The Vikings are making history. Just the wrong kind.
After yesterday’s 31-27 loss to the Browns at Mall of America Field, the Vikings are off to a 0-3 regular season start. That’s a number only four other Vikings teams have put in the record book.
The 1962, 1967, 2002 and 2011 Vikings all started 0-3. I know what you are thinking: none of those teams made the playoffs. And in NFL history only three teams have started the season 0-3 and qualified for the playoffs.
The Vikings have lost three games by a total of 15 points. That’s enough to indicate the 2013 team isn’t the NFL equivalent of the Twins but 0-3 almost dooms this team to missing the playoffs.
NFC North Division rivals the Bears (3-0), Lions (2-1) and Packers (1-2) all have better records. The Vikings almost certainly won’t qualify for the playoffs as a wild card team and winning the division title will be a major challenge after yesterday’s loss.
It was the second consecutive Sunday the Vikings defense couldn’t stop the opponent from scoring the winning touchdown in the game’s last minute. It was another Sunday when the performance of quarterback Christian Ponder was spotty. But it was also an unusual day when the Browns used a fake punt to set up a field goal and a fake field goal attempt to score a touchdown—all in the second quarter.
Former Vikings assistant coach Dean Dalton told Sports Headliners after the game he thinks the Vikings are a good team with a chance to be better than last season’s 10-6 club but they’ve lost close games and are playing in an improved NFC against formidable opposition. He isn’t giving up on the season after three games and predicted the Vikings, including head coach Leslie Frazier, won’t either.
“This group won’t panic,” Dalton said. “They’ve been in three games where they’ve had to fight it out all 60 minutes. It’s a very balanced group. The veteran leaders that they have are rock solid. The leadership of…Leslie Frazier is rock solid. He won’t flinch. He’ll be upset. He’ll be frustrated. He’ll make the corrections but he won’t panic.”
Worth Noting
The 1962 club, a second year expansion group of misfits, holds the franchise record for worst start ever at 0-5.
The Vikings play the Steelers in London next Sunday in a regular season game where Minnesota is the home team. The Vikings will be guaranteed monies equal to their average revenue for a game at Mall of America Field.
The Vikings leave Minneapolis Monday night and arrive in London Tuesday morning. The Steelers won’t be in London until Thursday but as the home team the Vikings want to arrive earlier in the week and help with promotion. General manager Rick Spielman told Sports Headliners the Vikings will stay at a hotel about one hour from London and practice at a nearby field. A tent-like facility will serve as a locker room.
The game represents ongoing marketing by American sports to expand global identity. Next year, for example, MLB will send the Dodgers and Diamondbacks to Australia for regular season games March 22 and 23.
London is a likely eventual home for an NFL team and a MLB team in Mexico could happen some day. MLB has opened seasons in Monterrey, Mexico, Tokyo, Japan and San Juan, Puerto Rico. MLB might like to open a season in Europe but spring weather poses a problem.
Jashon Cornell is ESPN.com’s No. 1 ranked high school football player nationally in the class of 2015. The Cretin-Derham Hall defensive end has 21 college offers, according to former Gophers center and Raiders offensive line coach Ray Hitchcock.
Hitchcock said Gophers coach Jerry Kill was the first to offer Cornell a scholarship. Does Hitchcock believe Cornell is serious about the Gophers? “Yes, I do,” Hitchcock said. “It would be great to get him and stay home… .”
Hitchcock describes Cornell as sometimes “unblockable.” Cornell particularly excels in rushing the passer.
Last week Kill likened Mitch Leidner, his 6-4, 230-pound redshirt freshman quarterback, to Collin Klein, the similarly sized former Kansas State quarterback who was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2012. “Mitch runs like Collin,” Kill said.
Both are punishing runners, particularly for quarterbacks. Leidner rushed for 151 yards and four touchdowns last Saturday in his first college start to lead the Gophers to a 43-24 nonconference win over San Jose State.
Leidner said Kill even compared him to Klein last year. “Toughness is something I definitely try to model myself after and be a physical player,” Leidner told Sports Headliners.
How did he develop that toughness? “Probably growing up with brothers and all of us just pounding the crap out of each other all of the time,” Leidner said.
Today the Big Ten Conference selected Leidner as Freshman of the Week for his performance against San Jose State. He tied a school record for most rushing touchdowns in a single game.
Sign of the times: “Can Souhan.” That was the message on a sign displayed by fans during the Gophers game Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium referring to Star Tribune columnist Jim Souhan who wrote a controversial column last week about Kill.
Gophers defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman will sometimes play defensive end where he is more difficult to double team. Hageman, a likely NFL draft choice next year, values his school work and is majoring in urban youth studies.
“I could walk down a flight of stairs and break my leg. I can always have my degree,” Hageman said. “Football isn’t promised but just having an education, having something to fall back on is always a good thing.”
Gophers offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover will speak at Friday’s Goal Line Club luncheon at Jax Café in Minneapolis. Limegrover will have comments about the Gophers prior to Saturday’s Big Ten opening game with Iowa at TCF Bank Stadium. The luncheon is open to the public. More about the noon luncheon and program at Goallineclub.com.
Volleyball is important in Darrell Thompson’s household. Thompson was a record setting running back for the Gophers but daughters Indigo and Dominique, and wife Stephanie, have excelled at volleyball. Indigo, a senior at Armstrong High School, has accepted a volleyball scholarship to Virginia Commonwealth. Dominique is on scholarship at Wisconsin where she is a redshirt junior. Stephanie played volleyball for Iowa from 1987-1990.
Congratulations to Edgerton/Ellsworth football coach Andrew Fleischman for winning his 100th career game with a victory on Friday night over Westbrook-Walnut Grove.
New Timberwolves center Rony Turiaf throws out the ceremonial first pitch at tonight’s Twins-Tigers game at Target Field.
The Capitals will host the January 1, 2015 NHL Winter Classic, a date the Wild had targeted for the outdoor event in Minneapolis. The local NHL team will now presumably try for 2016.
Rochester radio commentator Ed Rauen emailed with news about two of his city’s outstanding girls tennis players, both high school juniors. Ingrid Neel has been working on her game at the IMG Academy in Florida. Jesse Aney played in Florida summer tournaments and this school year will be on the girls hockey team at Rochester Century High School.
Canterbury Park’s 69-day racing season, the longest since 2006, concluded with gains in average handle and attendance. Off-track wagering (dollars bet on Canterbury races at other tracks and through Internet sites) increased by 46.7 percent while average daily on-track wagering was up 4.8 percent. Average daily attendance was 6,656, a Canterbury Park record since the track re-opened in 1995.