Allison v. Ferguson v. Johnson

As I noted on Friday, the folks at FanHouse had a post about the battle between Aundrae Allison and Robert Ferguson for the fourth wide receiver spot. I don't think the post goes far enough, however, as it should include Jaymar Johnson, who'll be competing with both players for the fifth reciever spot. The decision that Brad Childress makes about those final two spots will tell us a lot about him and his ability to maximize his roster. If he keeps Ferguson, it means that he cares more about run blocking and experience than receiving talent and it means that Allison will be relegated to the fifth spot, bumping Jaymar Johnson to the practice squad (if he clears waivers) and forcing the Vikings to use someone with no experience (college or pro) as their punt returner.

And that right there is reason enough to hope for the Vikings to cut Ferguson. While he's a very good run blocker, he showed last year that he just doesn't have what it takes to contribute as a receiver. His speed is gone, his hands remain suspect (he's only had one season with a catch percentage over 50% since 2003) and at 28 years old, he's not going to improve all that much.

Unlike Ferguson, both Allison and Johnson have potential to be quality contributors for the Vikings. As I've said before (and I'll say again in the next paragraph), Allison should be returning kickoffs. I've also said that Jaymar Johnson should be given every opportunity to return punts next year. If he doesn't make the team, it will mean that the Vikings will have to choose between using Bobby Wade (their best receiver statistically last year) or someone without any experience as their punt returner. I'd much rather have a talented rookie returning punts than someone without any experience at it whatsoever, which adds one more reason to cut Ferguson in replace of Johnson (assuming he has a decent training camp).

No matter what happens in the battle for final two receiver spots, I think Aundrae Allison should be returning kickoffs for the Vikings next year. Honestly, he's the obvious choice--he's returned 20 kickoffs for 574 yards, an average of 28.7 yards per return. He also returned 11 kickoffs for more than 20 yards, three for more than 40 yards and one for 104 yards and a touchdown. He did have one fumble, but the rewards more than outweigh the risks, especially when you consider that Maurice Hicks, who is an average returner at best, would be his replacement. Hicks' had a career high last year, with four kick returns over 40 yards, but it took him 63 returns to do so. His career high is 25.1 yards per return in 2006, and while he's never had issues with fumbling (he's only fumbled four times in 185 returns), he's never returned a kickoff further than 64 yards. The Vikings are team that needs offensive playmakers and they can't afford to use a solid returner when they have a returner that's a threat to score.

Childress has repeatedly said that he places an emphasis on special teams. We won't know whether that overrides his (and every coaches') desire for veterans until the end of training camp when he decides between Allison, Ferguson and Johnson for the final two receiver spots. I'd take Allison and Johnson and their upside and special teams skills over Ferguson's blocking and veteran saavy. I hope Childress will too.

Seahawks-Vikings: THE REMATCH...

Saturday's the Vikings' third preseason game (which, loyal readers, I'm sure you already knew), meaning that Saturday night will be the closest we get to watching a real football game until Week One, as well as the last chance for players to make a good impression, lest they get sent to the chopping block (There's a solid breakdown of the Vikings' likely cuts over at KFAN.com) . And hopefully, it'll involve a few more passes by the Revolution. Aside from hoping that Tarvaris will be a tad bit more involved, there's quite a few other things to watch for:

• How will the newcomers fit in? Can Robert Ferguson show off the talent that lead the Packers to draft him in the second round? Has Fred Evans time in the legal world left him rusty and forlorn? Or will he take out his anger and frustration on the Seahawks?

• Will any of the safeties stand out? It's not that any of them have played poorly, rather, they've all played well, which likely puts Tank Williams as the odd man out, since Greg Blue is a cheaper, younger version of him. So will Tank Williams, Mike Doss or Greg Blue step up their game and insure they get a roster spot?

• Can the special teams units do a better job in winning the field position battle? Will Alex Reyes pull a Bo Jackson after another of his kick offs doesn't go past the twenty and just keep running into the locker room and right off the roster? Is Aundrae Allison going to be returning kicks for the Purple, or will Robert Ferguson or Chandler Williams steal the spot away?
  

• Which of the wide receivers are going to make the team? Troy Williamson, Sydney Rice, Robert Ferguson, Bobby Wade and Aundrae Allison seem to be locks for the team. That leaves Williams, Martin Nance, Billy McMullin and Todd Lowbar competing for the sixtha and final spot. I'd hate to see the Vikings lose Chandler Williams, their seventh rounder. He hasn't caught a pass in a preseason game yet, but he's played well in practice and has the longest kick return for the Vikings' so far (28 yards).
  

• The Vikings have had a lot of success rushing the passer with Brian Robison and Ray Edwards at defensive end. How will the return of Erasmus James play into that? And how is James knee going to hold up in live action? Does he still have the speed and quickness he had prior to the injury? I certainly hope so, because, with the way Robison and Edwards are playing, a healthy James could be the difference between a pass rush that's "better than last year's" and a "great pass rush".
  

• Drew Henson sucks. Will he continue to be a bad quarterback, or will he tantalize the coaching staff with a good performance, thus costing the Vikings the man, the myth, the legend(#16)--Tyler Thigpen. [Thanks to Bob D. for the Youtube link]
  

Robert Ferguson--an Interlude

I'll have my final thoughts on Friday's game up later today, but first, I wanted to discuss the news that the Vikings may be close to adding a veteran wide receiver. Robert Ferguson, formerly of the Green Bay Packers, appears to favor the Purple. And to add even further fuel to the fire, he missed his original flight to Houston, although he did eventually make the trip.

So it seems the Vikings are about to add a new receiver to their much maligned group. But is that a good thing? Gonzo, over at the Daily Norseman doesn't think so. Personally, I'm not so sure.

Ferguson has a few things going against him, starting with the fact that he's had injury problems the last three years, missing four games in 2004 due to a hit that temporarily paralyzed him, five games in 2005 because of a knee injury and 12 games last year due to foot problems. And when he has been healthy, he hasn't exactly light the world on fire--his best year came in 2003, when he caught 38 passes for 520 yards and 4 TDs.

Here's the thing though--when he is healthy, he has the ability to be a deep threat. He has six catches that went for more than 30 yards for his career, which doesn't sound all that impressive, until you realize that the current career leader on the Vikings roster is Troy Williamson with four.

So would the addition of Robert Ferguson be a huge one? No. However, if he can stay healthy, he'll definitely be an improvement over roster filler like Cortez Hankton. It's better to take a risk on a player with talent than to play it safe with a player that doesn't have any.