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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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13:26 left in the first quarter

On Panthers’ first snap, E.J. Henderson sacks Cam Newton, who loses the ball. Vikings defensive end Jared Allen recovers and returns it 5 yards to the Panthers 16. Vikings score a touchdown two plays later.

14:29 left in the second quarter

On first-and-16, Newton throws deep to the back shoulder of Steve Smith, who makes the catch for a 26-yard gain to the Vikings 1.

1:15 left in the second quarter

With the Panthers leading 14-7, Allen sacks and strips Newton, and the Vikings’ Chad Greenway recovers at the Panthers 39. The Vikings need two plays – screen passes to Adrian Peterson – to tie the score.

4:29 left in the third quarter

On third-and-10 from the Panthers 42, Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder throws a 12-yard completion to tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, who finds a hole in the Panthers’ zone. The play extends a 90-yard drive that ends with Peterson’s 9-yard touchdown run.

6:12 left in the fourth quarter

Facing a second-and-15, Ponder throws a crossing route to Percy Harvin, who gets free in the Panthers zone for a gain of 22 yards to the Panthers 34. It’s the longest play in the Vikings’ 72-yard field-goal drive.

50 seconds left in the fourth quarter

On third-and-3, Newton runs around right end to the Vikings 5 for an apparent first down. But Smith is called for holding on the play, which backs the Panthers up to the 18.

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Give the Minnesota Vikings credit. . .they fought as much as they could in this one, as they were down a number of defensive backs and had to shuffle their offensive line. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough in the end, as they fell by a final tally of 33-27 to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon at the Metrodome.

Rookie quarterback Christian Ponder had numerous highs and lows in his first ever National Football League start. He completed just 13 of 32 passes on the afternoon for 219 yards and two touchdowns. Unfortunately, he also threw two interceptions that derailed Minnesota drives in the third quarter, but overall the offense looked significantly better under Ponder than it did in the first six games of the year under Donovan McNabb’s. . .ahem. . .”leadership.”

Ponder got off to a very nice start, as on his first play of the game he found Michael Jenkins on the left sideline for a 72-yard gain. It looked as though Jenkins had gone the distance, but after a review was found to have gone out of bounds at the 1-yard line. It didn’t matter, though, as two plays later Ponder found Visanthe Shiancoe for a 7-0 Minnesota lead.

The Packers answered back with a nine-play, 91-yard drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to John Kuhn to tie the game at seven. After an exchange of punts, the Vikings had to punt away again, but rookie Randall Cobb muffed a fair catch attempt and the Vikings took over at midfield. They turned that drive into a 1-yard Adrian Peterson touchdown run, and the Vikings’ lead went to 14-7. The teams then traded field goals to move the score to 17-10, and another Mason Crosby field goal as the first half came to an end made it 17-13 going into the locker room.

The Green Bay offense blistered the Vikings in the third quarter, however, as the second play of the frame saw Aaron Rodgers find a wide open Greg Jennings thanks to a blown coverage that gave them a 79-yard touchdown pass and a 20-17 lead. After a big punt return by Cobb, the Packers got into the end zone again with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Jermichael Finley to make the score 27-17. The Packers added two more Crosby field goals before the quarter ended, making it 33-17 going into the fourth quarter.

A Ryan Longwell field goal early in the fourth cut the deficit to 33-20, and Ponder led a 93-yard drive that concluded with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins to cut it to 33-27. After getting the ball back, Vikings’ coach Leslie Frazier made a decision that will be talked about for the next few days, to be sure.

The Vikings had the ball on their own 36-yard line with a little more than two and a half minutes left to play, having all three of their time outs and the two-minute warning. Facing a 4th-and-10 situation, Frazier sent Chris Kluwe on the field to punt the ball away rather than risking going for it. The Packers got the ball and were able to run out the clock after a couple of runs by James Starks, and eventually knelt down to secure the victory.

The loss for the Vikings sends them to 1-6 on the season, while Green Bay remains the only undefeated team in the NFL at 7-0. The Vikings travel to Charlotte to take on the Carolina Panthers next week.

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A few general observations from the Chicago Bears’ 39-10 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night…

Chicago Bears

After last week’s disaster in Detroit, the Bears seriously altered their protection concepts for this game. On their first drive, in which they went 68 yards in three plays, the Bears set up in two-TE sets on the first two plays, and TE/FB in the third. On each play, the extra blockers either stayed on line to protect, or chipped and ran short routes. This was very atypical for offensive coordinator Mike Martz, who’s been famous for years for leaving his quarterbacks out to dry with multi-receiver sets and limited protection concepts. Because Jay Cutler(notes) had more time, he could go with longer drops and progress through his reads.

The 48-yard touchdown to Devin Hester(notes) on that first drive was a great example — out of I-formation, Cutler had time to run a five-step drop, look to his left, look off the coverage, take two more steps back, and zing the ball to Hester for the score. He threw a perfect ball to Hester over double deep coverage, which is the Jay Cutler you get if you allow him enough time to throw the damned ball. The Bears also set up their tight ends very well to block inline for Matt Forte(notes); they ran lead and sweep blocks very well. In fact, the first time I saw the Bears try to run something with Forte that didn’t involve at least one extra blocker came with nine minutes left in the first quarter. Forte tried to go to his right, cut back, and got a few yards more than he might have … because Cutler executed a perfect cut block on Jared Allen(notes).

Anyone else want to question his toughness? I didn’t think so.

On their second drive, the Bears went with fewer blockers, and Cutler had to respond with shorter screens and a misfire out of shotgun. Through the game, it became readily apparent that with even one extra blocker, Chicago’s offense is a very different story than it is when Martz’s protection concepts hang everybody up. The right kind of balance could propel the Bears to a playoff berth down the road, but they’d better hurry up — the Packers look unbeatable, and the Lions aren’t going away just because they lost one close game.

Later in the game, Martz called plays that had tight ends inline, but had them release more immediately. Ostensibly, this would still drive pass rush away by occupying an extra defender, but the Bears’ offensive line isn’t stout enough to handle a line like Minnesota’s (or anyone else’s) without consistent help at this point.

Two more offensive notes: Much-maligned left guard Chris Williams did a nice job with pull and log blocks, and Matt Forte got to show off the fact that his patience makes him an excellent draw and delay runner when he’s given the chance. This was a watershed game for the Bears’ protection; I just hope they see it as such.

Minnesota Vikings

Adrian Peterson ran for just 39 yards on 12 carries for two reasons — first, his own offensive line didn’t play very well. Second, the Bears’ linebackers did an outstanding job of filling gaps and creating run fits. They did a lot of what looked like run-blitzing, where the idea is to get extra defenders to the ballcarrier behind the line of scrimmage. It worked as a strategy, because the Vikings’ receivers are clearly not on the same page with Donovan McNabb(notes) for whatever reason. Early in the game, both Visanthe Shiancoe(notes) and Bernard Berrian(notes) dropped easy catches in zone pockets.

The Vikings’ passing offense seems to have no sense of itself, or at least that’s the impression I got from this game. They’re setting McNabb up for the traditional short-drop West Coast offense routes, but they don’t have strong yards after catch receivers — the receivers they do have don’t get separation on a consistent basis and don’t seem to be able to break contact for extra yardage (this year, rookie tight end Kyle Rudolph(notes) appears to be the exception to that rule). Running Joe Webb(notes) in for an occasional hoped-for splash play, or seeing if Percy Harvin(notes) can gain a few yards on the ground out of a full house backfield when Adrian Peterson can’t get any traction … well, those are questionable strategies. The Vikings went three-and-out six times, and two-and-out once, when McNabb was tackled for a safety.

The Vikings no longer have the offensive line to account for longer plays like draws, delays, sweeps (a favorite play with Harvin) and more complex route concepts downfield. McNabb was under siege on longer-developing plays, and he frequently had to check down as an adjustment. And asking him to roll out as he did five years ago … well, Julius Peppers(notes) showed us how effective that is these days when he caught up to McNabb on a rollout right with five minutes left in the third quarter and easily took him down. On the next play, McNabb was sacked by two Bears, and that was his day. Chicago put on a tackling clinic, but they had a lot of help.

In limited activity, backup quarterback Christian Ponder(notes) showed good pocket mobility and a sense for pressure. He moves more quickly than McNabb in and around the pocket (sometimes to the point of freneticism), and he is able to drop passes into tight windows downfield with some reasonable consistency. You have to wonder if it’s time to make the switch, and see how much Ponder can develop this season. The Vikings are looking way up at three teams in their division, and that’s the way it’s going to stay. Yes, Ponder misfired more than he should have, but he’s going to do that whenever he finally gets under center on a regular basis. Might as well get the growing pains out of the way now.

Related: , Devin Hester, Matt Forte, Percy Harvin, Jay Cutler, Jared Allen, Bernard Berrian, Visanthe Shiancoe, Julius Peppers, Donovan McNabb, Christian Ponder, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, What The Tape Saw

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Read More: Donovan McNabb (QB – MIN), Visanthe Shiancoe (TE – MIN), Kevin Williams (DT – MIN), Patrick Crayton (WR – SDC), Letroy Guion (DT – MIN), Asher Allen (CB – MIN), Phil Loadholt (OT – MIN), Chris Cook (CB – MIN), Vincent Brown (WR – SDC), Jonas Mouton (LB – SDC), San Diego Chargers, Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Vikings at San Diego Chargers, Sep 11, 2011 3:15 PM CDT

The Minnesota Vikings will have their hands full this week as they travel to play the San Diego Chargers without Kevin Williams. Luckily, though, it seems that the rest of the team is healthy enough to be able to play this weekend according to the final injury report of the week.

The Vikings listed six players on its report handed in Friday, though it seems that only cornerback Asher Allen could miss the game because he’s listed as questionable with an ankle injury. Donovan McNabb, Visanthe Shiancoe and Chris Cook have all participated fully in practice since Wednesday and are listed as probable for Sunday’s game.

Additionally, Phil Loadholt and Letroy Guion were on the Vikings injury report, but under injury it says “not injury related.” Tough to guess what that means, but hopefully they’re available for the Chargers game.

The Chargers injury report only has three players on it. Wide receivers Patrick Crayton and Vincent Brown are both listed as questionable with ankle and hamstring injuries, respectively, while backup linebacker Jonas Mouton is questionable due to a shoulder injury. None of the three are all that important to the Chargers, though Crayton has been a serviceable receiver at time throughout his NFL career.

That’s all for today.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. – Minnesota Vikings right guard Anthony Herrera will start in the preseason game against Dallas on Saturday night, the first time he will play in a game since tearing the ACL in his left knee in November.

Herrera had surgery to repair his knee and a torn triceps muscle in the offseason. He missed the first two preseason games while working his way back into playing shape. Coach Leslie Frazier says they want Herrera to play the first quarter and then see how he’s doing.

Tight end Visanthe Shiancoe missed practice on Wednesday after aggravating the hamstring injury that has kept him out of the first two preseason games. He is unlikely to play on Saturday against the Cowboys.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Receiver Percy Harvin and tight end Visanthe Shiancoe are among the Minnesota Vikings who will be held out of Saturday’s preseason game at Seattle.

Harvin hasn’t practiced much this week because of a rib injury, and Shiancoe is still working on a pulled hamstring that kept him out of the preseason opener.

“I think we’ll do that with both of them and just give them a chance to get a few more days of rest and then get ready to go next week,” coach Leslie Frazier said on Thursday.

Right guard Anthony Herrera and cornerback Asher Allen also will miss the game. Herrera practiced for the first time this week in his bid to return from a torn knee ligament. Allen has a toe injury.

Receiver Greg Camarillo won’t play because of a groin injury, which opens up playing time at the crowded position.

Harvin, Michael Jenkins and Bernard Berrian are the top three receivers on the depth chart and the only locks to make the team. After that, a cluster could be competing for two roster spots.

That list includes Camarillo, Devin Aromashodu, who was signed away from Chicago in the offseason, Jaymar Johnson, whose return skills could give him an edge, Juaquin Iglesias, and CFL transplant Manny Arcenaux.

Frazier said “nobody has really nailed down those spots yet,” which is a big reason why the Vikings are choosing to keep out Harvin and Camarillo.

“If this were a regular-season game, things may be different,” Frazier said. “But we really need to evaluate that position and when we talked about it, we said, ‘You know what, we know Camarillo, we know Percy. We want to get to know these other guys much better so we can make the right decision.’”

Fullback Matt Asiata will miss the game with a strained hip flexor. Linebacker Heath Farwell is out, as well, because of a hamstring injury.

That’s all for today.

That’s all for today.