First off, it looks very weird to not have Seifert as part of this blog. I’m sure you all join me in wishing him the best of luck at ESPN. He did an outstanding job on this beat for a long time and certainly will be missed. Figured I’d post some of defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier’s question-and-answer session with the media today. The Vikings, by the way, will resume their organized team activities on Tuesday. Here’s Frazier:

Q: How much progress have defensive ends Ray Edwards and Brian Robison made?

A: I think Ray [Edwards] has had a real good offseason to this point. He really came back in January. He’s been working since our season ended and hasn’t missed one workout. His body looks good. He’s really training hard and he needs OTAs, and the four times we’ve been out, he’s looked very well. I think he’s on pace to be an improved player. We’ll move him to a different position than played a season ago, left defensive end, but it doesn’t seem like it’s going to slow him down. Of course, we don’t have any pads on yet, but his attitude has been tremendous. And, Brian he’s going to be a right end like he was a year ago, and we’re going to try to leave him at one position, because of the depth that we now have, and we think he’ll improve. We just expect it to happen from your first year to your second year with his talent to improve.

Q: So you’re looking at Edwards at the left end. Who are you looking at to play behind him?

A: Well we’re going to take a look at Ellis [Wyms] along with Jayme Mitchell. Jayme did a good job for us in spot duty a year ago. We’re going to take a look at him. There may be times where Brian will swing to that side, but generally we like to keep him on the right side.

Q: Is Edwards a little bigger than last year?

A: He’s put on a little weight, yeah. I don’t know, I was talking to him a couple days ago, I don’t know if that’s necessarily the best thing to do, don’t want him to slow down, so we’ll see. We’ll monitor that a little bit.

Q: About 5 or 10 pounds?

A: Probably about 5.

Q: How has cornerback Antoine Winfield looked so far?

A: He looks very good, a little bit surprising. With all the time that he missed a year ago [because of injuries], it really held him back throughout this offseason. They just kind of brought him along kind of slowly, but he hasn’t missed a beat. He looks good.

Q: Talk about Erin Henderson. Are there some similarities with his brother?

A: There are. First of all, they definitely look like brothers when you see them in appearance. But he’s a very cerebral guy. He has good athletic ability, but the fact that he can really comprehend information and then carry it onto the field, that’s what has been very impressive about him, and we’re really looking forward to when we put the pads on and see him move around and see how he contacts. We’ve been very pleased with him.

Q: There was talk about him getting drafted in the third or fourth round and then you sign him in free agency. Is there any reason why?

A: You know what? We were surprised. I was talking with our linebackers coach just about that. We watched him move around and do some things and we felt like on tape, we had a draftable grade on him, and when he slipped the way he did, it just kind of defaulted to us, but we’re glad to have him. I think he’s going to be a fine addition to what we are trying to accomplish.

Q: What are your expectations for Chad Greenway this year? Are 20 or 30 tackles more this year doable for him you think?

A: I think the sky is the limit for Chad. Just watching him move around and things he’s done this offseason in the conditioning program, he looks like a totally different player. I thought he had a good first year. Some people say it wasn’t his rookie year, but in a lot of ways it was his rookie year. I think he’s going to be a very good player for us this season, and he’ll be tremendously improved. I really believe that.

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