12-04-2017, 02:02 AM
Pregame:
* Teddy Bridgewater and Latavius Murray are buddies. It makes sense, as they and Shariff Floyd worked on the far field by themselves in training camp as all three were rehabbing from injury. Bridgewater found Murray right before the game any gave him a big good-luck hug
* The Stadium 1 - The Georgia Dome sits right next to the new Mercedes Benz Stadium. It is in mid-implosion and looks like a dry version of the rotting Titanic.
* The Stadium 2 - It was a MUCH nicer stadium than it shows on TV. The lighting is poor because the "nest" at the top is opaque. Had they used the same material as US Bank Stadium, it would have brought nice sunshine in. But, this is a state of the art facility and ranks above the other away stadiums we have visited this year, although Pittsburgh is nice.
* The Stadium 3 - It isn't finished. It look like it was still under construction inside
* The Stadium 4 - They announced a crowd of 71,000. It was not even close It MIGHT have been half full, and about one-third of those there were wearing purple.
* Pregame meal - they feed the press, and oh my goodness did they do it well in Atlanta. Buffet with thick pork chops, cuban sandwiches, prime beef and more. 1st class - I felt like royalty
The Game:
* The Vikings looked a bit lethargic on offense at first, but that was not flatness. The Falcons were taking away the deep stuff, and the 2 defenses basically had the same strategy - stop the #1 WR (Thielen and Jones) and hope the other WR (Sanu and Diggs) would not burn them.
* Murray is the real deal. He runs too upright, but, that is his style. He has an almost imperceptible wiggle in the hole, and find yardage.
* CJ Ham - you need a yard, he will get you two. How long has it been since we had that? And, as a former feature back, he can catch and he is a vicious blocker.
* Adam Thielen - he works so hard in routes, that even when doubled, he found space.
* LaQuon Treadwell - what can we say, we have no idea why he still starts and plays so much. He does not get open, and even if he is a good blocker, how many WRs are primary blockers?
* David Morgan - he was sorely missed in pass protection when he left, and that is why the Falcon rush was a problem in the 2nd quarter. Blake Bell stepped-up and played better in the second half (see our interview with this engaging and likable player after the game)
* It is concerning sometimes the way the defense fails to stop the run at times.
* The pass rush has not been as effective lately, and when QBs have time to throw in the NFL, they will find receivers.
* Eric Kendricks - heavens, he hits like a ton of bricks
* Xavier Rhodes - he handled Julio Jones single-handedly all game and Jones was not a factor.
* Ryan Quigley - almost no one can even name our punter, but he flipped the field several times this game.
Post Game:
* The loudest of the loud is Everson Griffen - he is very emotional as he comes up the tunnel...some of the things aren't printable!
* Mike Zimmer, who is always escorted by his own security person (who does a good job, while still being a good guy), and today, for the first time since we've been covering the team, he was smiling broadly!
* Case Keenum was last up the tunnel and he was hooting and hollering the whole way. He is having the time of his life!
* David Morgan got a concussion during the game (and NFL rules forbid us interviewing anyone in concussion protocol), but it was nice to see Kyle Rudolph and Blake Bell checking on him, and joking with him. David had a hoodie on, but we wished him well, and he is always pleasant thanks like you just gave him a million dollars. I wish all fans could meet him. Eric Sugarman came in to check on him too.
* The pooled interviews were with Adam Thielen, Jerick McKinnon, and Xavier Rhodes. We don't participate in those, but they are inundated with 12-15 microphones in their face and bright lights. We prefer the one-on-ones
* The press corps have swelled as the victories have mounted. At least 30 press members were in the Viking locker room tonight. At Pittsburgh, there were 6 of us!
* Strangely, few talk to any defensive linemen except Everson. But, we asked Tom Johnson to speak to us, and he was so obliging, and seemed almost happy to get some recognition for the line.
* Harrison Smith again came up and asked us how we'd been. Harrison is a very quiet individual, but such a nice person.
* We thanked Stefon Diggs for giving us interview time last week, and he said, "oh, man, you don't have to thank, I'm always glad to talk to the fans". He seemed almost shocked that any media member thanked them for their time. We are sure to shake every players hand after they give us an interview, and thank them for their time. Most media members just walk away. I wouldn't like that as a player.
* After all the reporters left Adam Thielen, we talked about his son's first Thanksgiving. You could tell he was relieved to talk about his other passion - his family, and not just football, football, football. He said his son's first words were "mama" and that he was at home a month ago when his son took his first steps. You think Adam looks like a nice guy? You have no idea. He is genuine and unaffected.
* We talked briefly with Kai Forbath - he is nice enough, but he is introverted, and is not a big talker.
* We were the only ones to interview reserve TE Blake Bell, but he is a very engaging personality and has some tremendous size.
* Teddy Bridgewater got dressed VERY quickly. The press has to stay outside the locker room for 10 minutes while Zimmer talks to the team. When we walked in, Teddy was fully dressed and leaving the locker room. He smiles, but I imagine this QB situation is not what he was envisioning.
* Zygi Wilf entered the locker room like a kid on Christmas Morning. Just a big grin.
* Pete Bercich and I did the postgame show for our site on the field after the game. When done, he took me over to the section on the field where all the friends and family of Viking players met with the players. It is stunning how many family members came to the game, well over 100.
This team is confident, and that is 90% of what makes a winner. Yet, they did not play their best, and still got a road win.
We will let you know what we see in Charlotte next week.
* Teddy Bridgewater and Latavius Murray are buddies. It makes sense, as they and Shariff Floyd worked on the far field by themselves in training camp as all three were rehabbing from injury. Bridgewater found Murray right before the game any gave him a big good-luck hug
* The Stadium 1 - The Georgia Dome sits right next to the new Mercedes Benz Stadium. It is in mid-implosion and looks like a dry version of the rotting Titanic.
* The Stadium 2 - It was a MUCH nicer stadium than it shows on TV. The lighting is poor because the "nest" at the top is opaque. Had they used the same material as US Bank Stadium, it would have brought nice sunshine in. But, this is a state of the art facility and ranks above the other away stadiums we have visited this year, although Pittsburgh is nice.
* The Stadium 3 - It isn't finished. It look like it was still under construction inside
* The Stadium 4 - They announced a crowd of 71,000. It was not even close It MIGHT have been half full, and about one-third of those there were wearing purple.
* Pregame meal - they feed the press, and oh my goodness did they do it well in Atlanta. Buffet with thick pork chops, cuban sandwiches, prime beef and more. 1st class - I felt like royalty
The Game:
* The Vikings looked a bit lethargic on offense at first, but that was not flatness. The Falcons were taking away the deep stuff, and the 2 defenses basically had the same strategy - stop the #1 WR (Thielen and Jones) and hope the other WR (Sanu and Diggs) would not burn them.
* Murray is the real deal. He runs too upright, but, that is his style. He has an almost imperceptible wiggle in the hole, and find yardage.
* CJ Ham - you need a yard, he will get you two. How long has it been since we had that? And, as a former feature back, he can catch and he is a vicious blocker.
* Adam Thielen - he works so hard in routes, that even when doubled, he found space.
* LaQuon Treadwell - what can we say, we have no idea why he still starts and plays so much. He does not get open, and even if he is a good blocker, how many WRs are primary blockers?
* David Morgan - he was sorely missed in pass protection when he left, and that is why the Falcon rush was a problem in the 2nd quarter. Blake Bell stepped-up and played better in the second half (see our interview with this engaging and likable player after the game)
* It is concerning sometimes the way the defense fails to stop the run at times.
* The pass rush has not been as effective lately, and when QBs have time to throw in the NFL, they will find receivers.
* Eric Kendricks - heavens, he hits like a ton of bricks
* Xavier Rhodes - he handled Julio Jones single-handedly all game and Jones was not a factor.
* Ryan Quigley - almost no one can even name our punter, but he flipped the field several times this game.
Post Game:
* The loudest of the loud is Everson Griffen - he is very emotional as he comes up the tunnel...some of the things aren't printable!
* Mike Zimmer, who is always escorted by his own security person (who does a good job, while still being a good guy), and today, for the first time since we've been covering the team, he was smiling broadly!
* Case Keenum was last up the tunnel and he was hooting and hollering the whole way. He is having the time of his life!
* David Morgan got a concussion during the game (and NFL rules forbid us interviewing anyone in concussion protocol), but it was nice to see Kyle Rudolph and Blake Bell checking on him, and joking with him. David had a hoodie on, but we wished him well, and he is always pleasant thanks like you just gave him a million dollars. I wish all fans could meet him. Eric Sugarman came in to check on him too.
* The pooled interviews were with Adam Thielen, Jerick McKinnon, and Xavier Rhodes. We don't participate in those, but they are inundated with 12-15 microphones in their face and bright lights. We prefer the one-on-ones
* The press corps have swelled as the victories have mounted. At least 30 press members were in the Viking locker room tonight. At Pittsburgh, there were 6 of us!
* Strangely, few talk to any defensive linemen except Everson. But, we asked Tom Johnson to speak to us, and he was so obliging, and seemed almost happy to get some recognition for the line.
* Harrison Smith again came up and asked us how we'd been. Harrison is a very quiet individual, but such a nice person.
* We thanked Stefon Diggs for giving us interview time last week, and he said, "oh, man, you don't have to thank, I'm always glad to talk to the fans". He seemed almost shocked that any media member thanked them for their time. We are sure to shake every players hand after they give us an interview, and thank them for their time. Most media members just walk away. I wouldn't like that as a player.
* After all the reporters left Adam Thielen, we talked about his son's first Thanksgiving. You could tell he was relieved to talk about his other passion - his family, and not just football, football, football. He said his son's first words were "mama" and that he was at home a month ago when his son took his first steps. You think Adam looks like a nice guy? You have no idea. He is genuine and unaffected.
* We talked briefly with Kai Forbath - he is nice enough, but he is introverted, and is not a big talker.
* We were the only ones to interview reserve TE Blake Bell, but he is a very engaging personality and has some tremendous size.
* Teddy Bridgewater got dressed VERY quickly. The press has to stay outside the locker room for 10 minutes while Zimmer talks to the team. When we walked in, Teddy was fully dressed and leaving the locker room. He smiles, but I imagine this QB situation is not what he was envisioning.
* Zygi Wilf entered the locker room like a kid on Christmas Morning. Just a big grin.
* Pete Bercich and I did the postgame show for our site on the field after the game. When done, he took me over to the section on the field where all the friends and family of Viking players met with the players. It is stunning how many family members came to the game, well over 100.
This team is confident, and that is 90% of what makes a winner. Yet, they did not play their best, and still got a road win.
We will let you know what we see in Charlotte next week.
