Training Camp 2014

2 • MSU REPORTER MINNESOTA VIKINGS TRAINING CAMP ISSUE | 2014

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MIKEZIMMER

Born: June 5, 1956

Resume: Part of 11 playoff teams, 20 years as an assistant, 14 years as a defensive coordinator

Rick Spielman: “I cannot tell you how impressed

we have been with Coach Zimmer and his staff from the minute they walked on that field, the first volunteer mini-camp, and to the end

of our last mandatory mini-camp.”

Adrian Peterson: “I expect him to be tough. He is a hardheaded guy, and he expects the best from us. I definitely expect the

intesity to be a little higher than normal. A little more

contact than normal just off the feel of what I have of

Coach Zimmer and what I feel like he would expect during training camp. Me

personally, I am all for that.”

Say you’ve just gone through a disappointing breakup and you’re back on the market. Your ex was a polite, quiet, and laid-back brunette, but one day you realized it just wasn’t working out. So you hit the town looking for someone new and, of course, are immediately smitten by the wild blonde that swears, yells, and doesn’t care what anyone else thinks.

This, my friends, is the Law of Opposites -- when making a decision, you tend to favor the option most dramatically differ-

ent from the option you chose last time. Who wants to make the same mistake twice?

And that same Law of Oppo-sites is responsible for the Min-nesota Vikings finally giving Mike Zimmer his long overdue chance to pilot his very own pro-fessional football team.

Leslie Frazier was the quiet brunette. Frazier earned respect by being what his players viewed as “one of the guys.” Frazier had played for storied NFL defenses and, even though he spoke soft-ly, his players respected the fact that Frazier understood them. He was laid-back and he was a safety blanket for the Vikings

young talent, opting to develop them slowly and never getting too personal with his words. And after surprising the coun-try with a playoff appearance in 2012, Frazier guided the team to a 5-10-1 finish in 2013 before his eventual breakup, putting the Vikings back on the twice meta-phorical market.

Enter the blonde.Mike Zimmer is not quiet.

Mike Zimmer is not coddling. And most significantly, Mike Zimmer is not laid-back. No, Mike Zimmer is loud, in-your-face, demanding, and scary in-tense.

And it might just work.Leadership takes time. After

having his playing career at Il-linois State cut short by a neck injury, from 1979 through 2013, for 24 years, Mike Zimmer took his time. He climbed the ladder. After starting as an Assistant Coach and Defensive Coordi-nator at Weber State, Zimmer would spend almost 35 years cut-ting his teeth and jumping from gig to gig, making stops as the Defensive Coordinator with the Washington State Cougars, Dal-las Cowboys, Atlanta Falcons, and Cincinnati Bengals, all a lit-tle more successful than the last.

Until 2014, when the Min-nesota Vikings, fresh off of a disappointing breakup, found exactly what they were looking for in Zimmer. Insiders and au-thorities all over the Twin Cities and sports media reported from the beginning that the Vikings seemed to like Zimmer from day one, and made it seem like

they knew he was their guy right away. Love at first sight.

After the hiring, even with veteran and experienced head coaches still on the market, the decision was praised as a shrewd one, even by other coaches in the league. Trusting one of the best coordinators of the past couple of decades, a stickler for attitude and fundamentals, with the keys to their franchise was seen as an astute and intelligent move for a franchise seemingly on the incline.

William Feather once said that “Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after oth-ers have let go.” Even though he probably won’t dial back the in-tensity even an ounce, for Zim-mer, the opportunity to take the reins of the Minnesota Vikings as the franchise’s ninth head coach means the achievement of a dream longtime in the mak-ing for just short of 35 years. In a backstory fit for a sitcom, it seems the Vikings and Zimmer are a perfect match, both ready to stop kissing frogs and finally find a prince.

Now go have fun you two.

Other Notable Coaching Changes:

Out -- Bill Musgrave, In -- Norv Turner

Out – Alan Williams, In --George Edwards

TIGE HUTCHESONSpecial Reporter Contributor

Michael Huerkamp• MSU ReporterNew head coach Mike Zimmer takes the stage for a press conference after practice.

Out of the jungle, into the tundra

2 • MSU REPORTER MINNESOTA VIKINGS TRAINING CAMP ISSUE | 2014 MINNESOTA VIKINGS TRAINING CAMP ISSUE | 2014 MSU REPORTER • 3

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QUARTERBACKS

Projected Depth Chart:1) Matt Cassel #16

(1,807 Yards, 11 TD, 9 INT)

2) Teddy Bridgewater #5(3,970 Yards, 31 TD, 4 INT

at Louisville)

3) Christian Ponder #7(1,648 Yards, 7 TD, 9 INT)

Adrian Peterson: “I feel like we have three good

quarterbacks right now. Of course, Matt Cassel is our guy with Christian Ponder

and Teddy Bridgewater right there behind him,

but those guys are looking good as well.”

Mike Zimmer: “I don’t have a starter in mind yet.

They’re going to determine who the starter is on the

practice field by how they go about their business out there, by how they

perform in the preseason games, and I understand the quarterback is a big

situations.”

Yohanes Ashenafi • MSU ReporterComing into camp, all three quarterbacks are on equal ground in the starting spot according to head coach Mike Zimmer.

RYAN LUNDSpecial Reporter Contributor

In just his fourth day at train-ing camp, Minnesota Vikings Teddy Bridgewater has yet to see any game action for the Minne-sota Vikings.

And as the crowd at Blakeslee Stadium whooped and cheered the rookie signal-caller through his red zone reps Monday night, Vikings fans appeared to be opti-mistic about the man that general manager Rick Spielman tabbed to lead the team into the future with the 29th overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft.

“We did pretty extensive re-search on him,” Spielman said. “I can tell you that he has been very impressive.”

However, Bridgewater wasn’t the only former first-round quar-terback to hit the field Monday night.

But as former Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder tossed an outside strike to tight end Kyle Rudolph, the crowd’s reaction, or lack thereof, was telling.

Where Bridgewater was met with cheers, the Vikings fourth-year quarterback found himself playing to a silent house.

Ponder’s fall from grace may have hit its climax when the Vi-kings traded back up into the first round to select Bridgewater this spring, but both quarterbacks will ultimately take a back seat -- at least early on.

Standing in front of both high-

ly touted quarterbacks is veteran Matt Cassel, who slots in at the top of the depth chart, according to head coach Mike Zimmer.

“In my mind I have Cassel as the number one quarterback going into camp; I don’t have a starter in mind yet,” Zimmer said. “They’re going to determine who the starter is on the practice field by how they go about their business out there.”

According to Cassel, the re-lationship between Minnesota’s three quarterbacks remains strong despite the competition.

“[Teddy and I] have had a

great relationship, and the same goes with myself with Christian Ponder as well,” Cassel said. “Last year we had a great room and I think that is important be-cause we spend a lot of time to-gether.”

However, while the group ap-pears to have developed a healthy rapport in their short time to-gether, Ponder could soon be the odd man out.

Zimmer intends to turn the Vikings quarterback competition into a two-horse race following the team’s off day on Tuesday.

“These first four days, we’ve

worked three groups,” Turner told NFL.com’s Ian Rapaport. “We have the day off and we’ll adjust that, probably getting more half and half.”

It isn’t hard to imagine who will be taking the lion’s share of the reps.

Ponder started in nine games for the Vikings in 2013, tossing just seven touchdown passes, while surrendering nine inter-ceptions.

QUARTERBACKS • Page 11

Quarterbacks: Who’s going to start?


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NORVTURNER

Born: May 17, 1952

Resume: 9 years as an offensive coordinator:

Dallas (1991-93), San Diego (2001), Miami (2002-03),

San Francisco (2006) and Cleveland (2013).

-Since 2007, his teams ranked in NFL’s top 5

in offensive pointsthree times.

- 114-122-1 career recordas a head coach

Mike Zimmer: “He’s an outstanding offensive

football coach that is demanding on the players. He’s got a very innovative mind. He’s alwasy been great at match-ups and trying to get guys in the

right place.”

Norv Turner has been a well known coach for some time now. He was let go from the San Diego Chargers as their head coach two seasons ago and then later by the Browns as their Offensive Coordina-

tor. With the Vikings revamp-ing their coaching staff, they could not have picked a bet-ter offensive coordinator in Turner.

Turner isn’t as accustomed to leaving for training camp but Mankato has made quite the impression on him thus far.

“This is my first time in

about ten years going away to training camp,” said Turner. “Most teams are doing it at their home facility, this is real-ly nice. I have been extremely impressed here with the facil-ity, the university, the people, obviously the town. This is a great setting and a great envi-ronment to get our team ready

to go play when we get ready to go play.”

Head Coach Mike Zimmer has yet to get a solid feel for Turner but is impressed with his history and skills.

“I don’t know what kind of complement he is to me,

Time to put some points on the board

TURNER • Page 11

Web PhotoNorv Turner is one of the most successful offensive coordinators in the NFL. That’s no secret.

JORDAN YESSStaff Writer


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XAVIERRHODES

Born: June 19, 1990

College: Florida State

Drafted: 2013 1st Round (25th overall)

2013 Stats: 48 Tackles, 10 Pass Deflections, 0 INT)

Strengths:Size, Speed, Long arms,

Tackling

Questions:Will he be able to cover the opponents’s no. 1 receiver every week? Is it too early in his career to have him

the no. 1 cornerback?

Xavier Rhodes:“The only difference is I

have a year under my belt. In my first year I didn’t

know what to expect, but this time around I do.”

to go play when we get ready to go play.”

Head Coach Mike Zimmer has yet to get a solid feel for Turner but is impressed with his history and skills.

“I don’t know what kind of complement he is to me,

Can Rhodes stop the talented NFC North?

TURNER • Page 11

Every position on the football field has it’s own amount of pres-sure and mental toughness that’s required, but there’s nothing like two superior athletes lining across each other near the side-line with both of them having the same thing on his mind—get the football.

Second year cornerback Xavier Rhodes seems to be the favorite to win the no. 1 corner-back spot for the Vikings and the question is: Is he ready?

We aren’t questioning his ath-letic ability that’s for sure. It’s just the jump between lining up against division I receivers in the ACC to getting 13 NFL team’s top receiver is bridged by one NFL season that frightens Vi-kings fans.

Just to put it into perspective, in just six games he will be as-signed to cover Calvin Johnson (1,492 yards and 12 touchdowns), Jordy Nelson (1,314 yards and 8 touchdowns) and Brandon Mar-shall (1,295 yards and 12 touch-downs). There are still 10 games left. The NFC North opponents also possess quarterbacks that are aiming for 4,500 yards and 40 passing touchdowns this sea-son, and they all can.

But Rhodes isn’t worried.

“You have to have confidence at the corner position,” Rhodes said.

The Florida State product was the no. 2 corner for the most part and finished his rookie season with 48 tackles and 10 pass de-flections.

With a new roll for him, he is certainly glad that new head coach Mike Zimmer is here to make him better.

“He’s been on me a lot. He sees the potential in me,” Rhodes said.

Rhodes prides himself in be-ing very physical. He’s also very athletic, which are both key to becoming an elite NFL corner. After months and months of run-ning drills and plays, Rhodes fi-nally got to put the pads on last Sunday and play some football.

“It feels good to put the pads back on. It’s game like, so when you put on the pads you know games are coming soon,” Rhodes said.

What will be different for Rhodes this training camp is now he has expectations. He has expectations for camp, and the coaches have expectations for him to make big strides in the rookie to sophomore year jump.

“The only difference is I have a year under my belt. In my first year I didn’t know what to ex-pect, but this time around I do,” Rhodes said.

Web Photo

Talented cornerback vies for top spot against fierce

league competition.JOEY DENTONSports Editor


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EOE/AA

Offensive line: Ready for QB protectionLINEBACKERS

Projected Depth Chart

Strong Side Linebacker:1) Anthony Barr #552) Larry Dean #51

3) Dom DeCicco #494) Mike Zimmer #59

Middle Linebacker:1) Audie Cole #57

2) Jasper Brinkley #543) Michael Mauti #56

Weak Side Linebacker:1) Chad Greenway #522) Gerald Hodges #543) Brandon Watts #58

Biggest Position Battle:Audie Cole

(2013 Stats: 45 Tackles, 1 Sack)

vs. Jasper Brinkley

(23 Tackles, 1 Pass Deflection)

The Minnesota Vikings are hoping they can improve the de-fense that was their Achilles heel in 2013. The Vikings defense al-lowed the most points against on average per game and was 31st in the league in total yards against and passing yards against. Like many of the positions, lineback-ers are far from set in stone for the Vikings.

Through training camp there has been a lot of mixing and matching, trying to see what can work with this defense. Veteran Chad Greenway is a lock to start this season, and it looks like Gerald Hodges will be there too. However, outside of Greenway, the Vikings don’t have any line-backers who have experience be-ing an every week starter in the NFL.

Though Minnesota’s defense likely won’t see an overnight turnover in production, new de-fensive coordinator George Ed-wards could help make some changes in order to improve from last season. Edwards comes to the Vikings after being the linebacker coach with Miami in 2013.

“We’re rotating a lot of dif-ferent guys in a lot of differ-

ent areas,” Edwards said. “We still haven’t said that this guy is at this position or this guy’s the MIKE or this guy’s playing the SAM outside linebacker. So right now, this will be a process as we keep going through camp. We like the competition. We like the guys that we’ve got. And we know it will work itself out in the end.”

Audi Cole returns this season after starting five games last sea-son and recording 45 tackles in 13 games, including 27 solo tack-les. Cole could certainly be in the mix, but he’ll have some compe-tition to earn a starting spot. Mi-chael Mauti and Larry Dean also return from the 2013 Vikings squad, though neither started any games and had a combined 24 tackles last season. Mauti has been known to be injury prone, having three ACL operations in college, so he may be a longshot to be a starter.

The newcomers to this Vi-kings defense have perhaps the best chance at playing alongside Greenway in 2014. Minnesota brought back former Viking Jasper Brinkley as a free agent after playing for the Arizona Cardinals in 2013. Though Brin-kley only started three games in Arizona, he started 15 games

Linebackers: Mix and match part 2

Photo Courtesy of Associated Press Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Chad Greenway (52) stretches with teammates during an NFL football training camp practice. LINEBACKERS • Page 8

DEREK LAMBERT Staff Writer


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OFFENSIVELINE

Yohanes Ashenafi • MSU ReporterThe offensive line led the way to the Vikings’ 4.9 rushing yards per at-tempt, which was second in the NFL last season.


Left Tackle:Matt Kalil #75

Mike Remmers #60 Antonio Richardson #78

Left Guard:Charlie Johnson #74

Jeff Baca #60David Yankey #66

Center:John Sullivan #65

Zac Kerin #59

Right Guard:Brandon Fusco #63

Vladimir Ducasse #62Joe Berger #61

Right Tackle:Phil Loadholt #71Kevin Murphy #68Pierce Burton #76

2013 Resume:130.1 Rushing Yards

per Game (8th in NFL), 4.9 Rushing Yards per

Attempt (2nd), 44 Sacks given up (21st)

Offensive line: Ready for QB protectionent areas,” Edwards said. “We still haven’t said that this guy is at this position or this guy’s the MIKE or this guy’s playing the SAM outside linebacker. So right now, this will be a process as we keep going through camp. We like the competition. We like the guys that we’ve got. And we know it will work itself out in the end.”

Audi Cole returns this season after starting five games last sea-son and recording 45 tackles in 13 games, including 27 solo tack-les. Cole could certainly be in the mix, but he’ll have some compe-tition to earn a starting spot. Mi-chael Mauti and Larry Dean also return from the 2013 Vikings squad, though neither started any games and had a combined 24 tackles last season. Mauti has been known to be injury prone, having three ACL operations in college, so he may be a longshot to be a starter.

The newcomers to this Vi-kings defense have perhaps the best chance at playing alongside Greenway in 2014. Minnesota brought back former Viking Jasper Brinkley as a free agent after playing for the Arizona Cardinals in 2013. Though Brin-kley only started three games in Arizona, he started 15 games

Linebackers: Mix and match part 2

LINEBACKERS • Page 8

Every year it seems the Min-nesota Vikings offensive line has always been near the top in the rushing game, but seems to have trouble protection the quarter-back. That is going to need to change.

A lot of the reasons why they surrendered 44 sacks last season wasn’t entirely their fault. Having four quarterbacks make a start, with one being Christian Ponder and the other being Josh Free-man, it’s hard to get into groove. That goes for the whole offense.

Whether it’s Matt Cassel, Ponder or Teddy Bridgewater taking the snaps, the offensive line needs to protect them. There is too much talent in the receiv-ing corps to only be able to throw dump passes. The quarterback needs to have that time to find Cordarelle Patterson deep or be able to dump it off to the running back for a good gain.

A good chunk of their success will come from the anchor in left tackle Matt Kalil. The no. 4 over-all pick in 2012 is entering his third season, and this will be a true test in whether the team sees him as the backside shield for the Teddy Bridgewater era. Standing at 6-foot-7 308 lbs. he’s got the stature to be that shield.

The tower on the right will be none other than Phil Loadholt. Standing at 6-foot-8, 343 lbs., he’s one of the best in the league at pushing people out of the way for AP. He too knows how much

talent surrounds them and are excited to see the ball passed around more this season.

“I think you’re going to see a lot of different guys getting the ball. We’ve got a lot of talent, and we’re going to spread it out,” Loadholt said. “And we are still going to do our thing, Vikings offense.”

He has notice a difference in Norv Turner’s offense compared to the previous seasons with pre-vious offensive coordinator Phil Musgrave.

“The terminology is the main thing. There are some new schemes that we have that we

OFFENSIVE LINE •Page 8

JOEY DENTONSports Editor


Setting the Barr high at training camp

with the Vikings in 2012 and could again be a dependable linebacker in Minnesota. Brin-kley wasn’t the only free agent linebacker brought in this past offseason, though.

Dom DeCicco comes to the Vikings after playing with the Chicago Bears from 2011-2012. In 20 games with the Bears, De-Cicco recorded 12 tackles but never started a game. At 6’4”, 230 lbs. he has plenty of size, but it seems he may just be there for added depth.

Then there’s Mike Zimmer. No, not the coach, the lineback-er. Zimmer failed to make Jack-sonville’s roster out of training camp last season, but at 23 years old, he could find the time need-ed to develop in Minnesota. It could be hard, however, as the Vikings’ first pick of the 2014 NFL Draft will likely make his way to a starting position at some point in 2014.

The Vikings took Anthony Barr out of UCLA with the

ninth pick of this year’s NFL Draft. Barr was a projected top 10 pick, and Minnesota made it happen when they selected him instead of the anticipated and expected quarterback pick. At 6’5”, 255 lbs., Barr has tre-mendous size and his strengths are his speed and pass rushing. Though he may go through an adjustment period getting up to speed of the NFL game, there are some fairly big expectations on Barr to be a force for the Vi-kings defense, and he should be a starter at some point this com-ing season.

“We just want to see who will come to the top, competi-tion-wise, and win out the po-sition,” Edwards said. “Going into camp, that’s what you want as a coach. You want things to be unsettled so guys go out there and work hard every day.”

LINEBACKERS “Though Minnesota’s defense likely won’t see an overnight turnover in production, new defensive coordinator George Edwards could help make some changes in order to improve from last season. ”continued from 6

OFFENSIVE LINE “‘I think we played solid as a unit. There are always things that we can improve, which we will try to do now, and just continue to get better week in week out,” Phil Loadholt said. ‘If we can do that like last year, we’ll be alright.”’continued from 7

didn’t have and vice versa. But terminology is the main thing.”

Charlie Johsnon, who was once a tackle, is going to stick to the guard position this season. He’s pretty heavy for a guard, but he has proven to be quick enough to pull and strong enough to take on the defensive tackles in the passing game.

The man in the middle is none other than center John Sullivan. He’s entering his seventh season as a Viking and has been a work-horse through the years, missing just three games since 2009.

Overall, Loadholt feels this squad is good to start out with and is going to continue to im-prove.

“I think we played solid as a unit. There are always things that we can improve, which we will try to do now, and just continue to get better week in week out,” Loadholt said. “If we can do that like last year, we’ll be alright.”

Trevor Cokley • MSU Reporter


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ANTHONYBARR

Trevor Cokley • MSU ReporterA lot of eyes are on 2014’s 9th overall draft pick at training camp.

Born: March 18, 1992College: UCLA

Drafted: 2014 1st Round (9th overall)

2013 Stats: 66 Tackles, 10 Sacks, 1 Pass Deflection, 6

Forced Fumbles

Strengths:Size, Speed, Pass Rush,

Tackling, Instincts, Football IQ

Questions:Can he cover NFL

receivers and tight ends? Will just two years of

linebacker experience make it a tougher transition to the

NFL?

George Edwards: “We are excited with the skill set that he has got, he has really shown the flash, you

have seen him get into positions that other guys haven’t been able to. So

from that aspect of it, we just want to see him grow and be consistent as we

keep going through camp.”

When drafted back in May, Minnesota fans were skeptical on the pick. That’s because fans re-ally did not know much about the linebacker from UCLA, Anthony Barr. He did not have the attention like a Johnny “Football” Manziel or Jadeveon Clowney, but he has certainly made his name known at training camp and the coaches are noticing it. New Defensive Coor-dinator George Edwards is keep-ing his options open and empha-sizing an open competition.

“We are rotating a lot of differ-ent guys in a lot of different areas. We still haven’t set that this guy is at this position or this guy is play-ing Mike, or this guy is playing the Sam or outside backer,” Edwards said. “Right now this will be a process as we keep going through camp and like anything, being able to consistently do your job at a high level every day, we will find that out here in training camp, be-cause the dog days of camp, they are tough, you have to be mentally, emotionally, and physically tough to be able to handle the work-load we are getting ready to go through.”

“We like the competition, we like the guys that we have got, we know it will work itself out in the end,” Edwards said. “We are just good to have those guys that are going to be here competing every day.”

For Coach Zimmer, it is vital that Barr and all the rookies are up to speed with what they expect after missing OTAs.

“We have to push him really hard and try to figure out where we can get him to go, and how fast we can get him to go,” Zimmer said. “We have very high expectations of him. Like all rookies, there will be learning curve, and they’ll hit a plateau, just like losing weight. You hit that plateau then you have to work a little harder to keep it going. He may or may not have the success early that he’s going to have, but I think that his ceiling is extremely high.”

Special teams coordinator Mike Priefer would use Anthony for everything on special teams if he could.

“If I had the opportunity to use Barr, I would use him for every-thing, punt protection, kick pro-tection, even run fakes with him,” Priefer said. “He is just a freak of nature and an incredible athlete.”

Barr, meanwhile, is looking at the broader picture.

“I’m looking to carve my role and find an identity for this team,” Barr said.

Rookies need as much time as possible to update their abilities and mental toughness to the NFL level, but Barr’s time this spring was impaired due to his pursuit of finishing school. While most rook-ies would regret it, Barr is actually having fun playing catch up after missing OTAs because of school.

“It is fun to be a part of a team atmosphere again. It has been a while,” Barr said.

He is excited to do his job.“No more distractions,” Barr

said. “It is time to do my job and play football.”

Setting the Barr high at training camp

Trevor Cokley • MSU Reporter



WELCOME TOVIKINGS TRAINING CAMP

FROM THE OFFICIAL BEER OF THE

TWO MIKE ZIMMERS

Call it a coincidence, call it a wacky sitcom scenario – this year, the Minnesota Vikings are seeing double.

In addition to the appointment of new Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer back in January, the team recently brought on a new linebacker, also named Mike Zimmer (no relation).

The irony hasn’t been lost on the team, as the official Vikings Twitter account tweeted a picture after the signing in May of the two saying “Two Mike Zimmers are better than one.”

Still, a name isn’t all the two men have in common. Both Mike Zimmer (the coach) and Mike Zimmer (the linebacker) are al-ums of Illinois State University, where they both participated in roles for the campus football team.

Zimmer of the linebacker clan played as a Redbird from 2009-2012 before becoming a free agent player for the NFL, currently in his second year. Zimmer the Elder, meanwhile, started as a defensive lineman his freshman year for the Redbirds in ‘74 before moving into various coaching positions, which he has focused on for the past 35 years. His new job as Vikings head coach is his most prominent role in the NFL thus far.

And if you see an additional Zimmer on the Vikings’ coach-ing roster, don’t be surprised: Adam Zimmer, coach Zimmer’s son, works under his father as the team’s linebacking coach.

No word yet on the possible difficulties with assigned park-ing or all the inevitable cases of mistaken identity.

Web Photo

Head CoachMike

Zimmer

Born: June 5, 1956

Resume: Part of 11 playoff teams, 20 years as an assistant, 14 years as a defensive

coordinator

LinebackerMike

Zimmer #59

Born: September 23, 1990

College: Illinois State

Acquired: 2014Undrafted Free Agent

No, they are not related, just fired up

JAMES HOUTSMAEditor in Chief


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And if you see an additional Zimmer on the Vikings’ coach-ing roster, don’t be surprised: Adam Zimmer, coach Zimmer’s son, works under his father as the team’s linebacking coach.

No word yet on the possible difficulties with assigned park-ing or all the inevitable cases of mistaken identity.

Web Photo

Meanwhile, Cassel found the endzone 11 times in just six starts, throwing for 1,807 yards to Ponder’s 1,648.

But his production isn’t the only thing that has elevated the former Kansas City starter -- Cassel has also proven to be a valuable mentor to Bridgewa-ter.

“Matt, he’s a veteran; he’s one of the guys who’s been to the playoffs, who knows what it takes to be a good quarter-back,” Bridgewater said. “He’s been a mentor to me, along with Christian, so I’m a step ahead from where I was.”

According to Cassel his rookie counterpart isn’t the only one who has been making strides at camp this season.

“I think that I’m making progress each and every day,” Cassel said. “I think that I’m very comfortable with the ma-terial that’s gone in thus far.”

At the end of the day the Zimmer era has brought plen-ty of changes to the Vikings quarterback group, where all involved appear to understand that a little competition is never a bad thing.

“That’s what this team is go-ing to be about: competition,” Bridgewater said. “Coach Zimmer said that competition makes the team better, so no matter what the situation is [in practice] it’s always going to be about competing with each other.”

QUARTERBACKS “‘In my mind I have Cassel as the number one quarterback going into camp; I don’t have a starter in mind yet,’ Zimmer said.”continued from 3

No, they are not related, just fired up

but I’m glad he is here for us,” said Zimmer. “Norv is obviously a very experienced coach. He’s won Super Bowls. He’s been a head coach three times. He’s seen a lot of differ-ent things through the course

of the years. He’s an outstand-ing offensive football coach that is demanding on the play-ers. He’s got a very innovative mind. He’s always been great at match-ups and trying to get guys in the right place. Tech-nique and then the combina-tions of the confusion in his motions and shifts, along with the great play action and when you have a back like Adrian,

the play action becomes ex-tremely valuable.”

For the running backs, Turner needs to find the weak-nesses in Peterson to make him that much better.

“We are doing a lot of things

now,” said Turner. “Some of the things he does really well and some of the things he doesn’t do as well. That’s the coach’s job is to find out what he does best and let him do those things. We are going to try and not ask him to do things that he is not comfort-able with, but there are enough things he does well as a re-ceiver. I feel like he is going to

make big plays in the passing game and that’s the two things that the backs do: they get in position to make big plays and then they give the quarterback an outlet when he is getting all of the pressure.”

Meanwhile, Turner is im-pressed with the study habits of Teddy Bridgewater.

“I don’t think that he has re-ally taken a vacation, he may have taken two or three days off. It’s still is a lot for a young guy as we have a lot of volume in our offense,” said Turner. “He’s worked extremely hard

TURNER “that’s the two things that the backs do: they get in position to make big plays and then they give the quarterback an outlet when he is getting all of the pressure.”continued from 4

“He’s won Super Bowls. He’s been a head coach three times. He’s seen a lot of different things through the course of the years. He’s an outstanding offensive football coach that is demanding on the players. He’s got a very innovative mind. He’s always been great at match-ups and trying to get guys in the right place.”

- Mike Zimmer

TURNER • Page 12


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and has been handling it re-ally well. When he is playing there is going to be a differ-ent set of things we do than when Matt (Cassel) is playing even in terms of what we even do out here because they have different strengths and weak-nesses. It gives us a chance to really look at a lot of different things and become a complete offense.”

Photo Courtesy of Associated Press

TURNER “When he is playing there is going to be a different set of things we do than when Matt (Cassel) is play-ing even in terms of what we even do out here because they have different strengths and weaknesses. It gives us a chance to really look at a lot of different things and become a complete offense.”continued from 11

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SPECIALTEAMS

Depth Chart

Kicker: Blair Walsh #3

(2013 Stats: 26 FGM, 30 FGA, 54 Long, 121 PTS)

Punter: Jeff Locke #18

(75 Punts, 44.2 Avg., 23 In 20, 65 Long)

Long Snapper: Cullen Loeffler #46

(11 Years Experience)

Projected Kickoff Returner:

Cordarrelle Patterson #84(43 Att., 1,393 Yards, 2 TD)

Projected Punt Returner: Marcus Sherels #35

(22 Att., 335 Yards, 1 TD)

Mike Preifer: “I’m really excited about where we are going and the direction that Blair and Jeff have taken. They’ve gotten stronger, and they are still young.”

Some big obstacles face the Vikings special teams this sea-son. New coaches, new players, and the main one being that they will be playing their home games at TCF Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota Cam-pus, an outdoor stadium which Blair Walsh and Jeff Locke are not as familiar with as other kickers and punters.

“I think three or four times,” said Locke, recalling how many times he had kicked at the new stadium. “Cullen Loeffler, Blair Walsh and I have gone down to the stadium. We charted the winds, and made a wind map so we know what is going to happen when the winds are

coming in certain ways on the weather report. The turf is a little different too so that is a new ex-perience”.

In regard to the wind maps, “It is just a hypothesis. It is not really set in stone, or a fact yet for what we are doing. “

He went on to say, “I love it (referring to TFC Bank Stadi-um). That new turf is really nice. I think the guys are going to love it. The stadium is really nice, the wind is going to be a factor, but it is something we can get a handle on.”

With a new regime comes new coaches. Blair Walsh knows there are new expectations and goals, but is looking forward to having a new coaching regime.

“I think they are going to be

Special Teams: Ready for years to come


Minnesota Vikings kicker Blair Walsh (3) passes the ball to punter Jeff Locke.


Kicker Blair Walsh, left, punter Jeff Locke, center, and long snapper Cul-len Loeffler stand on the sidelines.

SPECIAL TEAMS • Page 19



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HARRISONSMITH

Born: February 2, 1989

College: Notre Dame

Drafted: 2012 1st Round (29th pick overall)

2013 Stats: 58 Tackles, 2 INT, 1 FR

2012 Stats:104 Tackles, 3 INT, 11 Pass

Deflections

Strengths:Plays physical, Football

IQ, Speed, 2 years starting under his belt

Questions:Can he stay healthy this

season? Is he ready to lead the Vikings through a

tough NFC North passing attack? Is he ready for a pro

bowl caliber season?

After a toe injury sidelined Vikings safety Harrison Smith for eight games last season, no. 22 in purple and gold is looking to come back and have an im-pact on the Minnesota second-ary. But the question on Smith as he enters his third NFL season is this: is he the real deal?

Smith came to Minnesota after being a standout for the Notre Dame Irish, captaining the team in 2011 and becoming the first player in program his-tory to record over 200 tackles, finishing his NCAA career with 309. Becoming the third Notre Dame defensive back taken by the Vikings in the first round, Minnesota selected him 29th overall in the 2012 NFL Draft.

There’s no doubt that Smith is a great player, but can he be one of the best?

In his rookie season of 2012, the safety started in all 16 regu-lar season games and recorded 129 tackles to finish second on the team. Smith also finished first on the team in interception return yards to go along with two interceptions returned for touchdowns, tying a franchise record for single season touch-

downs on interception returns. On top of an outstanding season, Smith set a franchise record as the first safety to start in all 16 regular season games, surpass-ing the previous record of 14.

When Smith came back for the 2013 season, expectations were high. Though an injury shortened his season last year, it would be hard to argue he didn’t exceed expectations. In eight games in 2013, Smith posted numbers of 66 tackles, two in-terceptions, and recorded 10 tackles in the season opener at Detroit.

Even though Smith has prov-en himself to be better than just an average safety in the NFL, he still wants to improve.

“You don’t want to be com-placent,” said Smith. “You want to get better every day. Get bet-ter at something every day.”

The 6’2”, 214 pound safety has proven to be one of the best open field tacklers in the NFL the past two seasons but com-ing back this season healthy and ready for a full season with some experience under his belt could make him one of the best defensive backs in the league, period.

“Now I have a better idea what I need to do to prepare and

what I need to do to take care of my body,” Smith said.

Through his first two seasons playing 24 games, Smith has averaged 6.75 tackles per game and is averaging five solo tackles per game thus far in his career. Though Jamarca Sanford and Robert Blanton will battle for

the other safety position, Smith is a lock to start this season for the Vikings. There’s no doubt that if Harrison Smith can stay healthy for all of the 2014 sea-son, he will indeed be the real deal.

Is Harrison Smith ready to lead defensive?

MSU Reporter ArchivesHarrison Smith could become one of the best safeties in the NFL. Could this his breakout season?

DEREK LAMBERTStaff Writer


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TEDDYBRIDGEWATER

Mike Huerkamp • MSU ReporterThere’s no telling when it’s going to be Teddy’s team, but he is here and ready to learn.

Born: November 10, 1992

College: Louisville

Drafted: 2014 1st Round (32nd overall)

2013 Stats: 3,970 Yards, 31 TD, 4 INT, 71% Pass Completion, 171.1 QB Rating at Louisville

Cordarrelle Patterson: “Teddy has been good. I

have had the opportunity to go in with him a few times. He is looking good. He is a young guy and I feel like

his going to be the star of this team one of these

years.”Rick Spielman: “He is going to have some

growing pains as we go through this, but he has

been extremely impressive on his approach with not only what he does on the

field but what he also does off it with how hard he is working and studying to

understand Norv Turner’s system.”

First round draft picks in the NFL draw a great deal of atten-tion to their respective organiza-tions every year. Teddy Bridge-water did just that when the Minnesota Vikings selected him with the 32nd pick of the first round in the 2014 NFL Draft. Perhaps much of the attention Bridgewater has received is due to his position.

As a quarterback, Bridgewater is coming into an organization in Minnesota that has struggled to find a go to guy to take the snaps in 2013. The 2012 Big East offen-sive player of the year and 2013 Sugar Bowl MVP during his col-lege days at Louisville, Bridge-water carries the expectations of a big time player. Christian Pon-der, Matt Cassel, and Josh Free-man all competed for the start-ing job last season, though none were overly impressive, leaving the door open for Bridgewater to earn some serious minutes.

“It’s not a secret,” Running back Adrian Peterson said. “The quarterback position really hasn’t played well, but that’s why you bring guys in.”

But there are no guarantees for Bridgewater. Matt Cassel is expected to start the season as the first quarterback on the depth chart, though the Vikings coach-ing staff has said nothing is set as of now.

“I haven’t been paying atten-tion to that.” said Bridgewater. “I’ve just been learning the play-

book and trying to familiarize myself with the playbook and try and continue to get better each day.”

Since training camp began last Thursday, Bridgewater has been excellent on the field and purely professional off the field. Though his goal is to become a starting quarterback in the NFL, the 21-year-old from Miami is more concerned with first mak-ing himself a better player and battling for a starting job second.

“I have to compete with my-self first, that will make me a better player. Then I can compete with the guys in the room. That will make the team better.”

Pretty humble for a guy who was in the discussion to be a no. 1 pick in the NFL draft a little over a year ago.

After garnering the Sugar Bowl MVP during the 2012 sea-son, Bridgewater threw for 3,970 yards in 2013 with a 71 percent completion rate and 31 touch-downs. Though the Vikings were a team in obvious need of a quarterback when the 2014 NFL Draft came in June, their first se-lection in the first round went to UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr. Later in the draft, Minnesota traded their 2nd and 4th round picks to the Seattle Seahawks for the 32nd pick of the first round to bring a new quarterback to the land of purple and gold.

To begin his NFL career in Minnesota, Bridgewater inked a four-year contract worth $6.85

BRIDGEWATER • Page 20

Is Harrison Smith ready to lead defensive? Quarterback for the future (or now)

MSU Reporter ArchivesHarrison Smith could become one of the best safeties in the NFL. Could this his breakout season?



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The Black and Blue division was by no means a thing of beau-ty last season.

Despite all four of its teams entering 2013 with high hopes, the NFC North wound up being arguably the weakest division in the entire league and sent only an 8-7-1 Green Bay Packers squad to the playoffs.

Injuries to numerous impact and franchise players on both sides of the ball watered down the competition in the North last fall, as playmaking quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers of the Packers and Jay Cutler of the Chicago Bears were among many big names in the division to miss sig-nificant portions of the regular season slate.

The result was a wide-open divisional race that featured in-consistent offense and shaky de-fense from all four underachiev-ing teams.

But 2014 has brought renewed optimism to all four organiza-tions, and each squad has made some significant changes that it hopes will lead to an NFC North crown and a trip to the Super Bowl come season’s end.

Here is a recap of the offsea-son activity in the North, some

pressing questions facing each team entering this season and a projected finish.

Green Bay Packers (2013

finish: 8-7-1, NFC North Champions)

Key Additions: (Julius Pep-pers, DE) (Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, S) (Davante Adams, WR) (Letroy Guion, DT)

Key Subtractions: (James Jones, WR) (Jermichael Finley, TE) (M.D. Jennings, S) (Evan Dietrich-Smith, C) (Ryan Pick-ett, DT) (C.J. Wilson, DE)

Is Eddie Lacy ready for stardom?

The Packers have been men-tioned as an annual preseason title contender ever since Aaron Rodgers established himself as one of the elite passers in the NFL. Up until last season, the knock on the vaunted Packer of-fensive attack was its lack of a consistent running game.

Enter 2013 second-round

pick and former Alabama stand-out Eddie Lacy, whose rookie campaign began with weight concerns and ended with Sec-ond-Team All-Pro and NFL Of-fensive Rookie of the Year hon-ors.

With Rodgers appearing in only nine of the team’s 16 games, Green Bay relied on Lacy to car-ry the load and he was up to the task even with defenses zeroing in on him.

Lacy rushed for 1,178 yards and 11 touchdowns his first year in the league while fumbling only once, averaging over 78 yards per game while showing signs of be-ing the capable workhorse back the Pack have been looking for since the days of Ahman Green and Dorsey Levens.

If Rodgers is able to make every start under center, Lacy should have plenty of room to operate and may be on his way to another All-Pro campaign.

How much will Peppers help the Packer D?

The Green Bay defense ranked in the bottom-third of the league last season and allowed nearly 27 points per game. While the Packers are often more than capable of topping that number, they would be nearly unbeatable if they could ever put a top-10 de-fense on the field.

Outside linebacker Clay Mat-thews has established himself as one of the best pass rushers in the league, but he needs help.

Peppers, despite being a bit long in the tooth, has 118.5 ca-reer sacks to his name and should at least give the quarterback an-other decorated rusher to worry about. The Packers plan on us-ing Peppers as a pass-rushing linebacker, similar to the role Matthews has grown into, which should keep him fresher.

The Pack were equally poor against both the run and the pass last season, but the additions of Peppers and rookie safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix should make them much better against the pass this season, which is a must given all the great wideouts in the North.

Which WR will Rodgers make next?

In 2012 it was Randall Cobb. Last year it was Jarrett Boykin. With former targets Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, James Jones and Jermichael Finley out of the picture, which young guy will Aaron Rodgers turn into an NFL household name this sea-son?

Top receiver Jordy Nelson will get the lion’s share of looks from Rodgers in the red zone, but A-Rod is an equal-opportunity passer between the 20s. Could

rookies Davante Adams or Jared Abbrederis be his new revela-tions this year?

Projected Finish: 12-4, NFC North Champs

Chicago Bears (2013 finish: 8-8, second in North)

Key Additions: (Jared Allen, DE) (Ryan Mundy, S) (Lamarr Houston, DE) (Domenik Hixon, WR) (M.D. Jennings, S) (Jordan Senn, LB)

Key Subtractions: (Major Wright, S) (Devin Hester, KR) (Henry Melton, DT) (Earl Ben-nett, WR) (Julius Peppers, DE) (Josh McCown, QB) (Michael Bush, RB)

Can Cutler cut it?From his days as a Denver

Bronco to right now with the Bears, Jay Cutler has been the definition of an enigma at quar-terback. He has looked spec-tacular at times and lost at other

Meanwhile, in the NFC North...

NFC NORTH • Page 17

LEE HANDELSpecial Reporter Contributor


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times and Bears fans never know which Jay they are going to get on any given Sunday.

Cutler’s career arch has begun to plateau the last three seasons with the Bears, as he has strug-gled to stay healthy while failing to throw for 20-plus touchdowns in a season. After missing five games last season, Cutler re-turned for the stretch run and lost to the Packers on the last week of the season and was beginning to fall out of favor with a fan base that preferred his backup, Josh McCown.

Luckily for Jay his job is safe, as McCown will be starting for the Buccaneers this season. Second-year coach Marc Trest-man’s offense featuring Goliath wideouts Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery caters to Cutler’s skill set, so it’s now or never for Cutler to lead the Bears to the playoffs and beyond.

Will the Bears’ D bounce back?

The once-stingy Bears’ de-fense gave up the second-most points in the NFL last season. The unit was devastated by inju-ries, particularly to elite corner-back Charles Tillman.

With Brian Urlacher no longer manning the middle linebacker spot and the aging Lance Briggs hampered by injuries, the Bears gave up the most rushing yards in the league by a wide margin, allowing opponents to rush for over five yards per carry.

Former Vikings great Jared

Allen should fill the void left by Julius Peppers adequately, but the front seven as a whole is still very unproven. If Tillman and fellow ball-hawking corner Tim Jennings can stay healthy, the Bears will force more turnovers at the very least and should have a fairly solid defensive backfield.

How will Trestman distrib-ute the touches?

The Bears had their best of-fensive season in franchise his-tory under Trestman’s guidance last season, breaking nearly every franchise passing record in the process. That being said, dual-threat running back Matt Forte led the NFL in touches with 363, catching 74 balls out of the backfield.

Forte was able to stay healthy last season, but Trestman may be better served to rely more heavily on Marshall, Jeffery and Cutler’s cannon of an arm if the Bears want to keep Forte healthy for all 16 contests again. Remem-ber, the Bears don’t have a veter-an backup like Chester Taylor or Michael Bush this time around.

Projected Finish: 9-7, second in North

Detroit Lions (2013 finish: 7-9, third in North)

Key Additions: (Golden Tate, WR) (Eric Ebron, TE) (James Ihedigbo, S) (Nevin Lawson, CB) (Kyle Van Noy, LB)

Key Subtractions: (Nate Burleson, WR) (Louis Delmas, S) (Jason Fox, T)

Will a new regime bring mental toughness to Lions?

The Jim Schwartz era as the head man of the Lions unfortu-nately was marred by some bone-headed and unsportsmanlike displays on the field by both he and his players, which hid some of the great progress made by the franchise the past few seasons.

Schwartz will likely be re-membered most for his postgame handshake dustup with San Fran-cisco head coach Jim Harbaugh after a Niners’ victory in 2011. His players, namely Ndamu-kong Suh, also became known for drawing numerous unsports-manlike conduct penalties in the defining moments of games that would usually wind up costing them a victory.

The Lions have been one of the most talented teams in the league for a few years now, but they still haven’t found the recipe for winning close football games. But there is a new regime in Mo-town, led by former Indianapolis head coach Jim Caldwell.

Caldwell is a classy man that has worked for some classy orga-nizations, the Colts and the Ra-vens, and his expertise is quarter-

backs, so it will be interesting to see how he impacts both the Li-ons’ discipline and quarterback Matthew Stafford on the field this season.

Will Reggie keep up the pace?

Reggie Bush had a monster year in his first season with Mo-tor City Kitties, rushing and receiving for over 1,500 yards while staying healthy for the most part. Bush has had a history of injury problems and has been given the fragile label by some, but he hasn’t sat out much since leaving the New Orleans Saints four years ago.

If Bush goes down, all is not lost for the Lions by any means, as Division-II standout Joique Bell has been an above-average backup early in his career.

How will Megatron impact Golden?

The Lions biggest offsea-son addition was bringing 2014 Super Bowl champion wide re-ceiver Golden Tate on board to start opposite superstar Calvin Johnson.

Tate has loads of talent but is known to be somewhat of a fire-cracker. After the recent Titus Young experiment that went hor-ribly wrong in Detroit, it will be interesting to see how much Tate benefits from getting to learn from the best wideout in the game each and every day.

With all of the attention op-posing defenses pay towards Megatron, Golden could be in for a huge year.

Projected Finish: 8-8, third in North

Meanwhile, in the NFC North... NFC NORTH “The Pack were equally poor against both the run and the pass last season, but the additions of Peppers and rookie safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix should make them much better against the pass this season, which is a must given all the great wideouts in the North.” continued from 16

NFC NORTH •


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ADAMTHIELEN

Born: August 22, 1990

College: Minnesota State University, Mankato

Acquired: 2013 Undrafted Free Agent

2012 Stats: 1,176 Receiving Yards,

8 TD for MSU

Mike Zimmer: “Adam has been doing a great job, he

really has. He has improved a lot in his pass catching, he’s improved a lot in his

route running. He’s another guy with the more things, his is getting on special

teams, doing a lot of things. He is catching punts, the special teams part of the

game will be helping him. Again, the more you can do, the better chance you have making the team.

Adam is a great kid too... I was teasing him about

being here at home, I said, ‘You’re like the superstar around here’, but he is a

good kid.”

Photo Courtesy of Brian DentonAdam Thielen is a versatile athlete that can not only catch the football but has the blocking and tackling skills to be a great special teams player.

A bigger deal the second time aroundFormer Maverick Adam Thielen returns to old

stomping grounds to high-er expectations from fans

and coaches.

2013 training camp, just like every camp, displays some small school sleepers and eye-opening players that make the coaches think twice of just cutting them because they are from a small school—and receiver, and former MSU Maverick, Adam Thielen was one of them.

He went from just a division II player trying to compete with the big boys last season to now be-coming a star here in Mankato. He has always been a star here, but with his performance last training camp, on the practice squad and already in this train-ing camp, the 53-man roster is less of a dream and more of a goal for Thielen. It’s obvious there are fans all over town that are pulling for him, but now even the coaches want to try to keep the hard working Detroit Lakes native.

“I think Adam has had a re-ally nice spring,” special teams coordinator Mike Priefer said. “He’s had a nice camp so far and looking forward to see this de-velop.”

The complete shift of coaches could of just ruined his chances to make the team. The former coaches were the guys that be-lieved in enough to make the practice squad, so just like Rudy did, Thielen had to impress a new group of men and show them he can compete in the NFL.

While Thielen does have one of the better set of hands on the roster, he is going to have to use more of his blocking and tack-ling technique on special teams to secure a 53-man roster spot.

“I’m doing everything that I can to make this football team and help this football team win,” Thielen said. “It’s fun for me. I like to do that stuff, being versa-tile and doing a lot of things.”

Unless they are die-hard Mavericks football fans, most people don’t know that he’s a gem when it comes to returning punts. He might be able to take his Blakeslee Stadium magic and bring it to TCF Bank at the NFL level. Priefer is looking for a backup for Marcus Sherels in the punt returning department, and Thielen is on that short list so far.

“He’s smart, he’s tough, he

THIELEN “‘I’m doing everything that I can to make this football team and help this football team win,’ Thielen said.” continued from 18

THIELEN • Page 19



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Yohanes Ashenafi • MSU Reporter

tough but fair,” said Walsh. “This new regime is going to hold you accountable in prac-tice and we have to have guys performing at practice just like they would in the games. That does not necessarily mean practicing harder, but practic-ing smarter and getting the most out of your time out on the field.”

Jeff Locke thinks they need more time with the coaching staff to establish the culture.

“It is too early to tell from Organized Team Activities in my opinion,” said Locke. “I think we will see a lot in camp from how the culture is going to be different, but as you said for a specialist it is kind of the same with Coach Preifer. We know the expectations that he sets for us, and we can try to

get better at those.” Preifer thinks having Cor-

darrelle Patterson full time as the kick and punt returner would be best for the special teams, but maybe not best for the football team. His health will be the issue.

“It is up to Coach Zimmer on what will be best for our football team.”

Minnesota State Alumni Adam Thielen has been in the mix as a possible punt and kick returner. He is currently listed as a back up fullback, or first protector on punt team. Pre-fier has been very excited with Adam’s progress.

“Adam has had a great spring and great summer so far. I am looking forward to seeing his progression.”

SPECIAL TEAMS “Preifer thinks having Cordarrelle Patterson full time as the kick and punt returner would be best for the spe-cial teams, but maybe not best for the football team.”

continued from 13

can play on the kickoff team and he can become a kickoff returner or punt returner,” Priefer said. “We can put him on the front line

of kickoff as well.”Along with having his name

near the top in all-time receiv-ing records at Minnesota State

University, Mankato, he was one of the most intimidating punt returners in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. His senior year he returned 24 punts for 239 yards and had one touch-down.

After taking advantage of getting better at every practice during the season, Thielen kept his motor going as soon as the season ended, working out even harder. He went to ETS, Engle-bert Training Systems, to get big-ger, faster, stronger and work on his route running.

“We were in there day one af-ter the season was over,” Thielen said. “We had some things that we wanted to focus on.”

While Thielen has been im-pressing the coaches, new offen-sive coordinator Norv Turner had to make new friends of his own this training camp, and it isn’t hard for players to fall in love with an offensive coordinator as talented and successful as him. He brings the intensity that head coach Mike Zimmer wants, and Thielen is enjoying the intensity.

“He’s hard on us. He’s always after us, trying to make us bet-ter and he’s always expecting us to play at a high level,” Thielen said. “We have gotten a lot better and it’s a fun offense to be in.”

THIELEN “‘I’m doing everything that I can to make this football team and help this football team win,’ Thielen said.” continued from 18


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million that included a $3.3 million signing bonus. Over the course of last weekend, the young quarterback became more familiar with the coaching styles he will be playing under this sea-son.

“It’s been intense. Coach Zim-mer runs a fast, up tempo prac-tice,” Bridgewater said. “Like Zimmer, Coach Turner is very hands on. He likes everything to be perfect, which is good.”

Though Cassel may look to be the no. 1 quarterback when the Vikings kick off the regular

season in St. Louis in Septem-ber, Bridgewater will be work-ing hard to earn his place in the lineup.

“I’m going to look over the playbook, look over film, and work to correct my mistakes,” said Bridgewater.

“My biggest goal is to not make the same mistake twice.”

BRIDGEWATER “Since train-ing camp began last Thursday, Bridgewater has been excellent on the field and purely professional off the field. ” continued from 15


# NAME POS. HT. WT. AGE YEAR COLLEGE44 Asiata, Matt RB 6-0 234 27 3 Utah60 Baca, Jeff G 6-3 302 24 2 UCLA91 Baker, Chase DT 6-2 300 26 2 Boise State23 Banyard, Joe RB 5-10 205 25 2 Texas-El Paso55 Barr, Anthony LB 6-5 255 22 0 UCLA61 Berger, Joe G 6-5 305 32 10 Michigan Tech30 Bishop, Brandan S 6-1 208 23 1 North Carolina State36 Blanton, Robert S 6-1 200 24 3 Notre Dame5 Bridgewater, Teddy QB 6-2 210 21 0 Louisville54 Brinkley, Jasper LB 6-1 252 29 6 South Carolina76 Burton, Pierce T 6-6 305 23 0 Mississippi16 Cassel, Matt QB 6-4 228 32 10 USC57 Cole, Audie LB 6-5 239 25 3 North Carolina St.20 Coleman, Kurt S 5-11 200 26 5 Ohio State13 Colter, Kain WR 6-0 195 22 0 Northwestern11 Cooper, Josh WR 5-10 190 25 2 Oklahoma State37 Cox, Derek CB 6-1 195 27 6 William & Mary68 Cox, Rakim DE 6-4 265 23 0 Villanova95 Crichton, Scott DE 6-3 273 22 0 Oregon St.51 Dean, Larry LB 6-0 226 25 4 Valdosta State49 DeCicco, Dom LB 6-4 230 25 2 Pittsburgh62 Ducasse, Vladimir G 6-5 325 26 5 Massachusetts85 Ellison, Rhett TE 6-5 250 25 3 USC90 Evans, Fred DT 6-4 305 30 7 Texas State32 Exum, Antone S 6-0 219 23 0 Virginia Tech76 Faciane, Isame DT 6-4 302 23 0 Florida International42 Felton, Jerome FB 6-0 248 28 7 Furman73 Floyd, Sharrif DT 6-3 305 23 2 Florida86 Ford, Chase TE 6-6 255 24 2 Miami (Fla.)2 Foster, Donte WR 6-1 193 23 0 Ohio63 Fusco, Brandon G 6-4 306 24 4 Slippery Rock52 Greenway, Chad LB 6-2 242 31 9 Iowa97 Griffen, Everson DE 6-3 273 26 5 USC72 Hall, Matt T 6-9 326 24 0 Belhaven Higgins, Mike TE 6-5 242 26 1 Nebraska-Omaha50 Hodges, Gerald LB 6-2 243 23 2 Penn State40 James, Kendall CB 5-11 180 23 0 Maine15 Jennings, Greg WR 6-0 195 30 9 Western Michigan74 Johnson, Charlie G 6-4 305 30 8 Oklahoma State92 Johnson, Tom DT 6-3 288 29 4 Southern Mississippi12 Jorden, Kamar WR 6-2 205 25 1 Bowling Green98 Joseph, Linval DT 6-4 323 25 5 East Carolina75 Kalil, Matt T 6-7 308 25 3 USC59 Kerin, Zac C 6-5 305 22 0 Toledo89 Leonard, AC TE 6-2 250 22 0 Tennessee State

# NAME POS. HT. WT. AGE YEAR COLLEGE48 Line, Zach FB 6-1 233 24 2 SMU71 Loadholt, Phil T 6-8 343 28 6 Oklahoma18 Locke, Jeff P 6-0 203 24 2 UCLA46 Loeffler, Cullen LS 6-5 241 33 11 Texas14 Lora, Erik WR 5-10 202 23 0 Eastern Illinois56 Mauti, Michael LB 6-2 243 24 2 Penn State31 McKinnon, Jerick RB 5-9 208 22 0 Georgia Southern24 Munnerlyn, Captain CB 5-8 195 26 6 South Carolina68 Murphy, Kevin T 6-7 305 24 2 Harvard84 Patterson, Cordarrelle WR 6-2 220 23 2 Tennessee28 Peterson, Adrian RB 6-1 217 29 8 Oklahoma7 Ponder, Christian QB 6-2 229 26 4 Florida State38 Posey, Julian CB 5-11 200 26 2 Ohio27 Prater, Shaun CB 5-10 190 24 3 Iowa39 Price, Jabari CB 5-11 200 21 0 North Carolina79 Randall, Kheeston DT 6-5 309 24 2 Texas41 Raymond, Mistral S 6-1 202 25 4 South Florida87 Reisner, Allen TE 6-3 255 25 3 Iowa67 Remmers, Mike T 6-5 300 25 2 Oregon State29 Rhodes, Xavier CB 6-1 210 24 2 Florida State78 Richardson, Antonio T 6-6 330 22 0 Tennessee21 Robinson, Josh CB 5-10 199 23 3 Central Florida96 Robison, Brian DE 6-3 259 31 8 Texas82 Rudolph, Kyle TE 6-6 259 24 4 Notre Dame33 Sanford, Jamarca S 5-10 200 28 6 Mississippi64 Scott, Tyler DE 6-4 250 23 0 Northwestern34 Sendejo, Andrew S 6-1 200 26 4 Rice35 Sherels, Marcus CB 5-10 175 26 4 Minnesota81 Simpson, Jerome WR 6-2 190 28 6 Coastal Carolina22 Smith, Harrison S 6-2 214 25 3 Notre Dame83 Smith, Rodney WR 6-5 200 24 2 Florida State78 Snyder, Jake DE 6-4 270 23 0 Virginia26 Steeples, Robert CB 6-1 195 24 1 Memphis93 Stephen, Shamar DT 6-5 310 23 0 UCONN65 Sullivan, John C 6-4 301 28 7 Notre Dame19 Thielen, Adam WR 6-2 195 23 1 Minnesota State94 Trattou, Justin DE 6-4 250 25 3 Florida3 Walsh, Blair K 5-10 192 24 3 Georgia58 Watts, Brandon LB 6-2 231 23 0 Georgia Tech79 Wentworth, Austin G 6-5 303 24 0 Fresno State43 Williams, Dominique RB 5-9 205 23 0 Wagner99 Wootton, Corey DE 6-6 270 27 5 Northwestern17 Wright, Jarius WR 5-10 180 24 3 Arkansas66 Yankey, David G 6-6 315 22 0 Stanford59 Zimmer, Mike LB 6-1 235 23 0 Illinois State

2014 VIKINGS CAMP ROSTER ALPHABETICAL

# NAME POS. HT. WT. AGE YEAR COLLEGE 2 Foster, Donte WR 6-1 193 23 0 Ohio 3 Walsh, Blair K 5-10 192 24 3 Georgia 5 Bridgewater, Teddy QB 6-2 210 21 0 Louisville 7 Ponder, Christian QB 6-2 229 26 4 Florida State 11 Cooper, Josh WR 5-10 190 25 2 Oklahoma State 12 Jorden, Kamar WR 6-2 205 25 1 Bowling Green 13 Colter, Kain WR 6-0 195 22 0 Northwestern 14 Lora, Erik WR 5-10 202 23 0 Eastern Illinois 15 Jennings, Greg WR 6-0 195 30 9 Western Michigan 16 Cassel, Matt QB 6-4 228 32 10 USC 17 Wright, Jarius WR 5-10 180 24 3 Arkansas 18 Locke, Jeff P 6-0 203 24 2 UCLA 19 Thielen, Adam WR 6-2 195 23 1 Minnesota State 20 Coleman, Kurt S 5-11 200 26 5 Ohio State 21 Robinson, Josh CB 5-10 199 23 3 Central Florida 22 Smith, Harrison S 6-2 214 25 3 Notre Dame 23 Banyard, Joe RB 5-10 205 25 2 Texas-El Paso 24 Munnerlyn, Captain CB 5-8 195 26 6 South Carolina 26 Steeples, Robert CB 6-1 195 24 1 Memphis 27 Prater, Shaun CB 5-10 190 24 3 Iowa 28 Peterson, Adrian RB 6-1 217 29 8 Oklahoma 29 Rhodes, Xavier CB 6-1 210 24 2 Florida State 30 Bishop, Brandan S 6-1 208 23 1 North Carolina State 31 McKinnon, Jerick RB 5-9 208 22 0 Georgia Southern 32 Exum, Antone S 6-0 219 23 0 Virginia Tech 33 Sanford, Jamarca S 5-10 200 28 6 Mississippi 34 Sendejo, Andrew S 6-1 200 26 4 Rice 35 Sherels, Marcus CB 5-10 175 26 4 Minnesota 36 Blanton, Robert S 6-1 200 24 3 Notre Dame 37 Cox, Derek CB 6-1 195 27 6 William & Mary 38 Posey, Julian CB 5-11 200 26 2 Ohio 39 Price, Jabari CB 5-11 200 21 0 North Carolina 40 James, Kendall CB 5-11 180 23 0 Maine 41 Raymond, Mistral S 6-1 202 25 4 South Florida 42 Felton, Jerome FB 6-0 248 28 7 Furman 43 Williams, Dominique RB 5-9 205 23 0 Wagner 44 Asiata, Matt RB 6-0 234 27 3 Utah 46 Loeffler, Cullen LS 6-5 241 33 11 Texas 48 Line, Zach FB 6-1 233 24 2 SMU 49 DeCicco, Dom LB 6-4 230 25 2 Pittsburgh 50 Hodges, Gerald LB 6-2 243 23 2 Penn State 51 Dean, Larry LB 6-0 226 25 4 Valdosta State 52 Greenway, Chad LB 6-2 242 31 9 Iowa 54 Brinkley, Jasper LB 6-1 252 29 6 South Carolina 55 Barr, Anthony LB 6-5 255 22 0 UCLA

# NAME POS. HT. WT. AGE YEAR COLLEGE 56 Mauti, Michael LB 6-2 243 24 2 Penn State 57 Cole, Audie LB 6-5 239 25 3 North Carolina St. 58 Watts, Brandon LB 6-2 231 23 0 Georgia Tech 59 Kerin, Zac C 6-5 305 22 0 Toledo 59 Zimmer, Mike LB 6-1 235 23 0 Illinois State 60 Baca, Jeff G 6-3 302 24 2 UCLA 61 Berger, Joe G 6-5 305 32 10 Michigan Tech 62 Ducasse, Vladimir G 6-5 325 26 5 Massachusetts 63 Fusco, Brandon G 6-4 306 24 4 Slippery Rock 64 Scott, Tyler DE 6-4 250 23 0 Northwestern 65 Sullivan, John C 6-4 301 28 7 Notre Dame 66 Yankey, David G 6-6 315 22 0 Stanford 67 Remmers, Mike T 6-5 300 25 2 Oregon State 68 Cox, Rakim DE 6-4 265 23 0 Villanova 68 Murphy, Kevin T 6-7 305 24 2 Harvard 71 Loadholt, Phil T 6-8 343 28 6 Oklahoma 72 Hall, Matt T 6-9 326 24 0 Belhaven 73 Floyd, Sharrif DT 6-3 305 23 2 Florida 74 Johnson, Charlie G 6-4 305 30 8 Oklahoma State 75 Kalil, Matt T 6-7 308 25 3 USC 76 Burton, Pierce T 6-6 305 23 0 Mississippi 76 Faciane, Isame DT 6-4 302 23 0 Florida International 78 Richardson, Antonio T 6-6 330 22 0 Tennessee 78 Snyder, Jake DE 6-4 270 23 0 Virginia 79 Randall, Kheeston DT 6-5 309 24 2 Texas 79 Wentworth, Austin G 6-5 303 24 0 Fresno State 81 Simpson, Jerome WR 6-2 190 28 6 Coastal Carolina 82 Rudolph, Kyle TE 6-6 259 24 4 Notre Dame 83 Smith, Rodney WR 6-5 200 24 2 Florida State 84 Patterson, Cordarrelle WR 6-2 220 23 2 Tennessee 85 Ellison, Rhett TE 6-5 250 25 3 USC 86 Ford, Chase TE 6-6 255 24 2 Miami (Fla.) 87 Reisner, Allen TE 6-3 255 25 3 Iowa 89 Leonard, AC TE 6-2 250 22 0 Tennessee State 90 Evans, Fred DT 6-4 305 30 7 Texas State 91 Baker, Chase DT 6-2 300 26 2 Boise State 92 Johnson, Tom DT 6-3 288 29 4 Southern Mississippi 93 Stephen, Shamar DT 6-5 310 23 0 UCONN 94 Trattou, Justin DE 6-4 250 25 3 Florida 95 Crichton, Scott DE 6-3 273 22 0 Oregon St. 96 Robison, Brian DE 6-3 259 31 8 Texas 97 Griffen, Everson DE 6-3 273 26 5 USC 98 Joseph, Linval DT 6-4 323 25 5 East Carolina 99 Wootton, Corey DE 6-6 270 27 5 Northwestern Higgins, Mike TE 6-5 242 26 1 Nebraska-Omaha

2014 VIKINGS CAMP ROSTER NUMERICAL

22 • MSU REPORTER MINNESOTA VIKINGS TRAINING CAMP ISSUE | 2014 MSU REPORTER • 23

Photos by

Mike Huerkamp


2014 NFC NORTH SCHEDULES

HALL OF FAME GAMESUNDAY, AUG. 3Buffalo at N.Y. Giants 7:00pm PRESEASON WEEK #1THURSDAY, AUG. 7Indianapolis @ N.Y. Jets 6:00pmSan Francisco @ Baltimore 6:30pmNew England @ Washington 6:30pmCincinnati @ Kansas City 7:00pmSeattle @ Denver 8:00pmDallas @ San Diego 9:00pm

FRIDAY, AUG. 8Miami @ Atlanta 6:00pmBuffalo @ Carolina 6:30pmTampa Bay @ Jacksonville 6:30pmPhiladelphia @ Chicago 7:00pmOakland @ Minnesota 7:00pmNew Orleans @ St. Louis 7:00pm

SATURDAY, AUG. 9Cleveland @ Detroit 6:30pmPittsburgh @ N.Y. Giants 6:30pmGreen Bay @ Tennessee 7:00pmHouston @ Arizona 7:30pm

PRESEASON WEEK #2THURSDAY, AUG. 14Jacksonville @ Chicago 7:00pm

FRIDAY, AUG. 15Philadelphia @ New England 6:30pmTennessee @ New Orleans 7:00pmDetroit @ Oakland 9:00pmSan Diego @ Seattle 9:00pm

SATURDAY, AUG. 16Green Bay @ St. Louis 3:00pmN.Y. Giants @ Indianapolis 6:00pmN.Y. Jets @ Cincinnati 6:00pmBaltimore @ Dallas 6:00pmMiami @ Tampa Bay 6:30pmBuffalo @ Pittsburgh 6:30pmAtlanta @ Houston 7:00pmArizona @ Minnesota 7:30pm

SUNDAY, AUG. 17Denver @ San Francisco 3:00pmKansas City @ Carolina 7:00pm

MONDAY, AUG. 18Cleveland @ Washington 7:00pm

PRESEASON WEEK #3THURSDAY, AUG. 21Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia 6:30pm

FRIDAY, AUG. 22Jacksonville @ Detroit 6:30pmCarolina @ New England 6:30pmN.Y. Giants @ N.Y. Jets 6:30pmOakland @ Green Bay 7:00pmChicago @ Seattle 9:00pm

SATURDAY, AUG. 23Tampa Bay @ Buffalo 3:30pmTennessee @ Atlanta 6:00pmDallas @ Miami 6:00pmWashington @ Baltimore 6:30pmSt. Louis @ Cleveland 7:00pmNew Orleans @ Indianapolis 7:00pmMinnesota @ Kansas City 7:00pmHouston @ Denver 8:00pm

SUNDAY, AUG. 24San Diego @ San Francisco 3:00pmCincinnati @ Arizona 7:00pm

PRESEASON WEEK #4THURSDAY, AUG. 28Atlanta @ Jacksonville 6:00pmDetroit @ Buffalo 6:00pmIndianapolis @ Cincinnati 6:00pmKansas City @ Green Bay 6:00pmSt. Louis @ Miami 6:00pmN.Y. Jets @ Philadelphia 6:00pmNew England @ N.Y. Giants 6:30pmCarolina @ Pittsburgh 6:30pmWashington @ Tampa Bay 6:30pmChicago @ Cleveland 7:00pmDenver @ Dallas 7:00pmSan Francisco @ Houston 7:00pmBaltimore @ New Orleans 7:00pmMinnesota @ Tennessee 7:00pmSeattle @ Oakland 9:00pmArizona @ San Diego 9:00pm

WEEK #1THURSDAY, SEPT. 4Green Bay at Seattle 7:30pm

SUNDAY, SEPT. 7New Orleans at Atlanta 12:00pmCincinnati at Baltimore 12:00pmBuffalo at Chicago 12:00pmWashington at Houston 12:00pmTennessee at Kansas City 12:00pmNew England at Miami 12:00pmOakland at N.Y. Jets 12:00pmJacksonville at Philadelphia 12:00pmCleveland at Pittsburgh 12:00pmMinnesota at St. Louis 12:00pmSan Francisco at Dallas 3:30pmCarolina at Tampa Bay 3:30pmIndianapolis at Denver 7:30pm

MONDAY, SEPT. 8N.Y. Giants at Detroit 6:00pmSan Diego at Arizona 9:30pm

WEEK #2THURSDAY, SEPT. 11Pittsburgh at Baltimore 7:30pm

SUNDAY, SEPT. 14Miami at Buffalo 12:00pmDetroit at Carolina 12:00pmAtlanta at Cincinnati 12:00pmNew Orleans at Cleveland 12:00pmNew England at Minnesota 12:00pmArizona at N.Y. Giants 12:00pmDallas at Tennessee 12:00pmJacksonville at Washington 12:00pmSeattle at San Diego 3:00pmSt. Louis at Tampa Bay 3:00pmKansas City at Denver 3:30pmN.Y. Jets at Green Bay 3:30pmHouston at Oakland 3:30pmChicago at San Francisco 7:30pm

MONDAY, SEPT. 15Philadelphia at Indianapolis 7:30pm

WEEK #3THURSDAY, SEPT. 18Tampa Bay at Atlanta 7:30pm

SUNDAY, SEPT. 21San Diego at Buffalo 12:00pmTennessee at Cincinnati 12:00pmBaltimore at Cleveland 12:00pmGreen Bay at Detroit 12:00pmIndianapolis at Jacksonville 12:00pmOakland at New England 12:00pmMinnesota at New Orleans 12:00pmHouston at N.Y. Giants 12:00pmWashington at Philadelphia 12:00pmDallas at St. Louis 12:00pmSan Francisco at Arizona 3:00pmKansas City at Miami 3:30pmDenver at Seattle 3:30pmPittsburgh at Carolina 7:30pm

MONDAY, SEPT. 22Chicago at N.Y. Jets 7:30pm

WEEK #4(Byes: Arizona, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Seattle, St. Louis)THURSDAY, SEPT. 25N.Y. Giants at Washington 7:30pm

SUNDAY, SEPT. 28Carolina at Baltimore 12:00pmGreen Bay at Chicago 12:00pmBuffalo at Houston 12:00pmTennessee at Indianapolis 12:00pmDetroit at N.Y. Jets 12:00pmMiami vs. Oakland at London 12:00pmTampa Bay at Pittsburgh 12:00pmJacksonville at San Diego 3:00pmAtlanta at Minnesota 3:30pmPhiladelphia at San Francisco 3:30pmNew Orleans at Dallas 6:30pm

MONDAY, SEPT. 29New England at Kansas City 6:30pm

WEEK #5(Byes: Miami, Oakland)THURSDAY, OCT. 2Minnesota at Green Bay 7:30pm

SUNDAY, OCT. 5Chicago at Carolina 12:00pm

Houston at Dallas 12:00pmBuffalo at Detroit 12:00pmBaltimore at Indianapolis 12:00pmPittsburgh at Jacksonville 12:00pmTampa Bay at New Orleans 12:00pmAtlanta at N.Y. Giants 12:00pmSt. Louis at Philadelphia 12:00pmCleveland at Tennessee 12:00pmArizona at Denver 3:00pmN.Y. Jets at San Diego 3:30pmKansas City at San Francisco 3:30pmCincinnati at New England 7:30pm

MONDAY, OCT. 6Seattle at Washington 7:30pm

WEEK #6(Byes: Kansas City, New Orleans)THURSDAY, OCT. 9Indianapolis at Houston 7:30pm

SUNDAY, OCT. 12Chicago at Atlanta 12:00pmNew England at Buffalo 12:00pmCarolina at Cincinnati 12:00pmPittsburgh at Cleveland 12:00pmGreen Bay at Miami 12:00pmDetroit at Minnesota 12:00pmDenver at N.Y. Jets 12:00pmBaltimore at Tampa Bay 12:00pmJacksonville at Tennessee 12:00pmSan Diego at Oakland 3:00pmWashington at Arizona 3:30pmDallas at Seattle 3:30pmN.Y. Giants at Philadelphia 7:30pm

MONDAY, OCT. 13San Francisco at St. Louis 6:30pm

WEEK #7(Byes: Philadelphia, Tampa Bay)THURSDAY, OCT. 16N.Y. Jets at New England 7:30pm

SUNDAY, OCT. 19Atlanta at Baltimore 12:00pmMinnesota at Buffalo 12:00pmMiami at Chicago 12:00pmNew Orleans at Detroit 12:00pmCarolina at Green Bay 12:00pmCincinnati at Indianapolis 12:00pmCleveland at Jacksonville 12:00pmSeattle at St. Louis 12:00pmTennessee at Washington 12:00pmKansas City at San Diego 3:00pmN.Y. Giants at Dallas 3:30pmArizona at Oakland 3:30pmSan Francisco at Denver 7:30pm

MONDAY, OCT. 20Houston at Pittsburgh 7:30pm

WEEK #8(Byes: N.Y. Giants, San Francisco)THURSDAY, OCT. 23San Diego at Denver 7:30pm

SUNDAY, OCT. 26Detroit vs. Atlanta(London) 9:30amSeattle at Carolina 12:00pmBaltimore at Cincinnati 12:00pmMiami at Jacksonville 12:00pmSt. Louis at Kansas City 12:00pmChicago at New England 12:00pmBuffalo at N.Y. Jets 12:00pmMinnesota at Tampa Bay 12:00pmHouston at Tennessee 12:00pmPhiladelphia at Arizona 3:00pmOakland at Cleveland 3:30pmIndianapolis at Pittsburgh 3:30pmGreen Bay at New Orleans 7:30pm

MONDAY, OCT. 27Washington at Dallas 7:30pm

WEEK #9(Byes: Atlanta, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, Tennessee)THURSDAY, OCT. 30New Orleans at Carolina 7:30pm

SUNDAY, NOV. 2Jacksonville at Cincinnati 12:00pmTampa Bay at Cleveland 12:00pmArizona at Dallas 12:00pmPhiladelphia at Houston 12:00pmN.Y. Jets at Kansas City 12:00pmSan Diego at Miami 12:00pm

Washington at Minnesota 12:00pmSt. Louis at San Francisco 3:00pmDenver at New England 3:30pmOakland at Seattle 3:30pmBaltimore at Pittsburgh 7:30pm

MONDAY, NOV. 3Indianapolis at N.Y. Giants 7:30pm

WEEK #10(Byes: Houston, Indianapolis, Minnesota, New England, San Diego, Washington)THURSDAY, NOV. 6Cleveland at Cincinnati 7:30pm

SUNDAY, NOV. 9Tennessee at Baltimore 12:00pmKansas City at Buffalo 12:00pmMiami at Detroit 12:00pmDallas vs. Jacksonville(London) 12:00pmSan Francisco at New Orleans 12:00pmPittsburgh at N.Y. Jets 12:00pmAtlanta at Tampa Bay 12:00pmDenver at Oakland 3:00pmSt. Louis at Arizona 3:30pmN.Y. Giants at Seattle 3:30pmChicago at Green Bay 7:30pm

MONDAY, NOV. 10Carolina at Philadelphia 7:30pm

WEEK #11(Byes: Baltimore, Dallas, Jacksonville, N.Y. Jets)THURSDAY, NOV. 13Buffalo at Miami 7:30pm

SUNDAY, NOV. 16Atlanta at Carolina 12:00pmMinnesota at Chicago 12:00pmHouston at Cleveland 12:00pmPhiladelphia at Green Bay 12:00pmSeattle at Kansas City 12:00pmCincinnati at New Orleans 12:00pmSan Francisco at N.Y. Giants 12:00pmDenver at St. Louis 12:00pmTampa Bay at Washington 12:00pmOakland at San Diego 3:00pmDetroit at Arizona 3:30pmNew England at Indianapolis 7:30pm

MONDAY, NOV. 17Pittsburgh at Tennessee 7:30pm

WEEK #12(Byes: Carolina, Pittsburgh)THURSDAY, NOV. 20Kansas City at Oakland 7:30pm

SUNDAY, NOV. 23Cleveland at Atlanta 12:00pmN.Y. Jets at Buffalo 12:00pmTampa Bay at Chicago 12:00pmCincinnati at Houston 12:00pmJacksonville at Indianapolis 12:00pmGreen Bay at Minnesota 12:00pmDetroit at New England 12:00pmTennessee at Philadelphia 12:00pmSt. Louis at San Diego 3:00pmArizona at Seattle 3:00pmMiami at Denver 3:30pmWashington at San Francisco 3:30pmDallas at N.Y. Giants 7:30pm

MONDAY, NOV. 24Baltimore at New Orleans 7:30pm

WEEK #13THURSDAY, NOV. 27Chicago at Detroit 11:30amPhiladelphia at Dallas 3:30pmSeattle at San Francisco 7:30pm

SUNDAY, NOV. 30San Diego at Baltimore 12:00pmCleveland at Buffalo 12:00pmTennessee at Houston 12:00pmWashington at Indianapolis 12:00pmN.Y. Giants at Jacksonville 12:00pmCarolina at Minnesota 12:00pmNew Orleans at Pittsburgh 12:00pmOakland at St. Louis 12:00pmCincinnati at Tampa Bay 12:00pmArizona at Atlanta 3:00pmNew England at Green Bay 3:30pmDenver at Kansas City 7:30pm

MONDAY, DEC. 1

Miami at N.Y. Jets 7:30pm

WEEK #14THURSDAY, DEC. 4Dallas at Chicago 7:30pm

SUNDAY, DEC. 7Pittsburgh at Cincinnati 12:00pmIndianapolis at Cleveland 12:00pmTampa Bay at Detroit 12:00pmHouston at Jacksonville 12:00pmBaltimore at Miami 12:00pmN.Y. Jets at Minnesota 12:00pmCarolina at New Orleans 12:00pmN.Y. Giants at Tennessee 12:00pmSt. Louis at Washington 12:00pmKansas City at Arizona 3:00pmBuffalo at Denver 3:00pmSan Francisco at Oakland 3:30pmSeattle at Philadelphia 3:30pmNew England at San Diego 7:30pm

MONDAY, DEC. 8Atlanta at Green Bay 7:30pm

WEEK #15THURSDAY, DEC. 11Arizona at St. Louis 7:30pm

SUNDAY, DEC. 14Pittsburgh at Atlanta 12:00pmJacksonville at Baltimore 12:00pmGreen Bay at Buffalo 12:00pmTampa Bay at Carolina 12:00pmCincinnati at Cleveland 12:00pmMinnesota at Detroit 12:00pmHouston at Indianapolis 12:00pmOakland at Kansas City 12:00pmMiami at New England 12:00pmWashington at N.Y. Giants 12:00pmDenver at San Diego 3:00pmN.Y. Jets at Tennessee 3:00pmSan Francisco at Seattle 3:30pmDallas at Philadelphia 7:30pm

MONDAY, DEC. 15New Orleans at Chicago 7:30pm

WEEK #16THURSDAY, DEC. 18Tennessee at Jacksonville 7:30pm

SATURDAY, DEC. 20San Diego at San Francisco 3:30 or 7:15pmPhiladelphia at Washington 3:30 or 7:15pm

SUNDAY, DEC. 21Cleveland at Carolina 12:00pmDetroit at Chicago 12:00pmBaltimore at Houston 12:00pmMinnesota at Miami 12:00pmAtlanta at New Orleans 12:00pmNew England at N.Y. Jets 12:00pmKansas City at Pittsburgh 12:00pmGreen Bay at Tampa Bay 12:00pmN.Y. Giants at St. Louis 3:00pmIndianapolis at Dallas 3:30pmBuffalo at Oakland 3:30pmSeattle at Arizona 7:30pm

MONDAY, DEC. 22Denver at Cincinnati 7:30pm

WEEK #17SUNDAY, DEC. 28Carolina at Atlanta 12:00pmCleveland at Baltimore 12:00pmDetroit at Green Bay 12:00pmJacksonville at Houston 12:00pmSan Diego at Kansas City 12:00pmN.Y. Jets at Miami 12:00pmChicago at Minnesota 12:00pmBuffalo at New England 12:00pmPhiladelphia at N.Y. Giants 12:00pmCincinnati at Pittsburgh 12:00pmNew Orleans at Tampa Bay 12:00pmIndianapolis at Tennessee 12:00pmDallas at Washington 12:00pmOakland at Denver 3:30pmArizona at San Francisco 3:30pmSt. Louis at Seattle 3:30pm

2014 NFL SEASON SCHEDULE

CHICAGO BEARSPRESEASONFriday Aug. 8 7:00pm PhiladelphiaThursday Aug. 14 7:00pm JacksonvilleFriday Aug. 22 9:00pm @ SeattleThursday Aug. 28 7:00pm @ Cleveland

REGULAR SEASONSunday Sept. 7 12:00pm BuffaloSunday Sept. 14 7:30pm @ San FranciscoMonday Sept. 22 7:30pm @ N.Y. JetsSunday Sept. 28 12:00pm Green BaySunday Oct. 5 12:00pm @ CarolinaSunday Oct. 12 12:00pm @ AtlantaSunday Oct. 19 12:00pm MiamiSunday Oct. 26 12:00pm @ New EnglandSunday Nov. 2 BYE WEEKSunday Nov. 9 7:30pm @ Green BaySunday Nov. 16 12:00pm MinnesotaSunday Nov. 23 12:00pm Tampa BayThursday Nov. 27 11:30am @ DetroitThursday Dec. 4 7:30pm DallasMonday Dec. 15 7:30pm New OrleansSunday Dec. 21 12:00pm DetroitSunday Dec. 28 12:00pm Minnesota

DETROIT LIONSPRESEASONSaturday Aug. 9 6:30pm ClevelandFriday Aug. 15 9:00pm @ OaklandFriday Aug. 22 6:30pm JacksonvilleThursday Aug. 28 6pm @ Buffalo

REGULAR SEASONMonday Sept. 8 6pm N.Y. GiantsSunday Sept. 14 12:00pm @ CarolinaSunday Sept. 21 12:00pm Green BaySunday Sept. 28 12:00pm @ N.Y. JetsSunday Oct. 5 12:00pm BuffaloSunday Oct. 12 12:00pm @ MinnesotaSunday Oct. 19 12:00pm New OrleansSunday Oct. 26 8:30am Atlanta (London)Sunday Nov. 2 BYE WEEKSunday Nov. 9 12:00pm MiamiSunday Nov. 16 3:30pm @ ArizonaSunday Nov. 23 12:00pm @ New EnglandThursday Nov. 27 11:30am ChicagoSunday Dec. 7 12:00pm Tampa BaySunday Dec. 14 12:00pm MinnesotaSunday Dec. 21 12:00pm @ ChicagoSunday Dec. 28 12:00pm @ Green Bay

GREEN BAY PACKERSPRESEASONSaturday Aug. 9 7:00pm @ TennesseeSaturday Aug. 16 3pm @ St. LouisFriday Aug. 22 7:00pm OaklandThursday Aug. 28 6pm Kansas City

REGULAR SEASONThursday Sept. 4 7:30pm @ SeattleSunday Sept. 14 3:30pm N.Y. JetsSunday Sept. 21 12:00pm @ DetroitSunday Sept. 28 12:00pm @ ChicagoThursday Oct. 2 7:30pm MinnesotaSunday Oct. 12 12:00pm @ MiamiSunday Oct. 19 12:00pm CarolinaSunday Oct. 26 7:30pm @ New OrleansSunday Nov. 2 BYE WEEKSunday Nov. 9 7:30pm ChicagoSunday Nov. 16 12:00pm PhiladelphiaSunday Nov. 23 12:00pm @ MinnesotaSunday Nov. 30 3:30pm New EnglandMonday Dec. 8 7:30pm AtlantaSunday Dec. 14 12:00pm @ BuffaloSunday Dec. 21 12:00pm @ Tampa BaySunday Dec. 28 12:00pm Detroit

MINNESOTA VIKINGSPRESEASONFriday Aug. 8 7:00pm OaklandSaturday Aug. 16 7:30pm ArizonaSaturday Aug. 23 7:00pm @ Kansas CityThursday Aug. 28 7:00pm @ Tennessee

REGULAR SEASONSunday Sept. 7 12:00pm @ St. LouisSunday Sept. 14 12:00pm New EnglandSunday Sept. 21 12:00pm @ New OrleansSunday Sept. 28 3:30pm AtlantaThursday Oct. 2 7:30pm @ Green BaySunday Oct. 12 12:00pm DetroitSunday Oct. 19 12:00pm @ BuffaloSunday Oct. 26 12:00pm @ Tampa BaySunday Nov. 2 12:00pm WashingtonSunday Nov. 9 BYE WEEKSunday Nov. 16 12:00pm @ ChicagoSunday Nov. 23 12:00pm Green BaySunday Nov. 30 12:00pm CarolinaSunday Dec. 7 12:00pm N.Y. JetsSunday Dec. 14 12:00pm @ DetroitSunday Dec. 21 12:00pm @ MiamiSunday Dec. 28 12:00pm Chicago

ALL TIMES (CST)CENTRAL STANDARD TIME*Because we’re tired of having to convert

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Miami at N.Y. Jets 7:30pm

WEEK #14THURSDAY, DEC. 4Dallas at Chicago 7:30pm

SUNDAY, DEC. 7Pittsburgh at Cincinnati 12:00pmIndianapolis at Cleveland 12:00pmTampa Bay at Detroit 12:00pmHouston at Jacksonville 12:00pmBaltimore at Miami 12:00pmN.Y. Jets at Minnesota 12:00pmCarolina at New Orleans 12:00pmN.Y. Giants at Tennessee 12:00pmSt. Louis at Washington 12:00pmKansas City at Arizona 3:00pmBuffalo at Denver 3:00pmSan Francisco at Oakland 3:30pmSeattle at Philadelphia 3:30pmNew England at San Diego 7:30pm

MONDAY, DEC. 8Atlanta at Green Bay 7:30pm

WEEK #15THURSDAY, DEC. 11Arizona at St. Louis 7:30pm

SUNDAY, DEC. 14Pittsburgh at Atlanta 12:00pmJacksonville at Baltimore 12:00pmGreen Bay at Buffalo 12:00pmTampa Bay at Carolina 12:00pmCincinnati at Cleveland 12:00pmMinnesota at Detroit 12:00pmHouston at Indianapolis 12:00pmOakland at Kansas City 12:00pmMiami at New England 12:00pmWashington at N.Y. Giants 12:00pmDenver at San Diego 3:00pmN.Y. Jets at Tennessee 3:00pmSan Francisco at Seattle 3:30pmDallas at Philadelphia 7:30pm

MONDAY, DEC. 15New Orleans at Chicago 7:30pm

WEEK #16THURSDAY, DEC. 18Tennessee at Jacksonville 7:30pm

SATURDAY, DEC. 20San Diego at San Francisco 3:30 or 7:15pmPhiladelphia at Washington 3:30 or 7:15pm

SUNDAY, DEC. 21Cleveland at Carolina 12:00pmDetroit at Chicago 12:00pmBaltimore at Houston 12:00pmMinnesota at Miami 12:00pmAtlanta at New Orleans 12:00pmNew England at N.Y. Jets 12:00pmKansas City at Pittsburgh 12:00pmGreen Bay at Tampa Bay 12:00pmN.Y. Giants at St. Louis 3:00pmIndianapolis at Dallas 3:30pmBuffalo at Oakland 3:30pmSeattle at Arizona 7:30pm

MONDAY, DEC. 22Denver at Cincinnati 7:30pm

WEEK #17SUNDAY, DEC. 28Carolina at Atlanta 12:00pmCleveland at Baltimore 12:00pmDetroit at Green Bay 12:00pmJacksonville at Houston 12:00pmSan Diego at Kansas City 12:00pmN.Y. Jets at Miami 12:00pmChicago at Minnesota 12:00pmBuffalo at New England 12:00pmPhiladelphia at N.Y. Giants 12:00pmCincinnati at Pittsburgh 12:00pmNew Orleans at Tampa Bay 12:00pmIndianapolis at Tennessee 12:00pmDallas at Washington 12:00pmOakland at Denver 3:30pmArizona at San Francisco 3:30pmSt. Louis at Seattle 3:30pm

CORDARRELLEPATTERSON

Michael Huerkamp • MSU ReporterThe 2nd great receiver to wear no. 84 showed great promise in his rookie campaign and is now ready to break out his sophomore year.

Born: March 17, 1991

College: Tennessee

Drafted: 2013 1st Round (29th pick overall)

2013 Stats: 45 Receptions, 469 Yards, 4 TD, 79 Long

2013 Kick Return Stats:43 Att., 1,393 Yards, 2 TD,

109 Long

Patterson andImproving Routes:

“I noticed that I needed to work on my routes. My routes were not that good, and this year, I have just been staying in shape. I have been working hard

and working with Matt, and he has been working me,

which I appreciate.”

GM Rick Spielman:“Cordarrelle has made tremendous strides this offseason, and I can’t

commend enough the work ethic that he has, and the approach he has taken.”

When the Minnesota Vikings parted ways with star wide re-ceiver Percy Harvin in exchange for a trio of draft selections, the team immediately went to work in an attempt to replace the of-fensively versatile speedster.

A draft day swap with the New England Patriots during the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft bought the Vikings another first round pick, one that the Vi-kings successfully parlayed into Harvin’s successor, former Ten-nessee standout Cordarrelle Pat-terson.

And after just one season in Minnesota, Patterson has already begun to make Percy Harvin a thing of the past.

“He brings that explosive-ness and that excitement,” rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater said of Patterson. “You never know what to expect with Cor-darrelle.”

Patterson exploded onto the scene as a rookie, logging an NFL-record 109-yard kickoff re-turn during his first meeting with the Green Bay Packers on Octo-ber 27, eventually becoming the only player in league history to record a 100-yard kick return, a 75-yard touchdown catch and a 50-yard rushing touchdown in a single season.

The former first-round pick enters his second NFL season after posting 2,020 all-purpose yards as a rookie, including 469 receiving yards, 158 rush-ing yards, and 1,393 kick return

yards.But while the expectations of

Patterson have increased heading into his sophomore campaign, the flashy receiver is taking the spotlight in stride.

“It does not make me nervous at all,” Patterson said. “It kind of inspires me, but you have to go in expecting big things out of your-self.”

And with Mike Zimmer and Norv Turner ushering in a new era for the Vikings passing at-tack, Patterson is excited at the opportunity to improve on his rookie success.

“I am excited, and I know that everybody is excited about what [coach Zimmer] has brought to our team,” Patterson said. “He has an offensive mindset so we feel like he is going to do a lot of great things this year.”

Considered a raw talent com-ing out of Tennessee, questions about Patterson’s ability to run routes and process the more technical aspects of the position have followed the speedy receiv-er since his college days, but ac-cording to quarterback Matt Cas-sel, Patterson has made strides during his first full offseason with the team.

“He has made great improve-ment from last season in his route-running and his ability to understand coverages,” Cassel said. “He is still a young player; he only played one year of junior college and one year at Tennes-see so he is still learning.”

The Vikings quarterbacks often struggled to put the ball in

PATTERSON • Page 31

Round two for Cordarrelle Patterson RYAN LUNDSpecial Reporter Contributor


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THE LONGSNAPPER


In all team sports there are superstars who dazzle the crowd and light up the scoreboard. In football, the attention is often di-rected towards the quarterbacks, running backs, and receivers who put points on the board. But every team needs role players -- guys who are unsung heroes who contribute in their own way to help the team win, but ultimately fly under the radar. Cullen Loef-fler is one of those players.

Loeffler is a long snapper, hiking the ball to the placeholder for kicker Blair Walsh to split the uprights on field goal attempts. While settling for field goals is often seen as a failed offensive drive up the field, they can also help a team win games and can be crucial. Though his job may seem miniscule to many, Loef-fler’s job can have a major impact on the outcome of a game.

“I started doing it my sopho-more year in college when he had some special teams issues,” said Loeffler. “Fortunately, I was able to transition into it and have been doing it since.”

Undrafted out of the Universi-ty of Texas, Loeffler debuted for the Vikings in 2004 and has been with the team ever since. Head-ing into his eleventh season with Minnesota, he’s made a pretty good career for himself at a posi-tion that is often overlooked, and seems to be content here in Min-nesota.

“The weather has been great these 10 years.” he said. “Being able to have two days this time of year in under 100 degree heat is pretty nice.”

In his 10 seasons with the Vi-kings, Loeffler has played in 155

games, the most for a long snap-per in Vikings history. Loeffler has also been the long snapper for 10 of the 11 longest field goals in Vikings history, while the five games he missed in 2011 due to injury are the only games he’s missed in his decade long career.

It’s an interesting position that requires a different kind of training. While position play-

ers work on their agility, speed, and their hands, Loeffler’s job is specifically to work on his ball snapping.

“It’s a lot different from regu-lar snapping with the timing you need,” Loeffler said. “It has to be a good snap for everything to go right.”

Though an undervalued po-sition in the game, Loeffler has

proven that every position plays an important role for a team. The 33 year old from Texas is in the last year of his three year con-tract, meaning his career may be closing in on its end, but as an undrafted long snapper to play over a decade in the NFL, he’s made every snap count.

CULLENLOEFFLER

Michael Huerkamp • MSU ReporterLoeffler’s career made it to 11 years because he’s one of the most consistent long snappers in the NFL.

Loeffler lives on consistency

Born: January 27, 1981

College: Texas

Acquired: Undrafted free agent


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As sure as the sun rising ev-ery day, the Minnesota Vikings’ fantasy outlook has always be-gun with superstar running back Adrian Peterson since the day the Purple drafted him back in 2007.

At this time last year, A.P. firmly held the top spot on nearly everyone across the globe’s draft board after posting one of the greatest fantasy seasons of all-time during his historic pursuit of Eric Dickerson’s single-season NFL rushing record in 2012.

After accumulating “only” 1266 yards on the ground to go along with 11 total trips to the end zone last season, Peterson opens the 2014 fantasy campaign third overall on the draft board behind dual-threat backs Jamaal Charles of Kansas City and LeSean Mc-Coy of the Philadelphia Eagles.

His “down” year in 2013 may have cost A.P. this season’s top dog status, but it didn’t hurt his fantasy owners until he missed two of the last three games of the season due to injury and the Pur-ple falling out of contention, end-ing many owners’ playoff runs in the process.

Although Peterson appears fully healthy moving forward, there are a couple things to pon-der before selecting “All Day” with complete confidence over the aforementioned Charles and McCoy in your upcoming fan-tasy drafts.

Once again, Charles (70 catches) and McCoy (52 catches) are elite dual-threat backs. This means they get far more touches out of the backfield in the passing game that backs like Peterson (29 catches) simply don’t get. If your league settings cater to recep-tions, you would probably be best served going after pass-catching backs and passing on A.P.

You also can’t look past the fact that every Vikings fantasy option has to adjust to playing outdoors at TCF Bank Stadium, their home venue for the next two seasons.

Peterson was so unstoppable on the Metrodome turf that the potentially frozen TCF tundra is cause for concern, but not a deal breaker by any means given how many huge rushing totals that have been posted around the league in snow the past couple years.

If you are in a standard scor-ing league, All Day will likely go off the board in the top five over-all picks and if he is still there after five selections, TAKE HIM. Peterson is one of the most sure things going in fantasy right now and will likely reward his owners for using their top pick on him.

The only players that have an argument to be taken over A.P. are running backs Charles, Mc-Coy and Matt Forte of the Bears. Reigning NFL MVP and 2013 fantasy legend Peyton Manning is the only other player worth considering over All Day.

Peterson Prediction: 1,600

yards and 13 touchdownsA.P. has some company in

the top 50 player rankings for a change, as second-year phenom Cordarrelle Patterson checks in at number 48 after a breakout rookie campaign that didn’t even pick up steam until the second half of the season.

Patterson is the ultimate “up-side” fantasy player and is capa-ble of taking it the distance every time he touches the ball, which

FANTASY PREDICTIONS• Page 30

Loeffler lives on consistency Lee’s Vikings fantasy predictions

Photo Courtesy of Brian DentonNo doubt that Adrian Peterson will be the first Viking to get drafted in fantasy football, but in what round should you take him?

LEE HANDELSpecial Reporter Contributor


CAROLINACONNECTION

Linebacker Jasper Brinkley #54

Born: July 12, 1985

College: South Carolina

Drafted: 2009 5th Round (150th Overall) by Vikings

2013 Stats: 27 Tackles,

1 pass deflection

Cornerback Captain Munnerlyn #24

Born: April 10, 1988

College: South Carolina

Drafted: 2009 7th Round (216th Overall) by

Carolina

2013 Stats: 74 Tackles, 3.5 sacks, 2 INT,

12 Pass Deflections

Carolina connection: together again Receivers & Tight Ends: Locked n’ loaded

I haven’t graduated college yet, but I couldn’t imagine the feeling of being out of college for five years and finding out I get to work along side one of my old college buddies in the job I love. That’s what line-backer Jasper Brinkley and cornerback Captain Munnerlyn get to experience in their six season in the NFL.

The two wreaked havoc in the SEC for the South Carolina Gamecocks and now they get to

bring their school fire to the Vi-kings organization in the NFL.

With the loss of Chris Cook, the Vikings searched for a no. 2 or possible no. 1 cornerback and found Munnerlyn, which excited Brinkley.

“It’s like the old college days,” Brinkley said. “A lot of jokes going on, but when it’s time serious, we come out ready to work.”

Munnerlyn just came off his best season with the Carolina Panthers, arguably the best de-fense in 2013, with 74 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 12 pass deflections and 2 interceptions, so he’s

coming here to make a differ-ence.

If he plays like Brinkley remembers at South Carolina, NFC North receivers could start having nightmares about running into the secondary abyss that contains Munnerlyn.

“Ever since I’ve known Cap-tain he’s been very physical. He’s always been a physical guy that’s not scared to stick his head in there,” Brinkley said.

According to Brinkley, when you step off the Univer-sity of South Carolina campus you have learned to be physical, and that has helped both guys

not only stay in the NFL but have some success. The two are both products of South Caro-lina physicality.

They also played in the SEC, which is undoubtedly the toughest college football conference in the country. The speed and strength of the play-ers is nothing like the other conferences, and Brinkley feels like it’s helped their jump from division I college football to the NFL.

“I feel like the SEC defi-nitely prepared us to the NFL.

Web PhotosCaptain Munnerlyn (left) and Jasper Brinkley (right) reunited this spring and are now ready to show the Vikings what playing for the University of South Carolina has taught them.

CAROLINA • Page 32

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RECEIVERS &TIGHT ENDS

Yohanes Ashenafi • MSU ReporterOnce again, Jerome Simpson shows off his athletic ability.

ProjectedDepth Chart

Left Wing Receivers:1) Greg Jennings #15

2) Jerome Simpson #81

playing for a spot Rodney Smith #83

Erik Lora #14Donte Foster #2

Right Wing Receivers:1) Cordarrelle Patterson #84

2) Jarius Wright #17

playing for a spotAdam Thielen #19Kamar Jorden #12

Ty Walker #11Kain Colter #13Andy Cruse #8

Tight Ends:1) Kyle Rudolph #822) Rhett Ellison #40Allen Reinser #87AC Leonard #89

Mike Higgins #00Chase Ford #86

A more experienced receiving core spells better things for the Vi-kings offense. With no signings of any other receivers, this receiving core will hopefully progress with a veteran in Greg Jennings, the sizable and athletic Jerome Simp-son, and the always-threatening Cordarrelle Patterson.

Jerome Simpson signed an ex-tension for his third consecutive one-year deal after a very produc-

tive year. He had 48 catches for 726 years with one touchdown. I only expect those numbers to im-prove, given his size and athleti-cism.

General Manager Rick Spiel-man is excited in the progress made by wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson.

“Cordarrelle has made tremen-dous strides this offseason and I can’t commend enough the work ethic that he has, and the approach he has taken,” Spielman said. “To see how Coach Stewart and Coach

Turner have worked with him, and refining his routes, we are expect-ing big things from him, and not just in the return game.”

Cordarrelle Patterson is taking the stress of such high expecta-tions with surprising grace.

“It does not make me nervous at all,” said Patterson. “It kind of inspires me, but you have to go in expecting big things out of your-self. Do not let other people do it for you.”

Patterson doesn’t have numbers in mind but wants to bring his best

game in and game out.“I just want to be out there and

play every game that I can play, stay injury-free, go out there and give it my best,” said Patterson. “I just want to continue how I played last year. I want to continue to build off of that and I hope my game gets better and better each week.”

The question mark around Pat-terson is can he stay healthy? He has been pretty limited in training camp this summer so far with lim-ited participation in full practices. He is still participating in the walk through.

On the Tight end of things, competition is heating up for the second spot. Kyle Rudolph has the top spot all but sewn up and a nice five-year extension worth $36 mil-lion.

“I love Minnesota,” said Ru-dolph. “It’s a dream come true.”

Last season, Rudolph had 30 catches for 310 yards, and three touchdowns, leading all tight ends in each of those categories on the Vikings.

The battle rages on between Rhett Ellison and Chase Ford with the departure of John Carl-son. Ford is currently on the PUP (Players Unable to Perform) list, which may force the Vikings to look at Ellison for the start of the season.

Receivers & Tight Ends: Locked n’ loaded

not only stay in the NFL but have some success. The two are both products of South Caro-lina physicality.

They also played in the SEC, which is undoubtedly the toughest college football conference in the country. The speed and strength of the play-ers is nothing like the other conferences, and Brinkley feels like it’s helped their jump from division I college football to the NFL.

“I feel like the SEC defi-nitely prepared us to the NFL.



FANTASY PREDICTIONS “Cordarrelle’s role is likely to change a little bit under new head coach Mike Zimmer and offensive coordinator Norv Turner. His 45 receptions should increase a bit and all signs appear to be pointing towards greater production across the board with offensive mastermind Turner at the controls.”continued from 27

FANTASY • Page 42

Mike Huerkamp • MSU ReporterAccording to NFL.com, Matt Cassel (16) is ranked the 35th best quarterbacks in fantasy football. Teddy Bridge-water (5) is 31st.

is a very valuable commodity in fantasy circles.

The wideout did a little bit of everything for the Purple as a rookie, managing to find the end zone four times as a receiver, three times as a rusher and two times as a return specialist for the Vikings while looking twice as fast as everyone else on the

field.Cordarrelle’s role is likely to

change a little bit under new head coach Mike Zimmer and offen-sive coordinator Norv Turner. His 45 receptions should in-crease a bit and all signs appear to be pointing towards greater production across the board with offensive mastermind Turner at

the controls.Patterson may be impacted

more negatively than anyone by the demolition of the Metro-dome, as he seemed to be in his element on the Dome’s turf last winter.

It will be interesting to see if the coaching staff keeps Cordar-relle in a return role if he develops

into a franchise cornerstone, but fantasy owners shouldn’t have a problem with “CDP” returning kicks as long as he avoids injury.

Patterson is ranked surpris-ingly high in the fantasy ranks and has some lofty expectations to live up to in order for an owner to justify using one of their top five picks on him. But with all that potential and Christian Pon-der nowhere to be found, would you bet against him?

Patterson Prediction: 60 catches, 900 yards receiving, 200 yards rushing, 10 touch-downs

Tight end Kyle Rudolph, who just re-signed for five years and $36 million, checks in next on the draft board for the Purple, sneaking into the top 100 over-all players with an Average Draft Position (ADP) of 97 despite playing in only eight games last season.

The Golden-Domer some-what underachieved in those eight games, hauling in just 30 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns, making ninth-ranked Rudolph the perfect “buy low” candidate and a steal at the tight end position.

Despite “tight end guru” Bill Musgrave no longer running the

offense, OC Norv Turner was running the show for the Char-gers for some of Antonio Gates’ great campaigns and all signs are pointing towards a huge season for Rudolph, who is a red zone magnet and will likely be a top-five tight end as a result.

Rudolph Prediction: 70 catches, 825 yards receiving, 10 touchdowns

After “The Big Three” Vi-kings are off the board, the rest of the squad will likely be draft-ed as bench players to round out rosters and make the occasional spot start if provided a good matchup.

Starting wide receiver Greg Jennings is somewhat of a sleep-er pick with an ADP of 142 over-all. Jennings actually had pretty decent number last season all things considered, and will likely benefit most if Matt Cassel holds onto the starting job deep into the season.

Cassel targeted Jennings a ton last season, as Greg caught 68 balls for 804 yards and four scores, doing most of his damage with Cassel at the helm.

If Teddy Bridgewater takes over, Jennings figures to see sig-


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Patterson’s hands last season, but he feels confident in Bridgewa-ter’s ability to lead the offense.

“I have had the opportunity to go with him a few times; he is looking good,” Patterson said. “He is a young guy and I feel like

he is going to be the star of this team one of these years.”

But despite the changes Pat-terson says that he doesn’t intend to change how he approaches his game once the season gets un-derway.

“Zimmer is a different coach than the last coach, but I try not to play differently,” Patterson said. “I want everything to stay the same; I will just get out there and do what I do best.”

Photo Courtesy of Associated Press Cordarrelle Patterson (84) catches a pass over wide receiver Adam Thielen.

PATTERSON “‘He brings that explosiveness and that excitement,” rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater said of Patterson. ‘You never know what to expect with Cor-darrelle.’” continued from 25


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It’s America’s best conference,” Brinkley said.

Brinkley stated his goal in camp is to compete.

“I want to let the coaches know that I can still play and make it a hard decision for the coaches. I’m going to go out and put my best foot forward,” Brinkley said.

The 6-foot-1, 252 lb. line-backer had 27 tackles and one pass deflection in 2013, but in 2012 he had 99 tackles with

three pass deflections. So far in camp, Brinkley has

been playing inside linebacker. Audie Cole is giving him a run for his money as far as inside linebackers go, and it’s going to be fun watching those two compete. He finished the 2013 season with 45 tackles and a sack. Brinkley is smart enough to fluctuate between inside and outside, and he doesn’t prefer one or the other.

“I’ll do either or. Whatever

that will keep me on the roster.”Munnerlyn is strictly a cor-

nerback, but we will see if the Vikings decide is the best man to cover the no. 1 receivers for at least 16 games. The only problem is he hasn’t been able to show what he can do yet due to an injury and being in the PUP list.

CAROLINA CONNECTION “‘It’s like the old college days,” Brinkley said. ‘A lot of jokes going on, but when it’s time serious, we come out ready to work.’”continued from 28

MINNESOTA VIKINGS TRAINING CAMP ISSUE | 2014 MSU REPORTER • 33

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DEFENSIVELINE

Trevor Cokley • MSU ReporterDefensive end Scott Crichton has been a very hard worker at training camp, hoping to land a starting spot.

The Minnesota Vikings had one of the worst defenses in the NFL during the 2013 season. They finished in the bottom two of the league in points against and yards against. Though there is reason to be optimistic. With new defensive coordinator George Edwards coming in to shake things up, and the players returning, there’s no reason the Vikings defense shouldn’t make big strides this season.

The loss of Jared Allen at de-fensive end hurts but Minnesota should still be okay with what they have.

Brian Robison and Everson Griffin return on defensive end with 64 tackles and 14.5 sacks between the two in 2013. It seems likely that these will be the guys playing the majority of snaps on the ends. From there, it looks like there might be a variety of play-ers splitting time among each other.

Linval Joseph comes to Min-nesota from the New York Gi-ants. The 6’4”, 323 lb. defensive tackle brings monstrous size to the line and some good experi-ence. Joseph had 33 tackles in 2013 to go along with a fumble recovery and three sacks. He

was a starter for the Giants in the past three seasons, so expect to see him on the line when the season opener at Detroit comes around.

On the other side, it looks like Sharrif Floyd and Fred Evans will likely split time at defensive tackle. In 2013, Floyd and Evans combined for two forced fumbles, 25 tackles, and 2.5 sacks. Neither would be a clear favorite to start, but both are capable of getting the job done. Some of the new guys in the room will give these five a run for their money, though.

Corey Wootton comes to the Vikings as a free agent from the Chicago Bears. At 6’6”, he’s got tremendous height for a defensive end and boasts some impressive stats. Last season, Wootton had 28 tackles, three sacks, two fum-ble recoveries, and five blocked passes. For a team that gave up the second most pass yards in the NFL last season, he could defi-nitely be an asset.

The rest of the depth chart is quite uncertain at this point. De-fensive end Tom Johnson from the New Orleans Saints brings four years of NFL experience to the table, and recorded two sacks last season. He could challenge for reps, though as an end, he has

Projected Depth ChartLeft Defensive End:1) Brian Robison #962) Scott Crichton #953) Justin Trattou #924) Jake Snyder #78

Nose Tackle:1) Linval Joseph #982) Fred Evans #90

3) Chase Baker #914) Shamar Stephen #93

Defensive Tackle:1) Sharrif Floyd #732) Tom Johnson #92

3) Kheeston Randall #794) Isame Faciane #76

Right Defensive End:1) Everson Griffen #972) Corey Wootton #99

3) Rakim Cox #684) Tyler Scott #64

Biggest Postion Battle:Linval Joseph

(2013 Stats: 59 Tackles, 3 Sacks, 1 Forced Fumble)

vs. Fred Evans

(20 Tackles, 1 Forced Fumble, 3 Pass Deflections)

Defensive Line: Finding a new sack kingWith Jared Allen gone, the Min-nesota Vikings are looking for a new guy to lasso quarterbacks

on a regular basis.

DEFENSIVE LINE • Page 41



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GREGJENNINGS

Yohanes Ashenafi • MSU Reporter

Photo Courtesy of Brian Denton

Last summer saw some an-ticipation building to see what long time Green Bay Packer Greg Jennings could bring to the Minnesota Vikings lineup. The 30-year-old wide receiver was a thorn in the side of Vikings fans for years when he was playing for the rival Packers from 2006-2012. But when Jennings came to Minnesota, he didn’t quite give Vikings fans the results they were hoping for.

Struggling to find a go to guy at the quarterback position, Jen-nings couldn’t find the chemistry

he was hoping to when on the field. In 15 starts during the 2013 season, Jennings collected 68 receptions for a season total of 804 yards and four touchdowns. Not bad numbers by any means, but not great either, despite the fact that he led Vikings receiv-ers. With the quarterback situa-tion looking to be more stable in 2014, Jennings hopes the offense can make improvements this sea-son.

“It’s our main job to put stress on the defense instead of letting them put the stress on us,” said Jennings.

Now about to start his second season in Minnesota, Jennings is excited about the new coaching

staff, which carries a different attitude.

“What Mike Zimmer brings is a winning mindset,” said Jen-nings. “And it’s not just a mind-set, it’s put into action. Everyone is held accountable and, with that attitude, we’ll be successful.”

But it’s not just Zimmer who can help Jennings rebound this season -- there’s also new of-fensive coordinator Norv Turner, who brings in a fresh, new start to an offense that struggled at times throughout the 2013 season. As a receiver who has surpassed the 1,000 yard barrier during three separate seasons, the shakeup in the offense this season may be just what he needs to have a great season.

“We’ll be successful,” said Jennings. “How many games we’ll win, we don’t know. But we’ll all be accountable and have some success.”

That success has already been shown in training camp with rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater connecting with Jennings on the field. As a veter-an of the NFL, Jennings playing mentor to young receivers such as Cordarrelle Patterson also plays a role in the success the of-fense will have.

“If I’m having success, it’s go-

ing to open up the door for suc-cess for other guys,” Jennings said. “If Cordarrelle’s having success, it’s going to open up the door for a lot of other guys, as well.”

Jennings also knows that while he is still valuable to the Vikings, showing the way for emerging stars is also important, and eventually the torch will have to be passed.

“For me, it was making sure that he understands that he has to be a professional. He has to be a pro’s pro when he steps foot [on the field].”

Born: September 21, 1983

College: Western Michigan

Drafted: 2006 2nd Round (52nd overall)by Green Bay

2013 Stats: 68 Rec., 804 Yards, 4 TD, (70 Long)

Strengths:Being a leader, great hands,

route running, athletic

Questions:Can he help Cordarrelle

Patterson make a big jump in his sophomore season? Will he be used as much

as he was at the end of the 2013 season?

Jennings ready to lead young receivers



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Photo Courtesy of Brian DentonThe secondary will be tested this season with the Vikings’ schedule and being in the NFC North.

ing to open up the door for suc-cess for other guys,” Jennings said. “If Cordarrelle’s having success, it’s going to open up the door for a lot of other guys, as well.”

Jennings also knows that while he is still valuable to the Vikings, showing the way for emerging stars is also important, and eventually the torch will have to be passed.

“For me, it was making sure that he understands that he has to be a professional. He has to be a pro’s pro when he steps foot [on the field].”

Projected Depth ChartLeft Cornerback:

1) Xavier Rhodes #292) Josh Robinson #213) Marcus Sherels #35

playing for a SpotDerek Cox #37

Kendall James #40Jabari Price #39

Strong Safety:1) Jamarca Sanford #332) Mistral Raymond #41

Free Safety:1) Harrison Smith #222) Robert Blanton #363) Kurt Coleman #20

4) Brandan Bishop #30

Right Cornerback:1) Shaun Prater #272) Antone Exum #32

3) Robert Steeples #264) Julian Posey #00

Big Position Battle:Jamarca Sanford

(2013 Stats: 75 Tackles, 2 Forced Fumbles,

1 Fumble Recovery) vs.

Mistral Raymond (15 Tackles)

There may not be a single player on the entire roster that better symbolized the disappoint-ment that was the 2013 Minne-sota Vikings than now-third year cornerback Josh Robinson. As a rookie, Robinson showed prom-ise in limited minutes. In fact, the Vikings were so impressed with what they saw in Robinson’s rookie season that they pulled the trigger on the dismissal of Antoine Winfield, a fan-favorite and legitimate superstar that had held down the Vikings second-ary for just short of a decade.

But to say Robinson took a step back in 2013 would be an understatement. The speedster out of Central Florida was la-beled as a weak spot by opposing defenses early in the season, and was constantly picked on for be-ing out of position. The Vikings would up with the second-worst pass defense in the league (4595 yards given up in the air) as they skidded to an NFC North-worst 5-10-1 after making the playoffs just one season prior.

In a nutshell, the Vikings learned an important lesson: potential doesn’t win football games.

So when asked what he needs to do in order to help a second-ary that drastically needs it in 2014, Josh Robinson’s short and seemingly obvious answer pretty much hits the nail right on the head.

“Make plays,” said Robinson. “We just have to make plays.”

He’s not wrong. In fact, new defensive coordinator George Edwards paints the picture that fixing the secondary isn’t ex-actly rocket science either.

“Well, schematically, I think we are going to be a little differ-ent. We’re up there. We are try-ing to challenge routes each and every time. But the big thing is, you know like Coach Zimmer says, is tackling. You’ve got to

DEFENSIVE BACKS •

Page 39

Jennings ready to lead young receivers Defensive Backs: New faces, new rolesTIGE HUTCHESONSpecial Reporter Contributor


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ADRIANPETERSON

Trevor Cokley • MSU ReporterCan he reach 2,500 rushing yards this season?

Born: March 21, 1985

College: OklahomaDrafted: 2007 1st Round

(7th Overall)

2013 Stats: 1,266 Rushing Yards,

4.5 YPA, 78 Long, 10 TD, 3 Fumbles

AP on hopefullyplaying a full season:

“It’s important. It is really important to me. Taking these past two years, I

have missed a couple of the last games and I have not been able to be a part of everything and fight

through all of it. Personally, it is very important for

me to do the small things and keep my body healthy and making sure I make it through the entire season.”


Adrian Peterson ended last season with 1,266 yards on 279 carries while recording 10 touch-downs. In some people’s mind, that was mediocre. In Peterson’s mind, that’s not what he wanted or expected, promising he would shoot for a 2,500-yard season.

“I feel pretty good about our chances,” said Peterson. “I feel like we have a great coaching staff and a good group of guys. It is going to be all about build-ing and making sure that we are all on the same page in terms of what we are trying to accomplish and what it is going to take to ac-complish that.”

For Peterson, arriving in Mankato was the point where it all dawned on him.

“Driving here, I wasn’t ex-cited, not going to lie,” said Pe-terson. “ But once I made it to Mankato, like the previous seven years, I started feeling the but-terflies and getting more excited about the upcoming season.”

On new head coach Mike Zimmer, Peterson knows to ex-pect a more hardedge approach and embraces it.

“ I expect him to be tough,” said Peterson. “He is a hard-

headed guy, and he expects the best from us. I definitely expect the intensity to be a little higher than normal. A little more con-tact than normal just off the feel of what I have of Coach Zimmer and what I feel like he would ex-pect during training camp. Me personally, I am all in for that.”

But outside of Vikings life, Peterson is just coming off tying the knot with his fiancée, Ashley Brown. The couple was wed on July 19 in a low-key ceremony.

“We were engaged July 4th, and that was an exciting and ex-plosive night. We were talking about going to the court to get married, but we did something more intimate at the house and tried to keep it in the wrap,” said Peterson. “That did not last too long, but yes, I am official. I am a married man. Only about twenty family members were there. Some of my brothers did not even make it because it was supposed to be something small and we wanted to do something later.”

No doubt Adrian Peterson will be a vital part to our offen-sive success. Watching him out there, he does not play like he is 30 years old. I expect big things coming from Peterson this year. Maybe 2,500 yards this season?

AP always ready for a new season


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DEFENSIVECOORDINATOR

Trevor Cokley • MSU ReporterCan he reach 2,500 rushing yards this season?

Born: January 16, 1967

Teams he’s coached: Dallas Cowboys

(Linebackers Coach)

Washington Redskins(Linebackers/

Defensive Coordinator)

Cleveland Browns(Linebackers Coach)

Miami Dolphins(Linebackers Coach)

Buffalo Bills(Defensive Coordinator)

Miami Dolphins(Linebackers Coach

Minnesota Vikings(Defensive Coordinator)

George Edwards:“I know it is early in the

process, and we have some unaswered questions on our side of the ball, but we are pleased at where the guys have come in and where they are working at right now. We are excited toget out here for another

good day today and hopefully get better.”

AP always ready for a new season Welcome to Minnesota George Edwards

Web PhotoDefensive Coordinator George Edwards will be a great mentor for An-thony Barr as a linebacker

“We want to see him be able to transition from run into pass, be able to get pressured in the pocket, up inside against the quarterback making him move his feet...”

- on Sharrif Floyd

“...he is going to be paying attention to details, he’s going to compete, he’s going to know what’s going on...”

- on Jamarca Sanford

“...they both have bought into what we were asking them to do fundamentally and technique wise so from that aspect we are excited where we are.”

- on Brian Robison and Everson Griffen

“... you know what you are getting every day with Chad. He is a hard worker, he is a pro, he’s always prepared...”

- on Chad Greenway


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Mike Huerkamp • MSU ReporterAP can’t take every handoff. Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon will be fighting for carries this training camp.


Running Backs:1) Adrian Peterson #28

2) Matt Asiata #443) Jerick McKinnon #31

4) Joe Banyard #235) Dominique Williams

#43

Fullbacks:1) Jerome Felton #42

2) Zach Line #48

Jerick McKinnon:“I think we are physically talented, can make cuts.

All of us have speed, and I think each one of us is

dynamic in our own ways.”

Running Backs: Who’s backing up AP?Since 2007 the talk about

the running back situation goes like this: There’s Adrian Peter-son, so who’s backing him up?

It always fluctuates though.The 2012 training camp

was echoed with murmurs of whether he was going to be ready for week one. He bare-ly did anything at training camp or in preseason games, so people were wondering if the smart man out of Stanford Toby Gearhart was finally go-ing to get his shot. That season turned out to be AP’s best one yet, running for 2,097 yards and averaging and unprece-dented six yards per carry.

The 2013 training camp had a lot of hope with such a young team and AP, the MVP, was viewed as a god. The question on everyone’s mind was ‘can he get to 2,500 rushing yards? Can he break the single season record?’ That didn’t go as well as hoped with 1,266 rushing yards.

This training camp there isn’t much of a change as who is going to receive 80-90 per-cent of the carries—that’s a no brainer. But with Toby Gear-

hart moving to the Jacksonville Jaguars for his shot at fame, who is backing up AP?

There are two legitimate guys playing for that spot in three-year man Matt Asiata and the 2014 3rd round draft pick Jerick McKinnon. Asiata got his moment to shine last season when AP missed the 48-30 victory over the Phila-

delphia Eagles. He didn’t rush for many yards, 51 to be exact, but he hunkered down at the goal line and punched in three touchdowns, making it look pretty easy in the red zone. The previous game that he had to make an emergency appear-ance with AP leaving with an injury, he rushed 14 times for 115 yards, averaging 8.2

yards a carry. He may be the front-runner

due to his experience and abil-ity to get a three-yard run in a cloud of dust, but there was a reason why McKinnon was drafted in the third round—he can run the football.

Standing at 5-foot-9 208 lbs.,

RUNNING BACKS • Page 39



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be able to get on and off blocks and make tackles and limit the gain after first contact, limit the gain after if they do catch the ball,” Edwards said early in camp. “In that aspect, those are the things that we are emphasiz-ing, the fundamentals and tech-niques of really trying to get in good position to go compete for

every ball.”However, unlike 2013, the

cupboard isn’t completely dry. In 2013, #29 overall pick Xavier Rhodes proved himself as more than just blind potential. He showed flashes of “shutdown corner” status more and more as the year went on, finishing out the season as a vital cog and un-

disputed starter in the Vikings defense. Of course, ask Robin-son how much all that means if you regress in year two.

Even more important was the free agent acquisition of 26-year old cornerback Captain Munnerlyn from the Carolina Panthers. Munnerlyn spent 2013 coming on strong as a third cor-

Running Backs: Who’s backing up AP? D-BACKS “In a nutshell, the Vi-kings learned an important lesson: potential doesn’t win football games.”continued from 35

the Georgia Southern product resembles a skinnier Maurice Jones-Drew. He’s speedy but he can run up the gut and push the pile as well. He’s great at finding the running seem, and his 4.37 40-time at the NFL Combine shows that he can break away for that 80-yard touchdown.

His senior year he rushed 161 times for 1,116 yards, giv-ing him a 6.5 yards per carry average. Averaging 105 yards a game, he also scored 12 touch-downs on the ground.

He’s only been in the NFL for a few months, but he al-ready sees the potential in this season’s running back corps.

“I think we are physically talented, can make cuts. All of us have speed, and I think each one of us is dynamic in our own ways,” McKinnon said.

Sunday July 27 was the first day of pads for the rookie, and that day he got his “welcome the NFL hit” trying to pass block and saw pro-bowl line-backer Chad Greenway in the way.

“It’s something that you have to be ready for as a run-ning back,” McKinnon said. “You can’t be too conserva-tive.”

For the third straight sea-son, AP will be running be-hind the great wall of Jerome

Felton. Since he’s presence in purple and white, he’s lead the best running back in the league and he has a lot to do with his success. The pro-bowler has been the league since 2008 but hasn’t yet scored a touchdown. Fullbacks aren’t known for their rushing, but hopefully he can have some fun and score a touchdown or two this sea-son—he deserves it.

“I don’t know what my role is going to be, but whatever it is, whatever is placed on me I’m going to do it to my fullest potential.”

RUNNING BACKS • Page 39

RUNNING BACKS “But with Toby Gearhart moving to the Jacksonville Jaguars for his shot at fame, who is backing up AP?”continued from 38

nerback for the team that em-barrassed the Vikings 35-10, largely with an aerial assault, in week six. The Captain brings grit and promise, no doubt, but again, promise alone won’t win football games.

There’s a ton of potential. Marcus Sherels reminded us in 2013 that he may never be a star, but he will never be com-pletely counted out either. Safe-ties Robert Blanton, whose im-provement has already drawn the praise of Zimmer, and 2012 rookie standout Harrison Smith (if he can remain healthy) will be set to don the purple and gold instead of Fighting Irish blue and metallic for the third year in a row. Midseason pickup and Hawkeye journeyman cor-nerback Shaun Prater will enter his third season as a pro with his third home after starting three games last season. Heck, safety Jamarca Sanford is set to represent the oldest member of the entire Vikings secondary at a lively 28-years-young.

But Coach Zimmer isn’t messing around. Neither is Ed-wards. And while both natural-

ly have to expect improvement to take a little time, neither one seem to have a lot of patience for “potential” at its root.

The Vikings have the raw talent to take a big step forward on defense in 2014. With The Captain at the helm and prized former draft picks Xavier Rhodes and Harrison Smith by his side, it seems the sky is the limit. I mean, with the second-worst passing defense in the NFL, there’s not really any-where else to go but up, right? The roster oozes with potential, grit, and promise; the front of-fice has done its part by re-sponding to struggles by invest-ing the future of the franchise largely in these youngsters to improve quickly and put the team in a position to win im-mediately. But unlike 2013, it’s more important than ever be-fore for the Vikings secondary to finally blast off and see just how high that ceiling can be.


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When NFL players start pull-ing into to respective campuses for training camp, they need and want to have everything be just about getting better at the game of football. But some of them unfortunately have this “this is the end of my contract year, why haven’t I signed a new contract yet” mentality if they start to see the checkered flag to their con-tract.

Not Vikings’ tight end Kyle Rudolph though.

There was speculation that he was coming to camp on his last season of his contract, but you couldn’t tell by how focused and determined he looked on the practice fields.

“Right now we have so much going on football wise, trying to get as far in to this new offense as possible and as comfortable as I can to before we play our first preseason game,” Rudolph said. “I have plenty of to worry about

with that stuff to worry about anything else.”

And the work was finished. Just a few days into camp, Ru-dolph happily found out he is go-ing to be a Viking for at least the next six seasons. With a five-year deal worth a minimum of $36.5, the former Notre Dame standout feels appreciative towards the team that believed in him since the 2011 draft.

“Being in an organization that took a chance on me out of the draft being hurt at the time and still drafting me when they did, and now giving me this exten-sion, it shows the faith they have in me,” Rudolph said.

Along with being the Pro Bowl MVP in 2013, he has 109 career receptions for 1,055 career receiving yards.

Being the quiet, humble guy that he is, he’s writing his first big check to his former high school, Elder High School, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Take your coat off, stay awhile Mr. Rudolph


Mike Huerkamp • MSU Reporter

After a Pro Bowl MVP award and three productive seasons, the Vikings have resigned their tight end for the future.


some pretty good players ahead of him. 2014 draft picks Scott Crichton and Shamar Stephen both bring some size to the ros-ter, but their youth may limit their reps during their rookie season.

Edwards believes there will be improvements in the Vikings de-fensive line now that he is at the helm, and that’s exactly what they need.

“There was a lot of holes there when we first came in here,” said Edwards. “We’ve added some new players to that position. One thing you always like to see is guys working together and try-ing to help each other, and you see that group right now coach-ing each other when we’re not around, helping each other, trying to talk about pointers, trying to talk about the message that we’re trying to get accomplished, what we’re trying to do schematically, defensively the fundamentals and techniques of it.”

MSU Reporter ArchivesJared Allen (left) will always be missed by Vikings fans, but it opened up the door for the next sack king. Who wants it?

DEFENSIVE LINE “On the other side, it looks like Sharrif Floyd and Fred Evans will likely split time at defensive tackle. ”continued from 33


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FANTASY “The Viking defense may not improve much from a yards allowed standpoint, but the Mike Zim-mer hire should make a dramatic difference from a fantasy perspective. ”continued from 30

over, Jennings figures to see significantly less targets than Patterson and Rudolph. But if Cassel and his intermediate pass-ing tendencies hold onto the job, Jennings could see more targets than Patterson for sure and may be worth using frequently in a flex spot.

Fellow wideouts Jerome Simpson and Jarius Wright are still in the picture for targets as well, but should both be pretty irrelevant fantasy-wise with Pat-terson’s likely emergence.

Wide Receiver Predictions: Jennings- 60 catches, 750 yards, four touchdowns

Simpson- 20 catches, 250 yards, two touchdowns

Wright- 25 catches, 250 yards, two touchdowns

The quarterback position is very tricky for the Purple from a fantasy perspective. In one QB leagues, fantasy owners would be wise to avoid the Cassel/Bridge-

water situation unless they have a tasty matchup as a bye-week fill-in from the free agent pool.

However, in two QB leagues I would recommend drafting them both and using whichever one is starting as a solid QB2 to go along with your Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Tony Romo’s of the world.

Cassel Prediction: 2,200 yards passing with 15 touch-downs and 12 interceptions

Bridgewater Prediction: 1,300 yards passing with nine touchdowns and four intercep-tions

As far as the kicking game goes, third-year pro Blair Walsh is still one of the best kickers in fantasy due to his ability to connect from 50-plus yards out. However, the TCF Bank Stadium factor is in play again as Walsh will no longer get eight games kicking in the comforts of a stuffy dome.

Walsh Prediction: 25 field goals made, five from 50+, 46

extra points The Viking defense may not

improve much from a yards al-lowed standpoint, but the Mike Zimmer hire should make a dra-matic difference from a fantasy perspective.

The days of the “bend but don’t break” defensive scheme appear to be over, as Zimmer’s Bengals teams were known for taking chances, forcing turn-

overs and bringing down the quarterback.

With the loss of Jared Allen, the Vikings are unlikely to im-prove much upon their 41 sacks last season, but they should force way more turnovers than the 20 they mustered last season.

That being said, you’d be wise to avoid the Viking D completely unless they are playing a third-string quarterback at TCF Bank

sometime in November or De-cember, which is actually a good possibility in today’s NFL.

As far as Individual Defensive Players go for all you big-time fantasy geeks out there, safety Harrison Smith, linebacker Chad Greenway and defensive end Everson Griffen should all be good IDPs this season.

Good luck Owners.


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