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 injury report
Sherels could replace Jefferson
Posted by: Kent Youngblood Updated: December 10, 2012 - 3:24 PM
The concussion sustained by cornerback A.J. Jefferson against the Chicago Bears could test the team’s depth at the position this week.
Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said the team will have to wait and see if Jefferson is able to pass the tests necessary to play in St. Louis Sunday. Veteran Chris Cook is not going to be available to come back from his broken arm until the Dec. 23 game at Houston at the earliest. So who plays?
“It would be Marcus,” Frazier said of Marcus Sherels, the backup who has been a punt- and kickoff-returner this season. “And then, of course, we have Brandon Burton as well. So between those two, they’d get the bulk of the reps. And we’d define that as the week goes on.”
Sherels has started three games in his career, all coming last season. Burton has appeared in 14 games the past two seasons, starting one.
Praising the kids
One big reason for the improved Vikings record is the play of rookie cornerback Josh Robinson and rookie safety Harrison Smith. Both intercepted passes Sunday. Smith returned his for a score, his second pick six of the season. Robinson returned his pick to the Chicago 5-yard line, setting up the team’s second score.
“We’re making such improvement, and we’re doing it with a lot of young, young guys,” defensive end Brian Robison said. “Normally it takes two, three years before you start seeing results like that. Guys like Harrison and Josh Robinson, the plays they made {Sunday}? And you look at the improvement {safety} Jamarca Sanford has made this year? He looks nothing like he did last year. Guys are making improvements and it’s helping out the whole team.”
Road woes
With two consecutive road games coming up, and with the Vikings believing they have to win out to earn a playoff berth, the job is simple. The Vikings have to learn to win on the road.
This season Minnesota is 6-1 at home, 1-5 on the road, with the only victory coming at Detroit Sept. 30. Over the past two seasons the Vikings are a combined 3-11 on the road.
So what will it take to win on the road?
“I think if we can play a clean football game, where we are – for a change – plus when it comes to turnovers,” Frazier said. “Even in some of our games on the road we’ve executed well at times, but we haven’t done a good job when it comes to winning that turnover battle and it has cost us. Our margin for error is not very big, and when it happens it become very problematic for our team. So I’d love to go on the road, play some clean football, and see what the results would be.”
Said receiver Michael Jenkins: “We’ve got to find a way to play better on the road. I don’t know, {maybe} we could take the Metrodome name wherever we go and put it on other peoples’ stadiums.”
An important moment?
Frazier again emphasized the positive with quarterback Christian Ponder, pointing to what he called a key drive that began late in the third quarter.
The Vikings, leading by 14 points, got the ball at their 1-yard line with 48 seconds left in the third quarter. On the drive Ponder had two third-down throws to Jenkins on third downs, both of which resulted in first downs. The first was an 8-down completion on third-and-7 from the 4-yard line. Six plays later Ponder hit Jenkins for 10 yards on third-and-6.
The Vikings drive ended on the Chicago 41, resulting in no points. But it did have a big impact on field position. Chris Kluwe’s ensuing punt was downed at the Chicago 5.
“What he did in that fourth quarter, when we had those third-down conversions, that was big for our football team,” Frazier said. “It allowed us to possess the football. We were in a backed-up situation. … It was a major part of our being able to win that game.”
Etc.
One of Robison’s most enjoyable moments Sunday came when he led Harrison Smith into the end zone after Smith’s third-quarter interception. The fact that he got to engage Bears QB Jay Cutler in the process made it even better. “Any time you can throw a block you feel like an offensive player,” Robison said. “A fullback-type. So I got to see what Jerome Felton feels like."
Percy Harvin placed on injured reserve, ending his season
Posted by: Dan Wiederer Updated: December 5, 2012 - 6:01 PMAfter an odd day at Winter Park, filled with plenty of ambiguity surrounding the Percy Harvin saga, the Vikings have cleared things up: Harvin's season is now over.
The dynamic receiver has been placed on injured reserve, unable to come back from the sprained left ankle he suffered Nov. 4 in Seattle. What was once figured to be an injury that would just need a few weeks to heal is now season-ending and could possibly require surgery.
Before suffering the ankle sprain, Harvin had amassed 60 catches for 667 yards in the first eight games.
He sat out the team’s 34-24 win over Detroit in Week 10 but stayed in Minnesota over the bye to continue getting treatment.
Harvin seemed intent on being ready for the Nov. 25 game in Chicago but never showed enough progress.
Last week, in another effort to get back on the field, Harvin tried to practice mid-week but had great difficulty cutting or pushing off.
Frazier made clear Wednesday that the receiver has been serious about his recovery throughout.
“He’s done pretty much the things the trainers have asked him to do,” the coach said.
Frazier was also asked Wednesday morning whether he feared Harvin’s season might be finished completely.
“Hard to say,” he responded with a glum tone. “Hard to say.”
Now, it's not so hard to say. Harvin's season is over.
He finishes the year with 62 catches for 677 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 22 rushes for 96 yards and a score and had a 105-yard kickoff return to open the Vikings' Week 4 game in Detroit.
The Vikings' evening announcement of Harvin's status put the lid back on the Pandora's box of speculation that had opened after Frazier's Wednesday morning press conference.
After announcing Harvin would not practice, the Vikings coach was asked point blank if there were additional issues beyond the ankle injury that have contributed to Harvin’s continued absence. Frazier hesitated for a second and formed his response carefully.
“You know, it’s …” Frazier said. “I know that he wants to win like we do. And I’m sure he’s going to do everything he can to do what he has to do to help our football team.
“We’ll see where it goes.”
Frazier’s mannerisms seemed to indicate there may have been complicated subtext to the mini-drama. Harvin’s reputation as a mercurial and sometimes high-maintenance standout made Frazier’s squirminess Wednesday all the more peculiar.
Now, the news is final and unpleasant. The Vikings' ordinary receiving corps will go the rest of the way without its top playmaker. And that’s not good for an offense that has clearly missed Harvin’s presence, amassing just 263 passing yards and totaling 24 points in consecutive road losses to the Bears and Packers.
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.
Frazier maintains he has confidence in Ponder
Posted by: Chris Miller Updated: December 3, 2012 - 2:19 PMDefending quarterback Christian Ponder was the general theme of Vikings coach Leslie Frazier’s press conference at Winter Park on Monday, a day after the Packers beat the Vikings 23-14 at Lambeau Field.
Ponder was 12 for 25 for 119 yards and had two critical interceptions in the game, negating a 210-yard rushing performance by Adrian Peterson.
Frazier said he “never really” considered replacing Ponder with backup Joe Webb, but said Ponder would “have to be better” on Sunday when the Vikings play the Bears at the Metrodome.
What does Frazier say to the fans who want Ponder benched?
"When you are in a business where you're judged by results and results for us are based on wins and losses, when you come up short that does create some frustration,” Frazier said, “but we do have confidence that Christian will continue to get better. That was a tough day at times for him yesterday. … We think he's more than capable of being successful. He showed it early in the season, he's played some consistent football for us. We've got to get him back to playing that way.”
Frazier acknowledged that Ponder was tentative at times: “Sometimes you got to throw the ball when guys come out of their breaks. In our league, it's not very often that guys are going to be wide open. So when we say throw it on time, on time means when the guy comes out of his break deliver the football. You've got to be able to make that decision whether you can get it in there or not.”
“I still think he's a very confident quarterback. I really do. We just got to get him to the point where we're making some of those plays that we know he's capable of making. … in our business, so much falls on the quarterback's shoulders. He's the guy who gets a lot of accolades when the team wins and he gets a lot of blame when your team loses. But there are some things he can do better and he knows that.”
Frazier was asked about backup quarterback Joe Webb, and said, “We think Joe can do it. We think he's a quality quarterback. He's our backup now. If he had to step in and play, we have confidence that he would do a good job. But we do have confidence that Christian is going to play better. He knows he has to in order for us to win. But with Joe, we think he's very capable. That's why we kept him on the roster, kept him in the spot that he's in. We know if necessary he'd be able to help us.”
Frazier didn’t seem to rule out pulling Ponder from a game, however. When asked about Vikings players losing faith in Ponder, Frazier said, “When you're struggling at a position, the guys know how we talked about everybody doing their jobs and why it's important for us to have our success. You don't want to send mixed messages at any position. It's important that all the positions do their jobs and function well. The quarterback position is always under that bright light. … There's a lot riding on this next ballgame for our football team and I'm sure there are a lot of guys looking and wondering if we can get it done under the current situation. I believe we can. I believe we'll play better, not only at the quarterback position but at other positions as well.”
Vikings wide receivers did not catch a pass against the Packers until the final minutes, and have come under heavy criticism the past few games for their lack of production.
“They've got to get open,” Frazier said. “They've got to make the catch when the opportunity comes. … We had a number of dropped balls in that Chicago ballgame and it wasn't all just on Christian to get some completions. It's a combination of protection along with guys getting open and making catches when they have an opportunity and the quarterback being able to deliver the football. That's part of having a good passing game. So our receivers know that, our quarterback knows it, our offensive line knows it and now we've got to find a way to be more productive in the passing game."
On the injury front, Frazier said defensive end Jared Allen had back spasms and was having an MRI today, although he suspected Allen would be ready to play Sunday against Chicago. Center John Sullivan (rib contusion) is also likely to play. Percy Harvin (ankle) has missed the past two games, and Frazier said the team would know more about him “as the week goes on.”
Not dwelling on dropped passes
Posted by: Kent Youngblood Updated: November 28, 2012 - 1:54 PMNo sulking allowed
As the Vikings prepare for the Packers this week, head coach Leslie Frazier made one thing clear. When it comes to what happened with the receiving corps last week in Chicago, there is no room for sulking.
So why did Jerome Simpson look so subdued in the locker room?
“I’m obviously down, because I’m used to making those plays,” he said.
Those plays would be those catches Simpson didn’t make last Sunday in the Vikings’ loss to the Bears. Simpson had three drops of Christian Ponder passes, three of the at least five dropped passes by Vikings receivers.
So, yes, Simpson was affected by a difficult day.
“We talked a little bit,” Frazier said of Simpson. “We’ve got to move on. We know he’s more than capable of making plays for us. We need him to do that this week. We don’t need nobody sulking or looking back or being down. We need everybody energized and ready to have their best game of the season.”
Since returning from suspension Simpson has dealt with leg soreness the team said was connected to a back issue. Simpson is sixth on the team with 12 receptions for 138 yards and no touchdowns. Simpson insisted again Wednesday that he is 100 percent healthy, but admitted he isn't playing up to his normal standards.
He had more drops {three} than catches {one} in Chicago.And while it clearly bothers him, Simpson said he wouldn’t let it affect him going forward.
“It’s a part of being in this profession,” he said. “Being a great player. If you just hold on to your mistakes, that’s when you start to fall. I always find a way to bounce back. So that’s what I’m going to do, and just get better this week.”
Simpson and rookie Jarius Wright both said the receivers would spend more time working with the Jugs machine that can send a football at a high speed towards a receiver. “We haven’t been doing as much gun work as we probably should have been doing,” said Wright, who also had a drop in Chicago. “So we’re getting back to it.”
As for Simpson, he said he also needed to get back to basics when it comes to catching the ball. “I let the ball get too close to my body,” Simpson said. “I’m always used to being a hands catcher, and so the ball was getting too close to me. I have to go out and reach and grab the ball.”
And going forward? Simpson hasn’t had the season the team hoped for when it signed him during the off-season. “We’ve still got a lot of football left,” he said. “It’s just a matter of time. I have to be focused and resilient.”
The elements, again
Sunday’s game at Green Bay will be the Vikings’ last game outside in the regular season. And punter Chris Kluwe is just fine with that.
“The Chicago game, the Green Bay game, those are kind of the ones you circle on your calendar," he said. "Once they’re past it’s all good.”
In Chicago Kluwe had a wind-affected 23-yard punt in the first quarter. The Bears took advantage of good field position to drive for a field goal.
Kluwe finished the game with four punts for 162 yards, a 40.5-yard average with a 39-yard net. Still, he was compelled to defend his 23-yard effort, taking to Twitter to do so.
“I approached that punt the same way I approached the first punt {which went 53 yards), the third punt {42} and the fourth punt {44}," he said Wednesday.
The problem was the wind. The Vikings were planning a kick to the right anyway because the wind was moving in that direction. But as the play unfolded, Kluwe said, there was a gust as he dropped the ball. “It was either go {more to the} right or miss it entirely,” he said. “I didn’t really want look like Sean Landeta.”
That was a historical reference to Landeta who, playing for the Giants in a playoff game in Chicago after the 1985 season, whiffed on a punt near his own end zone due to a gust of wind. The Bears recovered it and scored.
Kluwe said Lambeau Field is a much better venue, wind-wise, than Soldier Field. “The thing with Soldier is most of the time it’s an inconsistent wind,” Kluwe said. “In Green Bay, generally, if it is windy it will be a fairly consistent wind, so you can plan on what to do.”
Feeling good
Both safety Harrison Smith and tight end Kyle Rudolph have been cleared after sustaining concussions in Chicago, though Rudolph is still dealing with a shoulder issue. But Smith said he actually felt good enough to return to the Chicago game but was held out for precautionary reasons.
Smith got up after making a tackle early in the third quarter and clearly appeared to be having balance problems. He was taken into the locker room where, he said, he passed preliminary tests. “Once I got into the locker room I felt pretty normal,” Smith said. “Even the tests we did there, I passed. And I felt normal after the game. They just had to take the necessary precautions.”
Smith said he sustained one concussion while in college at Notre Dame. It came during the 2008 season, Harrison’s freshman year.
ETC.
--Cornerback Chris Cook said the rehab of the broken arm he sustained in the Vikings’ game with Tampa Bay Oct. 25. He said he still expects to be ready to return when he become eligible to be taken off injured reserve Dec. 23, the day the Vikings play at Houston.
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