MINNEAPOLIS -- The postgame awards the Minnesota Vikings' defensive backs now covet, the mementos they proudly display in their lockers, came from an idea that struck Jerry Gray on a shopping trip to Target.
"I always try to give guys a little extra incentive -- something that you can go to the store and buy, but if you earn it, it's a whole lot better," said Gray, the Vikings' defensive backs coach. "I think guys appreciate little things. I think it's something you try to earn."
The keepsakes Vikings defensive backs are trying to earn from Gray this year are the ones many of them played with as kids: Hot Wheels cars.