from chicagobears.com
CHICAGO BEARS (0-0) at MINNESOTA VIKINGS (0-0)
August 29, 2000
THIS WEEK AT MINNESOTA
For just the second time since 1983, the Chicago Bears will open the season on the road as Head Coach Dick Jauron leads his team into Minnesota to face Dennis Green's Vikings. Kickoff for the Bears' Opening Day is scheduled for Noon Chicago time. Minnesota will be the first of four NFC Central opponents to face Chicago over the opening five games of the season. The Bears have won 13 of their last 16 season openers and snapped a two-game losing streak last year with a victory over Kansas City at Soldier Field. The Vikings are only 8-8 in season openers over that same time period but have won their last four Opening Day games. In season openers at home, Minnesota is a perfect 4-0 since 1987, including 2-0 under Green. The last time the Vikings dropped a season opener at home was in 1986 against Detroit.
GAME DATE: Sunday, September 3, 2000
SITE: Metrodome (Artificial Turf)
KICKOFF: Noon Chicago time
TELEVISION: FOX will televise the game with Kenny Albert handling play-by-play and analysis from Tim Green. The game will be shown on WFLD-TV.
RADIO: WBBM (780 AM) in Chicago anchors the Bears radio network. Gary Bender handles play-by-play with color commentary from Pro Football Weekly's Hub Arkush and former Bears' offensive lineman Tom Thayer. Countdown to Kickoff, hosted by Jeff Joniak, begins WBBM's three-hour pre-game show.
TICKETS: Sold Out. The Metrodome seats 64,121
2000 SEASON TO DATE
For the second straight year, the Bears finished preseason play with a 2-2 mark. The last time Chicago put together back-to-back preseason records of .500 or better was during the 1989-90 campaigns. The Bears opened the preseason slate at 2-0 for the first time since 1994 with victories at the New York Giants (20-8) and vs. Cleveland (19-6) before dropping the final two games (24-20 at Cincinnati and 34-28 vs. Tennessee). Minnesota won only one preseason game, 35-17 vs. Arizona, against three losses (25-24 vs. New Orleans; 31-7 at San Diego; 32-30 at Indianapolis).
BEARS/VIKINGS SERIES
Minnesota holds the all-time series advantage over Chicago with a 42-34-2 record since 1961. Last year, Chicago snapped a four-game losing streak in the series with a victory at Minnesota (24-22) before falling to the Vikings in overtime in Soldier Field (24-27). The momentum of the NFC Central rivalry has turned with each decade. In the 60's the Bears won 11 of the 16 contests between the teams. During the 70's the Vikings posted a 15-5 record against Chicago. The 80's proved to be the tightest decade between the teams as the Bears shuffled to a slim 10-9 advantage. The Vikings regained control in the 90's, building a 13-8 record, including four- and six-game win-streaks. The longest win-streak for either team belongs to Minnesota when it won eight consecutive games from 1972-76. The Bears longest win streak took place from 1983-86 when Chicago won six straight games. The Bears romped to the biggest blowout by either team in 1984 with a 34-3 drubbing in Minnesota. The Vikings largest margin of victory is 28 points, a gap they have enjoyed four times over the last 38 years (1982, 1990, 1992 and 1994) and most recently in 1994 with a 42-14 win at Soldier Field. While each team has enjoyed lopsided victories, the Bears/Vikings match-up normally yields close contests. Over one quarter of the games between the two teams have been decided by a field goal or less (30%), including two ties. Close games have been the norm in recent history as well with seven of the last eight games determined by a touchdown or less. (Complete game-by-game listing on page 254 of the 2000 Chicago Bears Media Guide).
HEAD COACHES DICK JAURON AND DENNIS GREEN
Head Coach Dick Jauron begins his second season at the helm of the Bears after guiding Chicago to a 2-2 preseason mark for the second straight year. Jauron led the team to six wins in his opening campaign, the most Chicago victories since 1996, against a schedule ranked eighth toughest in the NFL. Under Jauron's guidance, Chicago beat three of the four NFC central rivals for the first time since 1991 and won road games at Green Bay and Minnesota. Jauron was hired on January 24, 1999 after spending the previous four seasons as the first defensive coordinator of the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars. A 24-year veteran of the NFL as a player and coach, Jauron tutored defensive backs for Green Bay from 1986-94 under three different head coaches (Forrest Gregg 1986-87, Lindy Infante 1988-91 and Mike Holmgren 1992-94). He began coaching with the Buffalo Bills in 1985 following an eight-year career playing defensive back for the Detroit Lions (1973-77) and Cincinnati Bengals (1978-80).
Dennis Green enters his ninth season as the head coach at Minnesota, tying him with Pittsburgh's Bill Cowher as the longest tenured coaches with their current team. Green has led the Vikings to seven playoff appearances in eight years, including a trip to the NFC Championship in 1998 after a 15-1 season. He has a career-record of 81-47 (.633) with Minnesota. Before jumping to the Vikings, Green was the head coach at Stanford (1989-91) where he also spent time as an assistant (1977-78, 1980). The Iowa alum also held the head job at Northwestern (1981-85) and spent college stints as an assistant at his alma mater (1972, 1974-76) and Dayton (1973). He also enjoyed two stints in the NFL as an assistant with San Francisco (1979, 1986-88).
MINNESOTA VIKINGS
The Minnesota Vikings were one of the most successful teams in the 1990s, with 81 victories and seven playoff appearances since 1992. Now as the year 2000 opens, Minnesota Head Coach Dennis Green will once again depend upon an explosive offense to lead the way. This season, that offensive powerhouse will depend upon the play of second-year quarterback Duante Culpepper. The Central Florida product, drafted one pick before Chicago's Cade McNown in the 1999 Draft, saw little playing time last season as the third quarterback behind starters Jeff George and Randall Cunningham. Culpepper is now the starter following the departure of those two players and he put together an impressive preseason, hitting 58.1 percent of his passes for 751 yards and five touchdowns (three interceptions) for a QB rating of 98.4. His development will be boosted by an impressive wide receiving corps led by Cris Carter and Randy Moss. The duo was one of only three pairs of NFL receivers in 1999 to both collect more than 80 receptions (along with the Bears' Bobby Engram and Marcus Robinson). Carter continued to put together Hall of Fame worthy numbers last season with 90 receptions for 1,241 yards and 13 touchdowns. He made his seventh straight trip to the Pro Bowl and was honored as the first Walter Payton Man of the Year Award winner for his character and charitable work off the field. Moss also went to the Pro Bowl last season, earning Most Outstanding Player honors, after posting 80 receptions for 1,413 yards and 11 touchdowns. Fellow Minnesota wide receivers Chris Walsh and Matthew Hatchette will split time in three-wideout sets. Veteran Andrew Jordan will start at tight end. The running game is anchored by Pro Bowler Robert Smith, who has gained more than 1,000 yards each of the past three seasons. In 1999, the Ohio State alum rushed for 1,015 yards on 221 carries with two touchdowns. Second-year man Jim Kleinsasser made the move from tight end and will start at fullback. The offensive line suffered a pair of losses in the offseason with the departure of Pro Bowlers Jeff Christy (center) and Randall McDaniel (left guard) to Tampa Bay. Two backups last season were expected to step up in center Matt Birk and left guard Corbin Lacina, but Lacina has been out with an injury and will be replaced by Chris Liwienski. The rest of the line remained from a year ago in Pro Bowl left tackle Todd Steussie, right guard David Dixon and right tackle Korey Stringer.
The Minnesota defense ranked 27th overall in total yards allowed last season, including 30th in passing yardage, and lost a few key starters this past offseason. Defensive linemen Chris Doleman and Duane Clemons are both gone after combining for 18 sacks in 1999. The 2000 defensive line will again be anchored by Pro Bowler John Randle, who leads the NFL with 105.0 sacks since 1991. Tony Williams mans the other defensive tackle spot after starting 13 games for the Vikings last season. Minnesota will depend on a pair of new defensive ends in John Burrough and Talance Sawyer.
Burrough played little last year after missing much of the season with a foot injury while Sawyer collected one tackle in two brief appearances. Veteran Bryce Paup was also added this offseason from Jacksonville. The linebackers may be the strongest unit on the defense but all three players will be appearing in new positions in 2000. Ed McDaniel, who has led the team in tackles each of the past three seasons, moves to the weakside linebacker position after manning the middle a year ago. Third-year man Kailee Wong will hold down the middle position after playing on the strong side last season. On the strong side is now Dwayne Rudd, who played weakside in 1999 and has ranked second on the Vikings in tackles each of the past two seasons. The secondary lost starting cornerback Jimmy Hitchcock to Carolina but made no major additions in the offseason. The two cornerbacks in 2000 will be second-year man Kenny Wright and Robert Tate, who played receiver until last season. Orlando Thomas returns as the free safety alongside strong safety Robert Griffith, who had a Pro Bowl caliber season in 1999.
On special teams, Minnesota resigned Pro Bowl punter Mitch Berger in the offseason after he averaged 45.4 yards per punt last season. Kicker Gary Anderson also returns after a shaky 1999 when he hit only 19-30 field goals. Return specialist David Palmer is back after missing most of 1999 with a knee injury.
LAST TIME VS MINNESOTA
Vikings 27, Bears 24 (ot) - Sunday, November 14, 1999 - Soldier Field: Chicago was one score short in an offensive showdown with the Minnesota Vikings last season at Soldier Field. Each team's offense racked up over 450 yards of offense en route to a thrilling overtime contest.
Chicago's defense made the first statement of the game forcing a Jeff George fumble deep in Chicago territory. With Jim Miller at the helm, the Bears converted the turnover into a touchdown on the next play as Miller found Marcus Robinson on a 77-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline. The Vikings answered on their next possession, driving the ball 66 yards in five plays with Cris Carter finding the endzone for his first of three touchdown catches. With the game tied 7-7, Chicago went back to its quick-strike offense. This time Miller hit Marty Booker on a screen and the rookie receiver took it 57 yards for his first career touchdown. After a Chicago turnover inside its own 20-yard line, Minnesota needed only one play to knot the score at 14. George hit Carter on a seven-yard touchdown pass midway through the second quarter. Miller led his troops on an 11-play drive on the ensuing possession, but had to settle for a 34-yard Chris Boniol field goal and a 17-14 lead that carried into the half. Minnesota opened the second half by driving the ball down to the Bears one-yard line. Facing first and goal from inside their one, the Bears defense dropped Vikings' running backs for consecutive three-yard losses and recovered a George fumble on third down to foil Minnesota's scoring opportunity. The Vikings would tie the game at 17 on their next drive with a 38-yard Gary Anderson field goal. Minnesota captured its first lead of the game in the fourth quarter after driving 96 yards in 13 plays for a touchdown. Both teams traded punts and the Bears took over with just over three minutes left and 87 yards to go. Miller marched Chicago down the field and found Booker at the end of a 25-yard pass for his second touchdown to tie the score at 24 with under a minute in the game. The Vikings answered by driving down to the Bears two-yard line in the final 42 seconds, but Anderson missed a 20-yard field goal, sending the game into overtime. Minnesota received the ball in the extra period, but Walt Harris intercepted the first play from scrimmage giving the Bears the ball at the Viking 29. After three plays, Boniol set up for a 41-yard field goal, but his attempt sailed wide right. The Vikings made good on their next drive, moving 49 yards to set up a 38-yard field goal. Anderson found his mark in the sudden death quarter and gave the Vikings a 27-24 victory. Miller threw for 422 yards on the afternoon, the fourth highest total in team history. Robinson (148) and Booker (134) each had over 100 yards receiving and combined for all three touchdowns. Carter (141) and Randy Moss (204) also eclipsed the 100-yard receiving barrier for the Vikings while George threw for 374 yards. |
