September 13, 2024 • 22 mins
Welcome to Skol Stories presented by 3M - The official science partner of the Minnesota Vikings. Tonight's guest is Vikings Legend Henry Thomas. Henry joins Mark Rosen and Pete Bercich to look back at his legacy on the defensive line, his rookie moment with Jerry Burns in 1987, the impact on his career learning from legendary coaches, and life after football. All of this and more is in this edition of Skol Stories presented by 3M - The official science partner of the Minnesota Vikings.
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome Back to School Stories presented by three M, the
official science partner in the Minnesota Vikings. Tonight, we're catching
up with one of my favorites, the legend Henry Thomas.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Welcome Back to School Stories presented by Threem along with
Pete Bursich. I'm Mark Rosen and we're back with another
great episode of school Stories presented by Threem along with
John Randall and Chris Dolman. Tonight's guest was a defensive
stalwart of the eighties and nineties. He was an absolute
menace at the line of scrimmage for eight seasons with
the Vikings, and he always did it with a smile.
Let's get into tonight's conversation with Vikings legend Henry Thomas. Well,
(00:43):
Henry Thomas, thanks so much for joining the show. I
always had a blast doing Roses Sports Sunday with you.
Never a dull moment, always a big smile on your face.
It's great to hear from you. Number one for the fans,
how have you been. What's keeping you busy these days?
And I'm using the air quotes retirement days.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Well, you know what, it's a pleasure to be here.
Thanks for having me on. I enjoyed every minute in Minnesota,
the Air Force. The quotation mark retirement. I'm an inventory
I'm an inventory make ready manager for tom got Cadillac
down in Houston.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Text, Well, this is something Were you wondering what life
after football was going to be like? Or was it?
Was this something that you were approached about because of
your name and your personality, et cetera, et cetera. Was
this something you were always interested in?
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Well, you have to take into consideration. I was retired,
fully retired for fifteen years.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
I would wake up with nothing to do and go
to bed with half of it done. That kind of retirement.
And then you know, a couple of divorces and daughters
going to college. The numbers weren't quite adding up, so
I had to give them, Get off my big chunky
button and go to work. Make sure this matches up.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Wow, you weren't making the twelve million a year, fifteen
million a year whatever some of these guys are making
out or even more as a defensive lineman. With your suggestion, Well, I.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Tell people all the time, you can I played for
fourteen years in the NFL. You can take all of
my contracts add them all together and won't equal one
of their contracts today. It wouldn't even be a signing
bonus for their contract.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Well, that is crazy, and so, Hank, what do you
think of the game nowadays? It's become such a height,
weight and speed and yeah, we have bigger guys doing
more things. We played the Giants with Dexter Lawrence. I mean,
that guy's probably one of my favorite guys to watch
in the NFL because he's so big but just so
talented and so strong.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
Yeah, the game's different now, isn't it. It's just a.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Different It's just a different field, different athletes, everything.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
It's it's wild.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
It's the evolution of the game, right, So what happens?
You know, the game, it has to evolve. It couldn't
stay where we had it. We took it from the
guys before us moved it on, and that's was going
to continue to happen. I love the game. I was
on pins and needles all weekend, you know, Thursday, Friday, Sunday.
You know, I made sure I had a seven o
(03:11):
five tea time so I wouldn't miss any games on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Again, we're talking to Henry Thomas long career at the
Vikings nineteen eighty seven to nineteen ninety four, a couple
of Pro Bowls, a whole bunch of great stats. Fifty
six sacks, eleven forest fumbles.
Speaker 4 (03:26):
Two six whoa, whoa, whoa whoa with the Vikings, just with.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
The Viking three ninety three and a half.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Well, yeah you haven't forgotten those, No that No, I'm just.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
No, no no. With Minnesota, I pulled those like a revolver,
oh ninety three and a half career sacks as a nose.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Yeah, you set you kind of and that's that's going
to with Dexter Lawrence. You you set the trend right.
The shortest distance to a quarterback is right over the center,
is it not.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Exactly exactly right? And I was fortunate enough to, you know,
have to play with so many great other defensive linemen
in Chris Dome and Keith mclarge, Johnny Rando, I mean
al Noga, and there was no one time on a
field that you can say, Okay, we're gonna double this guy,
because then that guy was free. We're gonna double this guy.
(04:16):
And they had to come up with different blocking schemes,
were back chipping and all that. That's because of the
pressure that our guys put on.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Well, it was a special group and you had some
special assistant coaches, defensive line coaches. Eighty seven, which I
believe was a strike year, was you guys made that
run to the NFC championship game. It was crazy year
and crazy postseason. What do you remember? It was a
heartbreaking loss to Washington remember that game obviously, but you
(04:44):
beat the forty nine ers in San Francisco. It was
just nuts. Did you expect to be back at Italian
looking at the personnel that you had on that Vikings team,
you know kind of year after year at least every
other year.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Oh, absolutely, we expected to be back there again. And
the thing that made it so specialist the way our
team had come together because it was a strike year
or the year we got locked out, and how the
older guys kept the young because I was a rookie,
I didn't know anybody. I was going to play football guys,
and they're like, no, you're not, this is what you're doing.
(05:15):
You're gonna stay here with us. And we stayed together
and played and practice. We found high school fields and
going practice in the morning as a group, just go
out there and stay together, and then when we came back.
The part about that whole run is we are we
were the catalysts for the Washington Redskins because the last
game of the season we had to beat them to
(05:39):
ensure our spot in the playoffs. And we're doing a
great job, having a great game, and we knocked the
quarterback out of the game early in the third quarter
and Doug Williams comes in and wins the game for him.
Just unbelievable. And that whole run with them was the
same kind of mirrored what we did.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
You know, Yeah, it was crazy. I mean it was
a lot of fun. And I remember the coaching staff.
And you talk about characters, Henry Thomas, you were one yourself,
but I think you're about your defensive coaches for folks
too young to remember. But there was a couple guys
named Floyd Peters, Sergeant Rock, Paul Wiggan, legendary Paul Wiggins,
(06:20):
the late great Moni Kiffin who never stopped talking. And
a guy named Pete, a guy named Pete Carroll.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Pete Carroll.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
What was it like to walking in and learning from
those legendary guys in the history of pro football?
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Well, walking in and learning especially from Sergeant Rock. You know,
he had a hard nosed kind of persona about him,
but he knew how to convey to the players what
exactly he wanted on the field, what he saw and
what you should see through his eyes. And Pete Carroll
is always I played for Pete in Minnesota. I also
(06:54):
had the opportunity to play for him in New England.
Personality wise, never changed, same fun loving, uh, wanting to win,
wanting to do the best. But he has that approach
to You're gonna work hard, but it's not gonna be
the kind of hard work that you dread that you
don't want to go through. You look forward to it.
Because you look forward to you know it's gonna it's
hard work, You're gonna learn from it and get better.
(07:17):
That was his approach. And uh, Manty is like you said,
never never, never stopped talking. Was always a fun guy
to be around. And uh, we just had a great
bunch of guys.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Then now you're right about that with Moni, you also
got to play for your a certain coordinator named Tony Dungee. Absolutely,
And I think my my question is is Monti Kiffer
You mentioned Moni. Moni would run around like and just
say stuff. We opened up against the Green Bay Packers
at home in ninety four and this whole thing was
no spiking in the dome. I mean the whole for
the entire training camp. You just run around and be
(07:49):
yelling that. And then his other thing was you can't
run into cock nose. So Henry, Henry Thomas started and
was you were You were the guy with the technie
where the nose tackle just wasn't facing the center. He
was actually tilted. You could see him on the line
of scrimmage where the left leg would be up and
then the left arm and be down. And there was
(08:10):
a whole there was a whole process to it. MONI
would always can't run on the cock nose. Can't run
the cock you know. But Henry, you perfected that technique.
My question is where did that come from? Because you
were the guy. I mean, that's that's your legacy, in
my opinion, to the league. Not not just the ninety
three and a half sacks by nose tackle and setting
it that way, but this, oh.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
You know what, I forgot to adsw to that stat too.
Also also have over a thousand tackles, but continue.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Because he can't run because they tried to run at
the cock couldn't do it.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
They can't post state a bonus yet. I'm sorry.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
Yeah, well, you know the fact of that technique. It
didn't start with me. Okay, it started in Pittsburgh, but
me and Joe Green.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Wow, all right, there's a legendary name.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
And that's where Tony brought it in from. But from Tony.
Tony said they would practice that defense every week throughout
the year, every week and never brought it out until
playoff time because nobody had ever seen it. And then
they brought it out, and the technique honestly started in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
I mentioned, you know, personalities and with the coaching staff
you had on your side of the football, but your
head coach speaking with characters, a guy named Jerry Burns.
Jerry Burns, What recollections do you have of old Burnsey
and the stories that keep flowing to this day about
getting his opportunity obviously after the stec of the year
in eighty four and Bud comes back and then Jerry
(09:38):
finally gets his chance.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Well, Jerry was a special kind of guy. I have
a lot of lot of stories about Jerry, But I
have a couple one of my favorites. My first year
is a rookie in Minnesota, being born and raised in Houston,
going to school and Ben Rouge. I had an apartment
that I shared with another teammate with an underground garage.
(10:01):
So I'll go down to the garage and get in
the car and I'm on my way to work, like
six thirty in the morning, and got on the radio says,
with the wind chill factor today, it's fifty two below.
I couldn't comprehend it. Never heard of it before. I
was like, wait a minute, freezing, it's thirty two What
is he talking about? Is he talking about Hmmm? So
(10:23):
I put the car and drive and went back upstairs,
got in the bed. Sounded terrible. About an hour into it,
Jerry Burns calls me and he lays into me about
not being at practice or in the meeting, and I'm
going nuts, like what, I'll beat it. I'm coming, I'm coming,
he says, come straight to my office. I hustle down
there and I'm on the road driving and I'm freaking
(10:45):
out because everybody's going like moving, and I was like,
this is crazy, and I'm trying to get there. I
get to Winter Park. I run straight to Jerry's office.
Jerry says to me, in those uncertain terms that he
was going to find me till he couldn't find me anymore.
And he was yelling and screaming and had all these
expertise to say about why I wasn't at practice and
(11:07):
what is wrong with me? Am my drugs blah blah
blah blah blah. And I'm not saying the word here.
I am twenty one years old, freaking out, just became
a starting nocacle. And he looks at me and goes,
and he realized I'm not saying anything, goes, what do
you have to say for yourself? And that all I
can say was, well, coach, where I come from, the
government doesn't even go to work at twenty degree. And
(11:31):
he started laughing and he said to me, he said
to me, don't ever be late again. And that was
the last time I was ever late.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Different side of Jerry Birds, that's for sure. As colorful
as he was.
Speaker 4 (11:43):
That's so welcome to Minnesota moment, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Stick around for more from Henry Thomas right here on
School Stories, presented by three M, the official science partner
of the Minnesota Vikings. We'll be right back after the break.
But first Unreal is back but their limited edition Vikings drop.
Head over to you n RL dot com for more details.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Welcome back to tonight's edition to Schools Stories, presented by
three M, the official science partner of the Minnesota Vikings.
From the field to the roof and everywhere in between.
Three M, the official science partner of the Minnesota Vikings,
is here. Visit Vikings dot com slash school Science to
learn more. Now let's get back into our conversation with
Vikings legend Andrie Thomas.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Well, speaking of coaches, I don't know much you if
you've been kind of and I'm sure we've been watching
the Vikings a little bit here and there, But Brian Flores,
I would think you would love to have played for
a guy like that, really aggressive defensive cordator. Now with
the Vikings again, it brings pressure in a lot of ways,
and I think the players in tco here where we're
sit right now, really enjoy playing for him. With the
(12:51):
versatility that he does bring to this defense. He kind
of has an old school mentality, doesn't even from your perception,
and he does.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
I was very impressed with the way the defense played.
I was, I'd already picked the Vikings to put a
whooping on the Giants, but to watch them play, I
was very impressed with the control offensively that they that
they showed great running game, precise on passing, just things
(13:21):
you weren't expecting. I was, you know, you're expecting the
running game to carry it a little bit more, but
it just looked like a great blend. And then on defense,
just the aggressive nature in which you know they played,
where they control recklessness that made me miss the game.
You know, you're going after somebody with a control, reckless
approach to it, and it was just it was refreshing
(13:43):
to see and an eye opening and just it instilled.
It instills hope. And I know I'm sorry Minnesota Viking fans,
which I am one two. You guys always have that
hope and you always say we let you down. But
this looks great, and I looked I look forward to
the season building and getting better week after week.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Well now that knowing that you watch the game, there
are a lot of questions on Daniel Jones, But for
for sure, Daniel Jones was not comfortable, He was not set,
He was not in a rhythm. That's something that hasn't
changed since you played, has it.
Speaker 3 (14:18):
Right, There's no way you can be comfortable. I don't
care who you are, how you look, how comfortable, relaxed,
poised you look. That's just you got to overcome that
to play the game. Every time you step out there
to do it, it's gonna feel like that. Every time
you go into a game is going to you're gonna
have that that uncertainty that but you have to trust
(14:39):
in your training, trusting what you're doing and just go
out there and let it happen.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
And but you got to.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Make the other team's quarterback uncomfortable, right, I mean, but
I think you successfully did that on Sunday with the Giants.
That that all that movement.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
And virtus the movement and all that that that makes
makes you uncomfortable. It's not only that, it's the pressure
that to you, even the ones that don't sack you,
the ones that gives you that little nudge while you're
throwing the ball, running your own offensive lineman in your
path where you can't step into the ball. That's the
nature from what I began as a player in Minnesota.
(15:15):
I mean, it kind of came down from the Purple
People leaders. I was right after. Those guys were not
right after, but I was after and that whole feel
of coming down of defense, how disruptive you're gonna be,
how you're gonna the best way to stop a team is,
(15:35):
especially in the today's game, is to rattle the quarterback
and the way the movement and the pressure coming from
different angles or different people every other play you're dropping
back gonna make you. It's gonna make you uneasy. It's
gonna make you uneasy, and that's the goal of your
defensive line, our front.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
So, Henry Thomas, you're still in Houston, Texas home, that's
home to you. And speaking of quarterbacks and teams, the
Vikings are on a proverbial collision course with a team
that's I'm sure the fans in your area are going
crazy for the Houston Texans with CJ. Stroud and the
play up here at US Bank in a short time.
What are your thoughts about how the fans are embracing
(16:17):
what this Texan team is doing, in particular CJ. Stroud.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
Well, when CJ and the head coach came in, it
was the team was in turmoil. There was no hope,
no aspiration of them doing anything and their first year
in the work that they put in the way they
went about it to get to the playoffs and win
a playoff game and move forward in the playoffs was
(16:42):
exciting and just energizing to the entire city and the
way they came out yesterday and started the game and
finished the game. Some defensive work that need to be done,
but they have so many offensive weapons now that it's
just you know, they got make running the ball. You
got ex Minnesota Viking digs as one of the receivers.
(17:07):
I mean, they got a lot of weapons there with CJ. Strout,
that is just it's exciting to see and you look
forward to it week after week.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Yeah, Daneil Hunter's there too.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
Oh, that's right, And Danil even made a couple of
big plays in the game, made his presence known.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Well, it'll be a great it'll be a great matchup
at US Bank Stadium, no doubt about it with the
Vikings chess match with Brian Flores trying to figure out
those offensive weapons in particular that you that you mentioned.
It's great to hear that things are going well for you,
uh and hearing you know the car business, the inventory
business and what's going on. You're always a staple of
(17:44):
this community and definitely miss you up here. And I'm
sure you have some great memories of all your former teammates,
particular Johnny Randall. Johnny's Johnny's golf game is probably a
little bit I don't know. He's He's out there every
single day. Never imagine him ever hitting a golf Johnny.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Johnny actually talks to people, which is pretty which is
pretty amagic.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
Even then he went from golf playing golf too now.
I think the last time I played with him was
maybe a year ago. He and I played together here
in Houston, and he was hitting his irons and after
every good shot he'd say, I'm surgical with this, I'm
(18:23):
surgical with this.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
I just like him.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
And so and we had a blast. But uh, yeah,
I look forward to coming up there in the near
future and hanging out and enjoying. I always enjoy Minneapolis
is one of my favorite cities. And everybody says why,
and I said, you have to go in the summertime.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
It's beautiful right now.
Speaker 4 (18:46):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Well, Henry, it's been a pleasure catching up with your Thanks,
of course for sharing your school stories. With us today
and take care as always.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
Hey, thank you so much for having me in uh scold.
You know I'm gonna be on the fence when when
the Texans come.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Because I'm a homemark under the extendive.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
Vikers, so I'm gonna be whatever side's winning.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
That's my side, understandable. Well, thanks again to Henry Thomas
for joining the show to night. Always fun to catch
up with him whenever we get the chance. Hardware Hank,
as he used to call it, well weak ones in
the books, The Vikings started fast, finished strong in the
Big Apple, the twenty eight to sixth victory over the
dysfunctional looking New York Giants. Sam Darnold played great, Aaron Jones,
(19:27):
the new acquisition from Green Bay got the ground game moving,
which was much needed, and defensively they were opportunistic Pete
Bursus enforcing key turnovers, especially Van Ginkle's reception as a
former linebacker yourself. Now, of course we have the talented
forty nine ers coming to town for the home opener and.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
A little different animal.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Yeah, they beat him here last year. That was maybe
a little a little of a unusual situation. But let's
talk about the Giants game. First of all, what impressed
you the most about the way they played?
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Yeah, it's like you walk away from the Giants game
and you think are the are we that good or
the Giants that bad? And usually it's always somewhere in between, right.
I think what impressed me is how the defense never
let Daniel Jones get into a rhythm. In the last
two seasons, he was under pressure forty percent of the
time on his dropback throws. His offensive line had given
up eighty five sacks. So he's been hit to the
(20:18):
point where you wonder, and you look at him play
and you go, he might just be permanently scarred, like
permanently just damaged from all the hits that he's taken.
Because you've seen it before, Rosie, you play again. We've
seen it with Aaron Rodgers and with Farbes and with
some of the great quarterbacks. You might get him off
for a series or two where their timing is just
not there, maybe a quarter, but then they always figure
(20:40):
it out and then they come back in that third
and fourth quarter and make a couple of good.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
Runs at you. Jones never righted the ship, and they
had him running the football called right.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
He just never got on track, so that it's a
tough place to be right now if you're.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Different animal on Sunday against the forty nine ers where
Sam Darnold was a member of that team last year,
and we know how fundamentally strong they are. Yet the Vikings,
I'm sure Ko she would love to have that same
balance almost equal number of runs and passes against the Giants.
That's the kind of you know, situation you're looking for offensively.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
Absolutely, that's the magic formula. You know, you look at
Aaron Jones and his five yard red zone touchdown run,
that's what we needed. We didn't have that last year.
How long did it take us to get a rushing
touchdown last season? It took like eight games. Right, The
play was was was blocked perfectly, and you know the
vision and the speed, and that's where Aaron.
Speaker 4 (21:33):
Jones is amazing. His vision is just amazing.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
Those are the things that needed to be fixed, and
I think he's you know, he's doing that for Donald
very very efficient. They once they started, you know, protecting
him and giving him that pocket. The Giants did a
great job early of the defensive ends, keeping the edges tight,
and then you know you're getting that rush up the
middle from Dexter Lawrence. He couldn't step up, he couldn't move,
but he managed to complete what his first twelve passes.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
I believe he was twelve for twelve. That's good that.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
The game, of course, is Sunday at noon Central, kick
off from US Bank Stadium live in your local CBS affiliate.
You can also, of course catch Paul Allen, Ben Lever
and Pete Bursus right here all across the Vikings radio network.
The Vikings Football Sunday pregame show starts at ten am
on KFN, so check your local listings for details. Pete,
it's always a pleasure as always, and thanks again to
(22:22):
Henry Thomas for joining the show. And thank you fans
for tuning into another edition of Skulls Stories presented by
three M, the official science partner of the Minnesota Vikings.
We'll see you all again next week.
Welcome Back to School Stories presented by three M, the
official science partner in the Minnesota Vikings. Tonight, we're catching
up with one of my favorites, the legend Henry Thomas.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Welcome Back to School Stories presented by Threem along with
Pete Bursich. I'm Mark Rosen and we're back with another
great episode of school Stories presented by Threem along with
John Randall and Chris Dolman. Tonight's guest was a defensive
stalwart of the eighties and nineties. He was an absolute
menace at the line of scrimmage for eight seasons with
the Vikings, and he always did it with a smile.
Let's get into tonight's conversation with Vikings legend Henry Thomas. Well,
(00:43):
Henry Thomas, thanks so much for joining the show. I
always had a blast doing Roses Sports Sunday with you.
Never a dull moment, always a big smile on your face.
It's great to hear from you. Number one for the fans,
how have you been. What's keeping you busy these days?
And I'm using the air quotes retirement days.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Well, you know what, it's a pleasure to be here.
Thanks for having me on. I enjoyed every minute in Minnesota,
the Air Force. The quotation mark retirement. I'm an inventory
I'm an inventory make ready manager for tom got Cadillac
down in Houston.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Text, Well, this is something Were you wondering what life
after football was going to be like? Or was it?
Was this something that you were approached about because of
your name and your personality, et cetera, et cetera. Was
this something you were always interested in?
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Well, you have to take into consideration. I was retired,
fully retired for fifteen years.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
I would wake up with nothing to do and go
to bed with half of it done. That kind of retirement.
And then you know, a couple of divorces and daughters
going to college. The numbers weren't quite adding up, so
I had to give them, Get off my big chunky
button and go to work. Make sure this matches up.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Wow, you weren't making the twelve million a year, fifteen
million a year whatever some of these guys are making
out or even more as a defensive lineman. With your suggestion, Well, I.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Tell people all the time, you can I played for
fourteen years in the NFL. You can take all of
my contracts add them all together and won't equal one
of their contracts today. It wouldn't even be a signing
bonus for their contract.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Well, that is crazy, and so, Hank, what do you
think of the game nowadays? It's become such a height,
weight and speed and yeah, we have bigger guys doing
more things. We played the Giants with Dexter Lawrence. I mean,
that guy's probably one of my favorite guys to watch
in the NFL because he's so big but just so
talented and so strong.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
Yeah, the game's different now, isn't it. It's just a.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Different It's just a different field, different athletes, everything.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
It's it's wild.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
It's the evolution of the game, right, So what happens?
You know, the game, it has to evolve. It couldn't
stay where we had it. We took it from the
guys before us moved it on, and that's was going
to continue to happen. I love the game. I was
on pins and needles all weekend, you know, Thursday, Friday, Sunday.
You know, I made sure I had a seven o
(03:11):
five tea time so I wouldn't miss any games on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Again, we're talking to Henry Thomas long career at the
Vikings nineteen eighty seven to nineteen ninety four, a couple
of Pro Bowls, a whole bunch of great stats. Fifty
six sacks, eleven forest fumbles.
Speaker 4 (03:26):
Two six whoa, whoa, whoa whoa with the Vikings, just with.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
The Viking three ninety three and a half.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Well, yeah you haven't forgotten those, No that No, I'm just.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
No, no no. With Minnesota, I pulled those like a revolver,
oh ninety three and a half career sacks as a nose.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Yeah, you set you kind of and that's that's going
to with Dexter Lawrence. You you set the trend right.
The shortest distance to a quarterback is right over the center,
is it not.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Exactly exactly right? And I was fortunate enough to, you know,
have to play with so many great other defensive linemen
in Chris Dome and Keith mclarge, Johnny Rando, I mean
al Noga, and there was no one time on a
field that you can say, Okay, we're gonna double this guy,
because then that guy was free. We're gonna double this guy.
(04:16):
And they had to come up with different blocking schemes,
were back chipping and all that. That's because of the
pressure that our guys put on.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Well, it was a special group and you had some
special assistant coaches, defensive line coaches. Eighty seven, which I
believe was a strike year, was you guys made that
run to the NFC championship game. It was crazy year
and crazy postseason. What do you remember? It was a
heartbreaking loss to Washington remember that game obviously, but you
(04:44):
beat the forty nine ers in San Francisco. It was
just nuts. Did you expect to be back at Italian
looking at the personnel that you had on that Vikings team,
you know kind of year after year at least every
other year.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Oh, absolutely, we expected to be back there again. And
the thing that made it so specialist the way our
team had come together because it was a strike year
or the year we got locked out, and how the
older guys kept the young because I was a rookie,
I didn't know anybody. I was going to play football guys,
and they're like, no, you're not, this is what you're doing.
(05:15):
You're gonna stay here with us. And we stayed together
and played and practice. We found high school fields and
going practice in the morning as a group, just go
out there and stay together, and then when we came back.
The part about that whole run is we are we
were the catalysts for the Washington Redskins because the last
game of the season we had to beat them to
(05:39):
ensure our spot in the playoffs. And we're doing a
great job, having a great game, and we knocked the
quarterback out of the game early in the third quarter
and Doug Williams comes in and wins the game for him.
Just unbelievable. And that whole run with them was the
same kind of mirrored what we did.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
You know, Yeah, it was crazy. I mean it was
a lot of fun. And I remember the coaching staff.
And you talk about characters, Henry Thomas, you were one yourself,
but I think you're about your defensive coaches for folks
too young to remember. But there was a couple guys
named Floyd Peters, Sergeant Rock, Paul Wiggan, legendary Paul Wiggins,
(06:20):
the late great Moni Kiffin who never stopped talking. And
a guy named Pete, a guy named Pete Carroll.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Pete Carroll.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
What was it like to walking in and learning from
those legendary guys in the history of pro football?
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Well, walking in and learning especially from Sergeant Rock. You know,
he had a hard nosed kind of persona about him,
but he knew how to convey to the players what
exactly he wanted on the field, what he saw and
what you should see through his eyes. And Pete Carroll
is always I played for Pete in Minnesota. I also
(06:54):
had the opportunity to play for him in New England.
Personality wise, never changed, same fun loving, uh, wanting to win,
wanting to do the best. But he has that approach
to You're gonna work hard, but it's not gonna be
the kind of hard work that you dread that you
don't want to go through. You look forward to it.
Because you look forward to you know it's gonna it's
hard work, You're gonna learn from it and get better.
(07:17):
That was his approach. And uh, Manty is like you said,
never never, never stopped talking. Was always a fun guy
to be around. And uh, we just had a great
bunch of guys.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Then now you're right about that with Moni, you also
got to play for your a certain coordinator named Tony Dungee. Absolutely,
And I think my my question is is Monti Kiffer
You mentioned Moni. Moni would run around like and just
say stuff. We opened up against the Green Bay Packers
at home in ninety four and this whole thing was
no spiking in the dome. I mean the whole for
the entire training camp. You just run around and be
(07:49):
yelling that. And then his other thing was you can't
run into cock nose. So Henry, Henry Thomas started and
was you were You were the guy with the technie
where the nose tackle just wasn't facing the center. He
was actually tilted. You could see him on the line
of scrimmage where the left leg would be up and
then the left arm and be down. And there was
(08:10):
a whole there was a whole process to it. MONI
would always can't run on the cock nose. Can't run
the cock you know. But Henry, you perfected that technique.
My question is where did that come from? Because you
were the guy. I mean, that's that's your legacy, in
my opinion, to the league. Not not just the ninety
three and a half sacks by nose tackle and setting
it that way, but this, oh.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
You know what, I forgot to adsw to that stat too.
Also also have over a thousand tackles, but continue.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Because he can't run because they tried to run at
the cock couldn't do it.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
They can't post state a bonus yet. I'm sorry.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
Yeah, well, you know the fact of that technique. It
didn't start with me. Okay, it started in Pittsburgh, but
me and Joe Green.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Wow, all right, there's a legendary name.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
And that's where Tony brought it in from. But from Tony.
Tony said they would practice that defense every week throughout
the year, every week and never brought it out until
playoff time because nobody had ever seen it. And then
they brought it out, and the technique honestly started in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
I mentioned, you know, personalities and with the coaching staff
you had on your side of the football, but your
head coach speaking with characters, a guy named Jerry Burns.
Jerry Burns, What recollections do you have of old Burnsey
and the stories that keep flowing to this day about
getting his opportunity obviously after the stec of the year
in eighty four and Bud comes back and then Jerry
(09:38):
finally gets his chance.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Well, Jerry was a special kind of guy. I have
a lot of lot of stories about Jerry, But I
have a couple one of my favorites. My first year
is a rookie in Minnesota, being born and raised in Houston,
going to school and Ben Rouge. I had an apartment
that I shared with another teammate with an underground garage.
(10:01):
So I'll go down to the garage and get in
the car and I'm on my way to work, like
six thirty in the morning, and got on the radio says,
with the wind chill factor today, it's fifty two below.
I couldn't comprehend it. Never heard of it before. I
was like, wait a minute, freezing, it's thirty two What
is he talking about? Is he talking about Hmmm? So
(10:23):
I put the car and drive and went back upstairs,
got in the bed. Sounded terrible. About an hour into it,
Jerry Burns calls me and he lays into me about
not being at practice or in the meeting, and I'm
going nuts, like what, I'll beat it. I'm coming, I'm coming,
he says, come straight to my office. I hustle down
there and I'm on the road driving and I'm freaking
(10:45):
out because everybody's going like moving, and I was like,
this is crazy, and I'm trying to get there. I
get to Winter Park. I run straight to Jerry's office.
Jerry says to me, in those uncertain terms that he
was going to find me till he couldn't find me anymore.
And he was yelling and screaming and had all these
expertise to say about why I wasn't at practice and
(11:07):
what is wrong with me? Am my drugs blah blah
blah blah blah. And I'm not saying the word here.
I am twenty one years old, freaking out, just became
a starting nocacle. And he looks at me and goes,
and he realized I'm not saying anything, goes, what do
you have to say for yourself? And that all I
can say was, well, coach, where I come from, the
government doesn't even go to work at twenty degree. And
(11:31):
he started laughing and he said to me, he said
to me, don't ever be late again. And that was
the last time I was ever late.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Different side of Jerry Birds, that's for sure. As colorful
as he was.
Speaker 4 (11:43):
That's so welcome to Minnesota moment, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Stick around for more from Henry Thomas right here on
School Stories, presented by three M, the official science partner
of the Minnesota Vikings. We'll be right back after the break.
But first Unreal is back but their limited edition Vikings drop.
Head over to you n RL dot com for more details.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Welcome back to tonight's edition to Schools Stories, presented by
three M, the official science partner of the Minnesota Vikings.
From the field to the roof and everywhere in between.
Three M, the official science partner of the Minnesota Vikings,
is here. Visit Vikings dot com slash school Science to
learn more. Now let's get back into our conversation with
Vikings legend Andrie Thomas.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Well, speaking of coaches, I don't know much you if
you've been kind of and I'm sure we've been watching
the Vikings a little bit here and there, But Brian Flores,
I would think you would love to have played for
a guy like that, really aggressive defensive cordator. Now with
the Vikings again, it brings pressure in a lot of ways,
and I think the players in tco here where we're
sit right now, really enjoy playing for him. With the
(12:51):
versatility that he does bring to this defense. He kind
of has an old school mentality, doesn't even from your perception,
and he does.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
I was very impressed with the way the defense played.
I was, I'd already picked the Vikings to put a
whooping on the Giants, but to watch them play, I
was very impressed with the control offensively that they that
they showed great running game, precise on passing, just things
(13:21):
you weren't expecting. I was, you know, you're expecting the
running game to carry it a little bit more, but
it just looked like a great blend. And then on defense,
just the aggressive nature in which you know they played,
where they control recklessness that made me miss the game.
You know, you're going after somebody with a control, reckless
approach to it, and it was just it was refreshing
(13:43):
to see and an eye opening and just it instilled.
It instills hope. And I know I'm sorry Minnesota Viking fans,
which I am one two. You guys always have that
hope and you always say we let you down. But
this looks great, and I looked I look forward to
the season building and getting better week after week.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Well now that knowing that you watch the game, there
are a lot of questions on Daniel Jones, But for
for sure, Daniel Jones was not comfortable, He was not set,
He was not in a rhythm. That's something that hasn't
changed since you played, has it.
Speaker 3 (14:18):
Right, There's no way you can be comfortable. I don't
care who you are, how you look, how comfortable, relaxed,
poised you look. That's just you got to overcome that
to play the game. Every time you step out there
to do it, it's gonna feel like that. Every time
you go into a game is going to you're gonna
have that that uncertainty that but you have to trust
(14:39):
in your training, trusting what you're doing and just go
out there and let it happen.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
And but you got to.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Make the other team's quarterback uncomfortable, right, I mean, but
I think you successfully did that on Sunday with the Giants.
That that all that movement.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
And virtus the movement and all that that that makes
makes you uncomfortable. It's not only that, it's the pressure
that to you, even the ones that don't sack you,
the ones that gives you that little nudge while you're
throwing the ball, running your own offensive lineman in your
path where you can't step into the ball. That's the
nature from what I began as a player in Minnesota.
(15:15):
I mean, it kind of came down from the Purple
People leaders. I was right after. Those guys were not
right after, but I was after and that whole feel
of coming down of defense, how disruptive you're gonna be,
how you're gonna the best way to stop a team is,
(15:35):
especially in the today's game, is to rattle the quarterback
and the way the movement and the pressure coming from
different angles or different people every other play you're dropping
back gonna make you. It's gonna make you uneasy. It's
gonna make you uneasy, and that's the goal of your
defensive line, our front.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
So, Henry Thomas, you're still in Houston, Texas home, that's
home to you. And speaking of quarterbacks and teams, the
Vikings are on a proverbial collision course with a team
that's I'm sure the fans in your area are going
crazy for the Houston Texans with CJ. Stroud and the
play up here at US Bank in a short time.
What are your thoughts about how the fans are embracing
(16:17):
what this Texan team is doing, in particular CJ. Stroud.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
Well, when CJ and the head coach came in, it
was the team was in turmoil. There was no hope,
no aspiration of them doing anything and their first year
in the work that they put in the way they
went about it to get to the playoffs and win
a playoff game and move forward in the playoffs was
(16:42):
exciting and just energizing to the entire city and the
way they came out yesterday and started the game and
finished the game. Some defensive work that need to be done,
but they have so many offensive weapons now that it's
just you know, they got make running the ball. You
got ex Minnesota Viking digs as one of the receivers.
(17:07):
I mean, they got a lot of weapons there with CJ. Strout,
that is just it's exciting to see and you look
forward to it week after week.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Yeah, Daneil Hunter's there too.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
Oh, that's right, And Danil even made a couple of
big plays in the game, made his presence known.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Well, it'll be a great it'll be a great matchup
at US Bank Stadium, no doubt about it with the
Vikings chess match with Brian Flores trying to figure out
those offensive weapons in particular that you that you mentioned.
It's great to hear that things are going well for you,
uh and hearing you know the car business, the inventory
business and what's going on. You're always a staple of
(17:44):
this community and definitely miss you up here. And I'm
sure you have some great memories of all your former teammates,
particular Johnny Randall. Johnny's Johnny's golf game is probably a
little bit I don't know. He's He's out there every
single day. Never imagine him ever hitting a golf Johnny.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Johnny actually talks to people, which is pretty which is
pretty amagic.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
Even then he went from golf playing golf too now.
I think the last time I played with him was
maybe a year ago. He and I played together here
in Houston, and he was hitting his irons and after
every good shot he'd say, I'm surgical with this, I'm
(18:23):
surgical with this.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
I just like him.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
And so and we had a blast. But uh, yeah,
I look forward to coming up there in the near
future and hanging out and enjoying. I always enjoy Minneapolis
is one of my favorite cities. And everybody says why,
and I said, you have to go in the summertime.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
It's beautiful right now.
Speaker 4 (18:46):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Well, Henry, it's been a pleasure catching up with your Thanks,
of course for sharing your school stories. With us today
and take care as always.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
Hey, thank you so much for having me in uh scold.
You know I'm gonna be on the fence when when
the Texans come.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Because I'm a homemark under the extendive.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
Vikers, so I'm gonna be whatever side's winning.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
That's my side, understandable. Well, thanks again to Henry Thomas
for joining the show to night. Always fun to catch
up with him whenever we get the chance. Hardware Hank,
as he used to call it, well weak ones in
the books, The Vikings started fast, finished strong in the
Big Apple, the twenty eight to sixth victory over the
dysfunctional looking New York Giants. Sam Darnold played great, Aaron Jones,
(19:27):
the new acquisition from Green Bay got the ground game moving,
which was much needed, and defensively they were opportunistic Pete
Bursus enforcing key turnovers, especially Van Ginkle's reception as a
former linebacker yourself. Now, of course we have the talented
forty nine ers coming to town for the home opener and.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
A little different animal.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Yeah, they beat him here last year. That was maybe
a little a little of a unusual situation. But let's
talk about the Giants game. First of all, what impressed
you the most about the way they played?
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Yeah, it's like you walk away from the Giants game
and you think are the are we that good or
the Giants that bad? And usually it's always somewhere in between, right.
I think what impressed me is how the defense never
let Daniel Jones get into a rhythm. In the last
two seasons, he was under pressure forty percent of the
time on his dropback throws. His offensive line had given
up eighty five sacks. So he's been hit to the
(20:18):
point where you wonder, and you look at him play
and you go, he might just be permanently scarred, like
permanently just damaged from all the hits that he's taken.
Because you've seen it before, Rosie, you play again. We've
seen it with Aaron Rodgers and with Farbes and with
some of the great quarterbacks. You might get him off
for a series or two where their timing is just
not there, maybe a quarter, but then they always figure
(20:40):
it out and then they come back in that third
and fourth quarter and make a couple of good.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
Runs at you. Jones never righted the ship, and they
had him running the football called right.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
He just never got on track, so that it's a
tough place to be right now if you're.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Different animal on Sunday against the forty nine ers where
Sam Darnold was a member of that team last year,
and we know how fundamentally strong they are. Yet the Vikings,
I'm sure Ko she would love to have that same
balance almost equal number of runs and passes against the Giants.
That's the kind of you know, situation you're looking for offensively.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
Absolutely, that's the magic formula. You know, you look at
Aaron Jones and his five yard red zone touchdown run,
that's what we needed. We didn't have that last year.
How long did it take us to get a rushing
touchdown last season? It took like eight games. Right, The
play was was was blocked perfectly, and you know the
vision and the speed, and that's where Aaron.
Speaker 4 (21:33):
Jones is amazing. His vision is just amazing.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
Those are the things that needed to be fixed, and
I think he's you know, he's doing that for Donald
very very efficient. They once they started, you know, protecting
him and giving him that pocket. The Giants did a
great job early of the defensive ends, keeping the edges tight,
and then you know you're getting that rush up the
middle from Dexter Lawrence. He couldn't step up, he couldn't move,
but he managed to complete what his first twelve passes.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
I believe he was twelve for twelve. That's good that.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
The game, of course, is Sunday at noon Central, kick
off from US Bank Stadium live in your local CBS affiliate.
You can also, of course catch Paul Allen, Ben Lever
and Pete Bursus right here all across the Vikings radio network.
The Vikings Football Sunday pregame show starts at ten am
on KFN, so check your local listings for details. Pete,
it's always a pleasure as always, and thanks again to
(22:22):
Henry Thomas for joining the show. And thank you fans
for tuning into another edition of Skulls Stories presented by
three M, the official science partner of the Minnesota Vikings.
We'll see you all again next week.
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