Since returning kickoffs for touchdowns twice in the first half of the season, plus runbacks of 77 and 48 yards in a game against the Packers, Vikings rookie Percy Harvin has found his opportunities limited.
Part of it is defense: The Vikings allowed a total of 29 points over their first three games of the second half, simply reducing the number of kickoffs coming their way.
But the other factor is a fear foes have developed of kicking the ball to the first-round draft pick from Florida. The Cardinals put up 30 points in last week’s win over the Vikings, but Harvin had only three returns for 62 yards. Three times they kicked it short, where tight end Jeff Dugan was waiting.
“The one thing is if you’re kicking the ball to those short guys you’re taking the ball at the 30,” special teams coordinator Brian Murphy said, looking at the upside to Harvin’s lack of action. “So we’ll just continue to work on it. We’re going to see a variety of things, and we need to be flexible to address those.”
eadaches.
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BOFFO RATINGS: NFL ratings have soared nationally and on local levels this year, including some fascinating numbers for the New Orleans Saints.
Through 13 weeks, NFL games are averaging 16.8 million viewers, the highest average at this point in a season since 1989. Each of the networks showing games have seen an increase in viewership.
Locally, 87 percent of games are the top-rated shows locally, a record.
The unbeaten Saints’ ratings are up 37 percent from last year locally and the team has had its three highest-rated games ever this season. When the Saints play, 69 percent of the TVs in New Orleans that are in use are tuned to their game. For the Week 12 Monday night win over the Patriots, 84 percent of the people in New Orleans with television in use were watching the Saints.
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UFL HERO: OK, so it wasn’t the Super Bowl – and hardly anyone paid attention – but Graham Gano still gets a championship ring for his season with the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League.
Gano kicked the winning field goal in overtime in the inaugural UFL championship game on Nov. 27. Now he’s the new kicker for the Washington Redskins, who released Shaun Suisham this week.
quads within a week of the UFL season’s end.
“That was very beneficial for everybody that played in the league, to get some experience and get some game film out there and show the coaches you can play some ball,” said Gano, who made 13 of 16 field goal attempts for the Locomotives.
Asked about his championship-winning overtime kick – something, by the way, that has never happened in a Super Bowl – Gano said: “I just stepped out there, and it felt like a regular field goal, but it was exciting after the fact.”
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FINALLY A THOUSAND: When the Chicago Bears drafted running back Cedric Benson with the fourth overall pick in 2005, they envisioned a steady stream of 1,000-yard seasons.
Four years later, he’s finally approaching the mark.
Benson needs only 31 yards to reach 1,000 for the first time. He never ran for more than 674 yards in his three years with the Bears, who let him go after the 2007 season following two alcohol-related arrests. The cases were dropped after grand juries declined to indict, and the Bengals gave him a second chance.
Better yet, they redesigned their offense around him, allowing him to close in on 1,000 despite missing two games with a hip injury. He would become the Bengals’ first 1,000-yard rusher since Rudi Johnson did it three straight seasons (2004-06).
up front that made it happen.”
He’s not being overly modest. In the two games he missed, rookie Bernard Scott and newcomer Larry Johnson also put up 100-yard games, an indication the team’s offseason transformation is working. The Bengals decided to emphasize the run after finishing last in the league on offense last year.
An overhauled line – right guard Bobbie Williams is the only starter back in the same spot – has led the way. The linemen see a 1,000-yard season as a vindication of them as well.
“Again, we’re a makeshift offensive line that wasn’t supposed to block anybody, and we continue to come in every week and get after people,” left tackle Andrew Whitworth said.
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AP Football Writer Barry Wilner and Sports Writers Joe Kay in Cincinnati, Joseph White in Washington, and Dave Campbell in Minneapolis contributed to this story.
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