Craig: Five extra points

Article by: MARK CRAIG , Star Tribune
Updated: September 24, 2012 - 12:59 AM

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49ers coach Jim Harbaugh couldn’t believe a lot of what he was seeing on Sunday at Mall of America Field.

Photo: Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune

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1. Not so dumb this week?

Give the Vikings credit. They talked and talked (and talked) about cleaning up all the dumb penalties that doomed them in last week's 23-20 loss at Indianapolis. And then they actually went out and did it. The Vikings had only one penalty, a holding call with 4 minutes, 23 seconds left in the third quarter. The offender was never identified by the, um, stellar replacement officials. This week, the 49ers get to talk about dumb penalties. They had six penalties for 60 yards. On the touchdown drive that gave the Vikings a 24-13 lead, the 49ers committed three penalties, including two for unnecessary roughness. (P.S.: Someone should tell the refs that half the distance to the goal line from the 26-yard line is the 13-yard line, not the 14.)

2. Ponder's (not so) deep throws

Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder had only one pass that counted travel farther than 20 yards in the air. It was an incompletion to Michael Jenkins that covered 28 yards. For the season, only four of Ponder's 97 passes have traveled farther than 20 yards in the air. He did have another one, a 21-yard incompletion to Kyle Rudolph, that didn't count because of a 49ers penalty. "I'm not going to force things downfield when I can throw it short ... and someone can make a big play downfield," Ponder said.

3. Moss a nonfactor

Former Viking Randy Moss entered the game having played only 37 of the 49ers' 130 snaps the first two games. He proceeded to play only 18 of the 49ers' 58 snaps on Sunday. That's why the moody one said, "Next question," when asked about his playing time being what he expected. In this offense, Moss is treated like an aging player who's lost his fastball. He didn't play on most third downs or critical situations. When the 49ers got the ball at the Vikings 14 to start the second half, Moss was on the sideline while the 49ers were held to a field goal. He caught three passes for a 9-yard average, dropped a ball and had one overthrown to him that would have been a TD. The Vikings gave him nothing but man coverage, a sure sign the fear factor with Moss is gone.

4. Jared's neck, Toby's butterfingers

Fortunately for the Vikings, the "crick" in Jared Allen's neck wasn't as bad as the apparent gobs of butter on Toby Gerhart's fingers in the fourth quarter. After Gerhart lost the second of his THREE fourth-quarter fumbles, Allen ended all the drama with his first sack and strip of the season. Brian Robison recovered with 1:33 left. Allen said he didn't play much in the second half because of neck spasms suffered when he bounced off of Alex Smith while trying to sack him at the end of the first half. "The hardest I ever been hit in my life, and it's Alex Smith," Allen said. Allen couldn't look to his left because of the injury. So he tried to rush from the left side a couple of times. But at the end, he put himself back in at right end. He also said the neck won't be a problem going forward. "I'll be good," he said. "Just a little crick."

5. Peterson grinds away

Adrian Peterson will have some bruises Monday morning. He carried the ball a season-high 25 times and gained 86 yards, for a 3.4-yard average. The 49ers played him straight up for the most part. They put eight or nine men in the box on nine of his carries. Peterson was held to 3 or fewer yards on six of those carries. But his longest run, 20 yards, came later in the game as the 49ers put eight in the box on second-and-7 with 8:38 left in the game. Asked if he felt like a battering ram against 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis, he said: "I almost gave him a concussion a couple of times, snapping back his helmet after he tackles me. We knew we just had to continue to pound. We'll take 5 yards, 3 yards. Second down and 4, you can't beat that."

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explore the Vikings/NFL

Full Scoreboard

Cincinnati	3:30 PM
Houston

Minnesota	7:00 PM
Green Bay

Indianapolis	1/6/13 12:00 PM
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Seattle	1/6/13 3:30 PM
Washington

Full Scoreboard

Cleveland	106	FINAL
Charlotte	104	FINAL

Brooklyn	115	FINAL
Washington	113	FINAL

Sacramento	105	FINAL
Toronto	96	FINAL

Atlanta	84	FINAL
Detroit	85	FINAL

Chicago	96	FINAL
Miami	89	FINAL

Indiana	75	FINAL
Boston	94	FINAL

Philadelphia	85	FINAL
Oklahoma City	109	FINAL

Portland	86	FINAL
Memphis	84	FINAL

Houston	115	FINAL
Milwaukee	101	FINAL

Utah	87	FINAL
Phoenix	80	FINAL

LA Lakers	102	FINAL
LA Clippers	107	FINAL

Full Scoreboard

TX A&M-CC	57	FINAL
Sam Houston St	61	FINAL

Yale	61	FINAL
Holy Cross	54	FINAL

Manhattan	55	FINAL
Saint Peters	53	FINAL

Iona	66	FINAL
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George Washington	41	FINAL
Georgia	52	FINAL

Brown	47	FINAL
Rhode Island	59	FINAL

Cleveland State	50	FINAL
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Wofford	48	FINAL
Tulane	62	FINAL

Savannah State	59	FINAL
Saint Louis	67	FINAL

Memphis	85	FINAL
Tennessee	80	FINAL

Texas Southern	57	FINAL
Alcorn State	48	FINAL

Grambling St	56	FINAL
Alabama State	69	FINAL

Jackson State	87	FINAL
Alabama A&M	88	FINAL

Prairie View	45	FINAL
Southern U	50	FINAL

Fordham	68	FINAL
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(5) Oregon	35	FINAL
(7) Kansas State	17	FINAL

(10) Texas A&M	41	FINAL
(12) Oklahoma	13	FINAL

Pittsburgh	12:00 PM
Ole Miss

(25) Kent State	1/6/13 8:00 PM
Arkansas State

(2) Alabama	1/7/13 7:30 PM
(1) Notre Dame

Siena	62	FINAL
Canisius	65	FINAL

Fordham	71	FINAL
American Univ	50	FINAL

TX A&M-CC	46	FINAL
Sam Houston St	65	FINAL

Jackson State	48	FINAL
Alabama A&M	66	FINAL

Grambling	60	FINAL
Alabama State	68	FINAL

Texas Southern	61	FINAL
Alcorn State	45	FINAL

Prairie View	55	FINAL
Southern U	60	FINAL

Navy	59	FINAL
Richmond	65	FINAL

Youngstown St	58	FINAL
VA Commonwealth	45	FINAL

Temple	58	FINAL
Howard	61	FINAL

Loyola-Maryland	54	FINAL
Fairfield	64	FINAL

Iona	76	FINAL
Niagara	65	FINAL

UCF	59	FINAL
Bowling Green	56	FINAL

Marist	62	FINAL
Rider	47	FINAL

Bradley	54	FINAL
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Northern Iowa	41	FINAL
Illinois State	72	FINAL

(7) California	55	FINAL
Utah	50	FINAL

SD Mines & Tech	53	FINAL
Colorado State	97	FINAL

USC	56	FINAL
Oregon State	55	FINAL

(16) UCLA	89	FINAL
Oregon	80	FINAL

Arizona	71	FINAL
Washington St	65	FINAL

Arizona State	74	FINAL
Washington	77	FINAL

(4) Stanford	57	FINAL
(20) Colorado	40	FINAL

Date/Opponent	Time	W	L	Score
2012 preseason
Aug 10 - at San Francisco	8:00 PM		X	17-6
Aug 17 - vs. Buffalo	7:00 PM	X		36-14
Aug 24 - vs. San Diego	7:00 PM		X	12-10
Aug 30 - at Houston	6:00 PM		X	28-24
2012 regular season
Sep 9 - vs. Jacksonville	12:00 PM	X		26-23
Sep 16 - at Indianapolis	12:00 PM		X	23-20
Sep 23 - vs. San Francisco	12:00 PM	X		24-13
Sep 30 - at Detroit	12:00 PM	X		20-13
Oct 7 - vs. Tennessee	3:25 PM	X		30-7
Oct 14 - at. Washington	3:25 PM		X	38-26
Oct 21 - vs. Arizona	12:00 PM	X		21-14
Oct 25 - vs. Tampa Bay	7:20 PM		X	36-17
Nov. 4 - at Seattle	3:05 PM		X	30-20
Nov 11 - vs. Detroit	12:00 PM	X		34-24
Open
Nov 25 - at Chicago	12:00 PM		X	28-10
Dec 2 - at Green Bay	12:00 PM		X	23-14
Dec 9 - vs. Chicago	12:00 PM	X		21-14
Dec 16 - at St. Louis	12:00 PM	X		36-22
Dec 23 - at Houston	12:00 PM	X		23-6
Dec 30 - vs. Green Bay	3:25 PM	X		37-34
2012-13 playoffs
Jan. 5 - at Green Bay	7:00 PM