NFL Capsules - NFC: Free-agent-to-be Henderson aims to return to Vikings
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) — E.J. Henderson's nine-year career with the Minnesota Vikings has probably best been known for his remarkable recovery from a badly broken leg than for any particular achievement on the field.
But the sight of those dreadlocks bouncing out of Henderson's helmet over the No. 56 on the back of his jersey while he has raced back and forth and side to side from his middle linebacker spot has become one of the enduring images of Minnesota's not-dominant-but-decent defense over the last decade.
Henderson's tenure, the third-longest on the team, could end this weekend. His contract is expiring, and he hasn't heard from the front office about a new deal.
"It's natural coming up on your last year, always wondering where you're going to be at next September," Henderson said. "So, of course, it's been on my mind, but I'm trying to stay positive and hopefully in the next couple of months we can get something done and I'll still be a Viking."
Asked to cover more turf than any other player in the Tampa Two scheme, Henderson has had his hands full. He has never excelled in pass coverage, but the sleek tight ends all over the league are a tough assignment for anyone.
He has missed his share of tackles this year and he hasn't made as many of those so-called "splash" plays — big hits for big losses behind the line of scrimmage — after his gruesome injury, but he has been as steady as a team could ever ask.
Drafted in the second round in 2003 out of Maryland, Henderson became a starter in his second year. He will start his 107th regular-season Sunday when the Vikings host the Chicago Bears. He has 120 tackles, two sacks and a team-high 14 tackles for loss this year, playing a second straight full season after breaking the femur bone in his left leg in a game Dec. 6, 2009.
Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said this week he believes Henderson can still be a productive "16-game starter" in the NFL at his age. He'll be 32 next season, though, and the Vikings must get younger at a number of positions if they're going to form a foundation for a playoff contender anytime soon.
"His leadership has helped us to get through a tough season, and his play has been very good for us," Frazier said. "There have been some things he'd like to do better, but overall, I think he's done a good job."
Henderson said he feels as good physically in the last week of the season as he ever has, crediting the hyperbaric chamber he bought recently for helping rejuvenate his body. He sleeps in it four times per week, for five or six hours per night.
"If you can play in the Tampa Two defense as a middle linebacker, I think you can pretty much fit in anywhere," Henderson said.
Though the 3-12 record for the Vikings has long overshadowed such a landmark, playing next to younger brother Erin in the starting lineup the whole time — save for the one game Erin missed because he was injured — has been a life-changing experience for E.J. He said he's grown even closer to Erin, with all the weeks they've spent in the same meeting rooms, huddles and on-field pileups.
They became the first set of brothers in at least the last 20 years to start the same NFL game for the same team at the linebacker position, and now they'll both be unrestricted free agents.
"I'm happy with the time that we had, and hopefully we can have some more time together," Erin said, adding: "If not, it was a fun journey. We can always say we did it. That's something they can never take away from us."
The Hendersons are far from the only significant veterans the Vikings must weigh whether to bring back or let leave in free agency during what will be another critical offseason toward their reconstruction project.
Tight end Visanthe Shiancoe and safeties Husain Abdullah and Tyrell Johnson also will be unrestricted free agents. Left guard Steve Hutchinson and cornerback Cedric Griffin are two other starters still under contract who could be asked to take a pay cut in order to return after a season of declined production.
Shiancoe wouldn't touch the subject in an interview this week, but with veteran Jim Kleinsasser retiring the Vikings will need more than just Kyle Rudolph at that position next year. Hutchinson's season ended early because of a concussion, and Frazier acknowledged the possibility that the five-time first-team All-Pro will consider quitting a year before his contract expires.
"I'm sure he and his family will discuss what his future is and how much longer he wants to play professional football. He's still a guy who can play and still be a positive addition to your football team. He's got some decisions that he'll have to make after the season is over," Frazier said.
The Vikings face many more choices.
"It's a tough deal when you have guys that you think can help you, but in this age in free agency you know that most guys that can still perform are going to want to explore," Frazier said. "We'll do whatever we can with those guys we really want to keep here to try to keep them here."
Packers missing three key offensive players vs. Lions
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — The Green Bay Packers will be without three key players on offense in Sunday's game against Detroit.
Running back James Starks (knee/ankle), receiver/kick returner Randall Cobb (groin) and receiver Greg Jennings (knee), who has missed the last two games, won't play in the regular-season finale. Coach Mike McCarthy would not say Friday whether quarterback Aaron Rodgers will sit the game out.
"The most important thing with Aaron is he's ready to play," McCarthy said. "It's important for the quarterbacks, we repped all three of them this week. So I'd like to see all three of them play in the game, is the initial plan as we started the week."
Rodgers didn't shed any light on whether he would play.
"I'm going to leave it up to Mike," he said.
The Packers also listed right tackle Bryan Bulaga (knee) as doubtful. Linebacker Clay Matthews (ankle) and cornerback Charles Woodson (knee) are questionable.
McCarthy has been coy this week about his approach to Sunday's game after the Packers (14-1) clinched the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
While the playoffs-bound Lions (10-5) can gain the No. 5 seed in the NFC bracket by winning at Green Bay for the first time since 1991, the Packers don't have anything riding on the final score against their longtime rivals.
"It ain't the end of the world. We've still got them playoffs," Green Bay tight end Jermichael Finley said.
The Packers will have a first-round bye and won't play again until the Jan. 14-15 weekend.
McCarthy shrugged off the suggestion that a loss would hurt his team's momentum.
"I don't ever worry about the outcome of the game," he said. "I'm a firm believer in trusting the process. I truly believe we're going to win this football game. So I'm more concerned with the process leading up to this game, and I'll be just as much concerned as the process leading up to our next competition.
"Games are won, in my opinion, throughout the week. We fully expect to win this game."
The Packers would be counting on a combination of Matt Flynn and Graham Harrell to lead the league's No. 1-scoring offense if Rodgers doesn't play for only the second time in his four seasons as the starter.
Flynn, a fourth-year player, made his only pro start Dec. 19, 2010, with Rodgers out because of a concussion. Flynn played well in the prime-time game on the road against the heavily favored New England Patriots, who hung on for a 31-27 win.
"I want to see Matt Flynn play like he did in New England, but take it a step further - win the game," McCarthy said.
Harrell is anxious to get his first regular-season action since he signed with the Packers as a free agent in 2010.
"I'd love to get in, but we're going out to win," Harrell said.
And Harrell wouldn't be surprised if Flynn, not Rodgers, makes the start Sunday.
"It'll be interesting," Harrell said. "I don't think you can go wrong either way. Aaron, he's been healthy almost his whole career. He's a smart player, and he obviously helps us win. So letting him get some action would be good for us, but if they decide to rest him, it obviously makes a ton of sense as well."
Notes: DE Ryan Pickett and LT Chad Clifton are expected to play. Both veterans are probable for the game. Pickett missed the last two games because of a concussion. Clifton hasn't played since suffering a hamstring injury Oct. 9 and then a back injury during his rehab work. Finley also is probable. He practiced the last two days on a limited basis after a sore knee kept him out Wednesday. . McCarthy said the team would practice Wednesday and Thursday and possibly Friday next week before an opponent is known for the divisional round of the playoffs. "We're going to keep our players mentally and physically on the same time clock," McCarthy said.
Key to 49ers' offense is holding onto the ball
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Despite San Francisco's impressive 12-3 record, the 49ers' offense leads the league in only one category — protecting the football.
San Francisco hasn't committed a turnover in its last four games and leads the league in fewest giveaways with 10. If the 49ers don't commit a turnover in Sunday's season finale at St. Louis, they will tie the NFL record for fewest turnovers in a season set last year by New England.
The 49ers also lead the league with 36 takeaways, making their plus-26 turnover differential the NFL's best. San Francisco ranks just 26th in the league in total offense, but that unit has contributed to the team's successful formula by limiting mistakes and holding onto the ball.
The 49ers had a minus-1 turnover differential last season, when they committed 23 turnovers. The team's skill players on offense are essentially the same as last year, but the big change has come in the methodology of first-year coach Jim Harbaugh and his staff that has transformed San Francisco into a contender after eight seasons without a winning record or playoff berth.
"There are other things that go into it other than, 'Hey guys, let's just take care of the ball today,'" Harbaugh said Friday after his team's final practice of the regular season. "There is scheme, there's philosophy that goes in there. It's the pride that the players have in protecting the football, understanding situational football."
Harbaugh said the 49ers have emphasized that scheme since the team's first practice in July, and it certainly has showed in the results. San Francisco has not committed a turnover in its last 18 quarters since quarterback Alex Smith threw an end-zone interception in the final seconds before halftime of a Thanksgiving Day loss at Baltimore.
Smith has been the catalyst behind San Francisco's low turnover rate. The seventh-year pro has thrown 415 passes this season but only five have been intercepted, the fewest of any starting quarterback in the league.
Some may call him a game manager, but Smith's improved decision making and ball protection have been major factors in the turnaround season for Smith and his team. Smith was 19-31 as a NFL starter entering this year and had thrown more interceptions (53) than touchdown passes (51) in his first six seasons.
"You've got to do the little things to help give your team a chance to win," Smith said. "Guys do it a lot of different ways, and sometimes they're not the real noticeable thing. You talk about that winning edge, whatever it is with the quarterback, those are the things I look to."
Smith has thrown 16 touchdown passes and enters Sunday's game against the Rams with a career-best 90.1 passer rating, which ranks 10th in the league.
Even though Smith's passing numbers this year pale in comparison to more prolific quarterbacks, Harbaugh openly promoted Smith earlier this month for the third NFC Pro Bowl berth behind Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers and New Orleans' Drew Brees. That spot went to New York's Eli Manning.
"Alex has a great understanding of situational football and good football, and the difference between holding onto the ball and turning it over," Harbaugh said. "He's also been uncanny in the pocket. If he's been hit or sacked, not giving up the sack fumble (or) the big momentum turnover that can lead to a change in field position, put points on the board for the opposition. He's been outstanding in that regard."
Smith has absorbed several crunching hits in the pocket this year, but has lost just two fumbles despite being sacked 41 times, more than any other NFL quarterback.
He's not the only one doing a good job protecting the football. Pro Bowl running back Frank Gore, fourth among the NFL's leading rushers with 1,202 yards, has 269 touches this season and has lost two fumbles, tying his career low.
The only other turnover by a San Francisco player this season was by tight end Vernon Davis, who lost a fumble after catching a pass during a Week 9 win at Washington.
The 49ers are aware of what the low turnover rate has meant to their season, but it wasn't anything Gore wanted to discuss Friday with the team on the verge of a league record.
"We've been doing a great job at it, but I don't want to talk about protecting the football," Gore said. "We've just got to keep doing what we've been doing and keep it up."
Notes: Wide receivers Ted Ginn (ankle) and Kyle Williams (concussion) were held out of practice Friday for the third consecutive day and both are listed as questionable against the Rams. The 49ers released veteran Braylon Edwards earlier this week, leaving Michael Crabtree and Brett Swain as the only healthy wideouts on the roster. Swain, who joined the 49ers after starter Josh Morgan broke a bone in his right leg in early October, has one reception this season. . TE Delanie Walker, tied for fourth on the team with 19 catches, is listed as out with a jaw he injured last week and his status for the playoffs remains uncertain. . Five-time Pro Bowl linebacker Patrick Willis practiced every day this week and could return against the Rams after missing San Francisco's past three games with a hamstring injury. Willis was hurt early in the first quarter of the 49ers' 26-0 victory over St. Louis on Dec. 4 in San Francisco.
Baldwin set to lead Seahawks in receiving
RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin could become the first undrafted player since the merger to lead his team in yards receiving as a rookie.
To Baldwin, it's not good enough. Not, with the Seahawks out of playoff contention.
"It's kind of a disappointing year for me just because of the fact that we're not in the playoffs when we had an opportunity to be in the playoffs," Baldwin said.
The former Stanford player signed with Seattle before training camp and quickly began to show that teams made a mistake in not taking him in the draft.
Baldwin had a 55-yard touchdown catch in the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers and former Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh and proved he was ready to be a major contributor for the Seahawks.
"From the first couple days he was on the practice field to the preseason to now going into Game 16, he's a rock solid part of this team and we're counting on him," coach Pete Carroll said.
Baldwin has 48 catches for 748 yards and four touchdowns. He has excelled working as a slot receiver with his knack for finding holes in zones and getting first downs.
His best game came in a 30-13 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Dec. 12. Baldwin had a 37-yard kickoff return, downed a punt inside the 5 and caught seven passes for 93 yards and a touchdown.
Even with the season he's had, he continues to focus on the catches he didn't make — the games he didn't play as well in.
"For me, my focus is going to be looking at those games, particularly the Cleveland game where I didn't have a catch, and finding ways to get better. Finding ways of why I didn't have a catch," Baldwin said. "This last game I had seven targets and only two catches and I know there's things I can do to improve."
After two years under Carroll, the Seahawks' roster has finally started to take shape.
The front office has shuffled the roster constantly over Carroll's first two seasons and the team has finally found a group of core young players that are signed and will be back with the team next season.
After a 2-6 start to the 2011 season, the Seahawks have won five of their past seven games. In its two losses against Washington and San Francisco, Seattle held fourth-quarter leads, but was unable to hold on.
Seattle has found value in players such as Baldwin, fifth-round pick Richard Sherman and former CFL castoff Brandon Browner. It's something Baldwin and the Seahawks can build on for next season.
"It's a good feeling knowing that most of these guys in this locker room are going to be returning and us having an opportunity to push for a playoff run next year," Baldwin said.
Rams kicker says team struggles have affected him
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Josh Brown is unaccustomed to missing at any distance.
The St. Louis kicker entered the year with one of the most accurate legs in the game, making 81 percent of his field-goal tries with seven career game-winners. Entering the season finale Sunday against San Francisco, he has connected on 19 of 26 opportunities this season, a 73-percent success rate that is his lowest in six seasons and the worst in the NFL this year.
The NFL's lowest-scoring offense averages just 11 points, meaning Brown has fewer chances to kick. But he has missed three of five attempts the last two games alone.
Even though there's been no perceived lack of effort, Brown believes the Rams' 2-13 record has taken its toll and criticized himself for perhaps not being mentally alert enough.
"Oh yeah, absolutely, it wears you down man," Brown said. "It's hard, and it's your responsibility to stay up."
Brown believes lack of focus may have been the problem on his biggest miss last week, a virtual chip-shot 33-yarder in a 27-0 loss at Pittsburgh. Combined with a 52-yard miss, it cost the Rams a chance to make it a 13-6 game.
"Lack of focus, because the ball went perfectly straight, perfectly right down the hash, not where I wanted it to go," Brown said. "Just didn't go through the ball completely, the speed was slow. Just a very disappointing moment. Just let one get away."
The 33-yarder was wide right. The 52-yarder had plenty of distance but was wide left.
"I'm like, 'Are you kidding? Are you kidding?'" Brown said. "You have to simply forget and try to move on, try to stay motivated this week to do everything right. It's sad for a nine-year veteran to have that happen."
Last year, Brown was an 85-percent kicker, going 33 for 39. This is the first year of his career he doesn't have one 50 yards or better, failing to add to his impressive total of 25, although he has had only two chances.
The 32-year-old Brown has one season left on a five-year, $14.2 million contract he signed on the first day of free agency in 2008 as the replacement for the retired Jeff Wilkins.
If the Rams know why Brown is struggling, they're not saying.
Special teams coach Tom McMahon went on the defensive, saying corrections are made on a weekly basis and an assessment would be made after the season. When asked specifically about the 33-yard whiff against Pittsburgh, McMahon said only that Brown needs to make that kick, and the 52-yarder, too.
"It's one of those things where he's a pro, he's going to correct that, and that's what he's been doing this week," McMahon said. "It had nothing to do with operation, it's a miss."
Was it a technique mistake?
"It's just a miss. I'm not going to get into details of why he missed it or how," McMahon said. "It's not what you do. Next question."
Brown is hoping for a big finale to lessen the bad taste: "I'd love to have three, four or five. I'd like a lot of business."
-- R.B. Fallstrom
Panthers look to carry momentum into next season
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Panthers have won four of their last five games. That has some wishing Carolina could keep playing and others looking to fast-forward to next season and a clean slate.
The Panthers may be 6-9 entering Sunday's season finale at New Orleans, but one thing in certain — there's plenty of optimism.
The team is buoyed by the thought of what sensational rookie quarterback Cam Newton might accomplish with a full offseason to work with coaches. What's more, 16 players are coming off injuries and the bulk of the roster is under contract.
"I don't think there's any question, everyone in this locker room is excited about next year," tight end Greg Olsen said.
Coach Ron Rivera said he was talking with his coaches this week about how nice it would be if this were a 20-game season given the momentum the team has built the last month.
"If we had just had a few more weeks, who knows?" Rivera said. "I wish we had a few more just to see, just to see if we've reached that point where we've matured enough."
Newton, a leading candidate for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year with 34 total touchdowns and a first alternate for the Pro Bowl, said he "absolutely" wishes the Panthers could keep playing.
He sees a completely different team now from the one earlier in the season. That one was tiptoeing toward an uncertain future; this one is surging, ready to bust up anything in its way.
"It's evident on film," Newton said. "But we can't get that back. You can't press rewind in life and you sure can't press fast-forward, so you've got to live for the present. I think going into next year we have to focus on what we can control.
"We have to learn from it. There are going to be mistakes made and things we had back, but we had ample opportunities that we could have bounced back from to make a bigger difference."
The Panthers enter the Saints game ranked fourth in total offense and third in rushing, a dramatic turnaround from last season when the Panthers were last in the league in total offense.
They're as dangerous as any team in the league with Newton running the show and a talented running back duo in DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart behind him, as well as a super receiver in Steve Smith and proven tight ends in Olsen and Jeremy Shockey.
And don't forget, an underrated offensive line that may be as good as any in the league behind Pro Bowl center Ryan Kalil.
Middle linebacker Dan Connor is an unrestricted free agent in the offseason and is likely to go from starter to backup if Jon Beason returns. But Connor said he might be willing to pass up a starting role elsewhere if it means staying with the Panthers and being on a winner.
"We're going to get a lot of guys back (from injuries) and with what we've built this year I think we're going to be a top contender next year," Connor said.
Olsen said beating the Saints would be a huge confidence boost.
"The way these last four or five weeks have gone there's just a real positive feeling heading into next year," Olsen said. "I think if you finish the season strong it gives a different kind of feel to the offseason program, a different sense of energy to the offseason."
The Saints (12-3) have clinched a playoff spot and at least one home game. They are playing for a first-round bye, and the Panthers can do their part in preventing that.
"You really want to come out and play them the best you can because of what we're trying to build and the attitude we're trying to have," Rivera said. "To lose now would be disappointing."
"I think our guys have done a nice job," he added. "They've practiced well. I'm pretty excited about that, especially going into the last game ... just trying to get them to understand we can make an impact in the playoffs. We may not be in but we can certainly impact them."
-- Steve Reed
News & Notes
Vikings considering Minneapolis site for stadium
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings insist their first choice for a stadium remains the St. Paul suburb of Arden Hills, but they also are taking a closer look at a site in downtown Minneapolis.
The Star Tribune reported Friday that the team is conducting a traffic analysis of the Linden Avenue site near the Basilica of St. Mary because the property's ability to house a stadium was relatively unknown. The $1.03 billion proposal is the least known of the team's possible new homes. Three sites in Minneapolis are being promoted for a new Vikings stadium: the $1.04 billion Farmers Market site, the Linden Avenue property and the Metrodome site. The last is where the team has played for nearly 30 years and, at $895 million, is seen as the least expensive option.
The Vikings and Ramsey County officials tentatively have put the cost of an Arden Hills stadium at $1.1 billion.
Lester Bagley is the team's vice president for stadium development and public affairs. He says the team does not yet have a preferred stadium site in Minneapolis, but said the proposed Farmers Market property has "significant" challenges.
The Vikings' lease at the Metrodome expires at the end of the year. The stadium's location is one of the project's biggest unsolved hurdles along with how to publicly fund its construction.
With the Legislature set to convene Jan. 24, and with Gov. Mark Dayton and others expected to push again for a public subsidy package for a new stadium, the jockeying over a stadium site is expected to intensify in the first weeks of January.
Ted Mondale, Dayton's chief stadium negotiator, said the Linden Avenue site "has a lot of possibilities" but added that all four sites being discussed for a new stadium have strengths and weaknesses.
The team and state and local officials were moving closer to selecting a site, he said.
"If we're not talking about (one) site in mid-January, we're behind," Mondale said Thursday.
Peterson's knee surgery is 'successful'
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has had surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left knee.
Coach Leslie Frazier said the team was informed that Friday's operation by Dr. James Andrews was "successful" and that Peterson was "resting comfortably." In a statement distributed by the team, Frazier wished Peterson a "speedy recovery."
Peterson tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in the knee during last Sunday's game at Washington. He finished his fifth year in the NFL with 970 yards and 12 touchdowns rushing.
The Vikings have said they expect him to be ready in time for the start of the 2012 season.
