Posted December 28, 2009    

•Darrell Bevell

•MarQueis Gray

•Joe Mauer

•Blake Hoffarber

•Jay Pivec

Vikings Try to Silence ‘Alarms’ Tonight in Chicago 

Playing tonight on a possibly slippery field, the Vikings will attempt to regain balance in their offense by running the football with more competency.  At Chicago’s Soldier Field, with an ESPN national TV audience watching, the Vikings will face a Bears defense  giving up 128.5 rushing yards per game, ranking 26^th in the NFL. 

The Vikings (11-3) have bettered 100 yards rushing in one game out of three since the Bears (5-9) came to Minneapolis on November 22 and gave up 159 yards.  In two road losses during the last three weeks the Vikings rushed for 62 yards against Arizona and 41 versus Carolina.  In a home win the Vikings had 142 yards while defeating Cincinnati. 

Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell indicated at a news conference last week that there will be a commitment to run the ball at Solider Field where the game time temps figure to be in the low 20’s and the wind a possible problem for throwing the ball.  “I’ve stood up here many times and said that that’s who we are; we are a running team,” Bevell said.  “We would all kind of joke about, ‘Hey, there is nine, 10 guys up in the box and you’re still running it, you’re still getting positive yards.’  We need to get back to that."  

While Bevell didn’t express concern about the offensive line, a former pro football coach told Sports Headliners he sees a problem.  “The offensive line looks like it’s struggling,” the source said.  “That’s where the alarm goes off.  The Vikings will win a Super Bowl pounding the ball.  I don’t see them winning it with (Brett) Favre throwing 40 times a game.” 

Adrian Peterson ran for 19 yards in the Arizona loss, a game where Favre threw 45 passes.  A week ago Sunday night Peterson had 35 yards when Carolina beat the Vikings.  Peterson, who led the NFL in rushing last year, ranks fourth now with 1,235 yards and has no chance to catch league leader Chris Johnson of Tennessee who has 1,872 yards.  

The Vikings couldn’t run block or pass protect against Carolina.  The 40-year-old Favre was taking “vicious shots,” according to the former coach who spoke on condition of anonymity.  “Peterson is struggling and the way defenses are playing (crowding the line of scrimmage to stop the run), it makes it tough sledding,” he said.  

Regardless of whether the field is wet or dry, the Vikings hope for better “sledding” tonight.

 

"The Vikings will win a Super Bowl pounding the ball.  I don’t see them winning it with Favre throwing 40 times a game.” 
A former NFL coach on the need to run 

Adrian Peterson

Gray Adds Intrigue to Insight Bowl 

It’s likely that No. 2 quarterback MarQueis Gray will be a regular target for Adam Weber’s passes in Thursday night’s Insight Bowl in Tempe, Arizona.  Gophers coach Tim Brewster told Sports Headliners that the 6-4, 222-pound freshman will play both wide receiver and quarterback in the game against Iowa State. 

“He is going to be a heck of a quarterback (one day) for us and in this game, he’s also going to be a wide receiver,” Brewster said.  “We’re just going to do our best to utilize the things he can do to help us.” 

Gray is probably the best athlete on the team.  In limited play at both quarterback and wide receiver this season, he has rushed for 243 yards, passed for 51 yards on 13 attempts and had four receptions producing 21 yards and a touchdown. 

Gray could even start the game at wide receiver and might finish among the team leaders in total receptions.  He’s a potential production booster for a Gophers offense that didn’t have a single touchdown running or passing in the team’s last two regular season games.  

The Gophers hope to duplicate the offensive results of earlier in the season as in the Michigan State game when they had 505 yards in total offense in a 42-34 win over the Spartans.  “We were an outstanding offensive football team this year in certain games, and we were a poor offensive football team in others,” Brewster said. “The strive is for consistency.” 

Brewster likes the preparation of his team for the bowl game including Weber who has been inconsistent this season.  The Gophers, who arrived in Tempe on Christmas Day, will be a slight favorite to beat an Iowa State team that has the same record as Minnesota, 6-6.   

Brewster’s to-do list after the Insight Bowl is expected to include continued discussions with athletic director Joel Maturi about a contract extension, and attending the BCS national championship game.  Brewster has two years remaining on his original five year deal and an extension will help him recruit more effectively.   

The bowl game?  Brewster and his family will be in Pasadena on January 7 to watch son Nolan and his Texas teammates play Alabama for the national championship.  He is a sophomore reserve safety for the Longhorns.  Brewster said his son participates in 40 or more plays a game on special teams and at safety. 

 

Worth Noting

Sports Illustrated named all-decade teams in its December 28 issue and several athletes with local ties are on the lists.  Four Vikings made the NFL offensive and defensive teams, running back Adrian Peterson, offensive tackle Steve Hutchinson, defensive tackle Kevin Williams and cornerback Antoine Winfield.  On the baseball team are Twins catcher Joe Mauer and two former Twins, designated hitter David Ortiz and pitcher Johan Santana.  Minneapolis native Larry Fitzgerald, who played at Pittsburgh, is a wide receiver on the college football offense while former Outland Trophy winner Greg Eslinger of the Gophers is the center.  Hutchinson, who played collegiately at Michigan, is an offensive tackle on the team.  Former Wolf Kevin Garnett, a power forward, is on the NBA second team.  

In the same issue, Vikings practice squad running back Ian Johnson is featured.  It was almost three years ago that Johnson, playing for Boise State, proposed marriage to girl friend Chrissy Popadicks on national TV following the end of the Fiesta Bowl.  They now live in a suburban Minneapolis apartment now and she works for Victoria’s Secret at the Mall of America, according to the article.   

How will the relationship between Vikings coach Brad Childress and quarterback Brett Favre evolve?  Writer Steve Wyche speculates about that subject at http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d815396ce&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true. 

Minnetonka High School's Beau Allen, perhaps the best prep defensive tackle in the state, committed to Wisconsin last week but the Gophers might have a better player coming this way in Princeton, New Jersey tackle Sean Ferguson.  He’s a Rivals.com three star player and is 6-6, 303 pounds, according to the Website.  

The Gophers basketball team lost three consecutive nonconference games on the road against quality opposition in late November and early December.  Since then the team has defeated five (ah, um) less imposing teams but the Gophers have impressed, winning each game by 30 or more points.  But reality returns with the opening of the Big Ten Conference schedule tomorrow night in Williams Arena against Penn State.   

A 3-1 start to the conference schedule seems doable with potential wins versus Penn State, at Iowa on Saturday and January 9 back home against Ohio State.  A road game on January 5 against undefeated and top five nationally ranked Purdue looks like a loss.   

Evan Turner, who might be the Big Ten’s best player, has been sidelined since early December with a back injury, but could make his return against the Gophers, according to the Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2009/12/19/osu_mbk_12-19.ART_ART_12-19-09_C1_2UG208K.html?sid=101.

The Gophers have five players averaging eight points or better per game, Ralph Sampson III, 8.4, Devoe Joseph, 9.8, Damian Johnson, 10.8, Lawrence Westbrook, 10.9 and Blake Hoffarber, 12.9.    

Tomorrow night the Gophers will have a reunion of the 1989-90 Elite Eight NCAA tournament team, and commemorative pennants will be given to fans, according to a promotional email from the athletic department.  

As of Saturday, tickets were still available for the Penn State game.  Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.gophersports.com/ or by calling 1-800-UGOPHER weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. 

Congratulations to Minneapolis Community and Technical Community College coach Jay Pivec who has been named to the National Junior College Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.  http://www.njcaa.org/newsArticle.cfm?articleId=9972.

The Wild rank fourth in NHL home attendance, second among American franchises, according to a report posted yesterday by ESPN.com.            http://espn.go.com/nhl/attendance/_/sort/homePct.

Five Minnesotans were named to the U.S. National Junior Team: Jake Gardiner (Minnetonka), Danny Kristo (Eden Prairie), Mike Lee (Roseau), Jordan Schroeder (Prior Lake) and Derek Stepan (Hastings). 

Xcel Energy Center is hosting a 15 day run of hockey with the Wild, Schwan Cup high school tournament and the Qwest Tour featuring the U.S. Women’s National Team.

 

 Steve Hutchinson

  Lawrence Westbrook

Jordan Schroeder