After sprinting to a 5-0 start, the Vikings can enjoy their bye week with the knowledge that they’ve gained recognition around the league.
NFL.com has them ranked first, ahead of the Patriots, in the latest Power Rankings*.
CBS Sports likes the Vikings, Patriots and Packers, in that order.
Sports Illustrated likes the Vikings, Patriots and Falcons, in that order.
There’s no team that SB Nation likes more than the Vikings.
And ESPN says the Vikings have jumped four spots from No. 5 to No. 1, leapfrogging in the process the Patriots, Steelers, Broncos and Seahawks.
And that brings us to this ESPN blog, penned by Mike Reiss from Patriots country in Massachusetts.
Earlier this year, Pats head coach Bill Belichick was asked if being an experienced coach was an advantage. Reiss apparently had mentioned something along the lines of the New England head coach, Bruce Arians (Arizona) and Pete Carroll (Seattle) having age, presumably wisdom and experience on their side.
Belichick added a name: Mike Zimmer’s.
What the Vikings’ coach lacks in relative experience, he makes up for by having a long history as an outstanding defensive coordinator. And what’s fascinating to me, anyway, is that Belichick offered such high praise without the recency bias taking over. It’s en vogue to lavish Minnesota with praise right now – they might be the best team in the NFL! But the legendary Patriots coach did it before this season began.
Here’s his quote, which you can find as part of this blog by ESPN.
“I have a lot of respect for Pete and Bruce, and honestly I’d throw Mike [Zimmer] in there, too. Obviously, he got a late start in Minnesota, but I think Mike is a tremendous coach,” Belichick said.
“He has always been very good. His units have always been very productive every place that he has been. That’s another experienced coach that has gone in and done very well with that team and that franchise.
“I think that you look at those three guys, I’d say they didn’t come into great situations. They had to build those up, at least in the early part, the early years when they got there. So, I give a lot of credit to those three guys.”
That has me wondering…What will the Mike Zimmer coaching tree look like one day?
It’s weird to think that for the next few years, NFL defenses will try to mimmick Zimmer and the Vikings. Ultimate compliment.
— Derek Wetmore (@DerekWetmore) October 11, 2016
*Power Rankings are great, aren’t they? They’re subjective and literally meaningless, and yet they give us something new to argue about every week, keeping fresh all season long an ongoing conversation about which team ultimately will be top banana.
The post As Vikings ascend power rankings, a reminder of Belichick’s respect for Zimmer appeared first on 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
Source:: 1500 ESPN Sportswire
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