>>>ALL THINGS VIKINGS<<<

Mike Zimmer energized by changes on Vikings defense



Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer isn’t sure about the benefits of holding joint practices during training camp this summer because you “may not be able to get your guys up to speed fast enough” after a virtual offseason program.

One of the areas that will be getting a healthy amount of attention from Zimmer in the coming weeks and months is the defense. The Vikings said farewell to regulars like Mackensie Alexander, Everson Griffen, Linval Joseph, Xavier Rhodes and Trae Waynes this offseason, so there are going to be a lot of new pieces to put in place once the Vikings do get on the field.

Zimmer said that he’s looking forward to going through that process.

“It reminds me, honestly, of college when we had five defensive starters graduate and you’ve got young guys come in and you’ve got redshirt freshmen and you’ve got to get them ready to play,” Zimmer said, via Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “That part kind of energizes us as coaches as far as, ‘OK, let’s figure out what this guy can do, how fast he can do it, and then how can we teach him the best way to be prepared to get out there and play?'”

Zimmer knows that he may not have the optimal amount of time to work with the new faces, but is confident “we will figure out how best to utilize those particular weeks” as they build their defense.

NBC

 

Time to prove your a master of the defense time to Coach em up!

 

Despite speculation that the Vikings simply tagged safety Anthony Harris with an eye toward trading him, Harris has accepted the franchise tender — and it sounds like he plans to remain with the team for years to come.

“Since arriving in Minnesota with uncertainty as an undrafted free agent in 2015, I have accomplished my dream of playing in the NFL, going from practice squad, to making the active roster, to becoming a full-time starter, to leading the league in interceptions,” Harris said on Twitter. “During the past five years, Minnesota has become home and is where I want to continue to develop as a player, having only scratched the surface.”


Harris became a full-time starter during the 2018 season, and he held that role throughout 2019.

“Although it has been a strange offseason, time spent in isolation with family has been refreshing and energizing,” Harris said. “This is just one step in God’s plan for me and my family. I will let my agents and the Vikings work towards long term certainty in Minnesota, but I am excited to be back for the 2020 season.”

Harris has plenty of reason to be motivated. Despite a great year in 2019, he didn’t make it to the Pro Bowl, and he received only one All-Pro vote.

“I am continuing my focus on what it takes to be successful both as a team and as an individual,” Harris explained. “I am excited for the new challenges the 2020 season will bring, but I am most excited for the opportunity to help bring a Super Bowl to Minnesota and the best fans in the country. Skol!”

Harris will earn a guaranteed salary of $11.441 million in 2020, a number higher than the cash ($8.75 million) and cap figure ($10.75 million) attributable this year to safety Harrison Smith.

The Vikings and Harris have until July 15 to finalize a long-term deal. Otherwise, Harris will be in line for a shot at the open market or a franchise tag of $13.72 million in 2021.

NBC

 

Well for a while i thinking this might be a Diggs type of drama in Minnesota, it's over so glad about that time to work on a deal here Slick Rick ( Tricky Ricky )

 

Thielen Making Himself a 'Resource' for Justin Jefferson, Vikings Young WRs

EAGAN, Minn. – Adam Thielen blinked, and suddenly he's preparing his eighth NFL season.

The receiver spoke with Twin Cities media members via video conference Tuesday and said it's sometimes surreal how much time has passed since he first caught the eyes of Vikings coaches as a tryout player in 2013.

"It goes by fast, but at the same time it's such a cool thing to have that bank of reps and experience. It just makes this game so much fun," Thielen said. "The more experience you have, the more reps you have under your belt, you just get to go out there and play football and have fun doing it."

From practice squad guy to two-time Pro Bowler, Thielen has developed not only as an athlete but as a leader for younger players in the locker room. That guidance will be especially key this offseason, during which the COVID-19 pandemic has dictated that teams start their offseason programs virtually.

"I think the biggest thing is just allowing them to trust me as a person and as a player to be a resource for them," Thielen said. "First of all, it is good to create a relationship virtually right now, to the point where they feel comfortable asking questions or calling me or coming to train with me.

"That's really my job. I know that I've been able to learn from some veterans that came before me as far as how they handled those things and how they helped me become the player I am," he continued. "I'm just trying to be that resource for those guys and to know that, hey, when I'm teaching these guys and when I'm talking to them, I'm really talking to myself, because there are a lot of things that I need to get better at. And usually it's those things I'm talking about and teaching those young guys – the things that I need to work on the most."

The old man of the group, Thielen will celebrate his 30th birthday on August 22. The Vikings next-oldest receiver is 26-year-old Bralon Addison, who spent the 2016 season on the Bears practice squad and has since been in the Canadian Football League. Chad Beebe and Tajaé Sharpe, whom Minnesota signed in free agency, are 25.

Among the youngest players looking up to Thielen is first-round pick Justin Jefferson, whom Minnesota tabbed out of LSU from the 22nd overall slot.


Thielen empathized with Jefferson, acknowledging how challenging it could be to start an NFL career under the current circumstances.

"We had a team Bible study last night and there were a few of us [who talked about] how difficult this would be if we could turn back," Thielen said. "Honestly, I probably wouldn't be in the NFL if this would've happened my rookie year.

"It's kind of crazy to think about those things," he added. "But at the end of the day, the best athletes, they can adapt."

Vikings.com

 

Hall of Fame head coach Bud Grant, a Minnesota icon and one of the best NFL coaches of the 1970s, turns 93 today.

Grant took the Vikings to the Super Bowl in eight years, capping the 1969, 1973, 1974, and 1976 seasons with appearances in Super Bowls IV, VIII, IX, and XI.

Before coaching, Grant was a first-round pick of the Eagles and a fourth-round pick of the Lakers, in the same year (1950). He played for the then-Minneapolis Lakers, at a time when Sid Hartman (now of the Minneapolis Star Tribune) was the team’s G.M.

After two seasons of NBA basketball, Grant joined the Eagles, playing defensive end one year (and leading the team in sacks) before flipping to receiver. Grant then continued his football career with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL, with four years as a player and then a decade as the team’s coach. Along the way, the Blue Bombers won four CFL championships.

That caught the eye of the Vikings, who hired Grant to replace Norm Van Brocklin, the first coach in franchise history. Grant spent 17 years with the Vikings, retiring in 1984 and then un-retiring for a season after the disastrous Les Steckel year, when the Vikings went 3-13.

The Vikings won the NFC Central 11 times under Grant’s leadership. Grant still serves as a consultant to the Vikings, and he has an office at the team’s facility.

Grant recently called Paul Allen’s show during a regular segment with Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton, addressing among other things the team’s ability to thrive in freezing conditions.

“We practiced in cold weather, and we brainwashed the players that you aren’t cold,” Grant said.

Grant brainwashed himself five years ago, walking to midfield for the coin toss on a below-zero day at TCF Bank Stadium with no jacket and short sleeves. It was, and likely will be, the last outdoor NFL game played in Minnesota, for decades if not forever.

NBC

 

Bud Grant is a bad man 93 and still going strong he is truly a Hall of Famer,let me ask you something why do the sports media keep talking about Diggs he's gone time to move on the Vikings did fine before Diggs they will do fine without him!

 

Diggs who?

 

Vikings co-defensive coordinator Adam Zimmer can’t get too far away from work during the pandemic — since he’s living with his father and boss.

And he acknowledged that it can be unusual at times.

In an interview with Bob Sansavere of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the younger Zimmer admitted that it’s not always easy sharing an office with his dad, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer.

“At the facility and around the team, I mostly call my dad Coach,” Adam said. “It’s kind of weird for your boss to be your dad. I refer to him as Zimm in front of players.

“Players call me Zimm, Coach or Adam. As long as they don’t call me a—hole, I’m good.”

(Really, isn’t that all any of us can hope for?)

Adam said he’s a bit more laid-back than his dad, which probably isn’t hard to pull off.

“Everyone says we’re similar, my dad and me,” he said. “But I think we both have our own little quirks. I don’t think I’m as boisterous as he is. No, I don’t yell as much as him. I’m more of an explain-things-coach instead of a yeller. We’re all intense on game day, so that’s a little different. But around the players, I think I’m a little more talkative instead of yelling.

“Since we started coaching together, I think our relationship definitely is stronger. I spent just one year in Cincinnati with him. It was an adjustment period in Cincinnati. Eventually, we became more comfortable. I went there in 2013 and he got the job in Minnesota in 2014. I learned more football in these last seven years than I could have imagined.”

He said he’s able to stay in a different part of the house at the family’s 160-acre ranch in Kentucky, which allows for a little space, which he probably needs from time to time.

NBC

 

Scary ain't it he looks like Zimmer must have looked like when he was younger eerie lol,but will Zimmer really let him be the DC and keep a hands off approach?​

 

Free-agent defensive Everson Griffen remains in a holding pattern. The 32-year-old has been linked to Seattle but not many other teams has he looks for a new NFL home.

The Cardinals reportedly have interest in Griffen, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com.

Arizona is trying to boost a defense that needs plenty of help. Given all the attention devoted to Chandler Jones, Griffen would likely see some favorable matchups and, at a minimum, one-on-one opportunities.

Chad Graff of TheAthletic.com recently explained that Griffen’s status has been influenced in part by the inability to make visits to teams. As Vikings G.M. Rick Spielman told #PFTPM in the aftermath of the draft, the door isn’t closed on a return to Minnesota; however, the Vikings lack the cap space to give Griffen the kind of deal he may expect.

Griffen has 74.5 sacks in 147 career games. He had a career-high 13.0 sacks in 2017.

 

It all comes down to Money!!!!

 

I think Justin Jefferson will be ok can't see the Vikings ruining him by putting a lot of unnecessary pressure on him,they got fire power already players ready to bust out my biggest concern is i hope he's a tough guy and not injury prone

 

Why do the talking heads at PFT NBC have such hatred for the NFC NORTH and they picked the PACKERS to win the Division wow it's a sh*t show over there,even if Green Bay wants become a running team Aaron Rodgers still needs another receiver to throw to

 

They dont like Minnesota?

I suppose the Packers are favorites going in to this season, but the neat part is, come week 1, we will see right off the git-go.

 

The Packers are a wildly overrated team, like always. They're a media darling. If anyone's being remotely objective, they'll see that GB was not deserving of where they ended up last year (they got trounced in the playoffs for a reason).

Give it time. The media love will never go away, but the wins will.

 

Dalvin Cook holdout would be 'virtually prohibitive' for RB

When the new collective bargaining agreement was ratified in March, cheers were had from all sides celebrating the avoidance of a work stoppage and the continuation of labor peace well into the 2020s.

What wasn't quite highlighted then was a change that affected a rising star's ability to leverage a new deal for himself.

Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook is one of those players. Cook is entering a contract year, has demonstrated a desire to stay with his current team and is willing to strike a new deal before his final season in his existing pact begins. Talks between Cook's representatives and the Vikings have been underway to attempt to achieve such an outcome, but broke down recently, leading to Cook considering threatening to hold out of training camp until he is presented with an acceptable contract offer.

We've heard this tale before. Just last year, Ezekiel Elliott spent plenty of time away from the Dallas Cowboys during their camp before a new deal finally brought him back in time for the 2019 season.

But that was under the old CBA. This current CBA seriously discourages a player from entering such a holdout, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, because it can directly affect a player's ability to reach unrestricted free agency.

"The new collective bargaining agreement makes it virtually prohibitive for a player in Cook's position to actually carry out a holdout," Pelissero explained Tuesday on NFL NOW. "If Dalvin Cook does not report on the mandatory reporting date next month with his teammates, or at any point thereafter does not fulfill his contract for any material period of time, he would not accrue the fourth season he needs to become an unrestricted free agent next March. Instead, Cook would be a restricted free agent, meaning the Vikings could retain him with a first-round restricted tender worth between $4 [million] and $5 million instead of having to apply a franchise tag that would be worth roughly double that."

Pelissero has sense there is optimism on both sides a deal will get done. It would be logical for that to happen, seeing as Cook could essentially cost himself millions even after he's reached the freedom of free agency, which wouldn't be entirely free if he enters as a restricted free agent as a result of him not reporting for camp on time.

For now, though, the threat remains Cook's most powerful card left to play. The Vikings could very easily call his bluff, knowing that while he is an important player, Cook's incentive for sitting out isn't nearly what it once was. A holdout just might not be worth it anymore.

The new CBA was just the latest agreement between the players association and the league that chipped away at the ability for the NFL's youngest to leverage their way into maximum compensation. The 2011 CBA instituted a slotting system that predetermined each draft pick's salary by where they were selected in the draft, essentially ending the money-driven holdouts of old that would stretch deep into camp for some of the league's top rookies. These days, with the money already a non-issue, the greatest contractual sticking point for most rookies is offset language.

With the 2020 CBA just months into its existence, we've reached one of the first points in which new policies are directly affecting business operations. We'll see if this leads to a new deal for Cook faster than is usual.

NFL.com

 

That’s awesome. It’s about time that they made a clause to help keep players from holding out.

 

I hope for Cook and the Vikings sake that they get this contract stuff over, ASAP.

Kinda weird to me that the NFLPA actually let this in. I dont understand a lot of the 'business' side of things, but the cards seem to be in favor of the teams vs the players.

 

I think the owners gave some things the players wanted, like no suspensions for drugs.