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 coaches
Colts slip past Vikings 23-20
Posted by: Dan Wiederer Updated: September 16, 2012 - 8:43 PM
INDIANAPOLIS - Maybe this is where the projected Hall of Fame journey gathers momentum — in the final minute of a tie game with the No. 1 pick of the 2012 draft doing what the Colts expect him to do for a decade or longer.
Game-winning drive? Hey, Andrew Luck just wanted to give it a try, handling the moment with such tranquility you’d have thought he was out walking his dog.
Luck sure didn’t seem fazed by the pressure. Not the figurative kind that had heightened after Indianapolis blew a 20-6 lead in the final 10 minutes Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium. And not the literal kind either, the heat coming from the Vikings’ defense as they tried to steal yet another improbable victory.
Instead, in the final half-minute, Luck delivered two consecutive 20-yard completions to Donnie Avery and Reggie Wayne. Just like that, in 19 seconds, Luck propelled Indianapolis from its own 20 into position for Adam Vinatieri to kick his game-winning 53-yard field goal.
Final score: Colts 23, Vikings 20.
This is the easy story, the one about the promising rookie who stepped up in the clutch and made sure his encouraging afternoon didn’t sour.
“He doesn’t get rattled,” said his coach Chuck Pagano. “He sees the field. He understands the offense extremely well. He knows exactly what he’s getting because he puts the time in … There’s no panic to the kid.”
Yes, Luck showed all sorts of calm, savvy and athleticism, especially on his first throw of that final drive when he spun, rolled left and put a dart into Avery’s sternum. But to truly understand how Luck recorded his first NFL victory, it’s only proper to contextualize the day by documenting all the costly mistakes the Vikings made, a grab bag of blunders so deep that the classroom sessions at Winter Park promise to be intense this week.
Above all else, there were those 11 penalties committed by nine different Vikings for 105 yards.
Few proved more costly than the 15-yarders committed by Andrew Sendejo and Jared Allen in the third quarter, gifts which allowed the Colts to prolong a 14-play field goal drive. That produced a 20-6 Indianapolis lead.
Sendejo was flagged for roughing Colts punter Pat McAfee, even though replays show the contact may have been minimal or non-existent.
Three plays later, Allen dived and tackled Luck as he crossed the sideline on a meaningless 1-yard run on third-and-16.
“I still don’t think it’s a penalty,” Allen said. “They can say what they want … I didn’t even hit him with my shoulder pads. I hit him with my arm. This is football I thought.”
Three times Sunday, the Colts put together scoring drives of nine plays or longer, including a 13-play, 80-yard stampede on their opening drive. There was also the touchdown they scored with 7 seconds before halftime when, on third-and-3, Wayne easily steered through the Vikings’ Cover 2 zone to snag a 30-yard touchdown pass.
The postgame fingers pointed at linebacker Erin Henderson for failing to drop deep enough in the coverage.
“That’s something we’ve talked about and something we’ve worked on,” Vikings coach Leslie Frazier explained. “We put him in that spot, and we’ve just got to execute our assignments. We didn’t on that play.”
But expecting Henderson to hang with Wayne by himself is risky business. Plus, the Colts might never have had the ball for that score if Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder had not badly missed on a third-and-6 throw to a wide-open Percy Harvin on the previous series.
Yep, the Vikings were left to recap Sunday’s failure with so many of the neatly packaged explanations they ran into the ground a year ago.
“We did some things today that really hurt us, where we hurt ourselves,” Frazier said.
“That’s the NFL,” cornerback Antoine Winfield added. “Like last year, we lost a lot of close games. We have to tighten it up.”
Sure, there were a few bright signs. Harvin, for example, delivered 12 catches for 104 yards. Ponder (27-for-35, 245 yards, two TDs) also hung tough, producing two fourth-quarter touchdown drives that again displayed his ability to rally after adversity.
If you’re big on silver linings, maybe that was encouraging.
“I’m not into silver linings,” Allen said. “It’s like taking your sister to the prom. We have to win football games. It doesn’t matter how you win them, where you win 'em, we’ve got to win. And this is a game we should have won.”
Frazier on P-word: `I don't know if you want to count yourself out of anything.'
Posted by: Mark Craig Updated: July 26, 2012 - 5:21 PMMANKATO -- Who says there's no pressure on the Vikings to win this season?
Coach Leslie Frazier made it a mere eight minutes into his first press conference of training camp before being confronted with the "P" word ... as in playoffs ... for a team that went 3-13 and is riding an 11-game losing streak within its division.
Asked if it's realistic for him to project a goal of making the playoffs when he talks to the team on the eve of Friday's first day of training camp, Frazier didn't back away (or say, Playoffs!?) . He stood behind the players -- including quarterback Christian Ponder -- who said this offseason that making the playoffs is a realistic goal. (Then again, what are they going to say when asked if they think they can make the playoffs?)
"In the NFL today, I don't know that you want to count yourself out of any situation," Frazier said after checking in at Gage Hall on the campus of Minnesota State University this morning. "This is a very fluid league in the way things are. I mean the teams that are sometimes favorites don't always end up being the favorite at the end of the year. Or the teams that are counted out are sometimes the teams that flip the script a little bit or end up in places that most people didn't expect at the beginning of the season.
"That's not to say that's going to be us. Our goal is to come down here to Mankato and try to continue to improve across the board. If we make the necessary improvements and come together as a team, we feel our chances are as good as anybody's."
Some other highlights from the reporting day ...
- Receiver Jerome Simpson, projected to be the team's No. 1 receiver and much-needed deep threat that's been sorely lacking the past two seasons, will be heavily involved in the offense early on in camp despite the fact he must serve a three-game league-imposed suspension to start the regular season. "Early on, we're going to keep him in and let him take reps," Frazier said. "But at some point we're going to have to pare it back. We aren't going to have to have him in those first three games. So we're going to have to start getting ready the guys who are going to play in those three games. But early on, we want to make sure he has a good grasp of our offense and what we want to do."
- So who will be the guy who steps in for Simpson for those first three games? Good question, Frazier said. "I don't know if there's any one guy that we can point to right now," Frazier said. "There's going to be competition. There would be competition even if we knew Jerome was going to play in that first game. Devin Aromashodu will have a chance, [Greg] Childs will have a chance. Brian [Walters] will have a chance. There will be a number of guys competing for that spot for when we open the season against Jacksonville. But I can't say today that there's one guy that we're counting on to get it done."
- Simpson said there can be an advantage to missing the first three games of the season. (Again, what is he supposed to say?) "I'll be fresh coming back after those first three games," he said. "Some of the guys, they'll be banged up and have injuries, so I can use that to my advantage."
- Rookie kicker Blair Walsh has yet to prove his confidence on the field. But he's nailing it when it comes to answering pesky reporters who want to nag him about replacing a steady longtime NFL veteran (Ryan Longwell) a year after missing 14 of 35 field goal attempts at the University of Georgia. "[Longwell] was a big part of the organization and I wish him the best in the future. But I'm here to work and get better each and every day ... and move on." Yeah, but what about the nerves? "I can't think of it that way. I just have to think about having fun out there and doing what I've been doing since my freshman year in high school." Yeah, but what about all the pesky reporters and possibly teammates who will be judging your every move? "It's not that big a deal," Walsh said. "You're an NFL player and if people want to look at you and see how you're doing, that's fine with me. That's part of the job description. I'm looking forward to it." Yeah, but what's the biggest adjustment for you? "Getting used to questions from you guys," said Walsh, calmly and with a smile.
- Unlike past Vikings coaches, Frazier doesn't require players to pass a conditioning run before being able to practice. Frazier said every player but running back Adrian Peterson has been cleared medically to participate in practice. Frazier said he was going to talk to Peterson later today about the team's plans for him at the start of camp. It's expected that Peterson will begin camp on the physically-unable-to-perform (PUP) list as he continues to come back from a left knee reconstruction. Peterson said he'll push to get on the field as soon as possible and will be working hard whether he's in uniform or off to the side working out with head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman. "To be honest, I'm full-go," Peterson said. "I'm doing pretty much everything. I'm cutting, running, jumping. It's kind of different when you put pads on and you got guys diving at your legs and you're making second cuts based off of instincts of the game. That aspect I really haven't had a lot of to practice with. That's what I really want, to get a feel of to be out there and to get involved in that."
- Friday's schedule includes a walk-through from 10:30-11:30 a.m. and a practice without pads from 2:45-5 p.m.
Harvin to practice today
Posted by: Kent Youngblood Updated: June 21, 2012 - 10:41 AMAnd, in the latest installment of the Percy Harvin saga, it appears the talented wide receiver will be on the field for practice today.
Vikings coach Leslie Frazier, on the radio with Paul Allen on KFAN (1130 AM) this morning, said Harvin was on site and set to practice today.
By now you know each chapter of the Harvin story this week. On Tuesday he said he was unhappy, though he wouldn't say what he was unhappy about. On Wednesday came new that Harvin had requested a trade. By midday Vikings GM Rick Spielman said the Vikings were not interested in trading Harvin.
And then Harvin did not practice Wednesday afternoon. Later Wednesday evening Harvin tweeted that his contract wasn't the issue, that he had talked with Frazier.
And now this.
We'll see if Harvin actually practices today or if he just walks onto the field and observes.
I'll get back to you after practice has ended.
Percy Harvin hints at training camp holdout
Posted by: Chris Miller Updated: June 19, 2012 - 5:16 PMAll players were present and accounted for at Vikings minicamp today, but there was at least one unhappy camper.
Percy Harvin, the Vikings Pro Bowl receiver and kick returner, made it pretty clear that he is unhappy with his contract. Without directly saying so, he said "issues" are involved and unless they are resolved he won't report to the team's training camp in Mankato in late July.
Asked several different times about the contract, Harvin never mentioned that word directly. Harvin has two years left on a five-year deal he got as a rookie in 2009.
"I’m just not happy, I won’t go into how unhappy I’m not, I’m just not overall happy with a couple of situations, and hopefully they get worked out," he said.
Coach Leslie Frazier said he had spoken with Harvin. Frazier also wouldn't say what the "issue" was, but added, "It's not something we can't handle. I don't see any reason why he wouldn't be at (training) camp. It's something we will talk through."
Harvin, 24, participated in some of the team's optional workouts during the past month. His rookie contract was worth a little more than $12 million. The final two years of his contract call for base salaries of 915,000 and $1.55 million. With potential bonuses, those two years could be worth slightly more than $2.5 million.
Harvin had 87 catches and 1,312 total offensive yards last season – he was not on the field for about 40 percent of the team’s snaps, however.
In other news ...
Jared Allen, who did not participate in the team's Organized Team Activities, said he was happy with his offseason routine and that was why he didn't show up at practice until the minicamp, which is mandatory. There were no OTAs or mini-camps last season because of the NFL lockout, and Allen had a near-record 22 sacks during the season.
Chad Greenway, who missed OTAs because his father has leukemia, was present this morning and spoke optimistically about his father's battle. Greenway said his father's cancer is in remission, but that he was undergoing treatment at Rochester's Mayo Clinic.
Eric Frampton (illness) did not practice.
Middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley was held out of practice with a hip issue connected to the surgery that kept him out of last season. Brinkley said the issue was not a major one and that he expected to take part in practice before the mini-camp ended. Tyrone McKenzie played with the first unit in Brinkley's place.
Vikings use third-round pick to nab cornerback Josh Robinson
Posted by: Dan Wiederer Updated: April 27, 2012 - 9:30 PMWith their lone Friday night pick, the Vikings have drafted cornerback Josh Robinson out of the University of Central Florida. Robinson is an athletic defensive back with strong instincts. He had 46 passes defended in his three years at UCF.
Robinson is often praised for his speed, ball skills, tackling ability and his ability to flourish in zone coverage.
General Manager Rick Spielman addressed the media to talk about Robinson just a few minutes ago. Spielman called Robinson "an extremely talented athlete" with unique cover skills. Robinson entered the draft a year early out of Central Florida and needs some polish. But overall the Vikings were intrigued by his upside and raw athleticism. Robinson ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at the combine in February and also posted a vertical leap of 38.5 inches.
"The kid's an outstanding character kid, fitting the bill for what we're trying to do," Spielman said. "Excellent work habits. Everything you're looking for in a young player who's going to continue to have tremendous upside."
Robinson's athletic skill set and cover ability will give him a boost as he transitions to the next level. He will need to clean up his technique significantly but should get an opportunity to do so working with three Vikings coaches -- head coach Leslie Frazier, defensive coordinator Alan Williams and defensive backs coach Joe Woods -- all having defensive backs expertise.
Robinson, the Vikings believe, has the versatility to flourish both in man coverage and in zone and is a decent tackler.
"He has that unique trait as far as anticipating when a receiver's going to break and his ability to get out of his transition and close to the ball," Spielman said. "Sometimes, like all DBs, you'll see him maybe bite on a double move. But watching his recovery speed, if they do get a step on him, how quickly he can recover -- those are some of the unique traits he does have."
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