Minnesota Vikings vs Philadelphia Eagles Injury Report

Here is your injury report for the Philadelphia Eagles versus Minnesota Vikings game set for tomorrow at 12:00pm. I will be posting the injury report only once this week. I am finding out there are not a lot of injury updates during the week, and the players either practice, are limited in practice, or do not practice at all. This should be the final report posted until tomorrow's game day report. All other injury updates who are listed as probable most likely WILL PLAY, doubtfuls will most likely NOT PLAY, and questionables are going to be game time decisions. If there are any major changes in this report, I will post it by 9am tomorrow morning. Otherwise this is it for this week.

Minnesota Vikings Injury report for 10/28/2007 Game:
10/26/2007 50 Vinny Ciurciu (LB) Ankle---------------Doubtful
10/26/2007 29 Chester Taylor (RB) Groin-------------Probable
10/26/2007 38 Naufahu Tahi (FB) Knee---------------Questionable
10/26/2007 24 Dwight Smith (S) Hamstring----------Out
10/26/2007 7 Tarvaris Jackson (QB) Right hand--Questionable
10/26/2007 99 Erasmus James (DE) Shoulder-----Questionable
10/26/2007 81 Visanthe Shiancoe (TE) Groin-------Probable
10/26/2007 64 Anthony Herrera (G) Knee------------Probable

Philadelphia Eagles Injury Report for 10/28/2007 Game
10/27/2007 20 (FS) Brian Dawkins Neck--------Doubtful
10/27/2007 69 (T) Jon Runyan Glute-------------Questionable
10/27/2007 51 (LB) Takeo Spikes Shoulder----Probable
10/27/2007 26 (CB) Lito Sheppard Knee--------Probable
10/27/2007 87 (TE) Brent Celek Ankle-----------Probable
10/27/2007 82 (TE) L.J. Smith Hernia------------Probable
10/27/2007 72 (T) William Thomas Knee-------Probable
10/27/2007 37 (S) Sean Considine Ankle------Probable

Eagles Fly into Minneapolis

The Philadelphia Eagles fly into the Hubert H. Humphry Metrodome this weekend to do battle with our Minnesota Vikings. The Eagles and Vikings are doing battle for the 20th time in their team history, and it's Philadelphia holding a one game lead over the Vikings, with a series record of 10-9. Philadelphia has also won the last three meetings between these two clubs by a combined score of 102-47. The last time these two teams met was in the 2004 NFC Divisional Playoffs, with the Eagles winning 27-14. The helmets you see here are from the Eagles 1969-1973 teams, and the Vikings helmet is from 1961.

The Eagles are being led into the Metrodome this weekend by veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb. McNabb is entering this weekend with an 88.4 percent passer rating. He has 205 attempts, 122 completions for 1,447 yards. McNabb also has seven touchdowns, 2 interceptions, and has been sacked 23 times. In the backfield for Philadelphia are veterans Brian Westbrook, and Correll Buckhalter. Westbrook has ran the ball 89 times, rushing for 490 yards, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Westbrook is also a threat in the air, as he as 31 receptions for 299 yards. Those receiving stats are good for second best on the squad. Buckhalter on the other hand has 36 rushes for 190 yards, averaging of 5.3 yards per carry.

The Eagles top two full-time receivers are Kevin Curtis, who has 29 receptions for 506 yards, and Reggie Brown, who has 17 receptions for 214 yards. Since McNabb's inception in the NFL in 1999, he is a perfect 3-0 against Minnesota. The Eagles run the same West Coast offense as the Minnesota Vikings, and both teams are struggling. Philadelphia lost last week to the Chicago Bears 19-16. Although Philadelphia is 2-4 on the season, their points for versus points against is +15.

On the other side of the ball for the Eagles is their 11th ranked defense in the league, and eighth ranked defense in rushing. The Eagles defense only allows 16.8 points per game, and their rushing defense only allows 88.0 yards per game. Philadelphia's defense keeps them close in every game, but their offensive woes have stopped them from winning this season.

The Minnesota Vikings are in the same boat at the Eagles. Minnesota comes into this week's game with their rushing offense ranked first in the league with 163.7 yards per game. With Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor in the backfield, the Vikings have held opponents wondering where the ball will be going. It has been the athleticism of Peterson that keeps defenses' on their heels, as he has rushed for over 100 yards in four of six games this season. Peterson is also a passing threat for swing out passes, where he utilizes his speed and agility to out-maneuver opponents for big yard gains. Chester Taylor has also helped out the Vikings in the backfield this season. He rushes for an average of 4.4 yards per carry, improving from last year at 4.0 yards per carry. Minnesota also has the running threat of Tarvaris Jackson at quarterback. Although he has many problems throwing the ball, he can scramble and run when allowed. Jackson averages 4.2 yards per carry, and is fast on his feet. Tarvaris can run and eat up yardage if given the chance.

It appears this season that the Viking coaching staff is trying to make Jackson stay in to pocket more often. Jackson has a miserable passer rating of 48.7 percent, and is at 45.9 percent for pass completions. Jackson has only completed 45 of 98 passes for 537 yards. Tarvaris also has only thrown two touchdowns, and five interceptions. To Jackson's defense, 4 of his 5 interceptions came in one game. Week two against Detroit. However, this week it appears that Kelly Holcomb will get the start for the Vikings. Tarvaris Jackson has a broken finger on his throwing hand, which appears to be bothering him this week. Holcomb has a substantially better passer rating than Jackson at 70.9 percent, and has completed 35 of 67 passes for 427 yards in two games this season. Although Holcomb has a passer rating and completion rating better than Jackson, he has found the end zone less times than Jackson. Kelly Holcomb has thrown only one touchdown, one interception, and has been sacked 10 times this season. Holcomb is a better option than Jackson, but I think this is due to Tarvaris's lack of experience and immaturity, rather than his ability.

Minnesota's receiving corps has not helped out much either. Bobby Wade has been the most dependable receiver so far this season. Wade has caught 19 passes for 219 yards, but no touchdowns. Sydney Rice has caught 11 passes for 119 yards and one touchdown, while Adrian Peterson has 11 receptions for 187 yards and one touchdown. Finally, rounding out the main receivers for the Vikings, Troy Williamson has 9 receptions for 159 yards, and one touchdown. Williamson's lone touchdown came in week six against the Chicago Bears, and went for 60 yards. Minnesota's lack luster offense has 170 passing attempts, with only 83 completions. Minnesota also has three passing touchdowns, and six interceptions. The Vikings need to get something going here very soon. Viking fans are growing impatient with the poor performances week in and week out with nothing being done to improve.

The key for the Vikings this week will again be the performance of Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor. This virtually unstoppable tandem will keep the Eagle defense on their heels. Even though Philadelphia is ranked 8th in the league in rushing defense, they have not seen the likes of Adrian Peterson this season. Both Taylor and Peterson need to touch the ball 25 times, and our offensive line needs to open some nice holes for those two guys. Holcomb should be more accurate in his passing game, so the Viking receivers will have no excuses for dropping passes. Troy Williamson is best utilized for short passes, and then should use his speed to get down field. Bobby Wade has been the most consistent receiver we have, and should see more playing time. The Viking offense needs at least two touchdowns this week, and then rely on or defense to keep up their hard work, and the Eagles out of the end zone.

Overall, this should be a good game. Even with both teams struggling offensively to score points, both teams defenses are strong, and won't allow a lot of points. I think we will see a defensive battle in this one fans, and the out come will depend on who's offense gets going this week. Finally, the Viking Mania Fan Club will be hosting a Meet and Greet gathering at Zimmy's in Hibbing starting at 11 am. We will then watch the game, and have time for sign up to the fan club as well. We invite all group members, their families and friends, as well as travelers to our area to attend. So come on down to Zimmy's Vikings fans and join in the fun.

SKOL VIKINGS!!!!

Viking Mania Fan Club Meet and Greet

The Viking Mania Fan Club has scheduled a Meet and Greet in Hibbing. The event begins at 11am for social hour. Then we will stay and watch the game as our Minnesota Vikings take on the Philadelphia Eagles. We will cheer on our Minnesota Vikings, and then we can stay afterwards and reminisce about what we saw. Everyone is welcome, so please bring all family members and friends. The saying here at Viking Mania is "The more the merrier."

There will also be plenty of time for people to sign up for the fan club as well. Registration is FREE! Once you fill out our Official Registration Form, we will then make out your Official Certificate, and mail it out to you along with your Viking Mania Fan Club Gift Pack. You can also get you Viking Mania Fan Club Official Registration Form online at: http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/carlossilvafanclub07/

There is detailed information on the home page of this site for registration. Our Meet and Greet will be held at:

Zimmy's

531 East Howard Street

Hibbing, MN

We hope to see some new faces there this week. We already had our first Meet and Greet last week, and everything went well. We had about seven members show up, and expect more this week. Everyone who attended last week had a lot of fun, and committed to attend this week as well.

SKOL VIKINGS!!!!

Meet Vikings Quarterback # 13 Kelly Holcomb

Bryan Kelly Holcomb was born on July 9, 1973, in Fayetteville, TN, and attended Lincoln County High School. While at Lincoln, he lettered in football, baseball, and basketball. Bryan uses his middle name and goes by the professional name of Kelly Holcomb. Kelly attended college at Middle Tennessee, and was inducted into the Tennessee Scholastic Collegiate Hall of Fame in 1994. Kelly Holcolmb currently holds a degree in exercise science.

In his freshman season at Middle Tennessee, Kelly played in 11 games and made two playoff appearances. He threw 209 passes completing 130 for 1,763 yards and five touchdowns. He saw action in 43 games, missing the only game of his career with a fractured jaw in his sophomore season. Even with the fractured jaw, Kelly managed to throw 168 passes, completing 92 for 1,406 yards, 9 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. As a junior, he started in 11 games and posted 133 completions on 244 attempts for 1,738 yards, seven touchdowns and six interceptions. He finished as his schools all-time leader in pass completions at 501, he made 801 attempts, and 7,064 passing yards. In his senior season at Middle Tennessee, Kelly was 146 of 244 and 2,154 yards, 15 touchdowns, and nine interceptions, to earn First-Team All-Ohio Valley Conference Honors. Kelly Holcomb entered the NFL as an un-drafted rookie with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1995.

Kelly did not make an appearance for the Buccaneers in his one year hiatus in Tampa. Kelly was then traded to the Indianapolis Colts in 1996, and stayed there for five seasons as back up to Peyton Manning. Holcomb played in five games while with the Colts all in 1997. In his 1997 debut, he made his first career start against the Cincinnati Bengals, and threw his first career touchdown to Marvin Harrison. In his 1997 season, Kelly threw 75 passes completing 45, and threw for 454 yards. Kelly threw only one touchdown, 8 interceptions, and was sacked 11 times. Kelly did not make any appearances from 1998-2001.

In 2001, Holcomb was traded to the Cleveland Browns, and played in one game coming off the bench versus Tennessee. In that game Kelly threw 12 passes completing seven. He threw one touchdown, no interceptions, and was not sacked. In his only game that season, Kelly had a quarterback rating of 118.1. Holcomb then started in two games in 2002 for Cleveland, and notched his first win as a started against Cincinnati with a passer rating of 99.0. He started in the season opener against Kansas City throwing for 326 yards, 3 touchdowns, no interceptions, and received a passer rating of 120.2. In his two games in 2002, Holcomb threw 106 passes completing 64 for 790 yards. Holcomb threw 8 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, and was sacked 5 times. He ended the season with a 92.9 passer rating.

Holcomb's best season was in 2003, where he played in 10 games, and started in eight. He set career highs with 302 attempts, had 193 completions for 1,797 yards. He threw his career long pass of 68 yards to Quincy Morgan in a game against Arizona, and had a career best 141.9 passer rating. Kelly also threw 10 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and was sacked 21 times. His sack ratio was 2.1 time sacked per game.

In 2004, Kelly played in four games and started two. In this season, he notched a career best 413 yards passing, threw 5 touchdown passes, and had his second best passer rating of 128.5. He won his final game as a Brown, defeating Houston in the season finale on January 2, 2005. Kelly was then traded to Buffalo.

In his 2005 season with the Bills, Kelly played in 10 games and made 8 starts. He threw for 308 yards in a win against Cincinnati and had a passer rating of 100+ points in three games. In 2005 he threw 230 passes completing 155 for 1, 509 yards. Holcomb threw 10 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, and was sacked 17 times. He ended the season with a passer rating of 70.9. Kelly did not play a game for the Bills in 2006. In March of 2007, Kelly was acquired by the Philadelphia Eagles, the picked up by the Minnesota Vikings for a 6th round draft pick in 2009.

In his 2007 season, Kelly Holcomb has played in two games, and made two starts. He has thrown 67 passes and completed 35 of his passes. Holcomb has only one touchdown and one interception, and was sacked 10 times. OUCH!!!!! Holcomb had his best game against the Green Bay Packers, where he completed 21 of 39 passes for 258 yards. In that game he threw one touchdown, one interception and was sacked 5 times in a 23-16 loss.

Holcolmb would be the likely starter this week if Tarvaris Jackson's broken finger on his throwing hand bothers him too much. Holcomb is the only Viking Quarterback this season to throw for over 200 yards in a game, but has only reached the end zone one time. With the Vikings lack luster offense, and less than average receiving corps, it would be hard for any quarterback to do much with these guys. Holcomb is the only quarterback in about a year to show signs of life, as he moved the Vikings down the field, making the most passing yards in one game, and is only one touchdown away from tying Tarvaris Jackson's 2 touchdowns in his 5 games. He is also the only Vikings quarterback to throw for over 200 yards since Brad Johnson did it in week 12 last year, and Tarvaris Jackson's 213 yards passing in week 17 last season.

Although Kelly Holcomb is not the answer to the Vikings offensive woes this season, he seems to be a much better candidate than the other two quarterbacks we have to this point. As I said in my blog yesterday, Tarvaris Jackson is too raw, and has not had the proper nurturing and preparation to be in the NFL yet. Given more time to mature and learn how to play in the NFL, I think Jackson will succeed in the this league. But for now lets see what our guy Kelly Holcomb can do. If Tarvaris Jackson can not start this week due to injury, then hopefully head coach Brad Childress will have the insight to go with Kelly Holcomb.

SKOL HOLCOMB!!!!
&
SKOL VIKINGS!!!!!

Meet Vikings Starting Quarterback # 7 Tarvaris Jackson

Tarvaris Jackson was born on April 21, 1983, in Montgomery Alabama. Jackson attended high school at Sidney Lanier High, which is the same school as Green Bay Packer legend Bart Starr. Tarvaris attended college at Alabama State in his home town of Montgomery, and was a three year starter there. He made his college debut in 2001 against UNLV while playing for Arkansas and played three games before he was sidelined for the season with a shoulder injury. He was granted a medical red shirt, for the remainder of the season.

In 2002, Tarvaris saw time is eight games for the Razorbacks, which was his final season with the team. He made his first college start against Auburn, and threw his first college touchdown in a game versus South Florida. In 2003, Jackson decided to leave Arkansas University, and head back to his hometown of Montgomery Alabama, and attend college at Alabama State University. Jackson left Arkansas for Alabama State, so he could become an instant starter, rather than be a back up at Arkansas.

While at Alabama State, Jackson majored in psychology, and earned his degree before he left. In his 2003 debut at Alabama State, he started in all 13 games, and led his Hornets to an 8-5 record, the South West Athletic Conference Eastern Division Title, and a berth in the South West Athletic Conference Championship V game against Southern, which Alabama State lost. It was in this season that Tarvaris had his career high 444 yards rushing, and five touchdowns. He guided his team to 48+ points in four games during the season, and threw for a career high 361 yards versus Grambling University.

In 2004, Tarvaris guided the Hornets to another SWAC title, and a 10-2 mark. He became only the second quarterback in school history to lead a team to 10 wins. He was named the MVP of the SWAC Championship VI game and the Detroit Football Classic. He avenged a 2003 loss to Southern in the SWAC Championship game, with a 45-35 win. It was the fifth time during the season that Alabama State scored over 40 points in a game. With the win over Southern in this season's championship game, it also avenged an earlier 42-41 regular season loss to Southern. Tarvaris was ranked third in school history with 2,556 yards passing, and fourth in passing touchdowns with 20.

In his final season as a Hornet, Tarvaris Jackson earned second team All-SWAC honors, and was tabbed the SWAC preseason Player of the Year. Jackson became Alabama State's captain, and offensive MVP. He threw for 2,941 yards, which was the third most in school history, and gained 3,226 yards of total offense, when he rushed for 285 yards for the season. Tarvaris also threw for 3+ touchdowns in 7 of 11 games, and threw at least one touchdown in every game that season. Jackson averaged 293.2 yards per game, and was ranked 9th in Division I AA. His Hornets were off to a great start at 6-1 on the season, before falling to a final 6-5 record. The Hornets lost their final four games by a total of 14 points combined.

In his total career at Alabama State, Tarvaris was ranked 7th in the SWAC with 67 touchdown passes in three seasons. He ranked 9th in the conference with 7,839 yards, and ended his ASU career ranked 2nd in school history for touchdown passes, and passing yards. Jackson accounted for a total of 79 career touchdowns, (67 passing 12 rushing), and threw a touchdown pass in all of his final 16 games. Jackson posted 6 career 300 yard plus passing games, and competed with Jacksonville's first round draft pick wide receiver for the quarterback position at Arkansas. He earned Second team All-SWAC honors his senior season at Alabama State. Tarvaris Jackson was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2006 draft. When the Vikings drafted Tarvaris Jackson, he became only the second player in school history ever to be drafted out of Alabama State University.

Since joining the Minnesota Vikings, Tarvaris has joined his teammates during the 2006 holiday season, taking part in Dick's Sporting Good "Shop with a Viking" event helping children from boys and girls clubs of the Twin Cities spend gift cards. He even hosted a pizza party afterwards. He has taught kids football as part of the Viking Junior Player Development Camp in St. Paul, and his career aspirations are to coach or work with children, in order to give back to the coaches who helped mentor him throughout his childhood. Tarvaris has also hosted barbecues during off season work outs to promote team building for the 2007 season.

In 2006, Tarvaris made his NFL debut, becoming only the fifth quarterback to make his debut as a rookie that season. Jackson joined the rookie class of Vince Young (Tennessee), Matt Leinart (Arizona), Jay Cutler (Denver), and Bruce Gradowski (Tampa Bay). Jackson finished with a 58.0% pass completion, falling behind only Jay Cutler from Denver. When Jackson made his NFL starting debut, it was against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football, on the NFL Network. He became only the third rookie quarterback in Viking history to start as a rookie. Jackson joined the elite group of Fran Tarkenton, and Tommy Kramer. Jackson came in in relief of an ailing Brad Johnson in a game versus the New York Jets last season on December 17, and hit Mewelde Moore for a 20 yard touchdown on a screen pass. He threw his second career touchdown to Travis Taylor in a game against the St. Louis Rams New Years Eve in the season finale. In the season finale, Jackson also rushed for his first career touchdown, and tied the season long touchdown pass, connecting with Mewelde Moore for a 50 yard strike. In his very limited playing time in 2006, Jackson threw three passes for over 30 yards.

Tarvaris Jackson has the potential to be a very good starter in the NFL. He is still very young and very raw. Coming out of a Division I AA school, he will need a little more time to develop, than would say a Jay Cutler, Matt Leinart, Vice Young and Bruce Gradowski. Unfortunately, with the WIN NOW mentality of the NFL and sports fans everywhere, there is hardly any time to develop a young quarterback like Tarvaris. This is only his first season as a full time starter, and he will need about three seasons before he gets going. The best possible situation for Jackson would have been to learn from a quality veteran quarterback for a few years, then make his career debut. Since head coach Brad Childress has chosen otherwise, Viking fans everywhere must lend their support to Tarvaris and cheer him on. This young kid has been put in the unfortunate situation of leading a professional football team into battle, before he even had a chance to get his feet wet in real-time NFL play. Viking fans should be patient, support Tarvaris, and watch as he matures in the league. Even the great Brett Favre had a rough fist couple seasons, and packer fans were booing him as well.

SKOL JACKSON!!!!!!

Blocked Field Goal Costs Vikings

A blocked field goal late in the third quarter by Dallas Cowboy's defensive end Chris Canty and recovered by free safety Pat Watkins was ran back for a touchdown, that gave the Cowboys a 21-14 lead. The touchdown secured the game for Dallas, as they defeated the Minnesota Vikings for the first time since the 1999 NFC Wild Card game 24-14.

The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Minnesota Vikings for the first time since the 1999 NFC Wild Card game, where they won 40-15. Dallas's defense was awesome in yesterday's game, as they held Minnesota's rookie stud Adrian Peterson to just 63 yards on 12 carries, and Chester Taylor to only 47 yards on 10 carries. Dallas also held the Vikings to a total of 196 yards on the day, as Tarvaris Jackson was terrible again, in only completing 6 of 19 passes. On the other side of the ball, Tony Romo had another great day as he completed 31 of 39 passes, and threw one touchdown. However, Romo was sacked three times and lost one fumble which was recovered by the Vikings Kevin Williams, who rumbled for an 84 yard touchdown. The touchdown was called back due to a holding penalty, and the 6 foot 5 311 pounder needed a breather and some oxygen.

The Minnesota Vikings run defense was in tact again this week. They held Marion Barber to 96 yards on 19 carries, and Julius Jones to 28 yards on 9 carries. They also scored a touchdown off a Cowboy fumble from receiver Patrick Crayton. The fumble was recovered by Minnesota Viking corner back Cedric Griffin, and ran in for a 50 yard touchdown. The Vikings defense also held the running game of the Dallas Cowboys to just 111 total yards.

Our Minnesota Vikings kept the game close and had a chance to win right up til the end. Unfortunately for Minnesota, their lack luster offense proved to be fatal, as Tarvaris Jackson only completed 9 of 19 passes for a miserable 72 yards, and a quarterback rating of 44.2 percent. The bright spot for Jackson was he had no interceptions and ran the ball 4 times for 20 yards. Adrian Peterson, who has been the shining star for this Vikings offense, was held to 63 yards on 12 carries. Chester Taylor, who has been our other powerful running back, was held to 47 yards on 10 carries. The Vikings best drive of the day was on their first drive. It was the Peterson/Taylor drive that ended in a 20 yard rushing touchdown from Adrian Peterson. This drive had Peterson carry the ball 4 times for 27 yards, and have one pass reception for 12 yards. Chester Taylor carried the ball three times for 21 yards, and had one reception for three yards. Tarvaris Jackson completed two passes on three attempts, and scrambled for a 6 yard run. After that, the Vikings offense failed to produce anything for the remainder of the game. Adrian Peterson would only touch the ball 8 more times for 43 yards, and Chester Taylor would touch the ball seven more times for 27 yards, while Tarvaris Jackson would only complete three more passes.

This game once again leaves us with some questions: What are the Minnesota Vikings thinking when they call their plays? Why was Adrian Peterson only given the ball 12 times all day? After rushing for 224 yards on 20 carries and three touchdowns last week, why such minimal use this week? Why did they give Chester Taylor the ball 20 times for 83 yards against the Bears, and only 10 times versus the Cowboys? Taylor has even improved on his 4 yards per carry from last season, to 4.7 yards this season. Then the T-Jack question. Why is such a raw and unproven quarterback used week in and week out, as he continues to fail miserably? I can answer this one for you. Tarvaris Jackson is suppose to be our franchise quarterback. Jackson is making rookie mistakes, and it is going to take some patients on the part of the Minnesota Vikings and their fans before they see some real success from Tarvaris Jackson.

Jackson does have the ability to play in the NFL, but is still very young and raw. Unfortunately, with a league that has the mentality to win and win now, there seems to be no patients with bringing up young quarterbacks. Other than the week two disaster of 4 interceptions, Tarvaris has only thrown one interception all season. Unfortunately, he still has not found a way to get the ball into the end zone. Once Jackson gets rolling on his passing game, gains a little confidence, and is utilized more freely on the scramble and allowed to run, I think we will see a much improved Tarvaris Jackson. He did make a few good heads up plays, and avoided a safety as well. Jackson appears to rush his passes when under pressure, rather than scramble out of the pocket more often, or just find an open spot and run. This causes a lot of over thrown passes, or poorly placed passes from Tarvaris. Given more time and patients, Tarvaris Jackson could make his early doubters eat their words.

Finally, Minnesota Vikings fans need to give this young man some time, patients and consideration. He his a very young, and raw quarterback who is being thrown in a starting role and given no time to grow and mature in this league. He is fresh out of Alabama State from 2006, and will need even more time than say would a Brady Quinn or a Matt Leinart. Remember, this is only Tarvaris Jackson's first full season as a starter. I believe with some more time and proper nurturing from the coaches, Tarvaris Jackson could be as good as he was projected to be.

SKOL JACKSON!!!!

&

SKOL VIKINGS!!!!

Viking Mania Fan Club First Meet and Greet Results

The Viking Mania Fan Club had our first Meet and Greet in Hibbing, at Zimmy's. It was a blast. We had 6 members show up and their families. There was also a few questions from other patrons at Zimmy's on who we were, and what we were doing here today. Hopefully the word will get out about us, and we can get more new members. All six members had a good time, and said they will be back next week. Too bad our Vikings did not win today, but our defense did keep it close.

Skol Vikings!!!!

Minnesota Vikings vs Dallas Cowboys Injury Report

Here is your injury report for the Dallas Cowboys versus Minnesota Vikings game set for tomorrow at 3:00pm. I will be posting the injury report only onece this week. I am finding out there are not a lot of injury updates during the week, and the players either practice, are limited in practice, or do not practice at all. This should be the final report posted until tomorrow's game day report. All other injury updates who are listed as probable most likely WILL PLAY, doubtfuls will most likely NOT PLAY, and questionables are going to be game time decisions. If there are any major changes in this report, I will post it by 9am tomorrow morning. Otherwise this is it for this week.

Minnesota Vikings Injury Report For 10/21/07 Game:

10/20/2007 (50) Vinny Ciurciu (LB)----Ankle-------Out
10/2/2007 (38) Naufahu Tahi (FB)----Knee--------Out
10/20/2007 (24) Dwight Smith (S)------Hamstring--Out

10/20/2007 (7) Tarvaris Jackson (QB)--Groin-------Probable
10/20/2007 (99 Erasmus James (DE)---Shoulder----Questionable

Dallas Cowboys Injury Report For 10/21/07 Game:

10/20/2007 (42) Anthony Henry (CB)---Ankle-----Out
10/20/2007 (83) Terry Glenn (WR)-----Knee------Out
10/20/2007 (46) Oliver Hoyte (RB)-----Neck------Doubtful
10/20/2007 (27) Courtney Brown (CB)--Biceps----Questionable
10/20/2007 (70) Keith Davis (S)--------Shoulder--Probable

Norsemen Invade Dallas

The Minnesota Vikings will invade Dallas, Texas this weekend for another game against the Dallas Cowboys. These two teams met in a meaningless game in the pre-season at the Metrodome, and it was the Vikings who prevailed winning 23-14. In that game though, both teams had most, if not all of their starters on the bench that night.

The Dallas/Minnesota series has been a close one all the way through. In the 22 meetings between these two clubs, it is our Minnesota Vikings who lead the series 12-10. Minnesota has also won the last five games between these two clubs, winning in 1998, twice in 1999 (NFC Wild card Game), 2000, and 2004. The last time Minnesota lost to Dallas was in the NFC Wild Card game, losing 40-15. The helmets here are from the 1961-72 Vikings, and the 1960-63 Cowboys.

The Vikings defense will have their hands full in this game. Minnesota's number 2 rush defense in the NFL, gets the unique task of going against former Minnesota Gopher Marion Barber III, and Julius Jones, but they also have to deal with Tony Romo, and not Brad Johnson. The Cowboys rushing game is ranked 11th in the league, with Marion Barber rushing for 383 yards on 65 carries, and Julius Jones rushing for 269 yards on 69 carries. Then come the running ability of Tony Romo, who has run the ball 13 times for 77 yards, ranking third on the Cowboys team in rushing. Not only can Romo run well, as seen by his stats, but he can also throw.

Tony Romo has a great arm, and two awesome receivers in Terrell Owens, Patrick Crayton, and a great tight end in Jason Witten. Witten tops the charts in passing, with 32 receptions and 454 yards. Then comes the deep threat in Terrell Owens, who has 27 receptions for 453 yards. Patrick Crayton is third on the team with 24 receptions and 381 yards. Overall this season, quarterback Tony Romo has passed for 1,707 yards, thrown the ball 200 times, and has 119 completions. Romo's pass completion ratio is at 59.5%, and he has a quarterback rating of 93.5%. Romo has been sacked eight times, thrown 9 interceptions, and 15 touchdowns. Is there any wonder why the Dallas offense averages 33.8 points per game?

Minnesota's offense on the other hand only has a great running game. With an extremely raw quarterback in Tarvaris Jackson, who has only played in three of the five Vikings games, and has only completed 49.4% of his passes, has only thrown the ball 79 times this season. T-Jack has thrown 39 completions for 465 yards, has only two touchdowns, and five interceptions. However, he has only been sacked twice, for a loss of three yards. Jackson does have the ability to scramble, and is an effective runner. However, head coach Brad Childress has seen fit to make T-Jack stay in the pocket, and try to either find an open man, or dump off the ball. I think Jackson could be a very effective quarterback, if given the opportunity to utilize all his skills. T-Jack has over thrown a lot of his receivers, probably because he feels too much pressure from his opponents defense, and is rushing to avoid being sacked.

Minnesota's backfield is loaded, with the likes of rookie sensation Adrian Peterson, and veteran Chester Taylor. Taylor was last season's "workhorse," carrying the ball 303 times for 1,216 yards. So far this season, Taylor has carried the ball 33 times for 144 yards. Taylor was sidelined with an oblique injury for two weeks already, when he started in 15 of 16 games last season. Chester's average yards per carry last season was at 4.0, and this season he is averaging 4.3 yards per carry.

Our newest "stud" running back, and probably the most talented player in the NFL is Adrian Peterson. Peterson, is the first round draft pick last season, and went seventh overall. A number of teams passed him up, because they were not sure of how healthy he would remain this season, due to a collar bone issue with Oklahoma. After the draft, Peterson vowed to make those teams who passed on him regret their decision. So far this season, Adrian has done just that, and payed dividends for our Vikings. Adrian Peterson has carried the ball 96 times for 607 yards. He averages 6.3 yards per carry, and has four touchdowns. Peterson is also a threat in the passing game, as he has 10 receptions for 175 yards, and a 60 yard touchdown to boot. Peterson's sure hands, and ability to maneuver around opponents to break open down field, only capitalizes his speed. The biggest question on the minds of the Cowboys is: Can they stop Adrian Peterson? or Will he run All Day on them?

The Vikings passing game is lacking. With only one Viking quarterback in Kelly Holcomb throwing over 200 yards in one game, our pass attack relies on Adrian Peterson who has 10 receptions for 175 yards, Bobby Wade with 18 reception for 203 yards, and Sydney Rice with 11 receptions for 119 yards. Speedster Troy Williamson has only 8 receptions for 134 yards and a 60 yard touchdown. If Troy could hold on to the ball more often, just think what he could do.

I see that Brad Childress is not using his players how I think they are best suited. I noticed last week just how fast Troy Williamson really is. If Childress would use him in more short passes, or slant routes, then let Williamson utilize his speed, he would be much more effective, and should catch the ball more often. I don't think it's Williamson's hands that are the problem, as much as his inability to judge the ball. Then there is the T-Jack story of him not being allowed to scramble or run the ball as much as he would like. Jackson has seven rushing attempts, and 26 yards, with his longest run going for 10 yards. Jackson averages 3.7 yards per carry. Lets also not forget about Mewelde Moore. Moore has only played in two games this season, and has 10 carries for 71 yards. I would like to see Brad Childress figure a way to get Moore to touch the ball more often. I would rather see Mewelde returning kick off and punt returns before Adrian Peterson does. Moore has been proven to be a very effective runner, has good speed, and the ability to move around opponents as well. Why sacrifice Adrian Peterson to a potential injury returning kick offs and punts? Please Brad, find a way to use Moore or someone else to return your kick offs and punts.

Well that's my two cents in for you. I guess this is why Brad Childress gets paid the big bucks, but most Viking fans are still wondering whta he is going to do for us. Hopefully we will find out soon enough. However, I will tune in every week, to watch our Minnesota Vikings do battle, and hopefully knock around opponents. These Vikings are a very exciting team to see play.

SKOL VIKINGS!!!!!!

Viking Mania Fan Club Meet and Greet Schedule

The Viking Mania Fan Club is scheduling a few Meet and Greets. These will take place before and after the Viking games on Sunday's. The schedule of events are listed below:

Sunday, October 21, 2007--Zimmy's in Hibbing--531 East Howard Street--2-6pm

Sunday, October 28, 2007--Zimmy's in Hibbing--531 East Howard Street--11am-4pm

Sunday, November 4, 2007--Metrodome--Viking Mania will Invade the Dome

Sunday, November 11, 2007--Zimmy's in Hibbing--531 East Howard Street 11am-4pm

Sunday, Novenber 18, 2007--Metrodome--Viking Mania will Invade the Dome

Sunday, November 25, 2007--Zimmy's in Hibbing--531 East Howard Street 11am-4pm

The above events are scheduled is hope of drawing new members to our club, and will also give us a chance to meet our current members face to face. We will have a good time, and all are invited. We are inviting currents members, new members, potential new members, and travelers, their families and friends.

There will also be a chance to sign up for our fan club. Registration is free, as we never charge for anything we do here at Viking Mania. Once you sign up, it will take about a week before you receive your Official Certificate and Viking Mania Gift Pack. We will not exclude anyone, and members of all ages are encouraged to participate.
Hope to see you there!!

SKOL VIKINGS!!!!

WeAreVikings.com

Viking Mania has spread our wings, and listed ourselves on the Minnesota Vikings Community page WeAreVikings.com. We have our own profile there and community page as well. I will be posting there, and on our Yahoo Group, all our Viking Mania Fan Club events. To access the Viking Mania page on WeAreVikings.com, the link will be posted at the bottom of the article.

Viking Mania has also sent in the necessary information to the Minnesota Vikings, so we are now a registered Minnesota Vikings Fan Club. On our Yahoo group, sign up is free as well, and that is how you will receive your "Viking Mania Official Certificate" and "Gift Pack" absolutely FREE. To register, please sign up on the Yahoo group, then go to the links section and click on the Viking Mania Official Entry Form. The instructions are also listed on the home page of the Yahoo group. Once I receive your information on the entry form, I will send you out your Official Certificate and Gift Pack for you. You can either e-mail me your information or mail it to me at the address provided there. The web page and e-mail address are listed below.

Viking Mania Yahoo Group: http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/carlossilvafanclub07/

and the e-mail address is carlossilvafanclub07@yahoo.com

The Yahoo group is listed as carlossilvafanclub07-Viking Mania, because I also run the Carlos Silva Fan Club, and his Fan Club Yahoo and Google Groups. Finally, I have a blog page going for Carlos Silva as well, so I just listed everything under one address, so I can keep up with it all much easier. The Viking Mania Fan Club Official Certificate, will read as Viking Mania An Official Minnesota Viking Fan Club.

I hope to see more and more people sign up. Our fan club is for everyone, no matter what age. All people who sign up, are also encouraged to bring all family members and friends. The only requirement for membership, is a love for the Minnesota Vikings and football.

SKOL VIKINGS!!!!!!

WeAreVikings Home Page

http://www.wearevikingsfans.com/

Meet Vikings Defensive End # 96 Brian Robison

Brian Robison was born on April 28, 1983, in Houston, Texas. He attended high school at Splendora High School, in Houston, Texas, and played football and participated in track. He played football under head coach Kevin Weldon, earning All-State honors, and was a four-year started at defensive end and tackle. He made 66 tackles for a loss, and 28 sacks in his final three seasons at Splendora. As a sophomore, Brian made 125 tackles, 32 stops behind the line of scrimmage, 12 sacks, 12 pass deflections, and one interception. He also saw action at running back, averaging 11 yards per carry, and scored three times. He played some tight end as well. In his junior season, Robison was All-State and First Team All-District, getting 121 tackles, 14 for a loss, eight sacks, and seven pass deflections, on a defense that only allowed 101 points all season. In his senior year, he earned Second Team All-State Class 3A, and First team All-District Honors, registering 98 tackles, 20 for loss, eight sacks, and four pass deflections.

Brian Robison was also a four year Academic All-District selection, was Second Team Academic All-State Honors his senior season. He even had his number 40 jersey retired by Splendora High School in September of 2004. Robison made the decision to attend the University of Texas in 2002.

Brian Robison red shirted in 2002, and began play in the 2003 season for the Longhorns. In 2003, Robison played all 13 games at Middle Linebacker, starting in three of those games. He made starts against Arkansas, Rice and Kansas State for the injured Garnet Smith. Robison earned one of Texas' "What Ever it take Awards," for registering 38 tackles, 22 solo, one sack, and four stops for losses, of 10 yards. In addition, Brian had 14 quarter back rushes and caused on fumble. Brian also had one deflected pass, and set a school record with four blocked kicks, matching a mark first set by Shane Dronett in 1991.

In Brian's 2004 campaign, he was an honorable mention on the Associated Press All-Big 12 Conference. He started all 12 games at right defensive end, and participated on special teams. He was also a key element on a defense that allowed only 320.1 yards per game, which gave them an NCAA rank of 23rd that season. The defense also only allowed 17.9 points per game. Robison recorded 48 tackles, 27 solo, 1.5 sacks, and a two yard interception. He finished second on the team with 14 stops for minus 26 yards, and 18 quarterback pressures. A very good season for Brian Robison.

Robison then entered the 2005 season, and started in 12 games at right defensive end. Robison recorded a career high 58 tackles, 35 solo, and led the team in quarter back sacks with seven. He also had 15 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Robison was credited with 10 quarterback pressures, four pass deflections, and three forced fumbles. Brian also blocked one kick, recovered two fumbles, and was again a key element on a defense that ranked 10th nationally in total defense, eighth in scoring defense, eighth in passing defense, and 33rd in rushing defense. Robison was named All-Big 12 Conference first team selection by Austin-American Statesman, adding Second Team Honors from the Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle, and Fort-Worth Star Telegram and Honorable Mention from the leagues coaches and Associated Press.

In Robison's final season with the Longhorns, he was All-Big 12 Conference Honorable Mention, and battled through a rash of injuries, but still managed to start in 10 of 12 games at right defensive end. Robison suffered a deep right knee and patella tendon bruise, and a quadriceps muscle strain, that sat him out for two games. Even with all his injuries, he still managed to get 37 tackle's, 22 solo, 5.5 sacks, and nine stops for a loss. He also added 15 quarterback hurries, three deflected passes and a blocked kick. Robison even played the Ohio State game while battling pneumonia.

During he career Texas University, Brian Robison was ranked 12th in school history with 41 tackles for a loss, he tied a season record four blocked kicks in 2003, and six blocked kicks in his career. Both are records in Longhorn history. Robison also has 181 total tackles, with 106 solo tackles and 15 sacks. He was a Liberal Arts major, and was on the University of Texas Honor Roll. Brian did earn his degree before being drafted to Minnesota.

Brian Robison was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings at the 2007 draft in the fourth round and 102 overall. So far in his rookie season, Brian has played in all five games for the Vikings, making one start. He has made 9 tackles, three sacks, and has yet to force or recover his first NFL fumble. Given time, this guy will be one of the key helpers to an awesome Viking run defense. Brian is very energetic, and enthusiastic. He has a willingness to learn, and is very patient. Robison need more playing time, and head coach Brad Childress looks to be giving it to him. Keep an eye out on number 96 Vikings fans. Now that you know a little more about this player, you should be seeing more of him on the field.

GOOD LUCK BRIAN!!!!!!

&

SKOL ROBISON!!!!!

SKOL VIKINGS!!!!!!!!

Meet Vikings Linebacker # 57 Rufus Alexander

Rufus Alexander was born on April 12, 1983, in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. Rufus was raised by his mother Siene, who worked many hours, and raised three children by herself. Rufus' father was in prison, his older brother was in and out of legal trouble, and he had another older brother who was also in and out of trouble. Rufus met the Barham family, David and Melinda, while he was a junior in high school. In need of a stable living environment, the Barhams spoke with his mother about having Rufus move in with them. Rufus was allowed to move in with the Barhams, but he was never legally adopted by them.

David Barham accepted a job as head coach at Christian Life Academy School, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and brought Rufus with them. Rufus Alexander became a dominant player, helping lead his team to two district titles his junior and senior year. David Barham pursued colleges on behalf of Rufus Alexander, who became listed in the top 20 of all linebackers at the high school level. in December of 2001, David Barham came in contact with Oklahoma's Defensive Coordinator Brent Venables, who came and saw Alexander play, and eventually offered him a scholarship. Rufus Alexander joined the Sooners in the 2002 season.

While at Oklahoma, Rufus majored in sociology. He red shirted as a freshman in 2002, and saw his first college action his freshman season against Baylor in 2003, where he notched himself a pair of tackles. In 2003, his sophomore season, Rufus stepped into the starting line up at the weak side linebacker position, and started in 10 of 12 games. He was named Second Team All-Big 12 by the Associated Press, and earned honorable mention by conference coaches. Alexander was ranked third on the team with 74 tackles, and forced a career best, three fumbles with three recoveries. In addition, Alexander had a couple interceptions, and picked up a pair of sacks. He was a key element, to a Sooner defense that limited teams to 10 points or less in 6 of 10 games, and shut out Texas in the Red River game. The Sooners also won the Big 12 title in the championship game at Arrowhead stadium, defeating Colorado 42-3. However, Oklahoma lost to USC in the national Championship game 55-19.

In his 2005 season, Rufus earned First Team All-Big 12, and started in every game for the Sooners at weak side linebacker. Alexander notched a career high 5 sacks, that ranked third on the team. He also paced the Sooners defense that was ranked fourth in the country in rushing, and led the team in tackles with 102. He had a career best 17 tackles for a loss of yardage in that season as well. Rufus and his Sooners also played in the Holiday Bowl, where they defeated Oregon 17-14.

In his final season at Oklahoma, Rufus Alexander was decorated as an All-American Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, and became the 10th player in school history to lead the team in tackles two consecutive seasons. He started in all 14 games, and set an Oklahoma record for bowl games with 17 tackles, when they lost to Boise State 43-42 in overtime. Oklahoma did win the Conference Championship in 2006, defeating Nebraska 21-7. In addition to his success in 2006, Alexander was also tabbed First team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association, Defensive Player of the Year, and took Second Team Honors from the Walter Camp Foundation. He helped Oklahoma to Big 12 titles in 2004 and 2006, and played against LSU in the 2003 Championship Game, and USC for the 2004 title game. Alexander was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2007 Draft, and went in the sixth round, 176 overall. Alexander had a great career at Oklahoma, with a lot of success.

He was the only linebacker drafted by the Vikings, and the second Oklahoma player drafted in 2007 by Minnesota behind teammate Adrian Peterson who went in the first round and number seven overall. Alexander was also selected as the third defensive player in 2007, behind Texas Defensive End Brian Robison (4th round/102 overall), and Corner Back Marcus McCauley (3rd round/72nd overall. This marked the first time Minnesota has drafted a pair of Oklahoma players in the same season since 1965, when the Vikings drafted Running Back Lance Rentzal (2nd round), and Running Back Jim Grisham (6th round).

In 2007, Alexander has not played for the Vikings. He is assigned to the practice squad, where he continually builds on his talents, as he learns the style of play for the NFL.

BEST WISHES AND GOOD LUCK RUFUS!!!!

&

SKOL ALEXANDER!!!!

Meet Vikings Tackle # 62 Ryan Cook

Ryan Cook was born on May 8, 1983, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is the son of Rick and Vicki Cook. Ryan has a younger brother Erik, who is currently attending the University of New Mexico. Ryan played high school football for Cibola High, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as an offensive tackle, under coach Ben Schultz. Cook was a three year Letterman, and earned First All-Team City, and Second All-Team State honors his senior year in high school. As a sophomore, Ryan received Second Team All-City honors. In his senior year, Ryan accepted an invitation to the New Mexico North-South High School Game. Ryan decided to attend the University of New Mexico, and study in General Management.

Cook was originally a walk-on for the University of New Mexico, and he impressed the coaches so much with his work ethic and ability, that he eventually earned a scholarship. Ryan decided to red shirt as a true freshman, and then play his freshman season in 2002. In 2002, Cook's freshman season, he burst onto the scene, and established himself as an anchor on the Lobo line, a spot he would hold for the next three years. Cook made his first career start at UNLV, and after a foot injury, he made eight starts for New Mexico. New Mexico faced UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl, Cook's freshman season.

In his sophomore season in 2003, Cook earned All Mountain West Conference First Team honors, and was a full-time starter for the Lobos. He helped lead his team to a second place finish in the Mountain West Conference, with an 8-5 record. This was the best record for New Mexico since their 9-4 finish in 1993. Cook helped pave the way for teammate Dontrell Moore to set a career high 242 yards rushing versus Colorado State, and also helped Moore set a school record 1,450 yards rushing, and 21 touchdowns during that season. Cook and his Lobos played in the Las Vegas Bowl against Oregon State.

In 2004, Ryan Cook again earned first team All Mountain West Conference honors, and helped New Mexico to a 7-5 record, and their third straight bowl bid. This season, the Lobos played in the Emerald Bowl against Navy. New Mexico had their third straight winning season, placing third overall in their division. Cook once again help pave the way for Dontrell Moore to rush for 1,091 yards. This was Moore's third straight 1,000 yard rushing season.

In 2005, Ryan Cook earned his third straight season of being selected to the First Team All Mountain West Conference honors. Cook started in all 11 games for the Lobos, and helped lead his team to a 6-5 record. In Cook's four seasons at New Mexico, he never endured a losing season. Cook open holes for Dontrell Moore, to help him rush for 1, 363 yards and 14 touchdowns, on his way to becoming the Lobos first player to earn Mountain West Conference Player of the Year. Moore also became the first player for New Mexico, and the first Mountain West Player to earn First Team honors all four seasons he played.

Ryan Cook played in 49 career games while at New Mexico. He played in all of his final 44 games for the Lobos, earned First Team honors for three concseutive seasons. Cook became the first New Mexico center to earn those awards. Cook was tabbed Third Team All American by the NFL Draft Report after his junior season, and participated in the Senior Bowl. He started out as a walk on for New Mexico, and ended up as one of the most decorated players in Lobos history. Ryan joined Hank Baskett in the Senior Bowl, marking it the first time ever two Lobos played in the Senior Bowl. Ryan Cook was then Drafted in 2006 by the Minnesota Vikings.

Cook became the second center drafted in 2006, behind Nick Mangold, who went 29th overall. Cook was taken in the second round, 51st overall, and can single handedly provide the Vikings with depth at several spots. Ryan was the highest player from New Mexico to be drafted to the NFL, since the Chicago Bears took Brian Urlacher in the first round in 2000. Even after playing his entire Lobo career in the middle of the line, Ryan has the ability to play the guard and tackle positions. Ryan Cook played in six games in 2006, and made three starts. Ryan made his first career start against the New York Jets on December 17, then started the next two games against Green Bay on December 21st, and the St. Louis Rams on December 31st.

In 2007, Ryan has started all five games for the Vikings, providing coverage for them at Right Tackle. Cook's willingness to learn the position, hard work ethic, and abilities have guided him real well this season. Cook can also provide coverage at the guard position. He is a very big boy at 6 foot 6, and 328 pounds of human flesh. Cook is only in his second season, and his first as a starter. He will consistently provide the Vikings with good blocking from the right side, as he learns to play the game in the NFL.

SKOL COOK!!!!

&

SKOL VIKINGS!!!!

Vikings Escape Late Comback and Beat Bears

The Minnesota Vikings entered Soldier Field yesterday, with an 0-2 mark against division rivals, and not winning there since October 15, 2000, to pull off a last second field goal for the 34-31 win against the Chicago Bears.

The Vikings offense showed some signs of life yesterday, for the first time all year, scoring all 34 points, and only counting on their defense to do their job and hold the Bears offense down. Minnesota's defense did just that, as they only held Chicago's running game to 83 yards on 24 carries, for an average of 3.5 yards per carry. The passing game is what kept the Bears in the game, as Brian Griese threw for 369 yards, had three touchdowns and two interceptions. The Bears big players were Devin Hester, who had an 89 yard punt return for a touchdown, and a pass reception of 81 yards for another touchdown. Bernard Berrian, had a touchdown reception for 39 yards, and Muhsin Muhammad had a 31 yard touchdown reception. Hester's two touchdowns were the longest of the day, as he scored the Bears first and last points of the game.

The Vikings offense came to life a little bit yesterday with a couple long touchdowns themselves. Surprisingly enough, Troy Williamson, who has thus far been a big disappointment for the Vikings, scored the teams first points with a 60 yards touchdown reception from Tarvaris Jackson. The Vikings also had a 67 yard rushing touchdown from rookie stand out Adrian Peterson, as well as rushing touchdowns from 73 and 35 yards respectively. A Ryan Longwell 55 yard field goal with no time on the clock, sealed the deal for the Vikings, giving them their second win of the season.

The biggest play maker for the Vikings was obviously Adrian Peterson. Peterson had 224 yards rushing on 20 carries, three touchdowns, and one reception for 9 yards. Peterson had touchdown carries for 60, 73 and 35 yards respectively, and had 4 kick off returns for 34 yards. The career day for Peterson thankfully ended up with a narrow Viking victory. Peterson was also backed up with a nice game from Tarvaris Jackson, Chester Taylor, and yes, even Troy Williamson.

Troy Williamson had 2 receptions for 69 yards , and a nice catch for a 60 yard touchdown. Chester Taylor had 22 rushes for 83 yards, taking some of the load off of Adrian Peterson, from all his other duties. Then Tarvaris Jackson had a better day yesterday, then he did against the Detroit Lions, who feasted off Jackson in week two of the season. In week two, Jackson left the game late in the fourth quarter with a groin injury. At that time, he had 17 off 33 passes complete, no touchdowns, and four interceptions. Yesterday, Jackson's pass completion ratio was less than 50%, completing 9 of 23 passes, but threw a 60 yard touchdown pass to Troy Williamson, and had no interceptions. The big turn around was obviously the no turnovers. Had Jackson threw four interceptions yesterday, it would have been an very long day for the Vikings and their fans.

Other players participating in yesterday's game was Bobby Wade, who had 3 receptions for 30 yards, Robert Ferguson, who had 2 receptions for 15 yards, and Sydney Rice who made 1 reception for 13 yards. Place kicker Ryan Longwell was perfect on the day, going 4 for 4 in extra points, and 2 for 2 in field goals. Longwell made field goals of 48 and 55 yards respectively. Longwell's 55 yard field goal was the game winner, the 12th of his career.

The Vikings now travel to Dallas to take on the dominant Cowboys. Minnesota and Dallas did meet in the preseason at the Metrodome, and it was the Vikings who prevailed. Minnesota currently holds a 12-10 series lead over the Cowboys, and has won the past five meetings between the two teams. The Dallas offense has averaged over 30 points per game, has the number two rated offense in the NFL. The Vikings have the number two ranked rushing defense, and the 32nd ranked passing defense, for a ranking of 25th overall.

SKOL VIKINGS!!!!!!!

Vikings/Bears Game Day Injury Report

Here is your injury report for this week's game against the Chicago Bears. This is my final report for today's game according to the NFL web site. All other changes will be game time decisions. The Vikings and Bears heated rivalry will meet for the 81st time since 1967. Game time is scheduled for 12 noon on Sunday. The logos you see here are the Chicago Bears Alternate logo 1967-1992, and the Minnesota Vikings 1961-1969 logo.

Minnesota Vikings Injury Report For 10/14/07 Game Day:

10/14/2007 24 Dwight Smith (S) Hamstring-------Probable

10/14/2007 7 Tarvaris Jackson (QB) Groin--------Probable

10/14/2007 51 Ben Leber (LB) Ribs--Questionable
10/14/2007 99 Erasmus James (DE) Shoulder-----Questionable

Chicago Bears Injury Report For 10/14/07 Game Day:
10/14/07 80 Bernard Berrian (WR) Toe------Questionable
10/14/07 91 Tommie Harris (DT) Knee-------Probable

10/14/07 76 John Tait T (Ankle)--------------Questionable

10/14/07 33 Charles Tillman (CB) Ribs--------Questionable

10/14/07 31 Nathan Vasher (CB) Groin--------Doubtful

10/14/07 99 Darwin Walker (DT) Knee--------Doubtful

10/14/07 94 Brendon Ayanbadejo (LB) Foot---Probable
10/14/07 55 Lance Briggs (LB) Hamstring-----Questionable
10/14/07 96 Ruben Brown (G) Shoulder-------Off Injury List

10/14/07 54 Brian Urlacher (LB) Back--------Probable

Minnesota Vikings vs Chicago Bears Injury Report

Here is your injury report for this week's game against the Chicago Bears. I will update this daily with all the changes, and send out the final report Sunday, October 14, at 11:00am. The Vikings and Bears heated rivalry will meet for the 81st time since 1967. Game time is scheduled for 12 noon on Sunday. The logos you see here are the Chicago Bears Alternate logo, and the Minnesota Vikings 1961-1969 logo.

Minnesota Vikings Injury Report For 10/14/07 Game Day:
10/11/2007 24 Dwight Smith (S) Hamstring-------Day-To-Day
10/11/2007 7 Tarvaris Jackson (QB) Groin--------Day-To-Day
10/11/2007 51 Ben Leber (LB) Injury Not Stated--Day-To-Day

10/11/2007 99 Erasmus James (DE) Shoulder-----Day-To-Day

Chicago Bears Injury Report For 10/14/07 Game Day:

10/11/07 80 Bernard Berrian (WR) Toe------Day-To-Day

10/11/07 91 Tommie Harris (DT) Knee-------Day-To-Day
10/11/07 76 John Tait T (Ankle)--------------Day-To-Day
10/11/07 33 Charles Tillman (CB) Ankle------Probable
10/11/07 31 Nathan Vasher (CB) Groin-------Day-To-Day
10/11/07 99 Darwin Walker (DT) Knee-------Day-To-Day
10/11/07 94 Brendon Ayanbadejo (LB) Foot--Probable

10/11/07 55 Lance Briggs (LB) Hamstring----Day-To-Day

10/11/07 96 Ruben Brown (G) Shoulder------Probable

Vikings Travel to Chicago to Tangle with Bears

After their week off, the 1-3 Minnesota Vikings travel to Chicago to take on the Bears in a North Division rivalry, that dates back to 1967. In honor of this rivalry, we have the 1961 Vikings helmet, and the 1952-1967 Bears helmet. The Vikings currently lead the series between theses two teams 45-34-1. Since the year 2000 though, it's been the Bears who have been getting the best of the Vikings, leading that series 8-6. Minnesota will travel to Chicago this weekend in hopes of turning around their already dismal season, and beginning winning.

The Chicago Bears swept the Minnesota Vikings last season, winning at the Metrodome 19-16 in week three, and then winning in Chicago 23-13, in week 13. Surprisingly enough, the Bears have had their share of troubles this season as well. Chicago is only posting a 2-3 record. Being the early season favorites, Chicago lost in week one, to a tough San Diego Chargers team, defeated a poor Kansas City team 20-10 in week two, then got spanked by Dallas 34-10 in week three. The Bears then lost in week four to their first division rival Detroit 37-27, but a week later snapped their two game losing streak with a come from behind victory over the Green Bay Packers 27-20. Chicago now has their third division rival in a row, and with last weeks win, they are 2-1 within their division.

Chicago's head coach Lovie Smith decided that Rex Grossman has not been the answer for his team this season, and made the move to bench him and go with Brian Griese. Despite Griese's poor performance against Detroit, where he had a passer rating of 68.3%, he still threw for 258 yards, but completed only 34 of 58 passes. Smith decided to go with Griese one more time, and it payed off. with a victory, where Brian threw for 214 yards, and completed 15 of 25 passes. In both games combined, Griese has thrown four touchdowns, four interceptions, and has been sacked eight times. He is set to do battle one more time, as he prepared to face the Minnesota Vikings.

Minnesota however has different plans for Brian Griese and his Chicago Bears. Despite a much better performance in week four for Kelly Holcomb, it appears that head coach Brad Childress will be going with Tarvaris Jackson this week. Jackson is coming off a two week absence with a groin injury. It looks as if he is now ready to play, and will get the start this week in Chicago. In his two weeks of play, Kelly Holcomb had a total passer rating of 70.9%, has thrown a total of 67 passes, completing 35 of them. Holcomb has thrown 1 touchdown, one interception, and has been sacked 10 times. Although Minnesota has one of the the weakest receiving cores in the league, Holcomb has had his share of trouble with over throwing the ball. His 10 sacks are due to a weak right side of the offensive line, and the obvious poor passer protection he gets. Kelly Holcomb did improve in his second week of play. He threw for 258 yards, completing 21 of 39 passes. He had a quarterback rating of 72. 4%, and threw for a touchdown against Brett Favre and his Green Bay Packers. This improvement came from the week before, where Kelly threw for 169 yards, and earned a passer rating of 68.9, completing only 14 of 28 passes against Kansas City.

For Tarvaris Jackson, the very raw rookie has a passer rating of 40.0%, throwing 1 touchdown, 5 interceptions, and has been sacked only 1 time. In week one, Jackson completed 13 of 23 passes for 163 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. In week two, Tarvaris threw for 166 yards, and completed 17 of 33 passes, no touchdowns, and 4 interceptions. Jackson has shown no signs of life, and has yet to break 170 yards passing this season, let alone the 200 yard mark like Kelly Holcomb did.

Most of our Vikings offense has come from the hands of stand out rookie Adrian Peterson. Peterson has rushed for three 100 yard games already this season, which has tied Viking legend Chuck Forman's record of 3 games with over 100 yards in his rookie season. In addition to his 383 rushing yards, he has also caught 9 passes for 166 yards. Peterson has also scored 1 of the Vikings 4 offensive touchdowns this season. Our Viking defense has totalled four touchdowns as well.

The key to winning this game for the Vikings, will be for head coach Brad Childress to stick with the game plan on offense that has been working. When a team has two powerhouse running backs like Adrian Peterson, and Chester Taylor, both those players need to touch the ball more than 12 times per game. In week four, Adrian Peterson had 10 carries for 100 plus yards in the first half. In the second half, he touched the ball only 2 times for about 12 yards. Why did Brad Childress abandon a running attack that was working for him at that time? The other question for Childress is, why was the hottest running back on the team sitting out on the bench with under two minutes to play, while the Vikings were making their final drive, in need of a touchdown to tie the game? Furthermore, why is last seasons "workhorse" in Chester Taylor only touching the ball 11 times this season? Grant it, Taylor missed two weeks with an oblique injury, but that still gives him less than 6 carries per game.

This Minnesota Vikings offense has been scrutinized since the inception of Brad Childress. Most people were blaming Brad Johnson last season. I understand that he is an older quarterback, and not nearly as talented as Brett Favre, however, I also look at Brad Childress' poor play calling, along with an ineffective receiving core. Troy Williamson had the most dropped passes in the league last season, and a weak arm of an aging Johnson did not help matters much either. This season however, an extremely raw rookie quarterback in Tarvaris Jackson is expected to lead this team to victory, and he has had barely any chances to accommodate to playing from a Division III team in Alabama State to the Big League play of the NFL.

The Vikings will need to utilize Chester Taylor and Adrian Peterson a lot this week, if they feel they will have a chance to win. Their passing game should rely mostly on guys like Sydney Rice and Bobby Wade. Troy Williamson has been relatively ineffective this season, catching 6 passes for 65 yards and no touchdowns. Although he has gained good yardage, he has dropped many passes this season. Guys ahead of Troy Williamson are Bobby Wade (15rec/153yards), Sydney Rice (10rec/106yards), Adrian Peterson (9rec/166), and Visanthe Shiancoe (9rec/107yards).

Hopefully this week, our Viking offense can get something going, and get into the end zone more than one time. Behind Tarvaris Jackson, we will need a much better performance than he gave in week two against Detroit, where he threw 4 interceptions. Jackson needs to work on not staring down the receiver he is throwing to, and complete more of his passes. Our running game will be the key element again. With Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor in the backfield, both players should be used to the best of their abilities. With a running combination like that in our backfield, we should be running the ball right down the throats of the Bears defense and Brian Urlacher. Urlacher is one of the best line backers in the league, but even he will have trouble knowing where the ball is going with the Peterson/Taylor combination.

Let's all tune in this week, after a boring week off last week, and see what our refreshed Minnesota Vikings team can do. Hopefully they have had time to lick their wounds, and

recuperate from an unexpected 1-3 start.

SKOL VIKINGS!!!!!

Meet Vikings Corner Back # 26 Antoine Winfield

Antoine Winfield was born on June 24, 1977, in Akron, Ohio. He attended school at Garfield High School, in Akron, Ohio, where he was named all-state, and division one player of the year. In addition to playing safety at Garfield High, Antoine rushed for 1,069 yards, on 150 carries his senior year. Antoine also helped lead the team to three Akron City titles, and a 10-1 mark his final season.

He played football at Ohio State University, and won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's outstanding defensive back his senior year. Antoine played in all 50 games at Ohio State, and started in 29 of those games. He won All-American honors following his Junior and Senior year, and was a two-time All-Big 10 selection. He is the only defensive back in school history, and the 5th player ever to record over 200 tackles. Antoine finished his college career with 278 tackles, of which 224 were solo.

While attending school at Ohio State, Antoine majored in communications, and in 2002, he served as the Buffalo Bills spokesman for a "wear your helmet" bike helmet safety program. Winfield has a wife Erniece, and has two sons, Antoine Jr. and Austin. Winfield was selected as the 23rd pick in the 1999 draft by the Buffalo Bills.

In 1999, Antoine played in all 16 games and made two starts. He made his NFL debut on December 26, 1999, when he replaced Ken Irvin, who was injured the week before. Antoine made his first career interception against the Indianapolis Colts, picking off Payton Manning on September 2. he also recorded his second interception, and made five tackles against Miami, and returned the interception for 10 yards. He played in one play off game versus Tennessee. In that game, he recorded 6 post season tackles, and his first post season interception.

In 2000, he started in the first 11 games of the season, before being put on injured reserve, with a shoulder injury. In his 11 games, Antoine made 65 tackles, of which 55 were solo, and made one interception. Antoine's only interception came off Peyton Manning, in a game on October 1. Antoine was dominate during this season, as he posted 8 tackles against Miami, on October 8, and nine tackles against the San Diego Chargers on October 15, and the New York Jets on October 29. He started in the game on November 12, but left with a shoulder injury. The following week against Kansas City, he was injured again, and this time was out for the season.

Antoine returned in 2001, and led the Bills in tackles with a career high 106, of which 79 were solo. He became the first corner back in Bills history to finish first in tackles. Antoine added 13 pass defenses, forced a fumble, and recovered his first career fumble. Winfield started in all 16 games, and was the Bills leading tackler in three of those games. He recorded his first career forced fumble, and his fourth career interception of Peyton Manning on September 23. As a special note, three of Winfield's first four interceptions came off Peyton Manning. Winfield then recorded his first career fumble in a game against New England in November 11. Antoine had a season high nine tackles in four straight games: San Francisco, Carolina, New England, and Atlanta respectively.

Winfield played the 2002 season in a Bill uniform, and started in 13 games. Antoine Winfield was injured in a game against Houston, and was out for the next three weeks. Coming off the knee injury, Antoine made four tackles against the Jets on November 24, and recorded his second career fumble recovery that led directly to a touchdown. This happened on December 1 against Miami. In a very physical game against Green Bay, Winfield made four tackles, two pass defenses, and a memorable hit on Terry Glenn that separated the receiver from his helmet. Antoine also notched 11 tackles in the game at the Metrodome versus the Vikings very early in the season. This was two short of his career high game.

In his final season with the Bills, Antoine started in all 16 games at Left Corner Back. He was ranked third on the team in total tackles with 124, was tied with Lawyer Miller with the team lead with 14 pass defenses, recorded the first sack of his career against none other than Peyton Manning, and posted nine tackles and a pass defense in that game. Antoine also tied for a team high 12 tackles and helped shut down the running game of the New England Patriots on September 7. Antoine made a hug impact this season, and recorded no less than four tackles a game all season long. Winfield was signed by the Vikings as a free agent on March 8, 2004.

Upon coming to Minnesota in 2004, Antoine made an immediate impact with the Vikings. He started in 12 of 14 games and both playoff games. He led the team in interceptions, while raising the energy level of the entire defense with his aggressive playing style. Despite missing parts of four games, he managed to make 99 tackles this season, and led the Vikings in the playoffs with 22 tackles. Winfield was named NFL Player of the Week for the Wild card games against Green Bay. In that game, Antoine had one interception, and helped disrupt Brett Farve into throwing three other interceptions. He also earned votes in the Associated Press all-Pro balloting. He made a career high 16 tackles in a game against Indianapolis, and made three interceptions. Then the following week posted his first back to back interception game, against New Orleans. Winfield had two games where he posted 12 tackles. He recorded 12 tackles against Dallas on September 12, and on Monday Night Football against Philadelphia.

In 2005, Winfield recorded a career high 4 interceptions and led all defensive backs with 100 tackles. In this season, he was tied for second on the team with 12 pass defenses, third on the team with six tackles for a loss, and tied for a team high with two fumble recoveries on special teams. He had a season high 12 tackles against Detroit, grabbed his second interception of the season, and made three tackles on special teams. Winfield also made nine tackles in games versus Cincinnati, St.Louis, and N.Y. Giants. He started in all 16 games this season.

In his 2006 campaign, Winfield led the Vikings with 20 pass defenses, and was tied with the team lead with four interceptions. This matched his career high from 2005 for one season. He made 97 tackles, of which 83 were solo. He made 20 pass defenses, four interceptions and returned them for 33 yards. Since joining the Vikings in 2004, he has averaged over 95 tackles per season, has helped the Vikings to be ranked third in the NFL in takeaways with 36, and was a key element to the Vikings 8th ranked defense for the first time since 1994. Antoine has made a huge impact on this Vikings defense, since his arrival. He is a stand up guy, and is regarded as one of the hardest hitters in the NFL. He has raised the Vikings defense energy with his aggressive playing style. Antoine has eight regular season and playoff interceptions since joining Minnesota, and the Vikings are currently 8-0 when Antoine has an interception. He has been one of the most sought after free agents in recent memory by the Vikings.

Antoine Winfield has been one of the best players in the NFL. He is very durable playing 118 games in his career, and making 102 starts. He is very hard hitting, and brings an energy level to the game that is second to none. Winfield has played in all four games in 2007, with one interception and a touchdown. He has made 29 tackles this season, averaging 7 tackles per game. Winfield has 27 solo tackles, and four pass defenses. So, whenever there is something big happening on this Vikings defense, you can bet Antoine Winfield had something to do with it.

SKOL WINFIELD!!!!!!

&

SKOL VIKINGS!!!!!