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Entire story: http://www.startribune.com/stories/510/913654.html
Vikings' Wynn Might Get a Chance To Show His Stuff Kent Youngblood Star Tribune Published Dec 21 2001 Spergon Wynn was making the rounds. From meetings to a one-on-one interview with FOX TV to a photo shoot. All the accouterments of a starting quarterback. But Wynn, to his credit, remained unimpressed throughout. People around Winter Park have been talking this week about Wynn being more mature than his 23 years. So it was no surprise Wynn wasn't about to put that cart in front of the horse. "I still haven't played yet," he said, walking from the photo shoot back to the meeting room; he still had tape to watch. "Once you see results on the field, that's when you start to feel comfortable." Because of this week's rule of thumb, Wynn might go from prospect to participant, continuing his ascent up the Vikings' depth chart. On Thursday, Daunte Culpepper underwent surgery to repair his injured left knee. On the practice field, Todd Bouman took some very limited reps in practice. The good news is the swelling in his sprained thumb has stayed down. "It's not too bad," Bouman said. "It's getting better each day. I took a few reps here and there, just to get a feel for what we're doing this week. ... I'll probably take most of everything [today]." Wynn, meanwhile, took the bulk of the snaps, as he did Wednesday. And while the decision on Bouman won't be made at least until after the Vikings see what he can do in practice today, Wynn appears to be edging closer and closer to his first action in a Vikings uniform. It's something a lot of people are interested to see. At first glance Wynn looks like the prototype of a quarterback. He's 6-3, 226 pounds. A good athlete with above-average mobility. He's got a strong arm and a quick release; his spirals are tight and his long ball impressive. But, like a good-looking automobile in a showroom, nothing will be known for sure until he's actually taken the offense for a serious spin. And all he got last year in Cleveland, really, was a drive around the block. Last year as a rookie, injuries in Cleveland thrust Wynn from the No. 3 spot into the action. He appeared in seven games, starting one. Playing behind a leaky offensive line, he completed 22 of 54 passes for 167 yards and one interception while being sacked 13 times. But for Wynn, it showed him one thing -- that he belonged. "You have to make positives out of negatives," Wynn said. "The outcome may not have been what I would have liked. But you learn a lot of valuable information out there, just playing. I feel more comfortable with myself and my abilities having gone through it." The Vikings liked Wynn enough to trade for him Sept. 3, primarily because of what he had gone through. Wynn, a native of Bellaire, Texas, originally came to the University of Minnesota before transferring to Southwest Texas State. He played in a Bobcat offense that featured the vertical passing game, throwing for 3,497 yards in two seasons. The Vikings were interested in Wynn coming out of college, and were impressed with his ability to adapt to the Browns' offensive philosophy, going to more of a West Coast attack in Cleveland. They watched as he played well in 10 starts for Amsterdam in NFL Europe. Dennis Green, who has done a good job of developing quarterbacks, was happy to trade a fifth-round draft choice for Wynn and running back Travis Prentice. "Any time you trade for a player, the first thing you do is go back to his college days," Green said. "You want to know exactly what you thought of him when he came out of college. We liked him a lot. I liked him lot. I think he has a lot of athletic ability, he's a good competitor, a very smart player, had the right height." No one expected Wynn to play this quickly. But with Culpepper recovering from surgery and Bouman's thumb sore, Wynn has been preparing for that possibility, though he has not let his excitement get the best of him. "Spergon is even keel, all the time," said defensive end Stalin Colinet, who played with Wynn in Cleveland last season. "But he's a fighter." Whether he'll get a chance to fight this weekend remains unclear. Wynn said the extra reps this week will have him as prepared as he can be. "I don't think I'll do anything surprising," he said. "But I'll go out there and compete, make good decisions, put my team in a position to score points." *********** Our View ************ Tough call for Bouman owners. You know he's dying to get out there and showcase his abilities. It's a golden opportunity for him with Culpepper out so he's surely got motivation to be there. But they sure seem to be talking a lot about Wynn. Hopefully, we'll know more late tonight. I wish I had something definitive for you but at this point, I'm just passing along to you everything I see on this. Joe /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/ Bryant Analytics, Inc. All Rights Reserved 1999-2001 To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: cheatsheets-unsubscribe@egroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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