Timberwolves – Page 53 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Zimmer Gets Idea Guy in Dom Capers

Posted on February 11, 2020February 11, 2020 by David Shama

A Tuesday notes column starting with Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer who spoke to reporters on a conference call this morning.

Zimmer hired Dom Capers, with 32 years of NFL coaching experience, as his senior defensive advisor this week. It had been on Zimmer’s mind since late last season to add someone like Capers whose experiences include being an NFL head coach and defensive coordinator.

“We’ve been running this defense for a long, long time and I just thought it would be good to get some new, fresh ideas,” said Zimmer who has been leading the Vikings for six seasons.

Zimmer has long been known as a high IQ defensive mind, and even as head coach been involved with the details of the Viking defense. The defense, though, had more issues last season than anyone liked including a sometimes leaky pass defense.

Capers will be counted on for help. “He’s always been a guy that has been very innovative in the pressure package of his defenses,” Zimmer said.

Zimmer doesn’t see himself being any more or less involved with the defense than in the past. He has new co-defensive coordinators in son Adam Zimmer and Andre Patterson. Zimmer said he may call defensive plays but the decision will be made as the Vikings work through the spring and months that follow.

Gary Kubiak, a senior offensive advisor and assistant head coach last season, is now the new offensive coordinator. He has won a Super Bowl as a head coach and has 24 years of coaching experience.

Zimmer was “relieved” after the playoffs when Kubiak agreed to succeed Kevin Stefanski as offensive coordinator. “I thought he (Kubiak) did an outstanding job last year and I anticipate it will be even better (in 2020),” Zimmer said.

Zimmer expects some changes with the offense next season but said “the majority” of it will remain the same.

Faced with a salary cap problem this offseason, it seems plausible Vikings management will consider cutting loose some or all of the following: cornerbacks Xavier Rhodes and Trae Waynes, defensive linemen Linval Joseph and Everson Griffen, and offensive lineman Riley Reiff.

Perhaps also in the mix of juggling numbers could be asking quarterback Kirk Cousins to restructure the final year of his $84 million contract over a longer period.

With the recent trades of center Gorgui Dieng and forward Andrew Wiggins, only center Karl-Anthony Towns remains with the Timberwolves from the promising 2015-2016 roster the late Flip Saunders put in place. The Wolves former president had several young players in the group beyond Dieng, Towns and Wiggins—including Nemanja Bjelica, Tyus Jones, Zach LaVine and Shabazz Muhammad.

Eye-opener: The low-key Wiggins playing with the Warriors now and max-voltage competitor Draymond Green.

That was former Timberwolves coach Randy Wittman who convinced legendary Indiana Hoosiers coach Bobby Knight to return last weekend to Assembly Hall in Bloomington after a 20-year absence, per the Indystar.com.

Forbes.com writer John Perrotto yesterday described best-case and worst-case scenarios for the 2020 Twins season.

Best: “(Josh) Donaldson, (Nelson) Cruz and the rest of the Bomba Squad hit home runs in bunches again in 2020, and the Twins ride those power bats to another division title, overcoming a suspect rotation.”

Worst: “The rotation becomes a mess as (Homer) Bailey breaks down before spring training ends, (Rich) Hill is slow to recover from surgery, and (Kenta) Maeda doesn’t adjust well to switching leagues.”

Maeda, acquired this week from the Dodgers, was 10-8 with a 4.04 ERA last year. The 31-year-old likely emerges as Minnesota’s No. 3 starter and his presence could put the Twins second only to the Yankees among American League teams in preseason power rankings of MLB clubs.

Twins president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners he would like to see the club draw around 2.5 million fans to Target Field this year. The franchise attracted 2,294,152 last season, ranking No. 15 among 30 MLB clubs, per Espn.com

Look for big changes coming in major league baseball in the next several years including a pitch clock to speed up the game. The average MLB game took over three hours and overall attendance declined in 2019.

The first Twins spring training game on Fox Sports North will be a 12:05 p.m. start February 23 from Fort Myers against the Blue Jays.

Did anyone else notice the Timberwolves and basketball Gophers announced home game attendances of over 10,000 and 11,000 respectively when they played head-to-head last week? The Wolves rank last in NBA attendance while the Gophers haven’t sold out a game all season and didn’t even come close to filling 14,625 seat Williams Arena on February 5 despite playing border rival Wisconsin.

If former Hopkins star Zeke Nnaji, now a 6-foot-11 freshman force for Arizona, had joined the Gophers to play with 6-foot-10 sophomore Daniel Oturu, Minnesota would have its best “Twin Towers” since Kevin McHale and Mychal Thompson played together in the late 1970s.

In its 2020 NBA mock draft yesterday, Nbadraft.net projected Oturu going No. 8 to the Wizards in the first round, and Nnaji being taken at No. 16 by the Nets.

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How Do Wilfs React to Viking Loss?

Posted on January 12, 2020January 12, 2020 by David Shama

What is Vikings ownership thinking today after Saturday’s embarrassing 27-10 loss to the 49ers that knocked its team out of the playoffs?

The Vikings won their opening playoff game January 5 with an impressive win over the Saints. In advance of that game, team president and owner Mark Wilf issued a statement of confidence in coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman who have contracts only through this year. The Wilf ownership made clear it had “every intent” of retaining the two in the future.

Owner Zygi Wilf has been on record about his vision to see the team in the Super Bowl. The Wilfs have owned the franchise since 2005 without realizing their dream. Spielman has been a leader in formulating player personnel decisions since 2006 and had full authority since 2012. Zimmer has been head coach since 2014, making the playoffs three times and winning two NFC North titles with a Spielman produced roster led by a number of outstanding players.

Sometimes votes of confidence don’t last long. If the Wilfs decided in the coming weeks to move on from Spielman and Zimmer they would appease a mob of critics who want a change. Fans are hot after yesterday’s game that saw the Vikings look out coached, while generating just seven first downs and not able to match the aggression of the 49ers.

Fans can act passionately, even irrationally. Owners need to be more cautious. Despite their “warts” like a leaky offensive line that never seems to completely get repaired, the Vikings aren’t a broken team like so many in the NFL. Spielman and Zimmer are good at what they do. They are also high character leaders.

The question the Wilfs have to answer is whether those two give the Vikings the best chance of fielding an elite team? With that question comes another: If and when the owners want to make a change, can they identify the leadership that will take the Vikings to the next level?

Worth Noting

Former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber talking on KFAN Radio after yesterday’s game with the 49ers: “They Mike Tyson punched us in the face. That was about it.”

Jerry Burns, head coach of the 1987 Vikings team that won its first two playoff games in 1988 including against the 49ers on the road, turns 93 January 24 and still lives in the Minneapolis area.

While Target Field seating capacity for baseball is 38,544, a hockey insider told Sports Headliners 34,000 seats will be available for the 2021 NHL Winter Classic next January at the downtown Minneapolis ballpark. He predicted it will be several weeks before tickets go on sale, with Minnesota Wild season ticket holders having priority. He also said NHL representatives were in town last week to look at the outdoor venue that will match the Wild against an as yet unannounced opponent.

The Wild has lost four of its last five games and is near the bottom in the Western Conference’s Central Division. The Wild also trails division rivals in goals, and the team’s lack of scoring could result in the franchise missing the playoffs for a second consecutive year.

If that results in a coaching change, might South St. Paul native Phil Housley be the successor to Bruce Boudreau? Housley, an assistant coach with the Phoenix Coyotes, is friends with new Wild general manager Bill Guerin.

The guess here is the Twins won’t make the highest offer to free agent third baseman Josh Donaldson and he will sign with another team.

The Twins’ starting infield for their season opener March 26 in Oakland could be: Miguel Sano, first base; Luis Arraez, second base; Jorge Polanco, shortstop; Marwin Gonzalez, third base.

In 2021 that infield could look like this: Sano, first base; Polanco, second base, Royce Lewis, shortstop; and Arraez, third base.

Quoting Dick Jonckowski at the January 9 CORES luncheon in Bloomington: “If baseball is a religion, we should be in good shape with (Dave) St. Peter heading the Twins.”

March 17 will be the release date for Game Used, the book about longtime Twins TV broadcaster Dick Bremer. Author Jim Bruton said Bremer will do book signings in southwest Florida during Twins spring training.

Announced attendance for the Timberwolves home game Thursday night was 13,720 but a source said about 6,000 fans were in Target Center. Celebrities in the crowd included Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck and Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph.

Tracy Claeys resigned during the season last fall as Washington State’s defensive coordinator and is now the linebackers coach at Virginia Tech. If not for that resignation, the former Gophers head coach might be positioned as an internal candidate for the head job at WSU which opened up last week when Mike Leach left for Mississippi State.

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Outback Win “Big Moment” for U Program

Posted on January 2, 2020January 2, 2020 by David Shama

I have watched each of the 21 bowl games in University of Minnesota football history. The two most significant are the 1962 Rose Bowl and yesterday’s Outback Bowl.

In January of 1962 the Gophers returned to the Rose Bowl after losing the year before to Washington, 17-7. In the 1961 Rose Bowl Minnesota played a stagnant first half and was outscored 17-0 by the Huskies. Coach Murray Warmath vowed to change things upon the return to Pasadena, including having the Gophers stay in a monastery, rather than a posh southern California hotel.

The result of shaking things up? A 21-3 dominating win over UCLA that left Minnesota ranked No. 6 in the two final wire service polls. The victory was significant for more than revenge. It demonstrated the Gophers, who won Big Ten and national titles the previous season, were still a national power and would be again in 1962 when they came within a negligent referee’s penalty of winning the conference title and earning a third straight Rose Bowl invitation.

The significance of Minnesota’s authoritative 31-24 win over Auburn yesterday? It offers more compelling evidence that head coach P.J. Fleck, his staff, and players, have turned the program from decades of failure and mediocrity to high level success.

In the Outback Bowl the 10-2 Gophers were about a touchdown underdog against a 9-3 Auburn team that had competed with some of the nation’s best teams, and boasted a win over powerhouse Alabama and a narrow loss to No. 1 ranked LSU. Before the game Minnesota fans were more concerned about not seeing their favorites get embarrassed, than winning the Outback Bowl.

Quarterback Tanner Morgan threw an early interception but the Gophers didn’t cave and held the Tigers to a field goal. Overcoming adversity has been a characteristic of this team that with a final 11-2 record won the most games since the 1904 squad went 13-0. The Outback victory over No. 12 ranked Auburn was the program’s 13th in the last 17 games dating back to the close of 2018.

This fall, in Fleck’s third season, Minnesota was 7-2 in Big Ten games. That’s the most conference victories in school history, and the Gophers tied Wisconsin for the best record in the West Division. Among the milestones, and indicators the program has taken a decided change in direction, was Minnesota’s upset of No. 5 ranked Penn State in front of a delirious home crowd in November.

Minnesota was able to win yesterday despite playing without key injured personnel including linebacker Kamal Martin, right tackle Daniel Faalele and tight end Jake Paulson. The loss of Faalele was particularly significant given the lack of depth on the offensive line. The offense, though, dominated the game in time of possession and made big plays both running and passing including a superb 12 catches, 204 yards performance by wide receiver Tyler Johnson.

Scott Studwell, who retired last year after spending decades in college scouting for the Vikings, watched the Outback Bowl and described the win as a “big moment for the program.” The former Illinois and Viking star linebacker has watched the Gophers for years, and he sees how the program has improved. He believes things seem in place for Minnesota to be a “consistent contender” in the Big Ten going forward.

“They’re bigger, they’re more physical, (and) they’re more athletic than they have been,” Studwell told Sports Headliners by telephone this morning. “I mean the future is certainly very bright. P.J. has done a hell of a job getting the kind of people into the program that he wants.”

Except for losing starting seniors Johnson and running back Rodney Smith, the Gophers will have all their offensive regulars returning. Minnesota will lose several top players on defense but coordinator Joe Rossi is one of Fleck’s best assistants and the Gophers should be okay next fall. Having Morgan, one of the Big Ten’s elite quarterbacks return, along with the other offensive pieces, is all but certain to help earn Minnesota at least a top 20 preseason national ranking next summer. Minnesota will also be labeled a favorite in the race to win the 2020 Big Ten West.

The Gophers were ranked No. 18 in the College Football Playoff rankings going into yesterday’s game. Any polls that come out in the next several days will have Minnesota among the nation’s top 15. The Gophers haven’t been in that kind of company at year’s-end since 1967 when UPI poll had them No. 14.

Worth Noting

What’s Studwell’s evaluation of hometown favorite Johnson regarding his NFL draft future? Studwell, who used to spend about 250 days annually evaluating college talent, finds a lot to like about the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Johnson including his length, hands, toughness and ability to step up in big moments like yesterday when he had two touchdown receptions.

“The only underlying question is how fast is he going to run,” said Studwell, who predicted it’s more likely Johnson will be drafted rather than go to an NFL camp as a free agent.

The SuperDome, among the loudest stadiums in the NFL and the site of Sunday’s Vikings-Saints playoff game, opened in 1975 and at the time was considered an architectural marvel. The facility is the only surviving covered stadium in the NFL among those built in the 1970s and 1980s including the Metrodome.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer is a proven defensive authority who is often able to confuse opponents, but he will see his team match wits Sunday with soon-to-be 41-year-old Saints quarterback Drew Brees. “It’s hard to trick him because he reads things so quickly,” Zimmer said.

Murray Warmath, the only Rose Bowl coach in Gophers history, would have turned 107 last week if still alive. Mike Wilkinson, who wrote Warmath’s book The Autumn Warrior, celebrated his 76th birthday on Monday.

LeBron James, who turned 35 Monday, is on record as wanting to play one day in the NBA with son Bronny, the southern California high school star coming to Minneapolis for the nationally televised game Saturday against Minnehaha Academy.

Wolves TV analyst Jim Petersen Tweeted his first and second team all-decade players this week. The first unit is comprised of some high quality talents in Jimmy Butler, Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, Karl Anthony-Towns, and Andrew Wiggins, but the second group is another reminder of how few elite players have passed through here: J.J. Barea, Corey Brewer, Luol Deng, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Pekovic.

CBSSports.com is reporting this morning the Twins, Braves and Nationals have made four-year offers to high profile third baseman Josh Donaldson, considered the top free agent remaining in MLB.

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