MVN - Most Valuable Network

Vikings Notes: Udeze Update, Pointless Favre Speculation

You can question some of the moves Zygi Wilf has made since purchasing the Vikings in 2005, but there are two things you can’t question about him: His character, and his values. Check out this Kenechi Udeze update…

The Minnesota Vikings wanted Kenechi Udeze to focus on his fight against leukemia, without financial concern.

The defensive end was placed on the reserve-non-football-illness list on Friday, coach Brad Childress announced. That makes him ineligible to participate in the 2008 season, but guarantees him his $807,500 salary for the year. Udeze revealed two weeks ago that the cancer was in remission, and that his older brother has matching bone marrow for a pending transplant.

Nicely done, Zygi. That’s a classy decision, and it’s a definite piece of good news in the tragic tale of Udeze’s leukemia.

Udeze will be a compelling guy to watch after (hopefully) making a complete recovery. He seems unstoppable in his determination to make a return to the NFL, and he deserves some major admiration for his immense desire to defeat leukemia and resume his football career. It’s impossible to speculate about Udeze’s chances at a successful return, but based on the attitude he’s displayed over the past few months, it would be unwise to count him out.

*LeRoy Butler thinks Brett Favre might be wearing a Vikings uniform next season. Seriously. The strong safety who spent 11 years in Green Bay from 1990-2001 stated in radio and television interviews that he expects Favre to play next season, and that #4 may suit up for one of Green Bay’s NFC North rivals — the Vikes, Bears or Lions.

Well, the draft taught us one thing: If Favre returns, it won’t be with the Packers. Nevertheless, the notion of Brett playing for one of Green Bay’s rivals is ludicrous, and I find it highly odd that someone who spent many seasons playing with Favre would make such a claim. LeRoy’s probably hungry for a little attention, or perhaps he’s simply a complete fool. I’m guessing it’s a combination of the two.

*Some news that will surprise nobody: The Vikings are preparing to play the first few games of the season with Bryant McKinnie on the sidelines.

If you’re looking for the most valid criticism of the Vikings’ draft class, look no further than the left tackle position. I was glad that Spielman opted against reaching for an offensive lineman in the second round (and instead picked up a safety that has a chance of being a Pro Bowl-caliber player in a couple seasons), but the lack of attention paid to the offensive line with their remaining four picks is difficult to understand.

Nebraska offensive tackle Carl Nicks was available for both of the Vikings’ fifth round picks. I’m fine with the decision to pass up Nicks for John David Booty, but I don’t quite see the reasoning behind taking Letroy Guion (a Florida State defensive tackle) over Nicks. Pat Williams isn’t getting any younger, so adding depth at DT makes some sense — but was that really a higher priority than finding a potential replacement for Mount McKinnie?

If Guion becomes an above-average defensive tackle at the NFL level, I’ll be the first to admit that I was mistaken about this selection. But I really think the choice to take Guion over Nicks could come back to haunt the Vikings, especially since they currently have Chase Johnson, an undrafted free agent from 2007, listed as McKinnie’s backup. Johnson was inactive for 15 games last season, and didn’t play in the single game he dressed for.

Yeah, I think this team could’ve used some additional OT depth from the draft.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 2nd, 2008 at 7:02 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.