The Vikings announced signing of Bishop to a one-year contract

The Minnesota Vikings emerged from the first phase of free agency and then the draft, still missing a starting linebacker.

Then the Green Bay Packers let Desmond Bishop go, and the solution seemed so obvious.

The Vikings announced Thursday the signing of Bishop to a one-year contract, three days after he agreed to terms on his deal. He's the latest to leave Green Bay for Minnesota, joining prominent players like wide receiver Greg Jennings, safety Darren Sharper, kicker Ryan Longwell and of course quarterback Brett Favre to recently switch states in the post-prime stage of their careers.

This back-and-forth has further spiced up the rivalry, particularly between the ardent followers of each team, with Vikings fans gloating about all the success Favre, Sharper and Longwell enjoyed in Minnesota and Packers backers criticizing the Vikings for pursuing so many of Green Bay's aging castoffs.

Even lesser-known guys like Robert Ferguson, Javon Walker and Mike Montgomery have put on purple after discarding their green-and-gold jerseys over the past decade. The Vikings also offered contracts to William Henderson and James Jones and in 2005 tried to sign restricted free agent Aaron Kampman, the best pass-rusher the Packers had at the time. Green Bay kept all of them.

Bishop became available when the Packers released him just two weeks ago. He thrived during the 2010 and 2011 seasons, playing one of the inside linebacker spots in Green Bay's 3-4 defense. In 2011, he had career highs in tackles (142) and sacks (five). But Bishop tore his right hamstring during an exhibition game and couldn't play at all in 2012.

The injury required more than six months of rehabilitation before he was able to run full speed again.

Now?

``One-hundred percent and ready to go,'' Bishop said.

The seventh-year veteran, however, said he's not worried about being rusty this season.

``After watching a guy by the name of Adrian Peterson come back from his torn ACL and how well he did, I have an extreme amount of confidence that I can do the same,'' Bishop said on a conference call with Minnesota reporters. He added: ``It's still a process. You have to still build on your strength and your endurance and all those kind of little things and you can never max out on that stuff, so I'm still to this day working on trying to get as strong as I can and I feel really good.''

Bishop said his motivation to join Minnesota was based on helping a 2012 playoff team try to go even further this season, not revenge on his ex-employer. After brushing off the significance of playing against Green Bay, the team that drafted him in the sixth round in 2007, Bishop eventually acknowledged the excitement of returning to Lambeau Field to face all those former teammates of his.

And to try to stop one of the NFL's most potent offenses.

``I'm just a very competitive person, and Aaron Rodgers is considered the best in my eyes at quarterback, so it'll be a good opportunity,'' Bishop said.

In addition to Bishop's health, the other yet-to-be-answered question is which position he'll actually play. The Vikings use a 4-3 alignment, so the middle linebacker spot isn't exactly the same as playing on the inside in the 3-4 scheme. Chad Greenway is the starter at the strong side, and Erin Henderson was the starter at the weak side spot the last two years. Henderson could stay there, with Bishop taking the middle, or they could flip-flop.

``I'm not really worried about that. Wherever they put me. Whatever the coaching staff sees me fit, that's where I'll play,'' Bishop said, adding: ``I've pretty much played all three positions at one time in my football career.''

To make room for Bishop on the 90-man roster they'll take to training camp, the Vikings released linebacker Stanford Keglar.

The Vikings also publicized Thursday their practice schedule for camp, which the Vikings report to on July 25. They'll have 15 days of open-to-the-public workouts at Minnesota State University in Mankato, with a walk-through in the morning and a full practice in the afternoon. The last day of on-field work there is Aug. 14.

-- This article from: thescore.com

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How will the NFL Network's final 10 of 'Top 100 Players' shake out?

The NFL Network's yearly Top 100 Players list has, per usual, generated plenty of buzz. Players vote on their peers, run their mouths when they don't like their ranking and, because it's football and a list of people, folks get all worked up about it. And now they're down to the final 10, announcing the names of the players on the list, though not the order they're in yet.

Alphabetically, the top 10 NFL players from 2012 (as voted on by their peers) are: Tom Brady, Arian Foster, Calvin Johnson, Peyton Manning, Von Miller, Adrian Peterson, Aaron Rodgers, Aldon Smith, J.J. Watt and Patrick Willis.

It's quite a stout list, and predicting the exact order won't be easy, but I'll try anyway. Here's a shot at predicting how I think they'll play out (not how I would rank them; if I was ranking them, my top 10 would look a lot closer to Pete Prisco's than what's below) when the network airs the top 10 on Thursday night.

10. Patrick Willis, LB, 49ers -- Is there anyone more consistently dominant than Willis? The Niners backer posted another All-Pro season with a pair of interceptions, half a sack, nine pass deflections and 88 solo tackles. It was reminiscent of when he finished 10th overall a year ago. Willis, despite being one of the best linebackers in the game, doesn't necessarily accumulate a bunch of "sexy stats" like sacks. So I'm not sold on him being that high on this list, even though just being on it is impressive enough. Seeing a repeat of his placement from last year wouldn't be surprising at all.

9. Arian Foster, RB, Texans -- Foster had another huge season rushing for 1,424 yards and 15 touchdowns. He paced the Texans offense, particularly with Matt Schaub struggling some and Ben Tate being hurt. He's a studly runner, and even if there's concern about his wear and tear heading into 2013 with his 351-carry total from last season lingering, he'll still be rewarded on the list. But he's still a running back, and he wasn't even one the best ones from last season, so No. 9 is as high as he goes. Not too shabby after finishing 25th last year, though.

8. Aldon Smith, OLB, 49ers -- In his second year, Smith posted 19.5 sacks, made a decent run at Michael Strahan's record and generally dominated. But Smith's play fell off a bit after Justin Smith suffered a triceps injury, he didn't close out strong and wasn't on this list last season. I also have to assume that offensive players will always score better on this list. (DeMarcus Ware and Ed Reed were the only two defensive players from No. 11 to No. 20.) Smith's going to No. 8 because he piles up sacks.

7. Von Miller, LB, Broncos -- If I'm making this list, Miller's top five. But I'm not, so whatever. He had 18.5 sacks, a pick, six forced fumbles and 55 solo tackles? That's freaking sick. He's one of the two best defensive players in the game, and No. 7 almost seems unfair given his talents.

6. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Packers -- Speaking of unfair, this just feels ... weird. Rodgers isn't the sixth-best player in the NFL. Obviously. But I think he'll dip a bit on this list after finishing No. 1 last year as a result of the Packers falling off a little bit. They "only" won 11 games last year (versus 15 in 2011). Rodgers, while he completed 67.2 percent of his passes, "only" threw for 4,295 yards and "only" 39 touchdowns. I think his peers will dock him a bit for the dip.

5. J.J. Watt, DE, Texans -- For the third straight year, a defensive player makes the top five on this list, and there's little doubt that Watt's deserving. (You could actually make the case he should be higher.) A year after being not ranked on this list, Watt put up MVP numbers from a 3-4 defensive end position (which is, frankly, unfathomable), collecting 20.5 sacks, 16 pass deflections, four forced fumbles and 69 solo tackles. Only a bias towards offensive players and the importance on quarterbacks keeps him from being higher.

4. Tom Brady, QB, Patriots -- Brady's counting stats separate him from Rodgers in my placement here -- I don't think Brady will get dinged for hitting on 63 percent of his passes, and his 4,827 passing yards, 34 touchdowns (to eight interceptions) show as much. Dealing with injuries to Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez only gives more credit to Brady putting up monster stats year in and year out, even if his numbers took a dip after Gronk went down against the Colts.

3. Calvin Johnson, WR, Lions -- If you're going to beat a quarterback in the top 10, you'd better have a damn good season. Megatron did that -- and more -- in 2012, when he shattered Jerry Rice's single-season record for receiving yards and even managed to flirt with 2,000 yards, an unheard of number for a wideout. His five touchdowns are disappointing, sure, but 122 catches and 1,964 yards? Ridiculous. This is, by the way, the same spot that Megatron landed in last year. Only superhuman efforts by two guys overcoming medical odds trumps his season.

2. Adrian Peterson, RB, Vikings -- Very, very, very tempted to put AP at the top spot here, but I know what people think about quarterbacks (and I agree). Instead, he gets the No. 2 spot after a season quite similar to Johnson's -- AP rushed for 2,097 yards, 12 touchdowns and a straight-up bananas 131.1 yards per game. Down the stretch, no one was better than AP, who almost literally put the Vikes onto his back and drug them into the playoffs. Oh, yeah: and he did this despite having reconstructive knee surgery less than a year before. NBD, you guys.

1. Peyton Manning, QB, Broncos -- Another year, another quarterback up top. Manning was No. 2 on this list in 2011 before falling to No. 52 when he missed all of 2011 with neck injuries. He left the Colts and landed with Denver where, at the age of 36, he might've had the most prolific season of an incredibly prolific career. Manning completed 68.6 percent of his passes (the second-highest rate in his career), threw for 4,659 yards (also second-highest) and threw 37 touchdowns (again, second-highest). Manning's recovery wasn't completely perfect, but it was pretty darn close. And that's why his peers will plop him above everyone else when all is said and done.

-- This article from:cbssports.com

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Packers looking to help Williams return to 2010 playmaking form

In 2010, Tramon Williams blossomed into one of the NFL’s premier cornerbacks.

He had a career year with nine interceptions (regular season and playoffs), including his game-turning 70-yard return for a touchdown in the playoffs at Atlanta that was one of the most spectacular plays of the Green Bay Packers’ Super Bowl title season. The Packers rewarded him in November of that year with a five-year contract that averages $7.6 million a season.

Since then, though, Williams has sustained a nerve injury in his shoulder that diminished him in 2011 and then had a better season last year that still wasn’t up to the 2010 standards and was marred by tackling issues in the run game.

Now the Packers are looking to help the 30-year-old return to his 2010 playmaking form by playing to his strengths as a cover man, which means lining him up several yards off the line of scrimmage more than last year, when the Packers played primarily bump-and-run coverage.

“Did he play as good (last year) as he did in 2010? No,” cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt said. “I’m going to take some of that (responsibility,) for the fact that we asked those guys (last) year for as much as possible to get up and press, which he can press.

“(But) he gets the ball better when he’s off. He makes more impactful plays from playing off. Sam (Shields) makes more impactful plays being pressed. So (Williams) played better because he can see the ball and go get it. Well if you go back to 2010, most of his impact plays came from being off.”

Whitt’s comment last week was part of an impassioned five-minute endorsement of Williams’ performance last season, a year removed from the shoulder injury. Williams was healthier and better than in ’11 but had only OK numbers (two interceptions and 24 passes defended, which was second on the team) and a couple of glaringly bad-looking plays as a tackler. Most notably there was a long screen pass against the New York Giants and a run by Minnesota halfback Adrian Peterson on which Williams appeared passive.
Butt Whitt said that Williams’ tackling last season was significantly improved from 2011 – had Williams for 16 missed tackles in ’11 and six last year. Cornerback probably is the Packers’ deepest position for quality talent with Shields, Casey Hayward and Davon House potential starters, and after last season Whitt said that all the starting jobs were open this year. But it’s hard to see Williams being anything but a full-time player again this season.

“When (Williams) is allowed to do what he does best, he’s pretty good, and that’s just what it is,” Whitt said. “And so I know some people are going to say, ‘(Whitt) is protecting his player.’ No, that’s just what it is because after the season I went back and watched every play, over 1,200 plays. The guy can play, and he played physical, too. Let me clear that up too.

“You go back and watch the games. Now, did he miss the tackle on (Peterson) from Minnesota? Yeah, but he went up there and hit it. We’re going to miss some tackles. We’re not going to be 100 percent on (running) backs. I’m not going to get into every single play, but he’s going to play fine this year.”

Williams remains one of the most respected and liked players in the Packers’ locker room, as evidenced when his teammates late last year voted him the club’s Ed Block Courage Award winner.

The Ed Block foundation website defines the award as recognition of the player who best exemplifies each team’s “commitments to the principles of sportsmanship and courage.” It’s usually given to a player who that season overcame some kind of adversity, but Williams was already a year removed from his shoulder injury, so that isn’t why he won for the Packers. Several players interviewed said they voted for Williams based on his positive influence in the locker room and the work of his charitable foundation in Green Bay and Houston, his offseason home.

“(The award was for) something ‘T’ just gives off to the team,” safety Jerron McMillian said.

Williams, in the meantime, said the nerve in his right shoulder has regenerated about as much as it’s going to now that he’s 1? years removed from the injury. Last summer doctors measured the electrical signals in his shoulders, and the signal in his right (injured) shoulder still was noticeably weaker than the left. But the difference in the strength in each arm while weightlifting wasn’t as great and has diminished from last year.

“I can be the guy in 2010, I can be a guy past that,” Williams said. “Every year doesn’t go the same. I won’t blame it on the shoulder. I was able to go out there and play. I had to do what I had to do. It’s not really an issue to me.

“You can watch and see obviously 2010 was a special year for everybody, we won the Super Bowl. At the same time, I played solid last year, the only thing people say is I only had two interceptions. I think I played really solid last year, did a lot of things good, just didn’t come up with the statistics.”