on injured reserve and replaced them both with rookie free agents.

 

There wasn't much else they could do at the time. If the Vikings want more experience behind their starters, they'll have to wait until teams start jettisoning players as part of the NFL's mandatory cuts.

 

But in a short span, the Vikings have lost one starter (safety Madieu Williams) for at least six weeks and two backups for the season (Farwell and Mitchell). Williams' backup, rookie Tyrell Johnson, is sitting out practice this week because of a strained abdominal muscle. Second-team defensive end Brian Robison remains sidelined because of leg surgery, and nose tackle Pat Williams is being careful with his surgically-repaired elbow.

 

Offensively, the Vikings are limiting receiver Bernard Berrian (groin).

 

It's nowhere close to panic time for the Vikings, but coach Brad Childress already is testy about the topic. He told a group of beat reporters Monday that he wasn't going to talk about injuries because he "doesn't have to." Indeed, the NFL's official injury report doesn't begin until the first week of the season. Childress has often used that line to skate around injury questions, but this time it came with a tone that sounded a little like, "I can't bear to."

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As reported by Sirius Radio the NFL has suspended LT Bryant McKinnie for the first 4 games of the NFL season.

 

Looking ahead at the schedule the new LT has to look forward to: Aaron Kampman, Dwight Freeney, Julius Peppers and Kyle Vanden Bosch in the first 4 weeks.

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Well Ryan Grant is the only RB from last season to get a 100 yard game against the Vikes. I expect that the Packers will be held in check this time around and then some. Rodgers will need to have enough time to expose the rookie. He may not have that against a fired up Vikings team.

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From The Star Tribune

 

 

 

Report: McKinnie likely to get four games

August 14th, 2008 – 3:38 PM by Judd Zulgad

MANKATO — Vikings left tackle Bryant McKinnie had little reaction this afternoon to a report by Sirius NFL Radio that he is likely to be suspended for four games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

 

“I don’t know about that,” McKinnie said as he walked off the practice field. McKinnie is subject to possible disciplinary action by the NFL as a repeat offender of the league’s conduct policy. He met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in early June.

 

Although we don’t get Sirius NFL Radio here in Mankato, :wacko: a reader put a comment on an earlier Access Vikings blog about the report. We checked with a spokesman from Sirius and he confirmed the station has been reporting the McKinnie information on its updates.

 

McKinnie’s latest off-the-field incident occured in February when he got into a brawl outside a Miami nightclub. He faces four charges from that incident, including one felony. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His next court date is scheduled for Sept. 24 in Miami-Dade County Court.

 

A Vikings official said the team can’t comment on the matter and that any statement would have to come from the NFL. We’re awaiting a return e-mail on the matter from the league.

 

UPDATE: An NFL spokesman responded to our e-mail saying the report by Sirius is speculation and that the league has made no announcements.

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From The Star Tribune

 

UPDATE: An NFL spokesman responded to our e-mail saying the report by Sirius is speculation and that the league has made no announcements.

 

KFAN is saying the same thing... that the Sirius report is speculation.

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From The Star Tribune

 

Although we don’t get Sirius NFL Radio here in Mankato, :wacko:

 

:D They have some pretty serious satellite blocking capabilites during training camp... can't be too careful with all of those cheating Patriots sending spies to film everyone these days.

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