Vikings corner back Xavier Rhodes is no stranger to the league’s best wide receivers. He’s seen a fair share of them this season, and for the most part, shut them down or at least contained them. Looking at the Cincinnati, there isn’t much to be scared of. The Bengals are 28th in the league in points scored (averaging less than 19 per game) and are dead last in total yards (3,604). But they do still have A.J. Green, who has been one of the best receivers in the NFL since the Bengals made him the fourth overall selection in the 2011 NFL Draft. Green has been a Pro Bowl selection in each one of his previous six seasons.
This will be the first time Rhodes and Green line up against each other in the regular season. Green destroyed the Vikings his last time out against the Purple, going off for a line of 7/97/2 in a dominant 42-14 victory for the Bengals in Week 16 of the 2013 season. Rhodes, a rookie at the time, missed the game due to injury.
Despite Cincinnati’s struggles in 2017, Green is still having a Pro Bowl caliber season. He ranks fifth in the league in receiving touchdowns (8) and eighth in receiving yards (950). Those numbers are fairly human compared to what he’s done the rest of his career, but are still impressive when you consider there’s virtually no one else for defenses to worry about and Andy Dalton has the Bengals’ passing attack ranked 30th in the NFL.
http://vikingswire.usatoday.com/2017/12/...er-rhodes/

Bengals rookie running back Joe Mixon (concussion) practiced on Thursday, making it likely he’ll play in Week 15 against the Vikings in Minnesota.
On the season, his numbers indicate disappointment, running for 518 yards and four touchdowns, but only 3.3 yards per carry.
He’s also caught 27 passes for 266 yards.
But according to Pro Football Focus, Mixon has been the league’s 14th-best running back with a grade of 81.4. He’s above guys like Leonard Fournette, Derrick Henry and Melvin Gordon.
It will be interesting to see how many carries Mixon gets. In the two previous games before getting hurt against Pittsburgh in Week 13, Mixon carried the ball 20 or more times in each game, including running 23 times for 114 yards in a win over Cleveland on Nov. 26.
http://vikingswire.usatoday.com/2017/12/...on-sunday/

Rashod Hill says he’ll be more prepared to play left tackle on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals than he was in last week’s 31-24 loss to the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, N.C.
The Vikings are hoping it won’t matter.
Coach Mike Zimmer said Wednesday he hopes to have his entire starting line back for Sunday’s game at U.S. Bank Stadium. If he does, it would be the first time since a 20-17 victory at Chicago on Oct. 9.
“I feel pretty good,” Zimmer said. “I think we’re going to get all of them back this week.”
That includes right tackle Mike Remmers, who has missed five straight games because of a concussion, and later a back issue, and rookie center Pat Elflein, who last week missed his first game as an NFL player because of a shoulder injury.
http://www.twincities.com/2017/12/13/vik...-together/

Felton, 31, spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons with Buffalo but was not re-signed as a free agent. He said it’s difficult for a veteran fullback to get a job considering many teams now are playing without one and utilizing a second tight end for blocking.
“A lot has to do with the quarterbacks coming out of college; they run that scheme,” Felton said. “And sometimes offensive coordinators want to be the latest, greatest in new inventions, and they think they have to do a bunch of crazy stuff to operate on offense.”Felton made the Pro Bowl after a 2012 season in which he helped pave the way for Peterson to rush for 2,097 yards and win NFL MVP honors. He also was a Pro Bowl alternate with Minnesota in 2014 and with the Bills last season.
“That would be my best memory football-wise,” Felton said of the 2012 season. “We made the playoffs and I made the Pro Bowl, and Adrian and I were friends and we really worked well together.
“But also blocking for LeSean (McCoy of the Bills) for two years is a great memory. I think he’s a future hall of famer. I will tell my grandkids that I blocked for two of the best running backs to play the game.”
http://www.twincities.com/2017/12/14/for...to-retire/

Zulgad: Vikings have chance to do something special in league filled with flawed teamsThe Vikings’ loss Sunday at Carolina ended their eight-game winning streak and served as a reminder that this is a team with flaws. The Vikings, however, weren’t the only team to get this reminder in Week 14.
The New England Patriots also had their eight-game winning streak with a seven-point loss on Monday night in Miami. The Los Angeles Rams missed on an opportunity to get their 10th victory, losing 43-35 against Philadelphia.

The Eagles improved to an NFC-best 11-2 with the win, but suffered a potentially devastating blow in the second half when star quarterback Carson Wentz suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
A few weeks ago, the assumption was the Eagles might be the biggest roadblock in the Vikings’ quest to become the first team to play host to a Super Bowl. Now, the Eagles are going to have to hope that veteran Nick Foles can pick up where Wentz left off.
So who is the class of the NFC? That is the thing about the conference and the NFL as a whole.
There are quality teams – the Vikings being among them – but there is no team you fear. There is no club you look at and say, “Well, once you get to that club, it’s likely over.”
http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2017/1...wed-teams/

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — The Vikings have been on the road for almost a month. Head coach Mike Zimmer said it felt more like two.
The last time the Vikings took the field at U.S. Bank Stadium was Nov. 19, and after a 2-1 road trip, they’ll finally get a chance to play in front of their fans this Sunday. Zimmer and starting QB Case Keenum said that they’re counting on some assistance from the lungs of the screaming purple faithful.

“I think the big difference is the crowd,” Keenum said during his weekly address with the media. “Being at home, our defense plays so well — all the time, but the crowd makes  a difference. And I think our crowd makes a big difference.
“We need them to come out and be loud and crazy, and then shut up when we’re on offense, and then go crazy when we score. We’re excited to be back home and I think it’s going to be a great day,” he said,
I haven’t covered the Vikings as much this year as in the past. But Keenum’s plea sounded a whole lot different to me than when former offensive lineman Alex Boone asked the crowd for a similar courtesy. Keenum said it with a wink and a smile. Boone said it with an expletive, as a command.
http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2017/1...ns-sunday/

http://www.startribune.com/former-vikings-offensive-coordinator-norv-turner-co-wrote-a-country-song/463707743/

Former Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner co-wrote a country song along with former coach Steve Mariucci’s son, Stephen Ray Mariucci, called “Things I’ve Never Done.”

Would you like some sample lyrics? Sure you would. Here we go:
"Life looking back in hindsight
Tell me where’d you go
And what if you had 20/20 vision looking back growing old
You don’t want to be sayin’ anytime down the road
you wish you did this, wish you did that"
I’m not sure if that’s the part Norv wrote, but it sure reads like it could be a direct reflection on the 2016 Vikings season, during which he resigned halfway through.

LMAO.

A rival owner described the feel in the room at the winter league meetings, re: Jerry Jones: “He got his ass spanked.”
https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/12/14/jerry-...gn=themmqb&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social

I'd rather have a healthy Bradford over Keenum or Bridgewater. Are his days here or a QB anywhere over?

That dude has dropped off the face of the planet. It's like a mafia snubbing.