Vikings – Page 151 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Robison Sees Pro Bowls for Vikings Sub

Posted on November 30, 2016November 30, 2016 by David Shama

Vikings notes on the eve of tomorrow night’s nationally televised game with the Cowboys from U.S. Bank Stadium.

It will be interesting to see how the Vikings defense does against the Cowboys offense. Those are two acclaimed units, and part of the story tomorrow evening could be how much pass rush the Vikings can put on the Dallas offensive line and rookie quarterback Dak Prescott.

Vikings second-year pro Danielle Hunter leads the team in sacks even though he isn’t a starter. The 22-year-old Hunter, a third round draft choice in 2015, has 7.5 sacks and is tied for 15th best in the NFL. Hunter had six sacks last season in 14 games (he started one).

Hunter seems likely to one day replace 33-year-old Brian Robison who praised the former LSU player while talking with Sports Headliners. “I think the sky’s the limit for the kid. I think he really does have a bright future in this league. I see him being a perennially Pro Bowler—probably having maybe two, three, four paydays (contract adjustments).”

The Cowboys rank fourth in the NFL in total offense, averaging 407.6 yards per game. The Vikings are third in total defense, allowing 307 yards per outing.

Minnesota rates with the league’s best defending the pass, but has been more vulnerable against teams running the ball. The Vikings also haven’t seen an offensive line like the Cowboys, a unit considered among the NFL’s best.

“They’re really, really good. They’re the best line I’ve seen in a long time in the NFL—physical, athletic, (and) big,” said Mike Zimmer who was an assistant in the league for 20 years before coming to Minnesota as head coach in 2014.

Prescott, a surprise star and starter on the 10-1 Cowboys, has only been sacked 15 times. He has 18 touchdown passes and only two interceptions— figures that highlight the Vikings’ mission to put pressure on the 23-year-old.

Prescott has not only benefitted from a great offensive line but the team’s running game ranks second in the NFL at 157.3 yards per game. Ezekiel Elliott, another rookie, is the leading rusher in the league with 1,199 yards and has drawn praise from numerous sources including Zimmer.

“Well, he’s one of the better backs I’ve seen in quite awhile,” Zimmer said. “He’s really an all-purpose guy that catches the ball very well out of the backfield. He’s quick into the hole. Looks like he’s got great vision. …He’s good in pass protection, better than rookie backs for sure.

“One of the things, he’s an impact player on contact. He’s built…225 pounds. He’s physical. He’s a hurdler, if you try to cut him (off). He’s special.”

The Cowboys offense has a Vikings connection with offensive coordinator Scott Linehan and quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson. Linehan was a Vikings assistant from 2002-2004. Wilson played quarterback for the Vikings from 1981-1991.

In the October 17 issue of Sports Illustrated Wilson told writer Pete Thamel that Prescott had learned the Cowboys offense faster than any Dallas rookie in the last 10 years. “He has an aura and confidence about him,” Wilson said in S.I.

While the Cowboys have the NFL’s best record, the defending NFC North champion Vikings are 6-5 and have only one win in their last six games. “We need a win bad,” Vikings defensive back Captain Munnerlyn told Sports Headliners Monday. “We need a big win bad.”

What if the Vikings lose and fall further behind 7-4 division leader Detroit? “I don’t know,” Munnerlyn said. “I am not thinking like that. We need it—so I am not thinking like that at all.”

Internet reports Monday speculated the NFL will consider ending its weekly Thursday night games sometime in the future. “It would be great (if that happens),” Munnerlyn said. “You get more rest. You get more time to study your opponent. You play a little faster.”

Worth Noting

The Twins have signed catcher Jason Castro to a three-year contract worth $24.5 million. Castro will earn $8.5 million in 2017, $8 million in 2018 and $8 million in 2019.

Castro, 29, has played six seasons in the major leagues, all with the Houston Astros. In 617 games he hit .232 with 114 doubles, 62 home runs and 212 RBI.

Castro was named to the American League All-Star team in 2013. That season he hit .276 with 18 home runs and 56 RBI.

Brian Dozier, the Twins best player, said on WCCO Radio’s Sports Huddle on Sunday that the new baseball bosses for the club haven’t contacted him. There is ongoing speculation Derek Falvey and Thad Levine will trade the 29-year-old Dozier for pitching help. Dozier hit a career high 42 home runs last season.

Don’t be surprised if the Gophers pursue either a junior college quarterback, or a graduate transfer to replace Mitch Leidner. The departure of Leidner and redshirt junior Conor Rhoda leaves the Gophers with no quarterback experience on the roster.

Philip Nelson, who competed with Leidner for the Gophers starting job before leaving Minnesota three years ago, ended his 2016 season at East Carolina by throwing 16 touchdown passes and eight interceptions. Nelson threw for 2,621 yards in 10 games for his 3-9 team. Leidner had seven touchdown throws and 12 interceptions. He threw for 2,040 yards in 11 games for the 8-4 Gophers.

The Gophers will learn their bowl destination Sunday night. Minnesota won its bowl game last year against Central Michigan but is 6-12 overall in bowl games.

Rice Lake, Wisconsin native Henry Ellenson, who turned down the Gophers and many other schools to play one season at Marquette, is now in the NBA Development League. The NBA Pistons, who drafted him in the first round last June, sent him to their Grand Rapids affiliate team.

The Minnesota High School All-Star Football Game has a rich history dating back to 1945. The Minnesota Football Coaches Association is inviting all former players and coaches who participated in the game—and also all members of the MFCA Hall of Fame—to attend a 2 p.m. reception Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium. About 80 All-Star alums and Hall of Famers have already committed. A game ticket for $16 needs to be purchased in advance, with more information available by visiting Vikings.com/showcase.

Now known as the Minnesota Football Showcase, players representing the North and South will play the all-star game starting at 3 p.m. Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium. Totino-Grace’s Jeff Ferguson will coach the North and Eden Prairie’s Mike Grant the South.

The Showcase event is billed as a football celebration with attractions to include youth football clinics, marching band performances and autograph sessions with Minnesota Vikings alumni. Tickets are available in advance, with proceeds going to the MFCA and Tackle Cancer campaign. More at Vikings.com/showcase.

The defending Division III national champion St. Thomas men’s basketball team toured Microsoft earlier this month as part of multiple off-court activities while in the Seattle-Tacoma area to play two basketball games. Jon Strausburg, a St. Thomas alum and Microsoft executive, led the tour.

Seattle Seahawks general manager and St. Thomas alum John Schneider spoke to the team for an hour. The Tommies also met Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and watched practice. St. Thomas alum and Amazon executive Dan Jedda also spoke to the Tommies during the trip to Washington.

Tommies coach John Tauer said via email “it was an incredible weekend” to hear from the three St. Thomas alums. He said all three emphasized the lessons they learned from academics and athletics at St. Thomas.

The 3-1 Tommies are without three starters from last season’s national championship team but will likely make a strong run at the program’s 12th consecutive MIAC title. Forward Ryan Boll and point guard Grant Shaeffer are the returning starters.

Shaeffer quarterbacked the Eden Prairie High School football team to two state titles and has been a basketball starter on championship teams for the Tommies since his sophomore year. Tauer has his point guard playing a Lumosity game to help him make both fast and correction decisions. “I wouldn’t trade him for anybody in the country,” Tauer said.

The Tommies Nathan Stenger, a 6-3 freshman guard from Iowa City, has a 39½ inch vertical jump. The other day at practice he stood underneath a basket, jumped straight up and dunked the ball.

Condolences to friends and family of Dick Dougherty who died recently. Dougherty played hockey for the Gophers from 1951-1954 and ranks high in both career and per game scoring. A member of the M Club Hall of Fame, Dougherty played on a line with John Mayasich and Gene Campbell that coach John Mariucci once called “the greatest line ever seen in college hockey.”

Legendary singer Neil Diamond will perform at Xcel Energy Center May 24 as part of his 50th anniversary tour.

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Maybe Walsh Late Entry for Turkey Award

Posted on November 23, 2016November 23, 2016 by David Shama

Just an outsider looking in, but I can’t help anticipating Patrick Reusse’s announcement tomorrow of his Turkey of the Year. The Star Tribune columnist has made his TOY coronation a Thanksgiving tradition for decades by selecting and writing about a prominent Minnesota sports figure that experienced a dismal 12 months.

Reusse and his “committee” must be feverishly sorting through finalists on Thanksgiving Eve. Here on the prairie there are never any shortages of candidates from the professional teams and University of Minnesota. Perhaps compounding the selection process this year is the late entry of Blair Walsh, the woe-begone placekicker who made a matinee thriller out of extra points and was released by the Vikings last week.

It will also be hard to ignore the Twins who lost a franchise record 103 games last season. I could see the TOY gang arguing over whether to bestow the honor on former general manager Terry Ryan, or take a more inclusive approach by naming the entire baseball department.

Joe Mauer could be in contention too after earning $23 million and hitting just .261, with 11 home runs and 49 RBI. Another likely contender is Gophers basketball coach Richard Pitino who lost a school record 16 Big Ten games in 2015-2016.

Reusse’s declaration of his 2016 Turkey winner will be part of a day that includes a rare Thanksgiving game by the Vikings. If the club follows past history, fans won’t have to worry about the final score giving them a bad case of heartburn and upset stomach. The Vikings have won five of six times on turkey day since the franchise began in 1961. All have been road games, with Minnesota 3-0 against the Cowboys and 2-1 versus the Lions.

Tomorrow the Vikings play the Lions in Detroit for the first time since 1995. Although both teams are playing on just three days rest since last Sunday, it’s an honor to have a “place at the table” in Detroit. No franchise in professional sports is more identified with a holiday than the Lions who have been playing on Thanksgiving Day since 1934.

After 69 holiday games, the Lions are 33-34-2 against 24 opponents. One of those Detroit wins came in the 1995 game when defense was out and offense was in. Lions quarterback Scott Mitchell threw for 410 yards and four touchdowns in his team’s 44-38 win. Three Lions receivers had over 100 yards in receptions. Vikings quarterback Warren Moon passed for 384 yards and three touchdowns. Wide receiver Jake Reed had 149 yards in receptions including two touchdowns.

Go ahead and wager the best drumstick in town that kind of offensive show won’t happen tomorrow. The Vikings’ defense is too good, ranking among the best in the NFL giving up 306.9 yards per game and 17.6 points (although controlling the run has been a problem of late). The Lions are yielding 358.2 yards and 22.5 points.

You might want to hold off rolling out the turkey and all the fixings until after 3 p.m. Tomorrow’s 11:30 a.m. game is kind of a big deal. The teams are tied for first place in the NFC North with 6-4 records, and the Vikings intend to have a better day than earlier this month when the Lions won, 22-16, in Minneapolis. Quarterback Matthew Stafford rallied the Lions late and they tied the game as time expired. Then Stafford was clutch in overtime and threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Golden Tate for the winning points.

That game gave indigestion to “Purple People.” Might have even produced a Turkey of the Year candidate, too.

Worth Noting

Vikings defensive end Brian Robison talking about tomorrow’s game with the Lions: “It’s about who wants it more.”

If the Gophers can win Saturday in Madison against the Badgers it will be among the most significant upsets in the rivalry that dates back to 1890. The Badgers are ranked No. 5 in the latest Associated Press poll and are close to earning an invitation next month to the four-team College Football Playoffs.

Wisconsin was 0-2 in Big Ten games in mid-October but has now won five consecutive league games. With an overall 9-2 record and 6-2 in the Big Ten, a win against Minnesota sends the Badgers to the conference title game next month in Indianapolis. A victory by the Badgers also would put the all-time series standings against Minnesota at 59-59-8.

But the Gophers, 8-3 and 5-3, would spoil Wisconsin’s CFP hopes with an upset, and that’s just part of how wild things could end in the West Division by Saturday night. Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, and Wisconsin could all finish with 6-3 records. The Badgers, though, would be invited to Indianapolis because they have wins over Iowa and Nebraska, and the Gophers lost to both the Hawkeyes and Cornhuskers.

Even with an 8-4 final record, the Gophers figure to earn an invitation to one of their better bowl destinations in the last 10 years. At last Saturday’s Minnesota-Northwestern game at TCF Bank Stadium, press box seat assignments were made for representatives of the Fiesta, Foster Farms and Holiday bowls.

Ryan Burns, the high school football authority from GopherIllustrated.com, told Sports Headliners he predicts Totino-Grace will win by seven points over Eden Prairie in the Class 6A state championship game Friday. Burns wonders whether EP has enough “firepower” to win against Totino. A state title win by Totino would be a third consecutive victory over Eden Prairie including a 17-14 win earlier this year. “That would be a hell of an accomplishment,” Burns said about Eden Prairie, a program that has won four of the last five big school state titles.

Asked about the 10 finalists for the 2016 Mr. Football Award, Burns suggested the likely winner will either be Grand Meadow running back/linebacker Christopher Bain, Crosby-Ironton quarterback/linebacker/kicker Noah Gindorff, or Lakeville North running back Wade Sullivan. Among the 10 candidates, Marshall tackle Blaise Andries is the only one with offers from FBS schools. He is verbally committed to the Gophers.

Gindorff has committed to FCS North Dakota State. Alexandria quarterback Jaran Roste, another Mr. Football candidate, has a preferred walk-on invite from the Gophers, Burns said.

The 2016 Mr. Football Award, sponsored by the Minnesota Football Coaches Association and the Vikings, will be presented on December 4 at the Doubletree by Hilton in St. Louis Park. Candidates for the award, which dates back to 2004, must be high school seniors.

The Rochester Quarterbacks Club that began in 1955 is still meeting on Mondays under the leadership of Ed Rauen, a familiar voice in southern Minnesota for decades on KROC Radio. The club meets at a place called Canadian Honker Catering, features speakers from various sports and has had only two presidents, the late Ben Sternberg and Rauen. “It’s the only club in America that doesn’t have an election,” baseball icon Joe Garagiola once said.

Former Gopher Darrell Thompson, the program’s all-time leading career rusher, turns 49 today.

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Vikings Praise Record-Setter Diggs

Posted on November 18, 2016November 18, 2016 by David Shama

Stefon Diggs has more than documented his improvement the last two Sundays. The Vikings’ second-year wide receiver caught 13 passes in each of the last two games to become the first player in NFL history to accomplish that.

Teammate Zach Line said Diggs, a fifth round draft choice in 2015, has the ability to find openings in the secondary. “He’s got a nose for the ball,” the Vikings fullback told Sports Headliners.

Veteran quarterback Shaun Hill said Diggs has not only improved since his rookie season but is even better than he was in training camp last summer. Hill was asked for an example of that.

“It’s one thing to know what a play looks like on paper. It’s another thing to know the detail how to run that play—how to run that route, versus everything that a defense can bring,” said Hill who is in his 15th NFL season.

Hill predicts more improvement from Diggs who has become the team’s star receiver and already has 10 more receptions in eight games than he had in 13 games last year. “He comes with a worker’s mentality every day, and that’s what you have to do,” Hill said.

Stefon Diggs (photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings)

Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen also praised Diggs’ mental approach to football. “He’s an unbelievable competitor,” Thielen said.

Diggs has 710 yards in receptions after totaling 720 last year. His 710 ranks 11th in the NFL and his 61 receptions are tied for fourth best in the league with the Falcons’ Julio Jones.

Diggs has earned praise from various teammates including another Vikings wide receiver, Cordarrelle Patterson. Patterson said the individual stats are nice but he reminded a reporter the 5-4 Vikings are in a losing streak.

“I know he (Diggs) would take all those catches back for two wins the last two weeks,” Patterson said.

Worth Noting

Fox’s lead broadcast crew of Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Erin Andrews will be in town to do Sunday’s Vikings game against the Cardinals at U.S. Bank Stadium. The trio is also scheduled to work the February Super Bowl in Houston.

The Vikings, 5-4, are looking for their first win since October 9—week five of the NFL schedule. The Cardinals, 4-4-1, are 3-1-1 dating back to week five.

Injured Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater hasn’t been attending home games, but running back Adrian Peterson, who is also rehabbing, has been on the sidelines.

Tom Moore, 78, is the Cardinals assistant head coach/offense. Moore, from Owatonna, Minnesota, was the Gophers’ offensive coordinator from 1972-73 and 1975-76. Among his best players are Minnesota natives and receivers Larry Fitzgerald, Jr. and Michael Floyd.

The Gophers have 13 seniors/grad students who will be recognized for their final game at TCF Bank Stadium Saturday (2:30 p.m. start against Northwestern). But head coach Tracy Claeys said on his KFAN Radio show Tuesday that another seven—juniors not expected to return in 2017—will be in their final home game, too.

Minnesota’s group of 13 is the third smallest in major college football. Only three of the 13 play on offense, quarterback Mitch Leidner, tackle Jonah Pirsig and wide receiver Drew Wolitarsky. That’s the fewest on any offensive unit in college football.

Leidner is among the winningest senior quarterbacks in the nation with a 22-16 career record. He has an undergraduate degree in kinesiology and is halfway through his master’s in sports management, but he isn’t sure about career plans.

Although he is only 40 years old, Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald is the second longest tenured head coach in the Big Ten. Fitzgerald is in his 11th season with the Wildcats, while 61-year-old Kirk Ferentz has 18 seasons as head coach at Iowa.

MarQueis Gray, the former Gophers quarterback, has played in nine games at tight end for the Dolphins. He has started four games, with seven receptions for 109 yards. This is Gray’s fifth NFL season and he’s played with four teams including the Bills, Browns and Vikings.

Glenn Caruso (photo courtesy of University of St. Thomas)

Coach Glenn Caruso and the St. Thomas football team has its opening playoff game tomorrow, with the intent of eventually advancing to the Division III national championship game in Salem, Virginia. The 10-0 Tommies lost in the title game last December but get a new start in the postseason Saturday at home against 9-1 Northwestern-St. Paul.

Northwestern, from the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, and the MIAC’s Tommies had one common opponent during the year. Northwestern defeated Augsburg 14-0, while St. Thomas beat the Auggies, 55-7.

Two Tommie seniors, All-America tackle Will Hilbert and running back-kick returner Nick Waldvogel, have started all 46 games over the last four seasons. The Tommies record is 40-6 during that stretch.

Hilbert, from Milwaukee, has blocked for 28 different 100-yard rushing performances (eight players), and helped St. Thomas achieve 34 games with 200 or more yards passing.

Waldvogel’s older brother, All-America wide receiver Fritz Waldvogel, started all 50 games in his St. Thomas career. In eight years of the nine-season Caruso era, a Waldvogel has been in the St. Thomas lineup every game (all but 2012 season). The two brothers have combined to score 80 touchdowns (Fritz 46, Nick 34).

Nick, a St. Thomas Academy graduate, is averaging 99.5 all-purpose yards per game in his career and has scored 34 touchdowns. He has 177 career receptions for 2,134 yards.

NBA Hall of Famer Chris Mullin, now in his second season as St. John’s basketball coach, leads the Red Storm (2-0) against the Gophers (3-0) tonight at Williams Arena. The game is part of the Gavitt Tipoff series this fall between the Big East and Big Ten. Minnesota and St. John’s played once previously, a 70-61 Red Storm win in 2014.

Former Gopher forward Rodney Williams is playing for the Greensboro Swarm in the NBA Development League. The North Carolina-based team is starting its first season and is an affiliate of the NBA Hornets.

Timberwolves forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns is featured on the cover of ESPN The Magazine’s “Tall Ball” issue. The magazine arrived in subscriber’s mailboxes earlier in the week, went online yesterday and is available at newsstands starting today. The article reviews how height has impacted NBA and college basketball.

Towns helped the Wolves to a 110-86 win over the 76ers last night. He scored 25 points and had 10 rebounds. It was his fourth 20 point, 10 rebound game in the last five.

Timberwolves executive Chris Wright is finishing his year as “head coach” of the Twin Cities Dunkers. In that volunteer role, Wright has arranged speakers for the Dunkers organization that dates back to the 1940s.

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