[Bryan88]

Sid Hartman: Wilf comes to camp expecting big things

Vikings owner Zygi Wilf was watching the team's minicamp in Winter Park on Saturday when he was asked to appraise the job his coach, Brad Childress, has done.

"I think that you need a couple years to catch up to speed on all the different nuances of being a head coach," Wilf said. "I think he and his staff, and everyone around him, have grown. Just like how the players have gotten better.

"This is a team sport, and it starts from the bottom up and top down. I think we've got strength. ... I think the coaching staff and the players are ready to face this season with high expectations."\

Wilf figures that the talent is so deep on the team now that it will very difficult to cut to the 53-player limit.

"It's going to be tough to get down to the final guys -- we have a tremendous amount of talent here, and I think it's going to be tougher and tougher to be able to get to the core guys, but we're going to have to," he said. "It's a good position to be at. Absolutely, absolutely, no question about it."

The 2005 draft, Wilf's first as owner, was a disaster. But Wilf believes that in the past two years, the roster has been strengthened at all of the positions that needed help.

"Every position that we felt we needed to get better at, we've brought the players in," he said. Both Childress and Rick Spielman, vice president of player personnel, deserve the credit. "Having Rick and having the coach work together to get the best players on the board and get those free agents that we need to strengthen our club. It's just going to make our team that much better, and I think everyone here has high expectations. And everyone has a very positive attitude."

Wilf agrees with Childress and the coaching staff that Tarvaris Jackson can be one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL and can lead the team to the division title.


"He's shown tremendous improvement, and I think it takes some time in the NFL to get a quarterback really on par," Wilf said. "I think he's starting to catch up to speed. I think we're going to see great things from him this year."

No doubt Wilf was very upset by the Love Boat incident, and he hasn't been happy with the trouble some of the players have gotten into. Some of those players are gone for that reason.

But he is convinced that things are going to change for the better.
He wouldn't comment on offensive lineman Bryant McKinnie's arrest in Florida after a brawl outside a nightclub, but no doubt Wilf was not expecting such an incident after he made clear to the entire organization that he won't tolerate embarrassments.

"Our policy since the beginning has been to bring in guys of character," Wilf said. "I think over the years, being able to bring those guys in that can be part of the community and make the community proud [has been our goal]. I think we're on the right track. I think it was a process that took several years, and I think right now we're on solid footing."

[Lefty Noob]

Well, I still think they're overrating Jackson, but I've been wrong before. They certainly do have confidence in the young man, don't they?

[Bryan88]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

Well, I still think they're overrating Jackson, but I've been wrong before. They certainly do have confidence in the young man, don't they?

They certainly do seem to have a lot of confidence in him, I wish I had that much. The thing is that Brad Childress has pretty much put his job on Jackson's back and I am sure he is selling him hard to Wilf and will do whatever it takes to help Jackson succeed.

[Bette]

I dont think the talent is so deep they are going to have problems cutting to 53 either.
I dont have a lot of confidence in Jackson either. But I think he came far enough along last year he needs a shot this year to prove he can keep doing it.

[Bryan88]

Originally Posted by Bette

I dont think the talent is so deep they are going to have problems cutting to 53 either.
I dont have a lot of confidence in Jackson either. But I think he came far enough along last year he needs a shot this year to prove he can keep doing it.

I think that they will face some tough decisions at certain positions and in that sense they may have trouble getting down to 53, but overall the talent isn't really that deep.