Ryan Longwell, Darren Sharper and Robert Ferguson all began their NFL careers with the Packers. Now all three have come over in recent years to the Vikings, certainly Green Bay's biggest rival outside of the Bears.

"Well, people change and things change and strategies change, and you know, for whatever reason they wanted to go a different direction than including the three of us on the roster at different times," Longwell said. "It wasn't the same person that made all the decisions, but you know, there's a business side to this game that has landed us all over here as well. So, we're excited to have a chance over here."

Sharper was drafted in the second round out of William & Mary in 1997 and played in Green Bay eight years before joining the Vikings as a free agent in 2005. Longwell, who played in college at California, won a job as the Packers kicker in 1997 and came to the Vikings last year. The two players were rookies when the Packers lost Super Bowl XXXII to Denver, and when they were with Green Bay together, the Packers went 10-7 against the Vikings.

Ferguson, a second-round pick of the Packers in 2001, came here after getting released in training camp this year.

Longwell said Ferguson is a better receiver than he was coming out of Texas A&M.

"He's just a tireless worker and always trying to get better and better and better," Longwell said. "And he took one of the nastiest hits I've ever seen in my whole career from Donovin Darius and came back and played from it."

On Dec. 19, 2004, Ferguson ended up in the hospital after taking a clothesline hit from Darius, then a Jacksonville Jaguars safety. Ferguson didn't play again that season -- missing two games against the Vikings, including the Vikings' 31-17 playoff victory at Lambeau Field -- but he came back the next season.

"He's made some huge catches over the years," Longwell said. "... Made some huge touchdowns, big catches in big games, one of those guys that's not afraid to go across the middle, which is something that's a rare breed in this day and age.

"... I think he fits in well with our receiving corps and fits in well with our team. He's a good guy in the locker room."

Better distance

Longwell has been longer on his kickoffs this year, and he credits it to a different workout plan the past offseason. He also said special teams coach Paul Ferraro and head coach Brad Childress were "very cautious about how much I kicked in training camp. So, I feel a lot fresher, I feel much stronger than I have been, and I think it's helping our kickoff coverage team as a unit that we're more aggressive down the field with better kick."

Longwell was obviously disappointed with missing a 52-yard field goal at the end of regulation that could have won Sunday's game at Detroit.

"I approached it well, I was really excited for the kick, and I was calm and I hit it solid," he said. "It started right-center where I usually aim it, and for some reason, it turned more than it usually does.

"Some kicks are meant to be and some aren't, and when you're 2 inches away from making the game-winner it stings a little bit, but at the same time, it's not going to be one of those that deters me from keep doing what we're doing, because even though that one missed, I really feel like we're hitting the ball pretty well."

How hard is it on a kicker when he misses a crucial kick like that one?

"It's one of those things where I think to be successful in my particular position, you have to have a short memory, whether [it's] success or failure -- and I think I've done that well over the years," Longwell said.

Likes Painter

One person not surprised about the success Purdue's Curtis Painter is having is second-year Vikings defensive end Ray Edwards, who recalls how Boilermakers starters got all the competition they wanted when Painter was quarterback for the scout team.