Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Sid Hartman Column: Sid Hartman: Spaeth Excited to Take on Vikings

By Sid Hartman, Star Tribune, Minneapolis

Oct. 25--Matt Spaeth, the former Gophers tight end who is in his third year playing with the Steelers, caught an important pass in Super Bowl XLIII for a first down. It was his only catch, but it was for a first down in a drive that led to a key field goal. Spaeth said he will never forget that situation in the Steelers' 27-23 victory.

Drafted in the third round in 2007, the opportunity to play with a winning Super Bowl team that early is something that many athletes don't experience.

The Steelers actually gambled when they took Spaeth as early as they did, because the 6-7, 270-pound tight end missed a good part of his senior year with the Gophers and needed surgery to correct a shoulder problem.

"I'm second-string tight end behind Heath Miller, but you know we start two tight ends most every game," Spaeth said. "So I guess I'm kind of considered a starter."

Even though the Steelers lost road games at Cincinnati and Chicago, Spaeth believes things are going real well this year, and he looks for a winning season.

Today's Vikings game at Pittsburgh will be the second time that Spaeth has played against the Vikings. The Steelers played a preseason game against the Vikings last year.

Spaeth said Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is having as good a year as anybody in the league. He is second in the league in passing, and had a big day against the Browns last week -- he was 23-for-35 for 417 yards, the second time in his career he went over 400 yards. Hines Ward had eight of those catches for 159 yards and a touchdown. Roethlisberger has been a winner in two Super Bowls, and has a 54-22 regular-season record. Spaeth is the same height as Roethlisberger, making him a good target.

Tyrone Carter is another former Gophers player now playing safety with the Steelers in his 10th year in the NFL.

"Yeah, Tyrone -- he plays a lot," Spaeth said. "He was filling in when Troy Polamalu was hurt, and he does a good job. And even when Troy's healthy, he still plays quite a bit and does a good job."

Polamalu, a Pro Bowl player, is expected to play against the Vikings. Spaeth said the Steelers are pretty healthy except for the loss of defensive end Aaron Smith, who is out for the season.

Spaeth added that he enjoys playing for Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, the former Vikings defensive coordinator.

"I love Coach Tomlin," Spaeth said. "He's a good coach, a great X and O guy, but also just a good coach and a guy you really want to play for. He's got everybody's respect, that's for sure."

This will be a special week for Spaeth, because his parents are coming in for the game with the Vikings.

Mental mistakes hurt

It's hard to figure out this Gophers football team. They held Ohio State to one touchdown in the first half, that coming on a missed assignment when a Buckeyes receiver was left wide open.

Then in the second half, three turnovers led to three Ohio State touchdowns. After competing well with the No. 18 Buckeyes in the first half, the Gophers collapsed in the second, losing 38-7.

They had eight penalties for 72 yards, four in a short span in the first half to kill any chance for their offense to get in rhythm.

There will be criticism of Gophers quarterback Adam Weber, but receivers dropped 11 catchable passes. Freshman quarterback MarQueis Gray had a good day, completing five of six passes for 51 yards and a touchdown, so rest assured that there will be a quarterback controversy this week.

But with the horrible protection Weber gets, plus the turnovers, how can you blame him? The Gophers had gone eight quarters without scoring until that fourth-quarter touchdown.

The injury to receiver Eric Decker in the first quarter didn't help. He might be sidelined for the rest of year, seriously hurting the Gophers' bowl hopes.

Jottings

Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, who coached Brett Favre at Green Bay, was asked if he sees the veteran quarterback doing things better than he did with the Packers. "I think he's throwing -- completion percentage-wise -- about as well as he's ever done," Bevell said. "He is protecting the ball as well as he's ever done. He is managing our team very well. He is showing great leadership. He has great communication with our receivers, our tight ends and our running backs. We are on the same page protection-wise, makes calls. ... So I think he is playing overall, in all areas offensively, at a very high level for us."

Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier was asked if the team misses safety Darren Sharper, who is having a great year with the Saints. "Sharper did a good job for us," Frazier said. "[He was] a veteran player, but we have some good players in our secondary right now at safety who will continue to get better as the season goes on. We have a lot of confidence in them. I believe that Madieu [Williams] and Tyrell [Johnson] will have a chance to be Pro Bowl players over time. They just have to gain experience, continue to see things and continue to get better. It will happen."

Speaking to the Pittsburgh media about Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, Tomlin said he is "arguably, the best football player in the world right now." However, the Steelers have not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 24 regular-season and four postseason games. Peterson, when asked what he thought about the Steelers defense after watching them on film said: "First off, [they are] a physical defense. And just a good defense, collectively, how they play. They play fast and physical, so that is the first thing that jumps out." On having Polamalu back, Peterson added: "They are going to be pumped up. Just a comfort level is definitely going to increase. As for Troy, he just plays on instinct. He is always around the ball and makes big plays."

Vikings special teams coach Brian Murphy said it will be tough for kicker Ryan Longwell to kick at Heinz Field, which is known for having one of the worst natural-grass playing fields in the NFL. "They are going to replace the sod in between the hash marks, which is always an adventure. And Pitt plays Saturday during the day, which doesn't appear to be a good weather day. ... The field might be torn up before we get there. It will be something we will have to adjust to. Ryan has performed at a high level in a lot of tough places to play. He spent his career at Lambeau Field and kicked in Soldier Field. I think he will be able to adjust."

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. --shartman@startribune.com

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