Tag: Fran Tarkenton

10 days until Vikings season opener: Every player to wear No. 10

Only two players have worn the No. 10 for the Minnesota Vikings.

The Minnesota Vikings will kick off their 2023 regular season in 10 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.

No one currently wears the No. 10, as it has been retired for quarterback Fran Tarkenton.

With 10 days until kickoff, here’s a look at every player to wear No. 10 in a regular season game with the Vikings (via Pro Football Reference):

NFL Draft: Vikings history of drafting quarterbacks

The Minnesota Vikings have a historically unsuccessful history when it comes to drafting quarterbacks. @TheRealForno breaks it down.

The Minnesota Vikings are likely to draft a quarterback in the 2023 NFL draft. They need to find a quarterback of the future and Kirk Cousins is set to be a free agent after the season.

There are a few options out there at the position and we highlighted some of them last week. The Vikings have 4-5 options they could take in the first round with Will Levis and Hendon Hooker being the most likely options.

There are some in the fanbase that are weary of drafting a quarterback in the first round, especially if it involves a trade up. Who can blame them? The Vikings haven’t prioritized the position and the last five quarterbacks that they drafted have all busted in some way, shape or form.

When taking a look at the history of the position, I looked at it from 1980 on. Fran Tarkenton is the only true franchise quarterback that the Vikings have had with the only other debatable players being Daunte Culpepper and Cousins.

As I dove into the research, it was startling how little the Vikings have put into the position over the years. It’s especially alarming because they haven’t had that true franchise guy in over 40 years. Let’s take a deep dive.

The Vikings have drafted 8 Hall of Fame players

Throughtout the storied history of the Minnesota Vikings, they have drafted eight players currently in the Hall of Fame.

The Minnesota Vikings have seen a lot of success in the NFL draft. They have drafted multiple Hall of Fame players and a ton of Pro Bowlers.

Their success, like any team, has seen their fair share of ups and downs in the draft Their biggest successes came in the 1960’s with multiple Hall of Fame players taken in the first round.

Overall, the Vikings have drafted eight Hall of Fame players to date with more potentially joining them in the coming years.

Aaron Murray ranks top-five greatest Georgia QBs of all-time

Aaron Murray ranks Georgia’s top-five quarterbacks of all-time

Stetson Bennett may not be the best player in the history of Georgia football – that title still belongs to Herschel Walker. But after winning his second College Football Playoff national championship, Bennett leaves UGA as the greatest quarterback to ever don the red and black in the program’s storied history.

Former Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray, who holds nearly every UGA and SEC passing record, has been a fan of Bennett’s since Day 1. Murray, who is the co-owner of The Players’ Lounge – a digital collaborative space for college fan bases – recently tweeted his top-five Georgia quarterbacks of all time and showed Bennett plenty of love.

Aaron Murray’s top-five quarterbacks in the history of Georgia football:

25 SKOL’s of Christmas: The 1977 playoff Mud Bowl

The Vikings won a wild and messy game in the 1977 playoffs

Welcome to the 25 SKOL’s of Christmas!

In a similar vein to how Freeform has done the 25 days of Christmas, we will look back at different moments in Vikings history to bring a little extra joy to you this holiday season.

It’s that simple. The holidays can be a trying time for some people and we want to put a smile on people’s faces by reminiscing about some truly joyous times in Vikings’ history.

On the twenty-second SKOL of Christmas, the Vikings gave to me: a victory in the 1977 Mud Bowl over the Los Angeles Rams

After losing starting QB Fran Tarkenton to a broken leg earlier in the season, the Vikings still found themselves atop the NFC Central and headed to the playoffs for the fifth straight season. They were headed to Los Angeles to take on the Rams in the NFC Divisional round. Keep in mind, the Vikings had played the Rams earlier in the season at home before Tarkenton went down, and they got throttled 35-3.

Now the Vikings were headed out west to face this same team, but this time they’d be without their starting quarterback. The Rams felt confident after what had already taken place earlier this season, and the betting line had the Rams favored by ten points. But in the days leading up to the game as well as on gameday, there was an immense amount of rain, which made the field conditions horrendous. This is where head coach Bud Grant came into play. He had a strategy for the Vikings in these conditions, and it proved beneficial.

“We wanted to throw early and get any passing advantages we could because late in the game we knew it would be difficult to throw the ball. “On a good field, a seven- or 14-point lead isn’t very much, but on a bad field, it gets to be monumental.” -Bud Grant

That’s exactly what the Vikings did. Back-up quarterback Bob Lee helped lead an efficient 70-yard drive capped off by a five-yard touchdown run by running back Chuck Foreman, and the Vikings never looked back.

The Vikings continued to lean on Foreman and Robert Miller to pound the rock in field conditions that were less than ideal. The Vikings’ defense also capitalized on three turnovers from Rams quarterback Pat Haden, including an interception by safety Jeff Wright to end the game.

The Vikings would go on to upset the Rams 14-7 and take on the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game where they’d eventually lose 23-6.

Previous SKOL’s of Christmas:

Drafting Randy Moss
Vikings 1997 Wild Card Comeback
Jarius Wright Walks Off the Jets
Jared Allen Traded to Vikings
Adrian Peterson Sets Rushing Record
Brett Favre Revenge Tour
Bud Grant Rocks a Polo in Freezing Temperatures
Adrian Peterson Stiff Arms Defender to Oblivion
Anthony Carter Dominates the 1987 Playoffs
Kirk Cousins’ First Major Comeback
Randy Moss Dominates Monday Night Football
Tuesday Night Joe Webb
Randy Moss Laterals to Moe Williams
Miracle At The Met
Cris Carter catches number 1,000
Resurgence of Randall Cunningham
Sam Bradford Opens Up U.S. Bank Stadium
Teddy Bridgewater’s Triumphant Return
Randy Moss on Thanksgiving
Bernard Berrian 99 Yard Touchdown
Jeff George’s Moonshots

The Rich Eisen Show reveals G.O.A.T. player for every NFC North team

Did they get the Vikings’ pick right?

It’s no easy undertaking in choosing the all-time great for every NFC North team, unless it’s pertaining to the Detroit Lions.

Sure, “Megatron” Calvin Johnson was an absolute juggernaut on the football field, but there’s an offensive presence on the Lions’ Mount Rushmore that surpasses even the legacy of one of the greatest receivers in NFL history.

However, things start to get really fun when talking about the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers. There are multiple players capable of sitting on the mountaintop and being deemed the G.O.A.T. of those teams.

The Rich Eisen Show’s TJ Jefferson broke things down for the Vikings, Packers, Lions and Chicago Bears in a segment where he named the greatest player of all time for each of those respective franchises.

Here are the names that made the NFC North’s list.

Georgia, LSU to finally produce winning starting QB in a Super Bowl

What do Joe Burrow and Matthew Stafford have in common other than being No. 1 overall picks?

This is more of an oddity than um, throwing shade at great college football programs.

Whether the Los Angeles Rams or Cincinnati Bengals win Super Bowl 56 on Sunday at SoFi Stadium, Georgia or LSU will have something to brag about.

This will be the first time either of the SEC schools has produced a starting quarterback to win the Super Bowl.

It feels almost implausible but it is true. The only LSU quarterback to start a Super Bowl was the late David Woodley, who was with the Miami Dolphins for their loss to Washington in Super Bowl 17.

At the time, Woodley was the youngest quarterback to start a Super Bowl, at 24 years and three months old.

The lone Georgia quarterback to start a Super Bowl made three appearances and was unable to lead the Minnesota Vikings to a victory.

Fran Tarkenton was the QB when the Purple People came up short in Super Bowls 8, 9, and 11. The Scrambling one is the only Dawg QB to start a Super Bowl game.

Of course, Matthew Stafford played college ball at Georgia before being selected first overall by the Detroit Lions in 2009.

Joe Burrow began his college career at Ohio State but found college glory following a transfer to LSU.

3 former Vikings on top QBs list to never win Super Bowl

It seems pretty on brand for the Vikings to have a few former players on this list.

With Philip Rivers retiring earlier this week, many are discussing where Rivers ranks among quarterbacks in league history. More specifically, where he ranks among quarterbacks who have never won a Super Bowl.

Adam Rank over at NFL.com put together the top-10 quarterbacks to never win a Super Bowl list.

We won’t ruin the article and tell you where Rivers ranks. However, we will tell you that there are three former Vikings on the list.

At No. 6 Warren Moon appears on the list. At No. 4, Fran Tarkenton is on the list. And at No. 3, Randall Cunningham is on the list.

(We can argue about Cunningham being ahead of Tarkenton on this list at a later date.)

It seems pretty on brand for the Vikings to have a few former players on this list.

You can check out the full rankings here.

Younghoe Koo sets new Falcons record for field goals made

Younghoe Koo tied, and then broke former Falcons kicker Matt Bryant’s record for most field goals made in a single season.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan isn’t the only player breaking records during the team’s Week 15 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Younghoe Koo tied, and then broke former Falcons kicker Matt Bryant’s record for most field goals made in a single season. Koo netted a short-range field goal as the first half came to a close to increase his total to 34, before making it 35 with another second-half conversion.

Koo’s conversion rate of 97 percent is the highest in Falcons history. Bryant’s highest conversion rate was 95 percent in 2018 when he netted 20 kicks on 21 attempts.

Editorial Update: This story has been updated to reflect Koo breaking Bryant’s record.

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