LKelley67

Are you impressed as I am by the Vikes makeover? It looks like they light has come on there that defense wins championships. Unique cap situtation but still quite an array of talent attained.

here's the blurb from pro football talk, not new but the guy does seem to get some good early inside info. nice bidding war potentially for howard. cowboys say for #20, vikings say #18,.. could cowboys up it to #11? or #42 with dat. that would be a fun position for a gm.
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With defensive tackle Pat Williams, linebacker Napoleon Harris, corner Fred Smoot, and safety Darren Sharper now wearing purple and gold, questions remain regarding whether the Vikings will continue their efforts to craft a defensive unit that could, at least on paper, conjure memories of the Purple People Eaters, who feasted on opposing offenses in virtually all games that weren't categorized with Roman numerals.
The party line is that the Vikes no longer are interested in Jaguars' safety Donovin Darius, a franchise player who is begging to be traded out of Jacksonville. But we're hearing that the Vikings could be merely posturing regarding their lack of interest in Darius, in the hopes that the Jaguars will reduce their asking price.
We're also hearing rumblings that the Vikings might jump into the bidding for Saints defensive end Darren Howard. Current reports suggest that the Cowboys have offered linebacker "Who" Dat Nguyen and a second-rounder for New Orleans' franchise player. With the Vikings now likely to spend the seventh overall pick in next month's draft on a receiver and the eighteenth pick on a defensive end, why not send the No. 18 pick to the Saints for the proven Howard instead?
Such a move would give the Vikings a front four of Howard, budding star Kenechi Udeze, line (and toilet) clogger Pat Williams, and Pro Bowler Kevin Williams, with promising youngsters like Spencer Johnson and Darrion Scott in reserve.
Although the Vikings quickly are becoming the defensive darlings of the NFL, not everyone is sold on the team's most recent acquisition. As one league insider told us, Sharper "breaks down more often than a VW bus," and the team "way overpaid" for him, with a $4 million signing bonus.
Indeed, there's a looming glut at the safety position. Darius, Tebucky Jones, Idrees Bashir, and Arturo Freeman are and/or could be available, and 2001 Pro Bowler Sammy Knight recently signed a play-for-peanuts contract with the Chiefs, getting only $11 million over five years with a $2.7 million signing bonus.
Sharper, in contrast, got $1.3 million more up front for one less year.
Of course, Sharper gives the Vikings an extra advantage, given that they play the Packers twice per year.
"It's funny. I know that team better than they know themselves," Sharper said, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "There's a lot of information for me to pass on to [the Vikings]. It's going to be different."
Sharper, who reportedly gave quarterback Brett Favre fits during the two-minute drill in practice, also is encouraged by the atmosphere in Minnesota.
"I heard people say that [Mike Tice is] a player's coach and I got a sense he definitely was," Sharper said. "I could talk to him and not feel awkward. I could never say that in Green Bay. Not to rip anybody, but I never felt I could do that with the head coach in Green Bay."
Of course, there's no absolute guarantee that Frankentice will still be the head coach come September. And if he gets bounced by the Commish for scalping Super Bowl tickets, look for the job to fall to defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell, given the investment that the team has made on his side of the ball. Sure, the Vikes might try to lure Scott Linehan back from Miami under such circumstances, but our guess is that, barring a run at a high-profile outsider, the team will turn to Ted if Tice gets tanked.

shadowdrinker

They are reaping the benifits of Moss..and the value he holds..

His pay bieng gone from thier cap removed major cap room, and they have all the money they need to remake the Defense..

How well the new acquisitions bond, and how quickly thay can adjust to one another has yet to be seen

I have always favored keeping the core of your team, and getting a few top 5 kind of guys to bring it all together...

Others prefer a total makeover...

Either way, I truley dispise the Vikings...and hope they fall flat on thier faces...