Vikings – Page 64 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Diggs Deal Works Big Time for Vikings

Posted on November 22, 2021November 22, 2021 by David Shama

There is no second-guessing any more about the Vikings’ March 2020 trade that sent veteran big play wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Bills. Dissent was all but buried yesterday by the headline performance of second-year wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

The Vikings received draft choices in return for a disgruntled Diggs who didn’t want to be in Minnesota’s offense. Those draft choices gave the Vikings not only Jefferson, but potential significant contributors in safety Camryn Bynum and defensive end Kenny Willekes.

Jefferson, of course, is the prize and all he did yesterday was catch eight passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns in the team’s 34-31 win over the Packers. “…He loves to go out and compete,” Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said on KFXN’s postgame radio show. “He’s been catching the ball great and running good routes, and he just lives for these moments.”

Diggs and Jefferson are similar in stats this season. Jefferson has 63 receptions for 944 yards and six touchdowns. Diggs has 60 catches for 773 yards and six touchdowns. Jefferson has 17 plays of 20 or more yards while Diggs totals eight.

Not only does Jefferson have the edge in key numbers but at age 22 he is six years younger than Diggs. And he’s a bargain with a base salary of about $1.2 million, while Diggs costs the Bills over $12 million, per Spotrac.com.

Jefferson is also a happy camper with the Vikings who talks team, not just about himself. He likes this offense that helped pull the Vikings to a 5-5 record yesterday against the 8-3 NFC North Division leading Packers.

“I feel like this offense is tops in the league with him (RB Dalvin Cook) running the ball, and me, Adam (WR Thielen), K.J. (WR Osborn) catching the ball. We can go a long way,” Jefferson said. “I feel like it’s hard to stop all of us on this offense and it’s a great offense.”

Quarterback Kirk Cousins, of course, is a big part of the rejuvenated offense that has been so productive of late, and so is his offensive line. Cousins threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns in the win Sunday while the line, including guards Ezra Cleveland and Uli Udoh, and center Mason Cole had success handling Packers defensive tackle and play wrecker Kenny Clark.

Regular center Garrett Bradbury is back from COVID but it seems likely Cole continues to start.

Worth Noting

Vikings network radio analyst Ben Leber was critical of safety Xavier Woods’ performance against the Packers who passed for 385 yards. “No, he did not have a good day,” the former Viking linebacker said after the game. “There were a couple times where it looked like to me it’s simple discipline things where he just has wrong leverage. He is not understanding where his help is and it’s unfortunate for a guy that is such a veteran player, and he’s had a great season so far. …”

The pandemic, high ticket prices and the team’s slow start to the season has the Vikings running TV commercials for single game tickets for remaining home games.

Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said health issues shouldn’t sideline any of his starters for Saturday’s game against the Badgers at Huntington Bank Stadium.

However, defensive line depth is impacted with news Sunday that M.J. Andersen is leaving the team and today that Rashad Cheney is doing the same. Don’t be surprised if other players enter the transfer portal between now and Minnesota’s yet to be determined bowl game.

Quarterback Tanner Morgan, who lost his father about five months ago, has long received the admiration of his coach. Morgan has won more games (25) than any QB in program history and Fleck praises him for his talent, courage and leadership.

“I might be working for him someday,” Fleck said.

Analytics have made 3-8 Nebraska a slight favorite (about three points) over 9-2 Iowa for Friday’s key West Division game in Lincoln.

Ex-Gophers Thomas Barber and Justin Conzemius, along with a TBD Gopher assistant coach, will headline Friday’s Goal Line Club preview lunch of the Minnesota-Wisconsin game at Elsie’s in northeast Minneapolis. www.goallineclub.org/events.

The 4-0 basketball Gophers led by first-year coach Ben Johnson and top assistant Dave Thorson are playing with more togetherness than any Minnesota team in memory.

Former Twins Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva will know December 5 whether they are voted into baseball’s hall of fame. “Both should be in the hall of fame,” former Pioneer Press Twins writer Gregg Wong told Sports Headliners.

Kaat, 83, won 283 games during a 25-year career with the Twins and other MLB teams. For 16 consecutive seasons he was a Rawlings Gold Glove winner, and sometimes was both a pinch runner and hitter with the Twins. “Not a better all-around pitcher in the game,” Wong said in comparing how well Kaat stacks up with pitchers of the past and today.

Oliva, also 83, had a lifetime batting average of .304 and is the only player in MLB history to win batting championships during his first two seasons. Oliva was a three-time American League batting champion and led the AL in hits five seasons. The Twins’ right fielder was a feared hitter who could hit pitched balls headed for the dirt into the seats.

Kaat and Oliva are part of a 10-person Golden Days Era ballot that includes Dick Allen, Ken Boyer, Gil Hodges, Roger Maris, Minnie Miñoso, Danny Murtaugh, Billy Pierce and Maury Wills. Kaat, Oliva and Wills are the only ones still living. “Even better reason to get them in the hall of fame,” said Wong who is a hall of fame voter but not a member of the Golden Days Era Committee deciding the fates of the 10 ex-players.

Any candidate who receives votes on 75 percent of the ballots cast by the 16-member committee will be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and inducted in Cooperstown on July 24, 2022.

Wong and former Minneapolis Central High School football teammate Bill Forsyth recently had dinner and reminisced with their former coach, 93-year-old Chuck Elias. “One of the most enjoyable evenings of my life,” Wong said.

The 1963 Pioneers were undefeated and City Conference football champions.

Much anticipated in these parts is Patrick Reusse’s annual Turkey of the Year column in the Thanksgiving Day issue of the Star Tribune. Who wins in 2021? Rocco Baldelli and Mark Coyle could be contenders.

The Vikings don’t play on Thanksgiving Day in 2021 but they have taken a liking to such games, going 6-2 over the years. They have won three of the last four with two straight over the Cowboys and splitting two with the Lions.

The Gophers defeated the Badgers 14-0 in Minneapolis on Thanksgiving Day 1963. The game had been rescheduled from the previous Saturday because of President John Kennedy’s assassination.

Former KARE 11 sports anchor Eric Perkins is the latest “Behind the Game” guest of co-hosts Patrick Klinger and Bill Robertson. Perkins is deciding on his next career move. The program is available for viewing on the “Behind the Game” YouTube Channel and via cable access throughout the state.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Beat the Pack Sunday? Read Here

Posted on November 16, 2021November 16, 2021 by David Shama

If on Sunday the Vikings can pull their season record to 5-5 with a home win over the 8-2 NFC North Division leading Packers, public momentum for sending Mike Zimmer to the unemployment line drops a few notches.

If by a miracle the coach eventually gurus his club to the playoffs, and then wins a couple of postseason games, let’s start a Zim for governor campaign. Maybe even send him directly to the White House.

As of today, Zimmer cronies have no plans to set up 2022 campaign headquarters downtown, or on the Iron Range where his persona is a perfect fit.

Amidst gloomy skies last week I predicted the Vikings to win in SoCal against the Chargers. Mostly I foresaw a desperately needed victory last Sunday because of the 3-5 Vikings’ slick running game and the Chargers’ flimsy ability to defend it.

The Packers look surprisingly improved on defense this fall, and the balance they have added to an always dangerous offense is why NFL.com has Green Bay No. 1 in its power rankings of league teams. The Packers shut out the Seahawks Sunday and in their last five games have given up just 58 points.

Dalvin Cook (photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings)

Something to watch for Sunday is if talented linebacker Rashan Gary’s hyperextended elbow allows him to play and help control Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook. Packer stud offensive tackle David Bakhtari might return after missing all of the season so far.

Put a question mark near Anthony Barr’s name, too. He missed the Chargers game and his presence is important if the Vikings are to slow Packer power back A.J. Dillon (about 250 pounds). More elusive runner Aaron Jones is injured and won’t play.

Zimmer is 6-7-1 in games against the Packers and Aaron (Houdini) Rodgers. “Our guys have to understand that this guy can make every throw,” Zimmer said Monday. “He can use his legs. He’s very, very smart. He can get them in a lot of good things (situations). So we’re gonna have to be tight in coverage but…we can’t give up big plays as well. They’re spreading the ball around a lot.”

Zimmer won’t pull his career record to .500 against the Packers on Sunday. Nope, not unless Rodgers develops COVID again. He was rusty in his return game last Sunday but the Vikings won’t see more of the layoff effect. At 37 he is playing cocky, looking like a sixth grader toying with fourth graders in a backyard football game. He is still the whole package including amazing elusiveness and poise.

Vikes go to 4-6 Sunday and things will look more dicey for a gubernatorial run.

Worth Noting

Zimmer took a phone call from his friend Deion Sanders during yesterday’s news conference. Asked if Sanders and long time pal Bill Parcells are the biggest headliners in his contact list, Zimmer added Kenny Chesney. “I got a few,” the coach said.

Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins passed for 294 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 109.5 rating in the win over the Chargers. Cousins became the sixth player ever with at least two touchdown passes and a passer rating of 100-or-higher in seven consecutive road games.

Here is something Cousins doesn’t receive enough praise for: His durability. Dating back to playing with Washington in 2015, he has been in every regular season game but one.

Taylor Heinicke, the vagabond quarterback who was with the Vikings as an undrafted rookie in 2015, seems to have found solid ground in Washington where as the starter he led the team to a surprise win over the Super Bowl champion Bucs Sunday.

Gophers coach P.J. Fleck gave no indication at his Monday news conference he intends to change starting quarterbacks. During practices backup Zach Annexstad receives significant repetitions but it doesn’t appear he will replace starter Tanner Morgan whose inaccurate passes have become a trend.

Fleck is loyal to Morgan and the two have been through a lot together. The coach values the redshirt senior’s skills in game management and not turning over the ball.

There are passing game issues at receiver, too, and sophomore redshirt WR Dylan Wright who showed playmaking ability earlier in the year is now used sparingly with indications he isn’t meeting expectations. “Guys earn their playing time,” Fleck answered briefly when responding to a question about Wright’s status.

Stats whiz Daniel House from the Gophers Guru website reports Minnesota ranks 116th in explosive plays out of 130 college football teams.

Fleck reported no significant injuries from the Iowa game, leaving the assumption everyone could be ready for Indiana in Bloomington on Saturday. “We came out pretty healthy.”

Minnesota hockey legend Lou Nanne, 80, enjoys part of the year at his condo in Florida that is just a few miles from the residence of former Gophers football coach Glen Mason, who is also back and forth between Minneapolis and the “sunshine state.”

The former North Stars president and GM remains captivated by second-season Wild forward Kirill Kaprzov. “He’s got skills very few players have,” Nanne said.

Nanne said the NHL Western Conference race is so tight with competitive teams. “It’s going to be crazy.”

The Wild? “They’ll definitely make the playoffs,” he said.

The Land O’Lakes Center for Excellence has many Gophers athletes walk through its halls every day. It’s a welcoming place where athletes greet and open doors for one another and visitors. On one wall are paper signs people have written about what it means to belong. (See photo).

The Wild, Wolves, Gophers hockey and basketball are facing ticket selling challenges. A hockey industry source said season ticket totals for the Wild and Wolves are unusually low at less than 8,000 each. Empty seats at Gopher hockey are some of the best in the arena. Gophers basketball is under 6,000 public season tickets.

With Stan Bowman out as GM for the 2022 US Olympic men’s hockey team it seems Wild boss Bill Guerin could move up from assistant GM.

The Wild can break series ties with rivals this week at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild face the Sharks (34-34-8 all-time) tonight and Thursday evening the Stars (33-33-13). The Stars game is a homecoming for defenseman Ryan Suter who is second all-time in franchise assists for the Wild, and second in points and games played.

Chris Wright, the recently retired United executive and before that president of the Timberwolves, will keep homes in Eden Prairie and Naples, Florida, plus visiting his 98-year-old mom in his native England.

Dave Mona, former co-host of the “WCCO Radio Sports Huddle,” will co-host with wife Linda a Fan in the Stands trip for the station and Holiday Vacations to Fort Myers to watch Twins spring training March 15-20.

Dick Jonckowski, Minnesota’s prominent master of ceremonies, emcees the Minnesota Old Timers Hockey luncheon at Mancini’s Char House November 22.

Lynx GM and coach Cheryl Reeve was the keynote speaker Friday at the annual meeting of the Twin Cities Compensation Network. Her comments included gender equity.

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Vikings Positioned for Future Rebuild

Posted on November 8, 2021 by David Shama

The Vikings, 3-5 after yesterday’s loss to the Ravens, are a long shot to make the playoffs and have missed the postseason in two of the last three seasons. The Vikings, although playing with effort, are a flawed team whose faults include not being able to capitalize on opponents’ mistakes and not finishing off games with a victory.

Embattled head coach Mike Zimmer probably not only needs to lead the Vikings to the playoffs but also win a couple of games to save his job. GM Rick Spielman, also the target of a highly critical fan base, has even a longer tenure in his position than Zimmer who he hired before the 2014 season.

The Wilf family could decide in January it’s time for new leadership on and off the field. Part of Mark and Zygi Wilf’s thinking might be prompted after reviewing a roster with several aging players among Minnesota’s impact performers.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins and defensive end Everson Griffen are both 33, safety Harrison Smith 32, cornerback Patrick Peterson and wide receiver Adam Thielen are 31, linebackers Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks and defensive tackle Michael Pierce are all 29.

There are longevity questions also about two of the team’s best performers, defensive end Danielle Hunter, 27, and running back Dalvin Cook, 26. Injuries have sidelined Hunter in both 2020 and 2021. Cook missed most of his rookie season in 2017 and injuries, including this season, have forced him out of the lineup numerous times in the last five years. NFL running backs have among the shortest of careers in the NFL.

None of this is to suggest the Vikings have to implode their roster next offseason. But except for 22-year-old wide receiver Justin Jefferson the Vikings don’t have any young stars on the roster, and whoever is managing the personnel will need to make decisions about aging players who have been major contributors in the past. In 2022 the club certainly could begin to transition its roster with aggressiveness while retaining the most valued players including Cook and probably Hunter.

The Wilfs might do a postseason audit, including review of the player roster and salary cap, and decide a new regime gets the opportunity to rebuild the Vikings during the next couple of years. The Wilfs are fans, too, and they have to be frustrated with mediocrity.

Worth Noting

The Twins announced this morning they have hired Jayce Tingler, 40, as bench coach and David Popkins, 31, as hitting coach. As manager of the Padres, Tingler led the team to the National League Division Series in 2020 and finished second in NL Manager of the Year voting. Popkins was hitting coach for the Great Lakes Loons, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ High-A affiliate. The Loons led the High-A Central Division in home runs (187), slugging percentage (.456) and OPS (.800) last season.

Yesterday Jefferson played in his 24th career game and increased his career receiving yards to 2,032 yards. He is the second-fastest player in the Super Bowl era to reach 2,000 career receiving yards (Odell Beckham Jr., 21 games).

Presuming the Vikings draft somewhere between 16 and 32 in the first round of next year’s NFL Draft, they might select a quarterback like Nevada’s Carson Strong or Pitt’s Kenny Pickett. It’s believed Spielman is evaluating both of them.

Among deer hunters planning to be out for the opener last weekend were Eden Prairie coach Mike Grant and his legendary dad Bud, 94 years old. Mike is chasing a 12th state football championship.

The Golden Gophers, 6-3, expectedly lost their opening game to Ohio State but their other two defeats, against lowly Bowling Green and mediocre Illinois, were major upsets. Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck said early last week that in nine years as a head coach his personal worst effort was for Bowling Green.

Gophers’ kicker Matthew Trickett, the Ken State transfer who was the MAC Special Teams Player of the Year in 2019 after making 82.5 percent of 57 attempts, is 10 of 17 for 58.2 percent through eight games at Minnesota. He is three of five from 40-49 yards, and one of four from 50 or more. He has also missed two extra points including one in Saturday’s 14-6 loss to Illinois.

One Stadium Village lot about three blocks from Huntington Bank Stadium is charging $30 for parking at Gophers football games. Any place asking more?

Congratulations to retired Gopher trainer Jim Marshall and wife Mary Lee who celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary November 16.

Minnesota native and Wild forward Nick Bjugstad, who scored the winning shootout goal Saturday night against the Penguins, made this promise to the fans before the season started: “I’ll do my best every day to bring the Stanley Cup to St. Paul.”

Jack LaFontaine, chosen last season as college hockey’s best goalie, had a season high 34 saves for the 6-4 Gophers in their 4-1 win over the Badgers Saturday night. Minnesota is 11-4-1 in its last 16 games against border rival Wisconsin.

The latest issue of Sports Illustrated includes a photo and Faces in the Crowd story on Hopkins senior basketball star Maya Nnaji who will play next year for Arizona, becoming the highest ranked Wildcat in women’s program history, per the magazine.

Twins radio voice Cory Provus will do Big Ten Network men’s basketball play-by-play this season.

The Twins have two free agents in pitcher Michael Pineda and shortstop Andrelton Simmons. Wager on a Pineda return, but not Simmons.

Wonder if the Twins have interest in a short term contract for former Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander? He will be 39 by Opening Day and has missed almost the last two seasons because of an injured elbow but maybe there is something “left in the tank” of the free agent right hander.

Skyline Division leader Bethel hosts Northwoods Division leader Saint John’s on Saturday for the MIAC football championship. The winner receives the MIAC’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III playoffs. The Johnnies won the regular-season game between the two traditional powers, 31-25.

Football rosters for the annual Minnesota High School All-Star Game (December 4, U.S. Bank Stadium) will be announced Friday on Randy Shaver’s Prep Sports Extra show on KARE 11.

The November 11 CORES luncheon and program at the Bloomington Event Center is cancelled. The next CORES program will be January 13.

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