Me with Broncos OL Tony Hills (left) and RB Willis McGahee (right)

Since I live so close to Minneapolis, you know there was no question I was going to be in town when the Broncos come to town, and that was even before I knew Tim Tebow would be the starting quarterback.

The Denver Broncos are one of the hottest teams in the NFL right now taking on the Vikings, who have had a really rough stretch of injuries in a tough season. I was able to score a photo with Denver Broncos running back Willis McGahee and offensive lineman Tony Hills outside the Mall of America yesterday, so the weekend is already off to a great start.

As for the game, I feel like this is a game the Broncos should win, but the Vikings always play tough on their home field, so I don’t expect it to be easy. Ironically, the Broncos might be best served utilizing the passing game to beat the Vikings on Sunday. Minnesota is without their top cornerbacks Antoine Winfield and Chris Cook, as well as safeties Tyrell Johnson and Jamarca Sanford.

The Vikes will also be without star running back Adrian Peterson, and earlier in the week they placed wide receiver Michael Jenkins on injured reserve. Percy Harvin is also questionable for the game, but that doesn’t mean the Broncos aren’t without fault right now.

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Denver Broncos vs. Minnesota Vikings: More Tim Tebow Magic Sunday? - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Will they get In?

The 2012 NFL season is winding down and the playoff picture is becoming clearer every week.  Last week I discussed the AFC/NFC East picture.  This week we will discuss the dominate AFC/NFC North conference playoff picture.  We will go into remaining schedules and predictions.

AFC North

Cleveland Browns:     The Browns have been out of the playoff race for a long time now.  They have a 4-7 record.  The Browns are a pesky team but lack the quarterback and playmakers to get over the 5-6 win hump.  This offseason the Browns will have 3 picks in the top 50 more than likely and will have to decide what to do at Quarterback and Running back.  Defensively the Browns are very stout and are only a couple players from being dominant.

Cincinnati Bengals:    The Bengals are 7-4 right now.  I do not think many people predicted this. Dalton has been efficient, the young playmakers have stepped up, and the defense has taken over many games.  Currently, the Bengals would be in the playoffs as the last Wild Card team.  Their schedule, however, is not favorable.  The Bengals play atPittsburgh,Houston at home, andBaltimore at home.  They do get a break with the Cardinals at home and atSt. Louis.  Bengals must win one of their hard games to get to 10-6.  This might be enough to get in.  It is between the Jets and Bengals for the last spot in the playoffs.

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Playoff Picture: Who’s in, Who’s Out? AFC/NFC North Edition - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Can the Vikigns Steal Lester in the Second Round?

We here at NFLmocks are all football all the time. One of the things I enjoy doing is full team mock drafts for all the teams. With a few team mock drafts already completed I thought I’d give another one a go, the Minnesota Vikings. Right now the Vikings have all of their draft picks and an extra seventh. I like what the Vikings did in the draft last (outside the first round) and think another solid draft could have them right back on track.

I’m going to assume the Vikings are picking around 8th, which I think is fair. If they lost tonight they will be 2-7, but are a better team than a few of the other losing teams.

Most of these players have scouting reports done for them so click on their names. For all of our other scouting reports (100+) head to our scouting report page.

1st Round: Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford Cardinal

I think there are only two real possibilities here that match this pick with value and need and that’s going to be a LT like Jonatham martin, Riley Reiff, Mike Adams (Chad Reuter heard from scouts he could end up in top 10 seems high for me), or a WR like Justin Blackmon, Alshon Jefferey, Michael Floyd. It just makes too much sense to do otherweise. Percy Harvin has shwon he’s a nice weapon, but he’s not a number one wide receiver. And the Vikings really need a LT to protect Christian Ponder. It’s one or the other.

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2012 NFL Mock Draft: Minnesota Vikings: Full 7 Round Mock - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Is Christian Ponder the Savior of the Vikings franchise?

What is great about being apart of the fansided community is collaborating  with all the dedicated team bloggers. One such blogger is Dan Zinski of the Minnesota Vikings blog: The Viking age. Be sure to swing over there and check them out.

1). What draft picks do the Vikings have for next year’s draft?
Right now we’ve got a pick every round 1-6 and two sevens. Which is a lot for us cause we’re usually trading all our picks away for old washed-up players. If they win the games they should win the rest of the season they will finish 5-11 and probably be picking around #10. Which will of course tick off all the people who want them to lose on purpose for a better pick.
2). What happened to Donovan Mcnabb?
Donovan suffers from the syndrome that attacks a lot of talented players who are not especially hard workers. He’s older now and needs to work more in the gym and tape room to compensate for the erosion of his physical abilities, but he’s not willing to put in that work. He just doesn’t seem to want to face the reality that he’s not the same player he was 5 years ago and can no longer coast on physical talent alone. I think his lack of motivation caught the team off-guard. They thought he still had enough left to give them a good season and keep Christian Ponder on the bench, but then they found out what a slacker he is and knew there was no sense keeping him in there. I would be shocked if anyone gives him a chance at a starting job next season after this. He might make a decent back-up. He’ll be out of the league in two years and talking on ESPN probably.

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Minnesota Vikings Rookie Review: Christian Ponder the Savior? - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

But, the Vikings got their guy, and after six games they have decided that enough was enough out of veteran Donovan McNabb, whom some have speculated has played his last game in the NFL.

Ponder is an athletic quarterback prospect who had a lot of injury problems in his days at Florida State but showed this offseason in the Senior Bowl and at the Combine that he is an accurate passer who can make plays.

The Vikings bought in then, and they are going all in right now. The future of the Minnesota Vikings will begin on Sunday with a home game against–who else–the reigning Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers.

It might not be exactly the team Ponder wants to see on the other sideline for his first NFL start, but I think he will take it. That stadium is going to be revitalized after a 39-10 loss to the Chicago Bears last week on the road, and despite the poor performance I think the fans are going to be giddy to see some ray of hope when Ponder takes the field.

The Vikings’ passing offense needed some kind of boost after the first six games where they rank 31st in the NFL in passing and have more than 20 points only twice this season.

It’s going to be big for Ponder to have Adrian Peterson behind him, though after his performance against the Bears, it’s going to be key for Peterson to also step up his game, even though the Vikings are third in the NFL in rushing this season.

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It’s Christian Ponder Time in the Twin Cities, Vikings Bench McNabb - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Should Minnesota ponder a change at quarterback? (Sorry, that pun was too easy)

 

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For & Against… Donovan McNabb - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Adrian Peterson is THE offense in Minnesota.  He’s got the new contract. He’s got the ultra-conservative play caller in Offensive Coordinator Bill Musgrave. And he’s having a great season, as evidenced by today’s 122 yard, 3 Touchdown performance.

Meanwhile, the media/fan scrutiny and criticism bestowed upon Minnesota QB Donovan McNabb in the first month of the season was and has been absolutely ridiculous.

What happened last season in Washington was  completely on The Shanahans, period. An example of silly NFL nepotism at it’s finest. Yes, Washington is off to a 3-1 start in 2011, but Grossman’s numbers are typical Rex Grossman…under 60% completions, 6 TD’s, 5 picks, and 2 lost fumbles. More turnovers than TD’s. And despite some serious speed at the receiver position and two outstanding Tightends in Fred Davis and Chris Cooley, the Redskins are not a juggernaut in the passing game.

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Fans & Media: Lay Off of Donovan McNabb - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Is Mr. Luck Packing His Bags For Kansas? (Picture courtesy of The110Report)

1. Kansas City Chiefs: Andrew Luck, Quarterback, Stanford

The Chiefs will start fresh next season with a new quarterback under center along with getting both Jamaal Charles and Eric Berry back from their injuries.

2. Indianapolis Colts: Matt Kalil, Offensive Tackle, USC

Protecting Peyton Manning will be a key next season for the Colts. He will be coming off a few neck injuries that can’t be risked by a shaky offensive line.

3. Seattle Seahawks: Matt Barkley, Quarterback, USC

Both Tarvaris Jackson and Charlie Whitehurst aren’t the Seahawks now or in the future. Got to wonder if Pete Carroll is already planning the reunion party since he was the coach at USC during Matt Barkley’s freshman year.

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2012 NFL Mock Draft: The Chiefs Are In Luck! - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Dating back to the 2009 wildcard round of the playoffs against the division rival  Philadelphia Eagles to be exact. The 34-14 victory over the Eagles at Cowboys Stadium was truly that last time Cowboy fans had anything to be excited about.

Of course there was week 3 last season in which the Cowboys completely dominated the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium which gave fans hopes of turning around a 0-2 start by the Cowboys. Three weeks later Tony Romo is sacked while playing the New York Giants, breaks his collar bone, and is lost for the season amidst a 1-5 start.

Fast forward to September 11th, 2011. Opening day in the NFL and the Dallas Cowboys travel to New York to face the Jets on Sunday night football. On a night in which for three quarters of the game the Dallas Cowboys was shocking a nation and readily handling the New York Jets at the new Meadowlands Stadium. Everyone knows exactly what happened during the final quarter of the game. especially so are the Dallas Cowboys players, coaches and fans.

The colossal meltdown by Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys leads to this one burning question that seems to be eating at the football soul of everyone to ever rep Dallas Cowboys blue and silver. … [visit site to read more]

Can this Dallas Cowboys Team Perform on the Big Stage? - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football