Viking notes: Whittle, Rosenthal start on offensive line

The Vikings had two new starters along the offensive line in Sunday's 31-26 victory over Arizona. To be more precise, they had 2½ new starters.

As expected, veteran Jason Whittle replaced right guard Artis Hicks (ankle). But when right tackle Marcus Johnson's ankle proved to be gimpy in pregame warmups, the Vikings replaced him with a rotation of veteran Mike Rosenthal and rookie Ryan Cook.

Rosenthal started both the first and second halves, and Cook played four of the Vikings' 11 series in his NFL debut. "It's time for [Cook] to get up there and take a swing," coach Brad Childress said.

Cook, whom the Vikings drafted with the second-round pick they acquired for quarterback Daunte Culpepper, had been inactive for the first 10 games. He played center for four seasons at New Mexico, but the Vikings converted him to right tackle in training camp.

"Overall, I think it was pretty good," Cook said. "A really good learning experience for me."

It was unclear whether Hicks or Johnson will be healthy enough to play against Chicago this Sunday. And after the Vikings accumulated a season-high 412 yards and 30 first downs with their new lineup, Childress might not be inclined to make any more changes.

A backup again

Receiver Troy Williamson played a reserve role for the second consecutive game, in essence playing the role of the No. 5 receiver. He had one pass thrown his way, a deep ball down the left sideline in the second quarter that went through his hands.

Afterward Childress said he wants to see how Williamson reacts to being benched.

"You have to have confidence that the guy is going to do the right thing in practice," Childress said, "catch the ball in practice and continue to compete. One of the prime things is that you don't fold up. You're not happy that you're not playing. You want to get out there on the football field. That's what I expect to see from him."

Asked what his sense of Williamson's reaction has been, Childress became terse.

"I'm not real touchy-feely with it," he said. "I don't really have a strong sense. But it is what it is."

Asked what "it" is, Childress said: "What you saw."

Dugan scores

Vikings fullback/tight end/honorary offensive lineman Jeff Dugan caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Brad Johnson in the fourth quarter and continued to distinguish himself while replacing injured Tony Richardson.

Dugan said he considers himself an offensive lineman more than a skill position player. So, after he scored, did he think about doing a victory dance?

"Oh, no," he said. "When you know the people I know, you wouldn't want to do anything like that."

The scoring play covered 3 yards and, no, Dugan wasn't the first option.

"It was kind of a broken play," he said. "The first read wasn't there, so Brad kind of got flushed and found me in the back."

Griffin starts

Rookie Cedric Griffin took over at cornerback in place of veteran Fred Smoot and had six tackles and broke up a pass.

"I thought he played well," defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin said. "[He was] very physical as usual, he did some really good things, finished well on some balls. He's got a chance to be a good player."

Griffin played despite obviously being bothered by a neck/shoulder injury he suffered in the previous game at Miami. He also left briefly to have a dislocated finger put back in place.

"Ced is going to be a great player in this league," safety Dwight Smith said. "A guy who has no fear, fears nothing and that's all it's about because we all have talent. It's about, 'Do you believe that you are better than this person?' He does."

Smoot saw extensive time in the Vikings' nickel package and was on the field for the opening snap.

A tough day

Special teams coordinator Paul Ferraro could be seen yelling at Cullen Loeffler and Richard Owens after a fourth-quarter Vikings punt that Arizona's Troy Walters kicked around but recovered.

It was that kind of afternoon for the Vikings' special teams.

The trouble began when Arizona's J.J. Arrington returned the opening kickoff of the game 99 yards for a touchdown. Arrington also had returns of 41 and 33 yards. The Vikings' Ronyell Whitaker also failed to down a punt in the first quarter that would have pinned Arizona deep in its own territory and, finally, the Cardinals recovered an onside kick with 39 seconds remaining to get a final chance to win the game.

The Vikings' Charles Gordon did force a fumble on a second-quarter punt return by Walters. The Vikings' Heath Farwell recovered.

Unhappy homecoming

The only other time Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald set foot on the Metrodome turf as a player came in 2004, his preseason NFL debut. He was hurt on the first play of the game and missed the rest of the preseason.

Sunday, the Minneapolis native, former Holy Angels standout and one-time Vikings ballboy returned and caught 11 passes for a career-high 172 yards.

"I just tried to do the best I could," Fitzgerald said when asked how he dealt with the emotions of playing in his hometown. "This is a huge game for me, my team and Coach [Dennis] Green. ... Losing anywhere or any place, I don't care if you are playing your brother in the backyard in a pick-up game, is not something you want to do. It is something you never want to get accustomed to, and something you never will get accustomed to."

Fitzgerald Jr. said it bothers him to hear the speculation that Green will be fired at the end of the season.

"Whenever somebody you care about and really respect, like Coach Green, ... whenever you hear bad things about someone like that, it hits home," Fitzgerald said.

Etc.

• Smith, who had two interceptions, sprained his shoulder but continued playing. Smoot suffered a shoulder bruise late in the fourth quarter, Childress said.

• Rookie defensive end Ray Edwards got the Vikings' only sack.

• Chester Taylor rushed for 66 yards in the first quarter, a team record for rushing yards in the opening 15 minutes of a game. Ted Brown's 60 yards on the ground on Oct. 23, 1983 against Green Bay had been the record.

KEVIN SEIFERT, JUDD ZULGAD, MARK CRAIG and JIM SOUHAN