Football Vikings starting a WR at QB tonight. - Page 4

Hammock Parties · 12-20-2010, 01:32 PM

Wow, this should be ugly.

Who I Like Tonight, and I mean Ron Jaworski

Less than nine months after being drafted as a wide receiver prospect, Joe Webb is the starting quarterback for the Vikings.

Vikings 13, Bears 10.

So here's more on the legend of Joe Webb, the aforementioned 199th pick in the 2010 draft, who gets his first NFL start tonight, against the Bears, on the Monday Night Football stage. Born and raised in Birmingham, he went to Alabama-Birmingham, strafing Central Florida for 426 yards as a redshirt frosh in his second career start, and he became the only player in NCAA history to pass for more than 2,000 yards and rush for more than 1,000 in successive seasons. He had plenty of arm, but wasn't invited to the Scouting Combine, and the Vikings took the 6-3, 226-pound Webb as a receiver prospect in April.

"At the first minicamp after the draft,'' Webb recalled, "I threw the ball back after one of the pass routes, and I guess coach [Brad] Childress liked what he saw.'' In fact, Childress watched Webb throw a few balls, knew his history, was skeptical whether Brett Favre would return for the season, and at the end of the minicamp told Webb that when he came back for the full-squad minicamp in a couple of weeks, he'd be coming back as a quarterback.

He showed a surprisingly strong arm in training camp, and good mobility. After some success in the preseason -- Webb had a 48-yard touchdown run, and three touchdown passes -- he became a darling of the fans. And now, even though the Vikings are playing for nothing the last three weeks of the season except for individual jobs, the Minnesota fans seem excited to see whether a cult-hero kind of player (the fans feel about Danny Woodhead in New England the way they feel about Webb in the Twin Cities) can take a step toward being in the mix for a quarterback roster spot in Minnesota in 2011.

Webb didn't sound at all intimidated when we spoke Friday. "Not at all,'' he said. "I grew up watching Monday Night Football and it's an honor to play in the game. I respect the Bears a lot. But I am not afraid of them. They put their shoulder pads on just like I do.''

He said the best advice he got about tonight was the simplest, from Brett Favre. Just be you. Just play the way you play. The odds are against Webb and the Vikings, obviously, but on an emotional night -- the last outdoor NFL game in the state was exactly 29 years ago today -- with the 50 greatest Vikings of all time being honored, something about Webb's game tells me he's going to be able to handle it.

Clues on how he might do? Well, with a 10 ¾-inch hand -- very big by quarterback standards -- he should have no trouble gripping the ball on an ice-cold night in the north country. But he's never played a game, at any level of football, when the temperature's been below the mid-thirties.

**Bowser** · 12-25-2011, 07:15 PM

Possibly the worst bump ever.

crispystl · 12-25-2011, 08:30 PM

Why the bump? What am I missing here?

12-20-2010, 01:32 PM
Hammock Parties I'll be back. Join Date: Nov 2002 Casino cash: $4730478	Vikings starting a WR at QB tonight. Wow, this should be ugly. Who I Like Tonight, and I mean Ron Jaworski Less than nine months after being drafted as a wide receiver prospect, Joe Webb is the starting quarterback for the Vikings. Vikings 13, Bears 10. So here's more on the legend of Joe Webb, the aforementioned 199th pick in the 2010 draft, who gets his first NFL start tonight, against the Bears, on the Monday Night Football stage. Born and raised in Birmingham, he went to Alabama-Birmingham, strafing Central Florida for 426 yards as a redshirt frosh in his second career start, and he became the only player in NCAA history to pass for more than 2,000 yards and rush for more than 1,000 in successive seasons. He had plenty of arm, but wasn't invited to the Scouting Combine, and the Vikings took the 6-3, 226-pound Webb as a receiver prospect in April. "At the first minicamp after the draft,'' Webb recalled, "I threw the ball back after one of the pass routes, and I guess coach [Brad] Childress liked what he saw.'' In fact, Childress watched Webb throw a few balls, knew his history, was skeptical whether Brett Favre would return for the season, and at the end of the minicamp told Webb that when he came back for the full-squad minicamp in a couple of weeks, he'd be coming back as a quarterback. He showed a surprisingly strong arm in training camp, and good mobility. After some success in the preseason -- Webb had a 48-yard touchdown run, and three touchdown passes -- he became a darling of the fans. And now, even though the Vikings are playing for nothing the last three weeks of the season except for individual jobs, the Minnesota fans seem excited to see whether a cult-hero kind of player (the fans feel about Danny Woodhead in New England the way they feel about Webb in the Twin Cities) can take a step toward being in the mix for a quarterback roster spot in Minnesota in 2011. Webb didn't sound at all intimidated when we spoke Friday. "Not at all,'' he said. "I grew up watching Monday Night Football and it's an honor to play in the game. I respect the Bears a lot. But I am not afraid of them. They put their shoulder pads on just like I do.'' He said the best advice he got about tonight was the simplest, from Brett Favre. Just be you. Just play the way you play. The odds are against Webb and the Vikings, obviously, but on an emotional night -- the last outdoor NFL game in the state was exactly 29 years ago today -- with the 50 greatest Vikings of all time being honored, something about Webb's game tells me he's going to be able to handle it. Clues on how he might do? Well, with a 10 ¾-inch hand -- very big by quarterback standards -- he should have no trouble gripping the ball on an ice-cold night in the north country. But he's never played a game, at any level of football, when the temperature's been below the mid-thirties.
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12-25-2011, 07:15 PM	#46
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12-25-2011, 08:30 PM	#47
crispystl MVP Join Date: Jun 2004 Casino cash: $1715140	Why the bump? What am I missing here?
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