MIAC – Page 21 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Vikings Answer Skeptics in Defeat

Posted on December 11, 2015December 11, 2015 by David Shama

The Vikings and their fans can feel additional confidence after last night’s 23-20 loss to the Cardinals in Arizona. Predictions earlier this week were the Vikings would not only lose but by a big score.

It was known during the week the Vikings would play without three of their best defensive players and that unit would be reshuffled with lesser personnel. Teddy Bridgewater was coming off a disappointing performance last Sunday in a 38-7 loss against the Seahawks, and Seattle linebacker Bruce Ervin said the second-year quarterback played scared.

The Vikings showed a character check last night, playing the Cardinals to a 10-10 halftime tie before losing by a field goal in the fourth quarter. With the win the Cardinals, now 11-2, further positioned themselves among elite teams in the NFL. The Vikings, 8-5, are no longer in first place in the NFC North but still are having a season that is surprising critics who didn’t see them as a serious threat to unseat the Packers as division champions, and thought even less of Minnesota after an opening game 20-3 loss to the mediocre 49ers.

Teddy Bridgewater (photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings.)

Bridgewater threw for a career high 335 yards and had a passer rating of 108 last night. That kind of work will be needed the rest of the season when the Vikings play the Bears and Giants at home, before closing out at Green Bay. No one, including critics, should be surprised if the Vikings win two or three of those games against the Bears and Giants, both with 5-7 records, and the 8-4 Packers.

If the Vikings follow the lead of head coach Mike Zimmer and his staff, good things should continue to develop in their march to the playoffs. After last Sunday afternoon’s game in Minneapolis against the Seahawks, Zimmer let it be known he expected his players to prepare their bodies for a short week of practice and Thursday’s game in Arizona. The majority of them headed for Winter Park before nightfall on Sunday. “We followed suit,” said placekicker Blair Walsh on Tuesday.

Three days of rest and rehab is different than the typical Sunday to Sunday game schedule. “You don’t come in Sunday after the game usually, unless you’re severely hurt or you need treatment,” Walsh said.

Defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd arrived at about 4:30 p.m. and stayed for more than one hour. Massages, foam rollers and cold tubs are used by players to revitalize worn bodies targeted since training camp last summer.

“It’s just hard work,” Floyd said about the rehab. “You can’t complain about it, you just gotta do it…nowadays.”

Key defensive players Anthony Barr, Linval Joseph and Harrison Smith were unable to play last night because of injuries. But Floyd said earlier in the week it does no good for the team to worry about the injured and absent.

“Never worry. If you worry you’re setting yourself up for failure,” he said. “No need to worry. Just come in with a game plan and fight as hard as possible. That’s all we ask for. We’re not asking you to do something out of the ordinary, just come do your job and be prepared to play tough.”

Even the critics can’t knock the Vikings’ effort last night.

Worth Noting

Tom Moore, who turned 77 last month and was an assistant coach for the Gophers in the 1970s and Vikings in the 1990s, is assistant head coach of the Cardinals. This is his 51st season of coaching, 37th in the NFL. Moore attended high school in Rochester, Minnesota and played college football at Iowa.

The Cardinals have sold out every game at University of Phoenix Stadium since the retractable roof facility opened in 2006, and noisy crowds provide the team with a home field advantage. Dating back to 2006 and going into last night’s game against the Vikings, Cardinals’ opponents had 132 false start penalties, the most in any NFL stadium during that period.

Both Sports Illustrated and the National Football League Players Association have ranked the playing surface at University of Phoenix Stadium best in the NFL. The playing surface is natural grass that can be moved outside in one giant tray to grow and be effectively maintained, and then put in place for Cardinals games.

It’s an oddity having the Vikings last night, then the Wild tonight and the Timberwolves on Sunday all playing games in the Phoenix area over a four-day period.

Andy Dalton, the Bengals quarterback who the Vikings could have drafted, has thrown for 3,000 yards in all five of his first NFL seasons. Only Peyton Manning has done that. In the 2011 NFL Draft the Vikings chose Christian Ponder with the No. 12 selection in the first round. The Bengals selected Dalton with the third pick in the second round.

More than half of the St. Thomas football roster could play Division II football, according to Tommies head coach Glenn Caruso. The talented Tommies, 13-0, host 12-0 Linfield tomorrow in a 2:30 p.m. Division III semifinals game. The Tommies have reached the semifinals for the third time in five years.

Caruso said Linfield has been a favorite since week one of the season to win the national title. “They are supremely loaded with talent,” he said.

Linfield will need to not only match the Tommies’ talent but also Caruso’s willingness to take risks. A trick play or surprise move like an onside kick is who the Tommies are. Caruso believes too many coaches are “risk averse.”

Would Caruso welcome moving indoors to U.S. Bank Stadium if the Tommies are playing home December playoff games in future years? “I don’t want to give away home field advantage (outdoors and on campus),” he said.

The Tommies, though, would consider a regular season game in the new Minneapolis stadium—perhaps against legendary rival Saint John’s.

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has heard the rumors Prince and Jimmy Jam Harris have interest in buying the team but said no one representing them has approached him.

Among the highlights of the Minnesota prep basketball season will be tomorrow’s annual Breakdown Sports Tip Off Classics at Minnetonka High School involving boys and girls teams. Class 4-A boys powers Apple Valley and Hopkins play at 3:45 p.m. in the most anticipated game. The schedule of games throughout the day and into the evening will showcase nationally ranked prep players including two seniors who are Gophers recruits, Amir Coffey from Hopkins and Michael Hurt whose Rochester John Marshall team plays an 8 p.m. game against Shakopee.

Hurt’s brother and teammate Matthew is a Rivals.com five-star recruit in the class of 2019. Other players in the tournament being followed nationally include Tre Jones and Gary Trent Jr. from Apple Valley, and Theo John and McKinley Wright from Champlin Park. Class 4-A Champlin Park plays 3-A DeLaSalle at 7 p.m. in another anticipated game.

Two of the winningest college hockey coaches face each other tonight and tomorrow evening in Ann Arbor. Michigan coach Red Berenson has won 818 games while the Gophers Don Lucia has 680 victories. The two rank second and third for most wins, with Boston College’s Jerry York first with 997.

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How Peterson’s World Changes Again

Posted on December 2, 2015December 2, 2015 by David Shama

On the football beat with insights about the Vikings, Gophers and St. Thomas:

Adrian Peterson is in a different place today than he was 12 months ago, and his circumstances are even in contrast to two years ago.

Peterson leads the NFL in rushing and appears all but certain to receive All-Pro recognition as the league’s best running back for 2015. He is the centerpiece of an offense that otherwise is pretty much comprised of inconsistent players including second-year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Peterson’s running along with a superb defense are mostly responsible for the Vikings’ surprising 8-3 record and first place position in the NFC North.

Adrian Peterson (photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings.)

A year ago Peterson was on his way to missing all but one game of the 2014 season. He was barred from football activities by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for developments involving disciplining of his four-year-old son. In early December of last year it was unknown when he would be allowed to play again, and whether he was going to be a Viking.

Minnesotans, including many Vikings fans, were appalled at details about Peterson using a switch on his child. Twelve months ago there was controversy whether Peterson should be allowed to remain with the team and if the Vikings franchise wanted to be associated with him. It wouldn’t be surprising if there were power brokers within the Vikings organization who wanted Peterson gone in 2015, advocating to separate the controversial superstar from the franchise’s marketing and image-making while plans developed to move into U.S. Bank Stadium in 2016.

A source told Sports Headliners in late April the Vikings were in talks with the Cowboys about a trade involving Peterson. While there may have been interest in determining what assets a Peterson deal would yield, it seems clear that general manager Rick Spielman and coach Mike Zimmer saw the impact their future hall of fame runner could have on the 2015 team.

Peterson is 30 years old—a number that typically puts most NFL runners on the brink of old age or even in it. Two seasons ago the Vikings were slogging through a losing year and there was conjecture it was time to trade a then 28-year-old Peterson. Move him before his legs fell off and get something back in value, maybe a draft choice to land a first-rate quarterback prospect to replace Christian Ponder.

The Vikings finished 6-10 in 2013 and Peterson had an okay season playing in 14 games, rushing for 1,266 yards and 10 touchdowns. This season he already has 1,164 yards and eight touchdowns in 11 games. On Sunday against the Seahawks he could best his 2013 numbers and still have four remaining regular season games.

The man some fans wanted traded two years ago is on a short list of league MVP candidates. After a slow start in game one against the 49ers when Peterson was trying to ditch the rust of not playing in the preseason and even further back, he has often looked like the best back in the NFL. In four of the last five games he has run for over 100 yards including 158 last Sunday in the win over the Falcons.

Did Zimmer expect this kind of performance from Peterson after being sidelined last season? “Yes. I just know he’s a really special player and I just think I figured that he’d be pretty good, yeah.”

Peterson and the Vikings have sometimes faced challenging competition. The Falcons had the league’s best rushing defense before the Vikings gained 191 yards against them. That Falcons team is ranked No. 8 in the Profootballfocus.com power rankings. The Vikings, who are ranked No. 6, have also defeated the No. 10 Raiders. Minnesota has lost to the No. 5 Broncos and No.7 Packers who ranked behind the Panthers, Patriots, Bengals and Cardinals. …

After five years of the Jerry Kill revival, the Gophers football program is much improved but doesn’t match more famous turnarounds in Big Ten history—at least not yet.

The coach Tim Brewster era prior to the 2011 season and Kill’s arrival produced annual records of 1-11, 7-6, 6-7 and 3-9. Kill created a success story by reviving a program on life support academically and on the field, with his best work in 2013 and 2014. Those were eight win seasons and the 2014 team earned an invitation to Minnesota’s first January 1 bowl game since 1962.

The Gophers took a step back this season, misfiring because of a difficult schedule, numerous and serious injuries, and Kill’s resignation to save his health. With Tracy Claeys elevated to head coach, Minnesota struggled late in the season winning only once in five games. The team’s final 5-7 record, including 2-6 in the Big Ten after last season’s 5-3, added up to the most disappointing year in the Kill era.

Minnesota’s 12-game schedule included six major college opponents who won nine games or more in 2015. Next season the schedule will be softer because Michigan, Ohio State and TCU get swapped out for Maryland, Oregon State and Rutgers. It’s also hard to believe the Gophers will be so devastated again by injuries that forced players to the sidelines for long stretches.

The Gophers will have some talented and experienced players returning next season as they try to restart the program turnaround. Gophers fans have waited for decades to see results similar to well-known turnarounds at Iowa, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Purdue and Michigan State. All except Purdue established success that continues to this day.

Those turnarounds were led by Hayden Fry at Iowa, Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin, Gary Barnett at Northwestern, Joe Tiller at Purdue and Mark Dantonio at Michigan State. Each one of those coaches had a nine win season or better in his first five years on the job, and all but Dantonio took a team to the Rose Bowl in that time period, according to statistics from Sports-reference.com. Dantonio reached Pasadena in his seventh season with a team that won the Rose Bowl and finished with a 13-1 record. …

St. Thomas hosts Wabash (Indiana) on Saturday in a quarterfinal Division III playoff game involving two 12-0 football teams. The Tommies figure to be prepared including with clock management—something head coach Glenn Caruso started perfecting 30 years ago as a kid playing video games.

Caruso told Sports Headliners he played “every conceivable football video game I could” and credits the experience with helping him to best use the clock in various situations. Even on the professional level, clock management is a skill that sometimes escapes coaches. “It boggles the mind how people don’t pay more attention,” he said.

Caruso, 85-13 in eight seasons at St. Thomas, coached the 2012 Tommies to the national championship game. He believes this year’s team might not have “all the high-end talent” of the 2012 group but is deeper, healthier and even more focused. There are 140 players on the team and Caruso said they understand and execute their roles.

Not that the Tommies don’t have talent this year, including star running back Jordan Roberts who had three touchdowns in last Saturday’s 38-19 win against Saint John’s. Roberts is a 6-2, 220-pound junior from Sheridan, Wyoming who played two years at South Dakota. Caruso said he’s the best back he’s coached at St. Thomas and if Roberts keeps improving he could one day receive an NFL tryout.

The Tommies, who have 12 coaches including Caruso, will practice outdoors this week unless the weather makes it impossible. Caruso is a believer in working out the team in conditions similar to game day. The Tommies are 16-0 in rain games under him.

Attendance for Saturday’s game at O’Shaughnessy Stadium might be somewhere between 2,000 and 8,000. A week ago last Saturday, for the Tommies first playoff game against La Verne, attendance was 1,832 at O’Shaughnessy. Last Saturday in a second round playoff game at home against legendary rival Saint John’s, the announced crowd was 8,025.

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Linval Joseph, D-Line Get MVP Vote

Posted on November 20, 2015November 20, 2015 by David Shama

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.

Linval Joseph (photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings.)

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.

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