What are your thoughts on second Vikings loss?

Following are opinions from Mille Lacs County Times  editor-sports editor Gary Larson, reporter Luther Dorr and former Times intern Logan Marxhausen who’s now on the sports staff at the St. Cloud State University Chronicle. Note: This feature is written on Monday each week.
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•Question:  Arizona handed the Minnesota Vikings their second loss of the season Sunday night, 30-17. Your thoughts?

-Dorr: Last week a friend who has watched the Vikings nearly as long as I have chastised me for reporting that the Vikings had compiled their 10-1 record mostly against teams that were on the lower rung of the NFL. They can’t help what their schedule has been, he told me. I agreed that they could only play the schedule given them but that I thought the relative ease of the schedule didn’t mean the Vikings were a top team. As it stands today the only team over .500 the Vikings have beaten is Green Bay (8-4). And their other loss came to the 6-6 Steelers, a team that has lost four in a row. I’ve thought all season that the Minnesota defense is overrated. Also,  the fumbling Adrian Peterson has slipped quite a ways on the list of top runners. Now the Vikings face the 9-3 Cincinnati Bengals before finishing against three teams that are 17-19. Maybe the Vikings were just due for a bad game. They still have a two-game lead over Green Bay and can still win the division. The loss of linebacker E. J. Henderson to injury Sunday was probably a bigger deal than the loss to Arizona.

-Marxhausen:  The Vikings were dealt a huge blow Sunday night. I am not talking about the loss to Arizona, but about the loss of the key to their defense. The middle linebacker is a very important position in the defense and with E. J. Henderson on the sidelines for the rest of the season hurts the Vikings greatly. Not only did the Vikings lose a middle linebacker, but the anchor for their defense. The Vikings did not look ready to play Sunday night. Maybe they are just a day team. Brett Favre looked rattled with the three-man rush that affected his time in the pocket greatly. Adrian Peterson couldn’t get anything going and was shut down with every snap. The Vikings will have to face a lot of adversity the rest of the season, but they have the personnel to get through this.

-Larson: Arizona showed up ready to play. Minnesota didn’t and even an early fumble recovery and score couldn’t jolt the Vikings into a game-day mode. Let’s give our favorites a pass on this one but just one pass. Victories are usually a team effort and this clunker certainly was as the Vikings broke down all over the place. Will Minnesota be able to compensate for the loss of middle linebacker E .J. Henderson? Rookie Jasper Brinkley has some big shoes to fill. And, is defensive back Antoine Winfield ever coming back? We’ll see what kind of character this Vikings team has Sunday when Cincinnati comes to the Metrodome. Even the poor teams have lit up the Minnesota secondary which faces another test against Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer. A loss to the Bengals would make remaining games at Carolina, at Chicago and home against the New York Giants “very interesting” as the German sergeant on “Hogan’s Heroes” often said.

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•Question:  The 2009 Heisman Trophy winner will be announced Saturday. Who would your vote go to?

-Dorr: My vote would go to Stanford running back Toby Gerhart who has scored 26 touchdowns. Also an outstanding college baseball player, Gerhart had a great game against Notre Dame, scoring three touchdowns and throwing for one. I like the way he plays so hard on every play. I imagine Texas quarterback Colt McCoy will win the award, although defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska has gotten some mention lately, especially after the way he played against McCoy and the heavily-favored Texas team.

-Marxhausen:   I believe the Heisman winner will go to a player who’s on an undefeated team. No, not Colt McCoy. His numbers have been down since 2008 and he is not looking very good compared to the rest of the group. I don’t like Tim Tebow’s chances, either. He would have been able to secure a victory if Florida would have triumphed over Alabama and had a decent game in the process. I believe running back Mark Ingram of Alabama deserves to pose with the Heisman Trophy this season. He has 1,542 yards and 15 touchdowns. He is also leading his team to the BCS Championship. Stanford’s Toby Gerhart was my second pick as he played consistently all year and helped pick up Stanford’s program. I would’ve traveled to Nebraska for my third choice in Ndamukong Suh. Suh had a great season with 12 sacks in 13 games.

-Larson:  Florida’s loss to Alabama Saturday nixed Gators quarterback Tim Tebow’s chances of becoming only the second player to win the Heisman Trophy twice, with Ohio State’s Archie Griffith (1974, 1975) being the lone player to accomplish that so far. Texas quarterback Colt McCoy will probably take the trophy back to Austin. I’m wavering between Stanford bulldozer Toby Gerhart and Nebraska head-busting defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. The Heisman Trophy is supposed to go to the best player, so I’ll give the nod to Suh.
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•Question:  The University of Minnesota will meet Iowa State in the Insight Bowl Dec. 31 in Tempe, Ariz. How excited are you over that one?

-Dorr: I’m enough of a U of M football fan that I will be interested in the game. The ending to the regular season was so horrendous that the game will serve as an antidote – or so Gopher fans hope – to what happened those last three weeks. Not even a win against Iowa State will wipe out what happened against Illinois, South Dakota State and Iowa but it is a chance to look to the season ahead. The reputation of Tim Brewster will also be somewhat on the line if his team can’t beat an Iowa State team that gave up huge chunks of rushing yardage this season.

-Marxhausen: The Gophers did not have a great season and are lucky to get to a bowl game. The players, however, see this as another chance to play well and possibly add a trophy to the trophy case, which hasn’t expanded much in recent years. The game is not going to be seen as a very important game, but these student-athletes are just out there to have fun. The game will be a competitive one because of the average success of both teams. Any Gopher fan should be happy they get to see them play one more time this season.

-Larson:  I’m somewhat excited. It looks like an even match-up between teams that didn’t accomplish much this season and it will be interesting to see how the Gophers rebound from a disappointing finish to the regular season.
Unless a Twin Cities station picks up the broadcast not too many home folks will be able to watch the Dec. 31 game. The game is scheduled to be carried by the NFL Network.
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•Question: How much has Tiger Woods’ reputation been damaged? Do you expect the recent incident to affect his golf game?

-Dorr: Fans are usually pretty forgiving (witness the 2003 sexual assault case of Kobe Bryant of the Lakers) but one can only imagine the things you will hear yelled by fans when the 2010 PGA season gets going. “You the man” will probably be replaced by taunts from those who don’t like Woods. He’ll probably lose an endorsement or two but, money-wise, that won’t make a difference to a player who makes millions and millions of dollars a year in endorsements. I don’t expect his golf game to be affected, although his performance in 2009 wasn’t up to the usual Tiger standards. Maybe the 2009 showing was affected a bit by what he knew might become public.

-Marxhausen:  Woods is a human being and makes mistakes like everyone else out in the world. As he said in an interview after the investigation was over, he apologizes for all the people he has affected, but wants to let this remain a private matter. That is what it should stay. Woods did not cheat the game of golf nor did he do anything golf related to affect his golf reputation. The only way this will affect his game is if the public will not let him be. Woods is arguably the best golfer the world has ever seen and has faced adversity through his life as a golfer. He will not be swayed unless the public pushes him enough to get to that point.

-Larson: Woods’ image has been tarnished but we’re a forgiving society, especially if the one in focus is a super athlete or entertainer. We’re quick to overlook character flaws as long as great shots are made and hit movies and songs continue to be turned out. We overlooked a president’s transgressions and we’ll probably do the same with Woods.
How will Woods react on the golf course? A lot depends on what transpires between now and the first 2010 PGA event. Practice, practice, practice is a key for all athletes and how recent and future events affect Woods’ preparation for 2010 will be a key factor.
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Do you have an opinion on any of this week’s questions? Do you agree or disagree with the sportswriters? Let us know by sending an e-mail to editor.millelacscotimes@ecm-inc.com or a note to Mille Lacs County Times, 225 S.W. 2nd St. Milaca, MN 56353. Or comment online.

Tags: Gary Larson