Zimmer Says Vikings Are Pressing, Need To Get Back To Basics
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (WCCO) -- The Minnesota Vikings lost another game and another offensive linemen Sunday.
Jake Long joins the list of those now lost for the season, and after losing four games in a row, the Vikings are trying to stem the tide to keep this season from being lost.
Coach Mike Zimmer admitted their problems are as much mental as they are physical.
"When you're struggling, and you've got a bunch of really good guys, guys that really care, guys tend to try to do a little too much," Zimmer said. "Including myself."
This is what you call the snowball effect, when one problem leads to another. And the Vikings, right now, have a very large snowball.
"When you're in a slump, guys try to make some plays and that's when things really go bad," veteran cornerback Terence Newman said. "You turn on the tape and you can see that. So we've just got to get back to playing the way we started the season. Being technically sound and not trying to do too much."
Zimmer said it's human nature.
"I mean, hey, we lost three games in a row, you know?" he said. "You're going to shoot all the bullets out of your gun if you can. And sometimes it backfires and sometimes it doesn't."
The tangible effect, Zimmer said, is that the Vikings have been out of position and misaligned more than usual. He also said perhaps they've made too many reactive changes to schemes.
"We just need to settle down, do what we do," he said.
The key to the Vikings getting back on track might be mostly mental too. After all, this was a team that thrived in adversity early in the year.
And now Zimmer is calling on them to do so once again.
"Get backed up into a corner, we're going to come out fighting," Zimmer said. "That's what this team has done. That's why we've overcome things in the past. So we'll continue to do that."
Newman said it's about reinforcing the fundamentals, and emphasized that it's not too late.
"This is not the situation we wanted to be in, but it's the situation we're in," he said. "So we've got to take it for what it's worth. We've got to get back to practice on Wednesday and correct fundamental things.... This isn't the end of our season. This is the middle of it. This is the stretch run for the marathon, and we've just got to gain some ground."
Before they lose any more.
