Analysis and news about the Vikings 24 hours following their surprising and impressive 34-6 win over the Rams yesterday.
An ongoing complaint during last season’s 5-10-1 fiasco was the coaching staff didn’t take advantage of its playmakers. There was no moaning about that in St. Louis Sunday afternoon when the Vikings opened the regular season against the Rams.
The team’s franchise face, Adrian Peterson, was handed the ball on three of the first four plays of the game. After four quarters the All-Pro running back had 21 carries for 75 yards. He also was used as a pass receiver, catching two balls.
But that’s hardly where the story ended. Cordarrelle Patterson had three runs for a 102 yards, setting a rushing record for a Vikings wide receiver. The second-year man-child stunned observers, including the Rams, by lining up as a tailback in the I-formation and running 67 yards for a touchdown. Patterson, who seemed under utilized as a rookie last season, also caught three passes for 26 yards, and was a potential touchdownmaker running back kickoffs.
Veteran wide receiver Greg Jennings, who joined the Vikings as a free agent for the 2013 season, also seemed left out last season. Not so yesterday when he was the team’s leading receiver with six catches for 58 yards and one touchdown.
Tight end Kyle Rudolph, another man-child talent, only had a couple of receptions but one was for a touchdown pass from Matt Cassel. The Vikings veteran quarterback, who the old coaching staff started in only six games in 2013, had a good day completing 17 of 25 passes with no interceptions for a rating of 113.8.
With plenty of contributors, Peterson didn’t mind sharing the glory. “I am all about wins,” he told KFAN Radio after the game.
The Vikings had playmakers on defense too, including safety Harrison Smith who returned an interception 81 yards for the team’s last score. Smith also had a sack after head coach Mike Zimmer placed him near the line of scrimmage.
An observer had the impression that unlike a season ago the Vikings were correctly positioned on defense. Certainly Smith was yesterday and so were others including rookie linebacker Anthony Barr who applied pressure on the quarterback and was second to safety Robert Blanton in solo tackles.
Last year the Vikings seemed predicatable on defense but the team’s alignments yesterday were effective including mostly man-to-man work in the secondary. The Rams, who played the second half with their third team quarterback, weren’t the kind of offensive challenge the Vikings will face in the coming weeks but it was a praise worthy beginning. The Rams were held to 273 yards passing and 72 rushing.
At Zimmer’s news conference this afternoon he was pleased having won his first game as an NFL head coach but he wasn’t dwelling on yesterday. “We’ve got so many things we have to work on,” he said. “Our whole focus is about us getting better.”
Zimmer said because of injuries defensive starters Sharrif Floyd (tackle) and Xavier Rhodes (cornerback) are “day-to-day.”
Worth Noting
Patterson will be a guest on Paul Allen’s KFAN Radio show tomorrow morning, live from the Vikings new stadium preview center downtown. Fans that have passes will be able to attend.
The Vikings’ Scott Studwell, who has taken on a reduced scouting role as a regional college scout, said he will evaluate 200 to 300 players for next year’s NFL Draft compared with about 700 in the past.
The Vikings used a Valpak mailing last week with an insert headlined: “Don’t Get Left Inside.” Single game tickets for 2014 were promoted in the insert and also a pitch that “the only way to guarantee your seat in the new stadium is to become a season ticket member.”
Adam Thielen, the former Minnesota State-Mankato wide receiver who made the Vikings roster after being on the team’s practice squad last year, said the Gophers and then head coach Tim Brewster showed no interest in him coming out of Detroit Lakes High School. Thielen attracted almost no following from colleges while in high school and he recalled at Mankato State he received about $250 in financial assistance his freshman year. “It was real partial,” he said.
Thielen became a starter at wide receiver during his redshirt sophomore season. He was an undrafted free agent by the Vikings in 2013.
A source who spoke anonymously said former Gopher Marion Barber III who was reportedly in a hospital last June for a mental health evaluation is okay now and living in the Dallas area.
Barber’s former teammate Laurence Maroney, also one of the Gophers’ greatest running backs ever, lives in the St. Louis area where he is in the music business, according to the same source.
Gophers athletic director Norwood Teague said on WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” yesterday that his department no longer owes any money to coaches who have been terminated. He also said $40 million has been secured toward the $190 million goal for improved facilities.
The Big Ten office issued a statement this afternoon announcing the reinstatement of Penn State’s eligibility starting now for the conference’s championship football game and a postseason bowl.
Fans will relive Twins memories when they work through the pages of an impressive new book from Nodin Press in Minneapolis. Twins historian Stew Thornley, franchise curator Clyde Doepner and photographer Jerry Stebbins have collaborated on a 96-page book that includes photos of championship rings, gloves, jerseys, pennants, signed baseballs, ticket stubs and other items—even a photo of organist Ronnie Newman’s bench. There are also photos and descriptions about historic achievements by Twins greats including Harmon Killebrew’s 573rd home run and Kirby Puckett’s Silver Slugger Award. The Minnesota Twins Through Memorabilia is like visiting a museum.
Twins relief pitchers have an 8.13 ERA in their last eight games. The club has lost four consecutive games and plays at Cleveland tomorrow night where the Twins starter will be Trevor May, 1-4 with a 9.38 ERA.
In case you want to wish him a belated happy birthday, former Timberwolves star Kevin Love turned 26 yesterday.
Rochester, Minnesota 16-year-old Ingrid Neel played in her first US Open Junior singles match last week in New York, losing in three sets. She and a partner lost in the second round of junior doubles in New York. Neel made news a few years ago by deciding to play boys’ tennis for Rochester Mayo High School, prompted by her belief girls couldn’t offer enough competition. She trains in Florida, with a pro career possible.
Indian Horse Relay will be at Canterbury Park September Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Twelve teams from various Native American nations compete in high-speed bareback riding, exchanging thoroughbred horses on the run. These non-wagering races feature riders in traditional Native American dress competing in qualifying races before determining a champion on Saturday. Known as America’s first sport dating back about 400 years, IHR remains culturally important to Native Americans today. IHR is co-hosted by Canterbury Park and Mystic Lake.