Vikings by the Numbers

[Guest]

Vikings that have worn the number 57:

• Bill Jobko (1963 - 1965)
• Doug Dumler (1976 - 1977)
• Paul Harris (1978)
• Derrel Luce (1979 - 1980)
• Robin Sendlein (1981 - 1984)
• Chris Martin (1985 - 1988)
• Mike Merriweather (1989 - 1992)
• William Sims (1994)
• Dwayne Rudd (1997 - 2000)
• Raonall Smith (2003 - 2005)
• Rufus Alexander (2008)
• Xavier Adibi (2011)
• Audie Cole (2012 - 2016)

Audie Cole!!  Don't get excited...he was a really good special teams player while he was here, but I think the competition is between Dwayne Rudd and Mike Merriweather.  Merriweather was the very definition of solid. Good tackler, decent covering backs, recognized formations and reacted.  Never was elected to the pro-bowl as a Viking and never led the league in any statistical category.  But, he was an important part of the defense.  Dwayne Rudd holds the NFL record for fumble return yardage for a season while a Viking, and shares the NFL record for most fumble recoveries for touchdown in a season.  His season finding the ball on the ground was in 1998.  It earned him election as a 2nd team all-pro that year.  1 dynamic season vs. steady, solid play?  I am going to give the nod to Merriweather.

[swede700]

Rudd was a massive disappointment as a player as far as I was concerned. Once again in a long line of failed Denny defensive draft picks.  His claim to fame came in a Browns uniform, when he pulled off his helmet, which cost the Browns the game...in the only season that the franchise has made the playoffs since their return.  Clearly, at least for me, this is Mike Meriweather's to lose.  He did a good job solidifying and leading the defense when he came over from Pittsburgh, as LB was a major weakness on the team defensively and they needed a guy like him to help solidify it, especially with their other-worldly DL and their good secondary.  

[Krauser]

Rudd was more lucky than good in 1998. His 2nd team All Pro was just from the Associated Press (other outfits doing a 1st team didn’t publish a 2nd team), and didn’t come with a Pro Bowl nod. Ed McDaniel made the Pro Bowl that year (at MLB), so Rudd wasn’t even clearly the best LB on the ‘98 team. The rest of his career was disappointing.

Merriweather was very good his entire career, including in his days in Pittsburgh. He had the highest AV (Approximate Value) for any LB on the team in all 4 years with the Vikings. He was a 2nd tier player on those defenses (not on the level of Doleman, Thomas, Lee) but he was good and fully deserves the nod over Rudd. 

[Guest]

Vikings that have worn the number 58:

• Rip Hawkins (1961 - 1965)
• Wally Hilgenberg (1968 - 1979)
• Jim Langer (1980 - 1981)
• Walker Lee Ashley (1983 - 1988)
• Jimmy Williams (1990 - 1991)
• Ed McDaniel (1992 - 2001)
• Nick Rogers (2002 - 2003)
• Rod Davis (2004)
• Napoleon Harris (2005 - 2006)
• David Herron (2007 - 2008)
• Tyrone McKenzie (2012)
• Brandon Watts (2014 - 2016)
• Austin Cutting (2019 - present)

Oh...I really like some of the names that are associated with this number.  Let's start with Wally Hilgenberg.  Originally drafted by Detroit and traded to Pittsburg, he was cut before he playing a down with the Steelers.  He was signed as a free agent in 1968 and stayed with the team until he retired in 1979.  He is one of 11 players that played in all 4 Super Bowl appearances by the Vikings.  He was never flashy.  Never lead the league in any category.  He was, however, dependable and steady, hallmark traits for many of the Viking players in the Grant years.  He knew his position, played it to the best of his ability, and lasted for a dozen years on a really good defense.  Although, he didn't play as long as Hilgenberg, and on a much less talented squad, Walker Lee Ashley was another "lunch pail" linebacker for the Vikings.  Ed McDaniel was cut from much of the same cloth as the previous two.  He was elected to the pro bowl in 1998.  Hilgenberg, Ashley, and McDaniel were never the "star" players on the defenses they played on, but their steady, dependable way of playing the game contributed to the success of the Vikings from 1968 through 2000.  I am going to give the nod...and the lunch pail...to Ed McDaniel, but it could've easily been given to Hilgenberg.  Ashley just didn't play as long as the others.

I would also give a glance toward Napoleon Harris who came to Minnesota from Oakland in the Randy Moss trade.  People were in such mourning about Moss that they couldn't appreciate that Harris played with the same attitude as the players listed above.  Alas, he only played two seasons for the purple and gold.

[Cearbhall]

It's Hilgenberg for me.

Edited July 23, 2020 by Cearbhall

[swede700]

I have to go with Eddie McDaniel...behind Randle and Griffith, he truly was the only other defensive player that you consistently count on to be above average on Denny's mediocre defenses.  Hilgenberg was just slightly before my time, but I remember Ashley vividly, as I mentioned the previous time he showed up in this discussion.

[Guest]

Vikings that have worn the number 59:

• Jim Leo (1961)
• Lonnie Warwick (1965 - 1972)
• Matt Blair (1974 - 1985)
• Fabray Collins (1987)
• Mark Dusbabek (1989 - 1991)
• Ashley Sheppard (1993 - 1994)
• Dixon Edwards (1996 - 1998)
• Craig Sauer (2000)
• Fearon Wright (2001)
• Antonio Wilson (2002)
• Mike Nattiel (2003 - 2004)
• Heath Farwell (2005 - 2010)
• Tyrone McKenzie (2012)
• Desmond Bishop (2013)
• Emmanuel Lamur (2016 - 2017)

Again, in my opinion, this is a two horse race for the coveted nod.  Lonnie Warwick was called the meanest man in football by Joe Kapp.  He was a ferocious tackler and dynamic in coverage, intimidating receivers.  The Vikings have really only had three "world class" intimidating defenders in their history...Joey Browner, Roy Winston and Lonnie Warwick.  He was one of the toughest on a defense of tough guys.  He started at Middle Linebacker for Super Bowl IV on a severely sprained left ankle that he suffered in the NFL Championship game against Cleveland.

Matt Blair was somewhat the opposite of Warwick.  He played his position with great athleticism.  He was elected to the Pro Bowl six time; was All Pro twice and in 2010 he was named one of the 50 Greatest Vikings. He had 16 career interceptions from the linebacker position.  Perhaps his greatest talent was exhibited on the punt block team!  He was special.

I love Warwick's tough guy attitude, but the nod has to go to Matt Blair.  Farwell should also get an honorable mention for his outstanding special teams play.

[swede700]

When I read the names, there was only one name...Matt Blair.  Until you wrote this post, I had never even heard of Lonnie Warwick...and I've read quite a bit of history on those Vikings.  But, apparently, I missed that name.  I'm still waiting for the day for someone to match the skills that Blair had on blocking kicks.  There has never been anyone even close to an equal.  

Edited July 24, 2020 by swede700

[vike daddy]

1 hour ago, Virginia Viking said:

The Vikings have really only had three "world class" intimidating defenders in their history...Joey Browner, Roy Winston and Lonnie Warwick. 

i wouldn't have wanted to even play tiddlywinks with Carl Eller.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, vike daddy said:

i wouldn't have wanted to even play tiddlywinks with Carl Eller.

Carl is in a class unto himself!

[Guest]

What if scenario:

The Vikings beat Washington to go to the Super Bowl in 1987 against the Broncos, depriving the NFL of Doug Williams' historical performance.  Jay Schroeder returns to starting QB and leads the Washington franchise to mediocrity, causing Joe Gibbs to retire after the '88 season and frustrating Jack Kent Cooke to sell the team to Donald Trump in 1990.  Good news...Trump hangs onto the team for 30 plus years and Daniel Snyder never comes into the picture.  Bad news...Trump has little to no success.

What if the Vikings go on to defeat the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl.  Jerry Burns then becomes a coaching icon in Minnesota and hangs around for several more seasons.  The Herschel Walker trade is never made, the Vikings continue to compete for championships and the Dallas Cowboys spend another decade in mediocrity.  Dennis Green is never hired in Minnesota, but floats around the league as a respected offensive coordinator.  Tony Dungy is never hired by Minnesota, but eventually becomes the head coach of the Pittsburg Steelers. Brian Billick never gets hired by Minnesota, thus he does not become head coach of the Ravens, and the Ravens don't win their first Super Bowl until much later.  Billick eventually lands a job as Head Coach of the San Diego Chargers and they become the class of the AFC, winning a couple of Super Bowls with Eli Manning at the helm, and they never move to Los Angeles. The Vikings miss out on players like Cris Carter, Robert Smith and Randy Moss.  By the end of the 90's they aren't  competing for championships.  Jerry Burns retires. 

The Vikings hire hotshot coordinator Jon Gruden.  He rebuilds, in short order, the Vikings roster, led by newly drafted QB, Tom Brady out of Michigan.  Gruden also adds to his staff a defensive wunderkind, who had been recently fired by the Browns...Bill Belichick.  The Vikings go onto win 8 out of 10 Super Bowls over the next 19 seasons, giving the rest of the NFL a team to hate. Belichick never goes to the Jets on Parcell's staff nor to NE as a head coach.  Gruden never goes to Oakland, Tampa Bay, ESPN or Vegas.

A lot was riding on Darrin Nelson pulling in that pass in the NFCCG at the goal line!!

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Virginia Viking said:

What if scenario:

The Vikings beat Washington to go to the Super Bowl in 1987 against the Broncos, depriving the NFL of Doug Williams' historical performance.  Jay Schroeder returns to starting QB and leads the Washington franchise to mediocrity, causing Joe Gibbs to retire after the '88 season and frustrating Jack Kent Cooke to sell the team to Donald Trump in 1990.  Good news...Trump hangs onto the team for 30 plus years and Daniel Snyder never comes into the picture.  Bad news...Trump has little to no success.

What if the Vikings go on to defeat the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl.  Jerry Burns then becomes a coaching icon in Minnesota and hangs around for several more seasons.  The Herschel Walker trade is never made, the Vikings continue to compete for championships and the Dallas Cowboys spend another decade in mediocrity.  Dennis Green is never hired in Minnesota, but floats around the league as a respected offensive coordinator.  Tony Dungy is never hired by Minnesota, but eventually becomes the head coach of the Pittsburg Steelers. Brian Billick never gets hired by Minnesota, thus he does not become head coach of the Ravens, and the Ravens don't win their first Super Bowl until much later.  Billick eventually lands a job as Head Coach of the San Diego Chargers and they become the class of the AFC, winning a couple of Super Bowls with Eli Manning at the helm, and they never move to Los Angeles. The Vikings miss out on players like Cris Carter, Robert Smith and Randy Moss.  By the end of the 90's they aren't  competing for championships.  Jerry Burns retires. 

The Vikings hire hotshot coordinator Jon Gruden.  He rebuilds, in short order, the Vikings roster, led by newly drafted QB, Tom Brady out of Michigan.  Gruden also adds to his staff a defensive wunderkind, who had been recently fired by the Browns...Bill Belichick.  The Vikings go onto win 8 out of 10 Super Bowls over the next 19 seasons, giving the rest of the NFL a team to hate. Belichick never goes to the Jets on Parcell's staff nor to NE as a head coach.  Gruden never goes to Oakland, Tampa Bay, ESPN or Vegas.

A lot was riding on Darrin Nelson pulling in that pass in the NFCCG at the goal line!!

Oh shoot....I put this in the wrong thread!

[SteelKing728]

I know I'm late but Rip Hawkins is a sweet name. 

For #59 I'll go with Blair.

[Guest]

Vikings that have worn the number 60:

• Roy Winston (1962 - 1976)
• Matt Hernandez (1984)
• Ron Selesky (1987)
• Dan McQuaid (1988)
• Al Baker (1988)
• Mark Rodenhauser (1989)
• Adam Schreiber (1990 - 1993)
• Reggie McElroy (1994)
• Cory Withrow (2000 - 2005)
• Conrad Bolston (2007)
• Jeff Baca (2013)
• Carter Bykowski (2016)

Roy Winston played outside linebacker for the Vikings for 15 seasons.  He was 5'11" and weighed 220 pounds.  But, boy could he hit.  Winston delivered one of the most devastating tackles ever filmed.  In a game against the Miami Dolphins in 1972, Larry Csonka circled out into the flat to catch a pass.  Just as he caught the ball, Winston hit him from behind (legally) with such force that the 240 pound Csonka was nearly cut in half.  Csonka dropped the ball and rolled on the field in agony.  He thought his back was broken and he literally crawled off the field...thankfully not hurt seriously.  He and Winston remained close friends after that "introduction," Csonka even inviting Winston to his Hall of Fame induction ceremony.  Small man with a big punch, the nod goes to Roy Winston.

[swede700]

Winston probably wins by default, even though I have no idea who he is.  Otherwise, you're talking about a couple of super subs in Adam Schreiber and Cory Withrow...because that's all they were...pretty good bench players.