The Vikings, with a 3-5 record, are halfway through their 16-game schedule. Bob Lurtsema predicted last summer new coach Mike Zimmer and a reorganized staff would improve last year’s 5-10-1 record to 8-8.
Despite the absence of key offensive starters including quarterback Matt Cassel, running back Adrian Peterson and tight end Kyle Rudolph, the Vikings have done enough to maintain Lurtsema’s confidence about an 8-8 finish. “I am still sticking with 8-8,” said the former Viking who attends practices and remains close to the team.
The Vikings play the Redskins, 3-5, at TCF Bank Stadium on Sunday—the first of eight remaining games. The Vikings have two games on the upcoming schedule with the Bears, 3-5, and also will play the Packers, 5-3, Panthers, 3-4-1, Jets, 1-7, Lions, 6-2, and Dolphins, 4-3. Those seven teams have a combined record of 25 wins, 29 losses and one tie.
Those aren’t intimidating numbers, and the Vikings’ opportunity to finish with a record around .500 percent is enhanced by another factor. Five of the remaining eight games will be in Minneapolis.
An 8-8 record is unlikely to earn entry into the playoffs. In 2013 the worst regular season record for an NFL playoff team was the Packers at 8-7-1. The Chargers, 9-7, also qualified. When the Vikings made the playoffs in 2012 as a wildcard entry their record was 10-6.
Lurtsema is conceding the NFC North title and automatic entry into the playoffs to the Packers. “I think too much of (quarterback) Aaron Rodgers. I just think that the Green Bay Packers are almost a machine.”
But that prediction doesn’t lessen Lurtsema’s enthusiasm for Zimmer and the Vikings. Minnesota won last Sunday, defeating the now 1-6 Bucs, and the Vikings have held their three most recent opponents to 15.6 points per game. A loss in the closing seconds to the Bills a week ago Sunday is a game that got away.
“We should be .500 now at the turn,” Lurtsema said. “We should be 4-4. Coach Zimmer has done everything I expected from (him), plus 20 percent. That man has got those players playing hard.”
Peterson is a former NFL MVP. Rudolph won the 2013 Pro Bowl MVP award. But because the NFL is a quarterback driven league, it’s the season ending injury to Cassel—a journeyman QB—that makes Lurtsema talk about what might have been. “If Cassel was in there I think we would have at least one more win. We’d have no trouble going 8-8.”
Worth Noting
Lurtsema likes Cassel’s successor, rookie Teddy Bridgewater. He praises the rookie’s poise and “velocity” on his passes but described a need for improvement. “He’s got to be able to read the field faster. That’s the part—some quarterbacks—never, ever, ever pick up on. They cannot quicken their reads.”
Lurtsema raved about the team’s other 2014 No. 1 draft choice—linebacker Anthony Barr who caused a fumble in overtime last Sunday and scooped up the ball to run for the winning touchdown against the Bucs.
“Anthony Barr is the real deal. He could be Rookie of the Year.” Lurtsema said. “He’s got such great closing speed. The sky’s the limit for that guy. He’s smart, he’s respectful.
“He’s got everything you want. His long arms, his agility, his 40-yard speed, his 10-yard speed, whatever you want to talk about. That kid can play.”
Lurtsema played on the defensive line for not only the Vikings but the Giants and Seahawks, too. Ironically, all three organizations are hosting alumni gatherings this weekend and Lurtsema will travel to New York for the Giants’ homecoming.
A Vikings spokesman e-mailed earlier this week that except for the possibility of visiting teams returning tickets, the home games against the Redskins on Sunday and Packers, November 23, are sold out.
Former Bears coach Mike Ditka likes to say today is a gift because yesterday is history and tomorrow is a mystery. Ditka was talking about his philosophy on ESPN Radio’s “Mike & Mike Show” on Monday. “I didn’t make it up but I say it a lot,” said Mike Golic who co-costs the show with Mike Greenberg.
Bob Bossons, a Gophers assistant coach and top recruiter from 1958-1966, died earlier this month after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s. Bossons was a key contributor to the Gophers 1960 national championship and Rose Bowl teams of 1961 and 1962.
The guess here is Gophers wide receiver Drew Wolitarsky will be out indefinitely after suffering a high ankle sprain against Illinois last Saturday. The Gophers have a bye on the schedule tomorrow but don’t count on him playing against Iowa November 8 at TCF Bank Stadium.
The Timberwolves announced attendance of 18,296 for last night’s regular season home opener. The attendance came close but didn’t sell out (19,500 capacity) and a franchise spokesman told Sports Headliners earlier this week tickets are available for all home games including the much anticipated appearance by LeBron James, Kevin Love and the other Cavs on January 31.
Sports Illustrated’s NBA preview issue of last week predicted the Wolves, who are 1-1 this season, will finish 14th out of 15 teams in the Western Conference. An anonymous scout expressed concern in the magazine about point guard Ricky Rubio, now starting his fourth NBA season with the Wolves. “The great players add to their games in the off-season. I haven’t seen any change in Ricky Rubio over the last three years. His poor shooting has kept him from becoming a Tony Parker-like scorer. He’s a phenomenal passer, but it will take those young guys (Rubio’s new teammates) some time to grow accustomed to his creativity.”
An anonymous scout, perhaps the same one, spoke bluntly in the preview issue about former Wolves executive and coach Kevin McHale, now the Rockets head coach who has his team off to a 2-0 start. “They are the easiest team to scout because they have the smallest playbook and are lackadaisically coached. It’s as close to pickup basketball as there is in the NBA.”
The Wolves play the Bulls at Target Center tomorrow night and Sports Illustrated predicts Chicago will play the Spurs for the NBA championship next spring with San Antonio winning the title.
WCHA commissioner Bill Robertson is excited about KTWN-FM agreeing to be the exclusive radio promotional partner for the 2015 Final Five at Xcel Energy Center March 20-21. KTWN is the Twin Cities radio home for Minnesota Twins games.
Former Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi, sportscaster Joe Schmit, author of the book Silent Impact, and Frank White, founder of Respect Sports, will make presentations next Wednesday on leadership at the Minneapolis campus of St. Thomas. The “Leading with Character: What’s Your Direction?” conference will be from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. More details at Synergyexchange.org.
The Gophers wrestling team hasn’t started its schedule but is No. 1 nationally in the InterMat College Dual Meet Rankings. Eight other Big Ten teams are in the rankings: No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Iowa, No. 5 Penn State, No. 7 Nebraska, No. 9 Michigan, No. 11 Illinois, No. 14 Wisconsin and No. 16 Northwestern.