Vikings – Page 102 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Dungy: Kirk Cousins Facing “Referendum”

Posted on November 14, 2019November 17, 2019 by David Shama

The 7-3 Vikings have six games remaining and appear likely to earn their way into the playoffs. There will be a number of storylines in the weeks ahead but among individual players none is likely to be more compelling than the play of quarterback Kirk Cousins. Super Bowl winning coach Tony Dungy, now a pro football analyst for NBC TV, is tossing a challenge at the $84 million leader of the Vikings offense.

Speaking on KFAN Radio last week with program host Dan Barreiro, Dungy predicted the weeks ahead will define the reputation of Minnesota’s 31-year-old quarterback who was named NFC Offensive Player of the Month for his successful October that included 10 touchdown passes and a QB rating of 137.1.

“I like Kirk Cousins a lot, and I think he’s tremendous,” Dungy said. “I think he is a great leader but this is going to be the referendum (the weeks ahead). This is when he’s going to have to do it, against the Packers, against the Cowboys, in these big games. We know he’s capable of doing it. We saw it through the month of October but now can you do it in November and December against the really good teams? And that’s where the jury is still out on him.”

The Vikings earned a meaningful road win against a winning team last Sunday when they defeated the Cowboys, 28-24. Dungy predicted last Thursday the game would be a “measuring stick” for Cousins, playing against a solid team using a stop the run defense and inviting him to throw the ball about 35 times. Dungy, the former Gophers quarterback and Vikings assistant coach, was almost spot-on with Cousins throwing 32 times, and completing 23 passes including two that went for touchdowns.

Cousins came to Minneapolis in the 2018 offseason with a well-known reputation for not leading his former team, the Redskins, to victories over clubs with winning records. The chorus of critics grew louder last season when the Vikings, viewed during preseason as a Super Bowl contender, didn’t make it to the playoffs.

This season the Vikings have played five teams who now have winning records. They have defeated the Cowboys, Eagles, and Raiders while losing road games to the Chiefs and Packers. On the schedule ahead only the Seahawks and Packers (rematch game December 23 in Minneapolis) have winning records among remaining opponents.

Cousins has a 112 passer rating that is third best in the NFL. He has no turnovers in his last four games, the longest such stretch of his career. When he has faltered in the past, including against winning teams, he has looked indecisive. Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer acknowledged the change in his quarterback. “Yeah, he’s playing fast, and that’s probably the most important thing,” Zimmer said. “Making good decisions and playing fast.”

The right decisions are everything in the NFL where final margins of victory are often so close. Eleven of the 13 most recent league games were separated by one possession (eight points or fewer). In 36 games this season, a team has won or tied after trailing in the fourth quarter.

Golden Gophers Football Notes

It would be fitting if the weather was stormy for Saturday’s game in Iowa City when the Gophers and Hawkeyes play. Temperatures will be in the low 40s with precipitation unlikely, but that doesn’t change the colorful and at times contentious history of the Minnesota-Iowa rivalry.

In the spring of 2017 Iowa assistant coach Brian Ferentz said it appeared the Gophers were extending so many offers to high school prospects they couldn’t come close to honoring them. Ferentz’s comments came on a Des Moines Register podcast. It’s unusual for one school to call out another that way.

In 2002 Hawkeye fans stormed the field at the Metrodome after a Hawkeye win. Fans tore down a goal post and tried to take part of it through the Metrodome revolving doors but space was too limited to accomplish the mission.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz coached in that game and is still leading the Hawkeyes. “I do have a good friend that still thinks that’s the greatest thing he ever saw in sports,” Ferentz said Tuesday. “He saw it on TV, and he also said, your fans aren’t very smart, they’re not going to get that thing through a revolving door. But he still talks about that.”

Tensions between players and fans from both Iowa and Minnesota prompted creation of Floyd of Rosedale. At the suggestion of Minnesota governor Floyd Olson, the bronze pig was created in the 1930s to put the focus on the rivalry trophy instead of the bad feelings between the two states.

Creative Charters emailed that their motorcoach group will be stopping Friday in Floyd, Iowa at Dugan’s Restaurant and Tavern on the way to Iowa City. The mayor of Floyd and city council members have been invited to lunch with the Minnesotans.

“With the Floyd of Rosedale trophy on the line, it only makes sense to stop in Floyd” said Steve Erban, Creative Charters, “We haven’t won in Iowa since 1999. The Travelin’ Gophers need to pull out every stop.”

With a win Saturday, Iowa can move within one victory of tying the Floyd of Rosedale series since it began in 1935. The Hawks have won six of the last seven games but Minnesota still leads the series 42-40, with two ties.

For Gophers fans, that’s close enough for the Hawkeyes in moving ahead in the series. That could become a social media message this week, tossed in with more than a few “We hate Iowa” postings.

The Gophers’ recent woes in the series have come despite the annual ritual of Darrell Thompson consuming large amounts of bacon. During Iowa week Thompson, the Gophers all-time leading rushing leader, enjoys his bacon.

“Every day, my man,” Thompson told Sports Headliners Wednesday. “I had bacon pie this morning. My wife made me this phenomenal bacon pie.”

The pie has a pecan crust and includes eggs, onions, peppers, cheese, and of course, bacon. Thompson put away two pieces, and wrote about the pie on Twitter.

What about the four-game losing streak against Iowa, despite Thompson’s bacon ritual? “That’s why I am eating more bacon this year,” he said. “I’ve increased it. Yesterday (Tuesday) I had two side orders of bacon. I didn’t think I was eating quite enough. Sometimes more makes things better.”

The Gophers go into Saturday’s game 9-0 overall and 6-0 in Big Ten games, with Iowa at 6-3 and 3-3. Minnesota’s most recent win, coming last Saturday in an upset over then No. 5 nationally ranked Penn State, attracted 6,736,000 viewers on ABC TV, according to Sports Media. It was the network’s largest college football audience in three years for a noon (eastern time) game.

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Twins Not Focusing on Pitching Ace

Posted on November 3, 2019November 3, 2019 by David Shama

Minnesota Twins president Dave St. Peter acknowledged to Sports Headliners in a telephone interview the starting pitching staff is without an ace, but finding a No. 1 stopper isn’t how he and front office decision makers Derek Falvey and Thad Levine are defining offseason plans.

“We don’t think about it that way,” St. Peter said. “We don’t talk about it as a goal to get a staff ace. We talk about upgrading our pitching. There’s all kinds of ways to do that. …We need to find ways to get better and put ourselves in a position to be better in postseason environments. That’s the focus.

“There’s a limited number of, quote on quote, true staff aces so we’re not going to define our offseason success on whether we’re…able to get one of those guys. We think there are pitchers that are going to be available that are going to make us better, or put us in a better position to compete.”

Because of free agency with present Twins starters, last season’s starting staff figures to look dramatically different in 2020. Jose Berrios is the only certain returnee in the starting rotation and at 25 years old he might be ready to assume the label of staff ace next season.

Berrios won 14 games last season for the second time in four big league years. With his 14-8 record he had a career best 3.68 ERA. St. Peter said Berrios needs to be more consistent but the Twins remain bullish on his future.

The Twins could fix their starting pitching with trades, free agent signings and promotion of personnel from within their system. St. Peter said his franchise wants to compete for world championships and he anticipates a busy offseason for Falvey and Levine dialoguing with other clubs about potential trades.

One rumor already out there is the Twins might move fan favorite Eddie Rosario, the 28-year-old left fielder who had career highs of 32 home runs and 109 RBI last season. Regarding the Rosario rumor St. Peter said, “It’s speculation.”

Worth Noting

The Twins and Target Field hosted college football games in 2017 and this year, but for certain there won’t be a game in 2020. St. Peter said there have been discussions about future games but there is no timeline for an announcement. Such a game must come when the football Gophers aren’t in town.

St. Peter said a number of upgrades will be made at the ballpark for next season including an improved Wi-Fi network, renovations to suites, and changes to make the stadium more comfortable for players.

Busy broadcaster: that was Twins radio play-by-play voice Cory Provus doing the Kansas-Kansas State football game for FS-1 on Saturday, and he will be working Big Ten basketball games for BTN this coming season.

Path to the Rose Bowl: If the undefeated Golden Gophers football team can win its last four regular season games, and then play competitively in the Big Ten championship game, Minnesota is all but certain to make its first trip to Pasadena since 1962—assuming Ohio State remains unbeaten and advances to the college football playoffs.

Two-time All-American, Outland Trophy winner and Big Ten MVP Bobby Bell, who played on Minnesota’s last Rose Bowl team, will be the celebrity guest at Friday’s Goal Line Club lunch at Jax Café where Gophers running backs coach Kenni Burns will also speak. “I love the way they play,” Bell told Sports Headliners about the 8-0 Gophers. “I just want to be alive when they go back to the Rose Bowl.” More at Goallineclub.org.

University of Minnesota alum Harvey Mackay wrote about overcoming adversity in his syndicated business column last week, and he referenced Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck. Fleck likes to recruit players who have experienced difficulties in their young lives.

Mackay also quoted former Gophers coach Lou Holtz: “Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I’ll show you someone who has overcome adversity.”

The Timberwolves did more than improve their record to 4-1 last night in a 131-109 win over the Wizards. The victory ended a run of 20 consecutive games between Minnesota and Washington that alternated wins and losses, the longest such streak in the history of the NBA, MLB, NFL and NHL. The Wolves have now won the last two games versus the Wizards dating back to a March 9, 2019 win at Target Center.

Condolences to friends and family of retired St. Paul Pioneer Press sportswriter Jim Wells who died recently. A celebration of life will be held this afternoon (Sunday) at Canterbury Park where Jim is part of the race track’s Hall of Fame.

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Studwell: Next Games Telling for Vikings

Posted on October 31, 2019October 31, 2019 by David Shama

From 1977-1990 Scott Studwell made himself one of the great linebackers in Minnesota Vikings history and he has twice been named to all-time franchise teams. He spent 20-plus years in the front office evaluating players for the Vikings before retiring a few months ago. He talked to Sports Headliners this week about his old team including the upcoming schedule with Minnesota playing away from home the next two weeks against division leading clubs, the Chiefs and Cowboys.

“It’s not going to make or break the season, but it’s going to show us who we are and where we need to go,” Studwell said. “You know what, I’ve got a lot of faith in them (the Vikings) being able to go in and beat both Kansas City and Dallas on the road—because we’re going to be really hard to beat at home. And we gotta keep pace with Green Bay because they’re playing pretty well, too.”

The 5-3 Chiefs lead the AFC West Division, while the 4-3 Cowboys are in first place in the NFC East. The 6-2 Vikings are in second place in the NFC North behind the 7-1 Green Bay Packers. Minnesota is 4-0 and at home, 2-2 away from friendly U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings have also won four consecutive games.

If there is a word best describing the Vikings so far this season it’s probably balance. The Purple are the only NFL team in the top five in both most yards offensively per game and fewest allowed on defense. Minnesota is third in the league with its 396.5 yards per game offense. The defense, led by the wisdom and schemes of head coach Mike Zimmer, is fourth in the NFL giving up an average of 313.9 yards.

Balance is also the right label for an improved offense that has effectively mixed the pass and run with a new zone blocking scheme directed by a reorganized coaching staff since last season. Studwell likes the work of offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, assistant head coach Gary Kubiak and line coach Rick Dennison.

“The coaching staff that Mike (Zimmer) has assembled has been a very pleasant surprise,” Studwell said. “I think that Kevin has done a great job and with the help of Gary and Rick and all those guys they’ve basically kind of changed up what we were doing offensively. They’re committed to running the football and Dalvin (Cook) is having a hell of a year. …”

The Vikings rank third among the 32 NFL teams in rushing per game at 160.1 yards per game. Cook, the third year running back from Florida State, is avoiding injuries unlike his two previous seasons. He leads league rushers with both 823 yards and nine touchdowns. Studwell has been anticipating what the 5-10, 210-pound Cook could do before he even arrived in Minneapolis.

“We were ecstatic when we got him in the second round,” Studwell said. “For a back his size, he’s got tremendous speed and power. He’s got great balance. He’s got great run after contact balance. He can run away from people, (and) he can run through people. He’s got very good eyes.

“The only drawback maybe with Dalvin is he still has to continue to improve as a receiver. But he’s got better. He’s worked his rear end off doing it. But he’s good in (pass) protection. He understands it. He’s the total package. Knock on wood, he’s had that injury bug but hopefully he’s turned the corner that way too.”

Studwell was an aggressive, physical linebacker during his career that ended with him holding the franchise record for tackles, 1,981. He is all in on the 2019 emphasis to run the football. “I think it brings an air of toughness to the offense and I am sure we’re going to continue to trend that way,” he said.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins has thrown just three interceptions. His quarterback rating of 115.2 is second only to Seattle’s Russell Wilson’s 115.5. Only five other quarterbacks who are regulars have a completion percentage better than his 72.1. His 1,997 passing yards ranks 13th in the league. He was named today as the NFC Offensive Player of the Month for his successful October that included 10 touchdown passes and a QB rating of 137.1.

Those are impressive numbers, particularly for someone who didn’t start the season effectively. “He certainly looks a lot more comfortable than he did earlier in the year,” Studwell said. “Now maybe that’s just growing in the scheme and getting more comfortable in what we’re doing offensively. You know I think he is throwing the ball exceptionally well. He’s making good decisions with the football.

“But once again, it’s going to help him as long as we continue to flourish in the running game because it takes a lot of pressure off him so he doesn’t feel like he’s the one that has gotta win the football game week in and week out.”

Going into the season the offense caused a lot of concern among fans but now the unit is a club strength, along with a veteran defense that has earned a lot of praise in recent years. That defense has a challenge Sunday against the Chiefs who rank fourth in league scoring offense at 28.3 points per game. The Vikings are allowing the third-fewest points per game, at 16.5.

Worrywarts fussed back in early September about whether the franchise’s off and on field goal kicking would match the inconsistency of the recent past. Dan Bailey, though, has been productive and is the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance against the Redskins October 24. Bailey was 4-for-4 on field goals and 1-for-1 on extra points in that game.

The ninth-year pro is 12-for-14 (85.7%) on field goals in this season and leads the Vikings in scoring with 59 points. He has won two NFC Player of the Week awards under first-year special teams coordinator Marwan Maalouf.

The Vikings performance this fall obviously pleases the 65-year-old Studwell, who now follows the team in retirement. He talked to Sports Headliners while splitting wood at his lake home in Wisconsin.

“I miss the people obviously more than I miss the grind, but I don’t really pine for the NFL,” he said. “I don’t pine for football. I don’t miss the road. I don’t miss being gone (from home) 200 nights a year, so it was the right choice.”

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