![]() They would laugh and say ‘Sure you are.'” – Gary Larsen, predicted his Vikings future early I said ‘I’m going to go back to college and someday play for the Vikings.’ I had no idea. “When Minnesota got a team, I used to kid my teammates in the Marine Corps. During that time, he was a Marine stationed in California. The thing that you think about is at least you got there.” – Gary Larsen, thinks positive about the lossesĪs a kid from North Dakota, he was happy when the Vikings got a team in 1961. “We tried our damndest to win the three that we played in, but I consider myself pretty fortunate. Larsen appeared in three Super Bowls with the Vikings. The Vikings traded for the player, and he became a ‘Purple People Eater.’ The trade compensation was the eighth overall pick in the 1965 draft, receiver Jack Snow who had a productive career in his own right. In his lone season with the Rams, he backed up another legendary front, the ‘Fearsome Foursome’ with Deacon Jones and Merlin Olsen. The Rams selected the defensive tackle in the 1964 draft in the 10th round. Larsen still found a way to become an NFL player. He later returned to Concordia to play varsity football. After one year at Concordia, Larsen joined the Marines, where he continued to play both sports. ![]() He later said it was “more of a speed game than 11-man.” His favorite sport in high school was basketball. They did not play with 11 men per team they played eight vs. He was born in Fargo, North Dakota, and played college football at Concordia-Moorhead. He didn´t have the speed of the other three but was incredibly strong with his 6♅″, 265-pound frame. Larsen made sure to have the pass rusher’s back and defended the run as well as anyone. Just like defensive tackles nowadays, he didn’t focus on rushing the passer. Larsen is not as popular as the other three. During his tenure with the Vikings, ‘Moose’ was credited with 130.5 sacks, the most in franchise history. After waiting for 25 years, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2004. Eller won the Defensive Player of the Year award and was a five-time first-team All-Pro. He was part of the organization until 1978. He played his college ball in Minnesota and then was the Vikings’ first-round pick in 1965. Marshall, Page, and legendary center Mick Tingelhoff were at one point in the 70s the three players with the most consecutive starts in NFL history.Ĭarl Eller was the other defensive end. He was one of the multiple iron men on the roster. He was the leader of one of the most well-known defenses in NFL history and one of the toughest and most durable players of all time. His absence from the Hall of Fame is still something Vikings fans can hardly accept. His 30 recovered fumbles are an NFL record to this day, and the 127 sacks rank him second in franchise history, only trailing Carl Eller. A record he held for a long time until Brett Favre broke it. He played 270 consecutive games for the purple team. He played for the Vikings from 1961, the first season in franchise history, until 1979. Jim Marshall played as a defensive end opposite Carl Eller. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018. During his playing days, he attended the University of Minnesota Law School and later became a judge at the Minnesota Supreme Court, the first African American to serve on that court. No matter how great he was as a football player, his greatest accomplishments came off the field. The defensive tackle is also a two-time defensive player of the year and a six-time first-team All-Pro. The other one was Page, who did it first. ![]() Lawrence Taylor often gets credit for winning the MVP as a defender, one of only two. Both issues can be corrected with a healthy defensive backfield.Alan Page is one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history and probably the greatest in Vikings history. The All-22 coaches film shows the issues are clearly on the safeties and with scheme. The problem is, most of Raider Nation decided on a scapegoat and used it without actually taking the time to see what happened in the game. I will be going away from that format this week, and instead I will be going into a deep football discussion.Īfter the 38-35 loss to the Steelers, many Raiders’ fans on Twitter were roasting Hayden while crediting Amerson (which made no sense), but on a whole, they felt it fit to blame the cornerbacks for the loss. I cover some specifics I found important from the game before, then highlight some match-ups for the upcoming game, and then throw out some hopefully interesting takes. My columns generally have a predictable format. ![]() Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports The Minnesota Vikings beat the Oakland Raiders 20-12. Minneapolis, MN, USA Minnesota Vikings tight end Chase Ford (86) catches a pass for a touchdown in the third quarter against the Oakland Raiders at TCF Bank Stadium. ![]()
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