Author: David Shama

Like everyone else in the business, Sports Headliners doesn’t guarantee its predictions. However, I am willing to offer up a guess on the Vikings’ 2007 season record.  So go ahead and read the prediction, with my permission to laugh, cry or kick your foot through the monitor.  I even agree to be reminded in December about the prediction.

It will be a small gathering if you pull together a group adamant that the Vikings are headed for a championship season.  Advertise for a crowd who believes the results will be mediocre at best, lousy at worst, and you should have no problem filling the Metrodome.

The elusive among us prefer to forecast a range of wins and losses.  Safe ground looks like 6-10 to 10-6 for the Vikings.  People who think like this wear plain clothes, invest all their money in treasury bonds and never buy an American car.

I drive a Chrysler and perhaps that doesn’t make me a risk taker but I am willing to be more specific than predicting a range of wins and losses.  I think the Vikings will finish close to .500.  Let’s go with an 8-8 record.

Don’t hold me to the prediction if Adrian Peterson is injured and misses a few games. The rookie running back is that important to the season’s results.  Peterson can become one of the NFL’s best running backs and he has three potentially elite linemen working for him, Steve Hutchinson, Matt Birk and BryantMcKinnie.  Those four players figure to make or break an offense that is quarterback and receiver challenged.

Peterson and friends must be just good enough point producers to complement a good defense that by season’s end might be great.  Defensive tackles Kevin Williams and Pat Williams, safety Darren Sharper and cornerback Antoine Winfield rate with the best players at their positions in the NFL.  Peter King of Sports Illustrated lists Kevin Williams as the top defensive tackle and 14^th best player in the NFL.  Sporting News assigns players a 1-5 ranking and gives fives to Williams and Hutchinson.

Last season the defense held opponents to 20 points or less in nine games.  The Vikings were No. 1 in rushing defense and No. 8 in overall league defense.  What’s needed to make the next step is better pass rushing, particularly from the defensive ends. Those ends now are Ray Edwards and Kenechi Udeze but Erasmus James, recovering from a knee injury, may become a starter later in the season.  During the pre-season the Vikings looked formidable defensively and playmakers included improving linebackers Chad Greenway and E.J. Henderson.

The 16 game schedule includes at least four teams who are clear choices to be better than the Vikings.  Playing Chicago twice and single meetings with Dallas, Philadelphia, San Diego and Denver will allow the Vikings to make comparisons between themselves and the NFL’s better teams.  A challenging schedule is not a prediction.  It’s a fact.

Gopher football coach Tim Brewster told Sports Headliners earlier this week he wants Adam Weber to carry the ball in future games fewer times than he did in last week’s season opening loss to Bowling Green.  Weber, a redshirt freshman playing in his first game, had 18 rushing attempts and gained 72 yards.  Only running back Amir Pinnix, who rushed 28 times for 168 yards, ran more than Weber for the Gophers.

The Gophers new spread offense produced 434 total yards, 246 rushing and 188 passing. “We felt very good about what the spread gave us the other night,” Brewster said.  “Obviously we don’t want our quarterback to run it 18 times each game.  We would like for him to run it anywhere from six to 10 times a game. …

“We had tremendous rushing numbers. We averaged over five yards a carry.  I was really pleased…with the offensive production.  We were at 11 out of 18 on third downs (conversions).”

The spread is a quarterback focused offense with a team dependent on its QB for running, passing and decision making.  The opportunity to be a runner carries with it the risk of injury.  Brewster said he’s prepared to play two quarterbacks this season, perhaps three.  “Injuries happen, particularly if your quarterback is running the option and doing some things that way,” Brewster said.  “That doesn’t scare us. …”

Redshirt junior Tony Mortensen, who has one game start in two seasons as a Gopher, is Weber’s replacement.  Third on the list is Brewster’s son, Clint, who may or may not be redshirted depending on circumstances.  Clint has been told to prepare every day as if he will play.  “He can never have the mindset that’s he’s going to be redshirted.” Brewster said.

Weber completed 15 of 31 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns last Saturday.  After a shaky first half, Weber settled down and showed Brewster that despite the inexperience he was up to the assignment of quarterbacking the complex spread system.  Any doubts Brewster had were eliminated.  “I was really pleased with his composure,” Brewster said. “His ability to communicate what he saw on the field, what was happening.  He had a really nice calmness about him. …”

The Vikings were the most penalized team in the NFL last season and ranked 26^th in scoring among 32 teams.

It will be interesting to see if Troy Williamson holds on to his starting wide receiver position with the Vikings.  He caught only three passes for 32 yards in pre-season.

Top prep basketball recruits Colton Iverson of Yankton, South Dakota and Ralph Sampson III of Duluth, Georgia will visit the University of Minnesota this weekend, according to Mike Max of WCCO TV.  He reported earlier this week that Iverson’s college choices are down to two schools, Minnesota and Florida.  Rivals.com has written that Sampson’s interest in Minnesota is “very high.”

A source told Sports Headliners via e-mail that young Timberwolves players including Randy Foye, Sebastian Telfair, Corey Brewer, Chris Richard, Ryan Gomes and Rashad McCants are in town this week working out for assistant coaches at Target Center.  The Wolves leave for training camp in Turkey later this month.

Rex Kalamian has left the Timberwolves coaching staff to become an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings and work for new head coach Reggie Theus.  It’s believed that Kalamian will have more coaching responsibility with the Kings than with the Wolves.

Concordia College senior fullback Adam Swingdorf, St. Olaf College senior linebacker Nick Rydberg and Saint John’s University junior place kicker/punter Russ Gliadon have been named MIAC players of the week.  Swingdorf rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns last week, while Rydberg had 14 tackles and Gliadon kicked two field goals and made seven extra points.