K Blair Walsh has made quite a splash so far in his rookie season. He is a perfect 4 for 4 in field goals so far and has a chance to set a Vikings record on Sunday if he kicks a field goal of 50 yards or more for the third consecutive game.
But Walsh doesn’t concern himself with the length of the kicks. He just goes out and hits them.
“No, I don’t care if it’s 55 or 20 yards,” he said. “I would rather score touchdowns and be kicking extra points and winning. But I will take whatever’s put in front of me, and if I can execute that’s all I am looking forward to doing.”
Still, its been pretty heady stuff for the rookie, who kicked a 55-yarder to send the first game into overtime, and then knocked the game-winner through in overtime. He followed that up by being the only offense in the first half of another close game against the Colts. He knew he would be tested as a pro, but maybe not so much so early.
“I knew we were going to play some close games, but the situations we have been put in so far have been pretty testing,” he said. “I didn’t necessarily think it would be this much [so soon], no.”
With the Vikings facing a tough 49ers defense on Sunday, Walsh may be called on to kick another long field goal. And if he does, he will be in the Vikings record books -- three games into his career.
Robison knows Randy: DE Brian Robison spent a little time with Randy Moss last season when Moss returned to the Vikings for four games. In that short time, he certainly got to know what Moss is about.
“There’s a always a thin line between and stepping on toes, but the thing with Randy was no matter what people thought about him he was going to speak his mind," Robison said. “You always knew what he was thinking because he was going to say it. You have to respect a guy like that.”
A squib in time saves seconds? In last week’s game against the Colts, the Vikings tied it up with 31 seconds to go in the game. The Vikings forced a touchback on the ensuing kickoff and the Colts took the ball at the 20 yards and then moved into the position for the winning field goal -- with 8 seconds left. Coach Leslie Frazier was asked if he considered squibbing that kick so the Colts would have to run it back, effectively taking time off the clock.
“We felt that if they had to work from the 20, we would be all right, but in hindsight you would like to take more time off the clock," Frazier said. “If you could turn back the clock in so many situations, you would try to do it, but that’s not reality, and we felt like if they had to start from the 20 we were in pretty good shape.”
Injury update: Coach Leslie Frazier said that LB Erin Henderson (concussion) was listed out for the game, as was DE D’Aundre Reed (ankle). C John Sullivan, who was limited this week with a sprained ankle, is listed as probable. Other players listed as probable are S Andrew Sendejo (ankle), CB Chris Cook (biceps), TE Rhett Ellison (ankle), LB Marvin Mitchell (ankle), DE Brian Robison (elbow) and WR JariusWright (ankle).
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