Herrera staying calm, and staying on field

In the midst of the excitement around him Sunday, Anthony Herrera continually reminded himself of one thing: Stay calm.

It wasn't easy for a guy who once never gave a second thought to letting his aggressiveness get the best of him. But Herrera, in his first start for the Vikings since the 2005 season, knew he had come too far to return to his old ways. He also was aware that this was his chance to prove to coach Brad Childress that he had changed.

And so as Herrera helped open holes for rookie running back Adrian Peterson's team-record 224-yard rushing performance during the Vikings' 34-31 victory at Chicago, the right guard remained in control.

Childress was impressed enough that Monday, he said Herrera would remain the starter ahead of Artis Hicks this Sunday in Dallas.

"Night and day," Childress said when asked about Herrera's progress from a year ago. "He plays with great passion and enthusiasm. You can see him in one of those touchdown runs [by Peterson] jumping up and down and kind of punching his fists. He gets excited and that's a plus. But it can also be a minus because he can still kind of revert, as we say, to kind of 'cowboy' some things. Just kind of get out of the box with his techniques or his fundamentals."

Getting control of his emotions has been an ongoing process for Herrera that began with Childress' arrival in Minnesota. Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Vikings in 2004, Herrera's star appeared to be on the rise under former coach Mike Tice. He appeared in 10 games in 2005 and started the final six contests that season at left guard.

But Tice's firing at the end of that year changed everything. Childress was hired in January 2006, and two months later, the Vikings signed All-Pro left guard Steve Hutchinson. Herrera played special teams in the Vikings' 2006 opener at Washington but ended up being inactive for 13 games.

It was during this time that Childress and offensive line coaches Pat Morris and Jim Hueber worked to redirect Herrera's on-field demeanor.

"With coach Tice, they wanted me to play a little different than what coach Childress likes me to play," Herrera said. "Coach Childress and them, they love my energy, but they wanted me to calm down and focus and use it as positive energy that doesn't hurt my play.

"It was a bit hard because that's the way I used to play ever since high school. But I've been working at it every day, taking all the coaching pointers, writing down all the notes and keeping at it."

The Vikings thought enough of Herrera's progress that they issued him the low-tender offer of $850,000 last March to retain his services when he became a restricted free agent.

In training camp, Herrera and Hicks competed to start at right guard. Hicks started the first four games, but Herrera saw limited time against Kansas City and Green Bay. On Sunday, Herrera played the entire game; center Matt Birk said Herrera "did a really nice job."He's always been tenacious and intense," Birk said. "I think now he does a better job of harnessing that. Not getting too high or too low. Mentally, I think he's found the right demeanor that you need. It's one play at a time, and whatever happens on the play, you move onto the next one. Good or bad."

Herrera, 27, still considers himself to be developing in this area and admits "I'm not where I want to be yet," adding, "I feel like there are a lot of things I can get better at."

Childress, though, certainly seems pleased.

"I have just seen that evolution in the last year to where he is using the fundamentals and techniques that he needs to be successful," he said. "He has good tools in terms of foot quickness and strength. I just see him kind of settling in, whether it's because he got married in the offseason or he wants to play on. Who knows? But he has kind of settled in a little bit and has not reverted."

Judd Zulgad • jzulgad@startribune.com