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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DiggWhen Jared Allen didn't get off to the start he wanted in his first year with the Vikings last season the Pro Bowl defensive end decided to do something about it. Allen hired his former line coach in Kansas City, Bob Karmelowicz, to help him out on a freelance basis.
Karmelowicz didn't have a job at that point and Allen would fly him to the Twin Cities each Tuesday so the two could look at film and go over technique. Let's just say it didn't hurt. Allen had two sacks in the Vikings' first five games but finished with 14.5 for the regular season.
Allen, though, lost the services of his personal tutor last offseason when new Lions head coach Jim Schwartz hired Karmelowicz to coach Detroit's defensive line. The move hasn't had a negative impact on Allen, who enters Sunday's game against the Lions tied for the NFL with 10.5 sacks. Denver linebacker Elvis Dumervil also has 10.5 sacks.
"Coach Karm is a hell of a coach,'' Allen said on a conference call with Detroit reporters Wednesday. "I had a slow start last year and I talked to him all the time. It wasn't working, so he used to come up and do his drills with me and we game planned together. Sometimes, it's nice to have an outside view with somebody that you really trust to help you fix a couple things. And last year, he helped me change from a four-point stance and I went to a three-point stance, and it really helped me."
Tom Kowalski of Mlive.com also notes that Allen's defensive coordinator with the Chiefs, Gunther Cunningham, now holds the same job with the Lions. Cunningham recalled that Allen was drafted by the Chiefs because of his ability as a long snapper and that Kansas City's plan was to use Allen as its long snapper and as a backup defensive end.
Cunningham quickly realized that he wanted Allen as a full-time defensive end and he quickly came up with a plan to make sure that happened.
"When he started playing, we made a deal with Jared," Cunningham told Kowalski. "We said, 'Here's what we're going to do. We're going to break one of your fingers right now. You can't be a deep snapper; we need you to rush the passer.' He was all for it, but we never had to do it. I can't recall this and maybe I'm making it up, but I think he air-mailed a few snaps if I know him. He was a good deep snapper -- he gets it back like a bullet. He's as good as anybody in the league doing it.''
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Michael Rand and Chip Scoggins
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Judd Zulgad and Chip Scoggins
CHAT ENDED: Read the transcript
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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 | |||
| Nov 29 - vs. Chicago | 3:15 PM | |||
| Dec 6 - at Arizona | 3:15 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 |
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