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Texas players quickly caught wind of Jarrod Hufford’s comments to the media on Tuesday.
Iowa State offensive lineman Jarrod Hufford ruffled the feathers of many Texas fans and players on Tuesday evening. Continue reading “Texas players, fans react to Iowa State OL Jarrod Hufford’s comments”
The Vikings held off the Saints for a big NFC victory. Saivion Mixson looks at who’s stocks rose and whose stocks fell in the pivotal win.
The Minnesota Vikings held off the New Orleans Saints for a crucial 27-19 victory at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The Vikings ended up holding off a fiery comeback attempt after starting quarterback Derek Carr went down and backup Jameis Winston lit a spark under the Saints offense.
While he also helped extinguish the flame with two late turnovers, the Vikings showed some issues that may have seen some stocks drop.
On the flip side of the coin, the explosive first half that allowed the Vikings to jump out to a 24-3 halftime lead helped some stocks rise.
In this exercise, we outline both sides of this proverbial coin, as we see whose stocks fell and whose stocks rose after this vital victory.
This was absolutely brutal from Baker Mayfield.
To finish a road upset of the Minnesota Vikings, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would need a catalyst. They had the pass rush. They had the skill players like Mike Evans coming through. But someone needed to get Tampa Bay across the finish line.
Enter Baker Mayfield.
In new mic’d-up footage courtesy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the veteran signal-caller was clearly feeling himself late in the fourth quarter. After Mayfield dropped a vicious first-down stiff arm on Minnesota cornerback Byron Murphy, he turned around and told Murphy to “get his weight up, little boy.”
Talk about adding insult to an already embarrassing five-yard play for the defender:
That is an angry man 😡🖐️ pic.twitter.com/YWokLu0APa
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) September 11, 2023
It remains to be seen if Mayfield can sustain his play for the Buccaneers as they try to go to 2-0 against the Chicago Bears this Sunday. But if he’s bringing this kind of fire to the field, all bets should be off.
The defense will need to focus on these keys against the Buccaneers
Wake up. It’s officially football season.
Remember all those preseason games? The overreactions to undrafted free agents? The training camp clips you fawned over?
None of those matter now. The games officially count, and the hunt for the Lombardi Trophy begins.
As the Minnesota Vikings open up their season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the focus will be on their defense, which underwent significant changes during the offseason.
Those changes begin with a significant scheme switch (from zone heavy to blitz and man coverage) with the hire of defensive coordinator Brian Flores. The defense also sees new starters across the board.
Their first game will feature a potential tune-up for other opponents. The Vikings will face journeyman quarterback Baker Mayfield, who replaces future hall of famer Tom Brady. The offense, however, will still have plenty of weapons to support Mayfield, including a duo of wide receivers (Mike Evans and Chris Godwin) capable of changing the game.
Here are the keys to victory for the Vikings’ new-look defense.
Currently worn by CB Byron Murphy, 11 players have worn the No. 7 for the Minnesota Vikings.
The Minnesota Vikings will kick off their 2023 regular season in 7 days at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 10.
From now until then, we will take a trip down memory lane and count each day by revisiting the players who have worn that specific jersey number.
Cornerback Byron Murphy currently wears the No. 7 for the Minnesota Vikings.
With 7 days until kickoff, here’s a look at every player to wear No. 7 in a regular season game with the Vikings (via Pro Football Reference):
The Cardinals and Vikings play each other on Saturday. The Vikings have five former Cardinals on their roster.
The Arizona Cardinals have traveled to Minnesota for a pair of joint practices against the Vikings before the two teams play their preseason finale on Saturday.
We know of the coaching connections as head coach Jonathan Gannon, offensive coordinator Drew Petzing and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis all coached for the Vikings under former Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer.
However, there are a number of player connections between the two teams, too. Most are former Cardinals now on the Vikings.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
It’s Byron Murphy’s time to shine.
While Texas benefits from returning many starters on both sides of the ball, the handful of players they did lose were crucial in multiple aspects.
Running backs Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson were both vocal leaders for the offense and team last season, while also being two of the best players on the entire roster. Same with linebacker DeMarvion Overshown who is also off the NFL, and to a lesser degree in terms of impact defensive linemen Moro Ojomo and Keondre Coburn.
While linebacker will be locked down by Jaylan Ford, the defensive line will be relying on Byron Murphy in a major way in 2023. Something he discussed in a recent interview with On3 when asked about players who have stepped up as leaders.
“Me, of course,” Murphy said. “I’m trying to be more vocal. Last year, I wasn’t. But this year, I’m trying to be more vocal. I’ve got a bigger role obviously this year.”
Murphy, along with T’Vondre Sweat and Minnesota transfer Trill Carter, will be in charge of clogging the rushing lanes and collapsing the pocket on the quarterbacks. Last season, Murphy recorded 26 tackles with three tackles for loss and one sack.
He is confident that he and the team are aware of what it takes to win now, which is something Texas fans have been dying to see.
“I feel like we, as a team, all understand Sark’s philosophy,” Murphy said. “We get it now. We know what it takes. We know what it takes to win. The past few seasons, we’ve been through a lot of stuff. We know what it takes. We know what he wants from us. Now we’ve got to deliver it.”
The Longhorns are the favorites to win the Big 12 this season and also are viewed as a potential College Football Playoff contender.
After the Minnesota Vikings selected Jay Ward in the 4th round, there were questions on how he would be used. @TheKevinFielder explains.
When the Minnesota Vikings hired Brian Flores as their defensive coordinator, he was expected to have a heavy say in how the team approached the off-season.
Not only is Flores a former head coach, but the former Miami Dolphins headman reportedly rejected head coaching offers to become the Vikings defensive coordinator.
In free agency, the Vikings signed cornerback Byron Murphy Jr., an inside-out defensive back who offers positional flexibility in Flores’ defense, to a two-year contract. Murphy was ultimately one of two marquee free-agent signings for the Vikings, joining edge rusher Marcus Davenport.
During the 2023 NFL Draft, the Vikings continued to stock Flores’ armory, drafting three defensive players with their six selections.
USC cornerback Mekhi Blackmon was the team’s third-round selection and should give the Vikings another versatile cornerback for Flores’ scheme.
After trading down in the fourth round, the Vikings continued to stockpile Flores’ secondary, selecting LSU defensive back Jay Ward with the 134th pick.
Ward was considered a “reach” by the NFL Draft media, coming in as the 179th prospect on Pro Football Network’s Consensus Big Board.
While teams don’t follow consensus big boards when making their selections, the Vikings obviously saw something that prompted them to make him the pick ahead of some other talented defensive backs.
A deeper dive into Ward’s film explains why Flores likely signed off on the pick, but his incomplete skillset paints a murky picture of his ability to impact the Vikings’ defense in his first season.
These five Longhorns can become household names in 2023.
Texas football is on the doorstep of competing for a conference title and potentially a College Football Playoff berth in 2023. Continue reading “Texas Football: Five Longhorns ready to break out in 2023”
Here is a look at five Longhorns who could play their way into a first-round selection in 2024.
The 2023 NFL Draft wrapped up on Saturday after seven rounds and 259 selections.
Texas football is well-represented in this year’s draft class as five Longhorns heard their names called by NFL teams. A great bounce back for a Texas program that did not have a single player picked in 2022.
Running back Bijan Robinson (Atlanta), linebacker DeMarvion Overshown (Dallas), running back Roschon Johnson (Chicago), defensive tackle Keondre Coburn (Kansas City) and defensive lineman Moro Ojomo (Philadelphia).
Robinson snapped an eight-year first-round drought for the Horns. He became the first Longhorn taken on day one of the draft since Malcom Brown back in 2015.
Steve Sarkisian wants to see the trend of Texas Longhorns in the NFL continue going forward.
While the 2024 NFL Draft is a long way away, Texas has the potential to send a few more players to the league next season. Here is a look at five Longhorns who could play their way into a first-round selection in 2024.
