Vikings finally get Shiancoe involved

By Krupka  |   Tuesday, October 30, 2007  |  Comments( 1 )

Minnesota Vikings
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For the first time since the end of September, Minnesota Vikings tight end Visanthe Shiancoe actually caught a pass on Sunday.

When the Vikings signed the athletic tight end as a free agent during the offseason, it didn't excite many fans.

The Morgan State alumnus spent his first four seasons in the NFL with the New York Giants backing up the talented and outspoken Jeremy Shockey.

While everyone else was rushing to figure out who exactly this tight end the Vikings added was, head coach Brad Childress spoke of the 6-foot-4, 250 pounder as becoming a key figure and playmaker in the passing game. Shiancoe was supposed to be the threat over the middle that would help open up the playbook and be a security blanket for second-year quarterback Tarvaris Jackson.

Through the first six games, though, everyone was still wondering who Shiancoe was. After all, he had hauled in just nine passes for 107 yards and hadn't caught a pass in the two games leading up to Minnesota's 23-16 loss to Philadelphia last weekend.

Not only did Shiancoe catch his first pass in a month against the Eagles, he grabbed four more. In fact, he set a season and career high with five receptions and chipped in his first touchdown since Week 17 of the 2004 campaign.

It wasn't all good for Shiancoe, however. He was flagged for a holding penalty that negated a 22-yard run by Adrian Peterson.

Still, Shiancoe's performance was one of the few positives from another abysmal performance by the Vikings' offense.

Who is Visanthe Shiancoe, then? Ask the Eagles.

Eric Krupka is a senior writer for RealFootball365.com. You can reach Eric at ekrupka@realfootball365.com

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