The Minnesota Vikings are sitting pretty at their week six bye as they remain the only undefeated team in the NFL after beating the Houston Texans handily last Sunday. The week off will provide ample time for the coaching staff to get their newest free agent acquisition, former first overall pick Jake Long, ready for his debut next Sunday at left tackle against the Philadelphia Eagles. It will also provide time for banged-up players like receiver Stefon Diggs and tight-end Rhett Ellison to get healthy.
In spite of all the injuries, Head Coach Mike Zimmer likes where his team stands through five weeks.
“I think that this team has a chance to be pretty special,” said Zimmer. “They understand the things you have to do to win football games, but more importantly they know how to practice, they know how to prepare, they know how to study. We’re doing a lot of good things. We’re not turning the ball over offensively, and we’ve been getting some turnovers defensively. Those things always help.”
Never completely satisfied, Zimmer still sees facets of the game that can be improved upon, namely the offense and their ability to move the ball.
“We have to do a lot of things more, but the most important thing is that we figured out ways to move the football,” he said. “Some days are going to be easier running and some are going to be easier throwing. There’s a lot of work to do. We have a lot of new guys in there offensively, we’ve been getting guys hurt, so we just have to keep going.”
The action picks back up next Sunday when the Vikings travel to Philadelphia in hopes of coming home 6-0. With the additional week to prepare, there is little doubt that Zimmer will have some tricks up his sleeve for the Eagles rookie quarterback Carson Wentz.
