Coming into this season Vikings defensive end Jared Allen had the most sacks in the NFL dating back to 2004. That was Allen’s first season in the league after being a fourth round draft choice and the 12th defensive end selected in 2004.
Allen has 123 career sacks going into Sunday’s game in Baltimore against the Ravens but only six have come this season. The 31-year-old Allen, who played his early pro years with the Chiefs and the last six seasons with the Vikings, is on pace with four games remaining in 2013 to finish with eight sacks, near his career low of 7.5 with Kansas City in 2006.
Eight sacks in 2013 would be behind last season’s total of 12 and way off from 2011 when Allen had 22, a Viking franchise best and nearly matching the NFL record of Michael Strahan at 22.5. Allen’s productivity, like the team’s 3-8-1 record, are sources of frustration for him.
“I’ve missed more sacks in my hands than I have in many years,” Allen told Sports Headliners. “I guess it would be one thing if I wasn’t getting there (to the quarterback). I watch the film and I am still moving well, playing well.”
Allen will be a free agent after this season and speculation is he won’t return to the Vikings. His age and high salary are expected to minimize interest by the Vikings who will likely be rebuilding the defense. Allen said he doesn’t have a plan to guide his decision on where he wants to play next season.
“Honestly, I haven’t even thought about factors. I am trying to give everything I’ve got to these remaining four games.”
Allen thought by now in his career the Vikings might have won a Super Bowl. But he discounts trying to select his next team based on offseason projections, pointing out the Chiefs, 2-14 last year, are 9-3 in 2013.
“Yeah, you definitely want to win. I think that’s the reason why we play. (But) I don’t think it’s possible to say, ‘Okay I think that’s the team that’s going to win the Super Bowl.’ Otherwise, we’d all get it right.”
Worth Noting
Allen’s longtime teammate, defensive tackle Kevin Williams, isn’t expected to return to the Vikings either. His high salary and age, 33, could make him expendable on a defense that may have several new starters next season.
The one starter on the defensive line who seems certain to return is defensive end Brian Robison who agreed to a new contract this fall. He admires Allen and Williams.
“They’re guys we look up to because they’re veteran guys who have been around the league. You look up to them for advice,” Robison told Sports Headliners. “No matter whether it be personal advice, whether it be how to play on the field. How to watch film, all that stuff. They’re invaluable to the things they bring to young players.”
Robison, 30, has consecutive sacks in the last three games and five in the last five. He has six for the season after a career high of 8.5 in 2012.
Adrian Peterson, with 1,208 yards, has more rushing yards than 10 NFL teams. The Vikings All-Pro runner leads the NFL in rushing.
The Gophers basketball team plays New Orleans tomorrow at Williams Arena and through nine games Minnesota has demonstrated hustle and toughness. Sophomore forward Joey King exemplifies those qualities.
King is playing with a plate in his right jaw after fracturing it in the game against Wofford on November 21. He didn’t miss the next game on November 25, though, and despite vomiting played with energy as the Gophers lost to top 10 ranked Syracuse in Hawaii.
King said he learned to “play through pain” last season as a freshman at Drake when he had a broken thumb. “I do my best to completely block out (pain),” he told Sports Headliners.
King credited strength and conditioning coach Shaun Brown and head coach Richard Pitino’s running style of play with helping him be in better physical shape than at Drake where he was named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman team.
On the court Pitino, the Gophers 31-year-old first year coach, is passionate with his players and sometimes doesn’t hold back his displeasure. “Anything he may say, it’s just to build you up and make you a better player,” King said.
The Gophers sophomore forward from Eagan is already a Pitino admirer. “We love him to death. He’s a great person and a great coach. He inspires us to go out and give our best.”
Outside expectations are for the Gophers, 7-2 in nonconference games, to finish toward the bottom of the Big Ten but the players expect success. “We really believe in ourselves,” King said. “We do everything we can to avoid negativity. Look to each other for support and that’s what gets us through things.”
Al Nuness, a former Gophers player and assistant coach, thinks Tre Jones, the eighth grade brother of Tyus Jones, is so talented he will be starting in the Apple Valley backcourt with his brother by late in the season. He also said Tre is a special competitor. “You get in his face, he will get right back in yours,” Nuness said.
Apple Valley plays Minnesota prep basketball powers DeLaSalle tomorrow night and Hopkins next Tuesday evening, with both games at the Hopkins Lindbergh Center. Then the Eagles play at home against national power Whitney Young next Thursday night in a game to be televised by ESPN2. The Chicago high school is led by Jahlil Okafor who will play with Tyus Jones at Duke next year.
Gophers defensive coordinator and acting head coach Tracy Claeys isn’t among the five finalists for the Frank Broyles Award recognizing the best assistant coach in the country. The finalists for the award, to be presented next Tuesday, are Rhett Lashley, Auburn; Philip Montgomery, Baylor; Pat Narduzzi, Michigan State; Kurt Roper, Duke; and Jeremy Pruitt, Florida State.
Concordia-St. Paul senior safety Mike Willett from Woodbury has been named a second team Capital One Academic All-America® by the College Sports Information Directors of America. The third year starting safety was one of Concordia’s top tacklers in 2013, averaging seven tackles per game after having 8.4 as a junior including a school record 20 in one game.
The Gophers hockey team (11-2-1 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) has seven players who have already been honored for their performances this fall by the conference including forward Seth Ambroz who had four goals last weekend in a pair of wins against Wisconsin.
The Saint John’s hockey team will make its first international trip when visiting Italy and Germany December 27 – January 4. The travel party will consist of head coach Doug Schueller, assistant coach Michael Palmiscno, and more than 30 student-athletes and 30 family and friends. The Johnnies will play four games on their trip.