When the line forms to receive NFL post-season recognition, look for Viking defensive tackle Kevin Williams to be near the front.  Williams’ name is included in talk about the league’s best interior defensive linemen and the Vikings’ gaudy record against the run only enhances his reputation.

Arizona Cardinals tackle Reggie Wells was part of an offense that almost acted like it didn’t know it’s legal to run the football during the Cardinals’ 31-26 loss to the Vikings on Sunday.  The Cardinals ran the ball six times for 33  yards.  The week before Miami rushed for seven yards against the Vikings.  Wells said the size and strength of the Vikings defensive linemen and the ability of the linebackers to run make the defense formidable. (The Vikings rank No. 1 in the NFL against the run, No. 10 overall). 

What about Williams?  “He’s a great overall player,” Wells said.  “He plays the run well.  He plays the pass well.  He’s quick, he’s strong. He comes to play every week.” 

Williams, 26, is in his fourth season with the Vikings after being selected as the ninth player in the 2003 draft.  He was a consensus all-rookie player in 2003 and was chosen first team all-pro by the Associated Press in 2004, plus he was a 2004 Pro Bowl selection.   

Wells made it clear that Williams is deserving of being mentioned with the NFL’s elite tackles.  “When you talk about overall game and what he can do, I don’t know how you couldn’t put him up there,” Wells said. 

Williams came into this season with 26 career sacks, a total second only to Alan Page’s 28.5 sacks among Vikings in their first three seasons.  His sack total of five this season ranks him second among defensive tackles in the NFC.  Since 2003 he has the most sacks of any defensive tackle in the league.

Williams can be targeted for double teaming but that creates opportunities for teammates.  “They pick their poison and whoever they double team, other guys get to run free,” Williams said.   

Last season Williams missed two full games because of a right knee injury.  He was mindful of his conditioning and weight during the last off season.  The 6- foot-5, 311-pound former Oklahoma State star reported in “great shape” for the season, sacrificing his fondness for fried food as part of a strategy not to burden his knee with too much weight. “I am from the south and l like a lot of fried stuff but I had to shy away from that (to) go more toward bacon, fish, (and) things like that,” he said. 

Playing football is a miserable activity if you don’t like the game but that’s not a problem for Williams. “It’s something I take to heart and try to be the best at,” he said. “I want to continue to get better every year and that’s just what I am striving to do right now.” 

What about a return to all-pro status? “Definitely, that’s always a great thing to have,” he said.

 

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Larry Fitzgerald was asked earlier this week if he might lobby ownership on behalf of much criticized coach Dennis Green (2-9 this season, 13-30 in three seasons coaching the Arizona Cardinals).  “I don’t know what the appropriate thing to do is,” Fitzgerald said.  “I think the best way to defend his name is to go out and play hard for him every Sunday.”

It’s a typical reaction for players to be loyal to their coaches but Fitzgerald, the 23- year- old wide receiver from Minneapolis, has ties to Green that are unusual.  Fitzgerald was a ball boy when Green coached the Vikings. He is appreciative too of the opportunity Green provided in Arizona where Fitzgerald developed into a Pro Bowl player after last season, his second in the NFL.  

Green and Fitzgerald’s father, Larry Sr., are friends.  Larry Sr. said he and Green talk weekly.  He considers Green one of his closest friends and wouldn’t speculate on the coach’s future with the Cardinals after Arizona lost to the Vikings on Sunday. 

With replacement names being discussed across the country, few observers would say it’s highly likely Green will return as coach.  Regardless of who coaches the team in the future, though, there is reason for optimism because of skill position players such as Fitzgerald and quarterback Matt Leinart. 

Fitzgerald missed three games this season with a hamstring injury.  Rookie Leinart was a contract holdout during preseason.  Because of their newness to one another, Fitzgerald said he and his quarterback are still working on their “chemistry.” 

He also indicated they will be together for a long time and will soon develop the connection gifted quarterbacks and wide receivers have for one another.  Fitzgerald and Leinart are both hold-your-breath performers who can make the outcome of a football game a last minute scene. 

That was what happened Sunday when the Cardinals were driving for a last minute potential winning touchdown against the Vikings.  Fitzgerald caught 11 passes for 172 yards in the game and was a threat on the last drive to give the Cardinals a victory. 

“There wasn’t anybody on that other sideline taking a sigh of relief as long as Larry was in the game and had the opportunity to make a play,” said Steve Loney, Cardinals offensive line coach.

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Francisco Liriano, who will miss next season because of elbow surgery, is expected to receive a modest salary increase for 2007 to $350,000 or more, according to a major league baseball source.  Liriano reportedly earned $327,000 in his rookie season of 2006.  His salary is not eligible for arbitration until after the 2008 season. 

After finishing with three wins in the Big Ten Conference this fall, Glen Mason’s 10 year career conference record is 32-48.  The Gophers’ 2006 12-game schedule was considered one of the most difficult in the country.  Opponents had a combined record of 92-63. 

The leading active NFL coaches with the best winning percentages since 2000 in the month of November are Philadelphia’s Andy Reid and Indy’s Tony Dungy, the former Gopher quarterback and Viking defensive coordinator.  Dungy’s percentage is .758 (22-7); Reid .724 (21-8). 

Will much criticized wide receiver Troy Williams be given one more off-season to improve his pass catching before the Vikings decide whether to keep their No. 1 draft choice from 2005? 

More athletes could emulate Timberwolves center Mark Madsen who makes a noticeable effort to briefly stop and greet fans between the court and locker room on game nights at Target Center. 

Former Gopher football coach Murray Warmath will have his 94th birthday on December 26.  He coached the 1960 Gophers to the national championship and had a three year record from 1960-1962 of 22-6-1. 

Among the new books from Nodin Press in Minneapolis is “The Great Dan Patch and the Remarkable Mr. Savage.”  Author Tim Brady will appear at a book signing on Saturday, December 2 from noon to 2 p.m. at the Minnesota Historical Society.  The book tells the story of Minnesota’s famous pacing horse and resourceful owner.

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