Vikings

Inman: Minnesota Vikings Notebook, Interview with Anthony Harris

With their backs against the wall, the Minnesota Vikings know deep down in their plums they’re in a do-or-die situation as they travel to Jacksonville.

The team that was the last to remain undefeated in the NFL at 5-0 has dropped six of their last seven games, forcing themselves to run the table if they want any chance at a playoff berth. With four games remaining, it’s plausible the Vikings could go undefeated during the month of December and back their way into the postseason. However, this team can’t look past the Jacksonville Jaguars, a unit that has struggled in their own right. 

Under head coach Gus Bradley, the Jaguars the team has underachieved, and taken a step backwards in 2016 — losing their last seven games after a 2-2 start. The franchise was supposed to build off a solid second season by quarterback Blake Bortles after he threw for the second-most touchdown passes (35), trailing only New England’s Tom Brady. Instead, the team looks as though it will be hard-pressed to even match their 5-11 record from the 2015 season.

While the Jaguars are all but mathematically out of the playoffs, rest assured Bradley will not let his team lay down and will have his players ready to fight against the Vikings

These struggles have built a thick frustration inside the Jaguars fan base and organization, and some are calling for Bradley’s head because of it. It’s tough to blame them, though, as Bradley has the worst regular season record of any head coach in the NFL during his four years with a putrid 14-46 record (.233 winning percentage) after being hired from the Seattle Seahawks.

While the Jaguars are all but mathematically out of the playoffs, rest assured Bradley will not let his team lay down and will have his players ready to fight against the Vikings. By 3:30 p.m. Central this Sunday afternoon the Vikings will either have hit a dead end on their road to the playoffs, or have a rare outdoor road win to build upon and some rare momentum to start their hopeful December push back to relevance.

Purple Points

Bradley’s Purple Ties

Facing off versus the Vikings will be bittersweet for Bradley, having grown up a lifelong fan of the purple and gold. Bradley grew up in Zumbrota, Minn. and went to college at North Dakota State where he eventually was hired to work for the Bison football program from 1996 to 2005 as their defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. Bradley said undoubtedly the Vikings were his favorite team while hailing from the midwest and is still heartbroken from the team’s 1998 NFC Championship loss to the Falcons.

OL Guess Who

These two teams are similar in a lot of fashions, including playing for coaches who are in their first NFL head coaching stints. Mike Zimmer and Bradley both base the foundation of their team on great defense and both coaches have loads of young talent on their roster. However, both coaches also face eerily similar problems on the other side of the ball after a plethora of injuries to their offensive line. Like the Vikings, the Jaguars have a number of starting offensive linemen the common fan has never heard of.

From Jermey Parnell to Jeremiah Poutasi, the Jaguars unit is one that has struggled to stay healthy and keep their quarterback upright this season. According to Football Outsiders, the Jaguars and Vikings rank 29th and 31st in adjusted sack rate, respectively, and are no better opening holes in the running game, either. Want more? Both teams even have a former top-five draft pick at offensive tackle who has been shelved this year due to injury in Matt Kalil and Luke Joeckel.

Now this is getting weird.

Back to the (Draft) Future

The NFL is a fickle thing and the difference between an exciting and hopeful franchise versus a disgruntled one often comes down to hitting or missing just one or two draft picks. The Oakland Raiders are a prime example of this when comparing them to the Jaguars. Specifically, as Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie hit on quarterback Derek Carr in the second round while David Caldwell is still crossing his fingers the quarterback he took a whole round earlier won’t set his team back another decade.

Had the Jaguars waited for Carr in the second round like they should have, they would have had the ability to then instead take All-Pro linebacker Khalil Mack (another Raiders investment), or a wide receiver like Sammy Watkins, Mike Evans or Odell Beckham Jr.

Keep going down the draft rabbit hole and the preceding draft seems to be just as messy with Caldwell taking edge rusher Dante Fowler with the third pick to aid coach Bradley’s aggressive scheme he brought over from Seattle. However, Fowler has been a major bust up until this point, missing his entire rookie season and looking average at best when on the field in 2016. Who could the Jaguars have added instead? Only young and budding superstars like Amari Cooper, Brandon Scherff or Todd Gurley. They could have then filled the void left by Fowler in the front seven on a player like Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks or Washington defensive tackle Preston Smith.

Of course, it’s easy to say now after seeing how the cards fell, and hindsight is 20/20. But, with just a few swaps of names the Jaguars could’ve gone from flops like Bortles and Fowler to Carr, Beckham and Gurley.

Whoa.

Safety First

Vikings All-Pro safety Harrison Smith was seen without his walking boot after Thursday’s practice in the locker room. Smith was in his comfy sweatsuit and was moving gingerly but seemed to be in good spirits overall. In his place, it seems second-year safety Anthony Harris will fill in after he received the majority of reps in practice next to Andrew Sendejo.

I caught up with Harris in the locker room after practice about the potential of him receiving his third career start.

Special Ace

Marcus Sherels returned to practice Thursday and should be back in action against the Jaguars on Sunday. While he is just a backup cornerback, Sherels’ value as a punt returner and special teamer is invaluable. This was never more apparent than after Thursday’s loss to the Cowboys, when Adam Thielen took his place and fumbled a critical punt return in the fourth quarter — proving once again, you don’t know what you got until it’s gone.

Return of the King

It was announced this week that running back Adrian Peterson would likely return to the starting lineup before season’s end. However, Peterson had a certain stipulation, stating that he would only return back to football in 2016 if the team was still in contention for the playoffs. As we broke down before, the Vikings will have to run the table in December — winning their last four games. If this were the case, Peterson would likely return for the Week 16 matchup versus Minnesota’s biggest rival — the Green Bay Packers. The Vikings offense has been putrid running the ball this season, with a league-worst 3.0 yards per carry and could use Peterson’s ability specifically on third-and-short situations. However, the fanbase should keep in mind before his injury, Peterson was also struggling, rushing for just 50 yards on 33 carries.

Those totals stretched out would easily equate to his worst statistical season ever since entering the league in 2007. Defenses still have to respect Peterson when in the backfield, though, and he would likely help out Sam Bradford and the passing game when working off play-action looks. That’s something Bradford has not had the luxury of this year.

Stand Up Teddy

On a lighter note, Teddy Bridgewater was in high spirits in the locker room following Thursday’s practice. Bridgewater is off crutches following his major knee surgery stemming from his injury last August. Bridgewater was wearing a brace on his surgically-repaired knee — which is expected — but what was more noticeable than his physical attributes was his high spirits.

Bridgewater came into the locker room with a smile from ear-to-ear and could be seen and heard joking with his friends and staff members, even calling out his teammates energetically from one end of the room to the other. Being so early in his rehab, it’s foolish to guess on a realistic time table for his return. However, one thing was clear after seeing the quarterback Thursday, and that was Bridgewater is carrying a positive attitude on his road to recovery while continuing to be a strong presence in the locker room while keeping his teammates loose.

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