Brought to you by Mr. Cheer or Die and the Vikes Geek, welcome to the
Views and Personal Photos on the Vikes from the Inaugural Hall of Fame fan.
Brought to you by Mr. Cheer or Die and the Vikes Geek, welcome to the
Onterrio Smith is lying low these days. Even his personal web site isn’t saying much. I can’t even tell when it was last updated.
Smith arrived with the Vikings and starting making noise from the start. He shaved the letters "S.O.D." into his head, short for "Steal of the Draft" after the Vikings selected him to join a crowded backfield in the fourth round 2003 NFL Draft.
He has played for the Vikings for 2 years, rushing for 579 yards and 5 rushing touchdowns on 107 carries in 2003. His 544 yards on 144 carries the following season would lead the Vikings. That’s where the S.O.D.’s future began to get a little, well, muddled.
In May of 2005 Smith was detained at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport for carrying dried urine and a mysterious device. This device was later found out to be the Original Whizzinator a kit which is used to beat drug tests. In June of 2005, Smith was suspended for the entire 2005 season after a third violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy. And the problems didn’t end there.
Jun. 11, 2005:
According to Minneapolis Police Department records, Smith was cited for urinating in a public elevator around 2:30 a.m. on May 1, 2004. A surveillance video showed Smith going into the left corner of the elevator, ''where he assumes the position of a man urinating. Several females were in the elevator. They reacted by fleeing the general area, where he was urinating.''
Oct. 14, 2005:
Smith was been accused of sexual assaulting a 21-year old woman in 2004 in a teammate's apartment.
But here is the deal, most experts think that Smith is the most talented running back on the squad currently. Even the fans of the Purple can see this as did David Clark who e-mailed me the following late last week:
Do you think Onterrio Smith figures into the Viking's plan next season? Or do you think he's going to get cut? I think he's our best back when he's on the field.
I certainly can't disagree. Smith is the best all-around back that the Vikings currently have under contract. He blocks better than Mewelde Moore, and comes out of the backfield very well to receive passes. Recall that 63-yarder for a TD against the Cowboys to open the 2004 season?
Even new Vikings coach Brad Childress said RB Onterrio Smith "has a clean slate with me." I read that as saying we can expect Smith to be given one last chance. He would potentially compete with Mewelde Moore for playing time. Everyone expects that Michael Bennett will be playing for someone else next year, but until that happens he must be thrown into the mix as well.
Honestly, I would prefer that the Vikings make a play for a top-notch running back such as Shaun Alexander or Edgerrin James. Who wouldn't? But it looks very unlikely as Childress has already indicated that the Vikings are likely to use a committee approach at running back. Childress has indicated that he has already reviewed the impending free agent class, saying there were only journeymen and running backs that would be too expensive. At this point, it looks like Mewelde Moore could fill a Brian Westbrook-like role, while Onterrio Smith or Ciatrick Fason pick up inside carries. Or, Childress could be blowing smoke.
If no play for a top-notch FA is made, then I would love to see the Vikes make a play for LenDale White who is better suited for the NFL than Reggie Bush. The Vikes need a bruising RB, not another Michael Bennett speedster. Even my close, personal friend Mel Kiper views USC's class going this way in the upcoming draft:
ESPN's resident draft guru, Mel Kiper, has USC's first rounders go like this:
1. Reggie Bush to the Texans
2. Matt Leinart to the Saints
16. Winston Justice to the Dolphins
17. LenDale White to the Vikings
31. Darnell Bing to the Broncos
Of course draft predictions are far from an exact science (Kiper predicted Mike Williams to go #1 two years ago). And these predictions will change after the Senior Bowl and again after the NFL Combine.
I'd like to see the Vikes draft White. If for no other reason than to replace Smith who is one step away from NFL banishment and doing Infomercials. Do you want to go an entire season with Moore, Fason, and Echemandu? Not me. How about you? Who starts at RB next year for the soon-to-be-Super-Bowl-Champion Minnesota Vikings?
Coming Friday: The end of the line for PQ the First
Does anyone know what happened to the Vikes Geek's site? Geoff if you are reading, please post an update.
Posted by: J. Lichty at February 16, 2006 09:51 AMThis doesn't really have anything to do with the Vikings, but I was looking at some Big 10 news and saw something amusing. It seems like the offensive coordinator for Purdue University left for greener pastures. Coach Tiller then promoted the offensive line coach to be the new coordinator, but said he would continue his current duties as offensive line coach. Do you think we should warn him or at least send him a "Been there, done that" message?
Dave
Posted by: Dave at February 16, 2006 10:19 PMI think that Onterrio Smith and MeMo can get it done, with Fason in Moe's old capacity. I'd rather sign John Runyan and Steve Hutchinson and go with The Whizzinator than blow the whole salary cap on an almost 30 year-old RB like Edge or Jamal Lewis. Both of those guys have lost a step, and it would be disasterous to line them up behind our patchwork O-line-by-committee that we ended the year with. I agree with the notion by Coach Childress that a top flight RB is not what the team needs most. I'd start by scrapping the whole offensive line except for McKinnie and Birk, and keep Goldberg and Liewinski as backups. Rosenthal's washed up, and the rest of the clowns that were inserted into the lineup and wound up 3 yards in the backfield aren't even NFL caliber players
Posted by: Tyler at February 16, 2006 10:59 PM