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Answers Coming on Dalvin Cook

Posted on August 17, 2018August 17, 2018 by David Shama

Dean Dalton, the former Vikings running back coach, was asked about Dalvin Cook’s comeback. The second-year running back has been arduously working his way back into game readiness after a serious left knee injury suffered after playing just four games in 2017.

Dalton said the surgery for a torn ACL is so state-of-the-art, that part isn’t a concern in the recovery process for Cook who could emerge even this season as one of the NFL’s elite rushers. The obstacles for Cook, or any NFL runner who has the surgery, are regaining the physical efficiency of the knee and the confidence to move the same way as in the past and not be fearful of re-injury, and also getting in game shape.

Can Cook be what he was before the injury? “That’s all about Dalvin. I believe he will be fine,” Dalton told Sports Headliners.

Cook didn’t play in the Vikings’ first preseason game last Saturday. Head coach Mike Zimmer said awhile ago he expects Cook to receive some preseason playing time and that his former second round draft choice will be ready for the regular season opener next month.

What about tomorrow’s home preseason opener at U.S. Bank Stadium against the Jaguars? “I don’t know if he’s going to play this Saturday or not,” Zimmer said on Wednesday. “The only thing we’re trying to do is each day we’re trying to stack on a few more plays, (a) few more days in a row. That’s really what we’re…trying to do, is trying to get him in game ready shape.”

Cook said yesterday he can be ready for the regular season opener on September 9 against the 49ers without preseason game action. “Yeah, one hundred percent (sure about that),” he said. “I’m ready to go. Ball is ball, and when that ball rolls out, I’m going to go one hundred percent, I’m going to fly around, and I’m going to do me. …My knee is ready to go, I’m ready to play, and it’s just football now.”

Cook’s return is a key piece to the team’s plan to reach the Super Bowl. Dalton refers to him as a complete back with skills that include being an “excellent receiver.” Catching the ball out of the backfield can certainly be another tool for the offense but it’s Cook’s ability to take a handoff in the backfield and break long plays that has tantalized Vikings coaches and scouts even before he arrived in Minneapolis from Florida State.

Vikings talent evaluator Scott Studwell said this last year about Cook: “He is an exceptional athlete. He can do everything. He catches it extremely well. He’s got great feet, he’s got really good eyes. He plays probably faster than he times . He’s got game speed. He’s got exceptional inside run ability. He’s pretty much the entire package.”

The 5-10, 210-pound Cook is only 23 years old, with potentially a lot of productive seasons ahead. He set a Vikings’ record last year for most rushing yards by a rookie through the first three games, 288 yards.

Worth Noting

Dalton is president of the NFL Alumni Pro Day Experience. The first event nationally was scheduled for this month at Eden Prairie High School but will now be held November 10 and 11. The event is for boys and girls ages 13-18, who will have an experience similar to the NFL Combine, and also participate in a Microsoft technology workshop. More at Nflalumniproday.com.

State football coaching legends Mike Grant from Eden Prairie, Dwight Lundeen of Becker, and Ron Stolski from Brainerd, will be recognized at the November event as “honorary coaches.”

Dalton was a Vikings assistant coach from 1999-2005 and since then has been involved with various career experiences in health and wellness, media and technology.

The Vikings, who play the Jaguars tomorrow at U.S. Bank Stadium, are no longer using hard tickets or printed PDF’s. Tickets are accessible via the Vikings app or the online My Vikings Account portal and can be saved to fans’ mobile devices.

Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins turns 30 on Sunday. Wide receiver Adam Thielen will be 28 next Wednesday.

Offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarroccha told the Big Ten Network late yesterday it’s head coach P.J. Fleck’s decision on timing, but the Gophers might announce their starting quarterback over the weekend for the August 30 opener against New Mexico State. Redshirt freshman Tanner Morgan and true freshman Zack Annexstad have never played in a college game but have impressed with their leadership in August training camp.

Ciarroccha said 6-4, 240-pound Seth Green, a quarterback last year who was switched to tight end, is now a wide receiver. Minnesota coaches like the redshirt sophomore’s athleticism and size.

Among verbal commits for the Gophers’ class of 2019 is four-star defensive end Jason Bargy from Momence, Illinois. His pass rushing ability might be superior to anyone on the Gopher roster currently.

Bargy is the only four-star player on the Gopher list of verbal commits, per 247Sports who as of yesterday had Minnesota’s 2019 class ranked No. 26 nationally and No. 7 in the Big Ten.

It will be one of the more emotional nights in Lynx history Sunday when the team and fans celebrate Lindsay Whalen’s career following the regular season ending home game against the Mystics. All fans in attendance will receive a Whalen commemorative card. Whalen’s retirement announcement was well-timed earlier this week, allowing the team and fans to recognize her legendary career in Minnesota basketball.

It will be interesting to see the size of the crowd on Sunday, with Target Center capacity at 18,978. In franchise history the largest regular season crowd is 17,933, a record set on July 7 of this year. The all-time attendance record came at a playoff game in October of 2016, 19,839.

Gustavus Adolphus football coach Peter Haugen speaks to the CORES lunch group September 13 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington, 1114 American Blvd. Haugen, a Bethel graduate, is starting his 10th year at Gustavus after 15 years as head football coach for Washburn High School where he compiled a 76-8 record in city league games. For lunch reservations and other information, contact Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

Gary Smith, the athletic trainer for the fabled 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, is in his 21st season with the Eden Prairie football team. Smith has 51 years of experience as an athletic trainer, including working for the Gophers.

Classy move: Ex-Twin Brian Dozier’s full page advertisement headlined “Thank you, Minnesota” in the August 9 Star Tribune. The second baseman, now with the Dodgers after being traded in July, will be remembered as one of the classiest Twins ever.

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Winfield May Return Punts for Gophers

Posted on August 15, 2018August 15, 2018 by David Shama

Enjoy a Wednesday notes column.

Safety and post-season Big Ten awards candidate Antoine Winfield Jr. was fielding punts at a recent Gophers football scrimmage open to the public and media. Winfield, who missed eight games last season because of injury, is part of an “experiment” by head coach P.J. Fleck to determine who will have the punt return job when the season opens August 30 at home against New Mexico State.

Fleck is also considering redshirt senior cornerback Antonio Shenault and true freshman wide receiver Rashod Bateman. Winfield is a redshirt sophomore who probably is Minnesota’s best player regardless of position.

No doubt Fleck wants an athlete with sure hands to become his No. 1 punt returner. He will welcome a playmaker at the position who can advance the ball up field when few could. The Gophers, who struggled to score points last season and could again in 2018, didn’t return a punt for a touchdown last season, or the year before.

Shenault shared punt returning last season with the departed Drew Hmielewski. Shenault had four returns for 11 yards. Winfield hasn’t returned punts in college, while Bateman has yet to step on the field for a college game.

Bateman made some difficult catches at last week’s scrimmage open to the public and media. “He’s like that everyday,” Fleck said.

A four-star recruit in high school, per 247/Sports and Rivals, the Tifton, Georgia native has a reputation for speed, explosiveness and big plays. National power Georgia tried to persuade Bateman to change his mind about becoming a Gopher.

The Gophers’ football schedule avoids three of the five Big Ten teams Sports Illustrated has in its top 15 teams in the nation. The S.I. college football issue out last week ranks Wisconsin No. 3 (predicting a national playoff spot), Penn State No. 7, Ohio State No. 9, Michigan State No. 11 and Michigan No. 15. Minnesota plays at Ohio State October 13 and closes the regular season at Wisconsin November 24.

Eden Prairie, defending 6A football state champs, started two-a-day practices this week along with other high school teams in the state. Head coach Mike Grant minimizes tackling in preparation for the season. His best players might only participate in contact for a series or two in a scrimmage before the Eagles open the season against Eastview on August 30. Excluded from any contact will be starting quarterback Cole Kramer.

Grant has won 11 titles at Eden Prairie since starting there in 1992. He told Sports Headliners the Eagles might have won five more if not for injuries.

A pro football source said the Vikings reached out to 59-year-old Mike Tice about becoming offensive line coach after the unexpected death this summer of Tony Sparano. Tice, a former Vikings head coach with a 33-34 record from 2001-2005, is retired from coaching after most recently working as offensive line coach for the Raiders.

Viking veteran Kai Forbath has a history of inconsistency on extra points. New rookie kicker Daniel Carlson will give Forbath a lot of competition for the job of converting extra points and field goals, and kicking off. This could be the most intense player competition in training camp.

Carlson was 4-for-4 on extra points and 2-for-2 on field goals last Saturday night in the Viking opening preseason win in Denver against the Broncos.

Another battle is to see who emerges as the No. 3 wide receiver. Laquon Treadwell, a No. 1 draft selection in 2016, hasn’t caught a touchdown pass in two seasons. In Saturday’s preseason opener he had one reception for three yards. Rookie Brandon Zylstra, injured and not able to play last Saturday, could not only make the roster but perhaps emerge as the No. 3 WR this season.

Legacy statistic for Lindsay Whalen who is retiring from the Lynx after this season: Since 2011 the club’s record is 60-3 when she has seven assists or more.

Former Gopher basketball player Larry Overskei, a three-year starter from 1967-1970, is retired after 47 years of coaching including most recently the boys golf team at Coon Rapids High School. During Overskei’s career he also coached basketball and one of his players was now Baseball Hall of Famer Jack Morris. At Highland Park High Morris helped the team win two St. Paul conference titles.

“Quick as a cat, tenacious, and a wonderful shooter,” Overskei wrote about Morris via email.

It will be interesting to see how center fielder Jake Cave of the Twins hits the rest of the season. Since being recalled on June 25, he is batting .377 (20-for-53) at Target Field. He has a hit in 18 of 22 games at home this season, batting .358 (24-for-67) with 18 RBI.

The 25-year-old Cave enters today’s home game against the Pirates hitting .273 with four home runs and 22 RBI in 139 at bats.

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Zimmer a Vikings Steal at $4 million

Posted on August 8, 2018August 9, 2018 by David Shama

The Vikings are spending aggressively to lock up their players for coming seasons, while pushing for their first Super Bowl since 1977. An August 1 story by the Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling reported that starting in 2019 nine Vikings will have “a contract that carries a yearly average over $10 million in each of its first three seasons.”

For this season Spotrac.com lists six Vikings earning $10 million or more. They are quarterback Kirk Cousins, $24 million; cornerback Xavier Rhodes, $13,400,000; linebacker Anthony Barr, $12,306,000; defensive end Everson Griffen, $11,600,000; offensive tackle Riley Reiff, $11,400,000; safety Harrison Smith, $10,000,000.

Even a grade school NFL fan knows a team can’t deliver on lofty ambitions without talented players. Or as former Golden Gophers national championship coach Murray Warmath once said, “No mule ever won the Kentucky Derby.”

Yet it’s interesting to contrast the compensation of highly paid Vikings players with that of head coach Mike Zimmer. His annual salary is guarded by club officials but media reports have the 62-year-old Zimmer earning $4 or $5 million annually. But for all the talent surrounding Zimmer, he might be the most important individual with the team.

In the competitive and strategic world of pro football, the head coach is far from a figurehead or caretaker. “Coaching is 60 to 65 percent of (team) success,” former Viking defensive lineman Bob Lurtsema has reminded Sports Headliners.

Zimmer will soon start his fifth regular season as Viking head coach and the team is among the favorites to win the NFC. He has won 39 regular season games, more than any other Viking head coach accomplished in his first four years. Zimmer’s teams have won two NFC North titles and were within one win of advancing to the Super Bowl last winter. The only losing season Zimmer has experienced was his first year 7-9 record. The prior season the Vikings’ record was 5-10-1.

Zimmer looked like a career NFL assistant coach until the Vikings gave him his first head coaching job. From day one he let his players know he was on a mission to build a tough, smart football team that gives maximum effort. The process has benefitted immensely from Zimmer’s direction including his widely acknowledged expertise as a defensive guru.

There have been bumps in the road for both the team and Zimmer personally. When the club hasn’t met expectations he can be a difficult character to be around, but his competitiveness sends a message. So does his toughness which Viking fans followed for months when he coached through a series of eye miseries that began with surgery for a detached retina.

It’s the way of the NFL to pay the best players more than the coaches—sometimes much more. A June 12 Street.com story by Scott Van Voorhis reported the NFL’s top paid head coach is New England’s Bill Belichick at between $10 million and $12.5 million. Oakland’s Jon Gruden is No. 2 at $10 million, with Seattle’s Pete Carroll and New Orleans’ Sean Payton making $9 million, according to the article.

Street.com listed the top 10 paid NFL head coaches and Zimmer didn’t make the cut. Coming in at the bottom of the 10 were Green Bay’s Mike McCarthy and Dallas’ Jason Garrett, both reportedly at $6 million.

You might have to search all over Vikingland to find anyone who would prefer McCarthy or Garrett before our guy Zim. Like the headline says, Zimmer is a steal.

Worth Noting

Steve Erban, known to travelling Gophers and Vikings fans as the operator of Stillwater-based Creative Charters, was a thoroughbred horse racing trainer for many years and is still involved with ownership. He’s organizing the “Royal Day Party” on Saturday at Canterbury Park that is part of the “Dress to the Nines” promotion celebrating racing including the Minnesota Derby and Minnesota Oaks. It’s all inspired by the annual Royal Ascot races in England where fans dress up in style. More at Canterburypark.com/racing-promotions.

Ruttger’s Bay Lake Lodge is celebrating 120 years and its history includes golf, having established the first Minnesota resort golf course in 1921. That course had sand tee boxes. Now the resort has two courses, Alec’s 9 on the site of the first course and Jack’s 18, a scenic course that winds around two lakes.

Pitcher Kyle Gibson appeared among the likeliest of Twins to be traded a couple of months ago but now could be with the club through the season and be a prominent part of the rotation in 2019. The 30-year-old right hander has the second most quality starts on the club behind Jose Berrios. He’s turned his career around since the last half of the 2017 season.

Quoting Twins baseball boss Derek Falvey in a letter sent Monday to ticket buyers reassuring them about the franchise’s future: “…We should all look forward to a strong finish to this season and the continued growth of our players as we build toward sustained, championship-caliber baseball together. Most importantly, thank you for your continued support!”

Condolences to family and friends of Dick Erdall, who passed away this summer after a life that included 1950s youth football coaching in Minneapolis. His coaching contributed to the state powerhouse teams at Washburn High School. He was also a 13th ward alderman in Minneapolis and interim mayor.

Gopher football practice at TCF Bank Stadium is open to the public Friday and begins at 4 p.m.

Next June will be the 30th Bruce Smith Golf Classic at Faribault Golf Club. Organizer Bruce Krinke said the event (named after Faribault native and Gopher Heisman Trophy winner Bruce Smith) hopes to reach a 30-year total of $250,000. Proceeds are annually given to Faribault schools.

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