Audie Cole's opportunity

[Mothman]

A brief piece about Audie Cole's opportunity to win a starting job:

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... 59051.html

Here's an excerpt:

Cole’s relationship with the Vikings coaching staff first grew when they worked together at the 2012 Senior Bowl. He said he has thoroughly enjoyed working with co-linebackers coaches Fred Pagac and Mike Singletary plus defensive coordinator Alan Williams. And while, yes, Singletary has a passion about him that can make him a meticulous micromanager when it comes to demanding perfection on every rep of certain practice drills, Cole said he has not only gotten used to that coaching style but has appreciated the motivation.

“Once you realize he’s only getting on you because he’s found a way to help, it’s all good,” Cole said. “He gets you going, gets you learning. He’ll be all over you. But you get used to it. He doesn’t like to let guys get away with a bad rep.

“I’ve learned a lot from Coach Singletary and Coach Pug.”

This isn't football-related but the piece about Cole opened with something that really disappointed me and I had to mention it. Others may not be bothered at all but I suspect Dan, at least, will understand my reaction:

Cole has spent time in Raleigh, N.C., working out at his alma mater, N.C. State. He has snuck away for the requisite winter ice fishing excursion in the Upper Peninsula in Michigan. And yes, Cole even accompanied his college roommate down to Mexico on a dove hunting trip.

“It was unreal,” he said. “I think we wound up shooting 5,000 doves in 4.5 days between 10 guys. You never stopped shooting. Your shoulders hurt and you get to a point where you don’t even want to pull the trigger anymore.”

That sounds horrible and it doesn't sound like "hunting" to me, it sounds like slaughter.

Anyway, Cole has dropped 10-15 pounds, feels more agile and wants to to compete for the starting MLB job.

[dead_poet]

Thanks for the link. Not a big fan of the mass pigeon annihilation, but I like Cole and I'll be eager to see what he's able to do. Unfortunately he'll likely be on the outside looking in with a R1-2 draft pick. But there's the possibility he pulls a Russell Wilson and wins an open competition. That'll either say something about our front office possibly finding a gem in the seventh round or their "mistake" in drafting a R1-2 rookie that can't beat out a seventh rounder for a starting role (I can hear that criticism already).

Come on, Audie. If you're going to go hunting, go hunting. Jared Allen hunts boars with knives. You're "hunting" birds with shotguns. Might as well get a large barrel full of water, fill it with fish and start blasting away. I guess I just don't understand.

[Mothman]

Thanks for the link. Not a big fan of the mass pigeon annihilation, but I like Cole and I'll be eager to see what he's able to do. Unfortunately he'll likely be on the outside looking in with a R1-2 draft pick. But there's the possibility he pulls a Russell Wilson and wins an open competition.

LOL! I almost said the same thing.

Come on, Audie. If you're going to go hunting, go hunting. Jared Allen hunts boars with knives. You're "hunting" birds with shotguns. Might as well get a large barrel full of water, fill it with fish and start blasting away. I guess I just don't understand.

I don't either.

[losperros]

This isn't football-related but the piece about Cole opened with something that really disappointed me and I had to mention it. Others may not be bothered at all but I suspect Dan, at least, will understand my reaction:
That sounds horrible and it doesn't sound like "hunting" to me, it sounds like slaughter.

It is a slaughter and Cole sounds all giddy about it. What a demented wimp! Too bad the doves can't shoot back.

Anyway, back to football, we'll see how good Cole is in real competition if the Vikings draft one of the top tier MLB prospects.

[Cliff]

Man ... I was hoping to take something away about Cole's chances on the field but I just can't get past the ridiculous number of birds he shot and the pride he takes in it.

I'm not pro or anti hunting ... but 5,000 birds? Can you just picture it? 500 birds a man. That's about 110 birds per day per man. Lets say they did this for 8 hours a day that would be about 14 birds per hour.

10 men, for 8 hours a day for nearly a week, shot a bird roughly every 5 minutes.

I just ... don't understand ...

[mansquatch]

I'm not a fan of wholesale slaughter of animals. As a musky angler I practice strict Catch and Release since that is the only way our fisheries remains as fasntastic as they are today.

I'd say anything past 20 or 30 birds is abnoxious, I mean who has a freezer big enough to fit that many birds? Past that you just killing indiscriminantly. However, I guess I'd be surprised if they actually did kill over 10,000 birds. I mean, who would still be counting past a couple hundred? Also, we do not know if the hunt was sanctioned or not, maybe the birds were cosnidered a nuisance and the local conservatio officers wanted the flock thinned? (I know we are talking about Mexico here...) On Leech Lake they let the locals shoot a ton of Cormorants because the nesting pairs were decimating the fish population. (Cormorants eat several pounds of fish every single day).

I'm just unwilling to pass judgement based on one blurb, more info needed.

[Funkytown]

5,000 doves? Doves?!?! ...for what?

Real tough dude, real tough.

This guy has character issues--of another kind.

[UltraNasty850]

Shooting birds has nothing to do with him as a player, besides the fact that he likes to kill things. Great LB mentality. I was wondering why there was no news about Audie maybe grabbing a starting spot until now. Looks good, would like to see what he can do.

[RandallioCobb18]

My lord people, will every one get off their high horse about the useless birds he killed and just focus on his talent?

Holy crap, as if none of you people never did anything bad, the ONLY difference is that the messed up crap he does gets put into the spotlight.

[Cliff]

My lord people, will every one get off their high horse about the useless birds he killed and just focus on his talent?

Holy crap, as if none of you people never did anything bad, the ONLY difference is that the messed up crap he does gets put into the spotlight.

It's not really a high horse at least for me ... it just seems insane.

At what point would a group of 10 people killing 5,000 animals over 4.5 days for the fun of it start seeming weird to you? If it were dogs instead of birds?

[RandallioCobb18]

It's not really a high horse at least for me ... it just seems insane.

At what point would a group of 10 people killing 5,000 animals over 4.5 days for the fun of it start seeming weird to you? If it were dogs instead of birds?

Yea, it seems odd. Dont really understand at all.

But to call the guy demented is insane, I think cheating on your wife once is ALOT worse then killing any amount of birds, and im sure some of the same people that want to judge this guy and call him names have done just that.

[PurpleMustReign]

For Pete's sake, if you are going to shoot mass birds, make it something with some meat on it like an eagle.

[Cliff]

Yea, it seems odd. Dont really understand at all.

But to call the guy demented is insane, I think cheating on your wife once is ALOT worse then killing any amount of birds, and im sure some of the same people that want to judge this guy and call him names have done just that.

So the justification for him slaughtering 500 animals for "sport" is that some people cheat on their wives and that's worse?

[Mothman]

I'm not a fan of wholesale slaughter of animals. As a musky angler I practice strict Catch and Release since that is the only way our fisheries remains as fasntastic as they are today.

I'd say anything past 20 or 30 birds is abnoxious, I mean who has a freezer big enough to fit that many birds? Past that you just killing indiscriminantly. However, I guess I'd be surprised if they actually did kill over 10,000 birds. I mean, who would still be counting past a couple hundred? Also, we do not know if the hunt was sanctioned or not, maybe the birds were cosnidered a nuisance and the local conservatio officers wanted the flock thinned? (I know we are talking about Mexico here...) On Leech Lake they let the locals shoot a ton of Cormorants because the nesting pairs were decimating the fish population. (Cormorants eat several pounds of fish every single day).

Leech Lake! My dad grew up in Little Falls and he used to talk about fishing on Leech Lake.

It's not really a high horse at least for me ... it just seems insane.

Exactly.

[RandallioCobb18]

So the justification for him slaughtering 500 animals for "sport" is that some people cheat on their wives and that's worse?

Lol! Way to make me sound like a retard! Lol, na but for real, I wasn't trying to justify it, I was just saying that people are taking it far beyond what it is. It wasn't right but to accuse the guy of being crazy or whatever is overboard, big time, and im sure those same people have done far worse.

I honestly dont understand ANY form of hunting, oh you sat in the woods for 7 hours so you could shoot the unsuspecting wild life.....congrats. Don't really get why people feel accomplished about that. At least shooting birds takes some skill. (Perhaps a bit less in Cole's case.)