Vikings – Page 95 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Vikes Look ‘Cooked’ with No Dalvin

Posted on December 29, 2019December 29, 2019 by David Shama

The Vikings, 10-5, play their final regular season game today in Minneapolis against the Bears, and then start preparations for next weekend’s opening playoff game. The Vikings, a No. 6 seed in the NFC, are unlikely to win in the postseason without running back Dalvin Cook, whose shoulder injury sidelined him in the December 23 loss to the Packers and will keep him off the field today.

Cook, the 24-year-old third season playmaker extraordinaire, has produced a breakout performance in 2019, and the guess is he will be available next weekend. He is clearly the offense’s most indispensable player with his ability to gain difficult yards with minimal blocking, and also outrun tacklers. With 1,135 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns (no other Viking is even in double digits), he is among the NFL’s leading runners.

Injuries sidelined Cook for 17 games the past two seasons but the team’s coaches knew what a special playmaker they had in the former second round draft choice (he excels as a wide receiver, too). That’s why after seeing the limitations of quarterback Kirk Cousins in 2018, the offense was refocused to emphasize the running game. Using zone blocking with a run game featuring Cook, the Vikings have improved their offense and at times Cousins has flourished.

But against the Packers, without Cook, the offense was a dud, producing only seven first downs. The Packers kept their defensive ends “home” and discouraged the rollouts and bootlegs that have worked well for the passing game this fall. The offensive line, including the left side with tackle Riley Reiff and guard Pat Elflein, had a long night in the 23-10 loss.

Schemes are one thing but they are a lot more successful with playmakers, and Cook is one of the NFL’s best. Football is the ultimate team game but Cook is so fast, strong, and elusive he can make plays on his own.

“The clock in your head is saying this play might be over, but it probably isn’t,” offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski said in a December 2 Sports Illustrated story. “Go to the next level, get that last shove in there and give this kid a crease, because you just never know with him.”

At times Cousins looked anxious without Cook and a successful running game in the Packer loss. The quarterback has a history of not being able to carry a team late in the season. The offensive line, while improved over its most recent predecessors, is no award winner. Star wide receiver Adam Thielen, who missed multiple games with a hamstring problem, is trying to find his way back into production. The Vikings have offensive issues as they near the playoffs. They can’t afford to be without their Cook.

Worth Noting

T-shirt seen at a local health club last week predicted the Packers are going to the next Super Bowl and showed the Lombardi Trophy. The front of the shirt also said the Vikings are bowl bound, with a toilet illustration.

The 2010 Packers were a No. 6 seed, won all their playoff road games and emerged as 2011 Super Bowl champions.

The Minnesota Wild may learn as soon as Tuesday whether the NHL is choosing Target Field as the playing site for the January 1, 2021 NHL Winter Classic. Wild owner Craig Leipold told Sports Headliners awhile ago his franchise is competing for the prestigious outdoor game that has never been held in Minnesota.

The 2020 Winter Classic is at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas and an announcement about the 2021 playing site will come next month. The Wild is competing with another city (name not publicized) for the game. The opponent for the Target Field game might be either Chicago, Colorado, St. Louis or Winnipeg.

Speculation is that elusive wide receiver and kick returner JD Spielman, the former Eden Prairie star and 2015 Minnesota prep Mr. Football, might transfer from Nebraska to the Gophers. Maybe so, but Sports Headliners is told Spielman won’t have his degree until next summer and couldn’t be a graduate transfer until then.

Cincinnati.com reports former Gophers deputy athletics director John Cunningham will earn $475,000 in base salary as the University of Cincinnati’s new athletics director. That is reportedly $77K less than previous Bearcats boss and now USC AD Mike Bohn. Gophers AD Mark Coyle’s compensation is $850,000. Cunningham oversaw the Minnesota football and men’s basketball programs, and he had worked with Coyle at Syracuse before both came to Minneapolis in 2016.

Chris Snow, the former Minnesota Wild beat writer for the Star Tribune who segued his career path into an NHL front office career, is in the early stages of battling ALS. Snow, who initially worked for the Wild after leaving the Minneapolis newspaper, is assistant general manager of the Calgary Flames.

The losing ways of the Timberwolves (lost 12 of their last 13 games) likely won’t threaten the job security of first-year head coach Ryan Saunders. But if Saunders were to be let go during the season by Gersson Rosas, the first year president of basketball operations, he could consider Staples, Minnesota native Dave Joerger, a veteran NBA head coach who was fired by the Sacramento Kings after last season.

Another option if a change was made during the season might be naming an assistant on the Timberwolves staff as interim head coach,, perhaps Pablo Prigioni. In the spring Rosas could review a list of candidates including lead Houston Rockets assistant Elston Turner. The two worked together several years ago in the Rockets organization.

Twins president Dave St. Peter speaks to the CORES lunch group Thursday, January 9 at the Bloomington Event Center, 1114 American Blvd. More information is available by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net. Reservations must be made by January 6. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

Retiring Minnetonka High School football coach Dave Nelson is one of four national candidates for the American Football Coaches Association’s Power of Influence Award that will be given out at next month’s convention.

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Leber: Need More from Vikings Defense

Posted on December 12, 2019December 12, 2019 by David Shama

A Thursday notes column starting with candid quotes from Ben Leber, the former Vikings linebacker who offers expert analysis during games on the team’s radio network.

Minnesota is 9-4 with intentions of winning its last three regular season games and advancing to the playoffs. With quarterback Kirk Cousins and others either meeting or exceeding expectations on offense, Leber is most concerned about the defense. “I just think they got to start generating more difference-making plays,” Leber said.

Leber wants the defense to force more turnovers and even turn those mistakes by opponents into points. Minnesota hasn’t been consistent enough with that this year and in the recent past, per Leber.

The defense is yielding 19.2 points per game, with only six of 31 other NFL teams doing better. The Vikings have given up only five rushing touchdowns but allowed 22 passing. Leber has a concern with the defensive secondary, not the line or other defenders.

The Vikings have to stop playing what he calls “safe” pass defense. “They need to go out there and take control of the pass defense and get their hands on the football,” Leber said. “Then it’s up to the offense to score some points off the turnovers.”

A focal point in the secondary remains cornerback Xavier Rhodes who is paid like an All-Pro but has been inconsistent this season and last. His misjudgments have placed him in hot water with head coach Mike Zimmer. As of late, Rhodes has sometimes been subbed out during games.

In the locker room yesterday Rhodes told reporters he doesn’t know how much he will play in Sunday’s game in Los Angeles against the Chargers. “I just gotta make plays when I’m in games,” he said. “That’s my mindset.”

Leber thinks the 29-year-old Rhodes can still play at a high level as the schedule closes but isn’t sure he will. “He has the ability to do it,” Leber said. “I’m guessing that taking some reps off of him (during games) will help him play a little bit faster.”

Rhodes has contended with an ankle injury this fall. He doesn’t expect the ankle will keep him out Sunday. “The ankle is pretty good,” he said. “It’s getting better day to day.”

Since week five of the NFL season Cousin has an NFL best 120.0 passer rating and he’s thrown a league high 21 touchdown passes. The nine-year veteran’s passing is in sharp contrast to what he has done in much of his pro career including a disappointing first season with the Vikings in 2018.

Former Vikings defensive lineman Bob Lurtsema, a close observer of the team, praises the work of the coaches including assistant head coach Gary Kubiak who was added to the staff during the last offseason. Lurtsema believes a change in philosophy has caused a Cousins turnaround, with the offense adjusted to prioritize the quarterback’s strengths. Lurtsema said he’s never seen the 31-year-old Cousins play so relaxed.

“I must give the coaches a lot of credit because they are coaching to the strength of the player and a lot of coaches coach to the strength of their system,” Lurtsema told Sports Headliners. “They are giving Cousins the flexibility to play to his strengths. “

Lurtsema also praised Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter for not only his physical skills but saying “his work ethic is second to none.” Hunter’s long arms enable the 25-year-old to keep blockers at a distance. “He plays the game smartly but more importantly he’s got a motor on him,” Lurtsema said.

Hunter was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week yesterday for his performance last Sunday against the Lions in Minnesota’s 20-7 win. He had three sacks and seven total tackles. He is the youngest player to reach 50 career sacks since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic.

Chargers special teams coordinator and assistant head coach George Stewart was the Vikings wide receivers coach from 2007-2016.

Regis Eller, son of legendary former Vikings defensive end Carl Eller, is assistant director of pro scouting for the Chargers.

Steve and Dorothy Erban’s Stillwater-based Creative Charters has sold out two Boeing airplanes for the Outback Bowl in Tampa and is looking at adding another plane based on demand.

No word from sources yet on which, if any, senior Gophers football players may sit out the Outback Bowl game against Auburn to protect their health and professional prospects. Linebacker Blake Cashman skipped Minnesota’s Quick Lane Bowl game last year.

Not many coaches can put on their resumes the achievement of taking teams to January bowl games prior to turning 40 years old. Among those who can is Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck who has Minnesota in the January 1 Outback Bowl and three years ago led Western Michigan to the Cotton Bowl.

ESPN.com’s ranking this week, of the 150 greatest college football coaches ever, listed former Gopher player Bud Wilkinson No. 6 for the dynasty he built at Oklahoma. The Minneapolis native was listed after Paul Bear Bryant and Nick Saban, both from Alabama, Notre Dame’s Knute Rockne, Nebraska’s Tom Osborne and Grambling’s Eddie Robinson.

An ESPN panel of media, administrators, and former coaches and players, ranked St. John’s coach John Gagliardi No. 16, with Lou Holtz (multiple schools including Minnesota and Notre Dame) No. 23, Fritz Crisler (Minnesota, Princeton and Michigan) No 42. Former Gopher player Biggie Munn, who gained coaching fame at Michigan State, ranked No. 47, and Minneapolis native Sid Gillman (Miami of Ohio and Cincinnati) No. 54.

Bernie Bierman (multiple schools including Minnesota) was ranked No. 65. He won five national championships at Minnesota and his ranking is too low. Henry Williams, for whom Williams Arena is named, is No. 106 based on his coaching career at Army and Minnesota. Left off the list was former Gophers coach Murray Warmath, who had a career record at Minnesota of 87-78-7, but won a national championship and had two co-Big Ten title teams. He was also a pioneer in his commitment to using black players in big time college football.

Jashon Cornell, the Minnesota native from Cretin-Derham Hall and fifth-year Ohio State defensive tackle, was named Big Ten honorable mention last week in voting from league coaches.

ESPN’s Sunday night baseball schedule for the first half of next season not only didn’t include the AL Central champion Minnesota Twins but also passed on the World Series champion Washington Nationals.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli got engaged to girl friend Allie Genoa this fall at Yosemite National Park.

Although seven schools in the 10-member men’s Western Conference Hockey Association plan to form a new league to start play in two years, it’s possible the WCHA may reorganize with new teams, perhaps including St. Thomas if the Tommies are successful in gaining approval of Division I status in athletics.

Illinois remains a possibility to some day join the Big Ten in hockey.

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Vikings Tales to Soothe a Pain

Posted on December 8, 2019December 8, 2019 by David Shama

We are reminded constantly there is stuff in life you just can’t plan for. This fall I thought about breaking the piggy bank to pay for a trip to the 2020 Rose Bowl. Instead I am shelling out a couple grand for a root canal.

To make me feel better I am offering memories and observations about the Minnesota Vikings past and present because the NFL is celebrating its 100th season this fall. The Vikings organized as an expansion franchise in 1960 and their first NFL season was in 1961. As a schoolboy I witnessed the beginning years both from the stadium stands and the TV screen.

Lordy, the league was different back then including at the box office. The Vikings first took the field August 5, 1961 in a preseason game in Sioux Falls, South Dakota before an announced crowd of 4,954.

Honest.

Neither the Vikings nor the NFL was that big of a deal in 1961. Lead owner Max Winter once told me team marketers held a promotional event in St. Paul to sell tickets, and hardly anyone (maybe zero) made a purchase.

Before buying into the Vikings, Winter was owner of the five-time world champion Minneapolis Lakers. He was known for saying that if there is an attractive event the public wants to see fans will show up in large numbers even if the doors open at midnight.

It took awhile for Minnesota to completely warm to the Vikings. The first rosters were filled with castaways from established NFL clubs. Sprinkled into the talent pool were a few players new to the league, including a 1961 rookie quarterback named Francis Asbury Tarkenton. What a pro debut he made in front of me and 32,325 other fans at Metropolitan Stadium in Minnesota’s first regular season game September 17, 1961. Fran came off the bench to replace starter George Shaw and led the Vikings to a stunning 37-13 win over the legendary Chicago Bears franchise.

To this day the Houdini-like Tarkenton remains my all-time favorite Viking. Most of us had never seen a scrambling quarterback anything like the Georgia native and son of a preacher man. He could extend plays so long your mom had time to leave the room, go in the kitchen and flip the pancakes on the griddle.

Tarkenton not only drove opposing coaches like Vince Lombardi nuts with his scrambling escapades, he made his coach bonkers, too. Norm Van Brocklin had been one of the NFL’s great quarterbacks as a pocket passer, and he led the Philadelphia Eagles to an NFL title in 1960. With no prior coaching experience, he was made the Vikings first head coach. Van Brocklin was rigid and set in his ways, while Tarkenton might draw up a play in the dirt. The two clashed for several years while the Vikings played entertaining but losing football.

As a journalist I started covering the Vikings in the 1970s. I remember one particular encounter with head coach Bud Grant. Bud had his way of drawing lines with players and journalists. He could be intimidating. “Are you going to offer your hand every time we meet?” Grant once asked me.

The “Iceman” caught me off guard. I don’t think I was scared, more annoyed is how I recall things. I am not sure I remember shaking hands with Grant since that time, but don’t misunderstand. I like Bud and he has interviewed with me over the years including a scoop he offered not long ago about a frightening airplane landing he experienced.

Bud’s teams of the 1970s were the only ones in team history to reach the Super Bowl, playing four times in the big game and losing every one. They were a talented and tough bunch. They also had characters capable of mischief.

Former Viking Doug Kingsriter told me about a prank before the 1975 Super Bowl involving his team and the Steelers. Sportscaster Howard Cosell was interviewing Takenton at the Vikings hotel when Wally Hilgenberg and Alan Page interrupted by dosing Cosell with water.

Kingsriter wasn’t involved, but observed the shenanigans. “They hit Cosell square (with the water),” Kingsriter said. “When I say square they knocked his toupee off, not totally off, but it was off to the side. He quick grabbed it and put it back on before he turned around. They got him in the back, in the head, and really soaked him.”

Cosell spotted an amused Page, but not Hilgenberg who had run away. Known for his arrogance, Cosell was angry and vowed revenge on Page. He got it in an odd way, and with a scoop. The next fall the Vikings and Bears were playing on national TV but Page was sidelined. Cosell told his ABC Monday night viewers that Page wasn’t playing because he had hemorrhoids.

I flirted with being interviewed by the Vikings in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Max Winter liked me and I let it be known to general manager Mike Lynn I was interested in the team’s PR job. Lynn was kind of a different cat and I recall him calling me at home on a Sunday morning and saying something like, “What’s happening, Shama?”

Lynn was a slick operator and thought highly of himself. By chance I once encountered him at the MSP airport. He was wearing a blazer similar to those worn by Northwest Airlines personnel. An airline customer, an older lady, thought Lynn was an NW employee and asked for assistance. Probably a humbling experience for the Vikings executive.

There have always been plenty of egos dressed in purple. To this day I can hear former owner Red McCombs bellowing, “Purple Pride, Purple Pride, Purple Pride!” I figure old Red learned the line from his car dealership days in Texas where he might have implored the public to: “Buy my cars, buy my cars, buy my cars!”

What a cast of Purple characters from 1961 through today! I remember being around Randy Moss from his early days with the team. You didn’t stand in his path when he was exiting the locker room. What was the sometimes food critic and downtown traffic cop favorite so angry about?

Approaching interviews with some Vikings players over the years has been interesting. Not to say, though, there aren’t guys who appreciate and understand the role of journalists, even if most of them protect information like Coca Cola guards its secret formula.

Certain players I avoid, while others I welcome a conversation with. A favorites list from the last 20 years includes Matt Birk, Kirk Cousins, Kyle Rudolph, Ryan Longwell, Terence Newman, Harrison Smith and Adam Thielen, plus assistant coaches Dean Dalton and George Stewart, and college scout Scott Studwell.

Thielen has missed several games with an injured hamstring. I can commiserate in my own way. Earlier this fall I shared with him my back pain misery including painful spasms I was experiencing. As we talked, I could tell he had a genuine interest in my ordeal. Thielen is authentic and that characteristic will stay in my memory longer than any play he will ever make on the field.

Thielen won’t play against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium today. The 8-4 Vikings probably won’t need him to win. Minnesota is 75-39-2 all-time against the Lions and defeated 3-8-1 Detroit earlier this season. There will be a full house of about 66,000 fans chanting Skol in perhaps the nation’s best stadium, while fully expecting another win from the Vikings who are among the NFL’s better teams. Yes, things are different for this franchise than in 1961.

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