Sack man Randle joins Ring of Honor

John Randle said he maintained a singular purpose throughout his 14-year NFL career.

"I just always doubted myself every day when I went on the football field," he said. "I always played that way to prove that I did belong. I tried to do that for 14 years."

Randle did more than prove he belonged. He became one of the most dominant pass rushers in NFL history. Randle was honored for his career contributions Sunday night when he became the 17th member of the Vikings Ring of Honor at the Metrodome.

"To be associated with Alan Page and Jim Marshall -- as a kid who loved football -- being part of that, I am speechless," Randle said recently.

Randle joined the Vikings as an undrafted rookie from Division II Texas A&I in 1990. In 11 seasons with the Vikings, he led or tied for the team lead in sacks nine times. He finished with double digits in sacks eight consecutive seasons, 1993-2000.

Randle finished his career tied for sixth in NFL history in sacks with 137.5, which were the most by a defensive tackle. He had 114 sacks as a Viking, which ranks third in team history.

Randle started six consecutive Pro Bowls from 1993-98 and was named to the NFL's Team of the Decade for the 1990s.

All this from a player who said he approached his first training camp with a feeling that he was "in over my head."

"My career was one where a guy just said to himself that I should take a chance to try and make in the NFL," he said. "It's getting on a plane, coming up here, not knowing what was going to happen. Not knowing if I was even going to make it here. It was just giving it a shot, and it was that way every day on the football field."

The Vikings' sideline was livid after Bears defensive end Adewale Ogunleye did not receive a penalty after drilling quarterback Gus Frerotte from behind well after he threw an incomplete pass into the end zone in the second quarter. Frerotte lay face-down on the turf for a moment after the hit.

Replays were shown several times on the Jumbo-tron, and Vikings coach Brad Childress screamed at the officials.

"That's pretty frustrating because it's severely late," Frerotte said. "It wasn't like you threw it and the guy took two steps and hit you. I threw it and he took, I don't know many, eight, nine, 10 steps.

"You can say those things happen, but they really don't. That was an obscure play. Especially when you're kind of defenseless and kind of relaxed ... and then you get hit. Those things tend to shock you a little bit more than if you were just standing in the pocket and get hit."

Frerotte said he got hit in the back of the head. "It threw me for a loop," he said.

Ogunleye almost certainly will be fined by the NFL for the hit.

When Vikings safety Darren Sharper intercepted a Bears pass last December in the Metrodome, he reached 53 interceptions for his career, leaving him one behind standouts like Eric Allen, Willie Brown and Darrell Green.

Until the fourth quarter on Sunday, Sharper still had 53 interceptions. Then Bears quarterback Kyle Orton threw one right to him, and Sharper returned it 12 yards before doing his traditional interception dance.

He remembered the dance. He wasn't sure how to return an interception anymore, though.

"Yeah, it was big,'' he said. "It had been so long. I kind of didn't know what to do. I kind of got stuck in the dirt.

"I remembered how to do the dance, though.''

Sharper said the coaches have been telling him that if a defender gets into position, sometimes the quarterback will "hit you in the face with the ball,'' Sharper said. "That's what happened.''

Now Sharper is one interception behind another standout, Aeneas Williams, who's 16th on the all-time list with 55.

One game after taking over for Ryan Cook as the starting right tackle, Artis Hicks was forced to sit out Sunday because of an elbow injury he suffered in the season opener at Green Bay. Hicks started the first four games of the season at left tackle in place of Bryant McKinnie, who was suspended for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.

Hicks aggravated the injury in the Vikings' victory over Jacksonville on Nov. 23 and was forced to leave the game. He only practiced on Friday last week and was listed as questionable on the injury report.

Cook, who started the first 10 games of the season, lost his job because of inconsistency and penalties. Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said Friday he wasn't worried about Cook's confidence.

"I think he's good," Bevell said. "It's a tough situation, obviously, to be in, but as any of these guys know at any moment their number could be called again very easily."

The Vikings thought they had pinned the Bears deep on a punt in the first quarter thanks to a hustling Eric Frampton. Bears punt returner Devin Hester let the ball bounce and thought it would go into the end zone, but Frampton ran down and batted it back before it reached the goal line.

David Herron fell on the ball at the 2-yard line, where the officials marked it. However, the Bears challenged the play and replays confirmed that Herron's leg crossed the goal line as he fell on the ball, giving the Bears the ball at the 20-yard line.

• Vikings running back Adrian Peterson needs 211 yards in the Vikings' last four games to set a team record for rushing yards in a season. Robert Smith holds the record with 1,521.

• Wide receiver Aundrae Allison was inactive for the first time this season as veteran receiver Robert Ferguson worked his way back into the lineup after being a healthy scratch for four consecutive games. Running back Maurice Hicks, signed as a free agent from San Francisco during the offseason primarily because of his abilities on kick returns, was inactive for a second consecutive game, and it remains uncertain when he might work his way back onto the field. Also inactive for the Vikings were tight end Garrett Mills (ankle); linebacker Dontarrious Thomas; defensive end Otis Grigsby; and defensive tackle Letroy Guion (ankle).

• Kenechi Udeze, who is sitting out this season after being diagnosed with leukemia in February and undergoing a bone marrow transplant this summer, was wearing his No. 95 Vikings jersey on the sideline Sunday. Udeze said he plans to play next season.

• The Vikings wore their "throwback" uniforms Sunday, the second consecutive season in which they have donned the look for the game in which they induct a player into the Ring of Honor.

JUDD ZULGAD, CHIP SCOGGINS