Rappin' With PA (Voice of the Vikings)

Tonight at Vikings GameDay Live, in addition to DE Kenechi Udeze (pictured with Abby & myself) and RB Mewelde Moore, we were lucky to have Vikings play-by-play specialist Paul Allen sit in for Rich Gannon who was on assignment (I think I heard he was covering the Tampa Bay game this weekend).

If you watch NFL Films (I love my NFL Network - DirecTV channel 212) or listen to Vikings games on the radio, you know Paul Allen's voice. (If you don't know PA, check out his bio on KFAN.com.) Weekly, the NFL will play sound bites from NFL games and I was surprised to hear PA often. Not only does his voice accompany Viking highlights, but his enthusiastic calls often complement plays by opposing teams. Yes, he's that good.

For me, his most memorable call was Arizona scoring to end the 2003 season for the Vikings. The touchdown by Arizona eliminated the Vikings from the playoffs and handed the division title and playoff spot to the Green Bay Packers. Though it was Arizona scoring, you did not hear the voice of the Cardinals celebrating. No sir. On NFL Films, you heard PA's agonizing call. His passion wrapping every word, his call reaching out to all.

I was excited about this chance to talk to the voice of the Vikings. Does he mimic anyone else? After all, he's as distinctive as Kevin Harlan of the Timberwolves (an ex-announcer, Kevin called both sides of the ball with enthusiasm and his greatness took him away from Minnesota to the national stage - TNT then FOX, I believe).

Talking to PA, he says he isn't emulating anyone. He's just being himself. I complimented his style but he admits some people don't like it. He compared his style to Howard Cossell - 50 % liked him, 50 % disliked him, and 100 % listened. PA just wants the same thing. He enjoys what he's doing and hopes his style is heard.

Do you like PA's calls? Sound off in our blog.

Bleed on,
Don

Quarterback is King in NFC North

Well, NFL season kick off is less than 63 hours less away (no I don't count the Raiders at Patriots) and I've been looking ahead at 2005. The NFC North has tons of potential. Most experts pick Minnesota to win the division with the trendy picking being the Detroit Lions again. I don't know about Detroit or Green Bay but it is obvious to me that Minnesota is easily the divisional pick and it's all because of the quarterback.

Looking at the NFC North, there are many questions and so many factors we could consider. But for me, it's easy: The quarterback is king in the NFC North. Daunte continues to improve, Brett Favre is a silouette riding into the sunset, and Chicago and Detroit are looking for one. Yes, quarterback is king and the true king will determine who will run the land.

Let's look at the quarterback situation and this will clear up quickly:

• Leading the pack by far is Minnesota. Not only has Daunte Culpepper improved over the years but if a disaster occured, the Vikings has a great backup in returning quarterback Brad Johnson. Culpepper is king in this department but he has competition.


• Green Bay has something to say when it come to quarterback. Brett Favre will undoubtedly be going into history as a great quarterback but the best of Brett can be seen on highlight films and DVDs sold at most retail outlets. Rumor is that this is the last year we'll see the green number 4 on Lambeau Field. Brett Favre is certainly riding into the sunset but he's not gone yet. Anyone who wonders if Brett can take his offense to the postseason need only look at the Green Bay receivers who earned Super Bowl rings with Brett Favre. Super Bowl Brett helped Antonio Freeman, Andre Rison, and Mark Chmura earn rings. All these players were good but without Brett, do you seriously think any of these players could win it all? Green Bay's ball-catching threats were good but not Super Bowl great.


• The most promising quarterback in Detroit was backup Jeff Garcia. When he was injured in the preason (he is lost for 6 to 8 weeks), I saw the Lions' hopes for postseason play disappear. I honestly thought the Lions could do some damage in the NFC but it wasn't behind starting quarterback Joey Harrington. With Garcia joining Detroit, I saw a man who could use the many weapons in Honolulu blue. I have seen potential in Joey but do not seen him taking them far.


• The biggest quarterback debacle is in Chicago. Things are so bad in Chicago that one of last year's starters, Chad Hutchinson is gone (cut August 30th) and the Bears' depth chart lists Kyle Orton, Jeff Blake, and Kurt Kittner. Looks like the Bears will be the cellar-dwellers in 2005.

That's my NFC North preview. It's short & sweet with two kings and two pretenders to the throne. There's a lot we could talk about but for me, it's simple: Quarterback is king in the NFC North.

Bleed on,
Don