# vikes pro bowlers



## Norm70 (Aug 26, 2005)

Seven Minnesota Vikings make NFC Prob Bowl team
Six chosen to start for NFC in Pro Bowl
BY SEAN JENSEN 
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 12/19/2007 12:41:58 AM CST

Vikings coach Brad Childress called Pat Williams into his office around 11 Tuesday morning.

Once the defensive tackle arrived, Childress broke the news to him: He had been named to the Pro Bowl team.

"I said, 'You playing with me, Coach?' " Williams said. "But that's just how I think. He said, 'It's right here on this paper.'

"It's a blessing right here. Finally, I got in there straight, and I'm going to start with my great teammate (Kevin Williams)."

Pat Williams, like his team, finally is getting respect.

The resurgent Vikings placed a surprising seven players on the Pro Bowl team, including six starters, tied for the most in the NFC. Joining the Williams Wall will be rookie running back Adrian Peterson, fullback Tony Richardson, guard Steve Hutchinson, center Matt Birk and safety Darren Sharper. Birk was the lone reserve.

"I think the number of guys we had make the Pro Bowl is a reflection of the team as a whole," said Sharper, who will be going to Hawaii for a fourth time. "We are on a hot streak right now, and we're being recognized for our success."

Pro Bowl voters also honored the memory of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor.

Taylor, who died Nov. 27 after being shot during a burglary at his home in Florida, was voted the starting free safety for the NFC. He was one of the leading vote getters among fans at the time of his death.

Dallas running back Marion Barber, a former University of Minnesota star, doesn't start for the

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Cowboys but still was picked to the NFC team. A league-high 11 Cowboys are headed to the all-star game, with the New England Patriots and San Diego Chargers tied for second with eight players each.
Despite a 12-2 record, the Green Bay Packers only got four Pro Bowl players.

Pat Williams and Childress lamented one Vikings player who didn't make it: middle linebacker E.J. Henderson. Returning to his college position, where he won the Butkus Award, Henderson leads the Vikings with 133 tackles and 13 tackles for loss, as well as 3½ sacks and two fumble recoveries. Childress said Henderson was a "worthy guy." But Henderson, who was named a second alternate, said he was "excited" for Pat Williams, Kevin Williams and Sharper, Childress said.

Pat Williams encouraged Henderson.

"It was kind of hard for him, because he's been playing great all year. But I told him not to worry about it, because, sooner or later, it's going to happen," Pat Williams said. "E.J. should have made it, but all that politics come in. I told him not to worry about it because I've been in the same boat."

All of the selected Vikings are repeat Pro Bowl players except for Peterson, a rookie who leads the NFC with 1,278 rushing yards.

"This is a great honor as a rookie, and I'm proud to be selected," Peterson said. "More important than that is that some of the guys who made it possible for me to go are also going, like Hutch, Birk and Tony. This was one of my goals coming into the season, and it feels good to accomplish that."

Five of the Vikings' Pro Bowl players are at least 30 years old.

Said Richardson, 35: "It's humbling for me to know that the Vikings took a chance on me two years ago and that I was able to make the most of the chance they gave me."

Added Sharper, 32: "When you get to the stage of your career that I'm at, you don't know how many more of these honors are going to come your way, so you really appreciate it more."

Briefly: The Vikings had three Pro Bowl alternates: special-teams ace Heath Farwell (second), kicker Ryan Longwell (first), left tackle Bryant McKinnie (second) and Henderson (second).

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


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## Norm70 (Aug 26, 2005)

I know you posted the names already, but i found the story from the tribune.


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