EAGAN, Minn. — As the Minnesota Vikings conducted their first full-team practice of training camp, the offensive linemen, once again, found themselves in the spotlight.
The center of attention is precisely where these players would prefer not to be, and their position coach’s sudden death was about the worst circumstance imaginable. The day after the starters served as pallbearers at Tony Sparano’s memorial service, they turned their focus back to the field while carrying forward those lessons learned about the game and about life.“He took me to places I couldn’t go as a player and as a man,” center Pat Elflein said.