LT Bryant McKinnie: B-plus. Essentially deemed trash by Minnesota, McKinnie became treasure in Baltimore. Needing a final piece to a struggling OL during the preseason, the Ravens signed McKinnie, who stabilized the unit for the 2011 season. 




(cbssports.com)

Ravens LT Bryant McKinnie envisions himself in Baltimore for a long time as long as he can "stay fresh."

The 32-year-old is signed through the 2012 season. Cut from the Vikings for arriving to camp near 400 pounds, McKinnie solidified Joe Flacco's blindside even if he graded out well below average in run blocking, per Pro Football Focus. He wants to stay with the Ravens because his teammates are "professionals" and "act as a team."


(rotoworld.com)

When the Ravens and Indianapolis Colts meet Sunday, offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie and defensive end Dwight Freeney figure to tangle early and often.

But their tete-a-tete hasn’t been limited solely to the NFL.

In what would be their final years in college, Freeney, who amassed 16½ sacks in 2001 for Syracuse University, was blanked by McKinnie, who suited up for the University of Miami.

The Hurricanes won that November 17, 2001 meeting quite easily, running away with a 59-0 rout. But it was only the second time in his last 19 games that Freeney had finished a contest without a sack. Freeney didn’t even register a tackle.

“Yeah, Bryant is probably one of my first marquee matchups,” Freeney recalled during a conference call with Baltimore media Wednesday. “It goes back to college with Syracuse vs. Miami. He was the offensive tackle. He did a great job. I had a bunch of sacks going into that game, he had never given up [a sack]. They ended up winning the game, and I ended up not getting a sack. From a historical standpoint, me and him go back, and I had a game with him when he was with the Vikings. I had a couple of good games against him. Bryant is Bryant, and there is a reason why he is still playing after 30.”

Said McKinnie: “There was a lot of hype behind that game. They had a picture of him with an actual sack with all the different college helmets in it, all the teams he got sacks against. It was towards the end of my senior year, and I hadn’t allowed a sack. So they were kind of like, ‘Something is bound to happen. He’s either going to get a sack or you’re going to continue to not allow the sack.’ The [Syracuse] team was OK that year, but it was more of a focus on our battle. I was home, so I managed to get through that game without a sack.”

Freeney has enjoyed better success against McKinnie in the NFL. In two meetings between Indianapolis and the Minnesota Vikings, Freeney has accumulated three sacks and six tackles. More importantly, Freeney’s team won both contests.

McKinnie acknowledged that he is looking forward to matching up against Freeney Sunday.

“You just want to be competitive,” he said. “We both bring our A-game against one another. We don’t go against each other that often, but when we do, it’s going to be high intensity. There’s a lot of focus out there.”

(baltimoresun.com)

Bryant McKinnie said he's happy, healthy and 28 pounds lighter than the day his nine-year Vikings career came to a surprise end on Aug. 2.
"I was 383 pounds when I showed up in Mankato for training camp," said McKinnie, now the starting left tackle for the Baltimore Ravens at what he calls his normal playing weight of 355. "Yes, I was heavy. No, I wasn't 400 pounds.

He once was a larger-than-life-size symbol of the baggage the Vikings needed to purge for the good of the team. Now, he's atop the AFC North with his 4-1 Ravens while the Vikings are last in the NFC North with a 1-5 record and some serious pass protection issues.

"When we signed him (Aug. 24), I told him this isn't our first rodeo as far as dealing with players that have issues," said Ozzie Newsome, Ravens general manager. "We will take on some of the issues if that player is willing to work with us. Bryant was more than willing. He's met every (weight) mark he was supposed to make and has actually been even better than we thought in making those marks."

McKinnie has started every game this season for a team that's fifth in the league in scoring. He's improving with each game, said Newsome, and gives Baltimore a 10-year veteran and former first-round draft pick who, like him or not, has never missed a game because of injuries or health issues.

"I wish the Vikings well," McKinnie said. "They did what they felt they had to do. I did what I felt I had to do. I'm doing fine. I look around and I can't help but think that things happen for a reason."

McKinnie said he knew his release was coming when his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, threatened to file a grievance against the Vikings for putting McKinnie on the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list. McKinnie said he had already rejected an offer to restructure his contract, per Rosenhaus' advice, in part because the team wanted to move some of his guaranteed money to incentives to reduce his $5.4 million salary cap figure.

"I was on the NFI, but I wasn't injured," McKinnie said. "Knowing the grievance was coming at 3 o'clock the day I was released, and knowing that they had to be under the cap two days later, the only option was to release me."

Coach Leslie Frazier never once said McKinnie was released because of his weight or poor conditioning. He simply said McKinnie was released "in the best interests" of the team.

Because of McKinnie's appearance, however, it was assumed Frazier had used the opportunity as a first-year head coach to take a stand against an out-of-shape player with a checkered past off the field.

The assumptions continued during the three weeks that McKinnie went unsigned. There was speculation that he needed a year to get back in shape and lower his cholesterol to a safe level.

"A year?" said McKinnie, apparently not aware of the rumors. "I played in Week 1. I played well. Against a good player, (Pittsburgh's) James Harrison. And we won the game, 35-7.

"As for my cholesterol, it's been high since I was 22, and they checked me at the combine. It's hereditary. I take medication to control it."

Finding a home
Newsome said it took some time to investigate McKinnie and to then secure the team's preferred two-year deal. Ravens coach John Harbaugh got a positive report from former Vikings coach Brad Childress, with whom he had coached under Andy Reid in Philadelphia. Newsome also got a couple of strong endorsements from two current Ravens who one day will join him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Safety Ed Reed and linebacker Ray Lewis lobbied Newsome hard. Reed and McKinnie were teammates at the University of Miami. Lewis was a Hurricane before them.

"I have a lot of confidence going to the players and asking them about former college teammates," Newsome said. "Ed was giving Bryant a raving endorsement when Ray overheard the conversation.

"Ray comes over to me and said Bryant would fit in with us. When you get Ray and Ed saying, 'Hey, look, if there's additional work that needs to be done with this guy, we're going to do it with him,' that makes the decision easier."

Newsome also liked that McKinnie offered to play right tackle for the first time in his life if Michael Oher, another former first-round draft pick, wanted to stay at left tackle. But Oher, who has experience at right tackle, said it would be best for the team for him to move to right tackle.

Newsome said he'd ideally like to keep McKinnie beyond two seasons and see the younger Oher move back over to left tackle when McKinnie retires.

"That's a comforting factor for me," Newsome said. "But, more importantly, it's also a comforting factor for our young quarterback, Joe Flacco."

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.


(mercedsunstar.com)

It's hard to appreciate just how large Bryant McKinnie truly is unless you've stood next to him.

McKinnie weighs upward of 350 pounds and stands just three inches short of being seven feet tall. He's not fat, despite what you have heard. He's just gigantic, from his toes to his calves to his shoulders.

He was leaning against his locker and fiddling with his BlackBerry this week. Cupped in his enormous right hand, the BlackBerry looked like it could have been the size of walnut.

There are a number of reasons why the Ravens decided, late in the preseason, to gamble on McKinnie and make him their starting left tackle even though he was cut by the Vikings, with the team expressing concerns about his attitude and fitness. The Ravens felt a simple change of scenery might help him re-boot his commitment, and they were also desperate for whatever help they could get after watching their offensive line look shaky, at best, during the preseason.

But none of those reasons outweigh the most obvious truth about McKinnie: No matter what kind of shape he was in during the lockout, it was still going to be hard for a defender to get around someone built like a Kodiak bear.

Thought it's only been four games, it's probably fair to say the Ravens gamble has paid off remarkably well. McKinnie has started every game and, if you throw out one bad half he had against the Tennessee Titans, he's been pretty good in both pass protection and run blocking. He managed to set the tone for a dominant day against the Steelers when he made two blocks on one play and sprung Ray Rice for a huge gain.
"I think he and Shaq are about the same size," said Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. "Trying to find Ray Rice when he's running behind [McKinnie] is pretty hard to do."

His arrival also allowed the Ravens to put Michael Oher back at right tackle, re-teaming him with guard Marshal Yanda. Rice running to the right side has consistently been one of Baltimore's best plays in 2011.

Plus, if you believe Ravens coach John Harbaugh, McKinnie's biggest impact hasn't been felt yet. It's likely going to come in the second half of the season, when the Ravens will need it the most.

"We are really happy with him," Harbaugh said of McKinnie. "We really like where he is, no doubt. He's played well. He's a premier player. We knew he was one of the premier tackles in football. I just think he's only going to get better as the season goes on, because he's going to get to work with our guys in our system and he's going to continue to get in better shape."

Two types of shape
Just what kind of shape McKinnie was in during the NFL lockout is still somewhat in dispute. When the Vikings decided to release him after eight seasons, an NFL source told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune it was in part because McKinnie showed up weighing nearly 400 pounds.

McKinnie has no problem admitting he wasn't in football shape when he reported to camp. But he contends whomever spoke anonymously to the Star-Tribune was exaggerating how much he weighed. And it only made him all the more happy to leave town.

"I was heavy, but there were reports saying I couldn't even move," McKinnie said. "It just wasn't accurate. I could see where Baltimore might have thought I was a risk because they weren't sure how that would pan out, but it just wasn't accurate. I'm not somebody who can run a whole bunch of sprints. That's never been me. But I always know how to play football. Those are two different types of shape, anyway."

The marriage between McKinnie and the Vikings could never exactly be described as idyllic, even though he played fairly well and the team — which drafted him No. 7 overall in 2002 — had success with him in the line-up. McKinnie was involved in a scuffle outside a Minneapolis gas station in 2005, and he was one of the Vikings fined for his participation in the embarrassing "Love Boat" sex party scandal in 2006. In 2008, he was arrested for his participation in a brawl outside a Miami night club, and he was also openly critical of the team's decision to trade quarterback Dante Culpepper. In 2009, he was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time but was kicked off the team for skipping practices prior the game.

All those incidents gave the Ravens pause when McKinnie was released by the Vikings. But when general manager Ozzie Newsome spoke with Ed Reed — a college teammate of McKinnie's at Miami — the Ravens Pro Bowl safety didn't hesitate to vouch for his fellow Hurricane.

"I don't know why it didn't work out," Reed said of McKinnie's time with the Vikings. "It's really not my choice, but once he hit the market, Ozzie came to me and asked me about him. It was a no-brainer. You need a left tackle, and he's one of the best. I've seen him go against some of the greatest rush ends in this league right now, and he's proven it. It was just a matter of him getting in shape."

A fresh start
McKinnie says he's not interested in making excuses about his time with the Vikings. If the organization grew weary of him, well, the feeling was mutual.

"Sometimes when you're in a place for so long, you kind of feel like you're not appreciated," McKinnie said. "I'll be straight up and admit that's kind of how I felt. I wasn't being appreciated so it was time for me to go. I felt like saying 'When I leave, you'll appreciate what I've done as soon as I'm gone.' And I feel like some of that is going on now."

Although their time in Minnesota, and their departure from the organization, was certainly different, even Matt Birk said he can understand some of what McKinnie says about the need for a change.

"I think it did rejuvenate him," Birk said. "I know from personal experience that change is good for the soul. It's a fresh start. Sometimes during your career, if you play one place for a long time things can get a little bit stale. When you change all your surroundings, your teammates, your facilities, where you live, I don't think it can do anything but re-energize you. Late in your career, people tend to say 'Oh, his play has fallen off.' And going somewhere new is a chance to prove those people wrong.' "

McKinnie said the Ravens were appealing in part because they told him he wouldn't have to conform to the organization and act a certain way. For years, the Ravens have thrived on having a locker room full of loud and colorful personalities, and McKinnie — who loves to laugh and tell jokes — felt right at home.

"I'm not going to lie, I felt like in Minnesota, people were a little up tight and weren't always allowed to be themselves," McKinnie said. "They were being who the coaches wanted them to be and weren't able to express their true personality. One of the first things Coach Harbaugh said to me was 'Express your personality. We're all about that here. We're about going out there and enjoying ourselves.'"

McKinnie knows he tends to say and do things that would make a lot of head coaches nervous. But what he appreciates about the Ravens, at least thus far, is they're not hung up on appearances. Is he a good guy? A bad guy? In his mind, it's silly question. All the Ravens care is that he does his job.

"I've had coaches in the past that made you dread things, whether it's because they're always complaining or because they're not making it fun," McKinnie said. "The coaches here know I didn't get a chance to learn technique because I wasn't here for camp, so at the end of the day, all they care about is getting the play blocked. I feel like the joy of playing football has returned for me."


(baltimoresun.com)

In July, the Vikings gave up on a left tackle who had weight and conditioning issues.  Now, the Vikings are taking a look at a left tackle who has weight and conditioning issues.

Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN.com reports that the Vikings will visit with free-agent Max Starks, who was dumped earlier this year by the Steelers.  Starks was attempting to recover from a neck injury that ended his 2010 season prematurely.

The Vikings cut Bryant McKinnie days after he showed up pushing four bills.  He has since landed with the Ravens, and he has started all three games.

The Vikings replaced him with Charlie Johnson, who has struggled at times.

Frankly, we’re not sure that beefing up the tackle position will help the Vikings not blow double-digit leads.  But it can’t hurt.

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.


(profootballtalk.com)

CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- The University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame is proud to announce its Class of 2012 inductees, featuring NFL stars Ed Reed and Bryant McKinnie, along with women's tennis coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews and the school's first African-American football player Ray Bellamy. Also selected were All-American pitcher Robbie Morrison, Olympic hurdler Patrina Allen, basketball star Desma Thomas Bateast and All-American lineman Rich Mercier.

This year's class will be officially inducted at the 44th Annual UM Sports Hall of Fame Induction Banquet to be held Thursday, March 29, 2012 at Miami's Jungle Island.  For information on tickets, go to UMSportsHallofFame.com or call 305-284-2775. 

Richard Mercier: First Team All-America selection by The Sporting News in 1999 ... Two-time All-BIG EAST First Team selection (1998-99) ... Team leader in pancake blocks in both his junior and senior seasons ... Tied Mike Sullivan for the UM record in career starts (48) ... Invited to play in the Senior Bowl, Hula Bowl, East-West Shrine Game and Florida Citrus All Star Gridiron Classic ... Fifth round NFL draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2000.

Bryant McKinnie: Outland Trophy winner as college football's outstanding interior lineman in 2001 ... Named a First Team All-American by The Football News in 2000 and a consensus first team Al-American by every national service in 2001, including the Associated Press, Football Writers Association, The Football News, The Sporting News and the Walter Camp and the National Football Foundations ... The 2001 National Player of the Year by CNNSI.com ... The 2001 College Football Offensive Player of the Year by The Football News ... Did not allow a quarterback sack during his entire UM career ... A two-time unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team selection at left tackle ... First round NFL pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2002.

Ed Reed: Consensus First Team All-America and All-BIG EAST selection in 2000 and 2001 ... Set UM career records for interceptions (21) and interception return yards (389) ... His nine interceptions in 2001 is the second-highest single-season total in UM history ... Recorded eight interceptions in 2000 (third-best in UM history) ... Key factor in a defense that recorded a record 45 takeaways during the 2001 National Championship campaign ... Also excelled in track & field, winning the javelin at the 1999 BIG EAST Outdoor Track & Field Championships ... A first round NFL draft pick by the Baltimore Ravens in 2002.

Click Here To Read About the Other Inductees.

Did you have any apprehension about your first regular-season start with the Ravens after spending the first nine seasons of your career with the Minnesota Vikings?
No. When Ray [Lewis] hit me up, I checked out the team to see where I would fit in. I kind of looked at it from that standpoint to see if it would be a good fit for me, and I thought it would be.

What about this offensive makeup convinced you to sign with the Ravens?
One thing was that [center] Matt Birk was already here. So there was somebody that I was already familiar with. He calls out the defense, and his communication levels are pretty good.

On your first play as a Raven, you had a key block on Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel and then inside linebacker James Farrior that sprung running back Ray Rice for a 36-yard gain. How good did that feel?
It felt pretty good because you have to set the tempo. I think a lot of that came from the anxiousness and nerves from just not playing for a while. But it felt good and it allowed us as an offense to set the tempo.

Were you nervous about your debut as a Raven?
I'm not going to lie, but just a little because there was a lot going into the game. Ever since I first got here, there was all this talk about the Pittsburgh Steelers and how it's a big rivalry and how basically you just don't like them around here. I saw that on my Twitter account when I first signed and just being out and about — like when I'm picking up my stuff from the dry cleaners or when I turn on the radio. Everywhere I turned, there was something about Pittsburgh.

What would you compare the Ravens-Steelers rivalry to?
Kind of like the Vikings-Packers. Or if you want, go back to the U [University of Miami] and Florida State. Just two teams that don't like each other. Two good teams that have to beat each other to be the best.

Who is the toughest pass rusher you've faced in your career?
I can name you three. Dwight Freeney's good, Julius Peppers is good and James Harrison is actually pretty good. Those are three pretty good pass rushers.

Are they similar in the way they play?
They are different. Dwight and James are a little more similar because they''e both shorter and they use the dip move to try to dip under taller blockers and things like that. James likes to dip in real quick and then come back outside to get the edge on you, whereas Dwight will run up to you and do the spin move inside. Julius is about strength and his arms are about as long as mine. I rarely go against somebody whose arms can touch me when I'm locking mine out. It was definitely a weird feeling.

More important to you: a Super Bowl ring or a Hall of Fame bust?
I'd rather have a ring. I got one in college, and I feel like the ring can possibly set you up to get into the Hall of Fame. But just to get a ring, I know what it felt like to be a national champion in college. So I'd like to get that feeling back.

Did you ever have a nickname? If so, what's the history behind it?
Big Mac. It's funny. [Former Miami teammate and current Washington Redskins wide receiver] Santana Moss gave me that during his junior year when I got to Miami. He said, "I'm going to call you Big Mac." And it stuck. Everybody just started calling me Big Mac, and it carried over to the league. Some people have abbreviated it and called me B-Mac, but Big Mac has stuck with me from college to here. But a lot of people probably don't realize that Santana Moss gave me that nickname.

I read somewhere that you started a music label called "Swagga Entertainment."
It's called B Major Music Group now. The old name was Swagga Entertainment, but I felt like swagga was kind of trendy, and I wanted something that was easier to brand. So I felt like B Major Music Group was better and a little more global. Swagga sounds a little more urban.

What does music mean to you?
A lot. I think music is a form of therapy. When you're going through stuff and someone has a song that you can relate to, you use that. When you're getting ready for games, you're playing music and you get yourself hyped. When you're cleaning your house, you're playing music to get yourself going. So it serves as motivation.

If you could listen to a musician live — past or present — who would you listen to?
I would say Biggie Smalls. I didn't get a chance to see him in concert, and I don't feel like he got a chance to reach his full potential as an artist.

What's your worst habit?
The worst habit I have is probably procrastination. I tend to wait until the last minute to do things, but for some reason, I feel like I perform better when I've got the pressure on me.

If you could have dinner with one person, who would it be?
It would be someone like [entrepreneur] Russell Simmons. From a business standpoint, I would just ask him about different strategies that he took in music.

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.


(baltimoresun.com)

BALTIMORE — There is a new bully on the AFC North block.

This changing of the divisional guard coincides with the upgrade at left tackle the Baltimore Ravens made in signing former Minnesota Vikings Pro Bowler Bryant McKinnie off the scrap heap Aug. 26.

It was hard to tell the newest Raven was shucking off rust following his first game in eight months considering how "Mount" McKinnie served an eviction notice to former AFC North bully, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison. It happened from the outset of Baltimore's 35-7 season-opening beatdown of the 2010 AFC North champions.

The 6-8 McKinnie is politely listed at 360 pounds. Small wonder why McKinnie literally made the biggest difference in the latest installment of the Steelers-Ravens blood feud Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis calls "hit or be hit."

McKinnie was released by the Vikings when he reported to training camp at 387. He's gone from eating his way out of Minnesota to devouring Harrison with a play that may have signaled an AFC North seismic shift.

On the game's first play from scrimmage, McKinnie, tight end Ed Dickson, left guard Ben Grubbs and fullback Vonta Leach rumbled around the left side on first-and-10 from the Baltimore 34-yard line.

Harrison was erased by McKinnie and Grubbs. Then, McKinnie took out linebacker James Farrior while center Matt Birk blunted nose tackle Casey Hampton to spring running back Ray Rice for 36 yards.

Two plays later, quarterback Joe Flacco fired a 27-yard scoring strike to Anquan Boldin and what Rice called a "beatdown" was on.

"Bryant blew up two guys on that first play," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. ""Like Ray Rice said, 'This is the 2011 Baltimore Ravens.
"All that stuff that happened last year doesn't matter."

Harbaugh was referring to the Steelers beating Baltimore two of three times last season, making it six Pittsburgh wins in eight meetings with last January's 31-24 Ravens playoff ouster.

In those losses, Harrison, linebacker LaMarr Woodley and safety Troy Polamalu seemed to make the biggest plays when it mattered most.
The signature play came when Polamalu raced in unblocked and strip sacked Flacco late in Pittsburgh's 13-10 win last Dec. 5 when neither tackle Michael Oher nor Flacco glanced Polamalu's way.

That set up the winning touchdown and, in effect, the offseason changing of Ravens tackles.

Oher, the 2009 first-rounder who's life story was featured in the book and movie The Blindside, was switched to the right side after Lewis and others lobbied general manager Ozzie Newsome and Harbaugh to sign McKinnie.

Flacco and Rice combined for 331 of Baltimore's 385 yards with Flacco throwing for three scores and Rice running for a fourth.

Rice's 107 rushing yards were 23 more than he gained in three games against Pittsburgh's top-ranked 2010 rush defense in three games last season. He said offensive coordinator Cam Cameron's plan was "to establish the run game running behind Bryant McKinnie."

"It was definitely a statement to let them know we're coming at them and were going to be physical," McKinnie said of that first play.

"We wanted to make sure we landed more of our punches than they did. We watched film clips of them bullying people. We had to take on that same attitude."

The question was how soon the re-constituted Raven line would mesh given McKinnie had only been there two weeks while Birk and right guard Marshall Yanda missed the preseason due to knee and back issues, respectively.

"Right from the beginning, McKinnie made his presence felt," Ravens analyst Qadry Ismail said. "James Harrison was trying to get low and around the edge. But McKinnie had his left hand in Harrison's chest and really just pancaked him.

"Bryant McKinnie is able to use his leverage so well, whereas Michael Oher is more of a dominant, proven right tackle.

"What the line did against Dick LeBeau's defense without playing a game together was quite remarkable."

The Steelers had the look of an aging defense suffering a Super Bowl hangover — a Super Bowl XLV-losing hangover following their 31-25 loss to Green Bay.

"We're not shell shocked," defensive captain Farrior said. "We got beat into submission.

This time, his front five gave Flacco time to hit for 224 yards and show why he's one of the game's best touch passers against the nemesis that had gone 6-0 against him with Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback.

"Everybody asks, 'Is this the year Joe's going to take that next step?"' Harbaugh said . "Joe sure looked like he took that next step didn't he?"
At least for one week, Flacco's bigger, better protectors had everything to do with that next step.

McKinnie hopes for another, having reached the Super Bowl brink with the 12-4 Vikings before losing the NFC Championship game in overtime to New Orleans.

"The Vikings said I lost it. But I never had a chance to display it," said McKinnie. "They're in my rear view. And the Ravens are in my clear view.
"This certainly looks like a Super Bowl team."

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.


(usatoday.com)

BALTIMORE- Bryant McKinnie fired off the line of scrimmage, bashing Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker James Harrison before rumbling downfield to pick off middle linebacker James Farrior.

The blocks paved a path for Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice to gain 36 yards on the first play from scrimmage Sunday, setting up a touchdown.

"I got my man," McKinnie said. "So, I thought, ‘Why not go block somebody else?'"

For a hefty offensive tackle that was expected to struggle with the Steelers' formidable defense, McKinnie defied expectations.

"To come in for the biggest game for them, I felt a little pressure and I feel like I play well under pressure," said McKinnie, a 6-foot-8, 360-pound former Pro Bowl left tackle signed by the Ravens in August after being cut by the Minnesota Vikings when he reported at 387 pounds. "For somebody who hasn't played in eight months, any games since January, I feel like I did a pretty good job."

And the Ravens' new-look offensive line that didn't play a single snap together during the preseason allowed only one sack during the Ravens' 35-7 victory Sunday over the Steelers at M&T Bank Stadium.

The Ravens rushed for 170 yards and two touchdowns against the NFL's top-ranked run defense from a year ago.

"The protection was fantastic, that's something against this football team that you have to be concerned with," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "I know everyone in this room who follows this team had a concern with that, and I guarantee you I had a concern with that, too. I think we did a good job of game-planning the protection.

"The main thing was the one-on-one battles, the one-on-one battles across the board that we won. The offensive line was a big part of that. That's how you win football games."

Six-time Pro Bowl center Matt Birk didn't play any preseason games after having surgery on his left knee at the start of training camp. His knee appeared to hold up against beefy Steelers nose guard Casey Hampton.

"It feels great," he said. "Every time you win, you feel a lot better than when you lose."

Michael Oher was moved back to right tackle for the first time since his rookie year. And right guard Marshal Yanda missed most of the preseason with back spasms. The only starter that played at his usual spot during the preseason was left guard Ben Grubbs.

Most of the pressure was on McKinnie because he had to block Harrison, a former NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

"I told my mom, ‘I haven't played since Jan. 2,'" McKinnie said. "I just felt like I was the weakest link, so I wanted to make sure I held down my part."

Last season, the Steelers led the NFL with 48 sacks. Their pass rush is headlined by Harrison and outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley, who combine for 20 ½ sacks last season,.

However, Harrison was limited to nine tackles and one quarterback hit on Sunday as Woodley registered the Steelers' lone sack.
Quarterback Joe Flacco took advantage of the increased time, connecting on 17 of 29 throws for 224 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

"Those guys did a great job," Flacco said. "I've been saying all week, I'm really confident in the way these guys are going to play. It's a great group of guys. Bryant is the only guy who hasn't been there. ‘

"I wasn't worried about that. I know Bryant is a really good left tackle. So, why worry about it anyway? I felt comfortable back there all day."

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.


(carrollcountytimes.com)

Bryant McKinnie was cut by the Vikings for a number of reasons. And perhaps even about 400 of them -- McKinnie's weight was absolutely out of control and the Vikings were reportedly concerned about his conditioning.

And according to CBS Sports' Charley Casserly, the Ravens -- who signed McKinnie as a free agent -- were wise enough to build a "weight-loss clause" into McKinnie's contract and the tackle earned $75,000 for getting his weight down to the "prescribed weight of 372" pounds.

Is it kind of nuts that McKinnie's getting paid more for getting just under 400 pounds than most Americans make in a year? Yeah, it's pretty bananas.

But the Ravens were clearly worried too his weight too -- their desperation for offensive line help outweighed the concern. They did the smart thing, though, by giving McKinnie some motivation to get in decent shape.

Even if it costs them a wad of cash, it was immediately worth it on Sunday, as on the Ravens first play from scrimmage, McKinnie made a crucial block at the next level to spring Ray Rice for a big 36-yard gain.

He's got the talent to be a difference maker in Baltimore and now it looks like he might have the motivation too.

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.


(cssports.com)

Ravens LT Bryant McKinnie will open the season in the 360-pound range after showing up to Vikings camp at 386 in late July.

The Ravens aren't wasting time with McKinnie, installing him at the left tackle spot that's been a revolving door since Jon Ogden's retirement. McKinnie was 370 pounds when he initially reported to Baltimore on August 27, so the weight is coming down. We expect him to be an upgrade at the position regardless.

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.


(rotoworld.com)

Considering some of the deficits along the Ravens offensive line, signing a left tackle with the resume that Bryant McKinnie boasts might not be considered a huge leap for the organization.

But in his remarks confirming an agreement with McKinnie on Tuesday, general manager Ozzie Newsome noted that several University of Miami standouts like inside linebacker Ray Lewis and free safety Ed Reed vouched for McKinnie.

McKinnie, a former Hurricane himself, said he appreciated the endorsements from his new teammates.

“I definitely like to hear that from my guys from the ‘U,’” McKinnie said prior to Saturday’s practice at the team’s training facility in Owings Mills. “They have my back and supported me and led me to this team and this organization.”

McKinnie, who has a history of off-field troubles, was then asked if he needed the players to keep an eye on him.

“It’s just good to have somebody keep you competitive and things like that,” he said. “We have a good bond between us.”

McKinnie, the seventh overall pick in the 2002 draft who is entering his 10th year in the NFL, said he has become more laidback as he has matured and doesn’t intend to rock the boat with his new team.

“I’m not real vocal, but I’ll pull people to the side and give them tips on stuff that I’ve learned from my past,” he said. “Just try to make us better.”

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.


(baltimoresun.com)

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Still massive at roughly 370 pounds, new Baltimore Ravens left offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie says he’s working hard to get down to his usual playing weight of 350 pounds.

“I play at like 355, not 335,” McKinnie said Saturday. “I haven’t been that since college, my junior year.”

Cut my the Minnesota Vikings after reporting to training camp at 387 pounds, McKinnie signed a two-year contract with the Ravens last week and is eager to start the next phase of his career in the NFL.

“I have a lot of motivation,” he said. “So you are definitely going to see a lot of pancake (blocks) this year.”

McKinnie played left tackle with the Vikings, and the Ravens have every intention of keeping him there. So Michael Oher will shift back to the right side, where he played as a rookie two years ago.

Oher took the change in stride.

“I just like playing football,” he said. “I am going to work hard at any position that I’m at. I’m going to work hard and be the best player that I can be at any position. We are going to be a great team with him, and that’s exactly what we needed.”

If McKinnie can regain his Pro Bowl form from two years ago and Oher is solid on the right side, a patchwork offensive line could potentially become a formidable group.

“He is a pro, he will be ready to go,” offensive line coach Andy Moeller said. “He is a great player. He is plenty bright enough. He just comes from a little bit of a different system, so the terminology and stuff will take a little bit of time. He will be ready to roll.”

Asked what Ravens fans can expect from him, McKinnie replied: “A dominant player that is trying to be the best at his position.”

McKinnie has had off-field issues in the past, including his involvement in the infamous “Love Boat” scandal while he was with the Vikings several years ago. He downplayed any perception of that character issues would be a factor in Baltimore.

“I am actually more quiet and laid back than people think,” McKinnie said. “It’s just little things here and there that used to pop up in my past. It’s nothing like that I see happening anymore. I was kind of in my younger days anyway.”

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.


(washingtonpost.com)

Ravens coach John Harbaugh confirmed that the team’s plan is to start newly signed Bryant McKinnie at left tackle and move Michael Oher to the right side.

McKinnie, who signed with the Ravens on Tuesday, has started at left tackle for the past eight seasons for the Minnesota Vikings. Oher started at right tackle as a rookie before moving to the left side, where he has played for the 2010 season and all training camp this year.

“We’ll see how it goes. Everything is fluid,” coach John Harbaugh said after the Ravens’ 34-31 preseason win over the Washington Redskins. “I would love to say that’s set in stone, but that’s not set in stone. Michael Oher is about as good a person, great as a team guy as I’ve ever been around in my career. Ozzie and I brought him in and talked to him the night before last night and he said it before we said it: ‘Whatever I need to do to help this be the best football l team and the best offensive line that it can be.’”

McKinnie was reportedly cut by the Vikings earlier this month because he reported to training camp out of shape. Harbaugh said he was impressed by his first meeting with the 2009 Pro Bowl player.

“He’s been working out and he’s been eating right,” Harbaugh said. “I’m very impressed with him. He’s a very mature guy. He’s very excited to be here. He’s a very intelligent guy. I’m looking forward to getting him in the fold.”

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.


(baltimoresun.com)

The big question surrounding the Ravens' decision to sign offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie - I'll spare everyone yet another play on words with the word "big" - is whether the former Viking will play left or right tackle once he's ready to suit up in Baltimore.

McKinnie has played left tackle, and played it at a pretty high level, throughout his entire nine-year career. But leading up to this season, the Ravens said publically that they're committed to sticking with former first-round pick Michael Oher at the left tackle spot.

Well, according to McKinnie, Oher will be moving over to right tackle, where he played during his rookie season in 2009, and the newest Raven will take over on the left side.

"Yeah, they told me I'm going to play left, and I guess slide Oher over to right," McKinnie said on ESPN Radio's "The Brian Kenny Show".

If true, that alignment might give the Ravens the best chance to succeed in the short-term. Oher had a strong rookie season at right tackle, but hasn't carried that level of play over to the left tackle spot in his year-plus at that position.

If McKinnie can lock down Joe Flacco's blind side (there's a joke in there somewhere), Oher can get back to his 2009 form at right tackle and Marshal Yanda can return to right guard, the Ravens have the makings of a quality offensive line.

But McKinnie will turn 32 in less than a month, and isn't in the Ravens' long-term plans. Moving Oher back to right tackle could shake the confidence of a guy who those in the organization viewed as a rising star just a year and a half ago.

The other question everyone is asking about McKinnie is: What type of shape is he in?

Cut by Minnesota after allegedly reporting to camp close to 400 lbs., McKinnie acknowledged he showed up above his normal playing weight, but said he's been training in Florida the last few weeks and is ready to go.

"Well, honestly, we never took any conditioning tests in the two days I was (at Vikings camp)," McKinnie said. "We had two walk-throughs, so I wasn't really able to do anything. I never participated in any, ... there was never any conditioning test, so there was nothing to kind of determine where my conditioning was. But, I did come in heavy. I did come in heavier than I normally am.

"I feel like I've been in shape the whole time. But I was out here training the whole time. I'm pretty ready to go."

The Ravens will put McKinnie through a physical today, and if he passes, his two-year contract worth up to $7.5 million will become official.
McKinnie indicated that he thought he was let go by the Vikings more for monetary reasons than physical ones. The Miami product did acknowledge that he does have high cholesterol, but said that was something the Vikings were aware of.

The Vikings reportedly saved $5.4 million against the salary cap by cutting McKinnie, and avoided paying him workout and roster bonuses by letting him go.

"Minnesota, it was honestly more of a numbers game about having their salary cap at a certain point," McKinnie said. "That's what it was really about, restructuring my contract, stuff like that. And I didn't really agree with it, so we chose for me to be released."

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.


(masnsports.com)

The Ravens made a risky move to bolster their offensive line  Tuesday, signing offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie to a two-year deal. The 6-foot-8, 350-plus-pound lineman was technically a Pro Bowl player for the Vikings in 2009 even though he didn't bother showing up for any of the Pro Bowl practices and was kicked off the NFC squad.

The talent is there for McKinnie to be the Ravens' short-term answer at right tackle -- or maybe even left tackle -- but there are a few reasons why the soon-to-be 32-year-old was still on the free agent market.

For one, he has been charged in three different incidents since entering the NFL in 2002, once for a street fight, once for a bar fight and once for allegedly performing and receiving sex acts in public in the infamous Vikings Loveboat scandal in 2005, when a bunch of players went wild on a boat with strippers and sex toys.

He also was cut by the Vikings this summer for showing up to camp in awful shape, reportedly more than 50 pounds overweight (no word on how much excess weight was edible underwear).

All these incidents -- even something as simple as skipping the Pro Bowl -- make you seriously question McKinnie’s dedication to his craft. I can guarantee you this: If someone says this guy plays like a Raven, they’re lying to you.

Well, that’s assuming he passes his physical.

But the offensive line is so unsettled right now, some have already suggested that some guy named Mark LeVoir, who was signed over the weekend, could be the team’s answer at right tackle in 2011.

Maybe the Bryant McKinnie experiment will work out. Maybe he and Michael Oher can be the bookend tackles the Ravens lost when Jared Gaither went AWOL. And maybe his off-field issues are behind him.

But if this large man finds the slightest bit of trouble in Baltimore, the Ravens need to cut ties instantly.

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.


(baltimoresun.com)

The Ravens reached two-year agreement with offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie, the team announced. The deal can be worth up to $7.5 million and includes a $1 million signing bonus, a source familiar with the deal told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

To fill the void at offensive tackle, the team is bringing in one of the most talented and troubled free agents available.

“Through the years, we’ve been fortunate to obtain players late in training camp or just before the start of the season who help us win,” Ravens general manager/executive vice president Ozzie Newsome stated. “A couple of years ago, it was Willie Anderson. Last year, it was Josh Wilson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who each made big plays at the end of games that gave us wins.

“Bryant falls in this category. He’s been a productive player at one of the hardest positions to play, and he has been in sync with Matt Birk when Matt was a Viking. Plus, he has a relationship with Michael Oher and our Miami players."

The deal is pending tomorrow's physical, which could remain a hurdle. The Minnesota Vikings released the Pro Bowl offensive tackle on Aug. 2 after he reported to training camp out of shape.

It's not surprising that the Ravens added an offensive lineman. It is surprising that the the Ravens are taking this gamble with McKinnie after parting ways with another character risk in Jared Gaither.

"Ray [Lewis] and Ed [Reed] vouch for him as a person and as a player who can help us," Newsome said. "I know these veteran players are happy we’re adding Bryant.”

McKinnie's role is uncertain at this point. He started eight years at left tackle for the Vikings. The Ravens could insert the 6-foot-8, 386-pound McKinnie at right tackle (which has had three linemen start at that position during training camp) or start McKinnie at left tackle and move Michael Oher to the right side.

McKinnie was voted to the Pro Bowl after the 2009 season, but he did not show up for practices and was scratched from the game, eventually having to pay back almost $5,000 in travel expenses to the league.

He has been charged in three different incidents since being the seventh overall pick of the 2002 draft.

In 2005, McKinnie was arrested along with former Vikings guard Marcus Johnson on suspicion of disorderly conduct in a street fight. Also that year, he was involved in the infamous “Love Boat” incident, eventually pleading guilty to a disorderly conduct charge.

In 2008, he was charged with aggravated battery, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after taking part in a brawl outside a Miami nightclub.
But he has at least one staunch supporter among his new teammates.

“Some people look for speed, some people look for youth," Lewis said. "But give me heart, wisdom and the will to play and win the game, and I will take that player on my side any day of the week. That is what Bryant has. I have played against him, and I know from experience how tough he is. He has a proven track record as a winner, and he is a Raven. He is one of us, and I know he will make us better.”

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.


(espn.com)

Drew Rosenhaus, agent for free-agent OT Bryant McKinnie (Vikings), said McKinnie has been working out and is down to 365 pounds. McKinnie usually plays at 355 pounds. Rosenhaus said McKinnie has received a few offers but has not accepted any of them.




(kffl.com)

What do Bryant McKinnie and Steve Smith have in common? Not the Steve Smith who did his best impression of boat rowing on the same day Daunte Culpepper’s life took a severe downward turn. The “other” Steve Smith.

A funny thing happened last week. The Eagles signed former Giants wide receiver Steve Smith, who just two years ago set a franchise record in New York with 107 catches. He was an unrestricted free agent and, thanks to trying to come back from a significant knee injury, he may not be ready by the start of the season. Philadelphia technically made two roster moves with the signing of Smith – one to announce the signing and one immediately following that placed him on the physically-unable-to-perform list.

In the foamy-water feeding frenzy the Eagles undertook when the lockout ended – signing one big-name free agent after another and being linked to interest in many more – Smith went largely unnoticed.

Why? Because, at the time he was signed, he wasn’t close to being in physical condition to play football. Yet, the Eagles, with their eyes rolled back like a great white shark taking yet another bite out of the bloated free agent market, signed Smith.

Initially, the rationale given was that the mystery mononucleosis type setback suffered by Jeremy Maclin, who has yet to practice, was the impetus to sign Smith. But, after saying that out loud, those same rationalists had to ask themselves, “Why would you replace a guy who would potentially miss the start of the season with a guy who is just as doubtful?”

The reasonable inference is that the Eagles had the money and saw Smith as a commodity. In the previous version of free agency and the salary cap in the NFL, it’s doubtful that any team would have signed a player that couldn’t pass a physical to a contract.

But this is 2011, where presidential hopefuls mistake the anniversary of the birth of Elvis Presley with his death. In the Bizarro world of the NFL in 2011, things are taking place that don’t make rational sense. Which leads us to the comparison between Smith and McKinnie.

McKinnie showed up at Winter Park in dismal shape before heading to Mankato and was summarily dismissed from the team that had him as a building block at left tackle for over the better part of the last decade. McKinnie turns 32 in September. He would be over the hill at most positions, but savvy offensive tackles are a notable exception to that rule. A top-end offensive tackle routinely plays into his mid-30s. A player at McKinnie’s age and experience could expect to have up to five years left on his career.

However, McKinnie needs someone to champion his cause. Enter Mike Tice, stage left.

Tice was the head coach when the Vikings drafted McKinnie, even though they momentarily thought they had DT Ryan Sims – in hindsight a stroke of luck that changed the franchise for the better. Tice, a former offensive line coach turned head coach, knew talent when he saw it. He was able to push McKinnie to become acclimated to the game quickly after he held out until the 11th hour to sign a rookie deal. He has been a starting left tackle ever since.

If McKinnie has any desire to reclaim his career, Tice may be the guy that can get that done. Few people in the NFL know McKinnie better than Tice and, if anyone can talk sense into him to get the most out of his potential, it might be the guy who brought him into the league.

Given their current space under the 2011 salary cap, the Bears could sign McKinnie to a team-friendly deal, put him on the PUP list and have a couple months to see if the reclamation project is worth undertaking. If it works, it could be a masterstroke for an offensive line that allowed nine sacks in its first preseason game – prompting the family of Jay Cutler to begin a prayer vigil for his health during the regular season.

We likely haven’t seen the last of McKinnie. He won’t be a Viking again, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be potentially hanging out in the NFC North this autumn.

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.


(min.scout.com)

Bryant McKinnie still wants to play football in 2011 following a murky exit from the Minnesota Vikings due to his friendly physique. According to NFL.com's Jason La Canfora, McKinnie agent Drew Rosenhaus sent an email to teams putting the player's price tag for the upcoming season at $2.5 million. 

Bonuses included, McKinnie hasn't made that little (little!) in a season since 2003, when his cap figure reached $2.48 million.

Free agency isn't yet over by any means, and teams are finding out that their players are arriving for camp with, shall we say, injury-prone tendons and whatnot. Should a club suddenly find itself in need of a seasoned tackle, Rosenhaus might just find himself with a brand new Re: in his inbox.


(sbnation.com)

Free agent LT Bryant McKinnie reported to Vikings training camp at 386 pounds before his release.

It's not quite the rumored 400 pounds, but still an unacceptably high number for a player whose playing weight is 335. The National Football Post's Dan Pompei reports McKinnie is "so grossly out of shape that he would endanger his health by suiting up." Unless he suddenly develops an affinity for fitness he's lacked his entire career, the 32-year-old's playing days may be over.

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.


(rotoworld.com)

MANKATO, Minn. -- I came up about, oh, 85 players short Wednesday of talking to everyone on the Minnesota Vikings roster. So I can't say for sure that no one was upset by the decision to release longtime left tackle Bryant McKinnie, who reported to training camp weighing nearly 400 pounds.

Here's what I can tell you, however: Some players would have been upset if the Vikings hadn't released McKinnie.

Cornerback Antoine Winfield, for one, said he thought coach Leslie Frazier would give McKinnie a chance to get his weight and conditioning under control. But ultimately, Winfield agreed, "no one is untouchable."

Winfield added: "We all understood, everyone as professionals, that all we had to do is come in and come in shape. Coaches really had no choice but to do what they did."

The Vikings have a predominantly veteran roster, most of whom went to great lengths to stay in shape during the lockout. Winfield looked as fit and trim as ever. Left guard Steve Hutchinson said he is "in the best shape I've been in the last seven or eight years" after participating in Twin Cities workouts with six teammates. Defensive end Jared Allen, meanwhile, laughed when asked about his approach to working out this offseason.

"My philosophy is this is my job," Allen said. "This is my livelihood. You've got to assume the lockout is going to be done at some point, so it's your job to stay in shape. Everybody can find a gym."

No one blasted McKinnie nor expressed disappointment that he had left them searching for a left tackle in the first week of August. In my opinion, after watching McKinnie's immature behavior and dispassionate play for years, few of them counted him as part of the trusted core of veterans.

"You can't be mad at him," Winfield said. "I'm sure he's disappointed in himself. That's kind of embarrassing. But I think he's going to have to deal with it."

In the offseason, Winfield said, "guys do different things. Some guys relax, some guys travel. Some guys like to party. But you have to be disciplined. All you have to do is go work out, stay in some kind of shape, and perform."

McKinnie wasn't a disciplined teammate or player. That's why I don't think anyone who works as hard as Winfield, Allen or Hutchinson was really ruing his departure.

"Realistically," Hutchinson said, "if you came and showed up at camp with the hope that every player was in tip-top shape, I don't think anybody can whole-heartedly say, 'Yeah, everyone is going to be in the best shape of their life.' I'll admit, as you get older, you're not 23 years old anymore. It's hard to kind of get up maybe sometimes on your own and go run in the heat of the day, and push yourself to do the things that you would do when you're in an offseason conditioning program with all of the guys."

But that's just the point, isn't it? Hutchinson got a group together that included center John Sullivan, linebacker Heath Farwell and linebacker Chad Greenway, among others, to push each other on days when there were no conditioning coaches on top of them and no football coaches getting reports on their progress.

If you are a player who has paid the proverbial price, how much do you care about what happens to someone who didn't? And how would you have felt if that person got a free pass from training camp to do the work he should have done before it started?

You might be upset, and it's a double standard that coach Leslie Frazier avoided by quickly dispatching McKinnie. Frazier wouldn't discuss his reasoning behind the decision while speaking with reporters other than to say: "We made a decision for our organization for our organization that we thought was the best thing as we're trying to bring a world championship to Minnesota."

The Vikings could have left McKinnie on the non-football injury list for a while, hoping he would lose enough weight to regain his effectiveness by the start of the season. Frazier had a choice between extending McKinnie's career-long coddling session or standing up for the veterans who don't need or want to work in that kind of environment.

He chose the latter, and it needs no further explanation.

"Guys need to be on their jobs," Winfield said. "They're not untouchable."

Nor should they be.

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.


(espn.com)

MANKATO, Minn. - The state of the Vikings' aging and regressing offensive line was a major story entering training camp. Bryant McKinnie's release Tuesday deepened the intrigue.
The Vikings ran out of patience with McKinnie, the former No. 1 draft pick whose difficulty maintaining a reasonable weight had become an issue with the front office since he arrived in Minnesota last week.
Coach Leslie Frazier is showing his muscle early in his tenure, but with the move comes risk.
A team already facing injury problems up front just gave up one of its most talented, though underperforming, pieces. Despite playing at close to 360 pounds at the end of last season, McKinnie started 131 of 132 games since being selected seventh overall in 2002 and made a Pro Bowl in 2009.
McKinnie told celebrity gossip website TMZ after being released: "I'll definitely be ready for next season. That's not even a question."
McKinnie also told TMZ that he was placed on the reserve/non-injury list Monday after doctors said his cholesterol was too high and he had to lose weight. He spent his two days in camp doing conditioning drills on the sidelines with guard Anthony Herrera, who is rehabilitating from reconstructive knee surgery.
"This decision, while not an easy one, is in the best interests of our football team," Frazier said.

“Its been fun,” McKinnie wrote on Twitter.

Ultimately, dealing with McKinnie was no longer fun for Minnesota. He reportedly showed up to camp “extremely” out of shape and overweight, which forced the Vikings to place him on the “NFI” (non-football injury) list.  He was due $5.6 million in total pay for 2011 and his play had fallen off quite a bit in 2010.

Recently acquired Charlie Johnson is poised to replace McKinnie at left tackle later this week, although the Vikings might be in the market for more depth.

Fourteen unrestricted free-agent tackles remain on the open market, including Alex Barron from the Cowboys, Sean Locklear from the Seahawks and former Vikings tackle/guard Ryan Cook.

Before making the roster move, Frazier confirmed that Johnson, a former Indianapolis Colts lineman, would start practicing in McKinnie's place Thursday when free agents can start training camp with their new teams.
Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.


(twincities.com)

MANKATO, Minn. - Some of training camp's most pivotal moments will occur away from the action, in an empty end zone where a few orange cones rest.

Bryant McKinnie was working between those cones Monday, and he might be there for a while unless he satisfies what the Vikings are expecting from him.

Those expectations are unclear as the Vikings placed McKinnie on the non-football injury list to make sure he's "ready to play when the season rolls around."

Frazier was vague after practice about whether McKinnie has an injury or if he's concerned about something else. But when asked about the weight of McKinnie, who looks out of shape upon his return from the NFL lockout, Frazier said, "we're working on that. We're working on that."
McKinnie did not practice and spent the last part of practice running sprints between the cones with right guard Anthony Herrera, who's on the physically unable to perform list after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in November.

When walking off the practice field, McKinnie said he has "issues" and that conditioning would help those issues. Asked to elaborate, McKinnie said he could not discuss it further.

McKinnie is listed at 335 pounds, but his weight became an issue last season after he admitted he was closer to 360.

For insurance, the Vikings have signed former Indianapolis offensive lineman Charlie Johnson to a three-year contract. Johnson, 27, started 54 games for the Colts since 2006.

Early indications are that the 6-foot-4, 305-pound Johnson can provide depth at tackle or guard, but the Vikings also could be trying everything possible to push McKinnie, who is due $4.9 million in salary this season.

This wouldn't be the first time they tried that since the lockout was lifted in late July. The Chicago Sun-Times reported last week that the Vikings were making a run at New Orleans left tackle Jermon Bushrod, possibly a ploy to motivate, or even release, McKinnie.

With Herrera's uncertainty and left guard Steve Hutchinson approaching 34, the Vikings need a versatile lineman such as Johnson who can play inside or out.

Just in case.

"(McKinnie's) going to be fine," Frazier said. "We've just got to go through some things and get him ready for the things that are ahead."
Meanwhile, another high-profile Viking isn't practicing, but only for contractual reasons.

The Vikings have restructured the contract of wide receiver Bernard Berrian, who caught 28 passes last season and whose salary came with a $6-million-plus cap hit.

Berrian said he's pleased with a contract restructuring that will make him a free agent after the 2012 season. His previous deal, slated to pay him $3.9 million this season, expired after 2013.

Berrian can't practice until Thursday, when the new league year begins, because of the restructuring. Quarterback Donovan McNabb, whose deal was redone after a trade with Washington, and all Vikings free agents must wait until Thursday to hit the field.

"No, not at all," said Berrian when asked if he was upset by the thought of a restructure that often results in less money. "It was kind of up in the air. I knew in meetings they were talking about it, but when I got word from them that's when we went in and met."

Berrian declined comment on the terms of the deal, and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, was unavailable for comment.

After failing to score a touchdown for the first time since 2005 last season, Berrian and Frazier met about the possibilities in coordinator Bill Musgrave's new offense.

"I'm convinced that he knows this is the best place for him," Frazier said. "He knows we have some things around him, we have his best interest at heart. And he has a chance to really thrive in our offense."

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.


(twincities.com)

There were a few reports that emerged Thursday afternoon about the Vikings having an interest in Saints free-agent left tackle Jermon Bushrod.

The buzz about this didn't last long as the Saints were able to retain Bushrod by agreeing to a two-year contract. However, it did seem curious the Vikings were even mentioned. Minnesota has many needs and current left tackle Bryant McKinnie's play can be inconsistent, but in the free-agent frenzy of this week offensive tackle does not seem to be an area the Vikings should be spending a lot of time on.

That is unless they are looking for some type of leverage when it comes to McKinnie and his contract situation. The Vikings and all other NFL teams are going to need to be in compliance with the $120.3 million salary cap by Aug. 4, and it's likely the Minnesota brass is going to get creative to clear as much cap space as possible.

Rob Brzezinski, the Vikings vice president of football operations, is one of the best when it comes to the cap, so it wouldn't be surprising at all to see him exploring any means necessary to get this done. The Vikings started this process Thursday by releasing safety Madieu Williams (that move is believed to have saved the Vikings about $3.5 million in 2011 cap room) and defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy ($250,000).

The assumption has been -- and still should be -- that the Vikings are going to need to extend the contracts (and lessen the 2011 cap hits) of running back Adrian Peterson and linebacker Chad Greenway.

But McKinnie could be a prime candidate to have his contract re-worked, along with wide receiver Bernard Berrian. Both are clients of agent, Drew Rosenhaus.

McKinnie, who is entering his 10th NFL season, signed a seven-year, $48.5 million extension in September 2006 that included $17.25 million in new guarantees. It was a major investment and sometimes McKinnie is worth it.

McKinnie's cap number for this season is $5.4 million and he has a base salary of $4.9 million with a $500,000 roster bonus. His base salaries for the final two seasons of the contract (2012 and 2013) are $4.5 million and $4.0 million with cap numbers of $6.5 million in each year.

Could the Vikings be trying to alter those figures? Some of that may depend on what new offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave and offensive line coach Jeff Davidson think of McKinnie and have told coach Leslie Frazier and vice president of player personnel Rick Spielman.

It just seems interesting that the name of a left tackle would suddenly come up if the Vikings were completely content with McKinnie at his current price.

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.


(startribune.com)

You know, I hate to keep hammering on the series that Pro Football Focus is doing on pass blocking, but it flies so directly in the face of what I and so many others said about the Minnesota offensive line during the course of the season that I can't help but do it. It's got a Rosemary's Baby sort of appeal. . .I just can't look away from it.

Today the folks at PFF have started getting into individual pass blocking numbers, starting with offensive tackles. Now, I know what you're thinking. . ."Okay, how awful were Bryant McKinnie and Phil Loadholt, exactly?" The answer is "not nearly as bad as we all think they were."

The formula that PFF uses to compute their "Pass Blocking Efficiency" looks like this:

((Sacks + (0.75 * Hits) + (0.75 * Hurries)) / Pass Pro Snaps) * 100

So, starting over on the left side with Bryant McKinnie, PFF gives him a Pass Blocking Efficiency rating of 4.57 (lower numbers are better, in this case). That puts him in the top ten in left offensive tackles in the NFL, tying him with Chad Clifton. . .who, if you buy into the stupid, non-sensical list that the NFL Network has been running for the past couple of months, is one of the top 100 players at any position in the NFL. Don't get me wrong, we know that McKinnie gets beat. . .and usually when he gets beaten, he gets beaten badly (see also: Corey Wootton damn near decapitating Brett Favre during last year's game at TCF Bank Stadium), but most of the time he's actually not that bad.

Now it's entirely possible that you're saying to yourself, "Okay, so McKinnie might not be terrible. . .but Phil Loadholt was a disaster, wasn't he?" Well. . .not really. His PBE in 2010 was 5.14, which puts him at 14th, or in the top half of offensive right tackles in the NFL. Given that Loadholt suffered a pretty serious shoulder injury at the end of 2009, played through it, had surgery in the off-season and wasn't able to lift weights until a week or so before 2010's training camp got started, his drop-off in performance from a pretty good rookie season is understandable. As long as he doesn't suffer anything significant this off-season or anything, I would expect the 2011 Loadholt to be closer to the 2009 version than the 2010 version.

Tomorrow, PFF is going to bring us the interior lineman rankings. . .and I'm afraid that this is where it could start getting a bit ugly for our favorite team.


(dailynorsemen.com)

As part of his offseason goal to slim down, Vikings left tackle Bryant McKinnie is frequently getting tennis lessons from friend and nine-time Grand Slam tennis champion Venus Williams in South Florida.

McKinnie played at around 360 pounds last season, and his goal is to get below 340. His current weight is about 355.

As part of his offseason training, McKinnie is using tennis to improve his lateral quickness. He is pleased with his backhand. The hobby has turned into a passion.

"It's so amazing how much you can improve," McKinnie said this week.

McKinnie jokes that he prefers working with Venus instead of her sister Serena, owner of 13 Grand Slams, because "she's a better teacher."
The two have worked together for the past few weeks.

"One thing I learned with Venus, you have to be ready to work for a long lesson," McKinnie said. "She tires you out."

McKinnie, who made a 10-day trip to Uganda and Rwanda in March as part of Pros for Africa and the Starkey Hearing Foundation, said he's been motivated and humbled by the trip.

"I'm ready to conquer a whole bunch of different things," McKinnie said. "Seeing how they live and how grateful they are for everything they have and doing what they can to survive makes you realize, maybe I'm not working hard enough. That made me think about training camp — sometimes you don't want to do it, but we get to play football for a living."

McKinnie trains in Miami, where Vikings teammates Sidney Rice and Bernard Berrian also have worked out in recent months.

Players from various teams are organizing impromptu minicamps because the NFL lockout prevents contact with coaches, but the Vikings do not appear to have a unified meeting place.

Like many veteran NFL players, McKinnie is due an offseason workout bonus that has been jeopardized by the lockout.

McKinnie said he's hoping for a resolution before worrying about his $250,000 bonus.

"I'm assuming that something should be worked out at least by July," McKinnie said. "People would go crazy if they don't have football."

(twincities.com)

Welcome to our 1st annual and long overdue proCane Rankings where we look back at the 2010 NFL season and rank the 43 proCanes that took snaps in 2010 (except for Sinorice Moss who was placed on IR before the start of the season).

Stay tuned as we countdown from number 43 to number 1. Our rankings are based on each player’s performance last year. In August we’ll go ahead and re-rank the player’s based on our 2011 expectations. For now read our review of each player’s 2010 season and where they rank overall. Enjoy!

To read our rankings of players 43-35, click here.

To read our rankings of players 34-26, click here.

25. Jeremy Shockey TE New Orleans Saints/Carolina Panthers: In Shockey’s nine-year career he has not once been able to play all 16 games in a single season and unfortunately 2010 was no different. Shockey was only able to play in 13 games which ultimately led to the emergence of fellow proCane TE Jimmy Graham and Shockey’s release in the offseason and signing with the Panthers. Shockey accumulated a career low 408 yards receiving, and career lows in receptions (31) and yards per reception (31.2). Shockey will be reunited for the 2011 season with proCane offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski in Carolina. If he can stay healthy and the Panthers can find a quarterback, Shockey could have a big season because Chudzinski’s offenses emphasize the TE.

24. Bryant McKinnie LT Minnesota Vikings: After making the Pro Bowl in 2009, but not being voted to the Pro Bowl in 2010, most would think McKinnie did not have as good of a 2010 campaign, but on the contrary McKinnie according to himself and coaches played more consistently in 2010 while protecting Favre’s backside as well as Tarvaris Jackson’s. McKinnie still needs to lose some weight this offseason to improve his quickness versus edge rushers and vowed to do that with a personal trainer, especially since he will be seeing Julius Peppers twice again this season.

23. Willis McGahee RB Baltimore Ravens: McGahee the last two seasons has been stuck behind Ray Rice as the number two back for the Ravens. As a result in 2010 McGahee had his worst year statistically with only 380 yards rushing and 5 TDs on the ground and 1 TD through the air on only 100 rushing attempts. McGahee in 2009 had totaled 14 TDs as he was the main red-zone threat for the Ravens, but wasn’t featured as much inside the 20-yard line in 2010. McGahee can still be a starter in the NFL and is approaching free agency this year where it looks like he will not be resigned by the Ravens. Look for him to have a bigger impact in 2011.

22. Jimmy Graham TE New Orleans Saints: After not appearing in the first two games of his rookie season, Jimmy Graham slowly made his presence known for the Saints as he topped 70 yards receiving in two games and finished the 2010 season with five touchdowns as he subbed for fellow injured proCane Jeremy Shockey. Graham performed so well in 2010 and showed so much potential that the Saints released Shockey this offseason and plan on using Graham as their feature TE in 2011.

21. Rocky McIntosh LB Washington Redskins: McIntosh had his best season statistically with 73 tackles despite playing for the first time in his career in a 3-4 defense as the RILB. McIntosh has had a solid and somewhat underrated career and turned many heads by showing his versatility and playing so well in a 3-4 defense as well as versus the pass. Most seem to think he won’t be with the Redskins next year, but look for him to have no trouble signing with another team and picking up where he left off.

20. Kenny Phillips S NY Giants: Phillips played in only two games in 2009 because of the need of microfracture surgery on one of his knees. Many at the time said Phillips’ career was over and he would never be able recover after such a serious injury and surgery. Not only did Phillips come back, but he had a solid season in his first season playing beside fellow proCane Antrel Rolle. Phillips played in all 16 games and started 15 of them. Though he only recorded one interception he had career highs in tackles (77) and pass deflections (5). Phillips did admit that it took him a while to feel 100% physically and mentally but he did stay healthy and put up good numbers which leads us to believe he is in for a big 2011 season.

19. Antrel Rolle S NY Giants: In his first season with the Giants, Rolle was named to his second consecutive Pro Bowl and had a solid though not spectacular season for the Giants. Rolle started all 16 games and the fact that he had only one interception may be misleading as he played a lot closer to the line of scrimmage than most safeties. Look for Rolle to become more comfortable in the Giants’ defense and as long as he continues to play well on the field and create less headlines off of it, he and Phillips could become one of the best safety tandems in the NFL.

18. Eric Winston RT Houston Texans: The only explanation we can come up with for Winston not making a Pro Bowl yet, is that he plays for the small market Texans. Winston has been stellar at RT for the Texans and 2010 was no exception. Winston played at an All-Pro level during 2010 with one exception versus the Tennessee Titans where he was beat for two sacks. Look for 2011 to be an even better season for Winston and the Texans, and look for him to make his long overdue first Pro Bowl.

17. Brandon Meriweather S New England Patriots: Meriweather made his second consecutive Pro Bowl after a good 2010 season, though he was inconsistent at times. Meriweather started 13 of the 16 games and in three games only record one tackle while versus the Colts, for example, recorded 7 tackles and an interception. His inconsistency led to him sharing time with the other Patriot safeties as his numbers did slip from his 2008 and 2009 seasons. The Patriots do expect more from Meriweather, and look for him to step up in the 2011 season with the increased competition at the safety position.

16. Chris Myers C Houston Texans: Despite having a solid 2009 season Myers did take a lot of heat in the offseason from Texan fans mainly because of the lasting image of Kris Jenkins throwing him to the turf towards the end of that season. Myers followed up his solid 2009 campaign with a stellar 2010 season where he was ranked as the #3 center in the league by ProFootballFocus.com and anchors a Texans offensive line which at one point featured three proCane starters; Myers, Eric Winston, and Rashad Butler. Look for Myers to continue his stellar play in 2011 and hopefully make his Pro Bowl debut.

Check back tomorrow to see which proCanes were ranked 15th through 8th!

Pros for Africa and the Starkey Hearing Foundation have teamed to deliver more than 22,000 hearing aids to people in Africa during a month-long charity mission with the help of some of the NFL's biggest stars. ESPN.com caught up with the mission in Uganda and traveled with the Starkey/Pros for Africa team through Rwanda.

Vikings tackle Bryant McKinnie was one of the NFL players on the trip, and he talked with "First Take" about what he took away from the mission.

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.



(espn.com)

NFL superstars, including Adrian Peterson and Bryant McKinnie of the Minnesota Vikings, recently returned from Africa where they lent a little muscle and a lot of heart.

NFL stars Larry Fitzgerald, Vernon Davis, Vontae Davis, Santonio Holmes, Roy Williams, Gerald McCoy, Derrick Morgan and Tommie Harris were among the other players in Uganda as part of Pros For Africa.
The players dug water wells for schools, helped fit more than 3,000 people with hearing aides and passed out some mislabeled championship shirts, bearing the names and logos of Super Bowl and the conference championship losers.

"I will remember this experience for the rest of my life,” McKinnie told TMZ. "I will most definitely be back next year."

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.



(myfoxtwincities.com)

This is a story about NFL players that has nothing to do with labor, lockouts and lawyers.

It's a story about Vikings tackle Bryant McKinnie, yet it shines a light on something other than TMZ, Twitter or the size of the big man's Hollywood bar tab.

No, this is a story about 10 NFL players and their time spent helping on two charitable missions in Africa this month.

"Life-changing missions," said Brady Forseth, executive director of the Eden Prairie-based Starkey Hearing Foundation.

These are the kind of missions that have seen a poor Rwandan family walk 30 kilometers so a young boy can hear his mother's voice for the first time in his life. These are the kind of missions that have seen a 113-year-old woman hear for the first time since she was 52. This particular Starkey mission will see more than 22,000 free state-of-the-art hearing aids and a year's supply of batteries delivered in just 24 days.

"You see a life change right before your eyes," Forseth said. "You experience it and, well, sometimes there aren't enough tissues in the Kleenex box. For them or you."

McKinnie, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald Jr. are among the players who left this week for Africa. Peterson is one of the co-founders of "Pros For Africa," a non-profit relief organization that helps provide basic needs for children in Africa.

Fitzgerald, a Minneapolis native, is a supporter of the Starkey Hearing Foundation. So when the Pros For Africa and the hearing foundation ended up scheduling separate missions to Africa this month, an All-Pro union of helping hands was formed.

The other players are Vernon Davis (49ers), Vontae Davis (Dolphins), Roy Williams (Bengals), Gerald McCoy (Buccaneers), Derrick Morgan (Titans), Santonio Holmes (Jets) and Tommie Harris (free agent).

Thursday through Saturday, the group will be in Gulu, Uganda, helping workers from the Starkey Hearing Foundation fit children and adults with hearing aids. They'll move on to Ruhengeri, Rwanda, Sunday and Monday.

"AP [Peterson] got me on board," McKinnie said Monday on his way to the airport. "He's been over there before. He told me all about it and it was an experience that I wanted to be a part of."

McKinnie doesn't get much good publicity, if any. He has served a four-game suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy.
He was dismissed from a Pro Bowl for not showing up. And while he was AWOL in South Beach, he tweeted like a thirsty teenage spring breaker. Many, including yours truly, roasted him for it.

There's also the recent TMZ report of McKinnie's $100,000 bar tab at a Hollywood nightclub during the NBA All-Star weekend.
"Who said it was true?" McKinnie asks when the bar bill is mentioned.

TMZ, you say.

"So everything TMZ says is true?" McKinnie asks.

Touché, you say. And, besides, where does it say that McKinnie's bar tab is anyone else's business?

Now back to Africa.

"I had no idea what it took just to prepare to go there," McKinnie said. "I took 10 shots. Eight of them in one day."

For the record, those aren't shots of tequila.

"It's for all kinds of things, they told me," McKinnie said. "Malaria, hepatitis ... a bunch of things you don't want to get while you're over there."

There are pills to take before, during and after the trip to Africa. There's a video you have to watch, too.

"On the video, they're talking about monkeys jumping out of trees onto you," McKinnie said. "So you got to take a rabies shot because maybe a monkey will jump out of a tree and bite you. That's crazy."

McKinnie has a publicist now. But he says concerns about his image had nothing to do with agreeing to go on a mission to Africa.

"You kidding?" he says. "To think I'll be able to give a kid fresh water or be able to sit there and see him hear his mom's voice for the first time. Who wouldn't want to do that? Just in general, I think this will be a life-changing experience for all the NFL guys going over."

Now we return you to the lockout and lawyers. Unfortunately.

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.



(startribune.com)

By now I'm sure you've heard about TMZ's report of Bryant McKinnie dropping $100,000 on a bar tab during NBA All-Star Weekend.

Though a player can do whatever he wants with his money, I was inclined to ask McKinnie about it last week when I heard a radio station talking about the story days after the Feb. 20 publishing date. People seemed fascinated that a player would drop that kind of money in one night, no matter the salary (McKinnie is due $4.9 million next season).

Anyway, McKinnie was gracious enough to tell me the story from his perspective.

In short, the story was "exaggerated a lot," he said.

McKinnie was at a concert in Los Angeles for rapper and friend, Rick Ross, who gave McKinnie a shout-out from the stage. Seconds later, Ross made a reference to spending $100,000 on bottles in the club.

Apparently TMZ thought Ross was talking about McKinnie spending the money, he said.

"All of a sudden that became my tab somehow," McKinnie said. "Like seriously, at the time i was laughing thinking it was in good fun until people started talking about it and took it a little too far."

Added McKinnie: "I don't even see a possible way to consume that much alcohol by 2 a.m."

So, in case you were wondering, there's McKinnie's side of things. McKinnie's bar tab amount is uncertain, but he assures it wasn't close to $100K.

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.



(twincities.com)

Minnesota Vikings superstar Bryant McKinnie was the ULTIMATE baller during a celebrity party at a Hollywood nightclub Thursday night -- dropping more than $100,000 on his bar tab ... TMZ has learned.

Sources at the NBA All-Star "Kick Off Party" at MyHouse nightclub -- hosted by rapper Rick Ross and model Rosa Acosta -- tell us the 6'8", 335 lb lineman ordered more than 15 bottles of expensive champagne ... among other things.

We're told some of the bottles of champagne were so big -- the entire club stopped to watch the wait staff bring them to Bryant's area to crack 'em open.

FYI -- Bryant is reportedly due to make $4.9 million in 2011 (barring a strike).

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.



(tmz.com)

It was a little more than a year ago when Bryant McKinnie pulled off the unthinkable – he got kicked off the NFC Pro Bowl team because it seems practice and team meetings were not at his hanging spot – KOD’s.

McKinnie got the boot because he spent the week tweeting about the good times he had at the strip joint in Miami. The Minnesota Vikings left tackle hasn’t done anything to live down his large partying image.

Mount McKinnie got down Thursday night at a club in Hollywood. According to the Web site TMZ.com, McKinnie ran up a bar tab of $100,000 at a kickoff party for the NBA’s all-star weekend at MyHouse nightclub. He ordered more than 15 bottles of champagne … and then some.

Earlier this offseason, McKinnie tweeted about the work he was doing with a personal trainer. Perhaps he was just unwinding a little in Los Angeles.

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.



(nationalfootballpost.com)

(AllHipHop News) Minnesota Vikings player Bryant McKinnie will spend his time during the off-season focusing on the growth of his new label, B Major Music Group.

The Miami-based company has signed rapper Yung Berg for production and Freddy P. from the original Making The Band.

The NFL player is currently working with a stable of artists he "hand picked" due to their talent and potential success.

"I decided to start a record label because I've always had a passion for music, being a music executive has always been a career goal of mine, and with starting a label from the ground up, and working directly with the artist as well as the staff on a day to day basis," McKinnie explained to AllHipHop.com. "I honestly feel like I am well on my way to developing a concrete foundation for a first rated record label in the near future."

In addition to Yung Berg and Freddy P., McKinnie has signed a female rapper/singer named Guyana and an R&B singer named TyRell.

According to McKinnie, he is not just another athlete with a recording company.

He plans on taking the growth of the Miami label seriously, which is one of the reasons he signed Yung Berg, who has a variety of production credits under his belt with artists like Eve, Ray J. and Sean "Diddy" Combs.

"Yung Berg came to me initially to assist with the production for my artists, he saw the working environment and immediately wanted to become a part of the family," McKinnie told AllHipHop.com.

According to Yung Berg, he signed with McKinnie's fledgling company because of the NFL player's support and trust in the producer's vision for the label's music.

“I decided to work with Bryant because he believes in me and my music expertise, with that being said I have no choice but to be a part of the BMajor Music Group movement," Yung Berg told AllHipHop.com. "I also believe that Bryant has a good ear for good quality music with value. Bryant is a true believer in the “underdog” he takes chances on people and that’s rare in music industry, even better in life….. period.”

B Major Music Group has also tapped industry power player Tony Neal, who will help with marketing and promotion for the company's upcoming releases.

"My involvement with BMajor Music Group is simple," Tony Neal explained. "Beside Bryant being very serious about his label & the artists he works with, I want to use my industry influence to show that an athlete can also have a successful situation also."

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.



(allhiphop.com)

After the fallout of being kicked off last year's Pro Bowl team for unexcused absences from practice, Vikings left tackle Bryant McKinnie wanted an undisputed Pro Bowl on his résumé.

That opportunity is still alive, though slightly.

McKinnie confirmed in a text that he's a third alternate for the 2011 Pro Bowl in Hawaii, joining teammates Antoine Winfield, Chad Greenway and Jared Allen as alternates.

Making the final roster would require multiple injuries or withdrawals by NFC offensive linemen, but McKinnie said he improved from a season ago.

When McKinnie checked the Pro Bowl voting in December, he was fourth among left tackles. That made him proud.

"I needed to come out this year and play at a high level so there couldn't be any talk about, 'Well, he shouldn't have played anyway,' " McKinnie said in an interview with the Pioneer Press last month. "I wanted to come out and show that I can play at a Pro Bowl level consistently regardless of if I go or not. I still feel I'm one of the elite left tackles in the game."

After being released from the Pro Bowl team in January 2010, McKinnie issued a statement disclosing knee and ankle injuries that prevented him from fulfilling his Pro Bowl duties.

Speculation persisted as to why he missed the practices, but McKinnie still holds true to his story today.

"There were things that took place that people never really knew what really took place," McKinnie said. "I just said leave it alone, so I left it alone."

McKinnie didn't dominate this season for the Vikings, but he was serviceable on a makeshift offensive line.

He said he was a more consistent player in 2010, but he fell victim to his team's 6-10 record when it came to Pro Bowl voting.

"I take pride in the fact people are actually acknowledging I am having actually a better season this year than last year," McKinnie said.

(twincities.com)

As you might remember, the constant changing of venues, coaching changes and scheduling changes kept the last month of the season quite eventful.

There was less time for player features because of the constant news churning. Well, the blog is the perfect place to spill some lost notes from the locker room, right?

I revisited a chat I had with left tackle Bryant McKinnie in December that I found interesting. Well, I found it interesting a month ago, but I never got around to writing it.

Here goes an abbreviated version of what I had planned to write.

After the fallout of being kicked off last year's Pro Bowl team for unexcused absences from practice, Vikings left tackle Bryant McKinnie wanted undisputed Pro Bowl on his resume.

For the most part, McKinnie felt he did just that by having a more productive season than in 2009 despite not making the 2010 Pro Bowl roster. When McKinnie checked the voting back in December, he was fourth among left tackles. That made him proud.

"I needed to come out this year and play at a high level so there couldn't be any talk about, 'Well, he shouldn't have played anyway,'" said McKinnie of 2009. "I wanted to come out and show that I can play at a Pro Bowl level consistently regardless of if I go or not. I still feel I'm one of the elite left tackles in the game."

Once released from the Pro Bowl team, McKinnie issued a statement disclosing knee and ankle injuries that prevented him from fulfilling his Pro Bowl duties. He still holds true to that story today.

"There were things that took place that people never really knew what really took place," McKinnie said. "I just said leave it alone, so I left it alone."

McKinnie didn't dominate all season for the Vikings, but he was serviceable most of the time on a makeshift Vikings O-line. McKinnie said he played better in 2010 than the year before, but he fell victim to his team's poor record in the Pro Bowl voting.

Left tackles on better teams get more credit.

"I take pride in the fact people are actually acknowledging I am having actually better season this year than last year," McKinnie said.

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.



(twincities.com)

On his offseason workout plans: "Normally, I take a little bit (of time off). This year, I'm not going to take that long. I'm going to take a day. I want to drop some pounds and get back to my college size, and come back and get back even better. In the past, I had injuries I kept to myself. I had to chill for, like, three weeks. How much do I want (to drop) to get to my college size? About 20 pounds. (It's for) quickness, endurance, just a lot of stuff. I'm getting older, too. When you get older, you have to make sure you handle those things. I just hired a personal trainer to travel with me in the offseason, even if I'm on vacation. I'll get up and get these workouts in."

On the 2010 season: "I'm glad it's over. It was just a rollercoaster ride. I feel like everybody was able to hang in there and fight, but this just was a long journey. The stadium collapsing, that definitely stands out to me. And then having to play at the University of Minnesota's facility, that stands out the most right now."

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.



(twincities.com)

Left tackle Bryant McKinnie said he plans to take off less time than usual before resuming training and hopes to lose about 20 pounds to get back to his college playing weight -- the same goal he set and apparently failed to reach in training camp.

"In the past, I've been having like injuries I just kept to myself and then had to like chill for three weeks," McKinnie said, "and then it ended up turning into like a month-and-a-half. So, this year, I'm not going to do that."

To prove he's serious, McKinnie -- 31 years old and listed at 335 pounds -- said he has hired a personal trainer to travel with him "even if I'm on vacation. Get up and get these workouts in. So, we can do like 'celebrity fit club' if y'all want."

Click here to order Bryant McKinnnie’s proCane Rookie Card.



(espn.com)

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Before the Bears first played the Vikings this season, much was made of how defensive end Julius Peppers dominated tackle Bryant McKinnie last season while Peppers was a member of the Panthers.

McKinnie gave up a sack, was whistled for a hold and a false start and allowed Peppers to put plenty of pressure on Brett Favre in Carolina's 26-7 win one year ago Monday. McKinnie was benched in the third quarter of that game.

"Nobody talked about the injuries I had in that game," McKinnie said. "I had an ankle injury and I had plantar fasciitis. I couldn't plant with my left ankle. I didn't make a big deal about it. I just went out there and played. You catch me healthy and it's a different story."

Peppers did not get a sack when the Bears defeated the Vikings 27-13 on Nov. 14, but he did have two quarterback pressures. Peppers has at least one sack in each of the last four games and leads the team with eight.

"I think a lot of the teams they were playing earlier, the quarterbacks were releasing the ball faster and he wasn't getting the time to get there," McKinnie observed. "He was always close before. I mean, he's been playing at a high level all season."

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.



(usatoday.com)

Minnesota Vikings left tackle Bryant McKinnie had a career highlight last season by earning a Pro Bowl spot, but he also had a career lowlight when he was benched after a rough December outing against Julius Peppers.

Asked if he's looking forward to the rematch, McKinnie said in an e-mail, ''Hell, yeah.''

The most memorable part of a 26-7 loss to the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte was the postgame clash between Vikings coach Brad Childress and quarterback Brett Favre. But McKinnie struggled against Peppers -- then with the Panthers -- and committed one false start and allowed one sack and several quarterback pressures.

''It was a bad game, and it bothered me,'' McKinnie said. ''I didn't feel I was at my best.''

But McKinnie said he was battling injuries, including plantar fasciitis, and he feels much better this time around.

''I think it'll be a better matchup for me,'' McKinnie said.

Until then, McKinnie had never been benched at any level.

During a conference call with Minnesota reporters, Peppers dodged a question about his dominant performance against McKinnie.

''I really don't want to get into talking about last year,'' Peppers said. ''That was last year. It's a whole new season against players that have improved.

''I've improved in different things. I'm playing on a different team, different scheme.''

Still, Peppers has notched five sacks against McKinnie in five career games.

After the Panthers game, Childress told reporters the Vikings should have given McKinnie more help.

''That's on me,'' Childress said at the time. ''We didn't do a good enough job with getting him help.''

McKinnie said he doesn't know yet if he's going to get help or deal with Peppers one-on-one. But the Vikings left tackle said Peppers has looked as good as ever, ranking him among the league's best with teammate Jared Allen and Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney.
However, McKinnie added that he also has improved.

''I feel like I'm having a better season than last year,'' he said.

Peppers has only two sacks (Israel Idonije tops the Bears with five), but he leads the team with 12 quarterback pressures.

''We all know what I'm bringing to the team,'' Peppers said. ''While the numbers aren't popping [off] the page, the things that I'm doing when you see the tape, it's good football out there. I'm pleased with it, I think everybody else is pleased with it, and hopefully by the end of the year the numbers will be matching up to what we're seeing on the field.''
Favre has been impressed.

''One thing that obviously stands out [is Peppers],'' he said. ''I'm sure that was the intention when they went after Julius. He is a dynamic player.
''He's a game changer. I don't know what else to tell you.''

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.



(suntimes.com)

I mentioned a lot of this in the kill-a-tree edition, but it's worth mentioning again. Hats off to LT Bryant McKinnie. Many of us have beat on him since last December when Julius Peppers turned him into a revolving door en route to Favre.

McKinnie had the toughest of all line assignments with Kyle Vanden Bosch. Vanden Bosch was having a great start to the season. Two weeks ago, he had 11 tackles against the Bears. It was such an impressive performance that Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham was brought to tears while describing Vanden Bosch as the best football player he's coached in 30 years.

Well, against McKinnie, Vanden Bosch had one tackle. I haven't watched a replay and studied it yet, but I also don't remember Vanden Bosch giving Favre much pressure.

"I did my job," McKinnie said. "When I'm healthy, I do my job."

The latter comment was a reference to the Peppers game last December. McKinnie said after the season that he was playing with a foot injury, which is why he had trouble with Peppers and why he skipped out on the Pro Bowl practices.

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.



(startribune.com)

Detroit defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch led his team in tackles through two games, but left tackle Bryant McKinnie did a solid job containing him Sunday.

Vanden Bosch was credited with only one tackle and one pass breakup.

"That was something that was told to me all week long: high energy guy, very fast off the ball," McKinnie said. "I just had to come out here and match his intensity."

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.



(startribune.com)

Vikings LT Bryant McKinnie will have stitches removed from his right ring finger Friday. McKinnie dislocated the finger in Week 1 and doctors had to cut it open because they were unable to pull it back into place.


Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.



(fantasysp.com)

LT Bryant McKinnie (finger) would have returned to the game Thursday night if the Vikings had another possession late in the fourth quarter.

McKinnie took a lot of flak for being carted off with finger injury, but the Vikings cart all injured players to the locker room. Though the finger ended up being dislocated, McKinnie expects to play next week against the Dolphins.

McKinnie got a ton of grief on Twitter last night when he left the game in the fourth quarter with a dislocated finger, abandoning his team while they were trying to mount a desperate late comeback.

Actually, the grief wasn’t so much about him leaving the game, it was the fact that he had to be driven off on a cart when it was “only” a finger injury. The reason for McKinnie being carted off is because it is Vikings policy to cart all players off when they have suffered an injury.

I won’t repeat some of the things Bryant was called. Suffice it to say, fans were not thrilled with what they perceived to be a lack of toughness on McKinnie’s part.

Because Bryant is a big Twitter guy himself, I’m sure he read a lot of the stuff people were calling him. In response to these online catcalls, Bryant has posted a picture of the injured finger, which had to be worked on by a doctor this morning.



Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.

Vikings LT Bryant McKinnie was carted off the sideline with a finger injury early in the fourth quarter of Thursday's game.

McKinnie's was done for the night with less than 10 minutes remaining. Ryan Cook entered with Phil Loadholt taking over on Brett Favre's blindside as the Vikings try to mount a comeback.

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.



(rotoworld.com)

The Vikings play 16 regular-season games, but tonight's opener in New Orleans against a Saints team that ended its 2009 season in January in the Superdome is anything but only one of 16 games.

"It's a little more than that," offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie said with a smile. "(Last season), it was like you're in a fight with somebody and you're winning the fight, then one knockout blow just takes you out."

This time, the 6-foot-8, 335-pound McKinnie said the Vikings' offensive line needs to do a better job of protecting quarterback Brett Favre from late hits by the Saints. Favre took a merciless beating in the 31-28 NFC title-game loss.

"They had a lot of late hits last year and some things that probably didn't get called," McKinnie said of the Saints. "So we've got to protect him all around."

McKinnie said he wasn't aware of the beating that Favre absorbed until he saw it on TV.

"When you're in the game, you're not really paying attention to that because you're blocking or doing something else," he said.

McKinnie said, because of the crowd noise in the Superdome, he'll probably wear earplugs for the rematch, as he did in last year's game.

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(twincities.com)

Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman Bryant McKinnie, who played at the University of Miami, is 6 feet 8, 335 pounds. Miami freshman offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson, who played at Cretin-Derham Hall, also is 6-8 and about 335 pounds.

McKinnie said he had nothing to do with his alma mater's recruitment of Henderson after Henderson reneged on a commitment to the University of Southern California following NCAA's sanctions against the Trojans.

"But I'm glad he's at Miami," McKinnie said. "I'm going to work with him in the offseason."

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(twincities.com)

Tackle Bryant McKinnie has been one of the most talked parts of the Minnesota Vikings -- for the right and wrong reasons. As he enters the final year of his contract, he may need to prove that he still has what it takes to hold the starting position.

McKinnie's condition has been frequently questioned, and this August is no different.

"Early on in the camp, he was doing a really nice job," said Vikings offensive coordinator Derrell Bevell. "I saw him play fast, saw him playing physical. I think some of those bigger guys, you know the heat, affects them more at times."

However, the heat will give way eventually and McKinnie will focus on football exclusively. When he does, he has some good incentive from the 2010 season. The name Julius Peppers might ring a bell.

Peppers, who is now on the Chicago Bears, so thoroughly dominated McKinnie on Dec. 20 that he was benched for the second half of the loss.

"That was just an off game I had," said McKinnie. "Of course I'm going to be a little more motivated when I play him this time. That's just a good challenge for me."

Also, with him entering the final year of his contract, the sound of money can be motivating.

"I am, am I? I didn't think of that! So, I definitely want to play well this season," laughed McKinnie.

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(wcco.com)

First, thanks to Kevin Seifert and one of his readers (Emily) over at ESPN for pointing out this halarious video.

Second, while watching it keep a close eye on some of the donations being listed on the bottom of the screen.

Third, does anyone else think this is the most effort Bryant McKinnie has put into keeping Brett Favre on the field in about a year?  I’m surprised he didn’t need Jim Kleinsasser on the stage to help him out and provide backup.

Enjoy!



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(vikingsgab.com)

Left tackle Bryant McKinnie was taken from the field late in the second session after being overcome by the heat. The Vikings athletic training staff quickly tended to McKinnie as he knelt on the field, putting cool packs on his neck and back. They then took him into a trailer just off the practice field to cool down. McKinnie emerged after about 15 minutes and returned to the locker room.

The Vikings, who experienced the tragedy of offensive lineman Korey Stringer's death because of complications from heat stroke in August 2001, have been extremely proactive in making sure their players are hydrated properly and ready for the summer heat and humidity.

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(startribune.com)

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The Sporting News is busy counting down to training camp by breaking down each roster and trying to provide a unique preview of sorts.

For example, middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley has their vote for breakout player of the year for the purple and gold.  Also, they predict that without Favre there is virtually no chance of the Vikings playing in February.

The most interesting portion of the story, however, is under the “Opponent’s View” section.  In this section, an unnamed opponent gives his take on the Vikings and it isn’t pretty:

You know what, their offensive line is not that good. They’re way overrated. It’s unbelievable. If they didn’t have Brett Favre, the number of times he gets them out of trouble is amazing. Left tackle Bryant McKinnie, it’s a joke that he made the Pro Bowl. A joke. …

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(nflgridirongab.com)

Bryant McKinnie’s offseason started a little sooner than he wanted. First there was the overtime loss in the NFC Championship Game, which was followed by the Pro Bowl flap in which he was dismissed from the NFC team when he didn’t report to practice late in the week.

McKinnie, the eight-year veteran Vikings tackle, made his first Pro Bowl in February, but after missing practices on that Thursday and Friday, he was dismissed from the team. He said he talked to a trainer for the NFC Pro Bowl team on the phone and the two were attempting to meet that Friday evening, but that never happened.

McKinnie was criticized for missing the practices but also being able to send messages to his Twitter account about a party he was attending at a night club that lasted into the morning before his first skipped practice.

When all the dust had settled, McKinnie revealed that he was also dealing with plantar fasciitis, a painful condition in the feet. This week, McKinnie said that ailment is improving.

“I’m still working on it, but it’s nowhere near what it was coming out of the season. On Twitter I even said I had to get my feet up, take some medicine like that,” the 6-foot-8, 335-pound McKinnie said. “It’s a lot better. (The doctor) just told me, ‘Don’t walk around bare-footed’ or not really supposed to wear slides in there. I’m supposed to get orthodics for my shoes.”

McKinnie and guard Anthony Herrera were both at Winter Park on Wednesday to take part in some of the organized team activities (OTAs). Like most of the starting veterans, they joined their younger teammates for stretching and then returned to the building for rehab and weight training.

But, unlike a lot of the other starters who are recovering from injury, McKinnie and Herrera returned to the field later in practice. They participated in some of the team cross-work and blitz segments after the individual technique work was done.

“Individual is more showing technique and I guess they thought we’d been there long enough that we have an idea of how to get the technique part down. Just doing some extra running to get the cardio right,” McKinnie said.

McKinnie was asked if he’s bulked up or done anything different this year and he joked that a lot of people have asked him that. “I must look heavier because every day somebody else says that, ‘You look a little heavy,’ like the jersey is stretched out,” he said.

Truth is, he doesn’t look much different than he did one year ago, when he started on his journey to his first Pro Bowl season. But in order to get there, he had to battle through ankle and feet injuries. However, he wasn’t alone.

Every starter on the offensive line was dealing with varying degrees of injury that could have knocked them out of action – in addition to McKinnie’s ailments, Steve Hutchinson and Herrera were dealing with shoulder injuries, John Sullivan had an ankle problem and Phil Loadholt had shoulder and ankle injuries.

“I know a lot of people took care of the injuries with the offseason too. That’s why you see Hutch and Sully in there doing the rehab, the running and lifting stuff,” McKinnie said. “As long as everybody’s healthy, that’s my whole thing.”

McKinnie isn’t completely healthy yet, but he’s hoping to get there and regain the confidence of his teammates.

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(min.scout.com)

Vikings left tackle Bryant McKinnie knows the importance of Friday's ruling regarding Kevin Williams and Pat Williams.

"That's great news!" he said via text message of the news that the Williams Wall would be in place for the 2010 season after Hennepin County Judge Gary Larson kept in place an injunction that protects the Vikings' defensive tackles from suspension.

With the Williamses in place along the defensive front, McKinnie feels more optimistic than ever about the upcoming season.

"Of course! We pretty much have our team back in full," he texted.

He's right. On offense and defense, 21 of the 22 starters are under contract. Defensive end Ray Edwards is the lone exception, and he's a restricted free agent who's expected to sign at some point during this offseason.

Now the biggest question facing the Vikings is the future of quarterback Brett Favre, who reportedly had surgery Friday on his injured left ankle and should be ready to play when the regular season starts.

He certainly has plenty of incentive, starting with a rematch of last season's NFC championship game at New Orleans, scheduled for Sept. 9.

The Williamses will be on the field for that game, as well as Saints defensive end Will Smith, who tested positive for the same banned diuretic as the Vikings' defensive tackles in 2008. The NFL has avoided suspending Smith while the Williamses' lawsuit against the league is decided.

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(twincities.com)

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&brand=foxsports&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:6bf8edc5-e007-4726-b56a-ef3a99ae4db9&showPlaylist=true&from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_videosearch&fg=everyzing" target="_new" title="McKinnie eager for 2010 season">Video: McKinnie eager for 2010 season</a>

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(foxsports.com)

It will be interesting whether the Vikings consider trading left tackle Bryant McKinnie, who has disappointed them with off-field behavior, for a draft pick or player. Washington or Oakland would seem logical suitors. Phil Loadholt, the Vikings' second-round draft pick last year, has shown he could move into McKinnie's spot if needed.

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(twincities.com)

We've bashed Minnesota left tackle Bryant McKinnie a few times this offseason, in some cases a result of his prolific use of Twitter. So I think it's only fair to pass along a series of tweets McKinnie issued Friday about a community service project he has initiated, one that struck me as particularly warm and original.

I'll let the tweets speak for themselves and carry us into the weekend:

I'm on my way 2 the school 2 surprise the girl we choose 2 take care of her prom. I'm gonna fill u guys n on her story.

Found a girl who is a Senior n High School,has good grades and a good role model. Right now her mother is n the hospital battling cancer

And she is left 2 take care oif her 2 younger siblings. A lot of there money goes 2 household bills and mother's hospital bills so that

Makes it hard 4 extra money 4 her 2 enjoy her senior prom! That's where I come n! I had ppl research 4 the perfect candidate and she won!

I will be paying 4 her entire prom from clothes 2 make-up, 2 transportation. On her Prom nite I will go with her 2 the hospital so her [mom]

Can see her dressed up 4 the prom! We will be filming this whole process, so I will let yall know 4 sure when this will air.

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(espn.com)

Here is a video Bryant McKinnie broadcasted over UStream of a BBQ he threw at his house. The video features McKinnie, Edgerrin James, Jeremy Shockey, Vernon Carey, Katrina Campins and many more! We thank Katrina for sending us the link to the video.



Click here to order Bryant McKinnie's proCane Rookie Card.

Vikings left tackle Bryant McKinnie had a nightmarish performance against Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers in a 26-7 loss last season.

McKinnie was benched after giving up two sacks and being called for two penalties as Peppers kept him on his heels all game. McKinnie later said his technique got "out of whack" and said he was playing on an injured foot.

McKinnie now must face Peppers twice a season after he signed with the Chicago Bears as a free agent. McKinnie was asked whether he's excited or worried about having Peppers in the same division during a live chat on NFL.com on Thursday.

"First off, I was hurt when I played against him," McKinnie wrote. "I'm really excited to play against him again and get another shot at that. I'm looking forward to playing him twice per season."

McKinnie also weighed in on the Vikings needs in the draft when asked what is the team's biggest need for improvement this season.

"Probably the safety position," McKinnie wrote. "We could use some help there. As a team, I would like to see us improve on penalties. Our special teams was strong last year too."

Like most everyone else, McKinnie also said he believe Brett Favre will return next season. You can read the transcript from the live chat right here.

-- Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell is scheduled to attend the Pro Day workout of Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen today. Clausen is widely regarded as the No. 2 quarterback in the draft but there has been speculation that he could fall in the first round after Washington traded for Donovan McNabb. 

UPDATE: McKinnie received national criticism for blowing off the Pro Bowl and has been the target of criticism this offseason, including on this blog. But we feel it's only fair to also make note of a heartfelt gesture McKinnie made to help a young girl in a tough situation.

McKinnie tweeted about it this morning and he wrote in a text to us that he's fine if we share it here with his quotes.

Here was his tweet in full:
"Found a girl who is a Senior n High School, has good grades and a good role model. Right now her mother is n the hospital battling cancer. ... And she is left 2 take care of her 2 younger siblings. A lot of there money goes 2 household bills and mother's hospital bills so that ... Makes it hard 4 extra money 4 her 2 enjoy her senior prom! That's where I come n! I had ppl research 4 the perfect candidate and she won! ... I will be paying 4 her entire prom from clothes 2 make-up, 2 transportation. On her Prom nite I will go with her 2 the hospital so her [mom] ... Can see her dressed up 4 the prom! We will be filming this whole process, so I will let yall know 4 sure when this will air."

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(startribune.com)

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was asked Wednesday about why Bryant McKinnie was “fined” for not participating in the Pro Bowl. McKinnie said he had an injury that he thought he could play through, but his injury concerns weren’t relayed to the NFC coaching staff in a timely manner and therefore the NFC squad didn’t have enough time to find a replacement for him. McKinnie had to pay back almost $5,000 in Pro Bowl expenses and forfeit his Pro Bowl check.

“I don’t know the specifics on it. Our staff was handling the specifics, so I can’t talk to the specifics of whether we fined him or didn’t fine him,” Goodell said. “Believe it or not, there are certain things that I don’t get involved with and that’s not one of them. But obviously when we have an NFL event, we want everyone to participate in it as they are obligated to do. It’s part of their contract. It’s part of their obligation.”

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(min.scout.com)

Venus Williams has tackled some pretty large challenges in her day. Racism, sexism and bad fashion sense to name a few.

But none compare to the 6'8, 350-pound mountain of a man known as Bryant McKinnie. Actually, in this case, it is McKinnie who might be shaking in his boots.

The two South Florida athletes are expected to go mano y hermano on the tennis court in a Battle of the Sexes that will probably be pretty one-sided. It's Billie Jean King versus Bobby Riggs, kind of.

And Williams says she has been practicing for the challenge, too - left-handed.

"It's called the Williams Invitational," Venus said. "I'm playing left-handed so it evens the field. My forehand is pretty mean. My serve is nonexistent, and my backhand is horrible."

Williams plans on taking on at least one of her sisters, her mom and McKinnie in a round robin tourney for...absolutely nothing.

You know, Venus, there is this tournament called the Sony Ericsson Open that starts this week. Maybe you want to try focusing on that. Or not.
Williams' first match on Key Biscayne is on Thursday. She's won the tournament three times and one of her biggest rivals, her sister Serena, has already pulled out of the tourney.

Around this time last year, Venus played Andy Roddick on top of some SUVs on Ocean Drive.

McKinnie, who was a standout at the University of Miami before being drafted by the Minnesota Vikings, is a freakish athlete for his size and a serviceable tennis player. The two have been dating for about a year now.

While it would be a shock if he could score a point on Venus, the left-handed slap to his manhood might be enough to get McKinnie to sneak a ball or two past the tennis star.

No time or date has been set for the match, but we are hoping McKinnie doesn't go missing like he did when the Pro Bowl came down here this year.

Running from a girl is not allowable no matter the sport.

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(nbcmiami.com)

ORLANDO - Vikings owner Zygi Wilf admits he was "really disappointed" in January when Bryant McKinnie was removed from the NFC Pro Bowl roster after missing practices and meetings.

But Wilf gave an emphatic "no" on Monday when asked if the Vikings might try to trade the left tackle because of this latest incident. "Everyone is shooting from the hip," Wilf said at the NFL owners meetings.

McKinnie has said he did not attend meetings and practices because he realized injuries to his feet and ankle would not enable him to play in the game. However, he did not officially give up his spot on the team soon enough and ended up causing the Vikings some embarrassment.
"We'll move on and we'll find a way to work it through," Wilf said. "That's not a problem."

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(startribune.com)

Here is a photo Bryant Mckinnie tweeted this past week showing himself and Jeremy Shockey fishing in Miami during their days at the U.



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proCanes.com had the opportunity to attent the Sean Taylor Foundation Inaugural Celebrtiy Softball Game last Saturday at St. Thomas University. The event featured a DJ, food, a HR Derby and ultimately the softball game. proCanes Ed Reed and Sinorice Moss were in attendance and played in the Softball game while proCane Bryant McKinnie watched from the stands. The Florida Mermaids and Manatees also made appearances. Check out the photos below and click here to see the full gallery. We want to congratulate the Sean Taylor Foundation on a wonderful event and we can't wait for next year.



















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Vikings LT Bryant McKinnie wrote on Twitter on Friday that his plantar fasciitis is "starting 2 feel better."

Well, this should make the Vikings happy. McKinnie informed his "followers" that he had to have his feet taped for several days, do calf stretches, and take medicine for a week. It's still unclear if he will need surgery.

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie's proCane Rookie Card.



(rotoworld.com)

Vikings left tackle Bryant McKinnie created a stir at the Pro Bowl last month when he was kicked off the NFC roster after missing several practices. McKinnie later took to Twitter to defend himself and explain that he was injured and couldn't have played.

On Monday, McKinnie tweeted that he recently learned he has plantar fasciitis in both of his feet. Plantar fasciitis isn't a new term among Minnesota sports fans. Former Twin Shannon Stewart battled the problem, as did former Timberwolves Micheal Williams and Wally Szczerbiak. All missed substantial time because of the injury. The difference here, of course, is that the Vikings won't report to training camp until late July.

McKinnie tweeted that he has to get his feet taped for three days, do calf stretches and take medicine for a week. "Hopefully, it will [then] be gone," McKinnie said on Twitter. In a text message to Chip, McKinnie said he will go back to his doctor next week. Here is a tweet photo for you.

Vikings coach Brad Childress declined to go into much detail about any injuries at the NFL Scouting Combine last Friday. Childress said linebacker E.J. Henderson (leg) and cornerback Cedric Griffin (knee) were coming along and doing rehab work at Winter Park.

Childress also said nose tackle Pat Williams is doing rehab work. Williams missed a game late in the season because of an elbow injury. Pro Bowl left guard Steve Hutchinson (shoulder) was due to have surgery shortly after the season but Childress declined to give an update on his progress.

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(startribune.com)

Peter King of Sports Illustrated had campaigned for a stiff fine for Bryant McKinnie missing the Pro Bowl. He used his “Monday Morning Quarterback” column this week to complain about the NFL’s decision, one that King considered far too light.

Sports Illustrated columnist Peter King isn’t finessing his analysis when it comes to Bryant McKinnie skipping out on the Pro Bowl. King is taking it right to the Vikings’ oversized left tackle when it comes to his Pro Bowl performance – or lack thereof – and the NFL’s response to it.

By now, the tale has been told repeatedly. McKinnie missed out on several Pro Bowl practices and there was a clear lack of communication, or at least timely communication, between McKinnie or his agent Drew Rosenhaus and the Cowboys’ coaching staff at the Pro Bowl. Here is how King described the sequence of events in his “Monday Morning Quarterback” column.

“McKinnie openly campaigned on his Twitter feed to get votes for the game, then was voted into the game,” King wrote. “He didn't show up for Wednesday's mandatory practice and offensive line meeting. He arrived at Thursday's offensive-line meeting five minutes before the end of it, leaving the players in the room seething; if they had to be there, why didn't McKinnie? In the room were teammate Steve Hutchinson, who put off much-needed offseason shoulder surgery, and Giants tackle David Diehl, who had painful patellar tendinitis. McKinnie didn't show up at all Friday for the meeting or practice. He did have the intelligence to Tweet about his nocturnal activities while in Miami.”

The last sentence refers to McKinnie Tweeting about a party he attended into the morning hours at The Mansion, a popular Miami nightclub. McKinnie has since confirmed his attendance there, but he said that had nothing to do with why he missed practices and meetings only days before the Pro Bowl.

Instead, McKinnie blamed injuries he suffered during the season and said he thought earlier in the week that he’d be able to get through them but later realized that he wouldn’t play after a cortisone-like shot he took before the NFC Championship Game began to wear off.

Last week, the NFL released a statement to Viking Update and other media outlets regarding the punishment it was handing out to McKinnie.

"As a result of his dismissal from the NFC Pro Bowl team prior to the game, Bryant McKinnie has forfeited his $22,500 game check and is required to reimburse the NFL for $4,285.13 for Pro Bowl expenses that he incurred,” the statement said. “The Competition Committee will review this matter to determine whether additional steps should be taken to deter this type of conduct at the Pro Bowl in the future."

That clearly wasn’t good enough for King, who offered these three reactions to it:

“1. Who in the world thought he was getting the $22,500 in the first place, after being whacked from the team the day before the game? That's no penalty. That's an expectation.

“2. Who in the world thought the NFL would have picked up his expenses for travel to and from and hotel room at a game he, of his own free will, did not participate in? Again, that's no penalty. I would expect the league would take expense money back from a person who didn't live up to his end of the expense deal.

“3. I do appreciate that the Competition Committee will now set some sort of sanction for Pro Bowl players who, for some incredibly immature reason, don't show up for practice or other team functions. But this deserved a $100,000 fine by (NFL commissioner Roger) Goodell.”

King admitted that the NFL has more important decisions to make this year, but there was no masking his feelings about its decision on this one.

“Bryant McKinnie spit in the face of the Pro Bowl, and the NFL whiffed on sanctioning him,” he concluded.

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(min.scout.com)

Pro Bowl dodger Bryant McKinnie will pay for skipping the Pro Bowl, but he won't pay that much.

Chip Scoggins of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that the Vikings left tackle won't receive his $22,500 Pro Bowl check and he'll reimburse the league $4,285.13 for expenses after being dismissed from the NFC squad.

We already knew McKinnie wasn't getting the check, so Friday's announcement was essentially good news for him.  He won't lose any money out of pocket except the expenses, unless the team fines him.  (And we agree with Florio; McKinnie is unlikely to be cut with Brett Favre undecided about his future.)

Also of note: The NFL's Competition Committee will review the matter for the future.  Look for a formal policy regarding Pro Bowl truancy to follow.

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie's proCane Rookie Card.



(profootballtalk.com)

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie's proCane Rookie Card.



(hulu.com)

Minnesota Vikings left tackle Bryant McKinnie said it was no big deal that he got kicked off the NFC Pro Bowl roster for skipping back-to-back practices.

But apparently it was a big deal to the Vikings.

Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Vikings VP of Player Personnel Rick Spielman criticized McKinnie's attitude toward the Pro Bowl during a question-and-answer session with Vikings fans on Saturday.

"To get an honor to go play in the Pro Bowl is something that's unique, and something that should be cherished," Spielman said. "It's a privilege and honor to go there and play in a game like that, and I know from an organizational standpoint that we were disappointed, as well as a lot of our fans were, on how things turned out."

It's noteworthy that Spielman uses the word "we" and says he's speaking "from an organizational standpoint," suggesting that he's not the only member of the Vikings organization who's disappointed in McKinnie.

The bottom line is that players drop out of the Pro Bowl all the time, but there's a right way and a wrong way to do it. McKinnie did it the wrong way, and it's not surprising that other members of the Vikings organization are disappointed in him.

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(profootballtalk.com)

A week after being dismissed from the NFC Pro Bowl team because of unexcused absences, Vikings left tackle Bryant McKinnie offered no apologies and made it known he felt too much was made of the situation.

"I understand I missed it," McKinnie told reporters at the Super Bowl media center Thursday in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. "But they tried to make it seem like it was because [I was] at the [night] club and couldn't get up. No. I had called [agent Drew Rosenhaus] and told Drew I wanted to withdraw."

McKinnie, a first-time Pro Bowl selection, skipped Pro Bowl practices last Friday and Saturday before the NFL kicked him off the team. He said he had taken a cortisone shot in his foot the week before the game but his "body started feeling a certain way." McKinnie, who also claimed he became sick last week, said he consulted with a trainer about the pain but they never got a chance to meet up.

McKinnie raised several eyebrows, however, by using his Twitter account to inform the public of various late-night activities that he was going to attend in the Miami area. "I'm off at the end of the day," McKinnie said. "I had a long season. It was a pretty decent season. You know what I mean? It's all all right."

The NFL is still considering fining Mc-Kinnie for how he conducted himself; McKinnie has found himself in hot water with the NFL before and was suspended for four games to start 2008 after violating the league's personal conduct policy.

"There wasn't anything bad behind it," McKinnie said of his actions this time. "I just feel that they made it more than it really was. It wasn't like I got locked up somewhere and couldn't play in the game because I was in jail. That's how they made it seem. I just didn't know that it was going to be that serious."

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(startribune.com)

Our old friend Kevin Seifert was among the reporters who got a chance to talk to Bryant McKinnie late this afternoon in South Florida and he has posted a very interesting item on his NFC North blog on ESPN.com that clearly shows the Vikings left tackle feels the whole situation involving his dismissal from the Pro Bowl last week was blown out of proportion.

That's interesting because McKinnie's failure to show up at practices -- and for the team picture -- not only got him kicked off the team but also led to criticism from many of his attitude toward the honor he had received. That's not to mention the lack of respect is appeared to show his teammates. But McKinnie, a first-time Pro Bowl selection, had little sympathy for the fact tackles David Diehl and Jason Peters had to play the entire game.

"Anyone who watched the game would know it wasn't like they were going that hard," McKinnie said. "If you watched the game, [the pass rushers] were stopping in front of the quarterback. I'm like, OK ..."

As for the amount of criticism his absence created, McKinnie said:

"I understand I missed it. But they tried to make it seem like it was because you were at the club and couldn't get up. No. I had called [agent Drew Rosenhaus] and told Drew I wanted to withdraw. I had taken a cortisone shot in my foot the week before the game. When you take that shot, it numbs whatever. You don't feel like you're hurt anymore. It was the New Orleans game. You feel like you're good on Wednesday.

"Yes, I did go out. I can go out and still get up the next morning. But my body started feeling a certain way. So I called Drew and I said, 'I don't think I'm going to be able to play anymore,' because my body was hurting. I was trying to push myself to play. It was my first Pro Bowl, it was in Miami, so I got to come back and play at home. [Rosenhaus] got in touch with the trainer. The trainer ended up calling me at 6:30 on Friday.
"I told him over the phone my problems. He said, 'Could you come see me in person?' I said I was 30 minutes away because I was down at the beach. He said he was going to dinner at 7 and I could meet him at 9:30. I said, 'Yeah.' We were going to meet at 9:30. Then he called me and said, 'I'm running late. I'm going to give you another time to meet.'

"So me, in my mind, I already had talked to him, there's no need to go to practice. There's no reason to go to anything else."

McKinnie also now claims he was sick in the hotel at one point and that's why he missed some of the practice time. He said the trainer came to his room on Wednesday and he received medicine.

McKinnie admits there could be have been better communication with trainers and others on the NFC side or that he could have withdrawn from the game earlier, like five of his teammates did. However, McKinnie added: "I don't feel like it needed that much attention on it."

He has yet to talk to Vikings coach Brad Childress about the situation, but did speak with Vikings vice president of legal affairs Kevin Warren. Warren told McKinnie to quit responding to people on Twitter about what happened. But McKinnie wasn't going to apologize about his decision to tweet about heading to clubs.

"I'm off at the end of the day," he said. "I had a long season. It was a pretty decent season. You know what I mean? It's alright."

An NFL spokesman said the league is looking at fining McKinnie but that no decision would come this week. McKinnie has had issues in the past with the NFL, including the 2005 "Love Boat" incident on Lake Minnetonka and he was suspended for the first four games of the 2008 season for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy after getting in a fight outside a Miami nightclub.

McKinnie clearly doesn't think this latest issue should be mixed with those. "There wasn't anything bad behind it," he said. "I just feel that they made it more than it really was. It wasn't like I got locked up somewhere and couldn't play in the game because I was in jail. That's how they made it seem. I just didn't know that it was going to be that serious."

Click here to order Bryant McKinnie’s proCane Rookie Card.



(startribune.com)

In the blog he posted after the Pro Bowl, Mark Craig had an interesting item about the negative reaction to Bryant McKinnie and how he handled himself in regards to the NFL all-star game this past weekend.

McKinnie was booted off the NFC roster after missing three of four practices, all but one meeting and even the team photo last week. After using his twitter account to document his partying ways, McKinnie also used twitter to say that he was in the process of pulling out of the game because of injury. However, that did little to help his NFC teammates. The fact is McKinnie was kicked off the roster and it was too late to replace him.

Craig was told that McKinnie became a "running joke" among players on the NFC roster -- something that isn't funny at all in reality. So how is McKinnie taking all of this? Well, it appeared that last night and early this morning he was back to using twitter to express himself.

Among McKinnie's tweets:

-- "What I realize is ppl like negative that's what sells [at] the end of the day."

That was followed by:
-- "HATERS MAKE ME STRONGER SO THANX 4 THE FAVOR! I DON'T BREAK SUCKAS!"
-- "That's My Motto! So Feed me the hate! All yall doing is make me stronger! Don't know what yall Talking bout! THanx 4 getting me followes!"
-- "I'm thankful 4 every1 who voted 4 me from the bottom of my heart!"
-- "I give the LORD PRAISE 4 giving me the strength 2 deal anything that come my way and 4 being by my side! ONLY GOD can JUDGE ME!"

Working under the assumption that these are all McKinnie's thoughts, this is a sad case of him completely not understanding why people might be upset with him. (It also will be interesting to see how commissioner Roger Godell reacts to McKinnie's tweets and also the fact he's regularly tweeting about being in gentlemen's clubs.)

No one is saying they hate him, but the fact is he left his all-star colleagues in a terrible position with his actions and it isn't going to help his cause one bit that he has left a path of tweets that show he was out at all hours of the night in a week he was supposed to at least act like he cared about the Pro Bowl.

That being said I agree the game is silly and probably shouldn't be played, but if that is your feeling then pull out of it in a timely fashion. Vikings wide receiver Sidney Rice was among five Vikings players who said they could not go because of injury. They all did it in time so the NFL could easily replace them and they are not having to put up with "haters" saying they did anything wrong.

I asked Vikings defensive tackle Kevin Williams last Monday if he would play in the Pro Bowl. He said he was going to give it a try but by Tuesday had decided he couldn't do it because of a knee issue. No one ripped Williams for realizing he did not feel well enough to play.

If nothing else, McKinnie put his Vikings teammates who did play in this game in a very uncomfortable spot. That's especially true for guard Steve Hutcihnson, who Mark Craig has reported needs shoulder surgery. As a guy who plays beside McKinnie during the season, there were probably plenty of players who asked Hutchinson what the heck was going on.

And how about the Giants' Dave Diehl and Philadelphia's Jason Peters having to play the entire game at the tackle spots because McKinnie left his team so shorthanded?

Perhaps those two have a right to be "haters."

McKinnie has had problems in the past with the NFL and is likely to be fined again for this latest stunt. I've covered him since 2005 and can tell you that I don't think he's a bad guy by any means. Much of the time he is pretty quiet around the media but there have been instances where he has opened up and been pretty engaging. Anyone who follows him on Twitter knows he has interests that go beyond partying and playing football. He often writes about his business ventures and interest in music.

The sad thing is I think it has become debatable as to whether McKinnie will ever "get it."  He has been given a world of talent to play a sport that doesn't have a long career span. If McKinnie ever just put all his focus on football, he could be one of the NFL's elite left tackles. But between the 2005 Love Boat incident, the fight outside a Miami night club in 2008 and this latest incident it appears a long shot that McKinnie's focus ever will be solely on the NFL.

And that's a shame.

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(startribune.com)

MIAMI GARDENS — The NFL on Sunday was reportedly looking into the possibility of further discipline against Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie, who was dismissed from the Pro Bowl on Saturday for missed practices.

According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in an e-mail that McKinnie's actions would "be reviewed for a possible fine in addition to his loss of Pro Bowl check."

Aiello also said a suspension was not being contemplated, he did not rule it out as "we have not completed our review."

McKinnie's absence forced David Diehl of the Giants and Jason Peters of the Eagles to play the entire game, and Diehl wasn't happy about it.
"I can't speak for him, but I know a lot of guys are upset, and some of the guys on the Vikings are upset," Diehl said. "You're out here for the guys next to you.

"I think it's an honor to come here and be selected by your peers. This is a game with a lot of tradition and history. To be here and be part of this is a dream for me."

McKinnie, a graduate of Miami who spends his off-seasons in South Florida, wrote on his Twitter account early in the week that he planned to make the most of the social opportunities available. Thursday night he attended a swimwear fashion show featuring NFL cheerleaders.

McKinnie, 30, attended practice on Wednesday and Thursday but was a no-show Friday and Saturday. He was dropped from the NFC roster on Saturday.

"I don't know what it was about," Vikings running back Adrian Peterson said. "I don't know if he was hurt or what."

Peters also downplayed McKinnie's absence.

"It wasn't any big deal," he said. "Everybody's got their own situation, and I didn't know what the deal was with him. I guess they just kicked him off.

"In a way it was disappointing," he added. "He could've just let somebody else come."

McKinnie, a 6-foot-8, 343-pounder, was the Vikings' first-round pick in 2002 after winning the Outland Trophy, awarded to the nation's top college lineman, in the previous season.

He has had off-the-field problems before. In October 2005, he was charged with a misdemeanor for his involvement in the Vikings' "Love Boat" scandal, when numerous Minnesota players were accused of sexual improprieties during a cruise on Lake Minnetonka, Minn.

After pleading guilty, he paid a $1,000 fine and was ordered to perform 48 hours of community service. Later he was fined one game check by the NFL for the incident, amounting to $48,000.

One day after the fine, McKinnie signed a seven-year contract extension with the Vikings worth approximately $48 million.

After being booted off the NFC roster, McKinnie released a statement through his publicist claiming he withdrew from the game because of injury.

"I am extremely honored to have been selected for this year's Pro Bowl," the statement read. "However, my ongoing injuries in my feet and left ankle that I have encountered during the last portion of the season has hindered me during this week's training and preparing myself both mentally and physically for this Sunday's Pro Bowl.

"I am very knowledgeable and appreciative of all my loyal fans and supporters and would like to apologize if I may have disappointed you in anyway, but getting back 100 percent healthy is my number one concern to perform even better in the upcoming season."

"Whatever he said, I believe him," Peterson said.

This was the first time McKinnie had been named to the Pro Bowl in his eight-year career.

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(palmbeachpost.com)

Vikings left tackle Bryant McKinnie has gone into damage-control mode after being kicked off the NFC Pro Bowl squad.

"Had to withdraw from Pro Bowl!" McKinnie tweeted Saturday afternoon.  "I've been playing thru pain the last month and need time 2 let my body heal."

This begs the question: Why did he accept the invitation in the first place? Plenty of McKinnie's banged-up teammates declined the opportunity to go to Miami.

"Been having some problems with my feet and ankle and I gotta give it a break," McKinnie replied minutes later to a question on Twitter.  "I had a long season + my body is hurting."

Perhaps most interestingly, McKinnie then gets into it with Willis McGahee on Twitter.  McGahee, his former college teammate, tweeted to McKinnie that his explanation was "b*ll sh*t."

We don't doubt that McKinnie is sore after an 18-game season.  But he is obviously not sore enough to stop clubbing, and clearly did not inform Pro Bowl coaches that he was injured.  Mark Craig of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that McKinnie did not withdraw from the Pro Bowl on his own.  He was dismissed.  So McKinnie isn't too banged up to lie, either.

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(startribune.com)

7. Bryant McKinnie, Miami McKinnie played only two seasons at Miami (Fla.) after transferring from a junior college. But McKinnie made a lasting impression at one of the sport's most underrated positions. The 6-foot-9, 330-pound left tackle never allowed a sack during his two-year college career. As a senior, he helped the Hurricanes win the 2001 national championship, beating Nebraska 37-14 in the 2002 Rose Bowl. McKinnie won the 2001 Outland Trophy as the country's best interior lineman and finished eighth in Heisman Trophy voting. (He even received 26 first-place votes.)

To see the rest of the list click here.

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(espn.com)

The NFL 2010 Pro Bowlers were announced with 11 proCanes named on the AFC and NFC rosters.

AFC:
- Andre Johnson - WR - Houston Texans - Starter
- Brandon Meriweather - S - New England Patriots - Starter
- Reggie Wayne - WR - Indianapolis Colts - Starter
- Vince Wilfork - DL - New England Patriots
- Ray Lewis - MLB - Baltimore Ravens - Starter
- Ed Reed - S - Baltimore Ravens - Starter
- DJ Williams - OLB - Denver Broncos - Alternate

NFC:
- Bryant McKinnie - OL - Minnesota Vikings - Starter
- Jonathan Vilma - MLB - New Orleans Saints
- Antrel Rolle - S - Arizona Cardinals - Starter
- Frank Gore - RB - San Francisco 49ers - Starter

*Updated 1/25/10

Bryant McKinnie took a longer route than most players to an NFL career with the Minnesota Vikings.

After his high school career at Woodbury in South Jersey, McKinnie played 2 years at Lackawanna Junior College in Scranton. While at Lackawanna, he bulked up by 70 pounds and attracted attention from major colleges.

From Lackawanna, he earned a scholarship to the University of Miami, where after a redshirt year in 1999, he started at offensive left tackle for 2 years.

During his Hurricanes career, McKinnie did not allow a sack and was named All-America both years. As a senior in 2001, he won the Outland Trophy, given to the best lineman in college football, and finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting. Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch won the Heisman that year.

"I knew I wanted to attend college since I was a kid; education was one of the things that I knew was extremely essential in my life and completing college was something I wanted to accomplish," McKinnie wrote on his blog. "Years later I can now say I am a proud graduate of University of Miami. I want aspiring athletes or anyone to know that education is beyond invaluable."

McKinnie, 30, is 6-8, 335 pounds. His nickname is Big Mac. He was drafted seventh overall by the Vikings. His entire 8-year career has been spent in Minnesota. He has started 115 of 116 games. He was selected for this year's Pro Bowl, his first.

If his Vikings beat the Saints in Sunday's NFC Championship Game, he will not play in the Pro Bowl because he will be in his first Super Bowl, in Miami. That would be an appropriate homecoming.

"It would mean a lot, feeling like going back to where you went to college and you get the chance to play in front of a lot of friends and family back in Miami for the Super Bowl," McKinnie wrote on his blog this week. *

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(philly.com)

Bryant McKinnie heard the tone of the talk all last week. He understood there was a perception from the outside that he might struggle against Dallas pass-rushing defenders like DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer.

McKinnie’s performance Sunday in a 34-3 win against the Cowboys allowed him to stand tall – with him that’s really tall – after the game.

“I just felt like there was a lot more talk about me being careful of Ware and he was going to be the person that changed the game – him and Spencer,” McKinnie said. “Being in college, that’s how I got drafted, being an underdog, so being an underdog isn’t new to me. I don’t fold under pressure so I was good.”

He didn’t Sunday. Ware and Spencer, the Cowboys’ two outside linebackers who are often brought on blitzes, each had one sack. Ware’s sack came when he went unblocked from the right side of the Vikings offense.

Vikings coach Brad Childress said that was a miscommunication on the line, but Childress also used the buildup of the Cowboys in the national media to his advantage.

“The Tasmanian Devils … were coming from Dallas that were about to bombard the state of Minnesota and run through us like Sherman through the South,” Childress said. “That was the aura that was left after last weekend’s games. All of us kind of felt that quite palpably. All of it, and then we had about enough of it come Tuesday, they did a great job with that. It’s hard to get guys like this to stifle themselves.”

McKinnie especially was under the spotlight after he struggled against another premier pass-rushing defender in Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers in December.

“Both lines, offense and defense, felt like it was going to be won in the trenches. Everybody talked about their O-line and D-line and how it was a mismatch almost,” McKinnie said. “I feel like people took offense to that and went out there and played at a high level.”

McKinnie said he was trying to alter his stance in the Carolina game and decided to forget about making changes for now and just block how he’s most comfortable.

He also said he came into Sunday’s contest with a game plan for blocking Ware, who was lined up across from McKinnie most of the time.

“I had already played the game mentally in my head a few times and some of the moves that he likes to do. Just to be able to react fast and just to visualize yourself doing it already.”

Loadholt, a rookie second-round pick playing right tackle, said it was easy to focus on this game with it being the postseason.

“It was for something. Obviously every game means a lot, but with the playoffs, just like every other level – whether it be high school, everything – playoffs mean a little bit more to everybody,” Loadholt said. “A little harder, a little faster, a little more physical.”

That basically described the play of the Vikings linemen, as they earned another chance in the NFC Championship Game.

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(min.scout.com)

No pregame matchup was more analyzed than the one between Dallas linebacker DeMarcus Ware and Minnesota left tackle Bryant McKinnie. Conventional wisdom among the league’s talking heads was that McKinnie had no answer for the 6-foot-4, 260-pound rush specialist.

But Ware finished with one sack, getting to Brett Favre for a nine-yard loss when he broke around the left end unblocked.

Afterward, McKinnie admitted he was tired of hearing about Ware.

“You know I was. Even when you tried to avoid the news, somebody would call you, or it would be on Twitter,” he said. “You’re trying to avoid it, but people are still trying to bring it to your attention. It just made me focus and buckle down even more.

“I watched them when they played Philly those two times, and I saw some of the stuff he likes to do. I just studied and tried to execute the plan I had.”

It worked. Ware finished with a solid eight tackles, but he didn’t supply the consistent pressure that was expected to give Favre fits.

“(The media), the guys on ESPN, the announcers, they basically just had us counted out, that we couldn’t keep up with Dallas’ front seven, and I just felt like they didn’t even give us a chance,” McKinnie said. “People kind of took it personally a little, just to prove that we were capable of doing it. They said we weren’t playing at the same level we were at at midseason.”

McKinnie was modest in his postgame assessment, but many of his teammates allowed themselves to gloat after hammering a team many experts had picked to win.

“It’s the playoffs. You’ve got to show up, and we showed up,” guard Anthony Herrera said. “All week long the talk was about how Dallas was going to get to Favre with the pass rush and the Vikings better look out. Well, we did what we were supposed to do. And we’re moving on.”

Even normally stoic coach Brad Childress acknowledged feeling slighted, saying the Cowboys were “about to bombard the State of Minnesota and run through us like Sherman through the South. That was the aura that was left after last weekend’s (wild-card) games.

“All of us kind of felt that quite palpably. All of it, and then we’d had about enough of it by Tuesday.”

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(dallasnews.com)

One way or another, Bryant McKinnie's eighth NFL season is going to end in Miami, his adopted hometown.

The Woodbury High School graduate and Minnesota Vikings left tackle was selected to his first Pro Bowl, which will be held in McKinnie's offseason home of Miami. McKinnie played his last two college seasons at the University of Miami, winning the Outland Trophy and a national title his senior year.

"It will be nice to play in Miami, I'll have a lot of family and friends there," said McKinnie. "It will be nice to be part of the only Pro Bowl in Miami."

The Super Bowl will also be held in Miami this season, with the NFL experimenting with holding the Pro Bowl at the Super Bowl site on the off week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. The game had been played in Hawaii the week after the Super Bowl.

Players on teams participating in the Super Bowl will not play in the Pro Bowl, so McKinnie's preference would be to play in the game on Feb. 7 and not the one on Jan. 31.

While McKinnie has been to the playoffs on two previous occasions, he feels this is his best chance to reach the Super Bowl. The second-seeded Vikings face the third-seeded Dallas Cowboys on Sunday in an NFC divisional playoff game at 1 p.m.

Minnesota earned a first-round bye and the No. 2 seed when the Eagles lost to the Cowboys the last week of the regular season. Dallas then beat the Eagles again in the playoffs to earn the matchup with the Vikings.

"I'm getting calls from a lot of Eagles fans who want us to beat the Cowboys for them," said McKinnie. "I have a better feeling this year, because I feel I'm part of a better team than any I've been on in the past.

"We have the experience you need in a playoff game. We definitely used the bye, because a lot of guys in the O-line were banged up and we needed the week of rest."

Part of the Vikings' experience comes from 40-year-old Brett Favre, the latest in a revolving door of quarterbacks in Minnesota but certainly the most accomplished of the group. Favre came out of retirement midway through training camp and wound up having one of the best seasons of a Hall of Fame career.

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(nj.com)

The last time Minnesota left tackle Bryant McKinnie faced an elite pass rusher, things didn't end well for Brett Favre and the Vikings.

Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers so thoroughly dominated McKinnie on Dec. 20 that he was benched for the second half of the loss.

McKinnie still ended up making his first Pro Bowl this season. And if the Vikings are to advance to the NFC championship game, they will need McKinnie to play like it against Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware.

Ware has 11 sacks this season and is one of the most feared pass rushers in the league. When the Cowboys come to the Metrodome on Sunday for their NFC divisional playoff game against the Vikings, he'll have his sights set on Favre and running back Adrian Peterson.

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(dallasnews.com)

Bryant McKinnie wasn’t surprised by the line of questioning. The last time he faced a motivated, Pro Bowl edge rusher, things didn’t go too well.

On Dec. 20 against the Carolina Panthers, Vikings coaches pulled McKinnie in the second half after the left tackle struggled against defensive end Julius Peppers. McKinnie, who ended up making the Pro Bowl for the first time in his eight-year career, surrendered a sack, had a holding call and a false-start penalty before being replaced by Artis Hicks.

“Wow, I had one game and I didn’t do good,” McKinnie said. “Really if you look at the film, he got a sack on me. Other than that, I got a holding call that … not really sure if that was holding. Then I had an offsides and that was basically because our center didn’t hear the cadence and me and (right tackle Phil Loadholt) took off, so it made it look like I was all panicky about (Peppers), but I wasn’t.”

McKinnie and the Vikings returned to the Winter Park practice facility Sunday to begin preparations for the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round of the playoffs. For McKinnie, that means he will be seeing Pro Bowl outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware, who led the Cowboys with 11 sacks in the regular season, a good amount.

McKinnie said he will likely be responsible for right defensive end Igor Olshansky, but Ware is often brought on blitzes. Linebacker Anthony Spencer can also move over to McKinnie’s side of the field. During Saturday’s wild card game against the Eagles, Ware had two sacks, a tackle for a loss and a forced fumble, and Spencer had a sack and two tackles for a loss.

“The thing to realize is that he (Ware) has the capability to rush from both sides, and he does,” Vikings coach Brad Childress said. “I know he’s listed as the guy that stands on the left side of the offense, right side of the defense, but he shows up a good bit over on the other side, and then he and Spencer will show up together from time to time. So where you have an opportunity to help, you’re going to help, and if he’s not there, you may or may not help.”

Helping McKinnie was an issue in the Carolina game, and coaches took some responsibility for not doing that often enough.

Despite his struggles against Peppers, McKinnie said if he had to play general manager of a team and choose between the Peppers and Ware, he’d choose the latter since he is younger.

But the timing of McKinnie going against Peppers also had something to do with his performance. The game before Carolina, the Vikings faced the Cincinnati Bengals. During the Westwood One radio broadcast of the Bengals game, former Pro Bowl tackle Tony Boselli said that Bengals defenders picked up on a “tell” in McKinnie’s stance that helped them diagnose a run or a pass before the snap of the ball. Clearly, the dissemination of that information affected McKinnie.

Days after that game, McKinnie said he knew he had a “tell,” but he wasn’t aware other teams had picked up on it. He was determined to change his stance, but after his struggles with Peppers he has decided to go back to a more comfortable stance.

“I was trying to do something and it didn’t work,” McKinnie said. “I know not to do it no more, just adjusting my feet and all that stuff. So what if they know if it’s a run or pass? Instead of putting myself in an uncomfortable stance, just let them play.”

And there is another advantage McKinnie sees this Sunday. He is playing in front of the home crowd and doesn’t have to worry about crowd noise as much when the Vikings are on offense.

“There’s a difference, too, when you’re home and away. That makes a big difference,” he said. “It’ll be a different feel because I’ll actually be able to hear and then all that other stuff that I was doing before …”

Well, he can block it out and focus on playing up to his newfound Pro Bowl standing.

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(min.scout.com)