Friday, December 20, 2019 Vikings Offensive Coordinator Kevin Stefanski

Alright, good afternoon. Big challenge this week. I think our guys are very excited for the challenge that this poses versus a really good football team. Going to be exciting in front of our fans, , so I think we’re rearing to go. It’s a division opponent that we know, but we played them way back in Week 2, so we really have to hunker down and spend a lot of time with this opponent. Really stressing with our players to get in their playbooks, study and really get to know these guys.

Q: How much more enlightenment do you have on the key new pieces they added in the offseason? A: We have a ton of tape now to go back through, probably too much tape to pour over, but the two edge players, the two Smiths (Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith) are excellent, 55 and 91. They’re going to give us a full 60 minutes worth of effort on Monday night, and I think our guys will be ready for it. Just an impressive stable of guys over there that can rush the passer.

Q: What do you think you’re better at as an offense now than in Week 2? A: A lot. It’s everything. I think in any season, quarterly, you’re kind of figuring out about yourself. I think there’s things we know about our offense now that we didn’t know six games ago. I think we’re constantly trying to evolve and adapt and pivot and do all those things. I think you needed almost quarterly to look at those type of things.

Q: How is better now than in that first quarter? A: He’s playing at a high level. He’s doing the things that we’re asking him to do. He’s the same guy walking into the building and he’s putting in the effort every day. I just think Kirk (Cousins), individually, collectively as an offensive, I think the guys are playing fast. I think they’re playing to their strengths, and I think you’ve seen over the course of the season, Kirk’s play has been stellar. I think you can go across the board and point out a bunch of guys that have really rose to the occasion.

Q: Was he affected in any way by that play in the red zone at Green Bay where there were comments about him needing to pull the trigger? A: I don’t think so, Mark (Craig). I think as quarterbacks you learn from every one of those turnovers and they stay with you. You learn more from them than you do passes. I know for Kirk (Cousins), he’s so conscientious he could probably rattle off every interception he’s had in his career. I think he learns from all of them, but I’ve never gotten the sense that one play in a given game is going to affect him the next week.

Q: In terms of how much they try to take away the bootlegs in Week 2, how much have you seen of teams copy that approach? A: I’d say it was somewhat unique. Week-to-week the schemes that you face are so different. This week’s scheme is completely different than last week’s scheme. I think teams go into it and they play their defense. They play to their strengths and then they also look at us and they say, “What do we want to stop? Do we want to stop the run? Do we want to stop this, etc.?” We’ll see what their plan is. I think that’s the fun part of this business for us is we have a plan going into it and then we have to be ready to adapt and see what they’re doing and just kind of make sure we’re unpredictable in that regard.

Q: If and can’t go, does the offense change much with Mike Boone and taking over? A: I think week-to-week what we do is put a game plan specific attack for that defense and I think that’s no different this week whether you’re talking run or pass. We have a plan to attack these guys, like we talked about, maybe have to adjust based on how they’re playing you, but regardless of who’s in there, our guys are ready to enact that plan.

Q: Do you think having to deal with being out for a time and adjusting to missing one of those key guys that if Dalvin Cook is not able to go, you’re offense is better prepared to handle that? A: I just think it’s a credit to our players. They understand this business that during the course of a 16-week season, you’re going to have guys that are in and out of your lineup and that’s the nature of the beast. Fortunately for us, I think our depth at a bunch of positions is really strong and if guys are called upon, they’re ready to roll. That’s been the story of this league for a long time. I think our guys have embraced that.