The 2011 NFL regular season is over and a 3-13 record has landed the Minnesota Vikings as far away from a trip to the playoffs as they could have imagined.

So now that the 2011 campaign has come to an end, the Vikings have their sights set on preparing for the 2012 season. Although free agency doesn’t start until the first week of March and they still have over four months before the 2012 NFL Draft, the Vikings made some of the only moves they could make to secure players for the future.

On Monday, the Vikings signed all seven of their practice squad players to reserve/future contracts. Once the regular season ended after their loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday, the Vikings had one week to sign members of their practice squad before they became free agents. With these signings, the Vikings have secured their seven young talents at least until the 2012 preseason.

Among those signings were wide receivers Kris Adams and Kerry Taylor, guards Chris DeGeare and Butch Lewis, cornerback Reggie Jones, linebacker Tyrone McKenzie and tight end Allen Reisner. Terms of the contracts were not disclosed.

The only one of these seven players to see the field this season for the Vikings was Reisner. Although he enjoyed two stints on the Vikings’ practice squad in 2011, Reisner also appeared in six games and caught one pass for five yards.

DeGeare is the only other player besides Reisner that was signed today who has seen game day action in the NFL. Drafted by Vikings in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft out of Wake Forest, DeGeare played in eight games (five starts) throughout the 2010 season.

McKenzie was a third-round selection by the New England Patriots in 2009 and spent the 2010 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jones spent his rookie 2010 season with both the New Orleans Saints and Washington Redskins. The rest of the Vikings signees were all rookies this past season.

These seven players will all be around when the Vikings open up team workouts in a few months with the opportunity to earn a roster spot for the 2012 season.

Gil Alcaraz IV is a life-long follower of the Minnesota Vikings and the founder of TheVikingDen.com. For more Vikings/NFL coverage, follow him on Twitter or “like” The Viking Den on Facebook.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

CBSSports.com wire reports
Jan. 1, 2012

MINNEAPOLIS — First, Jay Cutler. Then, Matt Forte. Finally, Brian Urlacher.

The Chicago Bears stopped their five-game losing streak at the end of this what-could-have-been season, but even this victory was plenty painful.

Charles Tillman’s interception return in the second quarter gave the Bears the lead for good in a 17-13 victory over the Vikings on Sunday despite 3½ of Minnesota’s seven sacks by Jared Allen and a late injury to Urlacher, the soul of Chicago’s defense.

“It just breaks my heart to see. He is the Chicago Bears,” quarterback Josh McCown said. “That’s the name you think about, so to see that guy down on the turf is a sick feeling.”

Allen finished the season with 22 sacks, behind Michael Strahan’s mark of 22½ for the New York Giants in 2001. Joe Webb relieved Christian Ponder at quarterback for the Vikings (3-13) for the third time in the past month, but the wild-scrambling Webb wasn’t able to keep the Vikings from matching their worst record in franchise history, set first in 1984.

“I was really hoping for one more one-on-one, one more third-and-9,” Allen said.

The Vikings claimed the third pick in next year’s draft after going 0-6 in the NFC North, the first time in their 51 years they’ve failed to win a division game.

Coach Lovie Smith said Urlacher sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee, which bent awkwardly in the end zone while he helped break up a pass with 5:15 left. He’ll have ample time to recover this winter with the Bears (8-8) missing the playoffs for the fourth time in five years, but that wasn’t a good way to finish for a guy who’ll turn 34 before next season. Urlacher was able to walk off the field without assistance, but he was in enough pain initially that he briefly covered his face with his hand.

The past month has been hard to watch for all of the Bears and their fans, following Cutler’s broken right thumb. They were 7-3 with the postseason well within reach until Cutler was sidelined. Forte, their Pro Bowl running back, sprained his right knee two weeks later, and the Bears stumbled into this meaningless matchup at Minnesota with last season’s trip to the NFC Championship Game a distant memory.

“It’s not a whole lot of fun finishing your season knowing that, but we’re a good football team and we’re going to try and keep as many of our coaches and players together as possible,” Smith said. “We don’t want to tear this team down and start over or anything like that. This is a good football team, and we’re going to win a lot of games with this core remaining the same.”

Smith acknowledged he’s concerned about Urlacher but also noted his recuperative history.

“He heals a little bit quicker than most people, so he should be OK,” Smith said.

Despite Allen being in his face all day, blowing by left tackle J’Marcus Webb often until the tight ends started to help, McCown finished 15 for 25 for 160 yards and a second-quarter touchdown pass to Roy Williams with one interception. Though the season was already lost, McCown fared far better than Cutler’s first fill-in, Caleb Hanie, after being signed off the street to take his first NFL snaps in two years.

“What a great group, and it’s just an honor to play for the coaches and the guys that are on the field today,” McCown said.

The Bears have won five straight in this series, their longest streak against the Vikings since winning six in a row from 1983-86.

“The last time I looked at our record we were 7-3, and from that moment on everything came tumbling down like a small snowball into a huge snowman,” said receiver-returner Devin Hester, who had another quiet game.

Though the circumstances were so much different on this day, the Vikings came full circle with another loss to McCown. He filled in for the Arizona Cardinals in the 2003 season finale and knocked Minnesota out of a playoff spot with a stunning heave into the end zone on the final snap.

The Vikings got the ball back with no timeouts at their own 6-yard line and 1:51 left, but D.J. Moore’s interception — the second of the game by Webb — at the Chicago 29 was the clincher.

Ponder went 4 for 10 for 28 yards before aggravating a hip pointer he suffered a month ago. Webb, who rallied the Vikings to victory last week at Washington and brought them within 1 yard of a win at Detroit on Dec. 11, went 17 for 32 for 200 yards. He netted only 2 yards on four rushes.

“They did a real good job of being gap smart and not letting him escape,” Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said.

The Vikings had their share of gaffes familiar to this at-times-woeful season. Most notable was Ponder’s 13th interception, a poorly thrown pass behind Toby Gerhart that bounced off the running back’s hands and into the arms of Tillman for an untouched 22-yard return. That was the third pick-six in the past five games against Ponder, the first-round draft pick who took over as the starter for the seventh game of the season.

Webb took a 10-yard loss on one of his scrambles instead of throwing the ball away on third-and-4 at the 20, moving Ryan Longwell’s field goal attempt back to 48 yards. Julius Peppers blocked it, preserving a 14-10 lead. Longwell made a pair of 26-yarders in the first half, but a high snap and a dropped hold led to another botched field goal in the second half.

Notes

• Gerhart carried 15 times for 67 yards for the Vikings before leaving with an injury to his left knee.
• Kahil Bell rushed for 54 yards on 17 carries for the Bears.

The nightmare is finally over.

The Minnesota Vikings have finally found the end to their disappointing 2011 season, losing 13 games and a large chunk of their dignity in the process. At least they can hang their hats on knowing that they didn’t go out without a fight.

The Vikings played their season finale on Sunday against the Chicago Bears. Playing for nothing more than pride and draft positioning, the Vikings came out and left everything they had to spare from this dismal season out of the field. Through all four quarters, they battled on, never taking their eyes off of the task at hand.

“I expressed my appreciation for the fight they’ve shown throughout the year, as difficult as it has been,” Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier said. “To show the resolve they have to keep coming back and fighting – you just don’t always see that when you approach the month of December in the fashion that we [did].”

Unfortunately, their efforts weren’t enough to overcome the Bears and their stout defense, who ended the season at 8-8 after a close 17-13 victory over the Vikings.

The headline story for the Vikings, however, wasn’t the fact that they lost or that they ended the season at 3-13. Instead, it was Vikings defensive end Jared Allen who stole the show from the Bears.

Allen, who came into the game with a league-leading 18.5 sacks, was on a mission to hunt down Michael Strahan’s NFL single-season record of 22.5 sacks. Although it seemed nearly impossible at first, Allen was soon nipping at history’s heels.

Through three quarters of play, Allen had notched 3.5 sacks on Bears quarterback Josh McCown and had Strahan’s record within reach. Unfortunately, the game situation and the Vikings’ lack of offensive success didn’t allow Allen many more opportunities. When the game was over, Allen had 22 sacks on the season. He may have fallen short of the NFL record, but the Vikings’ team record for most sacks in a season was his.

“It’s an honor and a privilege to have the Vikings single-season record,” Allen said after the game. “To be in the same breath as [Chris] Doleman, Alan Page and those guys – this organization has a history of just dominant defensive linemen, so to be at the top of that is a true honor.”

Former Vikings defensive lineman Chris Doleman previously held the record at 21 sacks, but is glad to have Allen take his place at the top of the Vikings sack list.

“You can’t not be happy for a guy like that,” Doleman said on Allen breaking his record.

Regardless of Allen’s run at history, the Vikings still fell short on the scoreboard.

Rookie quarterback Christian Ponder struggled while he was in, throwing for 28 yards and one interception while completing four of his ten passes. After Ponder was knocked out of the game with a right hip pointer, Joe Webb was inserted into the lineup. Despite throwing two interceptions, Webb completed 17 of his 32 passes for 200 yards and continued to give the Vikings reason to believe that he might be a better option than Ponder.

Running back Toby Gerhart, filling in for the injured Adrian Peterson, carried the ball 15 times for 67 yards before falling to a sprained MCL.

The Vikings’ offensive stud of the game was wide receiver Percy Harvin, who caught 10 passes for 115 yards and ran the ball five times for 13 yards. His five-yard touchdown scamper was the only trip to the end zone on the day for the Vikings.

Apart from Allen’s 3.5 sacks, four other Vikings managed to notch a sack against the Bears. Linebacker Chad Greenway and defensive linemen Kevin Williams and Brian Robison each had one, and linebacker Erin Henderson added half a sack. Cornerback Cedric Griffin played well after a couple weeks of riding the bench, adding two tackles and his first interception of the season.

Although the Vikings limited the Bears on offense, their inability to capitalize on opportunities to put points on the board was costly. Add that to their three turnovers, and you’ve got a disappointing 17-13 loss to put the lid of this 2011 season for the Vikings.

It was the last game that the Vikings will play at the Metrodome and possibly in Minnesota. It was the last game that the Vikings will have 13-year veteran tight end Jim Kleinsasser donning the horns. It was the last game that the Vikings had to gain some confidence heading into the offseason and, much like the other 15 previous games, they fell short.

The Vikings will now look towards the future as their offseason gets under way. With numerous holes to fill and a plethora of decisions to make, the Vikings front office will certainly be busy in the upcoming months.

It’s always darkest before the dawn, and the Vikings will be working hard this offseason in hopes that the sun rises a little on their 2012 campaign.

Gil Alcaraz IV is a life-long follower of the Minnesota Vikings and the founder of TheVikingDen.com. For more Vikings/NFL coverage, follow him on Twitter or “like” The Viking Den on Facebook.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Last Saturday, against the Washington Redskins, fans watched in horror as Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson’s knee broke the laws of anatomy. Unfortunately for Peterson and the Vikings, the consequences might be costlier than just missing the last game of the 2011 season.

After undergoing an MRI, it was revealed that Peterson had torn both the ACL and MCL in his left knee, among other damage.

Peterson underwent surgery on Friday to repair the torn ligaments and the procedure was a success.

“We’ve received word that Adrian underwent successful knee surgery with Dr. James Andrews and is now resting comfortable,” the Vikings announced Friday afternoon. “Adrian is in our thoughts, we wish him a speedy recovery and we look forward to seeing him when he returns to Minnesota.”

Typically, this type of injury would take anywhere from eight to nine months to heal before the knee could begin to undergo any sort of physical exertion. The Vikings, however, have already made it clear that they expect Peterson back and ready to go to kick off the 2012 regular season in September.

Despite all of the optimism radiating from the Vikings’ front office and staff, I still have my doubts that Peterson is going to return as the same running back that carved up NFL defenses for the past five seasons.

Don’t get me wrong; I’d love nothing more than to have Peterson suited up and ready to wreak havoc at the beginning of the 2012 NFL season. He’s the centerpiece of the Vikings’ offense and the prime building block for the future of this franchise. But to be so optimistic about an injury that could hinder Peterson for the rest of his life seems a bit naïve.

To illustrate my point, I call your attention to the Daunte Culpepper fallout of 2005.

Arguably the last quality quarterback the Vikings could call their own, Culpepper was on the verge of carving his own niche in the NFL. He was coming off of a 2004 season that saw him throw for 4,717 yards while setting the since-broken NFL record for total yards in a single-season by a quarterback with 5,123. The Vikings’ former first-round pick was a three-time Pro Bowler in his first six years in the NFL. For Culpepper, everything was falling into place until one fateful day in 2005 against the Carolina Panthers.

During a Vikings’ mid-season matchup with the Panthers, Culpepper had his knee taken out, tearing his ACL, MCL and PCL in the process. I won’t bore you with any numbers, but it’s safe to say that Culpepper was never the same player after rehabbing from the devastating injury. He spent a few more years jumping from team to team in the NFL before finally settling for the UFL, where he still struggles to dominate against much weaker opposition. Prior to the start of the 2011 NFL season, Culpepper made himself available to quarterback-needy NFL teams, and not a single team bit.

Although many will argue that Peterson will be fine considering that he didn’t pull off the tear trifecta a la Culpepper and he’s a different breed of athlete, a knee is a knee. Regardless of the person or their will to persevere, a knee simply isn’t supposed to bend that way and damage like that is usually a life-long limitation.

A big reason as to why Peterson is so great is his ability to cut on a dime and burst through the hole with overwhelming strength. That relentless power and explosiveness that he runs with makes him so dangerous. However, with a knee injury of this magnitude, that explosiveness and burst are gone. No stable knee equals no bowling over defenders with ease. Without strong, healthy knee ligaments, Peterson can’t cut properly and the Vikings’ homerun threat is degraded to a one-dimensional back who is better off watching from the sidelines.

The biggest factor at this point will be how Peterson’s knee responds to the rehabilitation and whether or not the Vikings wait until he’s as ready as can be. The worst thing Peterson could do is play prematurely and cause even more damage to the knee. Especially at a wear-and-tear heavy position like running back, Peterson’s at horrible risk of causing irreparable damage if he plays before the knee is 100 percent healthy.

The Vikings will play Peterson when they feel he is ready, and he’s a smart enough player to not insert himself into the lineup before his knee is properly prepared to take a beating. The main concern, though, is whether or not we’ll ever see the lethal version of No. 28 again.

If there’s any player who can bounce back from an injury of this magnitude and still play at the same level, it’s Peterson. He’s as elite of an athlete as they come, and he’ll be working non-stop offseason to get himself primed for football. Add in the training prowess of Vikings head trainer Eric Sugarman and you’ve got a recipe for success. I reiterate, though: there’s a reason knees don’t bend sideways.

I’m not rooting for him to fail; I’m just trying to prepare you for the reality that All Day may never again play like the All Day so many Vikings fans have come to know and love.

Could this be the beginning of the Toby Gerhart era in Minnesota? Only time will tell.

Gil Alcaraz IV is a life-long follower of the Minnesota Vikings and the founder of TheVikingDen.com. For more Vikings/NFL coverage, follow him on Twitter or “like” The Viking Den on Facebook.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

This Sunday’s tilt against the Chicago Bears at the Metrodome will mark the final game for long-time Minnesota Vikings’ tight end Jim Kleinsasser. Kleinsasser, who was the team’s second-round pick in the 1999 NFL Draft out of the University of North Dakota, has spent all 13 of his NFL seasons in a Minnesota uniform, and recently set the record for most games played by a Vikings’ tight end.

As a way to honor him this Sunday, the Vikings have distributed this little beauty. It’s a cut-out beard, designed to look like Kleinsasser’s, that the team wants folks to print out, cut out, and wear to this Sunday’s game. Not only that, but if you take a picture of yourself wearing the beard and upload it to the Vikings’ official FaceBook page, you can win prizes. (Prizes have not been specified.)

So, if you’ll be at the Metrodome this Sunday for the season finale, show your respect for one of the more unheralded players in Vikings’ history.

Fear the beard!