Tag: Percy Harvin (Page 3 of 12)

      Trade to Vikings could rejuvenate Randy Moss…again.

      October 6, 2010 /

      Now that I’ve waxed poetically about the genius that is Bill Belichick, I should probably tackle what the Randy Moss trade means to the Vikings.

      Three years ago, Moss wanted out of Oakland – bad. So he agreed to restructure his contract in order to join the Patriots, who had Tom Brady, a winning attitude, a Super Bowl-winning head coach and great fountain drinks in their player clubhouse.

      In his first year with the Pats, Moss hauled in 98 passes for 1,493 yards and a whopping 23 touchdowns. His production dropped a bit in his second year with Matt Cassel at quarterback, but he still racked up 69 catches for 1,008 yards and 11 touchdowns.

      Last season, Moss caught 83 passes for 1,264 yards and 13 TDs after Brady successfully returned from knee surgery, but following New England’s season-opening win over the Bengals this year, he said that he felt “smacked in the face” that the Patriots hadn’t offer him a contract extension.

      Less than a month later, Moss is a Minnesota Viking again after the Patriots intentionally or unintentionally fazed him out of their offense the past two weeks. Whether or not he was starting to check out mentally like he did in Oakland is up for debate, but the bottom line is that he’ll be donning purple and white come Monday night (rhythms – they just make you feel good) when Minnesota travels to New York to take on the Jets.

      Nobody will be more elated to see Moss in the same huddle than Brett Favre, who has looked every bit of his age during Minnesota’s first three games. Sidney Rice is out with a hip injury and Favre can’t seem to get on the same page as Percy Harvin or the rest of his receivers. But with Moss, he doesn’t have to worry about that.

      Favre is a gunslinger by nature. He wants to chuck the ball up and have his receiver make a play, which is exactly what Rice did last year and what Moss will do the rest of this season. Moss wants his quarterback to give him a chance on every play, so the duo will work well together in theory (not unlike when he first arrived in New England and Brady targeted him early and often in games). He’ll also make Harvin, Adrian Peterson, Bernard Berrian, Visanthe Shiancoe and everyone else around him better.

      As long as he’s motivated, Moss can be just as dangerous as he was earlier in his career. He still commands double teams and he still has the athletic ability to best defensive backs that are either too small or too slow to match up with him in coverage. If the Vikings show a commitment to him financially (and why wouldn’t they after they gave up a third round pick to acquire him?), then this could be another dream scenario for Moss.

      Heads up, NFC North.

      External Sports, NFL

      The Vikings may want to trade for Vincent Jackson, like, yesterday

      September 19, 2010 /

      Apparently without Sidney Rice, the Vikings’ offense is about as explosive as toothpaste.

      In what had to be an agonizing game for Viking fans to watch, Brett Favre completed 22-of-36 passes for 225 yards and three interceptions in a 14-10 loss to the Dolphins on Sunday. One interception was Percy Harvin’s fault, but the other two were vintage Brett. (He threw an absolute pea-rocket into the gut of Jason Allen on one pick, while the other came when he underthrew an intended receiver that had been blanketed by not one, but two Miami defenders.)

      Outside of tight end Visante Shiancoe (6 catches, 86 yards), Favre doesn’t appear to be on the same page with any of his receivers. Harvin did catch five passes for 32 yards, but the second-year receiver once again battled injuries throughout the day. He played sparingly in the second half after re-injuring the same hip that kept him out of practice for most of the week.

      With Rice (hip) is expected to miss at least another six or seven weeks (and that’s being optimistic – some believe he’ll be out the entire season), maybe it’s time for the Vikings to get serious about acquiring Vincent Jackson from the Chargers. I wrote earlier this week about how I don’t think a move like that would be good for the team’s long-term future, but the Vikes can’t sit idle and watch Favre continue to destroy their season. He’s fun to watch when he’s on, but when he’s off there isn’t a more reckless signal caller in the league.

      The trade winds may start blowing hard in Minnesota this week.

      External Sports, NFL

      Adding Vincent Jackson could be a mistake for Vikings long-term

      September 16, 2010 /

      The Minnesota Vikings are faced with quite a dilemma.

      It’s optimistic to think that Sidney Rice is going to return to action by Week 8 or 9 following hip surgery. Some say he’ll be out for half the year, while others think he’ll miss the entire season.

      I happen to fall into the latter category, which is why I understand the Vikings’ desire to trade for Vincent Jackson.

      Thanks to their fickle 40-year-old quarterback, Minnesota’s window to win a Super Bowl is closing by the second. They know they have a hole at receiver and they know V-Jax could fill it. But a deal is contingent upon an arbitrator ruling that Jackson will avoid the Roster Exempt list, making him eligible to play in Week 4 following his three-game suspension.

      If the ruling goes against Jackson, he’ll have to sit out three more weeks. But even if the ruling goes in his favor, would the Vikings be doing the right thing for their future?

      Rice is only 24 and even if he winds up missing the entire season, he’s going to be back next year. The same goes for Percy Harvin, who is only in his second year.

      The Vikings proved last year that a combination of Rice, Harvin and Bernard Berrian (who signed a six-year, $43.4 million contract in 2008) is more then sufficient to compete for a playoff berth (assuming they have a decent quarterback, of course). If they add Jackson, they’re going to have to give him a contract extension because after all, why part with multiple draft picks and not making him a part of your long-term plans?

      A foursome of Rice, Jackson, Harvin and Berrian would be pretty lethal, but don’t forget that there’s only one ball. This isn’t fantasy football – the Vikings still have an entire roster to think about and it wouldn’t be wise to soak that much money into one position (especially receiver).

      That said, I understand the Vikings’ dilemma. They need a receiver now so that they can win now. Jackson is the best available and certainly worth the compensation, but this is a move that could wind up costing the team in other areas down the road. Don’t forget that they still have issues in their secondary and also have an offensive line that is aging. So will they be willing to potentially sacrifice their future to win now? And what if they don’t win? What happens if they build this great receiving corps and Tarvaris Jackson winds up being the one that has to get them the ball?

      I have a headache.

      With the news that V-Jax might have his suspension reduced, owners who already have him on the roster should hold onto him through the weekend to see if things break his way. If V-Jax is available for cheap in your league and you can acquire him without cutting anyone of note, take a flier on him and see what happens in the next week.

      If he lands in Minnesota, it will be a big boost to Brett Favre’s value. I don’t know how much time Jackson will need to get acclimated, as he’ll probably take over the role of Sidney Rice, catching all of those deep balls that Favre chucks downfield. I don’t think it really hurts Percy Harvin or anyone else on the Minnesota roster, save for Bernard Berrian, who will be relegated to backup duty.

      If Jackson lands in St. Louis, it will likely hurt Mark Clayton, Laurent Robinson and Danny Amendola. All three currently have some value in PPR leagues, but there won’t be enough targets in St. Louis to support four fantasy wideouts. Sam Bradford would definitely benefit by having a bona fide WR1 to throw to.

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

      Sleep apnea the cause of Harvin’s migraines

      September 11, 2010 /

      Per Andrea Kremer of NBC Sports:

      When Percy Harvin was in the hospital after collapsing at Vikings practice in August he says his heart stopped beating for ten seconds. At that time doctors suspected he was not getting enough oxygen while sleeping.

      Four days after he was released from the hospital, Harvin underwent an overnight sleep test. He says that during the test his heart stopped beating eight times. He was then diagnosed with sleep apnea, a disorder that affects breathing while sleeping. Harvin says doctors told him they believe the sleep apnea is the main issue triggering his migraines. He now often sleeps with a device that pumps air into his nose to regulate his breathing. He brought it on the road with him and says he slept with it last night.

      Harvin also told me that he is no longer taking any medication, which is significant since he said that medication caused his collapse at practice back on August 19th.

      Hopefully for Harvin’s sake, the doctors really have found the cause of his well-documented migraine problem and it’s good news that he’s been able to come off the medication that caused the August collapse.

      From a fantasy point of view, this makes me a little more confident about owning him in a couple of leagues this season. I’m more concerned about his lack of chemistry with Brett Favre in Thursday night’s game than I am about his history of migraines.

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, News, NFL

      Five fantasy takeaways from Saints/Vikings

      September 10, 2010 /

      Well, it wasn’t a particularly well-played first game of the NFL season, but it was a tight game nonetheless. Here are five things that fantasy owners can take away from last night’s opener:

      1. Pierre Thomas is a stud, and Sean Payton forgets that sometimes. (Adrian Peterson is a stud, and Brad Childress forgets that sometimes.)
      In the first half, Payton gave Thomas three touches for -1 yards. He did have a 10-yard catch that was called back due to penalty. In the second half, the Saints tried to establish the running game in earnest and Thomas 72 yards on his next 16 carries — an impressive 4.5 ypc average during that span against the league’s #1-rated rush defense of 2009. He also found the endzone and caught three passes for 15 yards.

      Meanwhile, “Chilly” abandoned the run when the Vikings were behind by just five points in the second half. Anthony Stalter has the details:

      Down 14-9 with just over nine minutes remaining, Childress called seven straight pass plays. There was plenty of time for him to remain balanced with his playcalling, but he went pass-heavy and the result was a stalled drive at the New Orleans’ 44. He essentially made Gregg Williams’ job a hell of a lot easier once the Saints’ DC new he didn’t have to respect the running game.

      The bottom line is that Childress appears to trust Favre more than AP, and that should be worrisome to Peterson owners. AP did finish with 101 yards on 22 touches, but failed to find the endzone.

      2. Brett Favre loves him some Visanthe Shiancoe. Not so much the Percy Harvin.
      Almost as important as actual production (catches, yards, TDs) is the number of targets each receiver gets throughout the course of the game. I’ve been high on Shiancoe all preseason — mostly due to Favre’s long-established affection for his tight ends — and he didn’t disappoint against the Saints, turning eight targets into 4-76-1. Conversely, Harvin only got five targets and looked out of sync with Favre all night. This is probably due to the time that both players missed in training camp due to migraines (Harvin) and being a total drama queen (Favre). I wouldn’t panic on Harvin just yet — it will probably just take a week or two for the chemistry to return, but I would consider sitting Harvin down next week if there’s a better option on the bench.

      3. Don’t expect another 2009 from #4.
      In all of his years in Green Bay, Favre never played with a receiver as physically gifted as Sidney Rice, and that was a big reason for his outstanding numbers last season. With Rice on the shelf for at least the first half of the season, Favre can’t just chuck the football downfield and expect Rice to go up and win virtually every jump ball. Without that deep threat, the Vikings are going to have to manufacture more first downs and longer drives, and as we saw last night, it’s not always going to be pretty.

      4. Garrett Hartley is on the hot seat.
      Good grief, Garrett. Make a field goal, will you? Hartley was often one of the first two or three kickers off the board and he was miserable last night, shanking two make-able field goal attempts. He’s lucky that it didn’t cost the Saints the game because there are a few capable kickers out there in free agency.

      5. Robert Meachem/Devery Henderson are both startable in deep formats, though they’re not dependable.
      On the heels of his breakout campaign last season, Meachem was going in the middle rounds (8th-10th) of fantasy drafts this summer, even though he’s coming off of a toe injury. Meanwhile, Henderson was available in the later rounds due to his inconsistency and history of burning fantasy owners. Both players saw four targets from Drew Brees. Henderson posted 2-38-1 while Meachem generated 3-33 and just missed a 14-yard TD early in the fourth quarter. I think Meachem is the better wideout and if he can stay healthy, he should finish the season as the Saints WR2, but Henderson looked pretty good in his own right. There’s enough offense for both of these players to finish in the Top 40, but don’t expect consistency week-to-week until one guy grabs the WR2 job (and WR2-type targets).

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

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