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Season Preview 2009 Minnesota Vikings

By Richie Denis | July 1, 2009 | Vikings War Cry

Anthony Chergosky from DailyNorseman.com gives us a look at the 2009 Minnesota Vikings. When you think of the 2009 Minnesota Vikings, two words probably enter your mind: Brett Favre. But when taking a look at the team, its chances of repeating as NFC North champs, and its opportunity to go further in the playoffs than it did last season, Favre is just the tip of the iceberg. All over the field and on both sides of the ball, the Vikings are a team built for success this season. This team's bread and butter is still its ability to run the...

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NFL Top 10: Most Valuable San Diego Chargers

By Greg Trippiedi | June 18, 2009 | MVN Outsider

NFL T10 is on double duty, with two articles in 12 hours. This morning, we look at 10 players on the San Diego Chargers who can expect big things in 2009.10) RB Darren SprolesSproles is best used in a kick returner role, which is often described as "value-added" in league circles. Truth is, it might be value limiting to an extent. Sproles was excellent in relief of LaDainian Tomlinson, and he might be at a point in his career where he can split time with Tomlinson in an effort to maximize both of their values. But if Sproles is getting more than 200 carries in a season, that's going to either keep him off kick returns or limit what he can do on them. That's essentially the small difference between Sproles and Maurice Jones-Drew. Drew can carry the ball 250-270 times and remain productive on special teams, but Sproles comes...Read more

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NFL Great Debates: What to Do with Michael Vick?

By Staff Report | May 26, 2009 | MVN Outsider

NFL Outsider's Greg Trippiedi and Anthony Brown debate the issue: Which team is the best spot for Michael Vick if he overcomes the enormous hurdles necessary to get on the field this year?Greg Trippiedi says Vick shouldn't be a starting quarterback:It's pretty clear that Michael Vick is not going to have a job waiting for him when he gets back. He's 29 years old -- too old and too young in different ways. Vick's open field running abilities were already in decline when we last saw him, and that was in 2006. But that doesn't mean he won't stick somewhere. He's still got a good five or six seasons ahead of him as an effective athlete. The question though remains: Where will Michael Vick fit in, and who will take a chance on him? I don't think Vick is a good fit on a team with a clear need...Read more

Read more | 2 Comments | Tags: NFL

NFL Power Rankings: Looking at the 10 Teams with the Brightest 2009 Prospectus

By Greg Trippiedi | May 3, 2009 | MVN Outsider

The coming and passing of the NFL Draft allows prognosticators such as myself to lock in our predictions for the coming season. There will be no more phases of the NFL off-season that can result in wide-spread player movement. To the critics who will point out, "there's no way you can call the season in May," I say: there's no point to trying to call it in August either. I'm just beating you to the punch.In this exercise, I'm going to pick 5 teams from each conference to fill out my top ten teams in the power rankings. Essentially, I'm not trying to pick the ten best teams in the NFL right now as much as I'm trying to pick the ten teams most likely to win the Super Bowl. By spreading out the picks evenly by conference, I maximize the chances that two of my preseason picks play in...Read more

Read more | 7 Comments | Tags: Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers, Washington Redskins

NFL Outsider's Draft Winners and Losers

By Greg Trippiedi | April 27, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Tomorrow, we'll take a look at process points to see who had the best draft objectively. Right now, I'm just going to give some off the cuff reaction on some teams that did really well and others who did not so well.Winners1. Arizona CardinalsI was amazed with the quality of player drafted by the Cardinals. They never moved up or down in the draft, but still managed to have great draft position to land great values at positions of need in every single round. Every one of their draft picks, except for RB LaRod Stephens-Howling, an intriguing prospect, was on the MVN Top 150 big board. There should be between 5-6 full time starters in this draft, and the Cardinals figure to be the class of their division in the next few seasons.2. Cleveland BrownsConversely, the Browns traded down three times in round one, and ended up picking four times...Read more

Read more | 3 Comments | Tags: Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, New England Patriots, NFL, NFL Draft, Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, Washington Redskins

Derrick Williams, Jarron Gilbert, Jared Cook Lead Round 3 Recap

By Greg Trippiedi | April 26, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Process points become negligible after the first day, so lets look at round three and the players that each team got in the middle of the draft.65. New York Jets -- Shonn Green, RB, IowaThe Jets traded up for this pick, so the Green pick was really disappointing. I didn't think he was anywhere near the best available, and with this being the first pick of the day, I expected a great pick here.66. St. Louis Rams -- Bradley Fletcher, CB, Iowa67. Kansas City Chiefs -- Alex Magee, DE, PurdueThe Chiefs pick their second 3-4 DE of the draft. So what does this mean for Glenn Dorsey? Will he split time with Magee and Tyson Jackson, or is he already on his way out?68. Chicago Bears -- Jarron Gilbert, DE, San Jose StateChicago moves forward looking for best player available, while making sure to add a defensive lineman every year. ...Read more

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Alphonzo Smith Trade, Rey Maualuga, Pat White Highlight NFL Draft's Second Round

By Greg Trippiedi | April 26, 2009 | MVN Outsider

The second round of the 2009 NFL draft was fronted by some high profile trades. Both the Panthers and the Broncos traded first round picks in 2010 for players they had first round grades on, but drafted in the second round. Pat White ended up getting drafted by the consummate "Wildcat" offense, which seems like a good fit, if not a reach. Inside linebackers Rey Maualuga and James Laurinaitis slipped through the first round, but got drafted by teams in the second with defensive issues. They'll step in right away and help those situations.However, it was some lesser known prospects who will be the story of the second round in a few years.33. Detroit Lions -- Louis Delmas, S, Western MichiganDelmas is a local product who was clearly head and shoulders above all the other safeties in this draft. After going with the QB with a steep developmental curve in...Read more

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English Heads for San Diego, Freeman is a Buc

By Greg Trippiedi | April 25, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Pick 16, San Diego Chargers -- Larry English, OLB, Northern IllinoisMel Kiper is right, this is a luxury pick, but it's not really the best choice in that respect. They must really like English to take him this high, and they really need to commit to Shawne Merriman, not alienate him. The Chargers are a BPA organization, but I don't like this pick as a BPA, especially with the kind of talent that is left.San Diego Chargers: 1 pointThe maximum process points available is now 4 the rest of the round.Pick 17, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (from NY Jets via Cleveland) -- Josh Freeman, QB, Kansas StateThe trade up was pretty meaningless: Freeman would have been there at 19, but they only gave up a 6th round pick. The pick is ever important. Josh Freeman has to pan out. And it's hard to say whether Jeff Jagodzinski is going to have...Read more

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, NFL, NFL Draft, Philadelphia Eagles, San Diego Chargers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Outsider Mock Drafts: Trippiedi's Final Call

By Greg Trippiedi | April 24, 2009 | MVN Outsider

As promised, this will be my best attempt at figuring out how the NFL draft will go on Saturday. I'll try to project all logical trades in this space, but certainly won't be able to chart all the action that will happen. Put simply, I'll be satisfied if I nail team intentions correctly in the draft.It seems like the media is catching up to teams in terms of figuring out smokescreens. That should help me a lot in this process. We'll check back on Sunday to see how accurately this two round mock really was (don't get your hopes up).Round 11. Detroit Lions -- Matthew Stafford, QB, GeorgiaJim Schwartz thinks he can win with Matthew Stafford. And if Jim Schwartz thinks he can win with Matthew Stafford, then I agree with him. I'm still not convinced that he's worth the money though. Stafford is a deadly accurate passer who might...Read more

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