The Vikings are 5-0 and ranked near the top of everybody’s NFL power rankings but the players insist they’re not high on themselves. They know how fast things can change in the NFL because of misfortune including injuries.
Shaun Hill is the No. 2 quarterback on the Vikings, and he was also a reserve in 2003 when Minnesota started the season 6-0. “I’ve been in this situation and I understand that there’s a lot of work yet to be done,” he told Sports Headliners.
The 2003 Vikings didn’t have a defense comparable to the 2016 version and the club lost four consecutive games after starting the season unbeaten. “I just know we led the division until the last play of the game that year, and didn’t do enough to make it to the postseason,” Hill recalled. “It doesn’t matter what your record is this week, it’s a…weekly (challenge), and really, you gotta go into every game as if both teams are 0-0.”
Wide receiver and kick returner Cordarralle Patterson said wherever he goes strangers and friends are hyped about the undefeated Vikings who play the 3-2 Eagles in Philadelphia Sunday afternoon. Patterson said he hears comments at gas stations, in taxis and on airplanes about how great the team is, but he knows fans are fickle.
Here’s what Patterson said fans tell him, and what his perspective is about the praise. “Oh, man, you all so good—5-0, man. We can’t believe it and all this. But two weeks from now (if the Vikings are losing), they be like, oh, man, ya all suck. I thought you all way better than you all was.
“I am like, duh. Just last week you said how good we is, and now you say we suck. So you can’t really pay attention to what people say. …”
Patterson is convinced teammates are focused and competitive, realizing there are 11 more games to be played before the playoffs. “There’s no selfish guys in this locker room. Everybody wants the next guy to be better than what they is. We like to compete. If you’re not competing, you’re not trying.”
Those comments will resonate with Hill. “I guarantee you this, they don’t hand out any trophies in October,” he said.
Worth Noting
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer talking about former North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz who as a rookie has started every game for the Eagles: “…It seems like he understands where the ball is going quickly. He has done a nice job of avoiding pressure in the pocket and using his athletic ability, and he has got a great arm. He looks very accurate to me. He has got a great deep ball. So, he has been impressive.”
Wisconsin lost in overtime Saturday night to Ohio State, 30-23, but Joel Stave told Sports Headliners he believes if the teams played 10 times in Madison, the Badgers would win half the games. Stave, the Badgers starting quarterback last season and now on the Vikings practice squad, attended Saturday night’s game in Madison and watched on the field.
Badgers coach Paul Chryst had the undefeated Buckeyes guessing as to what was going to happen next when Wisconsin had the ball. “I think he’s the best play caller in the country,” Stave said.
For the second consecutive week, players with state of Minnesota ties have been named Big Ten Players of the Week. Badgers junior linebacker Jack Cichy, a native of Somerset, Wisconsin who attended Hill-Murray School in Maplewood, was announced Monday as the Defensive Player of the Week for his career-high 15 tackles (11 solo) against Ohio State. Last week Purdue running back Brian Lankford-Johnson from St. Paul was Freshman of the Week after rushing for 127 yards against Illinois. Johnson signed with the Boilermakers after playing prep football in Palm Bay, Florida.
Former Gophers offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch, now an assistant at Michigan, might be among the candidates Purdue considers to fill its head coaching vacancy. A stronger possibility could be former Purdue assistant Brock Spack, now head coach at Illinois State where his wins this year include an upset of Northwestern.
It will be interesting to hear Saint John’s head football coach Gary Fasching speak to the C.O.R.E.S. lunch group Thursday, November 10. The Johnnies are not only nationally ranked and chasing the MIAC title, but Monday it was announced the St. Thomas-Saint John’s game next year will be played at Target Field. The lunch will be at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington, 1114 American Blvd. More information is available by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net. C.O.R.E.S. is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.
Patrick Mahomes, the Texas Tech quarterback and son of former Twins pitcher Pat Mahomes, leads all FBS players in total offense at 455.2 yards per game.
Ex-Gophers quarterback Phil Nelson, now at East Carolina, ranks 19th in the country with 311.8 yards per game. Nelson first left the Gophers for Rutgers and later transferred to East Carolina where he is in his first and last season of eligibility. Former Minnesota coach Jerry Kill helped Nelson transition to East Carolina because of Jeff Compher, the Pirates’ athletics director. When Kill coached at Northern Illinois, Compher was the Huskies’ athletics director and the two built a friendship and mutual admiration.
“At the end of the day that’s how he (Nelson) got there, and that’s how it all worked out,” Kill told Sports Headliners. “Jeff was good enough to believe what I said and took the chance on Philip. He talked a lot about it. The reason Philip is at East Carolina is because of Jeff Compher and what kind of person Jeff Compher is.”
Wide receiver True Thompson, formerly of Armstrong High School, suffered a concussion in August while with the Iowa Western Community College football team, but he has resumed practicing with the team. Thompson, the son of ex-Gophers running back Darrell Thompson, is redshirting this year.
Home court might be the difference tomorrow night when the WNBA Finals are decided at Target Center. The Lynx and Sparks are tied at two wins in the best of five series but Target Center has been a favored place for the Minnesota team. The Lynx is 16-3 this year in its home arena, including playoff games. With a victory the Lynx can win its second consecutive WNBA title and fourth in franchise history.
Owner Glen Taylor told Sports Headliners last month the franchise will have its most profitable year ever, coming in between $1 million and $2 million. Now with the club hosting three games in the WNBA Finals the bottom line should look even better.
Former Gophers All-American Leonard “Buddy” Edelen, who became the first man to run a marathon faster than two hours and 15 minutes in 1963, is among those selected for the 2016 USATF National Track & Field Hall of Fame Class. Edelen, who passed away in 1997, will be posthumously inducted during the second annual Black Tie & Sneakers Gala in New York on November 3.
A native of Harrodsburg, Kentucky, Edelen was a two-time All-American and a two-time Big Ten champion for the Gophers competing for the cross country and track teams in the late 1950s. In 1963 he ran 2:14.28 to win Britain’s Polytechnic Marathon. He finished sixth in the marathon at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo.