The anti-Berrian seizes his moment for Vikings

Soon-to-be-former-Vikings-receiver Bernard Berrian was exercising his pampered right to be the most ill-tempered millionaire in Minnesota as a scrum of reporters pressed him for details to explain why his ratio of arrogance per reception finally had pushed coach Leslie Frazier to his breaking point.

Meanwhile, walking unbothered across the locker room was another receiver. A happy fella who was smiling even though he was forced to: 1, Take a 47.1 percent pay cut Sept. 5; 2, Spend Weeks 2-4 as a surprise game-day inactive; and 3, Wait for Berrian's self-pity to fester and burst open before getting an best opportunity to quietly show what he can do.

Meet Greg Camarillo, career overachiever, savvy veteran sharing a budding crunch-time chemistry with rookie quarterback Christian Ponder, and a breath of anti-Berrian in tough times for Frazier.

"When you get to know Greg, he is one of those guys who is a true professional," Frazier said. "He comes prepared every day to work."

He's that way even on days when the odds say Frazier is going to tell him he's not worthy of being among the 46 game-day active players. Sunday started off as one of those days. But then Berrian crossed Frazier in an unspecified way for the second time in three weeks and was once again a last-second scratch.

"You go to bed on Saturday night thinking you may not be active and then all of a sudden you are active and he doesn't miss a beat," Frazier said of Camarillo's performance in the Vikings' 33-27 loss to the Packers on Sunday. "He goes out and plays an excellent game for us. He is where he is supposed to be, he makes [two] great catches. That's who Greg Camarillo is; he's a pro in every sense of the word."

Not long after Frazier said those words Monday, he was at the other end of the NFL coaching spectrum, sitting down with Berrian to gauge whether the disgruntled receiver can change or should be released. The two met again Tuesday and resolved the matter once and for all. The verdict: Bye-bye Bernard.

In fourth quarters against the Bears and Packers, Ponder is 7-for-10 passing for 115 yards and six first downs on third down. Camarillo has caught a team-high three of those passes. They're his only catches of the season, but they've gone for 23 yards on third-and-10, 16 yards on third-and-13 and 19 yards on third-and-10.

The latter two came against the Packers with Camarillo alertly breaking off his route and finding a soft spot in zone coverage when Ponder was forced to scramble.

"You got to stay alive on the play with Ponder because you know he's going to throw on the run," Camarillo said. "When he's running, he has great vision. He doesn't just look where he's running. He's looking downfield."

One would assume Camarillo will be active Sunday in Carolina. Either way, he'll be ready.

"I was always kind of an underdog," he said. "I wasn't recruited out of high school. So I was a walk-on who always wanted to prove myself."

Five years later, the career college backup receiver went undrafted, naturally, before signing with the Chargers. That's where he reconnected with Sharon, his college sweetheart, whom he married July 10 of this year.

Two months later, he came home and told her the Vikings were giving him two choices: 1, Take a pay cut from $1.7 million to $900,000 this season; or 2, Pack your bags and beat it.

Camarillo thought it through when most of us would have been heading for the airport banking on another opportunity in another NFL city.

"I knew I was in a backup role and that price tag [$1.7 million] that I had was too much," Camarillo said. "So you just bite your tongue, take the pay cut and roll with it. I'm making plenty, so I can't cry about it."

Camarillo wasn't done rolling with the Purple punches. He was active Week 1, but then spent three consecutive weeks thinking he might play only to show up on game day and see a T-shirt hanging where he had hoped his shoulder pads would be.