DAILY CLIPS
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2018 LOCAL NEWS: Thursday, November 15, 2018
Star Tribune
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins facing his boyhood favorites By Ben Goessling http://www.startribune.com/vikings-coach-kirk-cousins-facing-his-boyhoodfavorites/500551031/
There's Purple pride in draft class of 2018 By Sid Hartman http://www.startribune.com/there-s-purple-pride-in-draft-class-of-2018/500546981/
Turnovers have Vikings coach Mike Zimmer's attention By Mark Craig http://www.startribune.com/turnovers-have-vikings-coach-mike-zimmer-s-attention/500559661/
Diggs returns to practice while Barr sits out again By Mark Craig http://www.startribune.com/diggs-returns-to-practice-while-barr-sits-out-again/500526362/
Coach Matt Nagy has made Bears unpredictable By Andrew Krammer http://www.startribune.com/coach-matt-nagy-has-made-bears-unpredictable/500559732/
Pioneer Press
Vikings’ Sheldon Richardson: Everson Griffen ‘getting his confidence back’ By Chris Tomasson https://www.twincities.com/2018/11/14/vikings-sheldon-richardson-says-everson-griffen-getting-his-confidence-back/
A Bears fan growing up, Vikings QB Kirk Cousins ready for ‘special’ trip to Soldier Field By Chris Tomasson https://www.twincities.com/2018/11/14/vikings-kirk-cousins-grew-up-a-big-bears-fan-ready-for-another-special-trip-to-soldier- field/
Bears’ Mitchell Trubisky starting to look like a franchise QB By Dane Mizutani https://www.twincities.com/2018/11/14/bears-qb-mitch-trubisky-scrambles-like-fran-tarkenton-on-his-way-to-relevance/
Vikings WR Stefon Diggs back at practice, LB Anthony Barr remains out By Chris Tomasson https://www.twincities.com/2018/11/14/vikings-wr-stefon-diggs-back-at-practice-lb-anthony-barr-remains-out/
Tom Compton joined Vikings after Bears let him walk By Chris Tomasson https://www.twincities.com/2018/11/13/tom-compton-joined-vikings-after-bears-not-at-all-interested-in-re-signing-him/
Vikings legend Alan Page will put politics aside, accept Presidential Medal of Freedom By Chris Tomasson https://www.twincities.com/2018/11/13/vikings-legend-alan-page-will-put-politics-aside-accept-presidential-medal-of-freedom/
Vikings.com
NOTEBOOK: Vikings Wary of Bears Defense That Leads NFL in Total Points off Turnovers By Eric Smith https://www.vikings.com/news/notebook-vikings-wary-of-bears-defense-that-leads-nfl-in-total-points-off-turnov
State of 8: Cousins ‘Ready’ for Stretch Run By Craig Peters https://www.vikings.com/news/state-of-8-cousins-ready-for-stretch-run
Presser Points: Zimmer Says Vikings Refreshed After Bye By Lindsey Young https://www.vikings.com/news/presser-points-zimmer-says-vikings-refreshed-after-bye
Danielle Hunter Nominated for Sportsmanship Award By Craig Peters https://www.vikings.com/news/danielle-hunter-nominated-for-sportsmanship-award
How to Watch & Listen to Vikings at Bears in Week 11 By Craig Peters https://www.vikings.com/news/vikings-at-bears-flexed-to-sunday-night-football
Gov. Dayton Honors Late Wife of Alan Page With ‘Diane Sims Page Day’ By Lindsey Young https://www.vikings.com/news/gov-dayton-honors-late-wife-of-alan-page-with-diane-sims-page-day
Lunchbreak: Carr Lists Cousins-Thielen Among NFL’s Top QB-WR Duos By Lindsey Young https://www.vikings.com/news/lunchbreak-carr-lists-cousins-thielen-among-nfl-s-top-qb-wr-duos
5 Vikings-Bears Storylines to Watch By Mike Wobschall https://www.vikings.com/news/5-vikings-bears-storylines-to-watch
Vikings Surprise Veterans With Voyage to Nation's Capital By Eric Smith https://www.vikings.com/news/veterans-voyage
VIKING Update
‘Eye candy’ big part of Bears’ offensive success By Tim Yotter https://247sports.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings/Article/Vikings-see-eye-candy-as-big-part-of-Bears-offensive-success-124738518/
Trubisky bringing life to Bears offense with improved play By John Holler https://247sports.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings/Article/Vikings-see-Mitchell-Trubisky-bringing-life-to-Bears-offense-with- improved-play-124736317/
Avoiding turnovers ‘critical factor’ for Vikings vs. Bears By Tim Yotter https://247sports.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings/Article/Avoiding-turnovers-critical-factor-for-Vikings-Kirk-Cousins-vs-Bears- 124732206/
Richardson to set career milestone in 2018's biggest game so far By John Holler https://247sports.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings/Article/Sheldon-Richardson-to-set-career-milestone-in-2018s-biggest-game-so-far- 124730852/
1500 ESPN
How will the Vikings slow down Khalil Mack? By Matthew Coller http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2018/11/will-vikings-slow-khalil-mack/
Can Mitch Trubisky handle the Vikings’ blitzes? By Matthew Coller http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2018/11/can-mitch-trubisky-handle-vikings-blitzes/
PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 11/15/18
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins facing his boyhood favorites
By Ben Goessling
As Kirk Cousins works through his initial season as the Vikings’ starting quarterback, there can be an inanity to the practice of marking his milestones: his first division game at Lambeau Field, his first prime-time game in Week 4, his first win over an NFC North opponent on Nov. 4, and so on.
That said, there’s a uniqueness to what Cousins will do on Sunday night at Soldier Field: As the quarterback tries to lead the Vikings back to the top of the division standings, he’ll attempt to do so as the foil for his favorite childhood team.
Growing up in Barrington, Ill., northwest of Chicago, Cousins developed an affinity for the Bears that continued after his family moved to west Michigan when he was 13. Mike Singletary was Cousins’ youth football coach; the quarterback went to school with Walter Payton’s kids and attended the youth camps Singletary did with former Bears defensive back and Vikings coach Leslie Frazier.
“There was close proximity to those guys; my dad did some chapels for the Bears,” Cousins said. “There were a lot of connections to the Bears and to the community, and obviously, the ’85 Bears, to this day, are still talked about quite a bit. That kind of lingered through the ’90s as I was growing up.
“Any time you get to go there, it’s a special place. There’s a lot of history there. I love the opportunity to play at Soldier Field.”
Cousins had played in Chicago twice before, leading the Redskins to wins over the Bears in 2015 and 2016. He’ll have a crew of his friends from Michigan in town for the game Sunday night, as he tries to become the first Vikings QB to win his first start at Soldier Field since Tarvaris Jackson in 2007.
If Cousins is able to keep his undefeated record there, it will mean success for the Vikings QB in a building where many of his predecessors had nightmarish outings.
Brett Favre threw for 321 yards in his debut, but the Vikings lost an overtime game that doomed their chances at home-field advantage in 2009. Favre threw three interceptions the next year in his final game there and Donovan McNabb lost his job to Christian Ponder in 2011.
Ponder went 0-2 as a starter in Chicago, missing a throw that would have sealed a win there in 2013, and in Teddy Bridgewater’s first start, a clock malfunction led the rookie quarterback to believe he only had time for one more pass, heaving an interception into the end zone with just under 2 minutes to play.
The Vikings’ Halloween night loss in Chicago in 2016 turned out to be Sam Bradford’s last game with Norv Turner as his offensive coordinator, and after the team’s ill-fated decision to start Bradford last year, the Vikings avoided a Monday night loss only after Case Keenum bailed them out in relief of the injured quarterback, who turned out to have thrown his last passes as a Viking in that game.
As Cousins tries to write a different story in Chicago, he’ll have to solve a defense that’s become one of the NFL’s most disruptive in 2018. The Bears, who traded for Khalil Mack at the start of the season, are second in the NFL with 24 takeaways, and are second in rushing defense, fourth in points allowed and fifth in sacks.
“They haven’t changed that much defensively, except for Khalil Mack, which adds to some of those poor throws and pressure,” coach Mike Zimmer said.
“Their defensive front is outstanding — I think Leonard Floyd is playing a lot better now. Their two corners are both very good. Eddie Jackson’s a little bit more of a ballhawk; since they’ve added him, I think that’s helped, and he’s playing with a lot more confidence.”
Cousins has only two turnover-free games this season (against the 49ers and Jets), and will have to be judicious with the ball against a Bears team that has scored a league-leading 89 points off turnovers.
“It’s something we have to be very aware of,” he said. “But I don’t know that I drop back saying, ‘Don’t fumble, don’t fumble,’ or ‘Don’t throw a pick.’ You still have to play. But you’re just aware that this is one of the ways they’ve been able to win some football games.
‘‘At this point in the year, it’s not a coincidence. It’s not an anomaly. It’s because they’re a good defense, and that’s what they do.”
If he’s able to help the Vikings get the better of the Bears defense and beat his favorite childhood team Sunday night, Cousins will leave Soldier Field with what might be the most significant milestone of his first year in Minnesota: a rare successful debut for a Vikings QB in Chicago, and a win that vaults them back to first place.
“We’ve talked about [for] several weeks now how it’s a dream come true, or a moment where you pinch yourself a little bit, to realize you’re living a dream,” he said.
“Certainly playing at Soldier Field on Sunday night football against the Chicago Bears is one of those moments, but I could go down every week and say every week is one of those moments, too. We’re looking forward to the opportunity.”
PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 11/15/18
There's Purple pride in draft class of 2018
By Sid Hartman
There’s no doubt that Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman wasn’t expecting the 2018 draft class to contribute as much as it has during the start of this Vikings season.
First-round pick Mike Hughes played 42 percent of the defensive snaps before being lost to injury, and is 10th on the team with 22 tackles and had four kick returns for 107 yards.
Brian O’Neill, the second-rounder out of Pitt, has been a key cog on an injured offensive line, taking 69 percent of the snaps.
Fourth-round pick Jalyn Holmes has gotten into a few games at defensive tackle, playing 8.3 percent of the snaps and recording his first pro sack.
And fifth-round tight end Tyler Conklin has been in on 12 percent of the offensive snaps and 31 percent of the special teams plays; he has two receptions for 13 yards.
The lone downside to the draft was fifth-round kicker Daniel Carlson, whose struggles early in the season led him to being cut.
Carlson was picked up by the Raiders and in four games has made three of four field goals and four of four extra points.
But the Vikings have also gotten contributions from undrafted rookies Holton Hill, who has 17 tackles, an interception and two forced fumbles; Mike Boone, who has 11 carries for 47 yards; and Brandon Zylstra, who has one reception for 23 yards and two punt returns and a kickoff return.
Spielman said one of the biggest successes of the season has been the coaches working with young players in key situations.
“It has been great to see our coaching staff and how they’ve developed a lot of the youth on this football team because they have played a significant role when we had so many starters out, but that is part of the NFL,” Spielman said. “I think having the coaching staff we have, they do such a great job making sure we’re prepared not only on game day but developing the talent.
“But coming into this week we have a lot of guys banged up, and I think it’s a great time for us to hopefully get a lot of these guys back on the field as we make this last stretch of the season.”
Spielman said the biggest change the team has seen is developing players from every part of the draft, not just the high picks.
“I think a couple years ago, and I put the onus on myself, that we needed to improve on college free agency,” he said. “With that being a point of emphasis we have had a lot of college free agents come in and contribute. ...We have four guys on our 53 right now that are major contributors — Adam Thielen [who leads the NFL with 78 receptions for 947 yards] was a tryout guy, C.J. Ham [eight receptions for 61 yards] was a tryout guy, Marcus Sherels [12th in the NFL in punt return yardage at 126] was a tryout guy we signed after rookie minicamp. Last week the latest guy starting to follow that trend is [Chad] Beebe [who had three receptions for 21 yards in a win over the Lions]. He came in as a tryout guy during rookie minicamp and stuck out and then was on our practice squad.
“I think it goes hand in hand with identifying the physical traits that we’re looking for, the character traits, but also what a job this coaching staff does in developing these guys and getting them ready to play.”
Race for NFC North
The Vikings have won two of the past three division titles in the NFC North, and Spielman was asked for his feelings about the team’s first half of the season.
“Each season is different, each week is different,” he said. “We go back and analyze why we won games, why we lost games, I know that’s where we’re at right now. We’re 5-3-1 and what matters is how we move forward and how we finish out the season.”
The Vikings will play back-to-back Sunday night games within the division coming off the bye. They are at Chicago Sunday and then face the Packers at home in Week 12. They’ll finish the season with games at Detroit in Week 16 before facing the Bears at home in Week 17.
The Bears and Packers, meanwhile, have two of the easiest schedules remaining in the NFC. The Packers have the easiest opponent winning percentage at 43 percent, while the Bears have the sixth easiest at 47 percent.
“I think it’s a very competitive division,” Spielman said. “I know these next two ballgames when we go to Chicago and then have Green Bay at home, both on Sunday nights, those are two critical games in the division.”
The Vikings’ schedule outside of the division the rest of the way isn’t a cake walk. They’ll travel to New England in Week 13, then to Seattle in Week 14 before facing Miami at home in Week 15. ESPN writer Bill Barnwell said on Monday that “the Vikings, who had their bye this week, have the toughest stretch of their season — and arguably of any team in the league — coming up over the next four weeks.”
Spielman said the team is ready: “I feel confident with a lot of the players we have and the coaching staff, everybody is looking for the challenge ahead of us.”
Mauer the right pick
Former Twins General Manager Terry Ryan said that looking back it seems obvious the Twins would have drafted Joe Mauer with the No. 1 overall pick in 2001, but that wasn’t clearly the choice then.
“There were some decisions because Mark Teixeira was in that draft, as was Mark Prior,” he said. “Both of those guys were college guys and people anticipated they would come up there a little quicker,” Ryan recalled Monday at Mauer’s retirement news conference. “But when all was said and done, Joe was our selection for a lot of reasons.
“We were looking for a guy that had all the skills that you’d ask for in a player, which he did, and he had all the character off the field that you would look for. That is why we took him.”
The Chicago Cubs ended up taking Prior with the No. 2 pick. Texas took Teixeira at No. 5.
Was there a final reason they chose Mauer?
“You can never find enough catching,” Ryan said. “When you find a catcher that can do what Joe can do, it kind of made the decision a little easier.”
Yes, the Twins shouldn’t have any regrets about choosing Mauer first. He ended his career a six-time All-Star, three- time batting champ and 2009 MVP.
Teixeira hit 409 home runs and was a three-time All-Star in 14 seasons, but Prior was limited to a 42-29 record in five seasons because of injuries.
When asked if Mauer met his expectations, Ryan said there is no doubt.
“I would say that when you take a guy up there you are expecting some kind of career like Joe had, and it turned out pretty good for both of us,” Ryan said. PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 11/15/18
Turnovers have Vikings coach Mike Zimmer's attention
By Mark Craig
Two years ago, the Chicago Bears tied the NFL record for fewest takeaways in a season. They had 11, matching the mark of futility set by the 0-8-1 Baltimore Colts during the strike-shortened 1982 season.
Through nine games this season, they have 24 takeaways, second behind Cleveland (25).
From 2015 to 2017, Chicago’s interception totals were eight, eight and, yes, eight again.
They have a league-leading 16 this season. And, yes, that has Vikings coach Mike Zimmer’s attention.
“And their points off turnovers are huge,” added Zimmer, referring to the league-leading 89 points Chicago has scored off turnovers. “We’re going to have to do a great job of possessing the ball and keeping it, and making sure we do a good job with being patient in a lot of ways.”
Quarterback Kirk Cousins has accounted for 11 of the Vikings’ 13 giveaways. He’s thrown five interceptions and lost six fumbles.
Zimmer said his defenders will be ratcheting up their attempts to punch at and strip the ball carriers in practice this week. Twelve Bears defenders have at least one takeaway.
“This is something that doesn’t just happen,” Bears coach Matt Nagy said. “This is something our guys are trying to do each and every play.”
Jackson like Deion?
The fourth round of last year’s draft was especially kind to the Bears. And we’re not just talking about Tarik Cohen, the runner-receiver-returner who leads the Bears in all-purpose yards (944) and is tied for the lead in receptions (37) and touchdowns (five).
Safety Eddie Jackson was the first player Bears General Manager Ryan Pace selected in that fourth round. In Week 9, Jackson did something only one other NFL player has done since 1970.
And that one other player? Hall of Famer Deion Sanders.
Against the Bills, Jackson forced, recovered and returned a fumble 65 yards for a touchdown. It was his third defensive touchdown of 65 or more yards in a two-season span, matching Deion’s fete from more than 20 years ago.
“Eddie Jackson is a little bit more of a ballhawk,” Zimmer said. “Since they added him, I think that’s helped. He’s playing with a lot more confidence.”
Go back, Khalil
The Bears had last year’s 10th-ranked defense when they traded for Raiders two-time first-team All-Pro pass rusher Khalil Mack.
What say you, Mr. Cousins?
“I certainly would have loved for him to stay in the AFC,” Cousins said. “He’s a great player, and I want as many great players on our opposing teams to be in the AFC.”
In seven games, Mack has seven sacks, four forced fumbles, five tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and a touchdown. Asked how nice it is to have Mack, Nagy laughed and said, “It’s really nice.”
Blue-collar nasty
After being told he has a lot of “humble” star players, Zimmer was asked if he’d like more of them to come with a side of “nastiness.”
“We can be nasty when we want to,” Zimmer said. “I think we’re a blue-collar football team.”
Zimmer then took a good-natured swipe at Minneapolis Miracle Man Stefon Diggs.
“Some of the offensive guys are a little bit more celebrities — Diggs,” he said with a smile. “But our guys are kind of the guys we want in here. Guys who are passionate about football. They care about the team. They want to get better. They care about one another. So, to me, that’s more important. They have their own swagger, their own nastiness, I guess. They’re good competitors.”
Injury report
Linebacker Anthony Barr (hamstring), tight end David Morgan (knee) and safety Andrew Sendejo (groin) did not practice Wednesday.
Diggs, who missed the last game because of a rib injury, was a full participant. Limited were guard Tom Compton (knee), guard Mike Remmers (lower back), cornerback Xavier Rhodes (foot) and receiver Adam Thielen (low back/calf).
PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 11/15/18
Diggs returns to practice while Barr sits out again
By Mark Craig
Receiver Stefon Diggs, who missed the Lions game because of a rib injury two Sundays ago, returned to practice today and was a full participant.
Meanwhile, linebacker Anthony Barr, who has missed the past two games, sat out again because of a hamstring injury.
Also missing practice today were tight end David Morgan (knee) and safety Andrew Sendejo (groin). Limited in practice today were guard Tom Compton (knee), guard Mike Remmers (low back), cornerback Xavier Rhodes (foot) and receiver Adam Thielen (low back/calf). On the injury report with full practice participation were Diggs and nose tackle Linval Joseph (ankle/shoulder).
PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 11/15/18
Coach Matt Nagy has made Bears unpredictable
By Andrew Krammer
Scouting report: Vikings at Bears
7:20 p.m. Sunday at Soldier Field in Chicago (Ch. 11, 100.3-FM)
About the Bears
• The Bears (6-3) ran up a 26-0 lead on the Lions before halftime Sunday en route to a 34-22 dismantling of Detroit at Soldier Field, where Chicago is 4-1 this season.
• Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is enjoying a breakout second season under first-year head coach Matt Nagy. Only eight quarterbacks have thrown more touchdown passes than Trubisky’s 19. He trails only Cam Newton for rushing yards (320) by a quarterback.
• The Bears defense has been the stabilizing force. It is in the top five in average yards allowed (319.6) and rushing yards allowed (84) while forcing 24 takeaways, leading to Chicago’s NFL- best turnover differential (plus-13).
• Running back Tarik Cohen is the Bears’ leading receiver with 435 yards on 37 catches. However, receiver Allen Robinson just returned from a two-game absence and had 133 yards and two touchdowns against the Lions.
Player to watch: OLB Khalil Mack
• Mack, the fifth-overall pick in 2014, was traded from the Oakland Raiders to the Bears on Sept. 1. Shortly after, Mack signed a six-year contract with $60 million guaranteed at signing, then making him the highest-paid defender in NFL history.
• When healthy, Mack has lived up to the hype. He leads the Bears with seven sacks, including two against the Lions, despite missing two games because of an ankle injury. According to Pro Football Focus, Mack is tied with the Vikings’ Danielle Hunter as the league’s fourth-most-efficient pass rusher off the edge.
• Bears coach Matt Nagy, who faced Mack in the AFC West, on being on the same team: “It’s real nice. He’s a really good player that we understand from the first day he got here, the way he practices, the way he flies around, the way he makes his teammates better across the board.”
Coach speak: Matt Nagy
• Nagy’s first 10 NFL coaching seasons were spent under Andy Reid, who has had seven top-10 scoring offenses in the past decade. Zimmer joked that Chicago has “800” different plays per game.
• On Trubisky’s development in Year 2: “He’s starting to feel more comfortable. Time helps with that. He’s really essentially a rookie in this system as is most of our offense. It’s the same thing for me, too, as a play caller learning these guys. I like where he’s at, but we got a ways to go.”
• On the Bears’ 24 takeaways, the second most in the NFL: “This is something that doesn’t just happen. This is something that our guys are trying to do each and every play. You’re not always going to be fortunate and make it happen, but when you do — you know how to react to it.” PUBLICATION: PIONEER PRESS DATE: 11/15/18
Vikings’ Sheldon Richardson: Everson Griffen ‘getting his confidence back’
By Chris Tomasson
Veteran defensive end Everson Griffen looked a lot better in his second game back with the Vikings than he did in his first. Teammate Sheldon Richardson figures that sort of improvement will continue.
Griffen missed five games because of a mental health issue before returning Oct. 28 against New Orleans and getting two tackles and one quarterback hurry in 37 plays. In his second game back Nov. 4 against Detroit, he had four tackles, 1 1/2 sacks and seven quarterback hurries in 52 play.
“No question, he knows it,” Richardson, a defensive tackle, said of Griffen getting the rust off. “He’s getting his confidence back. He’s come back ready to work, and the only thing he can do is get better one day at a time.”
Asked Wednesday about his improvement, Griffen said he’s taking it “one thing at a time.”
The Vikings returned to the TCO Performance Center on Monday after being off since Nov. 6 on their bye week. They conducted their first full practice Wednesday.
“I chilled with the (family),” Griffen said of the time off. “I had a good time with the fam, and that’s it.”
COUSINS’ SELF SCOUTING The bye week provided quarterback Kirk Cousins an opportunity to do some self scouting.
“We did talk about where we are ranked statistically in the league on some different things as well as some analytics of what other teams, opponents, are going to see when they look at us,” Cousins said.
Cousins said he studied plays to see if the Vikings have been doing anything on offense to tip off foes.
“We’ve got to make sure that a lot of plays look the same but are different or that plays that are the same would look different to the opponent,” he said.
BRIEFLY — The Vikings nominated defensive end Danielle Hunter for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award. Each of the 32 NFL teams nominates a player. A panel of top former players will select eight finalists, four from the NFC and four from the AFC. NFL players will vote next month on the eight, with the winner announced Feb. 2, the day before Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta.
— Coach Mike Zimmer is hopeful the Vikings picked up another explosive player in running back Ameer Abdullah, claimed off waivers last week from Detroit. “He is a guy that has great acceleration, quickness, catches the ball well, returner,” Zimmer said. “We’re just hopeful we can add another big-play piece for the offense.”
— Soldier Field is known for sometimes having less-than-ideal field conditions. Laquon Treadwell expects Vikings receivers to start Sunday’s game wearing low-stud cleats with the option of switching to longer ones if necessary. “If we get to slipping, we’ll change cleats,” he said. PUBLICATION: PIONEER PRESS DATE: 11/15/18
A Bears fan growing up, Vikings QB Kirk Cousins ready for ‘special’ trip to Soldier Field
By Chris Tomasson
Kirk Cousins was 13 years old when his family moved from the Chicago suburbs to Holland, Mich. He wondered if he would need to put aside his Bears gear and become a Detroit Lions fan.
Cousins’ father knew that wasn’t going to happen.
“He said, ‘Kirk, you can take the boy out of Chicago, you can’t take Chicago out of the boy,’ ” Cousins said recently. “We stayed Chicago sports fans when we moved to Michigan.”
Cousins stopped being a Bears fan when the Washington Redskins made him their fourth-round pick in the 2012 draft.
Now the Vikings’ quarterback Cousins, 30, will face the Bears on Sunday night in his third regular-season game at Soldier Field. He won his first two starts there with the Redskins, 24-21 in 2015 and 41-21 in 2016.
“Certainly, anytime you get to go there, it’s a special place, a lot of history,” Cousins said Wednesday. “So I love the opportunity to play at Soldier Field.”
Cousins said he was “very much a Bears fan growing up” in the northwest suburb of Barrington. He got to know several notable former players.
His father, Don, a minister, led prayer sessions with the Bears and was close friends with hall of fame linebacker Mike Singletary and former Bears defensive back Leslie Frazier, Minnesota’s head coach from 2010-13. Hall of fame running back Walter Payton, who died in 1999, lived in Barrington and his children attended Cousins’ school.
When Cousins played for the pee-wee Barrington Bears in 1998 and 1999, his father coached the offense and Singletary coached the defense.
“There were a lot of connections to the Bears in the community,” Cousins said. “Obviously, the ’85 Bears to this day are still talked about quite a bit, so that kind of lingered through the ’90s as I was growing up and lot of those guys who played on those teams stayed around and were around the city and certainly had a large legacy.”
Singletary, Payton and Frazier played on the team that defeated New England 46-10 in Super Bowl XX in January 1986, 2 1/2 years before Cousins was born.
Cousins, though, has plenty of first-hand memories from his years as a Bears fan.
“I remember the year in 2001, they went 13-3,” he said. “Jim Miller was the quarterback. They had a bunch of tight games they won. I remember the ’06 year when they went to the Super Bowl (and lost to Indianapolis). Rex Grossman was the quarterback and had a lot of great wins that year as well. Those are the two years I remember watching and really enjoying because the team I was rooting for was winning.”
Now, Cousins will face another winning Bears team. First place in the NFC North is on the line when Chicago (6-3) meets Minnesota (5-3-1). Adding to the big-game feel, kickoff was moved last week from noon to 7:20 p.m. to accommodate a national television audience on NBC.
“It’s a moment where you pinch yourself a little bit to realize you’re living a dream,” Cousins said, “and certainly playing at Soldier Field on Sunday Night Football against the Chicago Bears is one of those moments.” PUBLICATION: PIONEER PRESS DATE: 11/15/18
Bears’ Mitchell Trubisky starting to look like a franchise QB
By Dane Mizutani
When Mitchell Trubisky passed for a record-breaking six touchdowns in a Sept. 30 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, many thought it was a fluke.
But Trubisky is starting to prove he can be the franchise quarterback the Chicago Bears hoped for when they traded up to select him with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Last Sunday, Trubisky completed 23 of 30 passes for 355 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-22 win over the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field, and the Bears (6-3) sit alone atop the NFC North heading into Sunday night’s division showdown with Minnesota in Chicago.
“His command of the offense is probably the biggest thing,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said Wednesday. “He’s able to go through progressions more. I know when they’re in their no huddle they’re telling him what plays to call and things like that. It’s a little bit of that stuff.”
As he begins to grasp the complexities of new coach Matt Nagy’s innovative offense, Trubisky has become perhaps the biggest reason for its success.
“He’s really, essentially, a rookie in this system,” Nagy said Wednesday. “Just being in the offense for the first time, he’s growing, he’s getting better, he’s feeling more comfortable in the system. I like where he’s a right now. We still have a ways to go.”
In nine games, Trubisky already has racked up 2,304 yards and 19 passing touchdowns, both of which far surpass the totals from his rookie season. He also has run for 320 yards and three scores.
“There’s been times he’s had some free runners and it looks like they’re telling him, ‘Hey. You have to get the ball out,’ ” Zimmer said. “There’s other times he looks like Fran Tarkenton scrambling. Some of the runs he’s made are unbelievable.”
Trubisky’s eight-yard touchdown run against the New England Patriots last month certainly comes to mind. Trubisky took a snap out of the shotgun, scrambled to his right, pivoted to his left, then circumnavigated pretty much the entire red zone before finding a running lane toward the end zone.
Dane Mizutani ✔ @DaneMizutani Mike Zimmer credited Mitch Trubisky's mobility: "There’s other times where he looks like Fran Tarkenton scrambling. Some of the runs he’s made are unbelievable." Here's an example of what he's talking about. #Vikings
Sporting News Canada @sportingnewsca The longest 8-yard TD run of all-time (or at least felt like it) by Mitch Trubisky gives the #Bears the lead over the #Patriots.
“That guy is making some plays with his arms and legs,” Vikings defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson said. “We have to try to contain him.” Trubisky played only one season a a full-time starter at North Carolina before entering the draft.
“He’s doing really well,” defensive end Stephen Weatherly added. “He’s adjusting to his scheme very well, just making plays and doing what he needs to.”
Still, Nagy said he has intentionally held plays back, wary of giving the second-year QB too much, too early. There are still new wrinkles being implemented on a week-to-week basis, the coach said.
“We tried to load him up and see what he could digest and handle, and then pull back a little bit and see what we liked and try to fit in things that way,” Nagy said. “It changes as far as how much we feel like we can do based off of the results.”
The results over the last month and a half speak for themselves. In fact, since the six-touchdown performance, which served as a coming out party, Trubisky has eclipsed the 300-yard mark three times in five games and only appears to be getting better.
“He’s very talented,” Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins said. “He’s got all the tools in terms of the strong arm and athleticism and being a great teammate. Everything I’ve heard about him is that he’s the right kind of guy. He’s put himself in a great position and played really well through this year. He’s a big reason why they are where they are and our defense will have their hands full trying to contain him.” PUBLICATION: PIONEER PRESS DATE: 11/15/18
Vikings WR Stefon Diggs back at practice, LB Anthony Barr remains out
By Chris Tomasson
The Vikings got back two starters at Wednesday’s practice, but two remained out.
Returning for the first full workout after the bye week were wide receiver Stefon Diggs (rib), who sat out Nov. 4 against Detroit, and left guard Tom Compton (knee), who has missed two straight games. Diggs was listed as a full participant and Compton was limited.
Not practicing were starting linebacker Anthony Barr (hamstring), who has been out the past two games, and starting safety Andrew Sendejo (groin), who has missed four in a row. Also out was reserve tight end David Morgan, who suffered a knee injury against the Lions.
Also listed as limited were cornerback Xavier Rhodes (foot), wide receiver Adam Thielen (low back, calf) and guard Mike Remmers (low back). Rhodes, who sat out Oct. 28 against New Orleans and had his snaps reduced against the Lions, said Monday he was feeling “a little better” after the bye week.
The Vikings (5-3-1) play at Chicago (6-3) on Sunday night in the battle for first place in the NFC North.
“I think we are getting healthier, but I won’t know until later on in the week,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said before Wednesday’s practice.
Zimmer said the bye week came at a good time.
“The biggest thing for us during the bye was to get (players) off their feet,” Zimmer said. “I know some guys worked out. It’s about trying to get your legs back. … You get to the point where, ‘Man, I just need a break.’ We got the break, this next week and hopefully they’ll feel refreshed. I know they were tried going into (the Detroit game), I thought.”
The only player listed Wednesday on the Bears’ injury report was tight end Dion Sims, who missed practice because of a concussion. PUBLICATION: PIONEER PRESS DATE: 11/15/18
Tom Compton joined Vikings after Bears let him walk
By Chris Tomasson
After playing last season for Chicago, guard Tom Compton became a free agent. Did the Bears try to re-sign him?
“No,” he said. “They were pretty up front about that.”
Compton, who played with the Bears on a one-year, $1.85 million contract, signed a one-year, $900,000 deal with the Vikings. It was an opportunity for the Rosemount native to return home and play with quarterback Kirk Cousins, a good friend from they both played in Washington from 2012-15.
The Vikings play at Chicago on Sunday night and Compton doesn’t know yet if he’ll suit up. The starting left guard has missed the past two games with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee, suffered Oct. 21 against the New York Jets.
If Compton does play, there won’t be any added motivation against his former team. “I can’t really let that affect me one way or the other,” he said. “It might have been different if we played them Week 1 or something.”
Compton started five of the 11 games he played last season for the 5-11 Bears. Chicago is 6-3 thanks in large part to the acquisition of star linebacker Khalil Mack from Oakland and the maturation of second-year quarterback Mitch Trubisky.
Trubisky was taken with the No. 2 pick in the 2017 NFL draft after being a starter for just one season at North Carolina. After passing for 2,193 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 starts last season, he has 2,304 yards and 19 TDs in nine games.
“Getting the game reps for him is the most important thing for his progress,” Compton said. “Obviously, he didn’t play a whole lot in college, and he’s a guy that’s going to take it and run with it. He’s a hard worker, and I think the more reps he gets, the more dangerous he’ll be.”
BYE WEEK REST Last Sunday’s bye seemed to come at a good time for the Vikings, who were without four starters in a 24-9 win over Detroit on Nov. 4. While Compton’s status is unclear, wide receiver Stefon Diggs (rib), linebacker Anthony Barr (hamstring) and safety Andrew Sendejo (groin) are strong candidates to return this week.
Barr has missed the past two games, and Sendejo the past four.
Diggs, who was hurt Oct. 28 against New Orleans before sitting against the Lions, told NFL Media that he practiced Monday, adding, “I know I will play” at Chicago.
The bye week, cornerback Xavier Rhodes said, “helped us get our bodies back together, to get prepared for the week, for the next game. It’s a long season. You need that break to get your body back working, and back somewhat close to 100 percent.”
Rhodes missed a 30-20 loss to the Saints on Oct. 28 because of a foot injury, then played reduced snaps against the Lions. He said he’s feeling a “little better” after the bye.
BRIEFLY — Center Pat Elflein said he’s back to “100 percent” after ankle and shoulder issues sidelined him from the final regular-season game last season through the first two games this year. “Coming back from injuries, it’s tough and you kind of have to deal with them,” he said. “They don’t just go away when you start playing again, so I’m just learning how to manage those each week, and it’s a new twist to my routine. But I’m feeling really good.”
— After a difficult start to the season, the Vikings are No. 5 in the NFL in total defense. The Vikings, third in 2016 and first last year, haven’t been in the top five in total defense for three straight seasons since doing it from 1968-72. PUBLICATION: PIONEER PRESS DATE: 11/15/18
Vikings legend Alan Page will put politics aside, accept Presidential Medal of Freedom
By Chris Tomasson
When Alan Page heads to the White House this week, he plans to put politics aside.
The Vikings hall of fame defensive end and the first African-American justice to serve on the Minnesota Supreme Court, Page was named by President Donald Trump last weekend as one of seven recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest honor for a civilian.
Page has been critical of Trump. Last year, he told the Pioneer Press that Trump’s “administration has played to people’s worst fears and has played to people’s racial insecurities.” Asked then what he would say if he had the chance to speak with Trump, Page said he would be “inclined not to want to talk to him” because “you’d probably get more reaction out of the paint on the wall.”
Page will meet Trump for the first time at Friday’s White House ceremony.
“That’s going to be an experience that I’m going to have to go through,” Page said in a phone interview. “My vision of the world is the same today as it was a year ago, and the year before that. But this medal, this honor is far more important than my personal beliefs, my personal likes and dislikes.
“The politics of it, that’s something that at this point is not important to me. What’s important is trying to make this world a better place and literally that is my focus.”
Page, 73, said he learned in mid-October that he would be the recipient of the medal, essentially a lifetime achievement award.
Page played in the NFL from 1967 to 1981, including 1967-78 with the Vikings, and was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988. He served on the Minnesota Supreme Court from 1993 to 2016. He and his late wife, Diane, have raised more than $14 million for college scholarships through the Page Education Foundation launched in 1988.
“My reaction (to getting the award) was pretty much the same reaction I’ve had with most of the honors I’ve received,” Page said. “It was, ‘How does that help me do the things that Diane and I have worked so hard to do over time? How can it be used to lift other people up?'”
Receiving news of the medal was bittersweet for Page because it closely followed his wife’s death on Sept. 29 after a battle with breast cancer.
“It breaks my heart that she can’t be a part of it and she didn’t know about it,” said Page, his voice cracking.
Page hopes recognition surrounding the award can draw awareness to the foundation, which annually holds fundraisers — the most recent being in September at U.S. Bank Stadium — to help children learn and make the world more inclusive.
“Trying to insure that every child has the opportunity to learn,” Page said. “The work that both of us have done with respect to racial, gender and social justice, trying to insure that everybody gets treated equally and fairly and to shine a light on those who helped us get here, helped us do the things that we’ve done. We all stand on the shoulders of somebody in accomplishing whatever we do.”
A native of Canton, Ohio, Page attended Notre Dame on a football scholarship and joined the Vikings during the civil rights movement of the 1960s. After the award was announced, Page posted a 664-word statement in which he thanked a number of people, made note of civil rights heroes and wrote, “I conclude the honor is not really about me.”
Nevertheless, Page’s daughter, Georgi, said her father has inspired many.
“So many people have met my dad as he’s traveled around the state speaking about the value of education, or been touched in some way by his and Diane’s work, through the foundation especially,” she said.
Page was allowed to invite 15 guests to Friday’s ceremony. Three of his four children will attend, including Georgi Page, as well as other relatives.
While Page has been critical of Trump, Georgi Page believes her father will put that aside on his trip to Washington.
“Conventional wisdom might say, ‘Oh, this doesn’t really square with Alan Page,’” she said. “He has his eye on sort of a higher vision, and I think (with) this award he probably feels that it transcends politics and it’s important to put a message and a mission out there that will hopefully inspire people.” PUBLICATION: Vikings.com DATE: 11/15/18
NOTEBOOK: Vikings Wary of Bears Defense That Leads NFL in Total Points off Turnovers
By Eric Smith
EAGAN, Minn. — Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer constantly preaches that whichever team wins the turnover battle on Sundays is usually the one that walks out of the stadium with a win.
That talking point might be as crucial as ever heading into a primetime showdown against the Bears.
“Their points off of turnovers are huge … I think second in the league,” Zimmer said. “We are going to have to do a great job of possessing the ball and keeping it.
“Making sure that we do a good job with being patient in a lot of ways,” Zimmer added.
Chicago’s defense ranks among the top of the league in numerous statistical categories, as the Bears are second in rushing yards allowed per game (84.0), fourth in total yards allowed per game (319.6) and tied for fourth in points allowed per game (19.4).
But it’s the takeaway numbers that have helped the Bears race out to a 6-3 record while currently occupying the top spot in the NFC North.
Chicago ranks second in the league with 24 takeaways (a league-high 16 interceptions to go along with eight fumble recoveries), and the Bears have cashed in after taking the ball away.
The Bears lead the NFL with 89 total points off turnovers, and the breakdown is below:
-Four defensive touchdowns (tied for the league lead) = 28 points
-Seven offensive touchdowns after takeaways = 49 points
-Four field goals after turnovers by the opposing offense = 12 points
“That’s really big. I think when you have a defense that opportunistic and that gets sacks, changes field position, when they get takeaways, it’s very, very important that you as an offense get production out of that,” said Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy. “You want to start off by definitely getting points, but then we talk about turning the points into 6s and not 3s.
“When you do that, your chances go up so high of winning the game,” Nagy added. “Again, we’ve done a pretty good job of it this year, but there’s a lot of games left, and we still want to keep it going in regards to talking about it and making that happen and working together offensively, defensively and [on] special teams.”
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins said there is no doubt Minnesota’s offense is aware of the opportunistic Bears defense that awaits Sunday night at Soldier Field.
“Very much something we talk about and are aware of, I think it’s one of the biggest statistics to point to as to why the Bears are playing at the level that they are,” Cousins said. “When you create turnovers, that is a critical factor in winning ball games.
“I don’t know that I drop back, saying, ‘Don’t fumble, don’t fumble,’ or ‘Don’t throw a pick.’ You still have to play, but you’re aware that this is one of the ways that they’ve been able to win football games, by creating turnovers again and again,” Cousins added. “At this point in the year, it’s not a coincidence or anomaly, it’s because they’re a good defense and that’s what they do.”
The Bears lead the league with three pick-sixes — one each by cornerback Prince Amukamara, linebacker Leonard Floyd and linebacker Khalil Mack.
Vikings wide receiver Laquon Treadwell explained how Chicago’s defense works together to create turnovers.
“They have Mack and a couple other guys, too, so they’re good up front,” Treadwell said. “They play a soft coverage, so it forces the quarterback to get the ball out fast.
“You have to be on top of your breaks because any tipped ball, they can get their hands on it because their front is getting to the quarterback,” Treadwell added. “They play a soft zone and do a good job of not letting you get anything deep.”
The Vikings, meanwhile, have scored 40 total points off 14 takeaways (three defensive touchdowns, one offensive score and four field goals). Minnesota is also tied for the second-most defensive scores with three.
Chicago leads the NFL with a plus-13 turnover margin, while Minnesota ranks 16th with a turnover differential of plus-1.
“We have to be aware of it. Hopefully we can win the turnover margin,” Cousins said. “I think when the game is over and the dust settles, I’m sure it will be a very telling stat.”
A dynamic duo
The Vikings will have to deal with multiple threats in Chicago’s backfield on Sunday night.
Bears running back Jordan Howard leads Chicago with 460 yards and five touchdowns, while quarterback Mitchell Trubisky has 320 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
Running back Tarik Cohen has chipped in 244 rushing yards and a pair of scores to help the Bears rank 12th in the NFL with 120.1 rushing yards per game.
Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen said Minnesota’s defense will have to deal with both Howard, who is more of a bruiser, along with the shifty Cohen.
“Howard is going to run the ball more downhill … he’s more of a downhill runner, but he can get the ball outside,” Griffen said. “But Tarik Cohen, his mentality is to get the ball outside and hit the edge. Find room and hit the edge and create space.
“We have two different challenges to face, and they also have a running quarterback, so that’s another dynamic in itself,” Griffen added.
Pro Bowl voting is now open
Vikings fans can help send their favorite players to the 2019 Pro Bowl in Orlando.
Voting for the annual all-star game is now open, and fans can vote here.
The Vikings were represented by seven players in 2018: linebacker Anthony Barr, Griffen, defensive tackle Linval Joseph, cornerback Xavier Rhodes, tight end Kyle Rudolph, safety Harrison Smith and wide receiver Adam Thielen.
Practice Photos: Wednesday, November 14 View images from the Vikings practice in preparation for the Chicago Bears at the TCO Performance Center on Wednesday, November 14.
1 / 83 Injury reports
For the Vikings: David Morgan (knee), Barr (hamstring) and Andrew Sendejo (groin) did not practice. Mike Remmers (low back), Tom Compton (knee), Rhodes (foot) and Thielen (low back/calf) were limited. Stefon Diggs (rib) and Joseph (ankle/shoulder) were full participants.
For the Bears: Dion Sims (concussion) did not practice. PUBLICATION: Vikings.com DATE: 11/15/18
State of 8: Cousins ‘Ready’ for Stretch Run
By Craig Peters
EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings have returned from their bye week and know they have at least seven games remaining in 2018.
Kirk Cousins would like to make it more than that by helping Minnesota make the NFC Playoffs in his first season with the Vikings.
“It was good to get some time off to rest and recover,” Cousins said. “At the same time, I’m ready to go now for this stretch run of seven games. Hopefully we play well enough that we play beyond that.”
Teams started going on byes as early as Week 4 (Panthers and Redskins). The Chiefs and Rams will be the final two teams to have their bye (Week 12) in 2018.
When the Vikings quarterback was asked about the timing this year, Cousins said he likes when byes fall closer to a season’s midpoint than earlier.
“All I know is I’ve had a bye after Week 4, and I’ve had a bye after Week 9,” Cousins said. “I’d much rather have the bye after Week 9. I think it helps to have something to look forward to as you’re pushing through the early stretch of the season and then to work from a place of rest going forward to the end of the season. I think it helps. Ultimately, this season will tell if it came at the right time.”
In addition to the opportunity for players who have been grinding since training camp to rest, a bye week can offer a team the opportunity to self-scout and look for areas where it can still improve.
“We did talk about where we are ranked statistically on some different things, as well as some analytics of what other teams, opponents are going to see when they look at us,” Cousins said. “That was helpful to see. We’ll keep trying to improve in those areas.
“It was everything from third-and-4-to-6 to trying to be better on first downs in the red zone, little situations like that where we’re going to look to improve,” Cousins continued. “If we do that, hopefully it leads to better offensive performances and wins.”
The Vikings have struggled more at converting third-and-4s (one conversion on seven pass attempts) than third-and-10s (three conversions on seven pass attempts).
On third-and-6, the Vikings have four conversions on 13 pass attempts, but they have eight combined conversions on 16 passes that have been attempted on third-and-7 or third-and-8.
Cousins said the Vikings also wanted to make sure they’re not tipping their hands too often.
“We want to look at situations where we’re heavy run or pass, just try to be aware of where we’re giving any tips or tells to our opponent and try to get them off that trail,” Cousins said. “There’s a lot of clues that defenses are looking at. Coordinators on defense use position on field, formations, motions, all that pre-snap information to get a tell of what’s going to happen post- snap. We’ve got to make sure that a lot of our plays that look the same are different or the plays that are the same look different to an opponent.”
Here are three other topics covered by Cousins during Wednesday’s media availability:
1. On his reaction to seeing Khalil Mack traded to Chicago before the season
Khalil Mack has caused plenty of havoc for the Bears, helping Chicago, which last won more than seven games in a season in 2013, open this year at 6-3.
The two-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler had a 27-yard interception return for a touchdown in his Bears debut and has forced a league-leading four fumbles in just seven games. Mack leads Chicago with 7.0 sacks.
“I certainly would have loved for him to stay in the AFC,” Cousins joked. “He’s a great player, and I want as many great players on opposing teams to be in the AFC, but you understand that no matter what your schedule is, there are going to be great players in every division, so we’ve got our hands full with him, but they’ve got a few other really good players on defense.
“I have a great deal of respect for their defensive coordinator, Coach [Vic] Fangio,” he added. “They’re statistically ranked very high, and that goes beyond just the addition of one player.”
2. Chicagoland connections
Cousins played high school football in Michigan, but he lived in the Chicagoland area until he was 13 and was “very much a Bears fan growing up.”
The connections run deep.
“[Hall of Fame linebacker and former Vikings assistant] Mike Singletary was my youth football coach, so there were some ties there,” Cousins said. “[Hall of Fame running back] Walter Payton lived in our hometown (Barrington), and his kids went to my school. There was close proximity to those guys. My dad did some chapels for the Bears.”
Cousins said he attended camps led by Singletary and former Vikings Head Coach Leslie Frazier and recalled the lore of the ’85 Bears lingering into the ’90s (Cousins was born in 1988).
3. On the ‘home’ turf
Cousins led Washington to victories at Chicago in Decembers of 2015 and 2016, going a combined 42-of-60 passing (70 percent) for 570 yards with two passing touchdowns and an interception for a rating of 104.2. He also rushed nine times for 43 yards and three touchdowns in those two games.
Cousins tuned in to watch the Bears defeat the Lions 34-22 and noted the greenness of the turf at Soldier Field.
“In the past, and I’ve played in December the past two times,” Cousins said. “I’ve also played there in a preseason game in August. Certainly, when you get later in the year, all fields can be different than what they were in the beginning of the year.
“By the looks of it, just watching the game last week, the field looked really nice,” he added. “I know they put down some new grass, and it looked like they did. It looked like a really good- quality field, so we’ll see what it is when we go Sunday, but regardless, we’ll make sure we have the right type of cleats and be ready to go.” PUBLICATION: Vikings.com DATE: 11/15/18
Presser Points: Zimmer Says Vikings Refreshed After Bye
By Lindsey Young
EAGAN, Minn. – Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer had a little extra pep in his step Wednesday morning, and he’s hoping his team does, too.
The Vikings are coming off some much-needed rest during the bye week, and Zimmer said the main goal was to rejuvenate and see players physically recharge.
“The biggest thing for us during the bye was to get off their feet. I know some guys worked out, but it’s about trying to get your legs back,” Zimmer told Twin Cities media members.
Zimmer recalled old CBA rules when teams ran two-a-day practices during training camp and “by the time you start the season, you’re all beat up.”
“Honestly, I know the football team felt this way, when you go five weeks in the preseason and you’ve got nine games, that’s 14 weeks, three-and-a-half months, whatever that is, you get to the point where, ‘Man, I just need a break,’ ” Zimmer said. “We got the break this [past] week, and hopefully they’ll feel refreshed. I know they were tired going into last week, I thought.”
The bye week was aptly timed for the Vikings, who are entering a second half of the season that features four divisional games and three prime-time games over the next four weeks, two of which are on the road.
“I think the biggest thing is that we come back refreshed, excited about this seven-game stretch that we have coming up. I’m excited about this opportunity that we have against the Bears, and we’ll try to play our best football of the year at this time.”
Here are four other topics Zimmer addressed during his podium session:
1. Adding Ameer Abdullah
The Vikings added Ameer Abdullah to the roster over the bye week.
The former Lions running back said Monday that he’s excited for the opportunity with the Vikings, and Zimmer is just as positive about adding Abdullah to the roster.
“He’s a guy that has great acceleration, quickness, catches the ball well, a returner,” Zimmer said. “We’re just hopeful that we added another big-play piece to the offense, another thing that Flip (Offensive Coordinator John DeFilippo) can use.
“Similar to what the Bears are doing with adding some of their [quick offensive] guys, so maybe we can add a little bit more speed,” Zimmer added. “Maybe we use a [him on] a little bit more unique things with some of the things we’re doing.”
2. A blue-collar football team
Danielle Hunter has been having a career season, but the defensive end continues to demonstrate humility and doesn’t engage much with the spotlight, much like the rest of his teammates.
Zimmer was asked if he wants his players to be more “superstar” or more “nasty” on defense.
“Well, we can be nasty when we want to. I think we’re a blue-collar football team,” Zimmer said.
“Some of the offensive guys are a little bit more celebrities – [Stefon] Diggs,” he added with a laugh. “But you know, our guys are the kind of guys we want in here. Guys that are passionate about football, they care about the team, they want to get better, they care about one another, so to me, that’s more important. They have their own swagger … they’re good competitors.”
3. Expecting new plays from Nagy
The Vikings are well-accustomed to facing the division-rival Bears, but this will be the first time Minnesota plays a Chicago squad under the direction of Head Coach Matt Nagy.
Nagy most recently served as the Chiefs offensive coordinator (2016-17), and Zimmer said earlier in his press conference that he sees some similarities of Kansas City’s offense this year in Chicago.
When asked if he’s seen enough of Nagy’s play calling to anticipate what he might see at Soldier Field Sunday night, Zimmer said he knows that he’ll get some new looks – but that’s just the nature of the game.
“Well, we’re going to get new plays. There’s no doubt in my mind we’re going to get new plays,” Zimmer said. “But I mean, they’ve got their core group of plays that they’re going to run. But every week you’re going to get new plays, you’re going to get new formations, you’re going to get new personnel groups. That’s part of the NFL.”
4. Vikings ‘getting healthier’
The Vikings bye week especially was well-timed for players rehabbing injuries. Zimmer was asked if he expects to have a “full arsenal” for Sunday’s game, and he said, “I don’t know yet.”
“I think we’re getting healthier, but I won’t know until later on in the week,” he added. PUBLICATION: Vikings.com DATE: 11/15/18
Danielle Hunter Nominated for Sportsmanship Award
By Craig Peters
EAGAN, Minn. — Another week, another designation for Danielle Hunter.
The NFC Player of the Week for his dominating performance (3.5 sacks, a 32-yard fumble return for a touchdown) against Detroit in Week 9 has been tabbed as the Vikings nominee for the 2018 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award, the team and NFL announced Wednesday.
Hunter, a third-round pick in 2015, has maintained his humble nature as his success has increased.
Sportsmanship has run through Hunter’s veins before they became so pronounced, dating back to youth league games when he helped opponents return to their feet after tackling them.
When Hunter was shown on the video board at U.S. Bank Stadium in the waning moments of Minnesota’s 24-9 win over Detroit, teammates motioned for the crowd to give him a loud ovation, but Hunter encouraged teammates to stop their promotion.
Each of the 32 teams has nominated a player for the award, which recognizes “players around the league who exemplify outstanding sportsmanship on the field” through “fair play, respect for the game and opponents and integrity in competition.”
The award was created in 2014 in honor of the late founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pro Football Hall of Famer Art Rooney, Sr.
The finalists will be evaluated by NFL Legends Warrick Dunn, Curtis Martin, Karl Mecklenburg and Leonard Wheeler. The panel will select four finalists from AFC teams and four finalists from NFC teams who will be listed on the Pro Bowl ballot that players will use to cast votes on Dec. 14.
The winner of the fifth-annual NFL Sportsmanship Award will be determined by votes of current NFL players. From the eight finalists, each team’s players will submit a consensus vote of their choice for the winner. As in Pro Bowl voting, a team cannot vote for its own player.
The player selected will be announced during the nationally televised NFL Honors show on Feb. 2, on the eve of Super Bowl LIII. The winner will receive a $25,000 donation from the NFL Foundation to a charity of his choice and be presented with a trophy.
2018 Nominees
NFC North
Bears: Cody Whitehair
Lions: Don Muhlbach
Packers: Tramon Williams
Vikings: Danielle Hunter
NFC East
Cowboys: Dak Prescott
Eagles: Carson Wentz
Giants: Rhett Ellison
Redskins: Vernon Davis
NFC South
Buccaneers: Lavonte David
Falcons: Alex Mack
Panthers: Julius Peppers
Saints: Drew Brees
NFC West
Cardinals: Corey Peters
49ers: Joe Staley
Seahawks: Tyler Lockett
Rams:
AFC North
Bengals: A.J. Green
Browns: Joel Bitonio
Ravens: Eric Weddle
Steelers: David DeCastro
AFC East
Bills: Kyle Williams
Dolphins: Frank Gore
Jets: Steve McLendon
Patriots: Matthew Slater
AFC South
Colts: Andrew Luck
Jaguars: Calais Campbell
Texans: Johnathan Joseph
Titans: Marcus Mariota
AFC West
Broncos: Domata Peko
Chargers: Antonio Gates
Chiefs: Sammy Watkins
Raiders: Derek Carr
Past winners
2017—Luke Kuechly, Panthers
2016—Frank Gore, Colts
2015—Charles Woodson, Raiders
2014—Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals PUBLICATION: Vikings.com DATE: 11/15/18
How to Watch & Listen to Vikings at Bears in Week 11
By Craig Peters
EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings will visit the Bears at 7:20 p.m. (CT) Sunday in the first of two head-to-head contests in 2018.
The game is scheduled to air nationally on NBC’s Sunday Night Football after being flexed into the prime-time slot because of its intrigue and significance.
The Vikings (5-3-1, 1-0-1 NFC North) trail the Bears (6-3, 1-1) by half a game in the standings with seven left to play. Minnesota and Chicago have four remaining division games apiece, including this one and the season finale at U.S. Bank Stadium that is scheduled for Dec. 30.
The Bears have won three in a row and are 4-1 in home games this season. The Vikings have won four of their past five games and are 2-1-1 on the road in 2018.
Here are the ways to watch and listen to this week’s game.
NATIONAL TV BROADCAST
Kickoff: 7:20 p.m. (CT)
NBC (KARE 11 in Minneapolis/St. Paul)
Play-by-Play: Al Michaels
Analyst: Cris Collinsworth
Sideline Reporter: Michele Tafoya
LOCAL RADIO
KFAN 100.3-FM/KTLK-AM 1130
Play-by-play: Paul Allen
Analyst: Pete Bercich
Sideline Reporters: Greg Coleman and Ben Leber
Radio Pre-game Show: Mike Mussman | 5 p.m. (CT) on KFAN/KTLK; 6 p.m. throughout the Vikings Radio Network
KFAN and KTLK serve as the flagship stations for the five-state Vikings Radio Network.
NATIONAL RADIO
Westwood One
Play-by-play: Kevin Kugler
Analyst: Jason Taylor
SATELLITE RADIO
Sirius: 81 or Streaming 819 (MIN); 83 or Streaming 805 (CHI)
XM: 226 or Streaming 819 (MIN); 225 or Streaming 805 (CHI)
NFL GAME PASS
NFL Game Pass provides access to replays of every game, the NFL Films Archive and more for fans in the United States. International fans who subscribe to NFL Game Pass can watch games live. Click here for a free trial.
DIRECTV NFL SUNDAY TICKET.TV
NFL SUNDAY TICKET.TV provides live streaming service for customers who cannot get DIRECTV where they live. Eligibility is based on location, residence type or enrollment in any university in the U.S.
The service allows fans to stream all live, out-of-market NFL regular-season games every Sunday (based on customer’s device location) that are broadcast on FOX and CBS. The service is available on computers, tablets, smartphones, gaming consoles or streaming devices.
Three different packages are available.
Click here or visit NFLSUNDAYTICKET.TV/VIKINGS for more information. PUBLICATION: Vikings.com DATE: 11/15/18
Gov. Dayton Honors Late Wife of Alan Page With ‘Diane Sims Page Day’
By Lindsey Young
MINNEAPOLIS – It seemed fitting that the first public event to honor the memory of Diane Sims Page featured a room full of Page Scholars.
Diane, wife of Hall of Fame defensive tackle and retired Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page, passed away on Sept. 29 after a battle with breast cancer.
On Wednesday, Diane was honored by Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, who declared Nov. 14, 2018, as Diane Sims Page Day.
Nearly 100 current and former students who have received scholarships from the Page Education Foundation attended the presentation at the University of St. Thomas Wednesday night to honor a woman who has made such an impact on their lives.
Merone Melekin, who is Gov. Dayton’s Assistant Chief of Staff of Scheduling, presented the proclamation to Justice Page on behalf of Gov. Dayton, who was unable to attend the event in person. Melekin is also a Page Scholar alum.
Melekin recalled her personal experience with the Page Education Foundation and specifically with Diane. She recounted her first in-person interaction with Diane several years ago. Diane remembered specific details from Melekin’s application, even though thousands of students have passed through the program, and made a personal connection.
“I realized her value and the value of the Page Education Foundation in students like myself and other students who didn’t realize that they had an opportunity,” Melekin said before inviting Justice Page to join her at the podium to receive the proclamation.
Justice Page thanked Melekin and the rest of the Page Scholars present and called them the “living example of Diane’s fierce determination to ensure justice – social justice, gender justice, racial justice for all people.”
“I can hear [Diane] telling me now, ‘Say thank you’ to all of the Page Scholars,” Justice Page added.
Justice Page encouraged the scholars to continue to live out Diane’s legacy and to remember the opportunities that they had received in order to provide similar opportunity for those who follow behind.
“She was an incredible woman, an incredible mother and an incredible wife,” Justice Page said, his voice heavy with emotion. “And she was the heart and soul of this foundation. She is no longer with us, but her spirit lives on.”
Justice Page identified himself as the “luckiest guy in the world” for having met Diane nearly 50 years ago. He told of their storybook love story, the way a “gorgeous woman, by pure serendipity,” met Justice Page in the lobby of General Mills and told him about the volunteer work she did with the Boys Club.
“When that happened, it didn’t occur to me that, here we are 47 years later, that we would have an organization of people volunteering, serving others, making life better – or, I should say, creating hope for those who maybe don’t have any hope,” Justice Page said. “I couldn’t have dreamed of it then, but in retrospect, I should have expected nothing less.
“She loved me, she encouraged me, she supported me and allowed me to become more than what I might otherwise have been,” he later added. “And I am eternally grateful for that.”
In closing, Justice Page asked Melekin to convey his deepest gratitude to Gov. Dayton.
“It has been a difficult [six] weeks, and this is one of the brightest days since she left us,” Page said. “From the bottom of my heart, I want to say ‘thank you’ to Governor Dayton for honoring her in this way.”
The following are excerpts from the proclamation. To read the document in its entirety, click here.
WHEREAS: Diane was one of a generation of women who selflessly proved you can "do it all;" and
[…]
WHEREAS: Diane was a true partner in Alan's successes, in his first career as a Hall of Fame professional football player for the Minnesota Vikings, and in his second career as the first African American Justice of the Supreme Court and
[…]
WHEREAS: Over the past 30 years, under Diane's leadership as its volunteer Executive Director, the Page Education Foundation has awarded over $15 million in scholarships to over 7,000 Minnesota students of color. Importantly, Page Scholars have provided almost 500,000 hours of volunteer service to 325 community organizations and schools across the state, positively impacting tens of thousands of younger students who they have mentored; and
WHEREAS: Many Page Scholars have gone on to become leaders in their chosen fields and have made tremendous contributions to our state and their communities, where they continue to serve as mentors and role models; and
WHEREAS: Diane exhibited the best of what it means to be a Minnesotan, using her kind, generous and seemingly boundless energy to seek out opportunities to serve her community and worked tirelessly to make our state a more just and inclusive place for all Minnesotans.
PUBLICATION: Vikings.com DATE: 11/15/18
Lunchbreak: Carr Lists Cousins-Thielen Among NFL’s Top QB-WR Duos
By Lindsey Young
Kirk Cousins and Adam Thielen have demonstrated plenty of chemistry on the field this season.
In his first nine games with the Vikings, Cousins has connected with Thielen 78 times for 947 yards. Overall, Cousins has thrown for 2,685 yards and 17 touchdowns, seven of which have been caught by Thielen.
In his weekly column for NFL.com, David Carr ranked the league’s top five QB-WR duos and slated Cousins-Thielen at No. 2 behind the Saints Drew Brees and Michael Thomas. Carr wrote:
This might not be a popular choice, but Thielen’s numbers are almost identical to Thomas’ heading into Week 11. While Thomas has been exceptional the last month, Thielen has been steady since Week 1 and became the only player in NFL history with 100 receiving yards in each of the first eight games of a season. This success can be attributed to his route-running and excellent hands.
Carr added that Thielen is, in his opinion, “the best route runner on this list.”
Thielen has brought out of the best in Cousins so far in 2018. When targeting Thielen, the first-year Minnesota quarterback is completing 75.7 percent of his passing attempts with seven touchdown passes, one interception and a 122.1 passer rating, according to Next Gen Stats. With everything that this pair has accomplished so far, the Vikings combo deserved this spot.
The final three duos on Carr’s list were the Steelers Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown, the Packers Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams, and the Texans Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins.
In his individual offensive player rankings, Carr listed Thielen at No. 8 and highlighted the Vikings upcoming divisional game on Sunday Night Football.
Coming off a bye week, Thielen and the Vikings head into a huge divisional bout with the Bears, who rank fourth-best in both yards and points allowed. Thielen needs to have a big game for the Vikings to close the gap in the division.
Establishing run game could help Vikings in outdoor games
Vikings running back Dalvin Cook returned with a force after missing five games with a hamstring injury.
Cook exploded for a 70-yard run against the Lions and added a boost to Minnesota’s run game, which struggled out of the gate this season but slowly has gained momentum. Brian Hall wrote recently for the Associated Press that a strong showing by the Vikings run game could benefit them in upcoming outdoor contests:
Dalvin Cook's rush through the left side of the line for 70 yards last week was the longest gain of his professional career, an early game boost for the Minnesota Vikings in an important victory over Detroit before their bye.
That was the type of big running play that has been missing in most of Minnesota's games this year, a 22.05 mph burst that was clocked by the NFL's Next Gen Stats as the fastest in the league in 2018.
That also demonstrated what the Vikings will need more of down the stretch with a daunting schedule ahead.
Over the next four weeks, the Vikings will play outdoors at Chicago (Week 11), at New England (Week 13) and at Seattle (Week 14).
Hall quoted Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer, who said the following in a session with Twin Cities media members before the bye:
“I do think with some of these games as it starts to get colder, it is going to be more of a factor. I think we’re getting better at a lot of the areas in the running game. We have to continue searching for more ways to pound the ball.”
Cook and [Latavius] Murray combined for 120 rushing yards against the Lions. The Vikings have averaged 124 rushing yards over the past four games, up from 65.8 yards per game on the ground over the first five weeks.
[…]
The Vikings also claimed running back Ameer Abdullah last week after he was waived by the Lions. Abdullah, a second-round draft pick in 2015, only appeared in three games this year and carried the ball once. He averaged 3.8 yards per attempt in three seasons as the primary ball carrier, when he wasn't injured, before being replaced by rookie Kerryon Johnson this season.
* Coller: Abdullah could make ‘immediate impact’ on special teams*
When the Vikings signed Abdullah earlier this week, the running back said he was excited for the opportunity and would do whatever was asked of him by the team.
With Cook and Murray already in the fold, it will be interesting to see how Minnesota utilizes Abdullah’s skill set. Matthew Coller of 1500ESPN.com highlighted Abdullah’s versatility and said that, when healthy, he’s able to catch the ball out of the backfield and contribute as a kick returner. Coller wrote:
In ’15 and ’17, he combined for 50 receptions and created first downs on half of those catches. Last season Pro Football Focus graded him as the 13th best receiving running back in the NFL, just behind Jerick McKinnon and just ahead of New England’s versatile back James White.
Abdullah was occasionally moved to different positions within the Lions’ offense last season, taking 20 snaps as an outside receiver and six snaps in the slot. It’s possible he could see more of those types of looks under the Vikings, who have become fond of sending Dalvin Cook out as a receiver and even used Cook and Latavius Murray on the same play during last week’s win over Detroit.
Coller said that making a significant difference on offense after joining the team midseason “may be challenging for Abdullah, who is behind two starting-caliber backs” and has yet to learn Minnesota’s playbook.
It would be a lot to expect Abdullah to fit into the offense much more than on an occasional basis to start, but one area where he can make an immediate impact is on special teams.
In ’15, he returned 37 kicks at an impressive 29.2 yards per return. This year he has four returns for 107 yards (26.8 per return). Asked if he might want to get back into the returning game, the Vikings’ new running back said, “I hope so.”
PUBLICATION: Vikings.com DATE: 11/15/18
5 Vikings-Bears Storylines to Watch
By Mike Wobschall
The Vikings have seven games to play, including four against division opponents. The first of those division games comes this week, as the Vikings prepare to travel to Chicago for a date with the Bears at Soldier Field in Week 11. Here are five storylines to watch in the build up to this week’s NFC North battle.
1. First place in the NFC North on the line
This week’s matchup was originally slated for a noon CT kickoff, but the NFL’s flex scheduling mechanism was triggered and now the showdown is set for prime time on NBC’s Sunday Night Football. The switch is for good reason because the winner of Sunday night’s game will be in command of the NFC North with six games to go.
2. New faces on each side spice up division rivalry
These two teams meet twice annually and Sunday night’s game marks the 115th in the rivalry. This year, though, new faces on each side have spiced things up a bit. It starts at the top for the Bears, who are guided by first-year head coach Matt Nagy, a young and well-respected coach with an offensive background forged over seasons spent with Andy Reid in Kansas City and Philadelphia. Also new to the Bears are tight end Trey Burton and receivers Taylor Gabriel and Allen Robinson. These three players have added speed and talent to the offense, which features second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. Perhaps the Bears most significant addition was on defense, where Khalil Mack has come into the mix and dominated. In seven games played, Mack has 7.0 sacks, four forced fumbles and an interception. The Vikings have a couple new faces for this matchup, too. Sheldon Richardson was added to the defense this past offseason and running back Dalvin Cook will play his first game against the Bears after he missed both of last year’s matchups with a knee injury.
3. Trubisky’s mobility will be a focal point for Vikings defense
The Bears added three nice weapons in the passing game in Burton, Gabriel and Robinson and they have a nice one-two punch in the backfield with running backs Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen. As big a key as any of those individuals, though, will be Trubisky. His ability to affect the game as a passer and a runner makes him a dynamic threat. Chicago designs runs for their quarterback and then Trubisky also bails the offense out frequently with scrambles. On 3rd downs alone, for example, Trubisky has 16 runs for 99 yards, generating 11 conversions on the 16 attempts. Of those 16 runs, 11 were scrambles, generating 83 yards and a touchdowns. So just when the defense has everything covered up and can pressure the quarterback, Trubisky has the ability to escape and extend plays and drives by making plays with his legs. Pass-rushing discipline and the ability to contain the quarterback within the pocket will be important tactics for the Vikings on Sunday.
4. Are Vikings healthier after the bye?
The Vikings carried significant momentum into their bye week, having won four of five games to move their record to 5-3-1 after the opening the season with only one win in the first four weeks. The Vikings also had significant injuries heading into the bye, though, so the off week actually came at an opportune time. Riley Reiff and Xavier Rhodes were each playing through injuries before the bye, Dalvin Cook was just coming off an injury and players such as Anthony Barr, Tom Compton, Stefon Diggs and Andrew Sendejo were all missing games due to injury. It’s unknown as of Wednesday which of those players would be healthy enough to practice and then play this week, but there’s no question the off week increased each of their chances of returning.
5. Offensive lines under the microscope with game-wrecking defensive lines revved up
No team in the NFL has more sacks than the Vikings (31), and the Bears aren’t far behind with 30. The Vikings defensive front has been bolstered by the return of Everson Griffen while Danielle Hunter and Linval Joseph continue to terrorize offenses on a consistent basis. The Bears defense features a stacked front that includes Leonard Floyd, Eddie Goldman, Akiem Hicks and Mack, who’ve combined for 12.0 sacks. This week’s contest features a tough matchup for each team’s offensive lines. PUBLICATION : Vikings.com 11/15/18
Vikings Surprise Veterans With Voyage to Nation's Capital
By Mike Wobschall
It seemed as there were endless smiles, laughs and memories that accompanied the surprises that kept rolling in.
And for five Minnesota-based veterans, it was also a little overwhelming at times.
The Vikings recently honored the group as part of the 2018 Veterans Voyage, which the organization put on for the second straight year in partnership with Hy-Vee.
“I had a wonderful feeling that started from the bottom of my toes and went up because that isn’t something that is normally done for veterans,” said Air Force veteran Gerald Lanahan as he summed up the past few weeks. “Every time you turned around, it was a new feeling and a new emotion.”
Demetrius Young, an Army veteran, added: “I am just so grateful … and I feel like I don’t deserve all that was given to us with all the surprises and everything.”
Lanahan and Young were two of the five veterans recognized by the Vikings. The group also included Shantell Hoff, a veteran of the Minnesota Army National Guard, plus Army veterans Glenn Boche and Michael Quinn.
The quintet were nominated by family or friends and selected from a pool of several hundred veterans.
While the veterans were honored in various ways by the team, the highlight was a surprise trip to Washington, D.C., for Veterans Day.
The veterans were acknowledged on the field in the second quarter of Minnesota’s recent win over the Lions when the surprise announcement was made on the field in front of thousands of appreciative Vikings fans.
“It was so incredible, and we were so surprised,” Quinn said. “We read it on the [U.S. Bank Stadium video board], and we thought maybe it was for somebody else.
“Then they came walking out with those suitcases, and it dawned on almost all of us at the same time what was going on,” Quinn added. “It was like one more surprise after another … it was almost overwhelming.”
Veterans Voyage presented by Hy-Vee Hy-Vee and the Vikings were proud to partner on the second annual Veterans Voyage, honoring five Minnesota men and women for their outstanding service to their country and their communities. These five were surprised with tickets to the Salute to Service game and FREE groceries from Hy-Vee for a year! While attending the game, our honorees received another surprise – a trip to Washington, D.C. for Veterans Day!
The group left for the nation’s capital on Friday evening and spent two action-packed days taking in the sights and sounds of the city.
The itinerary included a guided tour of Capitol Building and a tour of the Library of Congress on Saturday before the group ventured out for a moonlight tour of various monuments.
They then attended a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Sunday morning before later exploring Mount Vernon, the historic home of George Washington, the first President of the United States.
It seemed each veteran had a different favorite moment in a memory-filled highlight.
Quinn remarked that Arlington National Cemetery was his most memorable moment, and Young added that he was awestruck by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Along the way, the group of three Vietnam veterans [Boche, Lanahan and Quinn] bonded with Hoff and Young, the pair of Iraq veterans.
“These are going to be lifelong friends,” Young said. “We exchanged numbers and emails and we’ve already been texting since the trip has been over.
“I’m an Iraq vet, but I got to experience it with some Vietnam veterans and another Iraq vet,” Young added. “Just to experience it with other veterans was so much more special.”
Quinn said the trip was extra special for the trio of Vietnam veterans, who each received a commemorative pin for their service.
“I’m just very humbled, for one thing,” Quinn said. “It’s very touching to me that after 40-45 years of not being able to really talk about what we did, to be thanked and welcomed is just beyond words to me.”
“It’s pretty common with the way veterans are treated now. But the vast majority of the people don’t appreciate what we went through when we came home,” Quinn added. “We couldn’t talk about it … we were the bad boys from over there. I just wanted to let people know we truly appreciate a welcome home.”
While the trip was the signature moment for the veterans, they also received multiple surprises the week before the game against the Lions.
Friends and family members of the group wrangled them up and brought them to Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center on Oct. 29 to begin the festivities.
After the group got a tour of the new facility, Vikings fullback C.J. Ham surprised them with tickets to the game against Detroit.
“It’s really great that the Vikings make an effort to recognize these veterans for what they do,” Ham said. “The sacrifices they made … they took time away from their families to go and protect the country so we can live a better life.”
“It was amazing,” Ham added. “It touched me in a way I didn’t know I could be touched.”
But the fun was just beginning, as Hy-Vee staff then surprised the veterans with free groceries for a year.
Hoff struggled to find the words of appreciation for that gesture.
“I don’t even know … there are no words for that, no words to say thank you,” Hoff said. “[Food is] such a huge expense, even though it’s just me and my boyfriend.
“We have people over for [Vikings] games on Sundays,” Hoff added. “We have a house payment and everything else, it’s amazing and a blessing.”
The friends and family members of the veterans who were in on the surprises said they couldn’t think of a more deserving group to be recognized and honored.
“He keeps giving back,” said Ryan Sabinish, who nominated Boche. “He’s been out of the military a long, long time … since Vietnam, and he was wounded in Vietnam … yet he still gives back to help veterans in need.”
Added Mikey Quinn, Jr., of his father: “He’s kind of my hero for what he did for this country, and I know it means a lot to him. He’s a Vietnam vet, so when he came home, things were not so nice. Now that our country is a little bit more open and we’ve changed to an era of being supportive of our troops, it has been very therapeutic and very good for him. He’s proud to wear it now and be thanked for it.”
And for the veterans who took in the whirlwind journey, it was an experience they will never forget.
“Other than my marriage and the birth of my kids and grandkids, this would be the next most important thing to happen to me. To be welcomed and thanked by these people,” Michael Quinn said. “It’s hard to put into words what that means to us.
“We will be forever grateful for what [the Vikings] did for us,” Quin added. “Seriously, it was over the top and beyond words.”
Added Lanahan: “It was one of the highlights of my life.” PUBLICATION : VIKING Update 11/15/18
‘Eye candy’ big part of Bears’ offensive success
By Tim Yotter he Chicago Bears and high-powered offense aren’t two phrases put together too often. That could be changing as they prepare to host the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night.
The Bears are fifth in the NFL in scoring at 29.9 points per game. Since Week 4, they are averaging 34.3 points per game, second only to the New Orleans Saints during that span.
Head coach Matt Nagy and his former boss, Andy Reid in Kansas City, know how to keep a defense guessing with pre-snap motions and “eye candy.”
“It’s definitely a challenge, especially the personnel they have, kind of running left and right. Pre-snap, it’s all about communication,” said middle linebacker Eric Kendricks, who would be wearing the headset in his helmet again if outside linebacker Anthony Barr (hamstring) can’t play for the second game in a row.
“You see things like that throughout the whole league, motion and things like that – everybody’s doing it. It’s challenging for the defense so I can see why. We’ve got to read our keys and be smart.”
The Vikings have been seeing plenty of motions from some of the best offenses they have faced this season. The Los Angeles Rams, ranked second in yardage this season, put up 38 points against the Vikings. The New Orleans Saints, ranked fifth, scored 30 in Minnesota. Both teams beat the Vikings.
But most of defenders said it is a matter of them staying disciplined with their assignments no matter what the Bears show in an effort try to confuse them prior to the snap.
“Still got to hike the ball. It don’t mess with us too much,” defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson said. “Don’t get caught up in the eye candy, that’s it. Read your keys. That’ll tell you where they’re going.”
Said defensive end Everson Griffen: “At the end of the day, it just comes down to playing your keys, playing the guy in front of you. See a little, see a lot – he’ll take you to the ball, and don’t try to do too much, don’t try to be Superman, just do your job.
“… If your eyes are everywhere, you’re not going to see where the ball is, so if I’m seeing the key of the pad, the tip of the pad is going to take me to the ball wherever I go, so you see a little, then it’s going to take you to the ball.”
The fact is that plenty of teams have been incorporating more motions, repositioning of offensive personnel and doing whatever they can to try to confuse a defense. Nagy has simply brought that element, learned and apparently mastered at the feet of Reid, to Chicago.
“There’s no way you can practice every one of their plays. They’ve got 800 of them for every game,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said.
“We are going to get new plays. There’s no doubt in my mind we are going to get new plays. But they’ve got their core group of plays they are going to run. Every week you are going to get new plays, you are going to get new formations, you are going to get new personnel groups. That is part of the NFL.”
Informed of Zimmer’s comments, Nagy joked that there are only 750 plays in his scheme.
SIGN UP FOR FREE VIKINGS NEWSLETTER FOLLOW VIKING UPDATE ON TWITTER INTERACT WITH VIKINGS FANS ON MESSAGE BOARD The Bears now possess the personnel to also keep a defense guessing. QB Mitch Trubisky is on pace to become the franchise’s first 4,000-yard passer – he has 1,969 yards of total offense in the last six games alone – running backs with different skills in Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen, and four receivers (Cohen, Taylor Gabriel, Trey Burton and Allen Robinson) that have each have 30 or more catches.
But just when the Bears have a defense paying attention to all of their movement and “eye candy,” they can always get a defense with the basics.
“A lot of people are doing the same thing, honestly. Their personnel is different,” Kendricks said. “Just when you think they are motioning a guy to the left, motioning a guy out of the backfield right, hike the ball everyone is moving, they’ll run with a downhill run right at you. You’ve definitely got to be patient.” PUBLICATION : VIKING Update 11/15/18
Trubisky bringing life to Bears offense with improved play
By John Holler n just his second season, Mitchell Trubisky is on pace to throw for 4,100 yards and 34 touchdowns. Those are great numbers, but, in Chicago, they’ve been untouchable.
In the long and storied history of the Bears, they’ve never had a 4,000-yard passer or anyone throw for 30 touchdowns. The record setter in both categories is journeyman Erik Kramer, who set franchise marks in 1995 with 3,838 yards and 29 touchdowns that still stand.
Over the century, things have been a revolving door at quarterback. Since 2000, Chicago has started such names as Mike Glennon, Matt Barkley, Brian Hoyer, Jay Cutler, Cayleb Hanie, Jason Campbell, Jimmy Clausen, Josh McCown, Rex Grossman, Brian Griese, Kyle Orton, Jim Miller, Chad Hutchinson, Craig Krenzel, Jonathan Quinn, Chris Chandler, Shane Matthews and Cade McNown. Most of them are trivia answers.
But, when the Bears traded up one spot from No. 3 to No. 2 in the 2017 draft to take Trubisky, they set a course to have a franchise quarterback and, in his second season, that investment would appear to be starting to bear fruit.
“He’s done a great job this year,” Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins said. “He’s only in his second year. I think you’ve got to remember that there’s still a lot of development that can happen there, which is a good sign for them. He’s got all the tools, in terms of the strong arm and athletic and a great teammate. Everything I’ve heard about him is he’s the right kind of guy. He’s put himself in a great position and played really well through this year and he’s a big reason why they are where they are, and our defense will have their hands full trying to contain and stop him.”
Trubisky made his first career start against Minnesota last season in the fifth game of the year. The Vikings were on the brink of falling out of contention at 2-2 and, in that same game, a gimpy Sam Bradford was benched midstream for Case Keenum and the Vikings vaulted from that point to a 13-3 season.
The win over Chicago in Trubisky’s debut was a turning point for the Bears as well. It sent the message that the franchise quarterback’s time was now and Chicago hasn’t looked back.
In his second season, what has made Trubisky dangerous is the ability to run and throw. Linebacker Eric Wilson said the strides that Trubisky has made have been the result of his improvement as a runner as much as being a strong-armed passer.
“Most quarterbacks in this league that we see, they can all throw a good ball,” Wilson said. “What you don’t always see is a guy who can make plays with his feet. He is one of those players. When you watch him on tape, you see the athletic ability he has, and when a play breaks down he can be just as dangerous when he’s on the move. It’s something you have to take notice of on every play when he drops back.”
Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer has been impressed with the maturation of Trubisky in his second season. Not only has the team turned to offensive innovator Matt Nagy (who worked with Andy Reid in Kansas City), but they added three receivers in free agency and drafted Anthony Miller to give their franchise quarterback a much stronger supporting cast.
“Their team speed is much better now,” Zimmer said. “I think adding [Taylor] Gabriel, he is an extremely fast guy. [Trey] Burton, [Allen] Robinson – those guys have all added a lot of things to them. Then you throw in there [running back Tarik] Cohen and Anthony Miller, who has done a nice job. They’re opening things up a lot more. This isn’t two-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust deal.”
Defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson has seen a difference in Trubisky from the start of this season until now. He has seen that Trubisky’s confidence with his new supporting cast has grown over the first half of the season and he isn’t hitting the panic button when the bullets are flying around him.
Any rookie quarterback struggles to get through their first season in the NFL, but Richardson sees a much better quarterback on tape now than he saw from the first couple of games of the season.
“The difference I see in him is that his composure is there,” Richardson said. “He’s got a lot more confidence in being an NFL quarterback. He’s not excited about being in the NFL anymore. When you’re first starting and you’re like, ‘Wow! I’m in the NFL,’ it can be a little overwhelming. That’s only more when you’re a quarterback and he has handled it well. You can tell on film that his composure is there.”
In some ways, Trubisky had to start over after his rookie season. Chicago fired its coaching staff and brought in Nagy, who brought a complicated, multi-schemed offense that picks and chooses different looks depending on the down-and-distance, the time of game and the opponent.
What you see on tape one week will be vastly different the next week and Zimmer expects to see a lot of looks the Bears haven’t shown yet this season in his first matchup of coaching chess masters with Nagy.
Finding their tendencies that will be critical to slowing down the much-improved Bears offense.
“We are going to get new plays,” Zimmer said. “There’s no doubt in my mind we are going to get new plays. But they’ve got their core group of plays they are going to run. Every week you are going to get new plays, you are going to get new formations, you are going to get new personnel groups. That is part of the NFL.”
The Vikings defense will be facing the most imposing quarterback the Bears have put against them since the early days of Cutler in Chicago. But, as Everson Griffen put it, the Vikings will need to stay on their keys and each man needs to avoid trying to be Superman. Just do their job, because it looks like the Bears offense will be doing its job at a high level.
“They're playing good ball,” Griffen said. “He's throwing the ball good, trying to stay in the pocket. He's running the ball out of the pocket a lot, but they're doing a good job running the ball, and they're playing good ball as a whole in Chicago right now.”
It’s been a while since anyone could see that about a Chicago Bears offense. PUBLICATION : VIKING Update 11/15/18
Avoiding turnovers ‘critical factor’ for Vikings vs. Bears
By Tim Yotter
“Their points off turnovers are huge,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. “I think it’s second in the league. We’re going to have to do a great job with possessing the ball and keeping it and making sure that we do a great job with being patient in a lot of ways.”
The addition of pass-rushing terror Khalil Mack has added another dimension to the Bears defense. He is tied for first in the NFL with four forced fumbles and has seven sacks.
“I think he’s added a lot of swagger to their football team. I think they had swagger anyways, but I think he’s added some, too, when they’ve got a guy of his caliber in there,” Zimmer said. “He really adds a lot of physicality to their defense – not just the rush part, everybody knows he’s a good rusher – but the physicality of defeating a tight end, defeating an offensive tackle, the aggressive nature that he plays with.”
Zimmer compared the Bears acquiring Mack in a trade prior to the start of the season to the Green Bay Packers adding Reggie White at the outset of free agency in the early 1990s.
Because of everything that the Bears do to create turnovers – Chicago coach Matt Nagy say they emphasize that aspect of defense – the Vikings will have their defense going extra hard at ripping the ball away in practice this week.
But it might also alter the way the game is called.
“I think it affects the whole approach, the scheme, the way we line up,” Cousins said. “We’re not just going to try to invite them to be able to walk right into interceptions or create strip-sacks. We’re going to do all we can to make it tough on them and look at the way they’ve created turnovers and try not to gift them anything. Make them really earn it.
“When the game’s over, when the dust settles, I’m sure it’ll be a very telling stat.” PUBLICATION : VIKING Update 11/15/18
Richardson to set career milestone in 2018's biggest game so far
By John Holler
In his six years in the NFL, there isn’t much Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson hasn’t seen. But one of those will be checked off his career list Sunday night when the Vikings head to Chicago to play the Bears. It will be the first time in his career he has played at Soldier Field.
He has played in stadiums that no longer host NFL games, like the Edward R. Jones Dome in his hometown of St. Louis and QualComm Stadium in San Diego. But playing at venerable Soldier Field, which opened for business in 1924 and has been home to the Bears since 1970, will be a checklist moment for Richardson.
“I’ve played in every stadium in the league, so this is the last one,” Richardson said. “I’ve never been in a game – regular season and preseason – so that will make it special. You know you’ve been around the league for a while when you’ve played in every stadium in the league. It’s a cool milestone because there is a lot of history at Soldier Field and now I can say I’ve played there – and every other stadium in the league.”
The game will have huge implications in the NFC North title race. The Bears currently sit atop the division at 6-3, followed by the Vikings at 5-3-1. It’s been some time since a mid-November between the Vikings and Bears had such importance and Richardson and his teammates know that the eyes of the football world will be on both teams Sunday night.
The NFL thought enough of the game and the potential playoff implications that it flexed out the scheduled AFC playoff rematch between Pittsburgh and Jacksonville and replaced it with the Vikings-Bears game.
Richardson admitted there is a little something extra associated with this game because of the gravity of winning or losing.
“You try not to put too much on one game, but this is a division game and they’re ahead of us in the standings,” Richardson said. “That in itself makes it important. Our goal is to win the division and to do that, not only do we have to take care of our business and win a lot of games, we’ve got to win the games in our division. You have to win those division games if you’re going to punch your ticket to the dance.”
Richardson has been a key ingredient to the success of the Vikings defense in his first season with the team. Minnesota already had three linemen with Pro Bowl talent – defensive ends Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter and defensive tackle Linval Joseph. Richardson has provided the missing piece to the puzzle as a three-technique defensive tackle.
Through nine games, he has 38 tackles on the season with 41 quarterback hurries, five tackles for a loss and 1½ sacks. He has been a difference-maker on the defense and credits blending in with his new teammates almost immediately for some of his sustained success.
“I’ve been comfortable with this team and this organization since the first day I got here,” Richardson said. “I think I’ve been able to do a pretty good job because I haven’t been asked to do too much. When you’ve got guys like Danielle, Ev and Linval around you, all you have to do is your assignment on each play. This defense doesn’t ask me to do too much – I don’t drop into coverage like I used to do with the Jets. I just go full steam ahead, trying to get through the line and make plays – or do my job and set somebody else up to make a play.”
Richardson will be in the spotlight Sunday night as the Vikings look to reclaim first place in the division for the first time since Week 8, when Chicago took over first place and haven’t looked back – winning their last three games.
It will be a big night for Richardson as he completes his career tour of every NFL stadium and it couldn’t come at a bigger time for him and the 2018 Vikings. The difference between winning and losing in a November game can’t get much bigger. With a win, the Vikings will take over first place in the NFC with a record of 2-0-1 against the division. A loss would drop them a game-and-a-half behind the Bears in the division title chase.
Richardson knows that the stakes will be high as the Vikings hit the portion of their season where most of their remaining games will be against the teams they’re trying to put in the rear view mirror in the division.
It may only be mid-November, but Sunday night will have a January feel to it.
“Sunday’s game is a big as you want it to be,” Richardson said. “We know the records and we know how important these final seven games are for us. Four of those seven are in the division. As I see it, it’s a playoff mentality from here on through.” PUBLICATION : 1500 ESPN 11/15/18
How will the Vikings slow down Khalil Mack?
By Matthew Collaer
EAGAN, Minn. – Nobody really wants to say it, but you can imagine the Minnesota Vikings were probably not the happiest organization in the NFL when the Oakland Raiders traded superstar pass rusher Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears prior to the start of this season.
Mack has been everything Chicago dreamed about when watching him throttle the AFC West. In 210 pass rush snaps as a Bear, the former defensive MVP has seven sacks, one QB hit and 22 hurries. Put another way, he is impacting the opposing team’s quarterback once every seven drop backs. he crazy part: He hasn’t even fully hit his stride yet. Lack of a full training camp and an injury have slowed him down a bit, but last week Mack looked 100 percent when sacking Matthew Stafford twice in a win over the Lions.
Vikings head coach reached back a few decades for the last time he could remember a defensive player’s change of scenery impacting a division quite the way Mack has with the NFC North.
“I think Reggie White was kind of like that when he went from Philadelphia to Green Bay, but that’s a long time ago,” Zimmer said Wednesday. “They were a pretty darn good defense a year ago. They were I think a top-10 defense a year ago. Obviously they’ve improved, they’re healthy, I don’t think they’ve had a lot of injuries defensively, and adding a guy like him is going to be a big factor in getting them better. I think it allows them to play the style of defense that they would like to play.”
Chicago ranks third in the NFL in yards allowed and yards per play allowed, fourth in total points allowed and No. 1 in opposing quarterback rating.
“I think he’s added a lot of swagger to the football team,” Zimmer said of Mack. “I think they have swagger anyway, but I think he’s added some to it knowing that they’ve got a guy of his caliber that’s in there. He really adds a lot of physicality to their defense, I think that’s part of it. Not just the rush part, everybody knows he’s a good rusher, but the physicality of defeating a tight end, defeating an offensive tackle, the aggressive nature that he plays with, I think that probably adds to all the other guys.”
Mack and the Chicago defense offer the Vikings’ toughest challenge yet as an offense. Minnesota’s five wins have come against the 14th, 16th, 17th, 22nd and 26th ranked defenses in yards allowed.
Competing with the Bears’ dominate defense will start with the Vikings’ ability to protect Kirk Cousins, who has been pressured on 40 percent of drop backs this year, the third highest rate in the NFL behind only DeShaun Watson and Josh Rosen.
Rookie right tackle Brian O’Neill will see the majority of Mack’s rushes. The second-round pick from Pitt has been a bright spot for the Vikings having not allowed a sack yet in 260 pass rush snaps. However, the last time he matched up against an elite edge rusher in Cameron Jordan, he gave up three hurries and two QB hits.
Slowing down Mack completely is a near impossible task, but mitigating his impact on the game will be the Vikings’ goal — and while O’Neill will be in the spotlight, negating his pass rush will take a complete effort.
The team that has best handled Mack this season was the Miami Dolphins, who only gave up one pressure on 33 pass rush snaps.
NFL Network’s Brian Baldinger broke down tape on how the Dolphins succeeded:
The Dolphins were willing to triple team Mack at times, which forced the rest of the offensive line to step up against Akiem Hicks, who is an elite defensive tackle. They also ran the ball effectively, taking pressure off of the passing game and used tight ends and running backs to assist in the blocking game.
The Vikings may have a tougher time using the tight end position with David Morgan likely out for this weekend’s game. He is often used as an extra blocker. Fullback CJ Ham may see more snaps than usual against the Bears.
Of course, as the Lions proved a few weeks later, just throwing a tight end at Mack doesn’t slow him down.
Embedded video
NFL Matchup on ESPN ✔ @NFLMatchup #Bears tape: Khalil Mack beats the TE chip and then the OT for the sack.
Pretty ridiculous. Enjoy.#DaBears @ChicagoBears
1,207 10:11 AM - Nov 12, 2018 · NFL Films 369 people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy Miami also used tempo to wear down the Bears’ defense.
“We were playing in no-huddle, which isn’t easy to do in this system because there’s so much verbiage, there’s so many checks, audibles, and our offensive line did a tremendous job and those guys are the real story, because without them we don’t play the way we did today,” quarterback Brock Osweiler told reporters after the game.
The Vikings already have a quick-pass offense and a quarterback who is routinely under duress, so they have been working all year to overcome pressure and have still performed admirably as an offense. But Mack and the Bears are a different type of challenge, having forced 25 total turnovers.
“They haven’t changed that much defensively except for Khalil Mack, which adds to some of those poor throws and pressure,” Zimmer said. “Their defensive front is outstanding. I think Leonard Floyd is playing a lot better now. Their two corners [Kyle Fuller and Prince Amukamara] are both very good. Eddie Jackson is a little bit more of a ball hawk since they’ve added him, I think that’s helped and I think he’s playing with a lot more confidence.”
TOPICS: Vikings vikings PUBLICATION : 1500 ESPN 11/15/18
Can Mitch Trubisky handle the Vikings’ blitzes?
By Matthew Coller
The Minnesota Vikings’ biggest game of the year will come against the team that has done the most impressive worst-to-first transformation in the NFL.
Last season, the Vikings’ defense twice dominated a sorry Chicago Bears offense, which finished 2017 29th in points scored. Through nine games, the new-look Bears now rank sixth in scoring and has already produced more points than all of last year.
The explanation comes in the form of a huge step forward for quarterback Mitch Trubisky under new head coach Matt Nagy. Chicago also put an impressive supporting cast around their second-year quarterback, signing tight end Trey Burton and receivers Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel in the offseason. In addition, the Bears drafted an impressive receiver in Anthony Miller.
Trubisky has nearly tripled his touchdown total from his rookie year and his quarterback rating has jumped from 77.5 to an outstanding 101.6.
But the former North Carolina quarterback has had an Achilles heel: The blitz.
According to Pro Football Focus, his rating is 106.4 when the opponent does not blitz and 89.9 when facing a blitz. Trubisky sees a drop of nearly 18 percent in completion percentage against an extra rusher. On 100 dropbacks against the blitz, the top pick in the ’17 draft has only 45 completions (per Pro Football Focus). Another interesting note is that PFF credits Trubisky with seven sacks allowed at Chicago’s O-line with five.
While the Vikings have not had much success against quality offenses this year — the highest rated offense in a win this year is 20th — Trubisky’s struggles against the blitz have the potential to play into Mike Zimmer’s hands.
Over his career in Minnesota, Zimmer has generally dominated inexperienced quarterbacks, in part because of his pressures in key situations, especially third downs.
Against rookie Sam Darnold, the Vikings blitzed 13 times, allowed just three completions. It was a similar result the week before versus first-round pick Josh Rosen. They blitzed 12 times and allowed a total of 53 yards passing and sacked Rosen three times.
In Trubisky’s rookie campaign, he saw 18 Vikings blitzes and completed six passes.
Let’s have a look at some of the areas the Bears’ quarterback could struggle against Minnesota’s blitzes or five-man rushes and the ways he could give the Vikings trouble when they bring pressure.
On the play below, the Patriots send five rushers after the passer and create pressure by having the left defensive end and defensive tackle rush inside and then the middle line backer comes all the way off the edge to get in Trubisky’s face.
One issue the second-year QB can have at times is inaccuracy when he doesn’t set his feet. Despite his quality traditional statistics, Trubisky ranks 20th in passing grade by PFF. Notice when he finally spots the linebacker, the young QB throws off balance and misses an open target down field.
Trubisky can have a tendency to be aggressive when blitzed — at times to his detriment.
That was evident against the New York Jets, who routinely blitz the QB. Below is an example of Trubisky on third down throwing out of a bunch formation. He has one receiver coming underneath, which he ignores on third-and-6 n favor of launching a deep ball down the sideline.
It’s always easier on tape than in fast motion, but on the Jets’ side of the field, the shorter option might have been more effective, especially since his offensive line did a good job of picking up the Jets’ rush.
Here is another example of Trubisky missing a check down option that could have resulted in a big play. New York’s rush is effective, so he has to make a quick decision, but running back Tarik Cohen leaks out into the flat with no defenders in his area. Trubisky instead fires the ball to a covered receiver for an incompletion.
Notice the blitz comes from the cornerback on the right side. Cohen goes right into his place. The linebacker carrying the tight end across the field leaves the offense’s left open.
Sending extra pressure is hardly a lock to throw the up-and-coming QB for a loop. The Bears rank No. 2 in the NFL by PFF grades in pass blocking. If they are able to protect Trubisky against opposing team’s blitzes, he can create big plays and plenty of headaches.
This example below comes from his three-touchdown performance against the Dolphins. On a third down, they send an extra man off both edges. Left tackle Charles Leno Jr. blocks the defensive end and gets just enough of the blitzer to give Chicago’s receiver time to get open in the wide open middle of the field. On the right side, the running back picks up the defensive back’s rush. Trubisky sets his feet and drives a perfect throw down field.
Trubisky is also one of the best running quarterbacks in the NFL. He’s gained 320 total yards on 7.8 yards per carry. If the opposition gives him a lane, the speedy QB will take it and create first downs even if no one was open.
On the play below is a perfect example:
The Vikings are not always a big blitzing team — and with Everson Griffen back, Zimmer’s defense may be able to create enough pressure with the front four to throw off Chicago’s QB. Two weeks ago against Detroit, the Vikings only blitzed seven times. Nine of their 10 sacks of Matthew Stafford came on four- man rushes.
Chicago will also have home field advantage, which makes it easier for a quarterback to set his protection and for tackles to hear the snap count.
No doubt Zimmer’s scheme to fluster Trubisky will be one of the most intriguing things to watch on Sunday night.