The Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs will have an evening practice July 31 at the Chiefs’ training camp site in River Falls, Wis. The teams have been working on finalizing the arrangement for a few weeks.

According to the Vikings’ web site, the practice will begin at 6:30 p.m. This schedule is another step in minimizing what used to be a two-day, four-practice affair. Last year, the teams had one night practice in Mankato and another the following evening in River Falls.

There still figures to be some drama this summer when DE Jared Allen reunites with his old teammates.

… for your reading pleasure:

• Jared Allen’s bar/eatery in Kansas City has closed.  
• Former Vikings QB Brad Johnson, who will turn 40 this season, is accepting his role as a backup for the Dallas Cowboys.
• The Vikings continue to be reported as a key bidder for five blocks of Star Tribune land, but our understanding is that owner Zygi Wilf is ambivalent at best about acquiring the land due to lack of progress on the stadium issue. This jibes with a recent quote from Lester Bagley, VP of stadium development and public affairs. “We tried to make modest progress this session, and we were rejected,” Bagley said. “It sent a chilling message to our ownership. There’s not a lot of confidence right now that the governor and other state leaders are ready to address the issue and find a solution.”
• Today is the first day that NFL rookies can begin participating in the offseason strength and conditioning program. (That’s assuming their schools have completed the spring semester.) As a result, the Vikings will launch their Organized Training Activities next week at Winter Park. To review: OTAs are typically non-contact practices. They are voluntary but attended by nearly everyone on the roster. Next week’s OTAs are open to the media and we’ll bring you reports as warranted. (And sometimes when they’re not.)

A few odds and ends from the visit by Vikings owner Zygi Wilf and running back Adrian Peterson today in Brainerd.

– Peterson on the expectations for the season and winning the NFC North: “I feel like anything is possible. That’s definitely our goal is to win the North division and we have made some good moves this offseason. Zygi with all the moves he has made with Bernard Berrian, Jared Allen. Some of the additions we have brought to the Vikings in different positions. I feel like as committed as we are, he is also committed and given us the best chance to go for the ultimate goal. I feel like we have all the tools and this is all about being prepared when our time comes. If I have anything to do with it, and I do, we are definitely going to be prepared. I’m just ready to get things going.”

– Peterson on giving back to the community by making appearances at various functions: “It’s very important to me. God has blessed me to be in this position to be able to reach out and talk to the youth and the kids in the community. I realize that and coming from the small town that I came from we really didn’t have that a lot. Now I’m in a position where I can reach out to younger kids and inspire them to do better and be [even] better than me. Whatever they set their minds to do. It feels good to go out and interact with the community.”

– Wilf on the excitement level for the team: “We’ve got excitement from everybody throughout the state. The Minnesota Vikings are part of everybody’s being here in Minnesota, more than anywhere else that I’ve seen for any other team throughout any community. The enthusiasm is great. I’ve encouraged the fans to keep on supporting our team, coming out and rooting for our team because the proudest thing we can do is bring them a team not only that we can be proud of both on and off the field but to bring a championship and many championships to Minnesota.”

BRAINERD, MINN. — Vikings running back Adrian Peterson rushed for 1,341 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2007, earning Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. He capped his season by winning the Pro Bowl MVP trophy. So what can Peterson do to top that?

How about becoming the NFL MVP?

“I definitely feel like I can do it,” Peterson said Thursday. “Anything is possible. Especially how my mindset is. I set my bar high. I expect a lot from myself. I’m surrounded by a great group of guys offensively and defensively on both sides, special teams, so it’s possible for anything to happen.”

Peterson said last February at the Pro Bowl that his goal is to rush for 2,000 yards in 2008 and he didn’t back off from that statement Thursday. “It’s something I stay consistent with,” he said. “I’d be cheating myself if I kind of set it lower. But 2,000 yards, that’s my goal. I’m just going to work hard to give myself an opportunity to reach that goal.”

Peterson was on pace for 2,000-yard campaign eight games into his rookie season but a sprained knee suffered Nov. 11 at Green Bay caused him to miss two games. The 2,000-yard club is an elite group that includes Eric Dickerson, Jamal Lewis, Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis and O.J. Simpson.

As for the lateral collateral ligament tear in his right knee, Peterson said the knee feels “perfectly fine.”

Peterson figures to be more of a threat this season for a few reasons. One, the presence of free-agent receiver Bernard Berrian should help stretch the field and make it more difficult for teams to consistently put eight-men against the run. Two, Peterson has spent much of his offseason working with running backs coach Eric Bieniemy on his pass-blocking. That means Peterson should be able to stay on the field more often in third-down situations. Three, Peterson figures he can be used more as a receiving threat. He caught 19 passes in 2007 and had a 60-yard touchdown. 

Peterson said he is “looking forward” to being on the field more often at the same time as veteran running back Chester Taylor and is confident the Vikings will devise ways to get him the ball via the air more frequently.

“That’s something I feel like is being worked on,” Peterson said. “I have faith in the coaches that they are going to do a great job game planning and coming up with different plays and different schemes. Formations to kind of spread me out a little bit; spread me and Chester out outside the backfield and kind of bring a different twist to the game.”

Peterson spoke at a Brainerd-area hotel before heading into a luncheon along with Vikings owner Zygi Wilf and other members of the organization. The group had flown in Wilf’s plane from the Twin Cities to attend a 45-minute event at Forestview Middle School in Baxter, Minn., that focued on fitness. Peterson and Wilf then went to a restaurant and did an on-air appearance on KFAN Radio before heading to the luncheon hosted by the Brainerd Area Chamber of Commerce and the Brainerd Sports Boosters.

The Vikings contingent then headed to the airport to return to the Twin Cities. “I have to say that the response from the fans and the community has been overwhelming,” Wilf said. “It’s really given us the impetus to make sure that we do everything we can to give back to the community, give back to our fans and it drives us even stronger to get the players we need to get a championship team.”

The Vikings have devoted a good portion of their offseason toward balancing the offense after living by the run in 2007. The addition of WR Bernard Berrian and the continued maturation of QB Tarvaris Jackson are two of the most important factors in this.

Another, based on this piece by former NFL executive Mike Lombardi, is play-calling. Or, more generally, core philosophy. Lombardi argues that teams that try to “establish the run” early in games are less successful than those who open the game throwing.

The first half is where a team’s offensive values are most evident because it starts with neither team in a deficit. According to Lombardi, the Vikings led the NFL last season in rushing attempts in the first half. On the other hand, playoff teams like Dallas, Indianapolis and Seattle all ranked in the bottom third for first-half runs but in the top half for second-half runs. (Hence, the west-coast idea of setting up the run with the pass.)

As long as RBs Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor are healthy, the Vikings figure to be a run-first team. Their best passes might will be of the play-action variety. But if Lombardi’s theory is right, the Vikings will need to alter their first-half playcalling a bit in order to achieve their goal of balancing out the offense.

It appears we got scooped about ourselves. (That sounds worse than it is.) So here is the follow-up:

• Yes, one of us is leaving the paper.
• No, that person is not Judd.
• I’m taking a job at ESPN.com to blog the NFC North.
• In an unrelated note, Carl Gerbschmidt will continue to appear on KFAN.
• I’ll be around through next week.
• So there is still much fun and frivolity to be had here.
• You will be left in the very capable hands of Judd, the best and hardest-working colleague someone could have.
• This blog has been and will continue to be a blast.
• We’ll have a more thoughtful farewell next week.