>>>ALL THINGS VIKINGS<<<

A handful of running backs were in line for contract extensions this offseason, but not all of them got deals done.

Vikings running back Dalvin Cook finds himself in that group. Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry and Joe Mixon have new pacts with Alvin Kamara expected to join them soon, but Cook and the Vikings put a halt to talks about a new deal last month.

Cook continued practicing after those discussions came to an end and he said on Wednesday that he won’t let the contract situation impact his focus on the games to come.

“I’m not worried. I’m prepared to go play. . . . I’ll let the business take care of business,” Cook said, via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press.

Cook added that he remains hopeful about getting an extension in Minnesota because “you expect a reward to come from” working hard and playing well, but it looks like he’ll have to hold his breath at least a little while longer.

NBC

 

Bad news...



Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter will miss at least the first three weeks of the season.

Hunter was placed on injured reserve today. Under the special league rules adopted because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hunter can return after missing the first three weeks of the season.

The Vikings have been coy about Hunter’s injury, saying only that he suffered a “tweak” in practice last month. Coach Mike Zimmer indicated he thought Hunter would be back for Week One, but now we know he won’t be — or for Week Two or Three, either.

After missing the Vikings’ games against the Packers, Colts and Titans, Hunter can return as soon as Week Four against the Texans.

Last year Hunter led the Vikings with 14.5 sacks. Now Minnesota will rely on the newly arrived Yannick Ngakoue to pick up the slack, starting by getting pressure on Aaron Rodgers on Sunday.

NBC

 

I had a weird feeling about Hunter being on IR injury cause Mike Zimmer was playing pick a boo, when are the Wilfs going to fire Mike Zimmer and Rick Spielman GO VIKINGS ( but the ghost of Marvin Lewis is strong here ) Dalvin Cook who knows what's going to happen

 

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Vikings and running back Dalvin Cook have agreed to terms on a five-year extension.

NFL Media supplements our report with some basic numbers. The deal has a base value of $63 million, which equates to a new-money average of $12.3 million. Cook also has more than $28 million in injury guarantees at signing.

The deal is far better than Cook’s alternative. He would have rolled the dice for only $1.3 million this year, despite playing one of the most physically demanding positions in football. And if he’d made it through the season unscathed, the Vikings could have franchise-tagged him at an amount that has been dropping (due to the running back market) and will be in the range of $8.3 million if the cap craters to the agreed minimum of $175 million in 2021, due to the pandemic.

So taking the deal — which pays him above what he would have made over the next three years under the tag route — made a ton of sense for Cook, especially since the Vikings typically don’t pay players over the tag formula on a long-term deal.

Cook now has security and certainty, and the Vikings have under contract for six seasons one of the better running backs in the NFL, when healthy.

“When healthy” also was a big part of this decision. Cook has had an injury in every year of his career, starting with an ACL tear as a rookie. He knows what can happen without financial security, because he’s had it happen. Now, he has the security that, if he suffers another serious injury in 2020, he may have never had.

NBC

 

Well now you can't complain you kept your mouth shut and got paid just don't get hurt..waited to the last minute huh

 

No pass rush damn almost seemed like they weren't ready for how fast the game is,I'm confused the O-line is the same don't seem no better the Vikings Defense has to improve this Sunday

 

Is Mike Zimmer ok did you see his hands shaking? did Mike Zimmer let the cornerbacks get taken to school by Aaron Rodgers on purpose it was like a pre-season game

 

Safety Harrison Smith is in his ninth season in Minnesota. He’s made the Pro Bowl the past five seasons and earned All-Pro honors in 2017.

The only thing Smith hadn’t accomplished was being a team captain . . . until now.

Smith found out last week he would wear the “C” as one of six Vikings captains.

“(Coach Mike Zimmer) just announced it in a meeting,’’ Smith said, via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. “That’s it.’’

Zimmer also named running back Dalvin Cook a captain for the first time, and Cook and Smith join holdovers Kirk Cousins, Kyle Rudolph, Riley Reiff and Anthony Barr.

“It’s cool,’’ Smith said. “Obviously, you want captains that kind of reflect what the organization wants to be like, work ethic, teamwork, guys who step up in big moments as well as guys that can be looked to from the younger guys, and I’ve always tried to carry myself that way. … It’s cool to have that patch and everything, but I don’t think much has changed for me.’’

NBC

 

He should have been a captain years ago it a no brainer

 

Yannick Ngakoue's dud debut with Vikings left 'a bad taste in my mouth'

The Minnesota Vikings' defense got divebombed by Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams in Week 1, giving up 43 points and 522 net yards in a blowout loss.

Mike Zimmer's defense barely sniffed Rodgers, compiling a piddling two quarterback hits on 44 pass attempts with zero sacks. According to Pro Football Focus, Rodgers was pressured just three times all game.

The Vikings acquired Yannick Ngakoue in a trade with Jacksonville to help put pressure on QBs and aid a very youthful secondary. He didn't live up to the hype in his first game in purple, notching a single QB pressure and zero tackles.

"I've still got a bad taste in my mouth, and I want to make it right this weekend," Ngakoue said Wednesday, via the Pioneer Press.

The Vikings planned to pair Ngakoue with star defensive end Danielle Hunter, but the latter is on IR due to an injury. In the first game sans Hunter, Ngakoue was just getting back into the groove after sitting out Jags training camp.

"Just getting the rust off," Ngakoue said. "It feels great coming into (the season) for a guy who just did four practices (with the Vikings), But at the same time, I feel like I should have made a bigger impact of helping the D-line out, just forcing more pressures on the quarterback."

Against Green Bay, the Vikings had an average pass rush separation of 7.2 yards on passes while allowing a time to throw of 2.5-plus seconds -- both were second-highest among 32 teams in Week 1, per NextGen Stats.


According to PFF, the Vikings had three cornerbacks allow a passer rating when targeted of 118.4 or worse (min. 10 coverage snaps), Mike Hughes (158.3 passer rating allowed), Cameron Dantzler (154.5) and Holton Hill (118.4).

With such a young corner crew, Zimmer's defense badly needs its pass rush to discombobulate the quarterback.

"Right now, this defensive line and this defense needs a spark, and I need to go make that spark this weekend," Ngakoue said.

The 43 points in Week 1 were the most the Vikings allowed since Green Bay scored 44 in Week 8, 2013 (the last season before Zimmer was hired). Minnesota has not allowed 35-plus points in back-to-back games since Weeks 7-9 of 2001.

The bad news for the Vikings is they visit Indianapolis on Sunday, where one of the best offensive lines in the NFL resides. Philip Rivers showed Week 1 that while he might throw a few 50/50 balls that get picked, he can still dice up a secondary. If Ngakoue and Co. don't step to the plate, it could be another long day for the defensive backs.

NFL.com

 

That entire defense was busted. No pass rush, no deep coverage and very few tackles for loss... they must get better on that side of the ball.

The missed tackles were outrageous.

 

It’s just the first game with no preseason. You really have to wait at least 3 weeks before anyone can bitch about their team. Unfortunately this season is fucked up.

 

As of right now the Vikings are out of sync the Defense looked Pitful not ready for prime time it looked like a preseason game,they better find a pass rush ASAP if they don't it's going to be a long year

 

Thats true and knowing the defensive mind of Zimm, he will get it righted... he just has a few youngsters to work with.

 

The Vikings will be down a starting offensive lineman against the Colts this weekend.

The team has placed right guard Pat Elflein on injured reserve. Elflein started and played every snap against the Packers in Week One and he was not on Wednesday’s injury report, so the reason for the move is not yet known.

Elflein will be eligible to return to action after three games on the list. There is no limit to the number of players that can be activated from injured reserve this season.

Dru Samia is listed as Elflein’s backup on the Vikings depth chart. Rookie Ezra Cleveland is listed as the backup to left guard Dakota Dozier.

Elflein has started 43 games since the Vikings made him a third-round pick in the 2017 draft.

UPDATE 4:39 p.m. ET: Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports Elflein injured his thumb in Thursday’s practice.

NBC

 

Hmm. very suspicious all of a sudden he's on IR? didn't know he hurt his thumb lol,the door is wide open for somebody to step up

 

Gary Kubiak: Vikings offense 'got ugly there for a few possessions' vs. Packers

The Minnesota Vikings offense got lost at sea for most of the second quarter of the season opener against Green Bay, and by the time Kirk Cousins steered the ship back on course, the game was all but over.

"It got ugly there for a few possessions," offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak said Thursday, via the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

That's an understatement.

After driving 75 yards for an opening drive TD, the Vikings offense crashed. The next three possessions netted a total of negative-6 yards. The disaster included a sack safety, a three-and-out (including another sack), and an interception. By the time the string ended, Green Bay was up 22-7.

Game. Blouses.

"We're trying to chase four quarters," Kubiak said. "What was the difference? It's always little things…That's part of football. You've got to battle through mistakes. Keep battling and keep playing and stay positive in your approach. We did that."

Cousins threw only five passes in the first half, his fewest in the first half of any game he started in his career. The Vikings made up ground with a 21-point fourth quarter in garbage time, but the loss was basically in the books by that point.


In Kubiak's first game calling plays since 2016, after replacing Kevin Stefanski, who took the Browns head-coaching job, the offense looked uneven. Most surprisingly, over the course of the game, Minnesota ran just one play-action pass on 25 Cousins pass attempts. The QB is best when using play-action, and it was a staple in last year's success. Vikings fans hope the cliff-dive was simply a product of a game-script tilting against them for the bulk of the game.

"Being a play-caller is a lot like being a player," Kubiak said. "You call a two-deep play and they're playing three-deep, and it's not a good play. You've got to go on to the next one."

We'll get a better sense of what the Vikings offense will look like after Sunday's game in Indianapolis.

NFL.com

 

Well, they are worried about the offense... nice. How about that defense?

 

Don't understand this it was the Defense that had problems stopping Aaron Rodgers and the Packers Offense wasn't on the field that much worried about the Offense WTF fix the Defense!the Offense will be just fine

 

Your offense scored enough to win
Your defense shit the bed