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It was hard to believe that after the NFC Championship game the Saints would come out and say that they were trying to hurt Brett Favre and take him out of the game. But it was also apparent that it was going to be the only way that the Saints were going to stop the Vikings. Unfortunately, the Vikings stopped themselves. Numerous turnovers was the difference between an overtime win for the Saints and the Vikings winning by three touchdowns.

So the schedule comes out and the Vikings start the 2010 NFL season at New Orleans. Brett Favre has surgery last week on his ankle and Darren Sharper puts up the following on his twitter page: “Well, y’all seen Brett had surgery on that ankle we got after in the championship game,” Saints safety Darren Sharper said. “Come Thursday night 1st game. X marks the spot.” Its one thing to say that you are going to attempt to apply pressure on Favre. But to specifically say that you are going after his bad ankle is over the line. This is a totally classless statement by Sharper. Roger Goddell should fine Sharper for making such a comment. We all know that this goes on, players going after players, but there is no need to take it this far.

Sharper was well liked when he played for the Vikings but just lost a lot of respect and credibility by making such a careless comment. This will of course add a little extra flair to the first game of the season. But this was a useless, harsh comment directed specifically at Brett Favre’s ankle. The Vikings are served best by not responding to this comment. If Darren Sharper wants to stoop to this level then so be it. The Vikings need to “take the high road” on this one.

Paul Gantner

We are fortunate as Viking fans that Kevin and Pat Williams both play for the Vikings. They are both pro-bowl type players year in and year out, but they both violated the NFL drug policy. As the policy states, “you are responsible for what goes into your body”. Yes it is unfortunate that the diuretic was not listed on the Starcaps bottle and yes it is unfortunate that the NFL knew this information and did not share it with the players. However this is all irrelevant to the fact that personal responsibility was not taken by either player and “two wrongs do not make a right”. The bottom line is this, they took the supplement and therefore are responsible for what they took. Serve your 4 game suspension and move on!

Without the Williams wall the Vikings will, in the worse case scenario, be 2-2 after the first 4 games. So go ahead and serve your suspension and get it done with already! There is no point in taking a chance of losing the William’s Wall in the middle of the season, the end of the season, or possibly the playoffs. If they take the suspension at the start the season they will come back at the hardest part of the schedule. Starting with the 5th game the Vikings play in order, the Cowboys, Packers, Patriots, and Cardinals. All of these were playoff teams last year. By this going on any longer it could possibly hurt the Vikings chances later in the season.

This case has drug on and on and needs to be over. Kevin and Pat Williams, we love you guys, but take responsibility here and stop looking to get off on a technicality. Enough already!

Paul Gantner

The Star Ledger and msnbc.com are both reporting that Ladainian Tomlinson had decided to play for the New York Jets instead of the Minnesota Vikings. It has also been reported that he will make this announcement either later today or on Monday. Is this good news or bad news for the Minnesota Vikings? Tomlinson’s numbers have definetely have declined over the last couple years and the injuries have accumulated. Only time will tell if the Vikings are better off without Tomlinson. It was reported that the Jets offered more money to LT but it was not reported if that was the deciding factor. So where do the Vikings go from here to find their second string running back? Brian Westbrook is still available. Will the Vikings take a look at him? One would think that he would have been the first option considering his versatility. There could possibly be some questions concerning the health of Westbrook. So the Vikings need to start the process over and get a viable backup for Adrian Peterson. Maybe they already have one. Could Albert Young or Ian Johnson finally get an opportunity, or both?

Paul Gantner

The Minnesota Vikings knew that Chester Taylor would get a lot of attention in free agency. Unfortunately, it happened to be a divisional rival that Taylor will be playing for, the Chicago Bears. Taylor or any other player cannot be blamed for taking advantage of a financial situation. It cannot be said of Taylor that he was not loyal to the Vikings by signing today with the Bears. Chester Taylor, with the help of his agent, did what he thought would be best for him and his family. Thanks Chester Taylor for four great years with the Minnesota Vikings. You are a class act on and off the field and you will be missed.

Paul Gantner