Vikings – Page 48 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

QB Kirk Cousins’ Image Changes in 2022

Posted on November 15, 2022November 15, 2022 by David Shama

Kirk Cousins is on a historic personal path in 2022. The Vikings’ quarterback is being viewed as a winner after a past of mostly mediocre results by teams he led in Washington, D.C., and Minnesota.

The 8-1 Vikings are off to a start unlike anything Cousins has experienced since he became a regular in Washington in 2015. That season the Commanders finished the season 9-7. Cousins’ next two seasons in D.C. saw the Commanders go 8-7-1 and 7-9. A hefty free agent deal (reportedly three years, $84 million) brought Cousins to Minnesota before the 2018 season where he has been part of teams with records of 8-7-1, 10-6, 7-9 and 8-9-1.

That’s a cumulative record of 57 wins, 54 losses and one tie as an NFL starting quarterback dating back to 2015. Cousins also has a 1-2 playoff record with the Commanders and Vikings.

At age 34, in his 11th year in the NFL, Cousins is gaining ground in the public view as a winner and even being mentioned as a potential NFL MVP. He is flourishing in a quarterback friendly environment unlike anything he has experienced before as a professional.

Cousins is making both routine and difficult throws that have the Vikings headed to their first NFC North championship since 2017. He has been primetime this season leading the Vikings to comeback wins, with the most recent Sunday’s game for the ages overtime victory against the Bills in Buffalo.

Cousins’ performance and leadership has been questioned in the past but he’s answered critics by thriving under new head coach Kevin O’Connell who is known as a quarterback whisperer.

Cousins’ disconnect with previous head coach Mike Zimmer is well documented but now the veteran has found a productive relationship with O’Connell whose skills include superb play-calling and creativity in adjusting offensive schemes. O’Connell said Monday, while praising Cousins, that his quarterback has been tasked with a new system this year and “we’re asking a lot out of him.”

Putting labels on football players is dicey business. For critics to label the Cousins of the past something other than a winner really depends on perspective. Just being able to quarterback an NFL team year after year can be viewed as enough to gain respect with fans and media. Cousins has been a regular starter for the last eight seasons and along the way earned a reputation as a top 12 to 15 pro quarterback.

Not bad. But the 2022 version of Cousins looks better than ever and he is surrounded by coaches and players that can do their share of the heavy lifting. Whether it’s the phenomenal WR Justin Jefferson, the explosive RB Dalvin Cook, the improved offensive line or timely playmakers on defense, the vanquishing Vikings are far from a one-man show.

Give the Vikings credit for winning seven consecutive games since losing to the Eagles on September 19. But four of their eight wins are by four points or fewer and their schedule has not been daunting. Their nine opponents have a cumulative record of 42-43. Only three opponents, the Eagles, Dolphins and Bills, have winning records.

And that stat brings up one of the beefs that has dogged Cousins’ quarterback career. He has long been criticized for his performance against teams with a winning record.

He has lost about two-thirds of such games as the Vikings’ quarterback (per Fanduel), but in fairness remember that football is a team game and a lot can go into outcomes and records (Rams QB Matthew Stafford won a Super Bowl last winter after a dreadful record of wins and losses with the hapless Lions). If the Vikings finish with a gaudy regular season record and make a deep playoff run, even that Cousins wrap of not beating teams with winning records will lose some of its sting.

Cousins believes lessons from the past help his leadership now. “…Sometimes when you’re not winning, those are the times where you have to come in with a smile on your face, upbeat, still bring energy, make sure practice is still fun,” he said. “That’s really, I think, the test of leadership, is when it’s not easy to do things, that you still bring energy and focus and preparation. And so, certainly, when you’re winning, there’s a little more wind at your back, but you can’t really let it change the way you approach things and not ever get too high or too low.”

Worth Noting

Former University of Minnesota and Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz talking about Harvey Mackay’s 90^th birthday: “He doesn’t count his years. He makes his years count.”

Mackay hosted a birthday celebration in Phoenix last weekend. Mackay, the Minnesota-born, UM alum and New York Times best selling author, is close friends with Holtz who coached the Gophers in 1984 and 1985 before going to Notre Dame and winning the 1988 national championship.

“The Amazing Hondo,” St. Paul’s John Hughes, is a Mackay favorite and he entertained with his magic tricks at the birthday celebration. Hondo, 70, is still playing recreational basketball in the Twin Cities with pals including Dennis Fitzpatrick, the former St. Thomas star.

Hughes took his nickname years ago from legendary Celtics great John “Hondo” Havlicek.

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Vikings’ Offense with New Dimension Now

Posted on November 5, 2022November 7, 2022 by David Shama

How much will the Vikings’ acquisition of tight end T.J. Hockenson improve the offense? “I would say it adds…probably 25 percent dimension to the offense,” analytics expert Daniel House told Sports Headliners.

Hockenson, 25, was traded by the Lions to the Vikings Tuesday and is expected to play in Sunday’s road game against the Commanders. A 2020 Pro Bowl selection, the former Hawkeye and Iowa native was the eighth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

This season Hockenson has started all seven games for the Lions, totaling 26 catches for 395 yards. That’s the most receiving yards in his career through the first seven games of a season, and he has three touchdowns. His 15.2 yards per catch is the most in the NFL among all qualifying tight ends in 2022. He is also considered a capable blocker, but it’s his pass catching ability, including on deep balls, that is most attractive.

House is a well-known sports journalist in Minnesota whose analytics and other football knowledge draws online readers following the Golden Gophers and Vikings. He’s been impressed with the new front office and coaching of the Vikings, including the Hockenson deal.

“I think it’s one of those moves that takes the Vikings offense to another dimension,” House said.. …”If you take away (WR Justin) Jefferson, you’re going to give Hockenson some good matchups. If you give coverage attention to Hockenson, that will free up some of the other playmakers too. Also, (RB Dalvin) Cook running the football. He’ll run into wider boxes, which is good as well.”

Kevin O’Connell photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings

Head coach Kevin O’Connell has been impressive with schemes and play calls to keep the offense effective for the 6-1 Vikings, but the addition of Hockenson is expected to make that job easier. While it may have been difficult to put the deal together obtaining Hockenson, it’s a no-brainer to see why the move (that included exchange of draft choices for both teams) was put together. Starting tight end Irv Smith Jr. is injured and out indefinitely. Then, too, his pass catching has been underwhelming. Opposing defenses have been focused on stopping Jefferson, the team’s superstar receiver.

“I just like the way that the offense is built,” House said. “I feel like it’s very modern. Kevin continues to tweak it and now we’ll see sort of what it looks like with Hockenson because he’ll sort of fill that Tyler Higbee (Rams tight end in a similar offense) type of role.”

This is part of what House wrote on Twitter when the Vikings acquired the 6-5, 248-pound Hockenson who was a three-star recruit coming out high school: …”Still on rookie deal w/ fifth-year option next year, gets separation at the top of routes, great hands and creates mismatch possibilities.”

O’Connell said his defensive coaches, who had to prepare for Hockenson in the past, acknowledge what a talent the Vikings are acquiring. “They were more excited than anybody to get him on our roster and know what he can do for us,” O’Connell said.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins has targeted tight ends on 18.9 percent of his passes so look for that to change in coming weeks. Hockenson needs to assimilate the offense and learn to play with his new teammates so don’t expect him to be on the field a lot Sunday. But his acquisition has sent a message to the team and fans the Vikings are serious about winning.

Vikings Notes

In an email to Sports Headliners, a former NFL front office executive pointed out that without acquiring Hockenson, and with Smith injured, the Vikings likely would be starting reserve Johnny Mundt. He wrote Mundt “is ok on short routes and a good blocking tight end but not a down field threat.”

Jefferson has caught 63 passes of 20+ yards since entering the NFL in 2020—the most in the league by 12 catches during that span (Cooper Kupp and Mike Evans have 51 each).

Observers believe starting WR Adam Thielen, 32, has diminished speed from earlier in his career and is unlikely to be with the Vikings next year. Look for Minnesota to prioritize a wide receiver or two in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Cousins made a 17-yard touchdown run last Sunday against the Cardinals, although his speed has been clocked at a pedestrian 4.9 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

BTW, Cousins is a fan of fast food and made that known early in his Vikings days when he talked about patronizing Portillo’s.

O’Connell, with a win Sunday against the Commanders, can become the fifth NFL head coach since 2000 to win seven of his first eight career games, joining Jim Caldwell (2009), Jim Harbaugh (2011), Matt LaFleur (2019) and Mike Martz (2000).

Although it’s early November, Sunday’s game is only Minnesota’s third in an opponent’s home stadium. The Vikings have a loss at Philadelphia and a win at Miami, and a neutral site victory over the Saints in London.

The NFL season is about at the midway point and the final average score margin (9.52) as of last Tuesday was the lowest through the first eight weeks of a season since 1970. Fifty-five games had been decided by a touchdown (six points or fewer), the most such games through week eight in NFL history.

Brooks Bollinger, the former quarterback who played with multiple NFL teams including the Vikings, is the latest guest on “Behind the Game.” He talks with co-hosts Patrick Klinger and Bill Robertson about his playing and coaching career that included leading the high school football programs at Hill-Murray and Cretin-Derham Hall. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiFEhXuMwBc

The Commanders franchise is being shopped for sale. Forbes values the franchise at $5.6 billion but Front Office Sports newsletter speculates the final price could be $6 billon, making the transaction the largest ever in the world for a pro team. Chelsea FC sold for $5.3 billion earlier this year.

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Vikings Near ’98 & ’09 Fast Starts

Posted on October 30, 2022October 30, 2022 by David Shama

The Vikings are 6-1 after today’s 34-26 win over the Cardinals. With a win next Sunday over the Commanders, they can match the 7-1 starts of the 1998 and 2009 teams that are among the best in franchise history.

Those two teams went on to 15-1 and 12-4 regular season records respectively. Both flirted with Super Bowl trips before losing in NFC title games.

No one should put the 2022 Vikings in that company yet but the latest edition of the Purple has been impressive so far this season. They’ve managed to win five straight often making timely plays in close games (winning twice by eight points, and three, four and seven).

That was true today when Za’Darius Smith and Harrison Phillips put together consecutive sacks of Cardinals’ QB Kyler Murray in the closing seconds of the game. Smith had three sacks on the day, a fitting achievement on a day when sack master Jared Allen of the Vikings was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor.

The raucous crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium was noisy today, even by their ear-pounding standards. This town loves a winner and the citizenry is passionate about the local NFL team above all others. Fans were giddy about the possibility of seeing the Vikings remain among the NFL elite today.

“You can’t say enough about our fans today, the noise they brought,” Vikings QB Kirk Cousins said on KFAN after the game. “From the first half to the last it’s just a tremendous environment. It’s a privilege to get to play here.”

Cousins completed 24 passes today and moved to 3,000 career completions. He is the 31^st QB in NFL history to reach 3,000 completions. He has also thrown a touchdown pass in 37 consecutive games.

The Cardinals’ set their defense to stop the Vikings outside offense so Minnesota took advantage rushing inside for many of their 173 yards. Dalvin Cook ran for 111 yards, approaching his total in last year’s loss to Arizona when he had 131. Cousins even ran for 22 yards including a rare touchdown run of 17 to score Minnesota’s first touchdown.

Cousins and the Vikings, though, have struggled this season against blitzes. The Cardinals used one to force a Cousins fumble in the third quarter that set up a touchdown drive narrowing the score to 28-23.

As usual, though, the Vikings won with contributions from the offense, defense, special teams and the crowd (4-0 record at home). The Vikings converted three Arizona turnovers into 13 points in the second half. Typical of seizing opportunities by this team.

Worth Noting

Reserve quarterback Nick Mullens recently praising the communications between the coaching staff and players: “If you can communicate, you can execute. That’s been a great trait for us here.”

Mullens said head coach Kevin O’Connell and his staff have created a player-friendly environment that includes expectations and boundaries. “The players are very aware of the standard that the coaches and ourselves hold for each other,” Mullens said. “Upholding that standard each week is what we strive for. And we’ve done a good job and look forward to just keep earning the right to do that.”

For a home game like today that started at noon Vikings will arrive at the stadium about 9:30 a.m. Veteran safety Harrison Smith will use the hot tub to warm up his 33-year-old body and doesn’t go out on the field much prior to kickoff. “Just try to get the body warm and loose. Nothing crazy,” he recently told Sports Headliners.

Smith said he doesn’t sleep well after games and sometimes tries to catch up on rest Monday when he’s also doing an assessment about his body. He will get a massage on Mondays or Tuesdays. Later in the week there will be more practice and preparation for the upcoming game.

“I’ve played golf a few times on Tuesdays (this year),” Smith said. “It’s a good excuse to get some vitamin D if the sun is out. If I am hurt, though, I don’t play.”

Vikings kicker Greg Joseph, 28, talking last week about his future in football and hoping to keep playing well into his 30s: “Oh, I feel like I’m only gonna get better and better and stronger and stronger, which is exciting. I keep trying to reset my ceiling every year. So yeah, just excited. …”

Plans after football? “Whatever God has in store for me,” Joseph said.

Axios Sports points out that dating back to last Thursday and going through November 22 “there will be either FBS college football or NFL every single day.”

St. Paul native Pat Eilers, who played safety for the Vikings and Notre Dame, has made (along with wife Jana) a $5 million donation to his alma mater to support the director of sports performance position. The Eilers have provided previous gifts to Notre Dame and their children have attended school there.

It seems like a roll of the dice as to what kind of season starting Wild goalie Marc–Andre Fleury can have at age 38. Coach Dean Evason and GM Bill Guerin must be monitoring his performance and calculating how to handle the goalie roster.

Fleury’s 38^th birthday is November 28, the same age that goalie Gump Worsley was a member of the Stanley Cup Canadiens decades ago. Worsley won another Cup with the Canadiens in 1969 at age 39 (almost 40) and is the oldest NHL goaltender to have that distinction. Worsley later played for the North Stars and retired at age 44.

Retired Twins executive Terry Ryan, who was with the Phillies after leaving the Twins, is living in Eagan.

It was 35 years ago last Tuesday the Twins defeated the Cardinals in Game Seven of the 1987 World Series in Minneapolis. Wheaties boxes celebrating the World Series championship are available for sale on Ebay.

The Timberwolves sold $5 upper level tickets for home games last week against the Spurs.

Timberwolves limited partner Alex Rodriguez has purchased a home in Minnesota.

Stillwater-based Creative Charters is offering a same day trip to the Minnesota-Nebraska football game Saturday in Lincoln and has space available on the plane. Kickoff is 11 a.m.

St. Thomas football coach Glenn Caruso speaks to the CORES lunch group November 10 at the Bloomington Event Center. He is a six-time National Coach of the Year and is leading the Tommies in their second season of Division I competition where they top the Pioneer League at 5-0. CORES is open to the public but reservations must be made by November 7. More information about CORES is available by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

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