Vikings – Page 93 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Vikes’ 2021 Super Bowl Path Unclear

Posted on February 2, 2020February 2, 2020 by David Shama

The Vikings, while deserving of a top 10 ranking among NFL teams, are clearly inferior to the two teams playing in tonight’s Super Bowl—the Chiefs and 49er’s. The question in this town is whether in the next 12 months Minnesota can transition to a Super Bowl quality team.

During the regular season the AFC Champion Chiefs, playing without star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, defeated the Vikings 26-23 in Kansas City. In the playoffs, the 49er’s dominated the Vikings and embarrassed them 27-10 in Santa Clara. The Vikings’ best moment in either the regular season or playoffs was their opening postseason win, 26-10, versus the Saints in New Orleans. Minnesota mostly struggled against quality opposition in a 10-6 regular season.

Whatever the Vikings lack, whether it’s more star power, team speed, work ethic, player development or better coaching, general manager Rick Spielman, head coach Mike Zimmer and other decision makers better execute on a to-do list in the offseason. There is a truism in football that warns: “Your team either gets better or worse from season to season, but never stays the same.”

The 2018 Vikings failed to make the playoffs, so 2019 was a laudable upgrade. Spielman will be forced to make changes not only based on performance, but salary cap issues. Expensive quarterback Xavier Rhodes, who turns 30 years old in June, seems all but certain to be gone from next season’s roster. Cornerback play was a soft spot last season and needs to be fixed as does the inconsistent offensive line. Those struggling included guard Pat Elflein, who had many difficult moments.

Addressing the offensive line problem feels like the movie “Groundhog Day,” the Bill Murray classic where events keep repeating themselves. As the NFL draft approaches this spring, there will be the usual speculation about the Vikings targeting an early-round offensive lineman.

The draft could give the Vikings a boost as it did in 2019, with promising center Garrett Bradbury. He needs to be one of several players who have break-out performances to help the team improve overall.

A trade of talented but temperamental wide receiver Stefon Diggs seems possible. He and Rhodes led the team in visible temper tantrums in 2019. With wide receiver Adam Thielen fighting off injuries late in the season and playoffs, the front office could be cautious in moving the 26-year-old Diggs.

Minnesota has young star power in 24-year-old running back Dalvin Cook and 25-year-old defensive end Danielle Hunter, but this is an aging team in some starting positions on defense and offense. It will be intriguing to see which way the Vikings trend in the next 12 months.

Worth Noting

It wouldn’t be shocking if 31-year-old Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins quit the NFL after next season at the end of his three-year, $84 million contract. NFL stars Rob Gronkowski, Luke Kuechly and Andrew Luck retired before they were 30 years old. Football is a collision sport, Cousins is a great family man, and suitors from the private and public sectors will be lined up at his door when he transitions from football. He is that impressive of a person.

History lesson: not only are the Vikings 0-4 in Super Bowls, their closest loss was by 10 points in the games (losing 16-6 to the Steelers in 1975). Overall, the Vikings were outscored by 61 points in the four games.

Linebacker Damien Wilson can become the first former Gopher to play on a Super Bowl-winning team since 2009 if his Chiefs win today. Ex-Gopher tight end Matt Spaeth played on the 2009 Super Bowl champion Steelers.

A Michael Bloomberg TV commercial on tonight’s Super Bowl telecast cost an estimated $10 million, per the January 17 Wall Street Journal.

Early departures for the NFL by three Wisconsin standouts including running back Jonathan Taylor could make Minnesota the pre-season favorite to win the Big Ten West and advance to a first conference championship game in Indianapolis. January top 25 national rankings for the next season included SI.com’s placement of the Gophers at No. 11, with the Badgers at No. 13.

It’ll be interesting to see what local golf courses new Twins super slugger Josh Donaldson frequents on his days off next summer. Nicknamed “the bringer of rain” for his baseball power, Donaldson appeared on the Golf Channel in 2014 and hit a golf ball an estimated 309 yards in a simulator.

Harvey Mackay, the University of Minnesota alum and former Gophers golfer, signed copies of his new book at Barnes & Noble in Edina last week. The book jacket of You Haven’t Hit Your Peak Yet includes this endorsement from former Gophers football coach Lou Holtz: “Harvey Mackay may be the most talented man I’ve ever met.”

Former pro wrestling “High Flyer” Jim Brunzell is wearing an immobilizing brace this winter after a third surgery on his right knee. Following a career of 5,000 matches over a 25-year career, Brunzell has had both knees replaced, plus a shoulder and hip. The ex-Gopher football receiver has undergone eight total surgeries in the last 10 years.

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How Do Wilfs React to Viking Loss?

Posted on January 12, 2020January 12, 2020 by David Shama

What is Vikings ownership thinking today after Saturday’s embarrassing 27-10 loss to the 49ers that knocked its team out of the playoffs?

The Vikings won their opening playoff game January 5 with an impressive win over the Saints. In advance of that game, team president and owner Mark Wilf issued a statement of confidence in coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman who have contracts only through this year. The Wilf ownership made clear it had “every intent” of retaining the two in the future.

Owner Zygi Wilf has been on record about his vision to see the team in the Super Bowl. The Wilfs have owned the franchise since 2005 without realizing their dream. Spielman has been a leader in formulating player personnel decisions since 2006 and had full authority since 2012. Zimmer has been head coach since 2014, making the playoffs three times and winning two NFC North titles with a Spielman produced roster led by a number of outstanding players.

Sometimes votes of confidence don’t last long. If the Wilfs decided in the coming weeks to move on from Spielman and Zimmer they would appease a mob of critics who want a change. Fans are hot after yesterday’s game that saw the Vikings look out coached, while generating just seven first downs and not able to match the aggression of the 49ers.

Fans can act passionately, even irrationally. Owners need to be more cautious. Despite their “warts” like a leaky offensive line that never seems to completely get repaired, the Vikings aren’t a broken team like so many in the NFL. Spielman and Zimmer are good at what they do. They are also high character leaders.

The question the Wilfs have to answer is whether those two give the Vikings the best chance of fielding an elite team? With that question comes another: If and when the owners want to make a change, can they identify the leadership that will take the Vikings to the next level?

Worth Noting

Former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber talking on KFAN Radio after yesterday’s game with the 49ers: “They Mike Tyson punched us in the face. That was about it.”

Jerry Burns, head coach of the 1987 Vikings team that won its first two playoff games in 1988 including against the 49ers on the road, turns 93 January 24 and still lives in the Minneapolis area.

While Target Field seating capacity for baseball is 38,544, a hockey insider told Sports Headliners 34,000 seats will be available for the 2021 NHL Winter Classic next January at the downtown Minneapolis ballpark. He predicted it will be several weeks before tickets go on sale, with Minnesota Wild season ticket holders having priority. He also said NHL representatives were in town last week to look at the outdoor venue that will match the Wild against an as yet unannounced opponent.

The Wild has lost four of its last five games and is near the bottom in the Western Conference’s Central Division. The Wild also trails division rivals in goals, and the team’s lack of scoring could result in the franchise missing the playoffs for a second consecutive year.

If that results in a coaching change, might South St. Paul native Phil Housley be the successor to Bruce Boudreau? Housley, an assistant coach with the Phoenix Coyotes, is friends with new Wild general manager Bill Guerin.

The guess here is the Twins won’t make the highest offer to free agent third baseman Josh Donaldson and he will sign with another team.

The Twins’ starting infield for their season opener March 26 in Oakland could be: Miguel Sano, first base; Luis Arraez, second base; Jorge Polanco, shortstop; Marwin Gonzalez, third base.

In 2021 that infield could look like this: Sano, first base; Polanco, second base, Royce Lewis, shortstop; and Arraez, third base.

Quoting Dick Jonckowski at the January 9 CORES luncheon in Bloomington: “If baseball is a religion, we should be in good shape with (Dave) St. Peter heading the Twins.”

March 17 will be the release date for Game Used, the book about longtime Twins TV broadcaster Dick Bremer. Author Jim Bruton said Bremer will do book signings in southwest Florida during Twins spring training.

Announced attendance for the Timberwolves home game Thursday night was 13,720 but a source said about 6,000 fans were in Target Center. Celebrities in the crowd included Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck and Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph.

Tracy Claeys resigned during the season last fall as Washington State’s defensive coordinator and is now the linebackers coach at Virginia Tech. If not for that resignation, the former Gophers head coach might be positioned as an internal candidate for the head job at WSU which opened up last week when Mike Leach left for Mississippi State.

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Bailey May Give Vikes Edge Saturday

Posted on January 9, 2020January 9, 2020 by David Shama

Enjoy a Vikings notes column in advance of Saturday’s divisional playoff game with the 49ers.

The winner moves on to the NFC championship game, and the margin of victory Saturday could be only a few points. Perhaps a field goal decides the outcome at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, and the Vikings may have an edge because their Dan Bailey has made 21 consecutive three-pointers.

The 49ers’ Robbie Gould? In the last 13 games he has only made 23 of 31 field goal attempts, a 74.2 percentage. That’s a big drop from 2018 when the 37-year-old Gould converted 33 of 34 field goal attempts.

Bailey was 27 of 29 attempts (93.1 percent) during the regular season, the fourth time in his career he has been over 90 percent. In Minnesota’s opening playoff win last Sunday in New Orleans Bailey made two field goals to help the Vikings to a 26-20 overtime win over the favored Saints.

Vikings center Brett Jones is expecting a close game. “Oh, for sure,” he said. “It’s amazing the amount of parity in the league this year, and it’s going to be like that I am sure this weekend. So we gotta be ready to execute, and all the little details matter.”

Former Viking Bob Lurtsema, who remains a close observer of the team, thinks Minnesota may win 24-21. In a critical play, either the Vikings or 49ers may take advantage of the other. “It’s (the outcome) going to come down to one mistake,” he told Sports Headliners.

The last 27 NFL postseason games, dating back to the 2017 Super Bowl, have been decided by an average of 8.1 points. Four of the league’s last seven postseason games have been decided in overtime. Eight of the past 14 playoff games (excluding neutral site Super Bowls) have been won by road teams.

The 49ers had a bye last weekend, providing more time to prepare for Saturday’s game than the Vikings. The 49ers, 13-3 during the regular season, led the NFC in points per game at 29.9. They were also No. 1 in total defense, giving up 281.8 yards per game. “That is a good football team, no doubt about it,” said Lurtsema about the NFC’s No. 1 seed.

The Vikings, 10-6 in the regular season and coming off the success of last Sunday, should approach the game with confidence, particularly defensively. Head coach Mike Zimmer and his staff will no doubt have a surprise, or two, for the 49ers defensively. They did against the Saints, lining up defensive ends Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter in the middle of the line.

Lurtsema wouldn’t be surprised to see more of that scheme Saturday from the No. 6 seed Vikings. “They (the defensive ends) get off the ball better (playing inside),” he said.

Zimmer’s surprise schemes and the talent of his defensive personnel could even help the Vikings score points. Since the team’s bye week in November, the defense has 17 takeaways, tops in the NFL. During that period of time, Minnesota also has a league-leading nine opponent fumble recoveries and eight interceptions (tied for most with the Packers).

An effective performance by the defense seems probable, but what about the Minnesota offense? That unit will need a major contribution again from running back Dalvin Cook who rushed for 94 yards against the Saints and helped balance the offense. His running takes pressure off quarterback Kirk Cousins, and at times even the offensive line because Cook is so good he can make gains with minimal openings.

Cook ran to the right with success against the Saints, with right tackle Brian O’Neill impressing with his blocking. Jones said the second-year lineman has a lot going for him including his inquisitiveness. “He asks good questions during the week and it shows on Sundays. He’s playing really good.”

Cousins had enough pass protection from his sometimes inconsistent offensive line to complete 19 of 31 passes including one touchdown throw against the Saints. He was sacked just twice for 10 yards.

“I have a lot of confidence in Brian, (and) confidence in the entire offensive line,” Cousins said. “They’ve worked very hard and done a great job all year. …They’re well coached, and they’re a big reason why we’re still playing football here in mid-January.”

The Vikings won their opening playoff game on a touchdown catch by 6-foot-6, 265-pound Kyle Rudolph in the end zone. “I wouldn’t leave any of us (tight ends) on an island like that one-on-one,” said Irv Smith, who is Rudolph’s backup. “You know, we’re bigger guys, especially Rudy with how big he is and his ball skills. It just shows the talent that he has, and the talent that this tight end group has.”

Rudolph’s performance was a bit of redemption for the 30-year-old veteran who had an uncertain future with the team last spring. Because of salary cap concerns, it was believed the Vikings and Rudolph would likely part ways, with Rudolph perhaps landing with quarterback Tom Brady and the Patriots. Instead, the Vikings and Rudolph agreed on a reported four-year $36 million extension.

Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski after being asked if he is surprised with the career consistency of Rudolph: “I’m not surprised. I think he’s one of our hardest working players. It’s hard to beat him into the building in the morning. He’s here early and he just takes his craft very seriously.”

The prediction here is Viking star wide receivers Stefon Diggs (illness) and Adam Thielen (ankle injury) will play Saturday, even if somewhat limited in how they can perform.

Santa Clara, the home of the San Francisco 49ers stadium, is located more than an hour drive from the San Francisco airport. The San Jose airport is about 10 minutes from Santa Clara.

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