Your top 5 favorite and least favorite Vikings

[Ally]

My Top 5 Favorite Vikings (in no particular order)

1. Christian Ponder - I really don't know why I like him so much because he isn't a good quarterback (not horrible, just not good). I just really like him. I think I might have a crush on him or something. I don't know. I definitely don't think he has a weak arm though. That fail mary earlier this year was bad but he also produced some long, accurate passes, for example, that bomb right to Patterson in the end zone during OT against the Pack (Patterson dropped it, otherwise we would have won). It wasn't the longest pass ever but I don't think a weak arm would have gotten the ball that far being that accurate. There's plenty of other examples on YouTube. Anyways, enough of me defending him since it's pointless. I completely understand why people hate him. P.S. - I think he's hilarious in the press conferences after the games. I was laughing so hard during the presser after the Redskins game. Hmmm...I think I do have a crush on him.

2. Cris Carter - Carter was my hero when I was in high school. I would go to the weight room in the mornings before school started and stay an hour after school ended because I knew that Cris was working out that hard (first to practice and last to leave). I loved watching him play. He was truly an inspiration.

3. Chris Kluwe - I have a love/hate relationship with Kluwe. When he played for us, I thought he was a great punter and I loved how he spoke his mind. I thought it was awesome that he was standing up for what he believed in. I also thought he was hot! I'll admit it, I took a picture of his butt when I went to a game a couple years ago. He has a nice one.

4. Jared Allen - He was one of my favorite Vikings the past couple of years. He's funny, witty, gets the job done, does a ton for charity and I love that calf roping thing he does after a sack. I really wish he wasn't going to the Bears and I don't like what he said about the Vikes the past couple of weeks. If he talks more trash about us, I may have to put him on my hate list.

5. John Randle - Remember that commercial where he was chasing the Farve chicken? So funny! Just like Allen, he's funny, witty, he got the job done and he was fun to watch.

Top 5 Least Favorite Vikings

1. Matt Cassel - I hated Cassel when he played for the Patriots. I hated him when he played for the Chiefs and I thought I could get behind him when he signed with the Vikes but I just can't. I can't stand the way he plays. I hate how he stares down his receivers. I hate how he crouches down to throw the ball. But what I hate most about Cassel is how cocky he his. Just like Ponder, he sucks at QB, yet he's going around telling the media how he's the number one QB. How he's the best QB and how he deserves to be starter. I don't think he has shown he can be the starter. He needs to prove it and so far he hasn't. He had one good game against the Eagles last year but he sucked the rest of the year (barely beat the struggling Steelers and only got 1 touchdown against the crappy Lions - he got lucky winning those games). I really want to punch some sense into him. Hopefully, Norv can help his mechanics and teach him to not stare down receivers and show him how to throw the football but after, what is it - 9 years, I don't think Cassel can be taught. I really hope he's not the starter next year. Maybe we'll draft someone in the first round who can be the starter (not Manziel - I hate him too, also too cocky) but I don't think I could stand to see Cassel start again.

2. Chris Kluwe - He's on both of my lists. After he was let go by the Vikes, he turned into a jerk. He tweeted some mean stuff about the Vikings and Minnesota. He called Mankato the STD capitol of the world. I live in Mankato and I don't know anyone who has a STD (although I'm pretty sure people don't just come out and tell you if they have a STD). I don't know who gave Kluwe a STD at training camp but they probably weren't from Mankato. His twitter comments pissed me off. Then he had the nerve to come out with that story about the Vikings coaches on DeadSpin. I don't know if his accusations are true or not but the timing of the whole thing made me mad. He should have filed a formal complaint right away and not act like a little baby trying to get revenge.

3. Chris Cook - Every time a receiver of the opposite team made a catch and Cook was suppose to be covering them, he would be fifteen yards away looking confused. He was the worst CB I have ever seen. He acted like he didn't even care. I cheered when he got ejected from the Bears game. They interviewed him after one of the games and he looked like he was on drugs or something. I never liked him and I'm glad San Fran will have to deal with him now.

4. Randy Moss - I loved Moss the first time around. Moss, Reed and Carter were the ultimate receiver trio. The second time we had him, he was horrible. He complained about everything (even the catering for some reason) and he never really tried to be part of the team. I always wondered what it would be like to get Moss back again and wondered why we gave him up in the first place, then we did get him back and I was totally disappointed.

5. Greg Jennings - He's a total diva. I always hated him when he was a Packer and, like Farve, I was ready to cheer him on when he became a Viking, even if I didn't like him. He always complained that Ponder never got him the ball, yet when Ponder did pass him the ball, he would drop it. He made a fool of himself at the end of the Redskins game on the sidelines, pouting and throwing his helmet. Seems like he's all talk and no game. I think he's overrate and we paid too much for him. I'll still cheer for him this year but he really needs to step up his game.

Honorable mention: Donovan McNabb - He's a jerk. He played like crap. I don't like him. Poor Ponder had to learn from him as a rookie (no wonder he looks confused all the time). I'm also a NASCAR fan and do not agree with what he said about drivers not being athletes.

Honorable mention 2: Adrian Peterson - It's not that I don't like Peterson. I think he's the greatest running back of all time and I'm glad he's a Viking but he's not my favorite. My brother works for Whelan Security which does security for the Vikings and he told me that Peterson is a jerk. People will ask him for an autograph and he will basically tell them to f-off. At training camp, he told a group of people that he had a meeting and then he would do autographs afterwards. After the meeting, he came out, got on his bike and rode off giving everyone the finger. Nice guy. I also heard that he has a bunch of baby mammas. Again, I like him as a player and I'm happy he's on the team because he's a great RB but he's not a very nice guy.

[dead_poet]

Honorable mention 2: Adrian Peterson - It's not that I don't like Peterson. I think he's the greatest running back of all time and I'm glad he's a Viking but he's not my favorite. My brother works for Whelan Security which does security for the Vikings and he told me that Peterson is a jerk. People will ask him for an autograph and he will basically tell them to f-off. At training camp, he told a group of people that he had a meeting and then he would do autographs afterwards. After the meeting, he came out, got on his bike and rode off giving everyone the finger. Nice guy. I also heard that he has a bunch of baby mammas. Again, I like him as a player and I'm happy he's on the team because he's a great RB but he's not a very nice guy.

Wow. This is literally the first time I've ever heard about Peterson acting like that. FWIW, I have a good friend within the organization that has frequent contact with AD. From every account I've heard, the dude is very generous with his time and is one of the nicest, most professional guys on any NFL roster. Granted I don't know if he'd ever tell me if anything like you described actually happened. Maybe he had a bad meeting? The part about fathering several children is apparently true, however.

[majorm]

My Top 5 Favorite Vikings (in no particular order)

1. Christian Ponder

Yeah, like I'm going to let this go. I almost stopped reading right here, but I went on anyway. I didn't see any reason to re-post the entire thing. Whoever wants to read it all can read your original.

Some of your other choices were....interesting. Actually since you had Ponder on your favorite list and Adrian on your least favorite list...you may need to be checked out.

And I'll stop just short of calling "BS," but when or where has Matt Cassel ever said anything close to what you say he said?!! He's not a great QB but I've never thought he's come off as "cocky" in his time with the Vikings. Not at all. In fact through all the nonsense he's always said all the right things publicly and I think has behaved like the perfect teammate. He's never said, "I'm the best and should be the starter." Never.

And you're honestly trying to tell us that Adrian flipped off fans at training camp?!!! I'm not buying that one either unless you can come up with some photographic proof. If he had done that I think we certainly would have heard about it before now.

[Mothman]

Ok, I almost stopped reading right here, but I went on anyway. Some of your other choices were....interesting.

And I'll stop just short of calling "BS," but when or where has Matt Cassel ever said anything close to what you said he said?!! He's not a great QB but I've never thought he's come off as "cocky" in his time with the Vikings. Not at all.

And you're honestly trying to tell us that Adrian flipped off fans at training camp?!!! I'm not buying that one either unless you can come up with some photographic proof.

I have a pretty hard time buying that one too.

[Texas Vike]

I have a pretty hard time buying that one too.

Me three. I have never heard anything come out of Cassell's mouth that wasn't absolutely professional. He handled last season's QB conundrum with grace, IMO. Also, AD has the exact OPPOSITE reputation from the one depicted upthread. He's had some questions arise about his child-rearing and life choices, but little to nothing on these sorts of "being an ambassador of the game" situations. He had that lawsuit about a year ago related to a bar in Houston where they claimed he was a jerk, but from what I could make of it, it was simply folks trying to make a quick buck.

[VikeMike]

That spin move really was a classic! There's a nice one just before the 1:00 in this Foreman highlight video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm3Y59LmW7g

Thanks for the link! I could watch that 44 more times.
If Chuck would have had Adrian's speed, he would have been soooo good. That's not to say he wasn't fast; he was. Great hands. Could block. Played both the HB and FB positions.

I had a hard time not putting Jared Allen on the top 5 list -- he just couldn't bump anyone off it. And, it was tough to keep Eller or Marshall off there, too.

I also put Darrin Nelson's name on the least five; but his only crime was that he wasn't Marcus Allen, whom the Vikings passed on to take Nelson.

[Mothman]

Thanks for the link! I could watch that 44 more times.
If Chuck would have had Adrian's speed, he would have been soooo good. That's not to say he wasn't fast; he was. Great hands. Could block. Played both the HB and FB positions.

I had a hard time not putting Jared Allen on the top 5 list -- he just couldn't bump anyone off it. And, it was tough to keep Eller or Marshall off there, too.

I couldn't leave Eller off. he and page were my football heroes in the '70s.

I also put Darrin Nelson's name on the least five; but his only crime was that he wasn't Marcus Allen, whom the Vikings passed on to take Nelson.

That's about right. he was a good player, just not the great player they hoped he could be. He had some memorable performances though. I remember him tearing up the Cowboys during a Thanksgiving game.

[Mothman]

Speaking of that Darrin Nelson game against the Cowboys, here he is finishing the game-winning drive for the Vikes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz3etUOLqxU

[HardcoreVikesFan]

Not to badger the point anymore as the issue has been resolved, but I find it odd that people (Viking fans and non-Viking fans) misspell Cris Carter's name frequently. I mean, the guy is a HOF receiver and at one point in time, was the best WR in the league outside of Jerry Rice. One would think seeing Carter's uniqueness of his first name would prevent any confusion.


Again, I mean no offense to anyone, but at the same time, I am not sure where the disconnect originates with people misspelling Cris Carter.

[John_Viveiros]

Remember, it's asking for favorites. I'm not selecting the most skilled.

My Top 5:
Keith Millard - Loved the effort and the attitude.
Anthony Carter - Had the best body control in the air of any receiver ever.
Bill Brown - Watched him play when my father was still around. Again, a guy who'll give total effort.
Paul Krause - The guy was incredible in knowing where the football was going to be thrown, and getting there before the receiver.
Alan Page - Best, smartest, defensive lineman I ever saw.

Honorable mention:
Rick Fenney (just throwing that out for you old-timers), Orlando Thomas (best Vikings free safety ever, except for Krause - same skill set, unfortunate knee injury), Carl Lee (best CB we ever had, including the Superbowl guys), Matt Blair (best linebacker we ever had, best kick blocker we ever had).

Least favorite (for a variety of reasons):
Spurgon Wynn (he was just so bad - throwing, running, decisions...)
Daunte Culpepper (because you all loved him - he came up incredibly small against great and terrible competition, against the average guys, he was great. Remember, one year, the Daunte-led Vikings went 9-7, and lost to the four worst teams in the league)
Oscar Reed (too many fumbles backing up Foreman)
Troy Williamson (because too many of you argued he was going to be fine, and the rest of us were sure he wouldn't be)
Kenechi Udeze (feel bad for the guy's health, but he went an entire 16 game season as a starting defensive end without a single sack)

Let the flames begin!

[John_Viveiros]

Not to badger the point anymore as the issue has been resolved, but I find it odd that people (Viking fans and non-Viking fans) misspell Cris Carter's name frequently. I mean, the guy is a HOF receiver and at one point in time, was the best WR in the league outside of Jerry Rice.

I'm not sure Rice was the better receiver. He had two Hall-of-Fame QB's throwing to him. Tough duty. Cris had a pretty crazy collection of young underachievers and over-the-hill guys tossing to him.

[Laserman]

offense:

Sammy White
Ahmad Rashad
Anthony Carter
Gary Cuozzo
Jake Reed

Defense

Alan Page
Jim Marshall
Carl Eller
Keith Millard
Chris Doleman

Least Liked:

Randy Moss- total idiot
Tjoke- Nice guy, worked hard, just no Talent
Warren Moon- Great but by the time he got to us he showed little emotion, didn't have any heart
Fred Smoot
Sidney Rice

[majorm]

Interesting to see Daunte's name on several posts on both lists. I can understand that. He was a spectacular player at times and provided a lot of highlight reel plays. But he did seem to always shrink in the more crucial moments. I don't remember him EVER leading the team to any kind of last-minute come from behind victory. He did have a couple of playoff wins, but the games weren't close IIRC. A home blowout of the Saints and the win over GB at Lambeau. That was it wasn't it? He certainly didn't show up in the NFCC game against the G-Men. Of course nobody else did either.

The flip-side of that was Brad Johnson. So-so to below average arm but the dude came through in some tight spots quite a few times.

[Mothman]

Interesting to see Daunte's name on several posts on both lists. I can understand that. He was a spectacular player at times and provided a lot of highlight reel plays. But he did seem to always shrink in the more crucial moments. I don't remember him EVER leading the team to any kind of last-minute come from behind victory.

He led them to a few. The problem was that, like last year, on most of the Vikings teams Daunte played for no lead was safe, regardless of how much time was left on the clock. He came up big more often then people remember but the defenses during most of his seasons with the team were awful.

[CbusVikesFan]

Top 5 is hard to do if you have been following the Vikings as long as I have.
Top 5 Buckeye-Viking connection:
1. Cris Carter
2. Korey Stringer
3. Robert Smith
4. Antoine Winfield
5. Jim Marshall

Top 10 fav all time Vikings:
1. Cris Carter - Korey Stringer
2. Johnny Randle
3. Matt Blair
4. Paul Krause
5. Randy Moss
6. Alan Page
7. Chris Doleman
8. Chuck Foreman
9. Jake Reed
10. Carl Eller
I could not narrow it down to just 5

Top 5 least favorite:
1. Jimmy Hitchcock
2. Dimitrious Underwood
3. Bryant McKinnie
4. Troy Williamson
5. Duante Culpepper