Author: David Shama

Although they won’t admit it, there are probably a lot of NFL decision makers having second thoughts this week about passing on Adrian Peterson in the college draft earlier this year.  Yeah, the Chicago Bears are upset about their poor performance trying to corral and tackle the 22-year-old Viking running back from Palestine, Texas.  But draft decision makers with Oakland, Detroit, Cleveland, Tampa Bay, Arizona and Washington have reason to think about throwing a tantrum, too, even if they do it in the privacy of a closet at midnight.

Those teams drafted one through six last April, choosing quarterback JaMarcus Russell, wide receiver Calvin Johnson, offensive tackle Joe Thomas, defensive end Gaines Adams, offensive tackle Levi Brown and safety LaRon Landry.  Russell has yet to play for the Raiders.  Johnson has 11 receptions, 192 yards, a 17.5 per catch average and two touchdowns.  Thomas has started all six games for the Browns at left tackle. Adams has started the same number of games and has 15 tackles and one sack.  Brown has started three of six games at right tackle.   Landry has started three of five games and has 26 tackles and a half sack.

Peterson, the seventh pick in the draft, leads the NFL in rushing with 607 yards after playing in five games.  With five touchdowns he leads all NFL rookies in that category.    Against Chicago last Sunday he rushed for a single game team record 224 yards (also the most ever given up by the Bears).  He has set or tied numerous franchise records including the first Viking to have two runs of over 50 yards in a single game (against the Bears).

After five games including Sunday’s coming-of-age performance against the Bears, people are talking about running back king LaDainian Tomlinson and Peterson in the same sentence.  Tomlinson, with six consecutive 1,000 yards or more seasons, had four touchdowns and 198 yards rushing on Sunday against Oakland. That sentence can be something like:  “Tomlinson and Peterson are the two best running backs in the NFL.”

Assume that all seven of the first picks in last April’s draft become Pro Bowl players. Other than perhaps Russell, none can have the impact of Peterson because of the positions they play.  Peterson is such a playmaker that if he remains healthy the others can’t compare unless Russell ultimately shows quarterback skills the equal of Peterson’s as a runner.  That’s a lot to ask because Peterson’s ability to cut, change speeds, and overpower and outrun everybody on the field makes him a candidate for wearing a big “S” on his chest.

Before he becomes the new age’s superman, though, he will have to play a few more games at minimum.  And at some point he will need to be recognized as the Vikings’ No. 1 running back.  As of Monday’s news conference with head coach Brad Childress, Peterson was still No. 2 behind veteran Chester Taylor.  Childress said the No. 2 status doesn’t bother him or Peterson.

While Childress wants to continue to mix playing time between the two, he recognizes how special a first year runner Peterson is. “He’s the best (rookie back) that I’ve seen or coached,” Childress said.  The coach also said he likes alternating his two running backs, providing “fresh” legs and looks, maximizing opportunities for explosive plays.

Peterson did that against the Bears.  He had runs of 67, 73 and 35 yards for touchdowns, plus a 53-yard kickoff return.

Peterson will see better defenses ahead than the Bears offered.  In their last three    games the Bears have given up 88  points.  Against Peterson the Bear secondary was particularly bad, missing tackles and taking poor angles. The Bears gave up 311 total yards rushing to the Vikings, including 224 to Peterson and 83 to Taylor.

Here’s what Bears’ defensive tackle Tommie Harris told Chicago Sun-Times columnist   Jay Mariotti on suntimes.com: “There’s no excuse to give up that many yards. I don’t even think we were in position to make tackles,” Tommie Harris said. “We played poorly on defense. People talk about how good our defense is, but we’ve been giving up way too many rushing yards. …”

Mariotti offered this praise to Peterson: “We’ve seen magnificent running backs in this town, the best to play the game. Cedric Benson certifiably is not worthy of the tradition, which makes life difficult when you’ve wasted a high draft pick and about $20 million on a bust while the Minnesota Vikings are showcasing the next power-and-speed, bash-and-dash, Nintendo-game force.”

The Gophers may never come closer to playing themselves than Saturday when North Dakota State comes to the Metrodome.  The Bison have 18 players among their 22 offensive and defensive starters who are from the five-state area.  The Gophers have nine.  North Dakota State has six starters from Minnesota, while the Gophers have eight home state regulars (none from North or South Dakota).  Among second team offensive and defensive players from the state of Minnesota, the Gophers have 12 and NDSU eight.

Gopher co-captain Tony Brinkhaus, the senior center from Bloomington Jefferson, said he knows a lot of the Bison by name, but few personally.  Sophomore Tyler Henry is a reserve linebacker for NDSU from Jefferson.  Henry was a couple years behind Brinkhaus at Jefferson.  He described him as “a very tough kid” who became Jefferson’s best player.  Has there been a verbal rivalry between the two Jefferson alums when they see each other?  “There was really no trash talking going back and forth,” Brinkhaus said.  “He’s more of a mild mannered guy and so am I. So we weren’t jabbing at each other or anything like that.”

With a 1-6 record, 0-4 in the Big Ten Conference, Brinkhaus and his teammates are frustrated.  Asked if losing to former Division I-A North Dakota State would be the ultimate frustration, Brinkhaus said he won’t take that attitude. “I am not going to say that because you got to respect every opponent you play,” he said. “I don’t want to put them down because they’re a good team.  There’s no doubt that I am going to go into this week expecting to win.”

The Bison are a good team as demonstrated by the close loss (10-9) last season to the Gophers in the dome and a 10 game winning streak since then that’s made NDSU the No. 1 team in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision rankings.  That kind of success and the proximity of Fargo to Minneapolis means a lot of support in the dome on Saturday for the Bison.  Vocal support for NDSU may exceed fan noise for the Gophers.

Brinkhaus knows that could happen. “It’s tough but at the same time you would rather have a full stadium with opposing fans than somewhere that’s maybe half full,” he said. “Because you know if we’re not going to sell it out with our own fans, then the money’s got to come from somewhere. So it’s just one of those things that I’ve been accustomed to the last couple years with Iowa and Wisconsin coming in here and now obviously NDSU fans are making a name for themselves too.”

A crowd of more than 60,000 will attend the game, the last in a two game series with North Dakota State.

There are about 3,000 tickets remaining for the Timberwolves home opener on Friday, November 2 against Denver, according to a club spokesman.

Paul Allen has been puzzled about the scarcity of callers with questions for Viking coach Brad Childress on their KFAN radio show Thursday nights.  Allen told Sports Headliners that typically during the first five weeks of the show there have been three or four people contacting the station and one or two questioners going on the air.  With all the fan criticism of Childress, much of it concerning his offense, Allen has been “surprised” that more people aren’t calling and he speculates it’s an example of the “Minnesota nice” public, unwilling to directly confront the coach. Allen said after Sunday’s performance of four touchdowns and a 34-31 win over Chicago, it will be interesting to see if the call volume picks up.  Allen talks to Childress each Thursday between 6 and 7 p.m. 

Childress said Monday that Anthony Herrera has established himself as the starting right guard over Artis Hicks.  

The Gophers have two players rated with four stars among their 14 verbal commitments, according to rivals.com.  The two are wide receiver Vincent Hill of New Berlin, New York and linebacker Sam Maresh of Champlin, Minnesota. 

South Florida, the No. 2 ranked football team in the country, has been playing football since 1997.  That was Glen Mason’s first season as Gopher coach, having succeeded Jim Wacker.   

Did you hear about the quarterback who had five interceptions last weekend?  The next morning he ordered a turnover for breakfast. 

The Wild’s next game is in St. Louis on Saturday night (no local TV) and Minnesota may see former Gopher star defenseman Erik Johnson who gave up his final three years of college eligibility to play for the Blues this season. Johnson has missed some games because of a foot fracture.  Other Minnesota natives on the Blues’ roster are forwards David Backes (Minneapolis) and Dan Hinote (Elk River).  The Wild won three of the four games against St. Louis in 2006-07, outscoring the Blues 18-9. Minnesota is 8-1-1 in its last 10 games against St. Louis.    

Junior forward Ryan Stoa, the left wing on the Gopher hockey team’s top line last weekend, will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury suffered in Saturday’s win over Michigan. He ranked seventh on the team with 12 goals and 12 assists for 24 points during 2006-07.

The MIAC has selected three players for its Offensive Player of the Week award, honoring three quarterbacks. Saint John’s senior quarterback Alex Kofoed broke two school records in his team’s 40-0 win over Gustavus Adolphus last Saturday.  He set the school’s all-time mark for touchdown passes (88) and had his ninth career 300-yard passing game, also a new Saint John’s record. He has been honored seven times with the Offensive Player of the Week award.  Concordia junior quarterback Jesse Nelson ran for two touchdowns and threw three touchdown passes in the Cobbers’ 52-51 loss at St. Olaf on Saturday. Nelson had a career high 329 total yards, rushing 23 times for 104 yards and completing 18-of-26 passes for 225 passing yards. St. Thomas junior quarterback David Sauer threw for three touchdowns, had a career-best 441 passing yards, had no interceptions and ran for a score in Saturday’s 50-33 comeback win over Augsburg.

Saint John’s junior defensive tackle Nick Gunderson made five tackles (three solo), including 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and one fumble recovery against Gustavus to win MIAC Defensive Player of the Week.  St. Olaf senior kicker/punter Paul Fortman was 7-for-7 on extra points to extend his streak to 45 without a miss. Fortman added two punts for a 48.0 punt average and threw a pass on a fake punt for a 20-yard gain in St. Olaf’s win over Concordia. He was recognized as Special Teams Player of the Week, the eighth time he has been honored.

There are about 3,000 tickets remaining for the Timberwolves home opener on Friday, November 2 against Denver, according to a club spokesman.

Paul Allen has been puzzled about the scarcity of callers with questions for Viking coach Brad Childress on their KFAN radio show Thursday nights.  Allen told Sports Headliners that typically during the first five weeks of the show there have been three or four people contacting the station and one or two questioners going on the air.  With all the fan criticism of Childress, much of it concerning his offense, Allen has been “surprised” that more people aren’t calling and he speculates it’s an example of the “Minnesota nice” public, unwilling to directly confront the coach. Allen said after Sunday’s performance of four touchdowns and a 34-31 win over Chicago, it will be interesting to see if the call volume picks up.  Allen talks to Childress each Thursday between 6 and 7 p.m. 

Childress said Monday that Anthony Herrera has established himself as the starting right guard over Artis Hicks.  

The Gophers have two players rated with four stars among their 14 verbal commitments, according to rivals.com.  The two are wide receiver Vincent Hill of New Berlin, New York and linebacker Sam Maresh of Champlin, Minnesota. 

South Florida, the No. 2 ranked football team in the country, has been playing football since 1997.  That was Glen Mason’s first season as Gopher coach, having succeeded Jim Wacker.   

Did you hear about the quarterback who had five interceptions last weekend?  The next morning he ordered a turnover for breakfast. 

The Wild’s next game is in St. Louis on Saturday night (no local TV) and Minnesota may see former Gopher star defenseman Erik Johnson who gave up his final three years of college eligibility to play for the Blues this season. Johnson has missed some games because of a foot fracture.  Other Minnesota natives on the Blues’ roster are forwards David Backes (Minneapolis) and Dan Hinote (Elk River).  The Wild won three of the four games against St. Louis in 2006-07, outscoring the Blues 18-9. Minnesota is 8-1-1 in its last 10 games against St. Louis.    

Junior forward Ryan Stoa, the left wing on the Gopher hockey team’s top line last weekend, will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury suffered in Saturday’s win over Michigan. He ranked seventh on the team with 12 goals and 12 assists for 24 points during 2006-07.

The MIAC has selected three players for its Offensive Player of the Week award, honoring three quarterbacks. Saint John’s senior quarterback Alex Kofoed broke two school records in his team’s 40-0 win over Gustavus Adolphus last Saturday.  He set the school’s all-time mark for touchdown passes (88) and had his ninth career 300-yard passing game, also a new Saint John’s record. He has been honored seven times with the Offensive Player of the Week award.  Concordia junior quarterback Jesse Nelson ran for two touchdowns and threw three touchdown passes in the Cobbers’ 52-51 loss at St. Olaf on Saturday. Nelson had a career high 329 total yards, rushing 23 times for 104 yards and completing 18-of-26 passes for 225 passing yards. St. Thomas junior quarterback David Sauer threw for three touchdowns, had a career-best 441 passing yards, had no interceptions and ran for a score in Saturday’s 50-33 comeback win over Augsburg.

Saint John’s junior defensive tackle Nick Gunderson made five tackles (three solo), including 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and one fumble recovery against Gustavus to win MIAC Defensive Player of the Week.  St. Olaf senior kicker/punter Paul Fortman was 7-for-7 on extra points to extend his streak to 45 without a miss. Fortman added two punts for a 48.0 punt average and threw a pass on a fake punt for a 20-yard gain in St. Olaf’s win over Concordia. He was recognized as Special Teams Player of the Week, the eighth time he has been honored.