Read More: Visanthe Shiancoe (TE – MIN), Kyle Rudolph (TE – MIN), Allen Reisner (TE – MIN), Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings announced through their official Twitter feed on Wednesday that they have signed tight end Allen Reisner to their practice squad. Reisner was waived from the Vikings’ active roster earlier this week to make room for Minnesota’s other options at the position, but they’ve brought him back to the practice squad as some depth.

Reisner has spent most of the season on Minnesota’s practice squad, but he was with the Vikings for the past few weeks. With Visanthe Shiancoe and Kyle Rudolph dealing with injuries, Minnesota picked up Reisner off the practice squad in late November to give the team some depth. With both of those players getting back into the thick of things, Reisner’s services were no longer needed.

A rookie out of Iowa, the 23-year-old appeared in five games with Minnesota, mostly early in the season. He caught a single pass for five yards against the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 27, but hasn’t seen the field since then.

For more on the Chicago Bears, head over to Windy City Gridiron. And stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago for more Chicago sports updates and breaking news.

Read More: Visanthe Shiancoe (TE – MIN), Charlie Johnson (OT – MIN), Anthony Herrera (G – MIN), Husain Abdullah (S – MIN), Erin Henderson (LB – MIN), Percy Harvin (WR – MIN), Jamarca Sanford (S – MIN), Chris Cook (CB – MIN), Toby Gerhart (RB – MIN), Christian Ponder (QB – MIN), Christian Ballard (DT – MIN), Kyle Rudolph (TE – MIN), Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Vikings at Atlanta Falcons, Nov 27, 2011 12:00 PM CST

The Vikings are likely going to be without their star running back Adrian Peterson this weekend against the Falcons after he suffered a high ankle injury last week. Toby Gerhart will be the starting running back should Peterson can’t go. Gerhart has 24 carries and 118 yards this season. 

Here’s the full Vikings injury report for Week 12.

DID NOT PARTICIPATE: Cornerback Chris Cook (not injury-related, out), safety Husain Abdullah (concussion, out), running back Adrian Peterson (ankle, doubtful), tight end Kyle Rudolph (quadriceps, doubtful).

LIMITED PARTICIPANTS: Guard Anthony Herrera (knee, out), wide receiver Percy Harvin (ribs, questionable), and tight end Visanthe Shiancoe (hamstring, questionable).

FULL PARTICIPANTS: Linebacker Erin Henderson (hamstring, probable), defensive tackle Christian Ballard (hamstring, probable), offensive tackle Charlie Johnson (achilles, probable), saftey Jamarca Sanford (shoulder, probable), and quarterback Christian Ponder (knee, probable). 

For more on the Vikings, head to Daily Norseman. For more on the Falcons, visit The Falcoholic.

Read More: Visanthe Shiancoe (TE – MIN), Percy Harvin (WR – MIN), Christian Ponder (QB – MIN), Kyle Rudolph (TE – MIN), Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings may struggle to score against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 12. Not only is Adrian Peterson’s status still up in the air, much of the Vikings’ offense is banged up.

Peterson did not participate in practice on either Wednesday or Thursday, and is recovering from an ankle injury sustained against the Raiders in Week 11. But both Visanthe Shiancoe and and Kyle Rudolph have missed practice this week, and Christian Ponder and Percy Harvin have both been limited.

That’s not a good sign for a team that can struggle on offense even at peak health.

Here’s the full Vikings practice and injury report for Week 12.

DID NOT PARTICIPATE: Cornerback Chris Cook (not injury-related), safety Husain Abdullah (concussion), running back Adrian Peterson (ankle), tight end Visanthe Shiancoe (hamstring), tight end Kyle Rudolph (quadriceps).

LIMITED PARTICIPATION: Linebacker Erin Henderson (hamstring), guard Anthony Herrera (knee), quarterback Christian Ponder (knee), wide receiver Percy Harvin (ribs).

FULL PARTICIPATION: Defensive tackle Christian Ballard (hamstring), offensive tackle Charlie Johnson (Achilles), safety Jamarca Sanford (shoulder).

For more on the Falcons, head to The Falcoholic; for more on the Vikings, visit Daily Norseman.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. – Christian Ponder and the Minnesota Vikings picked up a little something to take with them on their midseason vacation.

A victory.

“I don’t think a win has ever felt so good,” linebacker Chad Greenway said, reflecting on how the Vikings beat Carolina 24-21 on Sunday.

Still very aware of their 2-6 record, the Vikings nonetheless scattered Monday afternoon with smiles on their faces as the bye on their schedule arrived. Players were given a week off until their next gathering Nov. 7.

They’ll get a little extra rest time, too, because of the Monday night game against Green Bay, and won’t have another full practice until Nov. 10.

“One and seven wasn’t going to cut it, so we had to pull this one off,” tight end Visanthe Shiancoe said. “And we did. We fought all four quarters.

“Everybody fought, fought, fought, fought. We played a physical game, and that’s what we were trying to do.”

They’re practically eliminated from the playoff chase, but the promotion of Ponder as the starting quarterback has injected life into the locker room and provided coach Leslie Frazier some relief from the scrutiny of his performance and second-guessing of some of his decisions.

“Sure does feel good to be able to come here on a Monday after a win,” Frazier said as he clutched the podium with each hand and grinned broadly.

Later in his news conference, the coach was asked whether he remained unsettled by the Panthers’ conversion of a fourth-and-15 pass late in Sunday’s game that gained 44 yards to set up an attempt at the tying field goal.

“I told our coaches this morning, ‘Nothing is gnawing at me after a win,’ ” Frazier said, smiling again. “We won the game. We’re going into the bye.

“Vikings win. That’s all I’m concerned about. We’ll fix all that other stuff during this bye week.”

His new quarterback has sure helped him feel better.

Ponder has plenty to improve upon, including a 51.9 completion percentage, but his poise — particularly in the clutch on third down — has transformed an offence that didn’t have a spark or an edge when Donovan McNabb was starting. Considering the big leads blown by the Vikings in each of their first three losses, it’s natural to wonder what their record would be if Ponder had the job from the start.

“I know why the decision was made and why we made the decision to start him when we did,” Frazier said, declining to speculate on the possibility. “So I really don’t go there. I just know where our team was and where we were and what we needed to do.”

Sometimes teams are wary of sending a rookie into action too soon for fear that bad habits will develop and frustration will taint his development.

“I think it all goes back to the quarterback himself. I think guys respond to things differently. One guy who makes a mistake is going to be a head case for the rest of the game or rest of the season no matter what it is and won’t be able to get over it,” Ponder said. “But there’s other guys that … realize that you’re going to make mistakes and just learn from them.”

Worried the lockout limited Ponder’s learning time, Frazier pushed the Vikings to acquire the 13-year veteran McNabb in a trade. But he pulled the plug on that experiment after Minnesota lost five of its first six games.

Ponder’s debut against the Packers on Oct. 23 was impressive, resulting in what Greenway called the most positive loss of his life.

The sample size is small, so some caution must be applied to the praise being heaped upon Ponder, especially when there are many other flaws this team has. But Shiancoe dismissed the danger of getting too excited too soon.

“You always have to be excited over improvement and build on it,” Shiancoe said. “The excitement is going to cause the building process, so it has to be there.”

Adrian Peterson caught five passes for 76 yards, a career-high in receiving for him, and Ponder was credited for surveying the defence and checking down to throw his star runner the ball out of the backfield. The Panthers kept their safeties back a lot, a look the Vikings aren’t used to. Usually, one of them is up near the line to try to stop Peterson.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to help Adrian achieve his goal of 2,000 yards rushing if we start getting a lot of two-high safeties,” Frazier said, flashing that grin again.

Frazier saw a buildup in practice by Ponder that told him the rookie was ready. It was the way he ran the huddle, the maturity he showed on the field and the type of throws he was able to make. Relieving McNabb on Oct. 16 at the end of a blowout loss at Chicago, then, solidified in Ponder the game experience he needed to build off his strides and natural strengths.

“He didn’t get flustered. He came off the field after one of those series and said, ‘Coach, I’m glad you put me in there!’ ” Frazier said. “He embraced that moment.

“That game kind of told me that it’s time. And then looking at where our team was at the time.”

The first-round draft pick from Florida State shrugged off his role in the team’s mood swing, but his confidence is clear.

“Pressure is what you put on yourself,” Ponder said with the same calm he’s showed in the pocket.

With his popularity increasing by the day, Ponder is headed on a hunting and fishing trip in South Dakota with teammates Greenway, Cullen Loeffler and John Sullivan. He’ll return to Minnesota with, at least, the opportunity to make these games in November and December meaningful.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP)—Christian Ponder(notes) and the Minnesota Vikings picked
up a little something to take with them on their midseason vacation.

A victory.

“I don’t think a win has ever felt so good,” linebacker Chad Greenway(notes)
said, reflecting on how the Vikings beat Carolina 24-21 the day before.

Still very aware of their 2-6 record, the Vikings nonetheless scattered
Monday afternoon with smiles on their faces as the bye on their schedule
arrived. Players were given a week off until their next gathering on Nov. 7.
They’ll get a little extra rest time, too, because of the Monday night game
against Green Bay, and won’t have another full practice until Nov. 10.

“One and seven wasn’t going to cut it, so we had to pull this one off,”
tight end Visanthe Shiancoe(notes) said. “And we did. We fought all four quarters.
Everybody fought, fought, fought, fought. We played a physical game, and that’s
what we were trying to do.”

They’re practically eliminated from the playoff chase, but the promotion of
Ponder as the starting quarterback has injected life into the locker room and
provided coach Leslie Frazier some relief from the scrutiny of his performance
and second-guessing of some of his decisions.

“Sure does feel good to be able to come here on a Monday after a win,”
Frazier said as he clutched the podium with each hand and grinned broadly.

Later in his news conference at Winter Park, the coach was asked whether he
remained unsettled by the Panthers’ conversion of a fourth-and-15 pass late in
Sunday’s game that gained 44 yards to set up an attempt at the tying field goal.

“I told our coaches this morning, `Nothing is gnawing at me after a win,”’
Frazier said, smiling again. “We won the game. We’re going into the bye.
Vikings win. That’s all I’m concerned about. We’ll fix all that other stuff
during this bye week.”

His new quarterback has sure helped him feel better.

Ponder has plenty to improve upon, including a 51.9 completion percentage,
but his poise—particularly in the clutch on third down—has transformed an
offense that didn’t have a spark or an edge when Donovan McNabb(notes) was starting.
Considering the big leads blown by the Vikings in each of their first three
losses, it’s natural to wonder what their record would be if Ponder had the job
from the start.

“I know why the decision was made and why we made the decision to start him
when we did,” Frazier said, declining to speculate on the possibility. “So I
really don’t go there. I just know where our team was and where we were and what
we needed to do.”

Sometimes teams are wary of sending a rookie into action too soon for fear
that bad habits will develop and frustration will taint his development.

“I think it all goes back to the quarterback himself. I think guys respond
to things differently. One guy who makes a mistake is going to be a head case
for the rest of the game or rest of the season no matter what it is and won’t be
able to get over it,” Ponder said. “But there’s other guys that … realize
that you’re going to make mistakes and just learn from them.”

Worried that the lockout limited Ponder’s learning time, Frazier pushed the
Vikings to acquire the 13-year veteran McNabb in a trade. But he pulled the plug
on that experiment after the Vikings lost five of their first six games.

Ponder’s debut against the Packers on Oct. 23 was impressive, resulting in
what Greenway called the most positive loss of his life.

The sample size is small, so some caution must be applied to the praise
being heaped upon Ponder, especially when there are many other flaws this team
has. But Shiancoe dismissed the danger of getting too excited too soon.

“You always have to be excited over improvement and build on it,” Shiancoe
said. “The excitement is going to cause the building process, so it has to be
there.”

Adrian Peterson caught five passes for 76 yards, a career-high in receiving
for him, and Ponder was credited for surveying the defense and checking down to
throw his star runner the ball out of the backfield. The Panthers kept their
safeties back a lot, a look the Vikings aren’t used to. Usually, one of them is
up near the line to try to stop Peterson.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to help Adrian achieve his goal of 2,000 yards
rushing if we start getting a lot of two-high safeties,” Frazier said, flashing
that grin again.

Frazier saw a buildup in practice by Ponder that told him the rookie was
ready. It was the way he ran the huddle, the maturity he showed on the field and
the type of throws he was able to make. Relieving McNabb on Oct. 16 at the end
of a blowout loss at Chicago, then, solidified in Ponder the game experience he
needed to build off his strides and natural strengths.

“He didn’t get flustered. He came off the field after one of those series
and said, `Coach, I’m glad you put me in there!”’ Frazier said, adding: “He
embraced that moment. That game kind of told me that it’s time. And then looking
at where our team was at the time.”

The first-round draft pick from Florida State shrugged off his role in the
team’s mood swing, but his confidence is clear.

“Pressure is what you put on yourself,” Ponder said with the same calm
he’s showed in the pocket.

With his popularity increasing by the day, Ponder is headed on a hunting and
fishing trip in South Dakota with teammates Greenway, Cullen Loeffler(notes) and John
Sullivan(notes). He’ll return to Minnesota with, at least, the opportunity to make
these games in November and December meaningful.

Follow Dave Campbell on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DaveCampbellAP