MVN - Most Valuable Network

Vikings Notes: Looking Back at Koren Robinson

*You guys are never going to believe this! The Vikings signed Koren Robinson! Click here for the report!

……So, did I getcha? No? Dammit…another failed Rick Roll attempt. Whelp, I’ll keep trying — we’ve got a couple months to fill until training camp gets underway, so be prepared for a Rick Rolling when you least expect it.

*Let’s get things started with the news of Koren Robinson’s departure from Green Bay. This move was an expected one, as a youth movement is fully underway with the Packers’ receiving corps.

With this release comes another setback for Koren’s attempted revival of his career. And that’s a shame, because this guy is clearly facing some demons that have resurfaced at terrible times for him — I mean, he received a Pro Bowl bid after the 2005 season and was being handed a very prominent role on offense for the Vikings in 2006 (he was slated to become the #1 receiver), but his arrest for fleeing police in August of 2006 quickly ended his brief stay in Minnesota.

Call him a screwup. Call him a drunk that will never make a complete comeback. Call him a lost cause. Whatever you want to call him, just be aware that he kept his nose clean throughout his two seasons in Green Bay, and is making an honest attempt to turn his life around.

Of course, it’s fair to mention that we’ve heard all of this before. When he first arrived to Winter Park, we heard that he was winning a battle with alcoholism and was getting his life together after being arrested for drunk driving in May of 2005. Things clearly took a tragic turn for him after a strong season in Minnesota.

While the vast majority of teams will be too wary of Koren to take a chance on him, there will be a handful of squads that will be willing to give him an opportunity. Given the talent he possesses, he shouldn’t be out of work for too long.

Needless to say, Koren won’t be returning to his 2005 form anytime soon. That year, he provided the Vikings with an elite special teams threat — although his playing time on the offensive side of the ball was limited, he still made a tremendous impact as a kickoff returner and was one of the Purple’s standout players. Still, even though those days are long gone, I think he could be one of the better returners in the league if given the opportunity to contribute.

K-Rob’s name has been mentioned previously this offseason when the Vikings inked Jared Allen. Some fans drew parallels between the two guys, arguing that reports of Allen quitting drinking should be taken with a grain of salt. However, such comparisons are unfair to Allen; Jared is regarded as a partier who displayed very poor judgment by deciding to drive home after a night of drinking on a few occasions. I don’t mean to lessen the seriousness of the issues Jared has faced, but all indications suggest that his problems aren’t as severe as Koren’s.

Anyways, best of luck to K-Rob. He’s a well-intentioned man who deserves an opportunity to play; here’s hoping that he’ll fund such an opportunity sooner rather than later.

*I’m a few days late on this story, but Adam Schefter is reporting that Viking castoff Tyler Thigpen has a legitimate chance at winning Kansas City’s starting quarterback job. This news could signify one of two things : a) Tyler Thigpen is waaaay better than the Vikes thought when they released him last summer, or b) Brodie Croyle is a humongous question mark. I’m leaning towards the latter.

Not to take anything away from Tyler, but I had him pegged as a middle-of-the-road backup quarterback when I saw him perform in training camp and the preseason last year. Indeed, I don’t think we should be screaming at our front office for letting the next Tom Brady slip away — rather, this is simply an instance of a team (the Chiefs) taking a blind chance on a young quarterback because they are brutal at the QB position.

Hindsight is 20/20, but the Vikings brass almost certainly wishes that they’d kept Thigpen around. However, is he starter material in year two of his NFL career? That seems extremely doubtful. More than anything, I’m guessing Herm Edwards is using Thigpen to push Croyle through training camp and the preseason.

I do wish Chilly would have followed Herm’s lead by finding a quarterback to compete with Tarvaris in July and August, but at this point, that’s beating a dead horse.

*I talked to a couple Chiefs season ticket holders over the weekend, and they informed me that Jared Allen often faded during the course of a game — that is, he’d start strong, but would make a minimal impact in the fourth quarter. Can anyone confirm or deny this? I never had the opportunity to extensively watch the Chiefs last season (other than their Week Five match with the Vikes), and would be interested in hearing some takes on this.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 11th, 2008 at 8:36 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.