Vikings to trade Percy Harvin?

Will the Vikings try and trade Harvin? Indications are they will listen to offers for him. What scouts are reporting is the Vikings will not receive a 1st round pick for him though. Harvin is a interesting player, there is no doubting his on field effort, but his off field baggage is what scares people.

Harvin is an explosive player on and off the field. During the first half of this season Harvin's name was attached to early MVP. Off the field he is known to argue with teammates and coaches. Local reporters were able to turn away when Harvin had it out with Childress who was not liked among players. That said it raised eyebrows when reports surfaced of him arguing with Les Frazier who is as even keeled as they come. When things don't go right he gets upset and that is partly due to his competitive nature but also his moodiness.

So what can the Vikings expect in return? I'd expect a package of picks such as a 2nd and 4th rounder. It's really hard to envision a marquee player coming back in the deal, just because of the money involved and the market value of that player. I did hear two scenario's neither of which I could see playing out.

The first was the Niners sending Alex Smith to the Vikings for Harvin along with a pick. This won't work for two reasons. Alex Smith wants to start and while he is a good solider I can't seem him sitting behind Ponder. Next why would the Vikings trade for a player who could be released and sign him for nothing? Doesn't make much sense to me.

The next was a more interesting one, the Vikings sending Harvin and another player to Arizona for Larry Fitzgerald. One paper it seems like a good deal for both teams.The Cardinals could start getting younger and Fitz could get a fresh start while providing the Vikings the wr they desperately need. For this to happen Fitz would have to force the Cardinals to trade him which I just don't see him doing.

Again I don't see either one of these happening, I do believe the Vikings will move Harvin for a couple picks cause that is the current format for the Vikings, they build through the draft. If the Vikings are going to do it, they need to do it now. Harvin is in the last year of his deal and will hold out without a new contract. Either way his days in a Vikings jersey appear to be over.

Time to Ponder, Ponder

I'm a huge Viking's fan as I am sure you have noticed from some of my post. This year I had very low expectations. The team was going with a 2nd year quarterback and rebuilding a their defense, so when the team started out 4 and 1 I was like ok, maybe they can make the playoffs.

The key to the run was the mistake free play of Christian Ponder. He was not taking any real chances down field and not afraid to throw it away if needed. He was not lighting up the stat sheet but he was forcing teams to go the length of the field when they punted away. That was alway's been head coach Fraizer's plan. Strong running game, strong defense and protect the ball. Well around week 5 teams figured out Ponder, they took the simple slants away forcing him to make bad decisions.

Now young qb's are going to struggle, it happens and is part of the game. Drew Brees was the reason the Chargers drafted Rivers, then it started clicking for Brees, but not till his 3rd year in the league. My concern with Ponder is the repeat mistakes he continues to make. The most alarming is turning it over in the redzone. Ponder has at least 3 interceptions in the endzone or inside the 5 yardline. That can't happen, not with a team like the Vikings who can not play from behind.

We have heard all season these mistakes are easily correctable and all mental, well in my opinion those are some of the toughest to correct. Ponder still tries to throw across his body, has issues in the pocket and very rarely sets his feet to throw. We know he has the talent cause we have seen him make the the throws, but something is not clicking and the team is wasting what could be Adrian Peterson's best season.

The back-up qb is a position of mystery for me, because I am not sure of the Vikings angle here. They let Sage Rosenfels walk away to keep Bethel Thompson and Joe Webb. Neither who is starter material, Thompson is raw as they come, but with a big arm. Webb while exciting because he can make plays with his leg's struggles with reads and is even quicker than Ponder to his check downs. Having not kept a veteran qb on the roster leads me to think the Vikes planned to ride out the Ponder roller coaster no matter what. Which is why Webb never got a chance yesterday, the Vikes either don't have any faith in him or are afraid to hurt Ponder's confidence.

Depending how the final couple weeks playoff assuming the Vikes don't make the playoffs, Rick Spielman will have some interesting choices to make. Does he keep Frazier, does he still believe in Ponder? I like Frazier and I think he has done a good job this year, I think the last couple years he was in offer his head. This season with an actual g.m running the team Frazier has been able to focus on the football. He says the right things and players respect him which is what you want. Ponder is not so simple, he was the 12th overall pick and at times has played well, but even when he plays well is it enough to out weigh the mistakes or even get this team to the Super Bowl?  Probably not, he was not grown and again simple repeat mistakes are very alarming. That said he was Spielman's draft and I am sure will get the full 3 years that Spielman believes are needed to develop a qb... Tighten your belts Vikings fans time to get back on the roller coaster...

Bobba Fett and rest of the Bounty Hunter Saints....

Yes, I know this goes on with every team in some shape or form..What team would not want the opposing teams best players to be out of the game? Nobody wants to endanger someone's career, but hey if he gets a stinger and needs to miss a couple plays no harm done...

But the reports out there are painting a much darker picture of the New Orleans Saints. It stems from the GM all the way down to the players. What's even more interesting is that after the owner told the GM to cut the bounty program it continued. The Saints had developed a reputation in 2009 as dirty players and then I read  reports out of Minnesota about the Saints targerting Farve and Peterson complaining they were trying to twist his ankle the following year...Even though I am a Vikes fan I wrote it off to sour grapes, cause they lost a game they should have won.

Now the reports are flying that Jonathan Vilma threw 10K on the table and said "This goes to whoever knocks Favre out of the game", that the Saints targeted Kurt Warner the week before playing the Vikings and Greg Williams preached players giving "remember me shots to qbs" and told his players to deliver them to Peyton in the Super Bowl.

Greg Williams comes from the Buddy Ryan tree of coaching and yesterday Damian Woody who played for the Jets under Rex Ryan claims this is nothing new in football... Now you have to wonder how deep the shit gets..Possible Rob Ryan in Dallas could use the same "motivational" tool? The league has done nothing but push player safety for the last couple seasons so they need to bring the hammer down on the Saints and make an example out of them, regardless if everyone is doing it or not...

Atleast now we know why Greg William's defenses are usually near the bottom of the league in tackling..Too busy going for the kill shot...

Time to fire Frazier

The season is not over yet and the Vikings are faced with the question "Is Frazier the right man to lead this team?" If you judge a team by their record and performance than no he should have been fired weeks ago, but let's look at the bigger picture.

The Vikings secondary has been terrible all season and but at least when Winfield and Cook were in there they were somewhat respectable outside of the safety position. The lose of Winfield and Cook has caused a total collapse of the secondary, proof this weekend when Tebow looked like Rodgers in the pocket passing. The Vikes are starting a DB who was on his couch watching 3 weeks ago and one with two bad knees from ACL surgery. These DB's shouldn't start in the UFL never mind starting for the Vikings.

People are complaining about Frazier bringing in McNabb and starting him over Ponder. There was zero chance Ponder could have played on day one, the lockout took any chance of that happening and threw it out the window. Frazier went after McNabb as a bridge to Ponder and was someone he was comfortable with from their time in Philly. Yes the move backfired with McNabb being benched and now waived, but the thought behind it was a good one. You do not throw your rookie quarterback into the fire and risk not only injury but his confidence.

Frazier is a great person as anyone who has met him will tell you, but I am not sold he is coaching material. I would like to see how he does with a normal off season and not inheriting over rated defense. Frazier has proven he can keep a steady ship, but I would like to see him grow as a coach. This year he has failed to make adjustments throughout the year not only with personnel but his coaching. Too many times we see Harvin or even Peterson on the bench in critical situations. You want to see the coach learn from mistakes like a player, but Frazier has often repeated the same mistakes. Truth is Frazier is safe this year, but if this team doesn't take big leaps next year Frazier might not make it to week 13.

About that Chris Johnson Hold Out...

As Chris Johnson continues to hold out in hopes of a new contract we can again ponder "Is it a good idea?" I am very much on the fence on this one, being a Vikings fan I think Adrian Peterson is more deserving then Johnson of a new contract and handling it the proper way, by showing up and not becoming a distraction to his team. Peterson has been more consistent and a more complete back than Johnson, but this post isn't about that it's about should a player hold out for a new contract?

A NFL running back has one of the shortest playing careers of any position and while great running backs are rare, serviceable good running backs are a dime a dozen.Plus what about the fact that teams can basically cut a player at any time, should we expect a player to honor his contract when the team doesn't have to? I don't think Johnson deserves what he is requesting to be paid as one of the highest impact players not just at his position but the overall. The days of a running back dictating that type of money are gone and qbs are higher impact players than running backs. I think Johnson should be paid as a top tier running back and while I don't think holding out is a great idea for other positions, I feel it is almost justified as a running back. They are one injury away from calling it a career, might as well get as much as possible when you have the leverage.

How does Brad Childress keep his job?

How does Brad Childress still have a job? He recently traded away a 3rd round pick for the troubled Randy Moss. Then one month later decided to waive him with out consulting the gm or owner. From the reports out of Minnesota of how Moss was acting, I do not blame him for wanting to waive Moss, but you need to work through the chain of command. You don't hold a press conference announcing you allowed Moss to say in New England to visit his family, then turn around and tell the team you released him. Another question is why did you sign him in the first place? Remeber Childress dealt with Terrell Owens while with the Eagles.Let's put the Moss issue aside. Childress is the same coach that cut wide out Marcus Robinson on Christmas Eve, this is the same coach who tried to fine Troy Williamson for missing time from the team for attending his grandmother funeral. Never mind how he has handled the Favre situation and throws his own players under a bus. Two weeks ago he went public against Favre for throw 3 picks in the Greeen Bay game. Last year he pointed blame on his full back Tahi for being the12th man in the huddle during the championship game. The year before he went public about possibly cutting punter Chris Kluwe for punting to Reggie Bush. Not to mention his in game coaching decisions, I have no idea how Brad Childress can still retain his job.

1st and Goal "The Seat Is A Little Bit Warmer"

This is the time of the season that can make or break a coach. You can come out of the gate on fire and get a couple years added to your contract or you feel that coaching seat getting a little bit warmer. Can you feel the heat Wade Phillips? With the NFC Super Bowl favorites losing to the Titans yesterday at home, you have to wonder if Mr.Jones is starting to fill out some pink slips. In my first post of the season I pointed out that Romo shouldn't be passing 50+ times a game.Yesterday Romo was 31-46 for 406 yards 3 td's and 3 int's. The last int coming on the final drive to seal their fate. Romo's stat line could have been much worse as I seen at least 3 interceptions dropped. Romo is a good qb, but again he is not a clutch QB. This coaching staff is failing to make the changes needed to get this team going. They battled back and forth with the Titans ,there was no need to have Romo drop back 46 times. Felix Jones had only 15 carries for 109 yards.Jones is a electric player and  Dallas needs to give him the ball more and stop letting Romo throw so much.The Cowboys are a Super Bowl caliper team, but if they lose next week in Minnesota those Super Bowl vision's will start to fade and people will need to start looking for new jobs.

For someone who likes to be private, Favre sure likes to show his privates (Allegedly)

Back in August Deadspin.com ran an item regarding allegations of Jenn Sterger, co-host of The Daily Line on Versus. Allegedly Brett Favre was nice enough to send her some photos of his lower area and left her a few voice messages back in 2008 when he was QB for the Jets. At the time Sterger  was the in-house sideline reporter for the Jets. Yesterday Deadspin released the photos and two audio messages on their site. The voice does sound a bit like Favre, but it is still not clear. Favre declined comment  when he was asked about it yesterday after practice saying "I've got my hands full with the Jets".  Without Sterger placing any charges of sexual harassment or allegations against Favre what can the league do? PFT has a good read on the story here.In the meantime, tell us what you think with our poll question above..Or if you want to skip everything and get right to the audio here it is at Deadspin.