On the football beat with insights about the Vikings, Gophers and St. Thomas:
Adrian Peterson is in a different place today than he was 12 months ago, and his circumstances are even in contrast to two years ago.
Peterson leads the NFL in rushing and appears all but certain to receive All-Pro recognition as the league’s best running back for 2015. He is the centerpiece of an offense that otherwise is pretty much comprised of inconsistent players including second-year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Peterson’s running along with a superb defense are mostly responsible for the Vikings’ surprising 8-3 record and first place position in the NFC North.
A year ago Peterson was on his way to missing all but one game of the 2014 season. He was barred from football activities by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for developments involving disciplining of his four-year-old son. In early December of last year it was unknown when he would be allowed to play again, and whether he was going to be a Viking.
Minnesotans, including many Vikings fans, were appalled at details about Peterson using a switch on his child. Twelve months ago there was controversy whether Peterson should be allowed to remain with the team and if the Vikings franchise wanted to be associated with him. It wouldn’t be surprising if there were power brokers within the Vikings organization who wanted Peterson gone in 2015, advocating to separate the controversial superstar from the franchise’s marketing and image-making while plans developed to move into U.S. Bank Stadium in 2016.
A source told Sports Headliners in late April the Vikings were in talks with the Cowboys about a trade involving Peterson. While there may have been interest in determining what assets a Peterson deal would yield, it seems clear that general manager Rick Spielman and coach Mike Zimmer saw the impact their future hall of fame runner could have on the 2015 team.
Peterson is 30 years old—a number that typically puts most NFL runners on the brink of old age or even in it. Two seasons ago the Vikings were slogging through a losing year and there was conjecture it was time to trade a then 28-year-old Peterson. Move him before his legs fell off and get something back in value, maybe a draft choice to land a first-rate quarterback prospect to replace Christian Ponder.
The Vikings finished 6-10 in 2013 and Peterson had an okay season playing in 14 games, rushing for 1,266 yards and 10 touchdowns. This season he already has 1,164 yards and eight touchdowns in 11 games. On Sunday against the Seahawks he could best his 2013 numbers and still have four remaining regular season games.
The man some fans wanted traded two years ago is on a short list of league MVP candidates. After a slow start in game one against the 49ers when Peterson was trying to ditch the rust of not playing in the preseason and even further back, he has often looked like the best back in the NFL. In four of the last five games he has run for over 100 yards including 158 last Sunday in the win over the Falcons.
Did Zimmer expect this kind of performance from Peterson after being sidelined last season? “Yes. I just know he’s a really special player and I just think I figured that he’d be pretty good, yeah.”
Peterson and the Vikings have sometimes faced challenging competition. The Falcons had the league’s best rushing defense before the Vikings gained 191 yards against them. That Falcons team is ranked No. 8 in the Profootballfocus.com power rankings. The Vikings, who are ranked No. 6, have also defeated the No. 10 Raiders. Minnesota has lost to the No. 5 Broncos and No.7 Packers who ranked behind the Panthers, Patriots, Bengals and Cardinals. …
After five years of the Jerry Kill revival, the Gophers football program is much improved but doesn’t match more famous turnarounds in Big Ten history—at least not yet.
The coach Tim Brewster era prior to the 2011 season and Kill’s arrival produced annual records of 1-11, 7-6, 6-7 and 3-9. Kill created a success story by reviving a program on life support academically and on the field, with his best work in 2013 and 2014. Those were eight win seasons and the 2014 team earned an invitation to Minnesota’s first January 1 bowl game since 1962.
The Gophers took a step back this season, misfiring because of a difficult schedule, numerous and serious injuries, and Kill’s resignation to save his health. With Tracy Claeys elevated to head coach, Minnesota struggled late in the season winning only once in five games. The team’s final 5-7 record, including 2-6 in the Big Ten after last season’s 5-3, added up to the most disappointing year in the Kill era.
Minnesota’s 12-game schedule included six major college opponents who won nine games or more in 2015. Next season the schedule will be softer because Michigan, Ohio State and TCU get swapped out for Maryland, Oregon State and Rutgers. It’s also hard to believe the Gophers will be so devastated again by injuries that forced players to the sidelines for long stretches.
The Gophers will have some talented and experienced players returning next season as they try to restart the program turnaround. Gophers fans have waited for decades to see results similar to well-known turnarounds at Iowa, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Purdue and Michigan State. All except Purdue established success that continues to this day.
Those turnarounds were led by Hayden Fry at Iowa, Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin, Gary Barnett at Northwestern, Joe Tiller at Purdue and Mark Dantonio at Michigan State. Each one of those coaches had a nine win season or better in his first five years on the job, and all but Dantonio took a team to the Rose Bowl in that time period, according to statistics from Sports-reference.com. Dantonio reached Pasadena in his seventh season with a team that won the Rose Bowl and finished with a 13-1 record. …
St. Thomas hosts Wabash (Indiana) on Saturday in a quarterfinal Division III playoff game involving two 12-0 football teams. The Tommies figure to be prepared including with clock management—something head coach Glenn Caruso started perfecting 30 years ago as a kid playing video games.
Caruso told Sports Headliners he played “every conceivable football video game I could” and credits the experience with helping him to best use the clock in various situations. Even on the professional level, clock management is a skill that sometimes escapes coaches. “It boggles the mind how people don’t pay more attention,” he said.
Caruso, 85-13 in eight seasons at St. Thomas, coached the 2012 Tommies to the national championship game. He believes this year’s team might not have “all the high-end talent” of the 2012 group but is deeper, healthier and even more focused. There are 140 players on the team and Caruso said they understand and execute their roles.
Not that the Tommies don’t have talent this year, including star running back Jordan Roberts who had three touchdowns in last Saturday’s 38-19 win against Saint John’s. Roberts is a 6-2, 220-pound junior from Sheridan, Wyoming who played two years at South Dakota. Caruso said he’s the best back he’s coached at St. Thomas and if Roberts keeps improving he could one day receive an NFL tryout.
The Tommies, who have 12 coaches including Caruso, will practice outdoors this week unless the weather makes it impossible. Caruso is a believer in working out the team in conditions similar to game day. The Tommies are 16-0 in rain games under him.
Attendance for Saturday’s game at O’Shaughnessy Stadium might be somewhere between 2,000 and 8,000. A week ago last Saturday, for the Tommies first playoff game against La Verne, attendance was 1,832 at O’Shaughnessy. Last Saturday in a second round playoff game at home against legendary rival Saint John’s, the announced crowd was 8,025.