Latest Vikings News
Recent Vikings blog posts
Latest Sports News
- Depleted Wild falls in shootout
- Denver slaps Wolves with 14th straight loss
- Favre keeps playing, and the records keep falling
- Gophers reaching higher at Thanksgiving tournament
- Don't tread on the Wild logo!
- Cutler admits interceptions are on his mind
- Change launches Wartman, Tommies on a two-year roll
Home | Sports | Access Vikings
Time seemed to be on Vinatieri's side
Print this story
E-mail this story
Save to del.icio.us
Share on Facebook
Share on Digg
As the Colts' Adam Vinatieri was about to attempt a 47-yard field goal with four seconds left in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game and the score tied at 15, Vikings coach Brad Childress signaled for a timeout.
It's become the fashionable thing in the NFL since coaches were given the ability to call timeouts from the sidelines. When a kicker is attempting a field-goal in the waning seconds, a coach will call for time at the last moment.
The problem Sunday was that Childress either didn't signal for the timeout soon enough or the officials didn't see him. Either way, Vinatieri's kick was good, as the Colts rallied for an 18-15 victory in the Vikings' home opener.
"I tried to call a timeout with the guy," Childress said. "But we were kind of the opinion that we wanted to let him come up there and kick. I tried to get one there but didn't get in."
Given that Childress didn't argue with the referees, it appeared he knew that his signal came too late. Vinatieri said the Colts did not hurry the process in order to try to foil Childress' plan.
"No, not at all," Vinatieri said. "We just went out, lined up and went like we normally do. That's a 47-yarder. You can't rush that. ... You don't try to do anything differently on that kind of kick."
JUDD ZULGAD
Recent Access Vikings stories
Favre's personal best: 88 percent completion rate - September 14, 2008
Favre's personal best: 88 percent completion rate - Brett Favre has added a few more records to his overcrowded resume. More
Win tickets and gear: This week’s prize is 2 tickets to the Dec. 13 Vikings vs. Cincinnati game. Enter now!
Play Upick’em: Join our weekly contest. It’s fun and free, and you can win prizes. Play now!
Meet Grand Prize winner Kay and her friends! Plus view all entries from our Fanatical Football Fan contest! Go now!
see all StarTribune.com contests >>
| Date/Opponent | Time | W | L | Score |
| Sep 13 - at Cleveland | 12:00 PM | 1 | 0 | 34-20 |
| Sep 20 - at Detroit | 12:00 PM | 2 | 0 | 27-13 |
| Sep 27 - vs. San Francisco | 12:00 PM | 3 | 0 | 27-24 |
| Oct 5 - vs. Green Bay | 7:30 PM | 4 | 0 | 30-23 |
| Oct 11 - at St. Louis | 12:00 PM | 5 | 0 | 38-10 |
| Oct 18 - vs. Baltimore | 12:00 PM | 6 | 0 | 33-31 |
| Oct 25 - at Pittsburgh | 12:00 PM | 6 | 1 | 17-27 |
| Nov 1 - at Green Bay | 3:15 PM | 7 | 1 | 38-26 |
| Open | ||||
| Nov 15 - vs. Detroit | 12:00 PM | 8 | 1 | 27-10 |
| Nov 22 - vs. Seattle | 12:00 PM | 9 | 1 | 35-9 |
| Nov 29 - vs. Chicago | 3:15 PM | |||
| Dec 6 - at Arizona | 7:20 PM | |||
| Dec 13 - vs. Cincinnati | 12:00 PM | |||
| Dec 20 - at Carolina | 7:20 PM | |||
| Dec 28 - at Chicago | 7:30 PM | |||
| Jan 3 - vs. NY Giants | 12:00 PM |
Comment on this story | Be the first to comment | Hide reader comments