Vikings – Page 156 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Vikings Miss on Momentum Builder

Posted on December 2, 2016December 2, 2016 by David Shama

The Vikings missed a storybook ending to their game last night, and diminished their chances of making the playoffs.

In the closing seconds the Vikings lined up for a two-point conversion attempt but right tackle Jeremiah Sirles was called for a false start, pushing the football back from the two-yard line to the seven. The next play quarterback Sam Bradford threw high on an attempted pass that if completed would have tied the score 17-17 with the Cowboys and sent the game into overtime.

Sam Bradford (photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings)

A replay of Bradford passing showed that the Cowboys’ Cedric Thorton hit the Vikings quarterback on the helmet. A roughing penalty should have been called but the officials didn’t throw a flag.

Instead of another attempt at the two-point conversion and possible overtime, the Vikings were left with frustrations and a .500 record of 6-6 with four games remaining on their schedule. It’s been a traumatic week for the Vikings both off the field and on. Head coach Mike Zimmer followed the game from home because of emergency eye surgery Wednesday night. Zimmer’s players wanted to win for him and build momentum for a playoff run. It’s not known when the coach will return to practice.

It’s also very uncertain how the Vikings will play in their games between now and when the season ends on January 1. The good news is that the remaining teams on Minnesota’s regular season schedule all have losing records. The Jaguars (2-9), Colts (5-6), Packers (5-6) and Bears (2-9) have a cumulative record of 14 wins, 30 losses. The games with the Jaguars and Packers are away, while the Colts and Bears come to Minneapolis. The Vikings are 2-4 on the road this season, 4-2 at home.

Minnesota has now lost two more games than the NFC North Division leading Lions (7-4). The Vikings have dropped six of their last seven and, with or without Zimmer, they are scrambling to defend last year’s division title.

The Lions’ remaining games are against the Saints (5-6), Giants (8-3) and Cowboys (11-1) on the road, and at home with the Packers and Bears. The cumulative record of those clubs is 31-25. Past performances and records certainly indicate the Lions’ remaining schedule is more difficult than Minnesota’s.

But even if the Vikings somehow manage to finish in a tie with the Lions (perhaps both having 9-7 records), Detroit will have the tiebreaker for the playoffs because of two regular season wins over Minnesota.

Six teams from the NFC will qualify for the postseason, the four division champions and two wildcard entries. Right now there are seven teams with better records than the Vikings, so Zimmer’s bunch still has a chance at the playoffs but last night’s performance didn’t create momentum or optimism.

The Vikings’ defense was impressive against perhaps the best offense in the NFC. The Cowboys scored two touchdowns but one was a gift because Vikings punt returner Adam Thielen fumbled near the goal line. His miscue was part of a difficult special teams evening for the Vikings that also included anemic punting giving the Cowboys preferred field position.

As usual, the Vikings offense struggled with minimal rushing success and point production. The Vikings got three field goals from Kai Forbath but scored only one touchdown. Bradford, also as expected, took a physical beating from pass rushers and absorbed a crushing blow late in the second quarter that knocked him out of the game. The offensive line has had so many injuries the Vikings are now using overmatched personnel as they struggle to put momentum back into a season that started 5-0.

Vikings fans can hardly be cocky about the coming weeks. The lowly Bears defeated the Vikings 20-10 in Chicago earlier this season. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are always a pain-in-the-you-know-what, the Colts have a top quarterback also in Andrew Luck and the Jaguars—well, they get the Vikings on their home field a week from Sunday.

But perhaps somehow the Vikings will find a way to win games down the stretch. Hard to know what tomorrow brings. Zimmer received a reminder this week.

Worth Noting

The Twins announced this morning that James Rowson, 40, will be the team’s new hitting coach. The last three seasons Rowson has been the minor league hitting coordinator for the Yankees. He was the Cubs hitting coach from June of 2012 through 2013.

St. Thomas plays at home tomorrow (noon start) in a Division III quarterfinal national championship football game against UW-Oshkosh. In the last 12 years, St. Thomas’ 30 teams in nine different sports have qualified for NCAA tournaments and advanced to at least the national quarterfinals. Ten of the teams went on to place first or second nationally. The Tommies’ football team played in the national title game last season.

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

In nine seasons under football coach Glenn Caruso, 19 different players have been named All-America or Academic All-America. In the 66 previous St. Thomas football seasons, 29 other Tommies were honored. At least one other player is expected to be added to that 48 member list when All-America teams are announced this month, because senior cornerback Michael Alada leads all four NCAA levels in interceptions with 11.

Senior wide receiver Nick Waldvogel made the 2016 Division III CoSIDA Academic All-America team this week, joining his older brother Fritz who was honored in 2011. Only one other set of brothers have made Academic All-America for St. Thomas: Greg Kaiser (1997) and Andy Kaiser (2001).

If the Gophers play Washington State in the Music City Bowl, Minnesota will have another look at Mike Leach. The famous passing game authority has revived the Cougars’ program as head coach, just like he did at Texas Tech. In the 2006 Insight Bowl Leach’s Raiders trailed the Gophers 35-7 at halftime but scored 31 second half points to force overtime. The Raiders passed the Gophers dizzy and eventually won 44-41 in Glen Mason’s last game as Minnesota’s head coach.

The 8-4 Gophers will learn their bowl destination Sunday night.

The Gophers will have four players returning next year who received All-Big Ten honors this week. The four are first team kicker Emmit Carpenter, defensive tackle Steven Richardson and running back Rodney Smith, both third teamers, and linebacker Jonathan Celestin who received honorable mention.

James Johannesson, the redshirt running back from Fargo who was one of the stars of the Gophers spring game, never played a minute this season. Minnesota’s top three running backs who played this fall all return in 2017. Johannesson ran for 6,158 yards and 81 touchdowns in high school.

A sympathy card might be appropriate for former Gophers basketball coach Dan Monson. His Long Beach State team is 1-8 with losses that include road games at Kansas, Louisville, North Carolina, Washington, Wichita State and UCLA.

Tubby Smith, who succeeded Monson at Minnesota, is 6-1 in his first season at Memphis. The most notable teams on the Tigers’ schedule so far are Iowa (Memphis 100, Hawkeyes 92) and Providence (Friars won 60-51).

Anyone else notice the Timberwolves have one of the worst records in the NBA, while the pro franchise that first played in Minneapolis is the surprise of the league? With a nucleus of promising young players, the Wolves were favorites before the season to emerge as the NBA’s most improved team. Instead, it’s the Los Angeles Lakers—who most everyone thought would be awful—that are playing .500 basketball after the first month of the season. Luke Walton is turning heads in L.A. and across the NBA in his first head coaching job, while the Wolves are off to a 5-15 start.

The Wild is at Calgary tonight and is 0-1 this season against the Flames. Minnesota goalie Devan Dubnyk stopped 26 of 27 shots in a 1-0 loss November 5 at Xcel Energy Center.

The Gophers volleyball team has its highest NCAA Tournament seed in program history at No. 2. Minnesota is hosting opening regional rounds at the Sports Pavilion tonight and tomorrow evening. The Gophers had top 25 RPI wins against 10 teams this season and nine of the 18 players on the roster are Minnesotans.

Comments Welcome

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.

Comments Welcome

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.

Comments Welcome