Bewerbungen » in 2014.After a year

MINNEAPOLIS -- Following a decade-plus of lobbying and 2+ years of construction, the Minnesota Vikings have arrived at the grand opening of their new stadium, with the Green Bay Packers serving as the fitting visitors on the national stage of a Sunday night game.The Vikings will unveil yet another starting quarterback in the history of this rivalry, too, a series controlled by the Packers since Aaron Rodgers assumed the signal-callers role. Rodgers has extended whats been a remarkable run of stability and success at the sports most vital position dating to the dawn of Brett Favres career.Were obviously blessed, said Packers coach Mike McCarthy, who overlapped with Favres final two seasons in Green Bay and is 15-5-1 against Minnesota since taking the job in 2006. McCarthy added: Im sure they kiss their mothers every chance they get.Favre, the newly minted member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and Rodgers, the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player, have made the Packers the envy of the league, let alone of the Vikings, for nearly 25 years. Their elite ability has been supplemented by exceptional durability, further underscored by the devastating knee injury that knocked Minnesota quarterback Teddy Bridgewater out for the season and maybe longer.Hopefully I can ride this out a little longer and then pass along to the next guy whos going to go on a run like Brett and I have, said Rodgers, who has begun his ninth year as the starter with only nine games missed.Seven of those came in 2013 when his broken collarbone forced three other quarterbacks into action. Since Rodgers took over, he has opposed six different Vikings starters out of the 10 that theyve sent out since 2008. If Sam Bradford makes his widely expected debut on Sunday, those totals would reach seven and 11.Ive kind of been laying back and getting my shoulder warmed up and taking some snaps from the quarterback position, so well see how things go and hopefully they give me the nod, Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson joked this week.Here are some key angles to know about the game:MORE MISSES: Blair Walsh, who infamously missed the 27-yard field goal that wouldve sent the Vikings to the next round of the playoffs last season, had an extra point in the opener sail wide right, and two field goals hook wide left. Walsh made one extra point and four field goals to fuel a 25-16 victory over Tennessee, but he couldve given the Vikings seven more points.Hes too good of a kicker to miss the type of kicks hes missing, special teams coordinator Mike Priefer said.CORNER CONCERN: The Packers held cornerback Sam Shields out of practices this week because of concussion symptoms after getting hurt at Jacksonville. Rookie backup Josh Hawkins has been unavailable due to a hamstring injury. Backup safety Micah Hyde can switch to cornerback, but depth could be an issue.CORNER CONCERN, PART TWO: The Vikings played their opener without cornerback Xavier Rhodes, whose knee injury kept him out of practices this week too. Trae Waynes stepped in and was targeted often by Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota, with mixed results in coverage.He was one step away, one fingernail away, from making those plays, Vikings nickel cornerback Captain Munnerlyn said. Thats the NFL. Youve got to make those plays. I think this week hell be even closer.ON THE LINE: Left guard Lane Taylor and Green Bays revamped front five had a solid debut in the opener, but blocking the Vikings should be a much greater challenge. Taylor took over after three-time Pro Bowl pick Josh Sitton was surprisingly released on cutdown day.Former jack-of-all-trades backup J.C. Tretter will make his second start at center, having stepped in because Corey Linsley hurt his hamstring in training camp. The Packers had communication trouble on a few snaps against the Jaguars, a must-fix problem prior for whats sure to be a deafening debut for U.S. Bank Stadium.STOP SIGN: The Packers defense fared well against Peterson last season, holding him to 112 yards on 32 carries over two games with Clay Matthews playing inside linebacker. Peterson was limited to 31 yards on 19 rushes in the opener last week. Matthews has moved back to his preferred spot as a full-time pass-rushing outside linebacker in Green Bays 3-4 scheme, but containment of Peterson transcends Matthews and his position.Its going to take 11 men getting to the football, strong safety Morgan Burnett said. You cant hang your hat on those types of stats, because hes the type of back that can bust out and have a big game anytime.---Online:AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL coverage on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Dave Campbell on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DaveCampbellAP Joe Ross Nationals Jersey . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago. Aaron Barrett Nationals Jersey . -- PGA TOUR Canada member Steve Saunders took a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Web. https://www.cheapnationals.com/937r-jeremy-hellickson-jersey-nationals.html . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. Tres Barrera Jersey . Miller reached right to deflect Mikhail Grabovskis attempt with just over 2 minutes remaining in regulation, and then made two more saves in the shootout Sunday to give the Sabres a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals. Howie Kendrick Jersey . -- Nathan Pancel scored twice as the Sudbury Wolves defeated the North Bay Battalion 4-2 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. SALT LAKE CITY -- The road to the Pac-12 championship hasnt taken the usual route in 2016 with traditional powers such as Stanford and Oregon struggling.The premier game of this season could take place in Salt Lake City on Saturday when No. 17 Utah hosts No. 4 Washington in a possible preview of the title game.Washington (7-0, 4-0 Pac-12) is off to its first 7-0 start since 1992 when the Huskies shared the league championship with Stanford. The No. 4 ranking is their highest since 2000. Third-year coach Chris Petersen called Utah their biggest challenge of the season.I think their record proves out, Petersen said. Going on the road, thats a really great environment to play in, all those types of things across the board. This will by far be our toughest test so far.The Utes are off to a 7-1 start for the second consecutive season as they continue to chase the first Pac-12 championship in school history. The Utes sit atop the South Division with a 4-1 record and control their own destiny, once again. The 2015 team, however, dropped back to back games after improving to 7-1 and wound up in the Las Vegas Bowl.If you want to win the Pac-12 South, you have to do it the entire season, Utah safety Chase Hansen said. Youve got to do it at the end of the year. You cant have any excuses. No one cares whos hurt. Youve got to be able to fight at this point in the season. Youve got to win games however you can. Right now its just about fighting, grinding it out.Things to watch when Utah hosts Washington:MYLES AND MYLES: After a slow start to the season, Washingtons Myles Gaskin has found a groove as the primary ball carrier in the backfield.Gaskin has three straight 100-yard games, including 128 yards and a touchdown last week against Oregon State.Gaskin shared the running load early in the season, but in the past three games the sophomore has run for 425 yards and four touchdowns. Gaskin is now the leading rusher in the Pac-12 with 727 yards on the season.HOLD THE EDGE: Washington is expected to be without outside linebacker Joe Mathis for a second straight game due to an undisclosed injury.The Huskies are hopeful of getting Mathis back this season, but wiill miss his ability to pressure off the edge.dddddddddddd Mathis is tied for the team lead with 7 + sacks on the season.Connor OBrien is expected to make a second straight start in place of Mathis. OBrien had four tackles and one sack last week against Oregon State.RUNNING JOE: Senior Joe Williams retired two weeks into the season due to injuries and some personal issues, but returned to the team a month later after the running back ranks were depleted by injuries.Williams had a school-record 332 yards rushing and four touchdowns last week and has a combined 511 yards in the two games since returning. The veteran offensive line has also improved recently.REVENGE, KINDA: Utah quarterback Troy Williams signed with Washington out of high school as one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the country. He transferred after Petersen took over the program in 2014.After a year of junior college, Williams has thrown for 1,725 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions this season with the Utes. Williams has made it clear that hes been anticipating the chance to play the Huskies for years.I dont want to say revenge, Williams said. Im just excited to go out there and play against them. Theres a lot of motivation behind this game. No hard feelings. No love lost.BROWNOUT: Washington sophomore quarterback Jake Browning is No. 2 in the nation in passing efficiency (199.62), No. 3 in passing yards per attempt (9.9) tied for No. 3 in touchdown passes (26) and No. 8 in completion percentage (68.6).Hes just gotten better at everything, particularly pass completion percentage, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. You can just see his growth and development in all areas. Hes bigger, stronger, making great decisions. People have tried everything. Theres nothing schematically that hasnt been tried at one time or another in the last seven games.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org---AP Sports Writer Tim Booth in Seattle contributed to this report.---Follow Kareem Copeland on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kareemcopeland . ' ' '