Hi Folks,

For you guys who own Randy Moss or Michael Bennett (or those who feel like
taunting the Moss / Bennett owners in your league...) here's the latest from
the Star Tribune in Minnesota:   (and yes, when I say "guys", I mean you
girls too so please spare me the avalanche of email I always get whenever I
say "guys".   Laughing)

Joe

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Vikings' Bennett Will Miss Game, Moss' Play Will Be Limited

Entire Story:  http://www.startribune.com/stories/503/760564.html

Clipped from the Kevin Seifert article published online 10-16-01:

An offense based on speed might have to get by on guile this week. The
Vikings' two fastest players are questionable for Sunday's game against the
Green Bay Packers, and one of them almost certainly will not play.

Receiver Randy Moss and tailback Michael Bennett are both suffering from
sprained right ankles, and while Moss likely will play at limited capacity,
Bennett is expected sit out Sunday. The revelation of Moss' injury coincided
with his least productive start in four NFL seasons, while Bennett's ailment
will allow him to quietly step back from his own disappointing start and
give way to Doug Chapman.

"I think Randy will be able to play," Vikings coach Dennis Green said
Monday. "I don't think there is any doubt about that. Michael will probably
not be able to play."

Moss seemed less confident of that certainty, however. The ankle, which he
originally sprained playing basketball prior to minicamp in 1998, began
throbbing during Sunday's 31-26 victory over the Detroit Lions.

Green and members of the Vikings' medical staff characterized the pain as
residual affects from the 1998 injury, a condition he will continue to have
the rest of his career. But Moss woke up Monday morning with more stiffness
and soreness than ever, according to trainer Chuck Barta.

As he departed Winter Park, Moss said the ankle "is fine, man. It's fine."
But asked if there was no doubt he would play Sunday, Moss only shrugged his
shoulders. It would behoove him to try; Moss has caught passes for at least
100 yards in five of his six games against the Packers, and has more
receiving yards against them (753) than any other team.

Bennett, who cut off interviews with local media last week, declined to
comment Monday. The No. 1 draft choice has struggled to replace Robert Smith
as the Vikings' featured running back, rushing for 214 yards and a 3.5
yards-per-carry average while failing to score a touchdown in five games.

The Vikings also have been disappointed in his ability to pick up blitzes in
pass protection. While Chapman does not represent a clear improvement in
that area, some in the organization believe Bennett might benefit from a
week or two on the sideline. He was limping noticeably Monday at Winter Park
while wearing an immobilizing boot.

Assuming the Vikings rule Bennett out for Sunday, Green said Chapman would
start and Travis Prentice would begin assuming more of a short-yardage role.
Harold Morrow would serve as a third tailback.

Chapman, who has rushed 11 times for 38 yards in limited playing time this
season, said he would be ready.

"It's not music to my ears when somebody gets injured, but this is the NFL,"
Chapman said. "I'm more than capable. I'm just going to go out and do what I
have to do."

Of greater concern, is Moss' condition. He has caught 21 passes for 321
yards and one touchdown in five games this season; his second-lowest output
for the first five games of a season came in 1999, when he caught 21 passes
for 365 yards and three touchdowns.

Moss had an uncharacteristically sloppy game Sunday against the Lions,
dropping two passes and allowing a third to go through his arms and into the
hands of Lions cornerback Todd Lyght for an interception. He mistimed his
jump on several other occasions, a mistake Green attributed to the injury,
and Moss removed himself from the game liberally to catch his breath.

"Randy Moss doesn't normally drop passes," Green said. "One thing you can
always tell, if a guy is hurt, his concentration level is not there. It's
very difficult to play at your best if you are not 100 percent health-wise.
I think that was clearly the case yesterday with Randy, so we're going to do
everything we can to get him as close to possible to 100 percent."

Moss has never missed a game since joining the Vikings, playing in all 53
regular season and six postseason games. He declined an invitation to the
2001 Pro Bowl after bruising several ribs during the NFC Championship Game,
but Green lauded Moss' tolerance for pain. Moss will undergo round-the-clock
rehabilitation this week, and Green said he should know by Thursday how much
Moss will be able to play.

Without Moss at his best and without Bennett at all, the Vikings will be
missing two of their top speedsters against the Packers. Their injuries will
place an even greater emphasis on the performance of quarterback Daunte
Culpepper, who rushed for a career-high 83 yards Sunday while also playing a
near error-free game.

"We prefer to have our total speed out there, but we're a fast team
overall," Green said. "We're quick and explosive. It's not just because we
have Randy, because we have some other guys with some speed. So we will be
able to operate. I think the best thing is that Daunte will get better every
game. He loves big games. I think he'll be ready to play a tremendous game
and we'll depend on him to a certain extent to help operate our offense this
week."


[ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [  OUR VIEW  ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ]

Clearly, bad news here.   You know we never got on the Bennett bandwagon but
he's been even worse than we expected.   Chapman could make some noise but
the Travis Prentice issue is ugly.   Plus you have the best goalline "back"
in the game with QB Daunte Culpepper.   For Moss, my guess based on what we
know now is that you have to start him and cross your fingers.   He's too
good to sit unless you have excellent options at WR.   He can turn a game
(and your weekend) around in a couple of plays.   I'd have to be blind to
say I wasn't seriously worried about him but I don't think I could sit him
unless you're really deep there.
More as we hear it.

Thanks to our Footballguy Tony for pointing me to this one from our message
boards  www.footballguystalk.com

Joe

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