>>>ALL THINGS VIKINGS<<<

Kirk Cousins has failed the leadership role oh man when it was his time to step up he took a step back it really is time for the Vikings to move on

 

did Kirk Cousins say I'm though with the Vikings what an ungrateful SOB he got paid lots of money to bring a SB to Minnesota,which he NEVER did couldn't win big games always found a to CHOKE

 

Where did you hear this?

 

In past seasons, the Vikings often relied on Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter to make for a menacing edge rusher duo.

With Minnesota having a question mark opposite Hunter on the defensive line right now — and Griffen still being a free agent — could a reunion be imminent this offseason?

It’s not out of the question. According to KSTP’s Darren Wolfson and Chris Long, the Vikings are bringing in Griffen for a tryout.

Griffen’s days as a mainstay starter might be behind him, but he could at least compete for a starting position and be a pass-rushing option in the defensive line rotation.

In the offseason of 2020, Griffen voided his contract with the Vikings. He ended up signing with the Cowboys in free agency. Then, he was traded to the Lions, where he finished out the duration of his one-year deal.

Prior to that, he played the first 10 NFL seasons with the Vikings, becoming one of the team’s best draft picks in recent memory. He had three seasons with double-digit sack totals. Even in 2019, his final year with Minnesota, he finished with eight sacks.

So if Griffen has something left in the tank, the Vikings may as well take a flyer on him. Let’s see if Minnesota thinks the same after the tryout.

VikingsWire

 

I saw it on the Google website from Star Tribune could have click bait? but I don't think so I saw the thing on Purple Podcast his plexiglass having ass and drama got to go,Everson Griffen I have nothing but respect but does have any gas left in the tank to be effective?

 

Vikings TE Irv Smith Jr. embraces Mike Zimmer's stern approach after blowout preseason loss

Mike Zimmer's Vikings were soundly beaten in their preseason debut, and he did not mince words when asked for his thoughts at halftime last weekend.

Zimmer ripped his team at the end of the intermission, explaining during a brief interview that he was disappointed with nearly every facet of their lackluster play in the first half of what eventually became a blowout loss to the Broncos.

"I told them it was a very poor performance," Zimmer said. "We're going to scrimmage next week with this same bunch, because we didn't tackle well, we made the wrong checks on defense with the safeties, we throw an interception for a touchdown, we go three-and-out the first two series, terrible punts. So other than that, it's been great.

"We're gonna play next week and the week after, but some of these guys haven't earned it yet."

The preseason isn't exactly the Super Bowl, but what bothered Zimmer most was his team's lack of a sense of urgency. Instead of taking the field as if they're fighting for their livelihoods (which many of them are), Zimmer's Vikings came out flat and were promptly handled by the Broncos, who amassed quite a collection of highlights for one preseason game.

"I'm looking for some guys to compete," Zimmer said when asked what he'd like to see in the second half before quickly walking away from the microphone.

Immediately after the interview, Greg Joseph kicked it away to LeVante Bellamy, who returned it for 62 yards down to the Minnesota 40. Denver was in the end zone seven plays later.

Vikings play-by-play man Paul Allen called the kick return as it happened, accurately predicting Zimmer's feelings in real time: "Zim ain't gonna be happy about this."

He wasn't. Vikings tight end Irv Smith Jr. was asked Thursday about his coach's stern tone following the loss and embraced the necessary dose of reality administered by Doc Zim.

"It's definitely high expectations for sure, as you want for yourself as a player," Smith said during an appearance on Good Morning Football. "As a coach, you want somebody that's gonna push you and want the best out of you and your team. Coach Zimmer definitely wants that. That's definitely not the outing that we wanted to come out with and show the world.

"But there's a lot more games, a lot more preseason games left, and I'm confident in this team. I know Coach Zimmer is as well. He just wanted to relay the messaging and let the people know, let the team know that we have high expectations. There's not many limitations to our team, I feel like, with the skill set that we have and the team that they built around us. There's no way that we shouldn't go out there and dominate every game."

Expecting to dominate on a weekly basis, while a lofty goal to which all players should aspire, is not quite realistic. Expecting more effort and fundamentally sound play is, though, and Zimmer hasn't gotten that out of his team yet.

Minnesota's turnover in defensive personnel and untimely injuries sank what was setting up to be another promising season in 2020, and it's clear Zimmer did not like what he saw out his 2021 bunch's first on-field action. He knows as well as anyone how quickly things can go south when it comes to job security, and while he's not on the hot seat, he has zero interest in allowing it to even become lukewarm.

NFL.com

 

a much better effort by the Vikings is a must let's hope that game against the Broncos was a fluke,or Zimmer seat will get hot cause it a prove it to me you can win a SB type of year

 

hey I'm starting to wonder about Christian Dawisaw is he a stud or a injury prone bust? and why don't play Kyle Hinton to see if he can play with the big boys, it's preseason time to see what you got couldn't hurt

 

Vikings receiver Adam Thielen played in only four snaps of Saturday’s night game against the Colts. On the last one, a short pass to Thielen that he didn’t catch, he pulled up and began limping.

After the game, coach Mike Zimmer explained that Thielen had indeed been injured.

“He got a knee to the thigh, so he’s got a thigh bruise,” Zimmer told reporters.

The injury isn’t believed to be serious. However, any injury to Thielen or Justin Jefferson (who banged up a shoulder earlier in camp) underscores the lack of depth that the Vikings have at the position. K.J. Osborn, Chad Beebe, and Dede Westbrook are the other options.

Thielen turns 31 today. Three weeks from today, he’ll presumably be on the field when the Vikings take on the Bengals in Cincinnati.

PFT

 

Banged up already and its a longer season... the Vikings way is the hard way, always.

 

Everson Griffen is on the way back to Minnesota.

Griffen is expected to sign with the Vikings, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

That represents a reunion for Griffen, who was drafted by the Vikings in 2010 and played his entire career with them until leaving in free agency in 2020, signing with the Cowboys and then getting traded to the Lions midway through the season.

Griffen was a four-time Pro Bowler in Minnesota and won’t need any time to get up to speed in coach Mike Zimmer’s defense.

PFT

 

he will help the young players and show them what it takes to be a professional football player,nice be in the rotation now let's get Offense going to tell the truth it's been a little dull and kinda
flat GO VIKINGS

 

it does at time it seem like they like to take the tough road

 

Early returns: Rookie Smith-Marsette gives Vikings a spark

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Ihmir Smith-Marsette was feeling good enough about his return ability the other night — well, he seemingly always has — that he fielded a kickoff more than halfway into Minnesota’s end zone and did not hesitate to run it out.

The rookie’s rash decision contradicted what the Vikings have coached, reserving the automatic green light for certain situations or proven players such as Cordarrelle Patterson with his two All-Pro selections in four seasons with the team.

Given the way their special teams units have deteriorated in recent years, sinking to a new low in 2020, even coach Mike Zimmer had a hard time getting upset by the risk Smith-Marsette took on Saturday in the exhibition game against Indianapolis.

“He’s got some courage, and he catches the ball well, and he hits the seams pretty good,” said Zimmer, who has praised the fifth-round draft pick’s skills as a wide receiver in training camp, but has been just as quick to emphasize to the Iowa product the importance of first establishing himself as a trusted member of the special teams.

Smith-Marsette won the Big Ten’s Return Specialist of the Year award in 2018 and left the Hawkeyes with a career average of 28.7 yards per kickoff return, the second-best in conference history. The native of New Jersey offered the Vikings a tantalizing amount of potential when they submitted his name to the NFL with the 157th overall selection this spring.

He was as quick to answer a question from a reporter this week about the key to successful kick returning as he was to take the ball out of the end zone in the second half against the Colts.

“Got to be fearless. Got to be able to go out there and do it. Not think about it. Just be about it,” Smith-Marsette said.

Since Patterson’s 104-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in 2016, his final season with the team, the Vikings have not scored on either a punt or a kickoff return.

They still ranked in the top eight in the league in both categories in 2017 and 2018, but the past two years have been a pronounced decline. They were last in the NFL in 2020 with a paltry average of 4.3 yards per punt return and 17th in kickoff returns (21.9).

Smith-Marsette got an extended audition on Saturday on both fronts, contributing a 17-yard punt return and a 41-yard kickoff return. Wide receiver K.J. Osborn is another candidate for both jobs, as is running back Ameer Abdullah.

There’s a lot more to special teams than the returners, of course, and just about every facet for the Vikings has been undergoing a renovation project this summer.

They’ve changed kickers again, giving the job for now to Greg Joseph, who has 16 games of league experience on his resume. Long snapper Andrew DePaola is back after manning the role for seven games following a midseason switch in 2020.

Punter Britton Colquitt is the most proven member of the group, though even he kicked poorly enough in the first exhibition game that Zimmer criticized his performance.

Then there are the kick coverage units, under new direction with the promotion of Ryan Ficken to special teams coordinator after the firing of Marwan Maalouf. There’s an emphasis on simplicity this year, after some complaints that the previous schemes were too complex.

“I’ve got to limit the thinking on them. We pretty much say we’re not using the ‘T’ word: think,” Ficken said, adding: “That’s our job, just kind of trimming it down for them so they can go play fast.”

Adam Thielen, who cemented himself as a special teams ace earlier in his career in his rise from undrafted tryout player from an NCAA Division II program to Pro Bowl wide receiver, went so far as to address the special teams players recently to encourage them to continue to take that phase of the game seriously.

“A lot of them, honestly, before I talked to the group, didn’t even really know that I played special teams,” Thielen said, adding: “As a special teams player, you might only have 12 plays in a game. How important every single one of those plays is, just try to get them to understand that.”

 

Mike Zimmer: “I feel like we’re going to be pretty good, but we still have to go out and prove it”



Vikings coach Mike Zimmer is optimistic.

Despite generating an 0-3 record in the preseason with an offense that most of the time seemed downright offensive, Zimmer has high hopes for his team.

“I feel like we’re going to be pretty good, but we still have to go out and prove it,” Zimmer told reporters.

He nevertheless acknowledged the Friday night’s loss to the Chiefs was “sloppy,” but he noted that most of his key players still aren’t on the field. They held out plenty of key offensive and defensive players again in Kansas City.

One potential starter — cornerback Bashaud Breeland — got torched for a 35-yard touchdown by Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill. Asked whether miscommunication among the safeties contributed to the play, Zimmer was characteristically blunt. “He didn’t cover the guy,” Zimmer said of Breeland.

Zimmer has a well-earned reputation for speaking his mind, and he’s been around long enough to know what a good team looks like in late August. Preseason performance doesn’t matter; Zimmer has seen something in practice that makes him think the Vikings will be “pretty good” this year. How “pretty good” that becomes remains to be seen.

PFT
__________
_____________________

Show me!

 

Harrison Smith, Vikings agree to four-year extension



Harrison Smith said all offseason his goal was to remain in Minnesota. But heading into the final year of the five-year extension he signed with the team in 2016, Smith acknowledged the business side of the NFL.

Smith got his wish, and the Vikings will retain their Pro Bowl safety long term.

The Vikings and Smith have agreed to a four-year, $64 million extension, Mike Golic Jr. of ESPN Radio reports. Golic and Smith played together at Notre Dame.

It makes Smith the second-highest paid safety in the NFL, per Golic.

The team since has announced the agreement.

Smith, 32, had a streak of five consecutive Pro Bowl appearances snapped last season. He still made 89 tackles, five interceptions and 10 pass breakups in 2020.

In nine seasons with the Vikings, Smith has 747 tackles, 28 interceptions, seven forced fumbles and 66 pass breakups.

 

now he can retire as a Vikings

 

Last year, Vikings outside linebacker Anthony Barr played only two games because of a torn pectoral. This year, Barr has missed the entire preseason with a knee injury. But Vikings coach Mike Zimmer is optimistic that Barr can play in Week One.

Barr hasn’t practiced since August 6, but Zimmer said today that he’s trending in the right direction.

“He’s doing really good,” Zimmer said, via Vikings.com. “I think we have a good plan for him to be ready to go.”

The 29-year-old Barr arrived in Minnesota as the ninth overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft and was a four-time Pro Bowler from 2015 to 2018. Whether he can ever play at that level again remains to be seen, but his return for the opener at Cincinnati appears likely.

PFT

 

when are the Vikings gonna kick Rick Spielman to the curb it's just like when he was with the Dolphins they were good but never elite he's doing the same thing here, just like it's a prove it year for Mike Zimmer it's also a prove it year for you to

 

AJ Rose Jr. got waived today... I thought he looked pretty damn good.