AngloVike

Anglo's Angle - Oh Bryant, you muppet !

In an ideal world McKinnie would spend his time being a pain in the backside to the DTs and DE's that go up against him. So does he do this  - no - instead he just becomes a distraction and nuisance to the team that he is supposed to play for.

A few weeks ago he managed to get himself in an altercation with a nightclub bouncer down Miami way and, if reports are true, was seen by the police to try and reshape said bouncers head with a metal pole. Following the justice system he has gone for a not guilty plea, as is his right, and so we now have to wait for the process to take its course.

So as a result of this 'indiscretion' the Vikes are now looking at the prospect that McKinnie may possibly incur the wrath of the league and get some form of suspension as well. This is something that the team doesn't need and could handicap them from getting a good run together when the season comes round, especially when the NFCN is up for grabs this year.

Once again our resident 'tub of lard' is doing his best to screw the team over by his actions but given that he's been like that since day 1 then I can't say that I'm surprised at that. I went off the guy when we had the holdout that had him miss part od his rookie year - now we know that McCombs was well into his 'cheap is good' phase and that didn't help in negotiations, however I expected McKinnie to at least turn up in some form of playing shape. However he didn't and I was there to see his first game when the fat lump couldn't get into a three point stance due to being out of shape. That set his attitude in my eyes and he has done little since to change my view of him.

So we now have to wait and see what will happen with him, with comments by Childress that appear to be non-commital in terms of his team place, then I would not be surprised if the Vikes ended up trading his sorry butt before Training Camp starts at Mankato. If that happens then I'll be honest and say that I won't shed a tear over his going and hope that what we get in trade can be put towards a good DE or replacement LT.

Skol!

Anglo's Angle - I leave for 5 minutes and this happens...

You can always be sure that any time that I'm out of the loop with PP.O, email or TV covering NFL events then things that have significance to the Vikes will always occur. It's a given and I suppose I should be used to it after the years that I've been following the Vikes.
So it should come as no surprise that I go away for a week and come back to a new S, WR & RB/PR signed, sealed and delivered. The fact that we have managed to get a solid WR via FA is a good move and I'm looking forward to see what Berrian can show in the OTA's, Training Camp and ultimately in the regular season when it will really count. From what we have seen in recent years then Berrian is a big upgrade over Troy Williamson who was not able to produce when it mattered despite all of the work put in by himself and others. It's not that he was a bad player who didn't show commitment or was a problem off-field but just that things never worked out for him in MInnesota. Hopefully it will work out for him at Jacksonville just as long as it is not against us.

Even more annoying than missing the good news of our signings was that of the retirement announcement of the media golden boy across the border. Of course I have managed to catch up on it a little since I got back due to the wonders of SKY+ and a return to a broadband connection instead of dialup, though I wonder why I did. The media hype looks to have been bloody awful and there are several programmes that were instantly deleted - especially the NFL Total Access that started with " and today we dedicate the entire show to Brett Favre's retirement announcement "... that was gone in an instant !

Needless to say this little media show has stirred up comments about the pros and cons about Favre, especially on the PP.O forums. So just to be clear I'll put my views down on public record about him and show my feelings on him.

Firstly he was a good QB without whom the Packers would have sucked even more than they have done since he became their starter, he took his chances some of which he won and some he lost. From a football point of view the Vikings and the rest of the NFCN will be glad to see the back of him as he has been a thorn in the sides of everyone. From a fan point of view, and this is a personal one, I'll be glad to see the back of a player who had become a media and statistics whore pure and simple. This side of the player overshadowed his ability and helped build up the media hype that the majority of non-Packer fans came to loathe. Even Peyton Manning and Tom Brady haven't come close to achieving the ass-kissing that Brett has both enjoyed and encouraged with the media. I'm sorry that we didn't make his last game at the Dome a misery but I'll enjoy that his last play as a pro was to throw an INT which led to the Packers losing a game.

So now to see what happens in the next few weeks leading up to Draft weekend

Skol!