On March 10, the Vikings took free agent running back LaDainian Tomlinson to dinner at a Minneapolis steakhouse (and Judd had 32 cups of coffee in the bar while waiting to interview him) as team officials made a salespitch to the future Hall of Famer to serve as Adrian Peterson's backup and third-down specialist.

"[They are] very close," Tomlinson told Judd that night. "They are right at the top of the situation I was looking for when I first said I want to go somewhere and have a chance to win a championship." Tomlinson, of course, ultimately signed with the New York Jets after visiting them following his trip to Minnesota. The Jets also offered a championship-caliber team but also a chance to play a bigger role in the offense. While many wondered whether Tomlinson had anything left in the tank after a disappointing end to his tenure in San Diego, those questions have been muted some by Tomlinson's fast start this season. Tomlinson ranks seventh in the NFL in rushing through four weeks with 341 yards. He has three rushing touchdowns and is averaging 6.1 yards per carry. Tomlinson rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-14 victory against Buffalo on Sunday. Several Vikings players said they're not surprised by his success in a new uniform.

"You look at his last few years in San Diego and there's an argument to be made that they're kind of getting away from what he's good at and that's running the power game, running downhill," linebacker Ben Leber said. "It looks like he has his old step back."

Leber played with Tomlinson in San Diego and worked out with him some in the offseason so he knows what kind of shape the running back is still in at age 31.

"I know the mentality that he still has," Leber said. "I didn't listen to what the critics were saying, that he had lost a step. I knew he still had it. I think it was just a matter of him maybe finding the right running scheme that fit him again."