Minnesota Vikings Crush the Atlanta Falcons

Vikings Push for what may be the biggest win of the year

Coming into the game Sunday, spirits were high because the Minnesota Viking's first round draft pick, Teddy Bridgewater was set to start and could turn the whole season around and hopefully show he could be a franchise player.

There's no doubt that the Vikings were saddened and embarrassed about the Adrian Peterson child abuse scandal but Head Coach Mike Zimmer made it apparent that they weren't going to let that be a team focus anymore and that the Vikings organization still has a lot to play for. 

Mike Zimmer also made it known that he still has nothing but love for their future Hall of Fame running back, in that of Adrian Peterson. He said, "have no doubt I still love Adrian, I feel for him that he's going through this, because I think he's one of my guys. I believe in this situation, where everything is, this is the right way to go. 

As for the game this past weekend vs a potent Atlanta Falcons, the Vikings exploded with offense led by rookie QB Teddy Bridgewater. He went 19/30 in the air for 317 yards. He was accompanied by Peterson's backup Matt Asiata who played a phenomenal game rushing for 80 yards with 3 touchdowns. For the receiving core, Jarius Wright led the way with 132 yards on 8 catches but didn't find the end-zone. 

The Vikings just rallied together and played their tails off to a team that has just put a whooping on Tampa Bay, routing them 56-14 on Monday Night Football. 

Zimmer believes that the sharing of Adrian Peterson's pregame text message with the team helped boost their confidence and outlook to the game they were about to play. In the post-game interviews Zimmer expressed that, "the words that Adrian texted were very deep, One thing the players took away from that message was, play each down like it's your last, because you never know when it's going to be your last opportunity." Mike Zimmer  I think the guys got that message pretty well, with the 41-28 victory of the Atlanta Falcons.

LS 

Ray Rice Exposed

During the off season of this past year, Baltimore Ravens All-Pro Running back Ray Rice was reportedly arrested for domestic abuse of his fiance, now wife, Janay Palmer during an altercation in Atlantic City. 

 After the Ravens and Rice addressed the matter it seemed like Ray Rice got off a little too easy. Rice was only suspended for the first two games of the 2014 season. To some, two games seems very light for the serious issue of domestic battery. NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, has admitted he messed up and didn't handle the issue properly. He felt that he didn't have too much to go off of besides the police reports. 

So he did what he thought was reasonable at the time by only giving a Rice a suspension. Goodell didn't undo the damage he did to himself and his brand with his original and weak sanctions for Rice, but he did admit to making a mistake like this in front of his sport, and in front of the country. 

With the media and fans demanding more punishment for Ray Rice's actions, it seems like the releasing of the TMZ video was perfectly timed in some sense. It leaves many people to wonder why we just were exposed to video today? This whole Rice case is a media frenzy and nightmare for the NFL because they had no other option than to cut an All-Pro, Superbowl Champion Ray Rice. 

Rice, 27, whom just reached terms with the Ravens for a 5-yr/$40 million contract is out of a job, out of the NFL and stuck at a cross roads. Just after the Baltimore Ravens terminated his contract, NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell decided that he was suspending Ray Rice indefinitely. 

To make matters worse, for most players stricken from the NFL or out of a job, they tend to turn to the Canadian Football League. Although, for Ray Rice, he is out of luck. CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon, released a statement saying,"he informed CFL teams that they will be honoring the NFL's suspension of Ray Rice." 

LS

Brown's Rookie CB Justin Gilbert's Seeing Dollar Signs!

Brown's Rookie CB Justin Gilbert

The former Oklahoma State Cowboy, is one hell of an athlete and a steal for the Browns organization. At OSU, a 2013 Unanimous All-American, Jim Thorpe Finalist, was one of the most experienced and talented defensive players out of the Big XII Conference. 

As a freshman to his senior year, OSU fans and the sports world watched Gilbert transform into an elusive, power and explosive footballer on defensive and specials teams as an elite returner and defensive back. As a kick returner, Gilbert owns the OSU record and is tied for the Big 12 record with five career kickoff returns for touchdowns . Gilbert is second all-time at OSU and in the Big 12 Conference's top 10 with 2,228 kickoff return yards. At OSU, he trails only Big 12 record holder Perrish Cox, who had 2,804 yards in four seasons. Justin Gilbert recieved Honorable mention All-Big 12 in the return game in 2011. He entered the 2013 season second among all active NCAA players with his five kickoff returns for scores . Gilbert had a career return average of 26.5 yards. 

In 51 career games at Oklahoma State, Gilbert registered 182 total tackles, 157 of which were solo stops, broke up 27 passes and intercepted 12 others. He comes into the NFL after a career year with seven interceptions in 2013.

Gilbert generated a lot of buzz leading up to the draft due to his impressive combination of size, speed and athleticism.

Right away, the Brown's look for their 1st round draft pick to have a great impact on defensive and be a great contributor on special teams as well. ESPN sources say, "Gilbert is showing the flashes and reasons why he was drafted 8th overall in the 2014 draft."

The Rookie CB, Gilbert has agreed to and signed a hefty rookie contract with the Cleveland Browns. Gilbert signed later this month, to a pretty 4-yr/$12.8 million!! The 4-yr contract also includes a nice $7.65 million signing bonus. 

Gilbert will learn from the best, with his counterpart All Pro, Defensive Back Joe Haden.
Haden believes that the two will be an unbelievable duo when he develops into a great NFL caliber defensive back and contribute greatly in the Brown's secondary. 

All Pro Defensive back, Joe Haden said, "He's a really, really talented player, he turns the ball over. He's able to get the ball back to the offense, very, very athletic. With his return skills, when he gets the ball in his hands, he's automatically ready to get to the end zone. I'm really glad that we got him. He's just got to learn, come out here and work hard, and he could definitely be a big part to help the team."

LS

The Heisman Trophy, A Fraternity of Trouble Makers?

2014 Heisman Trophy Winner Jameis Winston

Another contreversial story has emerged to the sports world about this past years Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston. According to ESPN sources, two years ago a fellow FSU teammate Chris Casher and Winston were spotted on campus using a pellet gun to hunt squirrels. The two were spotted on a campus bike trail with a long barreled hand gun that appeared to be a real handgun, which startled other students going along the path and the campus authorities were notified.

Two campus police officers were called onto the scene, the officers drew their weapons and held at gunpoint and yelled at to drop what appeared to be a weapon and hit the ground. The officers kept their gun drawn until, one of the officers handcuffed and sub-dewed both of the players. The gun was confiscated and the two players were taken into custody but further released with no charges filed. 

To make matters worse, hours after Winston and Casher were confronted by campus police, they were involved in a BB gun fight at the apartment complex the quarterback was living in at the time. The two were later investigated that week for the damage, which cost $4,200, but apartment manager Dave Sudekum later said he did not want to pursue charges against the two FSU athletes. 

This type behavior by the Heisman Winner Jameis Winston has become so occurrent. Just Earlier this year, Winston was issued a civil citation after the sheriff's deputies said he 
walked out of a supermarket without paying for $32 worth of crab legs and crawfish.

The shocking event was this past year when he was investigated for allegations that he had raped a woman in December 2012. The prosecutor on the case then declined to charge him, citing a lack of evidence and gaps in the accuser's story

The Heisman Trophy, an award for college football's elite and best player of the year. The trophy is supposed to represent an individual who displays handwork, excellence and integrity. But it seems like a list of bad boys who get the ultimate spotlight.

1956 Heisman winner, Paul Hornung running back for Green Bay, was fined and suspended from the NFL indefinitely in 1963 for betting on games. According to ESPN Classic, he admitted to gambling, but said he never bet against the Packers. His suspension was lifted before the 1964 season.

1959 Heisman winner, Billy Cannon,  was involved in a counterfeiting scheme in the 1980s. According to ESPN's "Outside the Lines," he and a gang of friends turned amateurish crooks manufactured more than $6 million in $100 bills, and Cannon buried some of the fake money in Igloo coolers. Cannon served more than two years in a Texas federal prison.

The most controversial, 1968 Heisman Trophy winner, O. J. Simpson, made headlines in 1995 when he was tried for and acquitted in the 1994 murders of wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. In 1997, Simpson was found liable in their deaths by a civil court, and ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages. Half a dozen miscellaneous accusations later, Simpson was convicted in 2008 for an armed robbery in a Las Vegas hotel room and sentenced to 33 years.

1972 Winner Johnny Rodgers,  the only convicted felon to win a Heisman. According to LostLettermen.com, Rodgers and several others decided to rob a gas station during Rodgers' freshman season, after which Rodgers pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years probation.

1979 Winner Charles White, admitted in a 1997 interview with Sports Illustrated that he was battling a cocaine addiction while playing for the Cleveland Browns in the early 1980s, and suspended from the Los Angeles Rams in 1988 for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy. He retired at the end of that season.

1990 Winner Ty Detmer & 2000 Trophy Winner Chris Weinke, were both employed as executives in the athlete services division of Triton Financial, an Austin-based investment firm. The Austin American-Statesman reported in 2009 that the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a securities fraud lawsuit against Triton Financial and its founder and CEO, Kurt Barton, who was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for a litany of charges in 2011. 

Marijuana connoisseur, 1998 Winner Ricky Williams,  received numerous punishments for substance abuse during his NFL career. After his fourth violation of the NFL's drug policy, he was suspended for the 2006 season. In July 2013, the Express-News reported that Williams in talks for a coaching position at San Antonio's University of the Incarnate Word.

 Another, Heisman trouble maker 2005 Heisman winner, Reggie Bush NCAA ruled that Bush had received gifts and USC was given four years probation and forced to vacate its wins from 2005, Bush's Heisman season, among other sanctions. Later that year, Bush forfeited his Heisman title.

2010 Heisman Trophy Winner, Cam Newton, was suspended by Florida after he was arrested for stealing a laptop in 2008, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The charges were in a controversy regarding allegations that his father, Cecil Newton, had sought substantial sums of money in return for his son playing for a major college football team, dropped. 

One of the most talked about and scrutinized for his off field manor, 2012 Heisman Trophy Winner Johnny Manziel,  Manziel was arrested in June 2012 in the College Station's Northgate bar district on charges of fighting, failure to identify himself and carrying two fake licenses, according to San Antonio Express-News archives. In July 2013, Manziel pled guilty to failing to identify himself to police, receiving a fine of $2,000, two days in jail and $232 in court costs, Brazos County attorney Rod Anderson told the Express-News, adding that Manziel won't spend any time in jail, since he was behind bars after his arrest. The other charges against the quarterback were dropped. 

Manziel was investigated by the NCAA for whether Manziel accepted payments from autographs that he had signed in January 2013. The NCAA did not find any evidence that Manziel accepted money for the autographs, but reached an agreement with Texas A&M to suspend him for the first half of the season opener against Rice University, due to an "inadvertent violation" of NCAA rules.

Although this list of individuals have all displayed the wrong image for a winner of such a prestige award in the Heisman, there are a lot of men in the fraternity that were actual very decent individuals with an great off the field demeanor, outstanding on-field athletic performance and integrity for the game of football.

But this list of individuals also goes to say that the fraternity of Heisman Trophy winners does include a large majority of trouble makers.

LS