With team success also comes recognition for individuals. Voting for the Pro Bowl ended last week and the announcement of those selected will be made Tuesday night on the NFL Network, and several Vikings are expected to be included.
Defensive end Everson Griffen, safety Harrison Smith and wide receiver Adam Thielen seem certain to have their names announced for the January 28 game in Orlando matching NFC and AFC rosters. Other Vikings could include linebacker Anthony Barr, defensive tackle Linval Joseph, cornerback Xavier Rhodes and tight end Kyle Rudolph. The announcement show begins at 7 p.m. Minneapolis time.
“We’ve got a group of guys that definitely are deserving of that (Pro Bowl selection),” said Vikings cornerback Terence Newman who was chosen for Pro Bowl games in 2007 and 2009 while with the Cowboys.
Barr, Griffen and Smith have been selected for the two previous Pro Bowls. Rudolph was the MVP of the 2012 game. Voting for the Pro Bowl is done by fans, players and coaches.
Of course Vikings players would like nothing more than to excuse themselves from the game because their team qualifies for the February 4 Super Bowl in Minneapolis. The Vikings, 10-3, have the second best record in the NFC and could clinch the North Division title and a playoff spot with a win today over the Bengals at U.S. Bank Stadium.
At the NFL Honors program to be held in Minnesota the night before the Super Bowl, Griffen could find his name announced as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. Griffen, 29, is having an impressive season that puts his name into consideration for defensive Player of the Year awards given out by multiple organizations.
“It would be an honor but right now my focus is on helping this team win,” Griffen told Sports Headliners. “I’ve been working my (blank) off to help this team win games, be the best player I can be. If that’s one of the accolades that comes along with winning games, and me playing great ball for my team, then I will take it with open arms.”
With three regular season games remaining, Griffen ranks third in the NFL with 13 sacks. He got a career-high 13th sack last Sunday in the Vikings’ game against the Panthers.
Griffen, playing for one of the league’s top defenses, has a sack in all but two games this season and has been a leader among NFL defensive ends in forced fumbles and tackles. He got six sacks in a five-game span during October, and was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month.
Griffen’s pass rushing and exuberant style reminds fans of former Vikings defensive tackle John Randle. A Pro Football Hall of Famer, Randle has praised Griffen this fall.
“…I love John Randle like a brother,” Griffen said. “I try to have the same passion that he has. Like I said on Twitter, it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish. He came from nothing. Now he’s at home playing golf and collecting checks. That’s how you want it.”
Vikings Notes
The Packers have activated quarterback Aaron Rodgers—Minnesota’s nemesis—for today’s game against the Panthers. The subject of Rodgers, who the Vikings could face next Saturday night in Green Bay, was one Griffen declined to comment on last week—emphasizing the need to stay focused now.
Griffen’s 30th birthday is Friday.
This month is the 50th anniversary of the famous “Ice Bowl” played on December 31, 1967 between the Packers and Cowboys at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field—or “Lambert Field” as presidential candidate John Kerry referred to it in 2004.
Newman, 39, is in his 15th NFL season, and may play beyond this season. He is enjoying 2017. He said his teammates don’t always get along, but he’s impressed with them.
“This locker room is amazing,” Newman said. “We’ve got tremendous character in here. A lot of different personalities; a lot of different backgrounds. The fact that this group is so open to other diversities—whether it be a guy who was brought up by money, or a guy…(whose) family often struggled. Everybody here is for the same purpose, and the same goal. …”
Vikings’ defensive end Brian Robison is expected to play in his 171st career game tomorrow against the Bengals. That would tie him for sixth all-time with Paul Krause and Kevin Williams among defensive players for most games with the franchise.
The Vikings’ eight game winning streak ended last Sunday against the Panthers in Charlotte and offensive tackle Rashod Hill jokes that he knows why. After road wins during the winning streak he drank grape soda on the team airplane returning to Minneapolis. But flying from Minneapolis to Charlotte before last Sunday’s game, Hill mixed things up and drank a grape soda.
Gulp, went the win streak.