Posted April 13, 2009
• Coldplay
Vikes May Chase Bears Now
Count Jedd Fisch among those who see Chicago as NFC North favorites now that the Bears have acquired quarterback Jay Cutler from Denver. Fisch, who worked closely with Cutler last season as Denver’s receivers coach, spoke enthusiastically to Sports Headliners about the 25-year-old quarterback.
“I think the Bears are going to be a Super Bowl favorite because of Jay,” said Fisch, who became the Gophers’ offensive coordinator in January. Cutler made the AFC Pro Bowl roster after last season, his third in the NFL. Among his numbers: 4,526 yards passing, 25 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.
In a league where perhaps half the starting quarterbacks are nothing special, coaches like Fisch know the value of a Cutler. “Yeah, I would say half might be high,” Fisch said. “They’re all elite athletes, elite of the elite of the elite. But on the same token, there’s only a few that are special. I think Jay is one of those guys that’s going to be special.”
The Vikings won the NFC North last season without a special quarterback. The Bears have been looking for an extraordinary quarterback for many years, much longer than the Vikings. The Cutler acquisition changes the thinking about Chicago.
Fisch likes the Bears’ prospects for winning the division, but adds a qualifying statement. “Yeah, as long as their defense stays healthy and as long as they’ve got a couple (of) receivers around him,” he said. “They’ve got a really good back (Matt Forte), and Jay Cutler is a Pro Bowl quarterback. So when you have a Pro Bowl quarterback you immediately should be at the top of the pack.
“For example, Jay is 13-1 when they’ve (the Broncos) kept a team to 21 points. That’s like 94 percent of their games. Look at how many times the Bears have kept teams under 21 points (eight times last season). See how many games they should win. Jay’s a great person and a great player. He’s gotten a bad rap for no reason.”
The Bears finished 9-7 last season, second in the division behind the 10-6 Vikings. To make Fisch’s point, the Bears lost three games when they gave up 22 points or less.
It was rumors this off-season about the Broncos and new coach Josh McDaniels wanting to trade Cutler that reportedly set off the young quarterback’s unwillingness to stay in Denver. Fisch said Cutler isn’t a complainer and that negative perceptions about him are wrong.
"I think the Bears are going to be a
Super Bowl favorite because of Jay."
Jedd Fisch on Jay Cutler
Jedd Fisch
Photo credit: Eric Lars/Bakke Denver Broncos
Wolves’ Guard Play Needs Review
Among decisions the Wolves need to make in the off-season is whether to remain committed to Sebastian Telfair at point guard and Randy Foye at shooting guard. Awhile back you could have advertised them as the team’s future backcourt but neither player has earned our confidence.
Telfair, 23, has been coming off the bench lately with 36-year-old Kevin Ollie starting games at point guard. Ollie was among the last to earn a roster spot in the fall, beating out Blake Ahern for a job. It’s been obvious throughout the season that the Wolves sometimes preferred Ollie, a .400 percent shooter, to Telfair for his ability to run the offense.
Telfair averages 9.8 points per game, making .383 percent of his field goals. His average of 4.5 assists ranks him 33rd among players in the 30 team NBA. The five-year veteran apparently isn’t making enough progress for the Wolves to justify giving him more than about 27.8 minutes per game, or provide two previous teams reason to regret his departure. Telfair is averaging 3.9 assists and making .389 percent of his field goals during his NBA career.
Foye’s three year NBA resume includes too much missed time because of injuries including the 2007-2008 season when he played in only 39 games. Now a late season hip injury has caused him to miss the last eight games.
Whether playing point guard or shooting guard, Foye, like Telfair, shows no great basketball IQ with his playmaking or creativity, nor is either player a defensive stopper. On a roster desperate for talent, the role of No.2 star after center Al Jefferson was presented to Foye this season, but he hasn’t earned that label. He’s taken plenty of shots and averaged 16.3 points per game but he’s made only .407 percent of his field goals.
We’ve known for awhile that Foye, 25 isn’t going to be Brandon Roy, the almost superstar who the Wolves once drafted only to trade to Portland for Foye. On a team searching for better guard play, the hope had been the disparity between the two wouldn’t be so wide.
The Wolves, who have exceptional front court players in Jefferson and Mr. Double-Double Kevin Love, will need better guards to make a push for .500 basketball and the playoffs during coming years. This may require a changing of the guard.
Sebastian Telfair
Worth Noting
Fisch described the Vikings’ Adrian Peterson as the best running back in the league and includes the defense among the NFL’s top five.
ESPN The Magazine’s April 6 issue includes the Gophers among seven potential surprise teams next fall who represent the BCS conferences. The teams, including the Gophers in the Big Ten, “may bolt up the standings more than any league rival.”
The magazine predicted the surprise team in the Big East will be Syracuse, the Gophers’ opening opponent on September 5 at the Carrier Dome.
Former assistant Gophers basketball coach Jimmy Williams works in Houston with ex-NBA player and coach John Lucas where the two help develop young players.
Don’t be surprised if Tubby Smith’s incoming group of recruits this fall looks different than previously announced. Neither seniors-to-be Travis Busch and Kevin Payton will return to the Gophers, opening up two scholarships for next season.
Fans voted the 1966 International Falls team and Roseau’s Neal Broten as the greatest team and player in Minnesota high school hockey history. The 26-0 Broncos won their third straight state title in 1966. Broten led Roseau to three consecutive state tournaments in the 1970s before winning the Hobey Baker award with the Gophers. More at Fan Zone on the Minnesota Wild’s Website, www.wild.com.
The results of the NHL Draft Drawing can be watched on VERSUS starting at 7 p.m. CDT tomorrow night. The drawing determines the first 14 selections for the June NHL Entry Draft.
Xcel Energy Center is the site of tomorrow night’s episode of “Project Xtreme” on DIY Network, airing at 9 p.m. local time. The show, which profiles interesting and demanding jobs that require extreme precision, uses tomorrow night’s segment to report on the conversion process from the Coldplay concert to a Wild hockey game last November. The episode will also be available online at www.diynetwork.com. Here’s a preview: http://www.xcelenergycenter.com/videoplayer.jsp?IS_PLAY=Y&MM_FILE_ID=110.
Adrian Peterson
Kevin Payton
