In 2016, everything that could go wrong did go wrong for the Minnesota Vikings.
Following a 5-0 start to the year, the Vikings fell apart down the stretch under the weight of offensive line injuries, conflict on offense and multiple eye surgeries for head coach Mike Zimmer.
This time around, everything’s coming up Vikings despite season-ending injuries to both starting quarterback Sam Bradford and running back Dalvin Cook.
Zimmer said Friday the 2016 collapse may have helped the 9-2 Vikings deal with tough times this year.
“Maybe it’s good we went through some of the issues that we had last year,” Zimmer said. “I think a lot of it is the players themselves, they’re pretty tough minded guys.”
The biggest difference between ‘16 and this season has been the production on the offensive side. Last year the Vikings ranked 28th in total yards, while this season they sit fourth in yards per game.
“We’ve got a pretty resilient bunch,” Zimmer said. “They play hard together, Pat [Shurmur] does a great job along with the other offensive coaches. They just like to go out and play.”
This isn’t Zimmer’s first go around with an exceptional all-around team – he was the defensive coordinator of the 2013 Cincinnati Bengals, club that ranked sixth in points for and fifth in points against – but it is his first time as a head coach with an exceptional offensive attack.
Zimmer emphasized in the offseason that he wanted to be more involved with offensive decision making, but the Vikings’ head coach said that offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur hasn’t needed a lot of help.
“Little bit here,” he said. “Pat and I have a good talk about things and things that I see. I just try and help him with as much as I can with thoughts and ideas that they do, but they’re doing a great job. I’m not going to mess with them much.”
The post Zimmer: Rough ‘16 season helped Vikings become more resilient appeared first on 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
Source:: 1500 ESPN Sportswire
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