Vikings coach Brad Childress still is clearly unhappy with the tripping penalty on fullback Jeff Dugan that negated a 10-yard touchdown catch by Sidney Rice in the fourth quarter Sunday.
Childress shared his frustration with NFL director of officiating Mike Pereira before holding his Monday afternoon press conference. "I'm satisfied that I was able to tell my side of it and he can see my side of it," Childress said. The penalty was critical because three plays later the Steelers got a 77-yard fumble return for a touchdown by LaMarr Woodley. On the play, Dugan lined up in the backfield and cut block linebacker James Harrison. Dugan's right leg came up as he rolled on the ground but it was a very questionable call. Childress said he would not change a thing about how Dugan executed the block. "I absolutely would not," he said. "And I know there are 32 other clubs in the league that coach the same way, to block the end of the line of scrimmage. I thought it was a job well done." Run-pass ratio Brett Favre attempted 51 passes Sunday while Adrian Peterson had only 18 carries. Childress said those numbers were dictated by the game but ideally he would want better balance. "In any given game, you have to do what you have to do," he said. "I don't know that there were a lot of repeated plays in there but you certainly have a menu where things don't go the way you want them to go. Do you need to loosen people up a little bit? Do you need to throw it a little more in this game? You always like to be able to exert your will and run it all the time. Sometimes logic dictates that you don't and you spread people out a little bit more and you do some other things. Perfect world you don't want 51 throws, for us, the way we play football." Etc. ** As we wrote earlier, Pro Bowl cornerback Antoine Winfield continued to deny reports that he has a fractured right foot and could be out a month or longer during his weekly KFAN appearance. Childress doesn't usually provide injury updates on Monday but he said Winfield's return will be based on many factors and opinions. "It's kind of a collaborate deal," he said. "It's the player, it's the doctors, it's the training staff. And then can you do the things that are specific to your position. Then you put all those things together. I don't have x-ray vision and I'm not a trainer. But I do know what I see when somebody moves around out here [on the practice field]."
