Vikings coach Leslie Frazier was asked about the confidence of quarterback Christian Ponder on KFAN Radio after yesterday’s 23-14 loss to the Packers. “He’ll bounce back,” Frazier said from the locker room on the post game show. “He’s a tough kid. High character kid.”
Ponder threw two second half interceptions, including one ball picked off in the end zone to end Vikings’ drives. The first interception followed a 48-yard run by Adrian Peterson to the Green Bay 12 yard line to open the third quarter. After a Peterson run to the eight yard line, Ponder’s pass was intercepted by Morgan Burnett in the end zone. A touchdown would have sent the Vikings ahead 21-10.
It was also Burnett who intercepted Ponder on the Green Bay 13 yard line to stop another drive. The play ended the third quarter when the Vikings were trying to overcome a 20-14 Packers’ lead. “I can’t let it get me down,” Ponder said at the post game news conference aired on Vikings.com. “I gotta move forward.”
Ponder’s passes were consistently inaccurate for much of the game. The first interception where Ponder appeared to have a good view of Burnett in the end zone seemed almost inexplicable.
Ponder has struggled in his last two games. He has thrown three interceptions, while completing 34 of 68 passes for two touchdowns. His passing ratings have been 58.2 and 41.9.
Frazier’s confidence in the second-year quarterback is the sort of commitment that coaches are expected to voice about struggling players. Yet if it was difficult for the coach to be positive after the game no one could blame him. Not on a day when the 6-6 Vikings could have made a statement about being serious playoff contenders.
Instead the Packers and Bears look to be best positioned to contend for the NFC North title, with the loser possibly making the playoffs. With yesterday’s win, the Packers are 8-4 and so, too, are the Bears after losing to the Seahawks.
The Vikings had led 14-10 at halftime with the highlight being a career-best 82-yard run by Peterson. For the game he ran for 210 yards, the sixth consecutive time he’s rushed for over 100 yards.
Defensive end Mike Neal had predicted in a Saturday Milwaukee-Journal Sentinel online story that Peterson would break long runs. “He’s a monster,” Neal said.
The Packers, playing without injured starters on offense and defense, exhibited poor tackling and a leaky offensive line but Green Bay had both a passing and running game on Sunday and that was too much balance for the Vikings yesterday despite a solid performance by the defense. The Vikings didn’t have anything near the kind of run-pass balance they had hoped for while preparing in practice last week.
“We want to be able to use our entire offensive game plan,” Vikings center John Sullivan told Sports Headliners last week. “Be able to pass the ball effectively. Be able to run the ball to help set up the pass. If we’re able to do those things we should be successful.”
The Vikings, with four games remaining, will try to make the formula work next Sunday at home against the Bears.
Kill Built MAC Champs & Other Notes
Northern Illinois won the MAC football championship last Friday night with a roster of players Gophers coach Jerry Kill and his assistants recruited. The Huskies, with 18 of 22 starters recruited by Kill, won their second consecutive MAC title defeating Kent State 44-37 in double overtime.
Redshirt junior quarterback Jordan Lynch ran for 160 yards and passed for 212 in the win. Lynch was recruited by Kill in 2009 and at that time was rated a two-star player by Rivals.com. He was voted the MAC’s 2012 MVP and the school is promoting him as a Heisman Trophy candidate.
Junior tailback Akeem Daniels, 5-foot-7, ran for 128 yards in the win for the top 25 ranked Huskies. Daniels was part of Kill’s 2010 recruiting class and was also a Rivals two-star recruit.
Kill coached at Northern Illinois for three seasons, leading the Huskies to three bowl games with his best season in 2010, a 10-3 record. His successor, former Badgers assistant coach Dave Doeren, has coached the Huskies to records of 11-3 and 12-1. The Huskies will play in the 2013 Orange Bowl, the first MAC team to earn a BCS bowl game invite.
North Carolina State is hiring Doeren as its new football coach, prompting speculation members of Kill’s staff will be considered for the Huskies’ job. But Doeren earned less than $500,000 and the school likely won’t pay his successor much more than that, perhaps less.
Former Vikings assistant coach Monte Kiffin resigned last week as USC’s defensive coordinator. His reported $1.5 million salary at USC is more than the $1.2 million that Kill is believed to earn with the Gophers.
Kill said the Gophers will start bowl practices on Friday and continue on Saturday and Sunday. The Gophers will play in the December 28 Meineke Car Care Bowl in Houston and have 15 practices to prepare.
Kill said injuries will prevent defensive tackle Roland Johnson and linebacker Brendan Beal from playing in the bowl game.
The Gophers have a history of playing in bowls that don’t pay a lot of money like the Meineke bowl. But former Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi said his department never lost money because of cost saving measures like sending the marching band to the game by bus.
Vikings center John Sullivan talking about playing in small town Green Bay including historic Lambeau Field: “It’s got a cool feel. They’ve got a great fan base. Obviously they really care about their team there. It’s got a little bit of a different atmosphere than a normal NFL stadium. Little bit of a college atmosphere to it. It’s definitely a fun place to play.”
The Packers radio network includes 1220 KLBB AM in Stillwater, plus stations in Bismarck, North Dakota; Des Moines, Iowa; Sioux Falls, South Dakota and four stations in Michigan, according to Packers.com.
Joe Mauer, who married Madie Bisanz on Saturday in St. Paul, had his name rumored on the Internet last week speculating the Twins catcher will be traded to the Red Sox (Bleacher Report) and Yankees (Sports World Report). To complete a Mauer trade the Twins would require an extraordinary deal with not only the right players but right salaries to fit team payroll. Would Mauer be intrigued about playing for a storied franchise and a better chance of earning a World Series ring?
The Gophers basketball team was one of six Big Ten teams ranked in the Associated Press top 25 last week. Indiana was ranked No. 1 followed by Michigan No. 3, Ohio State No. 4, Michigan State No. 13, Minnesota No. 21 and Illinois No. 22. Former Gophers coach Jim Dutcher was asked when the Big Ten has appeared this strong. “Never,” he said.
Gophers radio play-by-play announcer Mike Grimm said the Big Ten Conference Tournament could be more difficult to win than the Final Four.
The Gophers hockey team became the first WCHA team to earn 10 points with a win over Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday night. The Mavericks, who beat the Gophers on Friday night, have players from 21 states including five from Minnesota, plus five from Canada and one from the Czech Republic.