Daily Clips Sunday, October 28, 2018
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DAILY CLIPS SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2018 LOCAL NEWS: Sunday, October 28, 2018 Star Tribune Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs comfortable as a nonconformist By Ben Goessling http://www.startribune.com/vikings-receiver-stefon-diggs-comfortable-as-a-nonconformist/498808481/ Vikings are in debt to Saints defender Marcus Williams, architect of the Minneapolis Miracle By Jim Souhan http://www.startribune.com/vikings-are-in-debt-to-saints-defender-marcus-williams-architect-of-the-minneapolis- miracle/498801721/ Vikings vs. Saints: Minnesota will win if ... By Ben Goessling http://www.startribune.com/vikings-vs-saints-minnesota-will-win-if/498808451/ Before the Vikings' Minneapolis Miracle, there were these nine NFL playoff gaffes By Mark Craig http://www.startribune.com/before-the-vikings-minneapolis-miracle-there-were-these-10-nfl-playoff-gaffes/498803731/ Linebacker Eric Kendricks faces challenge in absence of teammate Anthony Barr By Sid Hartman http://www.startribune.com/linebacker-eric-kendricks-faces-challenge-in-absense-of-teammate-anthony-barr/498799611/ Should NFL teams go for two-point conversions more often? By Andrew Krammer and Michael Rand http://www.startribune.com/should-nfl-teams-go-for-two-point-conversions-more-often/498799021/ Pioneer Press Charley Walters: Vikings will need reliable runner next season By Charley Walters https://www.twincities.com/2018/10/27/charley-walters-vikings-will-need-reliable-runner-next-season/ Thin on offensive line, Vikings elevate tackle Storm Norton from practice squad By Chris Tomasson https://www.twincities.com/2018/10/27/thin-on-offensive-line-vikings-elevate-tackle-storm-norton-from-practice-squad/ Vikings.com Final Thoughts: 3rd down offense, red zone defense key for Vikings By Mike Wobschall https://www.vikings.com/news/final-thoughts-3rd-down-offense-red-zone-defense-key-for-vikings Zimmer, Vikings Describe Challenges of Facing Drew Brees By Lindsey Young https://www.vikings.com/news/zimmer-vikings-describe-challenges-of-facing-drew-brees 3 (Non-Vikings) Games to Watch in Week 8 By Craig Peters https://www.vikings.com/news/3-non-vikings-games-to-watch-in-week-8 How to Watch & Listen to Saints at Vikings in Week 8 By Craig Peters https://www.vikings.com/news/how-to-watch-listen-to-saints-at-vikings-in-week-8 VIKING Update Preview: Saints bring strong run game, run defense By John Holler https://247sports.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings/Article/Preview-Saints-bring-strong-run-game-run-defense-to-Minnesota- 123825030/ 1500 ESPN The lasting impact of Teddy Bridgewater on the Minnesota Vikings By Matthew Coller http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2018/10/lasting-impact-teddy-bridgewater-minnesota-vikings/ The Athletic Vikings Week 8 preview: Rematch with Saints brings chance for signature win By The Athletic Staff https://theathletic.com/616736/2018/10/27/vikings-week-8-preview-saints-drew-brees-alvin-kamara-rematch-signature-win/ NATIONAL NEWS: Sunday, October 28, 2018 CBS Sports Vikings' Everson Griffen will reportedly return against Saints after five-week absence By Cody Benjamin https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/vikings-everson-griffen-will-reportedly-return-against-saints-after-five-week-absence/ PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 10/28/18 Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs comfortable as a nonconformist By Ben Goessling The subject turns to fashion, as Stefon Diggs’ black Mercedes S550 nears Terminal 1 at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, and the wide receiver shares what might seem an unlikely source of inspiration to anyone but him. “It’s so cool when you see kids go in their closet and pick out stuff that they like,” he said. “Like, you’ll see a kid in basketball shorts and rain boots; I’m not saying I would go that far, but stuff like that. You talk about creativity — wear what you like.” After he broke his ankle in 2013, Diggs had more time to pursue his interest in fashion, and now, as often as not, his Instagram account shows off his style: Diggs posing for New York photographer Ben Ritter in a heart-patterned black JW Anderson leather jacket, the receiver checking his cellphone in a white hoodie, denim jacket, green Adidas pants and snakeskin Bapesta sneakers. He doesn’t use a stylist, he says; he purely picks clothes out of his closet based on what he likes, and little else. “My stuff doesn’t match, but it looks pretty nice,” he said Wednesday. “I find whatever I’m comfortable in, and I go from there — because people really wear clothes for other people, but I wear what I like. You think about it — somebody says they don’t like what you wear, right? And I’m like, ‘Well, I didn’t wear it for you; I wore it because I wanted to wear it.’ Your opinion on how it looks really wouldn’t matter, because I’m comfortable.” The glimpse into Diggs’ wardrobe is also a window into free-spirited ways that greet many of the conventions of his position with a raised eyebrow. The man who made perhaps the most iconic play in franchise history — by turning for the end zone last January to beat the Saints with a playoff touchdown when conventional wisdom said to step out of bounds and set up a game-winning field goal — has little need to contort himself to fit views of who he should be. Diggs calls himself a homebody who doesn’t like to drink and is content to relax at his house near the Vikings’ facility in Eagan watching “The Office” or “Family Guy” reruns on Netflix — why should he spend his free time at nightclubs with a glass in his hand? He sticks mostly to a close group of friends from the Washington, D.C., area he’s known since he was 15, and quietly sizes up the people who enter his life now that he’s got an ESPY award and a Geico commercial. Why does he need a big crew of newcomers? “I’ve had the same friends for eight to 10 years. Anybody new after that, you might see them every once in a while, but man, we ain’t that tight,” he said. “I’m not a huge new-friend guy. Keeping that same circle of friends keeps me grounded. They’ll also tell me when I’m wrong, and I appreciate that accountability.” In one breath, the 24-year-old calls himself “such a stuck-in-my-ways old man.” In the next, he talks about how his offseason hobbies now consist of “trying to find things to be scared of.” He made plans to swim with sharks this offseason, before he ran out of time; though he kept the photos off Instagram, he went skydiving near Los Angeles last summer before he signed his five-year, $72 million contract. “I want to go bungee-jumping — all these things I’m not supposed to be doing,” he said with a loud laugh. “I’m not a gambler, because I’m going to go put all my money on black. I’m going to go all-in. It’s kind of like football; I don’t know how to go halfway or do certain things in moderation. You can’t halfway bungee-jump. You can’t halfway skydive. For me, it’s pushing myself and letting myself know there’s nothing to be scared of.” How Diggs came by such a fully formed version of himself, a month before his 25th birthday, might have something to do with how quickly he was forced to grow up: His father, Aron, died because of congestive heart failure almost 10 years to the day before Diggs’ infamous touchdown, telling the teenager to look after his sister and younger brothers. With schools across the country offering Diggs scholarships as the nation’s No. 1 recruit, he chose to stay close to home and play for Maryland, enduring an injury-plagued career for three Terrapins teams that never finished better than 7-6. As Diggs was suspended for his role in a pregame scuffle with Penn State during his junior year and whispers about his character as a teammate — which the receiver surmised had to have come from Maryland — surfaced before the draft, he slipped to the fifth round, where the Vikings picked him 146th overall in 2015. Now, Diggs and Adam Thielen comprise one of the NFL’s most prolific receiving duos, with both on pace for more than 100 catches this season. Diggs’ new deal will help him take care of his mother, Stephanie, who worked nearly three decades on traveling shifts for Amtrak and raised her kids after the death of her husband. He’s happy with a team that he said looked beyond his pre-draft reputation and took the time to get to know him. And Diggs has no intention of slowing down. “He was a little bit immature, but everybody has to grow up,” said Jaguars receivers coach Keenan McCardell, whom Diggs credits with teaching him how to get open while McCardell coached him at Maryland. “I love the way he’s carrying himself now. He’s grown up; he’s become a professional. Adam Thielen’s there, and they’re great together. Both guys have that same edge — that edge of, ‘You’re not kicking me out of this thing.’ ” ‘You’ve got to keep going’ From the time he was old enough to understand what football was, Diggs knew he wanted to play. He would run around his house carrying a ball as a kid, going to his half-brother’s games and waiting for the day his turn would come. He was a few months shy of his sixth birthday when he asked his parents to allow him to play in a 6-year-old league; when they agreed to sign the waiver, “it was like the best birthday present I could have had,” Diggs said.