Judd Zulgad has been on the NFL beat since the 2003 season, when he began a (gasp) two-year stint covering the Green Bay Packers for the Star Tribune. Zulgad has covered the Vikings since 2005 and is as shocked as anyone that he is again following the daily exploits of Brett Favre.
Chip Scoggins knew his second season covering the Vikings would be eventful when he saw the news helicopter tracking Brett Favre to Winter Park and a guy dressed in a full parrot costume standing outside.
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Hold on: Call against Hutchinson was rarity
The Vikings faced a second-and-7 situation from their own 40-yard line in the third quarter of Sunday's game at Green Bay when Adrian Peterson took a handoff and gained 2 yards. The run was wiped out when Pro Bowl left guard Steve Hutchinson was called for holding Green Bay defensive end Cullen Jenkins, putting the Vikings in a second-and-17 at their 30. Three plays later, Hutchinson's miscue was forgotten when Brett Favre hit Percy Harvin for a 51-yard touchdown.
Perhaps, however, we shouldn't have been so quick to dismiss the penalty on Hutchinson given just how rare it is for him to be called for holding. The call by referee Tony Corrente's crew marked the first time since Nov. 30, 2003 that Hutchinson had been penalized for that particular infraction, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Hutchinson has not missed a game in that time, meaning he went 97 starts (91 regular-season games, six playoffs) without being called for a hold. That's a remarkable stretch for a guy who played thousands of snaps in that time.
Also, say this for Hutchinson: His last two holding calls haven't wiped out big runs. The 2003 call came in the second-quarter of a 34-7 victory over Cleveland and resulted in a 1-yard run by Shaun Alexander being negated.
Above and beyond the holding call, it's flat-out rare for Hutchinson to be called for a penalty at all. That's what makes it surprising that he's been penalized twice in the past two games. Two weeks ago he was called for a false start against Pittsburgh.
By my count, Hutchinson has been called for three (accepted) penalties in four-plus seasons and 57 games since joining the Vikings in 2006. He was called for a false start on Sept. 16, 2007 in an overtime loss at Detroit, making it the first accepted penalty against him since Nov. 14, 2004 and ending a 44-game streak without a penalty.
He then started another streak that went 37 games, including the postseason, without another penalty until the Pittsburgh game.
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| 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 | 10 | 1 | 36-10 |
| Dec 6 - at Arizona | 7:20 PM | 10 | 2 | 17-30 |
| Dec 13 - vs. Cincinnati | 12:00 PM | 11 | 2 | 30-10 |
| Dec 20 - at Carolina | 7:20 PM | 11 | 3 | 7-26 |
| Dec 28 - at Chicago | 7:30 PM | 11 | 4 | 30-36 |
| Jan 3 - vs. NY Giants | 12:00 PM | 12 | 4 | 44-7 |
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