Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 1243 of 1503)

The Vikings’ biggest offseason addition is already talking big. Newly acquired defensive end Jared Allen says he expects the Vikings to go to the Super Bowl this year.

…Allen, the biggest name among the newcomers, was even more direct. “We expect to go to the Super Bowl,” he said.

These thoughts of grandeur might be good news for a fan base that has seen the team go 14-18 and fail to make the playoffs in Brad Childress’ first two seasons as coach, but it doesn’t necessarily mirror the reality around Winter Park.

If you’re not a Vikings fan, your first thought is probably, “Super Bowl? With Tavaris Jackson at quarterback? Jared Allen must be drunk again.”

First off, that’s not nice to take a swipe at Allen – he promises he’ll behave off the field this year. Secondly, it’s not that far-fetched to think of Minnesota as a legitimate Super Bowl contender, although obviously it’s incredibly way too early to be making those claims.

They have solid offensive and defensive lines, can run the ball and now have a decent threat at wide receiver with Benard Berrian. While the jury is still out on Jackson, he’ll enter his third year as a starter and word out of camp is he’s developing nicely. Outside of Jackson, the real questions are whether or not the secondary has improved with the addition of safety Madieu Williams and can Adrian Peterson stay out of a sophomore slump.

Plus look at the NFC North. The defending champion Packers took a hit with the retirement of Brett Favre. The Bears have been forced to deal with Brian Urlacher’s contract demands and Cedric Benson’s partying, while the Lions can never seem to get over the hump. Believe it or not, the Vikings might be the favorites right now in the North.

FOXSports.com reports that New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan has officially decided to retire from the NFL.

“It was important that my teammates knew which way I was going before they got on the field to start the work to defend our title,” the team’s all-time sack leader said from California. “It’s time. I’m done.”
Strahan finally made up his mind a week ago, but wanted to take the extra days to make sure his feeling on the matter was 100 percent.

He has long believed retirement was the route he would choose but the finality of it gave him problems. In the past two years, Strahan said he has spoken with many high-profile retired players and asked for their advice on retired life, the emotions of the decision and how they knew they were done. The one consistent theme was this: Once you’re done, it’s forever. Thus, the finality was what posed the biggest problem for Strahan in making the ultimate decision.

“It’s a tough decision but I wanted to be fair to the Giants and fair to my teammates,” he said.

He was a bit of a loudmouth and it’s doubtful anyone is going to miss his yearly wavering about retirement, but the guy could flat out play the game. The seven-time Pro Bowler will retire with 141.5 sacks, a NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award (2001) and two NFC Defensive Player of the Year honors (2001, 2003). Strahan is also the NFL’s single-season sack leader with 22.5 and retired with a Super Bowl ring.

Hey, why not go out on top?