vikings/nfl
Dan Wiederer began covering the Vikings in 2011, enthusiastically delivering insight on the team across the Star Tribune's print and digital products. Prior to joining the Access Vikings team, he spent seven seasons covering ACC basketball at The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer. He also covered the Chicago Bears in 2003 and 2004. Follow him on Twitter @StribDW.
Mark Craig has covered football and the NFL the past 20 years, including the Browns from 1991-95 and the Vikings and the NFL since 2003. Since 2008, Craig has served as one of the 44 Pro Football Hall of Fame selectors. He can be followed on Twitter at @markcraignfl.
Posts about Vikings offense
Chris Cook eager to face Rodgers
Posted by: Chris Miller Updated: December 26, 2012 - 3:56 PM
Chris Cook is looking for redemption Sunday when the Vikings meet the Packers.
The Vikings’ third year cornerback was torched during his rookie season by Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Cook, coming off early season arthroscopic surgery on both knees, was pulled by coach Brad Childress after Rodgers lit up the visiting Vikings for 166 passing yards in the first quarter of a 28-24 victory on Oct. 24, 2010.
Things got worse six weeks later when the Packers beat the Vikings 31-3 at the Metrodome. Cook gave up receptions of 47 and 39 yards to James Jones, and was pulled by Childress after Jones caught a 3-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Cook was yelled at by teammate Ray Edwards on the sideline, and after the game both Cook and cornerback Asher Allen were criticized by teammates.
Childress was fired the next day.
Cook missed both meetings last season after an arrest for domestic assault on the eve of the first Packers game, which he spent in jail. He was inactive for the rest of the season, and missed the Vikings’ 23-14 loss to the Packers two weeks ago because of a broken arm.
“I’ve been looking forward to this game,” Cook said. “My rookie year, I was coming off both my knee surgeries, and they were picking on me – a lot. I expected that coming off two knee surgeries. But I don’t have knee problems now, so we’ll see how it goes this week.”
Cook said Rodgers is the best quarterback in the NFL.
“He’s Brett Favre-like, but I feel he makes better decisions at times,” said Cook. “He’s crazy accurate, that’s the thing that stands out. He can put balls in places the other guys can’t put it in. It’s amazing to me to me. Every time I watch him I think, man, this guy, he’s great.”
Holiday presents
Houston running back Arian Foster bought Segways for his offensive linemen, so the question about what Adrian Peterson will do for his offensive line has been bandied about at Winter Park.
“We’ll see how it all plays out, how many yards he gets, when we win the game,” said center John Sullivan. “All I’m hoping for is a good performance from him and our offense and our entire team. The playoff berth is all we reaIly care about. I don’t really care about presents. I’m not too focused on that right now.”
Robison, Winfield ready
Defensive end Brian Robison (sprained shoulder) missed the Vikings’ 23-6 victory over the Texans on Sunday, which was doubly troubling to him because he played college football at Texas. He expects to play Sunday against the Packers.
“I’m doing much better, doing a lot of stuff hard in the rehab room, just trying to get it back,” Robison said. “I feel like I got a good range of motion, it’s just getting the strength back in it.”
Cornerback Antoine Winfield, who fractured a bone in his right index finger, expects to play Sunday with his right hand padded.
Reliable rookie
The Pro Bowl rosters will be announced tonight, and Vikings rookie kicker Blair Walsh has an outside chance of making the NFC team. Walsh has an NFL record nine field goals of 50 yards or longer.
“It’s one of those things where it happens, it’s awesome, if it doesn’t happen, keep on pushing,” Walsh said. “I’m more focused on what I have to do in practice. Accolades are great and all, but this game is more important.”
After a poor senior season at Georgia, it was a bit of a surprise when the Walsh was drafted by the Vikings in the sixth round. He has made 32 of 35 field goal attempts, however, and all 32 conversion attempts.
“I knew I was capable of doing it from the start,” Walsh said. “The biggest surprise is the number of attempts we’ve gotten. Thirty-five attempts is a lot. It’s a different beast at this level, each kick is so important, it matters so much when the game is so close.”
Veteran Ryan Longwell, who was cut to make room for Walsh, tweeted his support for Walsh’s Pro Bowl candidacy on Sunday.
“It was one of the most humbling things I’ve ever had said about me by anyone,” Walsh said. “My response was 100 percent truthful -- guys like him have set the bar for other kickers who come in the league, and they hold us to a higher standards, and we try to emulate careers like his.”
Ford added
The Vikings signed tight end Chase Ford to their practice squad. Ford, a rookie from Miami, has been on both the Philadelphia and Dallas practice squads this season. Tight end Allen Reisner, who has been on and off the Vikings’ roster the past two years, was claimed by Jacksonville after the Vikings cut him on Saturday. The Jaguars also signed guard Mark Asper, who had been waived by the Vikings.
Peterson won't be the only top back on Sunday
Posted by: Kent Youngblood Updated: December 19, 2012 - 5:30 PMAdrian Peterson’s quest for the NFL rushing record has taken center stage. But there is another pretty good running back to watch in this weekend’s Vikings game: Arian Foster.
Entering this week’s games Peterson has a league-best 1,812 rushing yards, and is within Eric Dickerson’s NFL-record 2,105. But Foster, who first came to the Texans as an undrafted free agent, has put up some strong numbers, too.
Foster is fourth in the league with 1,313 yards. Now, to show just how much Peterson has lapped the field this season, those 1,313 are precisely the same number Peterson has had since Week 7.
Still, Foster’s numbers are impressive. His 1,493 yards from scrimmage is fifth in the league – Peterson’s 2,023 is No. 1 – and if Foster scores a TD this week he will become the sixth player in NFL history to score 50 TDs in his first 50 NFL games.
“The scheme they run really fits what he does well,” Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway said of Foster. "He’s really patient, good at finding cut-back lanes. They throw the ball well out of the play-action game and bootleg game, and that serves Foster well in the run game as well.”
The Vikings have seen their share of good running backs this season, going up against five of the top 10 NFL rushers this season in Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch (second), Washington’s Alfred Morris (third), Tampa Bay’s Doug Martin (fifth), Tennessee’s Chris Johnson (seventh) and Frank Gore of San Francisco (ninth). Lynch ran for 124 yards, Morris had 57, Martin 135, Johnson 24 and Gore 63.
And now they get Foster.
Houston coach Gary Kubiak said he saw some similarities between Foster and Peterson.
“The thing about Adrian is that he has the home run speed,” Kubiak said. “Arian is one of those guys where it seems, the more he carries it, the stronger he gets. These are two guys who, the more they touch it, the more difficult it is to tackle them. Just two great players.”
(Almost) no comment
Christian Ponder’s marriage was not something many Vikings players wanted to discuss in the locker room.
Some, like center John Sullivan and guard Brandon Fusco, simply changed the subject.
“My focus right now is just going and grabbing some lunch and relaxing before practice,” safety Mistral Raymond said. “That should be dealt with somewhere else.”
Fullback Raymond Felton said he heard about it in the media like everybody else. Reaction? “I congratulated him,” Felton said. “Several people have congratulated him. So, obviously, whatever makes him happy we want that for him. It was a big day for him, and we’re happy for him.”
Of course, if anyone was going to have a little fun about the situation, it was punter Chris Kluwe, who wondered openly where he might find a gift registry. As for the present he planned on buying?
“Maybe a tea cozy,” he said.
Wins, not records
After winning NFC special teams player of the week honors for the second time this season, Vikings kicker Blair Walsh talked about winning, not records.
Specifically when he was asked whether he thought about making the Pro Bowl in this, his rookie season. “Yeah, it would be awesome, but that’s not my main goal right now.”
Walsh hit all five of his field goals last week, three in the 50-yards-plus range. He is now 8-for-8 from that distance, which ties him with Morten Andersen and Jason Hanson for most field goals of 50 or more yards in a season. He is one away from holding that record alone.
“I’m just wishing we win,” Walsh said. “I don’t’ care about the records. My whole deal with the records is that they’re meant to be broken. It would be nice to have, but I’d rather win.”
Walsh is 29-for-32 on field goals this season and is fourth in the NFC in scoring among kickers. He said the snap and hold has been perfect for every attempt this season, and that his three misses were entirely his fault.
So the question is, in a dome, in ideal circumstances, what does he think his limit is? “I think 65 (yards) and in I can at least give it a realistic shot,” he said.
Doing his part
Felton said he, along with the linemen and the rest of the team, are pulling for Peterson to break Dickerson’s record. But will he feel he earned a part of that record should it happen?
“A little bit,” he said. “I’ll be able to tell my grandkids about it. So, obviously, I think it’s important for our whole team. And the most important thing is getting wins. But when Adrian is successful that helps our team. That’s what we’re focused on.”
Meanwhile, it appears the work Felton has done has probably put to rest the question of whether Peterson prefers a fullback or running out of one-back sets. Felton said he’d seen a stat that indicated the Vikings gain better than 7 yards per rush with a fullback and 3-plus yards out of one-back sets.
Peterson wins Vikings' Ed Block Courage Award
Posted by: Chris Miller Updated: December 18, 2012 - 4:40 PMAdrian Peterson was chosen the Vikings' Ed Block Courage Award winner by his teammates.
Since 1984, each team names a winner of the award to recognize a teammate who overcomes great adversity.
Peterson has rebounded from major knee surgery to challenge the NFL's single-season rushing record.
Here is the team's release:
Vikings RB Adrian Peterson has been selected as the 2012 Ed Block Courage Award recipient by his teammates.
During Week 16 of the 2011 season, Peterson tore his ACL and MCL against the Washington Redskins. Eight months removed from the major knee injury, Peterson was true to his word and was in the starting lineup for Week 1 of the 2012 season. Peterson scored 2 TDs and rushed for 84 yards in the overtime victory versus Jacksonville. The 4-time Pro Bowler has appeared and started in all 14 games this season.
Peterson is in the midst of his greatest season as a member of the Minnesota Vikings. The 2-time All-Pro RB currently leads the NFL with 1,812 rushing yards and is tied for 2nd with 11 rushing TDs. Over the past 8 games, Peterson has rushed for over 100 yards 8 times and eclipsed the 200-yard mark twice. His 1,313 rushing yards since Week 7 ranks as the best 8-game stretch in NFL history. With 2 games to play, the 6-year veteran is 294 yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards set in 1984. He has tied Barry Sanders’ (’97) record of 7 50+ yard rushes in a single season. Peterson has 2 TD runs of 82 yards this season, a career long.
Since 1984 the Ed Block Courage Awards annually honors one player from every NFL team who exemplifies commitment to the principles of sportsmanship and courage. Recipients are selected by a vote of their teammates to recognize both on and off the field extra efforts and their ability to overcome great adversity, whether it be personal or professional. The Ed Block Courage Award is named in honor of Ed Block, the longtime head athletic trainer of the Baltimore Colts. Winners travel to Baltimore every March to receive their trophy at a gala in their honor and spend time at the local Courage House at St. Vincent’s Center, a facility specializing in working with abused children. This visit, and the time spent with the children, allows each recipient to fully comprehend the true meaning of the award.
For more information on the Ed Block Courage Award Foundation, visit www.edblock.org.
Vikings Ed Block Courage Honorees
Adrian Peterson…….2012
Anthony Herrera……...2011
Cedric Griffin............... 2010
E.J. Henderson........... 2009
Kenechi Udeze........... 2008
Chad Greenway......... 2007
Matt Birk....................... 2006
Koren Robinson.......... 2005
Corey Chavous........... 2004
Eric Kelly...................... 2003
Lewis Kelly.................. 2002
Daunte Culpepper..... 2001
Gary Anderson............ 2000
Robert Griffith.............. 1999
Randall Cunningham 1998
Robert Smith............... 1997
Scottie Graham........... 1996
John Randle................ 1995
Cris Carter................... 1994
Henry Thomas............ 1993
Darrin Nelson.............. 1992
Terry Allen................... 1991
Gary Zimmerman....... 1990
Jim Gustafson............. 1989
Leo Lewis.................... 1988
Scott Studwell............. 1987
Walker Lee Ashley..... 1986
Keith Nord.................... 1985
Steve Riley................... 1984
Ponder: Packers game 'a wake-up call'
Posted by: Chris Miller Updated: December 5, 2012 - 5:41 PMVikings quarterback Christian Ponder, coming off a 23-14 loss to Green Bay where he fell under heavy criticism, admitted Wednesday that his poor performance was a “wake-up call.”
“We’re in that game and some of the mistakes I made were very frustrating,” Ponder said. “I’m always critical of myself, but with such an important game and such costly mistakes, because of me, it was very frustrating. It was kind of a wake-up call that obviously I need to be doing some stuff differently and change my game and elevate my play so that, especially where we are in the season, with the goals that are in our hands, I have to make sure that I give our team a chance to be successful and achieve those goals.”
The Vikings play host to the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
Ponder, who confirmed that he became engaged this week to ESPN reporter Samantha Steele, had two critical interceptions against the Packers.
“The mistakes I made were pretty obvious and pretty dumb,” he said. “It’s not hard to eliminate those dumb mistakes. We still want to be aggressive; we just have to be so much smarter and try not to force things.”
“I still have my confidence. I think, with me, after a bad game I’m even more excited to come back to work the next week and the next day just so I can put it behind me. … Obviously, I want to play better and I know that I need to play better, but my confidence is still there.”
As far as his engagement, Ponder said, “We’re not going into the details of that. We’re excited. It was a fun experience this week, but we’ve moved on.”
Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said he has tried to encourage Ponder this week, reminding him “of some of the things he did very well when we were having success across the board as an offense and letting him know that we have confidence that he can get back to getting that done, and no greater time than right now.”
Wide receivers Jerome Simpson and Devin Aromashodu stood firmly in Ponder’s corner.
“I got a lot of confidence in Christian,” said Simpson. “He’s going to bounce back, he’s going to have a great game.”
Is Ponder being unfairly criticized?
“Yup,” Simpson said. “That guy, he’s a tough guy, man, and a lot of added pressure that’s put on him shouldn’t be, a lot of criticism shouldn’t be put on him. I guess that’s just the nature of being a quarterback, but a lot of this pressure stuff being put on him shouldn’t be, because that guy, he’s trying his heart out.”
Said Aromashodu: “You can’t blame it on one person. It takes everyone from the linemen to the receivers running the right routes to, you know, the quarterback to the protection with the running backs. So everything has to work together in the passing game.”
Injury report
Receiver Percy Harvin (ankle) and defensive end Jared Allen (shoulder, back) did not participate in the Vikings' practice Wednesday.
Huh? Vikings lead at Lambeau 14-10
Posted by: Mark Craig Updated: December 2, 2012 - 1:38 PMGREEN BAY -- What's this? A competitive Vikings game at Lambeau Field?
Who'd have thunk it? Not many, especially those who saw last week's debacle at Soldier Field. Or last year's debacles at Soldier Field and Lambeau Field.
Today's game started out with a similar feel to the blowouts mentioned above. The Packers took a 10-0 lead on a 32-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to James Jones and a 30-yard field goal that Mason Crosby banked in off the left upright.
Two Cheesehead possessions. Ten points. The Vikings also trailed in first downs, 7-0, and total yards, 127-5.
But then something strange began to happen. The Vikings offense started moving the ball both on the ground and through the air (a little bit) to tight end Kyle Rudolph. Then they scored not one, but two touchdowns -- on offense -- in one quarter to take a 14-10 lead at the half.
A 14-play, 71-yard drive was capped with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Christian Ponder to Kyle Rudolph. Later in the quarter, Adrian Peterson broke two tackles and showed that his new left ACL might be faster than his old one en route to a career-long 82-yard touchdown run.
Two of Peterson's longest touchdown runs -- including a 74-yarder at Seattle on Nov. 4 -- have come in the last month.
Peterson has 13 carries for 126 yards, a team-record sixth straight game with at least 100 yards rushing. The 82-yard score also is the fourth-longest play from scrimmage in team history. Chester Taylor's 95-yard touchdown run against Seattle in 2006 is the record.
Ponder has completed 5 of 8 passes for only 36 yards, but all the completions came during the 14-play scoring drive. Ponder's wide receivers have a grand total of zero catches. Rudolph has four catches for 23 yards.
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recent posts
- Update: Winfield and Ponder on Vikings' injury report
- Behind Enemy Lines: After slow start, Aaron Rodgers carved Vikings up last week
- New cast may be key to keeping Winfield on the field Saturday
- Peterson, Walsh named NFC players of the month
- Michael Jenkins justifying his title as "The Professor"
- Sanford's investment, rapid growth typifies Vikings' resurgence
- Frazier on Harvin not being around team: 'It's purely up to him'
- Vikings experimenting with slot options in case Antoine Winfield can't play
- Ponder limited with bruised right elbow
- The words in Christian Ponder's pre-game speeches don't matter
- Ex-Viking Larry Bowie dies
- Walsh wins his third NFC special teams Player of the Week award
- Jared Allen: No 5-year plan, 'I'm here to win now'
- Practice indoors or outside? Vikings opt to straddle the fence
- Vikings defense still has plenty to worry about after Green Bay's explosion
- 'Instant Classic': Erin Henderson couldn't get enough watching Sunday's win back
- Playoffs nothing new to Charlie Johnson
- Pro Bowler Felton hopes he's found long-term home with Vikings
Post By Category
- Update: Winfield and Ponder on Vikings' injury report
- Behind Enemy Lines: After slow start, Aaron Rodgers carved Vikings up last week
- New cast may be key to keeping Winfield on the field Saturday
- Michael Jenkins justifying his title as "The Professor"
- Sanford's investment, rapid growth typifies Vikings' resurgence
- Frazier on Harvin not being around team: 'It's purely up to him'
- Peterson, Walsh named NFC players of the month
- Timing of marriage dictated by 'a lot of personal reasons'
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