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Vikings QB Brett Favre and RB Adrian Peterson have swept the FedEx NFL Air and Ground Player of the Week Awards for last week’s game.

In the Vikings 27-10 win over the Detroit Lions last Sunday, Favre completed 20 of 29 passes for 344 yards and 1 TD while Peterson rushed 18 times for 133 yards and 2 TDs.

Favre and Peterson were selected from among 6 finalists in Air and Ground categories. The other FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week finalists were QBs Peyton Manning and Kurt Warner and RBs Chris Johnson and Maurice Jones-Drew.

Fans voted for more than their favorite players from last week. The weekly FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week Awards are also a win for local communities. Along with the player awards, FedEx is making a $2,000 donation in the winning players’ names to the local Safe Kids coalition in Minneapolis to support pedestrian safety improvements.

Safe Kids USA is a national non-profit organization that works to prevent accidental injury among children.

A few statistical nuggets to chew on while we wait for Vikings Head Coach Brad Childress to speak with reporters following today’s practice. Childress will address his contract extension with reporters after practice and he’ll also be asked about an injury update.

Thanks to the Vikings talented PR staff for some of the stats…

– RB Adrian Peterson needs just 44 rushing yards to break into the top 10 for the most rushing yards in the first 3 NFL seasons. Peterson, who currently has 4,018 rushing yards, trails Eddie George’s 4,061 for 10th.

– Also, Peterson needs just 83 yards to reach 1,000 for the 2009 season. If he does, it will be the 9th consecutive season G Steve Hutchinson has blocked for a 1,000-yard rusher.

– Even though WR Sidney Rice has 750 more receiving yards than FB/TE Jeff Dugan, they have the same amount of TD receptions (2).

– If the Vikings win, it will be the team’s 18th win in the last 22 regular season games and it will mark the team’s first 9-1 start since 1998.

– With the win last week against Detroit, Childress now has a 13-9 record against the NFC North since taking over as head coach in 2006. He’s led the Vikings to 7 consecutive wins against the division.

– If the Vikings do not allow a Seahawks running back to reach 100 rushing yards, it will be the 33rd consecutive game the team hasn’t given up 100 yards rushing to an individual. The Vikings current streak of 32 games is the longest active stretch in the NFL. The last player to rush for 100 yards against the Vikings was Packers RB Ryan Grant on 11/11/07 (102 yards).

– With a passer rating of 100+, QB Brett Favre will collect his 101st career game with a 100+ passer rating. Favre’s teams are 92-8 in his 100 career games with a 100+ rating.

The website TheRedBulls.org chronicled last Sunday’s Military Appreciation Day via an article with soldiers and military personnel chiming in on the event.  Below is an excerpt from their website.  Click the link below to read the full article.

As Minnesota Vikings fans in the home state were finishing lunch and readying for the game against the Detroit Lions, Soldiers of the 34th Infantry Division here were finishing their dinner and set to watch the game with them.

The Minnesota Vikings Viewing Party brought 34th ID Soldiers, a unit based in Minneapolis, a bit of home with a tailgate atmosphere complete with grilled food and pounding music but, most importantly, coincided with the festivities of their loved ones back home.

Click here to read the full article.

This week’s edition of the vikings.com Mailbag is posted. You can view it by clicking here.

We post the vikings.com Mailbag feature every Friday. Do you have a comment or question you’d like submitted? If so, send me an email at wobschallm@vikings.nfl.net.

We can’t post every comment or email, but I’ll respond to all of them.

Missed tackles have been an issue for the Vikings defense at times this season. In a few tight victories this season and the loss at Pittsburgh in Week 7, poor tackling was cited as one of the reasons behind defensive letdowns.

But coming out of their bye last week against Detroit, the Vikings scored 17 of the last 24 points and didn’t allow the Lions to sniff the endzone in the 4th quarter. The defense was sound in its tackling, was able to hold the Lions rushing attack to just 93 total yards and didn’t allow many big gains after the catch

“They (Detroit) threw the ball 51 times on Sunday and they averaged like 3.8 yards per catch and that is huge,” Vikings assistant head coach/defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said. “That means you are doing a good job with yards after the catch. For that number to be where it was shows that we did a better job of tackling, a better job of people getting to the ball.

“Now we just have to keep it going. You don’t want it to be a one week deal.”

Frazier will get a good gauge as to whether the improved tackling is reality or mirage this week because the Seahawks bring with them an accurate QB and talented receivers who can make plays after the catch. Last week against Arizona, Seattle threw 53 passes and accumulated 331 receiving yards. In addition, 53.3% of the Vikings passing yards allowed have come from yards after the catch (YAC), which is 4th-worst in the league, while Seattle ranks 3rd in YAC with 54.2% of their passing yards coming after the catch.

The return of CB Antoine Winfield to the lineup would represent another big step forward for Frazier’s defense. He’s been missing since Week 6 with a foot injury and his return would certainly add another sure tackler to the lineup. Winfield has a reputation as one of the surest-tackling defenders in the league and he is solid against both the run and the pass.

“Regardless of who the opponent is, it would be great to have him back, but in particular this week because they do like to throw it around,” Frazier said. “They like to give you different formations and different personnel groups. So it would be great to have him back. It would really shore up some things for us in our secondary. We got our fingers crossed in hopes that he makes it back.”

Following a 10-6 record and division title in 2008, Brad Childress has the Vikings off to an 8-1 start this season. He also has a 13-9 record against the NFC North as head coach of the Vikings and he’s led the franchise to 17 wins in the last 21 games.

And now he has a contract extension.

The Vikings announced Thursday evening that they have extended the contract of their head coach. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“My family and I are very fortunate to be a part of the Minnesota Vikings organization,” Childress said. “I value the opportunity to continue to lead this team over the next several years as we work toward our ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl for our passionate fans everywhere.”

The Vikings have improved steadily during the 4 seasons Childress has led the team, going from 6-10 in 2006 to 8-8 in 2007 and then 10-6 with a Division title and home playoff game in 2008.  The Division title in 2008 was the 1st for the Vikings since 2000.

During Childress’ tenure, the team has been successful on and off the field, raising the level of community involvement to include every player on the roster in 2008, sending 9 different players to the Pro Bowl and having 12 different players earn NFC Player of the Week awards.

Childress is in his 32nd season of coaching overall and 12th season in the NFL.

“Brad has done a tremendous job leading this football team and we value the positive environment he has created for the Minnesota Vikings on and off the field,” said Vikings Owner/Chairman Zygi Wilf. “He has continued to positively impact this team and create a strong foundation for future success.”

The Vikings and Seahawks have released their Thursday injury reports and there weren’t many changes to what was listed in yesterday’s report.

DT Fred Evans, who was listed with an illness yesterday, was a full participant today. But CB Karl Paymah (ankle), who wasn’t on the report yesterday, was on it today. There were no other changes and Vikings Head Coach Brad Childress was not asked about CB Antoine Winfield today after practice.

For the Seahawks, C Chris Spencer (thumb/back) was a full participant yesterday but was limited today. CB Marcus Trufant (concussion) was out yesterday but practiced in full today while CB Josh Wilson (concussion) was out of practice for the 2nd straight day. DT Craig Terrill (shoulder) also sat out of practice for the 2nd straight day.

Do you have a question or comment about the Vikings-Seahawks game coming up on Sunday? Or a question about the Vikings in general? Send them to the vikings.com Mailbag.

You can submit your questions/comments to me by sending an email to wobschallm@vikings.nfl.net. I can’t post every question/comment, but I’ll answer them all.

The vikings.com Mailbag is published ever Friday during the regular season.

It was announced this morning that LB E.J. Henderson has been selected as the 2009 Vikings Community Man of the Year.

Since being drafted in the 2nd round of the 2003 Draft, Henderson has been an active member of the team’s community outreach.  E.J. has volunteered his time with several local organizations, including United Way, Police Athletic League, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, Arc Greater Twin Cities and Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities.

But Henderson took his volunteerism to a new level in June of 2007, when he established the E.J. Henderson Youth Foundation to benefit underserved Twin Cities urban youth, an effort that was aided by a $100,000 personal donation.

The Foundation program centers on the mind, body and soul by providing academic enrichment, intensive physical workouts, and life skill sessions at Henderson’s GameSpeed Sports Academy in Eden Prairie.

“I’ve been blessed to witness first-hand the impact E.J. is making with local urban youth as far as providing education, fitness and life skills opportunities,” Vikings Executive Director of Community Relations/Youth Football Brad Madson said. “We’ve had the kids down at training camp, we had the chance to go out to GameSpeed and see E.J. work with the kids and had them out to a practice as well.”

E.J. is a strong spokesperson for the NFL’s “Play60” message, which encourages youngsters to be active for at least 60 minutes a day.

Henderson is one of 32 team representatives, one of which will be named the Walter Payton Man of the Year at this year’s Super Bowl.

“I think it’s pretty special,” Henderson said of the honor. “Since I’ve been here, Matt Birk always won it. And I know the type of community work he used to do; he was really involved.

“As I said, it’s an honor to be considered one of the guys from the 32 teams, especially the Vikings because there are a lot of guys doing good things in the community.”

As the Vikings’ representative for the NFL Man of the Year award, Henderson will receive a $1,000 check for the E.J. Henderson Youth Foundation through NFL Charities.

Old dogs might not be good with new tricks, but veteran QBs can certainly have success with new centers. Look to Vikings QB Brett Favre as proof.

For 11 seasons from 1992 to 2002, Favre played in Green Bay with C Frank Winters. Together they went from young starters to crafty veterans, guiding the Green Bay offense to top 10 rankings 7 times and a #1 ranking once, while also having zero losing seasons and winning 1 Super Bowl.

Eventually, Winters retired and Favre played with Mike Flanagan, Grey Ruegamer and Scott Wells as his centers the rest of his time in Green Bay before being traded to the NY Jets before the 2008 season.

While with the Jets, Favre played with C Nick Mangold, who at the time was entering his 3rd season, and the QB had an MVP-caliber 1st half of the season before seeing his production tail off due to injury.

Now in Minnesota, Favre is experiencing success once again with a young center – Vikings 2008 6th round selection John Sullivan. Together, Favre and Sullivan have led an efficient and productive offensive attack. The Vikings rank 7th in total offense and 2nd in scoring offense, and Favre is the league’s highest-rated passer at 107.5.

“He’s done an excellent job,” Favre said of Sullivan. “I have been pretty fortunate to play with him…today’s offenses, so much is asked of the center as opposed to years ago for the calls they have to make. You get so many different looks on defense that you can’t just go up and run a run to the right and say that’s it.

“For me to have two different young centers the last two years – Nick Mangold is an outstanding player who will be a great player for many years to come. I was fortunate to play with him. Sully is a lot like him, young and very, very smart. It is kind of ridiculous how smart he is. You almost go with every call he goes.”

Favre said Sullivan is a lot like Mangold in that he is young and smart, and that many times he goes with whatever call his young center makes.

“The thing that impresses me the most about him is that he’s got the right attitude,” Favre explained. “For us two, we are kind of the quarterbacks of the whole deal and he does a really good job of it.”

Favre and Sullivan’s head coach, Brad Childress, agreed.

““He’s (Sullivan) kind of directing the show,” Childress said. “He and the quarterback have a good relationship directing the show as well.”