>>>ALL THINGS VIKINGS<<<

Don't like this move it's a scary azz time for a Vikings fan who next nobody is safe it seems like

 

Is a big move coming?

 

With Mike Zimmer out and Kevin O’Connell in, the Vikings could be much, much better



As Labor Day weekend commences with what hopefully will be a relaxing Friday night, I write this item fully aware that, before too long, a stream of angry texts may begin to ping my phone.

Again.


Yes, former Vikings coach Mike Zimmer has done it before. Specifically, on the night in March that the Vikings gave quarterback Kirk Cousins his latest new contract. Zimmer accused me of trying to get him fired. He said I started the “ground swell” that resulted in Zimmer losing his job. (I didn’t realize I was so powerful. Then again, maybe I am.)

The exchange went downhill from there.

It was a glimpse of Zimmer’s old-school cantankerous nature. I didn’t write about it at the time (he never used the magic words “off the record”), but it’s relevant tonight, as the Vikings inch toward their first regular-season game without Zimmer as the head coach since the end of the 2013 season.

Tyler Dunne of GoLongTD.com takes a close look at the dramatic change in culture as the Vikings pivot from Zimmer to Kevin O’Connell. The whole article is worth a read. Certain aspects stand out.

Most significant are the on-the-record comments from former Vikings cornerback Terence Newman, who worked on Zimmer’s staff after his playing career ended.

“I think [Zimmer] felt the pressure and he put so much pressure on everybody else around him that there was no way we could succeed,” Newman told Dunne. “We couldn’t win. It was hard to focus on your job when you’re focusing on, ‘OK, if I make a mistake, I’m going to get cussed out.’ That type of environment is tough to work in. Period. I don’t give a shit what you do. It’s hard to work in an environment like that.”

The problem was simple. Zimmer was always pissed off.

“He was never in a good mood,” Newman told Dunne. “People sense that stuff. You come in and you have an attitude. What the fuck are you mad about? There’s this dude over here playing with a bum knee giving it everything he’s got. Could’ve sat out. But he said, ‘You know what? I want to be there for my boys. I want to go out. I want to push myself. I want to do what I can for my team.’ And then this guy’s over here grumpy about possibly getting fired and still making however [much] money he’s going to make next year because he’s got a guaranteed contract. Tell me how that’s fair.”

Newman explained that, “when you try to intimidate, you get guys who are scared to make mistakes.”

“You do your job, but you don’t do your job the best you can do it because you’re afraid of the repercussions and the consequences,” Newman said. “You get embarrassed in front of everybody in the meeting room, and that does nothing for anybody. There’s no positivity that comes from that. . . . It was an atmosphere that became very toxic. Young guys didn’t want to play for the guy.”

Frankly, it doesn’t sound all that different than the approach used over the years by Patriots coach Bill Belichick. The difference is that Belichick has won. Zimmer didn’t. At least, not enough.

“If you’re a coach who coached in the 90s — and you haven’t adapted to what you’re doing — you’re making a huge, egregious mistake,” Newman told Dunne. “You can’t just run your players into the dirt. You can’t go Bill Parcells, two-a-days, live, goal-line, live red zone plays. You can’t do that anymore. I mean, you’ve got guys who are beat up just from practice. They’ve got to go play a game on Sunday. And we literally beat the shit out of each other on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.”

Newman said the environment became “toxic.” And while we typically shy away from sharing opinions shared to the media on an off-the-record basis, an unnamed former coordinator provided a blunt and simple explanation for why he thinks the 2022 Vikings will thrive.

“Because the devil’s gone,” the unnamed former Vikings coordinator told Dunne. “Satan is out of the building.”

That’s harsh. And it may be a little over the top. Regardless, Zimmer was a little over the top, too. And hopefully I won’t be getting any over-the-top text messages later tonight.

PFT

 

Every Coach in the NFL is a little over the top but Zimmer was way over top,to bad about T.Ý. McGill ŕeaĺ bad break

 

Kwesi-Adofo-Mensah he's like a mad scientist hope his system works out,just nervous captain's of the offense and defense and CJ. Ham captain of the special team cool

 

Jalen Reagor: A blessing to be teammates with Justin Jefferson



The Eagles took wide receiver Jalen Reagor with the 21st overall pick in the 2020 draft in a move that did not pay off in the kind of production that they hoped to get over the last two years.

Reagor’s struggles would have been notable under any circumstances, but they were even harder to ignore given what the player taken one pick after him has done. Justin Jefferson has piled up 196 catches for 3,016 yards and 17 touchdowns for the Vikings in his first two seasons and no one in Philadelphia has been shy about comparing the two wideouts.


Those comparisons will now be between teammates. The Eagles traded Reagor to the Vikings last week and he said he has no qualms about moving deeper into the shadow that Jefferson has cast over him.

“It’s a blessing,’’ Reagor said, via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. “He’s a great player, great receiver and just to be alongside him, learn from him, learn from other receivers, especially him and Adam [Thielen], so I’m just taking all I can and be a sponge and be a great teammate.’’

Reagor is the No. 4 wideout in Minnesota and it remains to be seen how much time he’ll get on offense. He is expected to return punts for the Vikings and success in that role would be a good way to start writing the next chapter of his NFL career.

PFT

 

Certainly adds depth at the WR position and thats a good thing. Hope he turns out to be one of those players that blossoms from a change in scenery.

 

Me to the Eagles had high hopes for him maybe a change of scene is what he needed

 

Kinda important to get him because of Bisi going down again.

 

The door is wide open

 

Glad you are around , BaddMan... its going to be a fun/different kinda Vikings season!

 

You to wish more Vikings fans would show up The Vikings Nation is awesome and very knowledgeable GO VIKINGS

 

Michael Irvin picks Kirk Cousins to be the 2022 NFL MVP



The NFL career of Kirk Cousins has been a fascinating one. Cousins came into MSU as an unheralded recruit, emerged as one of the best quarterbacks in Michigan State history, was the second quarterback drafted by the Washington Redskins (after Robert Griffin III), and is now one of the highest paid players in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings.

There are those, however, that think that Cousins is a middling starter at best. Not Michael Irvin though. The NFL Hall of Famer wide receiver and NFL GameDay analyst recently tagged Cousins as his pick for 2022 NFL MVP, high praise from the Cowboys’ legend.




C'Mon MAN!!!!!

 

Get ready to hear of Michael Irvin getting busted for crack again soon.

 

It's looking ok just hope the center position Garrett Bradbury takes his game to the level

 

Laughing

 

Jonathan Bullard is the only Vikings player on the injury report



The Packers have 11. The Vikings have one.

As Minnesota prepares for the first game of the Kevin O’Connell regime, the only player appearing on the injury report is defensive end Jonathan Bullard. He was limited in practice on Wednesday with a biceps injury.


Signed in June after playing for the Bears, Cardinals, Seahawks, and Falcons, Bullard is a starter in the team’s new 3-4 defense. Harrison Phillips is the nose tackle, and Dalvin Tomlinson is the other defensive end. Danielle Hunter and Za'Darius Smith are the outside linebackers/edge rushers.

Ross Blacklock is the understudy to Bullard.

It’s a dramatic change in base fronts for the Vikings. But the defense really can’t be much worse than it was in 2021, when it completed its most recent season in a long run with the 4-3 alignment.

PFT
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________________________

Who?, lol.

Glad the Vikings are healthy... hope it stays that way.

 

Former Packers linebacker Za'Darius Smith said team made him feel like 'a nobody' last year

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Former Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith didn’t speak to reporters all last season and chose not to share much on social media about his injury-marred 2021 season.

But in an interview with Go Long, a football website created by former Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Tyler Dunne, Smith blasted the Packers for how they treated him last year and said a benefit of signing a deal with the Minnesota Vikings after getting cut in March was a chance to face the Packers this season.

“I played one year of high school football,” Smith told Dunne. “For me to be where I’m at today, that’s how you know I love the game. I put my all into it. That’s why I felt the way I did with Green Bay — I gave that (expletive) my all. I put my blood, sweat … I put my back on the (expletive) line. I put everything. And that Year 3, I was treated bad. That’s why I’m here now. So, I can play them twice a year.”

Smith agreed to terms with the Baltimore Ravens on a free agent deal after the Packers released him – gaining $15.7 million in salary cap room in the process – but not long after called his agent and told him he wanted to sign with the Vikings. Smith began his career with the Ravens and signed a four-year, $66 million deal with the Packers as an unrestricted free agent in 2019.

He had a remarkable year in ’19, finishing the regular season with 13½ sacks, 25 quarterback hits and 38 quarterback pressures. He wasn’t as dominating in ’20, but he still finished with 12½ sacks, eight quarterback hits and 16 pressures.

Smith said he hurt his back lifting weights early in camp in 2021.

“I go to the trainers, they tell me one thing,” Smith said. “I said, ‘Alright, I feel like I need a second opinion.’ Because this (stuff) doesn’t feel like anything normal. It was training camp. It was coming back for training camp. When that happened, I said, ‘Let me get a second opinion.’ They didn’t want me to leave because it was training camp.”

Smith attempted to practice Aug. 16 but was back in rehab the next day. He said he eventually flew to Los Angeles to have the back examined and it was determined that famed spinal surgeon Robert Watkins would repair a bulge that was pressing on a nerve.

Smith had the surgery in late September, rehabbed away from the facility for a month and returned to the facility in early November. He said that he wasn’t acknowledged.

“How I was (perceived) here in the building, I came down to here, to a nobody,” Smith said. “To everybody in building. I was like, ‘Damn, why am I being treated like this?' I brought the culture. I helped change this (stuff). Why the (expletive) am I the one being treated like that?”

He said he felt ignored.

“Walking past me not saying nothing,” Smith said. “(Not) ‘Z, how’s your back doing?’ — there was none of that. As you can see, that adds on to why I’m on the other side. So, I can go back. I get to go back two times a year.”

Coach Matt LaFleur was asked how he felt about Smith’s comments.

"I respect the crap out of Z as a player,” he said. “He busted his butt and did a lot of great things. I think we may have a different perspective of how things transpired."

Smith said he spent time with the Vikings players and coaches when he arrived, going over some of the Packers’ calls and strengths and weaknesses of the players. He has been healthy through training camp and is expected to start at outside linebacker for the Vikings in their season opener Sunday against the Packers.

YAHOO

 

I would just love to see Smith sack Rodgers.............. well hell, any one sacking Rodgers will make my day!