Preps – Page 73 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

O-Line Poses Concerns for Vikings

Posted on December 12, 2017December 12, 2017 by David Shama

A Tuesday football notes column with Vikings, Gophers and prep news.

The Vikings, 10-3, have remaining games with the Bengals, Packers and Bears who have a combined 16-23 record. Two of the three games are at home. If the Vikings are to be upset before the playoffs it likely will be because of the uncertain offensive line.

Injuries to multiple starters had Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer wondering yesterday who will be available for Sunday’s game at U.S. Bank Stadium against the Bengals. A patched up offensive line struggled at times in Sunday’s loss to the Panthers who put an end to Minnesota’s eight game winning streak.

“When you have injuries, you’re going to have backup players play in there,” Zimmer said. “We’re not going to make an excuse for this game (Panthers), or for players that come in or anything else. We’ll take ownership of what we did Sunday and we’ll move forward.”

While Zimmer could end up as NFL Coach of the Year, his former boss with the Bengals is on the hot seat. The Bengals are 5-8 under longtime coach Marvin Lewis who is 0-7 in playoff games since taking over in Cincinnati in 2003.

It will be 10 years next month that Lewis hired Zimmer as defensive coordinator. Past Bengals coordinators had struggled including Leslie Frazier who was fired after the 2004 season. Zimmer, in his fourth season as Vikings head coach, helped the Bengals earn top 10 defensive rankings in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Bovada has made the Vikings, at 8/1 odds, the NFC favorite to play in the Super Bowl, according to a story yesterday by Nbcsports.com/Philadelphia.

Stats: the Vikings defense ranks third in the NFL giving up 293.4 yards per game. That unit is second best in fewest rushing yards allowed, 88.3. The offense is seventh best in the league with 369.3 yards a game. Wide receiver Adam Thielen ranks third in total receiving yards at 1,161.

Ray Anderson, the athletic director at Arizona State since 2014 who made the surprise hire this month of Herm Edwards as Sun Devils head coach, was once the agent for former Vikings boss Dennis Green.

Antonio Montero, the Eden Prairie senior who won the 2017 state Mr. Football Award Sunday, may decide to walk-on with the Gophers. He visited the Minnesota campus last weekend and plans a trip to the University of Illinois in January where a scholarship offer could be forthcoming from the Illini, he said.

Montero, who also is considering opportunities at the Air Force Academy and with North Dakota State, projects as a linebacker in college after playing that position and running back for the 6-A state champion Eagles. Montero is about 5-11 and 215 pounds.

Eden Prairie coach Mike Grant raved about Montero. “He’s worked extremely hard,” Grant told Sports Headliners. “He’s not the tallest guy. He’s not the fastest guy. He’s just a great player.”

When Grant watches Montero, he sees an instinctive player who had 190 career tackles with the Eagles. “We like guys who make plays, and that’s what he does,” Grant said.

Major college recruiters can miss on players who are undersized. Recruiting is an inexact process for sure. Recruiters make judgment errors on many players who aren’t undersized, too. “I have given up trying to figure out how anybody recruits,” Grant said. “No one listens to me. …We like guys to make plays, that’s all I know.”

Grant has won 11 state championships. His players work during the offseason on physical development including speed and explosiveness. “We don’t worry about how big guys are,” Grant said.

The Mr. Football Award, sponsored by the Minnesota Football Coaches Association and the Vikings, started in 2004. Grant’s had three recipients with J.D. Spielman in 2015 and Blake Sorensen in 2006 also winning the award. That’s more than any other school.

Grant might have a fourth winner next year in quarterback Cole Kramer. He has played 22 games without throwing an interception during his sophomore and junior seasons.

Grant said Benny Sapp III, the defensive back who will sign with the Gophers on December 20, is close to a full recovery after missing all but two games with the Eagles because of a knee injury. “They were able to fully repair the cartilage,” Grant said. “He’s going to be a 100 percent. He’s running. He will be ready to go in probably a month or so.”

St. Cloud Tech’s Brevyn Spann-Ford was the only finalist among the 11 Mr. Football candidates who will be a scholarship recruit in the Gophers 2018 class. Ford, a 6-6, 237-pound tight end, told Sports Headliners his college decision was difficult but he liked the Minnesota coaching staff and the idea of staying close to home. Other scholarship offers included Missouri, North Dakota State and West Virginia.

Jerry Burns, who turns 91 in January, was at Southtown Shopping Center last Saturday as part of Triple Crown’s sports memorabilia show that included a bobblehead of the former Vikings coach. What did he think of the bobblehead?

“No big deal, a bobblehead of me,” Burns said. “I am an ugly guy to start with and a bobbehead makes me ugly too, so I am happy for it.”

Grant, 60, has known Burns for a long time, including back in the days when Grant was a ball boy at Viking training camp. Burns, a former Vikings assistant and later head coach, is a Grant favorite.

“I loved being a ball boy down there and trying to interpret what he said to the players,” Grant said. “Burnsie, great guy.”

The Gophers Signing Day Social December 20 at TCF Bank Stadium will inform fans about Minnesota’s 2018 football recruiting class. Doors open at 11 a.m. and a buffet lunch will be served prior to the 1 p.m. program. The cost is $30 per person with more information at GoalLineClub.org.

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Something for Vikings to ‘Kick About’

Posted on December 3, 2017December 3, 2017 by David Shama

A Sunday notes column kicking off with the 9-2 Vikings who are in Atlanta for a noon game against the 7-4 Falcons.

Vikings’ placekicker Kai Forbath has made just 82 percent of his extra point attempts. That is the lowest conversion rate among NFL kickers with 10 or more attempts.

Forbath has made 23 of 28 extra points, with two attempts blocked. Falcons’ kicker Matt Bryant is a perfect 28 of 28.

Forbath joined the Vikings as a free agent in November of 2016 and made 11 of 14 extra points, or 78.6 percent. He converted 34 of 35 extra points in 2015 playing for the Redskins and Saints even though that year the NFL moved the line of scrimmage for conversions back from the two-yard line to the 15—a rules change that is still in place. (The result in 2015 was dramatic with league kickers missing the most extra points in any season since 1977, according to a January 4, 2016 NFL.com story.)

Forbath has made 24 of 28 field goals, and only four other NFL kickers have converted more. He has been successful on 10 of 12 in the 30 to 39 yard range (the distance for extra points is 33 yards). With nothing but big games ahead for the Vikings in their drive for the playoffs, and a Minneapolis Super Bowl spot, Forbath needs to shake his extra point slump.

D. Orlando Ledbetter, writing on the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s website last Thursday, reported the Vikings’ Case Keenum is the top-ranked NFL quarterback, “according to analytics website Football Outsiders.”

Back in September Vikings defensive lineman Everson Griffen called out Lions offensive tackle Greg Robinson, referring to him as “lazy.” Last week, though, Griffen wouldn’t put that label on anyone on the Falcons’ offensive line that has helped produce 373.4 yards per game, sixth best in the NFL. The Vikings rank fifth at 375.7.

The Vikings are the only team in the NFL with both a top five offense and defense. Minnesota is No. 5 defensively, holding opponents to 290.4 yards per game.

Bob Kronenberg, an area scout for the Falcons, is a former All-American in football and track at St. Cloud State.

The Vikings will honor Dick Jonckowski at their December 17 home game against the Bengals. Jonckowski was a prominent Vikings usher for years at the old Met Stadium and recently retired from public address announcing for Golden Gophers basketball, a position he held for 31 years.

Coach Richard Pitino’s Gophers, 7-1 in nonconference games, play their opening Big Ten game at 5 p.m. tonight in Williams Arena. Minnesota is at Nebraska Tuesday evening as part of a new-look Big Ten schedule that has teams playing two conference games in early December prior to resuming nonconference games for most of the month.

Rutgers, 6-1, has lost only to undefeated Florida State. As of Friday afternoon, Rutgers led the nation in offensive rebounding per game at 16.6 and was second in scoring defense, allowing 51.6 points.

Also as of Friday, Gophers forward Jordan Murphy led the nation with eight double-doubles, one in every game this season. He was second nationally in offensive rebounding per game with 5.5 and third in rebounds at 12.5. His 21.4 points per game ranked 33rd.

Minnesota author Bob Showers has signings this month for his new book The Twins in the Dome. His Twin Cities area schedule includes appearances at Barnes & Noble stores at Maplewood Mall and HarMar Mall next Saturday starting at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. respectively. His new Twins publication was included in last month’s Star Tribune Holiday Book Guide, one of five regional books selected.

A national TV audience will watch two of the country’s elite prep basketball guards Thursday when Apple Valley, led by Tre Jones, plays Minnehaha Academy and Jalen Suggs. The game will be at Apple Valley, starts at 7 p.m. and airs on on ESPN U.

Former Minnesota Mr. Basketball Khalid El-Amin has returned to his alma mater, North High School, as an assistant coach.

It was stunning to see all the prime unoccupied seats at the Gophers home hockey game against the Badgers Friday night. The empty seats make a statement about the apathy toward U hockey despite a No. 7 national ranking and playing border rival Wisconsin, a team ranked No. 14 in the country.

Mary Hardin-Baylor, the team that defeated St. Thomas 24-10 yesterday in a Division III college football quarterfinal playoff game, now has a 100-7 record during the last eight years. The total includes 19 wins and 7 losses in the playoffs. MHB’s record during the last eight years is second best in the nation, while St. Thomas ranks fourth at 92-12 including 17-6 in the postseason.

Bluff Creek Golf Course in Chaska is open to the public this weekend using a shotgun format. The course was also open during mild weather last February.

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Vikings Teddy Talk Just ‘Idle Gossip’

Posted on November 16, 2017November 17, 2017 by David Shama

Mike Zimmer sent a message to Vikings fans yesterday with his announcement Case Keenum will continue to be the starting quarterback when the Vikings play the Rams Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. Teddy Bridgewater fans hoped for different news but Zimmer isn’t about to change starters when his team has won five consecutive games with Keenum and is leading the NFC North with a 7-2 record.

Bridgewater hasn’t played in a meaningful game in almost two years, dating back to the January, 2016 playoff loss to the Seahawks. The devastating knee injury he suffered in late August of 2016 has kept him sidelined until November 8 of this year when he was activated to play. During the two seasons of 2014 and 2015 he flashed potential and won over fans as much with his personality as his skill set.

But fans wish for a lot of things, and often they need to be careful what they wish for. They look at Keenum as a journeyman quarterback and see Bridgewater as the flag bearer for the Vikings franchise. Eventually that might be reality but for now the Vikings aren’t going to change quarterbacks—demoting one who is on the same page with his receivers and turning to a guy trying to get acclimated again with the job and its demands.

Case Keenum (photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings)

Former Viking Bob Lurtsema is on board with Zimmer’s decision—one the coach labeled “not difficult” yesterday. “You don’t take the most important part of the puzzle out, which obviously is the quarterback in today’s passing league,” Lurtsema told Sports Headliners.

Lurtsema looks at the offense, including the passing game, and he sees a unit playing at a high level because the players (including the linemen) are in synch with each other. “This talk about bringing Teddy Bridgewater back, that’s idle gossip,” Lurtsema said. “You know how much I love Teddy, and you’re not going to find a better kid than Teddy. But when they work (Keenum and receivers) in practice together the timing of all the receivers is spectacular. I think the whole thing there is just a matter of a group playing together.”

Keenum, who signed with the Vikings in the offseason as a free agent to be a backup, could have the best season of his five-year career with three NFL teams. “He’s smart as hell,” Lurtsema said.

The Vikings’ offense has improved from last season under offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur. He is in his first full season as OC after succeeding Norv Turner in November of 2016.

“He’s a wizard,” Vikings wide receiver Michael Floyd said about Shurmur. “He has a lot of things going on in his head. So far he’s doing an unbelievable job of getting guys in position to be successful. So that’s what you want to see.”

Among those benefitting from Shurmur’s offense is wide receiver Adam Thielen who is third in the NFL in receiving yards with 793. Thielen agrees Shurmur is effective in letting his players do the things they are capable of.

“I don’t think he really cares who gets the ball,” Thielen said. “He just wants this offense to be successful and he wants to help this team win games.”

Last year the Viking offense finished 28th in the 32-team NFL in both points per game (20.4) and yards (315.1). Through nine games in 2017 the Vikings are 10th in points at 24.1 and ninth in yards with 363.8.

The Rams, 7-2, are averaging a league-leading 32.9 points per game in their first year with 31-year-old head coach Sean McVay. They are ranked No. 5 and the Vikings No. 6 by SI.com in this week’s power rankings of NFL teams.

Worth Noting

Zimmer, 61, on whether he could imagine being a head coach at 30 years old: “I was trying to figure out where to eat at 30, probably.”

Floyd after being asked about Vikings Super Bowl talk among fans: “You have seven games left. A lot of things can change in seven games. We’re taking it one game at a time.”

Mike Grant has won 10 state titles as Eden Prairie’s head football coach. He told Sports Headliners to win championships three things need to happen—have talent, avoid injuries, and be lucky including how the ball bounces and the calls made by game officials.

Grant’s undefeated Eagles play Maple Grove tonight at U.S. Bank Stadium in the Class 6A State Tournament semifinals. The coaches and teams know each other, having played twice last year, and once this season when the Eagles won 28-7. “We don’t expect a lot of things different,” Grant said.

The 9-1 St. Thomas football team that plays at home Saturday against Eureka in a first round Division III playoff game has outscored its last two regular season opponents 155 to 7.

True Thompson, son of Gophers all-time leading rusher Darrell Thompson, is being recruited as a 2018 walk-on by Minnesota. True, an Armstrong High alum, is a wide receiver at Iowa Western Community College.

The Gophers’ best player next year could be sophomore safety Antoine Winfield Jr. who played in four games this season before becoming inactive because of a hamstring injury. Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck said Winfield is progressing on his recovery.

“…He’s not practicing, but he’s going through some small things at the end of practice to be able to rehab, get back into things pretty slow. But I expect him to be full (ready) by spring ball for sure,” Fleck said.

Senior defensive tackle Steven Richardson was a preseason all-Big Ten nominee and Saturday he will be with the Gophers in his home town of Chicago playing against Northwestern. His statistics, including just seven unassisted tackles and 11 assisted, aren’t impressive, but Fleck estimated Richardson has been double-teamed “about 90 percent of the time.” Fleck believes Richardson is playing selfless and better than ever.

“…Statistically you’re not seeing it because he’s got to defeat two Big Ten players every single play,” Fleck said. “But…his oar has been in the water. He practices incredibly hard. I know he’s excited to get back to Chicago to play in this game, and I know that everybody wants to do it (win) for Steven.”

It’s still a head-scratcher as to why the Twins created so much drama in waiting to extend Paul Molitor’s contract. In his three seasons as Twins manager he has twice been a finalist for the Baseball Writers Association’s American League Manager of the Year Award, and Tuesday night was named the 2017 winner.

Bartolo Colon will be nearing his 45th birthday when the Twins go to spring training next year. The right-hander, who joined the Twins during the 2017 season, is a free agent and reportedly wants to continue a MLB career that began in 1997. The Twins could probably sign him on the cheap and let him compete for one of three open spots in their five-man starting rotation.

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