A Look Around the Web

As we all know, there's something of a lull between the Super Bowl and the NFL draft. And by that I mean that there's really no point in paying attention to football right now unless something crazy happens to your team (and you thought the Vikings were dysfunctional). Barring a coach firing, there really isn't a lot going on here in the land of the Purple, so it's time to take a look around the web and see what we piques our interest.

• NFL Draft Countdown has a new mock draft up (as of Feb. 6). They have the Vikings taking Gaines Adams after Calvin Johnson and Jamaal Anderson go #4 and #5. What's really interesting, however, is their mock of the second round, where they have the Vikings bypassing the best WR left (Anthony Gonzalez) to take Greg Olson, a tight end out of Miami. Not a bad choice, since Childress' offense should feature a good pass catching tight end (based on how the Eagles have used the position), something it didn't do this last season.
• If the Vikings take Olson, it will likely mean the end of the Jermaine Wiggins' era. While his ridiculous Bahstan accent will be missed, he wasn't able to get the job done last year, despite the Vikings' emphasis on short passes, which should have helped his production.
• If you read that last link from the Star Tribune's Vikings' blog, you'll notice that Fred Smoot's name was not listed with Wiggins, Dwight Smith's and Mike Rosenthal's. Commenter "Jason J" appears to be correct when he said the Vikings would hang on to the Love Boat star.
• Just because the Vikings are hanging on to Ol' Double Duty, doesn't mean he's going to start, however. As you can see from Judd Zalgad's answers to reader questions, Cedric Griffin (and not Nate Clements) will be starting opposite Antoine Winfield.
• Finally, ESPN.com has actually allowed someone to question the NFL's conduct and product. And they're dead on with all of their points. The way the NFL is handling the concussion epidemic is downright criminal, as is their disregard for former players. That, combined with the legal problems of some current players has the high probability of creating a backlash, especially if the games continue to be over hyped, too long and poorly played.