2012 Minnesota Vikings Schedule

Here is the complete 2012 Minnesota Vikings Schedule for home and away games.

Vikings stadium approved. Now what?

Pioneer Press
"State and local funding for a new Minnesota Vikings stadium has been approved on paper. Now, the work begins.
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said one of the first steps will be the creation of an implementation committee to examine key details of the stadium plan, such as local hiring for construction jobs and ways to connect the stadium to the West Bank and the surrounding community.
The stadium legislation requires the creation of a five-member sports facility authority, with two members chosen by the mayor and three chosen by the governor's office. Rybak's spokesman, John Stiles, said those members will be picked within the next two weeks.
Jeff Anderson, a spokesman for the Vikings, said he envisioned architectural design and planning for a new stadium would take 10 months to a year. A construction firm would be hired through a public process. Crews could break ground on a stadium next spring.
"We've been anxiously awaiting this vote for a couple of weeks," Anderson said.
Minneapolis City Council member Elizabeth Glidden said many hope to see the sports facility authority evolve into a regional body, scheduling concerts and conventions at the stadium, the Minneapolis Convention Center, the Target Center and perhaps even the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. "

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Growing buzz around Ryan Tannehill could tempt Vikings to trade No. 3 pick

April 6  Minneapolis Star Tribune
"The NFL Draft roller coaster is starting to pick up speed. And with just three weeks left until the first round begins April 26, Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill seems to be the player whose car is ascending faster up the track than anyone else’s right now.
Suddenly, thanks to a superb on-campus pro day, Tannehill has scouts and general managers and draft experts feeling incredibly intrigued by his skill set and upside. Which, it just so happens, could impact what the Vikings do with the No. 3 pick.
How, you ask? No, General Manager Rick Spielman has no interest in drafting Tannehill, the Vikings still very much behind Christian Ponder as their designated quarterback of the future. But Spielman would be wise to aggressively promote the growing hype around Tannehill in an effort to enhance the value of his No. 3 pick.
Spielman has never hidden the fact that he’d be interested in trading the third pick in the first round if a collection of picks offered by another team were appealing enough. Yes, there would be an inherent risk in trading back from No. 3, where a handful of blue-chip prospects will certainly be available. But if Spielman has supreme confidence in his draft evaluation skills and can acquire multiple first-round picks in return for No. 3, well, then it just might be worth pulling the trigger on a deal.
So how would that materialize? If a quarterback needy team like Miami, which picks eighth overall, loves Tannehill but fears Cleveland might nab him first at No. 4, they could get antsy and start talking trade with the Vikings to get up to No. 3. Less realistic but still possible, if Cleveland falls madly in love with Tannehill but fears Miami or another team moving up into the No. 3 slot to take him, perhaps they would dial the Vikings’ line with trade offers.

Other teams that might feel the urge to gamble on Tannehill include Kansas City (picking at No. 11), Seattle (No. 12), Arizona (No. 13) and Philadelphia (No. 15). It’s hard to say which of those teams would have overwhelming interest in Tannehill and impossible to speculate on just how high they’d want to climb the draft board to get him. But what is certain is that the more Tannehill’s pre-draft legend grows, the better it could be for the Vikings."

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Chris Doleman elected to Hall; Cris Carter denied

February 5 2012 - St. Paul Pioneer Press
"Former Vikings defensive end and linebacker Chris Doleman was one of six players elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.
Also elected were Curtis Martin, Cortez Kennedy, Dermontti Dawson, Willie Roaf and senior selection Jack Butler.
Doleman will be enshrined in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 4. He joins 10 other former Vikings who have been inducted. This is the fifth time in the past seven years that the Vikings have had a former player elected to the hall. The others: John Randle (2010), Randall McDaniel (2009), Gary Zimmerman (2008) and Warren Moon (2006).
Former Vikings receiver Cris Carter was among the finalists who didn't make it. Carter is the No. 4 career receiver in NFL history with 1,101 catches in 16 seasons with three teams.
Doleman said his son Evan would present him for induction.
"I am totally blown away by this and humbled by it," he said. "When they call your name, you're absolutely numb."
"Having watched Chris enter the Vikings Ring of Honor this past season, we're very excited that he has now been chosen as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2012," Vikings owner Zygi Wilf said in a news release issued by the team. "Chris was a very important part of the organization's success for 10 years, and his accomplishments on the field speak for themselves." "

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Donovan McNabb Playing Ball In MN Rec League

January 15 2012
"A tipster sent this to me “This kid plays basketball at Lifetime every day and every day he sees McNabb there. He went up to him, referenced McNabb’s Syracuse hoops days, and asked him to play on his his team. They’ve had 1 game so far and McNabb put up 14-10. As a Vikings fan, I wish he would’ve decided to pursue his basketball career 6 months earlier instead of playing in the NFL. Stats, team picture, and team info below.” 

Donovan McNabb Rec League Basketball Stats 

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Super Bowl Facts

What are the locations for future Super Bowls?

• 2012- Indianapolis, Indiana
• 2013- New Orleans, Louisiana
• 2014- New York/New Jersey Region
• 2015- Phoenix, Arizona

How many cities have hosted the Super Bowl in 46 years? Currently only fifteen cities in the world have been designated as a Host City of the Super Bowl:                            

• Miami 10
• New Orleans9 (+2013)
• Los Angeles 7
• Tampa Bay 4
• San Diego 3
• Phoenix 2 (+2015)
• Atlanta 2

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Vikings' Gerhart doesn't think he'll need surgery

 St. Paul Pioneer Press

"Minnesota Vikings running back Toby Gerhart, whose importance heightens in light of Adrian Peterson's rehab from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, doesn't think he'll need surgery to repair the torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee.
"Swelling should go down with rest as my range of motion returns," said Gerhart Tuesday night when reached by phone. "

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Vikings sack man Jared Allen lassos a spot on All-Pro team

 January 7 - St. Paul Pioneer Press

"The hits keep coming for Vikings defensive end Jared Allen, who calf-roped 49 of a possible 50 votes for the Associated Press' All-Pro first team, as announced Friday.
Allen and Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson each nabbed 49 votes, tied for the most on the team.
"The All-Pro team to me is one of the all-time accomplishments," Allen told the AP. "Pro Bowls are nice, but guys get voted in longer than they should and guys who deserve to go don't always get to. It's the whole league. It's not just an AFC and NFC thing. So to me this is the honor I hold the highest. It's something to put on the resume and tell the grandkids about."
The Vikings' most consistent performer all year, Allen finished a half-sack short of Michael Strahan's decade-old NFL record of 22-1/2. "

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Assessing the Vikings draft needs with NFL Network analyst Charles Davis

November 30  Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Following the Vikings' bye week, we took a quick look at the team's 2012 draft wants and needs. Hey, during a season with this much losing,there has to be something to look forward to, right? Well recently we followed up with NFL Network analyst Charles Davis to pick his brain on what the Vikings may need to do going forward. Below are a few of Davis' thoughts on the strategy the Vikings need to consider as well as scouting reports on a few key college seniors that might be worth a look. (Davis will not talk about the draft potential of underclassmen until after the college football season is over.) 1) Left tackle, as everyone knows, is a huge need. If Christian Ponder holds the future"

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Vikings Tickets Below Face Value

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Peterson officially out for Sunday's game

 November 26  Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Adrian Peterson won't play against the Falcons on Sunday. His status on the injury report was changed from doubtful to out this morning before the team left for Atlanta.
Peterson has a high ankle sprain suffered on his left leg against the Raiders last Sunday at the Metrodome.
The Vikings also activated tight end Allen Reisner from the practice squad and waived receiver Stephen Burton to make room for Reisner."

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Berrian released by Vikings

October 25  Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Bernard Berrian's time as a Viking has run out. According to Jason LaCanfora of NFL.com, the veteran wide receiver will be released by the team today, midway through his fourth season in the Twin Cities. The move brings to a close Berrian's wildly inconsistent tenure with the Vikings and allows coach Leslie Frazier to move forward without a player that had caused him too many headaches this season. Expected to be a big part of the Vikings' passing attack this fall, Berrian's productivity slumped badly in the early season. He had only two catches for 37 yards in the team's 0-4 start. He's also been put on the inactive list twice in the past three weeks."

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Ponder will start the rest of the season

 October 19, 2011  Star Tribune

"It's a done deal. And permanent too. That's the hope at Winter Park anyway.
On Wednesday morning, Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier stopped delaying the inevitable and made the official declaration. Rookie Christian Ponder is now the starting quarterback. And barring injury or some other unforeseen circumstance, Ponder will start the team's final 10 games.
The first start comes Sunday versus the undefeated Packers at Mall of America Field.
"This does not mean that I am giving up on the 2011 season or that our coaching staff if giving up on the 2011 season," Frazier said. "The decision was made purely on what will gives us the best chance to win on Sunday. That's why the decision was made. I didn't feel or sense that staying status quo was going to get us a win on Sunday. Based on that, along with some other things that I looked at, I decided this was the direction we needed to go at this point in our season."
Realistically, it's far too late for Ponder to revive a 2011 season that has the Vikings at 1-5 and ahead of only the Rams in the NFC standings. But it's certainly not too early to start getting the 23-year-old some much-needed game experience. And while Frazier insisted repeatedly Wednesday that he promoted Ponder over Donovan McNabb to give the Vikings the best chance at winning Sunday's home game with Green Bay, there's far greater long-term value for the franchise in making the switch now.
"There's no question that the fact that he'll get a chance to start playing in Week 7 of our season, it should help him in the future," Frazier said. "But that was not a part of my thinking."

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Christian Ponder's sports agency: Vikings' rookie QB will start against Packers

October 18  St. Paul Pioneer Press

"Minnesota Vikings first-round draft pick Christian Ponder will start at quarterback against the Green Bay Packers Sunday at the Metrodome, according to his sports agency. Sports Trust Advisors, which represents Ponder, tweeted the news this afternoon: "Congrats to #Vikings client @cponder7 for earning the start for next week's game." Ponder, who was the 12th overall pick in the draft, completed 9 of 17 passes for 99 yards during the fourth quarter of Sunday's 39-10 loss to the Chicago Bears. Ponder takes over for Donovan McNabb, who was 19 of 24 for 177 yards against the Bears. For the season, McNabb is 94 of 156 for 1,026 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Fading fast at"

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Vikings coach Leslie Frazier says he stands by Donovan McNabb as starting quarterback

September 26 - St. Paul Pioneer Press

"Three games into Donovan McNabb's tenure with the Vikings, he remains winless and coach Leslie Frazier is being asked whether he has considered benching the veteran quarterback.
Frazier dismissed a postgame question about McNabb's status as the starter, with first-round pick Christian Ponder waiting on the sidelines, after Minnesota's 26-23 overtime loss to the Detroit Lions, which dropped the Vikings to 0-3 on the season.
"I don't think the quarterback position is our problem right now," Frazier said. "No. We're not thinking about anything at the quarterback position."
McNabb completed a season-high 22 passes and discovered some chemistry with receiver Michael Jenkins, who caught nine balls for 88 yards. He finally connected with tight end Visanthe Shiancoe for an 8-yard touchdown strike to give the Vikings a 20-0 halftime lead.
But McNabb finished with only 211 yards and misfired badly on several attempts - imprecision coming under greater scrutiny."

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Expect More Playing Time For Kyle Rudolph

The Vikings second round draft pick Kyle Rudolf should expect more playing time earlier in the regular season than anticipated.  With Visanthe Shaincoe nursing a pulled hamstring  that has kept him out of the first two preseason games, the Vikings will be counting on Rudolph to pick up the offensive slack that is left void without Shaincoe on the field.  Shaincoe tweeked his hamstring early on in training camp and has since been scratched in the Vikings home opening pre-season game against the Cowboys.  The goal of keeping Shaincoe out of the first three preseason games, and probably the fourth and final preseason game, is that so Shaincoe is ready to suit up for the first regular season game. 

Most player’s young and old don’t bounce back quickly from hamstring problems and with Shaincoe being 31 years old it’s especially important that he doesn’t come back too soon.  If Shaincoe comes back too soon, or plays too much too soon, and pulls his hamstring again he could easily miss 3 to 4 games, or more.  So while Shaincoe will probably be good to go for the first regular season game, look for Rudolph to be getting more reps than earlier anticipated. 

Rudolf will do alright in his place.  Although Rudolf isn’t known as a great blocking Tight End, he does have speed, size and great hands.  These skills should keep opposing defensive linebackers honest in respect to their preference to zone in on Peterson and give McNabb a big target to throw at in Rudolph.  Rudolph has caught four passes earning him 32 yards thus far in his first two preseason NFL games.  

Ponder sees more, learns more - 08-22-2011

“The education of Christian Ponder continued Saturday night in Seattle.

Playing with the second-team offense, the rookie quarterback completed six of 12 passes for 63 yards during a stint that began in the second quarter and ended after the third.

"I think so," Ponder said when asked if things went a little more smoothly for him Saturday than in his preseason debut the previous week at Tennessee. "Got a chance to do two-minute stuff and got to [be] put in different situations, which is good. Got in with the twos, and I think they still had their one defense out there. So I thought it was OK. Could have made some more plays but played pretty well."

Ponder actually had better stats against the Titans, completing eight of 13 passes for 84 yards. But in that instance he replaced Joe Webb at quarterback and was with the third team going against a third-team defense.

"I think the biggest thing has been getting used to the speed of the game and on top of that learning this offense and building team chemistry," said Ponder, the 12th pick in the April draft. "I think the biggest adjustment is the windows aren't as open as they were in college, and you have to make the reads a lot faster and get the ball [out] a lot quicker than last year. It's an adjustment, and I'm part of that learning curve right now but it's been fun.””

Star Tribune - August 22

Bryant McKinnie was a waist of talent - 08-03-2011

"Bryant McKinnie ate himself off the team.
He showed up at training camp fat and out of shape and looked like Jabba the Hutt in a No. 74 jersey.
Apparently, playing on the Vikings' offensive line was less important to McKinnie than grazing at a buffet line.
So the Vikings cut him just one day after signing another left tackle, Charlie Johnson, who protected Peyton Manning's blind side the past couple of seasons.
If McKinnie had turned more of a blind eye to food and did some conditioning during the offseason, he likely would be a Viking. But based on his frequent Twitter posts chronicling his whereabouts, McKinnie was more inclined to go clubbing along Miami's South Beach and working on a music career.
McKinnie isn't a bad guy. Truth is, he comes off like a fun-loving kid. Trouble is, he liked fun and food more than playing football with the Vikings.
Of course, the Vikings didn't have to release him. They could have made him try working off the tonnage, and maybe that's what Brad Childress would have done. But it was a smart move by Leslie Frazier to unload the load. It sends a message to everyone on the team that Frazier expects players to be accountable for their actions and their weight, and he won't tolerate conditioning scofflaws. "

8-3-11 St. Paul Pioneer Press columnist Bob Sansevere

ESPN - Vikings In Talks With Donovan McNabb

With the NFL lockout now over there is chatter coming from ESPN that the Minnesota Vikings are in talks with Redskins quarterback,  Donovan McNabb. The Vikings are reportedly in serious talks with the Redskins trying to work a deal to bring the veteran quarterback to Minnesota for the 2011 - 2012 season.  McNabb turns 35 this November and was benched twice last season by the Washington Redskins in their 6-10 season.  Most would agree that McNabb still has a year or two of good football left in him.

Is this a good indication that Frazier will definitely bring in a veteran quarterback this year?

If the Vikes bring in McNabb is he the right fit to mentor Christian Ponder and Joe Webb, or does he simply give the Vikings their best chance to win this year and at the same time giving the young quarterbacks time to learn?

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Brett Favre's agent on rumors: 'He's retired - 07-25-2011

Brett Favre's agent on rumors: 'He's retired - 07-25-2011


"Hattiesburg sports agent Bus Cook, tired of rumors about his most famous client, called The Clarion-Ledger this morning to "set the record straight."
Said Cook: "Brett Favre retired in January. He has not talked to any teams, including Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles, the Arizona Cardinals and the Seattle Seahawks. He has not talked to anyone about playing football. He's retired, period."
Last week, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick tweeted, "I would be honored to have Brett Farve as a backup. That will be amazing learning how to toy with defenses the way he did his whole career."
That tweet set off another round of rumors about Favre's return to football. Cook insists the rumors have no substance."


Article 7/25 prosportsdaily.com

St. Paul balks at stadium tax - 07-06-2011

St. Paul balks at stadium tax - 07-06-2011


"The St. Paul City Council appears set to unanimously vote Wednesday against a Ramsey County sales tax increase for a proposed Minnesota Vikings stadium in Arden Hills.
Although numerous council members had expressed reservations about the tax, the vote will be their first public stance. The resolution is a formal statement of the council's position in the ongoing political battle but doesn't carry the weight of an ordinance.
Council President Kathy Lantry said it was time for the council to take a stand. "The rumor we've heard is a deal is imminent so we want to make sure our voice is heard," she said. "I love the Vikings, but ... if they're a statewide asset, then there ought to be a statewide solution."
County Commissioner Tony Bennett, a sponsor of the Vikings proposal to build in Arden Hills, said it's easy to vote against the sales tax. "I don't want to vote for the sales tax either, but what other choice do we have?" he said.
Six of the City Council members signed on as sponsors to the one-page resolution opposing the half-cent sales tax increase. Council Member Melvin Carter, who isn't a sponsor, said he "absolutely" supports the resolution.
Bennett and Ramsey County Commissioner Rafael Ortega have proposed using the tax increase to raise $350 million as the county contribution toward the Vikings stadium. The stadium is expected to cost $1 billion, with $407 million coming from the Vikings and $300 million from the state.
"Whether the stadium is the right thing to do or not, it's just too steep a price for St. Paul and Ramsey County taxpayers," said Russ Stark, a City Council member.
Carter said, "The proposal on the table is counting on a tax increase from the people we represent. We owe it to them to be very clearly on the record."
Lantry questioned why the county would raise a sales tax for the Vikings, but not for other services it provides, including the sheriff's protection, jails, solid waste removal and an array of human services. "That would help people 365 days a year," Lantry said."
Article per ProSportsDaily.com & StarTribune.com