Tag: Williams Wall

Vikings lose part of Williams Wall

The Minnesota Vikings will have to play their final two games (and possibly all of the postseason) without half of their “Williams wall” after it was determined that Pat Williams will miss 2-6 weeks with a broken right scapula in his shoulder.

The word on Pat Williams is not good for the Vikings.

The Pro Bowl nose tackle has a broken right scapula. Coach Brad Childress said that means Williams will be out from two to six weeks.

The scapula connects the arm bone (humerus) with the collarbone (clavicle), according to extensive internet research.

Williams suffered the injury in the third quarter of yesterday’s win at Arizona. He was playing under a court order that delayed the NFL’s four-game suspension, but now it appears he will at least miss the final two games of the regular season.

Considering Michael Turner the Falcons are coming to town, this isn’t good news for the Vikings. But with the way Jared Allen, Adrian Peterson and Tarvaris Jackson are playing, it might not matter much. Plus, Fred Evans has proved to be a solid backup and the Vikings started getting him more game-time reps when they thought both Williamses would be suspended.

Ignorance is an excuse: Williams Wall cleared to play the rest of the season

It turns out you can take something that’s not on the list of approved substances and get away with it.

A Minnesota judge on Thursday extended his preliminary injunction against the NFL’s suspension of five players for violating the league’s anti-doping policy, clearing the players to play for two more weeks.

“This is consistent with the approach the judge has taken in giving careful consideration to these issues, which we fully respect,” an NFL spokesman said.

Given that the parties have been asked to propose a schedule to file pleadings by Dec. 22, which precedes the actual pleadings, the hearing of the case and then the decision, it’s likely all of the players involved will be done playing by the time any decision is made. What it means is that the five Vikings and Saints players who tested positive for a banned diuretic are probably good to play for the rest of the season and the playoffs.

From a fantasy point of view, this is very bad news for Tim Hightower this week, Michael Turner next week and Brandon Jacobs/Derrick Ward in Week 17 (for those leagues that have playoffs that last that long).