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A number of know-it-all Vikings fans were upset on Christmas Eve in 2011 when the Purple upset the Washington Redskins 33-26, because it turned out that if the Vikings had lost that game, they would have gotten the second overall pick in the NFL draft and been able to select Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III who, along with Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, was ranked as one of the top players available.
Griffin probably will start Sunday against the Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium for the first time since Sept. 14, when he dislocated his ankle. The Redskins are 2½-point underdogs on the road.
The St. Louis Rams (2-14) wound up getting the No. 2 pick behind Indianapolis, which took Luck. Washington then traded three of its first-round picks in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and a 2012 second-round pick to the Rams to move up to take Griffin.
Griffin had one of the best rookie seasons for a quarterback in NFL history when he posted a 102.4 QB rating and led the Redskins to the playoffs. He completed 258 of 393 passes for 3,200 yards and 20 touchdowns and only five interceptions, and he was named to the Pro Bowl.
He also ran for 815 yards and seven scores.
Vikings fans will remember Griffin destroying the team in a Week 6 matchup in 2012, when he ran for 138 yards and two TDs while passing for 182 yards and a score.
But since that season, Griffin's injuries have hampered his production. He underwent offseason surgery to repair his lateral collateral and anterior cruciate ligaments in his right knee.
In 2013 he threw for 3,203 yards, but also had 12 interceptions and only 16 touchdowns. His rushing yardage dropped from 814 to 489, he didn't have a touchdown and fumbled five times before then-Redskins coach Mike Shanahan made Griffin inactive for the final three games to avoid further injury.
That's not to say he wouldn't have been a great addition to the Vikings, but his numbers have dropped off considerably and he hasn't been the dominant quarterback he was expected to be on a consistent basis.
While Griffin recuperated this season, Colt McCoy — who had played only one half of pro football along with two garbage-time appearances since 2011 — has quarterbacked the Redskins to successive victories over Tennessee and Dallas after taking over for the benched Kirk Cousins. It has given Washington its first two-game winning streak since 2012.
Griffin is expected to start despite the fact that McCoy completed 25 of 30 passes for 299 yards and one interception and also rushed for a touchdown in the 20-17 overtime victory over the Cowboys on Monday.
Vikings' 2012 draft
After missing out on a chance to draft Griffin, the Vikings traded the 2012 third overall pick to Cleveland in exchange for the fourth overall pick (tackle Matt Kalil), a fourth-rounder (wide receiver Jarius Wright), a fifth-rounder (safety Robert Blanton) and a seventh-rounder they traded to Tennessee for a 2013 sixth-rounder.
Then the next season in training camp, they traded that sixth-rounder to Arizona for cornerback A.J. Jefferson and a seventh-rounder in 2013, which they used to pick linebacker Michael Mauti.
So by making that move with Cleveland, they got three players who are still with the team and picked up another later by trading draft picks. But Griffin, despite his lack of durability and failure to perform as he did as a rookie, might have solved the quarterback problem that still exists for the Vikings.
Jottings
• Credit Gophers assistant baseball coach Rob Fornasiere for this item: If Paul Molitor should be named manager of the Twins, it would mean five former Gophers athletes would be managing or coaching at the top level of his sport. Marc Trestman, an ex-Gophers quarterback, coaches the Chicago Bears; former Gophers basketball teammates Flip Saunders and Kevin McHale are coaching the Timberwolves and Rockets, respectively; and former Gophers defenseman Todd Richards is coaching the Columbus Blue Jackets.
• The Vikings have sold out Sunday's game against Washington and their Nov. 23 home game against the Packers. There is limited availability for tickets against the Panthers, Jets and Bears, but the team expects those games to sell out as well. … Redskins first-year coach Jay Gruden seems to be winning over fans. The Washington Post published a column this week saying that Gruden's aggressive decision-making, such as starting McCoy over Cousins last week in the victory over Dallas, bodes well for the team's future. "Ultimately, it's on me," Gruden told the Post. "If I see something that needs to be changed, if I believe that's what needs to be done, I'm going to do it."
• It's hard to remember a week when the Bears and Packers both got defeated in such embarrassing fashions. Green Bay lost 44-23 to New Orleans while Chicago lost 51-23 to New England in a game that wasn't even that close.
• The Gophers football team has to improve its defense in the first half. Purdue scored 31 points against the Gophers in the first half before Minnesota held the Boilermakers to one touchdown and 122 yards in the second half. Illinois scored two touchdowns in the first half and was limited to only one offensive touchdown the remainder of the game. Illinois gained 157 yards in the first quarter, then only 177 the rest of the game.
• Former Gophers assistant football coach Bob Bossons died on Oct. 13. Bossons was a member of Murray Warmath's staff from 1958 to '66. Bossons, who is a member of the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame, was 88.
• Gophers men's basketball coach Richard Pitino continues to post insightful notes to his blog on the Gophers website and wrote about the team's scrimmage this week: "We moved the ball well at times in the half court and made the extra pass. We need to constantly try to attack the paint because we will have three ballhandlers in the game at all times. Much is said about our backcourt but [senior centers] Mo [Walker] and Elliott [Eliason] shouldn't be overlooked. [Sophomore guard] Daquein [McNeil] has obviously improved. Loved his attitude during the game. He even called a play for himself in a timeout. That shows great growth for him. Love guys like 'Day Day' who quietly do their job every day. I think we all saw the potential of the newcomers. All of them have the physical ability to make a difference."
• While former Twins first baseman Justin Morneau is now playing with the Rockies, he will return to Minnesota Nov. 29-30 for his fifth annual Winter Warm-Up Coat Drive at Ridgedale. Morneau, who won the National League batting title this year at .319, is signed through next season with the Rockies, with a mutual option for $9 million in 2016.
Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on 830-AM at 7:40, 8:40 and 9:20 a.m. and on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. shartman@startribune.com