I'm not sure if you heard the news, but Adrian Peterson was the run-away winner of The Associated Press NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award for the 2007 NFL season. He received 46 1/2 of the 50 votes from a nationwide panel of media members who regularly cover the NFL. Cleveland left tackle Joe Thomas received the other 3 1/2 votes. Joe who!?!? We'll talk more about that on the next VU podcast with my special VU mole deep in Ohio.

The Vikes have had other ROY's in the teams history. First there was Paul Richard Flatley. Flatley played in the league from 1963 to 1970. During his career, he played for the Minnesota Vikings from '63-'67 and then with the Atlanta Falcons. Drafted by the Vikings in the 4th round in the 1963 NFL Draft, Flatley was selected as the UPI NFL-NFC Rookie of the Year. As a Viking, Flatley played in the 1966 Pro Bowl.

Then there was Chuck Foreman (born Walter E. Forman) whom the Minnesota Vikings made their first round draft choice in 1973, selecting him with the 12th overall pick in the draft. He was a consensus choice as the National Football Conference (NFC) Rookie of the Year in 1973, when he rushed for 801 yards on 182 attempts and caught 37 passes for 362 yards.

Later on there was some dude named Randy Moss. In 1998, Moss helped the Vikings to become the number one ranked offense that season while they set a then record (thanks Pats!!) for total points by a team. At the end of the 1998 regular season, Moss was named a Pro Bowl starter and NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year for his rookie record 17 touchdown receptions and the third highest receiving yardage (1,313) total of 1998.

But in between Foreman and Moss there was another ROY honoree for the Purple. Often forgotten about I wanted to make sure he was remembered if for no other reason that he was a Vikings WR that actually held onto the ball. If the ball was in the general area of of him, it was caught. If the play involved crossing the middle there was no pussy-foot dance routine as the route was finished even if it meant losing his helmet. Don't believe me? Take a look at this little video I put together.

Yes, you saw that correctly. Incredible hit, right? No doubt. But White hung onto the ball. During a 3rd and long play, Fran Tarkenton dropped deep into the pocket and delivered a bullet to White who was on crossing route, with Raiders DB Skip Thomas meeting him in the middle. As White made a spectacular catch on the ball he was hit helmet-to-helmet by Raiders Safety Jack Tatum, while Thomas closed the gap. The collision knocked Sammy's helmet and chin strap off, sending the helmet tumbling about eight yards backwards from where they landed. Although shaken on the play, he held onto the ball gaining the Vikings a first down. He would return to the game, however the Vikings were outscored 32 to 14, losing their fourth Super Bowl in eight years.

They don't make them like White any longer. I just wanted to make sure this former Vikes WR and ROY was not forgotten.

See you Saturday.

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