A lengthy list of notes including an unofficial vote for the Vikings midseason MVP, and also the Gophers “revenge” game tomorrow against Illinois.
Ex-Vikings defensive lineman Bob Lurtsema remains close to the team and was asked to name a MVP after nine games. “Linval Joseph right now is leading the pack, but if you answer the question straight out, I would say the defensive line entirely,” Lurtsema told Sports Headliners. “…They do so many things, and now they’re coming together as a group.”
Joseph, a 27-year-old defensive tackle in his second season with the Vikings, is having a career year. Joseph has 31 solo tackles through nine starts, after totaling 28 in 16 games last season. He has 43 combined tackles, with seven games remaining in the regular schedule. His career-best for solo tackles in one season is 34, and it’s 59 for combined tackles.
Joseph was announced as NFC Defensive Player of the Week a couple days after his performance on November 8 against the Rams. In that overtime win he had 10 tackles, including seven solo.
Joseph was a starter with the Giants before coming to the Vikings as a free agent prior to the 2014 season. The six-year pro told Sports Headliners that for consistency this is his best season. “I feel like things are just working out well for me right now. Everybody is playing team ball. Everybody is just happy for one another when they make plays. I just like the atmosphere that’s going on in this locker room. I just can’t wait to play Green Bay this week.”
The NFC North Division leading Vikings, 7-2, will play Green Bay at TCF Bank Stadium and the Packers will face a defense giving up only 17.1 points per game—best in the NFC. Joseph and his defensive line teammates have helped lead a productive defense for head coach Mike Zimmer, now in his second season with the Vikings.
“He’s a very good guy,” Joseph said about his coach. “He cares about his players. His players care about him. At the end of the day we’ve all got the same mindset. We want to win. We want to go to the top.”
Lurtsema has frequently praised Zimmer for his defensive teaching skills, blitz calls, secondary coverages, and overall approach with the team including intolerance for players who habitually make mistakes. Before this season began, an optimistic Lurtsema predicted a 10-6 record for the Vikings and a spot in the playoffs. The Vikings had finished 7-9 in 2014 and didn’t qualify for postseason play.
Lurtsema is also predicting a Vikings win by three points against the 6-3 Packers who have lost three straight games. The Packers are in a funk after an 18-16 loss to the now 2-7 Lions in Green Bay last Sunday. “Something’s missing there,” Lurtsema said on Monday. “You just don’t lose at home, especially to Detroit.”
A supportive and amped-up Vikings crowd on Sunday might even be the difference in the outcome of a game that is a projected toss-up. “Attitude (from players) is contagious. Attitude from the crowd is contagious,” Lurtsema said. “If it wasn’t important, why would point spreads bring in three points for home field advantage? That’s what they have always stated.”
The Gophers play Illinois tomorrow at TCF Bank Stadium and Minnesota quarterback Mitch Leidner has a message for the Illini who pulled off an upset last year. “It definitely was a surprise for us to go down there and get beat last year. They’re coming to our house this year and we’re excited about that, and it’s definitely a game that we got some revenge for them.”
That loss to Illinois cost the Gophers an opportunity to play the last game of the season at Wisconsin with one defeat. The Badgers had one loss entering the game. Wisconsin defeated Minnesota and became the West Division champs with a 7-1 Big Ten record. The Gophers finished with a 5-3 conference record.
Shannon Brooks, the Gophers 19-year-old freshman running back, has emerged as the team’s most explosive runner. “I don’t think he’s a finished product at all, and that’s what’s so exciting about it,” said Matt Limegrover.
Limegrover, Minnesota’s offensive coordinator, expects Brooks to mature physically. Limegrover used senior wide receiver KJ Maye as an example of a Gopher who has become faster, quicker and stronger after being dedicated to year-round training.
Limegrover said Brooks told him he has work to do as he continues to transition from high school to college football. “I think he’ll be a different player as early as this spring,” the coach said.
Brooks has twice been selected as the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Week. His most recent honor came this week after a performance last Saturday against Iowa that included 86 yards rushing and a surprise 42-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Drew Wolitarsky.
It was the first pass Brooks has attempted in a Gophers game and perhaps his last, since it’s unusual for a tailback to throw the ball. Wolitarsky admitted the Gophers worked on the play a lot in practice last week. He said the throw Brooks made in the game was his best of the week. “It didn’t look good in practice,” Wolitarsky said.
New Gophers head coach Tracy Claeys, the team’s former defensive coordinator, attends offensive meetings now. Limegrover has come to know Claeys is willing to take chances on offense including the Brooks to Wolitarsky pass. “He was the one that said, ‘Hey, don’t bring it back on the plane with you,’ ” Limegrover recalled.
During games, though, Claeys seldom involves himself with play calling. He said “99.9 percent” (of the time) assistants are deciding on the offensive plays.
Asked about how his life has changed since taking over for Jerry Kill as head coach this fall, Claeys said he’s setting aside 60 to 90 minutes per night to make recruiting calls.
Look for the Gophers to continue Kill’s philosophy of filling recruiting needs mostly with high school players, not junior college prospects who have fewer years of eligibility at Division I schools than preps. Claeys mentioned the Kansas program that a couple of years ago under then head coach Charlie Weis recruited a large class of junior college transfers, and he said that “got them in a bind.”
The November 18 issue of Sports Illustrated ranks MLB’s top 50 free agents and suggests franchises where players will “best fit” next season. Rays shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, 30 years old, and Astros right-hand pitcher Tony Sipp, 32, received Twins best fits.
Cabrera, ranked No. 29 by S.I., hit .265 with 15 home runs and 58 RBI last season, but his big value was in the field where he committed just nine errors in 1,141 innings. Sipp, ranked No. 46, had a career season in relief with a 3-4 record and 1.99 ERA.
The St. Thomas men’s basketball team is one of eight teams playing in the Division 3 Hoopsville Classic Invitational in Stevenson, Maryland. The Tommies, ranked No. 4 in the nation by D3Hoops.com, play Emory tonight and Southern Vermont Saturday evening. Those two teams were a combined 47-10 last season and appear formidable again.
Tommies coach John Tauer is a professor of psychology. Sports Illustrated posted a podcast last Monday on his work as a coach, professor, and author.
Ready for the annual Teddy Bear Toss promotion? Better be if you’re planning to attend the Gophers women’s hockey game at Ridder Arena tonight. Fans can bring stuffed animals for donation to the athletic department’s annual toy drive. When the first Gopher goal is scored, fans can throw the stuffed animals on the ice. Minnesota (11-1-0, 9-1-0 WCHA) plays Yale (1-4-1, 1-2-1 ECAC) tonight and Saturday evening.