Winfield creates a buzz with big game vs. Saints

Antoine Winfield has a fan in Detroit quarterback Jon Kitna. Kitna called the Vikings cornerback the NFL's defensive player of the year so far.

"Through five games of the season he is playing as well as anybody, making plays," said Kitna, whose Lions will face the Vikings on Sunday. "He has always done that throughout his career. I played against him as a rookie in Buffalo and I was in Seattle at the time. He has always been a player where you need to kind of know where he is at." This is especially true since Winfield has two sacks this season that both have resulted in fumbles.

Winfield was named the NFC defensive player of the week Tuesday after recording eight tackles, including five for losses, as well as a sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery on a single play to set up a touchdown in the Vikings' 30-27 victory over New Orleans. Winfield also returned a blocked field goal 59 yards for a touchdown.

Told of Kitna's comments, Winfield said: "Oh, wow. I appreciate that, especially coming from a veteran. I definitely appreciate that. I'll take the compliment, but I have to continue to get better and continue to make plays."

Although it's common for NFL head coaches to have final authority over their team's 53-man roster, Vikings coach Brad Childress had never said he had that control until speaking on a conference call with Detroit reporters on Wednesday.

Asked about the organization and structure of the Vikings front office, Childress said: "I do believe that the head coach needs to decide which 53 guys are playing for him. Your players need to understand that when push comes to shove at the end, when you're setting that final roster, you've got to have 53 men that believe you're the guy. That's important and that's written in contractually in my contract."

Childress said it was a similar situation when he worked as the offensive coordinator for Andy Reid in Philadelphia.

"When you're selling yourself and you're selling your vision, you let the owner know that that's an important factor that the head coach has got to be responsible for the 53 guys that are playing for him," Childress said. "It's got to be on merit, so that's the reason it was put in."

• Linebacker Erin Henderson (concussion) did not participate in practice Wednesday. Henderson was injured when he was knocked off his feet by New Orleans' Jon-Lonn Dunbar while chasing Reggie Bush during a Saints punt return touchdown. Eight players were limited, including receivers Bernard Berrian (knee) and Sidney Rice (knee), linebacker Vinny Ciurciu (concussion), defensive end Ray Edwards (shoulder), tight end Jim Kleinsasser (foot) and cornerback Benny Sapp (hamstring).

• The Vikings had 800 tickets left for Sunday's game as of Wednesday afternoon. Technically those need to be sold by noon today to avoid a local television blackout, but the Vikings almost certainly would receive an extension until Friday to sell the remaining tickets if necessary.