Daily Clips Sunday, February 3, 2019
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DAILY CLIPS SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2019 LOCAL NEWS: Sunday, February 3, 2019 Star Tribune Steve Hutchinson falls one step short of Hall of Fame By Mark Craig http://www.startribune.com/steve-hutchinson-falls-one-step-short-of-hall-of-fame/505254542/ Bud Grant's coaching career was part Sean McVay, part Bill Belichick By Sid Hartman http://www.startribune.com/bud-grant-s-coaching-career-was-part-sean-mcvay-part-bill-belichick/505254142/ SKOR North Building of Patriots’ offense should be blueprint for Vikings offseason By Matthew Coller https://www.skornorth.com/vikings-2/2019/02/building-of-patriots-offense-should-be-blueprint-for-vikings-offseason/ MULTIMEDIA LINKS: Sunday, February 3, 2019 Adam Thielen cooks Super Bowl chili with Chef Kenneth USA Today https://www.usatoday.com/videos/sports/nfl/super-bowl/2019/02/03/adam-thielen-cooks-super-bowl-chili-chef- kenneth/2758364002/ Kirk Cousins Joins SportsCenter ESPN 2 http://mms.tveyes.com/PlaybackPortal.aspx?SavedEditID=53f49f61-653c-4d4a-b72b-de4d1b254dd8 Kirk Cousins Joins Good Morning Football NFL Network http://mms.tveyes.com/PlaybackPortal.aspx?SavedEditID=31f79c0f-0af2-46dd-9767-9615b8e5c844 PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 2/3/19 Steve Hutchinson falls one step short of Hall of Fame By Mark Craig Former Vikings guard Steve Hutchinson will have to wait at least another year on the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But there is some good news for Hutch and his fans. Unlike last year, the 48-member selection committee did chip away at the four-person logjam at offensive line by choosing former Seahawks, Jets and Titans center Kevin Mawae as one of the eight members of the Class of 2019. Hutchinson and fellow guard Alan Faneca made the modern-era cut from 15 to 10 while left tackle Tony Boselli did not. Other modern-era players joining Mawae in the Class of 2019 are cornerbacks Champ Bailey and Ty Law, safety Ed Reed and tight end Tony Gonzalez. Bailey, Reed and Gonzalez were selected in their first year of eligibility. Law was in his fifth year of eligibility and is the first member of the Patriots dynasty to be selected. He won three Super Bowls with New England. Former Chiefs safety Johnny Robinson, who had an interception in Kansas City’s Super Bowl IV win over the Vikings, made it as the senior finalist. Former Cowoboys executive Gil Brandt and Broncos owner Pat Bowlen made it as finalists in the contributors category. The entire 48-member committee, including yours truly, voted yes or no on those eight candidates. Thirty-nine yes votes were needed to make it in. Eliminated in the cut from 15 to 10 modern-era finalists were Boselli, Raiders coach Tom Flores, Rams receiver Isaac Bruce, Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour and Bucs and Broncos safety John Lynch. Eliminated in the cut from 10 to five were Hutchinson, Faneca, Broncos safety Steve Atwater, Colts and Cardinals running back Edgerrin James and Cardinals and Chargers coach Don Coryell. The committee spent 10 minutes, 42 seconds on Robinson, 19:29 on Bowlen and a meeting-high 34:05 on Brandt. The offensive linemen were discussed next in alphabetical order. A total of 74 minutes, 10 seconds were spent trying to say something that would break up the field in a year when two finalists — Gonzalez and Reed — were considered locks with Bailey not far behind. The committee spent 26:11 on Boselli, 24:24 on Mawae, 13:03 on Hutchinson and 10:32 on Faneca. The extra long discussion on Boselli couldn’t sway enough selectors who acknowledge Boselli’s greatness but still believe a 91-game career falls short of Canton at this point. The sense is Faneca, a 6-time All-Pro, and Hutchinson, a 5-time All-Pro, split the votes at guard, opening the door for the somewhat surprising pick of Mawae as only the fourth center selected in the past 50 years. He had fewer All-Pro honors (three), but played in more games, 241, while blocking for as many 100-yard rushers (91) as Boselli had games played. In his second-year of eligibility, Hutchinson was praised for his toughness and intelligence but ultimately fell victim to the committee’s decision to unclog the five-member defensive back field by taking both Bailey and Law when it appeared it might be either or. Reed, the final player discussed, required the least amount of discussion at 2:28. Gonzalez was next at 6:28 followed by Bruce at 8:16. Hutchinson and Faneca will no doubt reach the final 15 again next year. Boselli could be back as well. Among next year’s first-year eligible players are Steelers safety Troy Palomalu, Colts receiver Reggie Wayne and 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis. PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 2/3/19 Bud Grant's coaching career was part Sean McVay, part Bill Belichick By Sid Hartman One of the biggest story lines for this Super Bowl is the difference between the Patriots’ long-running dynasty under Bill Belichick vs. the young startup squad in the Rams with Sean McVay, who was the youngest head coach in NFL history when he was hired by the Rams at 30 and is now the youngest head coach in Super Bowl history at 33. Former Vikings coach Bud Grant knows how it feels to be in both positions. When Grant was hired by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1957, he became the youngest head coach in Canadian Football League history at 29. His team would reach the Grey Cup, the CFL championship game, in his first season, and after that it would win the title in four of the next five seasons. Young blood coaches of the NFL Here's a look at the 10 youngest head coaches in NFL history. “You do not win with good coaches, you win with good players,” Grant said when asked about being a winning coach at a young age. “[The Rams] had a nucleus of good players, they have drafted good players, and they have stayed healthy and done a good job. “You get continuity, and that helps. Certainly there are young coaches coming in all the time, and a lot of them aspire to be head coaches, but it is not the X’s and O’s that you do as a coach. It is the recognition of positioning players on the team, keeping them healthy, your scouting is good — those are the things that are as important as the coach or a particular player.” Grant was a more seasoned coach during his time with the Vikings. From 1968 to 1980, they reached the playoffs 11 times in 13 seasons, including four Super Bowls in that stretch. The Patriots have now reached the playoffs in 16 of 18 seasons and made nine Super Bowls in that time. “Somebody is doing a good job,” Grant said of the Patriots. “They have also had good fortune. But you have good coaches, good players and good fortune, and that is what you need to have a winning season and go to the Super Bowl. “I keep referring to luck — there is so many things you can control and there are things out of your control, like officiating can rob you.” When Grant was asked about the four Super Bowl losses the Vikings had against the Chiefs, Dolphins, Steelers and Raiders, he said those were four of the best teams in league history. “We played very good teams — Miami at their peak, Pittsburgh at their peak, Oakland, that was their run when we lost to Oakland,” Grant said. “But I think it is harder today.” Can’t compare NFL eras When asked how Grant would compare the Patriots dynasty to the Steelers dynasty in the 1970s — Pittsburgh won four Super Bowls in six seasons — he said the league is always improving. “Well, it’s hard. The thing you don’t want to do nowadays is compare eras,” the 91-year-old Hall of Famer said. “I mean, football going forward has gotten better every year. There are more players that aspire to be professional football players, that train at getting better, evaluations are getting better, the coaching is getting better, the pool of players is getting better. You cannot compare a player from that era and this era.” Still, Grant is very impressed by what the Patriots have done. “It is hard to repeat nowadays with the movement of players and the draft and it kind of equals out so that every team — well, not every team, but half of the teams that start the season have a chance to get to the Super Bowl because the talent has leveled out and they are all pretty well equal now,” he said. Did Grant want to predict a winner for the big game? “Sid, that’s your job,” he said. “I can’t pick the winners. I never do. I never look at it that way. But the experts, you sportswriters, you pick the winners.” Purdue has Gophers; number The Gophers men’s basketball team always seems to have a hard time with Purdue. The Boilermakers, who play host to Minnesota on Sunday, lead the all-time series 94-78, and while the Gophers won in overtime at Purdue in 2017, that broke a streak of eight consecutive losses in West Lafayette, Ind., dating to 2005. Ranked 17th, Purdue might be the hottest team in the country. After a stretch of four losses in five games that put the Boilermakers at 6-5 overall, they are 9-1 in their past 10 games, including a convincing 73-63 home victory over No.